tw; mild bug horror, abuse of one’s child
“My head hurts.”
The soft complaint scratched at Gui Linghuo’s heart as he tugged on his clothes. He glanced back at Yankui and smiled. He moved back to his bed and gave the young man a soft kiss on the forehead.
“I’ll make you something light for breakfast then.”
Yankui pouted. “I don’t want to eat breakfast. Why is wine in the Upper Realm so strong?”
“If it’s regular wine, cultivators won’t feel its effects,” Gui Linghuo said. He rubbed at Yankui’s already messy hair to his heart’s content. “And be careful when you drink with Shan Yu next time. She’s quite the heavy drinker.”
Yankui hummed obediently. He leaned against Gui Linghuo’s stomach and closed his eyes again. “Where are you going?”
Gui Linghuo’s smile widened. “We’re going to buy some decorations for the new year. Do you want to come?”
“You and your martial siblings?”
“Mn. Ye-shishu asked us to. Shan Yu will most likely stay home.”
“Then, I’ll stay back too,” Yankui said.
“Do you like her?” Gui Linghuo asked.
“She’s nice,” Yankui said.
Gui Linghuo chuckled. “Alright. Then you stay behind with her.”
Yankui lifted his head and pouted his lips again. “Will you be back for lunch?”
Gui Linghuo kissed Yankui. “Let’s go out to eat. We’ll come back for you two.”
“Alright,” Yankui hummed. He fell back on the bed and rolled up in the covers.
Gui Linghuo laughed. “You’re really acting like this is your own bedroom.”
“You’re the one who put me here,” Yankui mumbled with his head still buried in Gui Linghuo’s sheets. He glanced up at him. “I don’t feel well. I’m not leaving today.”
“You can stay here even if you feel well,” Gui Linghuo said. He crouched down, stroked Yankui’s hair and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. “Today, I love you.”
Yankui stiffened. Gui Linghuo’s hand left his side and the door closed behind him. He abruptly sat up minutes later and gasped. He glared at the door and tossed the pillow towards the person who had long left. His heart raced, making him suspect that he was having a heart attack. He sat in a corner of Gui Linghuo’s bed as the previous words played in his mind again.
“What the hell,” Yankui mumbled. He held a hand over his mouth and buried his head against his knees. “What’s wrong with him?”
Approximately an hour later, a soft knock jerked Yankui from his thoughts again.
He got out of bed and pulled the door open.
Shan Yu held up a tray with a bright grin. “Yankui! Breakfast.”
“Oh, I’m not—”
“It’ll help you with your hangover,” Shan Yu said. “It’s a Zhengyang Shan Sect secret remedy.”
Yankui glanced at the mysterious soup and glanced at her skeptically.
“It tastes great,” Shan Yu reassured him. She kicked the door closed and put the tray down. She handed one of the bowls to him and smiled. “Bottoms up!”
Yankui watched as she drained the entire thing before taking a tentative sip himself. He immediately gagged, but before he could take the bowl away, Shan Yu grabbed him.
“You have to drink it! If you don’t, you’ll feel bad for the rest of the day, and then Da-shixiong will kill me!”
Yankui stared at Shan Yu in disbelief as she kept the bowl shoved against his lips until he finally drained it. Shan Yu breathed a sigh of relief. She put the bowl on the tray and brushed her hands together.
“Good! Saved myself the trouble of getting scolded.”
She glanced at Yankui and shyly poked him. “Kui-gege, you won’t be angry at little ol’ me, right?”
Yankui rolled his eyes and pushed Shan Yu’s hand away. “I must have been influenced by that Da-shixiong of yours. Somehow, I don’t feel like killing you.”
Shan Yu giggled. “Well, you know what they say—husband and wife will learn each other’s habits.”
“Husband and wife?” Yankui glared at her.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Oh, oh, you’re right,” Shan Yu said. She waved cheekily as the door slammed in her face. She breathed out a satisfied hum and walked to the gazebo with her hands supporting the back of her head.
When Gui Linghuo and Qin Siyi returned with arms full of things, they found Shan Yu laughing victoriously as Yankui glared at her. The two martial siblings shared a glance before approaching them.
“I win again!”
“It’s because you’re a bad teacher!” Yankui accused.
“I’m a bad teacher? No way! I taught you exactly like how my grandfather taught me,” Shan Yu said with a puffed out chest. “Are you insulting my grandfather?”
“I highly doubt you taught me exactly like he taught you,” Yankui said. The words were spoken through gritted teeth. His gaze flickered up and his menacing glare melted into a wronged pout. He stood and walked over. “Linghuo, your shimei is bullying me.”
“I’m not!” Shan Yu protested. She hopped down the steps and clicked her tongue. “Yankui, don’t be a sore loser. It’s okay if you aren’t good at chess.”
“I,” Yankui took a deep breath to calm himself as his blood began to boil. “I have never failed at anything I’ve tried. You’re just a bad teacher.”
“Do you hear this guy?” Shan Yu rolled her eyes. “If you think I’m so bad, then ask Da-shixiong to teach you!”
“I will!” Yankui said. He abruptly turned to Gui Linghuo. His sharp gaze softened as he looked up at Gui Linghuo.
Gui Linghuo felt his heart squeeze. He couldn’t hold back and leaned over to press a quick kiss to Yankui’s head. “I’ll teach you, don’t worry.”
“A-Yu isn’t actually that good at chess. I’m sure if you learn properly, you’ll be able to beat her in no time,” Qin Siyi comforted.
Shan Yu gasped. “Shijie!”
“I’m going to put this stuff in the store room first,” Qin Siyi said. She held out her arms for Gui Linghuo’s things. “Da-shixiong, put them here.”
“Are you sure?” Gui Linghuo raised a brow. “This is a lot of stuff.”
“I’ll help carry it!” Shan Yu volunteered. Without waiting for Gui Linghuo’s answer, she snatched everything and turned to Qin Siyi. “Let’s go.”
Yankui waited for the two girls to walk off before he tugged at Gui Linghuo’s sleeve. “Did you tell them?”
“Hm? About?”
“Us,” Yankui said. “You just suddenly kissed me out of nowhere, I thought my heart was going to stop.”
“Mn, I told them,” Gui Linghuo said.
“What’d they say?” Yankui asked nervously.
“Of course, they like you. You’re so cute and adorable, how could anyone dislike you?” Gui Linghuo said. He thought of something and softly cleared his throat. “Also…Ye-shishu asked about you. It seems like he had an idea about your origins.”
Yankui’s eyes widened. “…And?”
“He was fine with it,” Gui Linghuo said. He grinned and habitually touched Yankui’s head again. “See? I told you it’d be okay.”
Yankui leaned into Gui Linghuo’s touch. “Is he actually okay with it?”
“Of course, he is. He already suspected we were together. If he wasn’t okay with it, he would have directly kicked you out,” Gui Linghuo said. “So, you don’t have to worry. You’re welcome here.”
Yankui lowered his gaze and hummed softly.
“Silly,” Gui Linghuo chuckled. He gave Yankui a few more kisses. His arms wrapped around his waist as he leaned closer again.
A hand blocked Gui Linghuo’s advances and Yankui glanced over Gui Linghuo’s shoulder. “Stop. They’re watching.”
Gui Linghuo toyed with Yankui’s hair ribbon. “There’s someone watching? Who?”
Shan Yu and Qin Siyi slowly turned around. Shan Yu hummed awkwardly and Qin Siyi coughed loudly.
Gui Linghuo glanced over his shoulder and turned back to Yankui. “No one’s watching.”
“Get off, you scoundrel,” Yankui said.
Gui Linghuo gave Yankui one last kiss and finally released him. He turned to Shan Yu and Qin Siyi. “Ready to go to lunch?”
“Huh? Oh! Da-shixiong, I didn’t notice you were there,” Shan Yu shouted.
Qin Siyi rolled her eyes at Shan Yu’s over acting. She sighed. “Let’s go.”
Now that the rainy weather had subsided, there were more and more people out and about. A seat at the restaurant required a short wait and the food was delivered even slower than usual.
Shan Yu watched silently as Gui Linghuo passed food to Yankui and even fed him occasionally. Her expression grew more and more bitter. She turned to Qin Siyi and nudged her.
“Shijie, feed me.”
Qin Siyi stared at Shan Yu as if a second head had grown out of her eye. “Feed yourself.”
“No, I want Shijie to feed me,” Shan Yu said. She opened her mouth expectantly.
“I’m not feeding you.”
Gui Linghuo watched their back and forth before intruding. “A-Yu, Da-shixiong will feed you.”
Shan Yu clicked her tongue. “Who wants your dirty spit? I want Shijie to feed me.”
Gui Linghuo scoffed. He tilted his head in a rare show of petulance. “Have you ever asked your shijie if she was willing? From where I sit, I think she’s unwilling.”
“You’re just bullying me because your boyfriend sucks at chess,” Shan Yu said.
“I’m not petty like you,” Gui Linghuo said as he fed Yankui again. “Attacking people’s sore spots just because you can’t get what you want.”
Qin Siyi looked between the two of them with a hint of helplessness in her eyes. She shook her head, picked something random, and held it to Shan Yu’s lips. “Eat.”
Shan Yu’s eyes lit up in excitement. She happily ate whatever Qin Siyi had given her without carrying what it was. Her eyes carried an innocent and pure delight that made Qin Siyi temporarily freeze. She awkwardly turned away and went back to eating her own things.
Shan Yu looked across the table and secretly gave Gui Linghuo a thumbs up. Gui Linghuo knowingly nodded his head.
Yankui watched the fraudsters trick Qin Siyi and almost couldn’t hold back a sigh. The world was truly treacherous nowadays. Not even your own martial siblings could be trusted.
Because of his upbringing, Yankui actually had quite the small appetite compared to the others. After eating his fill, he sat quietly to the side. His gaze drifted over the crowds outside when a sharp sound punctured his ear.
Gui Linghuo glanced over. “A-Kui, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Yankui quickly said. He stood and held his stomach. “I need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back.”
The noise in Yankui’s head grew louder until it seemed to be reverberating from his skull.
Yankui went to the back of the restaurant and stepped into the densest shadows. When he stepped out again, he was in a place of dense forestry. He collapsed to the ground and slammed his head forward until it began to bleed. He fell to the side and clutched his head.
A soft chuckle sounded from above him. “My dear son, you don’t have to be so polite.”
Yankui gasped heavily as he forced himself to look up at the shadowed man in front of him. He slowly forced himself to stand, only to fall again and land on his knees. Cold sweat beaded at his brow and his face had paled tremendously. His fingers dug into the dirt as the man above softly clicked his tongue.
“The last time I sent a servant after you, you killed him. That’s why I decided to pay you a personal visit, my boy,” the man said.
The man’s voice was odd and distorted as if it had been put through a grinder. It grated on Yankui’s ears, making the pain that had just stopped gush forth with a new ferocity. He kept his gaze squarely on the ground in front of him, even when he noticed that the man had lowered himself.
A cold hand brushed through Yankui’s moist hair. “Your reports have been less than satisfactory recently.”
“What…can I do about that?” Yankui forced out. He shuddered and moved back from the disgusting touch. “It’s just that banal. Gui Linghuo is just Acting Peak Lord. He doesn’t have any real authority. Even if I wanted to give you information, I wouldn’t be able—”
A sharp pain shot up his abdomen. Yankui felt his vision go white as he collapsed on the ground again. Bile spilled past his lips as he convulsed. His fists clenched tightly as he drew his eyes up to glare at the man in front of him.
“Look at your eyes,” the man sighed as he roughly grabbed Yankui’s face. “Do you have the right to glare at me like this?”
The man lifted a hand and brought his fingers closer to Yankui’s eyes. “Should I just gouge them out right now for your show of insolence?”
Yankui’s face convulsed as the pain amplified another wave. “I can’t change anything if he doesn’t have any rights to the information you need, Your Excellency.”
The man took his hand away from Yankui’s eyes and threw him back on the ground. He watched as the young man’s cheek was cut by a sharp rock. He sighed and lifted his hand. A centipede crawled out from his sleeve and affectionately danced around his fingers. His lips curved into a smirk as panic took over Yankui’s eyes.
“Don’t worry,” the man whispered. “This little one isn’t for you. He’s a vessel for our Lord. I’m just listening to what he has to say.”
Yankui averted his gaze and clenched his fists. He had never been so aware of the time in his life. Had ten minutes passed? Would Gui Linghuo and the others be concerned that he was taking so long? He hadn’t expected this man to appear in front of him like this, so he hadn’t taken precautions.
“Well,” the man sighed. “Our Lord is as benevolent as always. You’re off the hook for now.”
Yankui slowly propped himself up, only to be kicked back down.
“Do you not have anything to say?”
“…Thank you…Great Demon God,” Yankui slowly bit out.
The man chuckled. “Apologies, My Lord. My son here wasn’t raised very well. When he’s back at my side, I’ll teach him a proper lesson.”
Yankui slowly got up. His steps swayed as he wiped the bile from the corner of his mouth. He raised his eyes and looked at the man enshrouded in shadow. Only his thin lips showed underneath his white mask.
“Here are the suppressants for next month,” the man said. The pill bottle was tossed at his feet. He watched Yankui crouch back down to pick them up. He ruffled Yankui’s hair. “I’ll give you another visit in a few months, my boy.”
“Yes…Your Excellency.”
The man chuckled and disappeared again in a plume of smoke. Before Yankui could return to his own portal, he heard the voice grate against his ear again.
“Clean yourself up before you head back. Wouldn’t want them getting suspicious, now would we?”
Yankui clenched his jaw and stepped through the portal.
The meeting had taken a total of fifteen minutes. It would have been a lot shorter if that cursed man had just cut to the chase and hadn’t thrown him around. Even if he lacked the cuts and even if his breath didn’t smell like vomit, they would already get suspicious.
Yankui stepped out of the shadows and swayed. He leaned against the bathroom stall for a moment. He clenched the bottle tightly and took a deep breath. He was just about to make his way back when he looked up, right into Qin Siyi’s eyes.
Qin Siyi stared at Yankui in shock. She took a step forward. “You—”
Yankui turned and was about to teleport away, but Qin Siyi reacted faster.
She grabbed onto his wrist and pulled him into the sun. Her instincts told her that if she let him fall into the shadows, she would lose his trail.
Yankui froze. His thoughts reeled a million miles a minute, but it was useless. Like water being held in a wicker basket, he couldn’t keep a hold onto anything. His body was chilled after experiencing that man’s relentless torture. His mind was fogged over. He wanted to wash every part of his body. Especially with Qin Siyi grabbing him, he thought he was too dirty.
Qin Siyi pursed her lips as she looked over the abrasion on Yankui’s face and forehead. “You…are you okay?”
Yankui’s tense expression loosened. He dumbly looked up at Qin Siyi.
“You’re injured,” Qin Siyi said. She reached out, but soon retracted her hand. “You were gone for so long that Da-shixiong came down to look for you, but you were gone, so we…forget about it. Let’s get you back first.”
Qin Siyi tugged on Yankui, but was surprised to find that he didn’t even move. She looked back at him.
“You’re not going to ask?” Yankui softly asked.
Qin Siyi observed the trembling young man in front of her and softly shook her head. “I won’t ask. Let’s just get you back first, okay?”
Yankui felt his nose sting. He didn’t used to be like this. Getting hurt didn’t used to make him cry.
“It’s okay,” Qin Siyi whispered. “No matter what it is, it’ll be fine. And if you really don’t talk about it, then we won’t ask. If you leave like this, Da-shixiong will be in a frenzy. He was already so worried when you suddenly disappeared.”
Yankui felt Qin Siyi’s hand, which was so different in body temperature from that man’s. He hesitated before slowly nodding. His body relaxed and he let himself be guided into the building again by Qin Siyi.
Yankui couldn’t quite remember what happened next. He heard their garbled conversation and he was then quickly rushed back to Shuangye Peak.
At some point, his clothes were tugged off and he was placed into a warm bath. His eyelids grew heavier and drowsiness took a hold of him. A soft sigh sounded beside his ears. He felt a gentle kiss press against the side of his head.
“Sleep if you want,” Gui Linghuo muttered. “I’ll take care of the rest.”
Yankui’s eyes eventually closed and Gui Linghuo finished the rest of his bath quickly.
Once Yankui was dressed, Gui Linghuo stepped out of the room and was met with Shan Yu and Qin Siyi.
“Is he okay?” Shan Yu asked. She glanced at the door worriedly. “Is he feeling better?”
“I don’t know,” Gui Linghuo said. “He fell asleep.”
Qin Siyi breathed a sigh of relief. “If he fell asleep, that means he feels safe.”
Shan Yu clicked her tongue. She stomped her foot and looked between her martial siblings. “Just what happened!? Shijie, you said he just appeared out of the shadows? And he—why was he acting like that? He kept rubbing at himself and insisting on bathing. He…is someone threatening him?”
Qin Siyi looked at Gui Linghuo steadily. “Da-shixiong, you know, don’t you?”
“I…don’t know the full story,” Gui Linghuo said. He sighed and glanced at them cautiously. “Don’t tell anyone, okay?”
Shan Yu nodded seriously. “I promise I won’t.”
“I promise as well,” Qin Siyi said.
Gui Linghuo glanced back at the door and tilted his head towards the gazebo. “Let’s sit down and talk.”
SCREAMING. CENTIPEDE. CONNECTING TO EARLIER STUFF. AAAAAAAAAAA YANKUI!!!!!!!!!!!!!
on a more lovely note, is this the first time Gui Linghuo said love?? like its usually “today I like you more” but he said love!!!!
hehehe i’m glad you noticed– THANKS FOR read
That abusive father has got to go… and the centipede dude needs to be dusted… just saying… Thanks for the latest ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
i agree, we need to take out the trash : / Thanks for READing!
Ohhh nooo baby Yankuuii!!!😭