57 Once upon a Christmas eve 2 (1/2)

\”Mao Lu!!! Chàng Bo!!!\” A voice yelled spiritedly.

Mao Lu wasn't surprised when he saw Tanaka Kato in front of them, waving his hands excitedly in the air as he called out to them.

He and Bei Lao were standing near a food stall snacking on some Baozi[1]

Actually, Mao Lu had sensed Bei Lao and Tanaka in the area a while ago, and he'd been walking in their direction intentionally.

\”What a coincidence, you're here for the Christmas Market too?\” Tanaka said as he ran up to them, holding two steaming Baozi buns in his hand. \”Ahh well it's obviously easy for you to get here since you live in the Chaoyang area.\” Tanaka answered his own question as he bit into a steaming dumpling.

He wore a thick furry coat with matching gloves. He looked like a rather cute tanuki.

Tanaka's grin widened as he saw how close Mao Lu and Chàng Bo were standing together. Even their arms were looped. \”There must have been some romantic progress.\” Tanaka thought with increasing excitement. He gave Mao Lu a cheeky glance, wiggling his brows at him.

Mao Lu smiled brightly, \”What a coincidence to see you here as well Tanaka.\” he laughed, \”Merry Christmas eve. Since we're here let's all hang out together.\”

\”Of course. Spending Christmas eve with a good friend is a must. If you weren't going to say it I was.\” Tanaka babbled.

Bei Lao, who was quietly chewing on his Baozi, nodded in agreement.

The four of them soon found themselves sitting at the front of a small cafe.

\”Mao Lu you shouldn't even bother having a phone you never answer it.\” Tanaka said bitterly as he slurped his matcha tea.

\”Did you message me?\” Mao Lu asked guiltily.

\”Hell yeah I messaged you. I wanted to do some Christmas shopping at Tianyi Market but someone left me on read. So I had to go buy Bei Lao's and everyone's presents all by myself.\” Tanaka pouted, \”What's the point of having a best friend if you just ignore me\” he grumbled.

Mao Lu felt very guilty, \”There's just been a lot going on lately. It's not that I'm ignoring you Tanaka. You know you're one of my bestest friends. I would never ignore you on purpose.\”

\”I know you wouldn't, that's why I'm more worried. What's been keeping you so busy?\” Tanaka asked curiously.

Mao Lu sighed, \”It's complicated.\”

Bei Lao had been cradling his cappuccino in his hands quietly, but when he heard this he peered over at Chàng Bo curiously and asked, \”Have you been keeping him so busy?\”

Chàng Bo raised a perfect brow, \”Me?\” he laughed a little, \”I don't own Mao Lu's time.\”

Tanaka elbowed Bei Lao, \”Why are you saying this now, I thought we were gonna bring this up later?\”

\”Well we came to Chaoyang to see Mao Lu, not just to look at the Christmas Market. Now that we've ran into him here we might as well discuss this.\” Bei Lao said sternly as he turned to Mao Lu.

\”If there's something going on then know that you can trust us. Not just Tanaka and I but also Zhao Detong, Fei Bing Bing, Frank Wang and Fang Kai. We're all here for you Mao Lu.\” Bei Lao said sincerely.

\”I…\” Mao Lu didn't know what to say. He'd somewhat anticipated that after what happened at the hotel his friends would have some questions. But he never expected that he'd feel so guilty.

Maybe it was because Bei Lao, such a sincere and serious person was saying this to him. If it was any of the others maybe he'd be able to attempt to lie, but Bei Lao and Tanaka had always been so good to him. He didn't know what to say.

\”I…\”

\”It's against the rules to reveal Gatekeeper secrets, but information about practitioners and the 400 realms is no secret. You can tell these mortals about the existence of Gatekeepers and the 400 realms if you wish. However it may complicate their lives.\” Gates warned.

Despite the fact that Mao Lu had doubts about Gates, he was used to listening to its words and taking its advice.

Gates was right, telling them about the supernatural would just complicate their lives. He didn't want to do that to his friends.

They were mortals that were too old to start on the path of becoming a cultivator or a mage. The only path where age didn't matter was a Gatekeeper, but there could only be one Gatekeeper in any realm.

One day his friends would die and he would outlive them.

They weren't strong enough to protect themselves against the dangers that existed out there.

For their safety, because they were his friends he couldn't waver and he couldn't tell them about all this. Even if they got mad at him or left his side, he couldn't tell them. Because he cared for them. Ignorance was bliss.

Mao Lu's eyes hardened, \”I won't lie to you, so I'll tell you honestly. It is in your best interest if you don't know what's going on with me lately.

It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't want you to get hurt.

Chàng Bo is trustworthy, we're very close and… I love him. He's not the cause or reason for my current predicament. In fact he's helping me a lot.\”

Tanaka's hands shook over his tea. \”Is it really that serious? I thought everyone was overreacting when they were saying you were in some kind of trouble Lu, but if it's like that then maybe you should go to the police or something.\”

Mao Lu sighed, \”It's not something I can go to the police about.\”

Tanaka was aghast, \”Mao Lu for real if the situation is serious you should go to the police. Don't leave it until it's too late. My Dad died getting involved with bad people when I was young. You know that Lu. Don't bottle it up, get help if you can get help.\”

Mao Lu sighed, \”Tanaka it's not that type of situation, it's complicated.\”

As this conversation went on, Mao Lu sensed Ben Zi heading towards them. For some reason his heart squeezed when he noticed this. Something felt off.

Chàng Bo who had been quietly sitting down, since it wasn't his place to speak in this type of conversation, suddenly felt strange.

The Sovereign system popped up in front of his eyes. His health stat flashed, he didn't even need to press it before the words, \”IMMINENT THREAT TO HEALTH. HIGH LEVEL IRREGULARITY INCOMING !!!! \” appeared.

Chàng Bo's eyes widened. He looked around quickly and he noticed Ben Zi.

There was something strange about that boy. His steps seemed eerily fast. From far away he was suddenly right behind Tanaka's seat.

His eyes were cold.

Chàng Bo reacted quickly, he leaped over the table just as a malicious smile wrapped around Ben Zi's mouth.

As Ben Zi's hand reached towards Tanaka's neck Chàng Bo had twisted in the air. He drop kicked Ben Zi while at the same time pulling Tanaka out of harm's way.

Tanaka was surprised when he felt himself suddenly being thrown through the air, across the table, and landing in Mao Lu's arms.

Bei Lao's eyes widened in alarm.