Chapter 66
Bai Yang wanted to ask if there was an antidote, but he was worried that if he appeared too eager about the subject, it could be used against him. He attempted to casually broach the subject.
“Of course,” Long Hai replied.
He stepped forward. The distance between the two shrank until they were practically pressed against each other.
“Rebirth gu are extremely poisonous to the living, but to the dead, they can be a panacea.”
“Why is that?” In Bai Yang’s fascination, he failed to realize how close Long Hai was.
“Because the dead in our city rely on the worms to live. The power that the rebirth gu absorbs can allow anyone to move about,” Long Hai said.
To say it so casually, it was obvious that rebirth gu had originated from FireThorn City.
“Then, if a living person were infected with a gu, how would they go about removing it?”
“Only the City Lord knows how,” said Long Hai.
Bai Yang looked at the black-haired youth in front of him. He was leaning against the Demon King, smiling flirtatiously.
Bai Yang sighed internally.
The black-haired youth suddenly looked at him, revealing a strange smile.
Bai Yang felt some sudden shock.
The young City Lord turned his head away. He said something to the Demon King, causing him to frown, then nod.
The two left the round table.
Bai Yang wanted to follow them, only to be stopped by the Demon King: “No need.”
Bai Yang stopped in his tracks. He watched the backs of the Demon King and the black-haired boy disappear into the distance.
“Why don’t I take you to see FireThorn City,” Long Hai suggested.
Bai Yang, seeing the Demon King had already left with the FireThorn City Lord, felt that he couldn’t just sit around, waiting. After a moment’s thought, he agreed to Long Hai’s request.
He was extremely curious about the legendary FireThorn City. In the novel, this city was an untouchable, unapproachable existence. The citizens were all extremely powerful and capable people, while the wares for sale inside the city were bizarre.
Bai Yang wanted to know exactly what was so strange about this city.
Long Hai brought him for a stroll, before finally bringing him to the City Lord’s residence.
There were a few guards making their patrol around the residence. On seeing Long Hai, they rushed forward to pay their respects.
Bai Yang could confidently tell that they were living people.
Everyone had some peculiar markings drawn on their face. At a closer glance, it was apparent that the patterns weren’t drawn, but carved into the skin. But why?
Long Hai introduced Bai Yang to the guards and they immediately paid their respects to him as well.
Bai Yang nodded his head to express goodwill, then followed Long Hai into the residence.
The residence appeared to be an ordinary palace.
Bai Yang stepped inside and found the interior completely different than he had expected. As soon as he entered the door, it was as if he had stepped into a different dimension. Inside, there was a sea of dark green gra.s.sland with a huge lake visible in the distance. In the center of the lake was an extremely tall paG.o.da.
“This is where we live,” Long Hai introduced.
Bai Yang made a sound of surprise. He was about to walk onward when Long Hai stretched out a hand and stopped him. “Don’t go that way.”
Bai Yang turned around and turned his questioning gaze on Long Hai. Aren’t we going towards that paG.o.da?
Long Hai understood. He chuckled and explained, “This road isn’t something that ordinary people can imagine. If you were to walk straight toward it, you would have never even neared that paG.o.da.”
As he spoke, he neared Bai Yang and took Bai Yang’s hand in his.
Bai Yang hadn’t expected Long Hai to grab his hand. He shook off the grip.
This action was completely subconscious. After all, he was not familiar with Long Hai. If two girls were to just meet, holding hands could be excused, but they were two old men who had just met. In this case, it was a little scandalous.
Long Hai was startled before amus.e.m.e.nt emerged in his pitch-black eyes. “I didn’t have any other intentions. Master Xie, don’t misunderstand me. I just wanted to bring you to those paG.o.da.”
“…”
“Master Xie, you weren’t thinking anything else, were you?” Long Hai said, in an ambiguous tone. He tilted his head, letting his curly black hair flutter in the breeze, the strands reflecting the light with an intoxicating brilliance.
It had to be said that this was an extremely exotic man. It was difficult for most to resist his charm.
But Bai Yang had determined without a doubt that he was straight, and was definitely not affected by any of his charms at all.
Of course, his thoughts had gone there earlier. Being called out on it was embarra.s.sing.
Bai Yang coughed and changed the subject. “Then, Mr. Long, I’ll have to trouble you to take me there.”
Long Hai watched him for a while, before bursting into laughter. “Master Xie, you really are different from what the rumors say. How should I say it… you’re very cute.”
Cute?
To use something like ‘cute’ to describe the violent, tyrannical Xie Ze Tian?
Bai Yang stiffened his expression. “Master Long, please do not make fun of me.”
Long Hai’s smile disappeared. He said in a serious tone, “I’m not joking. Master Xie, I think that you really are very cute. You happen to be my type. Would you consider becoming my companion?”
Bai Yang: “…ah?”
Bai Yang was completely taken aback. It was the first time he’d met Long Hai, and they barely spoke, so how had it gotten to that so quickly?
“What did you just say?” Bai Yang asked, thinking that he had heard wrong.
Long Hai’s expression remained unperturbed. “I would like to invite Master Xie to become my companion.”
“Why?” The situation had spiralled into one beyond belief.
Long Hai smiled. “There aren’t many people living in FireThorn City, and we usually cannot leave for very long. It’s not easy to find a companion.”
Bai Yang was speechless. “Even if it’s not easy, you can’t just casually propose this to someone. We’ve only just met.”
Hearing the unhappiness in his tone, Long Hai’s smile became even more sincere. “Master Xie, do you really think that I’m joking? I’m extremely serious about this. Although we’ve only just met, I know that you’re suitable for me.”
Bai Yang could not understand at all. “Why?”
“There are several reasons,” Long Hai’s enunciation was neither too fast or too slow. “I touched you and found that your body is unique. Furthermore, you carry the Rebirth gu within your body, you are extremely powerful, and your cultivation is high, all of which are rare. As long as we dual cultivate a few times a month, you will be able to move freely between FireThorn City and the outside world.”
He paused, then continued on: “The second reason is simply because you are very cute. I like you a lot.”
Bai Yang looked into Long Hai’s dark eyes and found that his gaze was sincere, without the slightest bit of reservation.
Bai Yang: “…”
Long Hai not only looked like a foreigner, but he also had the att.i.tude as one. He was pa.s.sionate and unrestrained. It was the first time they met and yet he was proposing marriage. Were they to move to the bedroom the second meeting?
Bai Yang was speechless. At first, he’d thought Long Hai was joking, and so he was a little angry. However, seeing his expression now, Bai Yang felt that Long Hai might really have meant what he said. The rage in his heart dissipated like smoke.
Since he had come to ask for a favor, it would be in poor taste to disrespect the other party, Bai Yang thought for a moment before seriously saying, “I’m sorry, but your proposal was too presumptuous. Right now, I don’t have any intention of coupling with someone else.”
Long Hai was visibly disappointed. His pitch-black eyes blinked. “Could it be that the Master already has someone he likes?”
Hearing these words, Bai Yang’s mind—for no reason—suddenly flashed to a certain person’s silhouette. He slapped the figure out of his thoughts before solemnly saying, “No.”
Long Hai blinked again. “Then I hope that Master Xie will consider me. I promise that we are compatible.”
Bai Yang mechanically laughed, before pulling out his “friendzone” card. “You’re a good friend. Let’s talk about this later.”
Who would have thought that Long Hai didn’t understand the concept of a “friend” and seemed delighted. “Alright. I hope Master Xie can properly consider my offer.”
Bai Yang had not come to be courted by Long Hai. It was awkward, so he abruptly changed the subject. “Let’s go to the white paG.o.da, then.”
“Okay.” This time, Long Hai did not have any objections. He happily grabbed Bai Yang’s hands and led him to the white paG.o.da.
Bai Yang resisted the urge to shake off Long Hai’s hand. Long Hai had confessed to him, but if Bai Yang acted repulsed, it could humiliate them both. It was better to behave naturally.
He didn’t know if Long Hai would understand his intentions. As he pulled Bai Yang down the road, Long Hai continued to introduce Bai Yang to everything they pa.s.sed.
That paG.o.da was just as Long Hai had said. Though it appeared to be close, it was extremely far away. Bai Yang was led by Long Hai for a long time, and yet they had still not arrived.
Eventually they pa.s.sed a flower garden. It was full of all kinds of flowers and plants. In the middle was a small plot of land, empty but for a single tree about as tall as a human.
Bai Yang noticed the tree because it had no leaves. Instead, it was covered with flowers and fruit. The fruits were as red as a cherry and as bright as a crystal, and exuded an exotic fragrance.
Seeing Bai Yang’s attention turn to the tree, Long Hai introduced it: “This is the Mumu fruit.”
“Mumu fruit?” Bai Yang echoed. He felt surprised. “I’ve never heard that name before.”
Xie Ze Tian, as one of the four princes of the Demon Realm, had extensive knowledge of the world. There were few things that he did not know of, and yet, in his memory, there was no such thing as the Mumu Fruit, or a tree of this shape.
“This fruit is extremely interesting,” said Long Hai. “In all of FireThorn City, this is the only one. If the fruit of this tree is consumed, its user’s blood and smell will be compatible with any species of animal. Many people will use this fruit to domesticate wild beasts.”
“Domesticating wild beasts?”
“Yes. First, you would find the cub of a high-level wild beast, then consume the fruit. The cub would believe you to be its mother and follow you.”
Bai Yang made a sound of surprise. “That is indeed interesting.”
The Demon Continent was immense. There were some extremely desolate places where only high-level, powerful demonic beasts lived. If one wanted to tame them, there would be countless casualties and injuries occurring in the process.
However, if one had the Mumu fruit, they could tame a cub with little effort.
“Do you want it? I can give you one,” Long Hai said.
Bai Yang’s eyes widened. “Could you?”
Long Hai smiled. “You are our distinguished guest. Of course you can have one. The Mumu fruit is valuable, but it isn’t terribly rare. See, this tree has so many fruits. Even if you were to take a few, it wouldn’t matter.”
Long Hai walked through the gra.s.s to the tree, picked from a few branches and gave them to Bai Yang.
Bai Yang stared at the fruit in his hand, which looked like a pile of large cherries. He had an urge to take a bite.
“Can people eat this fruit?” he couldn’t help but ask.
Long Hai smiled. “Yes, there’s no problem.”
Bai Yang grabbed one and examined it before placing it into his qiankun bag.
He considered looking for an opportunity to find a beast to try it out on. There was a demonic wolf that lived inside the Demon King’s palace. The wolf was intelligent and had a ferocious temperament. If one were to ride on its back, it would be an incredible sight. Bai Yang had always longed to do that, and also wanted to possess a high-level demon of his own.
As the two chatted, they arrived at the white pavilion.