Chaotic World Book

This reaction is quite normal; it would be abnormal if there were no reaction at all. Zhao Changhe didn't think much about it, and he chuckled as he clinked his bowl, "Big bowls for drinking, large chunks for eating meat. When I was a kid watching 'Outlaws of the Marsh'... well, I had such dreams back then, feeling bold and ambitious. But now that I'm really in a bandits' lair, picking at meat and buying my own wine, sharing a flask of wine meticulously—it's truly disillusioning."

Luo Qi couldn't help but smile, "What you're talking about is like the king of the mountains, at least some big leader. But I think you could totally make it."

"That's a bit challenging. To become a big leader, I'd at least have to be a formal follower of the Sect, right? Right now, I can't even see the hope of joining the Sect. They say let me have faith before joining, but nobody's preaching to us, right? It seems that Son Xue isn't responsible for this, and the squad leader is nowhere to be seen—I wonder where he's hiding."

Luo Qi sipped his wine, scrutinizing Zhao Changhe's expression, "You don't seem to care much about this, do you?"

"I do care a bit. I want to obtain the Blood God Skill, not the Blood Evil Skill. Of course, it would be even better to join the Four Symbols Sect. There are people who practice the Blood God Skill, but they still get challenged by someone above their level."

Luo Qi laughed out loud.

It seemed that although Zhao Changhe didn't verbalize it, the battle between Yue Hongling and Xue Canghai had completely erased his expectations for the Blood God Sect.

Zhao Changhe took a sip of his wine and said, "Anyway, there's no rush right now; it's just the beginning. Who knows, maybe this squad leader will be replaced tomorrow? My life would be much better if Son Xue took over—he's been really good to me."

"You wish. Do you think the squad leader is hiding for fun? He's probably out in the city preaching...though I didn't see any traces of the Demon Sect preaching today when I entered the city. I guess it's tough at the beginning, and they haven't started yet."

"That's not necessarily the case." Zhao Changhe lowered his voice, "Don't you find this subdivision a bit strange?"

Luo Qi's mind went cold; he didn't want to talk about this topic, wishing Zhao Changhe would ponder over whether he was a man or a woman instead! But since Zhao had brought it up, he could only play dumb, "What do you mean?"

"The subdivision is new, but that underground altar is definitely not newly excavated—what a big project that is! It's pretty obvious that it's been here for a long time, probably an old secret place discovered by the Blood God Sect."

Luo Qi quickly responded, "That's pretty normal, too. If there's an existing place, just use it. Then build a stronghold nearby and establish the subdivision. There's nothing strange about that."

"But do they have any particular reason to establish a subdivision in the dead of winter?" Zhao Changhe was rather speechless, "A big Sect like ours, if they wanted to build a subdivision, why not prepare early? Now, in the snowy and icy weather, they suddenly start, with a shortage of clothes and food. Why bother? Sect Hierarch Xue got his brain messed up from being challenged above his level? Oh, but that was before he got beaten by Yue Hongling."

Luo Qi was at a loss for words.

Seriously, could you not bring up the topic of being challenged above one's level?

"Yue Hongling happened to overhear here nearby that they were going to attack the Luo Family; she said Sect Hierarch Xue was also here. This means that there is an important secret hidden here, the main force of the Blood God Sect moved in to clear the land, with the Sect Hierarch leading the team personally. Later, because of the matter of going to kill Luo Zhenwu, it was interrupted. In fact, the matter was probably not finished, or only half completed, the Sect Hierarch couldn't stay here long, so even in the dead of winter, people were left here to establish a new subdivision to continue searching."

Luo Qi: "..."

Zhao Changhe drained the wine from his bowl and thumped it down heavily on the table, "I'm very suspicious that this might not even be the work of the Blood God Sect, but rather the Four Symbols Sect. Whether or not you can join the Four Symbols Sect, or whether or not you can learn the Blood God Skill, there's merit to be found here, and it's worth paying attention to."

Luo Qi's eyes gazed deeply at the wine bowl, then suddenly looking up with a smile, he said, "You know, just drink if you're going to drink; all this talk isn't straightforward at all, and you keep bringing up the matter of folks every day."

"Damn it, come on, let's drink three more bowls!"

"We can't pour that many bowls with this flask."

"Whatever we have will do; drinking hot wine in winter really hits the spot!"

Hot wine indeed felt great, making Luo Qi's cheeks flush and his eyes even more shrouded in mist, indistinct and elusive.

After they had finished drinking, he looked down at his empty bowl and suddenly said, "Changhe, in times like these, you shouldn't trust people too much. It's best to keep these analyses to yourself, why bother saying them out loud?"

Zhao Changhe was taken aback, "What does it matter to you? I'm not going to babble to anyone else."

"Don't easily trust anyone, myself included," Luo Qi paused, then added, "and that includes the Son Xue you think has been very nice to you."

"Uh..." Zhao Changhe tried gingerly, "You're not drunk, are you?"

Luo Qi smiled with a look of someone who couldn't handle his liquor and stood up, stretching lazily, "Yeah, my tolerance is not good... I'm going to bed to rest."

Zhao Changhe also stood up, a bit tipsy as he grabbed Luo Qi's shoulder, "Big senior brother, you're quite the lightweight. That's only a few drinks..."

Luo Qi didn't react in time, actually failing to dodge in the moment, and was firmly embraced, turning rigid on the spot.

"Tsk, all skin and bones." Zhao Changhe squeezed his shoulder, "You could only practice your 'Inner Breath' with a build like this. In a world without 'Inner Strength,' I could take on ten of you like this. Go to bed, go to bed, I'm going to practice some more. It feels like the warm wine helps circulate the 'Blood Qi'; practicing now seems more effective..."

His hand left the shoulder, and Zhao Changhe had already gone to the doorway to practice horse stance.

Luo Qi stood there dumbfounded, stiffly turning to look towards the doorway.

Was I just embraced like that?

To Zhao Changhe, was this very normal? Just brothers arm in arm, it's not like no man has ever done it...

But Luo Qi was numb all over, currently bewildered, with an empty mind, as if there was still an electric current coursing through her body.

Zhao Changhe rushed to the doorway in a puff and started his horse stance, immediately regretting it in his heart.

Of course, he did it on purpose!

He had had a bit to drink, and seeing Luo Qi's rosy cheeks and pretty look, he felt a bit stirred for a moment, still a passionate young man at heart... and also wanted to take the chance to confirm something.

The softness of men's and women's shoulders is, of course, different.

This time he really confirmed it. She's definitely a woman.

Originally, he had some wicked fun in mind, wanting to deliberately see his 'big senior brother' in female disguise get taken advantage of and show that pitiable look of having a grievance but unable to speak it out... and then "Don't trust anyone, including me," pfft.

But he soon wanted to slap himself, truly looking for trouble. What practical purpose does swiping a bit of oil serve? It's not like he could do the real thing, and now he has to deal with his own agitation that he couldn't settle, only able to use horse stance as a cover.

What was the point?

And how were they to get along after this? He had said it's more convenient as men, yet still had to show off. What was there to confirm, really?

Zhao Changhe really wanted to slap himself to death.

So one of them stood there stiff as a board watching him, the other stiff as a board practicing his skill, both of them lost in their own worlds, creating an oddly frozen atmosphere for a while until Luo Qi suddenly smiled radiantly.

Catching a glimpse from the corner of his eye, Zhao Changhe felt a tingling sensation, and continued his horse stance with utmost seriousness, gazing up at the sky.

But then he saw Luo Qi stride over, boldly reaching out to grab Zhao Changhe's shoulder, "Hey."

Zhao Changhe stiffened, "Ah? What's up?"

"Your horse stance is off today; you'll develop problems if you practice like that." Luo Qi whispered in his ear, "Could it be that after a bit of wine to warm up, you're thinking about 'that'? That's not good, man. Want me to take you to the brothel in town for a look?"

"Uh... that thing." Zhao Changhe twitched the corners of his mouth, asking awkwardly, "Don't you usually avoid even touching hands with others? Why the sudden brotherly intimacy?"

Luo Qi casually replied, "We weren't close before, but now we're brothers, aren't we? Isn't that how it's supposed to be? You can lean on me, I can't lean on you?"

So that was it.

She intended to keep up the act? Force it in this way? Dazed out and that's the answer?

Zhao Changhe couldn't help but laugh and cry, not knowing how to describe the tofu served up to the door, but he felt quite relieved.

After all, it didn't seem so bad... But her leaning close, draping over his shoulder, breathing sweetly in his ear... Zhao Changhe shamefully discovered that the horse stance was barely keeping things under control.