CH 30

February 1st, 2023

Fang Li slept soundly and comfortably. Last night, after putting Wu Yimei at ease, he’d ordered him to take care of other matters.

So today, it was just him and Xie Huai heading out.

They hired a different coach driver. Fang Li and Xie Huai sat inside the carriage, and although Xie Huai still had that indifferent appearance, looking no different from usual……

But Fang Li acutely felt that the air pressure around Xie Huai was a little low. Even with his eyes closed, he emitted an icy cold aura that kept everyone at a distance.

What was wrong? Was he still mad about what happened in the dream?

Fang Li recalled the events of the dream and, with a bit of a guilty conscience, took the initiative to stay farther away from Xie Huai. The two of them sat practically on opposite sides, and for the entire journey, forget speaking to each other, the two of them didn’t even make eye contact once.

All the way up until Fang Li fell asleep.

Xie Huai slowly opened his eyes and looked at the person before him.

He said he would let him go.

If he had said those words when Xie Huai had first arrived at Hollow Ridge, he would have only treated them like a joke, thinking that he was being played tricks on…… But after experiencing everything that had happened, Xie Huai believed it without a doubt.

That did indeed seem like something Fang Li would do……

Although Fang Li had captured him, he didn’t dare to touch him even once, keeping to his boundaries and never crossing them. His feelings were reserved yet tender, and even when interacting, he was careful and cautious…… So, that someone like him would let Xie Huai go was also only to be expected, wasn’t it……

How could this person really bear to hurt him?

Thinking about how very soon, he would let Xie Huai leave……

Xie Huai actually didn’t know whether he should be happy or not. It seemed like something was weighing down on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

Xie Huai didn’t know what feeling this was. Although he didn’t deny that he had felt something for that devil before, and he didn’t hate that person……  Neither of those were love.

He wouldn’t fall in love with that person. The two of them stood on irreconcilable sides, and they were destined to have no outcome together.

Since that person had decided to let go, it was a good thing for the both of them. He should feel relaxed, but why was it that his mood had become heavier……

Xie Huai forcefully closed his eyes.

It really wasn’t that he couldn’t bear it. Perhaps, it was only because he felt guilt at being unable to return those feelings.

He didn’t know why Fang Li would love him this much, but those feelings were careful, tender, and precious, like the treasure that a small child presented, cupped in their hands…… Nobody in the world had the right to look down on those feelings, including him.

Perhaps Wu Yimei had understood this even earlier than him.

So he’d had Fang Li let him go.

Xie Huai pulled at the corner of his mouth in self-ridicule. He had actually underestimated Wu Yimei.

Just as well.

Since that was the case, then when they met again another day, they would be enemies to the death. All of this today, he would think of as a fantasy in a dream, nothing more.

……………………………

Fang Li could sense Xie Huai’s estrangement and detachment, as if they had gone back to the very beginning. He hadn’t thought that the potency of the dream would be this strong…… But thinking about it again, it was also a good thing. Somehow or another, he’d dragged the plot back into place!

Fang Li very considerately didn’t go to bother Xie Huai and let him sulk by himself.

After ten days.

They arrived at Helan province’s Mountainview City.

Cinnabar Gate, one of the five great righteous sects, was located inside of Mountainview City. Cinnabar Gate had vast amounts of accumulated knowledge and formidable might, and of the five great sects, it had the greatest number of members. Its territory spanned three thousand li, with Helan province at its heart.

Cinnabar Gate had rigorous laws and great prestige, and it was more or less the local ruler of this area.

And Cinnabar Gate’s Gate Master Chong Wanshan, as a Void Refining level expert who had long made his name known in the world, had overseen Helan province for over a hundred years, his position aloof and transcendent, even more so an object of admiration for all.

Fang Li got off the carriage in front of Mountainview City’s city gate, looking up at the gate walls over a hundred meters tall, and narrowed his eyes slightly. After having been off on this journey for such a long time, it was finally time to start the main plotline.

This part of the story was extremely important, with danger at every step. He needed to be careful and prudent.

Thinking up to here, Fang Li turned back to look at Xie Huai.

In the original script, Yan Sui had brought Xie Huai along on his scenic tour all the way to Mountainview City. That whole trip had naturally not been without him doing that with Xie Huai, and he had been extremely frivolous. Not only had he brought Xie Huai into the city as if he owned the place, he had even teased Xie Huai by calling him “wife,” even making those who didn’t know the truth believe that they were a married couple.

They looked like more useless plot points for the sake of serving up meat in various styles, and calling Xie Huao wife seemed to be only for the sake of amusement between the sheets, but this part of the plot involved another important character—the deputy tower master of one of the five great sects, Black Star Tower’s Fu Junling.

Not only was Fu Junling Black Star Tower’s deputy tower master, but even more importantly, he was Xie Huai’s good friend.

Although the book hadn’t ever written that Fu Junling had other thoughts toward Xie Huai, Fu Junling had poured out all of his sweat and blood for Xie Huai’s sake and had sacrificed greatly for their friendship. Fang Li thought that with this book’s piss-poor quality of having everyone fall in love with Xie Huai, Fu Junling was probably secretly in love with him, right? After all, in this odd book, it seemed like everyone but Xie Huai was bent……

But whether Fu Junling liked Xie Huai or not wasn’t important. What was important was that he just happened to be staying as a guest at Cinnabar Gate right now, and then, he would meet the Yan Sui who was bringing Xie Huai with him. Seeing Yan Sui insult Xie Huai like this, he would wish for nothing more than to immediately rescue Xie Huai from the devil’s grasp.

After that, he would urge Black Star to enter the Thousand Immortals’ Alliance and personally follow the Thousand Immortals’ Alliance in storming Hollow Ridge, making heroic contributions toward the final siege on Yan Sui.

This part of the plot involved two of the five great sects, and everyone who made an appearance on stage was a great personage of the world. In order to avoid creating unnecessary troubles, it wasn’t convenient to randomly change the plot.

Besides, wasn’t it just calling Xie Huai wife? He’d done it plenty of times in the dream already.

He hadn’t seen Xie Huai come out and stab him on the spot, either.

He’d offended Xie Huai more than just once or twice. Offending him one more time wasn’t a big deal, either. The more troubles one had, the less one worried. Anyways, when he was done with this, he would be able to go back to Hollow Ridge and wait for death.

Thinking up to here, Fang Li made up his mind.

He turned back to look at Xie Huai, ignoring his detachment, and smiled faintly. “Let’s enter the city.”

Xie Huai looked deeply at Fang Li.

Mountainview City was where Cinnabar Gate was. Fang Li was not only swaggering in, but was even bringing him along. Was he afraid that other people wouldn’t know who he was?

It seems like this was the true purpose of your trip.

But Mountainview City isn’t an unassuming little place like Xining county, and Cinnabar Gate’s Gate Master Chong Wanshan, as a Void Refining level expert who’s run rampant in the world for many years, definitely can’t be compared to rubbish like Shan Qingyang…… This place is as fortified as a castle, with countless high-level masters. Coming here alone like this, aren’t you afraid you’ll be trapped here?

But Fang Li’s attention had already been drawn away by Mountainview City.

The reason why this city was called Mountainview City was because it was built encircling a mountain. That mountain stood in the very center of the city, towering into the sky like a jade vessel, and it was the precisely the ancient holy mountain, Mount Cinnabar.1

The streets of Mountainview City were flourishing beyond compare, with pedestrians flowing like streams and carriages and horses weaving through like dragons. Everywhere was richly decorated, exuding an extraordinary air. Compared to Mountainview City, Xining county’s capital seemed like a backwater town.

Fang Li sighed with astonishment as he looked.

If one were to say that Baihua province was an earthly land of riches and wealth where one lost themselves in luxury, then this was the grand and awe-inspiring celestial capital of a heavenly kingdom.

He walked along the path, occasionally seeing disciples dressed in red patrolling along the streets. These were Cinnabar Gate’s outer sect disciples, in charge of maintaining order inside the city.

It was said that Mountainview City was the safest place in the world, and nobody picked up lost items on the streets or locked their doors at night, because Cinnabar Gate was unlike any of the other great cultivation sects. Although the other sects cut down monsters and slayed demons, upholding justice and protecting the people…… They were still more or less detached from the world. Unless it was necessary, they rarely acted, and most mortals couldn’t come into contact with them, nor would they interfere much with the lives of common people.

But Cinnabar Gate was willing to participate in the affairs of the mortal world, exercising control over the people of their territory. All of the city-states under their jurisdiction had to abide by Cinnabar Gate’s laws, and Cinnabar Gate took charge of any conflicts or crimes between mortals. Here, Cinnabar Gate was law, the ironclad justice that nobody could defy.

Because Cinnabar Gate enforced their rules strictly and handled matters fairly, everyone approved of Cinnabar Gate’s oversight, and after several hundred years like this, it had long been carved into their hearts.

Fang Li watched the two Cinnabar Gate disciples beside him walk past.

Picking a fight was strictly forbidden inside of Mountainview City. In front of them, two drunks had started a brawl, and there were already people here to take them away.

Fang Li laughed and continued to walk forward.

He looked around at both sides of the street with interest when his gaze suddenly shifted and fell onto a restaurant in front.

This restaurant was constructed with extreme opulence and was at least a hundred meters wide. The entire restaurant was a hollow ring shape, and in the middle was a man-made lake. In the center of the lake was a tall stage, and atop the stage were celestial maidens in a masterful dance. Looking at the movements of those dancers, each of them had to be at least Foundation Building level in cultivation, and the leader of the dancers even seemed to be a Golden Core cultivator.

How lavish.

Even the dancers were cultivators, huh.

Outside the restaurant, more than a few people craned their necks to watch.

Fang Li listened for a while and learned that these were dancing courtesans raised by the Gilded Tower.

The Gilded Tower was extremely famous in Mountainview City. It was said that the boss of the Gilded tower was extremely rich and had spent tons of money to find talented seedlings. He had these young women take appearance-preserving pills at sixteen years of age, forever preserving their youthful looks, then used spirit stones to hurry their cultivation. These cultivators never trained in killing techniques, instead spending decades refining their dancing skills. A single dance of theirs was like witnessing the descent of the goddess Xuan Nu,2 and it was hard to even catch a glimpse on a normal day. 

Outside of the restaurant, one could only catch the occasional sight of them. In order to observe their grace, one had to enter the restaurant, but the spots in the Gilded Tower were extremely expensive. Not just anyone could enter and take a look.

Fang Li immediately became interested.

He entered the Gilded Tower, and very quickly, a waiter came up to welcome them with a smile, saying, “Sir, did you come to watch the dance?”

Fang Li nodded.

The waiter said courteously, “May I ask which floor you’d like to watch from, sir? Our first floor is a hundred spirit stones, the second floor is a thousand spirit stones, the third floor is two thousand spirit stones, the fourth floor is five thousand spirit stones, and the fifth floor has no fixed price, starting from eight thousand spirit stones.”

Fang Li raised an eyebrow. “The fifth floor, then.”

The waiter’s expression trembled, and he cautiously sized up Fang Li. This young master looked a little unfamiliar, but he was wealthy and imposing. Could he be an honored guest from another province?

Hearing that Fang Li wanted to go to the fifth floor, the waiter became even more courteous and bowed as he led them forward.

The fifth floor was extremely spacious, and it had been separated with paper screens into only ten sections, the sections were sparsely occupied and not yet full. In the center compartment sat a young master in luxurious attire.

The waiter looked at the empty sections and smiled as he asked, “Which spot would you like, sir?”

Fang Li didn’t even look at the ones to the sides and pointed directly at the one in the middle, saying, “I want that one.”

The waiter’s expression immediately changed, and he said, “There’s already a guest there. According to our rules, it’s first come, first serve. Would you please select another one, sir?”

Fang Li raised an eyebrow and laughed softly with amusement. “What, do you think my noble self can’t pay? I’m willing to pay double the price. I want the spot in the middle.”

The waiter stood there in a predicament.

He couldn’t afford to offend the guest in the center section either. It seemed this young master really was from another province and didn’t understand the rules in their Mountainview City, acting like a tyrant and thinking that he could do anything he wanted if he had money. Careful that you don’t suffer both humiliation and defeat!

The waiter said politely, neither arrogant nor servile, “It’s not a matter of money. Please forgive this one for being powerless. If the young master doesn’t like any of the others, this one can only ask you to return.”

Huh, even a waiter could be this firm. It seemed like he trusted Cinnabar Gate quite a bit and wasn’t afraid at all that Fang Li would make a fuss……

But Fang Li was here today precisely to make a fuss.

He wanted to see whether Cinnabar Gate really was like the rumors, able to enforce the law strictly and impartially without a single blemish.

Fang Li didn’t pay any more attention to the waiter and stepped forward directly, patting the young master in the brocade robes with a smile. “Your seat, I want it.”

The young master was in the middle of watching the dance with rapt interest when he suddenly heard Fang Li speak and couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment…… He said, “What did you say?”

Fang Li repeated patiently, “I said, your seat, I want it.”

The young master looked at Fang Li, unable to believe his ears. After a long time, he finally confirmed the meaning of his words. This person actually wanted him to give up his spot for him? Was he mad? Why did he have to give up his seat to him? He’d had to pay twenty thousand spirit stones in order to reserve this seat!

He wasn’t a lunatic, was he?

To think that the Gilded Tower had even let someone like that inside. Next time, he’d have to have a talk with the tower owner and tell them not to let in any random lunatic.

He gave a cold humph and ignored Fang Li.

Fang Li sure wasn’t in the mood to speak a third time. He directly reached out and tossed the richly dressed young master out of the tower.

Now this caused a big stir.

Everyone outside the restaurant stared wide-eyed and open-mouthed, and even the dancers on the stage were so startled they stopped.

The waiter was nearly shocked unconscious.

But Fang Li acted as if he hadn’t sensed anything and pulled Xie Huai to sit beside him, his chin propped up on one hand as he looked at the stage. He opened his mouth to say in a languid voice, “Keep going, don’t stop.”

Xie Huai’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter. Fang Li coming here was one thing, but he was even openly making a fuss in Mountainview City. Just what did he want to do? Don’t forget, you’re completely alone right now.

Because of the worries in his heart, Xie Huai said in a heavy voice, “You shouldn’t do this.”

But Fang Li took Xie Huai’s hand in his and glanced at him with a slight smile, consoling him in a gentle voice, “Wife, there’s no need to worry, this husband has matters in hand.”

Wife……

Xie Huai’s expression froze for a second.

He stared fixedly at Fang Li.

Now what was he playing at?

The one who said he was going to let me go before was you, and now you’re calling me wife, making trouble with no sense of priorities! Besides, who’s your wife? Everything in the dream was fake.

Truly absurd.

Xie Huai’s face was frigid, and he was just about to retort…… But his gaze swept past the lover’s talisman hanging from Fang Li’s waist. Fang Li had carried the lover’s talisman on him ever since leaving Lover’s Pass, not putting it down for a moment.

The pale, thin man looked at him, overflowing with smiles, those eyes seemingly brimming with affection……

His retort suddenly choked in his throat.

That was nothing more than a dream. I won’t take it seriously, and you shouldn’t take it seriously, either.

Things shouldn’t continue on like this between them, either, with wavering and hesitation instead of decisiveness, suffering from chaos. Since he’d already decided to draw a clear line between them……

Xie Huai took a deep breath and clenched his fist.

Forget it.

Seeing as we’re going to separate sooner or later, seeing as there isn’t much time left, if you want to make trouble, then go ahead……

What need was there to bicker with this person over a few words? On the contrary, that would make him seem equally childish.

Fang Li said his lines according to the script, but in his heart, he was actually a little nervous. Looking at Xie Huai’s ice-cold face, he’d thought Xie Huai was going to retort and was just pondering over how to respond when he saw Xie Huai coldly turn his head and fall silent……

Fang Li couldn’t help but be a little startled. He fell into contemplation for a few moments and came to the conclusion that Xie Huai was extremely shrewd after all, as well as able to hold his temper.

He felt it beneath him to bicker with Fang Li.

Fang Li let out a slight sigh of relief and turned his head to continue to watch the show.

Not fifteen minutes later, the richly dressed young master brought two Cinnabar Gate law enforcement disciples up and pointed at Fang Li, saying angrily, “He was the one who stole my spot and even publicly committed assault inside the city!”

Daring to commit assault inside the city, he really didn’t know his place!

The two law enforcement disciples looked coldly at Fang Li and said, “Please come with us for a bit.”

Fang Li turned a deaf ear and waved his hand, and those two disciples flew out, too.

This time, no one in the restaurant was paying attention to the performance anymore. They were all staring at Fang Li with their jaws dropped to the floor.

The waiter’s expression was terrified, and he fell paralyzed to the ground.

Although there were few who dared to raise a fuss in Mountainview City, it did occasionally happen. But daring to raise a hand against the law enforcement disciples in Mountainview City was something that couldn’t be witnessed in decades! The law enforcement disciples represented the law of Cinnabar Gate.

To show contempt for Cinnabar Gate’s laws in public, this person wasn’t really insane, was he?!

Xie Huai’s thin lips were pressed into a line. Fang Li was obviously doing it on purpose, and his goal was to attract Cinnabar Gate’s attention. But do you know how dangerous this is?

You’re putting yourself on the fire together with Chong Wanshan to roast!

Cinnabar Gate’s laws were its position in the world. They definitely wouldn’t allow anyone to trample over them. In order to protect the dignity of their laws and the honor of their sect, not a single person who dared to raise a hand against their law enforcement disciples could escape heavy punishment, no matter how noble their birth or how high their cultivation.

Cinnabar Gate definitely wouldn’t allow a single person to hold their laws in contempt!

Fang Li obviously knew everything, yet he insisted on raising a fuss, stirring up trouble right up to Chong Wanshan’s doorstep, making it impossible for him to ignore. Did he want to start a war with Cinnabar Gate?

But why Cinnabar Gate?

Cinnabar Gate was the farthest away from Hollow Ridge, and the two had no conflicts with each other. Even if you wanted to use the righteous sects to show off your might, you should have chosen the highest ranked, Heaven’s Summit, so why did you have to choose…… the least likely one, Cinnabar Gate?

It couldn’t be that Heaven’s Summit had only been a pretense, and Cinnabar Gate was your true goal?

Xie Huai’s expression became heavy.

………………………………

The Author Has Something to Say:

Straight Man Fang: I don’t know why the wife is angry.

Xie Huai: When I start a fight, it won’t last more than half a chapter, one sentence is enough to coax me.

Author: ……

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1 Known in legend as the birthplace of the phoenix

2 Xuan Nu