Just as Shi Wuduan was about to stride in like he owned the place, Bai Li yanked him by the shoulder and growled, “What do you intend to do?”
Shi Wuduan stood underneath the “Tender Paradise” plaque, deep in thought. He replied, “I brought you here to have fun, and also finish a task for eldest brother along the way…. Also, I heard that they make the most wonderful appetizers, so I thought we could have a taste. If it’s good I’ll have them send some back so we can have it for breakfast.”
Bai Li felt a ball of rage stuck in his chest, his lips white from anger. But Shi Wuduan didn’t know how to read the mood anymore, even if he saw anything, he’d pretend to be blind. He brooked no argument as he dragged him in.
Even though Tender Paradise’s name was a bit obscene, their business was doing well. As soon as customers stepped through the door, the girls could more or less tell with a look where they stood on the social ladder. In this line of work, their colleagues were competitors. A girl here batted her eyes seductively, a girl there simpered flirtatiously; they swarmed the two the moment they entered, tugging them back and forth, afraid to lose out to the girls beside them.
Shi Wuduan suddenly let go of Bai Li, turned to the side, and let out a loud sneeze. Then, he smiled at the girl tugging on his sleeve, who was flushed with embarrassment. She instantly schooled her expression into one of cloying sweetness as she sidled closer. But the moment her flowery perfume wafted over, Shi Wuduan’s nose twitched again. He leapt back and sneezed twice in a row, his eyes tearing up in reflex.
The poor girl’s face was nearly green.
Shi Wuduan had interacted with many women before, but they were all either inhuman yao from Cangyun Valley, stony-faced shijie and shimei from Xuan Sect, or tomboys in the army. None of these people really used powdery makeup, especially not fourth sister, who was refreshingly informal; she didn’t even apply hair oil unless they were meeting with some bigshot. So he hadn’t known that meeting a beautiful lady would have him leaking tears out of his eyes and oozing snot out of his nose.
Bai Li looked glanced cooly at the hand that that woman had touched Shi Wuduan with. Then he took in Shi Wuduan’s pitiful state and thought mercilessly: Hah, serves you right!
Too bad Shi Wuduan couldn’t read those thoughts out of Bai Li’s icy demeanor. He looked at Bai Li vexedly, then said to the lady, who very wisely backed away from him, “That’s my friend over there, he gets shy easily. Get a few less-perfumed girls over to accompany him for a while.”
He dug a jadeite ring out of his robes and, holding his breath, leaned over and teasingly kissed her cheek. He said in a deep voice, “I’ll be heading upstairs first, call your boss over. I’ve got business to discuss.”
Shi Wuduan waggled his eyebrows at Bai Li, then took a deep breath like was getting ready to dive and held it as he fled, leaving Bai Li all alone amongst the birds and flowers.
Shi Wuduan had remained on the second floor the whole time. When he came down again, Guji City was already blanketed by night. The tantalizing melody of woodwinds and pipas, accompanied by dance, had mostly died down already, leaving only a faint whisper of modest little tunes.
Tender Paradise was mostly empty now, and only especially sensitive ears would pick up the immodest sounds coming from private rooms.
Shi Wuduan stood by himself on the stairs, feeling like the scent of rogue hadn’t fully dissipated yet. His nose was still a bit itchy. The winter night was getting cold; he began coughing. He suddenly thought that the whole of Guji was rather interesting in a base and unseemly way.
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.
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Shi Wuduan couldn’t help thinking that even if the mountains were felled and the earth sundered the very next day, consigning every human to certain death, Tender Paradise would be packed with customers the night before.
If there was no fame and fortune to strive for, didn’t that mean only hedonism was left?
Shi Wuduan waved over a young servant girl. She looked too young to be receiving customers and was probably only collecting plates and cleaning tables after guests.
“Did you happen to notice a gentleman who came here tonight, dressed in all white like a ball of dough?” He asked quietly.
The young girl startled then nodded.
“Did he leave already?”
The young girl cutely replied, “He hasn’t left. That gentleman is listening to music in one of the private rooms.”
“Take me over there.”
Bai Li hadn’t stormed away in a fit of temper, hadn’t had his wits muddled by Tender Paradise’s charming red lanterns and fragrant white wine, and had certainly not been seduced away by any of the girls for a night of merry-making. When the servant girl brought Shi Wuduan into the room, he saw Bai Li sitting primly, his back facing the door, seeming vaguely lost in thought.
The wine on the table had cooled already, the lanterns were nearly burned out. A yellow-robed woman clutching a qin sat nervously across from him, singing. It was like she was sitting across from a wild beast, for when she caught sight of Shi Wuduan’s entrance, she looked at him beseechingly.
Shi Wuduan walked over and sat next to Bai Li, the songstress stammering out her lyrics, “From the moonlight shining on the river bend; does a fairytale castle high ascend. An endless journey through an endless land; seven years pass like flowing sand. Yearning blurs the time twixt dawn and dusk; darkness drains my foolish dream to withered husk. Our star-crossed paths are doomed to part; a thousand springs can’t warm my frozen heart. Mayhap….”
As Shi Wuduan listened to her stumbling serenade, he languidly yawned and scooped the fruit bowl into his arms. He took a chomp, frowned, then judged, “Yep, it’s winter alright. These all came out of the cellar, they’re not fresh anymore.”
The sound of him crunching away at fruit like an oversized rat finally interrupted the woman’s lamentful song. While Bai Li’s attention was turned to Shi Wuduan, she hurriedly gathered up her qin and stood at attention quietly in a corner — who knew what this customer’s problem was, making her sing that same song over and over for a while night. Even when her voice had nearly gone hoarse from singing, he still hadn’t let her stop.
Bai Li’s eyes, serene and full of hidden depth, fixed on Shi Wuduan. He was still obliviously trying to get a taste of all the deserts in the fruit bowl. Bai Li asked, “Did you like the song?”
The songstress’s heart leapt to her throat in fear that if this young man said he liked the song, she’d have to keep singing.
“Not at all,” Shi Wuduan replied without hesitation. “It’s too mushy, can’t tell what the hell she’s singing.”
Even though… she didn’t have to keep singing, the songstress’s face still paled.
Bai Li softly said, “The vast sky, the luminous milky way; the stars are incomparable to morning dew, yet they too appear and disappear, as if the only thing that’s everlasting is parting and separation. Like Alnitak and Antares, their paths forever running counter to each other’s; knowing one another, yet never being able to meet. Is there anything in the world more heartrending than that?”
Shi Wuduan glanced at him curiously, completely unable to understand what Bai Li was sighing about. He said, “What do two stars have to meet up for?”
Bai Li’s hand shot out to clasp his own. Shi Wuduan frowned, wanting to pull free, but Bai Li’s fingers were like iron clamps, his grip on his wrist tight enough to hurt. Yet Shi Wuduan continued fearlessly, “Little Li-zi, let go. It’s hard to spit seeds like this.”
Bai Li did just the opposite, wrenching him off the chair and into his embrace. That poor songstress who’d been tortured the whole night quickly skedaddled, her heart pounding in shock.
Shi Wuduan looked at him, his smile nowhere to be seen. He asked sedately, “Bai Li, what are you doing?”
Bai Li gently closed his eyes. His long hair fell in rivulets past his face, coming to rest on Shi Wuduan’s throat and shoulder. Their breaths tangled together, but the looks in their eyes were different as night and day. The silence stretched until finally, Bai Li asked, “Why is it… that we can’t be the way we were when we were young?””
Shi Wuduan didn’t speak. Bai Li pressed closer and closer; it seemed his lips would touch upon his face in the next moment, but he suddenly laughed. He stretched out a finger and pointed at Bai Li’s shadow drawn long by the flickering candle lights and said, “You’re asking me?”
Bai Li stiffened. Shi Wuduan pushed him by the shoulder and stood back up, coldly glaring at Bai Li’s pitch black shadow — it looked human-shaped at first glance, but when Shi Wuduan’s gaze landed on it fully, it seemed to jolt in surprise. In the mass of black, a few “things” began to stir in disquiet.
They surfaced and submerged randomly in turns, distorting Bai Li’s shadow into something inhuman, a heavy stain of black ink writhing on the ground.
Shi Wuduan raised an eyebrow and asked, “You tell me, what is this?”
Bai Li didn’t answer. Shi Wuduan continued regardless, “Ancient texts record that demons hide within shadows. I never thought I’d have a chance to see it for myself. This is a place of filth and debauchery; I suppose the unclean qi here must’ve riled those shadow demons then?”
“Bai Li!” Shi Wuduan slammed his hands against the table and clutched Bai Li by the collar of his robes, nearly lifting him off the chair, “You’re brave indeed, hiding so many demons in your shadow; are you not afraid of being consumed by demons in reprisal? Just what are you trying to do? If we hadn’t come here today…. I wouldn’t have known that you’d dare to….”
Bai Li’s only response was to laugh soundlessly. Shi Wuduan glared at him for a moment, scowling fiercely, and let him go. He said, “I’ll find a way to rid you of these things.”
But just after he spoke, the shadow churning on the ground reacted as if provoked. It rose out of the ground like some strange creature, enveloping the room in darkness, and surging towards Shi Wuduan.
Bai Li stood up; a sphere of black mist emerged from his body and surrounded Shi Wuduan in its embrace. He’d dropped all pretenses. Everything in the room, from the tables to the shutters began to tremble. Outside, a raven’s cry shattered the silence of the night, rising into the sky in a vain attempt to escape the dreadful killing intent, it was…. a kind of killing intent that could chill you to the bones and block out the sun.
Bai Li spoke in a near whisper, “Anyone that dares to touch even a single hair of his, I’ll annihilate you, just try me.”
The pitch-black demon creature finally quailed in fear, slowly retreating back into his shadow and settling down.
The room was silent. Shi Wuduan stared at him, his thoughts indiscernible.
When Shi Wuduan laughed, he was once again that youth who never seemed to grow up, his eyes curving into thin crescents, his canines and dimples making an appearance, looking for all the world like he wore his heart on his sleeve. But he wasn’t smiling, and his face had already grown into a man’s. When his gaze turned probing and wary, his eyes darkened into deep, lightless wells.
After a moment, Shi Wuduan sighed and left the room, saying quietly, “It’s gotten late. Let’s return.”
But Bai Li stood motionless. He suddenly spoke towards Shi Wuduan, who’d turned away, “I can give you anything you want, as long as… you can understand my heart.”
Shi Wuduan left silently without looking back, musing that he really was possessed by the devil — I want these wayward stars to resume their due course; I want this shambling corpse of a dynasty to shatter into pieces. Is that something you can give?
There was no way Little Li-zi would ever do something so abominable. But at last, as if scrabbling for excuses, Shi Wuduan thought, it must be the demon monsters in his shadow causing all this madness. I’ve got to find a way to banish them.
Sigh…Little Shu just accept your fate ba~ and be happy with Little Li-zi okay?
Thanks for the chapter<3
“There’s no way little Li-zi would do something sk abominable.” Sir ur talking about a demon who committed patricide 😭 I think he would do anything for you
They both suffered much growing up ❤️🩹
Thank you so much for your wonderful translation. Truly beautiful words. 🙏👏🧨🦋
Bai Li spoke in a near whisper, “Anyone that dares to touch even a single hair of his, I’ll annihilate you, just try me.”
This line is too romantic. Don’t judge me 😂
Say yes to Little Li-Zi, SWD 🥺🙏
No no, you have a point!
This novel gets better and better, so many unforgettable lines since the reunion (0_0)