Chu Jun remained silent.
Ning Buwei straightened up, leaned close to Chu Jun’s neck and took a sniff, while his hands mischievously explored the other’s waist, muttering softly, “It smells exactly like that bitter fragrance on your body… I’ve never seen you use incense before, where does it come from?”
Chu Jun had been sitting calmly and unmoved, but Ning Buwei, perhaps energized after taking the pill, was practically sprawling on top of him, and it wasn’t clear if he was genuinely searching for something or just taking advantage of the situation.
“Chengfeng.” Chu Jun cleared his throat lightly as Ning Buwei attempted to untie his belt.
Ning Buwei lazily hooked his fingers around his belt, while propping his head up with his other hand, smiling at him, “If you don’t tell me, I’m going to untie it.”
Chu Jun held his hand, his voice carrying a hint of resignation, “It’s my blood.”
Ning Buwei’s smile froze, “Blood?”
“Yes, I added some to the Yangyuan Pills.” Chu Jun said.
Ning Buwei frowned, “Why does your blood have a fragrance?”
Chu Jun’s voice faltered, just as he was about to speak, Ning Buwei suddenly said, “Never mind, I don’t really want to know.”
Chu Jun looked up at him, “It’s nothing, it all happened a long time ago.”
Ning Buwei rubbed his wrist gently. On Chu Jun’s soul, there was a faint scar here, which he had accidentally glimpsed before, but Chu Jun had always kept it well-concealed.
If Chu Jun didn’t want to talk about it, he naturally wouldn’t ask any further.
Having lived for so many years, who didn’t have things they preferred not to discuss?
Ning Buwei rubbed his nose and said, “I just think it smells nice.”
Seeing this, Chu Jun took out two more pills, “Here.”
“Oh, you still have some saved?” Ning Buwei was a bit surprised.
“Yes.” Chu Jun placed the pills in his hand, “Take one when you’re not feeling well.”
Ning Buwei looked at him, wanting to speak but hesitating.
“It won’t harm your body,” Chu Jun said.
“Oh.” Ning Buwei tucked the pills into his sleeve, lay around bored for a while, then went to the bed and fell into a hazy sleep.
In the evening after the sun set, the temperature finally dropped. When Ning Buwei woke up, he heard the noise of people outside the window and found that Chu Jun wasn’t in the room. He went to the window and pushed it open.
Stalls on the street had gradually lit their lamps. Right under the window was a candy figurine vendor, surrounded by seven or eight children, happily making candy figurines. The sweet burnt sugar smell mixed with the aroma of noodle soup from nearby wafted through the wind into Ning Buwei’s nose.
He had long heard that food in the mortal realm tasted much better than in the cultivation world, but never had the opportunity to try. Now, smelling the aroma made him hungry. Looking around, he saw a note Chu Jun had left on the table.
[Something came up, will return at the Hour of the Xu.]
(TL: 7 PM – 9 PM)
He didn’t specify what it was.
Ning Buwei crossed his arms and stared at the note for a while, then picked up the brush nearby and added a line before leisurely walking out of the inn to enjoy the cool evening breeze.
Although there were also mortals living in the Seventeen States, they were different from the true mortals of the mortal realm. Ning Buwei strolled slowly down the street and spotted a pancake stall with few customers, so he sat down.
“What would this young master like to eat?” The owner called from behind the stove, “Our meat flatbread is a specialty of Shuangjing County, and it’s delicious with a bowl of noodle soup!”
“Then I’ll have one flatbread and a bowl of soup,” Ning Buwei replied.
“Right away!” the owner shouted, “The flatbread will be ready soon!”
The seat Ning Buwei had chosen was very close to the baking oven. After sitting for a moment, he felt too hot and was about to change seats, but in just that short time, four or five tables had filled up with people. As he was about to give up on the idea, the person at the neighboring table said, “Brother, if you don’t mind, shall we share a table?”
The oven was indeed too hot, so Ning Buwei nodded and sat across from him, “Thank you.”
“No problem, in this hot summer, the charcoal oven is really unbearable,” the man smiled at him.
Sitting across from him was a young man who appeared to be only twenty-five or twenty-six years old. His hair was tied up with a jade crown, and he wore a clean indigo robe. His features were refined and his demeanor scholarly. The aura around him was also very peaceful, causing Ning Buwei to take a second look.
“Brother, you’re also a visitor to Shuangjing County?” the man asked.
“Yes,” Ning Buwei nodded, “You too?”
“I arrived some days ago, and only today found the time to look around.” The man bowed slightly with cupped hands and smiled, “My name is Fang Wanchen, may I ask this brother’s honorable name?”
“Li Chengfeng,” Ning Buwei returned the courtesy.
As they were speaking, the owner had already baked the flatbreads and served them in small bamboo baskets, “This young master, here’s your one flatbread, and this young master, here are your five.”
“Thank you, boss,” Fang Wanchen reached out to take Ning Buwei’s flatbread as well and handed it to him, asking with a smile, “Brother Chengfeng, will just one be enough to fill you up?”
Ning Buwei looked at the flatbread in the bamboo basket, which was bigger than his face, then glanced at the stack in Fang Wanchen’s basket, and suddenly became uncertain.
He had long since practiced bigu; in the Seventeen States, he ate mainly to taste flavors. The small amount of spiritual energy in food was less than the impurities, so he didn’t know his actual appetite.
“The young master can always order more!” The owner hadn’t gone far and turned back enthusiastically to tell Ning Buwei, “We have plenty! Your soup will be ready soon, please wait a moment.”
Ning Buwei nodded, and seeing Fang Wanchen pick up his flatbread directly with his hands, he didn’t use chopsticks either.
The crispy flatbread crust was sprinkled with sesame seeds, with a thin, perfect layer of meat filling inside. One bite into it was crispy, soft, and tender, unexpectedly arousing a trace of hunger.
Just as Ning Buwei swallowed his first bite, Fang Wanchen across from him had already finished an entire flatbread. Seeing Ning Buwei looking at him, he smiled a bit embarrassedly, “I was too busy today to eat lunch, so I’m quite hungry. Please forgive me, Brother Chengfeng.”
Although Fang Wanchen ate quickly, he wasn’t crude. On the contrary, he was very refined, even making the meal more enjoyable. When the noodle soup arrived, Ning Buwei ordered another flatbread from the owner.
At the table next to them were two brothers. The younger one looked about six or seven years old and asked while eating his flatbread, “Brother, I heard the new county magistrate is going to the Ghost Village tomorrow. Can I go along to see?”
The young man next to him replied impatiently, “What business does a little brat like you have poking around in such matters? Be careful, or a female ghost might catch and eat you!”
The child retorted, “The county magistrate said there are no such things as ghosts in this world. The land in Ghost Village has been abandoned, and he wants to distribute it to poor people who have no land to farm! Everyone can go along to see!”
“What do you know? The previous magistrate also went to Ghost Village, and what happened? He died suddenly before his term ended. Not to mention, has anyone who’s gone to Ghost Village from the county ever come back intact? They either die or go mad! If you dare go, I’ll break your legs!” The young man irritably slapped the child’s head, “Shut up and eat! I shouldn’t have brought you out!”
Ning Buwei listened from the side and asked the young man, “What is this Ghost Village?”
The young man looked at him warily, then turned away without answering.
Ning Buwei wasn’t bothered and took another bite of his flatbread. Then he heard Fang Wanchen beside him say, “There’s no such thing as a Ghost Village, it’s just a small village that’s been abandoned for several hundred years, mythologized by the common people.”
Ning Buwei’s interest was piqued, “Is that village called Yuquan Village?”
“That’s right,” Fang Wanchen said, “But few people besides the locals know its original name. I only learned it from reading the county records.”
Perhaps feeling that Ning Buwei’s expression was too calm, Fang Wanchen seemed to assume he didn’t believe these rumors either, and became more talkative.
“…This Shuangjing County was famous for producing jade more than five hundred years ago, and was also called Jade County. Many people made their living by mining and selling jade. Yuquan Village was known for its jade craftsmen. Some works by the Pei family craftsmen from that time are still preserved in the imperial palace.
However, a great fire destroyed Yuquan Village back then. The village was close to the mountains and often had fatal incidents, and over time, absurd stories about it being a ‘ghost village’ spread.”
Fang Wanchen shook his head with a bitter smile, “Now the land around Yuquan Village is fertile, with many good fields, but because of these rumors, they’ve all become wasteland, which is truly a shame.”
Ning Buwei’s gaze paused, “The Pei family craftsmen?”
“Yuquan Village was an imperially bestowed name. Before that, it was called Pei Family Village, and everyone in the village had the surname Pei,” Fang Wanchen sighed, “The Pei family produced many jade craftsmen, but unfortunately, the fire ended the true inheritance of Pei family craftsmanship.”
Ning Buwei nodded, “I see.”
Fang Wanchen finished his last bite of flatbread and drank the remaining half bowl of soup clean. Seeing that Ning Buwei had also finished eating, he enthusiastically invited him, “It’s rare to have free time today. I plan to walk around the East District to digest. Does Brother Chengfeng have time?”
Ning Buwei glanced at the sky. It was still early before the Hour of the Xu, and he had come out to see the sights anyway, so he nodded in agreement.
As the lanterns were being lit, the two walked slowly along the riverside street, with shouts and laughter continuously around them. Fang Wanchen said, “Where is Brother Chengfeng from? Shuangjing County is so remote, and I observe that Brother Chengfeng has extraordinary bearing. What brings you here?”
“There’s war in the north, I came to visit relatives,” Ning Buwei fabricated, “And you?”
Fang Wanchen imitated his posture, hands behind his back, and smiled, “Take a guess.”
Noting his upright posture and the faint purple official aura surrounding him, along with what he had heard from passersby earlier, Ning Buwei said, “The new county magistrate?”
Fang Wanchen asked in surprise, “How did Brother Chengfeng know?”
Ning Buwei couldn’t very well say he could see auras, so he vaguely said, “Just a guess.”
Fang Wanchen was momentarily stunned, then laughed, “Brother Chengfeng is quite interesting.”
Ning Buwei tugged at the corner of his mouth and pointed to a jade pendant hanging at Fang’s waist, “Is this also a work from the Pei family craftsmen?”
Fang Wanchen looked down at the jade pendant at his waist and nodded, “To be honest, this is a jade pendant awarded by His Majesty during the palace examination. It’s said to be a work from the Pei family craftsmen of Yuquan from over five hundred years ago. Tomorrow I plan to take people to Yuquan, so I thought I’d wear it to match the occasion.”
Ning Buwei asked, “May I have a look?”
“Of course,” Fang Wanchen untied the jade pendant and handed it to him, smiling, “I feel a connection with Brother Chengfeng. If it weren’t an imperial gift, I would even give it to you.”
Ning Buwei tugged at the corner of his mouth, his gaze falling on the jade pendant.
Five hundred years ago, the same pattern was carved on the paperweight in his study.
The jade pendant was carved with the family emblem of the Ning family from the Seventeen States—the Nine-Leaf Lotus.
