Immortality Starts With Generosity

The noble patrons of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion were doubtlessly enjoying themselves until Chen Haoran kicked in the doors to the establishment. The sound echoed into the dining hall and drew attention from both levels. The music stopped with an obnoxious twang. An awkward silence fell over the restaurant as they once again beheld the forms of Chen Haoran and Song Yuelin.

A waiter rushed over and Chen Haoran recognized him as the one who served them last time. “Welcome back, sir!”

Chen Haoran quirked his lips. “Glad to be back.” He waved at Song Yuelin, who stepped forward and presented a bag of gold taels to the flustered fellow. “Let it be known that the next round of drinks is on me!” Qi carried his voice across the room. He was returned with silence.

“Wha-?” The poor waiter could scarcely finish his question when Chen Haoran took him by the shoulders and pointed him back toward the bar.

“Make sure every person here gets another round,” he said. “And keep the drinks flowing till the gold runs out.”

Thus encouraged, the waiter rushed to inform the rest of the staff. Soon the restaurant became lively as the alcohol was served and the music picked up again. Laughter and cheering spread from table to table as they toasted their new cups. A few even tilted their cups his way. The waiter brought over two saucers of rice wine for him and Song Yuelin. Chen Haoran made sure to raise his cup back to the appreciative patrons before toasting Song Yuelin.

“One down.” Chen Haoran finished his drink in one swig. “Five more restaurants to go.” He cast an eye across the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and, seeing that there were no hiccups, left the boisterous building.

“I still don’t see why I have to be here,” Song Yuelin said.

“Because I wanted you to be,” Chen Haoran said. “And you didn’t refuse.”

“I thought you would have a real job for me to do.”

“You do have a job, you’re carrying the money.”

“I think you don’t want me near Lady Fen.”

“After the stunt you pulled? Of course I wouldn’t.”

Chen Haoran ignored Song Yuelin’s excuses as they boarded the carriage. They were hitting six of the most popular restaurants in the city today, and over the course of the week would be going around the less popular venues. On the face of it, Chen Haoran looked like he was trying to buy people’s hearts through their livers, and that was true. What he was really buying though, was attention. Where Chen Haoran made it rain, Lan Fen had her people sowing seeds and spreading the story of his spat with Lan Yao. It was already gossip worthy of the tabloids back on Earth on its own. A notorious scoundrel getting knocked down by the pride of his in-law’s family? It was front-page stuff, and they would make sure everyone was talking about it.

They had to set the stage after all.

“Are we there yet?” Song Yuelin moaned.

“Don’t you fucking start.”

“And that’s basically how it went,” Chen Haoran said. He toweled his damp hair, fresh from the bath and smelling like roses.

“So there were no issues?” Lan Fen asked. She had pulled up a chair before the tall bronze mirror in his room and was brushing her hair.

“Aside from Song Yuelin being himself, no,” he replied. He spat out the leaf he had been chewing on; his mouth was cold with the taste of mint. “How were things on your end?”

“There was no sign of the pest, clone or otherwise. It seems he does not possess the means to monitor us both at once.”

That was good news a least. It didn’t mean as much for Lan Fen currently as there was no way Song Yuelin would let her out of his sight after today’s stunt. To him though he would finally have some guaranteed privacy while Song Yuelin was stalking Lan Fen.

He climbed into bed, the sheets and curtains long since changed from the original gaudy red to a much easier-on-the-eyes green. Lan Fen slipped under the sheets on the other side. They lay together in silence, their backs towards the other.

“Is he really not watching?” Chen Haoran asked, unable to bear the silence any longer.

“He is not,” Lan Fen said. She suddenly scoffed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, startled.

“Nothing.” Was her prompt reply.

Chen Haoran settled back into his pillows uneasily. He had absolute trust in Lan Fen’s sensing but he couldn’t help but think something was wrong. There was no way Song Yuelin was actually fooled by their act the other day. He had to know they were using the time in his bedroom to exchange information and strategize. Was it really out of courtesy that he deliberately left them alone, or was this just another of his mind games? If so for who? Chen Haoran or…?

Lan Fen shifted into a more comfortable position and he was viscerally aware of her body. He felt how the mattress rose and fell with her weight. How the space she occupied made his king-sized bed feel small. How the heat she radiated tempted him to cast off the covers lest he cook between the silk.

What did she feel?

“Just so you’re aware,” he said. He tamped down unnecessary thoughts. “I tend to move around in my sleep, so feel free to kick me if I do.”

“That was my original plan.” She said it lightly. He could almost hear the smile in her voice.

They didn’t sleep immediately, using the waning twilight to prepare for tomorrow, whispering quiet plans and foretelling danger in hushed warning. It was oddly peaceful in its own strange, pragmatic way.

Chen Haoran let himself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

Once again in his office. Once again taking a risk.

“I hope you two slept well,” Song Yuelin said. He was unhealthily happy.

Chen Haoran could barely wait for the day he made the man’s shit-eating grin a literal one. Alas, he could only suffer in silence.

“Is that hand gesture supposed to mean something, Young Master Chen?”

He put his hand down. “It’s a very polite sign.”

“Can we get on with our business?” Lan Fen interrupted. She walked around his desk and laid a hand on his shoulder and reassuringly squeezed it.

He could almost feel a sense of security travel down her hand and fill him. No matter what happened, Lan Fen would whisk them away to a place they couldn’t be touched. Bolstered by this knowledge Chen Haoran pushed two books toward Song Yuelin. “Take these.”

“These are?”

“My contribution to the Chen family.”

Song Yuelin raised an eyebrow. “These are the techniques you practice?”

“Yes.”

Song Yuelin cracked open the Yellow Dragon River Refinement and flipped through it. He stopped. “No wonder you’ve progressed so quickly.” He flipped back to the beginning and carefully paged through the book. Then he picked up the Canyon Carving Sword and repeated the process. “These techniques are practically designed to be picked up quickly by those who learn the Yellow River Refinement and Stone Carving Sword.”

That… didn’t bode well for the potential quality of his spirit root. In fact, seeing Song Yuelin’s reaction he was sure that his spirit root was a low-grade one.

Song Yuelin looked up. “Where did you even find something like this?”

“I got very, very lucky.” It was the honest truth. Song Yuelin clearly had some issue with it, as he looked at him in disbelief.

Lan Fen took this moment to intercede. “The pools of the Clearsprings mountains have their sources in many places. Who knows what mysteries the water may carry down.”

Chen Haoran’s mind was quick to supply two such mysteries. Although he had no proof of it, he didn’t feel like Lan Fen was making up nonsense. Could she and Lan Yao have stumbled upon their treasures in some distant pool? What were the odds though, that two cultivators from the same family were lucky enough to find such life-changing items around the same time? Perhaps they found them in the same place?

Chen Haoran felt the cold chill of realization race down his spine. Was that why Lan Yao wanted to get ahold of Lan Fen without the Lan family knowing?

“I see…” Though Song Yuelin didn’t sound like he did. He snapped the book shut. “So, what is it you wanted me to do that you tried to bribe me?”

Of course Song Yuelin would notice. Chen Haoran felt Lan Fen’s hand tense in preparation on his shoulder.

“I plan to reveal my Earth-rank cultivation by the end of the week,” he said.

Song Yuelin hummed. “A bold move.”

“And the easiest way to reveal Lan Yao’s own Earth-rank cultivation,” Lan Fen added.

“Which is why you’re reminding people of Young Master Chen’s embarrassing encounter with her,” Song Yuelin finished. “I trust you’re aware of the risks involved with such a move.”

“I am,” Chen Haoran said. “This was my idea.” Between the risks that came with revealing it versus the benefits that came with giving it to the Chen family, the choice was clear. “After I reveal it is where you come in.”

“To protect you from all the scavengers desperate for an opportunity.” Song Yuelin’s statement was harsh but accurate. A smile spread across his face. Unlike his usual shining joy, however, this one was an indulgent, arrogant thing that twisted his face into something unrecognizable. “Why should I help you though? What reason do I have?” It was a dangerous smile.

Lan Fen’s grip on his shoulder was white-knuckled. It made sense, he had known Song Yuelin longer than her and even he was uneasy with what they were attempting. Chen Haoran reached up and grasped Lan Fen’s hand. If she was startled it didn’t show, but he felt her tenseness recede and return to being a firm grip.

He had gotten to know Song Yuelin through moments both quiet and annoying, introspective and dangerous. He had seen his character and perhaps that was it, just a character. A role Song Yuelin slipped into and nothing more. He didn’t think it was all lies though. From when they first met, to the qi pool, to the City Lord, there had been a thread of truth running through all of it. Chen Haoran didn’t know what sort of ending Song Yuelin had in store for him, but right now at least he could grab that one true thread with confidence.

He stared into Song Yuelin’s sneering eyes. His fake eyes. “These techniques belong to the Chen family, and you will sooner pluck those vultures’ wings than let them feast on even the smallest of the family’s scraps.”

Song Yuelin stared at him. Chen Haoran calmly met his gaze.

The facade broke.

The ugly smile Song Yuelin wore was wiped away and replaced with a much smaller, but more natural one. “I shall accept these techniques then, in the name of the Chen family.”

Chen Haoran let out the breath he had been holding and he could feel Lan Fen relax. Their risk hadn’t been for naught. The image he had of Song Yuelin hadn’t been for naught.

Now they just needed to keep greasing the wheels of rumor till the week ends.

Then he goes to the arenas.