Chapter 177

There was a sudden influx of numerous Central Plains’ cultivators to Kunlun. Even if Chidi City wasn’t locked down, all of them could not be entertained. Now, the two small inns outside the city have no empty rooms, and the temporary camp set up by the Immortal Alliance was full of people. So many people had no choice but to pay high prices to stay with families of hunters.

This family is on the outskirts of the city, and their home is very simple and crude, but they already can't find a closer one. It's very important to have a house to keep the wind and snow out, and this is the one. Plus, it’s the one that Xie Bi An kindly begged for, because the adults of this family are not around, except an elder sister who just became an adult and a seven or eight-year-old younger brother. They were very wary of people from the Central Plains. Initially, they kept failing to beg to spend the night, so Xie Bi An took off his snow hat and showed a warm and handsome smiling face to win the elder sister's trust.

When Fan Wu She went to look for Lan Chui Han, Xie Bi An casually chatted with the elder sister over the fire: "Little girl, what is your name?"

"Ah Lü." She sat at the table sewing a hide, glancing at Xie Bi An with her eyes from time to time, and hastily lowering her head, looking cautious and curious. She hasn't seen much of anyone from the Central Plains, especially such good-looking ones.

"Ah Lü." Xie Bi An said gently, "Where are your parents? Why are they not at home?"

"My mother passed away a long time ago." When Ah Lü said this, there was no obvious sadness. Seems like her mother really left "very early", "My father went into the city last month to exchange money, and Chidi City was suddenly locked down, not allowing anyone to enter or leave." She added, "My father hunted a big wild boar, which can be exchanged for a lot of money."

"No wonder there is only the two of you at home." Xie Bi An comforted, "Don't worry, the people from the Immortal Alliance are here, and Chidi City will be unsealed soon."

"I'm not worried." Ah Lü lowered her head and threaded the needle. Her hands were small but her craft was skillful. She said in a deliberately relaxed tone, "It is common for my father not to return home for ten days or half a month when he waits for prey up on the mountain, but this time he didn’t leave enough money and food, otherwise I wouldn't have let you in."

Xie Bi An said sincerely, "Thank you."

Ah Lü peeked at Xie Bi An again, "You don't look like bad guys anyway, right?"

Xie Bi An smiled and said, "We are not bad people."

After a few casual chats, Ah Lü put down her guard and talked to Xie Bi An about her family life, and when the sun started to set, she got up to cook, and Xie Bi An also went over to help.

Just as the meal was ready, Fan Wu She also came back in time. The two of them exchanged a look, and Xie Bi An knew that the news had already reached Lan Chui Han.

Xie Bi An asked in a whisper, "Were you polite to him?"

"How old do you think I am?" Fan Wu She asked in reply nonchalantly.

"Still unwilling to concede, little jealous spirit." Xie Bi An contained his laughter and teased. Although he does not allow Fan Wu She to offend others for no reason, this jealousy* is clearly sour and sweet.

Fan Wu She took advantage of Ah Lü and her younger brother's inattention to quickly bite at Xie Bi An’s neck.

Xie Bi An immediately covered it with his hand, acting like he was swatting a mosquito, and then glared at Fan Wu She, who acted as if nothing had happened.

The four of them were eating around a low table, and Ah Lü's younger brother kept stealing glances at them with his eyes. His timid look was very cute. Xie Bi An looked at this little boy, and several overlapping images inexplicably surfaced before his eyes. He did not have time to look carefully, and immediately began to silently recite the Pure Mind Technique. Without even thinking, he knew that Zong Zi Heng’s memory was at work again.

After eating, Ah Lü made their beds in her father's room and changed into a white washed and patched cover.

Fan Wu She squeezed the quilt: "It's too thin, get a thicker one."

"It's not cold, the bed is hot." Ah Lü explained.

Fan Wu She didn't even need to take his hand to probe. His limbs were tingling while standing in the room. In order to save the firewood, the fire in the furnace was burning listlessly: "Bring another bed, and I'll give you extra money."

Ah Lü said with difficulty, "There is no other bed."

Xie Bi An said, "Forget it, her father didn't leave much firewood, so she needs to save it. Actually, it’s not really cold.”

Xie Bi An, who said it wasn't very cold, turned his head and left his dignity as a senior brother behind, got on the bed and went into Fan Wu She's arms, wrapping the two of them tightly with the blanket.

“Didn’t you say you’re not cold?” Fan Wu She smiled lightly, his hand moved downwards while following Xie Bi An’s slightly convex spine, caressing him over and over again.

"I'm afraid you'll be cold." Xie Bi An pasted his face together with Fan Wu She’s, and closed his eyes comfortably. He felt for Fan Wu She's other hand under the quilt, and clasped his hand in front of his chest, as if to warm it up, and as if he wanted it to warm up his heart.

"Mm, senior brother is really good." Fan Wu She held Xie Bi An's lower lip with his mouth, sucking and biting it, and finally pressing his whole lips onto it, kissing it densely, and said with a mischievous smile, "I still have a place that is cold, and I want to get inside senior brother's body to warm it up."

Xie Bi An kicked him with his leg and scolded jokingly, "Behave a little."

"Then it's also okay for senior brother to warm me up with your hands." Fan Wu She looked like he was feeling reluctant.

Xie Bi An slapped both hands on Fan Wu She's face and rubbed his cheeks hard until they were deformed.

Then the two of them broke into laughter at the same time, smothered in the nest into a ball of joy, kissing and touching and hugging from time to time, chatting a few words about the situation in Chidi City, and saying a few corny, loving words. No one has the intention of closing their eyes. When the two of them are together, they do not need to do anything special. Just being together physically is enough to develop the power to drive away the cold from the depths of their hearts.

"Did you agree to meet with Brother Lan between 1-3am? Then he should be arriving soon."

"Mm. Are you sleepy?" Fan Wu She used his thumb to stroke over Xie Bi An's thin eyelids, "If you're sleepy, just take a nap."

"Why sleep? It's time to get up. If he sees us like this, it's not decent."

Fan Wu She used his hands and legs and pressed hard to keep him from moving, "Why do you care about him?"

"Stop playing."

"It's cold outside. Don't get up yet."

Just as he was saying that, there was a slight rattling from inside the house. That sound was soft enough, yet deliberate, clearly a signal from Lan Chui Han.

Both of them sat up from the blanket at the same time. Xie Bi An rolled out of bed, neatly tidied up and pushed the door open to go out.

A little candle was just lit on the table. The number one man in the world, dressed in blue, dashing and unrestrained, was standing in front of the table. The impact of his presence on this simple and crude house is exactly what the phrase "Your presence brings light to my humble dwelling" suggests.

"Brother Lan." Xie Bi An’s face was showing joy. The last time they parted, Lan Chui Han, who had just been rescued from the ice coffin, was still weak, and now that he had recovered like how he was before, he was naturally happy for him.

"Bi An, you guys ..." Lan Chui Han's gaze fell behind Xie Bi An. Fan Wu She was coming out of the room. That room was small and everything could be seen in one glance. There was only one quilt on the bed, crumpled and piled up together, which clearly had just been used.

Xie Bi An turned back and looked, perhaps feeling guilty, and quickly explained, "This family doesn't have any extra quilts," After explaining, he regretted it. When they went out, everything was simple. What's the big deal if senior and junior brothers are covered with a quilt? Isn’t his unnecessary sentence giving himself away by concealing the truth?

Lan Chui Han let out an "Oh" and looked at Fan Wu She with deep meaning.

Fan Wu She lightly spied on Lan Chui Han behind Xie Bi An, and then turned his face, facing towards that pair of siblings’ room.

"No need to worry, I let them sleep for now." Lan Chui Han said.

"Brother Lan, come sit down and talk."

The three tall and fit men sat at a short dining table. Their long legs that had nowhere to be put comfortably bumped into each other's knees from time to time, which was very cramped.

Lan Chui Han looked at Xie Bi An. He was full of doubts, and he was waiting for Xie Bi An to explain.

Xie Bi An didn't know where to start for a moment. He asked what he was most concerned about first: "Is my master okay?"

"Heaven Master is fine, why didn’t you find him?"

"Because Master forbade us from coming to Kunlun."

"Heaven Master is worried about your safety." Lan Chui Han found this reason not very convincing, "With your cultivation level, Heaven Master is too cautious, probably because he is eager to protect his disciples."

"Sort of." Xie Bi An asked again with concern, "Has Brother Lan recovered?"

"I've been well for a long time." Lan Chui Han said with a bitter smile, "I just have one more problem; I'm more afraid of the cold than before."

Xie Bi An comforted him, "What are the plans of the Immortal Alliance now?"

"Chidi City can't be taken down in the short term, unless we wait for the Shen Nong Ding to open. At that time, most of Cangyu Sect's cultivators will be quenching fire for the Shen Nong Ding and can't be separated, so it's our only chance."

Xie Bi An nodded: "I also guessed so. It’s impossible for Qi Meng Sheng not to think about it. She should be prepared for it."

"No matter how prepared she is, that is also the time Chidi City’s defenses are the weakest. We will wait for Shen Nong Ding to open the furnace, then we will attack the city."

"... Master also said so?"

Lan Chui Han frowned slightly: "Heaven Master, however, does not agree to attack the city as soon as the furnace is opened, saying that we should wait at least a few days to drain their spiritual power. Just that, the human core is very easy to refine. If you use an ordinary furnace to refine an ordinary human core, at most three days is enough. Using the Shen Nong Ding to refine the Absolute Human Emperor, it may take seven days and seven nights according to the history books, but we do not know the truth. Immortal Alliance Li worries that if we wait a few days, what should we do when her core has been refined successfully? After opening the furnace, should we immediately attack or wait a few days before attacking, until today, they still haven’t decided."

Xie Bi An sighed.

Lan Chui Han stared at Xie Bi An: "Bi An, what are you hiding from me? What do you want me to do? Tell me everything. You called me over behind people's ears, so there must be a secret, but what is more important than stopping Qi Meng Sheng now?"

Xie Bi An knew that it was impossible to hide from Lan Chui Han at this time: "The reason why master did not agree to attacking the city as soon as the furnace is opened is because he knew that Qi Meng Sheng could not refine the Absolute Human Emperor."

"Why?" Lan Chui Han wondered, "If she can't refine it, why do we need to go through all the trouble?"

"She just can't refine it yet, because the person she caught is not the reincarnation of the Human Emperor at all, and she will find out when the furnace is opened."

Lan Chui Han showed astonishment on his face: "How do you know? Why did Heaven Master know and didn’t say anything?"

Xie Bi An glanced at Fan Wu She. Despite Fan Wu She's expressionless face, he felt reassured just by looking into this man's eyes, and he calmly said to Lan Chui Han, "Because I am the reincarnation of the Human Emperor."

----

jealousy* [醋意]---in Chinese text, we always connect vinegar (醋) with jealousy (嫉妒)

Edited on 13 May 21 (Emzie)

 

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