38 Shouldnt be too difficul (1/2)
”I can't believe that idiot got himself into this situation!” Yuan Xuelan roared, stomping with anger when they were alone. He made straight for the bed and plopped down with an exasperated sigh. The two rooms Sect Leader Peng gave to them were more like one; separated only by a line of wooden panels. Luckily, Yuan Xuelan was too busy complaining about his cousin to mind the arrangement. ”Argh, even though I felt kind of bad for him, I wanted to beat him too! He totally deserved a beating!”
Liu Sumeng was silent in his thoughts and ordered a servant girl to bring them tea while Yuan Xuelan complained. He was never a fan of Peng Jipei in his past life and didn't know much about his plight. But the sight of the sobbing boy that desperately grasped at any hope for his dying mother was a little too familiar to ignore. He couldn't help but sympathize. ”Xuelan,” he said, interrupting the barrage of complaints, ”if it were Anyue, what would you do?”
The question caught the blabbering Yuan Xuelan off guard. He sat up to glared at Liu Sumeng. ”If it were Shijie?” his voice rose, heckled, ”I would do anything for her.”
Liu Sumeng nodded and Yuan Xuelan stared until his expression faltered. ”Yeah, ok fine. I guess it's less ridiculous if you put it like that. But it doesn't mean I have to accept his stupidity. Surely, I would have thought of a better solution than that.” He huffed and glared at nothing in particular.
The servant girl returned, hot tea in hand, which Liu Sumeng accepted readily and pour them both a cup. He veered the conversation elsewhere, ”What do you think about Peng Zhugen?”
Yuan Xuelan sighed and leaned back down on the bed. ”Sect Leader Peng? Not a big fan of the guy. He's an asshole that thinks he's better than everyone else around him. Had to deal with his temper and abuse when I was younger.”
”I see.”
A pause. ”Why do you ask?”
”...Nothing really.”
Yuan Xuelan glared but the Ivory Sword Saint ignored him. Resigning with a sigh, he pulled himself off the bed to join Liu Sumeng at the table, ”Why are you so interested in that guy?” Boldness flickered through him, and Yuan Xuelan obviously wasn't thinking when he blurted out, ”Don't tell me he's your type.”
Instant regret! Because Liu Sumeng was staring at him with that unreadable icy glare! Never mind, please never mind, he didn't want to know after all!
”...”
Argh! Yuan Xuelan internally screamed, and suddenly wished that Liu Sumeng would say something. But instead, he was punished with silence, and then a change of topic, ”The divine beast.”
”What?” even Yuan Xuelan's own voice sounded stupid to him.
”You have a plan,” Liu Sumeng said; not a question but a statement.
Yuan Xuelan blinked dumbly before forcing himself to focus on the new topic of conversation. ”Yeah well, it's the only plan that might work,” he sighed and rubbed at his temple, ”there's a divine beast said to live in these forests. A phoenix. I suppose if we kill it we could get that stupid core that Zhao Fanyu wants so much.”
Liu Sumeng nodded, ”I see.”
Silence again, ceramic clattered when Liu Sumeng set down the teapot and slide Yuan Xuelan a cup. ”What, you're just going to nod and agree to that? Killing a phoenix is no easy task,” he scowled at the Ivory Sword Saint, feeling like he had spent way too much time scolding and not enough time paying back what was owed.
If Liu Sumeng was bothered, he didn't let it show. ”But it can be done.”
Yuan Xuelan almost sneered, ”You're awfully confident in your skills, Ivory Sword Saint.”
”No, I only trust in your judgment.”
Yuan Xuelan choked on his tea, curling forward from a coughing fit. Liu Sumeng reached over to rub comforting circles in his back. ”Are you ok?” he asked, as though he was innocent! As though he had nothing to do with Yuan Xuelan's suffering!