CH 117

He was rather stumped. He looked up at Huo Wujiu, and met his smile.

It was a very light smile, but with a sparkle that was too difficult to ignore. He embodied a bird that had flown out of its cage, or a wild beast that took him to his territory.

With sprinkles of good-natured badassery, he sized him up.

“You…”

Jiang Suizhou was about to speak, when he heard Huo Wujiu say, “Do you still not want to go out?”

As he spoke, he pulled Jiang Suizhou and walked candidly towards the outside of the alley.

“Since you have recovered, stop shutting yourself indoors,” he advised as he walked.

Jiang Suizhou muttered behind him, “If you’re this capable, why don’t you just go back to Northern Liang?”

Huo Wujiu glanced back.

“Do you want to leave?” He added, “If you want to, we can leave the city right now.”

Jiang Suizhou was startled and looked up at him.

Huo Wujiu, who was half a step ahead of him, turned around, looking serious and not joking at all.

Jiang Suizhou’s mind went blank for a moment.

“But…”

In the next moment, Huo Wujiu laughed.

“I’m teasing you.” His voice unconsciously softened some. That genial smile blended with the gentle breeze of the early summer evening.

It drifted into Jiang Suizhou’s ear.

——

This was the second time Jiang Suizhou roamed the market in Lin’an.

Last time, it was because of Ji You’s matter that he entered the place and got drunk. However, he wasn’t part of the residents there. Even though he seemed to blend in with the crowd, he was quite distinct from the others.

So after that day, Jiang Suizhou never thought of ‘going outside to sightsee’ again.

But this time … seemed to be different.

It might be because today was particularly lively.

The Dragon Boat Festival was considered a major festival in Lin’an. Due to the festival, there was no curfew in the city. At this juncture, the streets was bustling with activity with surging streams of people. The street hadn’t been lit yet, but the street vendors had set up their stalls clamorously. The stalls selling lamps and trinkets were colorful, and the stalls selling food had smoke billowing up from them.

In the distance, they could see the lion dance team marching through the street. There were street performers at the entrance of the street and cries of approval would echo from time to time.

And because of the crowds, Huo Wujiu kept holding Jiang Suizhou’s wrist.

Across his robe, his strength and temperature were palpable.

Somehow, Jiang Suizhou was also infected by the excitement around, and the corners of his lips curled up.

“It’s really lively,” he said, “I can’t feel it at all in the mansion.”

With the busting excitement around, no one noticed them. The moment his words fell, his words melted into the chatters of the people around him.

However, Huo Wujiu heard it.

He chuckled under his breath. He lowered his head and said to Jiang Suizhou, “I told you it was time to come out and look around. Did I lie to you?”

Jiang Suizhou also laughed.

Although reason told him that he should stay away from Huo Wujiu, Jiang Suizhou had to admit that it was a great pleasure for him to walk side by side with Huo Wujiu at the moment.

“Alright, let’s go and have dinner first,” Huo Wujiu said.

Jiang Suizhou was not familiar with the place, so he let Huo Wujiu pull him to a small restaurant. They sat by the window on the second floor.

The restaurant wasn’t too big, the tables and chairs were quite crude. The cups on the table were coarse porcelain, and the poured tea was also common green tea bits. Nevertheless, the view was nice. They only had to look down to see the bustling streets beneath then.

Although Jiang Suizhou remained unperturbed, his eyes kept wandering about. After Huo Wujiu ordered some dishes and let the waiter withdraw, Jiang Suizhou asked, “How did you find this place?”

He watched as Huo Wujiu poured tea for him naturally while answering, “Wei Kai recommended it. After they entered the city, they stayed here and said that the northern food here is authentic and close to Yangguan’s.”

In the mountains that day, Huo Wujiu had already told Jiang Suizhou. The soldiers under his command were not completely wiped out, and there were still some survivors left. Headed by Wei Kai, they were now scattered in Lin’an City.

Jiang Suizhou was nodding when Huo Wujiu added another line and looked up at him.

“There is no chance yet, so I can only stay here and show you the dishes here,” he said with a faint smile, “In the future, I will definitely take you back to Yangguan once and have a look there.”

Jiang Suizhou’s heart beat wildly uncontrollably.

He could feel how nostalgic and fond Huo Wujiu was of Yangguan. There was even a twinkle in his eyes.

But Jiang Suizhou had a profound realistic illusion, as if Huo Wujiu was not just saying that he wanted to return to Yangguan, but firmly that he  wanted to take Jiang Suizhou with him and integrate himself into his past and future.

Jiang Suizhou was rendered speechless for a while and just stared at him blankly.

Huo Wujiu was also stunned on the spot, then he smiled and said, “What? Are you not used to eating northern food? If you are not used to the dishes, let’s move to another place.”

Only then did Jiang Suizhou snap back to his senses.

What a gaffe, what a gaffe.

He instantly pinched his palm, cursing himself for being such a good-for-nothing.

He hastily masked his feelings and changed the topic.

“No.” He cleared his throat and said, “This Prince… I just remember that there is no wallet on this outfit. I have no money on me. Do you have any?”