Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Dream

No one paid attention to what was happening between Bai and Mei. Indeed, the distance between them was a bit too close, but it was the New Year!

People were huddled together, linking arms, laughing and calling out things like, “Senior Brother, tomorrow let’s spar on the mountain,” or “Senior Sister, I want to ask you about a technique.” There were no few such people.

Everyone was standing so close.

Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan were just two among them. Even if someone turned their gaze, they would only think with a dazed mind: “Brother Bai isn’t from Tianshan, but his temperament really matches ours! I’ve decided—when I travel the Jianghu, I want to meet such good friends too!”

And as they thought, they would be distracted by other noises nearby.

Someone laughed loudly: “Good wine! Good wine!”

Someone cried: “The third form of our sect’s palm technique is so difficult! I’ve been learning for two years and still can’t control the internal force as the manual from the Patriarch says!”

All these voices mixed together, even a few masters became mentally absorbed. Ling Yunzi was staring blankly, asking the two senior brothers beside her: “Why did they do such things? They spared Yinghan, so I don’t think any of our disciples will get involved. But when I went to the Zhao family, hearing from the townspeople about the number of people who go missing on the mountain each year really frightened me.”

She felt heartache just thinking about it. Ling Xiaozhi and Ling Bozi, upon hearing this, also felt unspeakable emotions.

Finally, the three clinked their cups together. Ling Bozi smiled bitterly: “If only Master were still here…”

The other two paused, quietly and wistfully thinking: “Yes, if Master were still here, this wouldn’t have happened.”

Sadly, it was an impossible fantasy.

The masters had no choice but to drink the bitter wine while their disciples celebrated happily. Occasionally, if a disciple came over, they had to act cheerful so as not to worry them.

Time passed this way. By the deeper night, some disciples had already collapsed on the tables, snoring loudly. Others dragged their close juniors or seniors, first calling for drinks in a daze, then realizing something, staggering as they lifted them, informing the masters, and took them back to rest.

If the range were broadened, Mei Yinghan would also count as one of them.

It had been a long time since he had withdrawn his hand from the space between his and Bai Zhengliu’s lips, yet his mind still lingered on Bai’s previous expression.

The knife master looked at him in confusion, as if he could not understand why a mouth that should have been soft had become… not hard, warm, dry, yet resting against the calloused palm.

He even pursed his lips slightly.

For Mei Yinghan, that motion made his palm tingle faintly and densely, as if tiny sparks had ignited, ready to burst into fireworks if he weren’t careful.

But Mei Yinghan would never be “not careful.”

He was the most reliable senior brother. In the past, he had been responsible for carrying drunk juniors and sisters back to their rooms. Now, taking up the heavy responsibility, when he saw Bai Zhengliu’s head slowly tilting, he prepared himself mentally, stepped forward, supported him, and said softly: “Brother Bai, I’ll take you back to the room to rest.”What, you say he doesn’t look very drunk?

—Of course, after realizing he had nearly kissed Bai Zhengliu, Mei Yinghan’s mind jolted awake, sobering him up.

Naturally, the physiological effects of the alcohol were still present. His steps were not as steady as usual, and his hands lacked the strength they had when sober. If he were to perform sword techniques now, the graceful swiftness of Tianshan swordsmanship would be hard to see. But for simply “taking someone back to their room,” it was still doable.

This was exactly what Mei Yinghan was about to do.

Bai Zhengliu trusted him completely. Upon hearing his voice, he merely twitched his eyelids and murmured “Mm,” without any other movement.

The thought “Brother Bai really… feels this way about me” made Mei Yinghan’s heart heat up. But the more that happened, the gentler and more respectful his movements became. Aside from the necessary physical contact to support Bai Zhengliu, he didn’t touch him anywhere else. Even after bringing him back to the room, he only helped the knife master remove his shoes and loosen his belt, hoping Bai Zhengliu would be more comfortable sleeping. Nothing more.

Yes, really nothing more. After all, things like “heat water and use a hot towel to wipe the knife master’s face and hands,” “carefully check doors and windows to ensure the knife master isn’t chilled by the night wind,” or “arrange the Twenty-Eight Generals so they’re in familiar, easy-to-reach spots for Bai Zhengliu”—these are just ‘details.’ Need they be specially mentioned?

After these, Mei Yinghan left.

Bai Zhengliu didn’t know where he went.

He just closed his eyes and, with his hazy thoughts, muddled along, thinking: “Yes, this is Brother Mei…”

Yes. He was truly drunk, and he genuinely liked Tianshan, believing there was no danger or trouble here. But Bai Zhengliu was still the wandering Jianghu youth who had set out alone at a young age.

He would definitely draw a line in his mind, preserving the last thread of clarity.

At other times, this clarity might save his life. But now, it only let him see what Mei Yinghan would do after he “collapsed drunk and unconscious.”

Now, Bai Zhengliu knew the answer.

And he didn’t know that his current feeling could be called “gratitude and affection.”

Even though they were both drunk, even though they were both in Tianshan;

He was Mei Yinghan. The upright gentleman, the clear breeze and bright moon, the Tianshan senior brother.

He wouldn’t do the same thing as Fu Ming, wouldn’t take the person next to him as the shadow of a beloved just because of “drunkenness,” and wouldn’t…

His thoughts grew hazy, and Bai Zhengliu slept peacefully.

…

…He continued a thought from before in his dream.

What if, from the very beginning, the person he had met had been Mei Yinghan?

Kicking “Fu Ming” and “Gu Miao” out of their past, leaving only the knife master and the sword master.

They would still have met because of the Blood Demon calamity, maybe even earlier.

They were naturally compatible; with or without Fu Ming and Gu Miao, they would have been partners when facing the Blood Demon. When it was all over, Bai Zhengliu thought, Mei Yinghan would probably still have invited him to Tianshan.

At that time, how would they get along?

They would wake up in the morning and gesture at each other, then Brother Mei would show him the snowy mountain scenery. After that, it would be time for lunch. They’d fill their stomachs and rest a bit. Then he might follow Brother Mei around, learning about what Tianshan disciples normally did.

Training their martial skills would, of course, be essential, but beyond that, Tianshan disciples had many “miscellaneous tasks” to handle. For instance, cooking—they didn’t hire a cook like some sects did, but instead scheduled everyone in Tianshan to take turns in the kitchen. Oh, not just the disciples; a few senior disciples were included as well.

If a house got damaged by snow, someone had to repair it. If something was missing in the sect, money would be spent to buy it. Where the money came from? Judging from how Tianshan bought snow lotuses from Zhao Da, it was fairly easy to guess.

One major income source was selling snow lotuses collected from lotus gatherers, combined with those found by their own disciples, in Central China.

This business was always managed by Ling Xiaozi, who offered fair prices. At first, some lotus gatherers chose merchants from outside to sell their goods. But after a few incidents of merchant fraud, nitpicking, and bargaining, the townsfolk inevitably leaned toward Tianshan.

Although the prices weren’t as high as what outside merchants offered, in the end, the money they received and could safely spend was much more.

The gatherers felt they had no reason not to work with such a reliable buyer.

Besides using martial skills to protect the townsfolk and always helping them, this was another reason nearby townsfolk accepted and respected Tianshan disciples.

In the dream, Bai Zhengliu thought with a funny, strange feeling: having stayed at Tianshan so long, the townsfolk must recognize my face, seeing me every day with Tianshan disciples—would they think I was originally one of them? …Not a bad misunderstanding, just a little laughable.

But “staying together with Brother Mei every day” was, without a doubt, certain.

Bai Zhengliu was confident that this would let him live a very relaxed and joyful life. The only hesitation was that, even if they were in Tianshan, the evil deeds of Chang Laoye and Lady Meng would not stop because of them. And even if he didn’t meet them, the Jun family brothers would sooner or later learn about the Tan family and enter it, right?

It wasn’t Bai Zhengliu being arrogant. But in truth, the group’s escape from the Tan family was thanks to him, the Twenty-Eight Generals, and, of course, the indispensable expensive jade hairpin. Among these three… well, even if you removed him, without the Twenty-Eight Generals, those trapped would have inevitably lost.

Thinking this way, his restless thoughts faded, replaced by relief that “things are turning out well enough as they are.”

Bai Zhengliu’s mind became even more muddled. He drifted into a stretch of sweet black sleep and seemed to have other dreams after that.

Unknowingly, the night passed like this.

The next day, Bai Zhengliu woke up neither early nor late. Opening his eyes, he felt that he had slept quite comfortably.Just as he was feeling comfortable, memories of last night started to return bit by bit. At first, it was fine, even when Mei Yinghan moved close to him and sparks flew in their eyes—they could still think it through. But later, he actually grabbed Brother Mei’s collar, and then was stopped by Brother Mei.

“Really…”

Bai Zhengliu covered his face, feeling utterly unable to look.

Author’s note:

Here it comes!

Today I dreamed about a Jiang story with a seemingly very interesting setup.

Although I don’t remember any of the details (…), the sense of “interesting” still remains.

So curious!!