BB | Chapter 27

Sometimes He Really Didn’t Understand Everyone…

Shen Canglan said, “Didn’t Chen-ge go looking for the secret realm a few days ago? He even told me before that he saw a very strange entrance. Just now he said he found something good, and that place seemed kind of interesting, so he wants me to go over.”

Shen Canglan talked for a long time, and Qin Chun summed it up for him: “Oh, Canglan, you’re going to find Li Daoist friend to play?”

“Play is secondary,” Shen Canglan corrected him. “The main thing is training.”

He lowered his voice mysteriously. “I’ll show you something.”

As he spoke, he held Youtazui in his hand.

Under Qin Chun’s gaze, Shen Canglan slowly closed his eyes.

Under his guidance, pale gold spiritual energy spread like a thin mist over the sharp Youtazui, wrapping around the blade like water and slowly flowing along it.

After doing all this, Shen Canglan looked at Qin Chun with expectant eyes.

Qin Chun was very supportive and clapped for him. “Ah, little silver sword in a flower coat.”

Shen Canglan: “…”

Looking miserable, he said, “This is sword qi! Sword qi!”

Qin Chun asked, “Sword qi? What’s it for?”

Shen Canglan said, “Of course it’s for–”

When it came to this, Shen Canglan was immediately energized. He started from how he had suddenly had the idea to cover the sword’s blade with spiritual energy, then extended the discussion from the principles of sword qi to its applications and actual combat.

He became deeply immersed and spoke excitedly for a long time, then asked Qin Chun, “Why did you close your eyes? Are your eyes uncomfortable?”

Qin Chun opened his eyes in a daze. “Huh? I closed my eyes…?”

Shen Canglan did not dwell on it too much. He scratched the back of his head. “But all of this is just what I figured out on my own. I still haven’t told Chen-ge. When I see him in a few days, I’ll demonstrate it to him! He definitely won’t guess that I’m actually this much of a genius.”

He asked Qin Chun again, “Are you going with me?”

Qin Chun pinched his chin and said nothing, sinking into a long silence.

Shen Canglan waved a hand in front of him. “Fell asleep?”

Qin Chun let out a sorrowful sigh. “I don’t know.”

“What’s there to not know?” Shen Canglan said. “If you want to go, then go. If you don’t want to go, then don’t.”

Qin Chun said, “I want to go.”

Shen Canglan: “Then go.”

Qin Chun said, “But I also have reasons not to go.”

Shen Canglan: “That’s fine, then don’t go.”

Qin Chun: “But I also have reasons to go.”

Shen Canglan: “Then go.”

Qin Chun: “But I…”

Shen Canglan: “…”

After several rounds of back-and-forth, Shen Canglan felt like his head was about to explode.

With a huge head on his shoulders, he asked Qin Chun, “How about we draw lots?”

Qin Chun pinched his chin and thought for a long while, finally making up his mind. “Forget it, I’m not going. Canglan, you and Li Daoist friend go have fun.”

“It’s training, not fun,” Shen Canglan corrected him once more.

After coming out of the room, Shen Canglan went to tell the others that he was going down the mountain.

When they heard that Shen Canglan was going down the mountain again, everyone’s reaction was different from the first time.

The most obvious difference was that this time, no one stuffed money into Shen Canglan’s hands.

Who told Shen Canglan that his savings were already very generous now.

But the reminders were still the same: “Going down the mountain is great. Find a dao companion while you’re down there. Little Canglan, do you like men or women or cats or dogs or chickens? Actually snakes are pretty good, snakes have two…”

Shen Canglan: “…”

Stop! Stop, stop!

He quickly turned and ran.

Shen Guanqi didn’t know where he had gone. After asking the little cat lying on the bed and snoring loudly, Shen Canglan learned that he had gone to gather herbs again. Shen Canglan teased the cat and dog for a while, ate two of Shen Guanqi’s sour oranges, and still didn’t wait for him to come back, so he left him a note. It still told him to take good care of Ye Xuezhu, and if the weather got cold, to find some time to send over blankets and the like, and do his best to make sure the things that should be on Ye Xuezhu stayed on, and the things that shouldn’t be there were not there.

–

By this time, Shen Canglan was already going down the mountain for the second time.

He had matured a great deal, and the meat buns at the mountain foot no longer held such strong appeal for him. He could now walk past the owner’s fragrant stall without changing his expression.

However, Shen Canglan was not basking in his own progress.

He did not waste any time. Following the map drawn by Li Yaochen, he asked questions as he walked, and in less than two days, he had already arrived at a place called Anhai.

Yunjian City was already the most prosperous town Shen Canglan had ever been to, but Anhai looked even richer than Yunjian City. Everywhere were cultivators wearing uniforms, and many of the buildings along the roads even had glazed roofs. In the sky and by the roadside, from time to time, exotic pets that looked extremely valuable walked proudly behind their owners. Of the things being sold by the various merchants, nine out of ten were things Shen Canglan had never seen before and didn’t know the use of.

Even the bookshop was much bigger than his shixiong had described. The moment he entered, it was full of dazzling rows of books.

Shen Canglan weighed his remaining balance and walked in.

He bypassed the popular science section at the entrance, where books such as The Three Hundred Positions That Make Your Partner Love You More, A Guide to Dual Cultivation Essentials, Intimate Lover, and How to Cultivate an Alluring Frame from Birth were displayed, and headed straight for the story booklet section.

Shen Canglan examined the story booklets on the shelves.

“The Trivial Matters Between Me, the Snake Demon, the Fox Demon, and the Cat Demon”

“The Night the Seven of Us Got Drunk”

“Who Exactly Is the Father of the Child”

“Thirty-Three Husbands Pamper Me Day and Night”

Shen Canglan: “…”

As expected, they were all love stories about this and that. He shouldn’t have had any expectations.

The story booklets Qin Chun wrote were still the most to his taste, with exciting and thrilling plots, and brotherhood that was deeply moving.

Maybe one day, the story booklets written by his brother could also be sold in such a big bookshop.

While sincerely blessing Qin Chun, Shen Canglan held a jade pendant and left an image for Li Yaochen, sending it over.

Li Yaochen: “Book.”

Shen Canglan: “Right.”

After coming out of the bookshop, he left another street image for Li Yaochen and sent it over.

Li Yaochen: “Street, a lot of people.”

Shen Canglan: “Mm-hmm.”

These past few days, Li Yaochen’s replies had always been intermittent, as if he was busy, or as if he could only receive Shen Canglan’s messages every so often.

Now that Li Yaochen was finally around, Shen Canglan was very happy, and he sent over several more images.

Li Yaochen replied to them one by one.

“Stall.”

“Notice board.”

“City gate. You’re already in Anhai?”

Shen Canglan replied yes, then asked Li Yaochen, “Brother, how’s things on your side?”

“Don’t mention it, I’m dizzy.”

Li Yaochen said, “This place is basically a maze. I’ve been wandering inside for several days already, going from one room into many more connected rooms. I’m almost unable to tell direction anymore, and right now I’m even worried about how I should come pick you up if you arrive.”

A maze?

Hearing Li Yaochen say that, Shen Canglan became even more interested. He asked Li Yaochen, “What exactly does it look like?”

Li Yaochen sent an image over. It showed an empty room, with nothing in it. All four walls were made of stone, as if someone had written and drawn something on them. Li Yaochen’s tall figure fell across one slanted side.

His brother really was the kind of man whose shadow alone seemed extremely reliable.

Li Yaochen added, “Each room can count as a riddle. Only after solving it can you continue to the next room. There are many mysteries involved. I’ll explain them in detail when you get here.”

That… that sounded so interesting.

Reading Li Yaochen’s words, Shen Canglan almost wished a pair of wings would grow on his back so he could fly there immediately. He hurriedly sent Li Yaochen a line, “Wait for me, brother,” then set off at once.

Following the map Li Yaochen had sent, he gradually left the bustling city of Anhai farther and farther behind, and the road changed from flat and wide to rough and uneven.

There were fewer and fewer pedestrians and merchants along the road, and it even looked somewhat desolate.

But there were some things that had not changed.

Starting from half an hour ago, two people had been following Shen Canglan from far behind, one man and one woman. Whichever direction Shen Canglan turned, those two would turn in that same direction after him.

What were they following him for? A coincidence? Or did they want something else?

Robbery?

Sexual assault?

…Whichever it was, he was not going to hand it over.

Being followed was very unpleasant. Shen Canglan decided to take the initiative.

He hid behind a thick pine tree and held his breath while waiting. Sure enough, after a short while, he saw two figures slowly approaching.

After the two of them passed the place where he was hiding, Shen Canglan jumped out without a sound and stepped on their shadows. “Who are you? Why are you following me?”

The two figures stiffened.

Shen Canglan gripped Youtazui tightly in his hand. “Turn around. Don’t make any sudden moves.”

“All right, all right. Hero, please don’t be impulsive.”

As the blue-robed man spoke, he turned around. When Shen Canglan saw his face, refined and gentle with a touch of roguish charm, he somehow felt that it looked familiar. Before he could remember where from, the man said earnestly, “Fellow Daoist Xiao Shen, it’s me.”

Shen Canglan hesitated. “You are…?”

The blue-robed man made a gesture. “A while ago, during your sect’s grand ceremony, I also went. I happened to meet that little bird at your window…”

As soon as the words little bird came out of the blue-robed man’s mouth, Shen Canglan immediately remembered.

It was that strange person who had suddenly passed by his window and somehow fallen hopelessly in love at first sight with Li Yaochen’s paper crane-shaped magic treasure.

But Shen Canglan still did not forget his purpose. “Why are you following me?”

“Wronged! This is a huge injustice!”

This time, the one speaking was the female cultivator with tanned skin and tired eyes. “My shishu said he fell in love with that bird, so before leaving, he placed a tracking spell on that bird. We’re just following the clues left by the spell. We absolutely have no intention of following you.”

Shen Canglan: “…”

So they really were here to rob someone’s affections.

But not his. They were after that paper crane.

However, placing a tracking spell on a paper crane? Was that not a little too perverted?

He sometimes really did not understand everyone’s loves and romances.

Helplessly, he waved a hand, indicating that he understood.

The blue-robed man leaned closer. “Fellow Daoist Xiao Shen, are you also going to find Li Daoist friend? If it’s convenient, could we go together? We’ll still need you to say a few good words for us in front of father-in-law.”

Father-in-law???

Right. Since that paper crane was Li Yaochen’s magic treasure, in a sense it could also be said to be Li Yaochen’s daughter. Since the blue-robed man wanted to win Li Yaochen’s daughter over, Li Yaochen would naturally be his father-in-law.

After the shock faded, Shen Canglan thought of Li Yaochen’s expression when he heard those two words and couldn’t help but burst into a few hearty laughs.

He swore that his heart was full of brotherly affection and solidarity for Li Yaochen, but it was undeniable that every now and then, he also had the urge to do something mischievous and prank his brother.

So Shen Canglan waved a hand. “Fine! I’ll take you to find Chen-ge!”

Then he left Li Yaochen a message: “Brother, brother, I’m bringing you some good stuff. Just wait and see!”

–

Far away, at some place, at this very moment, Li Yaochen only felt his nose itch.

After sneezing, he frowned and pressed a hand against the wall in front of him, muttering, “Strange.”

The more rooms he passed through, the weirder the requirements of each new room became. The room just now, which required him to take off his shirt and then sleep on the bed for a while, had already been baffling enough. Now this room was even worse, with not even a hint given. Li Yaochen truly had no clue at all.