At the center of the vortex, Ye Chenyan’s aura drew inward. Slowly, he opened his eyes.
The qin music stopped at once.
Clinging to the edge of the spirit boat, Yu Qingtang leaned over anxiously. “Did you make it?”
He had already taken nine Harmonizing Pills. If he still hadn’t succeeded, then that really would be—
Yu Qingtang’s nerves were jangling as he stared uneasily at him.
Something was wrong with Ye Chenyan’s pupils. Within his normally bright black eyes, black and white revolved like a taiji. When he lifted his gaze, there was actually something in it of the cold, impersonal majesty of the Great Dao.
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened slightly. His heart tightened.
“Ye Chenyan?” he called softly.
“I was thinking...” Ye Chenyan suddenly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, they had returned to normal. He tipped his head back and smiled at Yu Qingtang. “Shouldn’t you come up with a nickname for me? You can’t keep calling me by my full name every single time.”
Yu Qingtang froze.
The heart that had leapt into his throat finally dropped back into place. He promptly flopped onto his back inside the spirit boat and let out a feeble wail.
“You might as well scare me to death and be done with it.”
Ye Chenyan hurriedly leapt into the boat and helped him sit up. “I really didn’t mean to this time! I wasn’t trying to scare you!”
“You okay?”
Yu Qingtang grumbled twice and shot him a sidelong look.
Ye Chenyan was about to laugh, but then his gaze dropped to Yu Qingtang’s reddened fingertips.
He remembered the qin music that had continued without pause for three whole days.
The smile vanished from his face.
His eyes flickered, and he carefully took Yu Qingtang’s hand.
“D-Do your fingers hurt?” He brushed one fingertip, then, afraid even that might hurt, merely held Yu Qingtang’s hand lightly. “Actually, I could’ve broken through on my own. Once things stabilized halfway through, I wanted to tell you that you didn’t need to keep playing and could take a break.”
“But I couldn’t exactly talk while I was breaking through...”
He rummaged through his storage ring. “Did Senior Brother Du Heng give you any ointment or something?”
Yu Qingtang lay weakly in the spirit boat, looking ready to depart this mortal coil in peace. “I feel like I’ve played all the qin I was ever meant to play in this lifetime—help me put the Dragon-Crane Zither in the storage ring. I don’t think I want to see it again for a while.”
“It probably doesn’t want to see me again either.”
Ye Chenyan chuckled and put the qin away for him. At last, he found a jar of ointment and pulled Yu Qingtang’s hand over to apply it.
Yu Qingtang curled his fingers back slightly. “I’m not that delicate. I’m a qin cultivator, after all. Playing for a while isn’t enough to injure my hands.”
“Put some on. Don’t move.” Ye Chenyan glanced up at him. “It really doesn’t hurt?”
“No.”
Yu Qingtang rolled over. When he realized he wasn’t getting his hand back anyway, he stopped trying and simply spread his fingers to let Ye Chenyan apply the ointment. He could treat it like a hand mask.
With his free hand, he poked Ye Chenyan.
“What about you? You’re at Out-of-Body now? No problems?”
“No problems.” Ye Chenyan’s eyes curved with his smile. “Those two energies didn’t give a damn whether I lived or died. They were determined to fight to the bitter end inside my body and settle once and for all which one was superior, but the old Pill King’s Harmonizing Pills really are extraordinary.”
He paused.
“I didn’t actually need all nine. But I could sense there was quite a bit of spiritual energy in them, and if I didn’t take them now, it’d just go to waste later, so I used them all.”
“How thrifty of you. Clean-plate campaign, pill edition?” Yu Qingtang muttered.
Curious, he reached over and squeezed Ye Chenyan’s arm. “Was it really that dangerous? You looked completely motionless from the outside.”
“Of course it was.” Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “But you were watching. I had an image to maintain.”
He gave Yu Qingtang’s finger a little squeeze and laughed. “I couldn’t exactly scream and roll around on the ground in front of you. I have my pride.”
Then, with a perfectly serious expression, he added, “Maybe next time I break through, I shouldn’t let you watch. You interfere with my ability to howl.”
“Hm?” Yu Qingtang sat up straight. “Since when do you have an idol image to maintain?”
Ye Chenyan muffled a laugh. “Still... it was good that you were there.”
“Listening to your qin made me feel a lot more at ease.”
“Right?” Yu Qingtang tilted his head smugly. “Naturally, the Heavenly Music Sect’s secret Heart-Questioning Melody needs no introduction, but you shouldn’t underestimate the Heart-Cleansing Melody either. It’s basic repertoire for every qin cultivator!”
Not only was it easy to play, it had fantastic employment prospects.
Clear your mind before cultivating, cool down during an argument, calm yourself when you got too worked up...
Extremely versatile.
You could even use it to lull prey into a false sense of security—
Back on Shanyuan Peak, Yu Qingtang had relied on that very trick to haul in overflowing basins of fish every single time.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Ye Chenyan pinched his cheek.
“The melody is useful, sure. But the important thing is that when I heard it, I knew you were there.”
His voice softened.
“And then I kept thinking that even if I had to move mountains and fill seas, I still had to make it back to your side.”
Yu Qingtang scratched his head awkwardly. “H-Huh?”
“You can even turn that into praising me? The way you say it, it sounds like I get a share of every good thing under heaven.”
“That’s exactly right.”
Ye Chenyan cupped his face in both hands.
“You get a share of every good thing under heaven.”
“Hehe.”
Yu Qingtang grinned foolishly twice, then flexed the fingers Ye Chenyan had finished treating.
Everything Senior Brother Du Heng gave him was top-quality medicine. For all he knew, this ointment could bring the dead back to life and regrow flesh on bare bone. Using it on something as trivial as sore fingers was frankly a ridiculous waste.
Yu Qingtang instantly felt as though his hands had been refurbished to ninety-percent-new condition.
He could play for another three days!
—His hands could, anyway.
He personally had absolutely no desire to touch a qin right now.
He stretched and sat up.
“Well, since you’ve broken through... an Out-of-Body cultivator could serve as an elder even in a major sect. You’re officially one of the pillars now.”
“Mm.” Ye Chenyan looked at him curiously. “Why?”
Yu Qingtang narrowed his eyes.
“Which means it’s time for me to settle accounts with you!”
He grabbed Ye Chenyan by the collar, shoved him down into the spirit boat, and punched him.
“You little punk! Having fun scaring me, huh? Pretending you’re hurt and acting all pitiful, huh? You think qin cultivators can’t throw hands? You think we don’t have tempers?!”
“Ow, ow!”
Yu Qingtang’s physical attacks were probably no more than a gentle massage to Ye Chenyan, but Ye Chenyan cooperated beautifully, lying in the boat and whining pitifully.
“I was wrong! I know I was wrong! Stop hitting me—”
“Wait!”
Ye Chenyan suddenly caught his fist.
“You just said you weren’t angry! You said whoever got angry was a puppy!”
Yu Qingtang: “Woof woof woof! Awooo!”
He punched him again.
Ye Chenyan muffled a laugh. “Oh no. I think I can understand puppy language now. That was some pretty fierce cursing.”
“Hmph.”
Yu Qingtang sat astride him, looking murderous.
“Don’t move. You’d better have some self-awareness. You’re an Out-of-Body cultivator now. If you dare fight back—”
His expression turned ferocious.
“I’ll die immediately!”
Ye Chenyan innocently raised both hands. “Don’t say nonsense like that. As if I’d dare fight back.”
“But you’re still going to hit me?”
He glanced at Yu Qingtang’s hand.
“You’re going to make it hurt again.”
Yu Qingtang shook out his hand and stared wordlessly at the sky.
He suspected that even if Ye Chenyan stood there and let him beat him barehanded for an entire day, he still might not break the skin.
Suddenly, Yu Qingtang scrambled to his feet.
“Wait. I’m changing tactics.”
“Huh?” Ye Chenyan watched him with interest. “What, tired already?”
Yu Qingtang sat cross-legged.
The Lotus Realm bloomed around him.
He sneered.
“I’m going to ram you with the Lotus Realm!”
“Huh?”
Ye Chenyan’s expression changed dramatically.
“Wait—”
“Hyah!”
Yu Qingtang launched himself headfirst.
Ye Chenyan raised his arms and caught him. The spirit boat rocked violently.
Laughing helplessly, Ye Chenyan cried, “We’re going to capsize! The boat’s going to flip!”
The Lotus Realm was never an offensive technique to begin with. The instant Yu Qingtang lunged and changed posture, it vanished.
So in the end, the only thing that actually rammed into Ye Chenyan’s chest was Yu Qingtang’s head.
“I know I was wrong. I won’t dare do it again. Never again.”
Ye Chenyan’s eyes brimmed with laughter as he played along and begged for mercy.
“Please withdraw your divine power, Master Yu!”
Yu Qingtang suddenly tilted his head.
“Then call me Senior Brother.”
“Mm...”
Ye Chenyan’s brows furrowed in visible difficulty.
“You can call everyone else Senior Brother. Why can’t you call me that?” Yu Qingtang scrambled upright. “What’s the big deal? Aren’t you pretty good at begging for mercy and acting cute?”
“I am not.”
Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow and corrected him.
“If it were anyone else, you could beat me to death and I still wouldn’t give in one bit.”
“That does sound about right.”
Yu Qingtang thought it over and realized he actually wasn’t lying.
But for once, he refused to let Ye Chenyan lead him around by the nose. He bumped him lightly.
“Then call me Senior Brother.”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
He hesitated, his gaze drifting away.
“No.”
“Huh?”
Yu Qingtang grabbed his chin in shock and turned his face back.
“Why?!”
“It’s different.”
Ye Chenyan propped up his head, his gaze shifting away again. Somehow, he actually looked a little embarrassed.
“If it’s someone else, Senior Brother Zhang, Senior Brother Li, this senior brother or that senior brother—I can call them that because they really are senior brothers.”
Yu Qingtang confidently held up the sect master’s token. “I really am your senior brother! I’m a little older than you, and now our sects are allied too...”
“It’s different.”
Ye Chenyan stole a sidelong glance at him.
“Not every ‘Senior Brother’ is the same.”
“If I called you Senior Brother, it’d almost feel like I was betraying my master and ancestors...”
He reached out and hooked one finger around Yu Qingtang’s.
“Wouldn’t that be taking things a little too far?”
Yu Qingtang: “...Huh?”
He sucked in a sharp breath, face flushing red as he grabbed Ye Chenyan’s head and shook it.
“What on earth do you think about all day?!”
“I think about—”
Ye Chenyan abruptly tugged him forward, caught the back of his head, and pinned him against the side of the spirit boat.
This kiss was more forceful than any before it.
His palm stroked gently over the back of Yu Qingtang’s neck as though soothing him, but everything else was utterly merciless. He parted Yu Qingtang’s lips and pressed in, leaving him no room to retreat.
Yu Qingtang clutched tightly at his clothes.
The flush on his face burned all the way behind his ears, and he could barely breathe.
Ye Chenyan released him.
His palm slid over Yu Qingtang’s Adam’s apple, amusement flashing through his eyes.
“Breathe, Senior Brother Yu.”
Yu Qingtang: “...”
He swallowed.
His Adam’s apple bobbed beneath Ye Chenyan’s fingers.
With a thump, Yu Qingtang collapsed into the spirit boat and slowly covered his face.
Not a sound came out.
Ye Chenyan leaned closer with a smile.
“Senior Brother Yu?”
Yu Qingtang pointed a trembling finger at him.
Ye Chenyan’s eyes curved as he kissed the tip of that finger.
“Relax. The fused immortal-demonic energy hasn’t dispersed yet. The people outside can’t see us.”
Yu Qingtang lowered his hand slightly.
“Really?”
“Really.” Ye Chenyan nodded with complete confidence.
The Girl in the Bamboo silently landed at the other end of the spirit boat and regarded them calmly.
“It’s true. Without Out-of-Body strength, they cannot breach this barrier of immortal and demonic energies for the time being.”
Yu Qingtang collapsed again with another thump, rolled over, and hid his face.
The Girl in the Bamboo looked mildly puzzled.
“Did you bite him too hard?”
Ye Chenyan: “Ahem.”
He cleared his throat wordlessly.
“Miss Bamboo, you...”
“I know you were busy.”
The Girl in the Bamboo folded her arms.
“I only came to remind you that you should suppress this phenomenon as soon as possible. Otherwise, you’ll attract the attention of other local experts.”
“And...”
Her gaze wavered slightly.
“You’ve reached Out-of-Body now. You no longer need to return to Nanzhou. I...”
“If you need anything, you may command me.”
Ye Chenyan studied her.
“But I’m already at Out-of-Body, and I still can’t see through your cultivation. What realm are you actually in?”
The Girl in the Bamboo did not answer.
She only said, “My cultivation does not correspond to the realms used by human cultivators.”
Yu Qingtang had spent a while lying facedown and pretending to be dead while rebuilding his mental defenses.
By now, he felt he could function again.
He pushed himself up with some difficulty and asked her, “We’ve been traveling through open desert this whole way. There’s nothing around for miles. Where were you hiding that we couldn’t see you?”
The Girl in the Bamboo: “...”
Ye Chenyan gave him a hint. “If you couldn’t see her in the sky, try looking underground.”
Yu Qingtang instinctively looked down.
All he saw was an endless expanse of yellow sand.
He stared blankly.
“You’ve been digging tunnels?”
The Girl in the Bamboo nodded calmly.
“Yes.”
“...You really didn’t have to work that hard. You could’ve just shown yourself.” Yu Qingtang sighed with feeling. “You don’t need to hide anymore after this, right?”
The Girl in the Bamboo hesitated slightly.
“I... According to our agreement, I serve the two of you as my masters. I should follow you.”
“Do you still require me to accompany you?”
Ye Chenyan was about to answer when Yu Qingtang slapped a hand over his mouth and nodded furiously.
“Yes! Absolutely!”
He bent down and ducked behind the Girl in the Bamboo.
“For my personal safety, you still need to stay with us.”
The Girl in the Bamboo looked puzzled.
“Why? He now possesses Out-of-Body strength. He should be capable of handling most dangers.”
“You don’t understand.”
Yu Qingtang’s gaze turned profound.
“When there’s danger, the safest place is next to him.”
“When there’s no danger, the most dangerous place is next to him!”
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