Geng Xinghe remained worried. “Still, Master is out there completely on his own.”
Yue Qianfan sighed, patting Geng Xinghe’s shoulder with tangled emotions he couldn’t quite sort out himself. “Xinghe, my boy, I know you have a good heart. But if you want to become your master’s right-hand man, you’ll probably need another few hundred years of cultivation.”
He spoke with aggressive realism.
After all, matching Chi Changye would take far, far longer than a mere hundred years.
Though, hard to say.
Chi Changye’s disciple was just as abnormal as Chi Changye himself.
Over the past month or so, Yue Qianfan had discovered that although Geng Xinghe entered the sect last, his cultivation was the highest among all the newly inducted disciples.
In just a brief two to three months, Geng Xinghe had already formed his spiritual elixir.
An advance ordinary disciples wouldn’t even dare dream of.
What shocked him further was that he had even sensed a trace of divine breath sharing the same origin as Chi Changye within Geng Xinghe’s body.
Geng Xinghe was likely an ancient divine descendant, just like Chi Changye.
Yue Qianfan felt a mix of joy and anxiety.
Joy that out of the total two ancient divine descendants discovered across the three realms, both belonged to the Xiaoyao Sect.
Anxiety that an innocent person holding jade becomes a target of crime.
Geng Xinghe was still far too weak. If his condition were discovered by those with malicious intent, it would likely stir up a bloody storm.
Would Chi Changye be able to stand against the three realms and protect Geng Xinghe when that time came?
Seeing Yue Qianfan’s grave expression, Geng Xinghe looked a bit perplexed. “Master Uncle, is something amiss?”
“Oh, nothing at all.” Yue Qianfan snapped out of it, looking at the youth of peerless grace before him with a smile.
“Never mind, you’ve been working hard these past few days. Go back and rest.”
He patted the youth’s shoulder again and smiled.
“Yes, many thanks, Master Uncle.” Geng Xinghe gave a respectful bow and withdrew.
The moment he returned to Chiyue Peak, Geng Xinghe sensed the fluctuation of Chi Changye’s aura.
The youth was overjoyed, pushing open the door to Hufeng Pavilion excitedly. “Master!”
Hufeng Pavilion was empty.
No one answered his call.
Geng Xinghe froze, withdrawing with a trace of disappointment, and closed the door.
“What are you doing here?”
A cold, indifferent voice sounded right behind him.
Geng Xinghe turned in surprise. Chi Changye stood behind him, looking at him calmly.
In the setting sun, Chi Changye’s pale skin was gilded with a soft halo.
Standing there like a green pine, a clump of emerald bamboo, clean-cut and upright.
“Master!” Geng Xinghe blinked, making sure he wasn’t dreaming, and rushed forward to hug Chi Changye, eyes stinging with moisture.
“Master, I’ve missed you so much.”
The youth wrapped his arms tightly around Chi Changye, speaking softly, choked with emotion.
Chi Changye wasn’t used to someone being this close to him; his body stiffened.
A moment later, he stiffly pushed Geng Xinghe away. “All right, let go. I’m back.”
Chi Changye’s voice was colder and harder than usual.
Geng Xinghe sensed Chi Changye’s displeasure.
The youth released his hold, feeling somewhat uneasy. “Master, are you angry?”
“No.” Chi Changye stepped back unnoticeably, putting distance between them, and his voice softened slightly.
He said indifferently.
“But.” Geng Xinghe tried to figure out the reason for Chi Changye’s displeasure.
“Don’t overthink it. I’m just not used to human contact,” Chi Changye said calmly. “Try not to touch me in the future.”
The moment the youth had suddenly embraced him, Chi Changye’s mind had gone blank.
No one had ever been this close to him, nor had anyone ever expressed affection toward him so passionately.
His instincts urged him to reject it.
The youth’s burning body pressed against him, that unmasked joy and excitement scorching right through Chi Changye’s soul.
Thirteen hundred years later, he once again harbored the extravagant hope of needing warmth.
The youth’s simple, intense emotion left him slightly dizzy, almost intoxicating him in that gentle yet mighty sensation.
The last time he felt this way was when he first walked out of the Golden Lotus Pond and saw the sunlight.
Back then, he had just gained consciousness, not knowing why he was born, knowing only that the sky was blue and the sunlight was warm.
Having just shed the soul-freezing cold of the lotus pond and bathed in warm sunlight, both heart and soul felt warm.
Everything was so wonderful.
That day, he lay in the sunlight all day long, enjoying the warmth.
Later on, though, as he gradually grew, powers awakened, and he learned the meaning of his existence, he sealed his soul back into an isolated solitude.
Since his purpose for birth was to one day die, he deserved neither the beauty of this world nor mortal warmth.
He feared that once he possessed it, come the day he had to leave, he wouldn’t be able to bear letting go.
A sword is meant to arrive cold and depart cold.
Yet Geng Xinghe’s embrace made him recall the beauty of being warmed by sunlight.
He could feel the slender yet solid body of the youth pressed tightly against him, even feeling the youth’s rapid, steady heartbeat.
Thump-thump, thump-thump.
As if confessing fervent respect and adoration for him as master.
Being respected, being revered, being praised.
All passionate, positive emotions made Chi Changye acutely desperate.
He instinctively loathed that version of himself.
Loathed the self that craved warmth.
Chi Changye unconsciously rubbed his slightly stiff, aching and itchy fingers.
Following the movement, Geng Xinghe noticed Chi Changye’s hands were raw red, as if just pulled from ice water.
Geng Xinghe asked in startled surprise. “Master, your hands.”
Chi Changye glanced down at his hands, pulling them back into wide sleeves. “Nothing much. Just a reaction from practicing heart methods just now.”
“Oh.” Geng Xinghe relaxed. “Glad it’s nothing. Master must be exhausted from your travels; you should rest first.”
The youth cupped his hands in a bow, speaking respectfully.
“No matter.”
Chi Changye’s tone was flat. “Come with me to the back mountain. Let me see how much progress you’ve made these past two months.”
As he spoke, he put one hand behind his back, turning toward the back mountain without caring if Geng Xinghe followed.
“Yes, Master.” Geng Xinghe agreed, hurrying to catch up.
Standing still in the back mountain, Chi Changye had returned to normal.
The green-robed immortal lord’s expression was calm and gentle like water. “Come, attack me.”
Geng Xinghe looked at Chi Changye, answered with a “yes,” and Jiuyou materialized in his hand, lashing out suddenly at Chi Changye.
Jiuyou arrived with fierce momentum.
Yet to Chi Changye, it looked like childish play, neither good-looking nor useful.
His disciple couldn’t afford to be like this.
Chi Changye snatched the whip tip, applied slight leverage, and Jiuyou was in his hand.
The next second, Geng Xinghe was bound tightly by Jiuyou and tossed onto the ground.