Like...like a heavy sword.
Ban Lan was quite pleased with her description of Cen Ji. However, she had no desire to look at that "heavy sword" at the moment.
Cen Ji realized he had overreacted and said something inappropriate. Seeing Ban Lan's expression turn dark and stern, he could only reluctantly say, "...Okay."
*******
Dancing for a few taels of silver is probably the last thing Cen Ji wants to remember in his life.
When someone suddenly challenges themselves to do something they've never even considered before, the outcome is usually a crushing defeat. So, the only result of Cen Ji's dance was that she became even stiffer than a bench.
Cen Ji remained expressionless throughout, but his gaze chilled Ban Lan's heart to the bone.
She could see what was in Cen Ji's eyes.
He has been able to persevere until now without giving up because he remembers, remembers that Wen Moyin is still in the Crane Feather Palace.
He was enduring it, and the only reason he was enduring it was because of the person whose fate was still unknown.
He Bi finally couldn't stand it anymore and asked, "Can you dance with a sword?"
Cen Ji said, "No."
Why ask, "What's that around your waist?"
Cen Ji touched the image hidden under his outer robe and said, "A dagger."
Why say, "Your martial arts skills are specifically for assassination, aren't they?"
Cen Ji nodded.
Why say, "No wonder he doesn't have a single decent move; he looks like he's covered in sticks."
How could one expect a stick to dance? Cen Ji was helpless; he could only wait for He Bi to say, "Never mind."
He did say it, but Cen Ji couldn't feel any joy.
Why say, "Forget it, we're really short-handed, you can keep dancing"?
Cen Ji thought there was always a time when he couldn't stand it anymore, especially since he himself couldn't stand watching his own stiff, flailing arms and legs anymore.
"If you can't jump well, then just keep jumping." As he said this, He Bi was leisurely drinking the tea that Ban Lan had just asked him to brew. After he finished speaking, he turned around and started chatting with Ban Lan.
Perhaps in this vast world, apart from Cen Ji, everyone can have a conversation with Ban Lan.
Even the half-dead Zhai Huan argued with Ban Lan more often than Cen Ji took the initiative to talk to Ban Lan.
Why did he ultimately follow Cen Ji to see Zhai Huan?
However, it wasn't because Cen Ji danced well, but because he danced terribly, so badly that the other male dancers were almost out of breath and exhausted.
If Cen Ji doesn't dance well, the backup dancers have to dance with him again and again.
When watching He Bi dance, Cen Ji didn't find the dance difficult. But when he danced it himself, he suddenly wanted to understand one thing: how He Bi twisted his waist to that incredible angle.
Many things in the world are like this: they seem incredibly simple, but in practice, they can be worlds apart.
It's like a simple leg lift; why does it have to be danced when done, while Cen Ji does it like a vertical split?
The male prostitutes finally couldn't take it anymore.
Some said Cen Ji was out of sync with the beat, some said Cen Ji accidentally slapped him in the face while spinning around, and some said Cen Ji made them feel terrified whenever he touched him.
After a long period of noise in his ears, He Bi simply glanced at the sky outside the window and said indifferently, "Let's go, we're not jumping anymore."
Outsider
On the way back, Banlan suddenly asked the two men to wait for her.
Before Cen Ji could say whether to wait or not, Ban Lan had already disappeared in a flash.
Cen Ji stood there for a short while before he was about to leave, but He Bi stood there leisurely waiting for Ban Lan to return.
Cen Ji was very anxious, but He Bi wasn't.
Why be like a pot of water that only bubbles no matter how much you boil it? Even if Cen Ji is so anxious that he is burning with rage, all that happens is a wisp of smoke.
Half an incense stick later, Ban Lan ran back carrying a huge package in her arms.
Why did He Bi and Cen Ji both look at the large package, and then at Ban Lan, completely confused about the situation?
Ban Lan walked over and tossed her head, "Let's go."
Why bother asking, "Why buy so much stuff?"
Ban Lan said as they walked, "Although Zhai Huan is annoying, he hasn't made things too difficult for us. I saw that he even had to beg for three taels of silver, so he must be struggling to make a living."
Hearing this, Cen Ji finally couldn't help but say, "You...you didn't buy all this stuff to help him out, did you...?"
Ban Lan nodded.
Cen Ji's face twitched slightly. "I remember giving him two gold leaves..."
Ban Lan seemed to just remember, and said suddenly, "Oh right, how could I forget?"