Chu Xinghui, holding Xie Liufeng’s waist, calmed his emotions in his embrace. After a while, he realized his own embarrassment and gently withdrew from Xie Liufeng’s arms.

He checked his body and finally noticed something unusual.

Hesitantly, he looked at Xie Liufeng and asked: “The poison in my body…”

Xie Liufeng nodded, confirMing: “It’s been cleared. Now, you can continue cultivating and breaking through. How do you feel?”

He briefly explained everything to Chu Xinghui, adding: “We owe it to Cheng Yu and his master — the senior who treated you last time, Senior Xie.”

Chu Xinghui made a note of these two people’s kindness and then asked: “What about you?”

Xie Liufeng smiled at him, feigning confusion: “Me? I’m right here.”

Chu Xinghui looked at him and said plainly: “What did you do?”

Xie Liufeng pretended to think seriously for a moment and replied: “As someone without any spiritual power, I suppose I did what I was supposed to do.”

What he had done was indeed what a mentor should do, so it wasn’t entirely wrong to say it like that.

He asked Chu Xinghui: “Do you want to repay me?”

Chu Xinghui grasped the sleeve of his robe but didn’t speak.

Xie Liufeng bent his eyes in amusement, teasing: “Well, I’m not lacking anything. How about you offer yourself in return?”

Chu Xinghui raised his head, glanced at him, and then nodded.

Xie Liufeng was taken aback, then gently knocked on his head: “I was just kidding. Do you even know what ‘offering yourself’ means to dare answer so recklessly?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t respond but simply grabbed his hand and tightly held it in his own.

… No matter what it meant, as long as Xie Liufeng asked, he would agree to anything.

*

Xie Liufeng still felt a lingering unease about Chu Xinghui’s past experiences. During his recovery, he kept a very close eye on him.

Chu Xinghui stayed at home to recuperate for three full months before Xie Liufeng finally allowed him to go out again.

One day, Ming Xiao, hearing that Chu Xinghui’s health had fully recovered, sent a message inviting him to help find a type of spirit mine.

The spirit mine Ming Xiao was looking for was rare in the market, but its growing environment wasn’t particularly difficult, and there were no powerful demon beasts guarding it. Overall, there wasn’t much danger involved.

After Chu Xinghui reported to Xie Liufeng and received his approval, he began packing his things.

Before he left, Chu Xinghui intentionally went to Xie Liufeng’s side and said: “I’m heading out.”

Although they had already agreed, when Xie Liufeng saw him actually about to leave, he suddenly stopped him, calling out: “Wait.”

Chu Xinghui halted.

Xie Liufeng asked: “Where are you going?”

Chu Xinghui raised his head, looking at him with confusion.

Xie Liufeng had already asked this question half an hour ago.

But Chu Xinghui still answered earnestly: “Going to find a spirit mine nearby, I’ll be back in two days.”

Xie Liufeng continued to inquire for details: “Is anyone accompanying you?”

Chu Xinghui answered: “I’m going with Ming Xiao.”

Xie Liufeng fell silent for a moment.

It seemed like he still wanted to say something but held back. Instead, he furrowed his brows and sighed, asking: “Have I… been too controlling lately?”

He knew his attitude towards Chu Xinghui had been a bit unusual recently.

Every time Chu Xinghui left to train, something always happened, especially the last time… that had really scared him.

He couldn’t help but feel an overwhelMing need to protect him.

Sometimes, he even found himself thinking that Chu Xinghui didn’t necessarily need to be super powerful — as long as he stayed within his sight, he would always be able to protect him.

“No, I’m happy,” Chu Xinghui looked up at him and shook his head: “If it’s you, it’s fine however you want to manage me.”

Xie Liufeng laughed helplessly and tried to scare him: “My mindset hasn’t been great lately. Don’t provoke me, or I might actually lock you up.”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and replied seriously: “That’s fine too.”

As long as it was Xie Liufeng, he would accept whatever he did.

Not getting a stop from Chu Xinghui, Xie Liufeng reached out and ruffled his hair, only able to reflect on himself: “Alright, I’ll try to control myself. You go ahead.”

After all, not only in the cultivation world but even among ordinary families, there was no rule against their younger generation training and developing. No matter how worried he was, he couldn’t delay Chu Xinghui.

Chu Xinghui gave him a glance.

He imagined what it would be like if Xie Liufeng locked him up, and for some reason, he felt a bit disappointed.

If Xie Liufeng were willing to lock him up, he might actually give up going out.

*

With a small sense of subtle disappointment, Chu Xinghui still went to meet Ming Xiao.

The two had agreed to meet in front of the largest tavern in the city at noon, so they could still catch a lunch before leaving.

Chu Xinghui arrived on time and saw that Ming Xiao had already arrived.

When Ming Xiao saw him, he looked him up and down and, seeing that he indeed looked well, complained: “Why are you so late?”

Chu Xinghui glanced at the sky and honestly replied: “It’s because you came too early.”

Ming Xiao was momentarily stunned, then retorted with displeasure: “Do you think I came early just to see you?”

Chu Xinghui decided to give him some face, politely admitting: “Alright, it’s my fault for being late.”

Ming Xiao mumbled: “That’s better.”

“Anyway, you’re here to help me,” he said, his voice lowering as he awkwardly invited: “So… let me treat you to a meal.”

Chu Xinghui asked: “Can I order something expensive?”

Ming Xiao immediately bristled: “What? Do you think I’m short on money?”

Chu Xinghui gladly accepted the invitation.

The two entered the tavern, found an empty table, and Ming Xiao boldly ordered the most expensive dishes from the menu.

The food quickly arrived, and Chu Xinghui began eating seriously.

It was around mealtime, so the tavern was bustling with customers.

At the neighboring table, a few wandering cultivators from out of town had a few drinks and were chatting about the latest happenings in the cultivation world.

As they spoke, one person brought up a recent incident from a few months ago: “Hey, do you guys remember that time when Sword Sovereign killed the top disciple of Lingxiang Sect?”

Another person immediately started fervently discussing a conspiracy theory: “That’s just fake news, right? The top disciple of Lingxiang Sect was just a child, and Sword Sovereign hasn’t appeared in the cultivation world for years. Why would he travel such a long distance just to kill him? I heard an inside source say that the disciple was actually practicing dark arts and died in disgrace. The Lingxiang Sect only blamed it on the long-dead Sword Sovereign to cover up the truth.”

The first person wasn’t having it: “Sword Sovereign went to Lingxiang Sect without any disguise, and there were plenty of witnesses who saw it. How can you say it’s fake?”

The second person shook his head: “Not at all. While there were many ‘witnesses,’ most of them were from Lingxiang Sect. Who can say for sure?”

After a brief back-and-forth, the third person intervened to mediate: “Alright, alright, let’s assume Sword Sovereign really did kill the top disciple of Lingxiang Sect. I’ve got more news. Do you guys want to hear it?”

Chu Xinghui couldn’t help but listen in a little more.

During his recuperation, he hadn’t had much contact with the outside world. Xie Liufeng also refused to tell him what had happened, so he only had a vague understanding of the events. He knew Qin Yuwen had died, but… Sword Sovereign killed Qin Yuwen?

Chu Xinghui’s mind formed a vague guess.

Cheng Yu had been present for the entire ordeal. He could have simply asked him for the full story, but for some reason, Cheng Yu had recently become illiterate and had been locked up for failing his cultural exams. He couldn’t reach him at the moment.

He planned to wait until Cheng Yu’s confinement was over and send him a message to ask about it. Just then, the person at the next table said something even more ridiculous: “What you don’t know is, Sword Sovereign didn’t just intervene because of the top disciple, but because that young man was actually Sword Sovereign’s partner!”

Upon hearing this, Chu Xinghui hesitated for a moment, then suppressed the guess that had just surfaced in his mind.

What is all this nonsense?

Cultivators, after all, come from diverse backgrounds and have a wide range of preferences in choosing a partner. As long as both parties are willing, men, women, or even non-humans could be considered in the selection of a companion. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

One of the person’s friends didn’t believe it, sneering: “Why don’t you say Sword Sovereign killed the top disciple because the disciple was competing for his partner?”

The person thought for a moment, then actually nodded seriously: “That could be possible. My sister’s friend’s second uncle is a disciple at Lingxiang Sect. Though he wasn’t in the sect that day, he heard from his fellow disciples that the young man was extremely handsome. After some of the cultivators saw him, they couldn’t eat or sleep properly, and they kept looking for information about him. It’s not surprising that many cultivators were attracted to him.”

The friend, clearly baffled by this strange and absurd tale, fell silent for a moment before commenting: “What you’re saying sounds like a legend from the mortal realm, not real life.”

Seeing that his friend didn’t believe him, the speaker turned red in the face: “…If that’s not true, then why don’t you come up with a better story?”

…

Over the course of history, rumors like this always grow more ridiculous the more they’re passed around.

Chu Xinghui pondered that Sword Sovereign was at least a senior figure from the Beiyue Sword Sect. He wondered if he should show some respect, so he raised his head to glance at Ming Xiao.

To his surprise, Ming Xiao was sitting there, poised with his chopsticks as though he was eating, but in reality, he had his ears perked up and his eyes drifting toward the neighboring table.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

Since the people from Beiyue Sword Sect didn’t mind listening to false rumors about Sword Sovereign, he might as well continue eating.

The topic at the neighboring table had shifted from “the death of Lingxiang Sect’s top disciple” to discussions of Sword Sovereign’s aesthetic tastes and whether he was really dead or not.

Ming Xiao, having heard enough, finally pulled his attention back from the neighboring table. He glanced at Chu Xinghui and poked his rice with his chopsticks before muttering under his breath: “Who knows, he might not even be as handsome as you…”

Chu Xinghui, focused on eating, didn’t catch what Ming Xiao had said: “Hmm?”

Ming Xiao, looking wary, quickly declared: “I didn’t mean to compliment you on your looks!”

Ah, so he accidentally complimented him earlier.

Chu Xinghui translated the situation silently in his mind and lowered his head to continue eating.

 

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