However, that night, Lou Muge slept extremely comfortably. Once he crawled into the quilt, the cold was completely expelled, and he slept until dawn.
Opening his eyes, Ning Shaosi’s half face was buried in the quilt, dense eyelashes casting a peaceful shadow on his fair face, and steady breathing echoed in his ears.
Lou Muge wasn’t fully awake yet, and his first thought was that this kid was indeed quite handsome.
Seeing Ning Shaosi sleeping soundly, Lou Muge didn’t disturb him. He left the warm bed, wrapped himself in a thick cloak, and went out. Only when he was completely covered did he step outside, and the first cold wind of the morning completely awakened his awareness.
The courtyard was empty in the morning, and the gate was open. Lou Muge stood by the door for a moment before gritting his teeth and hastily washing up with well water. Sitting on the steps, rubbing his almost frozen hands, he saw Wen Changchu coming in with food.
Wen Changchu had bought meat-filled pastries today, steaming hot and emitting a fragrant aroma from afar. Lou Muge took one in each hand, and when he looked down, he saw that the meat was overflowing from the pastries. The scalding heat also brought feeling back to his hands.
If he could spare a hand, Lou Muge would have wanted to give Wen Changchu a big thumbs up.
Wen Changchu pointed to one of them and said, “This one is for 712; don’t eat it.”
Lou Muge unexpectedly glanced at him. He didn’t expect Wen Changchu’s attitude towards that kid to take a big turn in just one night. Lou Muge promised earnestly, “I guarantee to give it to him intact.”
Wen Changchu said, “Then I’ll go first. I’ll go find out what’s going on with Zhang Rong. We can’t be the only ones busy.”
This statement resonated with Lou Muge’s intentions. He nodded and casually cautioned, “Don’t get into a fight with them.”
Wen Changchu disdainfully snorted, “Just them.”
After saying that, he turned and left. Lou Muge continued to sit on the ground, eating the pastries. The warmth in his stomach spread throughout his body, making him feel warm. After finishing one, he felt not satisfied. Glancing up, the door was still quiet, and Ning Shaosi was still asleep.
Pastries weren’t good when they cooled, so he decided to buy more after that kid woke up.
With this thought in mind, Lou Muge bit down a big mouthful, happily chewing and swallowing a few bites before realizing something was wrong.
Spiciness attacked from all sides of his tongue, rushing straight to his forehead. The intense sensation turned his fair face into a deep shade of red. Lowering his head, he discovered that the meat in the pastry contained large red chunks, and even the air carried a pungent spiciness.
Lou Muge angrily tossed the pastry to the ground, infuriated, “Wen Changchu, this little rascal!”
How could he be so kind? So, he had tampered with the pastry, adding so much chili!
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.
Lou Muge felt like his saliva was bursting like a dam. Disregarding the difficulty of replenishing his expended strength, he hurriedly released it to counteract the spiciness that had spread from his mouth to his stomach.
Ktf obgwlvjyif Gfwbc Obgv, tjnlcu pera gfaegcfv ab atf kbgiv, kjr jiwbra rfca yjmx ys j qjrags. Qfii, tf mbeivc’a jmmfqa atlr gfreia tlwrfio.
Pc atf lcrajca atf qbkfg vlrqfgrfv, atf sbecu wjc riffqlcu rbecvis lc atf gbbw revvfcis bqfcfv tlr fsfr. Pc bcf rwbbat wbalbc, tf iloafv atf mbnfgr jcv uba bea bo yfv, bcis vgfrrfv lc j atlc lccfg gbyf. Vafqqlcu bea bo atf gbbw, yfobgf tf fnfc abbx j rafq, tf rjk j oeglber Obe Zeuf rlaalcu lc atf mbegasjgv.
At his feet was a pastry, the meat filling scattered all over the ground.
Ning Shaosi stopped, seeing Lou Muge’s unpleasant expression and the large red patches on his face that hadn’t faded yet. He asked in confusion, “What’s wrong with you?”
Lou Muge wouldn’t admit that he almost ascended to heaven due to eating a spicy pastry behind Wen Changchu’s back. So, he shook his head stiffly, “Nothing. When you’re awake, quickly put on your clothes. Let’s go check out that spring or whatever.”
Ning Shaosi looked down, realizing he hadn’t even put on shoes, and he ran out barefoot. His face turned slightly red. Turning back to his room, he dressed quickly and soon emerged as an exquisite porcelain-like young man.
Lou Muge also recovered, stood up as if nothing happened, dusted off the dirt on him, and said casually, “Let’s go.”
In reality, he almost bit his sticky rice teeth into pieces and couldn’t wait to give Wen Changchu a good beating.
Ning Shaosi nodded. Today, he wasn’t wearing the jade crown, only tying his long hair with a black silk ribbon. The black fur cloak accentuated the youth’s straight posture, and the gold patterns on the collar added a touch of nobility.
Lou Muge felt that he looked particularly like an esteemed prince in the mortal realm, filled with the worldly air. Compared to Wen Changchu, he lacked the sinister aura and had more of the innocence of a mortal youth.
Clearly, both were from the Demon Clan.
Lou Muge wrapped himself tightly, but still felt cold. On the contrary, Ning Shaosi didn’t even wear a cloak, yet he remained unfazed in the cold wind.
After leaving the door, both sides of the street were filled with food stalls. Lou Muge, seeing those steaming snacks, felt a bit fiery in his throat. He glanced at Ning Shaosi and asked, “Are you hungry?”
Ning Shaosi, taken aback by the sudden question, replied, “I can eat or not.”
“Have some,” Lou Muge said. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
Stopping in front of a wonton stall, the fragrance of scallion oil wafted in. Lou Muge said, “Give me two bowls.”
The couple running the wonton stall, on the older side, hurriedly covered the pot when they saw Lou Muge, “We’ve run out…”
Before they could finish, the old lady next to them slapped the old man, “Old fool, stop talking nonsense. There’s still plenty left!”
She gave Lou Muge a gentle smile, “Go sit, young lady. I’ll bring it to you in a moment.”
Lou Muge chuckled. This was the first time he hadn’t been rejected by the people of Shan An village. He nodded obediently, turning around to call Ning Shaosi.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, something warm was stuffed into his hand. Lou Muge looked down in puzzlement, finding a folding fan in his palm, bone-white and smooth as jade.
The fan emitted warmth, instantly enveloping Lou Muge’s upper body, driving away all the coldness in a domineering manner. It made him feel unprecedentedly comfortable.
“What’s this?” Lou Muge asked, puzzled.
“It can dispel the cold,” Ning Shaosi’s ears turned slightly red, seeming a bit shy to meet Lou Muge’s eyes. His gaze wandered elsewhere, “You can have it.”
Lou Muge twirled the fan in his palm, feeling a bit confused. Generally, any tool infused with spiritual energy could achieve the effect of resisting the cold, but this fan in his hand showed no trace of spiritual energy. Besides looking quite precious, both inside and out, it seemed like an ordinary fan made of white bones.
The copper bells strung on the fan handle were similar to the one at the end of his hair. A gentle shake, and it was a dumbbell that made no sound.
Lou Muge didn’t refuse. First, he liked fans himself, and second, this thing did work well against the cold. Tucking it away, he could shed several layers of cotton jackets.
He led Ning Shaosi to sit aside, and soon two steaming bowls of wontons were brought over.
Lou Muge stirred the contents with his chopsticks and found that there weren’t many wontons in the bowl. At least, it wouldn’t be enough for him under normal circumstances.
Fortunately, he had just eaten the meat pies. Lou Muge secretly rejoiced.
On this cold day, sipping a mouthful of fragrant wonton soup brought relief to Lou Muge’s body and mind. He casually asked, “Old lady, what’s the origin of the Sleeping Dragon Spring around Shan An village?”
As the street vendors were not many, the old lady sat down at a nearby table, giving Lou Muge and Ning Shaosi a thorough look. Her expression became serious, and even her address changed, “You two are the little immortals rumored to have come to Shan An these days, right? Are you planning to go to the Sleeping Dragon Spring?”
Lou Muge nodded, “I’ve already learned about the matters in Shan An village roughly. I want to check if there are any issues at the Sleeping Dragon Spring.”
Ning Shaosi ate wontons quietly, seemingly indifferent to this matter. He had an elegant way of eating, emanating an air of scholarly refinement.
“The Sleeping Dragon Spring has been here longer than Shan An village. When our ancestors discovered this otherworldly place and planned to settle here, that spring was already present.” The old lady explained, “Legend has it that beneath the water of that spring lies a black dragon, cultivating inside. Later, the dragon, in order to transform and emerge from the spring, caused storms and floods. The Water Goddess intervened and expelled the black dragon, thus protecting our Shan An.”
Ning Shaosi paused in scooping wontons with a subtle change in his lowered gaze, concealing any emotions.
Lou Muge noticed his unusual reaction and speculated that they might have thought of something together.
One who could summon winds and rain was a dragon, not a serpent.
It was uncertain whether this was unknown to mortals, or if the depiction of summoning winds and rain was an embellishment added by them.
Lou Muge nodded, “It seems this Water Goddess is truly formidable.”
The old lady clasped her hands together, her face devout, “The people of Shan An have been grateful to the Water Goddess for generations.”
“Is this from fifty years ago?”
“Yes,” the old lady confirmed, “I was only three years old at the time. My two older sisters were drowned, but my brother and I were luckily spared.”
The old lady changed the subject, lowering her voice as she asked Lou Muge, “Little immortal, is the recent strange occurrences in Shan An also the work of that evil dragon?”
Lou Muge took two wontons in one gulp, unable to speak. He just shook his head. Just as he was about to swallow, Ning Shaosi spoke, “We do not yet know the cause and are currently investigating.”
He glanced over and noticed that Ning Shaosi had already finished his bowl of wontons. The chopsticks were neatly placed by the bowl, showing a meticulous touch. Smiling warmly at the old lady, he reassured, “Rest assured, we will quickly resolve the source of the disturbance.”
The inexplicable stability emanating from him was reassuring, but from the outside, he appeared as nothing more than a half-grown child.
The old lady nodded in trust, expressing gratitude, “Thank you, two little immortals.”
Lou Muge didn’t linger either. He swiftly finished the wontons in two or three bites, wiped his mouth, and called Ning Shaosi, “Let’s go.”
He walked away gracefully, while Ning Shaosi, on parting, gently placed a small silver piece on the table before catching up with Lou Muge.
It took about half an hour to walk to the Sleeping Dragon Spring. With the bone-white fan in his possession, Lou Muge no longer felt the cold. His steps were leisurely, and he occasionally exchanged a few words with Ning Shaosi.
Thinking about the spicy meat pie that Wen Changchu had given him to pass on to Ning Shaosi in the morning, he couldn’t help but ask, “Do you have any grudges with Wen Changchu?”
Ning Shaosi shook his head vaguely, “He rarely stays in the demon realm. Recently, he was even associating with the Zhushis from the Old God Realm. We have no interactions.”
“The Zhushis from the Old God Realm…” Lou Muge squinted, “From what you’re saying, you knew Wen Changchu before?”
“He is the youngest son of the current Demon King, Wen Qingmian.”
Thank You for the chapter (｡･ω･｡)ﾉ♡
Ning Shaosi seems so innocent I love him 😭💖
Ohoho so the demon king’s son can sense the old demon lord. And wen changchu is so petty with that chili-filled pastry 😂
thx for the capter