Chapter 84

Yun Xie watched Jiang Xunyi eat for a while then suddenly pulled out a jug of wine from his qiankun pouch. He placed it on the table with a smile. “Come, look at this.”

Right as he broke the wine seal, Jiang Xunyi stopped his movements and looked over. He took a moment to identify the scent, then exclaimed, “Song Lao wine?”

Yun Xie laughed. “You know me best. Good wine needs to be enjoyed with the right person. Let’s drink together. Here, come and taste.”

He was afraid that Jiang Xunyi would hurt his body by drinking too much alcohol on an empty stomach, so he had stopped himself from bringing it out for a long time. Now, he was full of excitement as he took out a glass and pushed it to Jiang Xunyi.

Song Lao wine was calming, causing one to become idle for a moment. It is like liquid gold made for the winter days marked by snow[1] – this was indeed a famous wine. The wine poured in the jade cup was golden and viscous, and it smelled fragrant and mellow.

Jiang Xunyi shook the cup. “I thought that this kind of wine had long since been lost. It must’ve been difficult for you to find an authentic one.”

“How could I not find something good for your birthday?”

Yun Xie poured himself another glass and raised it in a toast. He said solemnly, “I hope you are as infallible as a pine tree. I am talking and laughing because of you, and I wish you a happy birthday with this cup of wine.”

Jiang Xunyi was silent for a moment, smiled faintly, then raised his cup to clink it against his. His voice was soft as he replied with one line, “I hope that from now on, the next year will be filled with improvements.”

After saying that, the two brought their cups back at the same time, lifting their heads to drink.

Yun Xie patted him on the back, voice soft as he said, “It will definitely happen.”

Jiang Xunyi smiled slightly and bowed his head to eat. Yun Xie, on the other hand, made no move to eat, simply piling vegetables onto the other’s plate while filling a cup of alcohol for himself.

However, right as he brought the wine glass to his lips and raised his head to drink, he saw a backlit shadow quietly moving into the room, sitting straight beside Jiang Xunyi.

The wine almost went straight into his nose, and Yun Xie quickly slammed down the wine glass. He was unable to stop himself from cursing. “Jiang Molou, are you a ghost? Can’t you make a sound when you walk?!”

Jiang Molou’s voice was cold. “This is Hidden Spirit Mountain. If you don’t like it then leave.”

“Hey, kid…”

“That’s enough, Yun Xie,” Jiang Xunyi said. “Molou, don’t talk to your Brother Yun like that.”

Jiang Molou’s lips curled, and he said distastefully, “He’s your Brother Yun.”

After he muttered those words, he didn’t dare to say any more, instead carefully examining Jiang Xunyi’s forehead. “How is your injury? “

“It’s alright.”

Even though he had already said so, Jiang Molou still couldn’t help but frown, scrutinizing the wound.

It was a bit unpleasant for Yun Xie to watch, and he said sourly, “Aren’t you too late? If I were you, I would’ve never let him get hit. Why didn’t you block for him?!”

Jiang Xunyi cut in, “Alright, alright, you two do this every time. Every time you meet, it’s so noisy. Are you not tired? In the end, Zihui is still our Martial Aunt. Molou wouldn’t have been able to stop her at that time. Besides, if he blocked, he would’ve just gotten hurt instead.”

Yun Xie blurted out, “Then what? I don’t care if he gets injured!”

After he said this, he was stunned for a moment. He finally realized that the uncomfortable feeling plaguing his heart was distress…

Jiang Xunyi wasn’t particularly concerned — Yun Xie suspected that he wasn’t even paying attention to his conversation.

In the first place, Jiang Xunyi wasn’t the type to spend a lot of effort mixing mud and water[2]. Besides, every time the two of them met, they would always fight. It wasn’t anything new. Jiang Xunyi got annoyed after only hearing a few words and waved his hand, speaking simply and rudely. “Shut up. My head hurts because of the noise. Molou, why are you here? Did you also come to find food?”

“…”

Whenever Jiang Molou spoke, he always liked to stare at the other person’s face very intently. “I came here to find you, to give you this.”

He placed something on the table. Jiang Xunyi looked down and exclaimed, “An exit token? This thing… You didn’t steal it just now, did you?”

The rules of the Hidden Spirit Sect prohibited disciples younger than 20 from going down the mountain alone, so they set a ward around the edges of Hidden Spirit Mountain. If you wanted to go out, you had to go to the assignment room to get a token. Jiang Molou himself was only fifteen years old, so for him to have the exit token, it obviously had to be stolen.

Jiang Molou nodded, a rare expression of anxiety on his face. “The date Master is returning has not yet been determined, and who knows what tricks Martial Aunt Zihui has up her sleeve. I think you should go down the mountain to avoid the limelight. If Master knew why, I’m sure he wouldn’t punish you.”

Although Yun Xie didn’t like Jiang Molou, he still had to admit that this was indeed a good idea. He knew Master Ti Ming had a mild temperament, and he loved Jiang Xunyi very much, so he would certainly not punish him. Therefore, Yun Xie immediately followed with, “A’Xun, I think Junior Brother Jiang is right. Why don’t you follow me down the mountain after you finish eating? I’ll take you to play.

“…”

He was just Jiang Molou, but now he become Junior Brother Jiang. Jiang Xunyi and Jiang Molou looked at each other, thinking at the same time in their hearts. He sure knew how to sail with the wind[3]!

Yun Xie was excited at the thought of going down the mountain alone with Jiang Xunyi, but he suddenly recalled something, and quickly said, “Jiang Molou, how many tokens did you steal? Are you going?”

“…One!”

Jiang Molou really wanted to hit him!

Jiang Xunyi hadn’t gone down the mountain for a long time, and hearing what Yun Xie said, he was convinced. Besides, he thought that if he left, everyone would think that he was the one who stole the exit token, so Jiang Molou would be absolved of any blame.

He had made his choice, so he threw down his chopsticks and said, “Okay, I’m full, let’s go.”

Yun Xie laughed. “Ah, I like a happy person like you.”

He slung his arm over Jiang Xunyi’s shoulder, beckoning to Jiang Molou. “This time you did a good job. See you later, Junior Brother Jiang.”

Jiang Molou: “…”

Who wants to see you!

With the token, the two of them made it down the mountain smoothly. Yun Xie directly made his way towards the small path to the left. He walked with so much purpose and direction that Jiang Xunyi couldn’t help but call out, “Hey, where are you going?”

Yun Xie laughed and brought out a folding fan from who knows where. With a sweep of his hand, the fan opened and covered half of his face. He leaned towards Jiang Xunyi with a mysterious smile. “A good place.”

Jiang Xunyi shoved him, bothered, before he looked up and down at Yun Xie for a moment and finally guessed, “The brothel?”

This time, it was Yun Xie’s turn to be shocked. “How did you know?”

“How could that be hard to guess? You only have so much promise. You are pretending to be confident and yet your smile is so wretched. Just now when you heard that I would come out, your eyes started shining. You don’t need to think to know that you must have wanted to visit the kiln, but you didn’t have the guts to do so on your own. With me, you have a cushion.”

“Damn,” Yun Xie sighed. “Why are you so annoying? Don’t forget that if I didn’t save you, you would still be kneeling in the ancestral hall! Can’t you say anything good for once?”

Jiang Xunyi replied, “I can’t act against my conscience. Why don’t you tell me what you want, and I will help you do something in return.”

“Tch, why do you talk so much? Watch out for Zihui rushing down the mountain to beat you senseless and drag you back up. Hurry up, we need to get going.”

Yun Xie obviously started it, but now he had turned the tables to complain first. However, he was right that this place was truly not suitable to stay for a long time. Jiang Xunyi had no choice but to bear it and was dragged by Yun Xie to a town at the base of the Hidden Spirit Mountain.

The two of them had snuck out, so they didn’t have a sword. Fortunately, they had each other, and the noisy duo didn’t feel that the trip was too long. When they arrived in town, it was almost dusk.

Jiang Xunyi had gone down the mountain before, but he had only followed behind his elders and was inevitably a little restrained. This was the first time he went out alone with Yun Xie.

Looking out, the end of the main street wasn’t visible. The streets were bustling, with carts and horses flowing nonstop. The shops were surrounded by crowds, and the teahouses were filled with laughter. In the autumn air drifted the fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus and the smell of women’s powder, which made people feel charmed for no reason.

There were too many people, so the two were unable to use any martial abilities. Because of this, they were involuntarily forced to follow the flow of the crowd. Yun Xie was fine, but Jiang Xunyi has always disliked crowded places and was even more reluctant to touch so many people, and so he gradually fell behind Yun Xie.

The area was too noisy, so Yun Xie had already walked for a while before he realized that he had lost Jiang Xunyi. He quickly spun around to search, thinking that Jiang Xunyi must have disappeared, but he found him following half a step away, brows furrowed.

The moment Yun Xie glanced back, Jiang Xunyi seemed to be able to tell, and he also raised his head, their eyes meeting.

Yun Xie smiled and suddenly felt comfort within his heart. The two of them had known each other since they were children, and it had been ten years since then. Everyone knew about just how close they were. However, standing in the world, surrounded by the clamor of strange faces, his heart came to understand something, and he felt as if he had confessed a secret to the world.

However, it was only his own heart that was moved. Jiang Xunyi was still struggling to pass through the crowd, secretly cursing the ancient people who didn’t know about family planning.

At this moment, something was suddenly thrown into his arms.

Jiang Xunyi’s eyes were sharp, and his hands were agile, and he caught it in his palm. Before he could see what it was, he heard a woman’s laughter coming from nearby.

He raised his head and glanced across the street. A group of women were leaning on the railing of the brothel, each one of them looking down and smiling like a flower as they pointed at Jiang Xunyi. They were as sweet as twittering birds, transforming the autumn scenery into a spring garden.

Jiang Xunyi raised his eyebrows and looked down at the thing in his hand. It was a sachet embroidered with mandarin ducks.

[1] this is a poem about the wine

[2]mixing mud and water – mediating and trying to make others get along

[3]sail with the wind – be adaptable