Seductive whispers filled the dimly lit room. Smoke curled, caressing and embracing the occupants of the soft, velvet seats. A few lithe men leaned against a rather muscular woman. Although she wasn’t as soft as the prostitutes in her arms, she had an attractive face. She had a pair of seductive eyes and naturally plump, pinkish lips. Her skin was a healthy wheat color, showing that she spent most of her time outdoors, yet there was not a blemish on her face. She wore clothes traditional to men and her hair was tied up in an easy ponytail. She wore little makeup and carried few jewelry, but her fingers were adorned by simple rings that each served their own purpose.
On normal days, Ào Yǔxiáng (傲羽翔) would spend her evenings here, listening to the gossip of the prostitutes while enjoying a cup of burning liquor. She was someone who disliked silence, but didn’t like speaking. She enjoyed the quiet buzz of Hongyan Tower that was so different from other brothels. A calming incense ran through the entire building and the people here were seductive without being trashy. They were demure without being shy. If you provoked them, they could be bold and charming. They were all intelligent, holding a pride that was not common in prostitutes and courtesans.
They were trained well—if one were to speak so vulgarly. And it was all thanks to the man, sitting across from her.
Ao Yuxiang glanced over at the quiet man, who seemed to so easily blend in with the shadows. A pale, soft looking man was splayed across his chest, but he didn’t seem interested in the slightest. Of course, if Ao Yuxiang had that type of face, she wouldn’t be interested in anyone at this pleasure house either.
The man in front of her was…enticing. He was attractive in a way you might expect a deity to be attractive. His every move carried a quiet and controlled elegance. His words, although few, were spoken with deep thought. After knowing him for so many years, Ao Yuxiang had the pleasure of witnessing his talkativeness. And in his talkativeness, he didn’t lose any bit of his poise. He spoke like a poisonous snake, slithering through tall grass. You never knew when you would get bit.
The man noticed her gaze and his golden eyes flickered up. A small smirk sat on his face as he leaned down to accept the wine the courtesan in his arm offered. He licked his lips as he pulled back and looked at Ao Yuxiang again.
“Miss Ao, is there something you’d like to say?”
“It’s rare for you to accept my invitation, Lord Sun,” Ao Yuxiang said. She smiled. “The last time we met was so long ago—I hardly remember the day.”
“It was raining then,” the man said. “I remember I hadn’t brought an umbrella.”
Ao Yuxiang raised a brow. It was a trivial detail, but she wasn’t surprised. That was how the man pulled you in. He was abnormally attentive.
“If you think I have something to ask of you, there is none,” the man said.
Ao Yuxiang chuckled. “Why would you ever have anything to ask of me, Lord Sun? You come and go at will. People here know your name, your business, and your silhouette, but they don’t know anything else about you. You don’t know how many people have tried to track you down.”
“I’m well aware of my own popularity,” the man said. His gaze flickered to Ao Yuxiang. “But what about you, Miss Ao?”
“Me?”
“Whenever you call on me, you have something that needs to be done. What is it this time?” the man asked.
Ao Yuxiang breathed in deeply through her pipe and slowly exhaled. Her head buzzed deliciously as she fell back against the plush couch. She smiled. “There is a new settlement in the Western Banks. I hear they’re a group of ghost cultivators, but I’m not familiar with our new neighbors. They were clever though. They found the one spot between my territory and yours that was free for all. I have to commend them for that.”
“And?” the man drawled.
It was clear Ao Yuxiang was losing his interest.
“Lord Mo’s concubine recently went missing,” Ao Yuxiang said. She let out a soft sigh as she shook her head. “He’s new. He’s a little swan demon that Lord Mo tried so hard to save from the Crooked Crescent Market. He’s a bit scared of everything. Lord Mo said he lost his temper in front of the little thing, so he must have run off. He hasn’t come home and the last he was seen was around the Western Banks. Lord Mo fears that his little swan has been taken by those ghost cultivators.”
“Isn’t it just a concubine? How many others does he have?” the man scoffed.
“This one’s different. He dismissed more than half his harem because this little swan disliked having to share with so many people,” Ao Yuxiang said. She smiled. “Lord Sun, if you find this little swan, I’m sure Lord Mo will owe you big time.”
Sun Langxia’s gaze deepened as he finally looked at the python demon in front of him. Her slitted gray eyes gave regular people a sense of unease, but when Sun Langxia looked at her, he felt absolutely nothing.
“Alright,” Sun Langxia finally hummed. “What did you want in return?”
“Nothing at all, My Lord,” Ao Yuxiang said. She pressed her hand over her chest and lowered her head. “I am your humble servant.”
“Humble servant,” Sun Langxia echoed. Amusement traced his lips as he took the wine cup from the man beside him and downed it in one go. “I’ll accept your repayment this time.”
Ao Yuxiang smiled wickedly and watched as Sun Langxia stood. “I will tell you about any other news I find in the Western Banks.”
Sun Langxia’s hand gently touched the top of the head of the young man who attempted to follow him up. He glanced at Ao Yuxiang and let out a breezy hum.
The doors slid open as Sun Langxia approached it. He stepped out and, behind him, swiftly followed a young woman and a young man who were dressed in black from head to toe with nothing showing but their eyes and their hair.
A-Qi looked at her master and then glanced back at the room with a wrinkled nose. “Master, do you have to meet her in a tight space? The stuff she always smokes is so overpowering.”
“Shoreless” was the name of the drug. In small doses, even if they were regular, did no harm to the body. It was only when it was injected into a closed room and flooded for days on end did the person experience hallucinations strong enough to make them go insane. When it wasn’t used for such nefarious purposes, the demon spirits of Yongxiu enjoyed smoking it recreationally. Of course, this was also because this drug didn’t affect spirits the same way it would affect humans.
Seeing that Sun Langxia ignored her, she softly cleared her throat and changed the subject.
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.
“Dea…la rffwr ilxf Zjrafg’r foobgar tjnf olcjiis qjlv boo! Qf wjcjufv ab oluegf bea ktfgf atf utbra meialnjabgr jgf tlvlcu klatbea fzqfcvlcu abb wemt foobga,” C-Hl rjlv. Vtf uijcmfv ja Qe Mfcu.
Qe Mfcu tewwfv mbwqiljcais. Lf uijcmfv ja Ojcuzlj’r ygbjv yjmx yfobgf atfw jcv ktlrqfgfv, “Pa vbfr rffw ab yf atf tlvfbea atja kf kfgf rfjgmtlcu obg.”
“We’re lucky,” Langxia finally spoke. They neared the doors of his office. The guards saluted and pulled the wide double doors open. Once they entered, Langxia took his cloak off and threw it over the nearby couch. “If it’s really where she says it is, then we won’t have to worry about stepping on anyone’s toes.”
“Then, shall this servant send word for Lord Ninglan?” A-Qi asked excitedly.
Langxia lazily glanced at A-Qi and then to Wu Feng. He thought about it for a moment before standing again. “Are there any clothes in my wardrobe that aren’t as revealing?”
“Not in this residence, Master,” Wu Feng immediately answered.
He had nothing that was like what he usually wore in Kunlun. His wardrobe here consisted of velvets, chain accessories, and various shades of red, dark purples, and blacks. His hair, which was normally clawed together by the snake ornament, had small braids, lining the side of his head or was even boldly left unbound. It was rare that he would pull his clothes tightly around his neck, often opting to reveal his chest.
Langxia placed a hand on his exposed chest and frowned. He turned to A-Qi. “A-Qi, bring me a few sets of clothes from Half Star Ocean. Wu Feng, bring Lord Ninglan over. No rush though. Oh, and Ruo Heng, bring me an architect.”
Wu Feng and A-Qi glanced at each other before expressing their understanding. In the blink of an eye, the two shadows disappeared again. Not too long later, the young man from before came in with an older gentleman trailing after him.
The young man, Ruo Heng, had already changed into the black uniform that Wu Feng and A-Qi had been wearing. The makeup that enhanced his charming eyes had also been removed. Without saying a word, he left the architect with Langxia, bowed, and swiftly stepped out.
Langxia turned and smiled at the old architect. “How quickly can you clean up the top floor?”
To Langxia’s disappointment, the architect estimated a week. After a bit more haggling, Langxia managed to reach a satisfying four days. Four days would be enough time to clean everything up and make it presentable for Gui Yin.
Gui Yin was a scholarly gentleman. It was probably safe to assume that he did not frequent pleasure houses or that he had never even stepped foot into one. If Langxia were to lead him into such a messy place all at once without explanation, he would be very shocked. He may even be very appalled. He needed to buy some time for himself to explain everything first—then he could reveal to Gui Yin the true side of Yongxiu.
Langxia was quite satisfied with his own arrangements.
Once the architect had left, Langxia sat back down on the couch. He glanced down at the scar on his arm that had yet to fade and silently traced it. His expression had darkened and a soft sigh left his lips.
Four days was far too long.
But then another day passed and it took another before Gui Yin appeared in front of Langxia again.
Gui Yin was not dressed in the usual vibrant colors that he preferred to wear. Instead, he was dressed in arrow-sleeved robes. His long hair was pulled into a high ponytail and his fan had become his sword at his side. Although his attire did not stand out in the crowd, Langxia still spotted many eyes drifting in his direction. His brow slowly raised as his fingers drummed impatiently against the railing of the terrace. His feet shifted in anticipation, but just as he was about to turn and meet Gui Yin at the bottom, the person he had been watching lifted his head.
The two gazes collided and a beautiful smile bloomed onto the other party’s face.
Langxia’s eyes widened and his heart stuttered. Gui Yin chuckled at Langxia’s silly expression and whispered a few words. The words traveled directly into Langxia’s ears, loud and clear: “Stay up there.”
Langxia shifted again into a more comfortable position and waited several minutes until the door to the private room opened. He turned and smiled as Gui Yin stepped in with Wu Feng.
“Leave.”
Wu Feng bowed and quickly vanished from the room.
Gui Yin glanced at where the young man had been as he made his way over to Langxia. The curtains fell closed and Langxia eagerly stopped in front of Gui Yin.
The first thing Gui Yin did was not to hug Langxia, nor was it to greet him as usual. Instead, he placed two hands onto Langxia’s shoulder, drew him in, and gave him a few sniffs. Langxia froze. His hands unconsciously fell at Gui Yin’s hips, but he didn’t move a centimeter more.
A while later, Langxia finally whispered, “Qinle, what are you doing?”
Gui Yin pulled back and pulled a folded-up piece of paper from his belt. Langxia recognized it to be the note he had written a few weeks ago for Gui Yin. A rare, quizzical look fell onto his handsome face.
“What is this smell?” Gui Yin asked.
Langxia leaned in and smelled the slip of paper as well. His expression scrunched horribly before he pulled back.
“It’s the scent of Shoreless,” Langxia said. He attempted to take the note from Gui Yin, but Gui Yin moved it back. Langxia’s hand fell back to the side. “It’s a narcotic for spirits. It smells horrible, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” Gui Yin agreed. “But it was so strong that I almost thought it was perfume from a pleasure house. Though, I suppose I wasn’t too far off.”
Langxia chuckled. “Were you worried?”
“Not at all,” Gui Yin said. He tucked the note away again under Langxia’s confused gaze. He brushed a hand against Langxia’s cheek and finally fell against his chest. “You would never be unfaithful.”
Langxia’s smile grew. He hugged Gui Yin tightly around the waist and breathed in his scent.
The smell that lingered on Gui Yin was nothing like the suffocating scents that existed in Yongxiu and Hongyan Tower. It reminded Langxia of Shuangye Peak and Fuyun Manor. The faint scent of stationery and bamboo lingered on every part of Gui Yin, despite how long he had been away from them. Gui Yin raised a brow at Langxia’s forwardness and gently ran his fingers through the other man’s hair.
“Why were you so upset before?” Langxia murmured.
“We went to visit Fuyun Manor,” Gui Yin explained. “It was…”
Langxia’s grip on him tightened. Gui Yin chuckled and kissed the shell of Langxia’s ear.
“I was just sad, that’s all. I felt like an ungrateful disciple,” Gui Yin said. “It’d been so long since I’d seen my Shizun. Besides, the incident with Qiao Ceng refreshed my memory, so everything was like an open wound again. That’s all.”
“I should have been there.”
Gui Yin felt a swelling in his chest. He wanted to get even closer to Langxia in this moment, but they were already stuck together. The anxious need was so silly that Gui Yin couldn’t help but laugh again.
“It’s okay, you were busy,” Gui Yin whispered. He wanted to reassure Langxia some more, but his feet were suddenly lifted from the ground.
His eyes widened and he scrambled to hold onto Langxia’s shoulders. He pulled back and looked at him incredulously.
“What are you doing?”
“Do you want to try out the beds?” Langxia asked as he carried Gui Yin across the room. “They’re very comfy.”
Gui Yin stared at Langxia incredulously as he pulled open a door that led up to the secret topmost floor. He looked at the stairs that were left behind them and pushed at Langxia.
“Wait, the ghost cultivators—”
“Can wait,” Langxia said.
“But Wu Feng said something about a swan?”
“I already have people on that,” Langxia reassured Gui Yin.
“Still, this is inappropriate,” Gui Yin protested.
“How is it inappropriate?” Langxia raised a brow. “First off, this is my own residence. Second, I just want to show you how comfortable the new beds are. It couldn’t be that you are thinking about something different, right, Qinle?”
Gui Yin’s face flushed. He didn’t know whether he should laugh or cry at this moment. After another moment of stunned silence, he huffed, hugged Langxia by the neck and wordlessly buried his face into the man’s shoulders.
Langxia grinned. He pressed his lips against Gui Yin’s ear and whispered, “Of course, if you want to, we could.”
“Shut up.”
“I mean, we do need to test out the durability of the beds—”
“Shut…up.”
Langxia chuckled. He kissed what was exposed of Gui Yin’s cheek and hummed happily. “I’ll shut up.”
Langxia ducked under the curtain that led into his personal room.
The entire floor had been quickly remodeled, doing away with the miscellaneous decorations that didn’t fit Langxia usual persona. The entire room had clearly lightened in both color and atmosphere. The large bed sat in the center of the room, amidst the various knickknacks and offerings that other lords in Yongxiu had given Langxia. While they were seemingly placed haphazardly everywhere, it did well to fill up the space of the large room without making it seem too cluttered.
Gui Yin lifted his head from Langxia’s shoulder and looked out at the view below. His eyes widened and he used his legs to tapped Langxia’s lower back. The other man glanced at him curiously as he pointed towards the windows.
“This floor is invisible to outsiders,” Langxia explained as he carried Gui Yin over. He followed wherever Gui Yin pointed, but refused to let him down. “There’s a spell to block wind from coming in.”
The entire floor was nearly structured like a pavilion. From floor to ceiling, there was clearly no window and no glass, yet none of the external noise or wind that should be present were able to travel in.
Gui Yin leaned towards the large open windows and pressed his hand onto it. As he guessed, his hand landed on a surface. He gasped in delight and turned to Langxia with sparkling eyes. Langxia chuckled. He pressed a kiss to Gui Yin’s lips.
“I’ll show you the spells.”
Gui Yin nodded happily. He let out a wistful sigh as Langxia carried him over to the bed.
“You have so many new and interesting things wherever you take,” Gui Yin said. “I don’t know if I can learn all of these things so quickly.”
“Then, take your time. I’m planning on being by your side forever. Naturally, all the ‘new and interesting things’ will stay along with me,” Langxia said as he set Gui Yin down onto the bed.
Gui Yin hummed, his arms still lingering around Langxia’s neck. “Then, it sounds like it’s quite profitable to keep you around for a while.”
“It would be, wouldn’t it?” Langxia smirked. He nudged his way onto the bed, despite Gui Yin’s refusal to release him.
“What about you?”
“Me?”
“Mn. What have you been up to? Did anyone bully you?” Gui Yin asked.
Langxia laughed. He gave in and collapsed onto Gui Yin’s chest. “Who would dare?”
“That’s true. Around here, it’s probably you who bullies people,” Gui Yin said with a small chuckle. He ran his fingers through Langxia’s hair and watched as the other closed his eyes.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping though,” Langxia murmured. “It was odd without someone else on the bed with me.”
“Just find someone else and put them on the bed then.”
Gui Yin burst into laughter at Langxia’s unamused stare. He cupped his face and pressed several kisses against Langxia’s forehead and cheeks. It wasn’t until the man pulled back and turned them over again did Gui Yin stop.
“Did you miss me or not?” Langxia asked.
“I did. But I’m more surprised that you missed me this much,” Gui Yin said.
“Distance makes the heart grow fonder, isn’t that right?” Langxia pointed out. He hugged Gui Yin tightly against him. “Hey, let’s take a nap.”
“Are you serious? Er’lang—”
“But I need you like this,” Langxia said. He buried himself against Gui Yin’s shoulder. “Please?”
Gui Yin’s heart skipped a beat. He loudly cleared his throat and relaxed against Langxia’s chest again. He picked at the other man’s clothes for a few second before humming.
“I suppose. You’ve been working very hard, after all,” Gui Yin said.
Langxia smiled. He kissed the back of Gui Yin’s neck and happily closed his eyes. “I love you.”
Gui Yin scrunched up a little.
Langxia had definitely changed again in the short few weeks they hadn’t seen each other. And he wasn’t quite sure how to react to this change. It wasn’t bad. Arguably, it might be better. But when had he ever encountered a partner that was so clingy and lovable? The Langxia from when they first met was more in line with his type. Now, this was very…different. It would take a while to get used to.
“Qinle.”
“Hm?”
“Hmmm?”
The hum in response made Gui Yin laugh. He shifted up and kissed Langxia again. When he pulled back, he looked into the other’s eyes and smiled.
“I love you too.”
the trust in each other… mwah.
thanks for the chapter!
Thanks for reading!!
Didn’t, the villain guy say “I love you too” some chapters back? Like, the difference bro.
And! I love how almost all the time they cuddle together it’s just so cute ahh (wishing someone like that fr fr)
I feel exactly the same. I’m aroace but they’re so cute that it makes my heart squeeze
Ugh too much fluff but I’m not complaining at all, they both deserve this and much more