Are You Playing Me?

The hour of the dragon had just passed, and the inn had mostly emptied out. Those staying in an ordinary mortal inn like this were all traveling merchants and itinerant peddlers. With the prefectural city under martial law, anyone hoping to leave had to arrive at the gate tower precisely on time and wait. Once a long line formed, one would likely be stuck in the city for another entire day. Across the dozen or so wooden tables in the inn's lobby, only seven or eight travelers who looked like scholars were scattered about, sipping the cheapest yellow wine and eating the plainest breakfast. As Zhenxi Prefectural City was a crucial border stronghold, those residing in such ordinary inns besides profit-seeking merchants were mostly impoverished scholars wandering about to collect local folkways and poetry. Leaning against the railing on the second floor, Xu Yuan looked down at the lobby below. In truth, he didn't quite understand this sort of person. The provinces of Great Yan were chaotic, rife with highwaymen and demonic plagues. Yet these scholars, who lacked the strength even to truss a chicken, still roamed far and wide on academic travels, bartering calligraphy, paintings, name-choosing, and ghostwriting along the way for travel expenses just to wander Great Yan's mountains and rivers. There were some in Di'an City, some on the Northern Border, and some out here in the Western Desert. Perhaps this was a romance unique to the literati of this era. As he mused, a middle-aged scholar wearing a head scarf seemed to sense someone on the second floor and looked up in his direction. Their eyes met for an instant. The middle-aged scholar gave a hearty smile and raised his cup to invite him down. Xu Yuan paused for a moment, glanced down at the coarse hemp clothes he wore, and smiled as he shook his head. If time permitted, he wouldn't mind chatting with them for a while to hear about their lives, but today he had other business to attend to. *Creak—* An aged groan came from the wooden door behind him. Accompanied by the creaking sound of footsteps on floorboards, Li Junwu's deliberately lowered voice quietly reached him: "Changtian, what are you looking at?" "..." Xu Yuan glanced back at her, only to see a handsome young nobleman standing gracefully by the doorway. When Li Junwu wore red feminine attire, her features carried a heroic dignity, but dressed in men's robes, the underlying feminine grace still lent her an air of softness. As he watched, Li Junwu walked over and stood beside him. Pulling his gaze back, Xu Yuan pointed below. "Looking at those scholars." Li Junwu glanced down at the group, completely unfazed. "Just a bunch of senseless literati. What's there to look at?" In Great Yan, scholars looked down on one another, and martial artists looked down on scholars even more. Xu Yuan gave her a sideways look and remarked with slight surprise, "You seem annoyed with them." Li Junwu brushed it off carelessly. "Some of these scholars hold official degrees, yet they wander all over the place doing nothing useful all day. When they get into trouble, the authorities have to wipe their asses for them." Xu Yuan shook his head and said in a low voice, "They are merely putting the words of that Sub-sage from seven hundred years ago into practice: 'Travel ten thousand li, aid ten thousand souls, and impart the Dao to all under heaven.'" "High-sounding words. In the end, isn't it all for fame, to give themselves an edge when they're recorded for the imperial examinations?" "Judge actions, not intentions." Xu Yuan chuckled, then retrieved a human-skin mask from his Sumeru ring and handed it over casually. "Put this on first before we head to the prefectural yamen." Li Junwu took the human-skin mask with slight surprise. "This mask can block intent-soul probes?" "Made by the Gewu Academy. No one beneath a Saint can see through it." "Is it the same as the one on your face?" "Sorry to say, not even a Saint can see through mine." "..." Li Junwu put the mask on her face and scoffed in a delicate voice, "Look at you, showing off." Snickering, Xu Yuan gave an ambiguous glance back into the room and whispered, "Have you handled the Divine Maiden?" Li Junwu rolled her handsome eyes and muttered, "You already did half of it yourself. Why did you suddenly pass it off to me?" Xu Yuan let out a wistful sigh and replied as though it were the most natural thing in the world, "Even if Jiayi asked for it, I have to exercise restraint in what I do. She's still useful, after all. But you're different—this can count as a bit of fun between you two, can't it?" Li Junwu pursed her red lips for a moment and huffed, "I have no idea where you learned such rope-tying techniques. By the time we get back, Jiayi will probably have suffered quite a bit." "Life needs a little spice." Xu Yuan nudged his busty bro's slender waist with his elbow and smiled at her with crinkled eyes. "I taught you with such selfless devotion so you can use it in the future, yet you won't even thank your buddy here?" Li Junwu curled her lip and scoffed, "With so many tricks up your sleeve, whoever becomes your woman is in for a miserable time." "'You are not the fish; how do you know what the fish enjoys?'" "In any case, I prefer things to be gentler." "Huh? I taught you so you could use it, not use it on you." "..." Hearing that, a strange glint flitted across Li Junwu's dark, lovely eyes. Turning her gaze away toward the lobby, she said, "Enough nonsense! Let's get moving." "..." A strange expression flashed across Xu Yuan's face as he tilted his head to study her profile. That peculiar feeling welled up again. Looking at his busty bro's expression, he felt as though he had caught onto something fleeting. Uncomfortable under his stare, Li Junwu glared back at him and snapped, "What are you staring at? Haven't you seen me before?" Xu Yuan grinned and asked tentatively, "Li Junwu, were you being serious last night?" Knowing his cultivation level, Li Junwu suppressed the sudden racing of her heart. Her thoughts spun rapidly as she gave a faint smile and asked, "Hmm? Which remark do you mean?" After scrutinizing her for a moment and failing to detect any clues, Xu Yuan decided to shelve the matter for now. "Nothing. I probably misunderstood. Let's go." "..." Li Junwu instantly clenched her fists. *Bastard!* *After all the mental preparation I went through, this jerk is just dropping it?* Following his footsteps, Li Junwu remarked nonchalantly, "What, did you want to ask about becoming my family's live-in son-in-law? I was completely serious about that, you know~" "..." Once the words fell, Xu Yuan acted as though he hadn't heard a thing, walking forward in silence. The two entered the lobby. The inn waiter hurried forward to greet them, only for Li Junwu to wave him away. Stepping out of the inn, they found the shops and street stalls outside already open for business, hawking cries rising and falling in succession. Neither spoke along the way. Xu Yuan walked ahead, while Li Junwu followed behind with an uneasy heart. Only after walking an entire block did he suddenly halt and turn back to look at her. Li Junwu reflexively straightened her spine, the chest wrap across her bosom tightening slightly. Yet she maintained an airy, nonchalant composure on her face as usual, waiting for his answer. The next moment: "Wait, Zhenxi Manor is your family's turf. Why are you having me, a guest, lead the way?" "..." Li Junwu nearly couldn't resist planting a fist straight into the bastard's face. Where was the response she had been waiting for? Suppressing her anger and grievance, Li Junwu, dressed as a man, brushed past Xu Yuan as though she couldn't care less. After getting her bearings and preparing to lead, she heard Xu Yuan's gentle voice transmission: "Li Junwu, you haven't been playing me this entire time, have you?"