PingZe moved uncomfortably in his seat, shooting glances between the three people before him.
ZhiYi was looking at the balcony railing, heaving lightly, as if contemplating why he couldn't die from a third-floor drop. For once, being a demon had a downside to it.
YueQin smiled at MingYu apologetically. While her almond eyes shot nervous looks at the two brothers.
"Only briefly."
The brief encounter was better than not at all, MingYu brightened at the prospect as he beamed at YueQin.
"Tell me everything. How old are they? What are they like?"
YueQin's grip on her cup tightened, and under the dim lighting of the little lanterns strung across the balcony, MingYu could have sworn she was sweating in the chilly night air, how curious.
"Um, er, I think around my age, eighteen." YueQin squeaked as her eyes jumped between ZhiYi and PingZe, who were both busy studying the bottom of their cups. Leaving her alone in the pit she had dug for herself.
Eighteen... So MingYu had passed away when they were already adults. MingYu lowered his gaze to his drink, watching as the tea leaves swirled against the bottom of the cup. Guess it was better that way than to leave young children behind without a father.
At that age, most princesses would be married off already. He could even have grandchildren. Somehow the thought both weirded him out and excited him. He raised his eyes back to YueQin.
"Are they married?"
"Well, I- I'm not sure," YueQin mustered as she took a shaky sip of her tea.
"Talking about marriages," PingZe cut in loudly, saving both YueQin and ZhiYi from any further interrogations. "We might be invited to a wedding soon enough."
"Who's getting married?" MingYu shot a wary glance ZhiYi's way.
The guy was still in mourning, but apparently, women flocked him like bees to a flower based on PingZe's words. And MingYu was unsure how many months more ZhiYi would be in mourning. When did his spouse die, anyway? It dawned on MingYu that he never actually asked. Even he was starting to sweat in the cold night breeze. ZhiYi could be off mourning any minute now.
PingZe cleared his throat, and MingYu snapped out of his thoughts and realised his knuckles had turned white from squeezing his cup to the point of nearly breaking it. He placed it on the table and pulled his hand down on his lap.
"It's not what you think, brother," PingZe teased and gave a haughty chuckle that rumbled in his chest. "I was talking about FenFen."
"What?!" MingYu and ZhiYi both screeched in unison, startling YueQin. ZhiYi looked like he was about to have a stroke. His eyes fumed as he impaled PingZe in his seat with his stare.
MingYu was surprised that FenFen accepted to marry someone. She seemed much pickier than FuFu, and FuFu was the vain one.
"Who? Since when? Why do I hear about this just now?" ZhiYi thundered, drowning away the sound of the Xun.
"What are you so loud for? I heard you reacted in an entirely different way with FuFu." PingZe grumbled as he massaged his thumping ears.
"FuFu is a mortal, she can marry whoever she wants without issue. FenFen is different!" ZhiYi snapped, his nostrils quivering. "How can she explain to her husband, their family and friends that she doesn't age?"
"Who is the soon-to-be groom? Do you know him, PingZe?" MingYu hurried to ask the important question, surprised that ZhiYi had this snappy side to him. The man was clearly protective of his family.
"Well, I was about to tell you when I was yelled at," PingZe mumbled as he side-eyed ZhiYi with disapproval.
"And no, brother, there shouldn't be an issue, since the suitor is none-other than Xu Guanting."
To everyone's surprise, MingYu let out an excited yelp that sounded very much like a dying bird pulling its last breath.
"Eh, brother, why are you so excited?" PingZe asked, his brows arched in genuine surprise.
MingYu was tingling with a weird mixture of happiness and pride. He had forgotten to tell ZhiYi of his observations in Lunan, and how FenFen had sounded infatuated with Xu Guanting but hadn't admitted to it.
"So, that bratty princess of ours has found a man to her liking." ZhiYi mused out loud, smiling to himself as his posture relaxed. "I'm glad it's Guanting of all people."
"When is the wedding?" MingYu asked, not paying much attention to anything else at the moment.
They were in Wupei. The silk here was famous across the land. Should they buy her wedding robes from here? Or did demons have their own tailors?
MingYu's mind was racing a mile a minute. He had never attended a wedding before, and now that his beloved little niece was getting married, he was having the giddy's, as if he was the one getting married.
If Xu Guanting's rumoured beauty was even partly true, ZhiYi would have gorgeous grandkids. A tinge of jealousy clawed at MingYu's heart, but he pushed it aside.
FenFen was getting married! The poor soul that has to put up with her scathing words, and deadly, piercing stare, and scary temper… MingYu's smile faltered. Poor Xu Guanting...
"Anyway," PingZe said loudly, slapping MingYu out of his thoughts once more. "Nothing is set in stone, yet. Last time I returned the ink to old Fan, I ushered Xu Guanting to gather some courage and just ask FenFen. Me and ZhiYi wouldn't oppose to it. He should be on his way to HeHua as we speak."
PingZe was humming to himself with satisfaction, relishing in the pleased looks on everybody's face.
"Dressed accordingly, of course. Can't let him scare the mortals with the far and few occasions he appears outside the NiuJiao sect."
Scare? MingYu frowned, why would Xu Guanting scare anyone? He was famous for his unyielding beauty. Was his beauty borderline scary?
"Ah, brother, you must not be aware of it," PingZe said, smirking with a minuscule amount of hostility. "Xu Guanting's soul was shattered across the realm. I tried to find all the pieces but came up short after all the years. He cultivated himself a new body, but because of his weakened state and the fact that his cultivation skills were not strong, he could get only parts of his body back."
MingYu swallowed the hard lump forming in his throat, as he tried to imagine the state of Xu Guanting's body. He couldn't wrap his head around it.
"He is terribly disfigured, but he is a smart man. He built himself new parts, and now he's as good as new." ZhiYi assured. There was pride in the way he had said it, and MingYu smiled.
"I'm sure FenFen will say yes. She is a bright girl," MingYu said, beaming into his cup as he took a sip of the already cooled tea. But he didn't mind. Everything tasted wonderful when he was in a great mood.
"Xu Guanting will send us a message as soon as he gets an answer, we won't have to wait for -" PingZe suddenly halted, alarming all three of them.
YueQin had been dozing off, listening to them talk. But now she straightened her back, looking around with alertness.
"What is it?"
But there was nothing. No one had entered their vicinity. The top floor was still vacant, and not even the waiter had stopped by to check on them.
"The music suddenly stopped," PingZe said, and all four of them jumped from their seats and hurried over to the railing. They peered into the pitch-black night, where only a few lit lanterns swayed in the faint wind.
Indeed, the sullen music of the Xun had halted, but MingYu wasn't sure if the song had ended or the tune stopped midway through the song. PingZe was sure it halted mid-tune, suddenly cutting away.
At that instant, a few blocks ahead, lanterns were lit simultaneously at one of the larger households. Servants moved about, each holding a quivering lantern in their clutches, hurrying around the premises. The gate-doors were flung open silently, and servants flooded outside, circling the walls.
"Whose house is that?" MingYu said, as he almost climbed over the railing to get a better view.
ZhiYi wrapped his arm around MingYu's waist, sending little shivers down MingYu's spine, as he pulled MingYu back down on his feet.
"What's going on? Why are they running around this late to the night?" YueQin whispered, as if scared the people down the street could hear her.
"We should go check it out. It's hard to make anything out from this far away in this darkness." ZhiYi ushered all of them towards the door, as he took hold of AhXin's basket and hurried after them.
MingYu's gut instincts were screaming at him that something weird was going on. The music of the Xun must have come from that house, but it was so far away, how could they hear it so clearly? And so high up too.
They stumbled down all three staircases, and hurried out of the inn, nearly trampling the waiter who called after them. But no one paid the young man any attention.