It had been a long time since the sect had shined so brightly. Wishing Lanterns brightened the night sky, floating just about Yunjing Pavilion. It seemed to announce the return of both lord immortals to their sect. Those in Xinggang City who saw the festive lanterns flow from Yunjing Pavilion became excited themselves. That night, a celebration was held throughout Yunjing Pavilion’s territories, as they prayed to hear the good news soon.
Langxia looked around at the disciples who were playing with lanterns and fireworks. A small amusement flickered within him, especially as a few of the younger disciples ran over to them.
“Lord Ninglan, take a lantern!” the disciple said. She glanced at Langxia and quickly whispered, “I hear setting a lantern to the night sky with your partner will make sure you two stay together until your hair turns white from old age.”
Gui Yin opened his mouth to scold the children, but the group of girls had already scurried off, giggling and whispering to each other.
“What a sweet sentiment,” Langxia said as he took the lantern from Gui Yin’s hands. He looked at Gui Yin. “They want us to stay together and grow old.”
“You can grow old. I’m staying this age,” Gui Yin said as he flourished his fan and continued walking. He clicked his tongue at the disciples running around. “It’s time to eat! Why are you all still running around?”
“Food is still being prepared!” one of the more energetic disciples answered.
Gui Yin sighed. “Remember to wash your hands before you come to the dining hall.”
“Yes, Lord Ninglan!”
Gui Yin glanced at Langxia. “Why are you still holding onto that?”
“Someone gave it to me. Am I supposed to throw it away?” Langxia asked.
“…Hold onto it,” Gui Yin sighed.
Langxia smiled and held onto it the entire way to the dining hall. Once there, Deng Yenuo was the first to notice them. He hurriedly walked over.
“Gui-shishu, you’re back,” Deng Yenuo greeted. His smile fell slightly as he looked at Langxia. “Um, this is…”
“My um…” Gui Yin tapped his fan against Langxia’s chest.
“My surname is Sun. I’m Qinle’s partner,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin stared at him and waited for the rest of the introduction. When it didn’t come, he poked Langxia again.
“Ah,” Langxia refocused on Deng Yenuo. “I’m Huigu Palace’s Palace Lord.”
Deng Yenuo’s eyes widened a fraction. He placed his hands together and bowed. “I’m Lord Liaosu’s head disciple, Deng Yenuo. It is an honor to meet you.”
“There’s no need to be so courteous,” Langxia said. He glanced at Deng Yenuo’s bowed head. His lips moved and words were transferred to Gui Yin’s ears, “Is he the one your shixiong is with?”
Gui Yin pursed his lips to keep from smiling and subtly nodded.
Langxia hummed in understanding. Deng Yenuo lifted his head and he smiled, “Is there anything you need help with?”
“Huh? Oh, no, no. We’re okay. We’re just setting things up right now. The other peak lords are outside if Shishu would like to join them,” Deng Yenuo said.
“Mn. Er’lang, let’s go,” Gui Yin said. Instead of being followed, a lantern was placed into his arms. He looked up at Langxia and recognized the look in his eyes. “You—”
“I should help out a little bit, shouldn’t I?” Langxia said with a polite smile. “I can’t just eat here for nothing.”
Deng Yenuo quickly shook his head. “No, um, Palace Lord Sun, it really isn’t needed.”
“Are you worried I’ll make a mess?” Langxia asked.
“Of course not!”
“Then, it’s fine,” Langxia said. He smiled. “We’re all family. There’s no need to be so polite.”
“I…I…” Deng Yenuo looked to Gui Yin for help but Gui Yin shrugged a little helplessly.
When Langxia was set out to mess with a person, there was nothing to stop him unless you wanted to ruin his mood.
“Then…okay.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Gui Yin went to the gardens with the lantern. He was greeted by his martial siblings, who looked around him curiously.
“Lf rjlv tf kjcafv ab tfiq atf vlrmlqifr rfa eq,” Xel Tlc fzqijlcfv.
“Qtja? Qts?” Ale Alcusl gjlrfv j ygbk.
Ktf atgff qfbqif ibbxfv qjra Xel Tlc, lcab atf vlclcu tjii ktfgf Ojcuzlj kjr lcvffv tfiqlcu. Ktf jkxkjgvcfrr bc Gfcu Tfceb’r ojmf kjr jqqjgfca.
“P vbc’a xcbk. Zjsyf tf kjcar ab ybcv klat tlr ygbatfg-lc-ijk,” Xel Tlc rjlv.
Lin Cangyuan glared at Gui Yin. “You really do tell him everything, huh?”
“He’s not an outsider,” Gui Yin said.
Lin Cangyuan glanced at Deng Yenuo, who was clearly trying to communicate with a smiling Langxia. He frowned. “You two really do make a pair.”
Gui Yin raised a brow. “What does that mean?”
“Childish,” Lin Cangyuan said.
“What’s with the lantern?” Ye Liuxing asked.
“A disciple gave it to us and Er’lang just took it,” Gui Yin said. He patted it slightly. “We’ll send it off after dinner.”
Jiu Jingyi laughed. She patted Lin Cangyuan’s shoulder. “Shixiong, from the way I see it, this Palace Lord Sun isn’t a bad person. You can put down that fierce appearance of yours now.”
Gui Yin smiled when Lin Cangyuan looked over.
“Yeah, he’s just a little silly,” Ye Liuxing added.
On the other side, Deng Yenuo had convinced Langxia to stand off to the side. He watched Deng Yenuo decorate the dining hall and tilted his head.
“Yenuo.”
“Yes, sir?”
“May I ask you a question?”
“Of course,” Deng Yenuo said.
“Is your Shizun and my Qinle particularly close?”
Deng Yenuo nearly slipped. He glanced down at Langxia and cleared his throat. “They are. I hear they both entered the sect around the same time and they grew up together. They’re as close as real brothers.”
Langxia nodded thoughtfully. He had one arm behind his back as he leisurely watched Deng Yenuo. “Yenuo, is your Shizun’s temper particularly bad?”
“His temper…is fine,” Deng Yenuo said. He climbed down from the chair and turned to Langxia. He lowered his voice. “Are you having a difficult time dealing with him?”
Langxia gave an awkward smile and averted his gaze. “Well, I wouldn’t say difficult…”
Deng Yenuo nodded in understanding. He walked a different way and Langxia followed. “My Shizun acts tough, but he’s actually very soft-hearted. He trusts actions and not words. If you show him that you’re serious about Gui-shishu, then his attitude towards you will also soften. Um, it might take a bit though. He gets embarrassed easily, so he won’t admit that he was wrong easily.”
Langxia hummed thoughtfully. “I see…”
“In fact, he probably already believes you’re true to Gui-shishu,” Deng Yenuo said. “After all, Gui-shishu isn’t the type of person to let others close so easily. He’s just a little cautious, that’s all. I hope Palace Lord won’t mind.”
“How could I? It’s nice to see so many people care about my Qinle.”
Deng Yenuo nearly choked again. He glanced at Langxia. “Mm…may I also make a suggestion?”
“Go ahead.”
“Yunjing Pavilion is far more casual in culture. If you…give them a name to call, then they will warm up to you faster,” Deng Yenuo whispered.
Langxia nodded thoughtfully. “I understand.”
“That’s all the tips I have,” Deng Yenuo said.
Langxia slowly smiled. He crossed his arms. “Xiao Nuo, did you think I came here just to ask for tips? I really came to help.”
“…Palace Lord Sun, we really don’t need your help,” Deng Yenuo said, a hint of pleading in his voice.
“Am I bothering you?”
“No…no,” Deng Yenuo said. He forced a smile, “But I bet Gui-shishu misses you. Besides, don’t you want to get to know the others before dinner starts?”
Langxia laughed. He hummed seriously. “Then, I should go do so.”
Deng Yenuo breathed a sigh of relief and watched as Langxia left.
This man would have no trouble fitting into Yunjing Pavilion.
“Done helping?” Gui Yin asked as Langxia sat down beside him.
“Someone implied that I was more of a bother than help,” Langxia pouted.
“Oh? Do you need me to scold him?” Gui Yin asked.
“Scold? No need. I should just blame myself for being useless,” Langxia said.
Seeing his pouting expression, Gui Yin slowly smiled. “Do you want me to comfort you?”
Langxia nodded.
“You’re so capable of a person, how could anyone find you useless? It’s just because you went out of your way to tease him,” Gui Yin said.
Langxia sighed. “A backhanded compliment. How could you accuse me of such a thing, Qinle?”
“As if it’s my first day knowing you,” Gui Yin said as he poked Langxia forehead. He shook his head. “Just sit here and drink tea. Going around causing problems.”
Langxia chuckled and accepted the cup. He looked up at the three people who were observing them and gave them a dimpled smile. “While I was talking to Young Master Deng, it reminded me of something.”
“Oh? What was that?” Lin Cangyuan asked.
“I would like you all to consider me family, but it seems that I’ve been very impolite. I haven’t even given my name,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin slowly turned to Langxia.
“My surname is Sun. My courtesy name is Yinglian.”
“Yinglian?” Gui Yin said.
Langxia met Gui Yin’s gaze. His smile widened. “Yes. It’s the name my teacher gave to me.”
“Right,” Gui Yin said as he tried to hide his surprise. “I just didn’t expect you to give your name to them.”
“Hm? Why not?” Ye Liuxing asked curiously.
“This teacher and I have a complicated relationship. This was a name he gave me after finding me when I was a child. I always feel a bit embarrassed when I use it, so I normally opt for other pseudonyms,” Langxia explained.
Gui Yin felt that this part of the story wasn’t a lie. However, he couldn’t help but feel a bit complicated. First, he had been made to call him by such an embarrassing nickname—then, he was directly given his real name. He hadn’t even known about the existence of this courtesy name. Should he be happy that he had skipped a stage, or annoyed that Langxia had never given him another option other than the name “Erlang” to refer to him as?
“Then, you can just call Liuxing and I by our names!” Jiu Jingyi happily said. “Um, you should probably call Sect Master ‘shixiong’ like Gui-shixiong does though.”
Langxia turned to Lin Cangyuan with a hopeful expression.
Lin Cangyuan coughed slightly and hummed. “I’m fine with that.”
“Shixiong,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin glanced at Langxia and slowly looked away. “Calling him so sweetly.”
Langxia glanced at Gui Yin and smiled behind his teacup. His voice traveled straight into Gui Yin’s ears, “Yin-gege, don’t be jealous.”
Gui Yin pressed his lips together to prevent a smile as he met Langxia’s gaze. Langxia’s eyes squinted slightly as his smile widened.
Jiu Jingyi sighed. “I should go find myself a good husband. Watching you two makes me feel so lonely.”
Ye Liuxing shook his head. “Honestly, if you two are going to flirt, can you do it less obviously? Learn from Sect Master-shixiong and Yenuo. They’re so subtle, I can pretend I never saw.”
Lin Cangyuan glared at Ye Liuxing, who quickly shrank away and shoved a handful of peanuts in his mouth. He turned to Langxia. “Mm…Yinglian, are you good at drinking?”
“I can have a few cups,” Langxia said.
“Then, lets have a few drinks during dinner,” Lin Cangyuan said with a small smile. “I want you to personally try the pear blossom wine I made.”
“It would be my honor,” Langxia said.
Gui Yin listened to their conversation and felt that it was a bit odd.
Once the group dispersed and headed back into the dining hall, Gui Yin grasped Langxia’s sleeve. The two men lingered behind.
Langxia looked at him curiously. “What’s wrong, Yin-gege?”
Gui Yin clicked his tongue. “It’s that.”
“What?”
“I just noticed something,” Gui Yin said. He crossed his arms. “Since the very beginning, you’ve always spoken like this to me.”
“Mn. I have.”
“But you don’t normally speak like this to others,” Gui Yin said. He was truly flabbergasted.
When he thought about it, he had only heard Langxia speak to his attendants. The only other people he interacted with were Gui Yin’s disciples. Then, there was Lord Xun. All those times, Langxia had spoken very formally, but considering the setting, Gui Yin hadn’t found it too odd. But now when they were in his own home, speaking to his own family, the contrast was very distinct!
Langxia seemed to realize the “problem”.
“Gege, why would I go around speaking like this to other people?” Langxia asked with a small pout. “Do you really think I’m that kind of person?”
Gui Yin’s heart fluttered. “You clearly didn’t like me like that in the beginning.”
“No,” Langxia admitted, “But even if you didn’t remember me, you’re still my Yin-gege.”
“Alright,” Gui Yin whispered as he embarrassingly nudged Langxia. “Stop it. Just call me Qinle again. I can’t handle this on top of how cutely you act around me.”
Langxia chuckled. He leaned a little closer, his breath brushing against Gui Yin’s ear. “Do you like it when I call you Gege?”
Gui Yin tilted his head away and pushed Langxia back with his folding fan. He snapped it open and hid his flushing face. “I’m warning you—stop.”
“Alright,” Langxia said with a playful smile. “Whatever you say.”
“Cheeky brat,” Gui Yin mumbled as he turned and walked back into the dining hall.
The dining hall was filled to the brim with the disciples tonight. The peak lords and their immediate disciples were seated at a separate table towards the front while the other disciples were scattered about. After dinner, the true festivities began. Meng Meng and the others broke off to join the fun. The younger disciples ran off to play with the fireworks and lanterns outside while the older ones remained as the wine came out.
Deng Yenuo dutifully poured wine for Lin Cangyuan, not even bothering to play with the others.
“Are you sure you can drink so much? Didn’t you just wake up?” Gui Yin asked.
“He’s perfectly fine to drink! In fact, Sect Master-shixiong is very, very healthy,” Ye Liuxing said.
Gui Yin let out a low hum and glanced at Langxia, who had accepted his first cup. He thought about warning the man, but refrained after thinking about it some more.
Although their group of martial siblings could drink the night away and still not get drunk, Langxia shouldn’t be that bad either, right? He was both a cultivator and half-spirit, so a little bit of alcohol probably won’t do him in.
Haha everyone is so cute ^_^
thanks for reading!
poor Deng Yenuo akchsjdxks…. we should tease him more akdhskdh
thanks for the chapter!! the cuteness is delightful (๑˃ᴗ˂)
hehe thanks for reading!!!
New nickname unlocked!!!
Gege~~~
Hahaha Qinle looking all flustered ^^