Chapter 88. The rain shelter is... reassuringly clumsy.
When Jiang Yuhuo arrived in Luoyue City again, it was raining.
She disembarked from the roc, both she and the bird soaked to the bone. The weather had been sunny and pleasant when they set off from Kunlun, but no one had expected it to change so suddenly.
The roc landed on an open space, put the person off it, shook off the water, and then flew back into the sky.
The heavy rain showed no signs of stopping. Jiang Yuhuo, soaked to the bone, looked around and saw only shops along the street with their eaves sticking out to catch the rain, so he ran straight over to take shelter.
The puddles were splashed with mud by people stepping on them, and the hem of my skirt got dirty.
Jiang Yuhu squeezed under the eaves. The space under the eaves was narrow, and only half of her body was exposed to the rain.
Despite the weather, there were still quite a few people coming and going on the long street. Pedestrians held umbrellas of all kinds, and among them, a moon-white silk umbrella stood out the most. The silk, which would be excellent enough to make clothes, was cut into the umbrella surface, and its surface was embroidered with exquisite patterns, making it clear at a glance that it was extraordinary.
The person holding the umbrella was dressed in purple, and the wide, flowing robes he wore remained dry as he walked in the rain.
Jiang Yuhuo also noticed the umbrella, and then watched as the person walked towards her, getting closer and closer, and finally stopped in front of her.
The umbrella obscured the person's face, revealing only a slender, fair hand with distinct knuckles, held on a purple bamboo handle.
As the pale white umbrella slowly lifted upwards, strings of raindrops rolled down from the edge, mingling with the rainwater under the eaves. Through the cold rain, Jiang Yuhuo saw a handsome, almost otherworldly face behind the umbrella.
Jet-black hair, thin red lips, fair skin… all exceptionally beautiful features, especially striking in such gloomy weather. The newcomer's lips curled into a half-smile, his peach blossom eyes moist and affectionate as he gazed at her.
She recognized that face.
It was also on this main street.
She mistook him for Wen Yizhan and unknowingly owed him a piece of cold jade.
Jiang Yuhuo subconsciously looked at the mark he had placed on his wrist, and sure enough, the mark was still effective, with a faint golden light flashing.
Li Mengbai looked in the direction she had come from.
Good, that bastard didn't follow.
He reached out to Jiang Yuhuo, as if in response to her, and a golden light shone from his palm.
"What about what you owe me?" He raised an eyebrow, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Who was it that kept saying there was a very important competition tomorrow, and that they would repay me with that jade after the competition? They spoke so earnestly, making me feel sorry for them, which is why I took pity on them and agreed to give them a few days' grace. But now, so many days have passed since the competition ended, and that person is hiding and refusing to pay. Are they trying to renege on their debt?"
"Sigh...so he's a faithless scoundrel." Li Mengbai pursed his lips, shook his head, and sighed.
"I didn't do it on purpose. That jade... was broken." Jiang Yuhuo was suddenly accused of such a serious crime and quickly retorted, "I found your cloak and can return it to you."
As Jiang Yuhuo spoke, she immediately rummaged through her storage bag, anxious to clear herself of any wrongdoing.
She brought it with her when she left Kunlun, just to prevent a situation like today where he came to collect the debt. After all, the mark on her wrist was still there, and he could come looking for her at any time. She just didn't expect him to come so quickly.
Seeing her frantically searching, Li Mengbai couldn't help but chuckle. Of course, he knew what would become of that jade; he was just teasing her by saying that, but she took it very seriously.
Seriously... so stupid it's reassuring.
Jiang Yuhuo was still standing under the eaves, half of her body soaked in the rain. Her cloak had just been taken out of her storage bag and was now exposed to the rain.
"Oh dear, you're going to get my clothes wet."
As Li Mengbai spoke, he tilted the silk umbrella to the side, subtly covering her head and sheltering her completely under its shade.
Realizing that she was also soaking wet, Jiang Yuhuo immediately handed the cloak to the other person to prevent her from getting wet herself.
But the other person only stretched out a few fingers and rummaged through the cloak, showing no intention of taking it.
Jiang Yuhuo suspected that he was disgusted by the fact that she had soiled it; he had used the same excuse last time. But this time, she wasn't going to agree to his demand for a replacement or compensation. She had thought it through. She had only taken the cloak, and returning it to its rightful owner would settle things evenly; she owed him nothing. If he still insisted on not giving up this time, she wouldn't be able to argue with him, so she would use her sword to subdue him.
"Ah, I found it." The other person finally stopped, pointed to a few small characters embroidered on the inner placket, and asked her, "Do you recognize these characters?"
Jiang Yuhuo looked down and saw that although the characters were small, they were very neat and easy to read. So she read them out one by one, “Li, Meng, Bai”.
She read it carefully, and the young man in purple raised an eyebrow and smiled with great pleasure. "Remember, that's my name."
Jiang Yuhu stared at the embroidered characters, quite surprised.
The person next to him immediately frowned. "You didn't even notice?"
She shook her head. Indeed, she hadn't noticed it. She had only used the Cleansing Incantation on the cloak a few times. Who knew there were embroidered words inside?
For some reason, the other person suddenly became unhappy and called out to her, "Jiang Yuhuo, from now on you must remember this name, remember me."
Jiang Yuhuo suddenly looked up, not because of his unreasonable request, but because, how did he know her name?
Li Mengbai's lips curled up again. "I know your name. Are you surprised?"
Jiang Yuhu frowned. "I don't remember telling you that day."
Li Mengbai became even more smug. "Idiot, finding out your name is easy enough. We'll know once we meet on the competition field. You mean competition? What other competition could there be that day besides the Immortal Sect Grand Competition?"
Jiang Yuhuo understood.
Li Mengbai tapped her forehead without hesitation. "You're so stupid! No wonder you got ambushed on the field, no wonder you were completely fooled by that bastard."
Jiang Yuhuo unconsciously shrank back, feeling somewhat uncomfortable with this person's inexplicably familiar attitude.
The rain stopped sometime ago, and people on the street put away their umbrellas, while those who had been sheltering from the rain under the eaves gradually dispersed.
Seeing that Li Mengbai had already taken the cloak, Jiang Yuhuo left the area of his silk umbrella with a sigh of relief, "Then we're even."
She held out her wrist. "Now the mark on my hand can finally be removed, right?"
Li Mengbai didn't make a move. Instead, he revealed a mysterious smile. "That's hard to say," he said, opening his palm to reveal a glimmer of golden light. "Keep it for now. In case you need to come looking for me later, you'll still need this."
“Watch closely,” he said, bringing his hand close to Jiang Yuhuo’s wrist before pulling away. “This is a tracking spell I created. The closer the two people who cast the spell are, the brighter the spell mark will be; conversely, the farther apart they are, the dimmer it will be. So, just keep looking towards where the light is getting brighter, and you will find me. Similarly, that’s how I found you.”
Jiang Yuhuo also tried it, and the light in his hand indeed changed as he had said.
But why are they looking for each other?
There's no need for that...
"I'm waiting for you to come to me."
Jiang Yuhuo was about to refuse, but before she could say anything, the person in front of her had already twirled the umbrella handle and walked away with light steps.
Her purple robe fluttered in the wind, like a butterfly in flight.
This person came and went without warning. Apart from knowing that his name was Li Mengbai, she knew nothing about him. Jiang Yuhuo thought he was just a passing butterfly that happened to stop in front of her to rest.
As the clouds cleared and the rain stopped, she didn't linger any longer and went to the designated inn to stay overnight, waiting for the other party to come and discuss the terms of the deal.
The group that was about to make their move against Yan Teng was very mysterious. All their messages were communicated through communication talismans, and she hadn't met a single middleman yet. But they seemed to be a wealthy and powerful group. After checking into the inn, she found that her room was not only extremely luxurious, but it was also neatly arranged with all kinds of women's clothing. The styles were different, but the colors were relatively monotonous, with purple being the most common.
She had heard that some businessmen would spare no expense in the early stages to win over customers in order to close a deal. Could this be the way these people treat their customers?
Jiang Yuhuo felt a pang of sympathy. She wasn't a wealthy buyer, so she dared not touch a single penny here, always feeling that every single transaction would eventually fall on her head.
Fortunately, she only suffered there for a day. That night, the group of people quickly sent word, inviting her to meet them at a courtyard in the city.
Without saying much, Jiang Yuhuo took all his belongings and followed the directions to the meeting place.
Although Luoyue City is located in a remote area, it is quite prosperous. The buildings in the city are mostly built with stone. However, this is a wooden house with a style that is very different from the surrounding area. It even looks quite old and does not look like it has been recently renovated.
Jiang Yuhuo sensed that this group of people might be someone important, so she tensed up slightly and stepped into the brightly lit old house.
He explained his purpose to the guards at the gate, and a servant went in to report.
Taking advantage of the brief respite, Jiang Yuhuo surveyed the layout of the courtyard, considering how she could escape in the shortest possible distance should the situation change. The deep, dark house was dimly lit, but after her investigation, she had a general idea of what to expect. However, she always felt that as she looked around, there was an eye watching her from the shadows.
Before long, the servant returned and said to her respectfully, "I was unaware of your arrival, and I apologize for my neglect. Young Master has been waiting in the study for some time. Please follow me, esteemed guest."
Jiang Yuhuo pressed the hilt of his sword with his hand and nodded slightly.
After the servants made their way through several twists and turns, they finally arrived at a brightly lit small building. The building had two floors, and the servants, with Jiang Yuhuo in tow, stopped at the top of the stairs and bowed to the side. “Young Master is waiting for you upstairs. Please come upstairs on your own. Without Young Master’s order, this old servant cannot go upstairs.”
Jiang Yuhuo became more wary. She glanced up at the building without making a sound, but saw no one. Recalling the glimpse she had just made before entering, she noticed a rather large window on the second floor, letting in light. If anything went wrong, she could escape through the window.
If all else fails, we can just burn the whole courtyard down.
Silently forming a spirit seal in his mind, Jiang Yuhuo strode up to the second floor with his sword in hand.
The space on the second floor was much larger than she had imagined. A figure stood in front of the window, with his back to her.
Hearing her footsteps, the person by the window didn't turn around, but simply said, "You've come."
The person seemed to be speaking to her, or perhaps to the outside of the window. The voice was noticeably lowered, and the call came from a distance. Jiang Yuhuo couldn't hear it clearly, but she vaguely felt a sense of familiarity.
Who are you?
Laughter preceded the answer; the person by the window chuckled, "Don't you recognize this place anymore?"
Jiang Yuhu subconsciously looked around to confirm that she had not been there.
The door was suddenly slammed shut by an unknown force.
The person by the window smiled and waved their sleeve to extinguish the candle, plunging the entire room into darkness. In the darkness, the voice suddenly seemed very close to her, as if it were right next to her ear.
"Doesn't this make things much more familiar?"
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