Perhaps due to the strength of the wine, Chen Hexuan had closed his eyes and fallen into a deep slumber.
Although a barrier protected the flying boat, the wind whipping across the deck remained piercingly cold. Qi Yu materialized into human form and came to a stop beside him. He looked down at Chen Hexuan’s flushed cheeks, debating whether to carry him inside. Lying here all night would surely make even a cultivator ill.
Just as Qi Yu placed a hand beneath Chen Hexuan’s waist to lift him, a hand reached out and pinned him firmly against Chen Hexuan’s chest.
Qi Yu pursed his lips, his face heating up from the warmth radiating off the other man. He tried to push Chen Hexuan’s arm away, but the grip was unyielding.
“Baby… don’t go…” Chen Hexuan murmured. His lips brushed against Qi Yu’s forehead as he pulled him even closer.
“Senior Brother, I’m not going,” Qi Yu whispered soothingly, still trying to pry the arm loose.
As he finally managed to push himself up slightly, he was suddenly met with a familiar pair of crimson eyes. Chen Hexuan’s Inner Demon had emerged once again.
The Inner Demon’s face lit up with joy. He yanked Qi Yu back into his embrace as if recovering a lost treasure. “Baby, I dreamed that you disappeared.”
Qi Yu found this situation even more difficult. He knew the Inner Demon was incredibly clingy and wouldn’t let go easily.
Suddenly remembering something, the Inner Demon stared at Qi Yu and asked, “Baby, why are you still here? I told you to run!”
Qi Yu improvised a reason on the spot. “You were too rough; I couldn’t wake up in time before I was taken away.”
“It’s my fault. I’ll be gentler next time,” Chen Hexuan said, his face clouding with genuine remorse. He clearly believed the lie.
Qi Yu lowered his gaze, hiding the bitterness in his eyes. Regardless of which version of Chen Hexuan it was, he was always gentle in that regard. However, the “real” Chen Hexuan rarely initiated anything, which had always made Qi Yu feel that their intimacy was something forced upon him—an act of sex without love.
Qi Yu had always longed for his Senior Brother to be more proactive, but every time the real Chen Hexuan did it, he was rational, restrained, and devoid of warmth.
“Baby, run now while he isn’t around,” the Inner Demon urged.
Qi Yu, searching for another excuse, said, “There is something on the Isle of Supreme Spirits that can help me resurrect. I have to go.”
Chen Hexuan’s face first showed joy at the thought of Qi Yu returning to life, followed quickly by worry at the risk of Qi Yu being caught by his other self.
“Be good,” Qi Yu comforted instinctively. “I’ll be careful. I won’t let him hurt me.”
The Inner Demon grabbed Qi Yu’s hand. “Baby, turn back into the sword. I’ll find a hidden spot on this boat to stash you so he can’t find you. Once we hit the island, you can sneak out.”
Qi Yu couldn’t find a reason to argue, so he nodded. This was actually for the best; it would stop Chen Hexuan’s words from further rattling his mind.
The drunken confession Chen Hexuan had made earlier had undeniably shaken Qi Yu to his core. His calm heart had been thrown into chaos. For instance, if Senior Brother was involuntarily losing their memories rather than choosing to forget them, then his previous conclusion—that Senior Brother “didn’t want to love him”—might be wrong.
The Inner Demon held Qi Yu for a while longer before reluctantly letting him transform back into the sword. He pulled a specialized storage artifact with its own miniature space from his ring, tucked the Tai’e Sword inside, and placed it in a hidden corner of the boat. He then used a high-grade Stealth Talisman—originally prepared for him by Pu Xuefeng—to mask the artifact completely.
Watching the sword vanish, the Inner Demon whispered longingly, “Baby, hide well. Don’t let him find you.”
…
The next morning, the first light of dawn touched the deck.
Chen Hexuan woke up with a pounding hangover. As he realized he had spent the night outside, he noticed something terrifying: The Tai’e Sword was gone.
His movements froze. His eyes darkened. Qi Yu ran. He actually ran.
This was a result Chen Hexuan had never anticipated when he spoke his heart the night before. He had thought that by being honest, Qi Yu would soften and tell him the truth. Instead, he had “gone for wool and come home shorn.” Not only did he get no truth, but he had lost the sword.
Chen Hexuan searched every inch of the flying boat using every method available, but found nothing. Standing on the deck, he felt a massive headache. He had never intended to be so vulnerable, only using “drunkenness” as a shield to say those things.
But the situation was dire. If Qi Yu didn’t tell him the truth—or if there was no hidden truth and what he saw was reality—then as the eldest disciple of Xingzhou and the Young Master of the Chen family, he would be forced to destroy the Sword Spirit at the Isle of Supreme Spirits.
That would mean killing Qi Yu again.
He had regretted killing Qi Yu the first time every day since. Now that he knew Qi Yu was alive, he absolutely did not want to do it again. He just… he just wanted Qi Yu to live.
If he had known his words would drive Qi Yu to flee, he never would have said them. Now, his priority was finding Qi Yu before the sword fell into the wrong hands. The sword itself didn’t matter, but if others found out Qi Yu’s soul was inside, he would be in grave danger.
Checking the boat’s barriers, he found no signs of tampering. He fell into a deep silence. Where could he be? Why would Qi Yu hide from him when he was trying to save him?
Chen Hexuan felt a migraine coming on. He had bared his soul, yet Qi Yu still didn’t trust him. The flying boat’s one flaw was that once a destination was set, it couldn’t be changed. He had to wait until they reached the island to act.
…
Seven days passed. Chen Hexuan had searched for seven days to no avail. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Qi Yu being hunted or lying dying in a cave. His mood soured by the hour.
While these seven days were an eternity for Chen Hexuan, for Qi Yu, they were a short dream.
When Qi Yu “woke up” within the storage artifact, he thought the Inner Demon was surprisingly reliable for a chaotic entity. It truly took a Chen Hexuan to defeat a Chen Hexuan.
However, staying hidden wasn’t Qi Yu’s true goal. Being brought to the Isle of Supreme Spirits to be “destroyed” was the point of this journey. He had only agreed to be hidden because his mind was too cluttered to think of another excuse to give the Inner Demon.
Watching Chen Hexuan run around the boat like a headless chicken, Qi Yu decided it was time to “reveal” himself.
Finally, Chen Hexuan found the strange storage artifact in a corner of the cabin. Opening it, he found the Tai’e Sword. He wasn’t sure if he felt more joy or anger. He suppressed his emotions and brought the sword to the deck.
He flicked the blade. “Qi Yu, come out now.”
Qi Yu refused to emerge. He had no intention of telling Chen Hexuan the truth. The sword remained silent, as if no spirit lived within it at all.
Chen Hexuan studied the blade. It was obvious Qi Yu was acting out of a “guilty conscience.” If he was hiding, he was definitely keeping secrets. Chen Hexuan decided he wouldn’t let Qi Yu lead him by the nose.
Before the boat could land at the Isle of Supreme Spirits, Chen Hexuan shattered the boat’s barrier and, clutching the Tai’e Sword, jumped ship mid-flight.
…
At that same moment, a celestial crane landed gracefully at Chen Hexuan’s residence.
A yawning young attendant saw the visitor—Chen Hexuan’s friend, Mo Mingxu—and rushed to greet him.
“Where is your master?” Mo Mingxu asked, leaping off the crane.
“Master went back to the Xingzhou Sect a month ago,” the boy replied.
Mo Mingxu looked down, his expression complex. “If he returns, tell him that his ‘dream-entering’ symptoms are caused by an Inner Demon.”
He gripped a stick of Soul-Soothing Incense, looking toward the sect. “Never mind. I’ll find him myself.”
He took the reins back from the boy, climbed onto the crane, and flew off in the opposite direction of the Xingzhou Sect.
…
The plot thickens! Chen Hexuan has gone “rogue” to protect Qi Yu, while his friend Mo Mingxu has discovered the truth about the Inner Demon.