Silk Flower

This banquet, so-called though it was, had made Qin Yi uncomfortable from head to toe at first.

Mang Zhan sat opposite him, glaring with a pair of leopard eyes as if he wanted to devour him alive. Anyone would lose their appetite under such a stare, and Dong Huazi's occasional seemingly casual glances only made goosebumps rise all over Qin Yi's skin.

Liusu sneered. "Fool."

Qin Yi could not answer, so he quietly flicked the handle of the rod with his finger in protest.

Liusu said, "What skill is there in only flicking me? Go flick that savage."

Qin Yi rolled his eyes. I'd like to drag Dong Huazi outside and flick him to death too. But there's a time and place, isn't there?

As though it could hear his thoughts, Liusu continued sneering. "The social courtesies of mortals are affected and tedious, hypocritical and laughable. He glares at you—can't you glare back? He hasn't provoked you—can't you provoke him first? Even if rules must be observed, you can still consider how to use them. The mortal world is no more than a game. Unlike those mediocre people, burdened with households and families and all manner of concerns, you are clearly free of all attachments. Yet you do not seek freedom without restraint, nor clarity of mind. What use is there in living?"

Something stirred in Qin Yi's heart. He had thought he had handled Dong Huazi quite properly before, but after Liusu put it that way, his earlier conduct suddenly seemed utterly flavorless.

This was probably the difference in ideology...

If someone truly lived as Liusu described, treating the mortal world as a game... they would either end up in prison or become an immortal.

But its powers of incitement were truly strong... Qin Yi admitted that something within him had been set ablaze. Who would not yearn for such an attitude toward life—unrestrained and clear of mind?

At that moment, Li Qingjun leaned close and whispered into his ear, "I feel like something is wrong..."

"Hm?" Qin Yi did not react at once. "What is wrong?"

"It seems..." Li Qingjun's cheeks slowly reddened. "It seems they have mistaken you for my... my man."

My silly girl, you only realized it now? That savage rival in love has practically killed me ten thousand times in his heart already! Qin Yi did not know whether to laugh or cry. Yet he also knew that his relationship with Li Qingjun had not truly reached that point. It was only natural for her to be troubled by this, and he could not let this reckless girl become so worked up that they could not even remain friends. He whispered back, "It was only to deal with Mang Zhan. Afterward, I will find a way to explain it to your father."

Li Qingjun shifted slightly away, a touch of anger in her eyes. "Is it so embarrassing for them to mistake you for my man?"

Uh? Had he said the wrong thing again? Qin Yi hurriedly tried to mend things. "To be honest, I was secretly delighted... I was merely afraid of damaging your good name."

"Secretly delighted?" Li Qingjun shifted a little farther away, now looking at him as though he were a lecher. "What are you trying to do?"

Qin Yi was practically about to cough up blood. Weren't you a very reasonable person before? Is your period here or something?

Yet Li Qingjun's gaze did not remain that way for long. It soon grew somewhat misty again, and she lowered her voice further. "You... have a quiet temperament and dislike conflict. At first, I thought you could simply live leisurely in my brother's Guest Courtyard, and we could come ask you whenever we needed something... But because of me today... you can no longer avoid the turmoil of this worldly life."

Understanding dawned upon Qin Yi, and he answered directly, "I am willing."

Li Qingjun's eyes grew even hazier. She looked quietly into his eyes without saying a word.

Perhaps neither of their feelings had yet reached the point of mutual love, but after what they had experienced today, this thread of fate had already begun to entwine them. It was no longer merely pure appreciation or faint fondness.

Liusu let out a long, distant sigh from within the rod.

Qin Yi heard it. It sounded rather like the sigh his parents would make at home when an eight-o'clock soap opera reached its soapiest moment.

With a crack, Qin Yi thought the director had called cut. Turning his head, however, he saw that Mang Zhan across from him had crushed his wine cup. His eyes were so wide with fury that bloodshot veins could be seen within them.

Qin Yi froze for a moment. He had originally thought Mang Zhan's desire to marry Li Qingjun was politically motivated. Looking at this, there seemed to be something genuine in it after all.

Li Qingjun also turned to glance at Mang Zhan, then gave a cold snort. Her eyes were filled with disdain and hatred. She did not merely refuse to marry him—in her heart, Mang Zhan was the enemy who had killed her brother.

Qin Yi recalled Liusu's instigation, and something shifted in his heart. He said softly, "Isn't it rather nice to see him angry?"

Li Qingjun turned to him. Seeming to understand what he meant, she smiled without quite smiling. "What do you want to do?"

"I want..." Qin Yi cautiously reached out his hand.

Li Qingjun pursed her lips, then obediently placed her hand in his palm, gently clasping it with his.

It was strange. Qin Yi had held her by the waist several times already, and things had been even more intimate in the cave before. He had even touched her, yet she had not considered any of it especially serious. But now, with only their hands lightly clasped, it was as though an electric current shot through her body, flooding every inch of her and burning her cheeks scorching hot. She could no longer sustain the gaze she had fixed upon him. Slightly tilting her lovely head aside, pink spread from her cheeks down to her fair neck, until even her neck was flushed red.

Bang! Mang Zhan heavily slammed the wine jug onto the table.

The tremendous sound drew everyone's attention. The King had been discussing local customs with the attendants Mang Zhan had brought, but the shock made him turn his head, his expression darkening. "I have seen the customs of the Western Wasteland."

Mang Zhan trembled from head to toe with rage. Qin Yi seriously suspected that if he had been a frail and sickly man, he might have died of anger on the spot.

"Sure enough, one must seek clarity of mind." Qin Yi sighed comfortably to himself.

Li Qingjun also felt thoroughly at ease, tightening her grip on Qin Yi's hand.

Only Liusu knew that Qin Yi's "muttering to himself" had been meant for it. It smiled, saying nothing more.

"Brother Qin." When the banquet ended, Li Qinglin directly stopped Li Qingjun and Qin Yi as they tried to slip away through the side door.

Li Qingjun swiftly withdrew the hand clasped with Qin Yi's, lowered her head, and rubbed the toe of her shoe back and forth against the floor.

Qin Yi awkwardly rubbed his hands. "Well, that was only to deliberately anger Mang Zhan."

But Li Qinglin had not come over to address that matter at all. Instead, he said with a grave expression, "I came to have you return to the residence with me. If you travel alone, or go somewhere to meet privately with my younger sister, I fear you may not live to see tomorrow's sun."

Qin Yi's heart turned cold, and he said solemnly, "Thank you. I had gotten carried away."

Li Qinglin summoned a squad of guards. "Escort the Princess back to the residence. If anything changes, communicate with signal arrows."

Li Qingjun looked at Qin Yi, and suddenly felt reluctant to part from him. They saw each other every day, so why did she feel this way?

She was not someone prone to clinging sentimentality, and she did not express the feeling further. She merely drew a deep breath and said softly, "See you tomorrow." Then she turned and left.

Watching the guards surround and escort Li Qingjun away, Li Qinglin personally led another group, walking shoulder to shoulder with Qin Yi back to the residence.

"Father rests early these days. Normally, you would likely be meeting him now." After walking for a while, Li Qinglin slowly opened the conversation. "He will certainly summon you tomorrow morning. You should be prepared."

"I understand." Qin Yi asked, "Do you have any particular instructions?"

"Do not directly urge him to stop taking the pills. That would only provoke his displeasure. As for the rest, use your own judgment. I am an outsider when it comes to Daoist arts and mystical techniques." Li Qinglin suddenly smiled. "I saw how you faced Dong Huazi today. You have quite a sense for politics, so there is no need for me to spell things out further."

"What political sense could I possibly have..." Qin Yi sounded helpless. "You drove a duck onto the perch, suddenly making me face Dong Huazi. I had to keep myself one hundred and twenty thousand percent alert, thinking over every sentence for ages before daring to say it, all right?"

Li Qinglin smiled. "But was it not precisely because you were driven onto that perch that your relationship with Qing Jun took another step forward?"

"Uh..." Qin Yi paused, then sighed. "Actually, Brother Li, though it seems I ought to thank you, I still have to say this: Qing Jun herself never considered what bringing a man into the hall would lead to. If I were not someone good for her, would you not have harmed her instead?"

"As long as she does not marry into the Western Wasteland, that is what matters most. As for the rest, I do not have the energy to consider so much."

"In other words, you were not truly thinking of Qing Jun's happiness either. You were merely thinking of the Western Wasteland?"

"To be exact, I was thinking of Southern Li." Li Qinglin said blandly, "Brother Qin should be as clear as a mirror about certain matters. You should not ask such childish questions like Ye Ling."

Qin Yi sighed. "Precisely because I know some things, I wanted to confirm whether you truly cared for Qing Jun, or whether it was merely a plastic sibling bond. Now that I have confirmed it, it is fine."

Li Qinglin asked curiously, "What is plastic?"

"Mm..." Qin Yi thought for a moment, then explained, "Those fake flowers made of silk cloth."

"Flowers made of silk cloth?" Li Qinglin lifted his head to look at the sky, lost in thought for a while. Then he suddenly smiled. "That is quite good too. Such flowers are still beautiful, and they do not wither easily."