Chapter 61: Luxianbei, I Like You [4K]
Uncertain how much time had passed, when Luxianbei finally woke from her slumber, she hadn’t even opened her eyes when she felt a wave of intense discomfort.
The world seemed to be slowly spinning, her joints were aching all over, and a strong burning sensation was coming from her abdomen, as if there were fierce flames scorching her, with boiling stomach acid surging up, leaving her whole esophagus tinged with sourness.
In just a few short seconds, Luxianbei was resolute in her decision: she would never drink alcohol again in this lifetime.
She lay on the bed like a puddle of mud for a moment, and after the discomfort subsided slightly, she slowly sat up and rubbed her aching forehead.
Glancing outside, the sky was dim, and the sun seemed yet to rise. There should still be time to go to the rooftop and bathe in the sunlight to dispel the urban legends, she thought, retracting her gaze, twisting her petite body to the bedside, and just as she was about to get out of bed to wash up, she suddenly recalled something, causing her body to stiffen slightly.
“Last night…” Luxianbei murmured, furrowing her brows. Fragments of memories flashed through her mind.
She vaguely remembered waking from that terrifying nightmare after getting drunk, opening her eyes to see a soft, ambiguous light from a night lamp, and beside her lay a girl.
She confided in the girl about the loneliness and heart palpitations her nightmare had caused, and the girl held her close, soothing her softly. The events that followed, however, she couldn’t recall at all, not even the girl’s appearance was a blur.
Perhaps due to her inebriation, the images in her memory sparkled with fleeting lights and illusions.
Along with that, the girl’s face appeared more dreamlike and enchanting. Only her pair of emerald-like peach blossom eyes, a hug, and a kiss remained relatively clear in her memory.
This must be the feeling of a black-out from drinking, as the legends say. Wait! Emerald-colored eyes?
Could the “stinky sister” have been the one lying beside me last night?
Dammit! Although I called her casually, isn’t this a bit too casual?
Luxianbei imagined a drunken encounter plot, feeling a shiver run through her, unable to help but exclaim, “Stinky sister! Stinky sister, where have you gone? Stinky!”
“Alright, alright, stop calling!”
After calling out two or three times, Jumeng appeared at the stairway, carrying a porcelain bowl with steam rising from it.
With Luxianbei’s incredulous gaze on her, she walked to Luxianbei’s side, turned her face aside to avoid Luxianbei’s line of sight, and held out the porcelain bowl in front of her.
“Here! Hangover soup, have some?”
Luxianbei was momentarily stunned, slowly looking down at the amber-colored soup in the bowl, standing motionless.
This was Jumeng, who had sneaked a taste of her milk tea from the fridge, diluted it with half a cup of tap water, and then resealed the lid, suddenly bringing her hangover soup.
Luxianbei inexplicably felt like the “Auntie Jinlian” feeding Dawang medicine.
Seeing her hesitate to take the porcelain bowl, Jumeng turned her head, snorted, “Tsk! I brought you the hangover soup out of kindness, and you won’t even accept it?”
Hearing this, Luxianbei scrutinized Jumeng with a wary gaze, mumbling, “It’s precisely because you’re too kind that I…”
Halfway through her sentence, Luxianbei paused and looked again at the amber soup in the bowl, narrowing her eyes. “Is this really hangover soup?”
“Dog thing! If it’s not hangover soup, what could it be?” Jumeng impatiently retorted, “Prenatal medicine?”
“Hmm?” Luxianbei’s eyes widened as she asked in a trembling voice, “You… you really took advantage of me drunk last night?”
“Hah!” Jumeng raised her chin slightly, glancing sideways at Luxianbei, “Do I need to take advantage of you being drunk to want to sleep with you?”
Luxianbei pondered for a moment, nodding as she replied, “That seems to make some sense.”
With Jumeng’s powerful capabilities, there was nothing in this world she wanted that she couldn’t have—whether the target was a hand-pushed tractor or not, it wouldn’t be too much of a problem.
“But I distinctly remember you lying next to me last night, right? You even hugged me? Seemed like you kissed me.”
“Hmph!” Jumeng snorted lightly, interrupting, “I know you’ve had your eye on my beauty for a long time, but you wouldn’t dream of that just because you had a drink, right?”
“You want me to kiss you? Dream on!”
“What you mean is,” Luxianbei said, “that was just a dream?”
“Exactly!” Jumeng replied firmly.
She knew very well how much Luxianbei liked Jiang Li, and this could be inferred from their connection, which glowed more brilliantly than other destined threads.
She was somewhat concerned that if Luxianbei discovered what had happened last night and the existence of that incomplete destined link, to avoid being misunderstood by Jiang Li, she might keep her distance from her.
As a result, would they even be able to remain friends? Jumeng wondered.
“Is that so?” Luxianbei murmured, unconvinced, tilting her head and taking the porcelain bowl from Jumeng’s hand.
To be honest, she wasn’t very sure herself whether the dreamlike, fragmented images in her mind were reality or a dream.
After drinking the hangover soup in one go, as the warm, slightly bitter soup flowed down, she felt the burning sensation in her abdomen dissipate considerably. A warmth gradually spread from her belly throughout her whole body, alleviating her dizziness and the aching sensation in her limbs significantly.
“It really is hangover soup,” Luxianbei mumbled softly.
Seeing this, the tension on Jumeng’s face relaxed, her expression turned smug, and she raised her eyebrows, “Of course it’s real! I personally brewed it!”
After finishing the hangover soup, Luxianbei casually placed the porcelain bowl on the bedside table, stood up, and said to Jumeng, “Hey, didn’t we agree yesterday to see if Yu Jianqiu is true love?”
“You wait here for a while; the sun is about to rise. I’ll go clear the urban legends and then we’ll head to school together.”
“Sunrise, my foot!” Jumeng rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone, handing it to Luxianbei. “Take a look for yourself!”
Luxianbei glanced at it, frowned, “Saw it, six consecutive losses, just pure noob, what’s wrong with that?”
“Uh…” Jumeng’s corner of her mouth twitched as she took back the phone, exited the game interface, and handed it back to Luxianbei, “At this time, where are you going to clear up the urban legends?”
“17:5…” Upon seeing the time on the phone screen, Luxianbei was stunned, exclaiming, “What? I actually slept for almost an entire day?”
Getting drunk not only easily leads to stories but also to accidents; see, didn’t that just waste time? Luxianbei thought, annoyed.
“What did you think?” Jumeng scoffed, “That general fellow is really something! The alcohol he gave you had several types with mild hallucinogenic effects.”
“You only slept for a dozen hours and woke up; that’s pretty good!”
“It’s this late; I’m going to raid with the guild’s partners tonight, no time for anything else. Observing Yu Jianqiu can wait until tomorrow!”
Luxianbei pondered for a few seconds, scratching the back of her head, “Alright then! I’ll head out first. By the way, about that invite you mentioned last night, did you manage to get it for me?”
“You’re not thinking of going to Liao Zhai Tavern, are you?” Jumeng asked incredulously. Luxianbei shrugged, nonchalantly saying, “Yeah!”
“Hah?” Jumeng stared, looking Luxianbei up and down, “Are you addicted to drinking?”
“I’ll tell you, that saying, ‘the best way to cure a hangover is to drink another cup after drunkenness,’ is pure nonsense!”
“I don’t want to drink again!” Luxianbei explained, “I just need to find that boss at Liao Zhai Tavern for something; I was too busy drinking yesterday and didn’t handle any serious business.”
“Serious business? What business?” Jumeng inquired.
“I want to learn how to cook from that boss,” Luxianbei stated candidly.
“What? You want to learn to cook from Hu Boss?” Jumeng asked, astonished.
Seeing that Jumeng seemed to know something, Luxianbei quickly pressed, “What’s the matter? Is there a problem? Do you know some insider information?”
“Just that I know a bit,” Jumeng shrugged, “From what I know, the conditions for apprentices at Liao Zhai Tavern are pretty lenient. Hu Boss and the chef, who keeps their identity hidden, are also generous with teaching cooking skills, but so far only three apprentices have successfully learned some culinary skills there.”
“Three?” Luxianbei frowned slightly, “Isn’t that quite a lot?”
Regarding her learning ability, Luxianbei still had enough confidence; since three people had learned the culinary skills from Liao Zhai Tavern, she should be fine.
“A lot?” Jumeng rolled her eyes, “Did you know that throughout history, tens of thousands of spiritual ability users and urban legends have sought to learn cookery at Liao Zhai Tavern?”
“And among those tens of thousands of apprentices, there are countless exceptional talents, some even possessing cooking-related abilities, yet only three have successfully graduated—where’s the abundance in that?”
Luxianbei, “”
Suddenly, she didn’t feel so confident anymore, but
“Isn’t that still quite a lot? The odds are about the same as pulling off a five-star character in a gacha, right?”
“You say that…” Jumeng squinted her eyes, contemplating, “It does seem not too few?”
Although she herself hadn’t had a single successful pull experience, she had seen many people flaunting their successful five-star pulls.
In fact, every time a new character UP was released in the game, just a glance at the various game groups would lead Jumeng to feel as if she alone hadn’t managed to pull a single successful character in the world.
Whenever she encountered such a situation, she would silently send her sincerest congratulations to those people. Trading a lifetime of unsuccessful pulls for a fulfilling relationship didn’t seem like a loss, right?
“Fine, regardless of whether it works out, we’ve got to try first, right?” Luxianbei said, “This situation has turned out much better than I thought; I originally thought I’d have to put in a lot of effort to learn at Liao Zhai Tavern!”
As she spoke, she glanced outside; seeing the sky had gone completely dark, she took steps downstairs. “I’m heading out now!”
Watching Luxianbei’s departing figure, a complex expression flashed through Jumeng’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but call out softly, “Dog thing, wait!”
Luxianbei halted her steps and turned to ask, “What’s wrong? Is there something else?”
“When you come back, help me pack a bowl of longevity noodles.”
Luxianbei nodded, giving a sign of OK to Jumeng, “Got it!” As Luxianbei turned to leave, Jumeng called out again, “Wait! There’s one more thing.”
“What else is there?”
Jumeng opened her mouth, hesitating to speak.
Luxianbei tilted her head, “Hmm? If you don’t say it, I’ll leave first?”
After a few seconds of hesitation, Jumeng grew serious, “That general fellow said if you ever go to Yumen Pass in the future, you can look for him.” Although I don’t know why he thinks you will go to Yumen Pass in the future, I advise you not to get too close to that guy. How should I put it…”
“Whether in the urban legends circle or among spiritual ability users, that guy doesn’t have a great reputation.”
Not a good reputation? Luxianbei thought of last night’s situation and nodded emphatically, “It’s obvious; what serious person would have a minor girl drink urban legends?”
Even if you didn’t remind me, I’d stay far away from that guy next time I see him.
Jumeng opened her mouth several times to say something but then sighed silently, “Well, just know it. If you’re going to go, hurry and go! Remember to bring me food.”
Although Luxianbei’s thoughts differed from the actual situation, she didn’t have precise information on why the general’s reputation was poor—only speculative guesses—so she didn’t convey it to Luxianbei.
In any case, Luxianbei had already indicated she would keep a distance from that guy, hadn’t she?
While deep in thought, Jumeng rummaged through her belongings and pulled out a black stone plaque engraved with the words “Liao Zhai,” handing it to Luxianbei. “Last night you were completely drunk, and I was busy taking care of you. I had no time to get the invite.”
“Here, this is my invite; use it first, and remember to return it to me later.” Luxianbei took the small plaque with both hands, “Thank you very much!”
“Hmph! Scram!”
A moment later.
After leaving the Jingyi Apartment Complex, Luxianbei walked towards the remote alley from last night, deep in thought. Did that big shot know the relationship between the ancestor and Yumen?
Impossible! Even that old man Zhang Hainan didn’t know; how would he know? Moreover, even if he knew something, why would he think I would go to Yumen Pass?
As Luxianbei pondered and walked, at that moment, her coat suddenly began to twitch, interrupting her thoughts. Accompanied by the movement, the coat delivered her phone and a tuft of fuzzy material into her palms.
Coat: Lady Witch, look! It’s the evidence!
(C>口<>
As the information passed through the bond via the coat, Luxianbei raised her hand and opened her palm, revealing a few glistening black feathers and her phone, which was lingering on the media player interface.
Gently pressing the play button, a whisper came through her phone.
In the darkness, someone softly said, “Luxianbei, I like you.”
(I originally promised to update more yesterday, but I fell short again. I’m really sorry. Due to family issues, my updates were affected, and I was feeling really down, which genuinely reduced my writing efficiency and quality. Sigh.)
