Chapter 105
“Qian Yu has qualified!” one of the Elders had shouted out as he left the arena.
“Hahaha good job!” before Qian Yu could even celebrate, he heard a shout.
Turning his head towards the shout, he realized it was Wu Jing. Besides him was Chen Ya and surprisingly, Zhao Xieren.
“Hey you two! Thanks!” Qian Yu said as he ran to the spectator seats.
“Qian Yu, you only recently entered the soul foundation stage right? But you’re so strong!” Chen Ya was dazzled seeing Qian Yu’s performance.
“It’s nothing really,” Qian Yu humbly said. In his opinion, none of his opponents today was exceptionally strong to the point of making him feel hopeless.
Then, turning his gaze to Zhao Xieren, he asked, “How did you guys meet up?”
“I went to take a break around noon after your second match and when I came back, I ran into them,” Zhao Xieren said.
“Alright then. Anyways, I want to invite you guys to eat today. It’s not easy for us to see each other,” Qian Yu turned away and smiled at Wu Jing and Chen Ya. Last time, Qian Yu had only talked about his adventures so he wanted to catch up with them.
“Ah? Ahem very well,” Wu Jing shamelessly laughed. He would never forgo a free meal.
“Leader Zhao, you should join us as well,” Chen Ya looked at Zhao Xieren.
“Chen Ya, you can just call me Zhao Xieren. That title is of the past,” Zhao Xieren waved her hands in the air.
“Do you want to go?” Qian Yu asked, knowing that Zhao Xieren wasn’t that close to these two.
“Hehe, of course!” Zhao Xieren smiled.
“Alright, let’s go then,” Qian Yu nodded.
Soon, they found themselves dining in Tiger’s Den.
“I-I didn’t think you were going to treat us to this,” beads of sweat dropped down Wu Jing’s face.
“Ahem, I thought it was going to be something more common… and cheap…” Wu Jing coughed as he looked at the dozen plates of food on the square table in front of him. Saliva drooped down his face as he looked at the platters of shrimp, fishes, wolf meat, pork, green and purple vegetables, and more.
*Kick* Chen Ya gave him a kick under the table.
“Ow!” Wu Jing gave a playful face.
“Ow my ass!” Chen Ya pulled on his cheeks.
“Hahaha, don’t worry, I’m not that poor,” Qian Yu laughed. Picking up the food, he invited everyone else to eat.
“Here, these are the good ones,” Wu Jing started grabbing a few pieces of wolf meat as he gave them to Chen Ya.
“Ho- Wu Jing, I’ll get it myself,” Chen Ya stuttered yet her face had a slight smile.
Qian Yu watched Wu Jing and Chen Ya as he realized he had never been affectionate with Zhao Xieren. Towards Sun Hong and Zhen Yue, he was a lot more affectionate and caring for them since they were extremely intimate with him. Regarding Zhao Xieren though, he had unconsciously treated her differently.
“Zhao Xieren, have some of this,” Qian Yu grabbed a few pieces of braised pork belly and put them in Zhao Xieren’s bowl.
“T-thank you Qian Yu,” Zhao Xieren smiled a little embarrassed.
“No worries, eat a lot, the food is great!” Qian Yu said. Additionally, he hoped that she would “grow” more in certain aspects if she ate more.
“We didn’t get to discuss much last time, but today is different. Shall we have a toast?” Qian Yu started pouring alcohol into some cups.
“Haha, of course,” Wu Jing was pumped.
“Cheers!” Everyone held up their cups before they downed their drinks.
“So, what are you guys planning to do in the future?” Qian Yu returned to eating, making sure to sneak a few pieces of food to Zhao Xieren who just gave him a funny smile as he did.
“I think we’ll stay in the sect for another few years and see how far we can get,” Chen Ya said. Qian Yu glanced at the two. They were hovering around the 3rd stage of qi gathering and would probably need at least another year or two to reach soul foundation.
“After that, we will probably leave and find our own jobs to help our families. Haha, maybe we can find something at the Zhao Family. You know how it is, even if we don’t enter the soul foundation stage, those in the high ranking stages of qi gathering can easily find jobs still,” Wu Jing didn’t seem bothered and on the contrary, he was completely fine with it. Their dreams and ambitions were different compared to Qian Yu.
“Ah? If that is so, I’m sure my family has a lot of different types of jobs that will be suitable for you guys. For example, tutoring, trainers…” Zhao Xieren started talking with the two.
‘Perhaps, I would be like that too if I never met amazing people like Bai Jia or stumbled upon the legendary technique,’ Qian Yu thought.
‘However, I’m glad I have everything I have today,’ Qian Yu poured himself another cup of alcohol.
A few hours flew by as the 4 continued eating before Qian Yu and Zhao Xieren separated from Wu Jing and Chen Ya.
“Qian Yu, good job today!” Zhao Xieren finally congratulated him as they walked home.
“Thank you beautiful miss,” Qian Yu joked and did a respectful bow, as if an emperor had praised him.
“I was really happy when you beat Lang Mei. Even though she doesn’t bother me anymore… it’s nice seeing her get taken down a notch,” Zhao Xieren smiled at the misfortune of her old nemesis.
“Ah, If anyone dares to harass you in the future, I’ll beat them up too,” Qian Yu smirked.
“Thank you in advance then,” Zhao Xieren’s heart felt warm.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect you to do so well. You’ve only been in the early stage of soul foundation realm for about a week but you were able to beat Lang Mei. She’s been at the early stage for over 2 months… you’re truly amazing,” Zhao Xieren didn’t cease with the praise.
“Haha, it’s all thanks to you and the other two girls who have been helping me with training,” Qian Yu said as they arrived at their pavilions.
“Ahem, Qian Yu,” Zhao Xieren had stopped walking and pulled on his robes.
“Yes?” Qian Yu turned around, wondering what she needed.
“Uhm…” Zhao Xieren stuttered. Her breathing grew heavy as she tiptoed and brought her face forward a bit. Closing her eyes, she slightly puckered her lips, signalling to Qian Yu.
Instinctually, Qian Yu moved forward to Zhao Xieren. He put one of his hands around her slim waist, easing her down as he brought himself closer to her. Removing some strands of hairs from her beautiful face, he gently rubbed his fingers over her soft baby-like cheeks, which only made her face glow more crimson.
He leaned forward, pausing for a second as he cherished this memory - the luster of her face, light but lovely smell, and the feel of her skin. They had long known their feelings for each other, yet finally, Zhao Xieren had slowly started to get over the past.
Slightly turning his head, he leaned forward and gently kissed Zhao Xieren’s small and delicate lips. She trembled as he did but Qian Yu only hugged her tighter in his embrace. It was a cold night, but Qian Yu wasn’t cold. Her lips were warm and soft and her body was emitting a fire.
‘She’s bad at kissing,’ he could feel her uncomfortableness and inexperience. However, Qian Yu was happy and he started running his hand through her black hair. Slowly sinking deeper into her lips, she became more lax as Qian Yu kissed her.
Unfortunately, they weren’t immortals. As the two separated to take a breather, their passionate eyes stared at each other under the dim moonlight.
“Qian Yu... do you want to come in?” Zhao Xieren murmured.