Xiu Lan rubbed her face against Wu Lingtian’s chest. She looked up at him with a pout and grievance clear in her eyes. “Shishu, I missed you!”
“I missed you as well,” Wu Lingtian comfortingly patted her back.
Although Xiu Lan was normally clingy, she had never been this clingy. Especially towards Wu Lingtian, she had always kept a proper distance and maintained the principle that men and women shouldn’t be too close to each other. The few times that Xiu Lan cuddled up to him was when she was much younger and when she had been scolded by Rong Meihua.
At Wu Lingtian’s words, Xiu Lan’s eyes widened. She felt her nose sour and her eyes visibly reddened. She lowered her head and burrowed herself into Wu Lingtian’s embrace. It was like she was six again, when she believed that Wu Lingtian could protect her from the world.
A disciple finally recovered himself and softly cleared his throat. “Yu Lan Sword Immortal.”
The other disciples stood as well and repeated the greeting.
“No need to be so formal,” Wu Lingtian said. He offered them a small smile. “We all used to be a family, didn’t we?”
The disciples’ eyes widened. Their hearts felt sour as well.
Since Wu Lingtian had left, a lot of things had changed in Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect. Some things were more obvious than others, but the emptiness that Wu Lingtian left behind was palpable. Anytime any of the disciples in Xiu Lan’s generation and younger walked past Tongyuan Hall, they could just imagine Wu Lingtian sitting in the tall magnolia tree, reading scriptures and short stories to past the time until his next mission.
In fact, Wu Lingtian wasn’t scary. They younger disciples all knew he was softhearted despite his icy expression. In fact, he had been the most lenient one.
But now he was gone and because of a spat with Sect Leader Li Ran, Zhou Ying’an rarely came back to the sect anymore. Now, it was just Li Ran and the strict elders that ran the sect. Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect was already a place filled with rules and regulations, but now it became suffocating.
It was hard for these youths to even find time to breathe.
Wu Lingtian’s brows slowly knitted together. He glanced down at Xiu Lan and then to the other disciples who looked both wronged and depressed.
“Did something happen?” Wu Lingtian deliberately softened his voice, so as not to shock the disciples.
He knew that while the inner and outer disciples who were around his generation disliked him, those in Xiu Lan’s generation and younger held him in a higher respect. Although he did hold some resentment to Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect, the children were innocent and hadn’t been involved at all. Therefore, he still felt that it was right to act as their elder.
Finally, one of the girls sniffled. “Lord Yu Lan, we miss you.”
Seeing that someone was beginning to cry, a few of the other ones bowed their heads and struggled to fend off the tears as well.
“Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect…” one of the older male disciples shook his head. “It’s only been a few months, but it’s been suffocating.”
Wu Lingtian’s frown grew deeper. “Is it the elders?”
The elders had always been unreasonable. In most sects, the elders simply sat up in the mountains and cultivated in seclusion. Whether they lived or died was unknown for many centuries. However, the elders of Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect were a bit more annoying. They would come out of seclusion far too often and when they were bored, they would chatter this and that into the sect leader’s ears.
Rong Meihua had always listened to them. Knowing Li Ran, Wu Lingtian felt that he might be the same.
“There’s no one there to speak out,” another disciple murmured. “Only when we’re out of the sect can we breathe a little bit.”
Wu Lingtian knew of the rule that they couldn’t gossip about the sect elders and didn’t bother asking anymore. He pulled Xiu Lan over to sit down with the others. He looked around at the downcast disciples and thought for a moment before tentatively saying, “My sect’s disciples are also hunting right now.”
At this, they appeared more depressed.
“…Do you want to hunt with them?” Wu Lingtian asked.
Everyone looked at him. They were unsure of what he wanted to do.
“They’re a bit rowdy, but they’re good kids,” Wu Lingtian said. “Screeching Sparrow Sect has no rules, so it might be strange at first, but it’s quite refreshing. They’re always up to make new friends.”
And it was a good way to make them less hostile towards members of Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect.
Xiu Lan glanced at Wu Lingtian. “Was it Liang Jun’s idea?”
“Liang Jun?”
“Young Master Liang,” Xiu Lan corrected herself.
“No, but the others seemed upset that you’ve been stealing their martial brother away from them, so I figured if you all play together, then that wouldn’t be a problem,” Wu Lingtian shrugged leisurely.
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.
Xiu Lan stared at Wu Lingtian for a moment before finally smiling a bit. “Shishu, you’re finally back to normal, aren’t you?”
“Rbgwji?” Qe Olcualjc gjlrfv j ygbk.
“Pa’r ubbv sbe’nf obecv j rjof qijmf,” Wle Ojc rjlv rboais.
Qe Olcualjc geooifv Wle Ojc’r tjlg jcv rabbv. “Gb sbe kjca ab mbwf bg cba?”
Ktf vlrmlqifr uijcmfv ja fjmt batfg yfobgf aegclcu ab Wle Ojc. Coafg j wbwfca, Wle Ojc olcjiis cbvvfv. “P vbc’a rff kts cba.”
When Wu Lingtian returned later, he came with the disciples in Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect. Immediately, the atmosphere at the campsite became hostile, but Wu Lingtian seemed to be unable to read the atmosphere for once.
“You all know each other,” Wu Lingtian said. “Get along.”
“This—Wu-shishu!” Hua An’ting was the first to spring up.
“Get along,” Wu Lingtian repeated. He crossed his arms. “Sect Leader and I will be supervising tonight. If I see any bickering, you will all have to clean the bathrooms and the kitchen for a month.”
Hua An’ting closed her mouth. Any other protests from the Screeching Sparrow disciples dissipated in the air.
Wu Lingtian glanced at Liang Jun’s sparkling eyes. “If the two kids with the most difficult personalities can get along, then you all can learn to respect each other.”
“…Wu-shishu, are you talking about me?” Liang Jun asked sheepishly.
“You know yourself best,” Wu Lingtian said.
He left the group by themselves and walked back over to Fan Yi, who sat quietly in the corner. He greeted Fan Yi formally before sitting down beside the sect leader.
“Did I say you could sit?”
Wu Lingtian glanced at Fan Yi and let out a muffled groaned.
Fan Yi froze and looked over. “What’s wrong with you?”
Wu Lingtian shook his head. He shifted away and turned, as if to hide his expression.
Fan Yi’s brows furrowed. He immediately grasped Wu Lingtian’s wrist to check the circulation of his spiritual energy. Upon feeling that it was in a frenzy, Fan Yi pulled him back over. “You—why didn’t you say anything earlier?”
“In fact, it isn’t that bad,” Wu Lingtian fell a bit too far and landed against Fan Yi’s chest. He looked up at the sect leader. “Just meditating a bit will solve it.”
“If you knew about it earlier, why didn’t you do anything? You even went as far to carry me as we traveled,” Fan Yi said. He pressed his hand against Wu Lingtian’s chest and sent over a steady stream of spiritual energy. “Do you have an early death wish?”
“How could this cause death?”
“You know your situation yourself,” Fan Yi snapped. “Your mind is fragile and unstable. After what happened at the Edge of the World, it’s easier for you to be invaded by heart demons right now, especially with your unscrupulous thoughts.”
“What unscrupulous thoughts?” Wu Lingtian asked.
Fan Yi paused. He looked down at Wu Lingtian and scoffed. “You cultivate the Illusory Sword Way—a righteous method through and through. Take care not to become too distracted, or your smooth sailing will hit a bottleneck.”
“I won’t become distracted,” Wu Lingtian closed his eyes and relaxed against Fan Yi. “My heart and mind are clear with only one objective. Besides, this cultivation method doesn’t require abstinence, so why should I worry?”
Fan Yi removed his hand. “Wu Lingtian.”
“Sect Leader,” Wu Lingtian shifted closer. “I’m tired.”
“…Take a nap then,” Fan Yi shifted to make it more comfortable for Wu Lingtian to lay on.
A small smile played at Wu Lingtian’s lips. “Sect Leader.”
“What?”
“Thank you.”
Fan Yi stiffened and glanced over at Wu Lingtian. He didn’t ask what Wu Lingtian was thanking him for, but the irritation that had been hanging over him the entire day finally disappeared. He sighed and his expression smoothed out again.
“A-Tian, in fact, you shouldn’t—”
“I’ve liked that person since I was very young,” Wu Lingtian interrupted Fan Yi. “You’re the one who told me not to give up until I tried. I haven’t even tried yet.”
“…Alright,” Fan Yi sighed softly. “But I can’t guarantee the outcome will be happy.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Wu Lingtian mumbled sleepily. “I already promised them my life and my eternity. Who cares if the outcome isn’t happy?”
Fan Yi felt his heart tremble slightly. He glanced at Wu Lingtian, who was so unexpectedly reckless, and slowly drew out a breath. His entire being finally relaxed again and he patted Wu Lingtian gently, as if to coax him to sleep.
But Wu Lingtian really didn’t want much. He just wanted to be able to see this warmth with his own eyes for as long as he existed. It was just that others would never understand this sentiment.
After all, when left out in the cold for so long, why wouldn’t you want to be as close to this warmth as possible?
By the time the sun had started to set, Wu Lingtian slowly woke up from his nap. He had forgotten the position he had fallen asleep in, so when he felt a warmth pressed against his side, he couldn’t help but feel immediately alarmed.
He sat up quickly and reached to his side, his hand placed again the Rui Sword.
Fan Yi turned to look at Wu Lingtian. “Did you have a nightmare?”
The hand slowly retreated. Wu Lingtian lowered his gaze. “I…not at all.”
Wu Lingtian straightened and fixed his robes. He tossed his hair over his shoulder and his gaze traveled over to the disciples who were gathering their things. He let out a soft huff that could be confused for a sigh or a quiet laugh and stood.
Fan Yi watched him silently before lowering his gaze again.
Once the disciples departed, Wu Lingtian found his way back to Fan Yi’s side. He seemed to have completely woken up by then and recovered his usual disposition. Without the disciples around, Wu Lingtian was even more unscrupulous. He leaned his chin on Fan Yi’s shoulder.
“Sect Leader, should we follow them, or just track them?”
Fan Yi didn’t move to push Wu Lingtian off. He just treated it like it was his big dog from childhood. “Whatever you want. I’m just a bystander.”
“Then, let’s just track them. I already checked this area out earlier,” Wu Lingtian said. “There aren’t any threats.”
Fan Yi hummed. “By the way, what made you think to have them hunt together?”
Wu Lingtian straightened. “The disciples from Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect are quite pitiful.”
Fan Yi glanced at Wu Lingtian. “What do you mean?”
“That is…the sect elders are unreasonable. Whenever they see something unpleasing to the eye, they’ll call for a punishment. The disciples have to follow each rule strictly. Although they’re a righteous sect, they compete every day as if it were a life or death competition. Whenever your cultivation falls behind, you’ll be mocked in the back. You best hope you were never labelled a prodigy, because the moment you hit a bottleneck, everyone will gloat about your downfall,” Wu Lingtian said, his gaze slowly dulling. “The only time they get to have fun is when they’re away from the sect, so I figured I should let them experience what it’s like to be a teenager.”
“…Is that how you were like?”
“Hm?”
“…Being labelled as a prodigy. Was your life like that?”
“Something like that,” Wu Lingtian nodded. He smiled. “When Feng Ling mocked me for observing bamboo for two years, I really was. Every night, I’d take a walk around, looking at the stars and getting lost in the bamboo maze. It was nice.”
“So, you really were just taking a walk.”
“At first. But then I discovered Sect Leader in the nearby town,” Wu Lingtian said. He looked at Fan Yi and smiled. “So, I had to follow you.”
Fan Yi shook his head.
That year, when Wu Lingtian had just turned seventeen, he had unexpectedly run into Fan Yi.
It had been a long time since the two met and, while Fan Yi hadn’t changed, Wu Lingtian was already a young man. With just a glance, Fan Yi hadn’t recognized Wu Lingtian at all. However, this spritely young master hadn’t cared at all and followed Fan Yi with an amused look on his face.
Finally, Fan Yi couldn’t take it anymore and turned around to ask what Wu Lingtian meant to do by following him.
“You really don’t remember me?” Wu Lingtian asked with a dazed expression.
Fan Yi had been extremely irritable then. He was only there because he had been asked a favor to treat a respected elder. The respected elder wasn’t anything good either, so Fan Yi had been carrying a bellyful of anger all day.
He immediately snapped, “Why the hell would I know you? I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
As for Wu Lingtian’s reaction, Fan Yi had left too abruptly to catch it. Only Wu Lingtian knew how hurt he was.
However, instead of feeling discouraged, for nights after that, Wu Lingtian appeared in front of Fan Yi. He’d greet the sect leader, but he wouldn’t do much more than that. When Fan Yi finally calmed down to really look at the youth, he realized that the young man did indeed look familiar.
It was the fourth week then.
When Fan Yi ran into Wu Lingtian again, instead of glaring or snapping, he appeared a bit sheepish. “You are…Xiao Wu?”
Wu Lingtian’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected Fan Yi to suddenly remember him again. But the initial enthusiasm had worn off. He cupped his hands together respectfully and bowed, “Sect Leader Fan, this humble one is called Wu Lingtian.”
Fan Yi pulled himself back from his memory and glanced at Wu Lingtian. “Back then you were…”
“I was what?” Wu Lingtian raised a brow.
“…Ridiculous,” Fan Yi said. “You got yelled at like that, but you still continued to greet me every night.”
Wu Lingtian smiled. “I just wanted to see you.”
“To see me?”
Wu Lingtian nodded. “It was nice just seeing you.”
Without a reason, Fan Yi felt his heart sour. “What about now?”
Wu Lingtian’s smile widened enough to show his dimple. “Now is better. I even get to talk to you.”
Fan Yi was silent for a moment as the two men began to slowly follow after the disciples.
“I never apologized for not remembering you.”
Wu Lingtian chuckled. “You didn’t have to. I was the ridiculous one.”
Fan Yi frowned. He lowered his gaze and felt uncomfortable in his heart.
He still remembered the naïve happiness Wu Lingtian had when he first ran into Fan Yi again. It was something that had stuck to him for days after he realized who the youth was. At the time, his eyes were seemingly filled with stars. Although his smile wasn’t too bright, it contained enough warmth to thaw the ice that constantly nipped at Fan Yi’s fingertips. Even if he was irritated, he couldn’t help but think that such a youth was extremely handsome.
The next time Fan Yi had seen Wu Lingtian was when he was an adult. There was no longer that naïve happiness. Instead, there was a cold resoluteness to him and it held Fan Yi at arm’s length.
“Sect Leader?” Wu Lingtian called out to Fan Yi.
Fan Yi looked at Wu Lingtian. His chest tightened. “A-Tian.”
“Yes?” Wu Lingtian looked at him seriously.
“I’m sorry for being rude to you today,” Fan Yi sincerely apologized.
Wu Lingtian’s eyes widened. A soft chuckle left his lips. “I was the one overstepping, Sect Leader. There is no need to apologize. In fact, the one who should be apologizing is me.”
“It’s fine,” Fan Yi said.
“What is?”
Fan Yi smiled. “Everything.”
Fan Yi turned away and ignored Wu Lingtian’s widened eyes.
Someone’s heart hammered harshly against their chest as another’s body overflowed with warmth.
The quiet night gave the illusion that the two men were taking a peaceful stroll. If no one knew their backgrounds or their martial prowess, perhaps they would even seem like a pair of normal lovers, quietly enjoying each other’s company in this mundane world.
Àaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!❤️
🥺 They have been coming toward this point for a very long time! It’s a little alarming that even the disciples noted changes in Wu Lingtian’s personality. I guess he’s too scrupulous to interrogate them to learn more about how and when they saw him change.
my hearrrrttttt ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ