BB | Chapter 35

Lips and Steamed Buns, Indeed Are Not the Same…

Shen Canglan suddenly noticed something.

“Huh?”

He reached out and hooked Li Yaochen’s waist sash. “This sword–”

Li Yaochen stood motionless while Shen Canglan hooked him, and said stiffly, “It was snapped by that bee of yours.”

Broken?!

This thin sword was mass-produced by Ailü Sect and handed to him by Ye Xuezhu.

Though it was far inferior to the handy, spirited You Tajui, it was still a sword that could chop firewood, kill people, and be used for sword flight.

And it had actually snapped just like that?!

Shen Canglan felt both joy and regret.

Joy need not be mentioned. Naturally it was because of his own progress.

His regret came from his own poverty.

He and Li Yaochen had run quests, taken commissions, and extorted demonic creatures, earning some money.

They had also bought ingredients for fasting pills a few times, and spent on clothes, travel fare, lodging, and other necessary expenses.

Their assets were only barely enough to get by, still far from being wealthy, with hardly any spare money at all.

And now he had broken Li Yaochen’s sword.

He and Li Yaochen were both sword cultivators. A sword cultivator without a sword was like going out without trousers, or climbing a mountain without shoes, like Ye Xuezhu without chains, like Shen Guanqi without medicine.

In the weapon shop, even the cheapest iron sword cost two hundred copper coins. For something a little better, the kind that would not run off with someone else’s sword, the price soared even higher. Shen Canglan had once tried to save money and suffered for it.

The already not-rich assets he and Li Yaochen had were withering and dying overnight.

Shen Canglan’s heart ached, but he was brave enough to take responsibility. “Tomorrow let’s go buy you a new sword, Chen-ge. I’ll pay.”

Li Yaochen smiled. “No need. There’s no rush. I can do without a sword for now. I have other weapons to use.”

As he spoke, he even took out a long spear from his storage sack.

The more Li Yaochen acted like this, the worse Shen Canglan felt. “Brother, if you won’t agree, then I’ll never eat again.”

Li Yaochen looked as if he wanted to laugh. “We don’t eat anyway.”

Shen Canglan: “.”

Not easy to fool at all.

Shen Canglan was not very good at begging. The begging he remembered mostly involved shixiong and shijie pounding another shixiong or shijie in the chest with their fists, speaking in a voice soft enough to wring water out of, and the one being begged would agree.

Shen Canglan did not want to speak in that kind of voice. He was afraid he would turn into Mickey Mouse and lose all his handsome dignity.

So he only looked at Li Yaochen.

Li Yaochen met his gaze for a while, then looked away. “Oh, then tomorrow? You can go with me to buy a new one.”

Shen Canglan slapped his thigh. “Good!”

Li Yaochen touched the back of his neck. “Nothing else, right? Then I’ll head back first.”

Shen Canglan said, “Nothing else. Chen-ge, you should rest early.”

Li Yaochen gave an “oh.” “You too.”

Then he turned and left the room.

With his back turned, he carefully pulled Shen Canglan’s door shut, then suddenly said, “Shut up.”

[I only just squeezed out of the restriction seal in your host’s body.]

The system’s voice trembled terribly. [I haven’t even said anything yet.]

Li Yaochen said, “Then shut up too.”

System: […]

It kept taking deep breaths in Li Yaochen’s mind and then letting them out, like someone who had run hundreds of li through the desert without drinking a drop of water.

It endured and endured, then asked Li Yaochen: [You two got out of that room that wouldn’t let you leave unless you kissed? Haha, host?]

Li Yaochen said nothing. He picked up the cup on the table and gulped down two mouthfuls of water, then sat cross-legged on the bed and began meditating with hand seals.

After a moment of silence, the system suddenly went berserk.

[Ah!!! Ah!!! You kissed?! You really kissed?! You?! This?! Steel bar? And your brother? That steel bar? Two steel bars?! Kissed?!!]

Li Yaochen slowly opened his eyes. “What is a steel bar?”

[Is that the point? That’s not the point!]

The system’s voice was already so harsh and grating it was nearly unbearable. It asked Li Yaochen: [Could it be that even if you kissed, your brother’s lips are no different from steamed buns to you? I’m going to write the word misery all over your legs… You damned straight man…]

Li Yaochen closed his eyes again.

The system crashed about wildly in his mind, howling and groaning. After a long while, seeing that Li Yaochen still said nothing, it finally quieted down.

Li Yaochen pressed his lips together.

There was one of the system’s questions he could not figure out either.

Shen Canglan’s lips should have been no different from steamed buns to him.

He had kissed his own brother only to get out. That was not his intention. His brother had not been willing either, which could be seen from the wide-eyed glare and reddened face Shen Canglan had shown when he leaned in.

It had only been a compromise between the two of them, with no other thoughts. Yet the moment his lips met those lips, Li Yaochen realized that lips and steamed buns were indeed not the same thing.

Shen Canglan said the soapberry scent on him smelled nice, but the faint sweet fruit fragrance on Shen Canglan himself, once one drew close, was enough to make a person dizzy.

Those two soft, warm lips left him feeling good after the kiss, yet also terribly uncomfortable. The sensation kept replaying in his mind, and everything else had somehow gone blank.

After the second kiss, a strange knot had even lodged in his chest.

As long as he was a little closer to Shen Canglan, he would feel good. Seeing Shen Canglan go out with someone else would make him feel awful. But his brother was not his property, and could of course make friends with others.

Maybe it was because the two of them had spent too long in that small room that he had somehow come to take it for granted that Shen Canglan should be the only one by his side. That was why, when he saw Shen Canglan playing with Sui Qing, he felt so utterly uneasy all over.

And then there was the second kiss.

That time it was not to get out. They had simply been rash, kissing to see who was more formidable.

The second kiss had lasted more than three times as long as the first, but he still remembered nothing. He should not have kissed. He should not have gone in like that, or maybe he should not have kissed so stiffly and bluntly.

Li Yaochen maintained the same motionless posture, yet he was neither regulating his breathing nor cultivating. His brows were tightly knit. Then he thought of the questions he had just asked, and wanted nothing more than to punch himself.

And Shen Canglan had actually taken him seriously, even calling himself a pitch-black rat spirit.

Li Yaochen: “…”

He could not help laughing out loud, then slapped his own forehead twice with his palm.

The system jumped in fright. [What is it?!]

“Nothing.” Li Yaochen kept a stern face. “Just cultivating.”

–

He still did not sleep well today. Every time he closed his eyes, his brother’s lips kept floating in front of him.

Fortunately, he had already advanced to the golden core stage. Going without sleep for a few days would not harm his body.

Today he was going out with Shen Canglan to buy a sword.

Li Yaochen dragged an outer robe out of his storage sack.

His clothes were all brought from another world, all issued by the sect. Almost all of them had black bases with red patterns, and every one had been worn for many years.

The one in his hand was the one he wore most often. The fabric was soft, and the elbows showed slight wear.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yaochen dug out another outer robe from the storage sack, one with stiffer fabric and finer patterns, and put it on.

In this way, the old hair tie looked mismatched. Li Yaochen took out a new one, tied his high ponytail again, and then found a jade pendant Ye Xuezhu had once given him to hang at his waist before heading out.

Shen Canglan happened to come out of the door too. The moment he saw him, his eyes lit up. “Chen-ge.”

He moved closer. “Chen-ge, why are you dressed so handsomely today! Too handsome!”

Li Yaochen curved the corner of his mouth. “Is that so? Just threw something on.”

As he spoke, he reached out, wanting to rub the top of Shen Canglan’s head with his palm.

But before his hand had even gone halfway, Shen Canglan hopped back. “My hair is being uncooperative today. It took me ages to tie it up, so don’t hurt it.”

Li Yaochen lowered his hand again.

He did not know why he had suddenly made such a move. Shen Canglan was not some kitten or puppy, or Rongrong. How could he just touch his head the moment they met?

The place where his palm should have touched Shen Canglan’s crown had somehow grown hot. Li Yaochen clenched his fist and asked, “When are we leaving?”

Shen Canglan said, “Now.”

The two walked out side by side, only to run into Shen Guanqi, Sui Qing, and Ning Dong in the courtyard.

Sui Qing and Ning Dong seemed to have been dragged over by Shen Guanqi to help. There was a bundle of herbs in front of each of the three on the table, and they were carefully sorting through them.

The moment Sui Qing saw Shen Canglan and Li Yaochen, he immediately threw down what he was holding and rushed over. “Xiao Shen-shidi, father-in-law! Are you two planning to go out?”

Shen Canglan nodded. “Yes. To buy Chen-ge a sword.”

Sui Qing begged, “Can you take me too?”

Shen Canglan waved a grand hand. “We’re brothers, saying that is too formal. Haha, of course you can.”

Ning Dong said, “Then I’ll go too. I need to keep an eye on shishu and make sure he doesn’t do anything stupidly, infuriatingly, laughably foolish that will damage the sect’s image.”

Sui Qing said helplessly, “…You really didn’t need that many adjectives, martial nephew.”

Shen Guanqi looked at the medicine in his hands, then at the four of them over here. “Then I’ll go too. You’re all going out to play, and I’m the only one working. That makes me look like an ox.”

Being able to go out and have fun with friends made Shen Canglan very happy. At the same time, a sense of guilt for neglecting his duties also rose in him.

Although he and Li Yaochen had obtained many things from that secret realm, it was not the “place with many demonic creatures” Rongrong had spoken of. This clueless squirrel had never pointed to the right place once.

Now there was even nothing to do for several days in a row, and he did not know where they should go next. Shen Canglan had not even been properly cultivating these past few days.

After ease came the restless feeling of slacking off. Shen Canglan decided that after coming back today, he would cultivate hard. While wandering the streets, he would also look for a notice board or something similar, to see whether there were any suitable quests to earn some money.

But once they reached the street, Shen Canglan almost forgot his original intention.

The market today was extraordinarily lively, with people and vendors everywhere.

Maybe because he had stayed on the mountain for too long, more than half of the things to play with or eat were things Shen Canglan had never seen before.

For example, a vendor’s lantern, somehow enchanted so that wings grew from both sides. It fluttered and flapped as it flew up into the air.

Or a spinning top sold by a peddler. As it spun, it would sing, and each time it was whipped, it would even let out a soul-stirring “so good” and similar sounds.

Or that gunpowder. The stall owner introduced it like this: “Ten times stronger than last night’s vibration!”

Shen Canglan looked up at the sky and quickly pretended nothing had happened as he walked past.

When they were tired from wandering, everyone found a tea house and sat down to rest.

Shen Canglan went to order tea for Shen Guanqi and the others. When he looked back, Li Yaochen was already gone from his seat.

He asked, “Where’s my brother?”

Shen Guanqi pointed outside. “He went out. Said he suddenly remembered something he needed to buy.”

Buy something?

Buy a sword?

But hadn’t they agreed that he would pay?

While he was still puzzled, Li Yaochen came back in from the entrance.

With a long stride, he stepped over the wooden stool from behind and sat down beside Shen Canglan, then shoved everything in his hand into Shen Canglan’s. “Here.”

Shen Canglan: “? …What is it?”

He opened the paper package in his hands. Inside, the spinning top cried out to him with great abandon, “Master, whip me.”

Shen Canglan: “……..”

Looking at the other things in the package, they were also the little trinkets he had just found interesting. Kites, gunpowder and the like.

Holding those things, Shen Canglan felt warm all over, and his eyes also grew warm.

He looked up at his handsome, dashing, peerless good brother and said sincerely, “Chen-ge, you’re so good. I love you to death.”

The instant the words fell, Li Yaochen’s hand suddenly slipped. The chopsticks in the holder before him clattered to the floor. Li Yaochen quickly crouched down to pick them up, only for the chair to topple with him. He reached to steady the chair, and his waist hit the corner of the table.

If Shen Canglan had not reacted quickly and pressed it down, the table would probably have been overturned as well.

Shen Canglan looked at his suddenly flustered good brother with concern. “Chen-ge, are you okay?”