A Touch Of Irony

After having eaten their fill—rather, Xu Jiyu having stuffed himself with two steamed buns while Liu Jian ate one, the two began to stroll around the village to enjoy the festivities.

"You two handsome young gentlemen there! How about you come and try these tangyuan? They're very delicious, you won't regret it!" An old man calls out to them as they pass by his stall. Though Xu Jiyu did just finish eating, he still easily gets distracted by the sweet aroma wafting through the air. He doesn't fear to be shameless in front of Liu Jian, and quickly bounds over to the man's stall.

"Wow, these look so delicious, mister!" The youth exclaims, golden eyes twinkling at the mouth-watering sight before him.

Liu Jian follows after him curiously, and looks down at the sugared snacks. It smells extremely appetizing… would it taste as good as a steamed bun?

"Of course, they're the best in town. You can get one batch for seven coins, how about it?"

Xu Jiyu's face immediately fills with black lines. Seven coins for one batch of three…? It didn't sound like a good deal to him at all...

"Mister, with all due respect, I don't believe that one batch of tangyuan is worth that much… perhaps for two batches, but one…?" Xu Jiyu believes that this is definitely the time to use his expert bargaining skills. He's done it too many times during his travels these past five years, after all. He puts on his most charming smile and adds, "After all, good sir, you look like you have a big heart. Won't you please reconsider? My partner and I don't have many coins on us right now…"

"Hahaha!" The old man heartily laughs with his hands on his h.i.p.s, clearly flattered. "You really are a charming young lad. Alright, alright. This old man will do his best to accommodate your wishes. Seven coins for two batches, how about it?"

The youth brightens immediately with an eager nod, "That's perfect, thank you, mister! I'll take it!"

Liu Jian silently watches the exchange, his eyes trained upon Xu Jiyu for the majority of the time. Though he usually has an aloof expression, he finds that a small smile made its way onto his lips without him realizing it. Just by being in Xu Jiyu's presence and watching him be himself, Liu Jian already feels… content. His ears feel strangely warm all of a sudden...

Xu Jiyu quickly pays for the two batches of tangyuan, and they're placed into two bowls. He offers one bowl to Liu Jian with a bright countenance, "Here you go, Liu Jian! Don't worry about the money, it's on me!"

Liu Jian gratefully accepts the bowl with a nod, and glances over at the shorter male beside him. His partner has already scooped up a sticky rice ball with a spoon and is currently blowing on it to cool it off.

The handsome man, after observing this process, proceeds to imitate the youth. Watching Xu Jiyu take a bite, a small burst of happiness erupts in his c.h.e.s.t, his face brightening considerably. The sweet flavor of the red bean paste spreads throughout his entire mouth. Who would have thought that simply consuming human food could make him feel so much joy?

This dish has definitely exceeded his expectations. It might be better than steamed buns! If he had known that eating was something this amazing, he would've started the moment he came to the human realm.

Xu Jiyu sees that Liu Jian is clearly enjoying his snack, so his grin only widens as he returns to focusing on his own food.

"So, you two are travelers? I haven't seen your faces around here before!" The old man asks as he watches his two customers with a friendly gleam in his eyes.

Xu Jiyu swallows his last tangyuan and nods, "Yes! We're from different villages, and we're traveling to find the King of Spirits. Ah, speaking of which—mister, do you have any news about the King? We came here to ask about it… but it seems I almost forgot to ask because of the festival. It's too easy to get distracted when everything's so lively, hahaha!"

That being said, he returns the bowl and spoon to the old man, and the man only hums thoughtfully as he puts the items away.

"Hmm, I may be old, but I do know about the supposed haunted village up north. Other travelers that came from that village told me that it has many supernatural happenings. Such as furniture moving on its own, strange voices calling for them at night, and so forth. However, the villagers who reside within it are completely normal and don't seem to be too bothered by it. If it were me, then I would've ran for my life…"

Xu Jiyu lets this new information sink in as he glances over at Liu Jian to gauge his reaction. However, his partner was off in his own little world, still chewing on his last tangyuan with a blissful expression on his face. It didn't seem like he was listening at all…

The youth only chuckles upon seeing the sight, and returns his attention to the old man.

"This one thanks the elder for the useful information! If it's haunted, wouldn't it be possible that the King of Spirits is residing there? It sounds so exciting just thinking about it!" He exclaims, his excitement apparent by the positivity radiating off of his person.

The old man only stares at Xu Jiyu as if he were crazy, "You're planning on traveling there? Even after everything I've said?"

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Xu Jiyu bobs his head lightly, "Yup! Liu Jian, we'll go there together, right?"

Upon hearing his name, Liu Jian snaps out of his trance and stares impassively over at his partner. Without knowing what was going on, he only dazedly nods his head and answers with a short, "En."

Knowing that Liu Jian hadn't been attentive, he laughs and takes the empty bowl from his partner's hands, returning it to the vendor.

The old man hastily stores the bowl below his stall to wash later. He says with a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt in his voice, "... You two are quite unique. But I guess that's what makes everyone different in this world, hahaha! Then, I will pray for your journey to be a safe one. If you ever crave more tangyuan, please feel free to come back as I'll welcome you both with open arms!"

"En, thank you, sir!" Xu Jiyu says, bowing. He reaches over and pushes the stoic Liu Jian down to do the same, before pulling him away from the stall by the sleeve of his robe as he waves goodbye to the old man.

After strolling some distance away, he suddenly stops in his tracks, causing Liu Jian to bump into him.

"Liu Jian, you're all dazed! What's wrong?" Xu Jiyu finally questions as he turns around with a huff. Truth be told, he's just bluffing—he already knows that Liu Jian is just still too amazed by the deliciousness of tangyuan. It must have been his first time tasting such a delectable like that, besides steamed buns.

Somehow, he feels proud of himself. Seems like he's found his partner's weakness...

"...Mm?" Liu Jian stares down at the youth, his previously unfocused gaze had disappeared and was replaced with his usual sharp, platinum hues.

"We're going on a ghost hunt! Ah, well… spirit hunt." He explains, maintaining eye contact with Liu Jian, gauging his reaction. "You're okay with that, right? You won't be afraid to enter a supposedly 'haunted' village?"

"...En." Liu Jian answers without much hesitance. Liu Jian only grows more impressive the more time they spend together, it seems.

Just who is Liu Jian? This is the third time he's asked himself this kind of question.

But no matter how much he thinks about it, he can only think of one possibility…

Liu Jian must come from…

…...

…A super powerful Sect! His cultivation level is clearly super high! Even a child would know just by seeing his superb skills! He's super OP and can kick ass!

This is the kind of story he makes up for himself to fill in the holes for the time being. He'll find out his partner's true identity someday. As long as he has a powerful t.h.i.g.h to hug, then defeating the King of Spirits will be easy, just like taking candy from a baby! He couldn't help but feel thrilled about this.

"Okay, well… it's been a long night. We'll rent a room at an inn and rest there, then take off for the haunted village in the north tomorrow!" Unable to contain his excitement, Xu Jiyu takes Liu Jian's hand into his own as if it were the most natural thing in the world. At this point, his mind is racing with many ideas on how to properly hug Liu Jian's t.h.i.g.hs and convince him to take down the King of Spirits with him in the future.

What Xu Jiyu didn't know, was that Liu Jian's heartbeat was going haywire once more from this simple action.

…A smile makes its way onto the handsome man's lips.

He only says, "En."

And then he's swept away, hand in hand with Xu Jiyu.