Shi Qixue suddenly felt his sensitive, vulnerable gland being touched. His body went limp, and he nearly fell off the sword. He hurriedly steadied himself, keeping his handsome face stiff as he turned to glance at his disciple, who was half a head taller than him.
If this had happened in the modern world, it would have been blatant sexual harassment!
But then again…
This wasn’t the modern world. What had his disciple done wrong by being so concerned about his master?
He had even noticed such a tiny detail. Truly, what a good disciple he had!
The tension between Shi Qixue’s brows eased.
“No.”
“Then why are you wearing a medicinal patch?”
The hand Chi Yan kept behind his back was clenched so tightly that the veins stood out. He desperately suppressed the irritation that was threatening to burst free. It was only February, and the chill of winter had yet to fade, yet his body was being consumed by an unprecedented heat.
Because he couldn’t smell Shi Qixue anymore.
Ever since he had followed Shi Qixue into the woods and seen him put the medicinal patch over the side of his neck, that faint, elusive scent of pear blossoms had completely disappeared.
The feeling of losing control infuriated Chi Yan. It was as though he had returned to the days when he and Wen Yao had first entered the Demon Cult, when they had been at the mercy of others and forced to bow and scrape.
The former Demon Cult Leader had assigned him the job of polishing shoes. Every day, he had used his own spine as a footstool while polishing their shoes. He memorized every face and every name.
Then, stepping over their corpses, he had become the revered leader of the Demon Cult.
His hands had long since been stained with blood. What difference would killing one more person make?
The world was vast. Surely he could find someone capable of curing his illness…
A dark purple glint flashed through Chi Yan’s eyes. With a turn of his wrist, a small knife coated in deadly poison appeared in his hand.
“There are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains. This is a mosquito-repellent patch I found.”
Shi Qixue thought for quite a while before finally coming up with an excuse that wouldn’t make his disciple worry. He rubbed his suddenly cool neck, then turned around—
—and nearly jumped out of his skin when he found his enlarged disciple’s face practically inches from his own.
“Um… Do you want one too?”
“…”
Shi Qixue generously gave his disciple a bundle of the herbs and told him to pound them himself and stick them on his body. Then he turned around and slipped into Qingyue Hall to tinker with the things in his herb garden.
Chi Yan stood in the kitchen, channeling spiritual energy to produce a blue flame. His movements were practiced as he wielded the ladle and tossed the wok. Before long, wisps of cooking smoke rose from Qingyue Hall, carrying the delicious aroma down the mountain and making the disciples below drool.
“Big Brother is cooking for Master again. It smells amazing! What is it this time?”
“Spicy rabbit heads, probably.”
“…”
After finishing the final dish, Chi Yan lightly tapped his finger and sprinkled something into the soup before finally putting everything away.
“Master.”
There was a soft knock on the door.
Shi Qixue hurriedly put away the things he had been preparing and rushed to open the door.
He was absolutely starving for his disciple’s cooking!
If his disciple ever opened a restaurant, its reputation would probably spread even farther than that of Chaoyang Sect.
Shi Qixue buried his head in his food, eating enthusiastically. His beautiful eyes curved into happy crescents. After drinking nearly half a bowl of soup, he caught sight of a pair of eyes staring intently at him from the corner of his vision and awkwardly straightened his back.
“Ahem, ahem—”
“My disciple, you’ve worked hard today. This is something I prepared for you.”
Shi Qixue pulled two small jade bottles, already warmed by his grip, from his sleeve and explained, “The one covered with red cloth contains Golden Wound Medicine. It can remove scars, and when you apply it while practicing swordsmanship in winter, it can also prevent your skin from cracking. Cultivation is important, of course, but you still need to take care of yourself. Don’t get hurt.”
He had noticed early that his disciple’s hands were covered in wounds of all sizes. He suspected they were injuries from his relentless cultivation. The weather had turned cold again recently, and if Chi Yan didn’t take care of them, he might develop chilblains, which could become painfully itchy every winter.
Although cultivators could use spells to heal wounds, removing scars still required medicine. While looking for cultivation manuals in the library earlier, Shi Qixue had accidentally found a medical text. He had spent all that time in the herb garden making this Golden Wound Medicine. Its effects were absolutely far superior to anything available on the market.
“The one covered with white cloth contains Grade-One Spiritual Power Pills.”
Naturally, Shi Qixue hadn’t refined these himself. He wasn’t capable of that yet. He had simply dug them out of his Qiankun pouch.
After all, his disciple had followed him around all this time, running errands and doing all the work without receiving much of anything in return. Shi Qixue truly felt like a failure as a master.
Chi Yan lowered his eyes to the jade bottle held between those slender, pale fingers. His scarred fingers curled slightly.
“Why?”
“Because all I do every day is eat and sleep, and then I make you teach me how to cultivate. You even took the injury for me. I’m really not much of a master…”
Shi Qixue answered instinctively without thinking. Then both hands flew to cover his mouth, his beautiful eyes widening.
Oh no!
Chi Yan slowly rotated the green jade cup in his hand, his expression calm.
He had added Truth Water to the soup just now. It was colorless, odorless, and harmless. All it could do was make someone reveal simple truths.
He had merely been curious about Shi Qixue’s intentions.
Yet Chi Yan continued pretending that he knew nothing.
“Master, what’s wrong?”
“What have I done…”
Shi Qixue slapped a hand over his mouth again.
Good heavens!
He must have eaten a poisonous herb in the garden just now! Otherwise, why would he be blurting things out without thinking?
“What is the thing you’ve put on the back of your neck?”
“A scent-blocking patch.”
“What is that?”
“It prevents pheromones from spreading.”
“What are pheromones?” Chi Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Pheromones are—ugh, I can’t explain it to you!”
Shi Qixue covered his mouth tightly and turned his back, his voice muffled.
“Disciple, I think I’ve been poisoned. Take the medicine and leave quickly. Whatever you do, don’t catch it from me. I’ll be fine after I sleep.”
He hadn’t even realized that he was the one who had been drugged.
Idiot.
Chi Yan lowered his eyes. His fingertips brushed against the two little jade bottles, which still retained a trace of warmth.
“Thank you for the gifts, Master. I like them very much.”
“I’m glad you like them.”
Shi Qixue turned around. His delicate face was like the snow of early spring, and his eyes sparkled like stars and moonlight. His lips curved into a radiant smile, his voice filled with unconcealed delight.
“This is the first time anyone has ever accepted a gift from me.”
“You were injured today. Let me help you apply the medicine.”
Almost as if acting on instinct, Chi Yan held out the jade bottle, his gaze fixed on Shi Qixue’s face.
Only now, after all these days, had he noticed that when Shi Qixue smiled, two faint dimples appeared on his cheeks.
The medicinal powder stung slightly as it touched the wound that had not yet completely healed, bringing Chi Yan back to his senses.
“One last question.”
“Who do you think I am, Master?”
Shi Qixue raised his eyes. His gaze was sincere, though there was a trace of confusion in it.
“Chi Yan is Chi Yan. You’re an absolutely wonderful person.”
As the junior disciple of the Discipline Hall, Wen Yao was assigned to patrol Chaoyang Sect every other day. He took advantage of the opportunity to abuse his authority for personal gain, swaggering around while checking on how well his brother’s mission was going.
Who would have thought…
First, he saw that scoundrel clinging to his brother, the two of them looking intimately close as they flew together on the same sword.
Then, when Wen Yao was so hungry that his stomach felt glued to his back, he caught the irresistible aroma of food.
That scoundrel had made his brother cook it.
And now…
Wen Yao marched over to find his brother, chest puffed out, ready to interrogate him. But the moment he arrived, he saw his brother turning two little jade bottles over and over in his hands, his gaze unusually gentle.
“What… are you doing?”
Wen Yao was accustomed to seeing his brother covered in blood and showing no mercy, so he couldn’t help shivering. He moved closer and spotted the two jade bottles. He snatched them up and opened them.
“Golden Wound Medicine? Grade-One Spiritual Power Pills?! Who gave these to you?!”
“Give them back.”
Chi Yan’s voice was cold, a chill he didn’t even realize was there.
“I was only looking. It’s not like I’m taking them.”
Wen Yao was about to hand them back when he suddenly froze. His childish face twisted for a moment before he sent a sound transmission.
“That bastard gave them to you?!!”
A Grade-One Spiritual Power Pill could assist a cultivator in breaking through the late Golden Core stage. Only high-level alchemists or above could refine them, and doing so required an enormous amount of time and effort.
Five hundred years ago, the only Super-Rank Alchemist in the world had died. Fifteen years ago, all the high-level alchemists had mysteriously been slaughtered by someone.
As a result, even Grade-One pills were now priceless treasures. One could fetch as much as a million spirit stones on the market.
And there were ten of them here.
Who else could possibly afford to give them away except that bastard?!
“Wow, wow! You—”
Wen Yao’s eyes went wide.
“Clang!”
The two jade bottles were tossed into the trash bin beside them.
“Why did you throw them away?! Even if you hate the person who gave them to you, you can’t just throw them away! One pill is worth a million spirit stones! Ten pills are ten million! How can anyone have a problem with money?!”
Wen Yao plunged headfirst into the trash bin, retrieved the bottles, and wiped them off several times. His eyes curved with delight as he weighed them in his hand.
They felt strangely light.
He opened one.
It was completely empty.
“Mine.”
Chi Yan spoke calmly before flicking his sleeve and walking away.
Wen Yao:
So you never actually intended to throw them away in the first place!