CH 36

What do you mean?

What do you mean “didn’t you two just check out?” “

Make yourself clear, was it one room or two rooms?

Wu Xingxue was bursting with questions, but it wasn’t convenient to ask any. If he really asked, then… the innkeeper would surely not be able to rest peacefully tonight—

Just imagine, if an ordinary person had just seen off two guests only to welcome an identical pair, the latter of whom inquired after all the former’s activities with a completely unfamiliar expression. Wouldn’t it get scarier and scarier the more one thought?

If later they were taken as monsters and some cultivation sects came to surround and arrest them, it’d be far too noisy a movement. 

The Tianxiu Immortal said this was an illusion realm, but the scenes were true. Wu Xingxue didn’t know what effect such a great movement would have on this place, but based on common sense, it wouldn’t be anything good. Keeping a low profile would be somewhat more reliable.  

So he brusquely pushed down the doubts on his face, keeping himself under an airtight mask of utter calm. He looked like he had indeed just left this inn not too long ago.  

The innkeeper gasped at them with a “the hell is wrong with you two” expression, then asked dryly: “What, you two changed your mind and wanted to stay another night?” 

Wu Xingxue thought: no need, just let me think of an excuse to go back out real quick. 

In the end, before he could find a way out, it was Xiao Fuxuan who answered the innkeeper, “Yes please, sorry for the trouble.”

Wu Xingxue: “?”

Hold up a minute.

Lord Tianxiu did not hold up a minute.

The innkeeper’s voice grew higher, “What, you… you really want to stay another night?” 

Xiao Fuxuan: “Mm.”

Wu Xingxue tilted his head, stealthily fixing his sights on the immortal.

Xiao Fuxuan shot him a quick glance, then looked to the innkeeper. Only just barely stirring his thin lips, he whispered: “I’ll explain when we get up.”  

……

Okay.

Shedding his pride, Wu Xingxue nodded.  

Lacking memory was just no good at this point; every so often he’d have to be obedient. 

How could a dignified devil be an obedient, rule-abiding person And yet he’d kept his head down the entire way; from an ignorant person’s perspective, perhaps he could be praised as a humble young master, gentle and meek.  

If any Zhaoye City people heard of such a description, they’d probably be scared to death.

Despite Xiao Fuxuan’s affirmation, the innkeeper was quite baffled, his face full of reluctance. It seemed like the guests staying another night wasn’t at all what he’d hoped for.

That expression of his successfully drew a certain devil’s attention. 

Wu Xingxue narrowed his eyes, observing him. 

He watched as the innkeeper click-clacked on the abacus for a little while, then raided the cupboard for a slate-blue register, licked his fingers to flip to a yellowed page, and raised his brush.

Both his actions and the tone of his speech were slow and plodding. Clearly, he was a middle-aged man, his hair still black, but he was permeated with a heavy air of age, in stark contrast with that chubby bellboy.  

As the innkeeper dipped his brush in ink, he raised his head to ask: “You two are still staying in the same room as before?” 

Xiao Fuxuan: “Mm.”

Hearing that “Mm,” the Devil Lord could no longer pay attention to the innkeeper.  

Wu Xingxue again turned his head to stare down Xiao Fuxuan. From an angle the innkeeper couldn’t see clearly, he mouthed the question: One room???  

He saw Xiao Fuxuan glancing briefly at him, just long enough to read his lips. But he waited a while, and another “I’ll explain when we get up” didn’t follow from Xiao Fuxuan’s mouth.  

It seemed like… a silent affirmation. 

Wu Xingxue was unable to break this silence. After a beat, he smoothed his lips and retracted his line of sight.

The innkeeper picked a key out from a large copper ring and passed it to the chubby bellboy. Taking it, the bellboy led the two “out and back again” guests up to the second floor.

The innkeeper picked a key out from a large copper ring and passed it to the chubby bellboy. Taking it, the bellboy led the two “out and back again” guests up to the second floor.  He rambled on, face red with restraint as he said in a low voice: “Um, our inn doesn’t get many visitors, and You two had just checked out not too long ago, so… So there hasn’t been time to tidy the room up yet.” 

As he spoke, he rapidly shot a glance down to the counter, as though the matter of his laziness would be overheard by the innkeeper. 

“If you two aren’t in a hurry, would it be possible to wait just a moment for me to scrub and tidy a little, and go exchange the teapot for a hot one—” The little chubby kid came to a halt at the doorway of the room. Before he could finish speaking, he felt a coolness in his hand—the key between his fingers was gone.  

This ice-cold sensation was familiar to him; when that guest with the appearance of an elegant young master had reached out to stop him, it was the same feeling, so cold he let out a shiver. 

The little chubby kid looked at Wu Xingxue in confusion, and saw that the key was indeed in his hand. 

The next moment, the guests had already unlocked and entered the door. 

Well, looks like you’re really in a hurry then. 

The little chubby kid thought. 

Wu Xingxue naturally didn’t know what the bellboy was imagining; he’d been preoccupied with that “one room’ for a while now, and wanted to take a look at this bedroom before it could be cleaned to see what it really looked like.  

As the Devil Lord pushed open the door, he thought, if it was anything as unsightly as Sang Yu’s bed… 

He’d have to kill this peeping bellboy.  

The little chubby kid had no idea he was risking a trip to the underworld. He pulled the rag hanging on his shoulders and diligently followed through the door. Just as he was about to start cleaning, however, he gaped out: “Huh?”  

The room’s bed was neat and tidy, the wooden chairs were under the table, and even the pile of teacups on the table was placed upside-down on their trays. People had clearly stayed here, yet it appeared as if nothing had been moved.  

“You two…” The little chubby kid blinked, looking at the two guests in confusion. He’d never encountered guests who’d cleaned up after themselves, let alone to this degree.

Could it be that they hadn’t actually stayed here?

Then what were they doing occupying a room for nothing?  Wu Xingxue was also totally surprised, but his face remained unperturbed. Once his gaze had swept over every corner of the room’s interior, he said to the little chubby kid: “You need not clean, just skedaddle why don’t you.” 

The little chubby kid was more than happy to do so. With an “Ai!” he took his rag and ran.  

With the miscellaneous person gone, Wu Xingxue shot Xiao Fuxuan a look.  

I see you, Tianxiu Immortal.

Staring him down, Wu Xingxue opened his mouth to say: “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”  

Xiao Fuxuan raised his sword to nudge at the door, which promptly shut; the night’s mountain wind no longer leaked in. He walked up to the table and bowed his head to poke at the lamp’s candle.  

The lamp lit up at once. It was unclear whether it was an illusion or something, but the room seemed significantly warmer. 

Upon retracting his hand from beside the lamp, he lifted his gaze to Wu Xingxue: “Did what on purpose?” 

That you remained silent when the innkeeper said “one room,” and stoked misunderstanding on purpose. 

But Wu Xingxue couldn’t say that.

Because the so-called “misunderstanding” was naturally dispelled upon opening the door and entering the room. The innkeeper and bellboy had seen a lot, and neither knew nor cared.

That bit of misunderstanding’s only use was likely just to tease Wu Xingxue. 

Yet the one who’d brought it about stood next to the table carrying his longsword, still wearing that indifferent expression. 

That flame on the table flickered.

Wu Xingxue was suddenly a bit curious—during that calamity period back then when the Tianxiu Immortal had been in his No Sparrow’s Landing, what sort of expression had he had, and might it have been like this…  

But just as this thought came, he immediately swept it away.

Under the lamp, his cocked head blinked slightly. When it turned back again, he no longer brought up any “understanding” or “misunderstanding.” Rather, after inaudibly grumbling “Forget it,” he asked Xiao Fuxuan: “Why did you suddenly change your mind and want to lodge here overnight?”  

After asking, he recovered. With a light “Ah,” he looked at Xiao Fuxuan to say: “Looks like… Immortal has recalled which time it was?”

Well, it made sense. Each time he’d come to Falling Flower Mountain Market, he wouldn’t have… well, he wouldn’t have stayed at this inn. 

The devil thought.

Sure enough, he heard an “Mm,” from Xiao Fuxuan. After a moment’s silence, he added: “It was the last time I came to Falling Flower Mountain Market.” 

Wu Xingxue was surprised: “The last time?”  

Xiao Fuxuan nodded, “When I heard about it again, it was the news that it’d burned down in a wildfire.”

Wu Xingxue thought to himself that that sounded about right. They’d been dragged into an illusion realm, perhaps because the Luohua Mountain Market of this day concealed a secret.  

He then asked: “Did anything unusual or special happen that day?”

Xiao Fuxuan spoke dully: “No.”

Wu Xingxue was a bit perplexed: “No?”

Xiao Fuxuan: “Mm.”

Indeed, nothing unusual had happened that day. It had just been another time when Tianxiu met the Spirit King at Falling Flower Mountain Market, another time they’d changed appearances to travel together through the fair.  

That day, Spirit King had just finished handling a heavenly edict. He’d consumed a great deal of immortal energy, his whole body slack and tired. As the mountain breeze blew in the evening, he actually felt a bit cold, and entered this inn.

The innkeeper was very slow and not at all solicitous, and the bellboy was also rude and quite thoughtless.  

Tianxiu remembered deep at night when the dew was heavy, a heater had been placed in the room, its every corner floating with lamplight, twinkling, filling the entire room with warmth.

The Spirit King soon got sleepy, nodding off bit by bit. Before long he curled up to go to sleep—a deep hibernation in which he slowly circulated his immortal energy. 

But as per usual, Tianxiu Immortal wasn’t sleepy at all, and leaned against the window with his legs propped out, every now and then glancing at the person curled up on the bed lest the other party’s circulation be hindered or go awry midway through.  

The night was dull and unremarkable. Were it not for them entering this inn again, he wouldn’t have even remembered that day.  

But thinking about it now, the most abnormal thing was the lack of abnormality.  

***

Xiao Fuxuan was in a momentary daze, and suddenly knit his brows: “My memory of that night must have been altered.”  

Wu Xingxue was taken aback: “By whom?” 

Upon asking, he realized that it was needless to say—that dream bell was still hanging at his waist.

Indeed, the Tianxiu Immortal was a figure on essentially the same level in Immortal Capital as the Immortal Leader. If one wanted to tamper with his memory, they’d have to have had a pretty good relationship with him, even been quite close to him, and even then it would have been an extremely difficult task.  

……

What on earth had happened that day, that led him to alter Xiao Fuxuan’s memory?  

Or rather, what had appeared in this inn that day, and what had it triggered, causing Falling Flower Mountain Market to later become an expanse of scorched earth? 

These questions lingered on in Wu Xingxue’s mind, and later on they even entangled all his dreams like withered vines or a giant snake climbing up and issuing out a rotten, musty smell. 

Early next morning, Wu Xingxue suddenly opened his eyes.

The moment he awoke, a scarcely-there musty scent lingered before his nose, like the smells from his dream still hadn’t dispersed. 

The room was an expanse of darkness. The surroundings were even quieter, filled only with the sounds of his and the other person’s nigh-inaudible breaths.  

He’d huddled on his side to sleep facing the bed’s wall. The other breath was right behind him.

He moved his lips, murmuring out “Xiao Fuxuan.” He was about to ask the other why he’d suddenly turned out the lights. But the next moment, he realized something was off! 

That wasn’t Xiao Fuxuan.  

Because the breath was so close, it seemed… the thing was lurking at the bedside. In that deathly still, it’d crept soundlessly behind him…  

Wu Xingxue turned around to meet a pair of unblinking, deathly white eyes.