Come Up Here
Immortal Lord Qingyuan lived up to his name. His entire person looked as though he were carved out of white jade, and looking closely, not a single flaw could be found.
Duan Wangyue squatted on the ground, holding his Master’s slender lower leg, which was wrapped in a moon-white boot, with both hands. With a slight exertion, he pulled off the boot, followed immediately by the snow-white foot socks.
His hand paused for a fleeting moment before reaching for the socks, and then he gently unfastened the strings of the socks, stripping them away to reveal his Master’s feet.
This was the first time he had ever inspected a person’s feet so directly. They were pure white all over. Even feet could look this exquisite, truly befitting an immortal being.
Pale blue blood vessels and pathways could even be seen across the instep. The toenails were trimmed into neat, rounded curves, and even the toes carried a healthy flush of pink. Whether due to seeing someone else up close for the first time or not, the toes were pressed tightly together, looking tense and adorably bashful.
Extremely pretty.
Duan Wangyue had never imagined how anyone could have feet that looked this stunning.
Xiao Yuan’s body temperature leaned low, and furthermore, his sensitive feet were being touched by someone other than himself. Whether startled by the warmth or feeling ticklish, he couldn’t help lowering his gaze to shrink back slightly, and then he met his little disciple’s eyes, which were filled with confusion and doubt.
What is wrong, Master?
Xiao Yuan naturally would not tell the truth, simply uttering, “It is nothing.”
Yet his toes seemed to know what they were about to face, curling and relaxing in nervous tension. Amidst the movement, the pink tint on his toes seemed to grow even deeper.
Listening to his Master’s voice, which was slightly more hoarse than usual, Duan Wangyue felt his heart sink slightly. The jade slip tucked inside his bosom, inscribed with the demon race cultivation technique, seemed to be heating up, burning hot, with a temperature high enough to scorch the skin and flesh in that spot.
To acquire a cultivation technique for him, his Master had gone to the demon race and sustained injuries.
Moreover, the injury was not light. Otherwise, given his Master’s level of cultivation and status, it wouldn’t have been untreatable with healing elixirs.
An injury that even elixirs could not heal.
Duan Wangyue could not imagine just how severe such an injury was.
Being so deeply valued and cherished by his Master, the joy that had filled his entire chest was instantly swallowed up by bitterness.
Warm water in the basin rippled with a splashing sound. It was Duan Wangyue’s first time washing someone else’s feet, and his movements were a bit unfamiliar, but that didn’t stop him from washing with utmost care.
He scooped up water to rinse the instep carefully, washing and massaging it tenderly. Because of his Master’s injury, even seeing a tiny red mole on the instep made it look pitiful and endearing to him.
He couldn’t help rubbing it a few more times. By the time he shifted his attention elsewhere, he realized that spot had been kneaded until it was red.
At first, Xiao Yuan could endure it, and then he tried hard to endure it, to the point that his whole body was trembling slightly from the tickling sensation.
Just before he couldn’t help pulling his feet back, this scene of deep master-disciple affection finally came to an end.
Duan Wangyue used a clean cloth to gently wipe away the droplets of water, softening his movements even further when wiping that red mole, as if he were polishing some exquisite, fragile artifact.
Xiao Yuan remained completely oblivious to this, wishing desperately for this master-disciple affection, which was truly somewhat agonizing for him, to end quickly.
Placing his feet into slippers where they were concealed by his robes, he finally felt a fraction more at ease.
The moment his hand touched the teacup as a cover, Duan Wangyue’s hands had already rested upon his forearms. Lowering his gaze, he saw that the places grasped by those hands were not damp at all.
His gaze shifted to his disciple’s matching pale cyan disciple robes. The areas on both sides of the waist were noticeably darker in color than the rest of the fabric.
He had wiped his hands on his clothes before touching his Master.
As expected of the male lead, his thoughtfulness toward his Master before his descent into darkness was unmatched. Of course, Xiao Yuan stood up, following Duan Wangyue’s practically negligible guiding force, and thought with a trace of pride: Was it not all successfully taught by me, his Master?
It wasn’t until he was led into the inner chamber, seated upon the couch, and caught sight of his disciple’s worried expression that he failed to react to the situation for a moment.
“Master…”
Xiao Yuan lowered his gaze, murmured an acknowledgment, and asked what was wrong.
Duan Wangyue pressed his lips together in silence, simply staring at him with a pitiful, puppy-dog gaze.
Due to the peculiarities of his profession, Xiao Yuan never maintained prolonged eye contact with patients during working hours, as such behavior could make certain patients feel targeted and cause unnecessary trouble.
He had brought this occupational habit into his daily life as well. Unless eye contact was strictly necessary, he never looked directly at people.
When attending family banquets he simply couldn’t find a way to decline, this left others with the impression of an aloof, untouchable high-mountain snow lotus who could only be admired from afar.
Xiao Yuan’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly. The feet hidden beneath his robes and slippers couldn’t help curling up a bit, a trace of struggle flashing through his light-colored eyes.
Then, raising his gaze to meet his disciple’s pitiful eyes, he said softly, “Come up here.”
This disciple of his never voiced what he wanted or what he wished to do. He would just stare eagerly at one’s face, making people’s hearts ache with pity.
“Okay!”
The moment Xiao Yuan finished speaking, he saw the pitiful little dragon cub curve the corners of his mouth, revealing a pair of adorable dimples, and chirp in a crisp voice, “Many thanks, Master!”
The drooping dragon tail behind him popped straight up, its fluffy tip swaying from side to side. It looked thoroughly delighted, making Xiao Yuan itch to reach out and give it a squeeze.
However, looking at Duan Wangyue’s hands, after swiftly kicking off his shoes and neatly placing them side by side, the boy crawled up onto the couch with his tail wagging and lay down, never moving an inch away from the blanket the entire time.
His disciple wasn’t asleep yet. If he reached out to pinch it now, who knew when he would get another chance to see that dragon tail. There was no rush, no rush.
Duan Wangyue tilted his chin up slightly to make it easier for Master to tuck him in, blinking his eyes with a look of utter obedience as he said, “Good night, Master.”
“Good night.”
Xiao Yuan had spent half the night sparring with that red-feathered bird-man. To be fair, as a great demon guarding the Demon Court’s library, he certainly lived up to his reputation. Neither side came out ahead. The bird-man lost all his feathers, and he himself was injured by the bird-man.
He hadn’t felt much during the day while calmly researching formations, but once night fell and he lay down on the couch, a crushing wave of exhaustion washed over him. He had originally planned to wait until his disciple fell asleep to pinch that dragon tail, but the moment his head hit the pillow, he drifted straight to sleep.
Listening to the light, steady breathing beside his ear, Duan Wangyue, who was feigning deep sleep, opened his eyes. He gently rolled over, shifting from lying flat to lying on his side facing his Master.
The candlelight inside the bedchamber had already been extinguished, and the moonlight pouring in through the window cast a glossy, translucent sheen over the room’s furnishings.
Duan Wangyue gazed at his Master’s profile. The air was filled entirely with the faint, cool fragrance of Yixue plums. Having worried excessively throughout the day, he gently clasped a strand of his Master’s dark hair, curling his back and drifting off to sleep wrapped in that immensely comforting, subtle scent.
Meanwhile, Qin Ke, who was waiting in his chambers for the Young Master to return, waited and waited, only to realize with sudden clarity that tonight, the Young Master was probably not coming back to sleep.
However, instead of the Young Master, he received a bloodline voice transmission from his older brother.
Qin Ke closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into darkness. Within that darkness, a massive, brilliant red light caught his eye. As he drew closer, he spotted his older brother stationed at the Demon Court’s library, Qinzhou.
It was his older brother in his human form, no less.
Accustomed to seeing him in his beast form whenever they communicated this way, proudly showing off his gorgeous feathers, Qin Ke found seeing him in human form rather unfamiliar and couldn’t help taking a few extra glances.
Whether those glances reminded Qinzhou of something, he tossed a jade slip straight at Qin Ke, then reached out and flicked him right on the forehead, knocking Qin Ke’s consciousness right back out.
Along with him, the jade slip that had been hurled at his head was also ejected.
Staring at the jade slip in his hand, then recalling Immortal Lord Qingyuan’s words, a bizarre realization bloomed in his mind.
Could the older brother be the kind-hearted demon the Immortal Lord mentioned?
Qin Ke kept the jade slip, forming a few suspicions as to why his older brother, who usually loved flaunting his magnificent plumage, had suddenly appeared in human form.
He couldn’t help letting out a few happy chirps. That is what he gets for always saying my feathers aren’t pretty.
I am so furious! Xiao Yuan, you had better pray you do not fall into my hands, or you will see what is coming to you.
However, as if recalling something, Qinzhou’s reddish-crimson outer eye corners lifted in a hum of a little tune, his mood exceptionally pleasant.
I am a Vermilion Bird, after all. Demonic fire does not just scorch the skin. Right now, Xiao Yuan is probably having a terrible time.
Just as Qinzhou had anticipated, Xiao Yuan was indeed having a terrible time right now. Waking up in the middle of the night feeling intensely feverish, he unconsciously shoved his inner robes open to expose a large expanse of snow-white skin, though it offered little relief.
Xiao Yuan felt overwhelmingly hot. The blood surging throughout his entire body seemed to be rushing frantically toward a single point. He was an adult, not a three-year-old child. Recognizing his current predicament, he used an instant-movement step to teleport straight to the back mountain’s cold spring.
The Sixth Peak possessed two springs. One was the peak’s natural hot spring, and the other was a cold spring Xiao Yuan had carved out for cultivation purposes.
Wisping tendrils of freezing mist curled into white frost clinging to the vegetation around the spring, tipped with long, transparent icicles.
Xiao Yuan’s face was flushed red. Under the moonlight, the cold spring was crystal clear to the bottom, the water’s surface rippling in wave after wave with his movements.
Duan Wangyue was a light sleeper and was jolted awake the moment his Master moved. He witnessed firsthand how his fever-haze-addled Master shoved open his inner wear, how his Master stumbled out of the bedchamber, and how he instantly teleported to the cold spring.
He had stayed in his Master’s room tonight specifically out of worry for his Master’s injuries, so he immediately gave chase, but due to insufficient cultivation, he lagged far behind.
By the time he reached the edge of the cold spring pool without a chance to call out, he caught sight of his Master standing right in the center of the cold spring under the moonlight, his face flushed and his eyes half-closed.
Whether due to his severe injuries or muddled senses, Duan Wangyue, encountering such a spectacle for the first time, dared not speak out rashly, fearing he might disturb his Master’s healing and cause a qi deviation.
He could only clutch a communication paper crane just in case.
He watched as his Master tilted back a fair, faintly pink neck, hearing the splashing ripples of the cold spring water. Under heightened nervous tension, he thought he even heard the pained groans his Master usually suppressed due to his injuries.
Anxiety gripped his heart. The dragon tail he hadn’t yet tucked away in his desire to please his Master waved back and forth restlessly, accidentally brushing against a small blade of grass frosted with white crystals and producing a crisp pat sound.
Duan Wangyue’s heart tightened, and he hurriedly looked back toward the center of the cold spring. He caught sight of his Master’s flushed red, somewhat dazed and hazy eyes, alongside his reddish lips.