The woman gave Zhi Cheng an evil look for a moment, but then left. Qing lai sighed.
"I'll never understand why some people have to touch you all the time! It's like a fight!"
"That's what the right person says, who, honored brother Qing, stripped me down to my shirt when we were in the caves?" asked Zhi Cheng mischievously. Qing lai hid the pink hint of his cheeks behind his long sleeves, which he lifted to drink from his teacup.
"I meant me, I don't like to be touched all the time!" he then said. Zhi Cheng laughed.
"And you think you could stop me if I wanted to touch you?" He stretched out his fingers pertly.
"But I don't want to!" Qing lai replied gently, looking him straight in the eye. Zhi Cheng's fingertips remained centimetres from Qing lai's face. The gaze of his bright eyes rested on Zhi Cheng. Scorching hot and so intense that the Ghost King felt like the air between them was shimmering.
"You see!" said Qing lai softly. Nevertheless, Zhi Cheng understood every word. Even if he stood at the other end of the room full of people talking in confusion and whispered something, Zhi Cheng would understand him.
It was the kind of voice that made you prick up your ears, involuntarily turn them over and listen to for hours. Warm and velvety. Qing lai smiled.
"Sometimes it's not even necessary to fight if you can confuse your opponent enough to stall for time!" he explained. Zhi Cheng placed his fingertips on Qing lai's cheek without hesitation.
"Time's up!" he said in a raspy voice. Their eyes met, but Qing lai still made no move to push him away. A warm, light feeling rose up inside Zhi Cheng and intertwined with the fibers of his body. He memorized every inch of the face in front of him.
"You trust me too much!" he finally said and let go of Qing lai.
"Until now, you haven't given me any reason to distrust you. You've already saved my life once and never harmed me. On the contrary, you're always there when I turn around. I'm afraid I'm getting used to your company," laughed the man in white.
Zhi Cheng cleared his throat. It was true, he kept stumbling from one problem to the next and never let go of Qing lai's hand.
"No one is stopping you from going your way," Zhi Cheng replied, almost offended.
Qing lai stood up and turned to leave. Involuntarily, Zhi Cheng's hand sprang forward and clutched at the wide sleeve. Qing lai raised a brow.
"I've changed my mind," Zhi Cheng said hastily. "Stay a while longer!" Qing lai chuckled and sat down again.
"As if I could leave now. We still have a bone to pick with a certain Bo Chao!" he said quietly.
Zhi Cheng strained to look at the dark wood of the table, trying to control his racing heart and the blood rushing to his cheeks.
You are a ghost, the Ghost King, you are Chengzhu and dead, damn it, don't act like a giggling little girl in his presence.
He closed his eyes and opened his fan. He was hot and he had to hide his face somewhere.
"Have you heard the news yet? Duifang is spreading the news that Chengzhu has been overthrown!" the whispered voice of a youth at another table reached them.
Qing lai's eyes slid to him unnoticed. Zhi Cheng was still staring at the table, and even though it looked like Qing lai was devoting himself entirely to his tea, Zhi Cheng had already gotten to know him better.
Qing lai's body was tense. Not a muscle twitched and even his breathing was so shallow that it was almost imperceptible. His fingertips rested on the hot teacup without moving, while his golden-brown curtain of hair fell over his face, covering his golden eyes.
"I heard it too, there is a messenger on a trade route very close to the Obsidian Cliffs, shouting it out to the world day and night," someone replied.
Zhi Cheng raised a brow unnoticed. Who was Weijie trying to provoke? Did he suspect that he hadn't killed him after all and wanted to lure him out of his reserve?
He picked up his bowl of tea and sipped it. The tea tasted bland and the leaves bitter. Not quality for the nobility. Zhi Cheng continued to fan.
"The last king, Chengzhu is said to have been insane, but has largely stayed out of the affairs of our world. Who has taken his place? Are we about to have a confrontation with the Valley of Ghosts?" another voice rose questioningly.
Qing lai had finished his tea and put the cup down again. He looked worried.
"Is there a problem, Brother Qing?" asked Zhi Cheng, watching his expression in alarm. Qing lai sighed.
"Hopefully not," he admitted. "Chengzhu was considered an invincible spirit king for a long time. The one who replaced him might get some utterly stupid ideas now that he has defeated an invincible immortal king," he said softly. Zhi Cheng nodded slowly.
"Are you worried that the new Ghost King might turn an eye on the mortal world?" he asked. Zhi Cheng had to admit, he wasn't big on consequences. He did what he wanted, when he wanted and when he felt like it. He had never considered what a new rule meant for anyone but himself, and he had to admit, he still didn't care.
Qing lai rolled the empty cup between his fingers before refilling himself and Zhi Cheng.
"It would be better for him not to try. My brother can be quite scary on the battlefield," he said more casually.
Zhi Cheng lifted his cup and drank the disgusting concoction once more before putting it out of Qing lai's reach.
Weijie might actually not be too much of an opponent for Xiao Xiangyu. Unlike him, who focused all his battle strength on black magic, Weijie's inner core, and thus himself, could be destroyed. You just had to get past his countless puppets.
On the other hand, this guy had surprised even him when they had fought. Even though Zhi Cheng liked to claim that Weijie would have been no match for him without the Night Weed, he was still surprised by his precise strikes and thoughtful attacks.
He held back when he thought he was outmatched, but struck twice as hard when he had a chance. He was intelligent and an excellent strategist. Perhaps he could be dangerous to one or two others after all.
"I admit, this is interesting news, but none of it sounds like something we can use?" Zhi Cheng said boredly and let his gaze wander over the guests.
Qing lai shrugged his shoulders and helped himself to the various dishes the waiter had brought. Zhi Cheng narrowed his eyes and drummed his fingers on the table.
"You just wanted to waste my money!" he growled.
"That you stole!" Qing lai remarked, chewing.
"I told you that..." he kept his mouth shut as he caught Qing lai's gaze.
"Your purse was made of the same material and cloth as the one you took when we attacked the barbarians in the cave. It must be one of a series of purses created by an artist. The patterns are similar and the fabric is the same. You stole it, if not in the cave, then when we overpowered the scouting party," Qing lai said, his tone so serious that Zhi Cheng didn't dare to object.
"Then why didn't you take him away from me again?" asked Zhi Cheng instead. Qing lai sighed.
"If he had also been poisoned, you wouldn't have survived the walk to Chaisang so easily," he replied.
"But that doesn't mean we shouldn't get rid of the gold as a precaution, Brother Zhi. Eat!"
"What were you doing at Obsidian Cliffs? Were you seeking death?" an angry voice asked the youth. He flinched violently and turned around.
"If I hadn't done it, I certainly wouldn't be sitting here now, dining with the nobility!" he replied defiantly. The man, a tall, broad, muscle-bound giant, narrowed his eyes. Probably a mercenary who bought himself a nice evening with his wages.
"You took a bribe? What was it worth to go so close to the Ghost Valley?" he asked warily.
The young man swallowed, he had already said too much, and just shook his head. He quickly drained his cup of wine before standing up and hurriedly leaving the inn. The burly mercenary just snorted, but left it at that.
Zhi Cheng and Qing lai exchanged a glance. There were very few people who had enough money to send someone so close to Duifang, and Bo Chao was certainly one of them.
Qing lai put his chopsticks aside and after a wink, both men were gone. Only the bag of gold remained on their table.