According to Qingran "That…. If you don"t mind, change into my clothes."
An Junyue looked at the empty-handed person before him. He seemed to not have any belongings with him. From his cart"s compartment, he took out his set of clothes and handed it to him. An Junyue"s clothes were all light-colored, mostly white and green. The one he gave to Liu Li was white.
An Junyue noticed that he accepted them without saying anything, so he lowered his head and continued to clean up the toddler.
Liu Li pondered and decided to change into it. He simply just couldn"t conjure a new set of clothes in front of him.
"Just completely strip off everything. They"re tattered anyway."
After hearing An Junyue"s low voice, Liu Li"s hand froze. He then realized that he was talking about the toddler. Liu Li looked at the one before him, his thoughts wandering. He had never met anyone who was completely unaffected by a fox spirit"s natural seduction. But his body didn"t emit any other aura either….
He swiftly changed in front of him. Seeing that An Junyue still had no reaction, calm as usual, Liu Li"s mood was lifted. He was used to seeing humans and other creatures reveal their dirty desires before him. All of a sudden, he had just met someone who was able to get along with him peacefully. It was a nice feeling.
An Junyue didn"t know what Liu Li was thinking. He didn"t care. He delicately removed the toddler"s filthy clothes, tossed them to the side, and then wiped his entire body clean with another towel. Afterwards, he wrapped the naked little child with a blanket.
He then took off his outer robe. Earlier, An Junyue was taking care of the toddler so he hadn"t noticed, but now the soiled clothing made him feel uncomfortable. He decided on a light green long robe. When he was ready, he turned to look at Liu Li.
An Junyue didn"t like elaborate, complicated clothing so all he wore was an inner set and an outer robe. Liu Li was even simpler. He had skipped over his inner shirt, only wore his long pants and outer robe, and casually tied the sash around his waist. His collar was a bit loose, revealing his pretty collar bone and his fair skin. The white robe only further complimented Liu Li"s charming nature and also created a touch of ethereal air around him. Liu Li paid no heed to his appearance but neither did An Junyue who was used to the revealing styles of modern men.
“What"s this?”
Liu Li picked up a piece of jade that he found in the toddler"s pile of dirty clothes.
“Qingran… Year 57 of Shuo, September 11.”
“That"s his name and date of birth.”
An Junyue recalled from memory the book that he had read earlier. Prominent families would give their child a small ornament for good luck, usually jade. This was a custom here.
“It"s Year 59, March. He"s one and a half years old.”
“Anyway, my name is Liu Li. And you?”
Liu Li was curious about this person. Wasn"t he a scholar? Didn"t know that he was supposed to state his name? This was human courtesy.
“An Junyue.”
An Junyue faintly smiled and said nothing more.
“Mama…. Mama….”
Qingran who had been ignored grew unhappy. He wriggled his little body and crawled out of the blanket.
“Don"t call me Mama!”
Seeing Qingran crawl towards him, Liu Li moved to An Junyue"s side and pushed him over.
“Don"t come here! I"m not going to hold you!”
An Junyue was surprised at Liu Li"s sudden contact. He wasn"t used to people touching him, but Liu Li had only slightly shoved him so An Junyue didn"t feel any discomfort.
He picked up Qingran with the blanket and noticed that he really wanted to be closer to Liu Li. He suddenly had come to an understanding. It seemed that this child and that person were tied together by the string of fate and that he and this toddler were not destined to be master and student after all….
“You"d better hold him. Otherwise, he"ll cry again.”
“This sucks! Why must he keep calling me Mama?!”
Liu Li angrily received Qingran in his arms, trying with all his might to rescue his hair from the toddler"s clutch.
“Why doesn"t he call you Mama and me Papa?!!”
“Because you"re prettier.”
An Junyue said this naturally. Of those so-called pretty girls whom he had seen, Liu Li was more beautiful. He was just being honest.
Liu Li blinked his large eyes while looking at An Junyue. What did he mean?
Saying such a teasing phrase….
But his face was serious. He probably was just stating the obvious.
Liu Li thought that An Junyue was a very strange person. Was he really human?
“Papa….”
Unhappy that he was ignored again, Qingran pulled his Mama"s hair with one hand and reached out to Papa with the other.
An Junyue looked at Qingran and hesitated. He then placed his finger in Qingran"s little waving hand. Seeing his stubby hand struggling to grip his entire finger, An Junyue lightly smiled. This child and he had some chemistry after all.
An Junyue noticed that Liu Li actually liked Qingran. If not, he wouldn"t have such a hot temper around him.
Why not help them then? An Junyue"s cultivation method was all about harmonizing with nature. He decided to do just that.
“This place isn"t far from Beiquan City. If Liu Li you don"t mind, how about I escort the two of you there? I can also take care of Qingran along the way.”
Liu Li looked at the brightly smiling little guy in his arms. He helplessly smiled back. After all, he was the one who had picked him up. The little guy needed him. Even if he was a human child….
Fine. Just nurture him for now.
“Then, An Gongzi, I"ll be in your care.”
An Junyue smiled warmly. He got out of the room and closed the door. Grabbing the reins and directing the horse cart, they headed for Beiquan.
They finally entered the city. Beiquan was big because its location was right along a major trade route; therefore, it was very prosperous. Although, along the way, there were many people who had noticed An Junyue"s appearance, they were being much more natural and polite. He asked for directions to the city"s largest Yongquan Mountain Villa and then drove south.
Yongquan Mountain Villa was an enormous inn. A large living quarter occupied most of the area with courtyards of various sizes and prices. This was the recommended go-to stay for traders and travelers.
An Junyue drove all the way to the villa entrance. A server quickly came and helped him. He noticed that the inn had a lot of people. Not wanting to draw attention, he signaled to the server to book him a quiet and polished small house.
Just then, Qingran"s cries echoed from within the cart. Suddenly, the doors opened and Liu Li embarra.s.singly smiled. In his arms was Qingran wriggling out of his blanket and frantically waving his hands, crying miserably. Liu Li mumbled to An Junyue.
“It"s nothing. I just wanted to lightly pinch his face while he was sleeping.”
“Waah…. Papa…. Waah….”
Qingran didn"t give any chances to Liu Li and struggled fiercely, wanting An Junyue to carry him.
“Go back inside first. After I take care of everything, then we"ll talk.”
An Junyue looked at them and gently smiled. Qingran"s fair little face had two bright red fingerprints. An Junyue knew that Liu Li"s “light” pinch wasn"t so light after all.
“Oh….”
Liu Li complied, returned back to the cart with Qingran still in his arms, and closed the door. He sat on the quilt and then doubted himself. How could he have so easily listened to a human"s orders? And one he had just met…. Was it because he seemed mature?
Frustrated, he held the continuously struggling Qingran and began to angrily rub his little face.
“It"s all because of you that I got laughed at….”
Qingran"s response was louder sounds of cries. Liu Li guilty hugged him tighter and cooed.
From outside, An Junyue heard Qingran cried louder. Liu Li probably bullied him again. He lightly chuckled a bit.
Liu Li, this person, was such a big child.
“Gongzi, your mistress is beautiful! Your little gongzi is also very charming.”
The young server looked at the closed cart door, his face blushing. He then sighed in admiration and smiled at An Junyue.
“It"s true! Gongzi, you complement each other.”
….
The guests were minding their own businesses when An Junyue suddenly became the focal point.
“Ah…. Thanks. Please take us to our house. The child is still crying.”
An Junyue didn"t know what to say and he was not interested in explaining himself to these people. He just wanted to disappear.
“Yes yes! I"ll take Gongzi over right now!”
The server responded quickly and guided the horse cart and An Junyue towards a side door.
An Junyue politely smiled at those who were staring at them and then followed the server out.