Chapter 279 151: Persona

"Why would I need help to take a piss? I'm not going..."

Li Tianxin tightened his grip on his saber, watching Jiang Ran warily, afraid Jiang Ran would try to drag him along by force.

Jiang Ran just smiled.

"If you don't want to go, you don't have to. I'll go by myself. Just don't regret it."

"What would I have to regret...?"

Li Tianxin felt that Jiang Ran was being ridiculous. 'Who would want to go piss with you?'

Jiang Ran chuckled, stood up, and turned to leave.

"I'll go, I'll go! Wait for this old man!"

The old master shot up with a RUSTLE and followed after Jiang Ran.

Li Tianxin watched their retreating backs, a war raging within him.

Ruan Yuqing glanced at him.

"Brother Li, what's wrong?"

"I..."

Li Tianxin shook his head. "I'm fine."

"You seem distracted, as if some great secret of yours has just been discovered."

Li Tianxin gave a dry laugh.

"Me... what secret could I possibly have?"

"Young Hero Jiang did say that your origins are extremely mysterious, Brother Li. And that you seem to hold a grudge against the Demon Sect."

Ruan Yuqing said with a smile:

"And now you say you have no secrets? That's rather hard to believe.

"But if you don't wish to say, Brother Li, then I won't ask."

"..."

Li Tianxin let out a long breath.

He raised his eyes to the breaking dawn in the east and gently rubbed his temples.

They didn't linger outside the Ghost King Palace for long. After eating something and resting for a short while, the group set off again.

The Ghost King Palace was, in the end, just an interlude.

After leaving, the group exchanged a few words now and then but otherwise didn't talk much.

However, everyone was quite curious about what saber technique Jiang Ran had comprehended from that wall...

Li Tianxin was no exception.

But since Jiang Ran didn't bring it up, they didn't ask.

They continued west. As they were passing a lake, Jiang Ran suddenly looked at Li Tianxin.

"Brother Li, look how clear the water is."

"...It is."

Li Tianxin nodded. "So?"

"How about we go for a swim?"

Jiang Ran grinned. "We'll have Miss Ruan keep watch for us, and we stinking men can go down together and stretch our legs a bit."

Li Tianxin's eyes went wide.

"Don't even think about it!"

"I think it's a fine idea."

Ruan Yuqing, however, nodded in agreement.

"You all really should go wash up. You're starting to get moldy."

"See?"

Jiang Ran readily agreed. "But Brother Li, why are you so against it? Are you naturally afraid of water, or can you not swim? Surely you're not shy about taking your clothes off in front of us? We're all men, what's there to be afraid of?"

"..."

Li Tianxin narrowed his eyes at Jiang Ran.

"If you want to wash, then wash. Cut the crap. In any case, I'm not getting in the water."

"Fine, then."

Jiang Ran shrugged, unfazed.

He didn't bring up the matter of bathing in the lake again.

This left Luo Qingyi, who had been looking forward to it, quite disappointed.

「Half a day's journey later, they arrived in a small county town.」

Jiang Ran wasn't in a hurry to go to the county yamen to claim his reward; he found an inn first.

"Alright, let's get three rooms.

"Brother Li and I will share one. Qingyi, you can share a room with the old master.

"Miss Ruan will have her own room. What does everyone think?"

Jiang Ran proposed this while standing at the counter.

"I'm not used to sleeping in the same room as someone else."

Li Tianxin immediately said, "I'll pay for my own room."

Jiang Ran smiled.

"You still owe me for your food.

"You have money now?"

"I have enough to cover one night! I'm not completely broke!"

Li Tianxin snorted. "Shopkeeper, get me a separate room!"

"Well, this is rather unfortunate."

The Shopkeeper quickly explained, "Our inn is full today, we only have three rooms left... So, you see..."

"..."

Li Tianxin was torn. "Are there any spots left in the cattle shed or the stables?"

"That's no place for a person to sleep! Sir, why must you go to such lengths?"

The Shopkeeper didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Ruan Yuqing, Luo Qingyi, and the others also looked at Li Tianxin with strange expressions.

Jiang Ran had been acting strangely all day.

He never usually tried to drag Li Tianxin off to piss with him, but he did first thing this morning. He'd never mentioned bathing or anything like that before, but today he wanted them to bathe together...

And now it was time to get rooms at the inn. In the past, Jiang Ran had always gotten Li Tianxin a separate room.

He figured it was normal for someone so aloof to not want to share a room.

But today, he was insisting on sharing a room with Li Tianxin...

Ruan Yuqing's gaze shifted back and forth between Jiang Ran and Li Tianxin, her mind already playing out some new drama.

Seeing how things were, Li Tianxin could only sigh.

"Fine. I'll share a room with him."

"You say that as if you're making some great sacrifice."

Jiang Ran glanced at him.

"Do you grind your teeth, fart, or snore when you sleep? I should prepare myself."

"You're the one who grinds their teeth, farts, and snores!"

Li Tianxin was furious.

Jiang Ran just laughed, not bothering to argue. The group followed the attendant up to the guest rooms on the second floor.

After the rooms were assigned, Jiang Ran called out to the attendant again.

"Could you trouble yourself to bring me an ink brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone?"

"Yes, sir."

The attendant nodded and turned to leave.

Li Tianxin gave Jiang Ran a strange look.

"What... are you suddenly planning to write?"

"Nothing much. I just want to cultivate my sensibilities."

Jiang Ran sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and started talking nonsense:

"Seeing Zhuge Mingyu in the Ghost King Palace had a great impact on me.

"Even someone like him from the heretical path strives endlessly, his pursuit of knowledge boundless.

"As members of the Righteous Path of the Martial World, how can we live such empty lives? What if I become a great hero one day, renowned throughout the martial world, only to discover I can't even write my own name? Wouldn't that make me a laughingstock?"