Beauty Bones (10)
Chapter Ten
"Young Master Song, you are such a kind person!"
Xie Yuan swung her legs and lay on the boy's slender, broad back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Her voice was filled with undisguised excitement: "Standing high really does give you a better view. The scenery up here is quite nice."
"Then you're mistaken. I'm not a good person."
Song Ling spoke in a languid tone, as if stating something insignificant, her voice clear, magnetic, and youthful.
Xie Yuan knew what he meant, but she said nonchalantly, "Although the nature of your mission is somewhat different from that of a good person, in my eyes you are a very, very good person. Look, you're carrying me on your back right now."
"So you're so easily moved."
The girl was not a well-behaved person. She wrapped her arms around his neck and then leaned on his shoulders, humming an unknown tune in a good mood. Song Ling held her knees firmly with both hands, letting her move around as she pleased.
"Hey, do I look like that kind of person?!" Xie Yuan grabbed the end of his hair defiantly, waving it in front of his eyes threateningly, as if to say, "If you say yes, I'll take your hair down with me."
But she chickened out in less than a second.
"Hey, hey, hey, can't you take a joke! I'm not getting down!" Xie Yuan saw that he had released her legs and knew he was going to put her down, so she quickly wrapped her legs around his lean waist and tightened her grip. She pouted and whispered in his ear, "I'm really not a casual person..."
Apart from Song Ling, she had never cared about anyone else to this extent before.
She is truly a wise and far-sighted master who cares deeply about her apprentices.
The quiet moonlight cast long shadows of the two of them as the boy carried the sleeping girl steadily down the mountain on his back.
Many years ago, she had carried him on her back like this...
He had also thought they would be together forever.
Master, I used to be very obedient and listen to you, but I still lost you, didn't I?
——
"Young Master Song! You must be hungry! There's a restaurant that's still open over there!"
Song Ling: "I'm not... hungry."
After Xie Yuan finished speaking, she struggled to jump off his back, grabbing his arm and running and pulling, "Hey, Chunmanlou, isn't this my place today...?"
"What? Have you been to this restaurant before?"
Song Ling's sudden question rang out beside her, startling her into realizing that this was the restaurant she had followed Song Ling into earlier that day! Luckily, she braked in time! She had almost been led astray again!
"No." Xie Yuan shook her head honestly, and sighed with some disappointment. "Young Master Song, let's go. We need to make a reservation in advance, and we can't get in."
On her first day in town, she had already inquired at the local inns. Almost everyone living near the border knew that those who frequented Chunmanlou were mostly wealthy and powerful, and that its opening hours were unpredictable, requiring inside information to know the exact times. It seemed more like a place where high-ranking officials or江湖人士 (jianghu figures) gathered intelligence. Alas, she had finally found an open restaurant, but unfortunately, her attempt to persuade them to eat today was destined to fail...
Perhaps her regretful expression was too obvious, because Song Ling glanced at her dejected look and said in a low voice, "Let's go."
"All right."
Xie Yuan nodded, and was about to turn away, pulling his arm, when Song Ling pulled her straight to the entrance of Chunmanlou Inn. There was a special bell hanging outside the door, similar to a wind chime. He raised his hand and gently pulled the thin rope that held the bell.
Ding-dong.
Xie Yuan was stunned and didn't even have time to stop them. Before anyone opened the door, she nervously nudged Song Ling, "Young Master Song, this isn't a good idea. If someone comes to beat us up later, I'll count to one, and you go."
"I'm running."
Song Ling: "........."
They really don't hold back.
As for apprentices, they should naturally be put to the best use!
——
"Young Master Song, is it really alright for us to sit here?"
Xie Yuan glanced around at the empty second floor, then looked at the crowded first floor below with an incredulous expression, and asked in bewilderment.
“They like to stay on the first floor.” Song Ling glanced lazily downstairs, then looked away, taking a sip of tea as if it were nothing unusual.
"He'd rather sit at the table than go upstairs; there's no one else like him."
A burly man, looking rather dejected, sat cross-legged on a square table, grabbed a jug of wine, and gulped it down. Not only that, but the others, having exhausted all other seating options, simply sat in twos and threes on the floor, their food laid out on the ground, chatting merrily...
This was the first time Xie Yuan had encountered something like this in her two lifetimes.
To her, the first floor of Chunmanlou didn't look like a place to eat, but more like an auction hall. In the middle was a circular exhibition platform, but now there were many charming dancers dancing on it. Below, there were also many square tables and chairs for normal dining, and the people were "dazzling". Looking around, she saw many people from Dongling, Beizhao, Xiyue, as well as people from different sects in the martial arts world.
She finds it hard to imagine the current state of the martial arts world. Oh well, perhaps it's just a matter of time; after all, ten years have passed.
"Young Master Song, it's my treat today, so please make sure you eat plenty!"
Xie Yuan quickly turned her attention back to the food. As soon as she finished speaking, she was about to ask the waiter to order.
"Congratulations, esteemed guests, you are our 101st customers! Everything you consume today is on the house. What would you like to do for us?"
The newcomer was dressed in an extremely flamboyant light pink brocade robe with wide sleeves, had a face like a peach blossom, and wore earrings. She instantly felt as if she had entered a brothel.
"Young master, may I ask who you are?"
Xie Yuan glanced at the young man in pink, then at Song Ling sitting opposite her, who was drinking tea with his eyes down and saying nothing. She asked with a suspicious look, "Do you know Young Master Song?"
The young man in pink then shifted his "fervent" gaze from Song Ling to her, and said with a charming smile, "To answer your question, Miss, my name is Lou Xia, and I am the manager of Chunmanlou. I am not often in the shop, but I have taken a liking to your unparalleled beauty, hence my rudeness."
Oh right! I almost forgot, my little apprentice's looks are appealing to both men and women!
How come she never thought of this before!
She couldn't help but slam her hand on the table. She'd acted rashly!
It's possible that he likes men!
Could it be that she'll have to find a male wife for her little apprentice in the future? Hmm, it's not impossible. After all, the original owner was the princess of Dongling, and countless men wanted to marry into her household. But there were also many who didn't like women. She just didn't know what type he preferred...
Xie Yuan's slap startled the two of them and everyone below.
The room fell completely silent.
The two people above looked at her at the same time.
"what you do?"
Song Ling frowned slightly, his cold, handsome face clouded with gloom.
Xie Yuan finally snapped out of her reverie, only realizing the burning pain in her palm belatedly. She quickly blew on her right hand, her face scrunched up, and said, "Young Master Song, my hand hurts."
"Why didn't it hurt when you slammed your hand on the table?"
"I was just lost in thought, so please don't be mad at me."
"I'm wondering whether I like men or women."
Song Ling put it bluntly.
"Yes, it's driving me crazy..."
Xie Yuan was still immersed in the pain in her palm, and her mind didn't process it for a moment, so she subconsciously replied with a sentence.
The moment she said those words, she really wanted to crawl into a hole and bury herself peacefully, or at least have one body and two souls. Did she really have to do it in such an embarrassing way?
She completely messed with me, an E-level person.
The young man in pink suddenly turned green as if he had just realized something.
He wondered why the girl seemed so familiar. He had just been shocked that his lord had actually brought a girl to dine at Chunmanlou Restaurant, and he was trying to see something from his expression.
At first glance, the girl seemed familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before; but upon closer inspection, he broke out in a cold sweat.
In the Lord's study, behind him was a painting. The bright and beautiful woman in the painting looked exactly like the girl in front of him, except that she seemed a little younger. The woman should be around twenty years old. She was dressed in red, with her hands behind her back and a sword in hand. She stood under a tree with bright peach blossoms, turned her head to look out of the painting, and smiled brightly.
But he only saw it once, because the lord later ordered that no one was allowed to come to his study.
The Lord cherishes that painting; just one glance at it almost made him feed his eyes to the dogs.
He initially thought the woman was his sweetheart, but during an assassination mission, he unexpectedly found her portrait and some information about her life in their treasure vault.
Xie Yuan, a disciple of the sword immortal Zhu Qi, became the number one swordsman in the martial arts world at the age of seventeen, ranking first on the Wind and Cloud List, and his sword was named Undyed Frost.
However, she disappeared from the public eye shortly after becoming famous.
Rumor has it that she went to the forbidden area of southern Xinjiang alone, and her fate remains unknown.
According to the records above, she disappeared in the twentieth year of Zhaoyuan, when the emperor was only about three years old. It was impossible for her to be the person he loved.
He had done a great service that time by relying on these things, and he used them to get an answer from his lord.
The woman in the painting is indeed the sword-cultivation genius who disappeared sixteen years ago.
If she isn't the one he loves, then there's only one possibility: she's the master's teacher!
Judging from the woman's age, she is probably younger than the master, so she can't possibly be the master's teacher.
"Are you very free?"
Song Ling gave Lou Xia, who was standing there dumbfounded, a cold look.
Lou Xia: I understand, the master told him to get lost.
"I will have the dishes served to you two immediately. I shall take my leave now."
Lou Xia, with great foresight, disappeared from her unpredictable master's sight, afraid of being even a second too late in reacting.
"Hey, I don't think I've ordered yet..." No, this person is running way too fast. How can this person be faster than Cang Yue?
Is even the manager of Chunmanlou so strange?
Xie Yuan silently closed the bamboo scroll menu.
The gazes opposite her seemed to be fixed on her, clearly waiting for her answer.
This is indeed a bit hard to believe.
Who someone likes is none of her business. Why is she worrying about it? Last time, in order to cling to her little apprentice, she shamelessly said she was after his good looks. Now she even cares about who he likes. Doesn't that mean she's after him as a person? What's the difference between that and confessing your feelings?
"So, Young Master Song, do you prefer men or women?" Xie Yuan cleverly avoided the topic of why she was troubled, since he usually wouldn't pry too deeply, and she could kill two birds with one stone!
As Xie Yuan waited expectantly, he slowly uttered two words, "Guess."
Xie Yuan's defenses crumbled: "........."
Ughhhhh, this person doesn't play by the rules again!
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