The sun was slowly drifting past the horizon when the sound of boots rubbing against coarse gravel entered Wu Lingtian’s ears. He looked up and watched a man clothed in black approach him slowly. He shifted and stood with the Rui Sword by his side. He stepped forward and met the man halfway. His eyes fell on the bandages wrapping the man’s hand and then slowly dragged his vision back up to his slightly bruised face.
“It’s only been three weeks,” Wu Lingtian said.
“It takes one second for a man to die,” Fan Yi laughed. “It’s shouldn’t come as a surprise that I was able to become injured in a period as long as three weeks.”
Wu Lingtian pulled his gaze away. “You took a while to get here. Were you far?”
“Not too far. Did I make you wait long?” Fan Yi smiled.
“Not long at all.”
Fan Yi’s smile deepened. He looked Wu Lingtian up and down and shortened the distance between the two of them further. “So, what are we doing here today?”
Without waiting a moment longer, Wu Lingtian filled Fan Yi in on everything they had learned so far. The more Fan Yi listened, the further his brows furrowed. By the time Wu Lingtian finished, Fan Yi’s eyes had drifted towards the mouth of the forest. He sighed and shook his head.
“A hun swallowing monster,” Fan Yi said. “Now, that would be a hassle to take care of.”
“We don’t know if it’s actually that,” Wu Lingtian said.
“You have other thoughts?” Fan Yi turned to look at Wu Lingtian’s side profile.
“It could be anything these days.”
“That’s just the optimism I like to hear,” Fan Yi patted Wu Lingtian’s shoulder.
The white-clothed man glanced at his companion and pulled his gaze away. He turned around and began to head back into the village. He heard Fan Yi sigh behind him and spared him an over the shoulder glance. Fan Yi pouted at him as he caught up with Wu Lingtian.
“A-Tian, if you wanted to go back into the village already, you should have just told me to meet you there.”
Wu Lingtian’s steps slowed to a stop. “Are you very hurt?”
“Not hurt, just a bit tired,” Fan Yi blinked at him pitifully.
Although Fan Yi’s voice was quite mirthful, Wu Lingtian’s brows couldn’t help but furrow. He looked at the skin-deep injuries on the exposed parts of Fan Yi’s body and then turned his attention back to the black-clothed man’s face.
“How long as it been since you slept?”
Hearing this question, Fan Yi couldn’t stop his eyes from widening a fraction. He let out a short laugh and waved Wu Lingtian off. “It isn’t that. I—”
Wu Lingtian crouched down in front of Fan Yi. The Rui Sword in his hand was handed off to his black-clothed companion, and he himself looked up at Fan Yi with expectation in his eyes. “I’ll carry you.”
Fan Yi stared at Wu Lingtian. The Rui Sword, which shouldn’t have felt so heavy to him, suddenly made his arms tremble. He looked down at the sword and then to Wu Lingtian’s earnest expression. He shook his head and moved to hand the sword back, only to have Wu Lingtian dodge him. The white-clothed man reached out and tugged at Fan Yi’s pants leg.
“You’re not even heavy,” Wu Lingtian said.
“Have you carried me before?” Fan Yi asked with a hint of amusement on his face.
Wu Lingtian nodded. “Many times before. I know Sect Leader isn’t heavy.”
Nonetheless, Fan Yi still shook his head. “I have enough energy to make it back to the village. I was just joking before.”
After another moment, Wu Lingtian finally stood. Fan Yi had just gotten halfway through a sigh of relief when he felt an arm encircle his waist and another supporting the back of his knees. A gasp fled his lips and he unconsciously hooked his arms around Wu Lingtian’s neck. He looked at the younger man incredulously.
Fan Yi felt his face slowly heating up, but he still put up a last struggle. “A-Tian, put me down. Cultivators don’t actually need that much sleep anyway, so you—”
“Your leg is injured.”
“…What?”
“You would normally lean on your left leg if you were trying to avoid me, but you moved with your right leg instead. Also, the Rui Sword was only playing a small prank on you, but you found it difficult to hold it up at your chest,” Wu Lingtian looked down at Fan Yi. “If you keeping moving, I’m going to seal your acupoints.”
Fan Yi immediately stopped his struggle. He gave Wu Lingtian a sheepish smile. “Have you been doing well these past three weeks? You’re talking more.”
Wu Lingtian’s frown deepened. “Sect Leader.”
“It’s not that serious.”
“If it were me, you would have already given me a prescription,” Wu Lingtian said.
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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“Alright, alright. I’ll listen to whatever you say,” Fan Yi said. He looked at Wu Lingtian’s stern expression and lifted a hand to poke at his furrowed brows. “Don’t make that face. It would be a horrible face to get stuck on.”
Wu Lingtian frowned and looked at Fan Yi. “Why’s your hand so cold?”
“…Um…”
“You said you would take care of yourself,” Wu Lingtian’s voice lowered.
“I…actually did not say that,” Fan Yi laughed lightly. “I said I would come back alive. Which I have. And the injuries I’ve sustained aren’t life threatening. And the chill is just my old illness acting up.”
Even though Fan Yi had said these words in an attempt to comfort Wu Lingtian, the younger man’s face became more and more somber. Fan Yi closed his mouth and leaned docilely against Wu Lingtian’s chest without making another sound. It seemed like after not sleeping for three weeks, Fan Yi’s brain had just about short-circuited.
When they made it back into the inn, the innkeeper looked at Wu Lingtian with a hint of surprise.
“My friend who came to help me,” Wu Lingtian explained before walking up the stairs.
Fan Yi covered his face slightly and tapped Wu Lingtian with the arm he had slung over his shoulder. “Could you let me down now?”
“We’re almost there,” Wu Lingtian said leisurely.
Fan Yi smiled tightly. “A-Tian, how come I feel like you normally walk faster than this? It couldn’t be that I’m weighing you down, right?”
“I just enjoy embracing a beauty in my arms,” Wu Lingtian said. He glanced at Fan Yi. “I can’t?”
“…If you think a full-grown man like me is a beauty, then we really must readjust your standards,” Fan Yi said.
“Then, what would you describe is a beauty?” Wu Lingtian asked as he carried on with his unhurried pace.
“Someone like you,” Fan Yi grinned. “A little magnolia branch—how quaint and beautiful.”
Wu Lingtian pushed the door open with his foot. He glanced down at Fan Yi and kicked the door closed behind him. “Then, let this beauty take care over you, My Lord.”
Fan Yi showed an awkward smile as Wu Lingtian placed him down onto the bed. “Now, A-Tian—”
“Take your clothes off,” Wu Lingtian interrupted.
Fan Yi meekly handed over his Qiankun bag, which carried his medicinal tools and began to take off his clothes. As he did so, he remembered just what a sloppy job he had done patching up himself. “I was in a tight space and I didn’t have much time, so I just hurriedly slapped some bandages on. In fact, I was going to fix it later when I was in a less precarious…situ…ation…”
Fan Yi’s voice faltered upon seeing Wu Lingtian’s darkening expression. As he undid his own bandages, he scolded himself quietly. Why did he even think to make up excuses? When had he, Fan Yi, ever needed to explain himself? Wasn’t it just a little brat? There was no need to be so scared!
However, when he glanced at Wu Lingtian’s face that was as clouded and black as ink, Fan Yi swallowed back his pride.
The child was worried about him. There was no need to be unreasonable.
Wu Lingtian had already fished out Fan Yi’s medicinal box and began pulling out medicines for cuts and bruises as well as gauzes. He performed a simple cleaning spell to rid Fan Yi of any excess dirt and got to work rebandaging and reapply medicine for Fan Yi.
“…See, it isn’t that serious.”
“Sect Leader, when you have a guilty conscience, you tend to run your mouth,” Wu Lingtian said as he gently rubbed the medicine on an open wound. “Did you notice that?”
“…I…see…”
The two men sat in silence until Wu Lingtian had finished his task. Fan Yi tentatively peeked over his shoulder before breaking out into another smile. “See? It wasn’t that bad. It was all surface injuries.”
“Then why are you so cold?” Wu Lingtian looked up at Fan Yi.
For a moment, he couldn’t speak. The aggrieved look in Wu Lingtian’s eyes made Fan Yi feel as if he had slapped him instead. The young man looked more wronged than he had when it had been him who had been cast aside by his sect and villainized by the entire world. Fan Yi felt his heart twist into a knot and he couldn’t help but placed his hand on the back of Wu Lingtian’s head.
“It’s because I was in a cold place, that’s all. Once I’m in more contact with the sun later, I’ll be fine,” Fan Yi rubbed Wu Lingtian’s head with a gentle smile. “It’s nothing, really. This type of thing won’t hurt me.”
Wu Lingtian hummed after a short period of time. He helped Fan Yi clean his robes with another cleansing spell and then helped him put them back on. He glanced at Fan Yi’s leg. “Sect Leader, is your leg okay?”
“My leg? Ah, I should take some medicine for that,” Fan Yi sighed. “I was careless and got it a bit sprained, but it’s nothing.”
Wu Lingtian nodded and handed over the medicine box. He watched Fan Yi wordlessly as the other man took his medicine. It was only afterwards did he start to relax again. He leaned his back against the column behind him and looked at Fan Yi with a tilted head. The sect leader glanced back at him and showed a sheepish smile.
“I think I’m well enough to help you tomorrow.”
A deep sigh left Wu Lingtian.
“Oh, come on,” Fan Yi nudged the younger man’s leg. “Come on. I’ve been more beat up before! Could it be your heart has gone soft?”
Wu Lingtian said nothing and lowered his gaze. Fan Yi pursed his lips and lightly hit his mouth a few times.
“Blame me. I’m the one with the big mouth today,” Fan Yi said. He pulled his shoes off and then crawled onto the inside of the bed. He smiled, “Should we sleep early?”
Wu Lingtian glanced at him sulkily.
“I haven’t slept in three weeks, so my brain isn’t quite working. When we wake up tomorrow, I’ll be refreshed and I’ll think before I speak,” Fan Yi promised.”
“…Three weeks?”
“…Let’s sleep. Let’s sleep,” Fan Yi pulled the white hairpin from his hair and set it on the side table before rolling back to the inner part of the bed and laying down. He looked up expectantly at Wu Lingtian until the younger man reluctantly moved to hang up his outer robes.
Wu Lingtian only returned once he had set his hair crown aside. He pulled his shoes off and got into bed beside Fan Yi.
“So obedient,” Fan Yi smiled to himself as he made himself comfortable against Wu Lingtian. “A-Tian, could you move a little closer? I’m still a bit cold.”
Wu Lingtian shifted closer as requested. His fingers twitched slightly in the dim lighting before he reached out and pulled Fan Yi against him. He closed his eyes, so as to avoid seeing what expression the sect leader currently wore, and took a small breath. “Let’s just sleep like this. This way, you won’t be cold.”
Fan Yi chuckled and sprawled across Wu Lingtian without any reservation. “For someone who acts like a statue, your body temperature is quite high. Do you kick off covers during the summer?”
“I’m a very quiet sleeper,” Wu Lingtian murmured.
“That’s good,” Fan Yi yawned. With a big furnace under him, Fan Yi finally felt that he could go to sleep. “Goodnight, A-Tian.”
“Mn,” Wu Lingtian pulled the blanket up a little higher and settled down quickly.
However, after the breathing of the other man evened out, Wu Lingtian slowly opened his eyes. He looked down at the man sleeping on his arm. He rolled onto his side slowly and carefully pulled his arm back so that there was enough space for him to rest his head still. He looked at Fan Yi’s sleeping expression and didn’t bother suppressing the small smile that came onto his face. The younger man lifted a hand and allowed his finger tips to gently pulled back the curtain of hair that fell across Fan Yi’s cheek.
Wu Lingtian softly scoffed as he listened to Fan Yi’s quiet snores. How many times had this man done this before? As someone who had insomnia, did he usually stay awake until he was on the verge of passing out? If that were the case, why is he still so insistent on not bringing others with him?
“Fan Yi, you’re an idiot,” Wu Lingtian mumbled.
Despite being insulted, the man didn’t shift a bit. Wu Lingtian turned back onto his back and closed his eyes. He drew Fan Yi against him again, nuzzled his cheek against the other man’s head, and released any remaining tension in his body.
When Wu Lingtian awoke the next day, Fan Yi was still dead asleep.
The Rui Sword shook somewhere nearby and flew over. “Have you eaten enough tofu?”
“Who’s eating tofu?” Wu Lingtian whispered.
“You! Or else, could it be me?” the Rui Sword scoffed.
In the next moment, where the plain sword hovered, a beautiful young man appeared. His golden eyes landed on Fan Yi as he crouched down and poked Wu Lingtian’s arm.
“Master—”
“Master?”
“…Lord Immortal, are you going to finish the meal?” Rui Jian asked with sparkling eyes.
Seeing such a lecherous look, Wu Lingtian could only turn away. “What nonsense are you spouting? If you have time to think about such wretched things, then go tell the innkeeper to send up breakfast.”
“Cultivators don’t even need to eat,” Rui Jian murmured as he stood. He looked over his shoulder and smiled cheekily. “But if you want more alone time, then I’m more than happy to leave you two.”
Wu Lingtian didn’t respond and only continued to stare up at the ceiling while playing dead.
Wu Lingtian wasn’t sure how long it took for Fan Yi to wake, but when the other man began to shift in his embrace, he slowly began to remove his arm from under Fan Yi.
The first thing the sect leader saw when he opened his eyes was Wu Lingtian sitting up. The sun streamed in through the windows, backlighting the younger man. Soft wisps of his hair protruded from the wavy messy. There was a small red mark against his cheek where he had laid on the pillow but, otherwise, his eyes were clear, betraying that he had been awake for a long time now.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” Fan Yi’s voice came out hoarse and gravely. He rubbed his eyes and stretched out his waist, his hand unconsciously brushing against Wu Lingtian’s arm.
“You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to disturb you,” Wu Lingtian said with a faint smile on his face.
Fan Yi froze at that look. He pulled his arms back to himself and propped himself up. The older man raised a brow and narrowed his eyes teasingly, “Why does that sound like something you would say to your lover?”
Wu Lingtian reached out and brushed a lock of Fan Yi’s hair behind his ear. “Are you my lover?”
Fan Yi smacked his lips together and fully sat up. “That’s good. That would have been more convincing if you didn’t hesitate and look horrified for a second. But you’re learning.”
Wu Lingtian suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and swung his legs off the bed. “I asked the Rui Sword to get us breakfast.”
“The Rui Sword? That thing actually listens to you?” Fan Yi raised a brow. He scooted towards the edge of the bed, “Not to mention, it takes human form around you?”
“Is that strange?”
“Of course, it is! That bratty thing doesn’t listen to anyone and it’s never transformed in front of Xiewen. The only reason Xiewen realized the Rui Sword could transform was solely through looking at where it was in its cultivation,” Fan Yi said. “Even when the Rui Sword recognizes someone as its master, it continues to act arrogantly. For it to follow your orders without even recognizing you as its master is…”
“It did,” Wu Lingtian stood and performed a cleansing spell on himself before pulling his robes from the rack nearby, “However, I told them that they could find someone better. That I was still waiting on Yu Lan.”
Fan Yi blinked at Wu Lingtian blankly. “Yu Lan? But I thought…”
“The reason I brought the Rui Sword along was because I was hoping to get it to help me,” Wu Lingtian explained. “Once a spiritual weapon becomes an artifact and can transform, they inherit the secrets of the universe. I figured there must be a way to figure out if Yu Lan is gone or not.”
“But haven’t you tried to call it? And you could use my sword well,” Fan Yi pointed out.
“Those matters wouldn’t have any meaning if Yu Lan is sealed,” Wu Lingtian said.
“You’re the only one who could seal it, so why…?”
Wu Lingtian pulled his belt on and turned back around to face Fan Yi. “Sect Leader also knows that there are many things strange with what happened that night.”
He lowered his gaze and looked at his empty palm. “The truth of the matter is unknown, but I remember bits and pieces of it now. And, in terms of pursuing the matter…I just don’t have the heart anymore. However, it bothers me that I can’t even recall so many things in my life from before. I figured maybe Yu Lan is the key to unlocking the answers. On top of that, Yu Lan Sword has accompanied my entire life. If there’s a chance that it’s still out there, then I should retrieve it. I’m its master, so it must be waiting for me.”
“Then, if it was the one that was shattered?” Fan Yi asked.
“…If it was the one that’s shattered, then forget it. This matter will die with it, I suppose,” Wu Lingtian said.
Fan Yi observed the white-clothed man silently. He finally sighed and shook his head. “I can see why the Rui Sword listens to you now.”
“Why’s that?”
“Most people treat their swords as tools—you see them as actual beings,” Fan Yi stood and clapped Wu Lingtian on the shoulder. “As something mistreated for so long, naturally it would be attracted to you.”
“In that way we’re quite similar,” Wu Lingtian mumbled.
Fan Yi looked over his shoulder as he took his outer robes from the rack, “Did you say something?”
“Nothing.”
As Fan Yi threw on his outer robes, the door creaked open again. A youthful teenager entered with a tray of breakfast foods. The teenager glanced at Fan Yi before playing the tray down and scuttering back over to Wu Lingtian’s side. He shot another hesitant glance at Fan Yi before turning to Wu Lingtian.
“I got breakfast,” Rui Jian whispered.
Wu Lingtian looked at the artifact peculiarly, but didn’t point out his current strangeness. He nodded, “Thank you.”
The Rui Sword beamed. He glanced again at Fan Yi before turning back into its sword form. It did a quick loop around the black-clothed man before settling down on the daybed nearby. Fan Yi raised a brow and sat down at the tea table.
“This rascal seems to like you a lot, but how come it doesn’t seem willing to help you?” Fan Yi questioned as he took a bun from the table. He looked at Wu Lingtian. “Is he still trying to replace Yu Lan?”
Wu Lingtian joined Fan Yi. “Something of the sort. It’s okay though. I’m not in a hurry to remember everything.”
Fan Yi laughed. “You’re probably the only amnesiac that’s so relaxed. What if you forgot a very important, life-threatening detail and now there’s a plethora of people just waiting for your head?”
“Sect Leader, I don’t need to remember a life-threatening detail to know that I have many enemies,” Wu Lingtian said. “It’s just a shame I don’t remember how I wronged anyone.”
Fan Yi’s chewing slowed. He leaned against the table. “Actually, I was curious about this before.”
Wu Lingtian lifted his gaze.
“Just how bad is your amnesia?”
Fan Li needs to learn to how to take care of himself. First thing would be to take his favorite pillow with him every where . Lol
I’m on a rollercoaster between who’s gong and who’s shou ….
whispers from the beyond they switch…………………….
hears voices from beyond oh my 🤭 that’s unexpected shocked but in a good way
😯 you wouldn’t you with us on something like that, right??
It’s supposed to say “toy with us” 🤦 had to change it back twice!
i would never i would never they truly do switch–
I thought for sure that Rui Sword would be Taunton them about Wu Lingtian’s devotion and Fan Yi’s thick headed ignorance if it. I didn’t expect him to act intimidated or tolerate them discussing him openly as if he can’t hear. Interesting.
eheheheheheheheheh hurt/comfort (๑˃ᴗ˂)
GASP, WAIT!!!! ROLE REVERSAL!!!!!! at the start Fan Yi was carrying/bandaging the hurt Wu Lingtian and in this chapter we see Wu Lingtian carrying/bandaging the hurt Fan Yi!!!! (and seeing the other comments 👀) they switch in multiple way, look at them go 🥰