Chapter 105 Chapter 105 Facing the guards' exasperated gaze...

Despite the guards' disappointed looks, Xie Baoqiong and Qi Gui were invited into the city and had their lodgings arranged.

"Young masters, please settle in comfortably for now. If you need anything, just let the guards here know," the guard who brought them said respectfully.

Xie Baoqiong, who was looking around for her place to stand, heard the sound, squinted her eyes suspiciously, and spoke, bringing the scene to a close:

"You won't report my presence here to the Marquis's residence, will you?"

"Young master, rest assured, without your orders, who would dare to deliver the message to the Marquis's residence?"

The guard lied to the child without batting an eye, saying that someone had already delivered the message at the city gate. The higher-ups had probably already sent someone to the capital to deliver the message, since even if something happened to the two people in front of him, nothing could happen to Fenghai City.

The guard himself harbored some selfish motives, thinking that it would be better to take this trouble home as soon as possible.

But in front of the two men, he showed no sign of anything amiss, his face displaying a dutiful and respectful demeanor, his eyes slightly lowered.

"If the two young masters have nothing else to do, I will take my leave now."

Xie Baoqiong waved his hand impatiently, and only when the guard's figure completely disappeared behind the door did his expression return to normal.

Qi Gui, who had been quietly following beside him, approached him after he left:

"Ah-Jung, I didn't expect we got into the city so easily."

His dark eyes, like those of a young deer, sparkled with starlight, and his voice, though filled with barely suppressed excitement, remained deliberately soft, a voice only the two of them could hear.

Xie Baoqiong was surveying her surroundings when she finally responded, her tone completely different from her previous arrogant demeanor:

“When I saw someone in the capital put on this face, everyone else changed their attitude. I didn’t expect it to be so effective.”

Qi Gui nodded, following closely behind Xie Baoqiong, his head bowed as if lost in thought, a shadow falling over the brilliant starlight, and a hint of worry in his voice:

"But what if they send the news to the Marquis's residence? Will Lord Xie be angry with you if he finds out?"

Upon recognizing the familiar title, Xie Baoqiong paused in her steps.

Thinking he had said something wrong, Qi Gui quickly stopped. Ah Qiong had only stopped because of the two of them...

Before my thoughts could take hold, Xie Baoqiong's calm voice interrupted them:

"By the time their message reaches the capital and their identities are confirmed, we will no longer be in Fenghai City."

As he spoke, he turned around to face Qi Gui:

"You can think about where we'll go if we can't find any news about your mother in Fenghai County?"

While Qi Guishun was seriously considering what was being said, Xie Baoqiong's gaze wandered around.

The accommodation arranged for them in the city was a two-courtyard house. The exquisite courtyard was quiet in the middle of the city. He had noticed when he arrived that the bustling city was just two streets away from this accommodation.

Although the courtyard is not on the main street, the sound of wheels rolling and people talking is still unavoidable. However, once inside the courtyard, not a single sound from outside can enter, as if it is completely blocked by the courtyard wall.

Xie Baoqiong, with a sudden inspiration, raised his gaze and swept it over the courtyard wall. Amidst the vegetation, a corner of the wall revealed a regular pattern. He stepped closer and pushed aside the flowers and plants that were blocking his view.

"Ah-Jung, what's wrong?"

Seeing that he suddenly went straight in one direction, Qi Gui turned his head and glanced around before hurriedly following him.

The grass behind her rustled underfoot. Xie Baoqiong stepped aside, making room for Qi Guineng to stand, and pointed to the patterns on the courtyard wall:

"Look, there's a formation here."

Qi Gui's gaze fell on the corner of the wall where his finger was pointing. A series of intricate yet regular patterns adorned it, spreading along the base of the wall to the surrounding walls and disappearing into the shadows of the flowers and trees.

He squatted down, placed his hands on his knees, and looked carefully for a long time, but he still couldn't figure out the formation Xie Baoqiong had mentioned. His fingers involuntarily curled up nervously, and he rolled up the hem of his clothes.

"Arjun, I didn't see it."

"If you can't tell the difference between the spiritual energy fluctuations above and the eyes, then look at it in a different way."

Xie Baoqiong squatted side by side with Qi Gui, low blades of grass surrounding them. The bright-colored hem of her clothes overlapped with the plain-colored hem and the yellow-green grass. His gaze remained fixed on the corner of the wall, and he continued speaking naturally:

"You've just started cultivating, so you're probably not used to it yet. When I first took human form, I wasn't used to it either."

Qi Gui's fingers gradually loosened, extending a tiny spiritual energy tentacle to sense the spiritual energy fluctuations in the corner of the wall that were different from other places.

"It really is different."

A hand was extended in front of him: "So, isn't being a demon quite nice?"

"Um!"

Qi Gui stretched out his hand, placed it on the strong hand in front of him, and was pulled up by the force.

"Ah-Jung, why did they arrange a courtyard with a magic array for us?"

Due to its childhood environment and the keen senses ingrained in birds, Qi Gui is exceptionally alert to any disturbance.

"The purpose of this formation is to isolate outside noise."

Xie Baoqiong pulled Qi Gui away and walked outside, her expression more relaxed than the latter's.

"There seem to be quite a few cultivators in this area; perhaps the owner of the courtyard hired someone to arrange it specially."

Qi Gui was pulled along by Xie Baoqiong, falling slightly behind. He turned his head nervously to look at the formation behind him, but as Xie Baoqiong's calm voice reached his ears, his heart gradually settled down.

As the wind swept by, the grass and trees that had been parted stood upright again, swaying slowly in the wind, completely concealing the patterns on the corner of the wall.

Qi Gui withdrew his gaze, turned his head, and looked at the boy who was pulling him away: "How does Ah Qiong know there are many cultivators in this area?"

They had only been in the city for a short while and hardly encountered anyone along the way.

"On the way here, I overheard people talking about the nearby cultivators' market," Xie Baoqiong said with a hint of curiosity. "Let's go take a look; maybe we can find out the information we're looking for."

...

—

The capital city.

The boy, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, opened his eyes. His gaze swept across the light streaming through the doors and windows, and the shadow of the bat-patterned window decorations, symbolizing good fortune and prosperity, fell on the edge of the bed, an inch away from him.

Shuangmu ignored him and got up to leave the guest room.

The weather was colder today, and the wind rushed in the moment the door opened, chilling him to the bone.

The clothes he was wearing were still the thin robes he had brought from the mountain gate, which were swept up by the wind and then stuck back onto his body.

Cultivators are not as afraid of the cold as mortals. Shuangmu straightened his wrinkled outer robe and stepped into the cold wind.

When we arrived at Xie Zhuo's courtyard, Xie Zhuo had just gotten up.

Today is the fifteenth of the month, a day of rest. The young man did not wear his red court robes, but instead wore a light blue outer garment as he washed up with the help of his servants.

Shuangmu stood at the doorway, making way for the servant carrying the water basin to go out.

"Come in."

When I looked back into the room, I heard Xie Zhuo's voice.

Shuangmu glanced around and, finding that he was alone, casually entered the room.

Xie Zhuo held a belt around his waist, unusually talkative towards him:

When did you arrive?

"I just arrived recently."

The two, who were not familiar with each other, spoke in a dry and stilted manner.

Xie Zhu tidied himself up, walked around the two wooden figures standing in front of him, and sat down at the table where breakfast had already been laid out.

At Xie Zhuo's prompting, Shuang Mu sat down beside him, staring intently at Xie Zhuo's actions as he drank his porridge.

The young man ate with great elegance. After scooping up a spoonful of porridge, he scraped the edge of the bowl with the spoon before slowly bringing it to his mouth and swallowing. He kept his mouth naturally closed while chewing and swallowing, and his eyes were focused intently on the food in front of him.

But perhaps his gaze was too undisguised, for Xie Zhuo abruptly put down his spoon, his eyes meeting Xie Zhuo's directly:

"you……"

The young man uttered a single word and then fell silent, his gaze lingering on the man's face for a moment before he uttered two more words:

"never mind."

The young man shifted his gaze back to the small plot of land in front of him, leaving him aside.

What did you say? And what did it all mean...?

Shuangmu's eyes remained stubbornly fixed on the young man, but no matter how intense his gaze was, Xie Zhuo did not look at him again before finishing his meal.

"Let's go."

After wiping his merciless lips with a handkerchief, Xie Zhuo leisurely left the room first.

...

The Marquis's residence was very close to Lin Zhechun's residence, separated only by a street.

Xie Zhuo didn't order anyone to prepare a carriage or horses, and walked there with Shuang Mu.

Shuangmu had never lived in the mortal world and didn't feel anything was wrong, so she stayed at a distance from Xie Zhuo.

Upon arriving at the relatively bustling street, Xie Zhuo noticed the lanterns hanging on the street and a faint, sweet fragrance.

He belatedly realized that today was already the Mid-Autumn Festival.

He glanced sideways at that familiar face. If the person beside him today were Xiao Bao, he would probably already be clamoring for mooncakes.

"Father, the streets seem a little different today than usual."

Shuangmu's empty eyes suddenly became lively, scanning the surrounding street scene, just missing Xie Zhuo's glance.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival in the mortal world.

Xie Zhuo had already looked away before Shuang Mu could see him. The voice beside him both made him feel dazed and brought him back to his senses. It was even more similar now; Xiao Bao would probably be just as clueless about the mortal world. His longing only intensified. He wanted to see Xiao Bao taste mooncakes for the first time, and he wanted to share this sweet treat of reunion with Xiao Bao.

"What holiday is it celebrating?"

Shuangmu keenly sensed Xie Zhuo's change in emotion, and a vague guess formed in his mind. His inner voice and the young man's fluctuating tone sounded together:

"reunion."

He wasn't unaware that Xie Zhuo's voice was as shaky as a candle flame in the wind, but so what?

Anyway, it wasn't because of him that I acted.

Shuangmu spoke with almost cruelty:

"That's wonderful, I'm with my father on this day of reunion."

If he could, he would rather be like an ordinary father and son, like that stone, holding the hand beside him and saying those words in a coquettish tone.

But considering that Xie Zhuo would shake his hand off, in order not to turn that cruelty on himself, he ultimately just put his hand behind his back, intertwined his fingers, turned his body to the side, tilted his head back, and said the words with a smiling expression.

The young man did indeed look at him, but said nothing...

Shuangmu's smile was almost impossible to maintain, but fortunately, the hawking cries that rang out as the sweet smell in the air intensified saved him from his predicament.

He quickly realized the significance of the mooncakes from the hawker's words and ran away from the young man with light steps.

After asking the shopkeeper for a mooncake, I habitually took out my spirit stones to pay.

"Oh, young master, are you kidding me? You can't use pretty stones as money."

The shopkeeper didn't coldly drive away their first customer of the day.

"Give."

A piece of silver was placed on the stall.

The shopkeeper glanced at Xie Zhuo and Shuang Mu's similar faces, smiled, took the loose change, and said auspicious words as he did so:

"The young master and the young lady are truly a perfect match. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival, may you eat mooncakes and be reunited with your family."

The coins jingled and auspicious words fell together, striking the hearts of the father and son, strangers with different thoughts.

...

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Author's Note: I almost got to the part about Shuangmu's identity [crying emoji]. The main story is almost finished, so I need to keep track of the word count to avoid getting banned for not finishing the rankings. The next chapter should be able to cover that.