Chapter 90: You Have Quite a Few Secrets
Chihe Cheng was named after a river that flowed through the city.
There were a large number of red stones at the bottom of the river. When light shone down, the water was reflected in red by the stones, which was very beautiful.
Now that night had fallen, although it wasn’t as obvious, there were still many commoners gathered here, releasing river lanterns and boating.
Ning Ke stood by the river, his gaze distant and somewhat dazed.
He remembered being in Nantong Cheng, where he, Lou Yunxiao, Zhuang Yusheng, and Xiaoxiao had also strolled like this.
At that time, the Great Mo had not yet appeared, and they had not yet gone to the secret realm.
Looking at it now, that was a rare leisurely time.
Thinking of this, Ning Ke closed his bone fan and tucked it into his waist. Then he took out his flute from his space and twirled it in front of Lou Yunxiao, asking him:
“Lou Yunxiao, do you like listening to music? How about I play a tune of ‘Spring Breeze’ for you?”
The young man was dressed in red, and although his smile was bright, a faint sense of sadness was hidden between his brows. In an instant, he captured all of Lou Yunxiao’s attention.
“I do.”
He almost instinctively gave that answer.
But whether he meant he liked listening to music or liked the person playing the music, only he himself knew.
The flute music was melodious. Lou Yunxiao allowed the flow of people to pass by him, his eyes only having Ning Ke in them.
After a long time, the tune came to an end.
Ning Ke turned back and asked him, “Is it good?”
Lou Yunxiao regained his senses, some unknown emotion spreading in his heart.
He gave a sound of affirmation.
But his mouth remained open, as if he wanted to say something more.
Ning Ke was puzzled. “What is it?”
“…” Lou Yunxiao took a stiff step forward, then another.
When he reached Ning Ke’s side, his fingers tightened and loosened several times.
Only then did he finally speak: “A-Ke, after we defeat the Great Mo, I have something to say to you.”
Ning Ke waited for a long time only to hear this sentence, making him somewhat confused.
He asked, “What is it?”
Lou Yunxiao’s eyes darted away. “I can’t say it yet.”
Seeing him like this, Ning Ke immediately became interested.
He leaned in: “Eh? Why can’t you say it? Is it some unspeakable secret?”
Lou Yunxiao turned his face away. “It’s not.”
“Then why can’t you say it?”
Lou Yunxiao flicked his sleeves and walked forward. “It’s just that I can’t say it.”
Ning Ke chased after him and began to act shamelessly and spoiled: “Tell me, tell me, Brother Yunxiao, just tell me~”
He was wearing a set of women’s clothes and speaking in such a soft and gentle voice that to others, he looked like Lou Yunxiao’s Dao companion.
Passersby couldn’t help but discuss.
“Has that piece of wood, Immortal Lou, finally blossomed?”
“He’s actually strolling with such a beautiful young girl. It really makes one envious.”
“What young girl? Didn’t you notice? That’s the fox Yao A-Ke, who is always with Immortal Lou!”
“It’s A-Ke! Hahaha! As expected, A-Ke looks so beautiful even in a girl’s dress. He looks most compatible with Immortal Lou!”
Lou Yunxiao was made red in the ears by Ning Ke’s antics.
And hearing the passersby say that, the blush spread all the way to his neck.
He hurriedly bought a stick of candied haws to plug Ning Ke’s mouth.
“I’m not saying, and that’s that.”
He tapped Ning Ke’s forehead. “When I’ve eliminated the Great Mo, I’ll tell you first thing. Just wait for my good news.”
Ning Ke was slightly stunned. He touched his forehead and could still feel that faint coolness.
He took a bite of the candied haws and looked at Lou Yunxiao’s back.
His gaze hid concern.
He had a faint premonition that things would definitely not go as smoothly as Lou Yunxiao thought.
The other’s words…
He didn’t know if he would ever have the chance to hear them.
Lou Yunxiao walked a distance away and stopped in front of a stall selling sachets.
The vendor asked him, “Immortal Lou, do you want to buy a sachet?”
Lou Yunxiao thought of something, shook his head, and said, “I don’t want a finished product. I want to make it myself.”
The vendor’s eyes widened, and a gossiping smile appeared on his face. “Does the Immortal have someone he likes?”
Lou Yunxiao didn’t answer the question, but his earlobes, which had just lost their heat, turned red once again.
He said, “You just need to sell me the materials and tools. Don’t worry about anything else.”
“Sure thing, sure thing.” The vendor smiled until his eyes were gone. He didn’t expose him and prepared all the things for him, handing them over.
Lou Yunxiao tucked the things into his Qiankun bag before Ning Ke walked over.
Only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Ning Ke was curious. “What did you buy?”
“Nothing.”
Ning Ke was helpless. “You have quite a few secrets.”
Lou Yunxiao lowered his eyes, rubbed his fingers together, and walked ahead, saying softly:
“You’ll know everything later.”
…
The next day, news came from Zhang Minghe, saying that all the cultivators had responded to Lou Yunxiao’s call and agreed to gather at Zhongze Cheng five days later. They would be present.
Hearing this news, the spirits of both Lou Yunxiao and Bai Wanru were lifted.
Lou Yunxiao gathered the cultivators in Chihe Cheng who followed him and told them to prepare for battle alongside the City Lord. They must protect the city’s people while they were out on the expedition against the Great Mo.
Ning Ke also helped set up arrays both inside and outside the city and pasted talismans to fight against low-level Mo creatures.
After all, his current cultivation level, according to the human race, was at most at the Jindan stage. The arrays and talismans he set up were fine for dealing with low-level Mo creatures, but they really wouldn’t work against high-level ones.
In the blink of an eye, five days passed, and Lou Yunxiao set out for Zhongze Cheng.
After Bai Wanru and Ning Ke saw him off, they looked at each other.
They nodded.
Ning Ke performed a hand seal, lighting up the array for the barrier set up in the courtyard.
Although it wasn’t strong, it was enough to block out the gaze of the outside world.
“Auntie Bai, let’s begin,” he said. “I will protect you here and will never let anyone disturb you.”
Lou Yunxiao should be away for quite a while this time, so Bai Wanru could use this time to forge the artifact.
“Then I’ll leave it to you, A-Ke.” Bai Wanru rubbed the top of Ning Ke’s head, paused, and then said, “However, just in case something goes wrong with me, I’ll leave my silly son to you.”
“You must help me take good care of him.”
Ning Ke used his fan to push away Bai Wanru’s hand and spoke up: “Don’t expect me to take care of him.”
“You child, don’t be so heartless!”
After Bai Wanru spoke, she heard Ning Ke continue: “So don’t let anything happen to you.”
“…” Bai Wanru’s gaze softened.
She patted her chest. “Fine, fine, fine. I promise nothing will go wrong. After all, I’m still waiting to see the two of you get married. I can’t just die from forging a Fo Lian Deng.”
“Mar—married?!” Ning Ke understood Bai Wanru’s words and suddenly lost his composure.
He covered his face with his fan and quickly ran out the door, saying as he ran:
“I won’t marry him!”
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