Bai Qingquan said, “My friends say that we are progressing too fast. It doesn’t seem to be love.”
Shi Lei said, “But you’re eager as well.”
Bai Qingquan said, “Which is why you need to have restraint.”
“Don’t put the responsibility on me. I’m not a person with strong self-control,” Shi Lei said.
“Then how have you spent all these years?”
Shi Lei laughed. “It’s different. You’re different from others.”
Bai Qingquan got up with a smile and ran to the bathroom to wash the towels.
Shi Lei sighed, looked at his lower body, and then continued to scrape the wall. He scraped fiercely as his teeth clenched tightly while his fingers began to work hard, as if it wasn’t the wall he was scraping but Bai Qingquan.
After a busy morning and considering that the air in the room was too hot, they decided to go out to eat instead of ordering takeout. Despite wearing a mask, Bai Qingquan would often be recognized before, but when he was walking with Shi Lei, no one seemed to associate him as a big star.
With the way Shi Lei was dressed and his appearance, he looked more like a builder. Bai Qingquan noticed that Shi Lei was relatively handsome among passersby, and his figure was good as he saw several people secretly looking at him. It was also possible that they were staring at him… Since it was such a hot day, he still had a mask on.
Bai Qingquan wanted to go to a small restaurant to eat. He was excited today, and he wanted to experience the lives of ordinary people to the very end.
“Are you sure?” Shi Lei said, “I’m afraid someone will recognize you.”
“Let’s try,” Bai Qingquan said. The two entered a ramen restaurant.
It was lunchtime, and there were a lot of people in the shop. The two of them found a table for two closest to the inside by the counter. Bai Qingquan sat on the inner side facing inward, while Shi Lei sat facing outward as they ordered three bowls of Lanzhou ramen.
Two of those bowls were for Shi Lei, as he had a big appetite. He was really able to eat.
When the ramen came, Bai Qingquan took off his mask and found that no one was looking at him. Most likely, no one would expect a big star like him to appear in such an inconspicuous restaurant like this.
Bai Qingquan became excited, as he hadn’t eaten like this for a long time. He took out his phone and took a selfie that also captured the ramen restaurant and Shi Lei in the mirror, and then sent the photo to Shen Jintai.
At this time, Shen Jintai was also having lunch. He clicked on the picture and glanced at it. He found that Shi Lei was very photogenic. When he was wearing a very simple outfit, he was more handsome than when he dressed formally. Bai Qingquan was smiling brightly in the photo. Even though he was very close to the camera, his face looked a bit off, but his beauty could still be seen, while Shi Lei sat upright on the other side, looking at the camera very happily.
Shen Jintai sent a: [?]
Bai Qingquan replied: [Just showing you where we’re eating!]
Shen Jintai had already seen that it was a small restaurant, and there were many other guests sitting around. The owner was sitting outside near the door between the back kitchen and the front hall, peeling green onions. Everything looked down to earth.
Shen Jintai felt that Bai Qingquan was really captivated by Shi Lei and had completely fallen. The fairy was now mortal, as he had found an ordinary man. When he looked at Bai Qingquan’s eyes, he saw how bright they were and thought how happy Bai Qingquan was being with Shi Lei. He had never seen him smile so sweetly and casually.
Shen Jintai could only hope that Shi Lei was a good man and wouldn’t disappoint him.
Li Meilan, who was nearby and saw Shi Lei’s photo, couldn’t help but exclaim, “Wow.”
“Wow what?” Shen Jintai said.
“Who is this man? So handsome.”
“Handsome?” Shen Jintai asked.
“Is he amateur? Among them, this kind of look could be very handsome, as there aren’t really many men who are suitable to wear a crew cut. If you give him a nice look and apply makeup, it’ll definitely not be a problem for him to enter the entertainment industry, since they lack this kind of hormonal masculinity.”
There were some things that she found inconvenient to say. As a married person, she was better able to understand this type of man. He’s very suitable for being a husband, as he can make you feel particularly safe. He’s handsome and moderate, with a very homely feeling to him.
Bai Qingquan was sweating profusely. His hair looked even darker from the dampness, and his mouth was red, and his skin was flushed. Shi Lei secretly looked at him and suddenly saw the boss leaning over and staring at Bai Qingquan.
He was taken aback when he heard the boss ask, “Are you… the actor that plays Emperor Zhou Jing?”
Bai Qingquan once again felt the landmark significance of <The East Place is Coming>. He smiled and looked at the owner generously. “Many people say that I look like him.”
The owner seemed to actually believe him as she said, “So it seems. I was just thinking what kind of big star would come to a small shop like this to eat.”
When the two came out of the restaurant, Bai Qingquan laughed while Shi Lei said, “Put on the masks.”
Since it was hot, with the sun blazing outside, there weren’t many pedestrians on the street. Bai Qingquan looked around and stroked back his hair as he said, “I don’t know who Bai Qingquan is. My name is Bai Shu.”
Bai Qingquan was cautious at first when he went to a small restaurant to eat, but after eating, he completely let go. He had never felt so relaxed in so many years. He felt that Shi Lei’s existence had become his umbrella. He only needed to cover himself up a bit, and no one would recognize him.
“You should find me some builder’s clothes to wear,” he said to Shi Lei.
The next time Shi Lei came, he really brought one. Bai Qingquan had to change into it in the car as Shi Lei drove in front. Shi Lei looked into the rearview mirror and saw Bai Qingquan taking off his shirt, revealing his fair chest. Suddenly, he felt a burst of fire.
Shi Lei wanted to fully possess Bai Qingquan, but he was holding himself back out of love. He was a smart man. He came here and started from scratch and had seen the world. When Bai Qingquan contacted him, he knew what kind of person Bai Qingquan was.
Bai Qingquan was quite special. Sometimes he was sulky, and he was often coquettish but on the conservative side. He had been immersed in the entertainment industry for so many years and was still very simple.
For such a simple person, he wasn’t willing to take him too quickly, hoping to give Bai Qingquan the full experience of falling in love… There was also a more important reason as well. Deep inside, he was quite lustful. Just the thought of Bai Qingquan would turn his thoughts into perversion. He didn’t want to scare Bai Qingquan and hoped that he’d slowly get used to him, which would take time.
Bai Qingquan’s friends were not easy to provoke. They were all very wary of him. If he wanted to win the affirmation of these friends, he also must restrain himself. Bai Qingquan trusted his friends very much, so when he got together with Bai Qingquan in the future, he would inevitably have to deal with them.
His own conditions couldn’t be compared to them. If he was rejected and ostracized by them, it would cause a dilemma for Bai Qingquan, who would be caught in the middle. Thus, he must endure the waves made by his white moonlight.
Bai Qingquan took off his t-shirt in the back seat. He wasn’t wearing anything underneath. He put on his overalls, took off his pants, stretched out his two long, fair legs, and put them on. When he lifted his pants, he said, “It seems to fit me just right.”
“I bought it according to your size,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan stroked his hair, took another selfie, and sent it to Shen Jintai.
“You and Shen Jintai are pretty close. You seem to tell him everything.”
Bai Qingquan said, “He’s my good sister… good brother.”
After speaking, he raised his head and smiled.
Shi Lei laughed. Some people resented men saying words like “sister”, while others didn’t care. Take him for example, who found it quite cute. He asked, “Is your sister not very fond of me?”
“No, he just cares about me.” Bai Qingquan laid down on his seat and said, “He’s afraid that you’ll try to bed me.”
Shi Lei usually didn’t talk to Bai Qingquan about these topics, so he didn’t reply. Bai Qingquan felt that Shi Lei had been very restrained these past few days, though he didn’t feel like he was purposefully doing it because he told him to.
Well… there was no need to be so restrained. Going to bed with each other could be delayed for a while, but it was still okay to kiss and touch. This wasn’t Shi Lei’s desire, but his own.
The last time Shi Lei kissed him was the day when the two of them confirmed their relationship. It had been a few days since that incident. Apart from working on the new house and talking together, Shi Lei didn’t do anything else. He would always send him back at night before he even got tired.
But he wanted to be tired, and he especially liked to see Shi Lei blushing, confused by his love for him. He felt Shi Lei’s strong desire for him, and this desire also stimulated him. He was also a person with heavy desire, and he felt that sex was just as important as love. Moreover, given Shi Lei’s appearance and physique, it would be such a waste if they didn’t have any intimacy.
Which led him to today. He was pulling tricks at every turn for the past few days, like how he deliberately changed his clothes in the car just now to pique Shi Lei’s interest, but it seemed Shi Lei was unmoved.
Ah, he wanted to kiss. The feeling of kissing was so beautiful that he wanted to relive it. A normal love should be gradual, taken step by step, to finally reach the harmony of life.
The author has something to say:
Following in the footsteps of Shen Jintai, NO ZUO NO DIE*!
*Chinese internet meme that means one would not be in trouble had one not asked for it.
Kinky Thoughts:
Indeed, follow in his footsteps and learn the consequences of playing with fire.
When they arrived at the airport, as soon as Yan Qiuchi left, Shen Jintai immediately called Bai Qingquan.
“What took you so long?” Bai Qingquan said.
“I was entangled with Yan Qiuchi tightly,” Shen Jintai said. “I have to board the plane soon, so let’s hurry up and get down to business. Have you and Shi Lei confirmed the relationship?”
Bai Qingquan: “Nn.”
Shen Jintai said, “Then I won’t say anything else. It’s just the same feeling. Kiss on the mouth and touch with your hands. If you’re serious, you must hold back!”
Bai Qingquan: “Nn. The harder it is to get, the more cherished you are. I understand!”
“Then you should know,” Shen Jintai said. “You have to seize the initiative!”
Bai Qingquan said faintly, “But… I like being passive…”
Shen Jintai: “…I’m not talking about positions!”
Bai Qingquan laughed. He was in a good mood today because he had received a text message from Shi Lei in the early morning saying good morning to him. The feeling of being loved was so wonderful.
“Let me tell you. In terms of appearance, financial resources, and fame, you completely overshadow him, yet you didn’t take the initiative at all. He kissed you when he said he’d kiss you, and you fell in love afterwards. Look at me. Do you know why my life is so great now?”
Without waiting for Bai Qingquan to answer, he said, “It’s because I firmly grasped the initiative in the early stages of my relationship!”
After these words came out, Shen Jintai felt a little guilty.
Bai Qingquan really showed a very envious tone. “Then what should I do?”
“He’s casually using means to tease you now. You’re about to collide with the deer and have no power to parry. What he said is what you follow, no?”
Bai Qingquan immediately nodded like pounded garlic. “How do you know?!”
That was just how he was. The chaos in his spring heart was caused by Shi Lei, and he didn’t have the ability to resist at all.
Shen Jintai said solemnly, “If you don’t take the initiative at the beginning, you will suffer more in the future. How the relationship between two people starts lays the foundation for your future family status. You have to let him lick you. You can’t lick him… I’m not talking about that kind of lick. I’m referring to attitude. Attitude!”
Bai Qingquan said, “So now, is President Yan licking you?”
Shen Jintai: “…That’s right.” At least in bed.
Yan Qiuchi had teased him, and the fact is he had no power to parry it. When he fell in love with Yan Qiuchi, Yan Qiuchi had also made rapid movements that steadily made him retreat, even though he felt like he did have the initiative in the relationship.
However, he was bent on being strong, but Bai Qingquan was different from him. Bai Qingquan wanted to be a little princess who only wanted to eat and not suffer. The reason he was leading Bai Qingquan this way was mainly because he felt that Bai Qingquan was too naïve and sweet in this relationship.
It was progressing too fast, so he was really worried about him. To see Shi Lei’s true character would take a long time. But before they even get a chance to investigate properly, Bai Qingquan would already have been abducted to bed.
According to his intuition, combined with his understanding of Bai Qingquan’s character, once they got in bed together, he’d become even more determined. It was unfortunate that he had to film at this time. Otherwise, he would keep an eye out for Bai Qingquan.
“You guys are really moving too fast. Although it has been a few months since you met again, you have only been together for a few days. When I look at him, he looks a bit like a hooligan, but I didn’t expect him to turn out to be a hooligan!” When Shen Jintai thought that Bai Qingquan would be “ruined” by Shi Lei, he felt heartbroken like an old father marrying off his daughter, which made his impression of Shi Lei even worse than before.
His Yan Qiuchi was suffocating in the beginning, but he was very restrained. However, once he takes off his pajamas for him, that gentleman becomes a wolf!
He and Bai Qingquan had different personalities and liked completely different types. He had a more resolute personality and could be strong whether he was a gong or a shou. Yan Qiuchi is a serious man, so he’d become anxious and would sometimes beg for it.
However, Bai Qingquan had a girly heart. A pure 0. He liked being weak and submissive, so he preferred the strong and domineering type that was imposing.
Bai Qingquan had a dream last night. In it, he was forcibly kissed again. Since he was a little chick with no experience, nothing else was dreamt besides kissing, but when he woke up, he had to quickly run to the bathroom and take a shower, as well as wash his sheets.
When Xiao Feng came over to deliver breakfast to him, Bai Qingquan asked, “How’s Wei Ge?”
“Still sleeping.”
Qian Wei was nearly forty, but he had always been single. Yesterday, Xiao Feng was worried about him, so he took him to his own place to watch over him.
After breakfast, Bai Qingquan and Xiao Feng went to see Qian Wei together. Qian Wei had already gotten up by this point. Bai Qingquan asked him his thoughts on Shi Lei.
Qian Wei said, “He’s okay.”
Before he met Shi Lei, his hostility towards him was strong, so it was hard for him to give an “okay” evaluation. He had deep feelings for Bai Qingquan and always felt that there were few men in the world who were truly worthy of him, so he said, “Are you sure you want to be with him? Honestly, with your condition, there are so many better ones out there.”
“I thought about it for a long time last night,” Bai Qingquan said. “I think maybe it’s really due to fate. Otherwise, how could I have met him again?”
He told Qian Wei everything about him and Shi Lei before. Their pure love in their adolescence was easy to move people. After listening to it, Qian Wei said, “If Shi Lei really liked you for so many years, then it’s really not easy.”
The world changed, and people were often impetuous that it’d be hard to meet someone who was like the past them again.
Shi Lei was indeed anxious and scheming, but he was also infatuated. Bai Qingquan thought long and hard last night and felt that fate was a wonderful thing. If he met another person and got together with him, he didn’t know what would happen to Shi Lei.
He really liked Shi Lei. When he thought of such a scenario, he couldn’t help but sympathize and feel sorry for him, but he then thought Shi Lei would be able to move on and eventually find another person to be together with.
Thinking of that, he felt selfish and jealous. This man had loved him since he was a teenager and should love him wholeheartedly for the rest of his life.
—
Shi Lei was only in his twenties. For a man like him, he was quite romantic. He told Bai Qingquan that the decoration of the house only had one last part left and the workload wasn’t large. Since it wasn’t too hard, he asked if Bai Qingquan would want to complete the final decoration with him.
He told Bai Qingquan that he’s able to do everything except decorate. Whether it was masonry or electrical, he was good at it and could handle it all.
This proposal was really romantic and smart. For Bai Qingquan, who was a big star that stayed with the crew all year round and didn’t need to worry about his clothes, food, housing, or transportation, such an activity was quite novel, and it piqued his interest, like a child going out for a picnic.
His heart was full of romance.
It also just so happens that he had recently taken a break and didn’t have any work lined up. Bai Qingquan, who hasn’t experienced real life in a long time, had put on a hat and mask and was wearing a casual t-shirt and jeans as he carried a roll of wallpaper and went into his new house with Shi Lei.
As soon as he entered the door, he took off his hat and mask. “I’ll help you.”
Shi Lei was dressed in a loose shirt and black overalls. This was the first time he had worn something so casual in front of Bai Qingquan. His tan arms were fully exposed, revealing strong muscles. Coupled with his crew cut and exceptionally resolute face, his whole image was like a wolf.
Young and strong, and as hot as the summer.
Bai Qingquan was born in poverty, so he was quite grounded. Later, when he debuted and soared to stardom, he lived the life of a young master. Now, because of Shi Lei, he had become grounded again. He found that he actually liked this ordinary life very much. It was practical and fulfilling.
The finishing touches that needed to be done after the end of the renovation mainly included pasting on wallpaper, installing the lights, and things of that nature. Bai Qingquan found that even pasting on wallpaper wasn’t as simple as he thought.
He originally thought that he would be done once it stuck to the wall. Who knew that he had to scrape it first with a scraper? It was hot because the air conditioning hadn’t been installed yet, and after a while, he was covered in sweat. He raised his arm to wipe the sweat from his face and saw Shi Lei smiling at him. He told him, “You can take a break and use the little fan to blow some air on you.”
Bai Qingquan had bought a lot of small electric fans when he was on the crew and brought two with him. He turned them on and had them blow at him, then raised it to Shi Lei. Shi Lei’s fingers were holding the scraper, and due to the force, the veins on the back of his hand popped a bit. Even the muscles on his upper arms were tightened, and his fingers were stained with paint and color. His nails were neatly trimmed, like a crescent moon.
Bai Qingquan held the fan up and blew it on Shi Lei’s face. He saw beads of sweat hanging from his chin. Bai Qingquan’s face flushed as he pursed his lips, feeling that the beads could drip into his heart. It seemed like he was waiting for them to, as he became nervous with each drop that kept dripping down.
“Don’t blow it on me. I’m drenched anyway,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan took another look and saw his back. Shi Lei’s shirt was hanging half loose against his back, showing off a vigorous and tall figure.
Ahhhhhhhhh, what was he thinking?
He felt very hot, so he excused himself to the bathroom. He turned on the water and started to wash his face, stroking his hair back vigorously.
“Can you get me a towel so I can wipe my face,” Shi Lei shouted. “I can’t open my eyes anymore.”
Bai Qingquan hurriedly took a towel and went over. When Shi Lei turned his head, Bai Qingquan wiped the sweat off for him and said, “No wonder few people decorate in the summer. It’s too hot.”
“The main thing is that you have good lighting from the sun while working, but you can’t ventilate when the wallpaper is pasted on, otherwise there’ll be hollowing.”
Bai Qingquan wiped his arm again.
Shi Lei smiled and turned his head and said, “If you don’t wipe my back, the sweat will drench my underwear.”
Bai Qingquan was taken aback for a moment, unsure if Shi Lei was seriously asking or teasing him. He pursed his lips as he rolled up Shi Lei’s shirt, revealing a sturdy waist. He pursed his lips again and lifted up the shirt with one hand as he used the other to wipe his chest and stomach.
Shi Lei’s body seemed to tighten suddenly, and his abdominal muscles and back muscles suddenly became particularly obvious, as if he had accumulated a lot of energy. Bai Qingquan caught sight of the happy trail on Shi Lei’s stomach.
In this room, which had not yet been completed, with many tools scattered about, there were only the two of them. After closing the door, he was completely isolated from the outside world. He wasn’t a big star anymore.
Bai Qingquan’s face flushed, and he put his head on Shi Lei’s shoulder. He was dazed by the hot weather, and he thought that he could not do what Shen Jintai and Zheng Siqi had told him.
While he may look pure and clean, in fact, on the inside he was very dirty.
The cave was narrow and was dug up by tomb robbers, so there was no need to mention how spacious or comfortable it was. The Changshou Sword on Dong Zhi’s back would hit the area of the cave from time to time. Eventually, he had to untie the sword and hold it in his arms.
In order to avoid colliding with each other, everyone was separated by at least half a meter or so. When Dong Zhi heard the sound of bodies sliding downhill from the front, he knew that he had reached the gentle slope area mentioned by Ye Cheng. Sure enough, Ba Sang slid down quickly, and there was no one ahead of him any longer. He quickly followed and, while sliding down, hurriedly adjusted his angle to avoid landing on his head.
The space on the gentle slope was very spacious, unlike the hole that was dug up by tomb robbers. He surmised that they had entered the architectural structure of the tomb itself.
With a snap, he landed steadily. He patted the dust on his hands and found that other people who landed first had turned on their flashlights and began exploring the environment. Behind him, his companions slid down one by one.
The tomb wasn’t spacious. There was a stone tablet standing in the center, but no one could understand the text that was written on it.
“What’s this?” Zhang Song couldn’t help asking.
“Tangut script*,” It was Long Shen who answered him.
*Logographic writing system used for the writing of the extinct Tangut Language of Western Xia dynasty.
Tangut script was once considered to be one of the lost texts, and it is difficult for anyone to decipher it, but under the persistent research of the archaeological community, more and more Tangut scripts have been interpreted. There’s even been a publication of a dictionary of Tangu Scripts, so this kind of language was no longer mysterious.
Unfortunately, they were not archaeologists, so facing such a text, everyone was naturally befuddled.
The stone tablet was densely covered with Western Xia characters. Perhaps when this stone tablet was erected in the past, the font was coated with gold powder, but over time, the gold power had gradually faded and disappeared, leaving the text to become dull.
“According to previous traditions, this kind of stone tablet generally records the life of the tomb owner and warns outsiders to be cautious,” Song Zhicun, who finally came down, patted the dust off his body and said. “Judging from the confessions of those tomb robbers, the real danger lies in the passage behind the tomb. They did not encounter any danger here. Some coffins had been cracked by them, and the things inside had been emptied. However, everyone still has to be careful. The Japanese came one step ahead of us so they could have possibly set some traps to prevent us from following them.”
Everyone hadn’t thought about that yet. When they were reminded by him, they were suddenly taken aback. Only then did they feel that older ginger is spicier*, as they wouldn’t have thought of such details.
*(姜还是老的辣) Metaphor for people who are qualified and experienced in certain area. Use as a praise for them.
Headed by Long Shen, everyone stepped towards the main tomb and continued to walk inward. The main tomb was composed of three side-by-side tombs, one large and two small, which was equivalent to a “living room” in the middle and two “rooms” on both sides.
There was a coffin placed in the middle of the “living room”, while the left and right rooms were piled high with stones, terracotta warriors, wood products, silk, and the like.
The terracotta warriors were originally painted, but now that they have been exposed to the outside air, the colors have faded into a mess. The silk had long been decayed and the original pattern and color were no longer recognizable.
Judging from the current situation, the lid of the coffin in the main tomb in the middle had been pried up, and the coffin in the corner should belong to the owner of the tomb.
Song Zhicun said, “The tomb robbers took away all the valuable gold, silver, and jade artifacts in the ear chambers on both sides. They were still planning to pry open the coffin because, according to their years of experience in robbing tombs, many valuables would be buried in the coffin of the tomb owner, but the lid was extremely heavy. Ten of them worked hard together and failed to lift the lid of the coffin. In the end, they had to endure the pain and give up.”
But in front of them lay a clearly moved coffin lid. Was it by the hands of the Japanese who came before them, or…?
Looking inside from the lid of the coffin that had been removed. It was dark, and the viewing angle was too small to see what was there.
Zhang Song heard Song Zhicun say that ten people couldn’t lift the lid of the coffin, but he didn’t believe this nonsense, so he tried to push the lid out. The lid of the coffin looked wooden, but it remained motionless. He couldn’t help showing a look of horror.
How much effort did it take to be able to lift the lid of the coffin and push it away to a corner?
Liu Qingbo, Li Ying, and others also came over one after another to try. Together with Ba Sang, who was the strongest, everyone almost exerted all their strength, and the lid of the coffin was finally moved a little.
“Get out of the way!”
Long Shen yelled suddenly as white light shot out of his hand, accompanied by a muffled sound, as if something was thrown to the ground fiercely.
Everyone followed and saw a black figure trembling in the corner, standing up and waving its teeth and clawing at them. It seemed it had some scruples and dared not rush forward.
Li Ying threw a talisman of fire at it, and the shadow screamed before turning to ash together with the talisman fire.
Someone exclaimed, “What is that? Monster?!”
Song Zhicun walked over and picked up a piece of ash to inspect.
“No, this is a puppet technique that’s also a kind of yin-yang technique. Cut a figure out of paper, inject it with talisman power, and then you can manipulate it like a puppet at will.”
He leaned closer to the ashes and sniffed. “This kind of paper puppet should have been powdered with golden-winged moths. As long as it’s stained with just a little, the other party can detect your whereabouts and it’s tantamount to chronic poisoning.”
Chi Banxia: “What is the golden-winged moth?”
Song Zhicun: “It is a kind of moth found only on a small island in the Pacific Ocean. It is said that it was discovered by the Japanese in World War II. After being introduced into the country, the Japanese Onmyojis refined and improved it, and used it as a chronic poison to control the enemy’s mind. It’s probably a bit like drugs, but it has a more severe impact than drugs.”
Originally, everyone didn’t talk about it, but they inevitably developed a tendency in their hearts. They felt that Boss Wu had a strong foundation, and after entering his group, they would not have to worry about funding or finding various talismans or medicines. Although Boss Long was harsher and didn’t seem to be very popular, he had strong abilities and deep qualifications in the Special Administration Bureau. It is said that there are many people who support him inside the bureau. Boss Song, who’s a half-way monk, had no reputation. His group had a bad image and were jokingly nicknamed the miscellaneous group. People want to go to higher places while water flows low*. Everyone had their eyes on Group One and Group Two, and their interest in Group Three was lacking. However, after hearing what Song Zhicun said, many people suddenly felt that their previous view of Group Three was biased and shallow.
*(人往高处走，水往低处流) Refers to people’s aspirations and pursuits. It is in their nature to move upwards. “Water flows low/down” is saying this is the natural object law. So put it another way, it’s only natural that people want to pursue higher aspirations.
If you can become a Deputy Director of the General Administration, it’s obvious that you’re not an ordinary person. Even if you want to join, others may not want you.
“The paper puppets should have been left by the Japanese. Be careful, everyone. There could be more ahead…”
Before Song Zhicun’s voice fell, several more dark shadows jumped out of the coffin, but everyone was prepared. With their weapon at ready, the paper puppets were shredded into pieces and completely wiped out.
When talisman fire came into contact with the paper puppets, they burned up instantly. However, Liu Qingbo and Zhang Song drew their swords and slashed at the paper, but the golden-winged moth powder on them would not disappear. Instead, it was blown around by the wind caused by their sword.
Zhang Song reacted quickly. He soon realized his error, but it was too late to take back his move. As soon as the blade cut up the puppets, golden-winged moth powder flew everywhere, floating towards everyone.
Liu Qingbo had wanted to draw his sword but realized the problem of the moth powder as soon as he prepared to take it out of its sheath, so he didn’t take action.
A wind suddenly blew from behind the crowd, blowing the moth powder towards the wall of the tomb, averting the crisis in time. Everyone looked back. They didn’t know if it was either Long Shen or Song Zhicun who made the wind.
Swept by Long Shen’s cold expression, Zhang Song lowered his head.
Song Zhicun’s face didn’t look good either. “What did I say before? Be bold but careful! You have a lot of courage, but you’re not wary enough. If that moth powder got on your body just now, there’s no other destination we can go to besides home, and you’ll also be the only one eliminated from this training exam!”
Zhang Song acknowledged his mistake honestly and confessed. “I’m very sorry. I didn’t think it through before drawing my sword, and I almost hurt everyone. I will be more careful next time!”
Despite the fact that Liu Qingbo was usually at odds with him, when he heard him bow his head and admit his mistakes, he didn’t dare put on his schadenfreude face, let alone gloat in it.
The coffin lid had been pushed open by more than half, revealing a mummified corpse. The corpse was well preserved, with its facial features and basic contours still there, but it wasn’t wearing an ordinary robe, but a purple robe. The sun, moon, and stars were embroidered on it with gold and silver thread, and there was a multi-colored coat that was wrapped around its shoulders. It was wearing a golden lotus crown on its head and holding a white jade. Even the gap next to the top of its head and shoulders was stuffed with agate pearls.
Fortunately, the group of tomb robbers failed to open the lid of the coffin, otherwise the tomb owner would not be able to escape the fate of being looted. The Japanese on the other hand, didn’t have any ulterior motives*, so when they opened the lid of the coffin and found it only had jewels, they instead placed paper puppets inside to plot against the latecomers, as they had no interest in the valuables.
*The drunkard’s intention is not the wine (醉翁之意不在酒) Idiom referring to having an ulterior motive.
From this, it can be seen that what they were planning was much bigger than these external things.
However, the most peculiar thing is the identity of the tomb owner. Including the Special Administration Bureau and the group of tomb robbers, everyone thought that this would be the tomb of a Western Xia nobleman. Who would have guessed that the owner of the tomb was a Taoist, and not just any Taoist?
Many people didn’t know the significance, so Li Ying explained to them, “Purple robes are usually only worn by high-powered Taoists during formal ceremonies. This person is dressed so grandly, so his identity must be big. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to interpret the words on the stone tablet for the time being, so we don’t have a clue to who he is.”
“I know who he is!” Someone said suddenly. It was Zhou Yue who spoke. He was lying on the side of the coffin, trying his best to look at the small characters on the rope inside. The face of the tomb owner and his corpse were so close to him, but he didn’t even realize it.
“Look here. There are Chinese characters. It’s the master of the Xia Dynasty, Immortal of the Subtle Arts, Liang Chen! He’s Liang Weiqi, I’m sure of it!” Zhou Yue said excitedly.
Zhou Yue was not conspicuous in the team as he usually doesn’t talk much. He’s relatively close to Xie Qingling and Ou-Yang Yin. The only thing Dong Zhi knew about him was that he’s from a Feng Shui family.
Zhou Yue pointed to the coffin and the mark on the head of the tomb owner as he said, “This is the sun, moon, and stars.”
He pointed to the coffin wall on the inside of the tomb owner’s left hand and said, “This is a golden lotus*.”
*(金荷) This is a type of orchid that is shaped like a lotus with yellow petals. The gold signifies the color and the price.
“On his right, it’s a gourd. Both of these pieces imply Taoist treasures. Before Liang Wei’s death, he liked to call himself a true immortal, so he would always hold a lotus flower in one hand and a jade gourd would always hang at his waist. This should indeed be his tomb!” There was a rare excitement on his face, no longer calm from his usual demeanor.
“Who is Liang Weiqi?” Song Zhicun said suspiciously.
“Look at my head!” Zhou Yue patted his forehead lightly and explained, “Liang Chen, with the same Liang, was once rumored to have worshiped under Chen Tuan’s gate. Chen Tuan later expelled him from his school when he saw that his mind was not right, so he turned to learning the art of geomancy from others. At that time, my Zhou ancestors happened to be in the same class as him, so I once heard my ancestors talk about this person. He later became Liang Weiqi and left the Song Kingdom to go to Western Xia, claiming to be in the same clan as Empress Dowager Liang, and was quickly recruited and later bestowed the title of Imperial Preceptor* and regarded as a true immortal. After the fall of Empress Dowager Liang, his whereabouts became unknown, but I didn’t expect him to be buried here!”
*It’s a title awarded by the emperor. They play a crucial role in the education, guidance, and advice given to the emperor and the crown prince, as well as the education and moral development of the royal family.They also serve under the emperor’s authority to protect the religion and guide the state through divinations. You can think of him as like head of the state religion.
In history, Empress Dowager Liang was not as thunderous as Wu Zetian or Empress Dowager Cixi, but she was in charge of Western Xia for more than ten years and waged wars against the Song Dynasty several times. In just the battle of Yongle City alone, it was said that more than 200,000 Song people were killed! However, because of her militarism that led to country-wide poverty, she was not looked upon well in history.
Song Zhicun raised his head to observe the surrounding environment, frowned, and said, “Is that so? You said that your ancestors knew of him, but looking at this tomb… It’s unremarkable. It’s not a peerless place, and it’s not regarded as a place of fengshui either. Never mind fengshui, except for the coffin, this place barely matches his esteemed history.”
Zhou Yue smiled bitterly. “I don’t know this. There is indeed such a person in my family’s notes, but how he suddenly got the appreciation of Empress Dowager Liang, and why did he appear from seemingly nowhere, then disappear after Empress Dowager Liang died, there are no records of this. It could be because he was snubbed by Empress Dowager Liang, or because he fell out of favor with the new emperor as soon as she died!”
Western Xia has been wiped out, and there are not many records in history books. When looking at the history of Western Xia, Empress Dowager Liang was a very contradictory figure. She was of Han origin, but in order to win over the old party, she wantonly abandoned her Han customs and restored the old party’s customs. She even waged war against the Song Dynasty many times. It’s strange that such a person who would do anything for power would use a Taoist priest and bestow upon him a title and not be afraid of falling out of favor with the tongues of her populace.
Moreover, the tombs of the Western Xia Imperial tombs had been devastated by excavation and looting in the Yuan Dynasty, and a large area of the royal tombs had been destroyed. Since the Ming Dynasty, countless tomb robbers had visited, but this small tomb had survived, which could be said to be nothing short of a miracle.
“After we leave, we can find someone to decipher the stone tablet. We shouldn’t linger here too long,” Long Shen reminded.
The purpose of everyone here wasn’t excavation. They did not move any of the items in the coffin that would make tomb robbers’ mouths water. The passage where the tomb robbers revealed themselves was located in a chamber north of the main tomb.
When they got there, they didn’t see any coffins in the tomb, only human-shaped terracotta figures of both men and women. Although these terracotta figures were encountered by the tomb robbers in a panic, traces could still be seen that they were neatly arranged in rows, all facing the stone gate on the wall, as if they were bowing to it. It would make anyone suspicious that there’s something big behind the door.
The stone gate was concealed but could be pushed open with a little force. It was dark inside, and when a light was shined through from a flashlight, it couldn’t be seen how deep it was.
Long Shen suddenly squatted down and looked at the ground between the door and the tomb. Song Zhicun looked around and gave a chuckle. He also discovered that the stone slabs used to make the tomb were rammed between the earth and the door. There was a thin line between the two, but if you didn’t look carefully, you would miss it. The line was so thin that only a mosquito or a fly could fly through it, and it contained countless runes.
Neither Long Shen nor Song Zhicun were good at reading runes, so they asked Li Ying and Zhang Song to come take a look.
Li Ying lay on the ground for a while before he recognized the writings and said, “These should be runes for exorcism.”
Zhang Song also held the same opinion. In other words, this line was actually designed to prevent things from coming out. With Liang Weiqi buried over their side, they could only assume this was perhaps designed to suppress some kind of evil.
There were still too many mysteries unanswered. Song Zhicun said, “I’ll go in first. Then you’ll follow me with Boss Long bringing up the rear. Everyone should be more careful and remember to mark along the way to avoid getting lost.”
Long Shen said, “Let me go ahead.” He didn’t wait for Song Zhicun to speak, and just walked in first. This man didn’t talk much, but he always took action.
Dong Zhi’s heart tightened, and he followed in without hesitation. After him was Liu Qingbo, Li Ying, and eventually the others entered, one by one.
The ground under his feet was a bit damp. After going in, Long Shen didn’t move fast, so everyone was able to pay attention to their environment while walking.
“This passage seems to have been artificially made,” someone said.
Everyone found that the passageway was very spacious, unlike the cave that the tomb robbers had dug. Liu Qingbo scraped a little soil from the soil layer of the wall with his sword and took it under his nose to smell it.
“It smells fishy.”
Li Ying, who was walking behind him, smelled it and said, “It smells a bit rancid, and the soil is wet and soft. It should be like the tomb robbers said. There should be a river nearby that gives off water vapors.”
Everything around them was full of unknowns. At first, everyone was enthusiastic and had small conversations, but after walking for a long time, they all fell naturally silent. Except for the slight sound of footsteps and everyone’s breathing, there were almost no other noises.
The pathway eventually became wider. At first, it was a corridor that could only fit one person at a time. After they had walked for nearly an hour, the passage was now able to accommodate three adults side-by-side.
The doubts in everyone’s hearts grew bigger. The passage was both deep and long. Such a project would not be possible without mechanical help.
Was the builder Queen Dowager Liang, or Liang Weiqi, or possibly someone else?
No matter how well-liked Liang Weiqi was at the time, how could a central plains Taoist preside over such a labor-intensive and extravagant project*? If it wasn’t for Liang Weiqi, then what was the original intention of the builder?
*Labor & wealth (劳民伤财) Idiom referring to making people work hard and waste money. Now it refers to the abuse of human and material resources.
According to the calculated time, the group of tomb robbers walked more than an hour before they encountered danger. Everyone’s journey was faster than that of the tomb robber, and they should have almost reached the dangerous area.
Everyone’s hearts were beating nervously, but their mental quality as practitioners was different from ordinary people, so no one slowed down because of fear and doubt in their hearts.
At this moment, Long Shen suddenly stopped. Dong Zhi, who was walking behind him, was taken aback and abruptly halted as well.
Liu Qingbo quickly braked and said angrily, “What are you doing?!”
He was about to ask Dong Zhi why he stopped, but it was Long Shen who answered him.
“Be careful. From the front and left.”
Not far in front of Longshen, there was a body leaning against the earthen walls on both sides. It was naturally dead, though they didn’t know how many years old the corpse was, as it hadn’t completely rotted away. Some of the arms revealed white bone, but the shoulders above the arms still had residual flesh that was blue and white. The most terrifying thing was that the facial features were still there, but the eyeballs had protruded because of dehydration, so they couldn’t fall off. It was extremely eerie.
The corpses have different poses. Some were leaning against the wall with their chins raised as if they were still looking up before they died, while others were squatting down with their hands on their heads. Some were half-buried in the earthen wall, and others were almost completely engulfed by it, with only a hand or arm stretching out.
While they weren’t fledglings, seeing the sight still gave them goosebumps all over.
With a click, Gu Meiren lit a piece of dark wood, slightly holding her nose a bit, before a fragrance of grass and trees quickly penetrated everyone’s nose.
“This is a kind of wood from our place that can get rid of miasma and strengthen the body. I’m afraid that there are many bacteria in places with many corpses.”
After all, these corpses have been dead for so many years that their hair and clothes have long since decayed. They couldn’t even identify what era or dynasty they belonged to.
Everyone followed Long Shen as they passed through the middle, with mixed feelings lingering in their hearts, as if they had been surrounded by these corpses.
Liu Qingbo felt sick for a while as he suddenly understood why the dirt on his sword smelled fishy. It was exhuming the smell of rotten corpses whose flesh and blood had mixed with the soil. Seeing as how long these corpses had been here, even the earthen soil wasn’t spared from their stench.
Chi Banxia walked through. She suddenly felt that the corpse she was passing seemed to be moving its fingers. She suddenly looked back and thought she might have just been seeing things.
“What’s the matter?” Xiang Yongnian, who was walking behind her, noticed her strangeness.
“It’s nothing, maybe I was just a bit dazed.”
Nevertheless, she secretly increased her vigilance.
Suddenly, someone in front of her screamed. The sound is extremely tragic and shrill. It spread rapidly in their limited space, amplifying the effect.
“You guys, wait here,” Long Shen said before he walked forward.
Dong Zhi wanted to follow him but stayed back and obediently listened to his words.
Liu Qingbo and Li Ying reacted faster as they had already run back.
Ou-Yang Yin, the person who was good at divination, felt his body sink a little. The ground that he was originally walking on seemed to have turned into tofu. Everyone saw this scene with their own eyes and quickly reached out to grab him.
“Just now, a hand grabbed my foot and tried to drag me down. It’s still dragging me!” Ou-Yang Yin’s face turned pale. His two arms were tightly grasped by everyone, but the force holding him was too great. His body became motionless, and his face was getting paler, but it was not because of fear, but due to increasing pain. “M-My legs…”
Everyone didn’t leave in a hurry but surrounded Li Ying and Zhang Song and asked about the situation.
“Brother Li, do you know what the mortality rate was for such training before?” Chi Banxia asked.
Li Ying smiled bitterly. “I really haven’t counted. As far as I know, in the first session after the Special Administration Bureau implemented the training system, I heard that dozens of people participated in the practical examination at that time, and the final survival rate…”
He paused. “Only less than half.”
Everyone took a deep breath.
Someone exclaimed, “What was the exam at that time?! If it were ordinary people, it wouldn’t be too bad, but they were all practitioners!”
Li Ying: “I heard from my dad that the survival rate was low at that time. On the one hand, everyone regarded themselves too highly at first and didn’t pay attention to the assessment. They thought that the Special Administration Bureau was short on people, so this was just going through the motions. On the other hand, they went to the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia to rescue people. The environment was unfamiliar, and some people were caught in miasma poisons and traps before they were put down by the enemy. Among them, there were many famous disciples.”
Zhang Song rarely nodded in agreement with him. “Yes, I have also heard of this incident. Back then, Mount Longhu had lost four disciples because of this incident and had not participated in the recruitment of the Special Administration Bureau for a few years.”
For a while, everyone fell silent.
“Banxia, do you want to quit?” Xie Qingning suddenly said
Chi Banxia’s face was cloudy and uncertain, and she struggled for a long time, but still gritted her teeth and said, “No!”
Xie Qingning smiled. “If you quit now, your previous efforts will be in vain.”
Once she made up her mind, Chi Banxia’s expression was much more relaxed. “Yes, while witchcraft won’t work on zombies, once we reach the tombs, the Japanese will fear my powers. Then I’ll show you how handy I am!”
Li Ying deliberately said, “What if the things in the tomb are more disgusting than zombies?”
Chi Banxia glared at him.
Everyone could more or less see the ambiguity between Chi Banxia and Li Ying, and they all laughed at the same time.
At that moment, though there were still small disagreements between each other, everyone’s mood was the same in the face of the upcoming trip to the northwest: uneasy, anxious, excited, and ambitious.
“Dong Zhi!”
As soon as his feet reached the front door to leave the classroom, someone called to him from the back. Instead of stopping, he walked faster.
Lin Xuan ran to him, stopped in front of him, and said with a smile, “I just want to apologize to you again. There is no need to avoid me like this, right?”
Dong Zhi said innocently, “Mr. Lin made a mistake. I’m not avoiding you.”
Lin Xuan: “Then shall we make an appointment to have dinner together?”
Dong Zhi simply said, “No, I have to get up early tomorrow. You should understand. Goodbye.”
He walked past Lin Xuan, who stretched out his hand to grab him. He tried to avoid it, but Lin Xuan’s hand was faster and still wrapped around him. It was soft and weak, but very fast.
Dong Zhi didn’t care about anything else and unsheathed his Changshou Sword and slashed at his opponent faster than Lin Xuan expected. Last time he went out to dinner, he temporarily decided to go see Uncle Qian, so he didn’t bring his sword. As a result, he almost suffered a heavy loss. Knowing better now, he took his sword with him wherever he went.
Lin Xuan didn’t expect him to have such skills, so he quickly withdrew. The sword had swiped so close to his temple that it made him feel a cold blast of wind. It also scared him into a cold sweat. However, he recovered quickly and said with a smile, “I thought you were an oracle and could only invite gods. It seems that I am underestimating you!”
Dong Zhi gave him a fake smile. “I underestimated you too. I thought you would only cooperate with the Japanese!”
He was not such a mean person, but when he saw Lin Xuan, he would inevitably think of what happened that day. Fortunately, those Japanese either died or were injured, and those alive were arrested. He heard that one of them was still intimidated by Second Master Guan so that he couldn’t fully mentally recover. The wicked are rewarded with evil, and this brought some comfort to him.
Zhong Yuyi’s figure flashed by at the entrance of the stairs, as if he was about to go down. Dong Zhi lit up and called out to him, “Lao Zhong!”
Not surprisingly, Zhong Yuyi seemed to be sleepwalking, and he didn’t stop and look back until Dong Zhi caught up with him and patted him on the shoulder. He had an expression on his face that looked as if he hadn’t woken up yet.
“Lao Zhong, are you going to the Northwest with us?”
Zhong Yuyi shook his head after a few seconds. “There’s a lot of people going this time, and two directors leading the team, so I won’t go.”
Dong Zhi used his lifelong skills of acting cute as he said, “Then can you help me take care of my cat for a few days?”
Zhong Yuyi said slowly, “You’ve gotten a cat?”
Dong Zhi nodded. “I picked it up on the road. I’m leaving tomorrow, and it’s estimated that I won’t be able to come back for a while. You can just put it in your office and pour a bowl of cat food every day and it’ll eat by itself.
Zhong Yuyi: “But, I’m afraid, I might forget.”
“I can help!” Lin Xuan came out of nowhere again and smiled at Zhong Yuyi. “Hello, I am Lin Xuan. The Lin from two trees forms a forest1, and the Xuan from <Erya>2 that states six inches in size is called a xuan3. How may I address you, friend?”
1Lin (林) = forest. The line he’s saying is that two trees form a forest (二木成林), and three trees form a forest (三木成森). You have to look at the Chinese characters to get the meaning. Two (二) wood/trees (木) form a forest [lin] (林) notice how there’s two (木木) in the Chinese character [lin] (林). This applies to the other line as well. Three (三) wood/trees (木) form a forest [sen] (森) there’s three (木木木) in the Chinese character [sen] (森). 2Is a dictionary literary work that contains a rich collection of ancient Chinese vocabulary. 3[Xuan] (瑄) is a reference in <Erya> that means six inches in size (I’m guessing it means that half a foot = a xuan).
Zhong Yuyi let out a sigh, still with the expression of indifference and weakness. He stretched out his hand and shook Lin Xuan’s. “Zhong Yuyi.”
Lin Xuan smiled at Dong Zhi and said, “I can find a subordinate to help you raise the cat. I promise that when you come back, it will be fat and shiny.”
Instead of smiling at him, Dong Zhi said, “No, I can ask my friends for help, or I can send it to a pet shop to care for it while I’m gone.”
Lin Xuan: “That’s a lot of trouble. I’ll make a call and people will come soon.”
Zhong Yuyi said slowly, “I can help.”
Dong Zhi took him by the shoulder. “Lao Zhong, I knew you wouldn’t let me down. I’ll invite you to dinner tonight!”
Dong Zhi: “I’ll order ten for you, eat five, and take home the remaining five!”
Lin Xuan was unwilling to be left out, so he interjected, “I know a good rice noodle shop nearby, so let me invite you.”
Zhong Yuyi looked at him and said in confusion, “Who are you again? What’s your name?”
Lin Xuan’s expression stiffened.
Dong Zhi smirked inwardly.
Lin Xuan’s cultivation wasn’t bad, and he smiled without changing his expression. “Lin Xuan, Lin from two trees forms a forest, Xuan the character component in propaganda*.
*The [Xuan] in Lin Xuan (瑄) is used in propaganda [xuan chuan de xuan] (宣传的宣). You have to drop the radical in (瑄).
Zhong Yu nodded a little bit, paused for a moment, and then said suspiciously, “Isn’t it Xuan from <Erya>?”
Lin Xuan: “…That’s just me explaining the origin of the name.”
Zhong Yuyi earnestly asked, “Then what is the origin of your name?”
Lin Xuan: …
How could the Special Administration Bureau have such a wonderful flower?! It was driving him crazy!
Lin Xuan was almost unable to keep the smile on his face. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to hold back from beating someone up if he continued, so he said, “I have something to do. You guys can continue,” and left in a hurry.
Dong Zhi was overcome with joy. This was called one thing takes down one thing*!
*(一物降一物啊) Refers to all things in the world restrain each other. There’s always one thing that conquers another.
Zhong Yuyi looked at Lin Xuan’s back, still very confused. “This person has not explained clearly what he said and left. How rude.”
Dong Zhi couldn’t help it anymore, so he laughed loudly. The depression in his heart was swept away, and he felt completely refreshed.
Early the next morning, he entrusted the cat to Zhong Yuyi, and he embarked on the journey to the northwest with the others.
Everyone was armed with knives and swords, so it was difficult to take them on the plane. Since the trip was relatively urgent and there was no time to go through the formalities, they had to check them in. This was at least a concession.
This was the first time everyone had travelled collectively to participate in training. Although the second group went to a tomb last time, it could only be considered an appetizer at best. If Liu Qingbo hadn’t done his own thing, it was estimated that there wouldn’t be any twists and turns. This time, it was different. The personal leadership of the Deputy Directors, Long Shen and Song Zhicun, made everyone smell an unusual scent. Coupled with what they were told yesterday, everyone looked the same on the outside, but most of them didn’t sleep well at all last night. Many closed their eyes and instantly fell asleep as soon as they got on the plane.
Due to the excessive consumption of energy from inviting gods, Dong Zhi followed what Long Shen said and didn’t practice his talisman techniques for the past two days. He only made some exceptions for a few exercises, which were sword practice.
The effects of hanging weights on his wrists while practicing his calligraphy in his bedroom had finally shown signs of progress. Just like how he attacked Lin Xuan yesterday, it was a subconscious move. Compared with when he first practiced swordsmanship, he didn’t know how much his speed and reflexes had improved.
Dong Zhi was still immersed in the joy of yesterday’s practice against his enemy. His wrist had naturally simulated the action of holding the sword like a flower several times, and he wasn’t as nervous as the others on the plane.
Gu Meiren, who was sitting next to him, saw that he had been turning his wrist and couldn’t help but ask, “Did you hurt your wrist?”
He saw the faint bags under Gu Meiren’s eyes. “You didn’t sleep well last night? Don’t worry. We have Boss Long and Boss Song.”
Gu Meiren rubbed her eyes. “I’m not very worried about myself. I’m just worried that I’ll drag everyone else down. After all, I can only confuse people with my ability.”
Dong Zhi comforted, “Have you forgotten what Boss Wu said after our last simulation training? Of course, a single person’s ability is important, but more importantly is team cooperation. Furthermore, it is the Japanese who have taken the lead this time. Maybe they have cleared many of the obstacles for us. As soon as we catch up, we can easily take them down and enjoy the benefits!”
He smiled and waved his hand. His spirits were high, and even his beautiful eyes were glowing, causing Gu Meiren to laugh when she saw this.
Although she only considered Dong Zhi a friend, she couldn’t help but think that his future girlfriend and wife, who would be dealing with such a person on a daily basis, should not treat him like a baby in their arms and pamper him on a daily basis.
The plane took off quickly.
The wings of the plane crossed the heavy clouds and rushed into the sky. After a period of short haze, the field of vision opened into a sea of clouds. The large tracts of clouds looked as if they were inlaid with gold, like Buddha’s light.
This was Gu Meiren’s first time on a plane. She wanted to switch with Dong Zhi, who had a window seat, so she could enjoy the scenery, but when she turned her head to look, she saw that he was already leaning on his chair, fast asleep.
It seemed that the quality of his sleep was good. Even when he was on a plane, after closing his eyes, everything just turned into nothingness. When he woke up, the plane was still in the air, but he was lazy and didn’t want to get up, so he stretched while sitting in his chair.
Halfway through his stretch, he felt something was off. There was an extra blanket on his body, and his companion in the next seat over seemed to have changed.
He turned his head and looked at the person and was startled. “Boss Long?”
Long Shen was reading a book when he paused.
Dong Zhi rubbed his eyes. “Why are you here? Where’s Meiren?”
Long Shen: “She wanted to change seats, so I switched with her.”
Dong Zhi became nervous. “When I fell asleep just now, I didn’t do anything indecent, did I?”
Long Shen finally glanced up at him. “Does talking in your sleep count?”
Huh? Dong Zhi was dumbfounded.
“I-What did I say?”
Long Shen: “You talked about food, and…”
“What else?” Dong Zhi’s heart was beating wildly.
Long Shen: “I’m just teasing you.”
Dong Zhi: …
Seeing that he looked stunned and didn’t recover, Long Shen couldn’t help being amused. “We haven’t arrived at our destination yet. You should get some more rest.”
How can this be?! What a false alarm!
Dong Zhi was so angry that he dared not speak out in anger, so he channeled all of it on the blanket. He pulled the blanket up vigorously and covered half of his face.
Long Shen paid no heed as he lowered his head and continued reading. When he closed the book and turned his head, he saw the other party had already fallen asleep. The blanket had slipped off his knee and was about to fall to the ground.
So careless.
Long Shen shook his head, stretched out his hand, and covered him with the blanket again.
The flight time from the capital to Yinchuan wasn’t long. It took about two hours. Except for Long Shen and Song Zhicun, it was the first time that the others had set foot in this millennium-old ancient city in the northwest. However, they did not stay in the city for long. Shortly after arriving, they boarded a bus that had come to pick them up outside the airport, and it directly drove them northwest.
In addition to the driver, there was also a young man in the car. When they sat down, the young man smiled and said, “Welcome leaders to Yinchuan. I am Ye Cheng, from the Yinchuan office of the Northwest Branch. Just call me Xiao Ye. This time, I’ll be your guide to your destination.”
Regarding the Northwest Branch, Dong Zhi had heard anecdotes from Kan Chaosheng.
Rumors had it that Yinchuan and Xi’an were fighting for the location of the Northwest Branch. Later, each side sent one of the oldest and most capable bosses to represent them. Xi’an won, so it became the branch office, while Yinchuan had to become a branch under them due to grievances. Now, it had become an office that advocated for cadres to be younger, thus the Yinchuan branch mainly had young people like Ye Chang as the majority of its staff. The disadvantage, though, was that due to their inexperience, they weren’t capable of handling emergencies, especially things like this mission, which is dangerous and unpredictable. They couldn’t do it alone, so the two Deputy Director had to take over.
While Ye Cheng wasn’t particularly handsome, he had a baby face and a very contagious smile. Gu Meiren couldn’t help whispering to Dong Zhi, “He smiles a lot like you!”
“We don’t look anything alike!” Dong Zhi scanned him up and down and saw no similarities between them at all.
Gu Meiren smiled but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t the appearance that she was referring to. Every time she felt sad, she felt that life was still beautiful whenever she looked at Dong Zhi’s smile.
Once introductions were over, Ye Cheng began introducing Yinchuan’s local customs and natural scenery to them, making it look as if they were on a tour.
“In addition to Helan Mountain, Yinchuan also has the Western Xia Imperial Mausoleum. This is also a historical and cultural heritage site that can be visited. The Mausoleum has so far…”
“Xiao Ye!” Song Zhicun couldn’t help interrupting his high-spirited speech. “Tell us about the situation to the east of Helan Mountain.”
Ye Cheng said, “Oh, oh right. To the east of Helan Mountain are the Yellow River and Inner Mongolia. The terrain there is much steeper than to the west. Many places in the eastern foot of the mountains have been developed into scenic spots and wineries. According to reports from the masses, there have been people who have even seen snow-white qilins* there before…”
*(麒麟) Also known as kirin. It is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology. See Kinky Thoughts for lore.
Song Zhicun couldn’t laugh or cry, so he raised his hand and said, “Okay, Xiao Ye, stop for a while. Let me say a few words. Comrades, according to the information provided by the tomb robbers, the place we are going to is located at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, north of the Western Xia Imperial Mausoleum. They went down from a thief cave near the Imperial Mausoleum. At first, they thought they had found a new Imperial Mausoleum, and it was here that the bronze mirror was found.”
“Later, they found a passage on the side of the tomb that led directly to the north. Some members of the tomb robber gang tried to go in and explore it, but soon found it was too dangerous. As a result, several people were injured, and the remaining gang members had to escape the same way they came in.”
“Thus, we speculate that the owner of the tomb they found is probably a certain dignitary in the Western Xia period. In short, he had a certain social status in the upper class of Western Xia at that time, but the real goal of the Japanese was probably the passage to the north.”
Zhang Song asked, “How long is the passage to the north, and what is the danger they encountered?”
Song Zhicun said, “The group of tomb robbers couldn’t tell. They said that they had been walking for more than an hour and had not reached the end. The range of their flashlight was limited. They could only hear the sound of water flowing in front of them. They didn’t know where to go, and they felt there wasn’t any oil or water to fish for*, so they followed the same path. At this time, one of their companions suddenly screamed, and then disappeared without a trace. Everyone couldn’t find him anywhere and they became more scared, so they all rushed back, but when they came back out, they found that nearly ten people had gone missing and only four had returned.”
*(捞油水) Refers to improper material gains or additional benefits.
Ye Cheng interjected, “If they were heading in the direction of the Royal Mausoleum and drove north on the ground for an hour, they’d almost reach the Helan Mountain Forest Park. If they were walking underground, they probably had to take a lot of detours.”
Hearing that he finally said something reliable, Song Zhicun nodded with satisfaction. “Yes, we also guess that the end of that passage is probably located under the Helan Mountains. It’s a pity that none of those who survived can explain what happened to their companions. As such, we need to be very careful this time. Many enemies are hiding in the invisible darkness. The zombie simulation is just a simulation. This time, I hope you can cherish the lives of yourself and your companions and don’t take unnecessary risks.”
He then talked about many precautions.
Dong Zhi found that Deputy Director Song had similar characteristics to Director Jiang in a certain way. At least for the next hour, Deputy Director Song’s mouth never stopped moving. Everyone’s ears were buzzing, from one fly to two flies, then from two to four. The group of flies danced hand in hand around him, successfully hypnotizing Dong Zhi, causing him to fall asleep as he tilted his head to the side.
He was awakened by Gu Meiren some time after. Everyone got out of the car and went to a noodle restaurant.
Ye Cheng stood under the car door and clapped his hands. “Everyone, everyone, get out of the car for a meal first, and we will rush back after eating! It’s convenient now, so use the restroom if needed, and those who need to buy water should buy it now. Next, we’re heading all the way to our destination!”
Dong Zhi: …
He could neither laugh or cry and felt that he had somehow ended up in some kind of cheap tour group. However, to be fair, the noodle restaurant selected by Ye Cheng, though small, was pretty good. The noodles were freshly made by the boss, and the soup base was bone soup that had been simmering for hours. It was then topped with braised pork, tomato, and chili sauce. The toppings were delicious, and it had a hot and sour taste, whetting people’s appetites.
Everyone had a good meal, then got in the car and continued forward. The high-rise buildings on both sides of the road gradually became shorter, eventually turning into farmlands and trees with the Gobi Mountains in the backdrop. The expanse was filled with colors of green and yellow and was vast in their eyes. Everyone’s mood suddenly had a subtle change.
Thousands of years ago, this was also one of the stops of the thousand-year-old Buddhist Kingdom, which had incense flourishing and camel bells ringing.
More than a thousand years ago, an envoy from Xiazhou named Li Jiqian began to expand his territory here, laying an indelible and solid foundation for his descendants, Li Yuanxuan, to establish Western Xia, and therefore he was revered as the emperor and ancestor of Xia.
Nowadays, pyramid-like royal tombs stand on this vast land, and all the love and hatred for shining spears and armored horses1 have turned into clouds and smoke. The ruins that had been extensively destroyed in the Yuan Dynasty are still there, vaguely telling of the glory that was short-lived2.
1(金戈铁马) Metaphor for war as it describes the majestic appearance of a soldier holding a weapon and galloping on a horse. 2(昙花一现) Idiom describing a beautiful thing or scene that appears for a while then disappears soon after.
It was now near the end of autumn, and it wasn’t the peak of winter or summer vacation. Unlike the Forbidden City, which was bustling all year round, right now it presented a rare quiet scene. Occasionally, they would encounter a few groups of tourists who only regarded their group as an ordinary tourist group, so they didn’t pay much attention to them.
Following the direction pointed out by Ye Cheng, the driver drove the car to the area to the north of the Imperial Mausoleum, where a piece of land was divided separately, and a fence with caltrops surrounding the area was planted with a sign hanging on it that said, [Military base. No admittance to outsiders.]
This is the area that Xiao Ye and the others fenced off after receiving instructions from the General Administration. The locals knew that there was a small airport for air force exercises nearby, so they were accustomed to such facilities.
However, this barricade could only block the footsteps of ordinary people. For the Japanese, this small obstacle wasn’t a problem at all.
Ye Cheng led them to the small door in the middle of the fenced area, took out the key and opened the door. Then he moved the wooden fence behind him.
“The thief’s cave is not far ahead.”
Large and small yellow stones were piled up under a steep upward slope. On the other side of the stones, there was indeed a small cave that could be crawled through by adults.
Ye Cheng said, “Before, the people from our branch went in and took a look…”
Song Zhicun lowered his face coldly. “Xiao Ye, you are not listening to our command. We have already said that you cannot act without authorization before we come!”
Ye Cheng knew that he had made a gaffe and smiled hurriedly. “What Boss Song said is right, but we only went in for about ten meters and turned back immediately. We didn’t encounter any danger!”
Song Zhicun snorted softly.
Ye Cheng continued, “For the first fifty meters or so, you have to bend over and climb like this, and then a gentle slope will suddenly appear. At that time, we shown the flashlight down and we saw only about ten meters ahead. We were afraid of violating protocols, so we hurried back and didn’t dare go any further!”
Long Shen glanced around at everyone and said, “I’ll go first. Ye Cheng behind me. You all follow after with Boss Song bringing up the rear.”
Sometimes it’s not always safe to be in the back. The last member of the team is extremely important. With Song Zhicun at the back, everyone felt a lot more at ease.
Dong Zhi couldn’t really imagine the dignified Deputy Director Long crawling through a thief’s hole, but before he had a chance to think about it, Long Shen’s movements were very fast, and he had already bent over and drilled into the cave. Soon, there was no trace of him. Ye Cheng hurriedly followed.
As they all watched, everyone didn’t think too much about it. Dong Zhi followed Ba Sang into the hole with Gu Meiren behind him.
Is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the lin mythological family of one-horned beasts.
Qilin generally have Chinese dragon-like features: similar heads with antlers, eyes with thick eyelashes, manes that always flow upward, and beards. The body is fully or partially scaled and often shaped like an ox, deer, or horse. They are always shown with cloven hooves. While dragons in China (and thus qilin) are also most commonly depicted as golden, qilin may be of any color or even various colors and can be depicted as bejeweled or exhibiting a jewel-like brilliance. Common color choices for depictions are often associated with the elements, precious metals, stars, and gemstones, but can additionally include earth-tones and modest browns.
The qilin are depicted throughout a wide range of Chinese art, sometimes with parts of their bodies on fire. On occasion, they will have feathery features or decorations, fluffy curly tufts of hair, as depicted in Ming Dynasty horse art on various parts of the legs, from fetlocks to upper legs, or even with decorative fish-like fins as embellishments, or carp fish whiskers, or scales. It is said their auspicious voices sound like the tinkling of bells, chimes, and the wind.
Shi Lei felt like he was dreaming. After drinking so much alcohol, his mind was a bit unclear, so much so that ecstasy broke out suddenly after they left the restaurant. He turned his head and glanced at Bai Qingquan beside him, trying to hold his hand.
Bai Qingquan shrank his hand back and put it in his pocket. Shi Lei took advantage of the situation and reached into his pocket, grabbed his hand, and said, “Didn’t you agree to be my boyfriend?”
Bai Qingquan glanced around, slightly nervous.
“You’re wearing a mask,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan didn’t speak. Shi Lei kept putting his hand in his pocket, holding his hand, and kept looking at him with a smile.
“It’s like a dream,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan still remained silent.
“Why don’t you talk?”
Bai Qingquan whispered, “What are you talking about…”
His mind was still confused. Why did he fall so easily? He and Shi Lei had only met a few times. He didn’t fall in love for all these years because he had always been cautious about falling in love. The result now was that he surrendered so quickly when he encountered Shi Lei, who didn’t play cards according to common sense. He felt that all his criteria for getting to know each other for at least half a year had been abandoned. If Shi Lei had been more forceful, he probably would have given in halfway.
He liked strong men. He felt that he had released his inner nature all at once and felt a bit ashamed for it.
It was summer as they walked on the street late in the night. There were still many young people around. As the two held hands, they gradually became sweaty. Bai Qingquan’s heart suddenly began to show feelings of happiness bit by bit. He had suddenly felt the sweetness of love.
When they were young, he only liked Shi Lei very innocently. After meeting him again so many years later, the first thing that moved him was the sexual tension they had, followed by his pure feelings.
Adults and children were very different.
While Shi Lei wasn’t as tall as Yan Qiuchi, when he was looking at him alone, Bai Qingquan felt that he was taller than Yan Qiuchi. Though his appearance wasn’t as handsome, Bai Qingquan thought this was actually a plus, as he looked more masculine. His manly temperament far exceeded his physical appearance. He also thought Shi Lei was quite courageous… Not every man would dare to chase a star like this.
Shi Lei dropped him off at the entrance to the hotel. Only then did he let go of his hands. His palms were completely covered in sweat as the cool window blew on them.
“Go in,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan said, “Nn. Take a taxi back and tell me when you get home.”
Shi Lei nodded and asked, “Do you have time tomorrow? Let’s have dinner together.”
Bai Qingquan let out a “Nn”.
“Then I’m leaving,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan said “Nn” again.
He watched Shi Lei get into the taxi, then returned to the hotel and immediately called Shen Jintai as soon as he entered his room. He wanted to tell Shen Jintai as soon as possible. However, the call kept ringing, and Shen Jintai never picked up.
In Yan Qiuchi’s room in the Yan’s Manor, Shen Jintai’s pants were scattered on the floor, and the phone that was still in its pocket kept vibrating.
Suddenly, an arm reached out at the end of the bed. Shen Jintai stretched forward. “I… My phone’s ringing…”
Yan Qiuchi didn’t say a word but instead directly lifted the blanket and covered him from behind before laying down beside him and kissing his ears. Shen Jintai knew he couldn’t escape tonight.
He had been filming and was with the crew during this time, so he hadn’t seen Yan Qiuchi for over a week. To go a week, for a man like Yan Qiuchi, who wanted to hug him every night and day, it was extremely suffocating.
Bai Qingquan laid on the bed and called Zheng Siqi.
As soon as Zheng Siqi fell asleep, he was awakened to a call. He had a good temper and wasn’t angry that his rest was disturbed. He picked up and drowsily said, “Hey.”
Bai Qingquan said, “What should I do? Shi Lei just confessed to me, and I… I agreed.”
When Zheng Siqi heard this, he sat straight up from the bed. “Didn’t I tell you before I left?”
But he had no choice. Shi Lei’s attack was too strong. Bai Qingquan’s face flushed slightly. “I’m sorry I have failed your advice.”
Zheng Siqi didn’t know what to say, so he could only say, “If you really like him, just keep communicating with him, but you have to be careful not to get exposed. It’s best to do it slowly. Learn from Jintai and give your fans a buffer time.”
Bai Qingquan asked, “Nn. Have you resolved the cancellation of your contract?”
“The results will come out next month,” Zheng Siqi said. “There shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Go back to sleep. I won’t bother you anymore,” Bai Qingquan said.
“If you proceed, you have to rest assured,” Zheng Siqi finally said. “And also Wei Ge. He’s really doing it for your own good, so you need to discuss with him your future with Shi Lei.”
Bai Qingquan hung up the phone and went to shower. When he came back, he found he had missed a call and a text message. The message was sent by Shi Lei, indicating that he had returned home. The missed call was from Shen Jintai.
He called Shen Jintai back.
Shen Jintai’s voice sounded lazy and had a hint of sexy huskiness to it. He asked, “What’s the matter? Why’d you call me so late?”
“Were you sleeping?”
Shen Jintai said, “Nn.”
Bai Qingquan told him about his promise to date Shi Lei.
Shen Jintai’s reaction wasn’t much better than Zheng Siqi’s. He sat up for a moment before he let out a hiss as Yan Qiuchi hurriedly got up and pulled him down again. He laid naked on Yan Qiuchi’s stomach.
Bai Qingquan immediately asked, “What’s the matter?”
“What we had just talked about, you turned a deaf ear to.” He had a belly full of scolding but with Yan Qiuchi by his side now, he couldn’t say them. “It’s too late now. I’ll call you tomorrow!”
How he hated that iron was not made of steel*!
*Idiom referring to how one did not live up to one’s expectations. || In this context, he’s referring to how Bai Qingquan, despite their advice and warnings, failed to follow them.
Bai Qingquan knew that he had let them down and could only give a very docile “Un” in response.
Shen Jintai tossed his phone to the bedside and said to Yan Qiuchi, “It’s only been a few hours, yet Xiao Bai has already confirmed his relationship with Shi Lei!”
Yan Qiuchi said, “I think as long as he likes him, you shouldn’t interfere too much. No matter how good the relationship between friends is, you must pay attention to discretion. You and Zheng Siqi take care of him like you’re his mother. In case something goes wrong in the future, you should be careful not to get too involved.”
Shen Jintai actually thought what he said made sense, but he was worried that Bai Qingquan would be harmed.
As he lay on Yan Qiuchi’s stomach and looked at the ceiling, Yan Qiuchi’s hand was combing his somewhat damp hair. He then held the back of his head and said, “Get up. You should rinse off.”
“I don’t want to move,” Shen Jintai said lazily.
Yan Qiuchi said, “Then how about another round?”
Shen Jintai got up quickly when he heard this and looked down at the towel on the bed sheet. Yan Qiuchi got up with a smile and followed him to the bathroom.
After a while, Shen Jintai’s voice came from the bathroom. “You hungry wolf. What are you doing… I won’t come back for a month.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be sure to count the days and save it all up. As long as you’re not afraid, one month isn’t a problem.”
Shen Jintai: “…Yan Qiuchi!”
You’re in such good health, so you’ll be fine.”
“Just because I’m in good health doesn’t mean…”
After that, everything became a blur. Yan Qiuchi had coaxed, begged, and threatened, and they did it again.
Early the next morning, when Fang Fengmei saw Shen Jintai coming downstairs, she was surprised. “Oh, when did you return?!”
“Last night,” Shen Jintai said.
As soon as his voice fell, he saw Yan Qiuchi walking down the stairs in a hurry.
Fang Fengmei asked, “You’re leaving now? Don’t you want breakfast?”
“It’s too late, and I have to catch a plane,” Shen Jintai said.
“I’ll send him off,” Yan Qiuchi said.
Shen Jintai and Yan Qiuchi went out the door together. Yan Qiuchi looked behind him, then caught up with him and said, “I have made progress this time.”
“What?” Shen Jintai looked back, puzzled.
Yan Qiuchi said, “Mom didn’t even know you were back.”
Shen Jintai was stunned for a moment before his face turned red. “Ahhhhhhh. I forgot about it, and you had to bring it up!”
This was a particularly embarrassing thing to say. In fact, he couldn’t blame it all on Yan Qiuchi. Yan Qiuchi liked to hear him call him husband, but he felt ashamed saying it, so he reluctantly would refuse. The more he refused, the more Yan Qiuchi wanted to hear it, which only led to him being “forced” to die several times over… Needless to say, Shen Jintai had finally given in, and he shouted out the word too loudly, resulting in the consequence that Fang Fengmei would know whenever he came back.
His mind was blank at that time, so he wasn’t particularly aware of it. Occasionally he would only worry that his hoarse voice would give things away, until one day Fang Fengmei hinted to Yan Qiuchi and told him that the sound insulation in their home didn’t seem to be good.
Dying from embarrassment, Shen Jintai didn’t dare contact Fang Fengmei for several days.
Yan Qiuchi said, “It’s okay. The new house has been cleaned up. When you come back next time, let’s live there.”
Shen Jintai’s legs softened for no reason.
The author has something to say:
The new house is very dangerous for Xiao Bai and Xiao Jin.
Kinky Thoughts:
It’s okay. Bai Qingquan and Shen Jintai live for danger.
Shen Jintai, Zheng Siqi, and Wei Ge were already in the private room of the bar that had piles of alcohol on the table. Shen Jintai wanted to drink, but Bai Qingquan stopped him: “Don’t drink now or you’ll be drunk before he even arrives.”
“I won’t drink too much. I have to return to the crew for filming tomorrow,” Shen Jintai said. “We also have Wei Ge here.”
Qian Wei was unhappy because he didn’t know about the affair regarding Shi Lei until today. He didn’t know what Shen Jintai and Zheng Siqi knew about it, nor did he know as much as they did. He had been following Bai Qingquan for several years, so it could be said that he had been his most ardent supporter, yet Bai Qingquan had treated him like this. He should be the closest to Bai Qingquan!
And this Shi Lei. What the fuck? He didn’t even graduate from junior high, yet he was a little boss of a decoration company? Even if he grew up to look like Pan’an1 and Song Yu2, he’d still not be worthy of Bai Qingquan.
1A literary leader in Western Jin and was referred to as the most beautiful man in ancient times. 2Chinese poet of the late Warring States Period.
He planned to outdrink Shi Lei tonight and embarrass him. This man was either here for fame or wealth. After all, in the entertainment industry, this kind of thing was quite common. Too often, he’d seen female celebrities get carried away by love and get cheated by some scumbag. With Shi Lei’s identity and background, it didn’t seem that he was any better than those types of scumbags.
“He’s here.” Bai Qingquan got up as he picked up his phone. “I’ll pick him up.”
“You sit down.” Qian Wei got up and said, “I’ll go.”
“I told him our private room number. You can pick him up in the hallway.”
Qian Wei went out. As soon as he left the door, he saw a waiter leading a tall man over. From a glance, his appearance was much lower than his expectations, about as good as your average passerby. The person looked energetic but had a ruffian look to him. With a band-aid on his chin, it only added to his look and made people worry more.
“Shi Lei?”
Shi Lei nodded.
“I’m Qian Wei.” He stretched out his hand.
Shi Lei shook his hand.
“They are all in there. Come in.”
As soon as he turned around, he saw that Bai Qingquan had opened the door and poked his head out to look.
When Shi Lei entered, he saw several familiar faces. Shen Jintai and Zheng Siqi were now all big stars who were widely popular.
Shen Jintai took the lead and stretched out his hand. “Hello, we’re good friends of Qingquan. Do you still need an introduction?”
Shi Lei shook his hand and said, “I know you all.”
Zheng Siqi also shook his hand.
“Sit down. What do you want to drink? We have all kinds of alcohol,” Qian Wei said.
Shi Lei sat down on the sofa, and Bai Qingquan sat down beside him, acting a bit shy. He felt like he was leading his partner to meet his parents for the first time, so he was nervous, and it was estimated that Shi Lei was also nervous.
“Xiao Bai, do you want to drink?” Zheng Siqi said, “If you’re not drinking, move aside.”
Bai Qingquan smiled, then got up and sat opposite of them.
“Well, Jintai is filming, so it’s rare to have him back. We just made a last-minute appointment,” Bai Qingquan said with a smile. “Have you eaten yet? Would you like something to eat?”
“I’ve already eaten,” Shi Lei said.
Qian Wei pretended not to know anything and began his “interview”. How old was he? What was his occupation? Where was he from? How did he meet Bai Qingquan?
As they chatted, they started to drink. Qian Wei had followed Bai Qingquan into battle. There was a set of various unique alcohols on the table. Shi Lei started from scratch, so he wasn’t a vegetarian. By the time they had a few glasses, Qian Wei realized that he had encountered a tough opponent. However, Shi Lei behaved sincerely and didn’t drink any of the unique drinks.
These were all Bai Qingquan’s friends, so if he wanted to be with Bai Qingquan, these people had to be taken down.
Qian Wei had noticed this and pretended to be oblivious, wanting to pour him more.
When Shen Jintai was halfway done with his drink, he got up to go to the bathroom. Bai Qingquan followed him quietly, and as they closed the door, he asked, “What do you think?”
“It’s okay. He doesn’t look greasy,” Shen Jintai said.
“Isn’t he special?”
Shen Jintai smiled and said, “A bit rough.”
He felt that Shi Lei was indeed not bad, but compared with Bai Qingquan’s condition, he was still lacking.
“When he laughs, it makes him seem like a ruffian who gives out a bad vibe,” Shen Jintai said.
“He’s not bad himself.”
“Wait until Qian Wei gets him drunk before we start questioning him,” Shen Jintai said. “Don’t blame us for everything. We’re doing it for your own good.”
On this matter, it was rare that he agreed with Qian Wei and Zheng Siqi on this point of view. Everyone felt that Bai Qingquan was looking for his partner too suddenly, so it was very risky.
Shen Jintai said, “Are you going back? I’m going to pee.”
Bai Qingquan suddenly said, “I don’t know how big he is.”
Shen Jintai: “…”
He smiled and looked at Bai Qingquan. “It should be big enough.”
Bai Qingquan smiled, his face a little red. “He has thick, long fingers and a big nose. It shouldn’t be so simple, right?”
“Then, if he drinks too much later, you can follow him if he goes to the bathroom and take a peek.”
“That’s embarrassing.”
“You still know how to be embarrassed?” Shen Jintai said.
Bai Qingquan said, “What should I do? I feel like I’m falling for him more and more.”
When the two of them returned from the bathroom, they saw that Zheng Siqi was toasting with Shi Lei. When Zheng Siqi saw Shen Jintai, he said, “Your phone keeps ringing. It’s from President Yan.”
Shen Jintai quickly took the phone, went back to the bathroom, and called Yan Qiuchi.
“I heard you are back?” Yan Qiuchi asked, “Where are you?”
“Did you put a spy by my side?” Shen Jintai said, “Xiao Bai and I are at a bar.”
“Are you being disobedient again? Drinking again?”
“I’m not drinking this time. We’re here to test Xiao Bai’s person.”
He told Yan Qiuchi the ins and outs, and Yan Qiuchi said, “Your thoughts?”
“Alcohol will show one’s true character,” Shen Jintai said.
Yan Qiuchi said, “Send me the address and I’ll come pick you up.”
“You can come help us keep an eye on him,” Shen Jintai said.
After Yan Qiuchi hung up the phone, he continued to work. After finishing the work at hand, he told his assistant and then drove to pick up Shen Jintai.
When he arrived in the private room, he saw that Qian Wei was completely drunk, as he took Shi Lei’s hand and said, with tears in his eyes, “Brother, we are Xiao Bai… You can’t bully him… Otherwise, brother, I won’t spare you.”
Yan Qiuchi: “…”
Seeing him come in, Shen Jintai quickly stood up and waved his hand.
Bai Qingquan and Zheng Siqi were both watching Qian Wei’s behavior. When they saw Yan Qiuchi come in, they instantly got serious and got up to greet him.
Yan Qiuchi sat down beside Shen Jintai. When Shi Lei saw him, he was about to get up, but Qian Wei grabbed his hand and glanced at Yan Qiuchi with a smile on his face. “Yan… President Yan is here.”
“This is Jintai’s partner,” Bai Qingquan said.
Shi Lei shook Yan Qiuchi’s hand. Yan Qiuchi looked at Shi Lei and found that the other party’s face was only slightly red. He has heard that Qian Wei could drink very well, but to be able to outdrink even him shows that Shi Lei was quite capable of handling his liquor.
“President Yan…” Zheng Siqi was a little restrained. He was timid around Yan Qiuchi. “President Yan, do you want a drink?”
Without waiting for Yan Qiuchi to speak, Shen Jintai said, “He can’t drink. He’s driving.”
When Yan Qiuchi came, Qian Wei calmed down and sat there quietly until he fell asleep. Yan Qiuchi sat down and chatted with Shi Lei for a while when suddenly Qian Wei got up and ran to the bathroom to puke.
When he returned, everyone was ready to head back. Although Shi Lei didn’t drink too much, he still had questions to answer, and his attitude was very sincere, leaving a good impression on Zheng Siqi and Shen Jintai.
However, they still told Bai Qingquan to take his time and get to know him better.
“Don’t be fooled into bed by him with just a few words,” Shen Jintai said.
Bai Qingquan said, “How can I be tricked into going to bed so easily.”
Bai Qingquan was very confident in himself. He wasn’t a messy person. It would take at least a few months before they could determine their relationship. As for physical activities in bed, that would take at least half a year.
When he got into the car, Shen Jintai immediately asked Yan Qiuchi’s opinion on Shi Lei.
Yan Qiuchi said, “He’s seen through this little trick of yours a long time ago. He’s smart, but he was pretending to be stupid.”
From what he saw, he thought Shi Lei was okay. He would need more contact with him to get more details. From a selfish point of view, he hoped that Bai Qingquan would fall in love quickly. He felt the relationship between Shen Jintai and Bai Qingquan was too close. They were said to be sisters, but they weren’t the kind of sisters who would lie in bed together and nothing would happen. Neither of them was that much of a shou, so he still had a sense of defense against them.
But seeing Shi Lei today, he was quite relieved. Bai Qingquan’s type turned out to be like this, which was quite different from Shen Jintai.
Qian Wei, who had threatened to outdrink Shi Lei beforehand, was completely plastered when he was put in the car. Bai Qingquan deliberately called Xiao Feng over to send him off. Qian Wei and Shi Lei seemed to have the same temperament. When he left, he lay in the car drunkenly and said, “Another day… Let’s go drinking again… buddy.”
His true temperament had flared up.
Shi Lei smiled and closed the car door, then turned to look back at Bai Qingquan and Zheng Siqi, standing together, whispering to each other. He didn’t interrupt but simply stood next to Bai Qingquan. As Zheng Siqi talked, he put his hand on Bai Qingquan’s shoulder and finally hugged him, making Shi Lei jealous.
It wasn’t entirely correct to say jealousy, as it was also mixed with low self-esteem. These were friends of Bai Qingquan. Yan Qiuchi, Shen Jintai, and Zheng Siqi were excellent. They were richer and more handsome than he was.
The only thing he was better at than these people was that he loved Bai Qingquan more than anyone else.
Seeing that Zheng Siqi was about to leave, Shi Lei stepped forward. After sending him off, the two were left by themselves.
Bai Qingquan smiled and said, “Are you okay?”
“A little dizzy,” Shi Lei said.
“You have drunk well enough. This is the first time I have seen Wei Ge drunk. How much can you drink?”
“I came on an empty stomach today, or I could still drink some more,” Shi Lei said.
“You haven’t eaten?”
Shi Lei smiled and said, “No, I came over as soon as I received your call.”
“Then I’ll treat you to a meal.”
Shi Lei nodded.
After only taking a few steps, he suddenly staggered. Bai Qingquan hurriedly supported him as he rested his head on Bai Qingquan’s shoulder.
Despite wearing a mask, Bai Qingquan still smelled the strong scent of alcohol on Shi Lei’s body. His lips were moist, and he rubbed them against his ears, causing Bai Qingquan to shrink his neck and take a step back.
When he entered earlier tonight and saw Bai Qingquan’s friends, Shi Lei was nervous but also very happy. Bai Qingquan had asked his friends to check him out, which indicated that he was making a move. His heart had been hanging all night, and now he was about to let it go.
Bai Qingquan held him and said softly, “Be careful.”
The alcohol had been jumping around in his lower abdomen. Considering that they were still out in public, Shi Lei got up and asked, “What do you want to eat?”
Bai Qingquan’s face flushed slightly, and he lowered his head to look at his phone. They decided to go to the restaurant where the two had gone yesterday.
Perhaps it was because he was drinking, but Shi Lei’s wheat-colored skin seemed a little bit flushed as he kept looking at him with a damp smile.
Bai Qingquan discovered that Shi Lei could not only drink but also eat well. He ate heavily, just as much as he drank.
“You’re not eating?”
Bai Qingquan said, “I don’t usually eat much at night in order to lose weight.”
“You’re so thin, but you still need to lose weight?” Shi Lei asked.
“I look fat on camera,” Bai Qingquan said as he ate his fruit salad.
“I think you are good-looking enough,” Shi Lei said.
“How long has it been since you ate?”
Shi Lei ate a bit too fiercely.
“I haven’t eaten for almost an entire day.”
Perhaps it was due to drinking a bit too much, but Shi Lei had let himself go. His rough and ruffian persona came out. After finishing his meal, he took out a cigarette and looked at Bai Qingquan.
“You can smoke,” Bai Qingquan said.
Shi Lei lit the cigarette, took a puff, then slowly exhaled the smoke, looking extremely ruffian. While he didn’t drink anymore, his complexion became redder than before he had entered the restaurant. His ears were red, and his forehead was sweaty. He stretched out his hand and unbuttoned his shirt, revealing a small piece of his tanned chest.
“Have you thought about it?” Shi Lei asked him suddenly.
Bai Qingquan was taken aback for a moment and said, “What?”
“About the two of us,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan felt that he shouldn’t have invited Shi Lei to a meal after they had just been drinking. Shi Lei was obviously drunk. His eyes seemed a little red as he leaned his wrist against the table and flicked the cigarette in his hand. The soot shook off with sporadic sparks. He raised his nose, then pinched the remaining half of the cigarette as he took a deep breath and said, “I know I wasn’t worthy of you before, and now I’m even less worthy of you, but my heart is true to you. If there’s anyone in this world who loves you more than me, I’ll stand aside and leave you alone.”
Bai Qingquan wanted to laugh but held back.
“If you’ll be with me, I’ll treat you well for the rest of my life.”
Bai Qingquan had never encountered such a passionate confession. Not to mention that this confession came from a man who he had a good impression of. This only caused more turmoil in his longing heart. He just felt that things were moving too fast. His relationship with Shi Lei might not even last for 24 hours. Shen Jintai and Zheng Siqi told him to take it slow when they left.
“I see,” he said.
Shi Lei reached out to grab his hand. Bai Qingquan wanted to draw his hand back, but Shi Lei grabbed it and looked at him with a wild look in his eyes.
“I said, let me think about it,” Bai Qingquan said. As soon as Shi Lei’s hand was loosened, he immediately took it back and then stood up.
After the meal was over, it was time for him to head back. He felt that Shi Lei’s intoxication might take over, and if he stayed any longer, he might be kissed again.
When he was about to put on his mask, he suddenly realized that he had just eaten and hadn’t wiped his lips, so he stretched out his hand to take a napkin off the table. Just as he was about to wipe his mouth, Shi Lei suddenly grabbed him again, wrapped his arms around his thin waist with his large hands, and embraced him in his arms.
Bai Qingquan couldn’t resist such a domineering man and felt his legs going soft.
“Don’t think about it. Just try it with me,” Shi Lei said. “Don’t torture me.”
They were too close. The scent of smoke, alcohol, and masculinity filled his nose.
“I really love you. In the past eight years, there has not been a day where I haven’t missed you.”
Bai Qingquan blushed as he lowered his head. Shi Lei also lowered his head as he threw the cigarette in his hands away and reached out to hold Bai Qingquan’s cheek and slightly force Bai Qingquan to look up at him.
‘My god,’ Bai Qingquan thought silently. ‘Too good.’
He really couldn’t stand it anymore. He pressed his hand back on the table, leaned back, and accidentally knocked down the teacup with his palm. With a crash, the tea flowed out, spilling tea leaves everywhere as it dripped down from the table, slowly descending to the floor.
With another crash, his hand had knocked the chopsticks off the plate as he was quickly supported by Shi Lei, who hugged him into his arms.
Shi Lei was taller and wider than him, so he could cover him completely. On this hot summer night, with the two of them only wearing a white t-shirt, they stuck together, feeling the heat from each other’s body temperature.
“Be my boyfriend?” Shi Lei asked.
The two of them were so close that the bridge of their noses rubbed against each other.
“Hm?” Shi Lei hummed.
This “hm” went straight to Bai Qingquan’s heart. This was a man who was strong and fierce and was now pleading to him. The closer he got, the stranger he felt when he looked at Shi Lie. From afar, he had thought Shi Lei looked similar to when he was a teenager, but being up close and looking more thoroughly, he looked very different. The strangeness was particularly strong, and it heightened his sense of excitement and fear. He was actually kissed by a man who he hadn’t seen for a long time and now has forcefully fallen in love with him.
All he could do was give an “un” agreeing to the proposal.
Shi Lei was startled before ecstasy slowly appeared on his face. His mouth grinned as he kissed Bai Qingquan’s forehead and cheeks.
While Bai Qingquan claimed himself to be ostentatious, in actuality he was quite shy. He shrunk his head and put his arms around his chest, as if in self-defense. The cowardice and innocence he showed only made Shi Lei’s eye burn with more passion. His love burned even hotter, making him feel more uncomfortable, so he held onto Bai Qingquan’s face and kissed him fiercely again.
Bai Qingquan had always thought he had good kissing skills, but facts have proven him otherwise. There was no way he could match Shi Lei’s passionate kiss. It came too strong, and he quite liked it because the young Shi Lei had always been hiding in his heart.
After Shi Lei kissed his mouth, he took his hand and kissed it, pecking the back of it constantly, but he kept looking directly into his eyes. Bai Qingquan had never seen such passionate love in his life. He found that Shi Lei truly loved him, was infatuated with him, and had longed for him.
This made him excited. It felt refreshing to be loved so passionately by someone.
The author has something to say:
There is something even more refreshing.
Kinky Thoughts:
This chapter was everything! Forget half a year. I’ll drop my pants right then and there when Shi Lei makes his move because I’m a….
Bai Qingquan sat in the car and lowered the window a bit. The wind came through and tussled his hair. It was hot. It was almost noon, and the wind was hot, which only made his cheeks hotter. While the air conditioning in the car was turned on, he was still hot.
One arm leaned against the car door, while his thumb propped on his chin, as his fingers gently rubbed his lips. The feeling of the kiss seems to still be there. Bai Qingquan had never been kissed like this before.
He had done a lot of kissing scenes during filming, but he either used a stand-in or it was only lip-to-lip. He had never opened his mouth. Even for a movie of the scale of <When You’re Older>, he and Shen Jintai had never kissed so fiercely.
Wasn’t this kiss really too much for the first time? But he didn’t resist, so did it seem like he liked it too much?
Shi Lei glanced at Bai Qingquan from time to time while driving. His heart hadn’t slowed down. He couldn’t figure out what Bai Qingquan was thinking.
He had just kissed him mouth-to-mouth, but there was no resistance. He pushed forward but still met no resistance. Later, after kissing, Bai Qingquan only wiped away the saliva from the corner of his mouth but didn’t say anything.
After the adrenaline had passed, he felt flustered when he looked at Bai Qingquan. When Bai Qingquan coughed, he suddenly said, “Eat… Let’s go get something to eat. I’m hungry.”
Shi Lei: “…”
He followed Bai Qingquan out silently, and the two did not speak again even after they got into the car.
Judging by the reactions of most normal people, kissing is different from other things. If there was no resistance and no rejection, he could assume that it meant Bai Qingquan had acquiesced, right?
Shi Lei was overjoyed at the thought of this possibility. He put his hand on the steering wheel and tapped his fingers lightly. He had already booked a restaurant.
When the car stopped in front of the entrance to the restaurant, Bai Qingquan put on a mask and got out. Shi Lei hurriedly got out of the car, gave the valet a tip as he handed off the keys, and escorted Bai Qingquan into the restaurant.
He had booked a private room. As soon as the door to the private room closed, the ambiguous feeling came again. Shi Lei poured him a cup of tea, and Bai Qingquan took it and drank it carefully.
“It’s a bit hot,” Shi Lei said.
Bai Qingquan said “Nn” and didn’t say anything else. His lips became redder when they touched the hot tea, which reminded Shi Lei of the feeling of kissing him.
Bai Qingquan tasted as sweet as he thought. It was far better and sweeter than he thought.
The waitress knocked on the door as Shi Lei sat down and said, “Come in.”
The waitress was taken aback when she saw Bai Qingquan, but their restaurant was often the place that celebrities went to dine, so she still maintained her professional demeanor and asked with a smile, “What would you like to order?”
“You order it,” Bai Qingquan said to Shi Lei. “You can order whatever you think is delicious, and I will try it.”
Shi Lei ordered four dishes and a sweet and sour soup.
The waitress smiled and left the private room and immediately gossiped to her colleagues. “Bai Qingquan!”
“What Bai Qingquan*?”
*Clarity: Bai Qingquan’s name means white clear spring, so when the waitress just screamed out Bai Qingquan, her colleagues were confused a bit by the name as she was just saying white clear spring.
“What do you mean what Bai Qingquan?! Who else can I be referring to besides the Bai Qingquan of The East Palace! The actor who acted with Shen Jintai. He came in with a handsome guy just now. That Bai Qingquan!”
They all knew about Bai Qingquan’s gossip, so all their eyes lit up when they heard her. “Boyfriend?”
“I can’t tell.”
In the private room, Bai Qingquan sipped tea and looked out. Outside the window was a landscaped river with weeping willows on both sides.
Shi Lei felt that he was suffering more now than when he had his unrequited love. He didn’t know what was going on in Bai Qingquan’s head.
What is Bai Qingquan thinking? Are they in love?
“It was so sudden,” Bai Qingquan said suddenly.
Shi Lei looked at him, his heart pounding.
“I have to think about it,” Bai Qingquan’s face flushed slightly as he turned away and didn’t look at him. He seemed shy, and with this innocent appearance, it looked very moving.
The fact that Bai Qingquan did not resist was already a great surprise for him. Hearing him say “I have to think about it”, that was an even bigger surprise. The same recklessness that made him take action back when he was a teenager had now reached a different ending.
The corners of Shi Lie’s mouth widened as his smile narrowed. His throat bobbed up and down, and he couldn’t help but fantasize in his mind.
The two of them didn’t talk anymore. After the dishes were brought over, they ate in silence, but the atmosphere had completely changed. Bai Qingquan had lost his previous calmness and felt that Shi Lei seemed to have become more unabashed. His eyes were very hot, fierce, and naked, and his timidity only exacerbated Shi Lei’s indulgence.
After their meal, Shi Lei sent him back. On the way back, Shi Lei was very restless and stopped trying to engage in small talk with him. He felt that if it weren’t for the fear of being rejected by him, Shi Lei would confess on the spot.
Bai Qingquan sat nervously on the entire ride home and quickly ran away when they parted. As soon as he returned to the hotel, he immediately called Shen Jintai.
As a result, Shen Jintai’s call was answered by Xiao Tang. “Brother Jin is currently filming. I’ll let him know to call you back later.”
Bai Qingquan hung up the phone, laid down on the bed, sinking his body into the blankets, and closed his eyes. The feeling of being kissed appeared again.
Shi Lei was so domineering, and as such, so were his kisses. It turned out that a wet kiss felt like this.
Shen Jintai called him back a little after 1 PM.
“You were looking for me?”
“You were filming until now?”
Shen Jintai: “Nn. It was so hot today that I was sweating profusely.”
Bai Qingquan said, “I may have fallen in love.”
Shen Jintai was taken aback for a moment, then asked directly, “With your senior?”
Bai Qingquan said, “When I went to see the house with him today, he suddenly kissed me.”
“Shit,” Shen Jintai said. “And you let him? Isn’t this too soon? Weren’t you filming with the crew all this time before? How many times did you meet with him?”
“It was quite sudden,” Bai Qingquan said.
Shen Jintai said, “Brother, I know that you’re a girl with a spring heart who’s lonely, but he’s an ordinary person, and you’re a star. You still need to be cautious when you fall in love. Otherwise, you’ll be the one who suffers.”
Shen Jintai felt that although Bai Qingquan was two years older than him, he was really not as mature as him, and he was probably too thirsty for love. Therefore, when the crew cut senior made a little attack, he had already fallen into the enemy’s hands. It was also a matter of whether the senior was reliable or not, and his character was still unclear.
Bai Qingquan liked this senior. He had seen and heard about him time and time again. He was someone who needed love and to be loved more than he did, so Shen Jintai supported him in having more contact with this senior. That way he could get a better understanding of him, but he didn’t expect the two of them to fall in love so quickly. What would happen if Bai Qingquan got deceived?
“I’ll take a break in a few days and go back to Nancheng. Make an appointment with your senior and let’s meet first. Don’t rush to fall in love. I’ll call Siqi. We’re your friends, so if the two of you fall in love, he’ll eventually meet us sooner or later.”
Bai Qingquan said, “Okay.”
Shen Jintai said, “Don’t act rashly. After all, you’re an artist, so you must be cautious when falling in love. Restrain your spring heart first!”
Bai Qingquan laughed and laid down on the bed and kicked his legs. “Ahhhhhh, when he kissed me today, my legs felt really soft. When we filmed our kissing scene, you said that it was just kissing, so how could it be different? But… and he also use tongue…”
Bai Qingquan blushed again as he spoke.
It was amazing. So amazing. Bai Qingquan’s spring heart had already sprouted, and he couldn’t stop it.
Shen Jintai felt that he had to go back immediately. “I will ask for leave to go back tomorrow. You call that senior… What’s his name?”
“Shi Lei.”
Yes, Shi Lei. He almost forgot such a popular name.
“Make an appointment with him, and I’ll meet him,” Shen Jintai said.
After hanging up the phone, Shen Jintai couldn’t concentrate on filming any longer.
Zheng Siqi was in Nancheng recently, so he called Zheng Siqi and told him about it.
Zheng Siqi said, “So fast?”
“I guess Xiao Bai is already tempted. If Shi Lei had been a little more offensive, he’d have fallen by now,” Shen Jintai said.
Zheng Siqi believed that Bai Qingquan was in love. He was similar to Shen Jintai in terms of opinion. It wasn’t like they thought Shi Lei wasn’t worthy of Bai Qingquan. However, they felt that people like them needed to be cautious when they fell in love with ordinary people.
Celebrities generally date within their inner circle. In addition to having something in common, there was also a very important reason. That was, they were all dignified figures, so it wasn’t easy to create a scandal. It was also the same reason why female celebrities married wealthy businessmen. If you look for ordinary people, the danger becomes higher. After all, those who were barefoot weren’t afraid of wearing shoes*. In case the other party makes trouble, it is the star who will suffer.
*It means they have less to lose, so they have fewer scruples when doing things.
Of the three of them, Shen Jintai was the most mature and stable, as well as the most rational, followed by Zheng Siqi, while the most emotional and fragile was Bai Qingquan; thus, they both developed a protective mentality towards Bai Qingquan.
Shen Jintai really rushed back from the crew the next day.
“Ask him out for a drink,” Shen Jintai said.
Only men who were drunk would reveal the truth, as alcohol brought out their true character.
“Are you going to try to outdrink him?” Bai Qingquan said, “He drinks very well. Even the three of us combined can’t outdrink him.”
“Call Wei Ge,” Zheng Siqi said. “He drinks well.” Qian Wei’s alcohol intake is among the best among them.
Bai Qingquan was a little embarrassed by such a big battle but seeing how Zheng Siqi and Shen Jintai care about him so much, he couldn’t refuse.
He called Shi Lei.
It had only been a day since he hadn’t seen him, but Shi Lei has been in a feverish state of excitement*. He especially regretted that he did not say what he wanted to say yesterday.
*Ants on a hot pan (热锅上的蚂蚁)
He was not only excited that Bai Qingquan actually agreed to consider it, but he was also worried. Worried that Bai Qingquan was just being considerate of him and would play the “nice guy” card later.
He felt he acted too recklessly. He could count the number of times he had met Bai Qingquan with just one hand. If Bai Qingquan calmed down and said that he shouldn’t contact him again… This thought made him panic.
He has now become the meat on the chopping block, and the right to decide was all given to Bai Qingquan.
The moment he connected Bai Qingquan’s call, he was extremely nervous.
“I’m drinking in a bar with a few friends.” Bai Qingquan’s voice sounded no different than usual. “Would you like to come?”
How could Shi Lei refuse? How could he dare to refuse?
After hanging up the phone, he immediately went to the bathroom to wash up. He remembered the kiss from yesterday. It was seared in his mind all night. His hormones increased just from the thought. In addition to staying up late, more stubble had appeared than usual. He was a man who had strong hair. As a result, he nicked himself while shaving in a hurry and had to use a band-aid to cover it up.
He was originally a person who didn’t pay much attention to how he dressed. Because he wanted to impress Bai Qingquan, he had recently tried to be steady and delicate in his fashion choices as he bought the most exquisite clothes he could find. He wore a shirt and put on a casual suit, looking extremely energetic, which matched his crew cut.
He picked up the cologne he had just bought but hesitated for a while before putting it down again. He was a man who never wore cologne.
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Before confirming the relationship with your boyfriend, you must bring in your girlfriends to check it out.
Chapter 202: After Thinking About It for Many Years, I Finally Got It
“Let’s go and see the house first,” Shi Lei said. “It’s almost finished, and the workers will not be there this time.”
Bai Qingquan nodded, withdrew his hand, and got into Shi Lei’s car.
Although he hadn’t entered the door of the new house for a few months, Shi Lei sent him some pictures every few days, so he already had a vague understanding of the appearance of the home, but even so, he was still amazed the moment he entered the door.
When Wang Ying designed the house, she was really excited. Not only was it a house designed for a celebrity, but it was also a large house with an equally large budget that allowed her to utilize her creativity to the fullest. This was something that could happen but was not required by designers.
However, in the process of designing, she also suffered a lot. This time, it wasn’t the customer who often gives advice but her own boss.
Shi Lei really took designing and decorating this house to the extreme. He paid attention to every small detail, striving for perfection.
Now there were only finishing touches that needed to be done, which could be completed in less than a week.
The windows of the bedroom and living room were all floor-to-ceiling windows, and the bathtub was a double bathtub. In addition, he wanted an open kitchen, balcony, and garden. The overall style matched Bai Qingquan’s taste, and he used Bai Qingquan’s favorite colors. There were many windows placed around the room, which created a bright, overall warm feeling.
The most innovative thing was the bathroom in the master bedroom. The master bedroom had an oversized floor-to-ceiling window, almost the width of an entire wall, which overlooked the most beautiful scenery of Nancheng. A layer of transparent glass separated the bedroom from the bathroom, but when Shi Lei pressed a button on the wall, the entire glass became opaque.
It was amazing. With the large size of the room and window, one could enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Yangtze River from the floor-to-ceiling windows while taking a bath.
This was simply Bai Qingquan’s dream home. He was very satisfied.
“It’s much better than I thought,” Bai Qingquan said in surprise.
Shi Lei smiled and said, “As long as you are satisfied.”
Bai Qingquan didn’t know anything about decoration. He only asked for the general requirements and gave basic directions while handing over everything else, from the selection of building materials and what colors to use to Shi Lei. He didn’t expect Shi Lei to be so attentive.
The next step was to add furniture.
“When buying furniture, if you need it, I can also help you,” Shi Lei said. “I know many shops.”
“Yes, I need help,” Bai Qingquan said.
Since it’s during his rest period, he could pick up furniture with Shi Lei. The two of them are still not too familiar with each other yet, friends at most, yet they are already doing things that couples normally do together, like decorating a home and choosing furniture with each other.
“I really don’t know how to thank you,” Bai Qingquan said with a smile. He felt like the next sentence he wanted to say was to pledge himself to him as thanks.
Shi Lei said, “It is to be expected as you’re our distinguished customer.”
“Is Mr. Shi so dedicated to every customer?” Bai Qingquan asked with a smile.
Shi Lei was taken aback for a moment and suddenly felt that these words were ambiguous. Bai Qingquan’s eyes were also very intriguing, as if they were walking in a certain direction.
Shi Lei smiled, looked at him with burning eyes, and swallowed his words.
Of course not. It’s only you. I did my best because you’re my target.
Bai Qingquan walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows of the living room and looked at the park in the distance. The sunlight shone on him, making the red cherries on his white t-shirt more vivid. It was already summer, which gave the room plenty of sunshine. Without the air conditioning, it started to get hot, causing both of them to sweat a little.
Shi Lei stood still beside him and said, “Do you plan to live in this house for two people?”
Bai Qingquan turned to look at him.
Shi Lei said, “The double bathtub that you wanted.”
Bai Qingquan pursed his lips and said, “Nn, but I haven’t found that person yet.”
When Shi Lei heard this, the corners of his mouth moved, and he said, “I thought there were a lot of people chasing you.”
“There are a lot,” Bai Qingquan smiled.
Shi Lei let out a “Nn” and his hands curled up slightly in his pockets.
“But I don’t like any of them.”
Shi Lei felt like he was on a roller coaster. He cleared his throat lightly and then heard Bai Qingquan ask, “How about you?”
Shi Lei said, “Didn’t I tell you that I have always been single?”
“You’ve never talked about it.” Bai Qingquan smiled, put his hands behind his back, and tiptoed slightly. “You have such good conditions. There should be many people who like you. Why have you been single all this time? Don’t you have anyone you like?”
Shi Lei’s chest was undulating. Under the white shirt, the outline of his chest loomed as his throat bobbed slightly. “Yes.”
“Let’s go.” Bai Qingquan suddenly stopped the topic, turned around, and said, “I want to invite you to a meal.”
If he hadn’t suddenly terminated the conversation, Shi Lei might not have noticed Bai Qingquan’s ambiguity about him. It was this sudden change that made Shi Lei realize what was going on. He quickly seized the opportunity, and when he saw Bai Qingquan turn around to leave, he grabbed his arm.
The broad and slender palm of his hand slightly exerted force as he grasped Bai Qingquan’s thin, fair arm. As soon as their skin touched, Shi Lei’s breath hitched, and Bai Qingquan became even more nervous.
He just wanted to be ambiguous at first, so he could feel out Shi Lei, but he suddenly thought that Shi Lei didn’t seem to have such a gradual temperament. He suddenly remembered that when they were in school, they had only known each other for a short time when Shi Lei pulled him into the alley and wanted to kiss him.
It was probably due to the reckless impulse of his youth, and he only got the words “sick pervert” in exchange for it. Shi Lei obviously restrained himself a lot this time around. He wasn’t afraid that Bai Qingquan would call him a sick pervert again; he was afraid that he would get rejected.
If he was rejected, even meeting Bai Qingquan would become a luxury.
People’s hearts were always greedy. When they didn’t have the chance to meet before, he was satisfied when he thought he could always look on from afar. Now that they had met, he wanted to push forward because he wanted more.
This house was designed by Bai Qingquan for the lives of two people. In the future, in front of this floor-to-ceiling window, in this double bathtub, and in every corner of this room, there would be a man who would be with Bai Qingquan… In the house that he carefully designed and decorated for him.
When he thought of this, he was zealous, as he hoped that that man was himself, but he also felt he wasn’t worthy of Bai Qingquan. He didn’t deserve him, but he didn’t want to let go.
He stared at Bai Qingquan and said, “Just in time, I also have a question for you.”
Holy shit. Whether it was the Shi Lei from the past or the Shi Lei now, as expected, he hadn’t changed.
Bai Qingquan’s heartbeat was deafening as it was overcome with excitement and anxiety. He wanted to hear what he had to say, but he dared not listen.
“The person I like is very good-looking, rich, and famous. I am not worthy of him. I don’t deserve him. I have been thinking about him day and night. Do you want me to confess to him?”
Bai Qingquan licked his lower lip, slightly exposing the tip of his tongue. Shi Lei saw it and tightened his grasp harder. Bai Qingquan raised his head, showing some panic as he heard Shi Lei say, “I really can’t help it.”
After speaking, he pulled Bai Qingquan over, lowered his head, and bit his lips.
Ahhhhhh. He had kissed the fairy in his heart. He was so excited that he stopped breathing as he let out a dull, muffled hum from his throat.
It seemed that he became just as he was that night so many years ago, when he lost his self-control. He walked behind Bai Qingquan, staring at his back while his heartbeat became faster and faster, until he suddenly rushed forward and grabbed him.
Long Shen flattened Dong Zhi’s wrist, put three fingers on the other hand, tightened his pulse for a moment, and released it.
“Inviting Gods is a very strenuous task. The greater the energy of the spirit body invited, the greater the consequences. Zhong Yuyi is suitable for this job because he’s born with a yin spirit body, but even with that, the side effects of inviting Gods are still great. Therefore, I don’t allow him to go out to the field.”
Suddenly, Dong Zhi understood why Kan Chaosheng and He Yu were sent on their mission, but Zhong Yuyi never followed.
Long Shen: “Are you afraid?”
Dong Zhi nodded obediently. “How did I invite Qianliyan and Second Master Guan? It can’t be that my body is more suitable for this than Lao Zhong?”
Long Shen thought deeply. “Let’s put it this way. Asking the Gods is to ask for their attention. It is the Yin God who is looking for you, not you looking for the Yin God. Zhong Yuyi should have told you that burning incense and praying is to let the Yin spirit hear your prayers. This means you’re allowing them to possess you to give you advice. Still, it all comes down to chance. Since you can invite righteous gods like Qianliyan and Second Master Guan, you have caught their eyes, but in terms of what you need to give up, if you ask for too much, it’ll be very detrimental to your body.”
He continued, “The Special Administration Bureau taught you this course not so you can play around when you have nothing to do, but to teach you more and make you aware of it. In the future, only as a last resort should you use it.”
The first time Dong Zhi attempted it, he invited Qianliyan. The second time, he was directly possessed by Second Master Guan. It seems that he was particularly popular with the gods. Hearing Long Shen’s words, he started to feel the aftermath again. His head became dizzy and light, and he started to gasp for breath after saying a few words. This was a sign of loss of energy and spirit. If this continued to develop, he could become like Zhong Yuyi, with his extremely delayed reflexes and reactions.
Long Shen said, “You can’t fall behind on your kung fu tona, but the matter of practicing every day on the rooftop can be put on hold for the time being. It’s also very energy-consuming to use the Five Thunder Talisman.”
Dong Zhi nodded.
In fact, he was never neglectful in his practice. He even incorporated a few sword moves that Long Shen had taught him into his daily routine. Although he wouldn’t reach Liu Qingbo’s level of perfection in the short term, this gap between them is only due to time, not diligence.
The improvement of physical strength also has an impact on the invitation to Gods. If the body is not good enough and he invited another righteous God, it wouldn’t just be dizziness that he would experience but rather a trip straight to the hospital.
Thinking of Lin Xuan’s words, Dong Zhi hesitated for a moment and said, “Lin Xuan told me that one of those Japanese people was killed by me. It won’t have any bad impact on you, will it?
Long Shen frowned. “Why are you mixed up with Lin Xuan?”
Dong Zhi told him how he ran into him.
Long Shen didn’t comment on Lin Xuan’s motives but said, “It’s fine. Don’t think about it. We were able to get the information on the pattern of the mirror because of you.”
So, did this mean he made another contribution?
Dong Zhi belonged to the type who “could open a dye workshop if he got three points of color*”. When he heard this, he said happily, “Is there any reward?”
*(得了三分颜色，就要开染坊) Refers to getting carried away when you receive face/favors from others.
Long Shen glanced at him. “What reward do you want?”
Dong Zhi said, embarrassedly, “I don’t want bonuses or anything. Can you give me a place as your apprentice?”
Long Shen felt a bit amused. “Do you know what Liu Qingbo came in to do just now?”
Seeing Dong Zhi’s look of uncertainty, he said, “Their group met zombies in the tomb and were separated. Liu Qingbo took one out by himself. In the end, he found his way out and asked me for some credit. He hoped that I would take him as an apprentice.”
Dong Zhi: …
Compared that to his performance, isn’t his own performance lacking?
Long Shen: “Do you think I can agree?”
Dong Zhi felt righteous. “Of course not. Competition should be conducted under the same conditions. The results of unequal competition cannot be counted!”
Long Shen smiled and said, “I think so too. Go and rest first, and there will be the next round of training waiting for you in a few days.”
Coming with complacency and returning with disappointment, Dong Zhi suddenly understood why Liu Qingbo’s had such an expression when he ran into him just now.
“Wait.” Long Shen stopped him.
Dong Zhi turned his head quickly, with a look of “hurry up and keep me”.
Long Shen took out a talisman folded into a triangle and strung with red money from the drawer.
“This is a soothing talisman from Mount Longhu. It doesn’t have much effect, but it’s good for your current state. Wear it and don’t let it leave your body.”
Seeing as how Dong Zhi was holding a box with both hands and didn’t have one free, Long Shen personally put the talisman on him. The Soothing Talisman seemed to have an instant effect as his mood calmed.
At the end of the day, Liu Qingbo didn’t get such treatment, and the male god had personally put the talisman on him.
He went downstairs with the box in his arms, intending to ask the gatekeeper if he wanted a cat. He happened to run into two people standing around the door talking. One was Ba Sang, and the other was Li Ying.
Li Ying smiled when he saw Dong Zhi. “I heard you killed some Japanese?”
Dong Zhi smiled bitterly. “Why don’t good things come, yet bad things spread thousands of miles*?”
*(好事不出门，坏事传千里) Refers to good things aren’t easy to find, yet bad things spread quickly and widely.
Li Ying laughed. “How can this be a bad thing? That higher-ups said yours was a special session held, and the evaluation is good, and we need to keep up our efforts. I regret that I didn’t follow you to the god invitation class!”
Dong Zhi said, “I still envy you. How were you over there? I heard from the Boss Long that you really ran into zombies?”
Ba Sang shook his head. “Don’t talk about it. Some people like to play by themselves and hog all the prestige. They obviously agreed to meet at an appointed time, but never showed up. We thought he was missing, so we went to look for him, but almost got caught in a trap.”
Dong Zhi said curiously, “Who? Liu Qingbo?”
From the expressions of Ba Sang and Li Ying, he knew that his guess was correct.
Li Ying sighed. “I thought since he’s from a famous family, he would be level-headed overall. I didn’t expect he would be so willful, but then again, his performance is indeed good. Though he might have killed a zombie alone, he’s probably a headache.”
Ba Sang didn’t understand. “Why a headache?”
Dong Zhi explained, “He has the capability to fight alone, so it’s a pity not to recruit him, but if he enters the Special Administration Bureau, he may not be able to cooperate with others.”
Li Ying agreed.
“Meow~”
Unwilling to be ignored, the kitten poked its head out of the box. Ba Sang stretched out his hand to pet it on its head, causing the cat to shrink back quickly.
Li Ying said, “You have to be mentally prepared first. I heard that there will be a test next.”
With his father as a consultant in the bureau, and he would know more gossip than the others. Ba Sang and Dong Zhi looked at each other.
“What kind of test? Is it a zombie simulation again?”
Li Ying sneered, “The zombies have been simulated once, and everyone’s prepared for it. It’s unlikely they’ll do it again. I heard that we may be going northwest this time, but I don’t know the details. There should be news in the next two days.”
After a few more words of gossip, the three of them dispersed.
Dong Zhi held the box to the doorman and asked if he wanted to keep the cat to catch mice. The uncle slowly raised his head and glanced at him. “There are no mice in this building. I’ve eaten them all.”
Dong Zhi: …
He looked at the uncle, and the uncle looked at him. Dong Zhi gave him a stiff smile and slowly backed away.
“Then-Then I’ll raise it myself!”
The uncle looked at the other party’s back, walking away while holding the box, and shook his head, thinking to himself that young people nowadays are always so rushed. He then narrowed his eyes and continued to bask in the sun with his head down.
When Dong Zhi took the cat back to the dorms, the kitten timidly stuck its head out, curious to observe the surrounding environment.
“I haven’t found you an owner for the time being, so it seems like I’ll have to raise you first.” Dong Zhi said as he looked at its hairy head.
The kitten hadn’t realized that its life had changed drastically in a single day. It has now upgraded from a stray cat to a domestic one.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Dong Zhi got up and opened it.
“You left something behind.” Long Shen brought the bag of fried chicken and handed it to him.
Dong Zhi hurriedly said, “Uncle Qian gave me this. I have already eaten before, so you can have it.”
“I won’t eat it.” Long Shen shook his head and handed him the bag.
Behind Dong Zhi, the cat jumped out of the box and ran to his feet to meow.
“Why did you bring it back?” Long Shen said, with hints of disagreement in his voice.
“I can’t find anyone to raise it, so I can only raise it for now.”
Long Shen: “You will go on a mission in two days. You can’t raise it when you’re going to be gone for ten days to half a month.”
Dong Zhi was taken aback. “What mission? Is it urgent?”
“It’s part of the training exam.”
Li Ying’s gossip was accurate.
Dong Zhi picked the cat up. On the way back, he had dropped by a pet store and given the cat a bath. Though the cat was really thin, it looked much cleaner now as its fur was snowy-white. It’ll look even better once it gets a bit fatter in the future.
“Then when I leave for my mission, can I leave the cat with you?”
Long Shen shook his head. “I’m going with you too.”
Dong Zhi tentatively said, “Is this exam difficult?”
“I don’t know. You have to practice your kung fu tona well in the next few days. Don’t slack off.”
This was the second time he had told Dong Zhi. Long Shen never drabbled nonsense, so for him to repeat it twice meant it must be extremely important.
“I won’t,” Dong Zhi said as the fluff ball in his arms kept twisting restlessly, causing his heart to be moved. “I can’t think of a name for it. Why don’t you give it a name?”
Long Shen: …
“Name it yourself.”
Dong Zhi pretended not to understand the other party’s refusal and said with a smile. “I heard Uncle Qian say that you have fed it several times, otherwise it might have died a long time ago. This can only be regarded as a fate.”
He had long known that Long Shen ate soft not hard*. He wouldn’t refuse such innocuous, non-principled small requests, just like when he gifted Long Shen the succulent last time.
*(吃软不吃硬) Metaphor for someone who accepts gentle persuasion without coercion.
However, for Deputy Director Long, such a task was monumentally difficult for him. He stared at the cat for a long time before saying, “Just call it… Kitten*?”
*Clarity: [Xiao Mao] (小猫) literally translates to kitten/little cat.
Dong Zhi: …Then why not just name it Meowmeow or Maomao*!
*Clarity: [Maomao] [毛毛] literally translates to baby.
Suddenly a flash of inspiration struck. “Why not call it Longlong?”
Long Shen: …
Dong Zhi took advantage before Long Shen could speak and raised the kitten towards him and smiled. “You’ll have a name from now on, Longlong!”
Long Shen wanted to speak out against it, but after thinking about it, he decided to let it go. After all, it was just a name.
However, naming was only the first step in this long, thousand-mile march for Dong Zhi. He found that raising a cat wasn’t an easy task. Even if it was only temporary, cat food, cat litter, hair combs, flea repellent, and nutritional ointment were all indispensable. He bought some at the pet store and had to order more online after a while.
Longlong had a very good temper. It may be because of its previous experience as a stray, but it wasn’t as playful or mischievous as ordinary domesticated cats. It just slept and ate to its fullest every day. Dong Zhi was worried that at this rate, it would balloon up like Kan Chaosheng.
While he raised a cat, he didn’t neglect his training and did everything according to what Long Shen told him. In the past two days, before he got up and went to bed, he would do two sets of kung fu tona, and sometimes he would do it again after lunch. Eventually, after two days, the fatigue that had accumulated in his body seemed to have eased a lot, and the heavy and minor side-effects of inviting god had almost disappeared.
As the group of people who went to the tomb returned one after another, their next stage of training was once again back on the table.
For Dong Zhi and his group, they had followed Zhong Yuyi and learned how to invite gods, but because of an accident in the middle of the course, it had to be cancelled halfway. Everyone stayed in the farmhouse for a whole week and looked like they had grown long hair and beards by the time they were free. It was hard for them to wait for the other group to come back, as the ceaseless idleness was driving them impatient.
With everyone’s return, they have all arrived in the classroom on time on this morning’s day in accordance with the notice.
“What do you think we are going to learn today?” Gu Meiren asked Dong Zhi and them.
Everyone shook their heads, feeling a little uneasy. Generally speaking, the content of the course was usually notified in advance, unless it was to purposefully catch them off-guard, like the simulation training.
Dong Zhi jabbed Ba Sang’s arm with his elbow and said, “Was it fun going to the tombs?”
Ba Sang scratched his head. “It’s okay. I just followed a big army and worked with a few people to eliminate a lich. It wasn’t dangerous, but the period inside the tomb was more torturous.”
Gu Meiren also joined the chat. “What do you mean?”
Ba Sang: “In a dark environment, I have no idea what’s ahead or what’s behind. Unknown danger could be lurking everywhere, so it made me uneasy.”
Gu Meiren sighed. “That’s better than ending before you even start. I thought it would be fun to invite God.”
Dong Zhi faintly guessed that the suspension of this course should be related to the scene he saw with his clairvoyance, but since the higher-ups were involved, he remained silent about the matter before he got permission.
The buzzing voices suddenly stopped as people came in from the outside. Everyone had a surprised expression on their face.
It wasn’t just one or two, but all three Deputy Directors were here!
This was a rare lineup.
Even after the simulation training was over that day, only Wu Bingtian and Long Shen gave them lessons to summarize their experience. Today, the last Deputy Director, Song Zhicun, was also present.
The three of them were followed by a young man. While others didn’t know him, Dong Zhi was quite familiar with him. It was Lin Xuan.
Lin Xuan quickly spotted Dong Zhi sitting in his seat and winked at him. Dong Zhi pretended he didn’t see it.
As usual, Wu Bingtian spoke first. With a smile on his face, he looked around at everyone. “How are you resting these few days?”
“I’m getting moldy from all this leisure.”
He didn’t know who said it, but it made everyone laugh. They didn’t need to ask to know that it was from the group that stayed back.
While Li Ying, Liu Qingbo, and a few others returned early and had taken a few days off, they were much more reserved.
“Not bad.”
“Let’s continue class.”
“I’m doing good.”
Wu Bingtian’s smile narrowed and became serious. The atmosphere instantly condensed, and everyone’s mood was raised.
“You have to listen carefully to what I say next.”
Everyone unconsciously adjusted their sitting posture and pricked up their ears.
Wu Bingtian said, “There is a group of tomb robbers who stole a batch of artifacts from the northwest, including a bronze mirror, which fell into the hands of the Japanese. The police have caught the head of the tomb robber gang. According to their account, they were only on the periphery of the tomb at the time. They have not yet entered the real core area, and now those Japanese have already taken the bronze mirror to the northwest, wanting to enter the core of the tomb. All we have to do is stop the Japanese and get the bronze mirror back. This should have been the work of the police and the archaeological department, but because it is likely to involve demons, it was handed over to us, so it’s our job to carry out the preliminary cleanup. Do you understand?”
“Understood!” Everyone responded.
Wu Bingtian nodded. “Now you can ask any questions.”
Li Ying said, “Boss Wu, is that bronze mirror valuable? In case we encounter a situation where we need to choose between people and the mirror, what should we do?”
Wu Bingtian said, “We tentatively speculate that that mirror is likely to be the key to the core area. At present, we don’t know for the time being what the Japanese’s purpose is, so we need to find out, but if we encounter the kind of situation you mentioned, the safety of your companions is the top priority.”
His gaze swept across the crowd and stayed on Liu Qingbo for a moment.
“This mission is both an assessment and a practice. The purpose is to see what progress you have made during this period of time, and I must remind you that some may die during this trip.”
There was no sound in the classroom, and there was silence.
Wu Bingtian’s words were like boulders, pressing heavily on everyone’s hearts.
“Those Japanese forged their documents and pretended to be foreigners and pretended to be Chinese in order to go to the northwest. Due to the diversity of transportation means and complexity of data, it’s difficult to identify them, but according to the confession of the leader of the tomb robber gang and the information we collected before, there are probably powerful Onmyojis among them. You must not underestimate the enemy! The opponent is not a zombie in the simulation training. At a critical moment, while fighting for life and death, they will not give you a second chance to survive! In addition, there are many dangers in an ancient tomb. Even if you are cultivators, you can’t be careless. Life, once it’s gone, will never come back, so if any of you want to quit now, you can leave right away!”
Withdrawing from this mission means withdrawing from the Special Administration Bureau.
No matter what everyone was thinking, no one stood up and walked out.
Wu Bingtian’s tone became a bit more solemn. “Don’t think that I’m joking with you. You can ask about it. In the past few training sessions, there have been many people who have sacrificed their lives. They didn’t even have time to become members of the Special Administration Bureau before they already fell down. Don’t regret it later when it’s too late!”
He waited for a while, but still no one got up.
Wu Bingtian nodded. “Very good. There are no cowards in the Special Administration Bureau! Since everyone has decided to stay and participate, let me tell you the specific details. Although the bronze mirror was looted by the Japanese, we got the engraving on the back of the mirror and found that there were two inscriptions on it with the words Helan and Phoenix. Based on the situation, we speculate that Helan refers to Helan Mountain while Phoenix refers to the ancient name of Yinchuan. It’s preliminarily estimated that the tomb is located near the mausoleum of the Western Xia Dynasty. When we get there, we’ll go down from the cave that was dug by the tomb robbers. The Japanese should be one step ahead of us. They can block the cave from the inside, but they can’t cover up the traces outside, so we can still find it…”
Everyone listened intently for fear of missing every detail, because it was not only related to everyone’s assessment but also to their own safety. No one would joke about their own lives.
After Wu Bingtian finished speaking, he took a breath, which also gave them time to digest the information.
“This mission will be led by Boss Long and Boss Song personally, with Boss Long as the team leader and Boss Song as the deputy team leader. I will sit in the General Administration Bureau and also serve as logistics to deal with unforeseen needs. Next, I’ll ask Boss Long to talk more about it.”
Hearing these words, everyone had their own thoughts in their hearts. With two Deputy Directors personally leading the team, it gave them a new understanding of the importance and the difficulty and severity of the mission.
Long Shen nodded to Wu Bingtian and took a step back.
“This mission is equivalent to a practical exam. The final result will determine whether you can stay and become a member of the Special Administration Bureau. Outside, my request is very simple. Everyone must follow instructions. I don’t want to have a situation where you do your own thing and it backfires. If you try, even if you can return alive, I won’t let you enter the Special Administration Bureau. That’s all.”
His speeches were always concise and powerful, shocking people’s hearts. Even for someone like Liu Qingbo, who didn’t listen to commands, when he heard such a thing, it held more weight to him.
Song Zhicun coughed lightly. “Let me introduce everyone. This is Lin Xuan. He has had contact with the Japanese before and is more familiar with the situation. He will join us this time.”
It seems that the reason why Lin Xuan was not dealt with was because he was very smart, surrendered to them in time, and turned into a “tainted witness*”.
*(污点证人) Refers to witnesses who are also participants in criminal activities (usually the crime itself) but testify for the prosecution in exchange for immunity from criminal prosecution or reduced or lenient charges.
Although the Lin Family is quite prestigious in Lignan, since Lin Xuan had only recently inherited the family business, everyone had no reaction to his name.
Seeing that everyone was not in high spirits, Song Zhicun smiled and said, “Today is a holiday. Tomorrow morning at nine, gather here and we’ll set off on time. Everyone should rest early today and stop playing around. If you can’t get up tomorrow morning, we won’t wait for you. Just go to Yinchuan by yourself.”
He deliberately reconciled the atmosphere, but everyone was still so immersed in what they had just learned that no one could laugh. Seeing this, Wu Bingtian didn’t say much, so he let everyone disperse, and he left with the other two.
The author has something to say:
Dong Zhi: Longlong, come here. Do you want to play with a cat teaser?
Long Shen, who was in a meeting, sneezed.
Kinky Thoughts:
Dong Zhi skipping steps here. Usually, you become a couple first before adopting a pet.
The police soon arrived, hearing that a murder had taken place. Seeing the handover personnel finally came, Song Zhicun got up and introduced himself, “Special Administration Bureau, Song Zhicun. This is Long Shen of the Long Bureau.”
Ordinary people may not have heard of the Special Administration Bureau, but they aren’t strangers. The leader immediately saluted them. “Boss Song, Boss Long.”
Song Zhicun nodded. “Those outside are all Japanese. This is a case of smuggling cultural relics. I’ll hand the situation over to you first. I will go through the handover procedures with you later, and then send these guys to you.”
Naturally, the other party had no objection.
Song Zhicun looked at Lin Xuan. “And this is Boss Lin—”
“I know who the gang leader of the tomb robbers is. I can pretend to be a buyer to contact them and expose them. All you need to do then is to bring people to catch them!” Lin Xuan’s reaction was extremely quick. As they say, a great man is one who understands the time*.
*(识时务者为俊杰) Refers to a person who can recognize the trends of time and is smart and capable to adapt to them.
In front of the knife, he can only be the fish*. The initiative was now in the hands of his opponent. Even if the Lin family has connections to get rid of the suspicion of reselling cultural relics, for the sake of the dragon bone, he had to bow his head to the Special Administration Bureau.
*(但人为刀俎,我为鱼肉) Idiom referring to one’s fate is in the hands of others.
Song Zhicun and Long Shen looked at each other. The former pondered for a moment before saying to the person in charge of the handover. “This is Boss Lin. We still have questions to ask him, so please give us some time. We’ll send him to you after we finish our questioning.”
He then said to Lin Xuan, “We can’t make a decision about the dragon bone, but we’ll report it to the higher ups for instructions.”
This sentence was pure nonsense. Although the bone dragon has been turned over, the Special Administration Bureau made the greatest effort, so they had leeway in private. However, Song Zhicun would definitely not agree on the spot.
Lin Xuan also understood this and cupped his hand and bowed. “Then I thank you both.”
Long Shen looked back at Dong Zhi and wanted to ask him to leave but found that the other party was leaning on the sofa, already asleep while still holding a pen in his hand. He gently took the pen out of Dong Zhi’s hand, who remained motionless, as he continued to slumber. The fatigue could not be concealed between his eyebrows.
Long Shen didn’t wake him up. Instead, he picked up his arms and slung them on his shoulder, then carried him on his back and walked out.
Song Zhicun didn’t think there was anything off with Long Shen’s action. Besides, Dong Zhi made a great contribution and was able to draw the pattern on the bronze mirror. With this, they can take a more active approach to their investigation.
On the contrary, Lin Xuan smiled upon seeing this. “It turns out that the Boss Long values this little brother so much. No wonder he rushed over so quickly!”
Long Shen glanced at him coldly. “Your cooperation with the Japanese is not resolved yet.”
Lin Xuan raised his hands. “Yes, yes, of course. I’ll deeply reflect on it!”
Long Shen said nothing, turned and left. There was a car already waiting at the door. Long Shen put Dong Zhi in the passenger seat and laid him down flat, and told the driver to drive slowly, then went to the back seat to sit with Song Zhicun.
“How’s it going on those patterns?” Song Zhicun asked.
Long Shen said, “Two words, Phoenix and Helan.”
Song Zhicun frowned and thought about it. “Helan… Is this a surname, a first name, or Helan Mountain? That’s right, there’s a bird and a mountain range on the bronze mirror. If the bird corresponds to the Phoenix, then that mountain should be Helan Mountain. Lin Xuan is right. It really is northwest!”
Long Shen said, “I think that what Phoenix wants to express may not only be the bird, but may have another meaning, such as orientation or location.”
Song Zhicun advised, “Let Lin Xuan get in touch with the other party first. As long as we can find the place where they took the bronze mirror, we should be able to determine the location.”
Long Shen said, “I have an idea.”
Song Zhicun looked at him.
Long Shen: “This is a good opportunity for trial.”
Song Zhi was a little surprised. “You want them to go to the northwest?”
Long Shen nodded. “Those Japanese are so eager to leave with the bronze mirror. They must be looking for something desperately. According to the information revealed on the back of the mirror, their goals and ours are probably the same.”
Song Zhicun also thought about it. “According to our information, Aso Kenzo is probably the one who told Master Fujikawa about the bone dragon on Changbai Mountain. He not only provided the information, but he also accompanied him all the way there. Afterwards, he made frequent contact with Otowa Hatsuhiko. Lin Xuan said that the dead Japanese, Otowa Saburo, was a member of the Otowa Conglomerate. In my opinion, there must be a lot of connections here. Perhaps we can take the opportunity to track down the mastermind behind the last incident.”
Long Shen nodded. “Not only that, but there may also be progress on the clues of the stone tablets.”
Song Zhicun smiled and said, “It seems our decision was right to let the small fish go in order to catch a big one. Now, they are about to make their move again. It’s just that this kind of thing is a bit too risky for a group of green guys who haven’t even finished their training yet.”
Long Shen said, “Do you remember the first training we hosted back then?”
Song Zhicun sighed. “How can you not remember? It was too tragic. Twenty-five people went deep into the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia, and only ten people came back in the end. I still remember that among the fifteen who were lost, many were excellent disciples from Mount Longhu and Mount Maoshan.”
“But their session was also the best one.”
“Indeed. Zhang Hang in Group One I can see won’t have an issue being promoted to head of a branch in a few years. There’s also Tang Jing, who’s solely in charge of the South China Branch.”
Long Shen said, “The more rigorous the training, the more they can grow during a crisis. If they only train here, they’ll always leave room for unpredictable circumstances.”
“I understand what you mean, like the little girl Chi Banxia, I was very optimistic about her, but if she’s still standing like this, I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to make any progress. I will discuss this matter with Boss Wu. As long as the three of us have a unified opinion, it shouldn’t be a big problem.”
Originally, during the training period for the Special Administration Bureau, there would be a loss rate of personnel each year. This loss refers to the number of deaths of the participants. As long as the death number isn’t too exaggerated, this was considered normal.
True warriors were tempered with blood. A nursery could never raise copper bars and iron bones*, so every session of training would usually result in a few deaths. The only difference between each session was the number of deaths, and this number was in the hands of all the students. To live or to die was their own choice.
*Reminder: Metaphor for a very strong body. Also, it could refer to a person who can bear heavy responsibility.
Long Shen looked forward. Dong Zhi was still hunched over, quietly asleep, as if he was isolating all the violent storms from his dreams. The slight bumps made by the car were insignificant and could not wake him up from a beautiful dream. In his world, perhaps it was already spring, as the dazzling sun brightly shone on all the blooming flowers.
Dong Zhi felt that he had had a long dream. He no longer remembered what he saw or did in his dream, but when he woke up, there was still a smile at the corner of his mouth, as if he had just eaten a lollipop.
Even his mental exhaustion was somewhat relieved after a thorough rest. It was the second time he had woken up in Long Shen’s bed, so he was calm this time around. Dong Zhi pushed off the blanket and rolled to the side of the bed, as if he wanted to leave his own mark on it, and then went through his phone.
There were many missed messages and phone calls. Uncle Qiong sent a few asking him about his condition. Ba Sang had sent him one inviting him to go to the martial arts hall to practice some martial arts. There was even one from Kan Chaosheng.
Kan Chaosheng’s “news” was all posts about how he’s “so hungry”, with zero substance at all. Dong Zhi couldn’t help but laugh. First, he sent a message to Uncle Qian to update him on his well-being, and then he replied to Kan Chaosheng: [Are you still in Fuxian Lake?]
Kan Chaosheng replied in seconds: [I’m starving to death! When you show up, my body will be cold!]
Dong Zhi: [Where are you now? Can you accept express delivery? I will send you something to eat.]
Kan Chaosheng instantly sent a bunch of screaming emojis before replying: [Yes! Yes! We’re staying at a resort by the lake!] Then he immediately sent the address.
Interacting with him so many times, Dong Zhi felt as if he was taking care of a pet that required a large amount of food. However, if this thought was known to the other party, Kan Chaosheng would definitely explode.
Kan Chaosheng: [It’s very troublesome right now and we can’t go back for the time being. Last time, the boss asked us to look around the middle of the lake. I have swum a few laps underwater in the past few days and I really found a group of corpses at the bottom of the lake.”
Reading this, Dong Zhi immediately asked: [What kind of corpses? Can you describe it in detail?]
Kan Chaosheng: [He Yu has the photos. I couldn’t take them at that time. They were just a group of underwater corpses, just like living people, but I don’t know why they stuck to the bottom of the water instead of floating up. They all looked like they were pulled in to fill the lake with enough food.]
Black lines appeared on Dong Zhi’s face as he thought to himself: ‘Is all you care about food all day long?’
Kan Chaosheng: [Later, after investigation, it seemed that some corpses had been contaminated by demonic energy.]
Dong Zhi: [Why is there demons again? Is the energy of the Archfiend that great?]
Kan Chaosheng: [It’s not necessarily an Archfiend! There are many demons and monsters in the world. Archfiends are very powerful, but they are not the most powerful.]
Dong Zhi: [What is the most powerful?]
Kan Chaosheng: [Why are you so dumb? If there are Archfiends, then there must be Earth Demons and Heavenly Demons. They are even more powerful ones on top of them, but it’s useless to tell you anyway, so I won’t waste my breath!]
Dong Zhi: [Don’t you know that I can cancel the order before it is shipped?]
Kan Chaosheng: [What? What’re you saying? I have a bad signal here, so I can’t talk anymore.]
Dong Zhi couldn’t laugh or cry, so he hurriedly sent a message: [You, wait. Tell He Yu to send me pictures of the underwater corpse later!]
Kan Chaosheng: [Why do you care so much about this matter?]
Dong Zhi: [The last time I invited the gods, I saw many corpses underwater. In short, I can’t clearly explain it in just a few words, so I want to confirm it.]
Kan Chaosheng: [Ah, you can invite God?! Don’t be such a braggart. Shall I go to Zong Lao and intercede for you and ensure that your training is stable?]
Dong Zhi: [No, even if you help me go through the back door, I won’t be able to improve my own strength, and it’ll be dangerous for me in the future. Besides, don’t just look down on me all the time. I performed the best in the simulation training last time.]
When the message was sent out, he felt a little immodest and added another word: one*.
*(之一) Refers to the best, however it can be used jokingly if there’s a pause in between sentences, so instead it would be referred to as one of the best (not as complimentary as the former).
Kan Chaosheng sent a tsundere reply: [Then don’t come to me crying for help in the future!]
Putting down the phone, Dong Zhi found that Kan Chaosheng habits had rubbed off on him. He now especially wanted to eat something more appetizing, like spicy noodles with minced meat or beef sour soup.
He went back to his dorm to take a shower, changed his clothes, and went out for food.
Looking around he couldn’t find any place that sells spicy noodles with minced meat. He only found a dan dan noodle restaurant. The owner is from Sichuan, so it looks quite authentic. He explained to Dong Zhi that his noodles were less spicy as Dong Zhi sat down and waited for his food.
“Such a coincidence?” There was a greeting from above the head.
He looked up and found that it was Lin Xuan.
“You haven’t been arrested yet?” Dong Zhi’s tone was bad. The way he squinted his eyes didn’t seem at all like a deterrent, but rather looked like a kind of soft, cute, and harmless little animal. Lin Xuan couldn’t help but smile as he sat down.
“Of course not. I am now a guest of the Special Administration Bureau. How could your leaders arrest me?”
Dong Zhi glared at him, then looked down at his phone and regarded him as air.
Lin Xuan said, “Your leaders made me promise to cooperate with you. I can contact the gang who stole the bronze mirror and help you find its whereabouts.”
He saw that his opponent’s ears moved, signifying that he was clearly listening. He smiled and continued, “And I also know that those Japanese people seem to be related to the Japanese who have done bad things to you on Changbai Mountain.”
Dong Zhi finally raised his head.
“Even without you, we can find these things.”
Lin Xuan nodded and smiled again and said, “Of course, if you don’t even have this ability, how can you be worthy of being called the Special Administration Bureau? It’s just that I can help you save a little time and make it more efficient. Isn’t that still good?”
Because this guy had watched from the sidelines while never intervening in the slightest to help save him, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and rather gave him a smile that wasn’t a smile. “You can just tell our leaders this kind of thing. There’s no need to explain it to me.
“Actually, I came to apologize to you. In order to get the dragon scale from the Japanese and save my father, I had to cooperate with them.”
Dong Zhi made an ugly face. “If our leaders hadn’t arrived in time, I would have been trapped there.”
Lin Xuan smiled and said, “Even if your leader didn’t come, you killed Otowa Saburo on my territory. I wouldn’t dare deal with you after that. The Japanese will definitely hate me because of this matter, but in the end, I still have to choose to cooperate with you.”
“What’s the origin of Otowa Saburo?”
Lin Xuan said, “He is from the Otowa Conglomerate in Japan. The water there is very deep.”
Dong Zhi frowned. He suddenly remembered that the Japanese man he saw from his clairvoyance was the president of the Otowa Conglomerate, Otowa Hatsuhiko! He occasionally watches the news channel on TV, so it’s no wonder why he felt familiar when he saw him but couldn’t quite place who he was.
He calmed down and asked, “So, do they really have something to do with the Otowa Conglomerate?”
Lin Xuan nodded. “That Otowa Saburo is said to be Otowa’s Hatsuhiko’s bodyguard. He’s equivalent to a domestic samurai. Since you have beaten the dog, you’ll meet its master*. I’m afraid that you have really forged a bond with the Otowa family this time.”
*Metaphor referring to when dealing with bad people, you should take into account their background. || In this context, he’s saying since he killed Saburo (dog) he’ll have to contend with Hatsuhiko (master).
Dong Zhi said angrily, “If I don’t attack them, won’t they want to retaliate anyway? This kind of grudge won’t be over until it’s fully resolved!”
Lin Xuan clapped his hands and said with a smile, “So courageous, truly worthy of being an elite of the Special Administration Bureau!”
Dong Zhi also found that his mentality had changed a lot. Before he went to Changbai Mountain, he was one of the most ordinary people alive. He had the mentality that if others didn’t offend him, he wouldn’t offend others and would retreat first to avoid unnecessary confrontation. Now, when he encountered things, his first thought was not to avoid it, but rather how to solve it, and he even took the initiative to “seek trouble” to help others solve the problem.
At that time, he received a new text message. He looked down and saw that they were photos sent by Kan Chaosheng. The photo was taken underwater. In the blue water of the lake was a body with stiff and eccentric characteristics that was hovering in the water as the clothes it was wearing showed rippling motions due to the water fluctuation.
With just a glance, he recognized that the photo was exactly the scene he saw when he invited God. If this is true, then could the cloaked person who was sitting opposite of Otowa Hatsuhiko have something to do with demonic magic?
The dan dan noodles were cooked and delivered, but as soon as he started thinking about it, he didn’t even pay much attention to eating the noodles, let alone to what he was eating.
Lin Xuan couldn’t laugh or cry. “Hey, why don’t we put aside our differences and forget each other’s grievances. Are you just going to eat by yourself?”
“I didn’t say that I forgive you. Besides, Boss Lin, do you need someone else to invite you to eat a bowl of noodles?”
“Well, then why don’t I invite you?”
“No merit, no reward*! You can eat by yourself!”
*(无功不受禄) Refers to if it’s not beneficial to people, it’s not acceptable to accept gifts or preferential treatment from others.
After taking a few bites, he ran to the boss to settle the bill and walked out with his backpack.
“Hey, you’re really refusing to forgive me?” Lin Xuan shouted.
Dong Zhi didn’t look back, and instead waved his hand. In an instant, he had already walked away.
Lin Xuan looked at the bowl of noodles that still had food in it and scratched his nose, thinking to himself if he was that annoying.
Dong Zhi wanted to meet with Long Shen and discussed it, but after thinking about it, he assumed the other party would be busy with meetings and wouldn’t have the time to meet him. He combined all the information he knew and sent it over in a text message, then took a taxi towards the antique alley.
Uncle Qian was on the phone. When he saw Dong Zhi coming in, he stopped his call, hung up, and greeted him in surprise, “Are you okay?”
Dong Zhi apologized and said, “It’s my fault that I lost the mirror…”
“Bah!” Uncle Qian waved his hand, “Boss Long told me that it was robbed by the Japanese. I can’t blame you. I also heard that the Japanese kidnapped you too. I was worried that something happened to you. If I hadn’t asked you to help bring the mirror to Boss Long, this wouldn’t have happened!”
“What about A’Shun’s side?”
“He recruited the Japanese. Boss Long said he would deal with it and would not involve me.”
“A’Shun won’t be dissatisfied with you, right?”
Uncle Qian didn’t care. “I have seen this kind of thing a lot and have experienced it a lot. I have a bit of prestige in this arena, so A’Shun doesn’t dare mess around. He knew that things were not clean but still bought them. It’s nothing more than the mentality of coveting short-term gains in lieu of long-term success. The kid isn’t bad, but he’s lazy. After a few days, he’ll be stable again.”
Dong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.
Uncle Qian took out a bag of hot food.
“Fortunately, you are fine this time, otherwise I will never feel at ease again in my life. This is fried chicken made by my daughter. Take it and eat it. Come to the store often in the future. I’ll pick out a few things and send them to you as atonement.”
Dong Zhi took the food and said with a smile, “No one expected this. I will accept the food, but I dare not ask for your send off.”
Uncle Qian said, “They’ll just be here collecting dust if I don’t. I’m closing this shop for a while. I’ll come back after all this ruckus have passed.”
Dong Zhi was surprised. “Where are you going?”
Uncle Qian smiled. “I still have a daughter who is abroad and always wanted me to visit. I’ve refused before, but now I’ve agreed. She’s very happy about it. Having said that, I heard from Boss Long that you performed particularly valiantly this time, and you beat those Japanese people up. He must be very satisfied with you. Hurry and strike while the iron is still hot and ask him to be your master. Maybe he’ll agree!”
Dong Zhi scratched his nose. “If he rejects me, won’t there be no room for turning back?”
Uncle Qian disagreed. “Why is are you so thin-skinned? If you are rejected, just keep making persistent efforts!”
It’s not like he hasn’t tried. On multiple occasions, he pretended to act dumb or naïve, but he didn’t get a response from the other party. Moreover, he also found that Long Shen had a consistent and upright ideal that couldn’t be controlled by others. It’s useless to fan the flames if he doesn’t want to do it, and others can’t stop him from doing what he wants.
Bidding farewell to Uncle Qian, Dong Zhi left the shop with the fried chicken. He suddenly heard a meowing sound nearby. He followed the sound to investigate its source and found that not far from the base of the wall, a cat poked its head out and looked at him with black eyes. He subconsciously motioned with his hand and beckoned it, “Come here. Come here.”
The kitten came over and walked right under the bag of fried chicken and circled it a few times, raising its head and looking at him wistfully.
Dong Zhi: …
“You can’t eat this.” He lifted the bag higher.
The kitten meowed eagerly, pawing at his pants as it straightens up. It was covered with grime that made its white hair turn gray, and it wasn’t wearing a collar around its neck. Seeing how hungry it looked, Dong Zhi surmised it must be a stray cat. He sighed, squatted down, and petted its head.
“You can’t eat fried chicken. Wait here. I’ll find you some cat food.”
The street he was on was all filled with antique shops, so there wasn’t anything suitable for a cat. He had to walk a few blocks before he came across a stall that was selling sausages. He thought the cat had already run away by the time he returned, but surprisingly, it had squatted on the spot where he told it to wait for him.
“Why are you back again?” Uncle Qian said. He had gone out of the shop to go buy something, and as soon as he stepped out, he saw Dong Zhi squatting in front feeding a cat.
“I ran into this cat, so I went to buy something to feed it.” Dong Zhi said.
Uncle Qian groaned. “Isn’t this the same cat as last time too? It has come over here a few times to beg for food and water. It’s also the same one Boss Long fed last time he was here. Why does it seem like it has lost a lot of weight?”
Dong Zhi touched the kitten’s back, and it bowed its head as it continued to gobble on the food.
“Uncle Qian, give me a box.”
“You’re planning to take it back?”
“There are so many people in the Special Administration Bureau, maybe someone will want to adopt it. It’s better than leaving it here and having it wander around.”
When Uncle Qian heard this, he turned around and went in to find the box. The kitten meowed at Dong Zhi, causing him to look at it only to discover that the sausage he had given it was already eaten.
He came to the store empty-handed but returned with a full load.
Dong Zhi arrived at the front of Longshen’s office with the box and the fried chicken, just in time to see Liu Qingbo coming out of it. Like they say, the enemy’s road is narrow as this was the second time they have encountered this situation. However, Liu Qingbo had a look of disappointment on his face, and after seeing Dong Zhi, he was startled before making an even uglier expression. Dong Zhi wanted to greet him politely at first, but before he had the chance, the other party had already hurriedly walked away.
He knocked on Long Shen’s door a few times, and a response quickly came from inside.
“Come in.”
He pressed the box against the door frame with one hand, holding the fried chicken in the other, and turned the doorknob with difficulty.
Long Shen looked up and saw him coming in carrying a load full of items and couldn’t help frowning. “You’re not resting properly. What are you doing out?”
Dong Zhi smiled and said, “I went to grab something to eat. Did you receive my text message?”
Long Shen nodded. “We already have some news here, so we’ll handle it.”
In other words, Dong Zhi didn’t need to ask.
Dong Zhi calmed down and said, “I stopped by to see Uncle Qian after dinner, and he gave me some fried chicken.”
The box was heavy mainly because it contained cat food and cat litter, which he bought on the way back.
“There is also this cat, which you have fed several times before. I happened to see it when I was leaving. Uncle Qian said it’s very thin, so I’m guessing no one has fed it for a while. I think someone here might want to adopt it, so I brought it back. If there’s no one, I’ll adopt it myself.”
Long Shen gave him a disapproving look. “If you go on a mission in the future, it could be ten days or even half a month before you return. Can you take care of it?”
Dong Zhi never thought about this. Looking at the kitten’s innocent and pitiful expression, he couldn’t help but say, “Then I will ask Uncle Qian to help raise it for those days.”
Long Shen said nothing, but instead asked, “How is your body?”
Dong Zhi smiled and said, “It’s much better, but my head is still a little dizzy. I get even dizzier when I’m lying down, so I have to get up and walk.”
“Give me your hand,” Long Shen said.
Dong Zhi stretched out his hand towards Long Shen. Long Shen held his wrist with his slender fingers, causing him to feel a slightly cool and dry feeling wherever he touched. It took a while before he realized that Long Shen was feeling his pulse.
Dong Zhi couldn’t help but think nonsensically, ‘If Long Shen diagnosed him with a terminal illness and showed him a heavy face, should he show him a smile as light as a chrysanthemum* to win his sympathy or take the opportunity to fall into his arms and confess?’
*(人淡如菊) Describes people’s conduct and character as indifferent (like a chrysanthemum).
What if Long Shen raised his head in horror and said that it’s a joyful pulse*?
*Clarity: The term used is [ximai] (喜脉) which is a pulse that signifies one is pregnant.
As his imagination ran wild, he couldn’t help but make fun of himself.
Long Shen: “…Is pulse diagnosis funny?”
Dong Zhi hurriedly suppressed his laughter, shaking his head like a rattle. After a while, somehow, instead of being relieved from his desire to laugh, it only became stronger. His shoulders trembled as he endured hard.
Long Shen reluctantly withdrew his hand. “Let your laughter out first.”
As soon as he spoke, Dong Zhi fell on the sofa next to him, clutching his stomach while laughing.
Long Shen: “What’s so funny?”
Dong Zhi shook his head violently, continuing to laugh hysterically. He absolutely, positively, couldn’t tell, or it would end up with a certain someone’s death!
Kinky Thought:
I don’t know Dong Zhi… With all this supernatural shit going on, getting pregnant by Long Shen could very well be on the table.
Kinky Translations 