The moment Chen Yanying's figure vanished into the kitchen, Shang Xuan directed a baleful glare towards the giggling Na-er. Narrowing his eyes with a playful smile that contained the façade of a smile, the youth slowly approached the stifled young girl.
"Na-er, you shouldn't be laughing at me like that… unless we wish to have a repeat of this morning?"
The young girl quickly rattled her head with an intense speed, shoving her lower lip towards the bemused Shang Xuan before rushing into the room furthest in the hallway of the apartment. Left behind with the backdrop of soft sizzling and scorching noises brushing at the base of his ears, the Flame Ancestor's lips twitched with an unfathomable expression.
The concept of parents… was rather interesting.
To be raised by a pair of people who had witnessed the environment of the world for a prolonged period of time, imparting their knowledge and experiences towards the younger generations… for Shang Xuan who had only maintained the role of imparting his knowledge of flames, to be 'raised' and cared for by another was a novel experience. The youth's heart twitched with a warm flood of emotion.
It was exasperating, nourishing, and comforting all at once – a mixture of sensations and emotions that couldn't be described with words.
However…
"It's best not to indulge in such tender feelings, ah?" the youth involuntarily shivered as he trudged into his room of the Xi Residence, lowering his body onto the bed besides Na-er's curled figure.
Shang Xuan – Xi Ran's room was exceedingly plain to the extent of being labeled as the purest epitome of minimalistic.
The room was small with an area of twenty-five square meters, with walls covered in a dull sheen of white paint without any blemishes.
Near the closest corner from the door stood a large closet and drawer that contained all of the clothing worn by Shang Xuan, a desk that faced the wall with a thin laptop, several stacks of paper, and a miniaturized bookshelf.
The only other article in the room was a twin-sized bed, with white sheets, white blankets, white pillows – plain that even the must aesthetically blind person in the world would balk in fear.
There were no posters of popular culture or idols scattered around the room, nor were there any instruments, athletic equipment, or any additional accessories. The box of white contrasted with the wooden floor was surprisingly capable of calming the mind, allowing one to relax with ease.
When Shang Xuan hopped onto the twin-sized bed, his arms automatically snaked around the young girl's waist, dragging her to rest against his chest. The youth placed his chin onto the crook of Na-er's head, immersing his senses in the soft and gentle warmth emanating from her body in delight.
Na'er squirmed around in his embrace, her small hands skillfully playing with the phone the three fire spirits had 'gifted' to their Master. The young girl craned her neck to glance at Shang Xuan, nearly prompting another catastrophic disaster had it not been for the fact that Shang Xuan was no longer in a private area.
The walls of the apartments in Tianxing were rather thin, after all…
The youth heaved a light sigh, rolling his body to stare puzzledly towards the blank ceiling that sported a single opening for a light bulb. Lightly tapping the bed's mattress besides him, the Flame Ancestor clucked his tongue in thought.
"Four Bloody Mary's per month, and I'm already seventeen years mired in debt…"
How was he to pay such a debt in the most efficient method possible?
Since the only way Meng Po could even convert a soul into a Bloody Mary was to kill a person...
In the modernized mortal world, commencing an unreasonable massacre was not tolerated by either the mortal's society or the Three Realms. Shang Xuan was certain that in the world named Earth that was nearly fully connected in the internet, causing a few thousand people to mysteriously perish was not going to go unnoticed.
Even if he were to justify his actions as repaying a severe debt, then he would receive heavy remonstrations for accepting such an intense and burdensome affair…
Furthermore, though the Heaven and Earth organization provided him an avenue to select targets, assassination could only present a small amount of Bloody Mary's per month. As the forum's mission listings were global, and not restricted by geography, daring to accept every mission he saw would promptly cause him to experience another 'tour' of the world.
And that time, since he was a soul residing in a mortal shell, travelling unnoticed was downright impossible.
"Ah…"
"Ah Xuan, what if you were to ignore the previous accumulation and start repaying the debt from this month and beyond?" Na-er blinked her eyes, burrowing deeper into the warm embrace.
"If the Three Realms accuses you of intentional, unreasonable genocide of mortal souls and issues a temporary sanction, Ah Xuan can simply retort that Meng Po ruthlessly demanded such actions from you. Since the two of you signed a lasting contract, then she wouldn't dare report you for reneging on the deal…"
"But you know Meng Po's character, ah," the Flame Ancestor revealed a despondent expression.
"Meng Po is a ruthless gambler at her roots, have you forgotten? Just remember, when she played mahjong against Old Gong back then – she didn't even hesitate to wager her true spirit to force that old turtle geezer to back off in fear."
Na-er's words did indeed possess a modicum of truth.
In the occasion that Shang Xuan was indeed sanctioned by the Three Realms, all it took to either reverse the sentencing or drag someone else into the conflict was to spill that Meng Po was the one who incited him to commit such acts in the first place.
With the spirit contract that possessed those ruthless terms, even the somewhat partial Three Realms couldn't pin his words as mere excuses.
Although… the main problem lay within Meng Po's personality.
If her gambler's instinct took over and she dared to report him even with the capital threat hanging over her head… the youth really had no words to say in response.
"Ran'er, come for lunch!"
Chen Yanying's loud call shook Shang Xuan awake from his momentary daze, her voice no longer immersed in anger. Giving Na-er's body a tight squeeze and rolling off of the bed to agilely land on his feet, the youth rushed towards the kitchen for lunch.
He felt that he would require Na-er's comforting rather soon, for he was about to encounter a fearful demon…
-
"Ah Ran, we haven't seen for so many years, and you're not coming up to great this sister?"
A beautiful woman in her early twenties smiled as she winked towards Shang Xuan, her right hand secretly issuing a 'death' signal underneath Chen Yanying's range of awareness. The woman expertly peeled a shrimp with her chopsticks and dipped it into the sauce, her wide eyes carefully scrutinizing the youth seated across from her.
Shang Xuan remained silent for a few breaths, his mind taking deep, deep inhales of air to calm himself. Seated in his lap and invisible to all, Na-er softly chuckled underneath her breath.
One second, two seconds, three seconds…
"Oh. It's Elder Sister. Welcome back."
The youth's words were utterly dull and monotone, his countenance devoid of expression as he shoveled a spoonful of rice into his mouth with great haste. Xi Yuhan blinked in surprise at the unexpected response, while Chen Yanying's lips twitched as a vein bulged on her forehead.
Bang!
"Xi Ran! Where are your table manners!?"
The miserable end of a steel spoon suffered another round of abuse as it was slammed against the battered end of the dining table. As both utensil and furniture groaned in agony, Chen Yanying glared fiercely towards the youth who was busy stuffing his mouth as much food as possible.
Soft white rice, steamed prawns, bamboo shoots, shredded char siu…
"…"
His cheeks obviously packed by a sizeable quantity of food, Shang Xuan raised his left hand to point towards his cheeks, then onto the food. At the same time, the youth took it upon himself to exploit the free opportunity to his heart's content, his pointing finger rapidly morphing into a waving hand.
"…"
Chen Yanying and Xi Yuhan stared in silence towards the youth who resumed his task of silently enjoying his meal, their expressions equally unfathomable and solemn. After a few moments of deep thinking, Xi Yuhan placed her palm against Chen Yanying's her beautiful countenance brightened with a dazzling smile.
"Mother, just before I came back, I was conversing with Sister Xiao Yu over the phone. It's about Ah Ran – you see, Sister Xiao Yu wanted to introduce her little sister to meet him, saying that she was rather interested in –"
Pu!
The Flame Ancestor's body lurched forward as his throat gagged, threatening to spill all of the precious food that he had rammed into his mouth. While he attempted to endure the burning and sour sensation at the base of his throat, Shang Xuan suddenly discovered a soft and small hand blocking his lips, and a dazzling smile…
Elder Sister, please spare this little one!
And Na-er, what are you doing!?