The colors of Half Star Ocean bled and blended together the further into the city one walked. People were dressed in clothing not normally seen in the plains of the upper and lower realms. Some wore pelts while others seemed to be wearing a patch work of clothing. Some people had long hair, styled unconventionally, while others had short hair or even a buzz cut. Most people carried weapons and even little children carried knives. In the darkness of the night, the dazzling red lanterns could be seen even from the tallest peak of the nearest mountain. It was a city of life and chaos. Adrenaline constantly pumped through the streets.
Although it was well past eleven at night, children still ran about the streets with toys or lanterns. The adults said nothing as most of them indulged in alcohol, allowing the crowd to pull them this way and that.
Adding onto the ruckus were the shouts of vendors, so loud that a person’s thoughts were blown away. The smell of flowery perfume mixed with the mouth-watering aroma of freshly cooked snacks at the side of the street. While vendors hollered for your attention, beautiful young men and women may tug you closer and closer to the red-lined buildings.
Among the chaotic crowd, there was an essence of calm.
A tall cloaked figured traveled through the crowd, with a young man following closely behind him. The cloaked man clearly had a broad build. Although his face was obscured, just by his movements and his confidence, many who passed already assumed that he was a person of great strength and perhaps even a handsome face. While the cloak covered most things, the spectators who snuck a few glances over could tell that the man, while not dressed as chaotically as themselves, was also not wearing clothing of the Central Plains. A few of the more well-informed people knew that this was attire worn by an old clan who had once roamed the deserts. Even more informed people would whisper that “that person” had returned.
The young man next to the cloaked man drew more flirtatious eyes. The young man was, after all, quite dashing. His hair was pulled into a neat ponytail. His peach blossom eyes, although solemn, tempted those with a wayward heart to approach him. He wore arrowed sleeved robes that showed off his heroic and valiant aura. Although the clothes on his back and the weapon at his side was plain, it became elevated because of his charming looks.
A bolder young man of the Red District nudged his way through the crowd and latched onto the young man.
The young man stumbled slightly, but was quick to hold onto the stranger.
“Ah, thank you for saving me, This Young Hero.”
The young man’s eyes widened a fraction before a breezy laugh left his lips. “I simple caught you because you had tripped. Does that count as saving you?”
“The crowds are so tight and space is so narrow,” the youth swayed his hips and moved even closer to the young man. One hand just barely grazed his neck, “If I had fallen, I would have definitely been trampled. Young Hero, you’ve really saved me.”
The young man chuckled. “Then, as your benefactor, may I offer you a word of advice?’
The youth’s eyes lit up. “Of course.”
“I’m already taken. The man I’m with gets jealous easily,” the young man whispered. He turned to look at the other man who had stopped in the crowd. “He’s about to get angry.”
The youth looked in the same direction. His eyes widened and he immediately hopped away from Gui Yin. He got so scared that even his rabbit ears and his fluffy tail was exposed. Without another word, he quickly ran off into the crowd.
It was the usual case of a prey meeting its predator.
“Put those eyes away,” Gui Yin whispered. “You’ll really scare that kid to death.”
“Why’d you hug him?” Langxia asked.
“He fell, so I supported him.”
“Then, you let him twist his way into your arms?” Langxia asked.
“Twist…” Gui Yin’s words failed him. He nodded. “I shouldn’t have allowed him to do that. It’s my fault. But I really didn’t think of it like that. The only person I’d let twist themselves into my arms is you.”
The words were ridiculous, but the slitted eyes quickly receded.
Gui Yin smiled sweetly. “Silly.”
Langxia turned away and started walking again.
Gui Yin returned to his stern expression and silently followed Langxia again.
Although Gui Yin had a character setting to adhere to, he couldn’t help but glance around curiously.
He had once heard of Half Star Ocean, but to him it was more like a myth and a legend.
A long time ago, before the Great Celestial and Demon War when spirits and demon spirits ruled the world, there had once been a place called Ten Thousand Demon State. In this place, spirits that didn’t follow the way of Buddhism nor the way of the Dao, converged. They lived in harmony amongst each other and cared little about humans or of the struggles between the Celestials and the Great Demons. This was a time before “good” and “evil” were so clearly split. There were many at the time and even now that would claim that the Ten Thousand Demon State was paradise on earth—it was a place where everyone could live freely and everyone would be accepted.
During the Great War, the Ten Thousand Demon State had been obliterated. Spirits scattered. Those who were willing to follow the Celestials, were granted passage into Kunlun while those who refused to choose a side were eventually corrupted and fell onto the devil path. From then on, the ones who survived in Kunlun would go on to cultivate with pure spiritual energy while those that had been abandoned would either struggle to survive or succumb to the devil path.
After many eons, a balance had been restored. The air, which had once been polluted by the Great War, had cleared up.
Kunlun was a place of spirit cultivators, as well as Heavenly beasts and the like, but the little spirits who were born through cultivating and absorbing the natural aura of the earth eventually made their homes in Half Star Ocean.
Half Star Ocean was the modern day equivalent to Ten Thousand Demon State. Here, no matter if you were human or spirit, no matter what path you cultivated, everyone was welcomed and judgement would not be passed on anyone.
Eventually Langxia and Gui Yin stopped at an alleyway.
Langxia led the way, bypassing the drunkards that carpeted the ground.
He lifted a hand and knocked a specific pattern that was inaudible from the outside.
The door eventually swung open, letting a warm light and the sound of chatter stream out.
Langxia tugged his hood down and smiled. “Welcome to the Midnight Pearl Bar.”
Gui Yin followed Langxia in.
The door swung shut behind him and the magnificent place opened up.
Despite what Gui Yin had imagined, it was a rather normal looking bar. There was a bar counter, there were booths to sit at, and there were seats around the center. A set of stairs led upstairs while another led down. It was tastefully decorated and was a lot cleaner than the streets they had just walked through. Although it wasn’t “classy”, it wasn’t horrendous either.
“Boss, you’re back!”
A chorus called out and cheered as the loud exclamation made it through the crowd.
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.
Ojcuzlj qeiifv boo tlr mibjx jcv tjcvfv la ab j cfjgys rfgnjca klat j iluta tew. “Lbk’r yerlcfrr?”
“Vklwwlcuis, jr ereji! Dbrr, vb sbe fnfc cffv ab jrx?” j merabwfg ueoojkfv.
“Kgeis! Dbrr, sbe jgf atf ijra qfgrbc ktb cffvr ab kbggs jybea yerlcfrr lc atlr ubvobgrjxfc qijmf!”
“Yeah, you’re—hic—the only bar that doesn’t water down their wine, right?”
C mtbger bo jugffwfca gjcu atgbeut atf rwjii yjg.
Langxia waved his hand to calm the people down. “Now, now, settle down! It wouldn’t be good to badmouth the competition!”
The crowd booed, but eventually erupted into laughter again.
Langxia shook his head as he took a seat at the bar counter. He lightly knocked on the counter to draw the attention of the bartender.
“Since it’s Laozi’s first time back in a while, tonight’s drinks will be on the house!”
The bar erupted into cheers again.
As the crowd settled, Gui Yin silently took a seat beside Langxia. The few people who were still watching them grew curious.
“Boss, who’s this newcomer you’ve brought? He’s quite good-looking!”
“Hmm…he is! He’s nothing like those gaudy young men out there!”
“Ah! I know! This is Boss’s wife! That’s why he’s always refused the gifts that are sent to warm his bed!” another exclaimed.
“I always just thought Boss was picky…Didn’t he used to—”
The man’s drunken words were drowned out by an uncoordinated chorus of “Madam!” around the small bar. Gui Yin looked at Langxia helplessly and the man simply shook his head.
“It’s worthless to try and reason with them,” Langxia whispered. He took the bottle the bartender offered and placed it in front of Gui Yin. “First, they won’t listen. Second, even if they listen, they won’t understand.”
“That’s right, Madam,” the bartender said. “In a place like this, it’s better to let it go in through one ear and out the other.”
Langxia glanced at the bartender and turned back to Gui Yin. “Qinle, this Ruo Yan. He’s one of my people.”
Ruo Yan smiled and lowered his voice. “Lord Immortal Ninglan.”
“Nice to meet you,” Gui Yin greeted. “This place…”
“It’s not affiliated with Huigu Palace,” Ruo Yan explained. “You can treat it as one of the Boss’s many eyes. Here, Boss is just nicknamed the Midnight Bar Boss. Most people just call him ‘Boss’ or ‘Midnight Boss’ or ‘Pearl Boss’.”
“Another place where you don’t have a name?”
“Giving names out is inconvenient,” Langxia said. He lightly tapped the bottle of beer against Gui Yin’s. “Besides, having an air of mystery makes business go much smoother.”
Gui Yin raised a brow.
“I’ll explain it to you later,” Langxia said sweetly.
Ruo Yan glanced between the two of them and slowly lowered his gaze knowingly. It seems that A-Qi and the others had missed a small detail when they had last written to him. These two were clearly a couple!
“Boss, what’s Madam’s identity here?” Ruo Yan asked.
Langxia glanced at him a little languidly. “Madam is the new mercenary under my wing. If any layman asks, just tell them that he’s a good friend I made while traveling. He had nowhere to go, so I brought him back.”
Ruo Yan nodded. “Understood, Boss.”
“Are you going to keep calling me Madam?” Gui Yin asked curiously.
“Then, shall I change it to Master?” Ruo Yan asked.
“Call him Young Master(公子),” Langxia said.
“Oh. Young Master,” Ruo Yan said with a cheeky smile.
“You’re dismissed.”
“Yes, Boss.”
“Ah, wait, wait.”
Ruo Yan looked at him curiously.
Langxia held out his hand.
Ruo Yan’s eyes widened. He glanced at Gui Yin and hesitantly placed his hand into Langxia’s. Langxia swiped his hand away and flipped it over to slap Ruo Yan’s hand.
“Ah! Boss!”
“Key. My room key,” Langxia said.
“Ah…oh, that makes more sense,” Ruo Yan said. He clicked his tongue in confusion as he ducked behind the counter. “I was wondering why you would suddenly ask for my hand.”
Gui Yin snorted out a laugh and turned away to avoid Langxia’s unamused stare.
“The room is as clean and tidy as you left it, Boss,” Ruo Yan said as he put the set of keys into Langxia’s hands. He glanced at Gui Yin and lowered his voice. “The bed’s also very comfy, so you don’t have to worry—”
“Ruo Yan, it seems like you need to come back to the sect soon,” Langxia said. He made a talking motion with his hands. “You’re starting to get a little too…”
“Understood,” Ruo Yan quickly said. He grinned sheepishly and slowly backed away. “I’ll keep my lips sealed, Boss.”
Langxia shook his head and stood. He turned to Gui Yin, his voice softening, “Let’s go.”
Gui Yin stood. “It was nice meeting you.”
“You as well, Madam! Ah, I mean Young Master!” Ruo Yan said with a low bow.
“Boss and the Madam are leaving!”
“Goodnight, Boss! Good night, Madam!”
The shouts of sendoff followed Langxia and Gui Yin even as they climbed up the stairs to the third story. There, was the beginning of the inn that went up another level.
Langxia took Gui Yin to the room at the end of the hall. As they walked, sounds of pleasure flowed out from under the doors and the walls. Gui Yin glanced around a bit awkwardly, but didn’t say anything when he saw Langxia’s natural expression.
Well, it was a place where everyone got piss drunk. It wasn’t surprising if they needed to let out some steam.
Langxia inserted the key into the lock and opened the door and allowed Gui Yin to step in first. Then, he erected a magical barrier that would keep people out. He placed the lock and key on the cabinet and continued past the bed until he was at the dresser. He opened the dresser, pressed a part of the back, and revealed another secret passage.
Gui Yin raised a brow as Langxia climbed in.
“Let’s go,” Langxia said. “You can’t expect us to sleep in a place where people are going at it the entire night, right?”
Gui Yin shuddered and quickly followed after Langxia.
What came next was a series of stairs, then a few stretches of hallways. Gui Yin held onto Langxia’s hand and looked around curiously. Eventually, they came to another set of stairs that led up. After reaching the end of those stairs, Langxia muttered a spell, and pushed open the door to reveal a room that was similar to the one he occupied back in Huigu Palace.
This one was smaller because part of the room was divided into the study. It was clearly a small house that was connected to the bar.
He turned to Langxia with amazement in his eyes.
“Why didn’t we just walk here?” Gui Yin asked.
“It takes longer to get here from outside. It’s much easier to go through Midnight Pearl,” Langxia said. He closed the door and looked around. “Over there leads out to the living room. That direction is the kitchen and over behind that door is the baths. It’s a little smaller than our places, but I hope you don’t mind.”
Gui Yin was speechless. “Smaller…I suppose it is. But, um, no, it’s fine.”
Langxia smiled. His expression said “you’re so understanding”, but Gui Yin really didn’t want to be gifted such a title.
Langxia chuckled and decided to stop messing with Gui Yin. “You must be tired. You rest first.”
Gui Yin’s brows slowly raised. “Where are you going? Causing problems?”
“Mm, I wouldn’t say that. After all, this is my territory and I haven’t been back in a while. I should make sure no one has been impeding on my territory.”
“So, in other words, you’re going to work?” Gui Yin asked. He grinned. “Take me with you.”
Langxia raised a brow. “But it’s boring. Besides, it might not be a side you’d want to see from me.”
“Is there a side you’re afraid to show to me?” Gui Yin asked provokingly.
“Of course. I’m afraid I’ll scare you away,” Langxia said.
“But if I’m with you, I want to be able to see all sides of you,” Gui Yin said. He placed his hands on Langxia’s chest and smoothed them down. “Is it that bad? Are you much scarier?”
“Scary?” Langxia echoed. He seemed to ruminate on it for a long time before he refocused on Gui Yin. “To some people, I might be.”
Gui Yin raised a brow, but was only faced with Langxia’s calm smile. He let out a low hum and then beamed. “Take me along with you. I’m curious. There’s little in the world that can scare me. It would be amazing if that thing was you.”
Langxia stared at him speechlessly, but eventually nodded. He wrapped an arm around Gui Yin and leaned in. “Then, let’s go.”
Gui Yin had just gripped Langxia’s shoulders when they flashed outside. In another step, they were brought to a separate location. They were back in the long stretch of winding hallways only, this time, Langxia didn’t take the time to walk like a normal human being.
Gui Yin was used to teleporting, but it was a different experience when he had to rely on a different person. By the time they stopped, he felt a little queasy and had to lean on Langxia for support.
“Qinle.”
“Mm?”
“The things in there don’t take too kindly to humans, so stay quiet and behind me. Don’t be afraid to release your aura either. If they know you’re a cultivator, they won’t cause trouble,” Langxia said, his voice echoing directly against Gui Yin’s ear.
Gui Yin hummed and straightened. Once it looked like he was stable, Langxia pushed the door open.
The room they walked into was smaller than the place Langxia had brought them to earlier. Inside was a long table and seated at the table were spirits and demons of all shapes, sizes, and breeds. There were some that were able to transform completely into humans while others that were in the in-between stages. There were a handful who could clearly transform, but they simply decided to take an anthropomorphic approach to their appearance.
All in all, the room swarmed with the energy of these spirits and demons, making Gui Yin dizzy for a brief moment. The most surprising thing was that the strongest energy in the room was actually coming from Langxia.
Gui Yin looked at him carefully as they began to make their way to one of the seats at the front of the table.
In front of Gui Yin, Langxia was an easygoing person. He was considerate, albeit a little indifferent in places he could care more. He was good at speaking and he got along well with anyone who he tried to. Of course, there were brief moments when Gui Yin had seen Langxia as a domineering Palace Lord, but it was completely different from what he was seeing now.
The moment Langxia stepped in, the room fell silent.
He walked silently to the seat beside the head of the table and sat down. Gui Yin stood close behind his seat.
“What’s wrong?” Langxia asked. His voice was soft, as usual, but it didn’t carry the same tranquility. “Why did it suddenly grow quiet?”
“Midnight Boss…” the bear who sat at the head of the table was the first to greet Langxia. The bear grinned awkwardly as his big paws lightly tapped the table. “We heard you had returned, but we hadn’t thought—”
“Why not?” Langxia asked, his eyes half-lidded as his finger rhythmically thumped the table. In the next second, the table splintered in half.
The demons and spirits immediately sprang up and took a step back. Only Langxia remained seated. He slowly looked up and revealed a set of golden, slitted eyes.
“Just because I was gone for a period of time, you thought you could mess with my territory?”
“Th—this—there must have been a misunderstanding!”
“Misunderstanding?” Langxia drawled. He looked up at the spirits and demons around him. “Then, are you saying I’m lying?”
The spirits and demons glanced at each other nervously.
“I’m a very fair person,” Langxia said. He slowly crossed his legs. “If you treat me as an ally, I will naturally be your ally. But if you’re trying to pull a fast one in front of me, then I won’t be so polite anymore.”
“This—Midnight Boss, how could we dare?” the bear demon cried. He looked around angrily, his teeth bared. “Who messed with the Boss’s territory? Huh? Speak up!”
None of the spirits and demons made a move to speak.
Langxia scoffed. He tilted his head to the side and languidly dragged his gaze up. “No one’s speaking? Should I make you all talk?”
“How could any of us say anything if none of us has moved your territory, sir?!” a bird spirit finally couldn’t help but speak. She pursed her lips as she grasped at her feathery sleeves. “We’re really innocent! I-If you don’t believe us, we can even swear on a pact!”
“Swear on a pact?” Langxia glanced at the bird spirit. “Then, how do you explain the excessive amount of resentment that’s creeping into my street?”
“R-resentment?” the bear demon’s eyes widened.
“That’s right,” Langxia said. “To the northeast of my territory, my people witnessed a clot of resentment. Apparently, it’s travelling closer and closer. It’s not only affecting the business of my people, but I hear it can even corrupt them. Isn’t that so?”
Relief came over the faces of the spirits and demons, but following the relief was even more anxiety.
“Sir, we’re just little spirits and demons,” the bear demon desperately said, “How could we come up with something like resentment?”
“Yes, that’s right! The worst we do is…eat a person or absorb their essence,” a bull demon said with a slightly guilty look on his face. “Resentment, this sort of thing…isn’t it for ghost cultivators or something?”
“We at Half Star Ocean could never do such a thing,” a mouse demon frantically said. “It’s not like we’re those bigshots over in Yongxiu!”
A chorus of agreement rose through the crowd.
“Also!” a rabbit demon quickly shot up his hand. “I…know that resentment you’re talking about, sir. In fact, it’s also been impeding on some of our territories.”
“That’s right!” the bird spirit from before agreed. “All my little birds have had to move out of sections of the forest recently because of how rampant it’s gotten.”
“Then, was it originally in the forest?” Langxia asked.
“I think it started from Beaver’s river,” someone said. “H-he and his clan lived to the northeast of your territory, sir.”
Silence descended on the group at the mention of Beaver. Clearly, Beaver and his clan didn’t have a good ending.
“To think that it’s heading into the city,” someone muttered.
Langxia hummed. A second later, he stood. A polite smile took over his face again. “Please bill Midnight Pearl for the destruction of your meeting table.”
“O-of course…then…”
“I’ll go check out where this resentment is coming from,” Langxia reassured them. “Since it wasn’t any of yours’ doing, you can naturally rest easy.”
A chorus of “yes, of course” rang out through the small room. Langxia’s smile grew, but in the eyes of those there, they only saw a predator about to bare his fangs.
“Let’s go,” Langxia’s soft voice jerked Gui Yin back to reality.
Gui Yin nodded and quickly followed after Langxia.
For someone whose lineage had been so diluted through the generations, Langxia was still frighteningly powerful. It really gave Gui Yin a new understanding of the man at his side.
A/N: Thirty-six more chapters until the end, folks ;v;
Half Star Ocean sounds like a lovely place!! (also i keep falling in love with your characters, Ruo Yan made me laugh too hard akxhakdh)
hehe thank you!
Noo! There’s no end!!! ( ≧Д≦)! Haha
Langxia is so cool! So intimidating ah
Hahaha silly RuoYan really cracked me up 🤣 and LX getting jealous is so cute!!
I’m glad they get to see more sides of each other now