Li Qing shuffled over with her chin still lowered to her chest. Her feet stopped at the edge of Wu Lingtian’s bed. She didn’t make a noise and only quietly shifted from foot to foot. Wu Lingtian observed her for a moment before reaching out his hand.
“Li Qing,” Wu Lingtian’s voice was soft. “Come a little closer. How are we supposed to talk when you’re that far away?”
Li Qing put her hand in Wu Lingtian’s palm and let him guide her to his side.
“I’m fine,” Wu Lingtian rubbed the top of Li Qing’s head. “Why are you pulling a face like I’m about to die?”
Li Qing pursed her lips. Her head abruptly shot up as she glared at Wu Lingtian through her tears. “I-I was really worried about you!”
“Were you?” Wu Lingtian retracted his hand. “But there’s nothing to worry about. I’m perfectly fine, aren’t I?”
“But you weren’t! The entire way back, you were sweating so much! A-And you were obviously running a fever. You weren’t responding to me at all,” tears rolled down Li Qing’s face as she tried to keep her voice from trembling. “And then as soon as you saw Shifu, you collapsed! I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with you at all, but then I heard them say that…that you fought these strange people and I got scared that you got infected by them a-and that you would turn into a puppet too!”
“That’s ridiculous, Li Qing. We don’t even know if that’s how puppets work,” Wu Lingtian reasoned.
Li Qing clenched her fists tightly at her side. “How are you so calm!?”
“But I’m really fine,” Wu Lingtian gently tugged at Li Qing’s wrist. He placed her hand over his heart. “See, isn’t it beating?”
“…”
“And this,” Wu Lingtian allowed Li Qing to use her spiritual energy to roam through his meridians. “Nothing’s wrong, right?”
“…You’re right,” Li Qing sniffled. “But you still collapsed! And we don’t know why.”
“It’s just the aftereffects of losing Yu Lan, that’s all. If I use overuse my spiritual energy, then I collapse,” Wu Lingtian explained.
Li Qing frowned, unsure if Wu Lingtian was lying or not.
“I’m really alright, silly,” Wu Lingtian brushed the loose strands of hair from Li Qing’s face. “Don’t worry, alright? If you worry, all your senior martial brothers and sisters and your martial uncles will worry. You know you’re the apple of everyone’s eyes.”
Li Qing pursed her lips and looked down. “But…”
“Hm?”
“…Shishu, if anything happens to you, we’ll all feel sad too,” Li Qing mumbled. “I wasn’t the only one worried—Shifu was also really worried. There’s a lot of people who would be upset if anything happened to you.”
“I know—”
“Do you really?” Li Qing interrupted. She met Wu Lingtian’s gaze with aggression and anxiety. “Do you actually? I know I’m just a kid and a lot of what I say, you probably won’t take me seriously, but I still know some things! I know that people who don’t think others treasure them won’t take care of themselves. My shifu always says a human is only made of flesh and blood. No matter how tough they act or how cold they seem, they will still hurt and feel sad. They aren’t an object to be tossed around.”
Li Qing’s voice finally gave way as a sob escaped her. She held tightly onto Wu Lingtian’s hand that cupped her cheek and pressed her face into it. “Shishu, people call you Yu Lan Sword, but you’re not actually a sword. Even a sword will break under too much pressure, so you have to take care of yourself too!”
Wu Lingtian felt the warm face against his palm as his hand slowly became wet with another’s tears. For the first time in his life, he was speechless. He could only stare blankly with his mouth agape as Li Qing cried.
Eventually, he found it within himself to pull his hand away. Li Qing turned to look at him pitifully, but before she could say another word, he reached out and pulled her into a loose hug. He patted the back of her head and nodded.
“I understand. I’ll take care of myself,” Wu Lingtian said. His soft voice intermingled with Li Qing’s stifled sobs. “Don’t cry anymore, I’ll really take care of myself.”
The door creaked open quietly. Fan Yi stepped in and closed the door behind him. He walked around the screen and looked at the unfortunate scene. His gaze met Wu Lingtian’s, but he only offered a small smile.
“What to do? You actually made the princess cry,” Fan Yi sighed and shook his head disapprovingly.
Wu Lingtian scowled. “Were you listening outside?”
“This is also my room. If I don’t wait outside, where would I go?” Fan Yi asked. He glanced at Li Qing and sighed again. He sat down on the edge of Wu Lingtian’s bed and run his hand up and down Li Qing’s back. “Alright, alright, you’re crying through your shishu’s shirt. Didn’t he already said he would take care of himself? Don’t cry anymore.”
Li Qing let go of Wu Lingtian and threw herself into Fan Yi’s arms.
Fan Yi scooped her into his arms as if he had done so many times before and rocked from side to side as his hand ran up and down her back. “Don’t cry, don’t cry. You’re already this old, yet you’re crying like this. Are you going to continue to be this much of a crybaby as you grow up?”
“Shizun, you’re the one who said I could continue being a crybaby if I wanted to,” Li Qing whined, her face buried firmly into Fan Yi’s neck.
“Mn. It was my fault—I’m the one who raised such a crybaby,” Fan Yi laughed. “In the future, if your significant other complains that you cry too much, I’ll take responsibility.”
Li Qing nodded, seemingly satisfied with that arrangement.
Fan Yi looked past Li Qing’s head to Wu Lingtian, who sat with his back against the bed. He raised a brow but was met with the usual apathetic looking. He looked away again and turned his attention back to coaxing his little disciple.
Only after Li Qing’s cries had calmed to hiccups did Fan Yi wiped her face of her tears and sent her off again.
“I have a few things to talk to your shishu about, so you go off first,” Fan Yi patted her back.
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.
Li Qing rubbed at her eyes and looked between the two men. “Shifu, don’t bully Shishu. He just got better.”
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Slowly, without saying a word, Wu Lingtian shifted closer and placed his head against Fan Yi’s shoulder. Fan Yi didn’t stiffen, but he also didn’t say anything, and remained in the same position. The only difference was his head had lowered so he could look at Wu Lingtian.
“Sect Leader,” Wu Lingtian softened his voice. “Now it’s just the two of us alone…but you heard what Li Qing said.”
“…What did Li Qing say?”
“She said to not bully me,” Wu Lingtian lifted his head and managed to pull off a puppy-eyed look. “You’ll listen to your good disciple, right?”
Fan Yi ignored the way his heart skipped and pinched Wu Lingtian’s nose. “You—don’t you think about getting out of a lecture.”
“There really is nothing wrong with me though,” Wu Lingtian allowed himself to be led by the nose. “You checked—aren’t I perfectly healthy?”
“Your body is healthy, but what about your mind?” Fan Yi released Wu Lingtian. “Why is it whenever you see Li Ran, something happens? What did he do to you?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Fan Yi’s brows knitted together tightly.
“Sect Leader, if you pull that kind of face then you won’t be as handsome anymore,” Wu Lingtian reached out and rubbed the furrow between Fan Yi’s brows. “Don’t become ugly just because of Li Ran.”
“It’s because of you, you brat,” Fan Yi pushed Wu Lingtian’s hand away.
The only other time Wu Lingtian had seen Fan Yi this angry was when they had that run in with Li Ran the first time. Although he wasn’t as angry this time, Wu Lingtian still felt he should put out the fire before any more flames arose.
“If I tell Sect Leader the truth, then Sect Leader can’t get mad.”
Fan Yi’s frown eased. “So, there is something?”
“Mn. Do you want to hear it?”
“…Let’s hear it.”
Wu Lingtian smiled, revealing the dimple that was usually hidden. His eyes scrunched into lovely crescents as he watched Fan Yi’s expression cool back down. When he saw that Fan Yi was no longer angry, Wu Lingtian finally spoke, “Sect Leader, I have amnesia. Actually, aside from my childhood and the few times we met, everything else before I woke up in Screeching Sparrow Sect is a blur.”
“What—”
“But I still remembered you,” Wu Lingtian said seriously. He grasped Fan Yi’s hands. “Sect Leader, that’s how important you are to me.”
“You—let go!” Fan Yi tried to jerk his hand away, but Wu Lingtian, despite still a patient recovering, held on even tighter. “Release me!”
“Sect Leader, you need to calm down first,” Wu Lingtian said calmly as he pressed Fan Yi’s hands together. He smiled. “How’s this? Does this help?”
“Fuck off with your smile!” Fan Yi’s earlobes began to redden. He struggled to shift away as Wu Lingtian leaned closer. “If you weren’t still a patient, I would have smacked you by now!”
“I think if I weren’t holding you, you would have smacked me,” the smile disappeared from Wu Lingtian’s face as abruptly as it had appeared. “Sect Leader, you really don’t have to be angry. I only just realized that this was an issue.”
“Just—is your brain made of iron?!”
“Sect Leader, you never raise your voice. For you to yell at me like this, I must be quite special.”
Fan Yi abruptly froze. He let out a sigh and quickly deflated. He ignored Wu Lingtian, who was half laying on his chest and turned away to take several deep breaths. Wu Lingtian watched with a small smile playing on his lips.
He wanted to be a little closer, but this much was already pushing his luck. He’d have to wait for another opportunity much later.
“When did you find out?” when Fan Yi turned back to face him, his composure had been recovered again.
“Just now. I always thought it was a bit strange and I always had headaches when something triggered me, but it’s only now that I connected it,” Wu Lingtian rested more against Fan Yi. “I dreamed of a memory.”
“What memory?”
“Mm…” Wu Lingtian averted his gaze.
Fan Yi frowned. “What was it?”
“It was…”
“…What?” anxiety began to seep into his voice.
“That one time you told me to pretend to be a prostitute so Sect Leader Yong wouldn’t be able to chase you down,” Wu Lingtian said, stone-faced.
“…Wu Lingtian.”
“Sect Leader, don’t be angry,” Wu Lingtian rested his chin on top of his hands, which pressed down onto Fan Yi’s chest. “Weren’t you worried about me? Aren’t I acting more normal now?”
Fan Yi had no words.
Perhaps the events four days ago truly did unlock something in Wu Lingtian. Whether it was good, or bad, Fan Yi couldn’t quite tell. But he couldn’t lie to himself and say that Wu Lingtian hadn’t slowly become more and more like his past self during their trip. After each time Wu Lingtian felt faint, he always came back a bit different. It seemed that, each time, Wu Lingtian would remember a little something more.
“Lingtian,” Fan Yi called out to him.
“Hm?”
“…Can you get off me first?”
Wu Lingtian kept his usual wooden expression, but he seemed reluctant. “I had a nightmare.”
Fan Yi froze. He didn’t move, but he also didn’t say anything else.
“It was dark,” Wu Lingtian continued. “And really cold. And I couldn’t feel my legs. And everything hurt. But I was used to it.”
The light seemed to fade from his eyes again. Slowly, ever so slowly, flickering out.
“No one cared. I didn’t realize how much I wanted someone to care,” Wu Lingtian used the same tone he always used, but Fan Yi could sense that slightest difference. “Then, I woke up, and I saw you and the others, and I was glad I wasn’t actually in that cell. But I’m saying all this because I’m still a little cold, so—”
Wu Lingtian fell forward the remainder of the way. He felt Fan Yi wrap his arms around his waist and pull him closer. His chin fell against the other man’s chest. His ear landed oddly over his heart. The soft vibrations made their way to Wu Lingtian and they were accompanied by the warmth from the other man’s fingers at his waist.
“Whenever you want something, just tell me,” Fan Yi mumbled. “If I can do it, then I’ll do it for you. Don’t keep everything to yourself anymore—if you just need me to listen, then I can do that too. Your illness…we’ll take it one step at a time. I’m sorry for getting angry at you, A-Tian.”
Wu Lingtian hummed softly.
“A-Tian?”
“Yes?”
“You are so loved and there are so many people who care about you,” Fan Yi whispered. “Don’t forget.”
Wu Lingtian hummed again. “Sect Leader, I want to sleep.”
Fan Yi shifted, “Alright, then I’ll—”
“With you,” Wu Lingtian sat up. “I’m still cold.”
Fan Yi nodded with a small smile. “That’s fine.”
Only after Wu Lingtian had tucked himself into Fan Yi’s arms did he think to ask, “What about the people that want to talk to me?”
Fan Yi scoffed, pressing Wu Lingtian’s head to his chest as he tugged the blanket a bit higher. “Who cares about them? They can bark all they want. As long as I’m here, no one will get to you unless you want to talk to them.”
Wu Lingtian rested his head against Fan Yi’s chest. “Is that okay? Li Ran was—”
“Don’t think about that now,” Fan Yi patted Wu Lingtian gently. “Just go to sleep. Didn’t you say you wanted to sleep?”
Wu Lingtian nodded and closed his eyes. His lips curved at the corner as he listened to Fan Yi’s steady heartbeat.
The tea cup was softly placed back onto the table as Ren Yizhou lifted their head. A small smile graced their face despite the irritable atmosphere that surrounded the room.
“What to do?” Ren Yizhou sighed. “Our Lingtian is still asleep.”
A meaty hand slammed onto the table. “Still asleep!? Do you think we’ll believe that bullshit? It’s been four days—nearly five! There’s no way someone like him could be in a coma for so long!”
Wen Yi glared at the elder and lowered her head again. Still, Hua An’ting, who stood to her side, scoffed and began to mumble, “What? Is Shishu made of iron? He’s human too, so why wouldn’t it be impossible?”
“An’ting,” Ren Yizhou softly scolded.
Hua An’ting didn’t take the hint and instead sighed louder. “But aren’t I right, Ren-shibó? Wu-shishu is a human! From what the civilians said, he was fighting really hard and he seemed to not be in the best state, so what’s so hard to believe about him falling into a coma?”
“You stinky little br—”
“An’ting is right,” Liang Jun called out lazily from where he sat on the balcony railing. The attention turned to him, who was fiddling with the golden thread that was normally wrapped about his neck. “Just because someone’s being polite to them, everyone’s suddenly forgotten that he was just rescused from a prison not too many weeks ago. Not to mention, someone’s sword was shattered. Who knows what sort of repercussions he suffered?”
“That’s true,” Hua An’ting quickly tagged on with an emotional sigh. “Shattering of a sword is already hard on a cultivator—not only physically but also mentally. Adding on to that, Wu-shishu was not only accused of killing his shizun behind his back, he was also mocked by the public. That type of psychological damage would be difficult to recover from.”
“Are you two done?” one of the elders snapped. “Who said it was your turn to speak? So disrespectful.”
Liang Jun rolled his eyes to the ceiling and back. Hua An’ting scoffed.
“He might just be an object that comes when you call and sits quietly in the corner when you don’t need him, but to us he’s our shishu,” Hua An’ting snapped back. “If we say he’s still in a coma, then he’s still in a coma. If we say he needs time to recover, then he just needs time to recover!”
“Nonsense!” another elder entered the conversation. “Where did this insolent brat come from? If we let you go on like this, then, what? He’ll be able to avoid questioning forever!”
“Who said he’s trying to avoid questioning?” Liang Jun swung his legs over again and leaned against his thighs. “We’re saying that he can’t even answer your questions—what are you going to do? Scream at a person in a comatose state?”
“Then, bring the child out!” someone suggested.
“Yeah! Wasn’t there a child at the scene as well? Bring her out and we’ll talk to her!”
“Bring her out instead!”
“Li Qing is still a child. The incident scared her and she doesn’t want to talk about it,” Ren Yizhou calmly informed everyone.
“Bullshit! She’s perfectly fine and well, and we can’t even question her? Your Screeching Sparrow Sect is acting awfully suspicious,” an elder pointed out. “Don’t tell me, you all actually have something to do with it!”
A sharp exhale broke the tense atmosphere. “You’re all being ridiculous.”
The heads of those in the room whipped towards the small corner where the voice came from. Situ Min frowned at the crowd and stepped a bit closer to the group, so his voice could be more easily heard.
“They already said Wu Lingtian can’t be questioned because he’s in a comatose state.”
“Then, what about the child?” someone argued.
“She’s still a child. Why are you all trying to bully a child?” Situ Min asked.
His calm gaze roamed over the group, consisting of mainly sect elders. Those that had half a brain had opted not to show up. Li Ran and Situ An were an example of that.
“Marching up and trying to corner an innocent sect isn’t going to do anything,” Situ Min said. “I understand that everyone is anxious, but it would be better to return to your respective residences now and just way for Lord Yu Lan to wake.”
“But it’s been four days! Who knows where the murder has gone by now!”
“Rest assured, Frost Cliff Pavilion is doing their job,” Situ Min said. “If nothing changes in another few days, then you can come up to our inn, is that okay?”
The sect elders grumbled, seemingly unsatisfied with this conclusion. However, by some miracle, Situ Min eventually managed to escort everyone out, allowing the members of the Screeching Sparrow Sect to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Second Young Master Situ,” Ren Yizhou clasped their hands together and bowed.
“Don’t even mention it,” Situ Min smiled sheepishly. “It’s my fault for not being able to stop them anyway.”
He glanced back at the door and lowered his voice. “Honestly, even if Tian-ge is awake, tell him to lay low for another day or so. If those old hounds find out, they’ll immediately jump him.”
“I will make sure to pass on the message,” Ren Yizhou nodded. “…And about Xiewen—”
“He’ll be back by tonight. We just needed him to clarify some details,” Situ Min reassured Ren Yizhou. He glanced at the disciples that still hung around and smiled. “We’ll try to wrap this up as fast as we can. Though, I can’t guarantee your sect won’t be splashed with dirty water.”
“That’s something we’re more than used to, Second Young Master Situ,” Ren Yizhou said. “Rest assured.”
Situ Min laughed. “Then, that’s good. Well, I have to take my leave first. I’ll see to it that your Third Pillar is returned in one piece.”
“That would be much appreciated,” Ren Yizhou bowed low.
Situ Min returned the courtesy and left the inn as well.
“I wanna go home,” Hua An’ting groaned loudly. “God, I hate it here! How did Wu-shishu look at these people and listen to their nonsense all the time?”
“He didn’t,” Wen Yi said. “He avoided all major events, remember?”
“That’s true,” Hua An’ting sat down beside Ren Yizhou. “Shibó, when can we go home?”
“Only when this situation is resolved,” Ren Yizhou sighed. “I hope it’s soon too. One’s own bed is not even comparable to the dragon throne, after all.”
“By the way, did they ever say who was the one who was murdered in the alley?” Liang Jun hopped over
Ren Yizhou shook their head. “Not to my knowledge.”
“Even if Li Qing saw something, she wouldn’t know either,” Hua An’ting mumbled. She groaned and flopped her head onto the table again. “That’s just another mystery we have to wait around for then!”
Wu Lingtian conniving to stay hugging Fan Li too cute !
I love how such powerful cultivators can be so sweet, together and with Li Qing, who totally just put Wu Lingtian in his place! I assume Ren Yizhou knows exactly what’s happening instead of a coma and is fine buying them time.
The changes to Yu Lan’s personality over the chapters was done so cleanly. Even though the current Yu Lan is different from the Yu Lan from Chapter 1, it’s not jarring, and that’s top-notch writing right there.
aaaa thank youuuuuu!!!
You’re welcome. Thanks for sharing your work! 💕☺️
Agreed!
Li Qing i appreciate you- wait, honestly, all of the Screeching Sparrow Sect! i appreciate you!! mwah!!!