“When Fan Yi was young, he’d always cause a lot of trouble for my sister and my brother-in-law,” Sect Master Zhong sighed as he slowly piled food into Wu Lingtian’s bowl. “Whenever he’d run off the mountain, the first place his parents would contact was me, but why would he run off to a boring place like the Hall of Impartiality? When he ran off, he’d go gambling or he’d go off to pick fights.”
“A-Tian doesn’t like bitter melon,” Fan Yi intercepted the slice of bitter melon that was about to be sent into Wu Lingtian’s bowl.
“I can eat it,” Wu Lingtian said.
“Ah, if you don’t like it, then don’t eat it. Here, you eat it instead,” Sect Master Zhong placed it into Fan Yi’s bowl instead.
“Anyway, where was I? Oh, right, and then his siblings would want to follow him around too! That was when my sister became worried. It was fine for her eldest son to go astray, but it would be a problem if he led his little siblings down the wrong path too, you know? Xiao Ling, do you like fish?”
“Yes,” Wu Lingtian held out his bowl, only to have Fan Yi block Sect Master Zhong’s chopsticks again.
“Uncle, his bowl is nearly overflowing,” Fan Yi said.
“Oh, sorry about that,” Sect Master Zhong chuckled. “I got too excited.”
Wu Lingtian shook his head. He had never had someone so adamantly give him food before, so he was somewhat overwhelmed by the favor. “Did Sect Leader get into a lot of fights when he was younger?”
“Oh, so many,” Sect Master Zhong shook his head. “I can’t even begin to count. He’d always wear disguises as well! And he went by all sorts of strange aliases. It’s just good that he had enough sense to never bring trouble back to Qingyao Manor, but even that takes some luck. I’m sure if you met him when he was younger, you would have despised him.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Wu Lingtian said. “I caused a lot of trouble myself when I was younger.”
“What sort of trouble?” Sect Master Zhong raised a brow.
From his knowledge, Wu Lingtian was always Rong Meihua’s quiet shadow. He followed rules closely and was the disciples everyone else referenced, when they wanted to show their own disciples a perfect example.
“For example,” Wu Lingtian thought for a moment as Sect Master Zhong and Fan Yi waited with great interest, “There was a year during an annual sect conference. I didn’t want to participate, so I decided to release the fire-winged snakes.”
“That was you?” Fan Yi stared at Wu Lingtian.
Fan Yi clearly recalled the events of that year.
It was indeed a big event, as it was the first time Black Scales Palace had showed their face after they agreed to be a part of the Zhuixing Alliance. Everyone had been antsy and everyone seemed to be excited to prove themselves. However, somehow, the fire-winged snakes that would have been used for the hunting portion was released into the dorms that disciples and other participants were staying in. Although the fire-winged snakes had been stripped of their venom, having snakes fly around and breathe fire was still alarming.
The event was put on hold and a portion of the competition for disciples had to be cancelled.
“Why didn’t you just say you were sick?” Fan Yi asked.
“How could that work?” Wu Lingtian asked. “If I said that, not only would I still be forced to participate, my shizun would have flogged me.”
“Why didn’t you want to participate that badly?” Sect Master Zhong asked in amusement.
“Why…?” Wu Lingtian thought for a moment. “It was because Situ Hong and Xiao-xiong and I had gone out to eliminate ghosts and demons the night before and I ended up breaking my ankle. It was reattached easily, but I was still healing, so I didn’t want to participate in the sparring portion, but I also couldn’t withdraw.”
“How did you break your ankle?” Fan Yi asked.
“Situ Hong pushed me off the mountain,” Wu Lingtian said. “I remember it being an accident. I might have teased him too much and he grew frustrated. I was just reaping what I sowed.”
Sect Master Zhong burst out in laughter. “Xiao Ling, I think if you met Fan Yi when he was younger, you two definitely would have become rivals! How Rong Meihua managed to keep your reputation so pristine is beyond me!”
Wu Lingtian smiled at Sect Master Zhong’s genuine amusement. “She expended a lot of effort.”
Fan Yi glanced between the two men and quietly turned back to his food.
Once lunch was over, Wu Lingtian and Fan Yi headed to Frost Cliff Pavilion, only to find that Situ Hong had yet to come back. However, sitting in the pavilion was Xiao Xunrui and Xiao Guo. When they noticed someone was coming over, they both straightened to attention. Xiao Guo abandoned her father and jogged over to Wu Lingtian.
“Wu-shushu!” Xiao Guo exclaimed happily.
Wu Lingtian smiled and scooped Xiao Guo up into his arms. Fan Yi, who was following behind, glanced at Wu Lingtian and smiled softly. Xiao Guo looked expectant, but when Wu Lingtian didn’t say anything else aside from a greeting, she looked a bit unsure. She turned around and peered over Wu Lingtian’s shoulder, her look just catching Fan Yi’s attention. Her expression soured a bit further before she looked back at Wu Lingtian.
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.
“He’s uncle’s companion,” Wu Lingtian said softly. “Call him Fan-bóbo.”
Xiao Guo’s eyes widened. She looked over Wu Lingtian’s shoulder again and tried to greet him as properly as she could while in the arms of someone else, “Fan-bóbo.”
“Vfma Ofjvfg, atlr lr Wljb Xeb, Wljb Wecgel’r vjeutafg,” Qe Olcualjc rjlv bnfg tlr rtbeivfg.
Mjc Tl rwlifv, “Lfiib, Zlrr Wljb.”
Xiao Guo smiled shyly after some hesitation, “Fan-bóbo, you can call me A-Guo or Xiao Guo.”
“Then, I’ll call you Xiao Guo.”
Wljb Xeb cbvvfv yfobgf aegclcu yjmx jgbecv.
Ktf wbwfca Qe Olcualjc rfa tfg vbkc, Wljb Xeb uijcmfv ja Qe Olcualjc jujlc yfobgf yglrxis kjixlcu bnfg ab tfg ojatfg’r rlvf. Wljb Wecgel tjv rabbv j ktlif jub jcv kjr byrfgnlcu atf akb wfc rlifcais. Llr ujhf rilv bnfg ab Mjc Tl yfobgf qeiilcu yjmx ab Qe Olcualjc’r rlvf.
“Thanks for taking care of us last night,” Xiao Xunrui smiled.
“Not at all. Actually, I just sent you off with the attendants,” Wu Lingtian said. He reached past his lapels and pulled out a letter, “And this is for you.”
Seeing Xiao Xunrui’s blank stare, Wu Lingtian had to suppress a sigh. “From a not-so secret admirer.”
Xiao Xunrui’s eyes widened. “You—you were in contact with him again?!”
“It was he who contacted me,” Wu Lingtian calmly explained, “And I had no reason to reject his invitation.”
Xiao Xunrui’s expression darkened. “I already told you how I felt about this situation.”
“You told me, but have you told him?” Wu Lingtian asked. Hearing Xiao Xunrui’s silence, he pushed the letter into Xiao Xunrui’s chest. “I refuse to be your messenger bird for the rest of my life. I have my own business to deal with and my own life to live after this. Besides, it’s not like you don’t understand the current situation in the Three Regions.”
Xiao Xunrui’s hand lifted reluctantly to take the letter.
“Life is short,” Wu Lingtian said, “It’s far too short, even for people like us. If you don’t talk things through now, you’ll regret it in the future.”
Xiao Xunrui gripped the letter tightly. “I hate when you talk like this.”
“Am I wrong though?” Wu Lingtian asked. He lowered his gaze again, “We will have to rely on your expertise more in the future, so I hope you can approach every case with a clear mind. Taking care of this situation now will ensure that you do not get distracted. Whether you accept him or reject him is none of my business—I just hope you make a decision you won’t regret.”
Xiao Xunrui glanced at Wu Lingtian. “So business-like—but, really, I shouldn’t have expected anything less from you, Lord Yu Lan.”
Wu Lingtian met Xiao Xunrui’s gaze. “It’s about practicality.”
“Oh, practicality? Then, what about the one behind you? What’s so practical about him?” Xiao Xunrui asked pettily.
“Him?” Wu Lingtian didn’t even look back. “When he’s by my side, I feel safe. And I like him.”
Xiao Xunrui’s face scrunched up. He sat back down and shook his head. “You go. I don’t want to see you again.”
Instead of leaving, Wu Lingtian sat down and poured Xiao Xunrui a cup of tea. “As your future superior, those are the words I wanted to say to you. As your friend, I can tell that he’s sincere. You both have words you need to say to each other, so just meet up with him.”
Xiao Xunrui glanced at Wu Lingtian. “Did he tell you something? What did he say?”
Wu Lingtian’s brows furrowed as he placed the cup in front of Xiao Xunrui. “You two even ask me the same questions.”
Wu Lingtian stood and straightened his robes. “Then, I’ll be leaving.”
“You’re leaving?” Xiao Xunrui looked up at him. “But I thought you still wanted to talk to Situ Hong.”
“He’s not here, is he? Where shall I find him to talk to if the person isn’t even here?” Wu Lingtian asked. “I’ll still be on Zhuixing Mountain, but I have something to attend to first. He should be back by the time I’m done.”
“He won’t be the only one who’s back,” Xiao Xunrui said over the lip of the cup. He glanced at Wu Lingtian, “I hear Zhou-shijie will be coming back in another few days.”
“…That’s fine.”
“Oh. You’re fine,” Xiao Xunrui’s gaze slowly drifted to Fan Yi, who was still quietly standing behind Wu Lingtian.
“He is also fine.”
“If you say so,” Xiao Xunrui shrugged.
Wu Lingtian gave Xiao Xunrui a hard look before turning around and passing over the bridge again. He gently gripped Fan Yi’s arm and turned his away, but before they could walk too far, Xiao Xunrui called out again.
“I wish for Lord Yu Lan and Sect Leader Fan to be able to spend their days together until their hairs whiten!”
Wu Lingtian turned around, as if to attack, only to have Fan Yi pull him back. Fan Yi turned back to Xiao Xunrui and clasped his hands together, “May it go as you wish.”
Xiao Xunrui raised his cup to them and downed the tea in a swift motion before turning back to his daughter.
Fan Yi pulled Wu Lingtian away from the courtyard and guided him towards Ling Wan Peak.
“His future superior?” Fan Yi questioned.
“Situ Hong is the one who will be taking care of most things while I do the field work, but to the public, I will be the one who is in charge of everything,” Wu Lingtian said. “That was what we already decided.”
Fan Yi nodded in understanding. He looked at Wu Lingtian again, “But why did you decide to just do the field work?”
“One, it’s too troublesome,” Wu Lingtian said. “There would be many people under me and I don’t want to be in charge of them. Two, if I take on this case, then I won’t be able to go back to Screeching Sparrow Sect until all the paperwork is filed and the case is deemed properly closed.”
Wu Lingtian looked at Fan Yi. “Right now, what we’re doing is also related to the culprit and we can also investigate the puppets along the way. It’s far more convenient that way.”
“…So, you just don’t want the extra work.”
“I originally just wanted to sleep and laze around for the rest of my life,” Wu Lingtian said. “Since I can’t, I can only come to a compromise with this.”
Fan Yi’s lips curved slightly. He reached behind Wu Lingtian’s curtain of hair and lightly pinched the back of his neck, “You poor thing. Then, when this is all over, how about we take a long vacation together? We can relax in Qingyao Manor.”
“What about your disciples?” Wu Lingtian glanced at him.
“Li Qing has Su Han,” Fan Yi said. He paused for a moment, “But we can also bring her along.”
“I’m afraid if you really left her alone for so long, she would cry,” Wu Lingtian said.
“Then, we’ll bring her along,” Fan Yi nodded. He let out a soft sigh. “It’s a shame that the original Qingyao Manor is no more. I tried to rebuild it to the best of my abilities.”
“I’m sure it’s very beautiful.”
Fan Yi smiled, “You haven’t even seen it.”
“If you built it, I’m sure it’s a perfect replica,” Wu Lingtian said.
Fan Yi nodded slowly.
Silence fell over the two men as they slowly traversed down the stone steps.
The path on Zhuixing Mountain went up and down and split into several paths to lead to other peaks. They had to travel down until the fork road in order to continue upwards to where Ling Wan Peak sat, higher above where the Hall of Impartiality lay. Ling Wan peak had a high concentration of spiritual energy and was often used by cultivators with higher prestige. The disciples themselves rarely borrowed the coves of Ling Wan Peak to cultivate, as they didn’t need to, but if someone like Wu Lingtian had run into a bottleneck, they would often head to Zhuixing Mountain to use their facilities.
That being said, on normal days, Ling Wan Peak was deserted, save for the few disciples who guarded it.
When Wu Lingtian and Fan Yi arrived, they showed their pass to the guards and were allowed entry into the mountain.
Fan Yi led the way as if he knew the place like the back of his hand. He looked over his shoulder, “I was gravely injured once, and this place was my home for several years.”
“I see,” Wu Lingtian’s gaze dimmed.
“Well, it’s nothing to talk about,” Fan Yi said as he turned to face the front again. “I survived.”
Fan Yi brought Wu Lingtian to a room that had the basic necessities. He lit a candle and walked over to where Wu Lingtian stood, beside the bed.
“What do I need to do?” Wu Lingtian asked.
“First, sit down,” Fan Yi pulled him down. He shifted so that he sat behind Wu Lingtian. “You need a stable stream of spiritual energy to do this, but since you haven’t felt well recently, I will loan you mine. You just have to concentrate on projecting your soul out.”
Wu Lingtian nodded. He crossed his legs and closed his eyes.
Soon, he felt a steady stream of spiritual energy pour in from Fan Yi’s palms to his back. The sudden surplus was overwhelming. For a moment, Wu Lingtian fumbled and his body began to burn up. He quickly began circulating the energy that wasn’t his own and focused it all around his soul and into his dantian.
Wu Lingtian had performed a Soul Projection spell before, but Soul Projection wasn’t the same as Soul Separation. In fact, there were easier ways to leave one’s body—for example, you could store your soul into an object. Allowing yourself to float freely, yet not become lost from your corporal form, was a difficult feat.
“Concentrate the energy around your soul,” Fan Yi said. “Don’t think about anything else. Concentrate and then push outwards.”
Wu Lingtian accepted the excess spiritual energy handed to him and did as Fan Yi said.
When he opened his eyes again, he was staring down at himself, who had slumped into Fan Yi’s arms.
Fan Yi held his body gently and looked up. For a moment, it seemed as if Fan Yi truly did see Wu Lingtian. “If what Rui Sword said was true, then all you need to do now is grasp onto the strand of your soul that is detached from the main form. Don’t go too far, or it’ll be difficult to return to your body.”
In this form, even if he answered, Fan Yi wouldn’t be able to hear. So, instead of expending energy, Wu Lingtian quickly flew from the caves and did as Rui Sword had instructed.
He found a place to sit down at the top of the trees and closed his eyes again. The moment he sought after it, he soon felt a tugging at his entire body. He opened his eyes and looked in front of him.
A thin line, shimmering gold, weaved through the trees and pointed in the direction of Xianping. Wu Lingtian frowned. He thought of following it, but due to his inexperience, he was afraid of being unable to find a way back into his body. He floated upwards, above the trees and above the buildings, and watched the golden stream extend seemingly endlessly in the direction of Xianping.
After another moment, Wu Lingtian dove back down into the caves to where he had left Fan Yi and his body.
In the cave, on the bed, Fan Yi was still cradling Wu Lingtian’s body.
The silence in the room was overpowering, but the look in Fan Yi’s eyes was even more so.
The act of projecting one’s soul left the body alive. The organs would continue functioning and the person would continue breathing. However, the person would be unable to be awoken. Even though the person was still alive, their skin would slowly cool, the longer the soul was away. After maybe a month of not returning, then the body would cease its functions and naturally die.
At the moment, Wu Lingtian’s body was still breathing normally, but Fan Yi’s gaze had darkened. He held Wu Lingtian’s hand and his gaze silently trailed over the other man’s features. He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Wu Lingtian’s shoulder.
A Wu Lingtian where, when you called, he wouldn’t answer, and one where when you shifted, he wouldn’t wake up, was horrifying. Fan Yi had prepared himself to see this still, lifeless Wu Lingtian, but it was still affecting him more than he wanted to admit.
Suddenly, the hand that Fan Yi was holding shifted and a strong arm wrapped itself around Fan Yi’s back. He was pulled forward until he was practically laying on the other man’s chest, but before he could get his bearings, he felt a soft, gentle kiss against his forehead.
Fan Yi looked up.
“I’ve returned, Yishan.”
It was the first time Wu Lingtian had called Fan Yi by that name since finding out that it was his real name. Fan Yi froze for a moment and was unable to come up with a proper response.
“…Why’s the first thing you do when you come back to take advantage of me?” Fan Yi finally asked.
Wu Lingtian rubbed his cheek against Fan Yi’s hand. “It was a greeting. Should I not do that?”
Fan Yi glanced between his hand and Wu Lingtian. He sat up from Wu Lingtian’s embrace and pressed a kiss against Wu Lingtian’s lips. “Welcome back.”
So cute ❤️💖💕 Thanks for the chapter 😊💕
thanks for reading!!! : D
No! You should! Absolutely you should do that every time! See? He’s fine with it.
Wu Lingtian said “Situ Hong pushed me off the mountain” like telling what he had for breakfast.😂 Even if they are cultivators, his tone sounded so relaxed !
what’s a little shove between friends 😌
forehead kisses my beloved
Arghhh so cute 😭😭