Then, Zixia raised his arm to call to the rest of the team, and they set off on horseback.
Lou Xiyue lifted me onto his horse, then leaped onto his own horse and rode behind me.
I said, "Actually, I have my own horse."
Lou Xiyue wrapped her arms around me, pulled on the reins, and said expressionlessly, "You're all alone. Be careful that man from the East doesn't eat you up."
As we traveled to the grassland, we looked out and saw rolling mountains stretching for miles, which merged with the verdant grassland to form an endless picture.
Long suburbs, ancient roads, clear greenery, the sky covering all directions, seemingly within reach.
Lou Xiyue asked me, "Where do snow plums grow?"
I said, "On the cliff face of Shihan in Lishan."
He tightened his grip slightly. "You're very happy today?"
I exclaimed with delight, "This is the first time in my life I've been abroad, and I'm so excited!"
I said to Lou Xiyue, "God is truly original. So this is what foreigners look like. It's so different from what I imagined. It's amazing, a masterpiece of nature."
He asked, "What did you originally imagine they would look like?"
I looked up and thought for a moment, “Actually, I haven’t really fantasized about what I look like, but I thought that all the people of Xue Kingdom had the surname Xue.”
Lou Xiyue said, "..."
As Zixia turned his horse around and walked towards us, he said to me, "Qi Xiang, Silver Moon Lake is ahead. Let's rest here tonight, and I'll make you some milk tea."
I asked curiously, "What is milk tea?"
Zixia smiled and held out her hand to me, "Come right away, I'll cook this just for you."
Lou Xiyue applied force with her hands, and the horse suddenly ran faster.
Zixia quickened his pace and shouted to him, "You already have a girl, why don't you give Qi Xiang to me?"
Lou Xiyue glanced at him indifferently, "Qi Xiang didn't fancy you."
Zixia raised an eyebrow and said, "How do you know she didn't like me?"
I was amazed by the uninhibited boldness and fiery passion of the people of the East, and even more shocked by their directness and the speed at which they made a first impression. I swallowed hard and muttered, "I really don't like you..."
Zixia called out to the caravan, "Stop. We'll spend the night at Silvermoon Lake."
Nightfall cast a faint moonlit shadow on Silver Moon Lake, the lake surface shimmering with silver light, and a full moon hung in the deep blue sky.
The caravan members sat down on the ground by the lake, taking out pieces of meat and dried bread from their bags to fill their stomachs.
A fire was lit by the lake. Zixia took a pouch from his waist, pulled out a piece of milk curd, and put it in a small pot. He smiled at me and said, "Qixiang, come here, I'll teach you how to make milk tea."
Curious, I moved closer. Zixia opened a small brocade box containing green tea leaves. When the milk in the small pot started to bubble, he added some tea leaves and salt. A light green color spread out, and the aroma of tea mixed with the scent of milk lingered at my nose.
Zixia said proudly, "This is Western Region milk tea. I learned how to make it when I went to the Western Regions to do business. Try it."
He handed me a small cup, and I took a sip; the flavor was mellow and fragrant.
Zixia looked at me quietly, drew the curved knife from his waist, cut off a piece of cooked meat and handed it to me, "Qi Xiang, you are the most beautiful girl from Li Kingdom that I have ever seen, just as beautiful as our princess."
I choked and looked up at him. Zixia looked at me sincerely, making me involuntarily feel embarrassed. I had lived a dutiful and dutiful life for over eighteen years, and no one had ever elevated my appearance to the level of being able to look down on all living beings. Although for a time, people often praised me for being stunningly beautiful, it was during those years that, unfortunately, I wore a mask.
I figured the aesthetic sense of the people of the East might be extraordinary, so I decided to find a yardstick to measure it. I pointed to Lou Xiyue and Ji Jiu and asked Zixia, "Do you think Lou Xiyue is prettier, or the girl next to him?"
Zixia said, "That girl is more beautiful, but they are not as beautiful as you."
His eyes were extremely pale, gazing me completely into them, and the gold earring on his right ear shimmered faintly in the moonlight.
I pointed to his ear and asked, "In your Eastern lands, do men wear earrings?"
He smiled brightly, "You like it? I'll give it to you."
After he finished speaking, he reached out to take off the earring.
I said, "No need."
Zixia thought for a moment, then took out a dazzling ruby from his pocket. "These earrings are not valuable enough for you. This ruby was given to me by His Highness the Prince when I met him. I'm giving it to you."
I've always loved stones. I collect every pebble with a shape in Medicine King Valley, and I often rub the shapeless ones in my palm until they take shape too. Looking at this ruby in front of me, I can't help but want to reach out and take it, but I'm afraid that the customs in the East are like those in our Li Kingdom—"He who eats another's food is bound to do so, and he who takes another's gift is bound to do so."
I analyzed the situation carefully: I had already drunk his milk tea and eaten his cooked meat, and since I couldn't vomit those up, I had already given in. So, since things had come to this point, I felt justified in accepting the ruby.
Zixia was overjoyed. He suddenly leaned in and gave me a big kiss on the forehead.
I hadn't expected him to do that, so I leaned back and hurriedly threw the ruby back at him.
My body felt lighter as Lou Xiyue scooped me up, her voice cool as she said, "She is my girl."
Zixia jumped up and exclaimed, "Qi Xiang accepted my ruby; she's fallen in love with me!"
Lou Xiyue looked at me, "Oh—?" She raised her eyebrows and slowly said, "She has won my heart, she is mine."
I was still shocked by the overwhelming emotions of this foreign friend and his astonishing ability to affirm himself, and then I continued to admire how quickly Lou Xiyue was able to master the straightforward way foreigners express themselves so skillfully.
I touched my nose, pondering whether I should intervene or not in this situation.
Zixia placed a hand on the precious sword at his waist. "Let's have a fight. If I lose, Qi Xiang is yours. If I win, she has to marry me."
"Don't even think about it."