"Chefs, huh..." he thought, secretly swallowing saliva behind the polished veneer of his graceful exterior, which he had worn since he set foot in this emperor’s quarters of his.
Yi Jie’s and Jiang Chen’s faces popped into his mind, followed not long after by Shi Hai’s. If there was one thing he missed about his ti at the Deer Mountain Range, it was Shi Hai’s cooking, which was worthy of a chef from the Cooking Kingdom, the White Baobab Kingdom.
Maybe we should go there to celebrate when Yi Jie and the others co out of seclusion, Yang Qing thought, the idea sparking a feverish excitent within him.
He didn’t like sharing food, but as with all things in life, there were always exceptions. For him, festivities were one of the few occasions where he didn’t quite mind sharing and contributing good food. It was one of the rarer tis when he didn’t feel his heart leap into his mouth every ti soone added an extra dumpling or braised rib to their plate.
With how long he’d been having solo als since Yi Jie and the others went into seclusion, he might even let Feng Xin dominate the table when they ca out, and not fight him tooth and nail over every scrap of food as was their custom.
I miss them, Yang Qing sighed, pulling his mind back to Han Bai and ng Song. The latter smiled comfortingly at him as if she could sense his lancholy. It was the sa with Han Bai, too. Though his expression barely changed, Yang Qing could sense comfort in those eyes, a feeling of kinship and resonance with the lancholy he felt.
Given his age, and the people he had likely lost along the way, Yang Qing felt it was expected.
"I look forward to the drink," Han Bai finally said, his tone softening slightly.
"—" Yang Qing began to respond, but he paused mid-sentence as he saw a change in the expressions of both Han Bai and ng Song. If earlier he had been intuiting Han Bai’s emotions, now he could vividly tell what the man was feeling because his expressionless face now showed one clearly: anger mixed with a hint of worry.
ng Song, on the other hand, showed more worry than anger as she moved to hold Han Bai’s hand, their gazes turning toward the room’s entrance. Yang Qing finally saw the source of the change.
It was an old man who looked just as old as Han Bai, albeit taller and just as thin. He had snow-white hair tied into a half-bun, the rest cascading down his back. One key difference from Han Bai—who had a long beard extending to his chest—was that the newcor’s beard tapered to a pointed end at the base of his neck.
But the most glaring difference between the two was the quality of their eyes, which influenced the aura around them. Han Bai, despite his stony expression, had softer eyes, which made him seem approachable in spite of his stern, almost indifferent exterior. Of course, he wasn’t as approachable as ng Song, but still, one wouldn’t debate whether they were at risk of death by rely approaching him or catching his gaze.
The sa could not be said about the newcor. His placid expression was accompanied by cold eyes that would strike fear and hesitation into most.
Not quite indifferent cold... Yang Qing thought as he examined the man. Anger? Not quite... He added a few more guesses before finally settling on one: ’Vengeance.’
Beneath that coldness was undoubtedly fury, tightly contained beneath a dense layer of indifference. But its intensity was too high to be completely masked, not to ntion that Yang Qing felt a pressure spike when the figure’s eyes fell on the coat Mao Yunru had bought for him before it was quickly hidden again beneath that cold indifference.
"You two are here? Daoist Xiadan has arrived; we should see to him before the auction starts. Bingwen is already there," the figure said to ng Song and Han Bai with a sharp, penetrating voice that matched the cold sharpness of his eyes.
"But before that," he added softly, his attention shifting smoothly to Yang Qing, "I am sorry for my rudeness, Daoist...?"
"Yang Qing," Yang Qing said gently, smiling.
"Forgive the intrusion, Daoist Yang Qing. Ideally, I wouldn’t intrude so rudely, but with the auction about to start, there are many matters that need to be settled, and I am helpless to do so alone. Ah, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? Forgive ," he said, as if suddenly realizing his omission.
"My na is Fan Jie, one of the founders of this humble establishnt," he said, cupping his fists in greeting.
"Pleasure to et you, Owner Fan Jie," said Yang Qing, returning the gesture.
"For my rudeness, please accept this as a token," Fan Jie said smoothly as a red calabash gourd, the size of a palm, appeared in his hand. "It is Flowing Cloud Sorghum Fire Wine. It may not be much, but it pairs well with the mood of an auction house," he added, smiling as he offered the wine.
For soone who wore cold indifference so well, the smile didn’t seem out of place on his face. This made Yang Qing feel that Fan Jie seed more like a rchant than Han Bai, given the seamless switch in expressions and his evident tact.
"I will have to shalessly accept, then," said Yang Qing, offering a polite smile as he extended his hand and took the wine.
Fan Jie nodded. "I hope you enjoy the auction," he said. Yang Qing nodded back.
Fan Jie exchanged a glance with ng Song and Han Bai, giving them a subtle nod before he excused himself.
"Sorry for that," ng Song said to Yang Qing with her customary warm smile, though this one held a touch of stiffness.
"It’s okay. I understand," Yang Qing replied, offering an understanding and reassuring smile in return.
It seed ng Song had more she wanted to say, but she ultimately decided against it, nodding appreciatively at Yang Qing instead.
"If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us, Judge Yang Qing," said Han Bai. Yang Qing, who now felt like an expert at reading the placid elder, saw the subtle signs of guilt in his expressionless face and even in his tone.
"I will. And you should look forward to the wine," Yang Qing said, smiling. "I am willing to bet a thousand high-grade stones that it will leave quite the impression," he added cheekily, laughing as he did.
"Is it that good?" ng Song chid in, her eyes gleaming with interest. Han Bai, too, let his lips curl into a small smile as he said, "I have a thousand stones to spare. I’ll take you up on that, Judge Yang Qing."
"It is," Yang Qing said, flashing ng Song a confident smile before turning to Han Bai. "Thank you, Owner Han Bai, for the thousand spirit stones. I will use them well," he added, wearing a mock-solemn expression that earned a laugh from ng Song and a rare smile from Han Bai.
The two nodded to Yang Qing, with a few playful, teasing parting words from ng Song before they finally left.
"Owner Fan Jie... quite the interesting character," Yang Qing said, smiling as he swirled the red gourd. "Where lies your fate, Li Gang? From the look of things, it doesn’t quite seem to be here," he added aningfully as he replayed their earlier interaction.
User Comments
0 comments from readers