BB | Chapter 12

We Truly Are the Most Affectionate Lovers in Heaven and Earth…

On the way to see the head of the Yun family, the servant leading the way and Shen Guanqi introduced him to Shen Canglan in turn.

The head of the Yun family was named Yun Fang. He had one wife, two concubines, and seven children. He was shrewd and smooth-talking, and especially skilled at business.

Seeing that Shen Canglan seemed very interested, the servant even told him about Yun Fang’s entrepreneurial adventures in his youth.

Shen Canglan asked, “You mean he took the five hundred thousand taels of silver his father gave him, bought cloth with it, and just happened to catch the year cloth prices went up, and then he became a rich man?”

The servant smiled and nodded.

Shen Canglan: “…”

Fine then.

With a mind as still as water, he said, “Ah, how truly thrilling.”

Li Yaochen covered his mouth with his fist, turned his head away and refused to look at Shen Canglan, his shoulders shaking.

Shen Canglan: “?”

He asked Li Yaochen, “Is our poverty really that funny?”

Li Yaochen’s shoulders shook even harder.

Shen Canglan sighed helplessly.

The servant looked from one to the other and said, “The two young Daoists are truly a sweet pair.”

Shen Canglan said, “We are not -”

He instinctively wanted to explain, but out of the corner of his eye he saw Li Yaochen glance at him.

Right.

He and Li Yaochen were still pretending to be dao companions.

Shen Canglan cleared his throat. “Ahem. We truly are the most loving dao companions in heaven and earth.”

Li Yaochen: “…”

Shen Guanqi’s mouth twitched twice, wearing an expression of utter frustration, like he had a stomach full of complaints he could not voice.

A flicker of confusion crossed the servant’s face, but he still smiled and said, “Oh.”

Had he believed it? Or not?

Shen Canglan was afraid they would be exposed, so after a pause he added, “Chen-ge and I get along very well.”

The servant: “Hmm?”

Shen Canglan added again, “We live in the same room.”

The servant: “I see.”

Shen Canglan added even more, “We talk a lot every day.”

The servant: “Is that so.”

Shen Canglan added yet again, “I’ve even seen Chen-ge taking off his clothes!”

Shen Guanqi: “…”

Was he listening to a storyteller in a teahouse right now? These two really were playing off each other well, one leading and one following.

He made a stop gesture at Shen Canglan. “Enough, shut up already.”

“Why?” Shen Canglan asked humbly. “Does that not sound affectionate enough?”

Shen Guanqi rolled his eyes so hard it was almost a complete rotation.

The servant led them a little farther, and at last Shen Canglan saw Yun Fang.

He was an elegant, gentle middle-aged man. There was some white at his temples, but it did nothing to diminish his handsome looks. Only, his brows were tightly furrowed, his face full of worry.

The moment he saw the three of them, he stood up at once from his chair and let his gaze sweep over Shen Canglan and Li Yaochen.

Then he said, “The two young friends have such good feelings for each other. Look, the tassel on Shen young friend’s sword is still hanging with Li young friend’s name, and the place where the sword hilt and tassel are joined already bears marks, giving it a seamless, natural look. I’m afraid it’s not just the tassel, but even this sword belongs to Li young friend, doesn’t it? Li young friend has been walking just behind and to the side of Shen young friend the whole time, clearly keeping watch for any unexpected change and protecting Shen young friend. And the undergarment Shen young friend is wearing here must also be Li young friend’s, right? The collar seems slightly too wide, and the stitching is not the pale yellow that Shen young friend usually wears, but the red that Li young friend usually wears.”

Shen Canglan: “…?”

All this Shen young friend and Li young friend talk, and he almost thought he was hearing a tongue twister.

And this man’s imagination was just too wild. He had worried all the way here about what would happen if their pretending to be dao companions with Li Yaochen was exposed, and yet this man had neatly filled in the logic on his own.

And also…

Shen Canglan lowered his head and pulled out the collar of his undergarment to look.

This clothing really was Li Yaochen’s??

Even he himself had not known!

He did not have the same storage space as Li Yaochen, so for convenience he had left some things for Li Yaochen to keep, including his clothes. This morning, Li Yaochen had casually taken a piece out of the storage sack and handed it to him. He had not looked and simply put it on, never expecting he had worn the wrong one. He had not noticed anything odd at all.

But since it was already wrong, then so be it. Shen Canglan did not mind, and he believed Li Yaochen would not mind either.

If needed, he could compensate Li Yaochen with a new one.

He turned and looked at Li Yaochen. Before he could speak, Li Yaochen, as if knowing what he wanted to say, waved him off. “It’s fine. If you wore it, you wore it.”

Yun Fang smiled and said, “Exactly. The two young friends are inseparable, mingling like water and milk, you in me and I in you.”

Shen Canglan: “…”

No.

That was too much, wasn’t it? Just where did he see such deep affection between him and Li Yaochen?

Even the senior brothers and senior sisters in Ailü Sect who were most obsessed with shipping couples would not go this far.

–

At the same time, the System in Li Yaochen’s mind made strange sounds of sucking in breath, letting it out, sucking in breath, letting it out, like a drowning person finally able to breathe.

Li Yaochen: “?”

He asked, “What’s wrong?”

The System said, [I’ve decided. I’m going to be best friends with Yun Yuan for the rest of my life. He’s so good at shipping.]

Li Yaochen: “…”

And he even claimed they would be best friends for life, yet he did not even know the man’s name was Yun Fang.

Their friendship really was as solid as iron.

Still –

Li Yaochen composed himself and studied Yun Fang carefully.

Of course this world was different from his own, but no matter how he looked at it, Yun Fang’s attitude toward them was far too attentive.

By his experience, nothing good usually followed.

Thinking this, Li Yaochen frowned slightly and stepped forward without a word, half-blocking Shen Canglan behind him.

He said to Yun Fang, “There’s no need for pleasantries. Just say what you need to say.”

Yun Fang paused, then slowly nodded.

He said, “To tell you the truth, I have a magic treasure that can hear other people’s thoughts.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Canglan, Li Yaochen, and Shen Guanqi all changed color.

“You’re eavesdropping on my thoughts?”

Shen Canglan looked at Yun Fang accusingly with an expression that said, “That really is not very nice of you.”

“Eavesdropping is a bit harsh… In truth, this magic treasure can only let me catch some key words.”

Yun Fang looked at Shen Canglan with helpless resignation. “And Young Friend Shen really does not need to be so nervous. I have tried reading your thoughts four times, and every time your head only had the word ‘cultivation’ in it.”

Shen Canglan: “…”

Yun Fang said, “Young Friend Shen is truly diligent.”

After being praised like that, Shen Canglan could no longer keep the accusing expression on his face. Embarrassed, he said, “Mm, I suppose so.”

Shen Guanqi couldn’t help poking his forehead. “So softhearted.”

Yun Fang smiled and had someone pour a cup of spiritual tea for each of them.

Spiritual tea contained spiritual energy and was useful for increasing cultivation.

Ye Xuezhu would occasionally drink spiritual tea too, but back then Shen Canglan had looked down on it, after all, there were so many other things he could eat.

But in the past half month, he had only eaten fasting pills with a truly vicious taste, and at this moment he actually developed wicked thoughts toward a cup of tea.

He reached out to take it, but halfway there, a hand suddenly pressed down on the back of his hand.

Shen Canglan turned his head. Li Yaochen gave him a slight shake of the head.

“Can’t drink it?” Shen Canglan asked in a low voice.

“It’s not that you can’t drink it.” Li Yaochen lowered his voice too, his warm breath brushing Shen Canglan’s ear. “I’m worried this cup is off. When out and about, you still have to keep an eye open.”

Shen Canglan let out an understanding oh.

He lowered his voice even more. “Lucky for me I have you, brother.”

Li Yaochen stretched his legs out and shifted into a more relaxed sitting posture, raising a hand to touch his own earlobe.

Shen Canglan’s hand, which had been reaching for the spiritual tea, returned to rest on his knee. He said to Yun Fang, “Please continue.”

Yun Fang said, “From Li young friend’s thoughts, I heard one word – underground palace.”

“My youngest son was taken by demonic creatures and trapped in a certain place. In the letter my youngest son sent back, he called that place the underground palace.”

Demonic creatures? An underground palace?

Could that be the place where the squirrel’s masterless demon lived?

Shen Canglan turned to look at Li Yaochen, and Li Yaochen furrowed his brows and gave a slight nod.

Shen Guanqi looked at the two of them from the side.

Li Yaochen asked, “You want us to bring your son back?”

Yun Fang sighed. “Yes. Those demonic creatures are extremely vicious. I have been sending people out in waves to search since two months ago, but none have returned. They were all detained.”

He said, “If the two young friends are willing to help me, I will surely offer a generous reward.”

Shen Canglan thought that Yun Fang was rather crafty.

If he and Li Yaochen failed to find his youngest son, or if they too failed to return like the others, then would he not be unable to get that generous reward?

He looked at Li Yaochen again, trying to convey his worry with his eyes.

Li Yaochen gave him a look that said, “You decide.”

So Shen Canglan said, “Fine. But half the reward must be paid first.”

He had thought this would be a difficult demand, but to his surprise Yun Fang agreed at once. “Very well.”

Yun Fang moved quickly and with decisive efficiency. Since Shen Canglan had agreed, he wasted no time and had people bring out a number of things.

From a portrait of his youngest son, to the appearance of the demonic creature that had taken him two months ago, to his youngest son’s letters, and even a rough map to the underground palace. It seemed these had all been prepared long ago, waiting only for Shen Canglan’s agreement.

Besides these, there was of course the promised reward as well, some spirit stones, magic treasures, and other items, piled together in a riot of colors, very pretty, very dazzling, very beautiful.

Pressing a hand to his suddenly racing heart, Shen Canglan said to Shen Guanqi, “Brother, this is the first time I’ve ever felt what it means for spring feelings to stir.”

Shen Guanqi glanced at him. “…How promising.”

However, with Yun Fang and his servant both present, Shen Canglan did not inspect the pile too closely. Instead, he said with feigned dignity to Li Yaochen, “Brother, trouble you to put all these little toys away first.”

Li Yaochen held back his laughter, putting on a grave expression as he stored everything in the storage space at his waist.

At the end, Yun Fang reminded them, “Even if you have to drag him back, fine. Bring my youngest son back to me.”

Shen Canglan asked a very practical question, “What if he does not want to come back?”

Yun Fang’s brows immediately knitted tightly together. “How could that be?! Leave the wealthiest man in Yunjian City and go stay in some backwater place like that? Unless there is something wrong with his brain!”

Shen Canglan said, “I mean if, if.”

After thinking for a long while, Yun Fang said, “Then I’ll have to trouble you to ask the demonic creature holding him captive to name its terms. Whatever they are, it will do.”

“Got it,” Shen Canglan said.

He had seen this move in storybooklets before. It was called, Give you five hundred thousand, leave my son.