CH 55

Lin Suci and Bai Qingkong were confused. In the hustle and bustle, they followed the butler of the city lord’s back to the mansion. Chi Haina had won the battle beautifully, and was gone to find someone to settle his matters with great arrogance.

The big victory depended on the two most under-appreciated young men. Although the other cultivators that were recruited by the city lord were pleased with the victory of their side, they were also slightly embarrassed. When they returned to the mansion, they all gathered together, but did not go to congratulate Lin Suci and Bai Qingkong.

Lin Suci and Yan Boshen stayed in a small courtyard where the other cultivators never set foot. They only welcomed Bai Qingkong, and Shu Changyi who was still in women’s clothing.

Presently, Lin Suci and Bai Qingkong were the great heroes of the city lord’s mansion. The butler still remained polite and obediently obeyed them. The young maids walked in line, one after the other to fill up the table with fruits and rice wine. The gourmet foods also continued to fill up one after another and there were still seven or eight beautiful maids serving them.

Four people were sitting around an octagonal table. The table was full of plates and the beautiful maids stood on one side wanting to serve them, but were rejected. Some could not help but initiate the opportunity to pour the wine with a calming smile.

Lin Suci and Bai Qingkong both put forth great energy that day and their stomachs were long empty. Even at the table, they did not even bother to talk.  At once, with chopsticks in their hands, they immersed themselves in the food.

The maid poured the wine. Lin Suci reached out for the wine cup without raising his head. Yan Boshen turned his chopsticks to the other end and patted the back of his hand.

“Hey!” Lin Suci bit his chopsticks and looked up while looking at Yan Boshen in surprise.

Yan Boshen directly grasped the cup from his hand and placed it in front of him.

“You are still young, so no alcohol for you.”

“I’m not young anymore…” Lin Suci licked his lips, but he did not have a strong urge to drink anyways. He just thought that drinking wine would make him be regarded as an adult. He wanted to give it a try, so he eagerly stretched out his hand again and took the wine glass in front of Yan Boshen.

Yan Boshen, who was seated directly next to him, pressed his hand against Lin Suci’s while wrapping Lin Suci’s palm that was smaller than him under the table.

That posture made Lin Suci somehow a little uncomfortable. He could not avoid his arms from being placed horizontally on top of Yan Boshen’s legs. His body leaned slightly.

“Senior…” Lin Suci wanted to say something but Yan Boshen looked elsewhere and added a piece of beef into Lin Suci’s bowl.

“Don’t talk while eating.”

That was his rejecting request.

Lin Suci bit his chopsticks and looked sideways at Yan Boshen. He gnawed the chopsticks for a while and something flashed across his mind.

There were not more than four people seated around. The octagonal table was big enough. But the way the four seated seemed like Lin Suci was closer to Yan Boshen while Bai Qingkong and Shu Changyi were seated together. The pairs were distant from each other.

Bai Qingkong immersed himself in his meal and Shu Changyi kept shoving him side dishes while shooting occasional glances at Lin Suci and Yan Boshen. When he glanced at the same side again, he sighted Yan Boshen chopsticks midairal with a calm face. There was also an unknown serene appearance on his face.

Shu Changyi glanced again with some curiosity but met with Yan Boshen’s eyes. A chill went down his spine and he immediately lowered his head.

Bai Qingkong did not notice it at all. His cheeks were bulging and he ate with relish.

Only then, Yan Boshen looked towards Lin Suci who was seated beside him.

Lin Suci, who was biting on the chopsticks, smiled crookedly. His innocent face was full of cunningness. His eyebrows were raised, like a child who succeeded in a prank and had indescribable triumph.

Yan Boshen grinded the back of his teeth, and spoke telepathically, “…hand.”

Lin Suci looked blank, “What are you talking about?”

There was innocence on his face, but under the table, Lin Suci’s hand that was just held by Yan Boshen had crawled onto Yan Boshen’s muscular thighs. Along the two thin layers of cloth, he bent his fingers and poked while shifting upwards.

His hand had been pressed tightly by Yan Boshen, firmly attached to Yan Boshen’s thigh and could not move. However, the fingers were still moving restlessly.

Yan Boshen’s eyes looked gloomy and saw that his little cat did not restrain at all and even stepped all over him, taking advantage. One his foot was on his foot and he began to slowly move it up to his calf.

Lin Suci still maintained an innocent face but there was an inconceivable cunning gleam in those green eyes.

Under the table, Lin Suci’s foot had already stepped on his knees and was about to climb up to meet his hand.

Yan Boshen’s both legs pressed hard and clamped Lin Suci’s foot, making him immobile.

Lin Suci struggled but his foot was between someone else’s knee. He could not escape, so he gave up his struggle, and concentrated on eating the steaming hot tofu.

However, he was distracted. Why was Yan Boshen not lifting his chopsticks?

His hand was still clenching Lin Suci’s hand, tightly pressed against his thigh. The little cat’s legs were still clamped between his knees, almost controlling half of him.

That posture was obviously more uncomfortable for Lin Suci. Yan Boshen was waiting for the little cat to surrender but he did not expect that he would just let it be, free and easy. Lin Suci might be waiting for the moment for Yan Boshen to let go, so Yan Boshen remained unwavering.

Let go? I won’t let this kitten go off that simply. Nope, I won’t let go…

Yan Boshen’s thigh muscles were tight and his whole body was somehow stiff. It was impossible for him to loosen up casually.

Lin Suci minded his own business for a while and then turned his head, only to see that Yan Boshen did not move his chopsticks but rather deadlocked to a position.

“Wine.”

He opened up his mouth to speak. It was just a word but the tone was full of complacency.

Yan Boshen slowly loosened his legs and let go of the kitten’s legs. He pushed the wine glass in front of him back to Lin Suci.

Lin Suci’s eyes brightened, putting down his chopsticks as he squinted with a smile at Yan Boshen. While holding a glass of wine, he tried to please him, “Senior has worked hard. Can I offer you a cup of wine to my senior?”

Yan Boshen shot him a deep gaze and gave a face full of warning, “Just one cup.”

“Sure, sure, sure.” Lin Suci was so happy to be able to win over Yan Boshen. Holding the first wine cup in his life, he clinked the cups together with Yan Boshen. He took a deep breath, sighed in relief and sipped the wine with a face of contentment. He licked his lips and enjoyed it with pleasure.

Yan Boshen looked at him and slowly drank the glass of wine in front of him.

The maid next to him hurriedly filled a second cup.

Bai Qingkong, who was almost full, put down his chopsticks and raised his wine glass with slight conspicuousness,”Brother Ye, Senior, let me toast you a cup.”

Yan Boshen also considered giving him a face and drank a cup.

Shu Changyi also continued closely. He smiled and got up to bow, “Senior of Brother Ye, Junior has been admiring you for a long time. I understood that Senior was a dragon and a phoenix among people. If Junior gets a piece of advice from the Senior of Brother Ye, this junior will be grateful.”

Yan Boshen only drank wine with him. As for speaking, he did not want to comment further on what he said.

The other two people at the table also toasted with wine. Lin Suci had one thought and he began raising his cup, “Senior…”

Before he finished speaking, Yan Boshen held down his wrist and there was a warning in his eyes, “Forgot what I said?”

Just one cup.

Lin Suci sighed and angrily put down the wine cup.

After drinking and eating, the four moved to the outer hall and started chatting with tea.

“What is this Trial Tower of Yunxiao County? And, what is this passage order?” Bai Qingkong asked curiously while flipping over the black-coloured wooden sign that Chi Haina had given him and Lin Suci.

Shu Changyi answered him.

“The Trial Tower of Yunxiao County was originally the place where the Gu family cultivated. I heard that the Gu family’s ancestors spent hundreds of years of great effort just to build one hundred floors specifically for the Gu family’s younger generations for cultivation. They reconstructed it from scratch and made this Trial Tower. One hundred floors were sufficient for every single Gu family disciple to engage with Qi-training  and to practice continuously. It was only a hundred years ago that the Gu family died out and several influences tried every possible way to preserve that tower. Alas, they decided to allow the public to enter the trial tower.”

“Well, they don’t actually want to open the tower to the public. In fact, the value to preserve the tower was truly high. Those several influences were not genuinely willing to consume effort and resources just for the sake of a tower. Therefore, they emphasized the existence of the tower by constructing a regulation.”

“If one wants to enter the tower, there are two ways. The first way is by distributing passage orders. It’s just that in a year, the pass is issued to merely a few, which is really scarce. It’s only considered as useful when the order is under safeguard to enter the tower. After all, some people don’t hold an order and for that, they can desperately fight, rob and kill. They will endlessly hunt down and kill the holders. Second, is by becoming a slave to those influences as to sign the deed of bargaining. Within one year, they must fully obey their master’s dispatch and instructions. Only those who live for one year or more are eligible to enter the tower.”

Lin Suci had already known about the trial tower, but he was sure that Bai Qingkong was clueless about it, so he could only make an expression as surprised as Bai Qingkong and listened carefully to Shu Changyi’s explanation.

“Then this order must be very precious.” Bai Qingkong was clasping the order and somehow felt touched, “The city lord is really too courteous.”

Lin Suci shook the order and continued, “Well, the city lord is rich and overbearing enough to send it to both of us. Ah, the wealthy.”

“Little Bai,” Lin Suci said and then asked, “When are you going to enter the tower?”

Bai Qingkong just obtained the “Domineering Heart Code” and the majestic soaring sword. Those were not stable and entirely dependable at the moment, so he would surely gain a lot if he entered the tower to cultivate.

However, in the original book, when Bai Qingkong obtained the order to go to Yunxiao County, he was seen through his disguise, and got chased and killed all the way. He almost died in the rush. Relying on the Seventh Miss Lady of You Family who he met on the way, he barely took a breath before reaching the entrance of the tower.

“How about Xingchen? Why don’t you want to go with me?” Bai Qingkong was a little surprised.

“Of course I can’t go now,” Lin Suci said with a grin. “Yunxiao County is so far away, and the trial tower is so difficult. If I want to go out, I must first get permission from my sect.”

In the original book, it was seven years since Bai Qingkong entered the tower. If he really entered, then the outcome would definitely be the same. It was fine if it was just a few months to leave the tower, but if it was for a few years, then he certainly could not leave without saying nothing.

Yan Boshen nodded, “That’s right.”

“Then why don’t you let me accompany you back?” Bai Qingkong suggested, “Anyway, I have a sect but it does not seem like I have one anyways. No one mentors me, so I can go anywhere.”

Shu Changyi continued, “I told my sect that I went out to cultivate. They let me do whatever I want for eight to ten years. I have a lot of free time, so I can certainly accompany Little Brother Ye.”

Lin Suci was touched.

Bai Qingkong was the world’s hero. If he could have a better relationship with his family, would it be good for the future?

“No need.”

Before Lin Suci could think clearly, Yan Boshen had already rejected it swiftly.

With his refusal, the two people on the other side dared not mention further. After looking at each other, they silently accepted the decision.

Lin Suci would do whatever he said. The next day, after bidding goodbye to Bai Qingkong and Shu Changyi. The two pairs were separated and they headed their own journey back. Bai Qingkong and Shu Changyi went to Yunxiao County. Lin Suci packed up his baggage and returned to the Cardinal Sect with Yan Boshen.

It had been three months after their goodbyes. The small home in the mountains was no different from before they left. Lin Suci and Yan Boshen’s sword landed on the ground. They pushed the fence door, and shouted from a long distance, “Master, senior brother, senior sister! Your baby disciples are back!”

Yan Boshen took the sword and followed behind Lin Suci. Lin Suci excitedly rushed into the main hall, and just when he was raising his foot across the threshold, he was hit hard by the oncoming figure from inside, and he sat on the ground.

“Ouch!”

Lin Suci’s butt hurted, and when he looked up, he met a familiar yet unfamiliar face.

It was familiar, because the person who hit him was his Fourth Senior Sister, Ruan Linggu.

On the other hand, it was unfamiliar, because his family’s always gentle Fourth Senior Sister was frowning at that moment. Her eyes were red like dripping blood, and her face was murderous.

“Fourth Senior Sister?”

Sitting on the ground, Lin Suci was a little frightened by the strangeness of his fourth senior.

Ruan Linggu rubbed the chin she had hit, and bent over to pat Lin Suci’s head at her will, “You’re back.”

Lin Suci gritted his teeth in pain and felt that Ruan Linggu was about to pluck his hair out by accident. However, he keenly noticed that the fourth senior sister was in a bad mood, so he did not dare shout at her because he was well-aware of current affairs.

He stood up slowly and massaged his buttocks, when Qing Fou came out across the threshold.

“Master…” Lin Suci raised his hand and greeted.

Qing Fou only glanced at him, as if angrily: “Why did you come back at this *critical juncture (*T/N: a dialect for ‘critical moment’)?! Don’t you know how to stay outside for a while longer?!”

Lin Suci was at a loss, “What?”

“Big Senior!”

Ruan Linggu was already standing in front of Yan Boshen. She looked straight at him and said every single word, “Big Senior, you returned just on time. Would Big Senior please do me a favor and slaughter this dog for me!”

Lin Suci clutched his buttocks and stood beside Qing Fou. He asked in a low voice, “Master, what’s wrong with the Fourth Senior Sister?”

Qing Fou looked miserable, “This is not a child’s concern, don’t ask.”

Seeing that he could not get the answer from his master, Lin Suci immediately raised his hand and said loudly: “Fourth Senior Sister, if you want to slaughter, count me in. I want to gain more experience!”

“Good boy!” Ruan Linggu snapped her fingers with a distorted murderous intent, “Come on! Contribute your strength to your senior sister!”

Lin Suci’s eyes lit up and ran to Ruan Linggu.

As soon as he ran to her, Yan Boshen raised his hand and grabbed the back of his collar.

Lin Suci was suddenly grabbed by the collar, so he strang his tongue out, “Cough cough cough, senior, are you going to murder a kitten?!”

Yan Boshen slowly let go of Lin Suci’s collar, and glanced at the dizzy kitten in his arms. Then, he raised his eyes and met with Ruan Linggu’s burning gaze. He spoke calmly, “He is not allowed to join.”