Half-asleep, Shen Xiuyun seemed to catch the faint scent of blood. He heard the sound of fabric tearing and muffled grunts of someone stifling pain.
He rubbed his temples and reluctantly opened his eyes, just in time to see Zhu Xingyao with his back turned, twisting his arm around to wrap bandages around himself with great effort.
Though the cave was dim, with his eyesight he could clearly see the reddish stains seeping through the bandages.
“How did you… ah, ss…” In his alarm, Shen Xiuyun forgot his mouth still hurt. Before he could finish asking, he covered his mouth and sucked in a sharp breath.
Damn it!
It was all the fault of that solution the book had provided… How to Handle a Disciple Stricken with Aphrodisiac Poison. It had completely done him in.
Fuck!
He hadn’t known either that something written so easily would be so hard to put into practice.
No, it was simply that Zhu Xingyao was absurdly strong!
All Zhu Xingyao’s fault.
If this kind of plot came up again next time, even if Zhu Xingyao were suffering to death, he would never lend a helping hand again.
“Master!”
Zhu Xingyao’s voice sounded somewhat panicked. After a rustle of movement, he managed to throw on his outer robe.
“Is Master feeling any better?”
Shen Xiuyun noticed that the sky outside the cave had grown dark. He had actually slept straight from morning until evening.
“What are you doing? Are you injured?”
Under Shen Xiuyun’s gaze, Zhu Xingyao deliberately pulled his collar tighter, then said in a hoarse voice, “Just a small wound. It’s already bandaged. Master doesn’t need to worry.”
“Come here,” Shen Xiuyun said in a low voice.
Based on what he knew of Zhu Xingyao now, if it were truly a minor injury, he would have already nudged over, looking pitiful and begging for attention.
This current aloofness and distance clearly meant something was up.
Zhu Xingyao hesitated for a moment, then approached with some nervousness.
“Why is your face so pale?” It was more than pale… even his lips had almost no color left. He looked utterly haggard.
Shen Xiuyun touched his forehead. “Your forehead is so cold!”
If someone told him he was touching that ice bed from his past life, he’d believe it.
If this guy weren’t still talking and breathing, Shen Xiuyun would have thought the person had already gone cold.
“What happened?”
“I ran into that blue-winged snake demon. His strength, for some reason, had become completely different from before.” Zhu Xingyao hung his head dejectedly. “Even as a soul body, your disciple couldn’t defeat him. I had no choice but to flee. It’s your disciple who has brought shame to Master.”
When he went to reclaim that half of his primordial spirit, he suddenly remembered that during the earlier fight, he had performed far too well.
Master might not have suspected anything at the time, but afterward, he might very well start overthinking things.
He needed to take some damage, to make Master feel he was still a weakling… that he had only won before because he had ridden on Master’s coattails.
Shen Xiuyun: “…”
Ugh, he’d been too exhausted that morning and had momentarily forgotten to remind Zhu Xingyao of this crucial matter.
That one lapse, and the male lead had nearly been done for!
Good thing this was the male lead with a protagonist halo. Swap in a cannon fodder character, and instead of being severely wounded, they would have been scattered to the winds.
Shen Xiuyun took a moment to recover. His lips no longer hurt as much.
He flicked Zhu Xingyao’s forehead with a finger, none too pleased.
“Shame or no shame, the fact that you came back alive from his hands is a miracle.”
“Your master was careless and forgot to remind you. Inside the illusion, he is no longer bound by the demon realm formation.
When that snake demon was captured and brought back from the mortal realm, he was already at the Soul Formation stage in cultivation. Naturally, you were no match for him.”
Zhu Xingyao touched his forehead where he’d been flicked. It didn’t hurt… instead, there was an unusual tingling sensation.
He showed surprise on his face. “Soul… Soul Formation stage!”
“That’s right. Even without his physical body and with his strength diminished, he is still not someone you can match at your current level,” Shen Xiuyun said seriously.
“So how badly are you hurt, exactly?”
Under Shen Xiuyun’s pressing questioning, Zhu Xingyao haltingly told the truth.
When those crookedly wrapped bandages were undone, Shen Xiuyun couldn’t help but hold his breath.
On his left rear shoulder, there was a wound deep enough to expose bone. The flesh was curled outward, and blood flowed without stopping.
For a moment, Shen Xiuyun genuinely didn’t want Zhu Xingyao to cultivate immortality anymore.
The path of cultivation was fraught with thorns… all manner of cruel trials, all manner of life-and-death lightning tribulations. A single misstep and one would be reduced to ash.
When he was little, he had already endured so much hardship and weathered so much criticism. And now he still had to…
Just being an ordinary person, living a happy life… that seemed perfectly fine too.
Inside the cave, the small fire crackled and popped. Its warm yellow glow framed a cozy scene.
Zhu Xingyao curled up like a little beast at Shen Xiuyun’s side, his head resting on Shen Xiuyun’s knee, quiet and well-behaved, sleeping peacefully.
Shen Xiuyun stroked Zhu Xingyao’s cheek with tender affection, his fingers lightly tucking the stray hairs by his ear behind it. The look in his eyes as he watched Zhu Xingyao was gentler than it had ever been.
In this moment, all was right with the world.
“Cold.”
Zhu Xingyao murmured unconsciously in his sleep, then tried to burrow closer to Shen Xiuyun, this warm heat source, nuzzling into his embrace.
Shen Xiuyun added a few logs to the fire to make it burn brighter.
That should keep the cold away.
But… it didn’t seem to do much.
“Master, I’m so cold.”
Zhu Xingyao’s lips trembled. His body began to shake slightly, quivering like a leaf. He clung tightly to Shen Xiuyun’s waist, desperately drawing warmth from him.
Shen Xiuyun: “…”
Cold my foot… there’s a fire right there!
Besides, you clearly have spiritual energy protecting your body. Don’t fool me just because I’m a modern person who doesn’t know cultivation world common sense.
Any cultivator with even a bit of cultivation could withstand the cold far better than an ordinary person.
“Master, hold me.”
Hold you, my ass!
Shen Xiuyun’s mouth twitched, his hand already clenched into a fist.
Does being injured mean you can do whatever you want?
Shen Xiuyun wanted to kick the person away, but suddenly remembered… injured… uh…
Losing too much blood really would make one weak and sensitive to the cold.
The knuckle rap that Shen Xiuyun had nearly brought down on Zhu Xingyao’s head was quietly retracted. Instead, he rubbed the top of his pitiful little disciple’s head, his eyes filled with a trace of heartache.
Never mind. Just this once.
He convinced himself in his heart… he was Master, after all, so he’d grudgingly indulge him this one time.
Anyway, the person was asleep now. He just needed to return everything to normal before Zhu Xingyao woke up tomorrow morning.
Shen Xiuyun pulled the person halfway into his arms, letting Zhu Xingyao’s head rest against his chest.
Just then, he felt the person in his arms stiffen slightly.
But when he reached to touch Zhu Xingyao’s arm, that tensed-up feeling from a moment ago was gone.
Zhu Xingyao’s body was completely relaxed in deep sleep, as though he could be manipulated at will and still not wake up.
Bah, what the hell… why was the phrase “manipulated at will” even coming to mind?
This was his disciple!
The disciple hadn’t even made any improper advances, so how could he be the first to lose control and lust after his body?
Shen Xiuyun silently recited the Heart-Clearing Incantation several times, hastily banishing all the messy thoughts from his mind.
He wrapped his outer robe around them both, trying his best not to let the heat escape. He held Zhu Xingyao’s hand and channeled spiritual energy to warm him. As he channeled and channeled, he accidentally drifted off to sleep.
In his dream, he revisited many past memories with Zhu Xingyao.
When he woke, his gaze met a pair of bright, clear eyes.
As for the tightly embracing posture the two of them were in, there was no way to explain that away now.
Shen Xiuyun: “…”
Who am I, where am I, what am I doing?
How did this hand go from holding Zhu Xingyao’s hand to wrapping around Zhu Xingyao’s waist?
Chop it off!