Falling Dreams Of Fang Hua

Chapter 39

Evening came as bright lights illuminated the main hall.

All the handsome men had gathered together, some speaking in low voices. First was wiping clean his jade xiao[1] while his gaze came to rest on Fourth with a derisive smile. As it turned out, the young Fourth Prince Mole was currently filing his nails. On the side, Fifth held a sallow yellow book, staring intently as the light illuminated the scar on his face in savage focus.

"What do you think of my nails?" Fourth asked as he held them up to the lamp light, eyes squinting.

Fifth picked up his book and scooted away when Fourth spoke, keeping some distance between them. There was a fragrant scent in the air that mixed with the flicker of lampwicks and the sound of turning pages. I took a break and cleared my papers, taking a sip of tea before I spoke. "Little Sixth, come to my room today."

As soon as my words finished, their eyes all turned to me with hot gazes. Little Sixth seemed stupefied. I swallowed my saliva and changed my words. "Or I could go to yours instead."

One line was enough to cause one thousand waves. The young Poison Prince prepared to rise from the table, but was forced down by First. I stared at everyone. "What's wrong with you guys?"

Each one of them had complex expressions in their eyes, some shocked, some gleeful, some resentful or uncertain or expectant...

Che, they all had problems.

I grabbed the badly shaken Sixth's hand, squeezing past the crowd towards my private rooms. There was no time to study their expressions as they burst into a spell of discomfited whispers.

The door shut.

I rubbed my hands as I paced back and forth, finally perching by the window to look outside. After verifying the courtyard was empty, I released a breath and tightly shut the windows. Little Sixth looked cramped as he stood on one side, unsure of what he'd done wrong.

"Sit." He prepared to sit in a chair, but I hurriedly stopped him and pulled him towards the bed. "Don't, you'll catch a cold there."

His face was completely red, and his pale pink robes set off the skin more prettily than brightly-colored peach blossoms. I sat next to him and leaned close, turning his hands in mine as I smiled. "You've been here for a long time, right?"

He nodded.

I smiled, touching his shoulders and smoothing out his hair. His hair just was like him, tough but velvety smooth to the touch like something that could be be hated and loved at the same time.

"Sixth..." My grinning face looked at him. "Let me see the 《Carefree Recollection》you copied for me again, okay?"

He widened his bright, beautiful eyes as if he didn't dare to believe me.

"Look, I've already cultivated to the seventh level and my internal energy's returned to the beginning tiers. As long as I can persist until the ninth, I'll reach a miraculous breakthrough in my skills."

His eyebrows knitted. I tugged on his shoulders but he turned away, shaking harder than ever.

"Are you afraid that technique is too strange and I'll have an accident while learning it?" I smiled, ridiculing him. "Or...are you afraid I'll forget everything in the end if I keep practicing, including you? Hey, you're not allowed to cry. If you don't hand it over, I'm going to do a full body search."

I smirked with my head on his shoulders, my hands preparing to frisk him. With his eyes red, he actually bit his lip and grabbed my hands, his face completely white. Though he couldn't talk, a dull, hoarse sound rose from his throat.