God of Ice and Snow[BL]

13. Xiong Wei

The Hong Family Lord chatted with Bai Gui to pass the time. Or, at least he tried to chat with him. From a bystander viewpoint, it just looked like Hong Bo was talking to himself. Bai Gui didn't say a word and periodically sipped some tea.

Bai Chen and Bai Chang were both having a heated discussion with Hong Ling about sword techniques while Bai Cong was ignoring the curious stares coming from Hong Mian. Bai Ying Yu had slipped out a while ago to engage in conversation with the other Madam's of influential families.

“All rise to welcome the Guan Royal family!” A loud voice rang through the room.

Everyone stopped talking and looked to the entrance.

A man walked through the door wearing a flowing purple robe. He had crudely cut, gray hair and a goatee. His power couldn't be hidden from under his robes as he walked with powerful steps inside the room. His black eyes glared at everyone at the table, his gaze only lasting a second for each person until his eyes fell on the Bai Family. A light flashed in his eyes when he saw them but it quickly disappeared before anyone noticed.

A woman similarly dressed in purple robes walked in behind the man. She walked majestically and her aura didn't lose out to the mans. Her dull brown eyes peered at everyone as if she were the queen looking down at simple peasants. Although she was older in age, she still somehow managed to maintain her beauty.

When they both came in, everyone stood up and respectfully bowed. Everyone, except the Bai Family. Bai Gui didn't take the lead to rise so nobody else in the family stood up.

“Wish the emperor good luck. Wish the queen good luck,” the people spoke in unison.

Emperor Guan signalled the people to sit back down. Everyone took their seats and stayed quiet as the royal couple walked to their seats. Even Hong Bo sensed the somber atmosphere so he kept his silence.

Everyone was so focused on them that nobody noticed a little boy with golden colored hair and eyes walking in. He looked around the room vigilantly and quickly walked to his seat without gaining anyones attention. His seat was situated on the Hong Families side of the table, a bit closer to the emperor.

Bai Cong, who had his eyes closed the whole time, opened them and turned his head. He saw a little boy with golden features that looked like they were carved out by the gods themselves. Bai Cong stared at him with focused eyes. He didn't even look away when the boy met his gaze with the same level of intensity.

Both boys stared into each others eyes like they wanted to look into the others soul. This exchange lasted for what felt like hours when it was actually a few seconds. Bai Cong only came out of this trance-like state when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked up and saw his mother behind him.

¨Mother,” Bai Cong called out softly.

Bai Ying Yu nodded at him with a smile and picked him up. She slid down in the seat while making Bai Cong sit on her lap again.

Bai Cong looked over at the boy but he saw that he was looking away. He frowned when he recalled the feeling he had when he saw the boy. It was like he found something he had lost years ago. He didn't like the feeling at all. It made him feel like he didn't have control of the situation and that made things troublesome.

“What's wrong Cong'er?” Bai Ying Yu quiet asked.

Bai Cong shook his head to tell her it was nothing, but he decided to stay away from the irksome boy.

“I welcome you all to this banquet before the start of the competition,” Emperor Guan spoke powerfully into the crowd, “you may enjoy this good food and wine while conversing to your heart's content.”

Emperor Guan then clapped his hand and signalled for the servants to deliver the food and drinks to the table.

Bai Cong looked at the table as the servants placed the food down. The smell wafting from the dishes made his stomach rumble loud enough that everyone heard it. Bai Cong closed his eyes as a pink shade appeared on his pale cheeks from embarrassment.

Bai Ying Yu chuckled and gently patted his stomach. “It smells good doesn’t?”

Bai Cong nodded his head, his face still hot. He looked around the table until he found something that looked beautiful. Although Bai Cong had an adult mind, living with his new family for these have increased his pickiness when it came to the appearance of things, so he naturally picked the food that was the most aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

Bai Ying Yu followed his gaze and saw a plate full of beautifully cut pieces of spirit fruit.

Spirit fruit is different front regular fruit because it is infused with spiritual energy that comes from the trees that bear them. Bai Ying Yu grabbed the plate that displayed the fruit and put some on Bai Cong’s plate.

Bai Cong recognized all the fruit on the plate since they were quite popular, although somewhat expensive. But the Bai Family had immense wealth so buying a lifetime's worth of the fruits wouldn’t even make a grain of a difference to their wealth.

The atmosphere of the room was livelier than before. Everyone had gotten out of their seats and were exchanging news in small groups. The Guan Emperor was talking to some of his attendants quietly.

“Buddy old pal, let us talk,” Hong Bo invited Bai Gui to talk elsewhere. Bai Gui raised his eyebrow but decided to follow Hong Bo out.

Bai Ying Yu also stood up and went over to where the other madams were chatting while ignoring the lecherous gazes theme were throwing at her.

Bai Chang and Bai Chen had disappeared to who knows where with Hong Ling, leaving Bai Cong alone with Hong Mian. Seeing the look in her eyes, Bai Cong excused himself to avoid unnecessary socializing.

He walked around room in random directions while thinking of the competition that was being held the next day. Bai Cong was so distracted that he hadn't noticed when a person appeared in front of him.

Bai Cong bumped into someone and caught himself before he fell down.

“I apologize,” Bai Cong said as he looked up and froze when he met a pair of gem-like golden eyes.

Both boys stared at the other in awkward silence. Now that he was right in front of him, Bai Cong took note that the boy was a few inches taller than him. His whole body seemed to be made out of gold. From his lush, golden hair, and eyes to his pale, gold robes.

Bai Cong didn’t feel the same feeling he experienced at the table when their eyes first met. But he couldn’t deny that feeling, it was to powerful for him to have just imagined it. He frowned and decided to put this issue at the back of his head to think about on a later date.

“What is your name?” Bai Cong totally forgot the decision he made to ignore the bot and spoke first.

The boy stared at him in silence and finally answered, “Xiong Wei.”