Gold Blood Eyes ||Mo Dao Zu Shi||

Chapter 7: Yunmeng Taverns

A male with black hair covered by a plain snow white hood walked into a tavern. His entire figure was dressed with the same color, white boots, white robes, both outer and inner, white wrist cuffs, and hidden by the top of the hood, there was even a white finger-length wide ribbon with clouds on it wrapped around his forehead. His demeanor screamed dominance and strength, but was also laced with frost, keeping those unwanted far away.

The guests and waiters in the tavern could not help but gaze at the hooded man in awe and fear, for they had never seen a male such as him before. Cultivators were a regular sight, but this man...they felt him as different and were wary of offending him. The male walked with long strides of elegance, floating through the tavern without the help of a singe waiter. He sat down at an empty table, claiming it as his throne. His head turned slightly as if to meet all the eyes, which hastily turned away and returned back to the present situation and focusing on the conversations from before.

The owner looked at his employees, deciding to serve the mysterious man himself. He fixed his robes and wiped his hands down dutifully before walking over. When he approached the man, he realized the fabric of the white clothing was fine. This man was definitely someone important.

Clearing his throat, the tavern owner gave a respectful boy and polite smile, "Welcome, Young Master? May I get you anything?"

"Tea," The man responded, his voice deep and alluring. He pulled the hood back slightly to reveal bright gold eyes.

The owner was startled lightly by the flame amongst the snow. Now that he had had a small glimpse of the man beneath the hood, he could see the stoic expression frozen onto the pale completion. Gathering himself, he informed, "Young Master, we have many different types of tea,"

The white cloaked man looked at the owner intensely, waiting for the options to be told. The owner's brain blanked for a few seconds, until he recalled, "A-ah. Green, Jasmine, Herbal, Black, Rose, Lotus-"

"Lotus?" The masked male couldn't stop himself from repeating.

In his mind the scene of a beautiful but small lotus pond surfaced. A small ruffle of black and red robes passed by the pond, a male with handsome features and silver eyes crouching down. He was extremely handsome, though looking mature, his skin was slightly paler than when a few years ago, and his cheeks were sunken in more, jaw more outlined. Though it was obvious he wasn't eating enough, the man was exceptionally handsome. One hand reached forward, a hand that once wielded a sword with skills far above his generation, but now mastered a power of darkness.

Despite such history, the fingertips were tender as they brushed the delicate pink petals. The man turned his face fully and smiled a smile worth a thousand ounces of gold, a smile so beautiful, a smile that Lan WangJi had fallen hopelessly in love with, "Lan Zhan! Lan Zhan! Look! My lotus plants are growing well! They've even got flowers now!"

"Young Master?" The owner called out, confused in seeing the icy gold soften slightly with a faraway look.

Lan WangJi blinked out of his daze, looking back at the owner, eyes hardening again. Seeing that Lan WangJi was back, the owner resumed his talk, "Yes, Yunmeng is known for it's Lotus ponds. The Sect of our area is the Jiang Sect, stationed at Lotus Pier. Even the motif is a Lotus!"

Lan WangJi knew that, but just nodded. He moved his lips, "I'll take herbal,"

The owner seemed to deflate a bit, but nodded, "How many cups?"

Lan WangJi narrowed his eyes, getting frustrated with the owner's presence. The owner saw the glare and paled, bowing his head quickly, "I'll just get a whole kettle,"

He then hurried away from the table, whispering to his employees to stay clear from that table unless called over by their guest himself. Lan WangJi glanced around the tavern, making sure there was no one paying attention to him. He placed a hand in his lap, summoning up the cold feeling flowing around his body and through his meridians. The gold melted away into rubies, a thin line of black smoke twirling around Lan WangJi's fingers.