Chi Changye let go and frowned deeply. “You’ve already formed your elixir. Do you have this little strength left?”
Thrust to the ground, Geng Xinghe caught sight of Chi Changye’s hands, snow-white and slender, completely free of any redness.
Struggling free of Jiuyou, Geng Xinghe scrambled up, man and whip alike feeling thoroughly mortified.
Jiuyou drooped as it looped around Geng Xinghe, its flames dimming until it looked as crestfallen as its master.
Oh, wait, its master fared slightly better, at least appearing somewhat normal. “Master’s lesson is right; disciple’s training is insufficient.”
Geng Xinghe spoke low, voice small and tinged with mild dejection.
Chi Changye extended a hand, and Jiuyou bolted straight from Geng Xinghe’s side to his, darting around Chi Changye like a dog and even affectionately rubbing against his cheek.
Geng Xinghe understood in an instant how Yue Qianfan felt when turning into a jealous green-eyed monster.
Ahhh, Jiuyou, you bastard, get back here!This is my master, I can’t even get a rub, why the hell are you circling and cozying up?!
Geng Xinghe was practically crying with envy.
Pity Chi Changye missed the shift in Geng Xinghe’s expression.
He pulled the mutton-fat jade purification bottle from his sleeve and uncorked it.
Jiuyou’s aura drifted out faintly from the bottle.
Bone whip Jiuyou turned ecstatic in an instant, transforming into a flash of black-and-red light and diving into the bottle.
A moment later, Jiuyou drilled back out, the red-and-black flames wrapping its whip body burning brighter, looking at a glance like a fire dragon.
Jiuyou tried to crowd against Chi Changye again.
Geng Xinghe abruptly flashed a hand seal, forcefully recalling Jiuyou right back into his palm before casually snapping it into pieces and scattering it apart.
Chi Changye was stunned by Geng Xinghe’s inexplicable move.
In his thirteen hundred years of life, Lord Yaoguang had never once seen someone pick a fight with their own divine weapon and dismantle it on the spot.
Dazed for a long half-beat, he walked over to Geng Xinghe and reached up to probe the boy’s forehead. “No fever. Why’d you go mad so suddenly?”
…Geng Xinghe suddenly grabbed Chi Changye’s hand, holding it tight. “Master is unfair. Why can Jiuyou circle and cozy up to you, while I can’t? Am I worse than a strip of withered bone?”
The youth’s aggrieved look mirrored a wronged woman accusing her heartless lover.
…
Chi Changye tapped Geng Xinghe’s forehead. “Get a grip. Jiuyou isn’t even human.”
What respectable person gets jealous of their own bound divine weapon?
Utterly bizarre.
“Ouch.” Geng Xinghe clutched his forehead with a whimper, feeling even more wronged. “Then, Master, don’t treat me like a human. Can I give you a hug?”
Chi Changye backed up two steps.
He could accept the newly-arrived Geng Xinghe crying in his arms, but not Geng Xinghe wanting affection for no functional reason.
“Geng Xinghe, act normal.” He could only evade.
Geng Xinghe sighed, looking extra dismal. “Oh.”
Geng Xinghe’s crestfallen look gave Chi Changye a strange sense of guilt, like a stray cat petted on the street being caught red-handed by his own cat at home.
Chi Changye coughed twice to cover his awkwardness. “All right, stop messing around. Back to training.”
“Yes, Master.” Geng Xinghe forced up some spirit, resummoning Jiuyou to spar with Chi Changye.
Two cyan figures tangled across Chiyue Peak.
Before long, the golden crow sank below the ridge and the ice toad climbed the treetops. Chi Changye finally called a halt.
Seeing Geng Xinghe drenched in sweat, Chi Changye casually pulled out his own handkerchief and handed it over. “Wipe your sweat. Go back and rest.”
“Many thanks, Master.” Geng Xinghe took the silk handkerchief with a bright smile.
A pair of pretty peach blossom eyes mirrored the moonlight, clear and tender, a single vermilion mole at the corner accentuating his naturally bewitching face into something even more alluring. “Master, the wine is brewed. Would Master like to taste it?”
Geng Xinghe smiled, shallow dimples cradling intoxicating charm.
Chi Changye blinked, remembering he had promised to try Geng Xinghe’s home-brewed wine just to coax the child back then.
So he nodded. “All right.”
The corners of Geng Xinghe’s lips curved deeper.
Chi Changye sat by the table, watching Geng Xinghe arrange cups and set out two decanters.
Geng Xinghe poured a cup from one jar for Chi Changye first.
As the clear liquid trickled into a cup carved in the shape of a lotus flower, a rich aroma carrying a cold floral note drifted out, gently and imperiously filling Chi Changye’s sense of smell all at once.
Chi Changye was hooked by this novel scent.
Lord Yaoguang, who had never cared for earthly appetites, felt his first urge to sample something.
He picked up the cup, took a tiny sip, and froze.
Was this what wine tasted like?
A hint of spice on the first entry, followed by rich rice fragrance mingling with a cold plum scent drifting over the tip of the tongue, occupying the entire mouth, leaving even the deep throat smelling of faint blossoms.
Chi Changye narrowed his eyes, somewhat incredulous. “Does all wine taste like this?”
Gazing at the pretty light-scarlet nectar in the cup, he drained it in one go and reached for the decanter.
Geng Xinghe blocked him. “Master, wine shouldn’t be drunk like this; it’s easy to get drunk.”
Savoring the lingering sweetness, Chi Changye refused to back down. “Won’t. Don’t mind me.”
Geng Xinghe ignored him.
The youth swapped another cup for him. “That last one was Snow-drift Rhythm, using red plums from the courtyard. This one is brewed from golden lotus in the lotus pond. Master, taste if you like it.”
Lotus, huh.
Chi Changye hesitated a moment before taking it.
He didn’t actually like lotus.
He simply had no choice.
As an ancient immortal marrow incarnated from a golden lotus, the cleanest creation between heaven and earth, he actually detested the turbid air of the current three realms.
Only lotus nourishment allowed Chi Changye to better purify the filth staining his body.
He genuinely loathed the bone-chilling cold of the golden lotus pool, and the pretentious purity of lotus struggling daily in mire.
Yet this wine was innocent.
It was brewed for him by Geng Xinghe with full, painstaking sincerity.
Looking at the pale-golden clear brew in the cup, Chi Changye hesitated and took a sip.
Unexpectedly, this lotus wine tasted wonderful.
Soft, mellow, carrying threads of unique sweet lotus fragrance with zero harsh sting.
Golden lotus coaxed from the Nine Heavens Lotus Pond was indeed incomparable to ordinary blooms.
Holding the cup with both hands, Chi Changye sipped in tiny increments, looking for all the world like a little toddler who had just learned to eat, or a squirrel perched on a tree branch nibbling a pine nut, well-behaved and adorable.
This version of master felt unfamiliar to Geng Xinghe. The youth probed, “Master, does it taste good?”
“Good.” Chi Changye raised his head with a smile.
Normally cold and severe Lord Yaoguang had phoenix eyes hazy and dazed, carrying childlike purity. “Good.”
He repeated with a smile, looking up at the youth who was pretty as a painting. “More.”