Yuan'er was taken aback, thinking of the scene where Uncle Lan taught Yi Chunjun to dance the Chrysanthemum Dance... It was really quite funny.
Tuoba Yuanxun was also deeply moved. He sincerely comforted his senior sister, who was sighing with regret, "Don't hate Senior Uncle Lan anymore. Isn't he the one who suffered the most retribution?"
Xiao Juyuan couldn't dance well no matter what she tried, and she became a little irritable. Pei Junwu patted her back to comfort her and told her to be patient. She then took the opportunity to lean into his arms and began to sob softly, complaining that she was tired and annoyed.
Pei Junwu smiled slightly, "Didn't you insist on learning it yourself?"
Xiao Juyuan twisted her shoulders coquettishly.
"Senior Brother Pei is so good to Juyuan." Yan Minyu stared at the two of them, her tone envious. "They've been childhood sweethearts too, and look at you," she glanced at Tuoba Yuanxun as if he were a fly, "Why am I so unlucky!"
Yuan'er walked away silently. Recently, she had been diligently cultivating, and her flying speed had increased significantly, while her body had become much lighter.
Whenever she has something bothering her, she goes to Huaxi Lake. Gazing at the gently rippling water for a while helps her calm her mind.
There wasn't a soul in sight by the silent lake. Yuan'er looked at the shimmering water and remembered the Chrysanthemum Fairy Dance her mother had performed for her on her fifth birthday. From that day on, she had been eager to learn the martial arts of her sect and dance such beautiful dances.
Rourou raised her hand, turned around... and leaped half a step. Thinking of her mother, she unconsciously jumped up. How could Xiao Juyuan not jump well? Yi Chunjun had taught her so many times; she had learned it just by watching.
"So beautiful..." came Xiao Juyuan's somewhat jealous compliment.
Yuan'er was startled, snapping out of her reverie. The abrupt interruption of her dance steps caused her to lose her balance and sway violently. She saw Pei Junwu, Yi Chunjun, and Xiao Juyuan; they were probably planning to find a quieter place to continue practicing.
"Watch out." Yi Chunjun gracefully leaped forward and caught her in his arms. "You danced so beautifully." He whispered in her ear, his gentle breath tickling her earlobe, making it feel both numb and itchy.
The Smiling Flower, Chapter 17: Sleeping in Separate Rooms
The winding dirt road seemed to be blocked by the lush green valley not far away, but upon closer inspection, a slight bend revealed a completely new scene.
There was only one small inn by the roadside, built of solid bluestone, with a stable and a kitchen. Because it was close to the foot of the mountain, it became the only place for travelers to rest in the evening.
Pei Junwu glanced at the sky; it was nearly dusk, and now they could only camp out in the wilderness if they went into the mountains.
"Let's stay here tonight." He sighed softly, somewhat helplessly. His father's birthday was in ten days, and they needed to get back as soon as possible.
In the past, he could reach the town ahead by evening when he returned home from Shuangjie Pavilion. But because of Yan Minyu and her fellow disciples, their journey was much slower, and they could only spend the night in this deserted inn.
"Here?!" Xiao Juyuan was both surprised and disgusted. He frowned as he looked at the porters and merchants laughing and talking loudly in the stone courtyard through the veil covering their hats. "Brother Wu, I'd rather travel through the night and rest at a decent inn in the town ahead."
Tuoba Yuanxun shook his head, and unusually carefully adjusted Li Yuan'er's veil to ensure it completely concealed her stunning beauty. This inn was inhabited by rough, uncouth men who delivered goods; what would happen if they saw Xiao Yuan? "No, even if I can walk, Senior Sister and Xiao Yuan won't have the strength."
"I should have just ridden a horse," Xiao Juyuan complained.
"It's all mountain roads, how fast can you go on horseback?" Yan Minyu sensed that she was somewhat resentful of them and said rather bluntly.
"Let's stay here." Pei Junwu frowned slightly and walked towards the simple courtyard gate of the shop.
The waiter who was greeting customers by the roadside hadn't dared to come over to them because they didn't look like people who would stay here. Pei Junwu came over and asked him how many superior rooms were left, which surprised him greatly.
“Three rooms.” He stared straight at Pei Junwu. He had rarely seen such a handsome man in his life.
"I'll give you double the money, make sure you can free up two more rooms." Pei Junwu casually pulled out a silver ingot from his waist and tossed it to the waiter.
The waiter swallowed hard, but was disappointed. "Young master, our inn only has three superior rooms. The rest are ordinary guest rooms." He pointed to a roughly constructed ring of houses inside a stone wall about the height of a person. Judging from their structure, they were only different from the stables in the corner, except for windows and thin wooden doors. Standing in the courtyard, one could see everything inside the rooms through the two-finger-wide gaps in the doors and windows.
Pei Junwu frowned, clearly undecided whether to turn around and leave.
"There's no other way, we'll have to squeeze into those three 'superior rooms'." Yi Chunjun, who had been looking around from outside the stone wall, walked into the courtyard.
The waiter was stunned, his mouth agape.
"Three rooms...how should we stay?" Yi Chunjun was clearly up to something, and the smile on his face made Pei Junwu glare at him. "I'll share a room with Senior Brother Pei," he asked happily.
"No." Pei Junwu replied coldly and resolutely.
"Don't look at me!" Tuoba Yuanxun shouted when he saw Tuoba Yuanxun turn his face to look at him with a wolf-eating-lamb expression, and exaggeratedly hid behind Xiao Yuan.
"I'll share a room with you, with mountains and water." Yan Minyu laughed, and this time it was Yi Chunjun's turn to tremble. Who is the wolf and who is the sheep is truly unpredictable.
Pei Junwu remained silent for a long time, clearly caught in a dilemma; one wrong move could lead to serious consequences...
“I’ll share a room with Brother Wu.” Xiao Juyuan was resolute, even a little stubborn. Although her face was covered by a light veil, she stepped forward and took Pei Junwu’s arm. Everyone understood that the direction of her defiant eyes was definitely towards the corner where Yi Chunjun was standing.
“Xiao Yuan and I share a room.” Tuoba Yuanxun smiled happily.
"no!"
"no!"
Pei Junwu and Yi Chunjun spoke at the same time, and after they finished speaking, they both glanced at each other with slight surprise. Yi Chunjun smiled, but Pei Junwu's face turned cold and he stopped looking at him.
"It's still just me and Xiaoyuan sharing a room." Yi Chunjun sighed with a smile, then suddenly broke into a wide grin. "Have you ever heard the story of the wolf, the sheep, the vegetables, and the rabbit crossing the river together?"
"I'm not interested in listening, I'm exhausted!" Yan Minyu said in a bad mood, slamming her arms and legs down and yelling at the waiter to hurry up and lead the way.
Yi Chunjun walked over with a satisfied expression and put his arm around Xiaoyuan's shoulder. "Our group is the sheep and the rabbit. Hey, Juyuan, your group is the wolf and the lamb now, be careful."
"Ignore him, Brother Wu, let's go." Xiao Juyuan was a little embarrassed and pulled hard on Pei Junwu's arm.
"So what group are we in?" Tuoba Yuanxun asked with great interest.
"Hmm...wolves and vegetables."
Tuoba Yuanxun rolled his eyes at Yan Minyu's back, "She's not even as good as a vegetable."
"Yeah, she's the wolf, and you're the vegetable."