Xie Ra was frustrated. He and Ning Bo were walking for nearly an hour now. No, that wasn't the thing that pissed him off. It was Ning Bo's attitude.
He ignored Xie Ra throughout the entire journey, and every single time Xie Ra tried to start a conversation, he snapped at him. Really?
What's wrong with this guy?
He used to think that Ning Bo was just shy but, now he realized that was never the case. Xie Ra was fuming with anger and, if anger can produce smoke, the whole Yulong forest would disappear under that smoke by now.
In his head, he might have kicked Ning Bo off the cliff they are currently walking through, for like the twentieth time. It was a pity he couldn't do it for real.
After a few minutes, they entered a busy street through a side road. Before entering, Ning Bo paid some money to a guy who looked like an official. Many shops were on either side of this street. Some merchants placed their business carriages on a side and carried out their business.
Xie Ra noticed that even though this street looked a bit grey and narrow, almost everything that was needed for daily life was there. People flocked in front of many shops and tried to buy the supplies they needed quickly.
Noise that merchants made mixed with the barking of stray dogs and crows. This sound made Xie Ra a bit dizzy. He realized how peaceful Yulong village was even on the busiest day of the week.
Even after a long time of walking, Yulong city wasn't in sight. True. Xie Ra had never seen this city before. Yet, he heard how magnificent it was from his colleague. He didn't see anything nearly magnificent yet. He grew a bit impatient.
So, before he could stop himself, he asked out loud. "When will we reach the city?"
Ouch. Just now, Xie Ra broke his self-proclaimed no-talking-with-Ning-Bo oath.
Xie Ra ground his teeth with self frustration.
Surprisingly, Ning Bo didn't snap at him this time. "Oh, we are already in the city. I just took a shortcut."
He pouted. What a pity? There went his high hopes. Xie Ra was annoyed when he noticed the amusing look on Ning Bo's eyes.
"Don't worry. We can walk around a bit before we go back. And we're coming back by a cart, so we have to pass the main gate." Ning Bo reassured him. It gave Xie Ra a little hope.
Wait. What? Did he just get reassured by Ning Bo?
Xie Ra's eyes became wider from amazement. Even Ning Bo didn't know why in the world he did that. Maybe the white-haired youth's pitiful look moved his heart. Who knows? But, to cover his mistake Ning Bo barked at Xie Ra. "What? Nobody ever reassured you? Tsk. Pitiful,"
That's more like him. Xie Ra thought with a smile. It was only visible for a moment, as he feared that if the short boy notices his smile, he might start another snapping session.
But, little did he know, Ning Bo's foxy eyes already noticed that minute smile. Ning Bo chose to ignore it to prevent more conflicts. He indeed despised Xie Ra but, he wasn't that heartless. Even the darkest cloud might have a silver line in it. Right?
*****
"This," Bo pointed his index finger towards a small wooden building, "Is where Yan *Yishi buys his supplies."
"We arrived faster than I thought," Xie Ra replied. Bo nodded and motioned him to follow him. By now, Xie Ra got used to Ning Bo's communicating style so, he didn't feel mad at him any longer.
So, He followed Ning Bo and entered the small, two-story building. As he entered, he noticed the name of the shop, "Phoenix Medical supplies."
"Ning Bo, Long time no see. I see that you bought a new friend."
A loud voice greeted them before Xie Ra noticed who was the owner of that cheerful voice. "Just acquaintances," Ning Bo replied professionally.
"Ning Bo, don't be such a jerk. Hey buddy, ignore everything this asshole says." With that note, the owner of the voice revealed himself.
He was a young man who looked taller and older than both Xie Ra and Ning Bo. His handsome face was covered with dust, probably from the basement he just emerged. The long black hair of the newcomer was put into a bun, and a few bangs fell on his face.
His baggy clothes were covered in dust. But, in contradiction to his appearance, his cheerful smile lit up his whole face.
"My name is Lan Xi. Call me *AhLan."
Xie Ra Smiled. " Greetings, I'm Xie Ra. Call me as you wish."
His words made AhLan's smile wider.
"Such a gentleman we have here. So, how did you end up with our little bitter-melon?"
"Go to hell, Lan Xi."
"See, indeed a bitter-melon."
Ning Bo and Lan Xi started bickering with each other.
Seems like the Yulong City trip wasn't as bad as he thought. Xie Ra found himself smiling after a long time.
*****
"What? You don't drink alcohol? Oh, come on. Just a small sip of wine for me."
AhLan pleaded for the seventh time. "AhLan, If I get drunk, how am I going to help Ning didi to carry our stock?" Xie Ra finally said helplessly.
Ning Bo flinched at the nickname, but he chose to be silent as he wasn't interested in joining their boring conversation. He was busy thinking about the beautiful lady he saw a few minutes ago.
Her long hair, porcelain-colored skin…She looked like a fairy. Ning Bo was busy imagining how he was going to propose to her and marry her one day. Then he'll have two kids with her. Maybe three?
'BAM'
Both Xie Ra and Lan Xi jumped from the sudden noise. They were so confused for a moment. Even Lan Xi forgot his please-drink-with-me plea. They saw poor Ning Bo coming towards them, rubbing his temple.
Well, it seemed that before he met his dream girl, he met a pillar face to face.
His temple was red on the right side, which was prominent because of his fair skin tone.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"
AhLan burst into laughing like a maniac and nearly fell into a nearby drain. The scene of Ning Bo was too funny. Even Xie Ra had to resist hard against the deep urge to crack like AhLan. Yet, the threatening look on Ning Bo's face clearly showed that it was not an intelligent idea to join AhLan's laughing fit.
So, He bit his tounge hard to maintain his poker face. He reminded himself that this sacrifice would save his sanity on the retuning journey.
All fun came to an end as they finished loading Yan Ye's order on AhLan's delivery cart, Xie Ra paid the bill. In that moment he noticed a little paper inside the pouch. He opened it.
"Extra money is for you two. Enjoy your stay in the City tonight. Don't Worry about Mo ge. He knows."
Silent tears formed in his eyes. What did he do to have such kind elders? He wiped his eyes quickly and turned to both Ning Bo and AhLan,
"We're staying here tonight." He grinned.
*****
The chaotic trio waited at the city main gate, watching the delivery cart leaving the Yulong city. The sky was painted with multi shades of orange, yellow, and red, while the earth was shaded with different shades of black and grey.
Even though this natural color combination added a magical feeling to the surroundings, it silently warned that it was going to be dark soon.
Therefore, the trio headed back to the inn, where they planned to spend that night.
Even when they reached the inn, AhLan still followed village boys into their rooms. He dragged Ning Bo into Xie Ra's room forcefully. The smaller boy gave an annoyed look to AhLan. "What do you want now?' He barked.
"It's rare to have a chance for us to get together like this. So, I bought something for us." Lan Xi smirked.
The other two smelled danger, as they witnessed that mischievous smirk.
"Lan Xi, I swear, you better..."
Ning Bo's swearing died as he saw what Lan Xi was doing.
'Thud, Thud'
AhLan took two Jars out from his side bag.
"This is the best quality wine I have ever owned. A friend gave me dozens of them as a Thank you gift.
Immortal wine. I heard this kind is extremely strong but, never had a drinking partner to try this out. Now I have two. I told the Innkeeper to send us some spices. So, gentlemen. Shall we start?"
AhLan opened a jar.