Nie Huang's cheeks flushed pink and she lowered her head. This man … she had always known he was sweet but how come his sweet-talking skills were still this good after so many years of not seeing each other?
Bai Mu laughed at her expression. "Never mind that. Listen now, Ah Huang, we won't just have to leave the capital. We'll have to leave the human realm."
"Oh. Then … where will we go?"
Bai Mu sighed. "We can go to the dragon realm. We'll be safe there and … it's good for cultivation." He hesitated but finally grabbed her shoulders. "Ah Huang, could you imagine becoming a cultivator?"
"Of course I could. But didn't you say back then that I didn't have the …"
"Spirit veins, yes. But there is a possibility to gain them. It won't be easy but it's possible and somebody could help us with this. It … would enable you to cultivate. And … if you manage to reach the third stage, you won't age anymore. You might even be able to become a true immortal at a higher stage. Then the two of us could stay together forever. Would you like to try?"
Nie Huang smiled and rubbed his cheek. "You're still so silly. Why wouldn't I? If I could have done so before, I would have long started. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."
"Mn. Somebody will come by soon and bring us to the dragon realm. We can settle down there first and then we'll just have to wait until they finish with refining the pill that will create spirit veins for you. Ah Huang, there's one thing I should stress: Creating something that wasn't there before won't be easy. Even with a high-grade pill, it might hurt a lot. Are you sure you are up to this?"
Nie Huang nodded. "If it means being together with you, I can take everything. And … you'll be there, won't you? Then there's nothing for me to worry about."
"Alright. I guess I was thinking too much." He took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's stay here for the time being. Those two out there are dangerous. I'm not entirely sure if I could protect you if we get in the way of their fight."
Nie Huang nodded even though she couldn't see how that young man in the dark robe was supposed to be dangerous. He had seemed … scared when she ran into him and rather lost when he noticed her in front of the restaurant again. Was that really somebody dangerous? But if Bai Mu said so, then that had to be true. Who knew? Just because he was young and maybe somewhat inexperienced, that didn't mean he couldn't be a strong cultivator either.
As for that other man … she had been preoccupied with her own thoughts at seeing Bai Mu again. How could she have had the time to spare to take a look at him? She was sure that he had to be the one responsible for this attack just now though. That child out there certainly wouldn't have done that.
Xiang Yu would have been thrilled to know that Nie Huang thought so well about him. Right now, he only stared at Xin Lan with a gloomy expression, feeling that life wasn't good. Why was this fake dragon watching him like that? Did he want to do something bad to him?
"What are you asking for? Such a simple thing, of course, I can do it!"
Xin Lan's eyes narrowed and he took a step closer.
Xiang Yu raised his hands in defense. He wouldn't let this guy jump him again! "You stay away! I don't like you and I will never like you, regardless of what you do. You're no real dragon and not a good person either. You have no chance to win my heart."
Xin Lan wanted to yell at him to forget about this already and that he wasn't even interested in the first place. He gulped his complaints down though. This situation was just too favorable to him!
He smirked and rubbed his fingers together, eying Xiang Yu from the side. "Well … If you're that much against me liking you, then I might do you the favor to stop doing so."
Xiang Yu blinked and lowered his hands. "Really?"
"Mn. I'm not a bad person, am I?"
Xiang Yu pursed his lips. "Tian said you're no good."
Xin Lan's hand shook but he forced himself to calm down. "Tian doesn't know me that well, does he?"
Xiang Yu didn't buy that argument. "Tian is the supreme lord of all realms. He doesn't need to know you personally to know everything about you."
Xin Lan gritted his teeth. Was this guy trying to insult him even more? "He might know a lot but he doesn't know our thoughts either. You know I'm actually a very … emotional person. My feelings are running very, very deep. When I fall in love once it'll need a lot to make me give up on a person."
"What do you mean?"
Xin Lan lowered his hand and his lips curled up further. "I mean what will you do to make it easier for me to forget about you?"
"Ah?"
Xin Lan coughed at the fallen god's expression. Why was he looking so surprised? Wasn't it to be expected that he would want to get something out of this? "I mean if you don't want me to like you, then you should do something to make me forget about you."
"Like what?"
"For example, you could help somebody that is very important to me. If you did that …" He stepped closer and leaned over, his breath brushing Xiang Yu's face. "Then this … very ambiguous feeling I hold for you … might just turn into eternal gratitude."