The same thing happened again.
Fang Jueqian opened his eyes, looking with frustration at the Lingxiao Dao Lord standing a few yards away.
Although the Dao Lord did not utter a single word, distance does not lie. Fang Jueqian could vividly sense the silent disdain the Dao Lord held for him.
He stood up from the soft couch, discovering that aside from feeling slightly sore all over, his clothes were still clean, neat, and completely undamaged.
Then he looked at the Lingxiao Dao Lord.
Oh wow!
Not a single flaw!
The clothes worn by the Dao Lord instantly looked like luxury items many times superior to his own, crafted from fabric resembling floating clouds and gauze, covering him thoroughly from neck to foot without revealing a single inch that shouldn’t be seen. The level of modesty was even stricter than the censorship rules of certain green web novel platforms he used to frequent.
However, Fang Jueqian came prepared this time. To figure out what actually happened during the time he was unconscious, he had made more than one precautionary plan.
First, the moment the Dao Lord had appeared, he had secretly memorized the pattern on the Dao Lord’s garments. Comparing them now, they matched perfectly, assuming the Dao Lord didn’t make a habit of keeping identical spare outfits.
Fang Jueqian cast a stealthy glance toward the interior of the main hall, which was half-hidden by hanging curtains, wondering if one or more wardrobes were hidden inside.
The Dao Lord sharply caught his wandering gaze and slightly furrowed his brow:
“Are you acting like a thief?”
Fang Jueqian blushed, deciding not to argue with him, and mustered up his courage:
“Husband, may I go inside for a look?”
“To look at what?”
“To look at the furnishings. Actually, I am quite interested in ancient architecture.” His voice grew progressively smaller under the other’s unwavering gaze.
Finally, trying one last time with zero expectations, Fang Jueqian added, “I am just a bit curious.”
“As you wish,” the Dao Lord replied devoid of emotion, before walking straight out toward the courtyard, leaving Fang Jueqian all alone in the room.
Such an icy attitude made it feel even less like they had slept together.
Fang Jueqian already faintly suspected that the matter of resolving the emotional poison might not be what he imagined, so he changed his mindset and inspected the structure and furnishings of the side hall with the attitude of touring a historical scenic spot.
There were no wardrobes inside, but there were other doors connecting to the outside world.
The young attendants told him that this side hall was usually left vacant, positioned simply because it was close to the Dao Lord’s personal residence.
Having cleared up his doubts and nibbled on some pastries and fruit platters, Fang Jueqian finally took his leave.
Because he left somewhat late, by the time he rode the immortal crane back, the night had grown pitch black. Covered in the moisture of the mountain night dew and whipped by the wind, he deeply experienced the bitter chill of being high up in the mountains.
Fortunately, hot water was fully prepared in his quarters. Returning to his room, Fang Jueqian untied the outermost layer of clothing, checked it under the lamp, and saw that the knot he had specifically tied had no signs of being undone, save for the knot head being slightly loosened.
It had probably rubbed against something while he was lying on the soft couch. Fang Jueqian didn’t think much of it, painstakingly untying the knot he had twisted into a stubborn tangle, and enjoyed a satisfying hot bath.
The ironclad facts were now laid out before him; it seemed he had wronged the Dao Lord.
Fang Jueqian felt a trace of guilt, two parts awkwardness, three parts desolation, and four parts regret.
Especially when he remembered the earth-shattering and convention-defying nonsense he had blurted out right in front of the Dao Lord.
Yet he quickly consoled himself:
The Dao Lord was an ancient person who had never experienced the baptism of surfing the internet. Presumably, even if he heard what he was saying, he wouldn’t necessarily understand the underlying meaning.
Yes, that must be it.
Anyway, regardless of how the Dao Lord purged the emotional poison for him, it certainly wasn’t in the way he had imagined.
Actually, this was a good thing for him.
Without the shackles of a physical relationship, he could keep the thigh-clinging relationship pure.
As long as the Dao Lord hadn’t ascended yet, his prospects would remain bright and full of hope.
But if the Dao Lord ascended afterward…
Fang Jueqian had to make a resolute determination:
He still needed to focus entirely on cultivation.
Today was too late, though. Tomorrow, definitely tomorrow!
The next day, Class Wu held an outdoor lesson where dozens of students were paired up as opponents to practice spell combat.
The senior instructor in charge of this course patrolled back and forth among the sparring disciples, shouting orders at those who felt hesitant or unaccustomed to unleash their full strength:
“If you encounter enemies during field training, will you also be this softhearted? If so, you will die out in the wild sooner rather than later.”
“If you dare not fight, get out! Cowards do not deserve to stay here!”
“Senior Sister Cheng, who is treating your injuries, is already waiting outside. If you brats do not show some genuine skill, I will have no face left to speak with Senior Sister Cheng.”
Thanks to the senior instructor, by the end of the class, everyone in Class Wu looked as though they had rolled around in the mud multiple times, many nursing bruised faces resembling pig heads.
Benefiting from his higher cultivation level, Fang Jueqian escaped major suffering, but his clothes were still filthy and tattered from dodging attacks and rolling on the ground.
When his turn came, Senior Sister Cheng gently checked his injuries. Finding nothing serious, she handed him a dust-removal talisman:
“Just use this and you will be fine.”
Fang Jueqian took the dust-removal talisman and slapped it against his body.
In an instant, his messy clothes, stained with mud and grass blades, became as clean and neat as if they had just been freshly washed.
This was the built-in effect of a dust-removal talisman. Fang Jueqian had used one before; not only did the clothes become clean, but dirt and grime on the body were also completely wiped away.
No wonder people said this thing could act as a substitute for bathing.
Unfortunately, Fang Jueqian was a staunch supporter of the physical bathing school. If he hadn’t touched water, he always felt unclean, so he rarely used them.
Wait.
Fang Jueqian stared at his newly tidied garments as a thought flashed across his mind.
Somehow, this scene felt a bit familiar.
He couldn’t help looking at others. A Class Wu student nearby was also using a dust-removal talisman, and with a flash of white light, the previously bedraggled youth instantly transformed back into an elegant young master.
Fang Jueqian rubbed his eyes. The young master, who had been cursing angrily a moment ago, noticed his gaze and suddenly adopted a heavy idol baggage posture.
Unfortunately, although the young master’s clothes had returned to neatness, his collar had unfortunately been torn during the fight.
Noticing Fang Jueqian’s gaze lingering on his torn collar, the young master painfully pulled out a restoration talisman from his robes and slapped it onto the neckline. Instantly, the collar became exquisite and neat once more, just like brand new out of the factory.
Then the young master twirled his magical artifact fan and gave Fang Jueqian a flashy, flirtatious smile.
Fang Jueqian’s eyes grew round and wide.
“I understand!”
“Crunch, crunch, Young Master, what do you understand?”
Fang Jueqian said excitedly:
“Clean clothes do not prove nothing happened. On the contrary, it proves the problem is even bigger! Just think about it, clothes get wrinkled when you lie down! Moreover, the first time I went there, I accidentally fell off the immortal crane, so my clothes should have had grass and mud on them!”
His voice abruptly cut off as he remembered the Dao Lord specifically emphasizing bathing to him previously, implying a high regard for cleanliness, yet he had accidentally dirtied his clothes back then.
Fortunately, the Dao Lord hadn’t said anything at the time.
The Dao Lord is truly a good person. Wait, this is not what we should be discussing right now!
With his heart surging and the shame of being fooled driving him forward, Fang Jueqian made a vital declaration:
“I have decided! I can no longer keep running away! This time, I am going to find the Dao Lord and get a clear explanation!”
Easier said than done. However, when Fang Jueqian bathed and entered that side hall once more, looking at the crimson pill delivered to him by the wind, the thought of maybe I should just forget it skimmed across his mind like a dragonfly skimming water, bounced back and forth repeatedly, and finally spread its wings and flew away.
He hesitated for too long, prompting the Dao Lord not far away to speak:
“Is there a problem?”
Fang Jueqian hurriedly shook his head, picked up the pill, and was about to swallow it when he stopped right before it touched his lips.
Muttering his courage, he put the pill down and looked at the Lingxiao Dao Lord standing a few paces away:
“Husband, I do have a question I wish to ask you.”
Seeing the youth merely furrow his brow slightly without issuing a verbal stop, Fang Jueqian clutched his trembling little heart and bravely voiced his question:
“Husband, why do you always have to make me fall asleep during the treatment? Can I not stay awake? Who knows, maybe you might need help with something and I could assist.”
The youth let out a cold laugh:
“You? Assist? I would consider myself lucky if you do not cause trouble.”
Fang Jueqian’s fragile little heart took a heavy blow, but with his unyielding spirit, he bravely brought up his second question:
“Then husband, could you tell me what actually happens during the time I am asleep? I feel that, as the person directly involved, I deserve a bit of the right to know.”
After this question left his lips, the Dao Lord did not reply immediately.
Just as Fang Jueqian was growing anxious and apprehensive, he saw the youth walking toward him.
This was practically a milestone event, because apart from the very first day of treatment, the Dao Lord had never stepped within three paces of him while he was fully conscious.
Fang Jueqian temporarily lacked the luxury of feeling flattered, because the youth’s expression was distinctly unkind.
He sneered:
“No wonder you have been acting so sneaky these past few days, and even people from your class told me you were listless and distracted in class. So you were busy pondering this.”
Ah, why are people telling on him to the parental figure!
No, Fang Jueqian nervously scooted his body backward until his back hit the corner of the wall, forcing him to stop.
“Do you really want to know what happened?”
The youth leaned forward, looming over Fang Jueqian, his perpetually ice-cold face surprisingly carrying an ambiguous, elusive smile.
This was the first time Fang Jueqian had witnessed a normal smile from the Dao Lord, aside from cold sneers and mockery.
Have you ever seen an iceberg melt? Do you understand the astonishment, shock, and terror felt by those standing at the foot of the iceberg?
Fang Jueqian was feeling all of that right now.
He huddled on the soft couch, trying his absolute best to flatten himself into a sheet of paper, while his battered little heart pounded wildly. He swallowed hard and spoke with utmost difficulty:
“Husband, we can actually forgo the right to know.”
“Heh.”
The youth mercifully stood up, returning to a normal social distance between people.
The smile that had made hearts itch vanished from his face, replaced by unmasked disdain, contempt, and scorn:
“All courage in appearance, zero courage in action. You are truly hopeless.”
Fang Jueqian suffered another heavy blow, his health bar instantly emptied to zero.
Yet the youth refused to let him off that easily:
“Do you not want to know what happens when you fall asleep? I originally wanted to spare your dignity and kept quiet about it. Since you are so keen to know, I will tell you.”
He paused, ignoring Fang Jueqian’s weak struggle of actually I cannot want to know, and leisurely spat out a string of words that made Fang Jueqian wish he could reincarnate on the spot:
“During the treatment, you will laugh wildly, roll around, cry, throw tantrums, drool, bash your head against the wall, bite people, grab people, kick people, try to hang yourself. I only feed you the Dreamless Pill to lower the frequency of your raving madness, and even then, it sometimes fails to suppress your urge to kick people in your sleep. Now, are you satisfied?”
Fang Jueqian couldn’t possibly be more satisfied. He snatched the crimson Dreamless Pill from the soft couch, swallowed it in one gulp, and fell unconscious at the speed of light.
When he woke up again, the Lingxiao Dao Lord was already gone.
Fearing he would be angry, the young attendants informed him that the Dao Lord had left to handle urgent matters.
Yet Fang Jueqian wasn’t angry at all. Even if the Dao Lord had simply fobbed him off because he didn’t want to see him, he wouldn’t mind.
Because:
“The Dao Lord is truly a great person!”
“Crunch, crunch, Young Master, what did you just say? That sounded like something major. Did my ears deceive me?” Bake stopped gnawing on his carrot, doubting his own hearing.
“You heard right! The Dao Lord is a truly great person!”
Fang Jueqian was moved to tears, struggling for words: “If someone acted like they had rabies and mania, throwing fits and attacking me while needing care, I could never do as well as the Dao Lord did. He even looked out for my dignity! And all this time I suspected him and misunderstood him. I am so terrible!”
“Crunch, crunch. So my ears really did break. I need to go find someone to fix them. Young Master, I am heading out, I will be back after my ears are healed.” Bake put away his carrot, and with deep concern for his physical health, resolutely chose to depart.
Although he lacked Bake’s understanding, Fang Jueqian’s inner excitement did not diminish by much.
Lying in bed, he recalled everything he had done over the past few days, feeling a mix of shame and shock:
How could he have wasted all his time on wild imaginations?
The Dao Lord was right. He had no time to spare and must focus entirely on cultivation.
He could drag it out no longer.
Tomorrow, definitely tomorrow!
After tossing and turning dozens of times on the bed, Fang Jueqian finally drifted off to sleep.
However, this dream felt somewhat different. He plunged once more into fragments of memory, untethered from time and space.
Heat.
A heat that seemed capable of burning a person’s entire body to ashes.
It ignited from deep within his body, spreading through all his limbs and bones.
Yet there was an even more vexing thing pressing tightly against his back, continuously stoking the inner tide of heat and driving him to utter distraction.
He struggled, trying to slide away from whatever was pressing against his back.
Yet he could not escape.
Because someone was binding him tightly.
Why must it be like this?
He felt so terribly uncomfortable.
When he finally blinked his eyes open in a hazy daze, the first thing he saw was a pristine, dazzling white.
Pristine, shimmering silver-white, mixed together with ink-like black hair, quickly intertwining into an inseparable blur.
Amidst his dizziness, it took him a few seconds to recognize that those were strands of hair cascading down from a shoulder.
White hair. It was Sushu!
Having found someone he could rely upon, he finally cried out in distress, weeping as he called out, “Sushu, Sushu, I am so hot.”
Yet Sushu did not pay attention to him, sitting upright with eyes closed, silently reciting some scripture.
He clung to Sushu’s body, bringing his ear close to the other’s lips to catch whatever he was chanting, only to be firmly pushed back down by a hand.
“Sushu, Sushu.”
Sushu still didn’t speak, though the hand pressing down on his head applied a bit more force.
Such pressure, such size.
So the annoying thing pressing against his back had been Sushu’s hand all along.
Bad Sushu!
How could he bully him like this!
He wept and complained about Sushu’s wicked deeds, smearing all his tears and saliva directly onto Sushu’s clothes.
Yet Sushu still ignored him.
Was Sushu dying?
“Sushu, Sushu, do not die.”
Another wave of heat struck. He called out helplessly for Sushu’s name, begging him to stay alive, but it was useless. Sushu still paid him no mind.
Everything around them was dim and feverish, with only Sushu’s body carrying a touch of coolness.
Tormented, he held onto him, rubbing against him, feeling both wronged and heartbroken.
It felt as though something was blocked inside, unable to vent no matter what.
“Sushu, Sushu.” He cried out, and when the heat became truly unbearable, he bit down fiercely right onto Sushu’s chest.
Sushu finally stopped reciting scriptures, his voice raspy:
“Idiot, let go.”
Yet harboring anger in his heart, not only did he refuse to let go, he bit down even harder.
“You are indeed better off asleep.”
A dull pain came from the back of his head, and he drifted off to sleep in a haze.
Yet right as he was about to lose consciousness, he vaguely recalled that this exact scene seemed to have played out many times before.
The world plunged once more into a delirious frenzy.