Chapter 148: Chapter 106: Hundred Flowers Banquet Begins (Part 2)

Right now, he’s got a clear mind, so Chu Xuan isn’t in a hurry anymore.

Gu Haitang immediately chimed in: "It’ll take at least two days to get there; arriving early isn’t a bad thing."

"Wait," Qingqing wasn’t willing to tangle too much with Chu Xuan, but at this point, she couldn’t help speaking up.

"Isn’t there still nearly ten days left? We can take our time getting there, as long as we make it."

Chu Xuan winked at Qingqing, "Don’t forget, whether we arrive early or late, the Hundred Flowers Banquet will still take place in ten days. The time we spend together remains unchanged."

Qingqing’s cheeks flushed red; subconsciously resisting the destination, she actually forgot about that.

"You’re so wordy; I know that, don’t I? I just want to see more of the scenery along the way."

Seeing Qingqing’s stubborn look, Chu Xuan simply nodded with a smile, "Then let’s go."

He turned and strode away, and when whimsy struck, he sang aloud:

"Suddenly, I want to climb the mountain of blades."

"Overlook, with blood as my saddle."

"In the thick of the night, no fear, let this crimson paint the road so long, where I walk and watch along the way..."

Gu Haitang and Qingqing exchanged looks, both slightly puzzled.

Chu Xuan’s mood seemed to have improved all of a sudden, no longer showing the somber demeanor that grew as they got closer to the destination.

...

During the following journey, Chu Xuan still set up stalls to predict fortunes, but the usual divining banner had long been replaced by the Six Souls Banner.

This treasure’s ability to disguise is very strong; changing its appearance is easy.

In this way, it didn’t have to be unusable in front of others; caution was all that was needed.

Chu Xuan mused that perhaps during the Celestial Evil Period, he used it like this.

Clearly, the enemy saw a massive cauldron coming their way, but hey, it was actually a banner; and even when the enemy died, they hadn’t realized they’d been struck by the Six Souls Banner.

Perhaps that’s why only a very few could recognize the Six Souls Banner.

Of course, that made Ji Mingyu even more suspicious, given that the Celestial Evil Demon Venerable was cautious to that extent, yet she knew this secret.

Following his personality, Chu Xuan reasoned that this meant he trusted Ming Yu immensely, so much that life and death were entrusted to her, hence why he shared the secret.

This made it even harder for Chu Xuan to understand why Ji Mingyu did what she did to him back then.

...

It’s also worth mentioning that during the first two days of the journey, Qingqing deliberately distanced herself from Chu Xuan; she didn’t initiate conversations and only responded passively.

Though each passive response was quite elaborate, from her perspective, this was an extremely "cold" way to treat Chu Xuan.

Moreover, Qingqing didn’t buy good snacks for Chu Xuan and merely ate the various treats he bought her, which was clearly another major "cold shoulder."

But Gu Haitang quickly stepped in, finding excuses to stop Chu Xuan’s "puppy dog" behavior.

Like "she’s not your anything; why are you treating her so well?"

Chu Xuan thought about it too, and temporarily halted the girlfriend-pampering behavior.

Naturally, this made Qingqing annoyed with Gu Haitang, wanting to chase her away more than once.

She even suggested letting her go ahead to Wuyou Valley alone, while the other two would catch up later.

But there was no way Gu Haitang would agree, and they had a row over this; had it not been for Chu Xuan stepping in, it might have escalated to a full-blown fight.

...

Ever since Chu Xuan stopped initiating, Qingqing couldn’t resist for long and even intensified her efforts, finding various excuses to get close to him.

For instance, one night, the three were camping in the open, sitting by the blaze and watching the stars.

Qingqing directly clutched Chu Xuan’s arm, resting her head on his shoulder.

Gu Haitang looked on disdainfully, "What exactly are you doing?"

"Didn’t you say you didn’t like Chu Xuan?"

"Didn’t you say it too?" Qingqing retorted, "Besides, what’s it to you? You do it if you’ve got the guts."

Gu Haitang got flustered; having grown up in a well-bred family, she couldn’t bring herself to do such shameless things before establishing a formal relationship with Chu Xuan.

"I said you were unrestrained before, and you denied it; what do you have to say now?"

Qingqing was too lazy to argue over such trivial matters, just closed her eyes, leaning against Chu Xuan and fully enjoying this comforting feeling.

Gu Haitang bit her lip, casting a "wronged wife" look at Chu Xuan.

But this time, Chu Xuan didn’t push Qingqing away; he quietly communicated to Haitang:

"We’ll separate soon, let Qingqing have her moment, I think she doesn’t want to have regrets either."

Gu Haitang opened her mouth to object but found herself unable to.

Just like Qingqing, she wasn’t really anyone special to Chu Xuan, lacking the authority to meddle with whom he got close to.

So Gu Haitang merely turned her back deliberately, displaying an act of sulking.

If it were just the two of them, Chu Xuan would probably coax her.

But unfortunately, Qingqing was taking advantage of her thick-skinned nature, firmly holding onto Chu Xuan.

She blinked her big bright eyes at Chu Xuan, "Didn’t you buy a melodramatic novel featuring the Celestial Evil Demon Venerable at Shan Hai Pavilion last time?"

"Why don’t I see you read it?"

Gu Haitang was taken aback, was there really such a thing?

But being in a sulky mood, she couldn’t bring herself to turn back to ask Chu Xuan; she’d just have to hold it in for now, resolve to persuade him later to avoid reading such harmful books.

Chu Xuan chuckled in response, "Aren’t you worried that after reading it, I’ll get all animalistic?"