“Master?”
Zhu Xingyao seemed to sense something and drowsily opened his eyes to see Shen Xiuyun standing tall and straight in the courtyard, draped in silver moonlight, looking at him.
Zhu Xingyao’s face first showed pleasant surprise, but quickly his eyes filled with disappointment, and he buried his head back into the crook of his arm.
Shen Xiuyun stepped forward and walked to his side. “When you’re sleepy, why not go back inside to rest? Your spiritual roots were only recently repaired. Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold sitting here?”
Zhu Xingyao stayed silent and ignored Shen Xiuyun.
Shen Xiuyun bent down, crouched beside him, and said helplessly, “Are you angry?”
If he didn’t bring the turn villain value down today, he wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink all night.
Zhu Xingyao turned his head away from Shen Xiuyun, his voice full of grievance. “Master, you lied. You clearly said you’d teach me sword practice today, but you made me wait all day.”
Shen Xiuyun patted his pitiful dog head. “It’s your master’s fault. I lost track of the time. Get up first… the ground is cold.”
Leaning against that soft palm, Zhu Xingyao slowly stood up, but his legs suddenly gave out beneath him and he sank toward the ground. Shen Xiuyun’s quick reflexes kicked in as he swiftly caught him.
“What’s wrong?”
Zhu Xingyao rubbed his own knee. “I squatted too long. My legs went numb. I can’t walk.”
The implication was that he wanted Shen Xiuyun to carry him on his back.
Shen Xiuyun frowned. Excessive intimate physical contact had to be avoided as much as possible, otherwise it would be very easy to fall into an infinite loop again.
But if he didn’t smooth this one’s ruffled feathers now, Zhu Xingyao’s turn villain value would probably be very hard to bring down.
What a headache.
“Then your master will rub them for you.”
No carrying. Absolutely no carrying!
Shen Xiuyun channeled a bit of spiritual energy into his palm and gently pressed it against Zhu Xingyao’s knee, his movements tender. Zhu Xingyao could clearly feel the warmth of Master’s palm.
The spiritual energy flowed in slowly, supplemented by gentle movements. Zhu Xingyao’s numb legs should have been relieved quickly, but Shen Xiuyun noticed that the person was trembling even more.
He asked, “Do your legs hurt a lot?”
Zhu Xingyao hung his head, biting his lip, and shook his head in a panic.
Where Shen Xiuyun couldn’t see, his face had flushed slightly red.
It didn’t actually hurt. It was just…
Even he felt he was hopeless.
He could always be so easily moved by every smile and frown of the person before him.
Infatuated with him, body and soul.
Master always riled him up without even realizing it.
Shen Xiuyun muttered, “How did you get even more delicate?”
Zhu Xingyao gritted his teeth.
No, I’m not. I’m clearly…
Never mind. I’ll let you have this one.
Master, sooner or later you’ll find out who’s truly the delicate one.
Once Zhu Xingyao was a bit better, Shen Xiuyun personally escorted him back to the bamboo cottage on the mountainside.
“Master, don’t go yet. Stay with me a little longer.”
Zhu Xingyao sat on the edge of the bed, tugging at Shen Xiuyun’s sleeve, gazing at him with pleading eyes.
Shen Xiuyun stared into Zhu Xingyao’s captivating peach-blossom eyes. His thoughts seemed to stutter for a moment. For some reason, the words of refusal on his lips were swallowed back down.
He subconsciously answered, “Alright.”
Zhu Xingyao pressed the side of his face against Shen Xiuyun’s palm and said in an aggrieved tone:
“Master left your disciple hanging for so long today for the Sect Master’s sake. Aren’t you going to coax me?”
Shen Xiuyun knitted his brows in thought, seemingly considering how to coax him. He took some spiritual fruits out of his universe pouch… all rare treasures that couldn’t be obtained on the outside even if one begged.
He asked, “Would eating fruit make you happy?”
Zhu Xingyao narrowed his eyes. Light shimmered in his peach-blossom eyes as he smiled like a sly fox. “If Master feeds me, it would.”
“Alright.”
Shen Xiuyun couldn’t help feeling that something was off, but he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.
Unable to figure it out, he decided not to think about it for now.
His fingertips peeled away the fruit’s skin, his fingers inevitably getting stained with juice.
Zhu Xingyao watched without blinking, as if wanting to carve every aspect of this person into his soul.
When taking the spiritual fruit from Shen Xiuyun’s hand, their fingertips inevitably touched. Shen Xiuyun yanked his hand back as if struck by lightning.
Zhu Xingyao pondered for a moment, then asked seriously, “Master, do you not like this?”
“Mm.”
Shen Xiuyun nodded, feeling his mind in a jumble. Aside from the question Zhu Xingyao had just asked him, he couldn’t think of anything at all.
So strange. What was wrong with him?
Zhu Xingyao probed cautiously, “Why?”
“It’s not allowed.”
Zhu Xingyao seized on something important. Shen Xiuyun hadn’t said he was unhappy… he had skirted the issue by saying it wasn’t allowed.
“Then how could it be allowed?”
“It just can’t be. It would… it would…” Shen Xiuyun’s brows drew tightly together. He pressed his lips shut, and a trace of struggle surfaced in his otherwise calm eyes.
Zhu Xingyao sensed something wasn’t right. Shen Xiuyun clearly wanted to say something but couldn’t get the words out. He was resisting internally… this must have been a hidden matter he was extremely reluctant to bring up.
“What would happen? Master, can you tell me? I want to make you happy.”
Shen Xiuyun still pressed his lips together and said nothing, his expression growing increasingly grave.
Unable to get anything out of him no matter how he asked, Zhu Xingyao grew a bit anxious. His low, measured voice carried a bewitching, hypnotic power.
“Master, tell me. Please?”
Shen Xiuyun still wouldn’t speak. The struggle in his eyes deepened.
Zhu Xingyao sighed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to get an answer. “Alright. I won’t force you today.”
By all logic, since Master had developed improper thoughts toward him, he should have been able to coax all of this out.
Unless Master didn’t have an answer in his own heart either, or there was some other reason.
The world only knew he was a mixed-blood bastard, but no one ever knew what his half-demon bloodline actually was.
His father was an incubus, skilled in beguiling the hearts of others.
He had used every trick in his arsenal to seduce his mother, and then… well, that was best left unmentioned.