After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

Yu Qingtang nodded along. “Very ambiti—huh?”

A split second before he sold himself, he realized what he was agreeing to and slammed on the brakes. He looked warily at Ye Chenyan. “Wait! How did you...”

Ye Chenyan withdrew his gaze in disappointment. “How did you catch on?”

He muttered under his breath, “You’re not usually this quick.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened in protest. “I’m not that easy to fool!”

“Now that you’re fine, hurry up and get out. There are people outside...”

He dusted off his backside and stood, preparing to slip away, only for Ye Chenyan to grab him and haul him back.

Ye Chenyan stared into his eyes and said pointedly, “The karmic fire didn’t flare up.”

Yu Qingtang narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means we can do it aga—” Before Ye Chenyan could finish, Yu Qingtang clapped a hand over his mouth.

With an expression of absolute righteousness, he assumed an air of sacred inviolability. “No! The karmic fire didn’t flare up because I cultivated hard yesterday and saved up plenty of good fortune. I barely even got to eat any meat because I rushed back to help you. Don’t even think about spending it all!”

He spun around and ran for the cave entrance. Ye Chenyan followed behind him, catching hold of his sleeve and attempting to bargain. “We don’t have to spend it all. Just a little...”

“What are you doing?” Yu Qingtang tried to remind him. “Stop tugging at me! Have some decorum. There are people outside!”

Ye Chenyan clicked his tongue softly. “Who?”

Yu Qingtang: “...”

He slowly turned his head toward Ye Chenyan.

Ye Chenyan guiltily rubbed his nose. “I was already using everything I had to suppress the spiritual-power rampage. I didn’t notice anyone outside.”

He cautiously raised his eyes. “Don’t...”

Yu Qingtang abruptly pointed toward the other side of the cave. “Look over there.”

Everyone except Senior Sister Tianxin turned in unison.

The blazing sun hung in the distant sky, white clouds drifting leisurely beneath it. Apart from that, there was nothing there.

When they turned back, Yu Qingtang was already sprinting away with his hands over his head.

“Aaaaaah—!”

Ye Chenyan froze, then hurried after him. “Qingtang!”

Pretty Butterfly burst out laughing so hard she doubled over. Raising her voice, she called after him, “What are you panicking for?”

Watching Yu Qingtang disappear into the distance, she sighed softly. “What an idiot. At times like this, the more you panic, the more completely he’ll have you in his grasp. You have to be shameless.”

She turned and found Monk Baoshan standing there with his face scarlet. Deliberately leaning closer, she asked, “Right?”

Baoshan stammered wordlessly, his gaze darting everywhere as he recited sutras at lightning speed, not daring to look at her.

Pretty Butterfly’s eyes rolled thoughtfully. She suddenly leaned toward him and said, “Look at that Ye fellow bullying Little Yu like that. Aren’t you going to help him?”

Baoshan’s face grew even redder. At last, he stopped chanting and stammered, “Benefactor, what do you mean by that? I—I have absolutely no other intentions!”

Pretty Butterfly deliberately tilted her head. “What sort of ‘other intentions’?”

Unable to answer, Baoshan closed his eyes, retreated two steps, and resumed chanting.

“Ugh.” Pretty Butterfly looked away. “Boring.”

Tianxin shook her head lightly and merely asked, “Are you still going out today?”

“Brother Yu presumably won’t be.” Scholar Xiao helplessly waved the folding fan in his hand. “As for the two of us—”

He glanced at Chi Yantian. “We didn’t get to eat our fill earlier. Why don’t we bring some food back with us?”

“No need to trouble yourselves.” Tianxin raised a hand. “I’ll have someone deliver it.”

She then addressed Candle Nine Yin. “Senior...”

“I’m going home,” Candle Nine Yin replied calmly. “Green Snake is waiting for me to come home for dinner.”

He paused and looked at Pretty Butterfly. “You can eat here. Come back later.”

“Aww—” Pretty Butterfly pouted. “Usually you call me your precious darling daughter, but now you find me annoying. Fine! I’m not coming back. Tonight, I’m running off with someone else!”

Candle Nine Yin appeared not to hear the implication in her words. He merely nodded. “That works too. I’ll be going, then.”

Pretty Butterfly watched him actually turn and leave and nearly keeled over from fury. “Why are they all like this?”

Tianxin chuckled softly. “Then you should stay and eat with us.”

“Us?” Pretty Butterfly turned toward her. “Oh my. Even the ever-busy Senior Sister Tianxin is joining us? I thought you people at Starwatch Pavilion lived on fasting pills and never ate proper meals.”

“I’m merely stealing a moment between tasks.” Tianxin pushed her head farther away. “Besides, they’re amusing.”

Her words carried another meaning. “The question is whether Junior Brother Yu will be willing to show his face today.”

...

Yu Qingtang had already sprinted all the way back to the bamboo-grove cottage and buried his head beneath the blankets.

Ye Chenyan entered almost immediately after him. Looking at the person sprawled facedown on the bed with his head concealed, he cleared his throat. “Are you all right?”

Yu Qingtang’s muffled voice came from beneath the blankets. “I’m trying to talk myself into accepting reality.”

Ye Chenyan sat beside him and curiously poked the blanket. “How?”

“I told myself to grit my teeth and endure it. A lifetime will be over soon enough.” Yu Qingtang let out an anguished wail. “Then I remembered that we’re cultivators, so this lifetime is longer than several ordinary lifetimes put together—”

Ye Chenyan wanted to laugh, but did not dare.

He coaxed him in a low voice. “It wasn’t that embarrassing.”

“You didn’t even do anything.”

Yu Qingtang muttered quietly, “I still don’t dare think back on it.”

Ye Chenyan chuckled. “If anyone embarrassed himself, it was me, but I don’t think there was anything embarrassing about it.”

He secretly lifted one corner of Yu Qingtang’s blanket and met his eyes. Lowering his voice, he said, “I like you. I’m not afraid of the whole world knowing.”

Yu Qingtang fell silent for a moment, then snatched the blanket out of his hand and covered himself again. “I understand the logic, but I still can’t stop my toes from curling.”

Ye Chenyan looked puzzled. “Your toes?”

“Tell them I’m not going out tomorrow.” Yu Qingtang curled up beneath the blankets like an ostrich. “I need one day to forget how thoroughly I humiliated myself today.”

“One day for now. I may need an extension.”

As he spoke, the blanket lifted slightly and a small bottle flew out from underneath it. “Also, here. I brought you some sulfur-spring water. Go soak in it whenever you have time.”

Ye Chenyan caught the bottle and could not suppress his smile. He poked the blanket again and coaxed him, “You had to rush back early because of me today. Once I pass all the trials, I’ll take you back and let you soak to your heart’s content.”

As though seeking praise, he arranged five glowing stones in a neat row. “I’ve already passed five trials.”

“Five?” Yu Qingtang flung off the blanket and stared at him in shock. “Wait. I haven’t completely lost track of time, have I? [N O V E L I G H T] We haven’t even been here five days!”

“No.” Ye Chenyan smiled. “I still had energy to spare, so in one day I...”

Yu Qingtang sucked in a sharp breath. “You challenged several totems in a single day? No wonder you couldn’t hold back your breakthrough!”

Ye Chenyan guiltily rubbed his nose and looked away. “Th-that wasn’t the only reason, was it? Cultivation is the sort of thing that just—just breaks through if you’re not careful.”

Yu Qingtang reached out, pinched his cheeks, and leaned closer threateningly. “No rushing ahead!”

Ye Chenyan gave an indistinct acknowledgment, his eyes wandering as he avoided Yu Qingtang’s gaze.

Yu Qingtang lightly hooked a finger beneath the Spirit-Locking Ring around his neck. “You pull another stunt like this, and next time it’ll take eight or ten of these around your neck!”

Ye Chenyan merely raised his eyes to look at him, still smiling. “If you’re the one putting them on me...”

“I won’t.” Yu Qingtang smiled. “I’ll ask Senior Sister Tianxin to put them on you. Then I’ll find Miss Ziyun to do it. And after that...”

Ye Chenyan covered his mouth and nodded with utmost sincerity. “I promise. I’ll know my limits and never rush ahead again.”

He glanced out the window. “They’re calling us to eat. Are you coming?”

Yu Qingtang buried his head again. “No. I still have some dignity left.”

Ye Chenyan confirmed it once more. “You’re really not coming?”

A short while later, Ye Chenyan arrived beside the stream carrying a large bamboo basket.

Scholar Xiao froze and looked behind him. “Where is Brother Yu?”

Ye Chenyan pointed inside the basket and gave them a meaningful look. Only then did he clear his throat and answer, “He isn’t coming. He told me to bring some food back for him later.”

Pretty Butterfly raised an eyebrow and deliberately asked, “Oh—then what exactly is that bamboo basket?”

Ye Chenyan answered with a cheerful smile, “I recently took in a shy little pet.”

The bamboo basket shook. Someone inside seemed to be protesting.

Ye Chenyan added, “He has a bad temper and bites. No one except me is allowed to feed him.”

“Of course, of course.” Scholar Xiao smilingly picked up two plates. “Does he want the stir-fried mushrooms or the braised beef?”

“I’ll ask.” Ye Chenyan lifted the basket lid slightly, bent down to listen, and then nodded. “He says—both.”

“Hand them over.”

Fascinated, Chi Yantian took out some of the dried meat he used to feed Flamelet and offered it over. “What breed is he? You can’t feed him table food. Too much salt will make his fur fall out! Give him this! It’s lightly seasoned, and it’ll help grind down his teeth!”

Scholar Xiao’s expression grew complicated. “Brother Chi...”

Pretty Butterfly shoved the dried meat into Chi Yantian’s own mouth. “Eat it yourself, you big oaf.”

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