It was already late into the night after they sent the uncle home and promised to look into the matter, cicadas cried around them. Wu Huan also felt sore from all the walking and talking. He could see the fog of his breath and he longed for nothing more than burying himself under a warm thick quilt.
"Senior brother, the inns are all full. What are we going to do? I'm freezing to death right here." He didn't know when or how, but his body seemed to relax to this rigid face Shi Lihua just a little. Master was right. He wasn't an unreasonable person. Just a really unfriendly one... at least he knew he could talk to him when it came to serious matters.
Shi Lihua still trudged ahead, probably towards the next inn. He seemed to have not a single 'give up' bone in him. If they kept on doing this, midnight would come and they would still have nowhere to sleep.
"Wait! Why don't we ask the uncle to let us sleepover?" He wailed by the side, begging to listen. His senior brother just finished finding an inn anyway.
The bright fluorescent light nearly blinded his eyes. This inn looked quite decent but there was a strong smell of smelly tofu that nearly forced both of them to run out as soon as they came in.
The inn owner flashed a grin, "Hehe, sorry gentlemen. I thought there would be no customer anymore this late at night. But you are looking for rooms, correct? Lucky for you, I have two rooms left vacant. Would you like to book them?"
Shi Lihua nodded, his sleeve blocking his nose.
After the transaction, Wu Huan rushed up to his room, green in the face. And fortunately, the smell couldn't reach their third floor. After he stripped out of his outer robe, he laid happily under the extra thick quilt and soon, dozed off peacefully in his sleep.
However...
What he forgot was to not wake up late the next morning. By the time he left his room, his senior brother was nowhere to be found.
"Where did the guy with me last night go? Did you see him leave?"
"Yes! He told me that if you ask for him, I have to tell you to go find him, himself. It's a punishment for waking up late!" the owner laughed like it was funny. Wu Huan stood dumbfounded for a moment, his empty stomach crying for breakfast in protest.
[What is this game of hide and seek?]
-
Shi Lihua, this person, despite his untouchable nobility appearance, he was also just a simple person who loved to read books and enjoyed soulful music. He could be found in any bookshops and there he was, browsing through the next title in a random shop not so far from the inn.
In his heart, he was satisfied that he had made up some troubles for his irresponsible junior disciple. There was not an inch of discomfort or guilt as he roamed around pulling out and putting back books. He had also estimated that it would take Wu Huan approximately another hour to even find himself.
Sure enough, the junior disciple caught a site of the shiny person, his face a melancholy mask the opposite of his normal sharp look as he flipped to another page of a book. The feathers from his headpiece ruffled calmly when Wu Huan got close.
He didn't forget to catch his breath, "Shi Lihua, you..."
"What did you just call me?"
"Eh?" The other person posed an innocent look. He gripped his waist, still tired. He was too afraid that this person would leave while he was still penniless so he bet his life running around Iike he lost his child. "Shi Lihua, admit it. We're the same age. And I probably started training as early as you. Why don't we just be friends? Call your senior brother makes me uncomfortable."
"And when did I care if you're comfortable?" The 'senior brother' said angrily, pushing the book back into its slots. Then he slapped his sleeves back and trudged out of the shop without another word.
Friends? Master will need to hear this. How treacherous.
Shi Lihua found a high end looking inn for breakfast. At the entrance, there was a storytelling session and every table had at least a bowl of peanut and melon seeds. He was guided to the second floor sitting at a table for two adjacent to the balcony.
"Waiter, please give us your best dishes and a cup of the best tea!" Wu Huan didn't hesitate as soon as he made himself comfortable in the seat across. "Make it quick too. I'm hungry!"
"Yes sir! Yes sir!"
After watching the waiter ran off, he flashed a cheeky smile at the person in front. His hair somewhat looked disheveled like a bird-nest and Shi Lihua suspected that he didn't even comb his hair.
How thick this person's face is?
As a core disciple of his respectful master, sure enough, he knew how to not let his master and him lost faces? Messy and untamed like a wild rabbit. He thought he would lose his appetite staring at this person any longer.
"Is something on my face?" The other person asked oblivious, after being silently glared upon for so long.
"Straighten your collar."
Wu Huan pulled down his clothes and readjusted with a confused expression.
"Comb your hair," said the other person, flicking a comb from his sleeve across the air. Wu Huan caught it after it collided into his chest. Pulling down his headpiece, he shyly ran the pink comb down the luscious long black hair attracting some stares from nearby tables.
Most importantly, the cold gaze from the person in front of him made him feel like a bad child who was getting scolded for his many spoiled attitudes.
Wu Huan hurriedly finished before the waiter came and placed their food. Just as they were finishing half of the breakfast, sudden loud applause made their heads turned. It was a daily storytelling session.
A middle-aged man cupped his hands politely after the loud greeting from the audiences. Then he started with a loud tone, "Ladies and gentlemen, today's storytelling dated many decades ago during the infamous era of devil cultivation. As we have all learned ever since we were born, this continent has gone through a terrible, deep, and dark times. Children, women, ordinary men, and countless cultivators all alike were slaughtered under the hands of those who maliciously chosen the devilish path worshipping the demon king. The battles were long, deadly, and exhausting. However, through our perseverance and the grace of our heavenly emperor, the war came to end with the dog demon king being suppressed and captivated in his realm until these days!!"
Just when there was an uproar, he raised his folding fan like he was on a verge of ascension. "Yes! Yes! I know you're going to ask me why I'm going on and on about ancient history. I know! This is just a prequel! Next.." he put his hand down and just so opened the folding fan smoothly. "...is the rumors of the reawakening of the demon king!"