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Chapter 115
🕑 Added 2023-05-22 22:28:13 +0000 UTCBao Si languidly waltzed into the clearing. She traded in her tight-fitting dress for a looser one of mossy green silk. A slit on one side revealed a toned and powerful leg. His Liquid Meridian enhanced sense of smell treacherously had him notice she smelled of flowers. Chen Haoran’s eyes weren’t deceived, however. Her gait was effortless, all liquid predator. So tightly controlled that it looped right back around into looking relaxed. Most people would see her and be fooled. Not him.
He knew a girl who moved the same way.
Chen Haoran nodded in greeting. “Good afternoon.”
Bao Si smiled back. “Good afternoon, Chen Haoran.”
Phelps squealed at her.
“Good afternoon to you, too,” she said.
Her eyes raked over him, and Chen Haoran became uncomfortably aware of the fact that he was all sweaty and dirty from training. Even a Liquid Meridian Realm wasn’t spared from Zumulu’s humidity. Let alone the Basin’s.
“Sorry, I’m a bit of a mess,” he hurriedly said as he pulled out a towel from his storage bag.
“Don’t apologize,” Bao Si said. “So many cultivators decide to coast on their success once they enter the Liquid Meridian Realm and ruin their future. I admire how hardworking you are.”
Chen Haoran blinked. “Oh, uh… thank you.”
“Congratulations on your ascension to the Liquid Meridian Realm, by the way. Achieving it at such a young age is to be commended.”
“Right. I, uh, appreciate it.”
Chen Haoran wasn’t ashamed to say Bao Si caught him flat-footed. He had an idea why she was here. In the end, the only interesting thing about him in Zumulu was Xie Jin. He couldn’t exactly treat her like he did Jiang Lei, though. In fact, he didn’t know how to treat her at all. Whatever was going on between her and Xie Jin was their business. He could only hope she wouldn’t drag him into it.
He mentally apologized to Xie Jin for what he was about to do. “Brother Jin isn’t here right now. I think he said he was going home.”
Bao Si sniffed disdainfully. “He can do what he wants.” She brushed her hair away, revealing the centipede tattoo crawling up her neck. “I’m here for you.”
“Can I help you?”
“On the contrary. I’m here to help you.”
“Excuse me?”
“You’ve yet to be given a tour of the village, no? As a shaman and representative of the tribe, it’s my duty to guide you.”
“You don’t need to go that far. I can get Xie Jin to do it.”
Bao Si raised a delicate eyebrow. “If Jin were going to do it, he wouldn’t have left you here alone now, would he? How many days have you been here now? It’s irresponsible that it’s been put off this long.”
Chen Haoran struggled to find a reply, and Bao Si capitalized on his moment of hesitation and threaded her arm through his.
“Allow me the honor? My home is beautiful.” She fluttered her eyelashes. “It’s people even more so. I want to show you everything.”
In the end, Chen Haoran had nothing to say.
“Okay.”
Just a tour should be fine.
———————
It was not fine.
He had at least been able to beg for a quick stop at the lodgings he shared with Xie Jin to clean up and change clothes. Unfortunately, Xie Jin was nowhere to be found in his time of need. And so, Chen Haoran found himself given a tour of the village arm in arm with Bao Si.
At least Phelps seemed to be having a good time.
“The style of these homes is a holdover from the tribe’s early days in the Basin,” she said. “Extended families all live around the same tree. We’ve even given them names. The one you’re living next to right now is called Proudtree.”
“Any reason for the entrance being on the roof?” he asked.
“It’s not an uncommon feature in Zumulu,” Bao Si explained as they approached a ring house. “Particularly in tribes located in the Deep Jungle. The added difficulty helps keep out pests and predators. My people carried the tradition with them when they migrated to the Basin.”
Bao Si grabbed the ladder and slowly climbed up. Chen Haoran quickly averted his eyes as he waited out the agonizing seconds.
“What are you waiting for,” she called, her voice playful. “Come on up.”
Chen Haoran bent his knees to jump but paused. It hadn’t been that long since he advanced. He was 50/50 on whether this simple jump would either take him to the roof or the air. Out of a desire to minimize embarrassment, he chose the ladder. Despite this, Bao Si had a knowing smile on her face.
“Come here,” she beckoned and brought him over to an open trap door.
Inside was a world of swirling fabric and wooden looms. Men and women fed bundles of gossamer cloth in a variety of off-white and natural colors through looms and gossiped while creating fine threads out of it. When Chen Haoran leaned over, they looked up and sent a wave of greetings to Bao Si without pausing their work.
She waved back. Her shoulder bumped his. “In terms of insect products, Zumulu has no peer, especially silk. While we can’t compare to the Central Region in output pound for pound, our quality is superior. The jungle raises fiercely proud silkworms on its leaves.”
“Do you use Gu to help with this too?” Chen Haoran recalled the scene of the Dragonfly Gu commanding hundreds of thousands of insects to die. A few silkworms would be simple compared to that.
Bao Si’s face lit up. “We do. When a shaman is involved, the silk is even better.” She waved a hand over her dress. “I made this myself.”
“It looks very good,” Chen Haoran politely said.
“Thank you,” Bao Si beamed. “Wild Silk is my favorite material. Its softness is without peer. Here, feel it.” Then, instead of doing something reasonable like offering him her sleeve, she lifted the hem of her dress and placed it in his hands, exposing her legs in the process. Chen Haoran’s eyes fell on her black bone ankle bangle, then drifted up. The tail of her centipede tattoo ended at her knee.
“What do you think?” she asked.
Chen Haoran flinched and met Bao Si’s eyes. She was smiling. He flushed at being caught staring. It was a careless mistake.
“It’s nice,” he awkwardly said, dropping her hem like it burned. “Soft.”
“I had to gather the silkworms for this dress outside the Basin. While I love the silk we make, the leaves here make the worms’ silk transparent. I only use it for my nightgown.”
Chen Haoran felt his mouth dry. Nightgown?
“I plan to use the Moon Moth Silk to make a dress as well. I can’t thank you enough for that. It’s so beautiful. I’m not sure what to make, though. What do you think, Chen Haoran? Should I make a nightgown or a cheongsam?
What did he think? Nightgown or cheongsam?
“I think you have a better eye for this stuff than I would,” he answered. “This silk is really good. I should get some robes made with it.”
Chen Haoran knew he had made a mistake as soon as he saw the glint in Bao Si’s eyes.
“Of course, you should get some!” She cheered and wrapped her arm around his, dragging him through the trap door. “Come on, I’ll measure you myself.”
“Wait, I’ll just make an appointment!”
——————————
Chen Haoran had been fortunate enough since he arrived in this world that while he may not have been the strongest, strong people had his back. Now he found himself on the other side of that equation. Xie Jin had vouched for him to stay in the Basin. Chen Haoran wasn’t going to make him look bad by being rude. At the same time, Bao Si was also a shaman and an important character in the village, and Xie Ling was standing behind her. As a guest in her home, Chen Haoran couldn’t easily refuse her as she dragged him around the village.
The worst part was that she was fun. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t enjoying her company. Even Phelps was won over with a shower of treats and head scratches. She was informative too. Like Xie Jin, she had an expansive knowledge of Zumulu’s and the Basin’s history. Still, she had approached him with an agenda in mind. Chen Haoran was glad when Xie Jin finally found them by the tallest tree in the village and the only one with no house or building of any kind around it.
“There you are,” Xie Jin said. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“It took you long enough,” Bao Si airily replied.
Xie Jin gave her a stern glare. “No thanks to you. Was it really necessary to erase his tracks?”
What? Cold shock ran down Chen Haoran’s spine like ice water. When had she done that? He cast his sense out but found no sign of any Gu.
Bao Si smiled sweetly. “How could Chen Haoran ever get a proper look at our home with you and your boastful mouth around? I simply wanted him to have a complete experience.”
Dangerous. His initial read of her hadn’t been wrong. A Qi Realm to his Liquid Meridian, and she did that without him noticing.
“Complete experience, my foot,” Xie Jin groused. He shooed her away. “Begone with you.”
“Now, now, Jin,” she chided. “I’m showing Chen Haoran around. You have other duties.”
“Chen Haoran is my guest. Showing him around is my job.”
Chen Haoran gently tugged his arm. “Thank you for today, Bao Si. I won’t take any more of your time.”
Bao Si didn’t let go. “Jin here doesn’t have any time either. He has to go to the Healing Hall.”
Xie Jin frowned. “Since when?”
“Since this morning. Grandpa is the one who ordered it. He should be there right now, in fact. You shouldn’t keep him waiting any longer. I imagine he’s already quite cross with you.
Xie Jin paled. “And you’re only telling me this now?”
It was Bao Si’s turn to narrow her eyes. “I am not a messenger. Nor do I exist to make things convenient for you. The duties are posted right there in the temple. You would have known had you decided to show up for the morning report.”
“Si—”
“Don’t you Si me. It’s not my fault you didn’t go. Nor is it my fault you didn’t think to check on your own. I brought you your tasks because I wanted to, not because I needed to. My kindness is not a job.”
Xie Jin gritted his teeth and looked as if he were about to say something until he glanced at Chen Haoran. Xie Jin held back his words and pointed at Bao Si. “We will have words about this. Brother Chen, I’ll see you later.” With that, he ran off before Chen Haoran could even say bye.
Bao Si smiled at him. “Shall we continue?”
Chen Haoran gently but firmly pushed her arm away. “Thank you, but I have to go now.”
Bao Si smirked. “Because of Xie Jin? How loyal.”
Chen Haoran did not frown but couldn’t hide his disapproval anymore. “Whatever it is you want from Xie Jin, you won’t get it through me. Please stop now.”
Bao Si laughed. It was a sharp but pleasant sound. “Wanting something from Jin requires him to possess something worth having. I had hoped his travels had changed something, but alas.” She sighed long and heavily. “I’ve given up on him a long time ago. The only one who expects anything of Jin anymore is Grandpa Ling.”
Now Chen Haoran frowned. “What do you want from me then?”
“Would you like to know?” Bao Si asked, sing-songed. She pointed up toward the top of the tree. “Shall we discuss it up there? It’s the last place I wanted to show you today.”
Chen Haoran briefly considered rejecting. A cursedly familiar mantra echoed in his mind. If not, this. Something else. Better to try and get a straight answer now when he could. He was getting tired of the vagueness surrounding him.
“Okay,” he said.
“Excellent!” Bao Si said. She held out her arms. “Up we go then.”
Chen Haoran looked at her. Phelps yawned over his shoulder. Bao Si stood perfectly still like a marble statue or a snake in ambush, a small smile playing across her face. If she felt any awkwardness, it didn’t show.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
She cutely tilted her head to the side. “How else am I going to get up there? You’re faster than me. You wouldn’t rush ahead of a lady like that now, would you? Or do you want to climb behind me instead?”
Inside Chen Haoran’s soul, there was a thirsty, dog-like portion of him that would have been perfectly quenched by either carrying her or having her climb ahead of him. Fortunately, Chen Haoran was human and not a dog. He only sometimes let his baser instincts get the best of him.
Bao Si wanted Chen Haoran to take her into his arms. What she got instead was a sloth. She looked down at Phelps. Phelps looked up at her and squealed. Her ever-confident composure finally broke, replaced with open confusion.
“You have to earn my arms,” Chen Haoran said.
He cycled qi to his legs and leapt into the air.
Comments
Ali Sivas
It felt like Jin was wanted to really say was “Begone thot”
Monus
lol
