CH 41

Pei QianYue’s body abruptly tensed up.

His mouth moved slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but Feng Ci didn’t give him this opportunity. 

Borrowing strength from Pei QianYue, Feng Ci used him as support to stand up. Then he walked straight out of the room.

Pei QianYue gave chase: “Master……”

“What?”

Feng Ci sat down next to the table and pulled out a bag of tea leaves after rummaging through his storage ring. 

This was also something bought from Wanhai Bazaar. It’s said to be tea leaves produced from some mystical mountain with an extremely abundant amount of spirit energy. Brewed into tea, it can disperse weariness and improve cultivation.

Feng Ci didn’t care about these however. He only felt uncomfortable from waking up with the hangover and wanted to drink some warm tea to relieve the aftereffects of the alcohol.

After Feng Ci took out the tea leaves, he went to grab the tea pot. However, a hand reached out. Ice-cold fingertips quickly brushed over the back of his hand and grabbed the teapot from him: “Allow me.”

This movement was extremely natural.

Feng Ci gave Pei QianYue a glance, but didn’t say anything.

Pei QianYue’s tea brewing technique was actually pretty good.

First he used spirit energy to heat the fresh water. Then he dipped the tea leaves in the water several times. Before long, the aroma of tea filled the entire room. Steam billowed into the air, somewhat obscuring Pei QianYue’s refined countenance and giving him a different kind of flavor.

Feng Ci sat by the table with a hand propped under his chin. He actually felt that the other’s tea brewing process looked somewhat soothing to the heart and pleasing to the eyes. 

Sure enough, beautiful people always look beautiful no matter what they’re doing.

“Is this the so-called ‘don’t be so sneaky’ that Master was talking about?” Pei QianYue pushed the prepared tea in front of Feng Ci and said calmly.

Feng Ci was stunned briefly before finally realizing what Pei QianYue was referring to.

He had accidentally stared at this person in a trance again. 

You really know how to hold a grudge, Xiao Hei.

Feng Ci ducked his head for cover and took a sip of tea. He didn’t respond to that topic: “Let’s speak about the business at hand. Now that the enemy is at the gates, how can you be so lackadaisical?

Pei QianYue concealed the faint smile on his lips: “Master, you’re right.”

They really did need to speak about the business at hand. 

Yesterday, Feng Ci had spent an entire afternoon chatting in detail with Xiao ChengXuan. He gained a general understanding of the overall strength of the Broken Sword Manor’s disciples, as well as the manor’s current defensive fortifications.

Feng Ci asked Pei QianYue: “What do you think of Broken Sword Manor?”

Although this little snake had been slacking off inside Feng Ci’s sleeve yesterday, Feng Ci refused to believe that he was completely unconcerned about this matter. Sure enough, Pei QianYue immediately answered: “The disciples of Broken Sword Manor aren’t weak. They can be considered upper-middle level in the cultivation world. Furthermore, the terrain of this area is advantageous— easy to defend and hard to attack. If an ambush can be set up around the mountain gate, they might not be completely powerless to resist.”

“Not completely powerless to resist?” Feng Ci laughed at hearing this: “Is this all you are expecting from them?” 

Pei QianYue didn’t answer.

But Feng Ci knew clearly in his heart that Pei QianYue’s words weren’t wrong.

With the current strength of the Broken Sword Manor, not being annihilated instantly was already very impressive.

Feng Ci then asked: “If you add us, what do you think is our chance of victory here?” 

“If even Master can’t save Broken Sword Manor, then there’s no one in this world capable of stopping that mysterious murderer.” Pei QianYue said: “With Master here, naturally the Broken Sword Manor is guaranteed to come out safe and sound.”

“Safe and sound?” Feng Ci smiled briefly, but the smile did not reach his eyes: “But that’s not the only thing I want.”

Pei QianYue: “Then what does Master want?”

The slight smile on Feng Ci’s face faded as he said coolly: “A murderer must pay for his actions with his life.” 

Pei QianYue paused briefly in the middle of pouring more tea for him.

Feng Ci didn’t miss his moment of abnormality.

But the other hid his emotions very quickly. When Feng Ci looked up at him again, Pei QianYue’s expression was already back to his usual. He poured the cup of tea for Feng Ci and calmly pushed it in front of Feng Ci without saying anything.

Feng Ci narrowed his eyes slightly. 

His thoughts suddenly floated elsewhere.

Before Feng Ci had gotten involved in this case regarding the massacre of cultivation sects, out of the entire Immortal Alliance, Pei QianYue had clearly been the person most concerned with it. As the Immortal Alliance Leader, even the LangFeng City disciples knew that he often went out to investigate it on his own, which showed just how important this case was to him.

Yet now……

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But Pei QianYue has never asked anything about these questionable areas.

During the last few days, he has only accompanied Feng Ci in doing whatever Feng Ci wanted to do. As for the rest, he did not ask nor care. 

No, perhaps it’s not that he didn’t care.

Rubbing the rim of his cup with his finger, Feng Ci contemplated for a moment.

For a long time now, Feng Ci has always found it very hard to understand what Pei QianYue was thinking internally. However, after thinking carefully about the reason, wasn’t this just because Pei QianYue was still concealing a lot of secrets from him?

Just what exactly happened to Pei QianYue? And what happened 300 years ago in LingWu Mountain? With Pei QianYue’s temperament, why did he care so much about the massacre of the cultivation sects back then, when the Six Sects were still in a standby mode of waiting to see what would happen. 

Naturally Feng Ci wanted to ask, but this person was really very crafty. Feng Ci asked several times before but has not been successful in prying his mouth open.

Pei QianYue wasn’t willing to say anything, but does this mean that he had no ways of finding out?

Feng Ci thought for a moment and tilted his head back to drain his tea.

Pei QianYue wanted to pour tea for him again, but when he picked up the teapot, Feng Ci pressed a hand down on him to stop him. 

Warm fingers covered over the back of Pei QianYue’s ice-cold hand, but it wasn’t like Pei QianYue’s fleeting touch just now. Feng Ci rubbed the back of Pei QianYue’s hand slowly and made him put the tea pot down. Then he grabbed Pei QianYue’s hand and tugged him closer in front of him.

Pei QianYue’s expression was a bit tense: “Master……”

“Shh.” Feng Ci gave him a smile and stood up, still holding Pei QianYue’s hand.

He guided Pei QianYue to turn around in his seat and made Pei QianYue sit with his back against the edge of the table. This forced Pei QianYue to have no choice but to tilt his head up to look at Feng Ci. 

Feng Ci looked down at Pei QianYue from above. His hands slid down Pei QianYue’s wrists to ultimately rest on the other’s shoulders.

Pei QianYue swallowed quietly.

Feng Ci’s smile deepened. He lowered his head and said in a low tone: “Before you said that this face does not fit me.”

As soon as his voice spoke, a faint glow suddenly appeared around the two of them. 

In that golden light, Feng Ci’s figure grew rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. His body became tall and skinny. His untied hair, still free flowing after just getting up from bed, practically hung to the ground.

He slowly looked down through his eyelashes.

With stunning eyes, limpid like Autumn waters, cold like frost.

Pei QianYue’s entire body froze. 

A crafty smile appeared in the depths of Feng Ci’s eyes.

“Now……” His voice had also changed from the tenor of a youth to an elegant kind of serenity. Under the increasingly bright light, he looked somewhat surreal.

Feng Ci picked up Pei QianYue’s hand again and leaned in slightly. He pressed his cold cheek against that hand: “Does it match me now?”

Pei QianYue’s hands suddenly exerted force and abruptly dragged Feng Ci into his arms. 

Lips pressed in a line, he clamped down on Feng Ci’s waist with one hand and sank his other hand deep into Feng Ci’s long, waterfall-like hair, supporting Feng Ci’s nape with an extremely strong grip.

“You’re doing this on purpose.” Pei QianYue’s voice was terrifyingly hoarse, his expression tight. These words were practically squeezed out between his teeth.

“Obviously.”

The two people were pressed extremely close, so close that Pei QianYue only needed to raise his head slightly to touch Feng Ci’s lips. 

But he didn’t move.

Feng Ci knew that Pei QianYue didn’t dare to kiss him just like this. With a smile, he quietly pulled away a little and said very frankly: “I’m seducing you.”

Pei QianYue’s arms abruptly tightened up.

Feng Ci even urged him impatiently: “Be quick about it. I can’t transform for long.” 

A human’s ability in transformation was far inferior to that of demons(妖). The more detailed the transformation, the more difficult. A transformation like this, where he looked exactly the same as his original body— even with Feng Ci’s cultivation, he might not last a teacup of time.

Pei QianYue took a deep breath and asked: “What do you want to know?”

Feng Ci quietly curbed the smile on his face and said: “First tell me, did the body that I stored away on LingWu Mountain really get stolen by someone?”

The room fell silent. 

For a second, it was only possible to hear the two people’s slightly chaotic breathing in the air.

A moment later, Pei QianYue said quietly: “Yes.”

Feng Ci’s expression fell.

Pei QianYue said: “That day I was practicing inside the cavern. Someone had suddenly broken the barrier outside the cave. I went outside to give chase, but didn’t see anyone at all. When I returned…… the body was gone.” 

Feng Ci looked at him and asked softly: “Just like that?”

Pei QianYue: “Just like that.”

Feng Ci: “Liar.”

Pei QianYue didn’t answer. 

“Making up stories.” Feng Ci raised his hand and pinched Pei QianYue’s face: “Disobedient.”

“No kiss for you anymore.”

With a light push, he shoved off Pei QianYue’s restraint. The latter wanted to reach out and grab him, but didn’t manage to catch him. Feng Ci got up from Pei QianYue’s arms. The light surrounding him faded and he returned to his original appearance.

Even an idiot could tell that Pei QianYue was only trying to answer him perfunctorily. 

But knowing was still useless.

Pei QianYue refused to tell the truth. Feng Ci really had no way of finding out from him.

Even taking to the battlefield with his real body to seduce Pei QianYue failed to open his mouth; other methods would only be even more difficult.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Too lazy to deal with this unyielding asshole, who was unmoved by force or persuasion, he directly turned around and started walking out the room. 

Pei QianYue got up: “Master, where are you going?”

Feng Ci didn’t even look back: “Of course I’m going to look for Manor Master Xiao to discuss the next step of our defensive strategies.”

“I—”

“You don’t need to follow.” Feng Ci interrupted him: “They don’t know you’re inside the manor. Appearing randomly without consideration would only cause suspicion. Before the arrival of our formidable enemy, I don’t want to waste too much time on trying to gain people’s trust.” 

After he finished speaking, he pulled open the door and walked straight out.

Leaving Pei QianYue alone in the house.

Feng Ci was drunk yesterday night so today, he had already woken up a bit later than usual. Then he dallied for a while with Pei QianYue inside the room. When he walked out of the house, it was already late morning.

The manor disciples were currently bustling around in the front yard. 

Xiao ChengXuan was naturally present as well.

They had clearly drunk the same wine, yet this young Manor Master still looked vigorous and energetic; not like Feng Ci, who felt lightheaded when he woke up in the morning.

Seeing Feng Ci walk over, Xiao ChengXuan hastily stepped forth to salute to him respectfully: “Greetings, Immortal Master.”

Feng Ci nodded and asked: “How are the preparations?” 

“According to your suggestions, Immortal Master, we have already reinforced the magic arrays outside the mountain gate. It’s just this Nine-Revolving Trap Array……” Xiao ChengXuan paused briefly and said: “Broken Sword Manor is not very familiar with this field. Even this trap array was something that was passed down from the ancestors. Therefore……”

He showed a hint of regret and shame.

The manor had their own specialized Arts. Feng Ci didn’t feel like this was anything strange and said: “Give me two assistants. I can help you change it.”

Xiao ChengXuan was already prepared in advance. 

He immediately summoned a few disciples over.

This was also part of Feng Ci and Xiao ChengXuan’s discussions yesterday. Right now, the Broken Sword Manor’s fortifications still have very big holes in its defenses. There were many areas that needed adjustments and improvements.

As for how to change it, Feng Ci looked over everything yesterday and already had a plan in his heart.

He delegated some tasks to the disciples. Also, he didn’t stay idle himself and went to change a few crucial junctures himself. 

As the sect leader, Xiao ChengXuan still had many tasks he needed to handle. Unable to keep Feng Ci company, he sent his head disciple, Jin Yi, over to answer Feng Ci’s every beck and call.

Yesterday it was Jin Yi who had led Feng Ci inside the manor. This young man already treated others with courtesy and respect. After seeing Xiao ChengXuan’s attitude towards Feng Ci today, he treated Feng Ci even more like an honored guest, scrambling around to do all the work himself and not daring to let Feng Ci toil.

Feng Ci instinctively slacked off and instructed him to complete things in his stead.

Bored with nothing to do, Feng Ci even chatted with him idly: “How’s your Xiao-Shishu’s health?” 

When he asked, Jin Yi was busy adding spiritual energy to the joints of a metal puppet. Hearing these words, Jin Yi paused slightly in what he was doing, eyes dimming: “Yesterday night, the Manor Master sent him away overnight.”

Feng Ci was stunned.

He knew that Young Master Xiao had fainted on his knees last night. This meant, of course, that Xiao ChengXuan had sent the person away while he was unconscious.

That Manor Master….. Although he had vowed to clean up the scourge for the cultivation world, in reality, he was already prepared to meet death. 

That’s why he had insisted on sending away his only relative.

Not only him.

Feng Ci raised his head and looked around.

Everywhere inside Broken Sword Manor right now, the disciples performed their duties with serious and focused expressions on their faces. But out of these people staying here, who hadn’t made preparations to die? 

Feng Ci closed his eyes and then opened them. He said quietly: “Don’t worry.”

Jin Yi turned to look at him: “What did you say?”

“I said, don’t worry.” Feng Ci said: “You guys will see each other again.”

And it won’t be long. 

Originally, Feng Ci thought that Pei QianYue would most likely throw a temper at him for locking him up inside the house, or perhaps secretly run outside to cling to him.

But this didn’t happen.

In the next few days, Pei QianYue stayed obediently inside everyday, so well-behaved it was incredulous.

During these days, Feng Ci was busy making pre-battle preparation for the Broken Sword Manor. Everyday, he left early in the morning and returned late at night. But no matter when he returned, he’d always be greeted with a cup of tea brewed by Pei QianYue himself and then enjoy some personal care and service from the LangFeng City Master. 

Making Feng Ci randomly experience the joys of ‘hiding a beautiful mistress inside his room‘.

Of course, if Pei QianYue didn’t have any demands here, it wouldn’t be him.

“……Okay. I’ll transform for you, alright?” Annoyed to exasperation by him, Feng Ci silently mumbled a spell and a faint golden light appeared around him again.

Ever since Pei QianYue learned that Feng Ci can transform back to his original body for brief periods of time, he’s been pestering Feng Ci to transform everyday. This has become Pei QianYue’s greatest amusement lately. 

“It’s very tiring, changing like this.” The handsome, young man rested in Pei QianYue’s arms, so sleepy that he couldn’t even keep his eyes open.

He had been running around outside all day and now that he’s returned, he still needed to satisfy Pei QianYue’s special interest. This really very exhausting.

Pei QianYue didn’t say anything.

He embraced Feng Ci’s waist from behind. The palm of his hand found its way to Feng Ci’s wrist and slowly channeled spirit energy into him. 

Wanting to let him maintain this state for a little while longer.

Feng Ci turned around and found an even more comfortable position in Pei QianYue’s arms.

“I feel like it’s not me that you like.” Eyes closed, Feng Ci chuckled quietly: “What you like is clearly this body of mine.”

The hand wrapped around Feng Ci’s arm stiffened abruptly, but Pei QianYue very quickly returned to normal. 

“No.” Pei QianYue said softly: “I can tell the difference.”

Feng Ci: “What did you say?”

At this time, it was already late at night. Feng Ci was very sleepy, yet he still needed to divert energy to satisfy Pei QianYue. His head was already a bit fuzzy.

Who knows if it was to Feng Ci or to himself, Pei QianYue opened his mouth and said quietly: “I said, I can tell the difference.” 

“Okay okay okay, you can tell the difference.” Feng Ci didn’t pay any mind. He yawned: “Need to get that stupid body back as soon as possible. Doing this all the time is really troublesome.”

After a while, he then said: “I’m going to sleep. You’re not allowed to touch me randomly when I’m sleeping, otherwise no more for you next time.”

Pei QianYue buried his head into the crook of Feng Ci’s neck and inhaled deeply before finally saying in a quiet and extremely yearning tone: “Okay.”

The author has something to say: 

Xiao Hei: Only a dog wouldn’t touch.