Chapter Fifteen: But Master Is Different
It was clearly a heartwarming scene, but Ye Chi didn't know why...
It's a bit sour.
Of course, he wouldn't admit that he was jealous, but watching their interaction without regard for others made him feel suffocated and uncomfortable.
I don't even know who I'm being sarcastic about.
Ye Chi couldn't stand it any longer. He took a few steps forward, subtly separating the two and forcefully breaking the atmosphere, saying, "Master, shouldn't we go back to the inn? Isn't it getting a bit late?"
Hearing this, Shi Bai silently looked up at the sky. The sun was standing right in the center, diligently radiating its heat—was it late?
Or is it that cultivators have a different concept of time than he does?
Following Shi Bai's gaze, Ya Feiyu also looked at the sun. He remained silent, but didn't particularly care about this detail. In small matters, he would naturally go along with his disciple whenever possible.
"Who told you we were going back to the inn?" He crossed his arms and glanced at Ye Chi. "All the inns here are full."
Ye Chi was stunned: "Huh? Where are we going to stay?"
"Come with me."
After saying this, Ya Feiyu turned and left. Ye Chi hurriedly followed behind, and Shi Bai hesitated for a moment before also starting to walk.
The three of them left the bustling city center and headed towards a secluded area.
The surrounding bushes grew taller and taller, blocking out the sunlight, creating a gloomy atmosphere. Shi Bai hugged himself tightly; this place gave him a very uneasy feeling.
After walking for a while without seeing any buildings, Ye Chi couldn't help but ask, "Master, where exactly is the place you mentioned for lodging?"
"We'll be there soon."
Beyond the bushes came into view a dilapidated temple that looked beyond repair.
Smoke was already rising from the ground, indicating that Ya Feiyu had brought Cen Dao and his group back first. Xu Miaomiao, holding a skewer of grilled meat, stood up and waved when she saw the familiar figure, calling out, "Junior Brother Ye, over here!"
During this period, they had been living on fruits and wild vegetables. The smell of roasted meat, even without any seasoning, was enough to whet their appetite. Ye Chi ran over and unceremoniously took a perfectly roasted skewer from the rack. He ate the meat piece by piece, thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Hmm?" Cen Dao, who had finished eating and drinking and was resting nearby, sensed an unfamiliar presence. He looked up and saw a young man he had never seen before following behind Ya Feiyu. The young man had the features of a demon. He immediately became alert. "Elder Tianxue, who is behind you...?"
Growing up under the scornful gazes of others, Shi Bai was exceptionally sensitive to changes in people's emotions. After Cen Dao finished speaking, he felt wary stares coming from all directions, so he uneasily hid behind Ya Feiyu, pulling up his wide sleeves in an attempt to conceal his appearance.
It was as if this way no one would see him as a monster anymore.
Ya Feiyu extended his hand slightly, his sleeve better concealing Shi Bai, and then spoke with certainty, "He is a human."
He paused slightly before saying, "He was someone Ye Chi rescued by the roadside. He wanted to cultivate immortality, so I kept him by my side."
Shen Rong keenly sensed the implication in his words: "Does Elder Tianxue want to take him as her disciple?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Chi's chewing motion froze. He mechanically turned around to look, but Ya Feiyu didn't look in his direction. The guy, who was usually extremely good at reading people, actually started to pretend to be deaf and dumb at this moment: "Hmm."
He snapped the skewer stick in half with a crunch.
—No, that's not right, this shouldn't be the way it is. Has Ya Feiyu been possessed? Otherwise, why would she do something so out of character?
That's not right.
This is not the Ya Feiyu he saw in the original story; he should be cold-hearted, indifferent to the suffering of all things in the world...
But he didn't think about it for long before he suddenly stopped.
No, perhaps it wasn't Ya Feiyu who acted out of character (OOC).
Rather... the vicious and wicked image described in the original book is not what Ya Feiyu should truly be like.
If that's the case, then how can we talk about OOC (out-of-character)?
He knew very little about Ya Feiyu, and his limited understanding of him began after Ya Feiyu fell into demonic ways. Inner demons can destroy a person's mind, distort their good intentions, and drive them step by step into an abyss of no return. Even a saint, if possessed by demons, could become a demon.
The various behaviors of Ya Feiyu after he became possessed by a demon should not be equated with his current state.
He seemed to suddenly realize something, and stood there stunned, his mind unusually blank.
A vast expanse of white, I don't think about anything, I can't think of anything.
Only nothingness remains.
The noise around him returned just then, slowly pulling him out of the empty secret realm. When he came to his senses, Shi Bai and Ya Feiyu were already sitting by the campfire. Ya Feiyu wasn't eating, resting with her eyes closed, while Shi Bai, because he was too thin, was being frantically fed by Xu Miaomiao, and he could barely hold the meat skewers in his hands.
It seems he can never truly integrate into the world of this book.
Ye Chi's eyes were dim, and even the skewers in his hand seemed tasteless now. He chewed a few times but couldn't eat anymore. His hands rested on his knees, hanging down listlessly, staring at the burning campfire, lost in thought.
As the sun moved further away, the sky quickly darkened.
The group, weary from their journey, entered the deserted temple just as the stars were rising. The night was rather desolate; a cool breeze blew, and gazing at the stars, one would usually fall asleep, but Ye Chi was wide awake, looking around for a long time without feeling sleepy at all.
He knew very well why he couldn't sleep.
But he didn't understand.
My heart feels so heavy, so very heavy.
He was filled with a strange, inexplicable emotion, and he knew that it was this inexplicable feeling that made it hard for him to fall asleep, but he really couldn't figure out where this feeling came from.
He did not know where it came from, nor how to make it disappear.
So he stayed awake all night, and he didn't know how long he had been awake.
Just then, a slight commotion and rustling sound came from the depths of the dense forest. Ye Chi's interest was piqued. Since he couldn't sleep anyway, he might as well follow the sound and see what he could find.
The movement wasn't far away, and it seemed to be a relatively light object, making a rather quiet sound. Fortunately, I had been learning meditation from Ya Feiyu recently and had accumulated some skill, making my senses more sensitive than before; otherwise, I might have lost track of it.
He carefully parted the bushes and discovered a familiar pale figure bathed in moonlight.
Unexpectedly, not far from the forest was a cliff, below which lay the turbulent Black Sea, with waves crashing and surging against the rocks.
Ya Feiyu had always been a figure as ethereal as the moon, but Ye Chi rarely saw him truly bathed in moonlight. At this moment, he was draped in a cool, silvery light, dancing with his sword in the wind. The Danqing sword also reflected the light, crackling in the wind as he danced.
Like silver butterflies, they dance gracefully.
Ye Chi was so captivated by the sight that he didn't notice Ya Feiyu had already noticed him. The latter stopped what she was doing, her usually stagnant eyes now appearing brighter than moonlight as she looked at him: "What are you doing here?"
"I was going to ask Master that too." Ye Chi snapped out of his reverie, put his hands behind his head, and adopted a nonchalant attitude. "Why is Master here practicing swordsmanship in the middle of the night instead of resting?"
Ya Feiyu lowered her long eyelashes and said, "It's none of your business."
These words made Ye Chi even more frustrated. He had a million things he wanted to say to Ya Feiyu, but what came out in the end was a dry, curt "Master is really cold-hearted."
“If you’re not satisfied, you can ask the sect leader to change your master.” He put two fingers together and stroked the sword. “I don’t mind.”
"...Master, I can't sleep." Ye Chi lowered his gaze and slowly leaned closer, looking like a meek little dog.
Ya Feiyu looked at him, a glint in her eyes: "Is that so?"
"Yes." He nodded. "So, Master, can you help me?"
Ya Feiyu was momentarily speechless. He only knew some simple healing techniques for treating external injuries, and he couldn't cure insomnia: "...How can I help?"
Ye Chi suddenly laughed, but his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of sticky black mud, unfathomable: "Master, are you just trying to coax me?"
What's wrong with Ye Chi?
It seems like I've been in a bad mood since the afternoon.
The words that were originally meant to be a refusal were on the tip of her tongue, but she changed her mind completely and said, "...Okay."
Ye Chi smiled faintly: "I knew Master was the best."
The two returned to the deserted temple. Ye Chi disliked being crowded in the temple, especially with the male lead's harem, so he slept outside. He sat on a rock, looked at the restless Ya Feiyu, and chuckled, "Does Master know how to coax people?"
There's no need to ask this question at all, because it's obvious that it won't happen.
"No." As expected, Ya Feiyu shook his head.
"I see," Ye Chi seemed a little dejected, he pouted, "Then will Master sing a lullaby? Like the one my mother sang to me when I was little..."
"Won't."
"Then, how about a bedtime story?"
"...No."
Ye Chi's eyes gradually dimmed, and Ya Feiyu's hands, which were hanging by his sides, clenched tightly. He pursed his lips, somewhat at a loss.
He wouldn't be a good teacher, nor a good elder.
He couldn't even meet his own apprentice's small request. He clearly wanted to make him happy, but he didn't know the trick.
How could this be? So clumsy.
Suddenly, Ye Chi laughed again, as if the gloom just now was just Ya Feiyu's illusion. "Since you don't know any of these, can Master give me a hug?"
Ya Feiyu was taken aback. Ye Chi smiled and said, "I'm afraid of the cold. Maybe I can't sleep because I'm cold? If Master hugs me, I won't be cold anymore."
"...Of course it's cold sleeping outside here."
"But I don't like being crammed together with people."
"If I hold you while you sleep, won't you want to squeeze in with me too?"
“But Master is different.” Ye Chi suddenly spoke with extreme seriousness.
"...How is it different?"
"It's just that it's different everywhere."
Ya Feiyu: "..."
Well, what bad intentions could a child possibly have? Thinking this, Ya Feiyu hugged him without any suspicion, though in a very stiff position, of course.
Actually, his master was cold all over, and holding him wouldn't warm Ye Chi up. But it didn't matter, Ye Chi thought, his body temperature was high enough, and once he warmed his master up, his master wouldn't be cold anymore.
If we hug each other, we won't be cold.
So he ignored Ya Feiyu's stiff posture, naturally hugged him back, wrapped his arms around his waist, buried his face in his chest, breathed in the light fragrance on Ya Feiyu's body, and fell into a deep sleep.
He always seemed to fall asleep in Ya Feiyu's arms.
I slept better than ever before.
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