"Hi there! Is your boss in?" Long Huang asked, his charming smile causing her heart to race uncontrollably.
"Uh... he... he's at the Red District," she stammered, her usual poise slipping away as she became entranced by Long Huang's appearance and domineering aura.
Long Huang's expression subtly shifted to one of mild annoyance as he engaged in the familiar ritual of waiting.
"Of course he is," he replied, his hand moving to his forehead as he rolled his eyes. A hint of irritation crept into his voice at the thought of his friend's seemingly endless escapades.
Despite his frustration, he couldn't help but appreciate the lively atmosphere of the shop, filled with the warm buzz of conversation and the comforting presence of familiar faces.
As he mulled over his options, Long Huang contemplated whether to stay and wait for Bo Chow's return or to make his way back to the Sect.
"That damn bastard, is sex all he can think about?"
Long Huang was lost in thought when he noticed a young employee watching him intently.
Her eyes sparkled with an unspoken longing and passion, conveying a depth of feelings that words seemed to falter in expressing. Just as he sensed the moment hanging in the air, he cleared his throat, breaking the spell.
"Ehem!"
"Well, tell him I dropped by," he said with a casual tone, turning to leave.
Before stepping out into the cool evening air, he paused and turned back to the employee, a charming smile gracing his face.
"Good night and goodbye, miss."
"Take care of yourself."
With that, he pushed the door open and stepped out into the embrace of the cool evening. The shop's bell jingled cheerfully at his back, a stark contrast to the silence he left behind. As he merged with the bustling currents of the street, the warmth of the encounter—the haunting. That moment was but a mere fleeting moment for Long Huang.
However, to the employee who was left in a daze, it was as if her world had collapsed. She understood the miss in Long Huang's words was meant to distance him from her.
As Long Huang walked through the streets, he could hear the whispers of women talking to each other.
"He's so hot."
"Shhh, he can hear you."
"Go ask him out."
One of the women came up to Long Huang with a shy smile on her face and began speaking.
"Umm, hi, would you mind having a few drinks with us?"
"No, I'm busy."
"Ok, we see, goodbye then."
"Goodbye."
He felt annoyed; the last time he had been out, there hadn't been much attention directed at him. What he didn't take into account was the upcoming martial competition.
As he walked through the City he called home, he couldn't help but stop and take in the beauty, stopping along his way to feed the homeless and some animals with the leftover food he had in his possession.
Eventually, he reached the entrance of the Azure Lotus Sect. After pausing to gaze at the mighty gates for a moment, he walked in and headed to the Fifth Elder's Manor to inform Huang Min and her parents that he was back, having left without saying a word.
Upon arriving at the Fifth Elder's Manor, he greeted the guards as usual and entered. The guards were surprised to see him, as he was supposedly missing according to the Fifth Elder and thought to be dead by some.
The guards gave each other a look of 'are you seeing this too' as they too thought he was dead.
But here he was, standing right in front of them. They then allowed him to enter.
As Long Huang entered the manor yard, he saw Huang Peng and Su Yan walking in the manor yard.
Seeing him, they rushed forward and began checking him over.
"Where have you been, kid?"
"Why did you leave without saying a word?"
"Why are you only back now?"
They bombarded him with questions, flustering Long Huang, but he understood that they were concerned for him.
After a few more questions, they finally stopped, giving Long Huang a chance to explain.
"I was in the Archdevil Mountain Range in the Sky Cloud Forest."
"I just got back today,"
"What!" the couple exclaimed in shock.
It was a dangerous place for a Skin Tempering Realm cultivator.
"How did you survive?" they asked.
"Well, a deer helped me find some Yang fruits, and I broke through to the Meridian Tempering Realm," Long Huang replied.
Then he took out the last Yang fruit and handed it to the couple.
"It really is a Yang fruit,"
Su Yan said, staring at the fruit in Long Huang's hand. Long Huang then asked,
"Where's Huang Min? I don't see her around."
Hearing this, the couple's faces froze. They exchanged glances before Huang Peng finally said,
"She's in her room, and it's been that way for a while."
"Oh, why is that?" Long Huang asked curiously.
The couple looked at each other again before responding.
"After you left, we thought you were missing," Huang Peng began.
"So we posted a mission to find you. After the first month with no news, rumors started to spread that you were dead."
"But Huang Min didn't believe it. She often got into arguments with fellow disciples who claimed you were dead," Su Yan added.
"After that initial month, with still no news, we feared the worst. Huang Min has locked herself in her room since."
Hearing this, Long Huang was taken aback. He hadn't realized his sudden disappearance would affect them so deeply.
"I didn't think you would notice," he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Of course, we'd noticed. You're like a son to us," Su Yan said in a motherly tone, and Huang Peng nodded in agreement.
Long Huang then bowed and made his way to Huang Min's room. As he walked, he realized how much the Huang family meant to him and how much he meant to them.
When he arrived at Huang Min's room, he knocked, but received no response. He knocked again, but still no answer. Deciding to investigate further, he walked to the balcony of Huang Min's room and climbed through the window, which was unlocked.
As he climbed through the window and entered her room. He looked around, his eyes searching for Huang Min, and he suddenly felt something cold at his neck.
As he looked down, a knife was being held to him by none other than Huang Min.
"Hey now."
"I know you're mad, but can you please... put the knife down?"
Long Huang pleaded, but Huang Min looked at him as if he were a ghost.
"I'm sorry I left without saying anything," he added, his voice soft. Her ice-blue eyes held his gaze, which usually radiated a cold aura. But now, he saw the faint redness around them—the unmistakable sign of tears he had caused.
"I truly am okay."
He could see how deeply his disappearance had affected her. The usual jade-like skin of her face was now marred by dark, puffy circles beneath her eyes, and her hair, normally impeccably kept, fell in disheveled strands around her shoulders.
"Oh, come on, don't be like that," Long Huang said, but she maintained her silence.
"The silent treatment, I see."
"I brought you something," he said, pulling out the jade bed he had found in the cave.
Even with that, Huang Min didn't say a word, so Long Huang decided to give her some space. He placed about 500 gold notes on the jade bed before leaving.
"I'm sorry."
Seeing Huang Min this way sent a sharp pang of guilt through Long Huang's chest. Yet, having her face so close to his — close enough to feel the warmth of her breath, causing Long Huang to be flustered, heat rushing to his cheeks.
He stood frozen between the desire to comfort her and the sudden, shy awareness of her nearness. Huang Min, however, remained an unreadable fortress.
She observed his flustered expression with a cool, detached gaze, offering no solace before turning wordlessly and returning to her bed, leaving him alone in the charged silence.
The heavy door clicked shut behind him, sealing away the stifling intensity of the room. Long Huang drew a deep, steadying breath of the cool evening air, but the encounter clung to him. Her red eyes, her puffy face, and her silence shattered his own selfish thoughts that no one would care.
With each step away from her quarters, tears fell from his eyes, his mind, once so isolated, began to tentatively embrace a new and fragile reality, and a profound shift settled within him. For the first time, he finally accepted a truth he had long evaded: he wasn't alone; he had people who cared for him, people who viewed him as family.
Once outside, Long Huang decided he should increase his cultivation to distract himself and gain a bit more strength before the competition, so he headed toward the medicine pavilion of the sect.
"Alright, next stop it is, I wonder what I should buy."
"Hmmm"
As he was in thought, he heard something.