Double Date?

<Blood Art: Vampire Transformation — Technique Learned!>

Xuan let out a deep breath. After several hours of concentration, he'd finally comprehended the technique of the Vampire Transformation art Zhou Hai had used on him earlier. This one had been harder than normal to learn since it was a more advanced technique, but Xuan was able to overcome it in the end.

As for Zhou Hai's memories… Xuan decided to take a look through them later tonight, but he doubted there would be anything of use. After all, this Vampire Transformation was the only technique he was really interested in, and from his past experience of going through Mamba's dreams, Xuan figured out that Devouring Qi only allowed him to learn the victim's 'signature' move, not every technique they had in their arsenal. Otherwise, not only would this ability a tad TOO overpowered, his head also would not be able to take it, memorizing so many techniques…

Just as he was about to open his door and head out for dinner, however, Zhi Ruo appeared on the other side—coincidental timing.

"Oh… hi." She blinked, not expecting this sudden meeting either.

"Good evening, senior sister. Was there something you needed?"

"Well, not exactly," she replied. "It's just… I was wondering if you wanted to go eat together?"

This time, it was Xuan's turn to blink. This was a surprising proposal, and a sudden one as well.

"Sure, but… this is quite random. Too bad I've come to know that when someone invites you to go out to eat with them, they almost certainly have a favor to ask."

"Ahaha…" Zhi Ruo laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of her head. "Junior brother is truly smart…"

"So? What is it?"

"It's like this…"

  Zhi Ruo began explaining the matter at hand to Xuan, who nodded along as he listened.

After several minutes, the explanation was complete—it would seem Zhi Ruo had scheduled a 'double date' with her shy friend to help her feel less nervous, but since she didn't want to come off as a third wheel, she needed a fourth wheel to be there as well—Xuan.

"… So, in other words, you want me to pretend to be your fiancé."

"Yes, that sounds about right."

"… Isn't it a little… off, to be doing this right after Grandmaster Zong passed away?"

"He would be disappointed if I were to sulk around and stay gloomy all day, wouldn't he?"

Xuan paused. A fair point. He sighed.

"And? What do I get out of this?"

"Hm… a free meal?"

Xuan frowned. "Just how low is your image of me, thinking that I will do your bidding just because you offered me a free mea-"

"It's an Immortal Feast~"

"-Deal."

*****

About an hour later, it was nearing the time of the scheduled date night. Xuan and Zhi Ruo made their way to the assigned restaurant, and on the way, the former began asking some more questions.

"So… who, exactly, is this 'friend' of yours?"

"A visitor from a distant land," Zhi Ruo replied cryptically. "That's all I can say."

"… Huh."

"Don't look at me like that," Zhi Ruo sighed, rolling her eyes. "To be honest, I don't know much about her myself—all she told me was that she has a special identity, and came from a place I didn't know about. She also said that if anyone asked, I was just supposed to tell them she was 'a visitor from a distant land'—those exact words."

Xuan blinked. "Ah, I see. And you became friends with her like this? She could actually be a man, for all you know."

Back on Earth, there were plenty of those on the Internet. Some even tried employing the strategy in Xianxia Online by changing their character appearance through a variety of means—like artifacts, for instance—all to get some money in the real world. In fact, that was so common that there was an entire community for it, called Trapping Online.

But Xuan digressed. That was besides the point.

"She's not," Zhi Ruo said firmly, a mysterious smile appearing on her face. "No man can hold that kind of beauty."

'Oho? Is that a challenge?'

Smirking slightly, Xuan did his best to contain his own anticipation. A visitor from a place Zhi Ruo didn't know about… could it be referring to a different realm? His thoughts, however, were soon interrupted by Zhi Ruo taking his hand and dragging him down a sharp turn, into a narrow alleyway.

"This way."

"…? There are no restaurants in this direction, as far as I recall."

Also, he already had his fill of narrow alleyways recently.

"Oh, the place we're going is not in this city," Zhi Ruo replied with a laugh. "Think again—do you think Cloud Catcher City is big and popular enough to have an Immortal Restaurant in it?"

Xuan paused briefly, really pondering. He couldn't quite remember the details about this city from his past life, but now that he thought about it, Zhi Ruo had a point. Immortal Chefs were usually only found in very large and popular cities, some of which were built around them to begin with. His wife Huo Fei's Tower of Flames in Inferno Cuisine City was an example of that.

'… Wait. Don't tell me…'

"… Zhi Ruo. This 'Immortal Restaurant' we're going to… is it called the Tower of Flames, by any chance?"

Zhi Ruo's eyes widened in surprise. "Hm? You know of it? It's said to be the best Immortal Restaurant in existence… my friend said she's an incredible fan of the food there!"

'… Well then, this is unexpectedly beneficial.'

It would seem that his reunion with his wives would come sooner than expected—most likely the work of the Heavenly Way yet again. It wasn't just about seeing his lovers again, however—Xuan also distinctly remembered storing his most important artifacts and treasures near his wives' places for protection purposes, and Huo Fei's Tower of Flames was no exception. If memory served him correctly… the artifact he'd left there in his previous life would prove to be quite helpful in the upcoming opening of the Flaming Sands Field.

Seeing Xuan fall into dead silence as he was thinking, Zhi Ruo frowned a bit. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, er. Nothing."

"Hmm… well, don't worry if you're feeling ill or anything~" Zhi Ruo said with a bright smile. "Immortal Fairy Huo Fei's cooking is renowned for being able to cure any and all discomforts as soon as it reaches your mouth. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to taste her culinary skills, so if you leave now, you'll never have another chance like this. Come on—senior sister is doing this for junior brother's own good. We can eat together."

'If only you knew I used to have her cooking everyday, senior sister…'

Of course, he couldn't tell her this outright, so he simply kept quiet and deactivated Ruo Xi's brooch, just as Zhi Ruo turned around after setting up the portal using a paper talisman that her friend—presumably—gave to her.

"You ready?" She blinked. "Oh, you took off your appearance changer… well, that's fine, I suppose. Just don't end up charming my friend by accident, you hear? I don't need another competitor."

'Another competitor? What, you mean that huntress girl?' He thought in disbelief. 'I'm going to be leaving her behind sooner or later… I just needed a pawn here in Cloud Catcher City, since I'm not that strong yet.'

The only reason he was changing to his original appearance was so Huo Fei could recognize him when they met. He was fairly sure she'd be able to see through his disguise regardless due to just how well she knew him, but Xuan had never been one to take unnecessary chances.

'Now then, Huo Fei… how have you been in the few years I wasn't here?'