Chapter 157 Sweating Palm
The city of Luoyang was shrouded in fog.

The entire sky darkened. Li Jianqi stayed in the palace while Ye Que returned to the Divine Sect Seminary with the censer that he handpicked. In his hand was also a box filled with keys to the General’s Manor and some twenty shops facing the Yong’an Street.

Li Chunzhi’s support of the Seminary caught Ye Que by surprise. It was evident how much the Emperor thought of his people that he was able to see the purpose of a small seminary and its future development. Of course, it also indicated just how serious the country’s crisis was that he was forced to depend on the force of the people.

The soon-to-be Emperor must be worried about being besieged by enemies from all sides.

Ye Que put the censer away in the Yin-and-Yang Pouch with plans of examining it later. He left the keys to the shops with Lin Dashu at the Seminary, ordering him to make the renovations as soon as possible. He wanted to knock down the walls and turn the shops into one giant space. He didn’t mind if they had to occupy part of the street to do it. The Emperor’s support basically allowed them to get away with everything.

“Why did Li Jianqi summon you into the palace? Did she trouble you?” Red Bean seemed to have been waiting for Ye Que in the Seminary.

“No. It was the Emperor who wanted to see me,” Ye Que replied.

“Where am I sleeping tonight?” Red Bean dropped the topic and asked him something else. She had spent last night on the roof but that was special circumstances. She didn’t care because she was drunk, but she wouldn’t repeat it tonight.

“The Seminary, then. It’s getting dark and there’s a dense fog too,” Ye Que said nonchalantly.

“Here?” Red Bean pointed upstairs. “There are only three guest rooms here and all of them were previously occupied. Where should I sleep?”

Ye Que was about to reply when she said, “I won’t use the rooms that the Qian siblings have used.”

She added, “I won’t use your room either.”

Suddenly, the nearby Lin Dashu found it unsuitable to stay here any longer. He was obviously a blinding lightbulb. It was best for him to stay out of this conversation as it was the Sect Leader’s private affairs.

“Sect Leader, allow me to excuse myself. I’ll check out these shops first,” Lin Dashu said and swiftly disappeared.

Ye Que racked his brain before saying, “The Qian Manor then. They have so many rooms there. It shouldn’t be a problem to find a clean room that no one has ever used.”

Red Bean shook her head. “I won’t stay in anyone’s home, especially not hers. I’ll feel uncomfortable staying under someone else’s roof.”

Ye Que’s head ached after hearing her turn down his suggestions.

His gaze shifted to the string of keys on the table. Lin Dashu had left the keys to the General’s Manor behind.

“Fine, let’s forget about the Qian Manor. I’ll take you somewhere else.” Ye Que grabbed the keys and led Ye Que out of the Divine Sect Seminary.

There were more formal disciples at the Seminary than ever, meaning that there were also more guests at night. The journey of a cultivator was a long and arduous one. Those who had truly set forth on this path wouldn’t have the time to worry about other things. Many of their disciples cultivated diligently day and night. Ye Que had heard that some of the disciples had already started learning the Three Realms of Divine Sect cultivation technique.

Talents could be found everywhere.

They were everywhere among the ordinary folks of Luoyang.

Moreover, they were learning the simplified techniques that Ye Que personally extracted from the Divine Book. They might not have enough aid like Spirit Stones or cultivation paradises, but the greatness of the cultivation techniques that they learned was enough to make up for the disparity.

In other words, things like Spirit Stones and magic treasures were just objects. With enough patience, they would surely reap the efforts of their hard work.

In the fog-shrouded night, Ye Que slowly walked along the Yong’an Street while holding Red Bean’s hand.

He did it without much thought but the sensation of her hand in his became increasingly vivid in the pitch-dark night. Red Bean didn’t pull her hand away as if out of habit. She had been climbing on Ye Que’s back from Northern You to Luoyang, after all.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Ye Que had carried her all the way to Luoyang.

Forget about her hand. Ye Que couldn’t even remember how many times he had touched her thigh. Of course, he didn’t do it out of lust. He had to touch her somehow while carrying her.

However, that was just unconscious touching. Today was different. Ye Que had held her hand out of his own accord.

The moist fog enveloped everything in the city as if it was enough to conceal their mutual awkwardness. Even while holding hands, they couldn’t see each other’s expression.

Soon, Ye Que began to feel his palm dampening and even warming up. Luoyang’s winter was much warmer than Northern You’s but it was still winter nonetheless. Regardless, how could his palm be so warm when he wasn’t even using his True Energy or Spiritual Force?

Then, his heartbeat began quickening. His heart thumped loudly so that it was audible.

He wasn’t alone. Red Bean’s heartbeat was audible too.

Their pace began slowing as if neither of them cared about reaching their destination. After they crossed the Bridge of Long Life, Red Bean suddenly withdrew her hand in a gentle movement.

“What’s wrong?” Ye Que subconsciously asked. He felt awkward the moment the words left his mouth. He was the one who took her hand and it was normal if she wanted to withdraw her hand. What was wrong with him? Did he want her to call him a pervert or something?

He really wanted to slap himself on the face.

This was what they called being stupid and unromantic!

Moments later, Red Bean remained silent. They continued walking with peculiar coordination where they seemed to take a step at the exact same time. It wasn’t hard for them to achieve this with their cultivation level.

Seventy-eight steps!

When Ye Que silently counted the seventy-eighth step, Red Bean suddenly held his hand again. It was soft and smooth but lacked that damp sensation earlier.

“My palm itched.” The typically aggressive Red Bean spoke in an exceptionally soft voice today. It was as if she was afraid of someone hearing her.

Then, as if she was afraid Ye Que didn’t get her, she added, “It’s damp too.”

“So I wiped my hand.”

Such a short and simple sentence clearly expressed the pureness and cuteness of this Dragon Girl who knew nothing of this world.

“Your palm itched? Damp? You wiped your hand?” Ye Que was stunned to hear her words. Then, he inexplicably entwined his fingers with hers until their hands were firmly pressed together. It was as if he was afraid of losing her.

“Why are you using so much force?” Red Bean murmured.

“Huh? Does it hurt?” Ye Que replied dazedly. Even though he was spiritually more than a hundred years old, he was still a newly hatched bird. He knew very little about romance.

“No, I’m just asking why,” Red Bean replied calmly. “I’m not going to run, you know.”

“I’ll be gentler then.” Ye Que loosened his grip on her hand.

The two of them walked hand-in-hand in the foggy night where neither could see each other’s face. They didn’t dare to. Their cheeks were flushed red and their heartbeats were quickening.

“Did your palm sweat again?”

“Can you stop moving around?”

“It itches, alright?”

“If you keep this up, I won’t let you hold my hand anymore!”

“Can’t you be gentler?”

“I’m going to get mad!”

“Let go of me.”

“It itches…”

“Fine. I’ll let you hold my hand, alright?”

“How can you act like this?!”

“You know how people like you are described in stories?”

“Why do I feel like you’ve become a hooligan?”

“No, I should say pervert!”

“Did you hold other girls’ hand like this?”

“No?”

“Only an idiot would believe you!”

“Forget it. The past is the past. If you ever let me see you holding some other girl’s hand, you’re done for!”

“I’ll swallow you whole! I’d do it, I swear!”

It usually took no more than an hour to go from the Divine Sect Seminary to the General’s Manor, but Ye Que and Red Bean took two whopping hours. They chatted as they walked at an incredibly leisurely pace. They neither noticed how slow they were nor that had the fog gradually dissipated.

Ye Que placed all of his attention on Red Bean’s hand. In his ears were her never-ending complaints.

“What can you do even if you complain about it? I’m still holding your hand. Can you run?” Ye Que was the “great Demon-slaying Asura” after all. Would he let her remove her hand so easily? Now that he had grabbed hold to her hand, she could forget about shaking him off. In that short journey to the General’s Manor, Ye Que thought that perhaps it was time for him to choose a cultivation partner.

Fate was such a wonderful thing.

Now that fate had knocked on his door, he couldn’t escape or shake it off no matter how hard he tried.

The fog dissipated, leaving a light layer of muslin-like mist. The large lion statue with a broken leg in front of the General’s Manor seemed to have been cleansed. Dew was dropping from the statue. The copper handle on the main doors was drenched by the fog as well. It gave off quite the sticky sensation when one touched its rusted, spotty surface.

“We’re home,” Ye Que said softly.

He released Red Bean’s hand and retrieved a string of keys from his sleeve, preparing to test each one. To his surprise, the first key slipped in without a problem and the door opened with a creak. It felt destined. It was as if the manor had been waiting for Ye Que all along.

He gave the doors a gentle push.

The doors slowly swung open with a creaking noise.

Taking a deep breath, Ye Que entered through the doors while holding Red Bean’s hand and entered the General’s Manor of Luoyang that had a deeply intricate connection to him.

There was no one under the half-moon hanging in the sky. The manor was completely deserted. The ground was overgrown with weeds. Dust covered the walls. He could even see cobwebs gathering in the corners. He took a turn from the doors and found a massive courtyard filled with withered leaves. The large tree next to it had half of its branches gathering on the ground.

Next to the courtyard was a long and narrow corridor with a fish pond lining it. There wasn’t a drop of water in the pond and he could even see the bones of goldfish lying in the bottom. There was a red-roof gazebo in the middle of the corridor with a broken inscribed tablet hanging over it. There were obvious, mottled sword marks on the antithetical couplet hanging on the sides.

On the ground were star-like specks of bloodstains that had long turned dark. These must be from the conflicts during the manor confiscation. In the distance, one-half of a hall was torn from its frame.

Ye Que walked with an expressionless face. Maybe, he didn’t feel a thing at all. But Red Bean could clearly feel his grip tightening over her hand. Ye Que didn’t close the main doors of the manor when he entered. In the latter half of the night, not one pedestrian could be seen along the Yong’an Street.

Even so, several people appeared from a corner slightly off the direct opposite of the General’s Manor and flitted across the street. They disappeared into the mist.