Love from the Male Protagonist's Harem

Chapter 23-Youthful Romance Part 2

Translated by Snowfall77

Even knowing that Xia Wuyin’s tongue spilled only devious bullshittery, for some reason Gu Peijiu didn’t become angry or interrupt.  She even unconsciously took another sip of the wine.

The fanciful sweetness of peach blossoms pervaded the tip of her tongue, mingled with that alluring, mellow fragrance.

“Oh, Senior Sister, you clearly don’t understand.”  Xia Ge slightly raised her eyes, imbibing more of the wine, her face adopting a serious expression, “Wine is a good and proper thing.  If people are suffering distress, tossing and turning in their beds, unable to sleep soundly no matter how hard they try, so afflicted they can’t even cry—at such a time, maybe they can’t bring themselves to eat, but they can certainly manage to drink wine.”

“……why is that?”

Xia Ge grinned: “Because wine is not arousing, people are intoxicated.”

“……”

The foreword didn’t match the afterword, and the boy was just talking nonsensical crap again.

“Anyways, if you drink wine, you get drunk.”  Xia Ge asserted her profound summation.  “People are simple and uncomplicated.  So long as they can get drunk, they can forget about everything else.  Their sufferings fade away, no more nightmares, and they can finally get a good night’s sleep every day.”

Gu Peijiu stopped the slight movement of the wine cup in her fingers, giving Xia Wuyin a sideways considering look.

Surveying the boy who was pretending that he understood everything, that he knew everything, Gu Peijiu found his current pedantic attitude an amusing contrast to how foolish he’d looked, tied up in her red string like a silkworm that night, squirming helplessly under a tree.

No matter how young, romantic, or dissolute, people were also stupid.

No wonder, so long as they were drunk, they could sleep soundly.

“Hehe.  Actually, Senior Sister, to tell you the truth…”  Xia Ge supported herself with both hands on the table, subtly leaning towards the other, her expression still deep, “The reason I lost all my money and came here to drink, the reason I’ll try and take your share, and why I stood you up today, it’s all because of……”

Gu Peijiu kept her eyes on the boy moving a little closer, easily detecting the enticing scent of sweet peach blossom clinging to his body.

……slightly intoxicating.

The boy’s cat-like eyes held a sly smile: “Senior Sister, I sold the Liuli tree.”

Gu Peijiu: “……”

Before she could reply, the boy suddenly widened his eyes, Gu Peijiu’s white face reflecting in his black jade pupils.  Then the boy’s head tilted: “……Senior Sister……have you not been sleeping well recently?”

Maybe Xia Ge had gotten too close…she could hear the other’s breathing.

She could also easily see the shadows under the young lady’s eyes, the faint traces of tiredness.

From a distance, Danfeng’s Senior Sister, who’d seemingly appeared from out of nowhere, was always cold and proud.  Not a hint of fatigue or vulnerability to be found.

But, thinking about it……

No matter how outstanding, no matter how arrogant—

She was still just a sixteen-year-old girl.

And human like anyone else.  Of course she could get exhausted like an ordinary person.

Gu Peijiu leaned back in her seat, putting distance between the two of them.  Frowning, she said in a low voice: “Xia Wuyin, sit properly.”

Embarrassed, Xia Ge straightened her back, sarcastically muttering: “Senior Sister, do you have trouble sleeping because of nightmares every night……”

Gu Peijiu almost imperceptibly froze for a second.

Detecting that promising reaction, Xia Ge’s eyes lit up, and she began to enthusiastically share her personal little life tips: “Senior Sister, I used to have nightmares.  I’d have nightmares every day, I couldn’t hardly sleep.  But then that bastard Ye Ze stole some wine, pouring me a few cups.  I got drunk and was finally able to fall asleep.”

“Senior Sister, if you drink more wine, the drunkenness will stop your nightmares!”

Xia Ge thumped her chest, vouching for her own veracity: “Drink as much as you like, I have enough silver!  You don’t need to worry about saving me money.  And after you’re drunk, trust that I’ll carry you back!”

—The heroic appearance of one who dedicated their life to the pursuit of righteousness.

Gu Peijiu: “……”

—The same exact appearance this person had adopted when declaring that they’d copy the Danxun ten thousand times.

Although, compared to back then, the small slickster was now……a bit more adorable.

“……it’s alright if you sold the Liuli tree.”

Tone unperturbed, Gu Peijiu readily took a sip from her wine cup as she ignored Xia Ge’s proffered life hack, only belatedly adding: “I’ll provide the materials for the Bigu dan.”

Xia Ge: “……”

Nooo……what Senior Sister meant to say was-if you’re drunk, there was no need to mention making up missed classes……

Why didn’t Senior Sister comprehend others’ meaningful glances at all?!

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Putting down her wine cup, perhaps annoyed by its lingering scent, Gu Peijiu’s jade white cheeks were now tinged a faint pink.  Her black eyes slightly narrowed as they regarded Xia Ge, but her voice was still tranquil: “Also, I don’t have nightmares.”

Xia Ge: “……oh.”

In the end, this wine was too sweet.

The aftertaste too heady.  One shouldn’t drink too much of it.

Gu Peijiu poured no more wine.  Instead, she got up to leave, the red maple leaves on her sleeves softly swaying: “Xia Wuyin, it’s time to return.”

Giggle……

Just as Xia Ge was about to regretfully stand up and ask the barmaid what she owed…a peculiar little laugh sounded, partnered with a fiercely murderous aura.  A thin white shadow suddenly streaking towards Gu Peijiu!

A tilt of the head, and the white shadow, thin as a long needle, missed Gu Peijiu’s porcelain-white cheek, hitting the mahogany table with a clunk!

The jar of wine and cups shook in unison from the impact!

Peering down, Xia Ge found that the thin white shadow had actually been a piece of white paper, torn into the shape of a long needle?!

The paper needle was now piercing the mahogany table, the killing aura still present, as it droned and trembled.

“Are you Gu Peijiu, Danfeng’s senior disciple?  Ah, what a rare treat.”

A childish voice, yet strong, clear, and strangely demonic.

Gu Peijiu’s gaze went ice-cold, and Xia Ge felt it in her heart; this new turn of events was not good.  Together, the two of them faced the source of the disturbing voice.

Giggle, giggle, giggle……

In an inconspicuous corner of the tavern, sat two boys dressed in woven rush capes.  Wearing conical bamboo hats, the shadows of the hats covered their faces to the cheeks.  The southern-most one held in his hands more white paper strips, strung together and looking just like needles.  But the other boy, sitting opposite his champion, held only a thin, dreadfully pale piccolo.

The off-putting laughter had come from one of them.

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For the briefest moment the tavern was quiet, then chaos broke loose—

“Paper blade, white flute!  It’s the twin sons of the Thousand Souls Sect, Bairen and Bai Luo!!!”

“Run away, run——”

The boy holding the paper needles chuckled, infantile and unspeakably sinister at the same time—

“No rush, no rush……why are you running?  I’ll send you all to hell.”

Disorder descended, people screaming and rushing to get out the tavern door.  It seemed to excite the snickering boy, his laughter ringing louder: “Oh, brother, brother, look at that!  They’re all afraid of me.  I’m so formidable, aren’t I?  Can I kill them all?”

The second his words fell out of his mouth, before his brother could even reply, the thin strips of white paper in his hands flew towards the panicked crowd, like a goddess scattering flowers from heaven, only with malicious, murderous intent!!

The barmaid who’d only just poured Xia Ge’s wine was also frantically trying to flee.  Tripping over a chair, she was falling down!

White paper, sharp as a blade, about to pierce the back of her head—

Xia Ge’s pupils shrank, {ghost and shadow} activated before she even thought about it.  As she slammed the barmaid with her own body, the white paper slid against Xia Ge’s green ribbon, slicing a piece off, before hitting the mahogany chair with a bell-like tinkle, splitting the chair in half!

Tinkle, tinkle, tinkle—-

Holding onto the barmaid, the two of them staggered to one side, the tinkles of the white paper filling their ears.  The endless noise of the innumerable paper blades seemed to strike Xia Ge to the core.  She dropped to the floor, pain roiling through her whole body.  Yet because of an instinct to protect those under her, she managed to resist the pain long enough to lift her eyes.  She saw one thin red piece of ayara, shaping in the air like a caltrop or a diamond, acting as a powerful barrier, blocking all the attacking white paper blades!  The constant tinkling had become the haunting tune of the white paper hitting the protective ayara!

Red maples on a young lady’s sleeves fluttered in the air, while the tavern was already vacated.  Gu Peijiu stood alone in the doorway, blocked white paper blades at her feet, decorating the ground in clusters, like blooming white lotuses.  Her skin shone brighter though, like fresh snow, and her countenance was fierce beyond measure.

Xia Ge’s wits deserted her for a second, then a single phrase filled her head.

—–One person stands, breaking a mighty army.

蓑衣suōyī

straw rain cape; palm-bark rain cape

百万雄师[bǎi wàn xióng shī]

a million bold warriors; a mighty army

Ayara (silk fabric)