Destined to Be Broke - Chapter 2

He asked where I lived, so I took him to the little bamboo hut I had built.

He demolished it with one palm strike.

“What are you doing?! That took me two whole days to build!”

Mo Guishan tossed me another silver ingot. My anger vanished instantly.

“I’ll go find an inn right now.”

It was already late, but I found one inn that had not yet closed.

The proprietor said apologetically, “We mainly serve food and only have ten guest rooms. A group of immortal masters arrived this afternoon and took nine. There’s only one left.”

I went back to Mo Guishan at the door.

“There’s only one room. Why don’t you take it? I’ll find a patch of ground and make do for the night.”

Mo Guishan shrugged. “You might as well sleep on the floor in my room.”

And so the two of us entered the same room.

The waiter brought hot water, and I sank into the tub to enjoy a proper bath. Until now, I had always bathed in the river at midnight. Once, a water ghost had even joined me.

Eyes narrowed in bliss, I chatted with Mo Guishan through the folding screen.

“Brother Mo, would you like a bath? I can ask him to bring fresh water.”

“I have cleansing talismans.”

“Oh.”

“Washing yourself is such a bother.”

“I can’t afford talismans. I have to do things the hard way.”

“How are you this poor?”

I wailed, “I was born without a fortune for wealth. Money refuses to stay with me!”

His voice drew closer as he replied, “Then we complement each other. I have money.”

My eyes flew open. Mo Guishan stood before me with an amused smile.

Instinctively, I covered my exposed parts. Then I decided I was making a fuss—after all, we were both men—and lowered my hands again.

“Why did you come over here?”

Mo Guishan pointed beside my Adam’s apple. “You have a mole here.”

I touched the spot. “I do.”

“It’s red. Were you born with it?”

“Yes.”

Mo Guishan circled behind me. Cool fingertips tapped lightly against my spine.

“There’s another one here.”

I shuddered involuntarily, then sighed.

“Brother Mo, barging in to count someone’s moles while he’s bathing is rather rude.”

The hand behind me deliberately traced a line across my skin before withdrawing.

“I have never cared about being reasonable.”

“…How impressive.”

I spread a rug on the floor and slept there for the night.

Whenever Mo Guishan was silent, he seemed not to exist at all. He made no sound—not even the faintest breath. Yet the instant he entered your sight, he seized all of your attention.

He was still asleep when I woke.

I sat cross-legged on the floor and watched him for a while.

He truly was beautiful. His skin was as smooth and lustrous as jade, and his glossy black hair lay scattered around his face, creating a startling contrast.

A great beauty.

It was only that this beauty had an unnerving chill about him, cold as a corpse.

Unable to resist, I touched the hand resting beside the bed.

Cold!

I shot upright in alarm and reached to check his breathing.

Before I felt anything, fingers clamped around my wrist.

Beautiful eyes opened a sliver. Thin lips parted.

There was a warning in Mo Guishan’s voice. “Were you trying to climb into my bed?”

I gave him an awkward smile. “A misunderstanding. Complete misunderstanding.”

Mo Guishan released me and sat up.

“What time is it?”

“Nearly ten in the morning.”

He paused. “I actually slept that long.”

“It’s cool and drizzling—the perfect weather for sleep.”