Zu Village

They arrived in Zu Village the next evening.

It was a town by the main road. Compared to other surrounding villages it was quite large and bustling and many travelers came to keep business flowing. Chen Anyue's eyes couldn't stop sparkling as her attention was stolen by everything around them, from food stalls to distant travelers and even street performers.

"Shijie! Are you sure you want to eat this? It'll be bad for your stomach." Yuan Xuelan followed her around like a barking guard dog, leaving Liu Sumeng to his own devices.

He looked around, taking in the surroundings. Zu village seemed rather lively, the inhabitants were smiling and going about their day like normal and didn't appear to be depressed or nervous. There was no way that his uncle's divination was wrong so there definitely had to be a strong source of evil nearby. However, it didn't seem like the inhabitants were aware, at least not on the surface.

It was a bit of a conundrum. Liu Sumeng didn't like questioning locals and often left that task to Xu Hexian. When that wasn't an option he plain and simple turned over every leaf and stone and forcefully hunted down the source of evil like some sort of starving fox hunting for food.

But he had others to take care of and consider now as well and he wasn't sure if that method would be appropriate.

Before he knew it, the troublesome duo already disappeared from his sight. Luckily, it wasn't difficult to follow the complaints and nagging of Yuan Xuelan, it was easy to find them again, huddled close in front of a merchant's stall. The poor seller alternated between a friendly smile and a sinister one, depending on which of the two spoke to her.

"Oh this comb looks so beautiful, I've never seen designs like this before!" Chen Anyue beamed.

"Yes, yes those are special motifs from our Zu village, you wouldn't be able to find them anywhere else in the world!"

"But Auntie, isn't the craftsmanship a little basic? It's a nice comb but I think the price is a little high for what it is," Yuan Xuelan criticized.

"Ah, how could you say that, Young Master? The most skilled woodcarver made these combs, look at all these tiny details! No simple person could create something so intricate. And let me tell you, the wood isn't just from an ordinary piece of log either…"

Liu Sumeng stepped in and interrupted the whole scene, "I'll buy it."

Both Chen Anyue and Yuan Xuelan looked at him with two pairs of wide eyes. "What! You can't just! Wait no, Auntie I'll buy it. Don't listen to this guy!" Yuan Xuelan exclaimed.

But it was too late because Liu Sumeng was already handing over the money and telling the gleeful merchant to keep the change.

"That was stupid," Yuan Xuelan complained as they walked away, "Seriously what a waste of money, I could have gotten a better comb for half the price."

"..." He just wanted them to stop fooling around and running away but he didn't really know how to word his thoughts pleasantly so he chose to say nothing while he continued to walk.

"Just what are you going to do with that thing anyway?" Yuan Xuelan asked.

Liu Sumeng paused in his steps. That was a good question. He turned around and faced the two sworn siblings and reached into his robes to take out the comb and placed it in Chen Anyue's hand.

"Oh! Thank you Second Young Master Liu!"

"..." Yuan Xuelan squinted at the comb in her hand, "I'll buy you a better one."

"Ah, by the way, where are we going?" Chen Anyue asked.

"Inn."

"Are we not going to investigate at night?" She cocked her head with an innocent questioning look.

"...We will ask people. At the inn."

"Can you even do that?" Yuan Xuelan raised a brow.

Hm, it shouldn't be too difficult, Liu Sumeng thought. In his previous life, he had interrogated people after all.

The inn they arrived at was rather lively, with patrons laughing and shouting over wine and food. There were even some storytellers that boldly got up top tables to tell grand tales of far off places.

Chen Anyue looked around in speechless wonder. There were a few curious onlookers that veered speculative gazes at the three cultivators. While it was common practice to suppress one's spiritual energy around mortals to avoid standing out too much, it was still inevitable when it came to their appearance.

Liu Sumeng's white robes had an almost ethereal glow that warded off filth and dirt. The blade strapped to his side had a white-silver pommel, together with his calm countenance, no one would have assumed he was an ordinary person.

And then there was Chen Anyue who was beauty worthy of being called a goddess, her creamy porcelain-white skin looked as though she didn't know a single day of hardship or work in her entire life.

Out of the three, Yuan Xuelan undoubtedly had the most normal appearance, who could easily pass for a handsome Young Master from a well-to-do household.

"Hello, esteemed guests!" The innkeeper greeted them at the counter.

"I'll take three rooms," Liu Sumeng said.

The innkeeper's smile faltered as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Erm, well. I'm terribly sorry Young Master but we only have two rooms left available…it's been quite busy in these parts lately."

"..." He quietly handed over the money for two rooms but inwardly, Liu Sumeng was extremely gloomy. Did this also happen in his past life? Well, there was no way to be sure. Either way, he looked back at his two companions, one his future sworn brother, and the other, his future wife. "Let's go."

Yuan Xuelan was looking at him with distaste clear on his face but there wasn't anything he could do about their situation either. Reluctantly, he followed Liu Sumeng upstairs with Chen Anyue in tow.

There were two small rooms, huddled next to each other in a dark corner of the inn, eerily quiet and foreboding. What should he do now? Liu Sumeng stood in front of those too cracking wooden doors. Should he get into a room with his future-wife? Or would Yuan Xuelan be more appropriate? Or should the adopted siblings room together? But since they are of opposite genders, it didn't seem appropriate either.

Chen Anyue coughed into a dainty fist, catching the attention of the two men, "I really…don't mind any arrangement you two have in mind." She smiled sweetly at them.

"No," Liu Sumeng responded immediately, "You're the woman."

"He's right!" Yuan Xuelan exclaimed, not realizing at the moment that he had actually agreed with his nemesis, "Shijie's comfort should come first and foremost. If we didn't take that into consideration, how could we even call ourselves men!?"

With a bold declaration like that, Liu Sumeng soon found himself standing in a small room with only one tiny bed and Yuan Xuelan behind him! Aside from a bed that was obviously meant for only one occupant, there was a tiny desk and a stool tucked underneath it. He eyed it for a moment before deciding that that was where he'd sleep.

Yuan Xuelan was also uncharacteristically quiet and stood close to the door, as if he came any farther step inside, Liu Sumeng would be too close for comfort. But the silence was painful as well, especially when neither wanted to make the first move. Eventually, Liu Sumeng turned his gaze away from the bed and addressed Yuan Xuelan. "I will go downstairs," he declared.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Yuan Xuelan rolled his eyes, "Go and make a fool of yourself. I'm going to talk to Shijie about something and we'll go ask the locals questions as well."

Downstairs, the inn was still alive with noise and chatter. Liu Sumeng decided to sit close to a rowdy table and order some food and wine. He could very well stride over and really make a fool of himself as Yuan Xuelan had said but Liu Sumeng had a lot of pride and a very thin face. He could do nothing but sit there picking at the food he ordered and taking small sips at wine.

On the table next to his, the people were laughing with red faces. They talked about how business was going for a local tea shop and butchery. They laughed over stories of distant relatives doing embarrassing things. They held a toast to a son born the other day. Nothing was of use to Liu Sumeng, everything they spoke about was joyous and mundane. If anything, they were even a little too joyous.

Liu Sumeng looked around. The other guests around them seemed to be the same, all wearing smiles and inspiring an atmosphere filled with merriment, almost in a festive spirit. It would be so much easier if he just went up to someone and asked but Liu Sumeng only continued to sip his wine.

He was about to order another bottle when he caught the sight of Yuan Xuelan and Chen Anyue walking down the steps.