“I…” Yue Xichen’s voice trailed off amidst the sound of thunder and rain. A-Yin waited for a long while before Yue Xichen continued: “I don’t think I’m exactly afraid of thunder. Let’s just say…”
“Let’s just say?”
“Ahem… let’s just say I dislike rainy days.”
Seeing Yue Xichen emphasize this with a straight face, A-Yin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
Actually, you ARE afraid of thunder, aren’t you? You just won’t admit it.
Sure enough, his Master just loved to act tough. Thinking of this, A-Yin suddenly found Yue Xichen quite cute. Previously, he always felt Yue Xichen was as cold as a block of ice and completely flawless from head to toe, inside and out. But now he knew that his Master had weaknesses too.
Having weaknesses made him seem more human—and more endearing.
“Master, why don’t you like rainy days?”
Yue Xichen actually wanted to ask A-Yin why he had so many questions. He was never a man of many words, but right now, holding A-Yin, he had already uncharacteristically spoken quite a lot.
The rain continued to fall. Looking out, it seemed like vast curtains made of crystal beads, sparkling and translucent. Sensing that A-Yin would probably hold him for a long time, Yue Xichen took out the Qianling Umbrella from his spatial ring.
A-Yin let Yue Xichen rest his head on his shoulder, encircling Yue Xichen’s shoulder with one arm while holding the Qianling Umbrella with the other.
“Master, you’re badly hurt. Let’s rest here for a while!”
“…Where is the Jinglei (Thunderclap)?”
“I don’t know.”
Yue Xichen suddenly opened his eyes and looked at A-Yin in surprise, not understanding how A-Yin could say “I don’t know” so righteously.
“So many people are fighting for Jinglei. Don’t you want it?” Yue Xichen was curious. Looking at A-Yin earlier, he clearly had the posture of someone determined to take Jinglei for himself no matter what.
“I wanted it at first, but it’s not a sword. It’s a hammer…”
“Is there a problem with it being a hammer?”
As soon as Yue Xichen finished speaking, A-Yin pursed his lips and replied with a conflicted face: “I don’t like hammers… Besides, everyone knows cultivators fly on swords. Who flies on a hammer? It’s so… unrefined.”
“This…” Yue Xichen suddenly felt that A-Yin made a lot of sense and found himself speechless.
In truth, A-Yin didn’t actually despise Jinglei that much. After all, it was a divine weapon; even if it were a rake, people would still fight for it. He had just flown halfway and realized he couldn’t leave Yue Xichen behind.
Aside from the fact that it was unfair to leave all those corpse puppets to Yue Xichen alone, he always felt that Yue Xichen under the thunder and rain was different from his usual self there was something off. At that moment, A-Yin’s mind was entirely occupied with whether Yue Xichen was in danger; he didn’t care about the fight for Jinglei at all.
So, he followed his heart and flew back.
It was lucky he did. When he saw Yue Xichen covered in blood, A-Yin’s mind went blank. In his memory, he had never seen his Master look so wretched. An incredible protective urge surged within him. Even now, as he held Yue Xichen, he had only one thought.
He must protect his Master.
“A-Yin…”
His drifting consciousness was called back by Yue Xichen’s voice. A-Yin saw Yue Xichen pointing at his shoulder.
“Your shoulder is getting wet.”
“Ah, it’s fine.” A-Yin shook his head nonchalantly and grinned, revealing two sharp little canine teeth.
The Qianling Umbrella was actually two sizes larger than a normal umbrella, but fitting two people under it was still a bit of a squeeze. The reason A-Yin’s shoulder was wet was because he was holding the umbrella in a way that it clearly tilted toward Yue Xichen, ensuring the latter wouldn’t get hit by a single drop.
Yue Xichen’s heart suddenly felt warm. He was A-Yin’s Master; he should have been the one taking care of A-Yin. But at this moment, he thought, just let me be willful once and obediently accept A-Yin’s care.
Actually, Yue Xichen himself couldn’t figure out why—since they were both already soaked—they were still sitting here holding an umbrella. But as A-Yin said, he was injured and should rest.
Yue Xichen also felt weak all over, his head heavy and dizzy—perhaps from blood loss, or perhaps from the earlier erosion of the Soul-Consuming Bell. All in all, he felt that resting here honestly for a while wasn’t a bad idea.
Mostly, it was because A-Yin was with him.
Naturally, Yue Xichen leaned against A-Yin’s shoulder again. Although A-Yin had a thin and slender frame, at this moment, it felt inexplicably warm and sturdy, giving him a great sense of security.
The rain in the Beiyun Secret Realm was freezing, but the two people sitting huddled together felt a warm current flowing through their limbs. They sat together quietly for a long time without speaking. The surroundings were deathly silent, as if the sound of thunder and rain had completely vanished. Between heaven and earth, there were only Yue Xichen and A-Yin.
A scent of peach blossoms wafted from beside him, mixed with a hint of warmth and tenderness. A-Yin’s nose twitched as he took a deep breath. Indeed, it’s the same scent.
Subconsciously turning his head, A-Yin saw Yue Xichen resting with his eyes closed on his shoulder. Yue Xichen’s complexion had recovered a bit of color compared to before, his features still perfect and beyond reproach.
“Master, are you asleep?” A-Yin asked softly.
“…No,” Yue Xichen parted his thin lips slightly.
“Then, Master… do you feel any better?” A-Yin continued.
“Mm, much better,” Yue Xichen replied faintly, a fleeting smile inadvertently tugging at the corners of his lips.
This feeling of being cared for he couldn’t remember how many years it had been since he last felt it.
BOOM!
Suddenly, another clap of thunder rang out, so loud that even A-Yin couldn’t help but shudder.
This thunder is truly terrifying, no wonder Master is afraid…
A-Yin wanted to cover Yue Xichen’s ears with both hands so he wouldn’t hear it, but with one hand holding the umbrella and the other around Yue Xichen’s shoulder, he was truly spread too thin. So, A-Yin thought of another way.
“Master, let’s talk!”
If they chatted, their attention would be on each other’s words, and perhaps they wouldn’t notice the thunder.
“Mm… alright!” Yue Xichen hesitated slightly but nodded in agreement. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to chat with A-Yin, but rather that he wasn’t good with words. He feared that if he said the wrong thing, he might ruin the beautiful atmosphere between them.
A-Yin thought for a moment. He felt that even at this moment, if he asked Yue Xichen what kind of demon he was, where he came from, or what secrets he held, Yue Xichen probably still wouldn’t tell him the truth.
“Then let’s talk about you, Master!”
“About me?”
“Yes!” A-Yin turned to look at Yue Xichen, his eyes curving into crescents. “I’ve been your disciple for ten years, yet I feel I don’t know you at all… Master, tell me, how did you become so powerful? How did you become the Sect Leader of Lingyun Mountain?”
The curious tone was drowned out by the rain. Yue Xichen remained silent for a long time. His long eyelashes lifted, and a hint of melancholy touched his fair face, which was still beaded with cold rain.
“Then… let’s start from when I was a child.”
“Mm-hmm, okay!” A-Yin nodded repeatedly with a smile, treating it as if he were listening to a storyteller’s tale.
“…I am an orphan.”