“You three are acting awfully suspicious.” Pretty Butterfly bent down and narrowed her eyes at them. She paused when she saw Yu Qingtang, then directed all her fire at Chi Yantian. “What are you looking at?”
“The commotion,” Yu Qingtang answered quietly.
“You’re not allowed to enjoy his misfortune!” This time, Pretty Butterfly glared at Scholar Xiao.
“Of course, of course.” Scholar Xiao smiled amiably. “I am Scholar Xiao of Four Books Academy—”
“I know who you are.” Pretty Butterfly folded her arms. “I saw you at the Golden Core Competition. My memory isn’t that bad.”
“What are you doing in Nanzhou?”
“Gathering material.” Scholar Xiao sincerely held up his booklet. “How are matters progressing between you and Baoshan, miss? Might you share a few details?”
Pretty Butterfly’s eyes shifted. “Oh, you’re from that academy. I know all about you people. You spend every day prying into everyone’s secrets, writing them down, and spreading them everywhere!”
“Ahem.” Scholar Xiao cleared his throat and attempted to correct her understanding of his sect, but Pretty Butterfly had already begun to laugh. “Perfect. Help me spread something, preferably all the way back to Dharma Academy.”
“Write this—he has fallen hopelessly in love with me. He follows me around every day like a little puppy wagging its tail and has long since cast all that Buddhist nonsense beyond the highest heavens!”
Scholar Xiao’s brush remained still. He adopted a solemn expression. “Miss, Four Books Academy has standards! We cannot publish a fabricated story—”
“How do you know it’s fabricated?” Pretty Butterfly planted her hands on her hips. “What? Does he not look hopelessly in love with me?”
Chi Yantian casually interjected, “He looked more hopelessly devoted to that poison-throwing fellow who collapsed just now than he does to you.”
“Nonsense!” Pretty Butterfly stamped her foot in fury. “What would an oblivious blockhead like you know? Do you understand anything about love?”
“I don’t,” Chi Yantian admitted, folding his arms. “But even I know that a melon twisted off the vine before it’s ripe won’t be sweet.”
“Besides, from every angle, this looks like you like him and he doesn’t like you.”
Yu Qingtang sucked in a breath and covered his mouth. “Brother Chi, spare her a little dignity! Be careful, or she’ll call her father over to beat you!”
“Exactly! Watch what you say!” Pretty Butterfly clenched a fist and threatened him. “This is Nanzhou. Be careful, or I’ll make sure you don’t return in one piece!”
She snorted. “Who likes him? I merely find him entertaining to tease.”
Scholar Xiao seized the opening. “In what way is he entertaining?”
Pretty Butterfly glanced at him sidelong. “What business is that of yours?”
Yu Qingtang hoped that a new target would make Scholar Xiao leave him alone, so he added his voice to the appeal. “Just help him!”
Pretty Butterfly turned to look at him, gave a soft snort, and ducked through the window. “Fine. For your sake.”
“Hm?” Yu Qingtang blinked in confusion. Since when did his word carry so much weight with her?
One advantage of having the blunt and straightforward Chi Yantian nearby was that he would ask a question the moment it occurred to you. “I’m not imagining it, am I? Why are you treating him so favorably?”
“He now counts as half one of Pleasure Sect’s own.” Pretty Butterfly took a seat and imperiously watched Scholar Xiao pour her wine, her chin raised. “Naturally, he’s different from the rest of you.”
Chi Yantian was astonished. “How does that work?”
He turned curiously to Yu Qingtang. “You have ties to them too?”
“Ye Chenyan has a history with Pleasure Sect. If he passes the trials, he’ll become the demon race’s new Demonic Sovereign and naturally Pleasure Sect’s new sect master as well.” Pretty Butterfly smiled at Yu Qingtang. “Since you and he have that sort of relationship, you’re naturally half one of Pleasure Sect’s own.”
Yu Qingtang’s face instantly turned scarlet. He looked away and pretended to admire the street. “What sort of relationship? Don’t make things up!”
“Oh...” Enlightenment dawned on Chi Yantian, and he prepared to pursue the matter to the bitter end. “Then why only half?”
A teasing light flashed through Pretty Butterfly’s eyes. “He counts as half for now. Before he truly becomes one of us...”
She leaned closer to Yu Qingtang, lifted his chin with one finger, and smiled suggestively. “We’ll have to wait until Ye Chenyan has devoured him completely.”
Yu Qingtang sucked in a sharp breath. “Y-you...”
“Oh, that day is still a long way off.” Pretty Butterfly leaned bonelessly against the back of her chair, assuming the air of someone with vast experience. “For now, Ye Chenyan still has to pretend to be an upright gentleman. He has to act all pitiful and obedient to win your favor. It isn’t time for him to bare his fangs yet.”
“That’s the problem with you so-called righteous sects.”
“N-nonsense!” Yu Qingtang covered his burning ears. “He’s very well behaved. Well, not exactly well behaved, but he’s still somewhat honest...”
“Hehe.” Pretty Butterfly doubled over laughing and couldn’t resist poking him in the forehead. “You little fool. He’s only pretending to behave because he wants to win you over.”
She moved closer and lowered her voice, making her words even more suggestive. “Wait until you’re in bed with him. Then you can see whether he still behaves.”
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened in shock. He stared blankly out the window. “It’s still broad daylight, and we’re already discussing this?”
Chi Yantian held his wine cup and pondered for a moment. Then he turned to them in confusion. “Bed?”
Scholar Xiao’s furiously moving brush paused. For once, an awkward expression appeared on his face, as though he could not bear to watch. “Brother Chi, perhaps you should take Flamelet outside for a while?”
Chi Yantian stared blankly. His eyes widened, and he braced his hands against his knees, unable to recover for a long time.
“What does daylight have to do with anything?” Pretty Butterfly laughed wantonly. “Here in Nanzhou, if you feel like it, you can discuss this in the middle of the street.”
Scholar Xiao considerately rose and closed the window. “We should adapt to local customs, but let’s retain a little modesty.”
He moved beside Pretty Butterfly with his booklet in hand, his eyes gleaming. “Miss, please elaborate.”
Then he offered Yu Qingtang a transparently flimsy explanation. “Don’t misunderstand me, Brother Yu. I only wish to study Nanzhou’s narrative style.”
Yu Qingtang’s ears were bright red, but his face remained expressionless. “Stop writing and look at Brother Chi. His brain is about to grind itself into smoke!”
“That’s easily solved.” Scholar Xiao smiled. “Brother Chi is purehearted and can only think about one thing at a time. Change the subject, and he’ll stop thinking about this.”
“Oh...” Yu Qingtang understood. In short, his brain could run only one thread at a time.
He tentatively patted Chi Yantian’s shoulder. “Brother Chi, weren’t you going to search for ore at Great Wilderness Mountain? How do you plan to get there?”
“First, I’ll head to the area around Great Wilderness Mountain,” Chi Yantian answered instinctively.
He gradually returned to his senses. “Although the demonfolk dislike dealing with humans, I asked around. There are still a few unconventional demons near Great Wilderness Mountain who have opened shops and do business with humans.”
The mention of ore immediately cheered him up. “Great Wilderness Mountain is an unusual place. It has underground fire veins and spirit mines. Apparently, bathing in its unique sulfur springs is exceptionally comfortable!”
Pretty Butterfly overheard and laughed casually. “Then make sure you investigate properly. Some of Great Wilderness Mountain’s demonfolk despise humans. They may not hang signs outside explicitly forbidding entry, but they still won’t allow humans inside.”
Her eyes turned as though she were deliberately trying to frighten them. “Worse still, some used to eat humans. Now that they’re forbidden from doing so, they open shady establishments as cover while secretly running man-eating businesses!”
She pointed her chopsticks at a plate. “You’ll end up simmering in a pot while demonfolk customers watch each of you obediently climb in, drooling with hunger!”
“Do you take us for three-year-olds?” Chi Yantian scoffed. “We’re all cultivators on the verge of Nascent Soul. How could anyone cook and eat the lot of us?”
“I was only offering a friendly warning.” Pretty Butterfly pursed her lips and looked at him with disdain. “Forget it. You’re all brute strength, and you look tough and unappetizing. But as for you two...”
Scholar Xiao laughed heartily. “I doubt I would become anyone’s meal so easily.”
Seeing how hard she was trying to frighten them, Yu Qingtang played along. “How terrifying. I’m absolutely petrified.”
“Don’t believe me, then.” Pretty Butterfly stood. “This young lady is leaving!”
“Wait—” Scholar Xiao hurriedly stopped her. “You still haven’t told us about you and Baoshan...”
“What else is there to tell?” Pretty Butterfly gritted her teeth. “That stinking monk! That bald little donkey! He refuses to stay at Pleasure Sect and enjoy good food and drink. He walks around looking miserable all day, but he’s delighted to get beaten outside. All I can do is let him leave and seek out his own suffering!”
Scholar Xiao wrote furiously. “Then that flash of °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° silver just now...”
“My father promised someone that he would protect the monk’s life.” Pretty Butterfly huffed. “So I have no choice but to watch over him!”
“That foolish monk is lucky he met me. The same thing happened in the Ancient Academy Realm. His fellow disciples clearly tricked him into searching the bottom of a lake for some supposed treasure. If I hadn’t fished him out, he would have soaked until he rotted!”
“But he still wouldn’t believe me! He said I was slandering his fellow disciples!”
The more Pretty Butterfly spoke, the angrier she became. She tipped her head back and drained a cup of wine.
Chi Yantian turned toward her. “Then when I said he made me angry, why did you—”
“I’m allowed to say it. You aren’t!” Pretty Butterfly glared at him. “Does that bother you?”
A smile spread across Scholar Xiao’s face. “Fine, fine. Only you may say it.”
“Brother Chi, calm down. Eat something.”
He signaled Yu Qingtang with his eyes. Yu Qingtang cooperatively grabbed Chi Yantian, who was on the verge of arguing with Pretty Butterfly, and turned him around. “Let’s not discuss that with them. Let’s talk about... ore! And sulfur springs!”
Sure enough, Chi Yantian’s attention was diverted. He enthusiastically slung an arm around Yu Qingtang’s shoulders. “I plan to give those shops some business first, then ask the demonfolk running them for information about the spirit mines!”
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened in surprise. “Brother Chi, that’s very clever of you! I think it’ll work!”
“Right?” A single compliment was enough to make Chi Yantian smug. Keeping his arm around Yu Qingtang’s shoulders, he continued, “Regardless of anything else, now that I know you’re a man, it’ll be far more convenient for us to visit the sulfur springs together!”
“We didn’t get to soak in the Dragon Transformation Pool together. This time—”
Scholar Xiao had been listening with a smile, but now his expression changed dramatically. “You mustn’t! Absolutely not! How could you bathe with Brother Yu...”
Chi Yantian turned and stared blankly at him. “What? Why not? Isn’t he a man?”
“Exactly.” Yu Qingtang planted his hands on his hips with perfect justification. “Am I not a man? Why can’t Brother Chi and I bathe together?”
“Right!” Chi Yantian nodded with even greater confidence. “Why are you making such a fuss?”
“You were already dithering when we soaked in the Dragon Transformation Pool...”
Scholar Xiao pressed a hand to his forehead and shook his head helplessly. “Brother Chi, heed my advice.”
He lowered his voice. “Unless you want the silver battle spear you forged with your own hands driven through your skull, you must not share that bath.”
“Oh—someone might get jealous.” Pretty Butterfly laughed. “Why not visit a sulfur spring with private pools?”
Chi Yantian became interested. “They have those?”
“You can still talk, but a screen formation separates the pools.” Pretty Butterfly grinned and pointed at Yu Qingtang. “They’re perfect for someone like you who finds bathing with others inconvenient.”
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened. “There’s nothing inconvenient about it for me!”
Having completely forgotten that he had just been arguing with her, Chi Yantian suggested, “Since you know the area so well, why don’t you show us the way?”
“You can invite some friends from your sect too. I’ll treat everyone!”
“I’m not going anywhere with you...” Pretty Butterfly began to refuse, then suddenly changed her mind and smiled. “Fine. I’ll lead the way, as long as you lure that little monk along.”
Everyone exchanged glances, then huddled together to devise a plan.
...
They postponed their day trip to the sulfur springs until tomorrow. At sunset, Senior Sister Tianxin escorted Yu Qingtang back to the Immortal-Bewildering Forest, and they agreed to meet again the next day.
“I’m back!”
Yu Qingtang pushed open the door of the bamboo cottage. Ye Chenyan had already opened his eyes and smiled at him. “How was your day—”
He suddenly stopped. Frowning, he pulled Yu Qingtang closer and gently sniffed him.
“Hm?” Yu Qingtang shrank back. “What are you doing?”
Ye Chenyan narrowed his eyes. “Why do you smell so strongly of Senior Sister Tianxin’s incense?”
Yu Qingtang froze, then realization dawned on him. No wonder Senior Sister Tianxin had invited him to sit at Starwatch Pavilion and spent the visit fanning incense smoke toward him with a little fan! She had been helping him prepare a move!
“Because I’ve just returned from a day of carousing.” Yu Qingtang chuckled and raised his other hand to Ye Chenyan’s nose. “Smell this. It even carries the scent of Pretty Butterfly’s face powder.”
Ye Chenyan narrowed his eyes and bit his hand.
“Aah—!” Yu Qingtang wailed.
Ye Chenyan clicked his tongue. “I didn’t even bite hard.”
Yu Qingtang blinked. “I was playing along.”
Author’s Note:
In the middle of the night, Chi Yantian abruptly sat up: Wait. Those two are a couple?!
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