The years I was in the human world

In order to track Xiao Fengzhuo's intermittent spiritual energy, Lu Zhouxue walked and stopped on the road. His skin was very bright, and this strange behavior was quite conspicuous in the eyes of others.

As the time gradually approached noon, there were fewer people on the street as they all went home to eat. Lu Zhouxue ran around like a headless fly and suddenly smelled an aroma belonging to the market. His eyes fell on the wonton stall next to him. The thin wonton skins wrapped the round wontons and floated in the hot soup.

The old man selling wontons sprinkled a handful of chopped green onions into the bowl and shouted "Wontons are here". A bowl of steaming wontons fresh from the pot was brought to the table, smelling a fragrant aroma.

Hungry. Lu Zhouxue had lived away from worldly things for many years. This was the first time in his life that he felt hungry because of the smell of food in the market. It was a very novel feeling, and he also looked forward to eating, which he had thought was unnecessary in the past.

Lu Zhouxue found a random seat at the wonton stall and sat down. His spotless white clothes were very out of place in this small stall full of the atmosphere of the market. He waved to the boss and shouted like other diners: "Boss, I want a bowl of wontons."

The boss bent down to add more firewood, and without seeing his face, he habitually responded, "Okay!"

After adding firewood, the old man stood up and realized that the person who sold wontons to him just now was the famous prostitute in the nearby Wanzhuanglou. He did not show any contempt or malice because of Ah Xun's identity. He made Lu Zhouxue a bowl of ordinary wontons as if he were an ordinary customer.

When delivering the wontons to Lu Zhouxue, he only whispered, "You must have sneaked out, eat it quickly and go back, or that conscienceless person will beat you again."

Lu Zhouxue didn't expect to hear such words when she came out to eat a bowl of wontons. She looked up subconsciously and saw that the old man selling wontons had gray hair and beard, but he was in good spirits, and there was genuine concern on his old face. This was a kind old man, Lu Zhouxue thought.

Seeing that he remained silent, the old man became anxious and pushed his back, urging him to eat faster: "I don't want your money anymore, eat faster."

"Thank you." Lu Zhouxue nodded in response, without further explanation. He took the wontons from the old man and sat down to eat slowly. He had never tried these before. The most he had eaten was Xiao Fengzhuo's candied haws. Now that he tried it in the illusion, the taste was unexpectedly good.

But before Lu Zhouxue could eat his wontons peacefully for long, the servant of the young master of the Cui Mansion came with the servants to "invite" him to the banquet in a menacing manner: "My young master invites you."

Lu Zhouxue didn't know who the young master of the Cui family was, so naturally she wouldn't agree to go with this boy. But the other party brought people with him, and they crowded the small wonton stall with a ferocious look, so that even the old man selling wontons lost his business.

Lu Zhouxue looked back at the helpless old man standing by the stove and sighed softly. These people were looking for trouble with Ah Xun, and it would not be good to involve this innocent old man. If he insisted on resisting and started fighting, it would inevitably cause trouble for the old man.

Lu Zhouxue gently placed a few copper coins on the table as meal money, raised his eyes and looked at the newcomers: "I will go with you, don't involve others."

Even if we want to deal with these guys, it’s not too late to wait until we get to a place with fewer people.

There was no conflict between them, and the servant would naturally not make things difficult for his master when doing his job. He said "please", and the servants who followed him made way for Lu Zhouxue.

It was quite lively here, and bystanders had already stopped to watch from afar, whispering.

"Who is that? What a big scene!"

"Who else could it be? The half-demon from Wanzhuang Tower. Cui Mansion is hosting a banquet for Master Xie today. I'm afraid they are here to invite this person..."

"A man of such talent as Master Xie would actually be interested in this kind of stuff?"

"Why should I look down on you? They are all men. It's not like you haven't tasted fox before. If she twists her thin waist, I'm afraid she will break her vow no matter if she is a monk or a Taoist priest."

Lu Zhouxue had sharp ears and sharp eyes, and he could hear all the whispers of others. He had probably made up his mind that Ah Xun's situation was even worse than he had imagined. He frowned slightly and glanced at the crowd indifferently.

The onlookers shuddered.

"What's going on? Why do I feel a little cold?"

"Hey, don't tell me, me too."

"Did the fox just glance over here? The look in his eyes was terrifying."

"How is that possible? You must have seen it wrong."

"How can I be wrong? That look is like a knife, as if it wants to peel off a layer of skin from a person alive."

"Hey, why is your tongue swollen?"

The noisy voices gradually faded away. Under the threat of the servants of the Cui Mansion, Lu Zhouxue slowly walked forward and asked, "Who is your young master?"

It couldn't possibly be Xiao Fengzhuo, right? Lu Zhouxue wondered uncertainly in his heart, if that was the case, why didn't that guy come to find him himself?

"The young master's surname is Cui." This was the only sentence the servant replied. In his heart, he looked down on people like Ah Xun who used their beauty to please others, but he would not be stupid enough to offend someone in person. After all, playthings will always be favored sometimes. If he whispered something in her ear, he would be in big trouble.

"Oh." Lu Zhouxue nodded and said no more. The servant had no other instructions to give, so it seemed that Xiao Fengzhuo did not ask him to come. It happened that the few of them entered an alley where no one was walking around, so Lu Zhouxue planned to deal with them here.

"Why aren't you leaving?" The servant had a bad feeling when he saw Lu Zhouxue suddenly stop. For some reason, Ah Xun was acting very strange today. Not only was she dressed spotlessly, but her every move was also calm and composed. Her brows were full of righteousness without the slightest bit of coquettishness. There was no trace of the worldly air of someone who used her beauty to please men or the cowardice of someone who did not show it.

If the bruises on his neck from the abuse had not yet completely faded, at first glance he would have looked like an immortal in white who had descended into the mortal world.

Facing Lu Zhouxue's indifferent gaze, the servant couldn't help but swallow his saliva. She was really beautiful. Ah Xun had ordered her in Wanzhuanglou before, but she was never as delicious as today.

The immortal was as cold and pure as jade, but his waist was as slender as a willow, which made people want to tear off his white clothes and hold his white jade body to float up and down.

"What are you looking at?" Lu Zhouxue asked coldly. He looked at the servant in front of him with interest. He saw undisguised lust in his eyes. Although it felt very offensive, it was also a very novel experience. After all, in Buzhou Mountain, who would dare to have any evil intentions towards the bloodthirsty and warlike Qing Jun?

Lu Zhouxue's words brought the servant back to his senses. He looked at the beautiful and charming face of the young man in front of him and suddenly felt that maybe he could pick up some leftovers after the young master in the mansion wanted to use up Ah Xun.

Ah Xun is the only half-demon in Wanzhuang Tower. He is of low status. Although he has a beautiful appearance and a slender figure, the price of buying him for a night is quite low. He has served countless people. Logically speaking, a prostitute like him should not be pursued by those young men with discerning tastes.

But he was handsome and soft, and everyone who slept with him liked his taste.

The same thing happened to the servant. He tied a string of copper coins to Lu Zhouxue's wrist and hinted in a rather ambiguous way: "Ah Xun, you are very beautiful. I have always liked you."

This is the advance payment to buy Ah Xun's tonight.

Lu Zhouxue looked down at the jingling copper coins on his wrist, and suddenly smiled slightly, out of anger. He looked up at the servant and said in an ambiguous tone: "Really? Then look into my eyes and tell me what you see there?"

Ah Xun's eyes were very beautiful, the gentle brown color seemed like amber sealed in ice, but at this moment it was Lu Zhouxue who controlled this body, so there was no gentleness in those eyes anymore, only a bone-chilling coldness.

The servant felt as if there was a knife hidden in those eyes, cutting his soul in great pain when he looked at it. Soon tears of blood flowed from his eyes and the pain was unbearable.

But even so, he could not escape from the vortex of those eyes. He saw a desolate snow, towering snow-capped mountains rising from the ground like blades, and nothingness all around.

Then, he saw a human face full of cracks, with blood flowing out from the cracks on the face, with indescribable horror, and the owner of that face was himself.

"Ah!" The servant yelled and staggered back a few steps. Then a strong smell of urine came out and his crotch was wet. Lu Zhouxue's sharp eyes were so scared that she wet her pants, and the urine flowed all over the floor.

The other servants nearby didn't understand what was going on. Seeing the boy wet his pants for no apparent reason, they just felt contempt for him and never thought about why he was so frightened.

Lu Zhouxue looked at the other people around him, and a terrifying pressure was released. For an instant, everyone felt a sense of fear as if a collapsing snow mountain was pressing down on them. These servants were just ordinary people with mortal bodies, and they all knelt down, unable to bear it.

No one knows why Ah Xun, who used to be submissive, suddenly became so powerful, but no matter what the reason is, it does not stop them from kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Lu Zhouxue looked at the frightened servant. Since he was in charge of Ah Xun's affairs, he should take care of them to the end. So he asked, "What is the matter that your master wants to see me about?"

"Yes, yes, the young master wants to host a banquet for distinguished guests from the capital. Please, please go and serve him..." The servant finished his words tremblingly, shaking like a fallen leaf in autumn.

"A distinguished guest from the capital? Who is he?" Lu Zhouxue frowned. He still didn't know where and when he was.

"It's Mr. Huaiyu, who is known as a talented and romantic man in the Xie family."

"Xie Huaiyu..." Lu Zhouxue repeated the name softly. Xiao Fengzhuo had told him about this man, the young master of the Xie family who had gone into battle temporarily under the iron hoofs of the Wuxiang people and died of exhaustion. It seemed that this illusion was trying to present the story of the Bamboo-Clothed Ghost.

Then Xie Huaiyu should be the important core of the illusion. If you want to leave here, you have to meet him. Lu Zhouxue originally wanted to leave to find Xiao Fengzhuo after dealing with these people, but now he changed his mind. He wanted to go to Cui Mansion to meet Xie Huaiyu and then make other plans.

Cui Mansion.

A low-profile carriage slowly stopped at the door. The coachman had a handsome face. He got off the carriage and lifted the curtain for the people inside: "Huaiyu, we're here."

"Thank you, Uncle Yang." Xie Huaiyu got off the car in wooden clogs. The servants who had been waiting for him in the Cui Mansion came forward and respectfully invited Xie Huaiyu in.

"Is Shuyang not coming?" Seeing the man standing in the carriage motionless, Xie Huaiyu finally turned around and asked politely.

Shu Yang shook his head and refused: "No, it's not appropriate for a rough guy like me to go to your party."

If Xie Huaiyu went to the banquet, he would be a handsome young man; if he, a general, went there, it would be like a ox chewing a peony. He would not feel comfortable there, and others would not feel comfortable either. So why bother?

"Okay then." Xie Huaiyu nodded, understood Shu Yang's meaning, and said nothing. He turned around and entered Cui's mansion under the guidance of the servant at the door.

“Huaiyu!” Seeing Xie Huaiyu gradually walking away, Shu Yang thought of something and shouted loudly. This was quite rude to the family, but Xie Huaiyu was obviously very tolerant of him now. When she heard him say this, she was not angry, but turned around and looked at him in confusion: “Huh?”

"I'll pick you up in the evening." Shu Yang scratched his head and said embarrassedly.

"Well, thank you." Xie Huaiyu didn't react much and nodded in agreement.

He followed the servants into the inner court. The Cui family was a powerful family in Yangzhou. Although they were not as powerful as the big families in Beijing, they were also powerful enough. An ordinary banquet would have countless gold and silver items, and the dancers were all very beautiful and graceful. It was indeed a scene of luxury.

Xie Huaiyu frowned, not really liking the noise, and found a quiet place to sit down.

"It seems that what I said before about the extravagant nature of the wealthy and powerful families was still a conservative statement." Xiao Fengzhuo used his spiritual sense to communicate with Lin Xiyang. Even when he was the Prince of Ding'an, he did not have such a grand ceremony. This mere landlord in Yangzhou was more wealthy than him, a powerful vassal king.

"If it hadn't been so corrupt, how could the Wuxiang people's iron hooves have broken in so easily?" Lin Xiyang replied slowly, with a hint of sadness in his tone. The Southern Dynasty and the Xie family had all turned to dust in the war. Even if he was indignant, there was nothing he could do.

"Why are you here alone?" The young master of the Cui family was the host, so seeing the distinguished guest sitting alone in the corner naturally came over to greet him. He sat down next to Xie Huaiyu and spoke in a familiar tone as if it was not the first time they met.

Xie Huaiyu wrinkled his nose, unable to stand the strong smell of powder on Mr. Cui's face. Young masters from aristocratic families pursue fair skin and like to put powder on their faces. At first glance, his skin looks so pale that he seems to be terminally ill.

"It's too noisy over there." Xie Huaiyu spoke the truth. The Cui family was not of high status enough to allow him to put himself in such a difficult position. Besides, his reputation of preferring mountains and rivers and liking quietness was well known to everyone. So what he said was not rude. Instead, it made the Cui family think that he was being genuine.

Upon hearing this, Master Cui glanced towards the place where the singing and dancing were noisy, then laughed and asked someone to bring a pot of wine, "Since singing and dancing don't please you, why don't you try this wine? It's newly brewed with early spring peach blossoms. It's refreshing and you should like it."

Master Cui poured a glass of wine and pushed it in front of Xie Huaiyu: "Please."