**Chapter 110: Deceiving Feelings**
The scorching sunlight cast down, and layers of heat waves rose from the desolate Gobi Desert. On a sand dune, a groundhog was holding a tender, juicy root of a bulrush plant, munching away with great delight.
Suddenly, a fierce wind rose, howling past like a bandit, carrying away its lunch…
However, the groundhog, having lost its meal, did not bother to chase after the flying lunch. It let out a cry of despair and burrowed into the hole behind it.
Someone was nearby, and perhaps they would be even more terrified than the groundhog.
In that gust of wind, something moved, moving so fast it was difficult to catch with the n*ked eye.
Looking in the direction the wind blew, one could only see a series of footprints quickly appearing on the sand dune, extending into the distance, and a vague white silhouette flashed intermittently, almost like a ghost haunting the bright daylight.
Soon, the gust of wind came to a halt, revealing a man dressed in white, holding a sword in his hand.
His face was covered by a mask that protected against the wind and sand, making it hard to see his features, but his deep brown eyes seemed to tell a story, leaving a lasting impression with just one glance.
The man scanned the surroundings for a moment before continuing his journey eastward, the sand rolling behind him like thick smoke.
To the east of a giant rock, the outlines of several houses characteristic of the Gobi region could be vaguely seen. They all had flat roofs and were particularly low.
It seemed to be a small village.
There were indeed many such villages scattered across the Gobi Desert, most of which had been left behind long ago and were in a semi-abandoned state, with at most two or three households—elderly residents or herders who were unwilling to leave. Young people could not stay here; doing anything in the city was a hundred times better than life here.
The man moved forward, reaching the front of the village in just a few breaths.
The village was not large, built against a massive earthen hill. All the houses were mud walls mixed with straw, a dozen or so of varying sizes. Some had lost their doors and windows, and others had half collapsed, with a few stubborn desert plants peeking through the ruins, showing a hint of greenery.
The man seemed familiar with the place. After entering the village, he didn’t bother to check the dilapidated houses but headed directly to the broken well in the center of the village, then jumped in.
As he fell from the well’s mouth, the light gradually faded away.
A few seconds later, he felt a slippery and viscous sensation under his feet, like mud.
Once steady, the man looked forward, and dozens of pairs of eyes gleaming with crimson light quietly appeared from the darkness.
Filthy and unclean spirit energy fluctuations spread, rippling with a sound akin to sobbing in the narrow, cramped space.
This was the gathering place of the half-urban legend Zhanbu Tribe.
In Huihu language, Zhanbu refers to a type of wildflower common to the Gobi.
In the silence of the standoff, the man slowly put down the sword in his hand, then as if to show he meant no harm, he raised both hands slowly.
“Everyone, don’t be impulsive, I’m here to find your leader. She knows me. Just tell her I have important matters and want to ask for her help.”
“By the way, my name is… Bai Kai.”
————
The Zhanbu Tribe’s gathering place was transformed from a dried-up underground river. The area where the underground river once held a large volume of water was converted into a hall, while the complex and intricate tributaries of the river became the residences for the half-urban legends.
After being welcomed inside, Bai Kai waited on a stone bench in the corner of the hall for a moment before meeting the leader of the Zhanbu Tribe—Furongluo Zhanbu.
She had an exotic-looking face, with deep-set features and emerald-like eyes. Her skin, in comparison to the residents of the Gobi Desert, was excessively pale. Dressed in a garment made of animal skin, her curves were accentuated, and she had a pair of red-furred animal ears, with a russet-colored furry tail trailing behind her.
Yes, Furongluo was a Buman, but not one of a fox but rather a jackal.
Upon seeing Furongluo, Bai Kai was momentarily taken aback, then came to his senses and remarked with a smile, “Wow, you’ve really grown up!”
As he spoke, his gaze unintentionally fell on the deep cleavage displayed by Furongluo, uncertain if it was due to professional habit or if such a sight was indeed rare.
“Beautiful, you’ve really blossomed beautifully!”
Furongluo glanced around and, seeing that no tribe members were paying attention, took a few steps forward and punched Bai Kai lightly in the chest.
She didn’t use force, almost like she was acting cute.
Then, she scolded Bai Kai in somewhat clumsy Mandarin, “Annoying! You actually remembered to come see me? I thought you had completely forgotten about me!”
“How could I dare to forget? I’ve just been busy!” Bai Kai quickly explained. “Xiang Bohe, you don’t know, for over twenty years out here, I’ve thought about you almost every day.”
Furongluo means “Peppermint” in Huihu.
Bai Kai was of course lying. This half-urban legend girl, whom he hadn’t seen in over twenty years, had long faded in his memory. The only information he clearly remembered related to her was the gathering place of the Zhanbu Tribe.
He had originally come here just hoping to get lucky.
Fortunately, after all these years, the Zhanbu gathering place hadn’t changed; otherwise, it would have been a wasted trip.
However, as a partner in the underground world, a golden male public relations agent who captivated countless female customers, handling a female half-urban legend who already had some feelings for him was not a challenge.
After all, he was no longer the naive young boy who was clueless about romance.
“You’re full of nonsense. Do you think I would believe you?” Furongluo rolled her eyes.
“What I said is true! Look, this time I came back; I didn’t go to see my master or the two guardians stationed at the Gobi Desert belonging to the Siye Society. I ran straight over to see you first—doesn’t that show your importance in my heart?” Bai Kai explained with a smile.
Furongluo squinted her eyes, staring at Bai Kai for a few seconds, then shook her head and said, “Little Bai, you’ve changed. You’ve turned into someone who can talk slickly like your master. I don’t like you like this.”
What kind of impression did she have of Bai Kai?
Innocent, passionate, overflowing with a sense of justice, a bit dull… foolish.
More than twenty years ago, when Lu Ming and Bai Kai rescued her, the daughter of the Zhanbu Tribe’s leader from the Qingle Tribe, Lu Ming originally planned to leave her in the Gobi Desert to fend for herself, but Bai Kai argued fiercely with him and then escorted her back to the tribal gathering place himself.
Uniting with urban legends and reproducing progeny carried a great risk. Many tribes would capture members of other tribes or eligible young men and women from nearby regions to produce offspring for their tribe.
It’s easy to imagine what would have happened if Furongluo had been left in the Gobi, vulnerable to being captured by the Qingle Tribe or any other tribe.
Knowing Bai Kai’s personality back then, he would never have been able to bear witnessing such a fate, even if the other party was a half-urban legend or an enemy of the Yumen Sands Sea Branch.
Furongluo intended to repay Bai Kai’s life-saving grace by offering herself.
However, as she was about to surrender completely, Bai Kai had struck her away, and though she did not d*e at the hands of the rival tribe, she almost lost her life because of Bai Kai’s hand.
After that strike, all he left her with was a simple, “Miss, please have some self-respect. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee the safety of my sword!”
Having said that, he closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
His posture was reminiscent of Fahai resisting the temptation of a green snake, closing his eyes and reciting scriptures, only knowing how to chant without even addressing “I want you to assist in my cultivation.” It was simply clueless about romance, driving her to anger.
“People change!” Bai Kai laughed. “Haven’t you changed too? The little girl who was once bullied has grown into a leader of a tribe.”
“However, I noticed earlier that your tribe seems to have fewer members than before. Did you encounter difficulties? Do you need my help?”
If he could actually help, Bai Kai would be more than willing to lend a hand, considering it compensation for deceiving Furongluo.
Although he was a disciple of the Yumen Sands Sea Branch and knew how to enter the Yumen Pass, just like the Miracle Cult that once thrived around here, he couldn’t predict the location of the Yumen Pass’s entrance during a windy day.
This area of the Gobi seemed desolate, as if dead, but in fact, it was “alive,” constantly changing. After Bai Kai had successfully honed his skills, he left here without staying long in the Gobi and could not behave according to past experiences.
Thus, if he wanted to enter the Yumen Pass, he had no choice but to turn to these half-urban legends for help.
For this, he was willing to engage in behaviors many male public relations agents had done, but which he found the most shameful—deceiving feelings.
Yes, Bai Kai had never deceived the feelings of any customer; he loved genuinely when he loved. That was his professional integrity.
However, love can fade… His affection usually had a short shelf life.
“…” Furongluo hesitated several times before finally sighing, “This is a long story…”
After a pause, a charming smile appeared on her face, the corners of her eyes lifting slightly, “However, if you truly want to help, why not stay and have a few more children with me? Wouldn’t that solve the problem of dwindling numbers?”
Hearing this, Bai Kai instantly understood why the Zhanbu Tribe had declined from once being a large tribe to such a state over the past twenty years.
Furongluo had experienced such things in her youth. Once she became the tribe’s leader, she naturally could not allow her tribe to commit similar cruel acts.
But just because she and her tribe didn’t engage in such acts, it didn’t mean that other tribes would refrain.
These half-urban legend tribes found reproduction difficult, and without a continuous influx of new bl**d, many young tribe members would either be forced or voluntarily join other tribes; thus, decline became inevitable.
“Alright!” Bai Kai readily agreed. “Let’s have an entire soccer team!”
“What?” Furongluo’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Bai Kai.
It’s not surprising she found this hard to believe; such a thing was like a long-time crush suddenly becoming enthusiastic and wanting to have children with you—everyone would think something was off.
“Ah, I’m sorry, I know you don’t believe me. But this is also my fault for not understanding back then. When a sincere love is right in front of me, I didn’t cherish it properly. Only after leaving here did I realize how treacherous human hearts can be.”
As Bai Kai spoke, he gradually moved closer to Furongluo, took both of her hands in his, gazed intensely into her eyes, and softly said, “I only just realized how precious that age’s feelings are, which is why I came to find you.”
“This time I return, I don’t plan to leave again; I’ll stay and keep you company. Will you give me a chance?”
In this world, the most deceptive lie is a half-true, half-false one.
Bai Kai had never planned to leave the Yumen Pass alive. After experiencing the treachery of human hearts in the outside world, he had felt it firsthand. These half-true, half-false words expressed genuine emotions, leading to red-rimmed eyes for Furongluo.
Then, she waved her hand and called over a half-urban legend, “Come here, prepare a banquet of the highest standards!”
“Uh, leader, what is this…”
Furongluo glanced at the half-urban legend, “Tonight, I’m getting married!”
Half-urban legend, Bai Kai, “???”
Though… wouldn’t this be a bit too fast?
“Xiang Bohe, Xiang Bohe, don’t rush!” To prevent Furongluo from continuing recklessly, Bai Kai quickly said, “You should know, for us humans, weddings require good auspicious days. I don’t want our marriage to proceed so hastily and leave regrets.”
“I mean no disrespect! I just want to check the calendar for an auspicious day, can we hold the wedding then?”
Furongluo stared at Bai Kai, pondering for a few seconds before nodding.
Seeing this, Bai Kai breathed a long sigh of relief.
“…”
This is what is called fearfully dealing with a surprise forced marriage.
Fortunately, he managed to talk his way out of it. If the matter hadn’t even been finalized yet and he’d put himself in it, he would have ended up at a loss.
He thought to himself that he needed to extract information as quickly as possible over the next few days and then escape.
