Chapter 367: Xiyue, he’s been staring at me!
As dusk approached, in the tavern with a “Youren Pavilion” plaque at its entrance, located in Baiyue Town, about a hundred li east of Tianfeng Immortal City, the female shopkeeper stood behind the counter, her abacus clicking rapidly.
Beside her stood a short young girl, about twelve or thirteen years old, holding an account book and an ink brush.
The young girl wore a light blue long dress, her blue eyes clear and bright. She carefully followed the shopkeeper’s instructions, writing in the account book.
“Table East Two, four guests, ordered one roasted chicken and three pots of Wen Chun wine. Record it.”
“Mm, one roasted chicken, three pots of Wen Chun wine, a total of twenty-seven spirit stones.”
“Table West Three, two guests, one plate of fried immortal beans, two pots of Bie Jin Sheng.”
“Mm… recorded…”
After finishing the accounts for all the guests in the tavern, the shopkeeper glanced out the window at the twilight. Seeing that it had become dark, she suddenly remembered the rumors of the “flower thief” she had heard over the past few months.
In recent months, young girls around twelve or thirteen years old had repeatedly gone missing in the towns surrounding Tianfeng Immortal City. The Snow-clothed Guard of the Immortal City had investigated for a long time but had not apprehended anyone.
After a moment of silence, the shopkeeper looked at the young girl beside her, who was holding the account book:
“Girl, perhaps you shouldn’t come for the next few days, go stay in Tianfeng Immortal City?”
“Ah…” Xu Xiyue was startled, her brow furrowed in disappointment. She asked, “Is it that I haven’t done well or…”
“It’s not…” The shopkeeper was somewhat helpless. She patted her shoulder and said, “It’s about the recent rumors of the ‘flower thief.’ Baiyue Town is a poor, remote place, and I’m worried about something happening to you.”
“I’m not worried, why are you, Shopkeeper?”
“Your sister is busy with official duties and rarely gets to come back. There aren’t many powerful cultivators in this town. What if that flower thief comes to our town?”
“It’s okay…”
“Boss! Another pot of wine over here!”
A shout came from a table, and Xu Xiyue pursed her lips, quickly waving in response:
“Coming!”
She then placed the account book on the counter and went to the backyard to tell the cook the dishes.
The shopkeeper looked at her with some helplessness. This girl clearly had a sister who was a commander of the Snow-clothed Guard, yet she insisted on working for her to earn spirit stones to buy Spirit Gathering Pills for cultivation.
The shopkeeper didn’t know whether to say her sister was too stingy or if she was too self-reliant and didn’t want to rely on her sister.
But then again, that flower thief was truly perverted, targeting only girls around twelve or thirteen years old.
What’s more, after assaulting them, he would abduct the young girls. Over the past few months, she had heard from patrons that at least nearly twenty young girls had fallen victim.
What were the Snow-clothed Guard of Tianfeng Immortal City doing? They couldn’t even catch a mere flower thief.
“Sigh…”
The shopkeeper shook her head and stopped thinking about it, lowering her head to calculate the accounts again.
Tap, tap—
The footsteps of two strangers could be heard from the entrance of the tavern. The shopkeeper’s ears twitched, and she felt a bit puzzled.
Baiyue Town was a small town in the mountains. It had no special products, and very few external cultivators came here. Most of her customers were regulars.
“Are you here for a meal or lodging, sirs?”
As she greeted them, the shopkeeper looked up at the two people entering. She saw a young man in white with a sword on his back, and a young woman wearing a bamboo hat, with a red bird perched on her shoulder.
Ye Anping looked around the tavern’s interior, which was exactly as he remembered “Youren Pavilion.” Even the wooden crates piled in the corner and the names of the wines matched.
However…
He didn’t see Xu Xiyue busy inside, and felt a bit disappointed. After a pause, he walked to the counter and took out a small bag of spirit stones from his storage bag.
“Lodging. I need two rooms.”
The shopkeeper looked at the smile on his face, which seemed like he was returning home, and felt puzzled. She glanced at the bag of spirit stones, then pretended to look at the ledger, and shook her head, saying:
“I’m sorry, Young Master… all our rooms are full. Perhaps I can recommend an inn for you two?”
Ye Anping was stunned and quickly said:
“Can I add some spirit stones and have someone give up a room or two?”
“No, our establishment’s rule is first come, first served.”
Ye Anping rarely had demands about where he stayed, but…
He paused, then lowered his head to look at the jade pendant at his waist. He formed a sword finger and flicked it, retracting it into his storage bag. At the same time, he took out another small bag of spirit stones.
“Shopkeeper, will this do?”
As the jade pendant was stored away, the spiritual pressure of Ye Anping’s Core Formation stage cultivation instantly leaked out, causing all the cultivators in the first floor to close their mouths and look in his direction.
Li Longling was also puzzled.
After they left the Commander’s Mansion in Tianfeng Immortal City, Li Longling had thought Ye Anping would find a place for her to stay in the Immortal City.
However, Ye Anping directly took her to this small town deep in the mountains on a Divine Movement Boat. That was one thing, but now, to get a room, he had even removed the jade talisman he had been using to conceal his cultivation along the way.
Was there something special about this tavern?
Could it be…
Li Longling quickly reached out and held the Fire Phoenix’s head, directing its gaze towards the shopkeeper…
Beneath her heavy makeup was a voluptuous figure. While not ugly, she exuded a fiery aura, and a long-handled pipe hung from her waist, looking like a magical artifact…
Is she Xiyue?
Li Longling twisted her brow and raised her hand to turn the Fire Phoenix’s head back.
The shopkeeper was also shocked. She had been running the shop for almost forty years. Apart from Xu Xiyue’s sister occasionally visiting, the highest cultivation among her guests had only been Mid Foundation Establishment.
Now, a Core Formation cultivator had arrived, and she didn’t know how to entertain him.
“Senior… this humble one’s tavern does not have a Spirit Gathering Array. I fear you may not be accustomed to it.”
“It’s fine. I’m not here for comfort. There’s something here you don’t have elsewhere.”
Ye Anping smiled and scanned the first floor again, making up an excuse, “I heard your secret recipe roasted chicken is quite delicious. I came specifically to try it.”
Do Core Formation cultivators still eat?
The shopkeeper was stunned for a long time but no longer dared to be negligent. She quickly walked out from behind the counter, intending to lead them to a private room on the third floor.
“Then, please follow me, sirs. There are private rooms on the third floor…”
However, Ye Anping shook his head.
“It’s alright, we’ll sit on the first floor.”
With that, he led Li Longling to an empty table on the first floor. The two Qi Refining stage cultivators at the next table quickly paid their bills and left.
After sitting down, Ye Anping took out the jade pendant again and hung it at his waist.
“Shopkeeper, two roasted chickens and a pot of Wang Chun wine.”
Li Longling pouted, seemingly displeased that Ye Anping had brought her along to see Xiyue. She immediately denied, “Young Master Ye, I won’t eat.”
“…Then I’ll eat two.”
“Sigh—” Li Longling sighed softly, propped her chin, and tilted her head to ask, “So… is that female shopkeeper your beloved?”
?
Ye Anping looked embarrassed and said, “No…”
“Then why must we stay here?”
Just as Li Longling was asking this, the curtain leading to the backyard was pulled open by a pair of small hands. Xu Xiyue entered from the backyard, holding a plate of roasted chicken in her left hand, and placed it on the table where the order had been placed earlier.
“Freshly baked roasted chicken, enjoy, sirs~”
She smiled with squinted eyes but suddenly noticed that the noisy tavern had become much quieter, as if a cold wind had swept through. Several boisterous patrons no longer dared to drink.
Xu Xiyue turned her head to scan the room and immediately spotted Ye Anping and his companion. She saw the handsome young man in white looking at her with eyes full of tenderness.
She pursed her lips slightly and dared not make eye contact with Ye Anping again. She quickly walked on small steps to the counter.
“Shopkeeper… who are those two?”
The shopkeeper also had a cold sweat on her face and whispered, “A Core Formation cultivator. He’s here to lodge and ordered a roasted chicken. Don’t lose your manners later.”
“A Core Formation cultivator?”
Xu Xiyue also knitted her brows, wondering why a Core Formation cultivator would come to their remote mountain town, but she didn’t ask too many questions.
Seeing Ye Anping looking at her, she smiled shyly, nodded and bowed slightly to him, then quickly ran back to the kitchen to fetch more dishes.
Watching her return to the backyard, Ye Anping finally came back to his senses. It seemed Li Longling had asked something earlier…
“Longling, what did you ask me just now?”
“…Sigh—”
Li Longling sighed helplessly. It was the first time she had seen Ye Anping so distracted, and she felt a strange sense of unwillingness. She pouted, “It’s nothing. It’s just that I’ve never seen you, Young Master Ye, like this before.”
“…”
Ye Anping also realized that he seemed to have been somewhat lost in thought. The girl Xiyue he had longed for all these years had just walked past him. How could he not look at her more?
After a moment of silence, he rubbed his nose, suppressing the flutter in his heart, and said, “I’m sorry, after all… it’s been so many years. People have moments of emotion, and I’m no exception. I used to think I would die at the hands of a demonic cultivator named ‘Wu You,’ but looking back now, I’ve overcome it.”
Li Longling’s lips curved slightly. Although she didn’t know what Ye Anping had gone through before, she expressed understanding and nodded:
“That demonic cultivator named Wu You… tell me about him?”
“Mm. He was the Grand Tutor of the Gu Sect. When I was traveling in the Western Regions, my junior sister and I encountered him. Later, we met Senior Sister Feng, and the three of us joined forces to kill him in Longxi Town.”
“I see…”
Ye Anping nodded, inwardly recalling the original game’s plot.
In the original game’s plot, after being heavily injured by Feng Yu Die, “Wu You” had retreated to the Hundred Lotus Sect to recover and fled the Western Regions.
His second encounter with Feng Yu Die would be in the main storyline of Hantian Kingdom.
“Wu You” would abduct young boys and girls around ten years old near Tianfeng Immortal City to refine gu. Coincidentally, Feng Yu Die, who had come here, encountered him.
With the help of the Heavenly Scroll of the Dao, Feng Yu Die found clues and, along with Xu Mulan of Tianfeng Immortal City, stormed “Wu You’s” lair here, avenging herself and obtaining the fragment of the Xuan Yin Art from his storage bag.
However, this was the game’s plot.
Now, there was no such person as “Wu You” in this world, so his task of abducting young boys and girls would not exist at all.
Because of this, Ye Anping’s original plan was not to come to Tianfeng Immortal City, but to head directly to Hanyue City, the capital of Hantian Kingdom.
“In any case, he was thoroughly burned to death by my junior sister with a stack of Fire Element talismans, along with the gu worms in his storage bag.”
Li Longling pondered for a moment, propped her chin, and tilted her head to praise, “Young Master Ye, you were only at Qi Refining back then, right? Three Qi Refining cultivators killing a Core Formation cultivator, that’s truly remarkable. As expected, Young Master Ye has been very capable since childhood.”
“…You flatter me.” Ye Anping smiled. “It was just a gamble. I wasn’t fully confident I could kill him then.”
Ye Anping’s voice suddenly stopped here.
Xu Xiyue, holding roasted chicken and wine, lifted the back kitchen curtain with her shoulder, glanced at them, took a deep breath, and walked over with her chest held high.
“Please enjoy, seniors~”
“Mm…”
Xu Xiyue pursed her lips and nodded to Ye Anping, but when she looked up, she saw Ye Anping staring at her. She felt a little creeped out.
Why is he staring at me?
Is there something on my face?
Xu Xiyue was somewhat nervous but didn’t dare to ask. After deliberating for a moment, she said softly, “If you need anything, Senior, just call me.”
“…Mm.” Ye Anping nodded slightly. Seeing her turn to leave to fetch more dishes, he said, “Speaking of which, you look quite familiar…”
“Mm?” Xu Xiyue tilted her head back and replied with clasped hands, “I believe Senior might be mistaken. I’ve lived in Baiyue Town since I was a child, and you don’t look like a cultivator from around here…”
Across the table, Li Longling slightly twisted her brow upon hearing Ye Anping’s attempt at conversation. She reached out and grabbed the Fire Phoenix’s head again, turning it “kaka kaka” towards the little girl carrying dishes.
?
She’s a pretty lively little girl, but her cultivation is only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Her hair is tied in two buns, which means she hasn’t had her Coming of Age Ceremony yet…
Hiss—
Could she be Xiyue?
Li Longling didn’t speak, just twisted her brow, unwilling to believe it. But the next moment, she heard Ye Anping ask, “Is your surname Xu?”
Xu Xiyue seemed a little surprised. After a moment of daze, she tilted her head and asked, “Could it be that you knew my mother?”
?
“Ah…”
Ye Anping was stunned. Did she mistake him for a cultivator who had lived for eighty or ninety years? He felt a bit dejected and explained:
“It is indeed. Earlier today, I met Commander Xu of Tianfeng Immortal City. The first time I saw you, I thought you looked familiar to Commander Xu, about seventy percent the same. Are you her… daughter?”
“Do I look like my sister?”
Xu Xiyue knitted her brows and murmured softly, but quickly regained her composure and replied with clasped hands, “Replying to Senior, my name is Xu Xiyue. Commander Xu of the Tianfeng Immortal City Snow-clothed Guard is my elder sister.”
“So that’s how it is…”
Xu Xiyue’s unease slightly subsided. Since it was someone her sister knew, they naturally wouldn’t be a bad person.
They shouldn’t be…
…
