After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

“I’ll go see why that dish still isn’t ready!”

Yu Qingtang tossed out a random excuse, slipped from the private room where the female cultivators were gathered, and let out a long breath against the corridor wall. He raised a hand to wipe away the cold sweat on his brow.

Then he pulled a plate of grilled meat from his sleeve.

He had taken it with him when he decided to sneak out.

Now that he was out, he had no intention of going back. He planned to find somewhere to eat grilled meat and watch the excitement. Once he was done, he could head downstairs to the open banquet and scrounge up more food while waiting for Ye Chenyan and the others to find him.

The plan was perfect.

But after only two steps, the door to the private room next door opened.

“Got it, got it. Karmic fire, karmic fire. Scholar Xiao, hold him down. I’ll go get some sobering pills.”

Ye Chenyan perfunctorily dealt with Chi Yantian’s drunken rambling and shut the door behind him.

Then he turned around and came face-to-face with Yu.

They both froze.

Ye’s gaze slowly dropped. One brow lifted as he looked at the grilled meat in Yu’s hands, and he laughed.

“Don’t tell me you carried off all the grilled meat from that table.”

“Of course not!” Yu denied it immediately. “I only took a little!”

Then he asked curiously, “What happened in there?”

Ye pointed behind him. “...Chi Yantian drank too much. The restaurant should have sobering pills. I’m going to get two.”

“You should keep some on hand in your room too.”

“Oh.” Yu nodded. “Then I’ll go get some with you.”

As they walked, Yu casually stuffed a piece of meat into his mouth.

Ye looked at him and could not help smiling.

With his mouth full of grilled meat, Yu looked baffled. “What are you laughing at?”

“Nothing.” Ye smiled and looked away.

Yu narrowed his eyes. Then he stepped forward and shoved a piece of meat into Ye’s mouth as well.

“Hm?” Ye’s eyes widened slightly. He hesitated before biting down on it, his gaze wavering. “W-What was that for?”

“You’re welcome.” Yu patted him on the shoulder. “Now you’re my accomplice too, so you’re not allowed to laugh.”

Ye shook his head with an amused smile and swallowed the meat.

“That’s not what I was laughing at.”

“I just thought... this scene feels familiar.”

He looked down with a faintly nostalgic smile.

“It reminded me of the peach grove behind Ten Thousand Immortals Pavilion. You did the same thing back then. You carried a plate of peach pastries and plunged straight into the grove.”

Yu stared at him in shock. “You still remember what kind of pastries I was holding?”

He had forgotten all about it himself!

“Mhm.” Ye looked at him deeply. “It left an impression.”

“Seeing it again now...”

Ye lifted a brow.

“You could say it’s been carved into my bones and engraved upon my heart.”

Yu guiltily looked away.

Ahem.

It was already carved into his bones now. Once Ye found out he was male, it had better not turn into bone-deep hatred.

Yu lowered his head and muttered softly, “Y-You don’t have to remember it that clearly. It’s fine to let some things get a little blurry.”

Ye was just about to speak when the door behind him swung open.

“Brother Ye! Oh?”

Scholar Xiao looked delighted when he spotted Yu.

“Miss Yu is here too! Come in, come in.”

Ye took a step back, putting some distance between himself and Yu again.

“We don’t need sobering pills anymore?”

“No need!” Scholar Xiao said with a grin. “Brother Chi has already fallen asleep. Better to let him sleep quietly than sober him up.”

“Oh, right, you two...”

He gave Ye a meaningful look and pointed toward the window, in the direction of Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.

Ye: “...”

His gaze wavered slightly.

“Ahem. Why not come in and sit for a while? We haven’t finished our grilled meat either.”

“Oh, I couldn’t possibly impose!” Yu said as his feet briskly carried him inside.

“Hey—” Scholar Xiao shot Ye a disappointed look and lowered his voice. “Brother Ye!”

Ye looked away and muttered, “He should eat his fill first.”

The three entered the room. Scholar Xiao seemed to come up with another idea and began pouring drink after drink down his throat.

After only a few cups of strong liquor, his face was flushed red. He waved his fan and raised a finger in solemn oath.

“One day, I will write a work that sells even better than my master’s Nine Provinces Beauty Ranking!”

Ye’s hand paused around his wine cup. He had clearly remembered something unpleasant.

Yu, chewing on grilled meat, casually said, “Then write a Nine Provinces Handsome Men Ranking.”

Crack.

Ye sat there in silence as the wine cup in his hand split apart.

Yu jumped. “Your cup broke! Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.” Ye slowly wiped his hand clean and gave Yu a deep look.

Yu looked entirely innocent. He clearly had no idea about the Nine Provinces Young Masters Ranking.

“You may not know this,” Scholar Xiao said, resting his head on one hand with a sigh, “but Four Books Academy did once prepare a Nine Provinces Young Masters Ranking. Before it could even be released, it nearly caused a catastrophe.”

He clicked his tongue and shook his head.

“Someone somehow leaked the manuscript while it was still being printed. The Peacock Demon King of Great Wilderness Mountain in Nanzhou heard that his name was not on the ranking and flew into a rage. He came charging all the way from Nanzhou!”

“Academy Head Wen dominates his territory,” Ye said coolly. “Surely he was not afraid.”

“If the Peacock Demon King had gone after my master, then of course he wouldn’t have been afraid.” Scholar Xiao gave a bitter smile. “But that Demon King was crafty. He also had no shame whatsoever for someone of his standing. He only targeted the students of Four Books Academy!”

Scholar Xiao covered his eyes, still traumatized by the memory.

“He stripped the male disciples of the inner school naked, hung them from the academy gate, and scrawled crooked words all over them—‘With faces like these, you think you deserve to compete in a beauty pageant?’”

Yu’s mouth fell open. He sucked in a sharp breath, then looked at Scholar Xiao sympathetically.

“D-Don’t tell me you were also...”

“Not me,” Scholar Xiao quickly clarified. “I hadn’t entered the inner school yet. At Four Books Academy, everyone starts in the outer school. You have to pass examination after examination to advance.”

“I ranked first all the way through before becoming Academy Head Wen’s personal disciple.”

Yu’s expression grew even more sympathetic.

“Ah? That’s awful...”

“Impressive, right?” Scholar Xiao looked intoxicated with his own accomplishments. “Ever since I became my master’s personal disciple, I haven’t had to take examinations anymore. I can no longer experience the joy of placing first every single time.”

He actually looked a little lonely.

Yu: “...”

My apologies. I spoke out of turn. I simply cannot understand the happiness of an academic overachiever.

“Ahem.” Ye’s expression was complicated. “So that book?”

“The Peacock Demon King said that for every Four Books Academy disciple’s dignity, he would move up one place on the ranking.” Scholar Xiao sighed. “But my master refused to compromise. He said the Demon King was too old. No matter how handsome he was, he did not belong on a Young Masters Ranking. Unless they opened an elderly supplement in the future...”

He clapped his hands with a sigh.

“That was when things really exploded.”

“The Peacock Demon King refused to admit he was old and challenged my master to a fight. Naturally, he lost. But he would not accept it. He said that unless my master killed him, he would take revenge on Four Books Academy’s students as long as he still had a breath left—unless they made him first on the Young Masters Ranking.”

Yu looked conflicted.

“...What an incredibly vain peacock.”

“In short, the Peacock Demon King ruined that publication.” Scholar Xiao sighed deeply. “My master made an agreement with him: as long as the Peacock Demon King remained alive, he would not release it.”

Ye frowned. “So in the end, you never published the Nine Provinces Young Masters Ranking?”

“We didn’t.” Scholar Xiao spoke with conviction. “Though some copies were printed. My master originally wanted to place them in the Four Books Library, but the other academy heads refused. They said it was too embarrassing.”

“Huh?” Yu furrowed his brow. “Because they were afraid the Peacock Demon King would cause trouble again?”

“Not that.” Scholar Xiao’s eyes were nearly closed. “It was because my master ranked himself first on the Young Masters Ranking. He even painted his own portrait. The other academy heads could not stand it.”

Yu: “...”

“Later, we selected a few longtime customers who always bought the Nine Provinces Beauty Ranking and quietly sent them copies.” Scholar Xiao clicked his tongue. “I wonder who got that lucky.”

The lucky Ye Chenyan crushed another wine cup.

“Then those few dozen copies of the Nine Provinces Young Masters Ranking became collector’s editions. I heard some of my master’s devotees offered tens of thousands of spirit stones for a single copy.” Scholar Xiao sighed. “I want one too. I wonder who was on it...”

Ye looked deeply at Yu.

Yu happened to be looking at him too.

Completely unaware of Ye’s inner turmoil, Yu leaned closer and asked with great curiosity, “Who do you think was on it?”

Ye only looked at him, then smiled.

“You.”

“Hah, how could that—”

Yu waved dismissively, then froze halfway through the motion. He stammered, “B-But that’s a Young Masters Ranking!”

“Oh.” Ye smiled calmly. “I mean, if you were male, you would definitely have been on it.”

“Oh!” Yu relaxed, then returned the compliment. “Then you definitely would have been on it too.”

Ye raised a brow, about to ask something else, when Scholar Xiao suddenly doubled over against the table.

“Oh no, Brother Ye! Miss Yu! You need to leave!”

Yu jumped. “What is it? Is the meat poisoned?”

“No...” Scholar Xiao said shakily. “I’m about to disgrace myself while drunk. I will make some rather unpresentable noises. Please excuse yourselves, blegh—”

Ye covered Yu’s eyes with one hand.

Then he sighed, as if finally making up his mind.

“I’ll take you somewhere.”

Yu asked curiously, “Where?”

“Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion.”

“Hm?” Yu lifted Ye’s hand slightly. His eyes gleamed through the gap between Ye’s fingers. “The Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion I’m thinking of?”

Ye raised a brow. “Which Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion are you thinking of?”

Yu grinned and lowered his voice.

“The one where the food is terrible, but the proprietor is ridiculously handsome!”

Ye: “...”

So it was that one!

Ye closed his eyes.

“We’re not going to eat.”

“I know.” Yu nodded in cooperation. “Their food is bad. We’re going to see whether the proprietor is really that handsome!”

Ye cut him off mercilessly. “Not that either.”

“...Anyway, come with me.”

He took Yu with him, leaping straight out the window. Rather than using the front entrance, they landed directly in Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion’s courtyard.

The maidservants in the courtyard did not even find it strange. One of them wore a foxlike smile as she asked, “Are you two here to ring the bell, or to eat?”

“Ringing the bell costs two hundred spirit stones per person. No refunds, whether it rings or not.”

She seemed utterly certain they could not possibly be here for the food.

Ye paid four hundred spirit stones. The maidservant accepted them smoothly and led the way.

“Understood. This way, please.”

Yu followed behind Ye in shock.

“What kind of bell costs that much to ring?”

His vision blurred as he stepped into a strange enclosed realm.

Red cords filled the sky, each strung with tiny silver bells. Pink-and-white peach blossoms drifted down from nowhere in soft flurries, yet the bells remained utterly silent.

The maidservant led them into the formation and pointed to its center with a smile.

“When you ring the bells, you must stand in the array eye. Face one another, with each of you standing before the wall of silver bells behind the other.”

Yu looked around with curiosity. The place had a mysterious atmosphere. The original novel had never mentioned it, and he had no idea what it was for.

The maidservant raised two red cords and tied one around Yu’s wrist and the other around Ye’s.

“That will do.” Her smile was clever. “You may ring the bells now, but my mistress has said this: if you use the Love-Listening Bell to ask about love, it is better to ask the person beside you than the bell.”

“Before asking the bell, say what you need to say to the person before you. Only then can you clear the clouds, see the moon, and recognize your own heart.”

She bowed deeply.

“May you both have your wishes fulfilled.”

With a graceful turn, she disappeared from the realm.

“Huh?” Yu looked puzzled, but then realized this was convenient. “No one will come disturb us here?”

“Mhm.” Ye answered, a complicated look appearing in his eyes. “No one will come, so...”

“Then that works perfectly.” Yu nodded, took out the Dragon-Crane Zither, and smiled at him. “I have something to tell you in a moment.”

“But before that... I thought it over. You’ve taken care of me all this way, so I should repay you at least once.”

He raised his eyes. His gaze was clear and free of distraction.

“With qin music to question your heart, I’ll help you form a Nascent Soul.”