Peaceful Jianghu

Chapter 79

Chonghua smiled and said, "He's just happy." As she spoke, she waved her hand at him, "Let him be. I haven't seen him so energetic in a long time."

As soon as he finished speaking, with a "bang," Xiao Dao kicked open the door and looked outside. He saw Xue Beifan wearing a robe and "smashing" his zither in the yard.

"Xue Er, what are you doing!" Xiao Dao said angrily, "It's so noisy."

"I was sleeping perfectly fine!" Xue Beifan retorted. "It's all your fault, you brat!"

Xiao Dao glared, covered his ears, and said, "It's so noisy! I want to sleep."

"You're not allowed to sleep if I don't want anyone to sleep." Xue Beifan put a wine jar on the table. "Come on, have a drink with me."

"I'll beat you to death!" Xiao Dao grabbed a pillow and was about to throw it.

Xue Beifan made a move to play the zither again.

Xiao Dao stomped his foot, "I want to sleep!"

Xue Beifan beckoned to her with his finger, "I'll let you go back to sleep after you finish this jar, or I'll play the piano all night."

Xiao Dao frowned, reluctantly walking out. "Just one jar!"

Xue Beifan smiled and withdrew his hand. "Yes, a jar."

"Tch." Xiao Dao curled his lip, walked over and sat down next to him, picked up a wine bowl, poured himself a drink, and gulped down the whole bowl of strong liquor, hissing as he tilted his head back. Just then, a cool night breeze blew by, and Xiao Dao took a deep breath, "Refreshing!"

Xue Beifan lowered his head and poured himself some wine. Xiao Dao snatched his wine bowl away and shoved the wine jar into his hand, saying, "Take this and drink it."

Xue Beifan looked at her for a while, then picked up the wine jar, tilted his head back, and drank.

Xiaoyue leaned against the window watching the two of them laugh. In the blink of an eye, she saw Chonghua looking at her from the opposite window, making a drinking gesture with a smile on his lips, as if asking her—want to drink?

Xiaoyue thought for a moment and nodded.

Finally, even Youyou was woken up. Pushing open the door, she saw a large bonfire burning brightly in the courtyard. Everyone was up, drinking heartily. Xiaodao and Xue Beifan were bickering as they drank, while Chonghua whispered something to Lou Xiaoyue. Finally… Youyou's gaze fell on Hao Jinfeng, who was holding a wine bowl, and she inexplicably thought of her mother's often-repeated phrase, "Find someone you like, marry him quickly! Anyway, I won't let you be a queen!"

Youyou smiled and saw that Hao Jinfeng seemed to have noticed her, beckoning her with a wine bowl in hand. She quickly pushed open the door, ran over, sat down next to him, and started drinking together.

The night is deep and the air is still, with the wind pushing the clouds overhead. This desolate, cold night in the frontier is perfect for drinking.

45

【friend】

Xiao Dao and his companions headed towards the Ghost City. The so-called Ghost City actually comprised several cities in the Western Regions, but was surrounded by a long wall.

"I've seen cities with gates between them, but I've never seen a wall that's so long around them," Xue Beifan said casually. He then noticed that Xiao Dao, who was sitting next to him in front of the carriage, had bright, sparkling eyes.

Xue Beifan chuckled, "Your mother doesn't even have any brilliant ideas about city walls, does she?"

"Hehe." Seeing that he had a chance to show off, Xiao Dao said happily, "My mother said that there is a door in a man's heart and a wall in a woman's heart."

Xue Beifan raised an eyebrow and looked at Youyou, who was resting her chin on her hand and looking curiously into the carriage, and Xiaoyue, who was studying the map of the ghost city.

Both of them tilted their heads, waiting for Xiaodao to continue.

Xiao Dao smiled and said, "To get into a man's heart, you just need to open the door. A door can be opened and closed. But to get into a woman's heart, you have to tear down a wall. Once a wall is torn down, it's not easy to rebuild it. And a rebuilt wall is either as solid as a rock or it can't be pushed down. In short, it's impossible for it to be exactly the same as the previous one."

Xue Beifan stared at her for a while, and saw Xiao Dao gently raise her chin, as if asking—was my mother right?

Xue Beifan clapped his hands in a very gracious manner, "My mother-in-law is truly remarkable; every word she utters is a gem!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Dao kicked him. Xue Beifan cooperated by taking the painless kick and scratched his chest.

Xiao Dao turned his head, stood up, and looked towards the official road at the city gate, frowning. "There are people checking things!"

"Of course," Xue Beifan smiled faintly, "They might be trying to capture Yao Duo."

"Then what should we do?"

"It should be fine."

At this moment, Chonghua, who was riding ahead, turned around and said something, while gesturing to Xiaodao to look at the general in charge of guarding the city gate.

Xiao Dao immediately understood—it was the female general who had ridden out of the ghost city with Youyou that day.

"They're our own people, it's alright," Youyou whispered to Xiaoyue, whose expression was rather serious and seemed ready to storm into the city.

Xiaoyue put the dagger back into her sleeve, and Youyou reached out to rub her temples. "Sister Xiaoyue, you're so beautiful, don't always be so serious."

Xiaoyue was slightly taken aback and looked at Youyou.

Youyou didn't know Xiaoyue's background, nor did she know that she had actually been Shen Xinghai's shadow guard for many years and always wore a mask, so expressions were completely irrelevant to her.

Xiao Dao glanced back and smiled slightly, thinking to himself, "Although Shen Xinghai is a bit wicked, Xiao Yue said he seems to be good brothers with Chonghua and Xue Beifan. I wonder if he will help Xiao Yue and Chonghua get together."

"Hello."

As Xiao Dao was lost in thought, Xue Beifan nudged her shoulder, indicating that they had arrived at the gate!

Sure enough, as they passed through the city gate, the general merely glanced at them and said calmly, "Pass."

Xiao Dao and his friends successfully entered the ghost town without any incident.

The ghost town was even more lively than the previous towns. It truly lived up to its reputation as a women-run society; the entire town was clean and tidy, and the streets were filled with beautifully dressed women, a pleasing sight to behold. Xue Beifan raised an eyebrow. "A nice place… hiss!"

Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Dao twisted his ear again.

He twisted it and realized something was wrong. Xiao Dao quickly withdrew his hand and looked away, thinking to himself, "This lecherous thief likes to look at beautiful women, what does that have to do with me?"