Love Travels through Time (My father who traveled through time and space to cultivate immortality came back to pick me up) - Chapter 102
Chapter 102: Side Story—Modern Chapter (Part 2)
When the little black orb opened, a seam split down the exact middle.
The seam was jagged, appearing like a toothy smile.
However, after Xiang Haikui said the phrase about the little black orb “not being as cool anymore,” its jagged “teeth” trembled slightly.
It was terrified.
It had misunderstood her meaning, thinking Xiang Haikui had previously harbored intentions of eating it.
Yin Changli didn’t quite understand at first either.
Seeing her glance in the direction where Qu Yue and her husband had vanished, he reached a sudden realization, then asked in puzzlement, “What? Do you like his carved coffin?”
That shouldn’t be possible, right?
Xiang Haikui’s personality was a bit unrefined, but there was nothing wrong with her aesthetics.
No—it could even be said that she possessed exceptionally good taste.
He had known this from the very beginning of their acquaintance, seeing how she always loved to imitate his hairstyle.
“Huh? Am I craving his coffin?”
For the first time, Xiang Haikui questioned Yin Changli’s emotional intelligence.
She had only just returned to her hometown and lacked a phone; otherwise, she would have posted a couple of dramatic, melancholic status updates.
—”Defeated by the little details, in the end.”
—”In the end, I had to shoulder everything alone.”
Xiang Haikui patted the Tian kuang sword case on her back and raised those finely drawn brows on her delicate, hibiscus-like face.
“Do you get it now?”
The coffin flying magic treasure Jiu Huang carried on his back was like the sword case she never parted with.
His wife, Qu Yue, was the natal sword he kept hidden inside the coffin.
Setting that aside, being carried on your lover’s back all the time—how romantic is that?
Yin Changli was dazed for a moment before the truth dawned on him.
He thought about it seriously and nodded.
“I have no problem with it, but can you lie quietly in a cramped space for over six hours like Miss Qu?”
A bet could be made: in less than two hours, she would feel suffocated, draw her sword, and blow the coffin lid to smithereens.
It wasn’t that his emotional intelligence was low or that he ignored details.
It was that he had already grown accustomed to not paying attention to such things.
Come, let’s count them up.
The two of them’s “token of love”: a kitchen knife that had once chopped him into two halves.
The “exercise” they did together most often: he transformed into a snake, she transformed into a flood dragon, and they went drilling into mountains to mine for ore.
To take a step further with her, Yin Changli had racked his brains and exhausted his efforts.
Yet no matter how romantic the setting or how flirtatious the atmosphere, if one wasn’t careful—due to external or internal causes that triggered a certain nerve of hers—the lover would instantly turn into a brother in a split second.
Xiang Haikui: “…”
Unable to refute.
Fine, it was all her fault for not being romantic.
Dejected, Xiang Haikui slipped inside the little black orb and sat side by side with him behind the desk.
Her slender, distinct fingers rested on the sword case, her fingertips tapping out a rhythmic patter-patter.
Hypnotic as it was, she fell into deep thought, a subtle sense of crisis inexplicably arising in her heart.
Her personality was indeed not quite suited for falling in love.
It was already somewhat like this when she was still an ordinary person, but back then, she at least possessed a bit of a teenage girl’s heart, fan-girling over Senior Jing Ran.
Ever since being abducted by Tian kuang, she had been completely ruined.
Furthermore, he belonged to the graceful, gentle school of romance—a magical reunion of golden wind and jade dew.
She belonged to the wild, heroic school—using human heads as wine cups.
They hadn’t been much of a match to begin with.
Previously, when the Boss’s feelings for her went unrequited, everything about her looked wonderful to him.
Now that he had pursued and won her over, life was gradually settling into mundane routines.
According to those love stories she had read, her flaws would be infinitely magnified in his eyes.
Xiang Haikui reflected on herself, feeling that she should be a spicy little chili in public, yet transform into a soft, sweet rice cake in front of him.
Though the difficulty level was simply too immense.
Would it be better to play hard to get instead, giving him a sense of crisis?
Controlling the little black orb with his consciousness, Yin Changli locked onto the coordinates of Qu Yue and her husband, chasing after them.
On the surface, he seemed to be poking fun at her, but in his heart, he felt quite pleased.
At least when she saw others displaying affection, her heart would itch, she would feel dissatisfied with him, and she would think of making demands of him.
The more demands she made of him, the more it proved she valued him.
He understood this principle.
While raising the teapot to pour tea, Yin Changli smiled as he looked at her side profile.
She suddenly turned her head as well, their gazes colliding midair.
It was merely a single glance, yet it struck wavelike ripples across the lake of his heart, one after another.
In the past, Yin Changli hadn’t known, believing the human heart was the most lethal poison—killing without showing blood, impossible to guard against.
Now he was gradually coming to realize that love was actually the sharpest blade of all.
Beneath the edge of the blade, scorching earth lay everywhere, not a single blade of grass able to grow.
Making one cast off armor and discard weapons, willingly submitting as a humble subject with utter delight.
For a moment, his feelings proved difficult to control. Still holding the teapot in hand, Yin Changli leaned slightly toward her, just preparing to lean in for a kiss, when she abruptly stood up and sat directly across from him.
Yin Changli’s movements stiffened. Only after a long while did he turn his head to ask her.
“What’s wrong?”
Looking at her, she seemed angry?
“Was it that I spoke too harshly just now and upset you?”
“Oh, no.” Xiang Haikui shook her head.
“I’m playing hard to get with you.”
Yin Changli: ?
He couldn’t understand at all—what kind of twist was this now?
Sitting up straight with a formal posture, Xiang Haikui snatched the teapot from his hand, putting on airs as she poured herself tea.
“I was thinking, the two of us need to have a talk.”
“Talk about what?” Yin Changli gave up on guessing her thoughts, deciding to be a quiet listener instead.
“I reflected seriously just now. How does that saying go? Winning power is easy, but keeping it is hard; sharing hardship is easy, but sharing prosperity is hard,” Xiang Haikui said.
“Mm.”
Yin Changli nodded in agreement.
“So, the two of us need to establish the most suitable way of getting along for us…”
Xiang Haikui paused.
This sounded like a married couple discussing how to live their lives together from here on out.
The two of them should still be in the dating phase right now, shouldn’t they?
No, it couldn’t go like this.
Irritated, Xiang Haikui waved her hand away.
“Forget it, let’s not talk about this.”
Yet Yin Changli had caught her drift a little bit, viewing this as a great opportunity instead, encouraging her to keep going.
“Then what do you want to talk about?”
Xiang Haikui originally didn’t want to continue this topic, but following his question, she went along with his words.
“Dating, of course.”
Yin Changli was waiting for precisely these words. Standing up to step around the desk, he scooped her up under the bend of her knees in a princess carry.
Xiang Haikui kicked her legs, not daring to make her movements too large for fear of hurting him, letting out only a surprised cry.
“What are you doing?”
Yin Changli smiled.
“Didn’t you say dating? I’m taking you to bed to date.”
Xiang Haikui shouted.
“Does dating have to involve going to bed?!”
Yin Changli shook his head, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Not necessarily. It’s just that I’m rather foolish; I don’t know how to date in other ways, only in bed.”
“Fine then!”
Xiang Haikui thought he was teasing her and making a joke. However, she looked at him, and he belonged to the abstemious type, who shouldn’t have much interest in bedroom affairs to begin with.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so deeply shaken by dual cultivating with her back then.
Therefore, sleeping in the same room for this period, the one who truly couldn’t quite endure it was Xiang Haikui.
Although she was now able to control the demonic nature of Tiankuang, the nature of dragons was inherently lustful. Every time she saw him changing clothes before her without any inhibition, her heart would itch unbearably—like a traveler about to die of thirst in the desert catching sight of a water source, wishing she could pounce on him and drink him dry.
Yet she would always recall that night of dual cultivation, when he felt he had been tainted—that look in his eyes as if he had suffered an extraordinary humiliation.
No matter how fiercely her demonic fire burned, it would slowly dissipate.
Unexpectedly, Yin Changli actually stepped around the folding screen, set her down on a small couch to one side, and leaned over to press down above her.
Tucking a strand of her hair aside, he whispered in her ear.
“I’m being serious, Little Kui. May I?”
Gazing into his pitch-black eyes, Xiang Haikui felt her throat choke up.
She finally realized he wasn’t lying—he was serious, not playing around with her.
It was over. So much for playing hard to get.
Instead, they were sticking even closer together.
Once he got his way, wouldn’t he cherish her even less?
Still, it wasn’t the first time for the two of them anyway—it shouldn’t matter much, right?
Her mind was filled with a chaotic mess of thoughts.
His heart was beating terribly fast, thump-thump, and her heart seemed to resonate with it, beating thump-thump right along.
In an instant, her ears were filled entirely with the sound of heartbeats, beating more and more wildly out of order, making her face flush crimson.
“Vulgar! Lewd!”
Just as Xiang Haikui was about to succumb, the disgusted expression he had worn on the night of dual cultivation suddenly surfaced in her mind once more, lingering stubbornly no matter what.
She didn’t want to think about it either, but there was no way around it; a thorn was planted in her heart that couldn’t be pulled out.
And so, straightening her spine, she used her forehead to bump forcefully against his, broke free to step down, and ran far away.
Originally, the sword case should have flown along after her, but presumably being deeply dissatisfied with her cowardly display, it played dead and didn’t move.
Xiang Haikui had no choice but to scurry back, grab her sword, and head out again.
Yin Changli felt disappointed.
He knew the reason, yet didn’t know what to do either.
However, watching her face flushed red, flustered, and cursing under her breath, he couldn’t help bursting into hearty laughter.
“Little Kui, I find you quite interesting. You can be wild in anything, yet when it comes to the bed, you can’t be wild at all.”
Hearing him laugh behind her back and even mock her, Xiang Haikui panicked and tripped over her own feet, almost taking a flat-ground fall straight out of a romance novel.
Steadied after a stumble, she gritted her teeth, wanting to turn back to prove herself—tackling him down to see who couldn’t be wild!
With his current waist strength, did he think she wasn’t aware?
Even if he temporarily gained the upper hand for a moment, in the end, he would still have to beg her.
Xiang Haikui thought about it and felt this scene was actually quite interesting.
Besides, to erase the impression he had left in her mind in the past, the best strategy was to leave a new impression.
Dual cultivation—it was no big deal.
Maybe it could even allow him to recover his cultivation earlier, so why not?
Hesitating for a long while, she still didn’t move. It was very close from here to Jiangbei, and there was proper business to handle. She would wait until after proper business was done before talking about it.
Thus, Xiang Haikui merely turned her head back to hurl a fierce curse.
“You shameless old rogue!”
She fled at top speed.
Escaping into the doorway of the little black orb amid Yin Changli’s laughter, Xiang Haikui patted her burning cheeks.
She originally wanted to cool herself down, but he didn’t intend to let her off, following right behind her.
Just as he was about to tease her, he brought up a different topic.
“Little Kui, if you truly like Jiu Huang’s coffin…”
“No.”
Xiang Haikui didn’t like it anymore by now.
“You were right.”
She truly couldn’t stay in an overly cramped space.
Once the novelty wore off, all that remained was stifling discomfort.
Thinking about it carefully, the little black orb was far better after all—spacious and grand, fully equipped with amenities.
Even on the road, anytime and anywhere, they could thoroughly engage in a…
What on earth was she thinking?!
Just as she had cooled down slightly, blood surged straight to her head in a flash.
This was absolutely not her own genuine thought; it was Tian kuang enticing her.
That surge of blood rushing to her crown boiled like scalding hot water, to the point where smoke was practically rising from the top of her head.
Yin Changli took it all in. He wanted to smile but didn’t dare to; if he let out a laugh, this pot of water of hers would be bound to blow up.
Her craving him was nothing to be happy about—she was merely being influenced by the demon dragon blood.
It would be far more pleasing to him if she threw temper tantrums, acted pettily, or rolled her eyes at him instead.
Just now, he hadn’t truly wanted to dual cultivate with her either, merely taking advantage of the situation to narrow the distance between them.
A woman like Xiang Haikui loved to take the initiative and break through head-on in everything she did.
Only in matters of emotion was she exceptionally passive, deeply fond of evading.
Regardless of what kind of emotion it was.
After stealing the array discs, she had never seen Xiang Heng again, maintaining contact only by regularly sending him letters.
Yin Changli himself possessed a free and easygoing personality, always going with the flow.
Yet when it came to Xiang Haikui, he didn’t dare leave everything to fate and time.
Never for a moment was he not actively forging ahead—exerting even more effort than when he had cultivated in his youth.
Patting the inner wall, Xiang Haikui thought to herself that fortunately, the fake dragon coiled around the pillar in this hall was constantly breathing out spiritual energy, the swirling mist obscuring the smoke atop her head.
Otherwise, if he mocked her again, she would truly have no face left to see anyone.
Peering through the gap between the little black orb’s teeth, she began to spy on the world outside.
Pretending to look very intently, in reality, at the flying speed of the little black orb, the exterior scenery was stretched into blurred lines.
She was looking at nothing at all.
The little black orb was chasing Jiu Huang, who was traveling ahead.
Yin Changli felt the speed begin to ease up.
“We’re almost there.”
“Is that so?” Xiang Haikui perked up.
Feeling the timidity of approaching her hometown, she couldn’t wait to see the changes in her home over the past twenty years.
Then thinking about it again—actually, only one year had passed here.
How could there possibly be many changes?
It turned dull and flavorless again.
“Cover your face.”
Xiang Haikui had changed into modern clothes—the exact outfit she had been wearing when she was abducted to Earth.
He didn’t need to change. Nowadays, a wave of Hanfu revival had swept across Huaxia; wearing large-sleeved robes on the street was no longer anything unusual.
Much like that young guy Jiu Huang, putting on a half-mask to cover his face was enough to avoid being photographed and posted online.
Xiang Haikui’s hometown, Jiangbei City, wasn’t a very large city, and there was no branch of the Special Department within the urban district.
The ‘aircraft’ could only land in the suburbs near the airport.
Before arriving, Qu Yue had already arranged things, so a car was coming to pick them up.
The driver was an ordinary person without spiritual energy.
After respectfully addressing her as “Celestial Master Qu,” he handed the keys over to Qu Yue, didn’t get in the car, and turned around to leave.
Xiang Haikui could tell he was very nervous—from start to finish, he didn’t dare raise his head to look at any of them, his gait turning bow-legged as he walked.
“Qu…”
Xiang Haikui turned her head toward the “guide” Minister Qu Song had assigned her, Qu Yue.
She had a question to ask, but found herself stuck.
Stuck on how to address Qu Yue.
According to her birthday on Earth, she was only twenty-two, while Qu Yue was roughly around thirty.
In reality, Xiang Haikui had lived for over forty years, older than Qu Yue.
Of course, what Xiang Haikui was truly conflicted about wasn’t this either—she was somewhat unsure whether she should call her “Miss Qu” in the modern sense or the ancient term.
Having grown accustomed to addressing people as “Young Master” and “Young Lady” in the alternate world, returning to address people as “Mister” and “Miss” felt strangely awkward for a moment.
It inevitably brought to mind the scene when she had called her father “Dad,” and he hadn’t been able to react in time.
She had only been away for twenty years, whereas her father had been away for two hundred years.
Perhaps she had been too harsh on her father.
Knowing what she wanted to ask, Qu Yue smiled and nodded slightly.
“Yes, our Special Department is subordinate to the state. To coordinate work, many first and second-in-command officials within the system are aware of the existence of Dao cultivators. When assigning subordinates to assist us, they are only told that we are Celestial Masters working for the country…”
Xiang Haikui listened attentively, nodding from time to time.
“Understood.”
“Please get in the car, you two.”
Among the three of them, only Qu Yue knew how to drive, so naturally she took the driver’s seat.
Jiu Huang pulled open the car door and sat in the front passenger seat.
Xiang Haikui brought Yin Changli along to sit in the back row.
Even though Xiang Haikui had carefully described everything she could, Yin Changli remained deeply unfamiliar with everything here.
Yet knowledgeable and experienced as he was, he didn’t display too much curiosity.
Xiang Haikui, on the contrary, pounded the seat with a hint of excitement.
“I really didn’t expect that I’d be able to ride in a luxury car in this lifetime.”
She had no research on cars and couldn’t recognize the car emblem, but at a single glance, it was clearly a luxury vehicle.
If she hadn’t found a way back and remained trapped in the alternate world, even if she cultivated to become the number one person in Sword Dao, she still wouldn’t get to ride in one.
Qu Yue’s smile was standard and sweet.
“If Sister Xiang likes it, I can give one to you as a gift—there happens to be an idle one at home.”
She added, “It has a divine sense operating system, so Sister Xiang doesn’t need to take a driving test and can hit the road directly.”
Xiang Haikui hurriedly declined.
“How could I accept that?”
“Earning RMB is quite simple for us.”
Qu Yue’s underlying meaning was that this was merely a tiny sum of money.
Indeed it was a tiny sum; closing one’s eyes and picking out a single treasure from the little black orb could be exchanged for a vast amount of RMB among Dao cultivators.
However, Xiang Haikui had read the rules—the items on her and the Boss belonged to external goods and could not be directly brought out for transaction, possessing a nature much like smuggling.
External goods had to go through auction channels, which involved a set of extremely strict and tedious rules.
Xiang Haikui had joined the Special Department, and for her wages, she could choose between spiritual pearls or RMB.
In the newly signed “employment contract,” among the hundreds of clauses, she paid attention to nothing else, only seriously examining the amount of her pay.
Basically, two or three months’ wages would be enough for her to buy an apartment.
“It seems that for a long time to come, I’ll have to rely on you to support me.”
Yin Changli let out an awkward smile.
Everything here required following rules. As an outsider from an alternate world, he faced even greater restrictions.
“Didn’t expect that, did you? Even you have a day like this.”
The corners of Xiang Haikui’s eyes and brows were filled with a little smugness she couldn’t hide.
The tables had turned; the Boss actually had a day where he worked for her.
Qu Yue understood their little flirtatious bantering, but as a “guide,” she couldn’t help explaining, “Senior Yin, actually, as long as you don’t use spiritual energy, act as a mortal, and do mortal business, any RMB you earn is completely legal.”
She gestured with her chin toward the front passenger seat, “Take my husband as an example. Like you, he’s also an outsider from an alternate world—an unorthodox cultivator who excels at mechanism arts, crafting intricate and delicate mechanisms like avatar puppets, mechanism wings, and the like…”
Xiang Haikui had noticed long ago: ever since getting into the car, that young guy Jiu Huang had pulled out a walnut-sized piece of wood and was carving away with a small chisel.
The road conditions were terrible with heavy jolts, yet it didn’t affect his carving career in the slightest.
He remained silent the entire time without any expression, as cold as a block of ice, treating everything around him as air.
Well, not entirely. Whenever Qu Yue spoke to them, the work in his hands would pause.
Once she finished talking, he would resume carving.
Qu Yue’s articulate, quick-witted little mouth was remarkably like a secret switch that enabled his communication with this world.
“So he opened a woodcarving shop?”
Xiang Haikui looked at the small piece of wood in Jiu Huang’s hands, being carved into something resembling a high-end precision instrument part. An artisan woodcraft like this could definitely sell for a good price.
“No.”
Saying it out loud, Qu Yue felt a bit embarrassed.
“He prefers funeral supplies—crafting coffins and spirit tablets, tailoring burial shrouds, and the like—so he opened a shop specializing in funeral goods…”
Xiang Haikui: “…”
No wonder taking an extra glance at this guy made her feel a chilly draft.
Qu Yue’s next sentence carried an unmistakable sense of pride.
“It was a niche he discovered on his own. I didn’t know before that the funeral business was actually quite lucrative.”
Xiang Haikui looked at Yin Changli with a bit of pity.
“You have a specialty skill too, but given your expertise… you can only go to the mines and work as a miner.”
Qu Yue was slightly dazed. A miner?
That seemed impossible to connect with Yin Changli.
Before Yin Changli, whose eyelids were twitching wildly, could explain, Xiang Haikui rejected her own idea first.
“That won’t work either. Mining sites don’t hire snake laborers. You also know how to divine fate—you could set up a stall under a flyover to tell fortunes for people… But that won’t do either. You’re too sharp-tongued and easily offend people. Miss Qu, if he gets beaten up by someone, can he hit back?”
Feeling as though his face was being peeled off layer by layer, Yin Changli was caught between tears and laughter.
Before coming to Earth, she had repeatedly instructed him to mind his tongue, refrain from mocking people, treat others with gentleness, refrain from putting on airs, be elegant and refined, and not embarrass her.
He kept it in mind at every moment, yet she had forgotten all about it.
“Got it!”
A stroke of inspiration struck Xiang Haikui, and she finally thought of something.
“Just transform back into your original form and go coil up in a zoo. Offered for display to the public—it’s not exhausting, and meals are provided.”
Yin Changli chimed in with a nod.
“A good method.”
Qu Yue was amused.
“Not to that extent. With Senior Yin’s wisdom, there are plenty of avenues available.”
Originally, Yin Changli didn’t mind relying on Xiang Haikui at all, but he was quite interested in the idea of exchanging personal skills for RMB.
Qu Yue was right—no matter which world it was, wisdom should be the thing most capable of yielding profits.
He asked, “Then, I wonder if there are any businesses suitable for starting from scratch in a short time?”
“Don’t even think about it,” Xiang Haikui waved her hand.
“The fastest and most profitable avenues are all written in the Criminal Law.”
Her words reminded Qu Yue.
“Jiu Huang.”
With a single look, Jiu Huang caught her drift, set down the wood and chisel in his hands, and pulled a thick stack of books from his storage bracelet.
Not just the criminal law, but legal books of other categories as well.
Turning half his body, he handed them to Yin Changli.
After Yin Changli took them, he silently turned his head back again and continued his carving.
About to turn onto the highway, Qu Yue turned the steering wheel and explained, “Originally, Senior only needed to understand the rules among us Dao cultivators here. However, if you plan to stay long-term and wish to earn RMB, it’s best to take a look at the laws of mortals.”
As expected, Yin Changli uttered a word of thanks, then said to Jiu Huang, “I will duplicate them and return them to you.”
“No need, Senior Yin.”
Qu Yue wasn’t interrupting; she was afraid Jiu Huang wouldn’t pay attention to him, leaving him in an awkward position.
“He already knows these books backwards and forwards, so you might as well keep them.”
The phrase knows them backwards and forwards tumbled in Yin Changli’s mind.
Jiu Huang raised his head slightly, glancing at Yin Changli through the rear-view mirror.
Yin Changli caught his gaze.
Perhaps it was his illusion, but he felt that within Jiu Huang’s indifferent eyes, a rare trace of friendliness was displayed toward him.
This friendliness likely came from a sense of “fellow sufferers empathizing with each other.”
Conveying a message to him: being an imported son-in-law from an alternate world wasn’t easy.
…
Upon entering the urban area of Jiangbei, Xiang Haikui suddenly recalled, “Am I still a wanted fugitive?”
Back when Jing Ran was taken away, only she was beside him, making her suspected of murder and becoming a criminal suspect.
Later, when she was taken away by Yin Changli at the police station, she was put on the wanted list again.
“The wanted notice was canceled long ago,” Qu Yue signaled her not to worry.
“However, Jing Ran’s disappearance cannot be explained. In principle, there’s no problem if Sister Xiang wants to resume her former identity and continue her studies, but in daily life, it might bring you a lot of trouble.”
Xiang Haikui understood what to expect now.
When the car pulled into the parking lot near the police station and they were preparing to alight, Qu Yue turned her head slowly, hesitating as she stole a glance back at Yin Changli.
Yin Changli felt puzzled.
“Does Miss Qu have instructions for me?”
“Senior… could you give me a pair of…” Qu Yue felt terribly embarrassed.
“Give me a pair of shoes you’ve worn?”
Yin Changli was truly stunned this time.
Xiang Haikui was dazed for a moment as well. What for?
She cast a glance at Jiu Huang, who was carrying on with carving his wood as if nothing was amiss.
“Do you know about the Tide Demon?” Qu Yue pointed at her neck.
“Tide Demon Huanbo.”
She was wearing an oval-shaped pendant that resembled a tiny vase around her neck, inside of which there appeared to be water.
Xiang Haikui needed to use her divine sense before she could see a person crouching along the edge of the pendant.
An exceptionally handsome man, his lower body submerged in the water inside the pendant while his upper body floated above the surface, resting his chin on his hand as his eyes gleamed while staring fixedly at Yin Changli.
“A Jiao?” Xiang Haikui faintly caught sight of a colorful fish tail hidden underwater.
“Not a Jiao; the Tide Demon is a spiritual entity manifested from ocean tides,” Yin Changli spotted him as well.
“Living in the sea, it cannot come ashore unless it puts on someone else’s shoes. Whosoever’s shoes it wears, it can transform into that person’s exact likeness.”
“Huanbo loves collecting shoes, especially…” Qu Yue bit the bullet and said, “…especially the shoes of handsome men.”
“Is that fine?”
Huanbo spoke up on his own, cupping his hands in request.
“I was originally sleeping soundly underwater, but it was the dazzling radiance emanating from your matchless beauty that awakened me. Please bestow a pair of your shoes upon me; I am willing to exchange all my treasures with you…”
Grisly. A wave of goosebumps broke out all over Xiang Haikui—especially with Huanbo’s utterly undisguised gaze.
Could he be gay?
Qu Yue had experienced scenes like this many times, offering her reassurance.
“Don’t misunderstand; Huanbo simply loves beauty. Truly, the greatest joy of its demon life is transforming into different types of handsome men every day. My husband’s, my brother’s, even my father’s shoes—it has them all… It won’t cause trouble after transforming; it purely does it for fun.”
Xiang Haikui let out a sigh of relief.
This sea demon had pretty good taste; she felt somewhat proud.
Yin Changli had no desire to have others transform into his likeness, tactfully declining.
“However, I…”
He wanted to say he had only brought this single pair of shoes with him.
Yet Xiang Haikui would definitely undermine him, saying there were thousands of pairs inside the little black orb.
While he was formulating his words, Huanbo pleaded once more.
“If you don’t like treasures, I can write poetry for you!”
Forget it—Xiang Haikui had just arrived, and the more friends she made, the better.
Still, the posture Yin Changli needed to maintain had to be maintained to the fullest, unable to let others see any intention of curry favor on his part. Thus, he smiled faintly.
“Then compose a poem, and I shall consider it.”
“Wonderful!” Huanbo blurted out on the spot—
A snake lacks legs compared to the dragon clan,
Yet the dragon clan lacks your beauty, man.
When you smile, butterflies flutter in delight;
When you frown, flowers wither out of sight.
Mountains, rivers, stars, and seas follow your pace,
Even compass needles spin north to catch your grace.
Hearing this “poem” recited, Yin Changli was at a loss for how to react.
At this flattery, Xiang Haikui was filled with marvel.
Qu Yue lightly scratched her forehead, covering her eyes.
…
Alighting from the car, they left the parking lot and walked toward the police station.
“Senior Yin, Huanbo truly isn’t lacking in sincerity; its ‘poetry’ is genuinely at this level…” Qu Yue was badgered by Huanbo, continuously acting as a lobbyist.
Xiang Haikui discovered that Qu Yue’s eloquence was truly one-of-a-kind, so she couldn’t help glancing back at Jiu Huang.
Even while walking, he kept his head lowered to carve.
Jiu Huang: “What are you looking at?”
So he could talk; Xiang Haikui had thought he was mute: “I’m looking at what you’re carving.”
“None of your business,” he said impatiently.
Hey! Quite cool, this young guy, Xiang Haikui twitched her mouth. Truly paying him no further attention, she looked back at Qu Yue’s back figure.
This couple was truly interesting—one acting as if he had autism, and disliking speech, while the other was smooth and tactful, chatting up a storm with anyone.
Jiu Huang suddenly transmitted via voice, his tone guarded and cautious: “What are you staring at my Liuniang for?”
Xiang Haikui took a moment to react, realizing Liuniang was likely a term of endearment: “Nothing. I’m just curious—how do the two of you get along when your personalities have such a massive contrast? No, no, I’m not just curious. As you can probably see, my man and I have an extreme contrast in personality too. I’m currently troubled by it.”
Jiu Huang cast a glance at Yin Changli as well: “Personality? Is that important?”
Xiang Haikui let out a deep sigh: “Of course. When personalities contrast too much, there’s no common language when chatting—chickens talking to ducks, playing the zither to a cow…”
Jiu Huang lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment: “He’s a snake demon, right?”
Seeing his serious reflection, Xiang Haikui thought he had some advice to offer, nodding without hesitation: “Right.”
Jiu Huang asked in puzzlement: “Then it should be a human talking to a snake, playing the zither to a snake. What does it have to do with chickens, ducks, or cows?”
Xiang Haikui: ?
