After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

At those words, the rabbit demon looked toward Canglang. He had no idea what an allergy was, but that did not stop him from understanding that he should choose the easiest target.

Canglang forced himself to remain calm and gave a cold laugh. “I don’t—”

The rabbit demon had already sidled up beside him and bent down to pour his wine. Suddenly, he stumbled with a little cry of “Oh!” and spilled the wine all over Canglang.

“Ah...” Looking as though he was about to cry, the rabbit demon hurriedly reached out to wipe him down. His palm slid from Canglang’s chest all the way downward. “Please don’t blame me, honored guest. It was all my fault...”

“Whoa—” Yu Qingtang nearly started cheering, but quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.

So this trick really is universal across time and cultures!

On second thought, perhaps it was not quite so universal.

Maybe dog Xiaosa simply liked it.

Canglang paled in alarm. Unable to maintain his calm facade any longer, he shot to his feet, face flushing crimson as he barked, “Y-you, stop! Don’t touch me there!”

He had nearly let out an eagle screech from the fright.

The rabbit demon lowered his head, looking delicate and pitiful. In the eyes hidden from everyone’s view, however, a trace of mockery flashed past.

With downcast eyes, he poured another cup of wine with trembling fingers and offered it to Canglang. “Please forgive me, honored guest. If anyone else learns what happened, they’ll beat me to death!”

He smiled ingratiatingly, his gaze flowing seductively as he leaned against Canglang’s leg. “Drink this cup, Young Master, and forgive me...”

Here it came!

Everyone’s spirits lifted. Chi Yantian instinctively sat up straight, only for Scholar Xiao to rap him once. He immediately forced himself to relax and sat back again, his entire body tense.

Canglang narrowed his eyes and stared at the cup in the rabbit demon’s hand without speaking.

The rabbit demon raised his eyes. From this angle, he looked particularly helpless and pitiable. “This wine is our apology for neglecting our honored guests. It is a strong liquor greatly beloved by the demonfolk. Won’t you taste it, Young Master?”

Canglang gave a cold laugh, swept his robes aside, and sat down again. Resting one arm on his knee, he looked down at the rabbit demon from above. “Very well.”

Only then did the rabbit demon smile and offer him the cup.

Canglang took hold of it—but he also pressed down on the rabbit demon’s hand and pushed the wine back toward his lips. His gaze was cold. “Since this is an apology, you drink the first cup.”

The rabbit demon’s smile stiffened for an instant.

He pretended to be frightened. “This wine belongs to our honored guest. How could I dare...”

“When an honored guest orders you to drink, you dare refuse?” Canglang narrowed his eyes. “In that case, summon your master.”

“I’ll drink!” Gritting his teeth, the rabbit demon tightened his grip around the cup. This time, his hand truly was trembling.

He abruptly tilted back his head and downed the wine in one gulp. Then he quickly poured another cup, struggled to maintain his smile, and held it out to Canglang. “Young Master...”

Canglang remained unmoved, his eyes utterly merciless. “Again.”

The rabbit demon’s fingers tightened around the cup. “Young Master, I cannot hold my liquor. Another cup and I’ll become drunk.”

Canglang gave a cold laugh. “That is precisely what I want.”

“Drink!”

The rabbit demon lowered his head and pressed his lips together hard for a moment. Still, he suppressed the viciousness rising between his brows and raised the cup to his mouth again.

This time, however, he silently poured the wine onto his sleeve.

Canglang narrowed his eyes. “Do you look down upon the Goshawk clan so much that you dare play tricks right under my nose?”

The rabbit demon froze mid-pour.

His eyes narrowed. Finally unable to endure any longer, he exploded into motion and hurled the wine cup at Canglang’s face.

“You feathered beast! I’ve put up with you long en—”

He appeared to reach into his sleeve for an artifact, but the others had been watching closely for precisely such a move. The moment they saw it, Ye Chenyan, Chi Yantian, Scholar Xiao, and Canglang struck one after another.

The rabbit demon took four consecutive blows to the wrist, cried out in pain, and promptly fainted.

Yu Qingtang was half a beat too slow. By the time he reacted, their opponent was already lying neatly on the floor.

“...You truly don’t know how to treat a delicate beauty gently.”

Ye Chenyan tilted his head. “What expression is that? I’ve never heard it before.”

Canglang rolled his eyes. “He is clearly one of the auction house’s minor bosses. Anyone who showed him tenderness would merely fall into his trap.”

Chi Yantian nodded in agreement and folded his arms with perfect confidence. “He didn’t smell like a good person.”

Scholar Xiao merely smiled and waved his folding fan. “Had I known all of you would strike, there would have been no need for me to add my own blow.”

“But now...”

He looked toward Canglang.

Yu Qingtang shook his head with a series of disappointed clicks of his tongue. “Brother Little Bird, why couldn’t you keep your composure? Weren’t we supposed to turn his scheme against him? Why did you change the script halfway through?”

“Hmph.” Canglang turned his head aside. “Had we continued with the plan, we might have learned something about the auction house, but all of us would have needed to pretend the drug had knocked us unconscious. How were we supposed to buy anything afterward?”

“That makes sense!” Chi Yantian immediately agreed. “The ore is more important.”

Yu Qingtang leaned toward Scholar Xiao’s ear. “That sounds like an excuse he made up on the spot. He definitely panicked just now...”

Scholar Xiao gave a quiet laugh and concealed his mouth behind his folding fan. “Shh, Brother Yu. Leave Brother Little Bird a little dignity.”

“Who is your Brother Little Bird?” Canglang glared at them. “Our goals merely happen to align, so I am temporarily traveling with you. Don’t treat me as though I belong to your group!”

Yu Qingtang clutched his chest in feigned sorrow. “That’s so cruel, Brother Little Bird. You’ve broken my heart.”

“We’ve all done bad things together. Doesn’t that make us good friends?”

Laughter flashed through Ye Chenyan’s eyes. He nodded in support. “Truly heartless.”

Canglang: “...”

Scholar Xiao was about to speak when Yu Qingtang heard a faint sound outside the door first.

“Someone’s coming!”

Everyone turned toward the rabbit demon lying on the floor. An unnatural flush had spread across his face after he fainted, making it obvious that something had been added to the wine.

It would be difficult to hide him now and explain his disappearance. It would be better to stage something...

Scholar Xiao snapped his folding fan against his palm. “Brother Little Bird, hold him!”

“What?” Canglang was so shocked that his wings spread slightly. “I...”

“They’re getting closer!” Yu Qingtang urged them. “Hurry!”

Without another word, Scholar Xiao pulled the rabbit demon upright and shoved him into Canglang’s arms.

Canglang recoiled in fright and immediately pushed him away, stuffing him into Chi Yantian’s arms instead.

“Huh? I can’t act this out!” Chi Yantian’s eyes widened. With one sweep of his arm, he sent the rabbit demon collapsing against Flamelet.

Flamelet slowly raised its head.

Chi Yantian hurriedly stopped it. “Don’t shake him off yet!”

Yu Qingtang: “...”

Were they playing hot potato?

Were they bullying Flamelet because it had no hands?

The person outside had already reached the door handle. A flash of inspiration struck Yu Qingtang, and he whispered urgently to Chi Yantian, “Grab his chin!”

Chi Yantian instinctively obeyed.

He had no experience with this sort of thing. Holding the rabbit demon’s chin between two fingers, he could not decide whether he ought to crouch down or remain frozen in his awkward half-squat.

Someone knocked again from outside.

“Pardon the interruption, honored guests.”

The door silently opened, and the newcomer stepped into the room. Chi Yantian’s entire body went rigid. He did not dare move an inch.

“What is it now?” Canglang demanded impatiently.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man dressed like a guard—the same man who had addressed the rabbit demon as “Brother Xue” outside.

He glanced at the rabbit demon, whose body was mostly concealed by Chi Yantian, but did not dare look too closely. Bracing himself, he said, “Xuerong has been inside for too long without returning. The supervisor sent me to check...”

That was complete nonsense.

Xuerong himself was the supervisor.

He had gone inside with the wine quite some time ago, yet there had been no movement from the room. The others outside had grown increasingly uneasy, and finally urged this guard to come in and investigate.

Seeing that no one in the room appeared drugged, the guard inevitably became suspicious. Summoning his courage, he addressed Xuerong.

“You clumsy fool! Did you upset our honored guests again?”

Chi Yantian still did not dare move.

The rabbit demon was already unconscious. If he failed to answer now, their deception would likely fall apart...

They had already come this far.

His ore!

Chi Yantian was so anxious that sweat nearly broke out across his forehead.

Then he suddenly heard Xuerong speak.

“I was clumsy and upset our honored guests.”

Chi Yantian almost made a sound of confusion.

He was holding the rabbit demon’s chin in his fingers. Xuerong was plainly still unconscious, so how had he spoken?

Hearing Xuerong’s voice, the guard relaxed considerably. Then he noticed the wet patches and wine stains across Canglang’s clothes and immediately understood.

Xuerong had probably used that tried-and-tested trick again.

He was merely taking longer than usual this time. He had not yet reached the stage of apologizing and persuading the guests to drink, which was why he had not come back out.

The guard did not dare obstruct his work any further. He bent respectfully at the waist, smiled apologetically, and said, “Since he has displeased our honored guests, you may punish him however you wish.”

“The auction is about to begin. This humble servant will take his leave.”

He withdrew from the room. As he left, he looked at them as though they were several fat sheep awaiting slaughter, entirely unaware that they viewed his people in exactly the same way.

Once the door closed, Chi Yantian finally released the rabbit demon as though disarming a deadly threat.

Xuerong’s head lolled sideways, and he collapsed against Flamelet.

Flamelet temperately stepped aside, gave a disdainful snort, and let him flop limply onto the floor.

Chi Yantian looked around in bewilderment. “How did he speak just now?”

“Ahem.” Yu Qingtang primly reminded them, “Gentlemen, have you forgotten that there is a music cultivator among us?”

He proudly stroked his throat. “Back when I disguised myself as a woman, I specifically learned a secret voice-imitation art from Master!”

Canglang’s expression turned strange. “You disguised yourself as a woman too?”

Yu Qingtang had nearly forgotten Canglang was present. He rubbed his nose awkwardly. “That is a long story... but my situation was completely different from his!”

His expression became perfectly righteous. “We did it to survive. It absolutely was not for financial gain or seduction.”

“Oh?” Ye Chenyan turned toward him with a faint, knowing smile.

Feeling slightly guilty, Yu Qingtang looked away. “It’s true...”

“Think about it. Had I not worn a skirt when I met you, could you guarantee that you wouldn’t have attacked me at the mountain gate?”

“Of course I could,” Ye Chenyan answered without hesitation.

Yu Qingtang looked doubtful. “R-really?”

Ye Chenyan’s smile was warm and gentle. “Naturally. I would merely have invited you to the Golden Core Competition and fought you openly and honorably.”

Yu Qingtang sucked in a sharp breath. “Were you trying to kill me, my friend?”

“How could that be?” Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “All the senior experts would have been watching the Golden Core Competition. Naturally, I would have stopped at the proper point.”

“With such an enormous difference in strength, I’m afraid finding the proper stopping point would have been difficult.” Yu Qingtang spoke with complete sincerity. “No jokes. One punch from you and everyone could have started setting out the funeral feast.”

Ye Chenyan gave a muffled laugh. “Slander. I have never been that reckless with my strength.”

He was about to continue arguing when ripples suddenly spread across one wall of the room and light flared.

Chi Yantian’s eyes lit up, and he immediately sat straight. “So that’s how it works! It’s a water mirror. The auction is beginning!”

Yu Qingtang hastily changed the subject. “Let’s watch the auction first!”

An image gradually appeared upon the water mirror.

It showed a treasure vault so dazzling that it was almost impossible to keep one’s eyes open. Rare treasures of heaven and earth had been piled about casually, while precious ores lay in heaps across the floor.

“Hee-hee. Has the sight left you spoiled for choice?” A beautiful face appeared within the image. Her eyes were long and narrow, giving her a seductive allure. Beneath her slender waist extended a thick, fiery-red serpent tail.

She made no effort to conceal her voluptuous figure. Draped across treasures dazzling enough to hold anyone’s gaze, she slowly shifted her serpentine tail, presenting a wanton tableau of debauchery, extravagance, and sensual indulgence.

“Use spiritual power to send over anything you wish to say.” The beautiful serpent cast everyone a flirtatious glance. “Let me hear what shameless nonsense you have to offer. When the bidding begins, your voices had better be just as loud.”

The moment she finished speaking, the entire auction house erupted. The torrent of obscene remarks was scarcely fit for human ears.

Inside their private room, however...

The group huddled together and studied the image with perfect seriousness.

“Is that a woman... No, a she-snake?”

Yu Qingtang tilted his head. “Do snakes come in he-snakes and she-snakes? Shouldn’t it be male and female?”

Canglang narrowed his eyes. “A snake’s sex is difficult to determine in the first place. However, the tails of most males are thicker than those of females.”

His expression grew somewhat peculiar.

“This one... Why do I think it looks more like...”

Chi Yantian’s eyes widened in shock. “Another male?”

“Is the entire auction house like this?”

He quickly relaxed again. “It doesn’t matter. Ore doesn’t come in male and female.”

Yu Qingtang’s expression turned complicated. The beauty in the arena—or perhaps the beautiful male serpent—continued pouring out provocative words to inflame the senses, whipping the auction house into a feverish mood.

In a certain sense, perhaps it was simply true that...

Men understood men better?