Chapter 28: I Already Have Someone I Like
Ning Ke hadn’t led Lou Yunxiao very far when he heard a commotion ahead. Pushing through the onlookers, he found it was exactly the talisman stall Ning Xiaoxiao had mentioned.
And his sister was standing in front of the table, side by side with the stall owner, competing in drawing talismans on the spot!
The little girl held a talisman brush, concentrating her qi and spirit, her eyes showing a seriousness unlike her usual days.
The stall owner beside her was a young man of similar age. His drawing speed was a large cut faster than Ning Xiaoxiao’s, and his brush strokes were extremely steady, moving like flowing clouds and flowing water.
“Looking at the stall owner’s attire, he should be from the Music Sect, right? Aren’t they playing instruments? I didn’t expect them to be so good at drawing talismans too?”
“How could an ordinary Music Sect disciple be this powerful! Do you see the silver ring on that young man’s right ear? He is the second place on the Heavenly Dao Stone Stele, Zhuang Yusheng!”
“It’s actually him?! That all-around genius?”
“Yes, everyone says that although the Heavenly Dao’s Talent Stone Stele shows Lou Yunxiao as number one, if they really compared, Zhuang Yusheng might be a large cut above Lou Yunxiao!”
Lou Yunxiao didn’t care about such remarks, but Ning Ke couldn’t stand listening to them.
He leaned in and said, “Big brother here, you can’t say that. Hearing is false, seeing is believing. Which of the two is more powerful, won’t we know when the Sect Grand Competition comes in the spring?”
The man turned his head, saw Ning Ke and Lou Yunxiao, and his breath hitched.
He hurriedly said “yes, yes, yes,” while asking:
“These two Immortal Masters have extraordinary bearings. May I ask which sect you have entered?”
“When away from home, keep a low profile, low profile.” Ning Ke smiled and said, “By the way, I want to ask, why are the two of them competing in drawing talismans?”
The man said, “I remember the little girl saying she was learning to draw talismans from her brother recently. She wanted to take this opportunity to impress her brother and give him a surprise. I just don’t know which one her brother is?”
He couldn’t help sighing with emotion, “That little Immortal Master is also very powerful. Although she couldn’t keep up with Zhuang Yusheng’s speed, at her age, being able to do this is already quite good.”
Ning Ke lowered his eyes slightly, his emotions stirred.
Looking over there again, Zhuang Yusheng had already finished drawing all the talismans.
He stopped his brush.
Ning Xiaoxiao knew she had lost, but she wasn’t annoyed. Her eyes were still sparkling.
She said, “You are really amazing! If I could reach your level, my brother should be very happy…”
“I am already very happy now.” Ning Ke walked over and rubbed the little girl’s hair. “Brother has seen our Xiaoxiao’s hard work.”
“Brother!” Ning Xiaoxiao held up the drawn talisman papers like a child claiming credit, showing them to Ning Ke: “Look, I drew all these. The things you taught me, I am learning seriously! I didn’t just think about playing!”
“Mm-hmm, Brother knows. From now on, Brother will never say you don’t work hard again.”
Ning Ke spoke to her softly. When he turned his head, he saw Zhuang Yusheng staring blankly at him.
Like he had lost his soul, he didn’t move for a long time.
“?”
Ning Ke said, “Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for taking care of my sister just now…”
As soon as he finished the sentence, he saw Zhuang Yusheng’s handsome face turn red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
As if summoning up enough courage, he stammered to him: “Da—Daoist, do you have… have a Dao Companion?”
“If not, would you mind being… being with me?”
Ning Ke: ???
Ning Xiaoxiao: (ΩДΩ)
Lou Yunxiao: …!
Zhuang Yusheng studied under the Music Sect Master Hong Yao and cultivated the Path of Emotion.
Born passionate, but not promiscuous.
Instead, like his master, his standards were extremely high.
Unless someone was devastatingly beautiful, they couldn’t enter their eyes at all.
And Zhuang Yusheng had known since he was young that he liked men, not women.
This made meeting true love even harder.
He had thought that one day he would meet the legendary most beautiful man in the Three Realms, Ning Ke.
To see just to what extent that person was beautiful.
But seeing the person in front of him now, he felt that Ning Ke probably would only be like this at best!
Moreover, this person was at the Golden Core stage just like him, so he definitely had a chance to pursue him!
This was simply his destined person!
Therefore, upholding the principle of striking first to gain the upper hand, Zhuang Yusheng directly and frankly expressed his request to Ning Ke.
Then, he waited for the young man’s reaction with burning eyes.
“Zhuang Yusheng, your words are too abrupt.” In the end, it was Lou Yunxiao who reacted first.
He subconsciously shielded Ning Ke behind him, like a hen protecting a chick, saying, “Although my Junior Brother doesn’t have a Dao Companion, it’s not like he can just be with you because you say so.”
Only then did Zhuang Yusheng see him. After sizing him up, he suddenly realized: “Ah, you are Lou Yunxiao?!”
“Your eyes… are the rumors true?”
The annihilation of the Lou family and Lou Yunxiao’s blindness were no longer secrets.
“Mm.”
“Since you say he is your Junior Brother, that means he is also from the Sword Sect.” Zhuang Yusheng’s eyes lit up. He said to Lou Yunxiao, “Brother Lou, look, for the sake of us being number one and number two for so many years, I finally took a fancy to someone, you have to help me.”
He leaned out from Lou Yunxiao’s side and introduced himself to Ning Ke: “Fellow Daoist, my name is Zhuang Yusheng. My master is the Music Sect Master, and my parents are the City Lord and the City Lord’s wife of Nantong City. My family is wealthy, and I consider my character to be decent. Look, can you give me a chance to let you get to know me?”
[Damn hahahaha! Is this kid on a blind date with you?] Xiao Yuan rolled around laughing in Ning Ke’s consciousness.
Ning Ke: Stop making sarcastic remarks!
He sighed, looking at Zhuang Yusheng, momentarily not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
“My name is A-Ke, but I…” Speaking of this, he glanced at Lou Yunxiao beside him and said, “I already have someone I like in my heart.”
The Little Junior Brother’s persona was liking Lou Yunxiao, so saying this was perfectly fine.
Zhuang Yusheng froze, his enthusiastic heart instantly shattering all over the ground.
The whole person looked exactly like a frosted eggplant—wilted.
But thinking of something, he rallied his spirits again and said, “I won’t give up! As long as you aren’t Dao Companions yet, I still have a chance!”
He laughed heartily: “Let’s start as friends. Meeting is fate.”
Saying that, he quickly packed up the stall: “I see A-Ke and the others are here to play in Nantong City, right? I am a native of the city and I know Lou Yunxiao too. Come, I’ll take you guys to play.”
Ning Ke could see that Zhuang Yusheng had no malicious intent.
Moreover, even seeing Lou Yunxiao in his current state, this kid didn’t say a single prickly word.
This proved that this friend was worth making.
He agreed. Looking again, both Ning Xiaoxiao and Lou Yunxiao had strange expressions.
Both looked like they wanted to say something but stopped.
However, they didn’t dislike Zhuang Yusheng either.
Being all teenagers, they got high as they strolled around.
Ning Xiaoxiao had a child’s temperament. She followed Zhuang Yusheng to catch fish, solve lantern riddles, wear ghost masks, and eat skewers, having a blast.
The four of them also rented a flower boat together, drifting with the river lanterns and tour boats on the river surface.
Zhuang Yusheng took out a guqin, sat at the bow, and asked Ning Ke, “A-Ke, what do you want to listen to?”
Ning Ke thought for a moment and replied, “Play a cheerful tune, how about ‘Spring Breeze’?”
He took out a flute from his storage ring and said, “I can just happen to accompany you.”
Ning Ke had really wanted to get into the Central Academy of Drama back then, and had even prepared a talent, which was playing the flute.
It just ended up failing on the acting skills part.
Now that he was in a good mood, it was a good time to practice.
“Brother, you actually know how to play the flute!” Ning Xiaoxiao looked at Ning Ke with admiration.
“Of course, your brother knows a lot of things.”
The cheerful zither music merged with the flute sound. Ning Xiaoxiao sat on the edge, her feet swaying gently off the boat with the music, admiring the lights and night scenery on the river channel from afar.
Not far away. Lou Yunxiao leaned against the cabin, quietly “gazing” in Ning Ke’s direction, somewhat lost in thought.
He was thinking about who exactly A-Ke liked.
His Little Junior Brother had such a good personality, such high talent, seeming omnipotent. Even he often felt ashamed of his inferiority in front of A-Ke.
Such an A-Ke, what kind of woman would he like?
Or perhaps… a man?
In the past, Lou Yunxiao wouldn’t have thought about men.
But ever since Zhuang Yusheng expressed his feelings to Ning Ke so bluntly today, Lou Yunxiao had added this consideration.
Because he realized that men and men… seemed to be able to become Dao Companions too.
The song ended.
Lou Yunxiao still hadn’t come back to his senses.
Until Ning Ke took his hand and placed something in it.
“Senior Brother, for you.”
“This is… what?”
“A sword tassel.” Ning Ke smiled and said, “Cangyin and Hongyun are twin swords, so I bought a pair. One for you and one for me, consider it a souvenir of our trip to Nantong City.”
Lou Yunxiao rubbed the sword tassel in his hand and whispered, “Thank you.”
He opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t dare to ask who the person in Ning Ke’s heart really was.
After the tour, when they went ashore again, it was already late at night. Zhuang Yusheng bid them farewell.
“A-Ke, the Sect Grand Competition is in a few months. Let’s meet again in Zhongdu City.”
“Okay.”
Seeing Ning Ke agree, Zhuang Yusheng said somewhat reluctantly, “Also, if you change your mind and think I’m not bad, you must tell me!”
“Okay, okay.”
Ning Ke helplessly sent him off, then took Lou Yunxiao and the skipping Ning Xiaoxiao home.
At night, although Lou Yunxiao shared a bed with Ning Ke, he restrainedly kept a distance from him. Ning Ke rolled his eyes, knowing he was avoiding suspicion.
He lay on the bed, extinguished the red candle with a flick of his finger, and said, “Senior Brother, aren’t you uncomfortable holding it in all night?”
“Why don’t you ask me who I like?”
“Who you like is your own business. It has nothing to do with me.”
Lou Yunxiao didn’t notice his voice was a few degrees colder than usual.
But Ning Ke felt it.
He continued, “Aren’t you curious if I like a man or a woman, older or younger than me, inside the sect or outside the sect, with higher cultivation or lower cultivation than me?”
“…” Lou Yunxiao turned over, putting his back to Ning Ke.
“Don’t want to know.”
“Hey, but I just have rebellious bones. You don’t want to know, but I insist on telling you.”
Lou Yunxiao didn’t expect Ning Ke to play cards so unconventionally.
In the next moment, he heard Ning Ke’s loud laughter.
“Senior Brother, don’t you know what adapting to the situation means?”
“Fellow Daoist Zhuang confessed to me. I don’t like him, so didn’t I have to make up a random reason to stall him?”
“So my saying I have someone I like was all fake, just an excuse to make him give up!”
Ning Ke’s few words were like a big hand pushing aside the clouds and mist, making Lou Yunxiao’s mood, which had been stifled all night, seem to brighten up instantly.
He didn’t know what this mood was.
But the corners of his lips rose uncontrollably.
After a long while, he moved and asked, “You really lied to him?”
“Yes.”
Hearing this answer, Lou Yunxiao turned back around.
Slowly said a sentence.
“You are quite clever.”
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