“I won’t be able to protect you from the front,” Shen Zhuoqing said.
As he spoke, he turned his head around and came face to face with Liu Ziyi, who was lowering his head and carefully scrutinizing the wisps of demonic qi lingering around his collar.
Liu Ziyi felt like a culprit caught in the act of doing something bad. He straightened his posture abruptly and blurted out an unthinking “Oh.”
Only after the sound left his lips did he fully comprehend what Shen Zhuoqing had just said.
The front?
Protect?
Don’t tell him Shen Zhuoqing still wanted to wrap one arm around him and pilot the sword like they used to when he was a child! Back then, that arm happened to rest right across his chest, and since he had simply treated that arm like a handy handrail, it was fine.
Now, his stature was practically identical to Shen Zhuoqing’s, and in another couple of years, he would surely be taller than him. If Shen Zhuoqing wrapped his arm around him again, that arm would have no choice but to clasp right around his waist!
It wasn’t that Liu Ziyi couldn’t stand being close to Shen Zhuoqing at all, but right now he was still angry at Shen Zhuoqing, angry at his evasion and concealment, and genuinely had no idea how to face him.
Yet, damn it, no matter how many times Liu Ziyi tried to channel his energy through his fingertips, there was only a pitifully meager trace of spiritual energy. Even though Xiliu gave a light hum of response at his waist, it stubbornly refused to obey his will and slide out of its scabbard.
Ever since he returned from the back mountain, Xiliu had completely stopped responding to him.
“Xiao Liu?”
Shen Zhuoqing likely noticed his hesitation, calling out his name once before falling back into silence.
Liu Ziyi raised his eyes to see him frowning in deep thought, only for the man to offer a helpless sigh moments later. “Very well. If you don’t want to stand at the front, Xiao Liu, just hold tightly onto your senior brother. Just make sure you don’t fall off.”
With that, he stopped paying attention to Liu Ziyi’s every move, turned back around, and concentrated entirely on forming the spells.
Liu Ziyi was inexplicably struck by that action, his mind drifting back to the scene of their recent argument.
He pressed his lips together, the hesitation in his heart amplifying infinitely.
Even so, under Shen Zhuoqing’s urging, Liu Ziyi still reached out and gripped the person in front of him. However, constrained by the fact that the Fujian Sect uniforms were primarily designed to be form-fitting, and the waistbands were custom-tailored specifically to accommodate a sword at the side, grabbing onto clothing was out of the question, pressing his palm flat against the fabric felt practically no different from resting his hand directly against the man’s waist.
Liu Ziyi had no choice but to bite the bullet, press his palm flat against that waistline, and hold on with a loose, tentative grip.
The warmth generated by the warming body technique spread all the way through his body right through his palm. In that exact fraction of a second, he suddenly understood why Shen Zhuoqing had given up on trying to persuade him so easily.
He had impulsively shoved the warm jade talisman right back at him in a fit of anger, leaving his wound aching and numb from the cold until the surging warmth melted the chill away, making him feel a mix of annoyance and aggrieved frustration.
What is this? Shen Zhuoqing shouldn’t think that just because he’s being so attentive, I’ll lower my guard!
Shen Zhuoqing asked from the front, “Are you holding on tightly? What are you going to do if you only use one hand and end up falling off later?”
Liu Ziyi didn’t take the bait, biting down slightly on his inner lip as he brought his other hand up to place it there as well. That scorching temperature felt practically like an electric current. He was genuinely furious with Shen Zhuoqing right now and didn’t want to touch him at all!
Shen Zhuoqing could probably guess the internal psychological battle Liu Ziyi was waging behind him. A tiny smile broke out on his face where Liu Ziyi couldn’t see, and noticing the pathetically ticklish pressure at his waist, he silently raised two fingers and lifted the sword body to hover just above the ground.
The sudden movement proved remarkably effective. The blade swayed slightly according to Shen Zhuoqing’s will, causing Liu Ziyi behind him to grip him much tighter immediately.
Even though Liu Ziyi didn’t utter a single word, Shen Zhuoqing could tell from the suppressed gasp he swallowed back that once they arrived at Tianxuang Cliff, he was probably going to be even angrier.
Compared to that, however, Shen Zhuoqing couldn’t suppress the growing joy blooming in his chest.
Nothing could make him feel more blissful than the intimate, close distance between the two of them at this very moment. Even the demonic qi that had begun churning again back at Shiyun Pavilion because of Liu Ziyi slowly faded into nothingness.
His junior brother was the beginning of his inner demons, and also the only cure for them.
It took only a moment for Liu Ziyi and Shen Zhuoqing to return to Tianxuang Cliff.
The second Shen Zhuoqing steadied the Hidden Snow sword, Liu Ziyi immediately vaulted off the blade. Without sparing Shen Zhuoqing a single glance, he sprinted straight toward Shen Qing, who was waiting not far away:
“Master!”
“We’re here!”
Hearing the call, Shen Qing turned around with a solemn expression on his face. Seeing that Liu Ziyi was completely unscathed, he let out a long sigh and raised a hand to beckon him over: “Mingxiu, come quickly and let me take a look.”
Unaware of what was happening, Liu Ziyi stepped forward. Before he could even offer a bow, Shen Qing pressed both hands onto his shoulders and swept his spiritual sense back and forth over him. Only after confirming that he had no injuries other than the wound on his thumb web did he finally set his mind at ease.
Yet the gloomy expression on his face failed to dissipate, and he simply stared solemnly at Liu Ziyi.
“Master… what is the matter?”
Liu Ziyi guessed that Shen Qing’s worry had something to do with him. After all, Shen Zhuoqing, who was currently putting away his sword to the side, hadn’t been mentioned by Master at all, and even after checking over Liu Ziyi, Master still hadn’t spared him a single glance.
With a slight, puzzled tilt of his head, Liu Ziyi raised a hand to tap Shen Qing’s arm, attempting to recapture the elder’s attention.
Feeling the pressure on his arm, Shen Qing snapped out of it and released Liu Ziyi, though he still didn’t answer his question.
Instead, he continued, “There is another match this afternoon. Does Mingxiu plan to go?”
An afternoon match… wasn’t that precisely the time slot for Qin Xiaoyi and Qiu Zaiqi? There was no need to ask, of course he had to go!
“Of course I do. But Master, you must already know about what happened at Shiyun Pavilion, right? Qiu Zaiqi said he has reported the incident fully to the Zhen Dao Sect. Will the afternoon match still proceed as scheduled?”
Moreover, that news had likely reached Qin Xiaoyi by now, he wondered if their states would be affected.
“The tournament will not be affected,” Shen Qing stated.
“If this matter were trumpeted far and wide during this period, the person lurking in the shadows to administer poison would likely flee immediately—”
“Flee? Master knows who planted the gu worm?” Liu Ziyi asked.
Yet Shen Qing shook his head. “The investigation has only just begun. Unfortunately, the gu worm was destroyed by Lingji in the heat of the moment, otherwise we might have been able to unearth some clues.”
“With the situation still unclear, I have already instructed the elders to reinforce the barriers on all sides, and the entry and exit points are guarded by disciples. I imagine the poisoner is still within our Fujian Sect.”
“Mingxiu, since your body has not fully recovered, you should rest right here on Tianxuang Cliff and refrain from wandering around.”
With that, Shen Qing patted his shoulder and added, “I know Mingxiu must be concerned about Junior Brother Xiaoyi’s match with Qiu Zaiqi. However, your safety is what matters most right now.”
Liu Ziyi swallowed the words sitting at the tip of his tongue, furrowed his brows slightly, and asked:
“Why?”
He couldn’t quite understand. Clearly, the one who got hurt this time wasn’t even him, yet Master was acting with such overwhelming worry. Could it be that all of this was targeted at him?
If Shen Zhuoqing hadn’t stopped him back then, the person who consumed that dish might have been him, and that gu worm could have instantly destroyed the Golden Core in his body, which lacked any spiritual protection.
Yet Shen Zhuoqing had claimed he didn’t know, and that stopping him from eating that plate of food was purely because of the injury on his thumb web.
Shen Qing smiled without answering.
Instead, he turned to look at Shen Zhuoqing, who had been waiting aside for a long time. “Lingji, look after your junior brother well. I still have matters to attend to.”
Shen Zhuoqing nodded, watching as Shen Qing withdrew his hand, turned around, and strode toward the edge of the cliff.
“Master!”
Prompted by Liu Ziyi’s cry, Shen Qing summoned his flying sword and departed from the cliff edge. His white-haired silhouette shrank amidst the biting frost and snow until it vanished completely into the snowy mountain range.
Liu Ziyi took a couple of running steps forward, only to encounter an inexplicable barrier of resistance. It turned out that before leaving, Shen Qing had already erected a protective barrier across the edge of the cliff. This clearly wasn’t just about letting him recuperate properly anymore, it was outright house arrest.
With Shen Zhuoqing standing guard right here, no less.
Liu Ziyi gazed at the snow-covered mountain peaks stretching beyond the cliff edge, the incomprehension in his heart finally crystallizing into a faint, simmering irritation, an unwillingness to be protected like an idiot, coupled with the anxiety of knowing nothing at all.
Shen Zhuoqing.
Shen Qing.
Both of them undoubtedly had something hidden from him.
And to think he had even wanted to speak to Shen Qing about Shen Zhuoqing’s abnormalities. Looking at it now, Shen Qing had probably been colluding with Shen Zhuoqing all along…
No, perhaps this isn’t the same thing.
The vexation in Liu Ziyi’s heart gradually dissipated amidst the cold wind, leaving his thoughts much clearer. At the very least, up until now, Shen Qing hadn’t done anything that took him by surprise, even making him stay on the cliff to recover was entirely reasonable.
His intuition told him that the secret Shen Zhuoqing was hiding had nothing to do with Shen Qing.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have begged him specifically not to tell Shen Qing.
“Xiao Liu…”
A voice carrying a hint of worry drifted over, and Liu Ziyi turned his head.
Just a few paces away, Shen Zhuoqing was looking at him with a reassuring smile, likely worried that he might be angry.
Liu Ziyi sighed inwardly. Exchanging a single fleeting glance with him, he lowered his voice and said, “Senior Brother, I’m going back inside to rest.
It’s too snowy and cold out here.”
“…Mn.”
Shen Zhuoqing’s acknowledgement came from behind, and it seemed he didn’t continue to follow him.
Liu Ziyi walked over to his quarters and shut the door behind him once he stepped inside. Even without anyone telling him, he could tell the room was dry and warm, and just by feeling it, he knew whose handiwork it was.
Master. Senior Brother.
They ultimately did care about him deeply. Ever since he was taken in under the sect master’s banner eight years ago, Liu Ziyi had experienced warmth and care he had never known in his early childhood.
That was why he could never completely fall out with Shen Zhuoqing, resulting in this lukewarm stalemate between them.
Liu Ziyi lay upon the bed, pulling Xiliu over to press it against his chest as he muttered helplessly to himself, “If they don’t want to tell me, would it kill them to put on a slightly more convincing act?”
“If I never noticed anything at all, wouldn’t that make everyone happy!”
“Yet they refuse to tell me a single thing…”
Though part of him wished to return to their former peaceful and occasionally chaotic days, the moment he quieted down, Liu Ziyi found his mind unable to settle. He raised his injured right hand, stroking Xiliu’s scabbard back and forth, and lingered his gaze on that wound for a long, silent while.
Injuries were inevitable when practicing the sword, he had endured far more painful and severe wounds than this one. Yet this time, for some reason, he found it impossible to calm down.
It felt as though a dark, ominous storm cloud was gathering overhead, its lightning beginning to peek through, waiting only for the right moment, for the thunder to strike.