"Xiaoxiao, I'll hold on to this wooden token for now." Ning Ke took a moment to recover before the fog in his head cleared a little.
He told Ning Xiaoxiao, "I'll gradually teach you what's inside it. Right now, it's dangerous for you to delve into the token alone."
No sooner had he finished than Xiao Yuan prompted him again:
[Congratulations, host, on obtaining an important quest item-the Golden Silk Wooden Token. Side quest unlocked: learn the token's contents and teach them to the female lead.]
?
Ning Ke was puzzled. Why does my quest involve the female lead?
[Host, your task is to fill in all the plot holes in this novel, so you have to do anything that involves important plot points.]
"..." Something occurred to Ning Ke, and he asked again, Then isn't the biggest plot hole in this book why Ning Ke wiped out the Flowing Cloud Sect for no apparent reason? Why haven't you asked me to fill in that part of the plot?
[Well... it's not time yet.] Xiao Yuan's voice grew subdued. [You'll find out once the trigger occurs.]
Ning Ke knew he wouldn't get anything out of the system if it didn't want to talk.
Just then, he heard Ning Xiaoxiao agree to his request.
He put away the wooden token and sat up in bed.
Worried he would be cold, Ning Xiaoxiao hurriedly brought over the large, furry cloak. "Brother, it's still snowing outside. Put this on."
Only then did Ning Ke remember Lou Yunxiao. "Where's your eldest senior brother?"
"..." Ning Xiaoxiao gave her brother a speechless look. "So you forgot all about him the whole time?"
"You slapped his hand away when you woke up, so he took the hint and went outside to wait."
"..." Only now did Ning Ke's muddled brain recall what had happened. Afraid of exposing himself, he had slapped Lou Yunxiao's hand away. Then he had been so preoccupied with the token that he hadn't even heard what Lou Yunxiao said.
Damn, I let my devoted lapdog act slip!
Hastily pulling up his cloak's hood, Ning Ke stepped out of the flying boat and saw Lou Yunxiao standing alone amid the softly falling snow.
He stood tall and straight as a pine, his hair bound by a silver crown. The loose lengths of black hair and his silvery-white ribbon fluttered in the wind.
He almost seemed to blend into the world around him.
Cool and untouched by worldly cares.
Apparently hearing the movement, he turned toward Ning Ke, then seemed to remember something and turned his head away again.
"Senior brother!"
At Ning Ke's call, he stiffened and turned back.
Then he remembered something again and turned away once more.
This time, he turned his whole body too, presenting Ning Ke with his back.
"..."
Ning Ke asked Xiao Yuan, What's that supposed to mean?
[What else could it mean?] Xiao Yuan shook its head and sighed. [He's sulking!]
"..." Ning Ke scratched his head and asked his dubious adviser, Then what should I do?
[Coax him.]
"..."
Ning Ke shook his head resignedly, put away the flying boat, and had Xiaoxiao lead the way.
He walked behind her with Lou Yunxiao.
Holding out his hand, he said, "Senior brother, the snow's heavy and the road's hard to walk on. Let me hold your hand?"
"No need," Lou Yunxiao said. "I can find my own way."
Rebuffed, Ning Ke rubbed the tip of his nose. "Senior brother, my hand will be cold if you don't hold it."
"I have an ice spirit root. Holding my hand will only make you colder."
"..."
Since when was Lou Yunxiao so good at talking back? Ning Ke thought.
Despite saying that, Lou Yunxiao still summoned a little flame and sent it over to keep Ning Ke warm.
Ning Ke's eyes darted about. Finally, he simply dropped onto his backside, deliberately landing with a thump.
"Ow, senior brother, I twisted my ankle..."
Xiao Yuan couldn't help snarking:
[Host, your terrible acting is too painful to watch. You're a Golden Core cultivator. If you kicked a tree, you'd snap it in two. You take an utterly ordinary tumble and claim you twisted your ankle? Do you think the male lead is stupid enough to believe that?]
Sitting shamelessly in the snow, Ning Ke told Xiao Yuan, I bet you one yuan he'll come back for me, whether he believes it or not.
[I don't believe it!]
But no sooner had Xiao Yuan said that than Lou Yunxiao really did turn his head.
Xiao Yuan was stunned:
[No way, no way. He didn't actually believe it, did he?]
The young man faced Ning Ke against the wind and snow.
Ning Ke hurriedly let out another couple of groans. "Senior brother, it hurts so much I can't get up..."
"..." Lou Yunxiao stood there for only a moment before actually walking back.
Ning Ke grinned so broadly his gums showed and called to Xiao Yuan, Remember to pay up when I get back to the modern world!
[...]
Lou Yunxiao crouched in front of Ning Ke and asked, "Where does it hurt?"
His voice was cool and clear, like the gentle notes of a zither. Though he knew Ning Ke might be pretending, he still indulged him and showed concern.
Faced with such an easily fooled male lead, Ning Ke couldn't help laughing to himself.
He softened his voice. "Everywhere. I can't walk on my own. I might have to trouble you to carry me on your back, senior brother."
[Host, I despise you →_→.]
Ning Ke ignored Xiao Yuan and simply waited for Lou Yunxiao's response.
Then he saw the young man frown slightly and let out a soft sigh.
"All right," he replied.
He turned around afterward, letting Ning Ke climb onto his back.
Without the slightest hesitation, Ning Ke draped himself over Lou Yunxiao's back and spread his cloak over him too. "Hehe, senior brother, now we'll both be warm."
"Just keep walking. I'll give you directions."
"Mm."
Feeling Ning Ke's body heat, Lou Yunxiao stiffened slightly, but soon relaxed and slowly walked on.
They passed through the frost- and snow-covered woods, their boots crunching and creaking in the snow.
Lying on his back like that, Ning Ke watched the little flame dancing beside him like a streetlamp and suddenly remembered his childhood.
Before he turned five, whenever he fell ill, his father would carry him to the hospital like this.
Back then, however miserable he felt, as long as he lay against that warm back, he felt that the pain would soon pass.
There was nothing to fear.
Later, after his parents died young, he spent the rest of his life protecting his younger sister as his father had protected him.
The little girl had once lain on his back too and said, "Brother, I'm so glad I have you."
His heart trembled, and Ning Ke spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Senior brother, I miss home..."
Lou Yunxiao froze, his steps slowing slightly.
He asked, "Junior brother, where is your home? How about we visit it after we've been to junior sister's home..."
"My home is very, very far away... so far that I have to give everything I have to get back."
And that includes deceiving you and using you.
Ning Ke's hands slowly moved forward from Lou Yunxiao's shoulders. Then, gently, ever so gently, he wrapped his arms around the young man's neck.
He said, "Senior brother..."
"Mm?"
"I'm sorry I lied to you."
Before you continue