Xie Ciyou’s gaze lingered on the other’s lips as he stroked the back of the hand that had just been bitten.
It felt as though nothing had been accomplished today, yet it had been breathtakingly intense nonetheless.
Shi Qing tidied his somewhat disheveled clothes, preparing to return to the bed to rest. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he walked toward the bookshelf. In truth, what he really wanted to see was that wooden box.
The wooden box was exquisitely carved. He hadn’t touched it last time, but since Xie Ciyou himself said that anything could be touched, then he would.
Cradling the wooden box in his arms, Shi Qing opened it cautiously. Inside was a palm-sized wooden sword and a thin booklet. He froze upon seeing the familiar frost-flower sword pattern on the wooden sword; it was the same pattern as the Luoxue Sword hidden within his Chunfeng Sword.
The Chunfeng Sword was originally a single blade. Later, while he was at the Morning Mist Pavilion sparring with Xie Ciyou every day, his master, Old Ancestor Wuxu, and Pavilion Master Ningyu would occasionally watch and offer guidance. At that time, Pavilion Master Ningyu pointed out that his swordplay was nimble and varied, suggesting he try combining long and short blades. The Luoxue Sword was forged then using top-grade profound iron gifted by Pavilion Master Ningyu.
When drawing the sword pattern, Shi Qing had thought for a long time. Eventually, looking at the frost flowers forming on the glazed palace lanterns above his head, he decided to carve the frost-flower pattern. He forged it himself, and to practice his hand, he had first carved it on wood.
He was very satisfied with the Luoxue Sword. As for the wooden carving used for practice, he had simply tossed it aside long ago, and its whereabouts were unknown.
Why would Xie Ciyou keep the wooden sword he had carved?
He set down the wooden sword and picked up the booklet. Before even flipping it open, he noticed the pages were of various sizes, mismatched with the dimensions of the cover. It seemed to be a collection of many large and small papers bound into a volume.
He hesitated for a moment before opening the booklet. The handwriting inside was crooked, and the array routes were scribbled and messy; these were exactly the manuscripts he had drafted in the Library Pavilion years ago.
Xia Chan’s words from the match earlier that day echoed in his mind. He had said he obtained a transcript of the manuscripts from Xie Ciyou.
The room was very quiet, with only the slight friction of paper as the pages turned. The glazed lamp illuminated the youth’s figure as he stood still for a long time.
Shi Qing suddenly snapped the booklet shut and placed it back in the box. The lid closed with a sharp, heavy thud.
Carefully placing the box back on the shelf, Shi Qing walked slowly back to the bedside. He sat down, feeling dazed and bewildered.
Would a mortal enemy collect the other’s scribbled manuscripts? Would he carefully keep a wooden carving used only for practice?
It couldn’t possibly be for a curse. That reason was so far-fetched that even Shi Qing couldn’t convince himself.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Shi Qing repeatedly rubbed his thumb against his index finger, feeling restless and anxious.
Xie Ciyou’s abnormality, why he remained silent despite his suspicions about Shi Qing’s identity, and whether Xie Ciyou had actually recognized him…
After sitting in a daze for an unknown amount of time, Shi Qing suddenly laughed and shook his head.
If he couldn’t figure it out, he wouldn’t think about it. It didn’t matter whether Xie Ciyou knew or not. As long as Xie Ciyou didn’t expose him, he didn’t mind continuing to play the role of a sycophant. Once everything was over…
He casually pulled off his cloak and tossed it toward the rack, where it hung perfectly. With a wave of his hand, the glazed lamp went out.
He simply lay down and went to sleep.
Usually, someone as physically weak as him would fall asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, but today he tossed and turned. It was a long time before he finally drifted into a fitful slumber.
That night, Shi Qing dreamed again. The scene in the dream was hazy, returning to the day of Gu Yan’s twentieth birthday. Gu Yan looked at him with a smile and said, “A man in the mortal world must perform the capping ceremony and take a courtesy name when he turns twenty. Would you choose one for me?”
In the dream, he didn’t respond. It was still Gu Yan, who pondered seriously for a moment and said, “Walking alone in the long night, I was fortunate to meet the bright moon. Its clear radiance shone upon me, allowing me to see the path ahead for the first time. Yet the moon is in the heart of the sky, only to be looked up to. Why don’t we call it Zhanyue (Admiring the Moon)?”
The perspective in the dream shifted to a bright moon hanging in the sky, its clear light spilling everywhere.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Yan’s face suddenly turned into Xie Ciyou’s. His eyes were deep, wearing a gentle expression Shi Qing had never seen before. The cold frost in his eyes was gone, replaced by the look of early spring after the snow has cleared.
Though he said nothing, those eyes seemed to speak a thousand words.
He suddenly reached out those well-defined, slender, and beautiful hands to stroke Shi Qing’s face. The touch was cool like jade, yet it startled him like a burn.
Shi Qing sat up abruptly in bed, his hand moving blankly to touch his cheek. The sensation from the dream was vivid. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat. Outside was clearly a world of ice and snow, yet the room felt somewhat sultry. He turned his head and saw the moonlight spilling through the window—a pale reflection across the floor!
Three days later, Shi Qing followed Xie Ciyou to the back of the mountain.
Pristine white snow covered the steep mountain ridges, shimmering with a cold silver light under the sun. The sky was as blue as if it had been washed.
Deep within the plum forest, there was a cliff face with a pool of spiritual spring water at its base, which let off steam even in the freezing cold.
At this moment, the spiritual spring was filled with various precious medicinal herbs. Shi Qing was not familiar with herbs, but he vaguely recognized several for pain relief, blood circulation, and calming the nerves.
The scent of herbs enveloped Shi Qing along with the steam. Xie Ciyou had been elusive these past few days, likely busy with this preparation.
In his past life, Shi Qing had often come to the plum forest, but only to practice his sword at the outskirts. Xie Ciyou was never in the same place; he only knew that Xie Ciyou practiced deep within the forest but never went to find him. Xie Ciyou would always return shortly after he finished practicing and went back to his room. When he was bored after finishing his practice, he would sit there and daze, just as he did on Qingji Peak.
Sometimes he would forget he was there to follow a plot. If it weren’t for the system responding in his mind when he called for it, he would have thought the system had vanished. Occasionally, he would call up the system to pull out the book and confirm the plot points one by one.
The book was written from Gu Yan’s perspective. Xie Ciyou, who was at odds with the protagonist, was a high and mighty, cold-blooded background character in the story. There was very little Shi Qing could know about him.
Gazing at the spiritual spring with the floating herbs, Shi Qing felt a bit dazed.
Xie Ciyou reached out to stir the herbs in the spring and said to the dazed Shi Qing, “Go in.” He paused. “You must remove all your clothes.”
After saying this, he raised his hand to set up a barrier around the spring, blocking out the wind and snow, then stepped back and turned his back to Shi Qing.
Shi Qing had done this once in his past life. At that time, in Gu Yan’s Qingyan Sect, he had refused Gu Yan’s care and taken the pill alone in his room, preparing only a tub filled with pain-relieving herbs. But the pain of reconstructing bones and meridians was still etched into his memory.
Perhaps it was the different atmosphere. Previously, he had taken the pill at night; now, it was only the hour of Shen (3 PM – 5 PM). Undressing in broad daylight in front of Xie Ciyou made him feel a bit awkward.
If only he hadn’t seen that wooden box the other night…
He stood by the spring with his back to Xie Ciyou and began to unfasten his clothes. The fur cloak was tossed aside, the white jade and gold-thread belt fell, and as he removed his outer robe, his hand paused before he slipped off the soft, snow-white inner garment.
Layers of robes were piled on the ground. Against the backdrop of the red plum blossoms by the spring, his slender body was as white as the snow.
He reached out to unfasten his hair ribbon, and his jet-black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. He stepped into the spiritual spring.
His black hair drifted on the water as he submerged, floating alongside the herbs. His pale skin was partially visible beneath the plants, and his shoulders and neck above the water were as flawless as white jade.
Shi Qing turned around and leaned against the edge of the pool, several wet strands of black hair clinging to his porcelain-white arms.
Only then did Xie Ciyou slowly turn around and approach. Shi Qing looked up at the crouching Xie Ciyou and heard him say, “I will channel spiritual energy into you to expand your meridians.”
“Mm.” Shi Qing nodded. The steam was heavy, and tiny droplets of moisture hung from his eyelashes, giving his eyes a moist sheen.
“Open your mouth.” Xie Ciyou took out the pill. Shi Qing obediently opened his mouth. Xie Ciyou held a pill no larger than half a fingernail and placed it in Shi Qing’s mouth, his finger lightly brushing against Shi Qing’s chin as he closed his lips.
Xie Ciyou said, “Enter meditation.”
Shi Qing turned around as instructed, leaning his back against the stone wall of the spring, and began to circulate spiritual energy to enter meditation. With the pool full of herbs, the pain could be minimized as much as possible.
Xie Ciyou waited by the spring. Once Shi Qing had fully entered meditation, he stood up, removed his outer robe, and entered the spring.
Shi Qing was shrouded in steam. Before long, as the medicinal effects took hold, he frowned, and his closed eyelashes trembled. Xie Ciyou sat facing him, with dense spiritual plants spread between them. Xie Ciyou reached out both hands, gripping Shi Qing’s wrists underwater to check his condition while pressing his fingers to Shi Qing’s forehead, channeling spiritual energy to soothe the pain.
The biting mountain wind and flying snow were blocked by the barrier. The sun sank in the west, and night fell. Under the moonlight, two figures remained still in the spring. Up close, both their jade-like faces were covered in droplets of water.
Sweat and steam mingled together. Shi Qing frowned deeply and couldn’t help but let out a muffled groan.
Xie Ciyou channeled spiritual energy continuously, the misty heat melting the frost in his phoenix eyes.
Outside the barrier, it began to snow again, and clouds masked the moonlight.
A thin red line escaped the corner of Shi Qing’s tightened mouth, and a bead of blood dripped down. Xie Ciyou let go of Shi Qing’s wrists and reached up to pinch his jaw, forcing him to open his mouth. Shi Qing was trembling all over, his expression agonized. Xie Ciyou pressed the back of his hand into Shi Qing’s forced-open lips. Like a person receiving a reprieve, Shi Qing’s teeth, chattering from the pain, bit down hard on the back of his hand.
The clouds dispersed, and the clear moonlight cast a faint blue glow over the snow. The surrounding fields were silent.
Xie Ciyou withdrew his hand and gently pulled the exhausted person into his arms.
As Shi Qing’s meditation ended, the throbbing pain in his limbs felt like being crushed by a carriage or pierced by needles. His eyes filled with moisture, and when he opened them, droplets slid from his light-colored pupils. After the intense pain, his consciousness was still a bit hazy.
He surprisingly hadn’t fainted. In his past life, he had set up a sound-isolating barrier in his room; he didn’t remember if he had cried out in pain, only that he had ultimately fainted from the sheer agony.
Now, although he was awake, the pain dominated his senses, suppressing all five of them. He felt as if he were floating, his feet unable to touch the ground. Shi Qing blinked in confusion, seeing only the pervasive steam and the swaying spiritual plants on the water.
The pain slowly ebbed, and the sensations of his body gradually returned. He heard his own heavy breathing and felt the hand around his waist, as well as the palm on his back, patting him rhythmically as if to soothe him.
He wanted to move, but he was completely drained of strength, even unable to speak. He finally realized he was being held naked in someone’s embrace, his waist gently supported, his head resting on the other’s shoulder.
There was no need to say who this person was.
The person holding him seemed to sense his awareness; the soothing hand on his back paused. Shi Qing’s chin was gripped by a hand, and his face was tilted up to meet Xie Ciyou’s downward gaze.
If Shi Qing had any strength, he would have surely broken away in shame at this moment. However, he was exhausted beyond measure. Looking into those cold eyes, he parted his lips slightly, but before he could speak, he slowly closed his eyes.
Xie Ciyou probed his body with spiritual energy. Confirming that the person in his arms had simply fallen asleep from exhaustion, he carried him out of the water.
The room door opened, and Xie Ciyou entered carrying the now-clothed Shi Qing. He laid him gently on the bed. As he pulled the soft quilt over him, the person beneath murmured something. Xie Ciyou leaned in to listen, but in the slurred speech, he could only make out two words: “Xie Ciyou, clothes…”
Xie Ciyou turned to look at the face right before him. The sickly pallor had faded from the youth’s pale face, replaced by a slight flush. After mumbling, his lips parted slightly, and he fell back into a deep sleep.
Xie Ciyou’s gaze lingered on the other’s lips. He stroked the back of the hand that had just been bitten, then turned and waved his hand. The glazed lamp went out.