The night was dark and the wind was high, the bamboo shadows were wide, and the cool breeze caused the bamboo forest to rustle as if it were a war drum announcing the start of a battle.
Mo Yan looked at his master with a solemn expression, hesitating before speaking: “Your Highness, ever since we came to the Three Immortal Peaks to participate in the Immortal Alliance Conference, especially after meeting Ye Qianjue, you have been full of worries. Forgive your servant for speaking out of turn, but if that Ye Qianjue causes you such annoyance, it would be better not to see him!”
Having vented his dissatisfaction of many days in one breath, Mo Yan felt slightly better. He couldn’t bear to see the master he had served since childhood losing his appetite and sleep over a foolish man. The master he was loyal to in his heart was meant to ascend the throne and become the King of the World!
Xuanyuan Xinbei smiled with relief, not feeling that Mo Yan was being presumptuous.
He let out a foul breath, “The intricacies inside this, how could you, a little guard, understand? And besides…”
And besides, the task assigned by his Father this time was one that suited his heart. Xuanyuan Xinbei knew he would be married to the daughter of another noble family in the future. Rather than marrying someone he didn’t love, it would be better to let him pursue Ye Qianjue. At the very least, his heart favored the lively and frank Ye Qianjue more.
“Putting aside Ye Qianjue’s identity, his appearance alone—who in this world can compare to him?”
Xuanyuan Xinbei smiled, unfolded his folding fan, and swayed as he walked away. Mo Yan remained rooted to the spot, looking at his mysterious master with confusion. No matter the outcome, as long as Ye Qianjue was a danger to the master! He would pay any price, even his life, to kill Ye Qianjue and clear the obstacles for the master!
The night was deep. Gu Qingyun watched over the sleeping Ye Qianjue until midnight. The first disciple, Yan Yi, came to report that Wu Hengmu had come to discuss the plan for tomorrow. Gu Qingyun stood by the bed, his eyes looking down at Ye Qianjue with tenderness, and then extended his right hand, intending to stroke him, but stopped halfway.
He recalled the scene at the Spirit-Cleansing Pool where Qianjue had actually wanted to lean in and kiss him. Although the Hehuan Sect’s charm technique would cause hallucinations, the subconscious actions and words were hidden deep within the heart, only boldly expressed through the charm technique.
After staring for a long time, Gu Qingyun finally flicked his sleeves and left.
Yeyuan had been waiting outside the house for a long time. He slipped into the room and watched Ye Qianjue sleeping quietly. The fair, jade-like face was flushed red, like a peach; his raven-feather eyelashes trembled incessantly, as if he couldn’t find peace even in his dreams. Yeyuan jumped onto the bed and sat beside Ye Qianjue.
“I don’t know what happened, but seeing you like this, it’s a bit familiar…” Yeyuan lowered his head and sniffed the scent on Ye Qianjue’s body. “As I thought! It’s the Hehuan Sect’s charm technique. It seems that since the defeat of the Demon Clan back then, many sects have turned to the Immortal sects…”
“Mm… fluffy…”
Ye Qianjue suddenly whimpered, turned to his side, and hugged Yeyuan. The big, fluffy dog was held in Ye Qianjue’s arms, unable to move. Yeyuan gave a low growl, meant as a warning, but Ye Qianjue held him even tighter!
“Bold! How dare you”
“Mm~ Don’t move, let Qianjue hold you~”
Ye Qianjue muttered in a small voice, his voice soft and compliant. Seeing this, Yeyuan’s heart softened, and he fell into Ye Qianjue’s arms. He warned in a low voice: “Just for a while. I’m only doing this because you’re uncomfortable…”
Yeyuan’s bark was worse than his bite, and he nestled obediently in Ye Qianjue’s arms. Just as everything returned to calm, a murmur from Ye Qianjue broke the silence.
“Master… Master…”
Ye Qianjue’s small mouth parted as he murmured Gu Qingyun’s name. This one “Master” turned the Yeyuan in his arms completely red-eyed. Under the moonlight, a dark shadow shrouded the yellow lamp light, and Yeyuan transformed and stood beside Ye Qianjue.
Those red pupils were as hot as quenching fire!
“Who are you calling? I am by your side, yet you call another man’s name!”
Yeyuan reached for Ye Qianjue’s neck and slowly tightened it, a murderous intent flashing in his eyes. Ye Qianjue, in his dreams, suddenly felt a sense of suffocation; a flush appeared on his face, his brows furrowed as he struggled in discomfort. Unfortunately, the charm technique’s lingering effects had not passed, and his whole body was soft and weak.
Just as Yeyuan prepared to kill Ye Qianjue, the silk thread on his neck tightened abruptly, drawing a streak of blood from the neck. The silk thread was small and sharp, its power not to be underestimated. One second Yeyuan was unharmed; the next, he fell to the ground in pain.
Only when he abandoned the thought of killing Ye Qianjue did the silk thread loosen automatically. Because of the injury, Yeyuan transformed back into a black dog, his breath weak as he passed out on the ground.
Ye Qianjue knew nothing of what had happened until he woke up the next morning, yawning, without discovering even a trace of discomfort.
“Master…”
Ye Qianjue’s lost memories and images flooded into his head instantly. He remembered his Qiankun bag being exposed, followed by his fleeing in panic, running all the way into the Spirit-Cleansing Pool, and finally… finally wanting to get intimate with Master!
Ye Qianjue’s ears turned red, and he covered his small face with both hands, revealing a pair of seductive eyes.
“That was too improper. That’s Master, how could I… how could I…” Ye Qianjue collapsed backward, lying on the bed, closing his eyes in shame and anger: “Master must be angry, he must think I have improper intentions.”
Ye Qianjue sat up abruptly with a look of determination.
“No! I have to go explain!”
Ye Qianjue hurriedly put on his shoes and socks, took a look at Yeyuan sleeping in the corner of the bed, and reached out to touch him, “Good luck to me~”
Gu Qingyun’s door was tightly closed, and he was currently meditating. Ye Qianjue sneaked to the outside of the door, ears pressed against the paper-pasted window, poked a hole, and stood on tiptoe to peek. Unexpectedly, just as he was about to peek, he was knocked to the ground by a sudden gust of wind.
Ye Qianjue winced in pain and shouted unhappily: “Master!”
He quickly got up, patted his butt, broke into the room, and questioned angrily: “Master, you clearly knew who it was, why did you still bully me?”
Gu Qingyun closed his eyes and said nothing, looking indifferent and detached.
“Master? Are you angry?” Ye Qianjue’s tone lowered, and he took small steps to Gu Qingyun, looking guilty, “Yesterday, Jue’er didn’t know what was happening, I wasn’t in control, so I offended Master… Master won’t blame Qianjue, will you?”
Ye Qianjue tilted his head cautiously, peeking at Gu Qingyun’s expression.
He muttered to himself: Master has never been this dismissive before; is he really angry?
Thinking of this, Ye Qianjue became afraid. He didn’t want Master to ignore him!
“Ma”
“Alright,” Gu Qingyun opened his eyes, “Yesterday you were hit by the Hehuan Sect’s charm technique and your body was out of control, so… I do not blame you.”
Great! Ye Qianjue was overjoyed and hugged Gu Qingyun excitedly. Just as he was full of joy, preparing to be intimate with Gu Qingyun as usual, he was reprimanded.
Gu Qingyun’s tone was cold: “Nonsense. This competition was due to my poor consideration. In the future, you will stay here on Feixian Peak to focus on your cultivation. Without my order, you are not allowed to go down the mountain.”
Ye Qianjue slid down from Gu Qingyun’s lap and stood there blankly. He looked at Gu Qingyun, who had changed his temperament, in disbelief, his face filled with confusion.
Why did Master suddenly change into a different person, becoming so like a stranger, as if he didn’t love him anymore…
“Master?”
“Anything else.”
“No… nothing.”
Ye Qianjue left the bamboo house desolate. He looked back at the house; Master hadn’t spared him a single glance.
The huge sense of disparity made Ye Qianjue feel a little sad; it was the first time in his life he had been cold-shouldered by Gu Qingyun.
“Master is really angry. It seems the only way to make him happy is to cultivate desperately!”
Ye Qianjue never doubted that there was something wrong with Gu Qingyun; he would only find faults in himself. If Gu Qingyun was angry, it must be because he hadn’t done well. Yes, that must be it!
“Qianjue, where are you going?”
Ye Qianjue turned his head and saw Xuanyuan Xinbei walking over slowly, fanning himself politely.
“Brother Xuanyuan, I’m going to practice, I won’t chat with you anymore.”
“Did Immortal Venerable Gu scold you?”
“No!” Ye Qianjue said firmly, shaking his head, “Master didn’t scold me, it’s just… just that I want to work harder. After yesterday’s competition, I already know my own shortcomings. I don’t want to be a little waste anymore, let Master protect me!”
Ye Qianjue’s tone was excited, his eye sockets red, and his lips were trembling—all of which were seen by Xuanyuan Xinbei. For some reason, thinking of Ye Qianjue grieving for another man made his heart feel as if it were being cut by a knife!
Seeing Ye Qianjue heartbroken for another man, Xuanyuan Xinbei felt unhappy and frowned as he looked at Ye Qianjue.
“You really like Immortal Venerable Gu.”
“Yes, Master is very good to me, naturally I like him.”
“You have fallen in love with him.”
Ye Qianjue’s pupils shrank, and he looked at Xuanyuan Xinbei in horror. He stammered in refutation: “Y-you, what nonsense are you talking about!”
That’s right, that’s exactly this panicked expression.
Xuanyuan Xinbei said sternly: “You don’t need to cover it up, you have fallen in love with Gu Qingyun. Is there any master-disciple relationship in the world like yours? Sleeping in the same bed, eating and sleeping together, have you kissed him, or has he kissed you?”
At this moment, Ye Qianjue was trembling all over. He looked at Xuanyuan Xinbei in horror. The other party’s words made him have nowhere to hide. Every point mentioned was hit. The only difference was that Gu Qingyun had never kissed him; only he would take the initiative to ask for a kiss.
“You’re talking nonsense… I didn’t!”
Ye Qianjue looked at Xuanyuan Xinbei in fear. Why would this gentle and elegant man in front of him say such sharp words! It was as if he had uncovered the fig leaf Ye Qianjue had hidden for a long time.
“I-it’s a misunderstanding. The Master and I have always been… normal…”
As soon as Ye Qianjue said this, he was stunned himself. He looked at Xuanyuan Xinbei helplessly, his eyes filled with tears, and eventually collapsed and fled.
“Qianjue!” Xuanyuan Xinbei slapped himself, “Why did I say these things…”
Yeyuan, not far away, was also stunned. He had just gone out for a walk, only to discover such an explosive scene. He had originally only vaguely felt that this master-disciple pair was not right, but now, listening to Xuanyuan Xinbei put it this way, everything was explained. The deadly thing was that Ye Qianjue seemed to have fallen in love with Gu Qingyun!
Yeyuan’s demonic energy was overflowing, and he almost couldn’t control it. The silk thread on his neck played its role again.
On the way to escape, Ye Qianjue refused to believe Xuanyuan Xinbei’s words. How could he have fallen in love with his Master? He only liked Master’s kindness…
“Junior Brother? Where are you going!”
Bai Xiuzhu and Bai Fulan intercepted the head-down, running Ye Qianjue. Seeing the two, Ye Qianjue instantly had an idea. The authorities are blind, the bystanders see clearly; it would be better to ask them.
Ye Qianjue grabbed Bai Xiuzhu’s hand, “How do you think Master treats me, and how do I treat Master? What is our relationship?”
Seeing Bai Xiuzhu not speaking, Ye Qianjue shook him anxiously.
“Alright, I’ll say it…” Bai Xiuzhu suppressed his nausea, “Immortal Venerable Gu treats you~ like his own son, and you treat him… like your own father! I think it’s closer than a father! You are just like a father and son.”
“Finished talking?”
“Finished talking.”
Finished…
Ye Qianjue fled the scene quickly and sat on the ground in a collapse. Master-disciple relationships are not like this!
He… seemed to have really fallen in love with Gu Qingyun…
Ye Qianjue was about to cry, hugging his knees.
Ye Qianjue, oh Ye Qianjue, why did you fall in love with your own Master? You are really rebellious and deserve death!