193.1 – Invitation to Drink
“Oh, got it.”
Next, Xue Qilin took off the luggage and the short cloak, and then threw herself on the bed. As expected, the bed is soft and resilient. It feels like being half buried in a pile of feathers. For the la.s.s who hasn"t had a night of good sleep for the last several days, this is a supreme pleasure.
I"d really like to just fall asleep like this! With this thought in her mind, she kicked off her shoes, rolled on the bed for a while, and then finally lay spreadeagle on the bed. As 1for the cloak and luggage that she carelessly threw aside, Shui Yun"er tidied them up.
Before long, the maid brought a few handymen carrying hot water and bathing utensils.
After arranging the things according to Qi Qiqi"s instructions, they asked, “Esteemed guests, is there anything else we can do for you?” When they got “no” in reply, they quickly left the room silently, as if they had never been here in the first place.
“Mhm, the water is just right!”
Qi Qiqi, who dipped her hand into the water, nodded in satisfaction, and then turned to the sleepy Xue Qilin. She put her hands on her hips and asked unhappily, “Get up. Do you want to go first?”
Xue Qilin didn"t respond.
Ripples rose in the blurry bright yellow eyes and rocked indistinct emotions. While lying on the bed, she stared blankly at the ceiling.
“Qilin?”
Qi Qiqi called Xue Qilin softly.
Looking like she woke up abruptly from a dream, Xue Qilin propped herself up.
“Ah, you can go first! I"ll go find something to eat and –“
She got out of bed, hummed a melody out of tune, and walked to the door.
“"Reminisce" with someone.”
Reminisce, with whom? Qi Qiqi was taken aback for a moment.
When she snapped out of it, the door had already closed, blocking the sight of Xue Qilin"s pet.i.te figure.
Only the words she said still echoed in the room.
Sitting at a stone table in the courtyard house, Xue Qilin poured herself a cup of wine and drank it.
The seat opposite her is empty, yet there is a full wine cup placed in front of the empty seat.
The wine is the finest green bamboo leaf liquor she bought from the inn. As for the wine cups, she took them from the rented room.
Xue Qilin likes to drink a bit of wine from time to time.
In fact, she doesn"t really like wine, she just likes the feeling of being tipsy.
Whenever she floats in the ocean where drunkenness and soberness meet, she always feels like an inexplicable sense of happiness will arise spontaneously and her mood will get much better.
In particular, when she is troubled and in pain, she will take wine as a companion and seek the false happiness that you can encounter in a half drunk state.
Perhaps, the occasional self-deception has become Xue Qilin"s remedy to relieve her emotions.
But she doesn"t want to relieve her emotions today, she just wants to be in a good mood.
Well, she"s afraid that she won"t be able to help it but take action otherwise.
Because —
“So, are you not going to drink? I filled it up for you.”
Xue Qilin put down the wine cup in her hand.
She raised her brows and looked in a certain direction, and then carried on with dissatisfaction, “It"s fine if you don"t drink, but I don"t like being watched by others when drinking, especially by uninvited guests.”
— the response came slightly late.
By the time a sigh suddenly rose in the air, Xue Qilin had already drank two cups of wine.
“Uninvited guest…”
The moment the voice sounded, a man in a black robe emerged from a corner of the courtyard house that the afterglow of the setting sun couldn"t reach.
Xue Qilin glanced at the dark gold mask that the man wears to cover his face.
“I don"t like your mask, it"s too inelegant.” Xue Qilin wrinkled her nose, “Why use gold? It"s really tacky.”
As he approached, the man said in a flat tone, “In fact, this one doesn"t like it as well. It"s too stuffy wearing this mask. Whenever this one perspire from the face, this one has to take it off to wipe off the sweat.”
“Oh, then you shouldn"t wear it.”
Looking at Luo Hong, who is sitting opposite of her, Xue Qilin propped her face up with her hands idly.
“Don"t worry, no matter how handsome you are, I won"t be tempted.”
“This one knows that Lady Xue doesn"t has a good opinion of this one. Furthermore, this one"s appearance is nothing special.”
With that, Luo Hong picked up the wine cup full of wine in front of him and took a sip.
“Oh, you"re quite self-aware.” Xue Qilin raised a finger unhappily, “You have to pay for the wine.”
“Of course.”
Luo Hong took out some silver fragments from his sleeve and placed them on the stone table.
“Five taels should be enough.”
“Oh, so you"re quite rich? There are so many.”
Having said that, Xue Qilin still collected the silver fragments into her sleeve with nimble movements, fearing that the other party would go back on his word.
At this moment, apparently having sensed Shui Yun"er"s movement in the courtyard house, he looked through the crack of the half-open door. When she saw Luo Hong, she showed a slightly look of surprise, and then nodded at him as a greeting. Luo Hong nodded back.
Next, Shui Yun"er gave Xue Qilin a warning, saying, “Don"t drink too much.” And then retracted her head.
“That young lady should be Lady Xue"s disciple, right?”
“It eat at you if I don"t tell you, won"t it?”
Luo Hong"s gaze staggered slightly, as if saying — “really can"t deal with you”.
After shaking his head helplessly, he let out a sigh.
“Since Lady Xue invited me to drink, then this one will just get to the point.”
Xue Qilin glanced at the other party, and her eyes expressed the idea — “go ahead”.
“Frankly speaking, no matter how this one looks at it, Lady Xue looks more like a carefree child, than the Merak Temple"s Young Ancestor.”
“A carefree –“
Xue Qilin, who had just brought the wine cup to her lips, spoke with profound meaning and dragged out the last word.
“I don"t think you have good insight.”
“Perhaps.”
“Besides, you don"t need to mind me, right? I do whatever I like! After all, I am me!”
“– I am me…?”
As if he had eaten something difficult to swallow, Luo Hong ruminated these words thoughtfully.
“So, how come you dare come to me?”
Xue Qilin curled her mouth and stared at Luo Hong.
Her left cheek is slightly sunken, revealing a one-sided dimple filled with reddish color, her thin, pink lips are moistened by wine, looking like small petals moistened by dew.
But with this captivating appearance, —
“Aren"t you afraid…”
The bright yellow eyes are flickering with red radiance.
“… that I"ll kill you?”
Luo Hong, who had brought the wine cup to his lips, paused for a moment.
“It"s not whether I"m afraid or not.”
With that, he downed the wine in the wine cup.
“But whether I believe or not — I don"t believe that you will kill me. Even if you put your sword against my neck now, I won"t believe it.”
“You"re really funny!” Xue Qilin let out a laugh, “Why do you think that I won"t? You wouldn"t say something as ridiculous as "I trust you", right?”
“There is no trust between us to speak of.”
“You sure are self-aware.”
Luo Hong didn"t answer, but slowly raised his head and looked into the horizon.
The rising moon that had just half-emerged from behind the mountains is reflected in his black eyes, faintly looking like the reflection of the moon in a pool of snow thawed by the sun.
His face must be painted in melancholy right now.
Although his face is hidden behind the mask, but Xue Qilin still caught some clues from the other party"s eyes.
“… it"s just that I trust Qing.”
Luo Hong didn"t continue to call himself "this one", probably because he opened up a little.
As for hearing him mention Luo Qing [1], Xue Qilin faltered mid-action. She pressed the wine cup against her lips, silent.
[1] – Luo Qing, the female character who died in the 1st volume