Going down the mountain
The morning light shines on the earth, dispelling the darkness of the night.
The weather is so nice today, and I wonder how my senior brother's confession last night went. Jiang Yun thought about this, stretched, stood up, and prepared to practice.
After arriving at Fengyu Terrace, Jiang Yun saw Yin Heng standing alone under a pear tree. He was still wondering why his senior brother had come so early, but soon the man stumbled and nearly fell. Seeing this, Jiang Yun rushed over.
"Brother! What's wrong with you?!" Jiang Yun was at a loss, supporting Yin Heng. Suddenly, he felt something round at his feet. He looked down and saw it was a wine bottle. He picked up the bottle and smelled it. It was pear blossom wine, but the wine in the bottle was gone. Yes, Yin Heng drank the entire bottle of pear blossom wine. No wonder he could smell a faint scent of alcohol when he approached Yin Heng.
"Oh my god! No way, senior brother, you drank this whole bottle of pear blossom wine? The master has always disliked you drinking. If he knew, he would make you kneel in the ancestral hall?!" Jiang Yun was amazed. Although his senior brother would drink a few glasses when he had nothing to do, which Yin Jingyi was quite dissatisfied with, Yin Heng was a sensible person and would not get drunk easily. Jiang Yun suddenly felt something was wrong.
Yin Heng was still dazed, with his eyes slightly open. Jiang Yun asked tentatively, "Um... Senior Brother, did you confess your feelings last night?"
"Junior brother... he seems to only regard me as a close friend who has been with him for many years..." Yin Heng, who had regained consciousness, looked at Jiang Yun, his eyes bloodshot and his wet eyelashes trembling slightly.
Jiang Yun had never been rejected before, so he didn't know how to comfort him. He could only say a few nonsense and quickly took him back to his residence to rest. Yin Heng, who had not slept all night, finally closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
By noon, Yin Jingyi still hadn't seen Yin Heng. Thinking that he had started to slack off in his training, he ran to Yujieyuan to look for him. As soon as he arrived at the door, he ran into Jiang Yun, and Yin Jingyi stopped him.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't leave yet. Where is Yin Heng? I haven't seen him all morning. Where did he go to slack off?"
Jiang Yun was startled and hesitantly said, "Uh... Senior Brother, didn't Xiao Yuan get married yesterday? He was very tired after a busy day, so he rested for a while..."
Yin Jingyi was half-believing and half-doubting, but at this time Yin Heng had woken up and changed his clothes and came out. Seeing Yin Jingyi coming, Yin Heng raised his hand and bowed.
"Meet father."
Yin Jingyi nodded slightly, and said in a slightly reproachful tone, "Don't overthink it, or you'll fall behind in your cultivation."
Yin Heng knew that he was in the wrong and could not argue, so he just responded with a "yes".
After dinner, Yin Heng planned to make up for the training he had missed today. Normally, he would ask Xiao Yuan to practice together, but after what happened last night, Yin Heng no longer had the face to bother Xiao Yuan, so he went to Fengyutai by himself.
Upon arriving, the familiar face that greeted him was Xiao Yuan. He was practicing swordplay beneath a pear tree, infusing his long black hair with spiritual energy. The chill was so intense that the flakes of fragrant snow that hadn't yet reached the ground were encased in frost, lingering in mid-air. It was the same as before, except that Yin Heng wasn't by his side. Today, he simply watched him from afar, his heart filled with pure devotion.
It was not until this moment that Yin Heng suddenly realized that Xiao Yuan no longer needed him. He did not want to be discovered, so he fled.
…
At night, muffled thunder surged deep in the clouds like a flood and a beast, splitting the clouds in two with lightning and thunder.
A gatekeeper disciple reported to Yin Jingyi, "Master, there's a servant at the gate asking to see you. He claims to be from the Li Mansion."
The head of the Li Mansion is a well-known wealthy family at the foot of the mountain, and it is said that they are rich enough to rival a country.
Yin Jingyi called someone in, and Yin Heng rushed to the conference room upon hearing the news. Then Xiao Yuan and Jiang Yun followed to see what was going on.
As soon as they entered the meeting room, they heard the servant kneel down with a plop, and everyone hurriedly stopped.
Muffled thunder struck from the rolling clouds, the sound like the roar of a giant beast, cutting through the sky, and the pouring rain was like the endless tears of the gods.
"Please, Immortal, please save my wife! She's pregnant but has been feeling unwell lately. She's had a fever on and off for four or five days, which comes and goes. I've searched for doctors everywhere, but to no avail... I'm afraid she's been haunted by a ghost."
Everyone exchanged glances, and the servant, thinking they were unwilling, added, "My Lords, the Patriarch says he's willing to offer ten thousand ounces of gold as a reward!"
Yin Jing considered it for a moment, helped the man up, and said, "No need. The reward is five taels of silver. It's too rainy to go down the mountain now. I'll send my son to your house when the rain subsides."
"Thank you, Immortal!"
After the servant from Li's mansion left, Yin Jingyi told Yin Heng to pack up his bags as soon as possible and go down the mountain to investigate the situation. Then he thought that Xiao Yuan had not come down the mountain to take up any position in the six years since he came to Lingcang Peak, which was really inappropriate.
Before leaving, Yin Jingyi patted Xiao Yuan on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Yuan, you should also go on this assignment."
Xiao Yuan didn't expect Yin Jingyi to think of him. A moment of surprise flashed across his face, and then he returned to his original indifference and nodded.
Seeing this, Jiang Yun was unhappy.
"My Lord, why didn't you ask me if I was going?!"
Yin Jingyi knew that someone was about to make a fuss again, so he pinched his brows and said, "Do you still need to ask? Even if I don't let you go, will you really not go?"
Jiang Yun scratched his head and said a little embarrassedly: "That's true..."
The rain that fell violently last night only subsided at noon the next day. Then the three of them set out to go down the mountain. Jiang Yun seemed to be lost in thought on the way, and Yin Heng was the first to notice something.
"Junior brother?"
Yin Heng called out to Jiang Yun, and Jiang Yun came back to his senses.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Brother, tell me...how is Ye Qingci doing since I left for so long..."
Yin Heng was speechless. This kid kept thinking about Ye Qingci every day. It had only been a short time, and he was already such a grown-up, what else could he do?
"Alright, Junior Brother, I knew you were worried about him, so I sent him a message to let him know. I told him to meet us at the bottom of the mountain."
After hearing what was said, Jiang Yun grabbed Yin Heng's sleeve.
"I knew that Senior Brother is the best!"
These two brothers were exactly alike. One of them started to worry about his lover who was older than him after just a few months, while the other one stayed at the foot of the mountain for two years and the first thing he did when he came back was to ask how Xiao Yuan was doing.
After reaching the foot of the mountain, the three of them headed for a bamboo forest at the base. Upon arriving, they were captivated by the dense, lush green bamboos of Jiangnan. Their shadows swayed in the wind, creating a vast, azure sea, and the three of them became fish swimming within it. After circling several times without seeing Ye Qingci, they decided to search elsewhere when they heard a clear voice calling his name.
"Ayun."
Hearing the sound, the three turned around and saw Ye Qingci standing not far away, sword in hand. Ye Qingci walked forward, his narrow, long peach blossom eyes following Jiang Yun from beginning to end, unwilling to give his gaze to anyone else.
"Ayun, long time no see."
Jiang Yun responded, and Ye Qingci then noticed the two people next to him. He bowed to Yin Heng.
"Hello, Senior Brother."
Yin Heng found it a little funny, "Qingci, didn't I tell you not to call me Senior Brother when we first met?"
"Brother, I also told you that you are Ayun's brother. Qingci should follow the etiquette and call you 'brother'."
It wasn't that Yin Heng was being polite. Firstly, Ye Qingci was a disciple of the Yanlian Sect, not a fellow disciple. Secondly, Ye Qingci was three years older than Yin Heng, so he couldn't stand being called "senior brother."
Seeing these three people coming and going, Xiao Yuan seemed out of tune with them. He stood aside, a little at a loss, staring at the yellow bamboo leaves on the ground in a daze, and unconsciously rubbing his knuckles.
Jiang Yun suddenly patted his shoulder and introduced him to Ye Qingci: "Qingci, this is the Xiao Yuan that Senior Brother mentioned to us."
Ye Qingci saluted Xiao Yuan, and Xiao Yuan returned the same courtesy.
"This is our first meeting. Although I am older than you, I am not bound by those titles. You can just call me by my name."
Xiao Yuan nodded in agreement. After a lot of trouble, everyone set off quickly, worried that they would not be able to reach Li Mansion before sunset.
Fortunately, they finally arrived at Li's Mansion before the sun set. Jiang Yun looked at the mansion in front of him. The huge shadow of the mansion covered them, and he couldn't help but exclaimed.
"It's really worthy of being the Li Mansion!"
The four of them entered the Li Mansion. As soon as they entered, the head of the Li Mansion, Li Kun, came to greet them. Behind them were two young men in disciple uniforms, who were disciples of the Lianyun Sect.
"Master, why don't you take a rest after such a long journey?"
"Meeting, Lord Li."
Yin Heng greeted people.
Li Jun's smile widened, his concern for his wife gone. Jiang Yun internally despised him, feeling he was being hypocritical and pretentious. He muttered quietly, "Inviting us isn't enough, so they're inviting people from the Lianyun Sect as well. Are they questioning the capabilities of our Cang Jing Sect?"
Although he spoke softly, Ye Qingci beside him still heard it. He pinched the man's fingertips and comforted him softly.
"Ayun, there's no need to worry about such trivial matters. We just need to do our part."
Li Jun smiled and courted everyone, "My dear immortals, my wife is feeling much better today. I'll have my servants clean up the empty house later. Please stay in my humble abode tonight. I'll come back tomorrow to check on my wife."
Upon hearing this, Yin Heng said, "Master Li, the four of us only need two empty rooms. It's getting late and the servants will need time to clean up, so we can just squeeze in."
"Okay, okay, I'll get someone to clean it up right away." Li Kun nodded quickly in response.
Xiao Yuan was slightly displeased. It was fine for Jiang Yun and Ye Qingci to live in the same room, but according to Yin Heng's intention, didn't that mean he should live in the same room with him? !
After Li Kun gave the order, he left. The two Lianyun Sect disciples came forward to talk to Yin Heng.
"Nice to meet you. I am Yu Shang, a disciple of Lianyun Sect. The person next to me is Yu Xian."
Yin Heng had no intention of communicating with them too much, but he couldn't lose his manners after all, so as not to let outsiders think that the Cang Jing faction was rude.
"I am Yin Heng from the Cang Jing Sect."
"So you are the young master of the Cang Jing Sect. I've heard of you for a long time. Seeing you today, I'm delighted to see that you are truly a handsome man."
…
"My dear immortals, the room has been cleaned up. Please come this way."
The arrival of the servant ended the conversation between the Lianyun Sect disciples and Yin Heng. Yin Heng hated dealing with these people; it gave him a headache. All they knew was flattery, and his ears were almost callused from hearing all the compliments. An early end to it was just what he wanted.
Jiang Yun and Ye Qingci followed a servant to their house, while Xiao Yuan and Yin Heng followed another servant to the other side. On the way, Xiao Yuan noticed that the door of a courtyard was locked. It looked completely desolate and seemed that no one had lived there for a long time. He felt a little puzzled, but did not ask any questions.
"Master, this is it. You two should take a good rest."
The servant was about to leave when Yin Heng stopped him after he finished speaking.
Even though he was exhausted after a day of running around, Yin Heng still spoke as gently as usual, "Please help us get another set of bedding."
The servant went to get the bedding as ordered by Yin Heng. Xiao Yuan didn't understand what he was trying to do by doing this.
The two pushed the door open and entered the house. There was incense burning in the house, but there was still a faint smell of wood and dust, which meant that the house must have been empty for a long time.
After a while, the servant brought new bedding and handed it to Yin Heng before leaving. Xiao Yuan was eager to go to bed after a long day of tossing and turning. He took off his coat and hung it on the screen, then turned around to see Yin Heng throwing the bedding on the floor and picking it up.
Xiao Yuan walked over and asked him, "What are you doing?"
Yin Heng said as he arranged the bedding, "You sleep on the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor."
Xiao Yuan was speechless and grabbed his wrist.
"Didn't you say at the beginning that you only needed two rooms? What are you doing now? Stop working and just squeeze onto the couch together."
Although what Xiao Yuan said was right, Yin Heng wanted to sleep in the same room with him out of selfish motives, but he would not easily desecrate him by sleeping on the same couch with him.
He patted the back of Xiao Yuan's hand and said soothingly, "Ahan, don't be stubborn with me. Just sleep on the couch."
Xiao Yuan was tired after a day's work and didn't bother to care about him. Since he insisted on sleeping on the floor, then let him do it. It would be his own fault if he felt uncomfortable when he woke up tomorrow morning.
After a busy period, they finally had time to rest. One of them climbed onto the couch, while the other lay down on the blankets spread on the floor. Xiao Yuan closed his eyes and gradually fell asleep. In his daze, he seemed to hear Yin Heng whispering something, but he didn't hear what was said clearly before he fell asleep.
"Akan, good night. May you have a good dream, and may I have you in my dreams."
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