Chapter Thirty-Four: Why are you running, you little brat?
Ye Chi, however, refused to comply with his wishes.
No one knew where this kid suddenly got the audacity, but he scooped up a little bit with his spoon and poked it near Ya Feiyu's tightly closed lips. The pungent smell suddenly became stronger, and Ya Feiyu's face turned even worse. But this kid, completely oblivious to the danger, grinned and said, "Master can't skip his medicine, you need to recover soon! Come on, open your mouth—"
Ya Feiyu resisted the urge to slap him away. No, she couldn't hit the child; if she hurt him, where would she find another one?
In the end, he succumbed to Ye Chi's tyranny, coldly opened his mouth, and swallowed the medicine.
A bitter taste spread across his tongue, accompanied by a pungent spiciness and a strong minty flavor. As he breathed, the air rushed into his lungs, making him feel as if his lungs were frozen solid—it was incredibly chilling. Even the well-informed Ya Feiyu was shocked by the drug's effects; he couldn't even swallow a mouthful of water before coughing.
"Cough...cough cough cough!" He coughed until tears welled up in his eyes, then glared coldly at Ye Chi, "You unfilial disciple!"
Ye Chi naturally felt guilty: "Ahem... Master, it's my fault."
Ya Feiyu didn't want to talk to him anymore. Being fed medicine by his disciple was embarrassing enough, let alone choking on it. He couldn't bear the embarrassment, so he simply snatched the bowl and drank it all in one gulp, only to frown from the bitterness.
With such destructive power, Yi Fengchun is truly a terrifying woman. Ye Chi felt lingering fear.
Shi Bai handed over a candied fruit from the side, saying cautiously, "Master, eat this, it's sweet."
I don't know why there are these sweets in Ya Feiyu's room. Ye Chi followed Shi Bai's movements and looked over. Ya Feiyu obviously paused for a moment, and for some reason felt guilty. His expression was a little unnatural, but he still pretended that nothing had happened, took the bag of candied fruit, tore open the packaging, and threw it into his mouth.
"Alright, step back. Your teacher is tired." With that, Ya Feiyu drew the bed curtains. Through the semi-transparent gauze, only Ya Feiyu's face could be vaguely seen. He was speaking directly to the curtains, blurring the lines between seriousness and gentleness on his usually aloof face, giving it a somewhat ambiguous look at first glance. Ye Chi was startled by this thought, wondering why he was fantasizing about a villain. He quickly turned his head away, hurriedly threw down a few words, and disappeared.
This was exactly what Shi Bai wanted.
He watched Ye Chi run further and further away until the small figure disappeared into the vast天地 (heaven and earth), then slowly closed the door and returned to the table to sit down properly. Ya Feiyu naturally noticed that he hadn't left. He had originally planned to sleep, but now he felt so uncomfortable that he couldn't sleep. He stared at the ceiling with his eyes open for a long time before finally speaking, his tone dry and somewhat awkward: "...Why didn't you leave?"
"Master is not fully recovered yet, how can I leave in peace?" Shi Bai gave a flawless reason without changing his expression. "I will stay by Master's side and will not allow any irrelevant people to disturb Master."
I appreciate your kindness, but there's really no need for this." Ya Feiyu thought helplessly, yet he couldn't bear to refuse his little apprentice's good intentions. Although he knew nothing about Shi Bai's past, he could guess most of it from the child's behavior and snippets of conversation. Ya Feiyu was always willing to be lenient with children who had tragic pasts, so he didn't send him away. He lowered his eyelashes and sighed helplessly, "Fine, you can stay if you want, but you don't have to keep watching over me. Get some sleep; you haven't had a proper night's sleep either."
"No need, Master. Master is more important. It's alright if I don't need to sleep."
"You want to meditate and cultivate?"
"No, your disciple simply wants to stay by your master's side."
The reliance and trust implied in his words ultimately made Ya Feiyu back down again and again, her sympathy for this tragic boy growing stronger. What kind of experiences could raise such a selfless and devoted child? How much had he truly lost?
A silence fell over the room. After a while, Ya Feiyu slowly said, "Come here."
Shi Bai was taken aback by what he heard. He jumped off the stool and rushed to Ya Feiyu's side. He saw a small gap in the bed curtains and a thin hand reached out. Before Shi Bai could react, he heard a clear, cold voice: "Squat down a little."
What is this... to do?
Confused but with a vague idea in mind, Shi Bai excitedly half-squatted down and nuzzled his head against Ya Feiyu's palm. Sure enough, the hand hesitated only briefly before gently ruffling his hair. This wasn't the end; following the hair's texture, it slowly touched Shi Bai's cheek. It was thin, almost bony, with little flesh. Then it touched the soft ear feathers; the feathers were of good quality, probably from a recent molt, and felt very soft.
"Good boy." Ya Feiyu's voice was low. "You don't need to try to please me. No matter what, you are still my disciple."
"Go and rest."
One glance was enough to see the unease and hesitation in his heart. Shi Bai was stunned by these words, his whole body stiffening, and then his face flushed instantly. Fortunately, through the bed curtains, Ya Feiyu couldn't see clearly. He could only see the previously shy and reserved boy suddenly stand up abruptly. Instead of saying goodbye casually, he solemnly thanked him and left, feigning composure. Of course, if his steps hadn't been so unsteady as to resemble that of a drunkard, Ya Feiyu would have been more convinced that he felt nothing at all.
The door was opened gently, then closed gently again. The moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, and finally became dim. Before she knew it, night had fallen. Ya Feiyu lifted the bed curtains to look around, then lowered them again.
The night is getting deeper, and the cicadas' chirping is a lullaby for the night.
He closed his eyes, and the fatigue and soreness in his body seemed to leave him.
I had a good night's sleep.
...
When Ye Chi woke up, Shi Bai had been waiting for a long time.
He was still dozing off when he woke up, but Shi Bai shook him awake. The man was already dressed properly in his disciple's robes, his long hair tied up high, and his light brown eyes showed anticipation and longing for a new life, as well as dissatisfaction with Ye Chi's reluctance to get out of bed. Seeing that he still didn't intend to get up, he put his hands on his hips and said angrily, "The first class is Master's class. If you're late, aren't you embarrassing Master?"
"Why are you panicking? What's my name?"
The two sentences were incoherent, and Shi Bai thought he was talking in his sleep, so he didn't answer. It was only when Ye Chi asked again that Shi Bai impatiently said, "Ye Chi."
"That's right, Ye Chi, Ye Chi, I was born to be late."
"...soliciting nonsense."
Shi Bai wanted to say a few more words to him, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a figure passing by, and suddenly fell silent, looking at Ye Chi with a gloating gaze.
Ye Chi was completely unaware of anything; he only noticed that Shi Bai had suddenly quieted down, and he could finally sleep peacefully. Although it was already dawn outside, for Ye Chi, who had a good habit of staying up late, this was actually the time he had just fallen asleep. He had already pushed himself to the limit by falling asleep before midnight yesterday; to have to get up so early was pointless. It wasn't like he was going to school; why should a cultivator be so bound by worldly rules…
As he pondered this, he slept even more soundly, completely oblivious to the impending danger.
A shadow fell, and a chilling cold gradually filled the air. Ye Chi sniffed, clutched the blanket he had kicked off, rolled over, and muttered, "So cold..."
He groggily opened his eyes and met Shi Bai's gloating gaze from the corner. The inexplicable chill in the air grew stronger, and Ye Chi, unable to sleep any longer, was filled with a grumpy mood and was about to lash out when he looked up and met a pair of silver eyes.
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!"
"What are you yelling about!"
Ye Chi hugged the quilt tightly, looking exceptionally small, weak, and helpless. He pouted pitifully, on the verge of tears, and said, "Master, you can't do this to me!"
Ya Feiyu stepped back expressionlessly, withdrawing his aura. Although his spiritual power was sealed, his innate imposing manner was still there, which was enough to deal with a small fry like Ye Chi: "Everyone else is in class now, but you're the only one who hasn't arrived yet. I asked Shi Bai to come and call you, but you still haven't gotten up."
When someone doesn't want to go to class, no matter how old they are, they can always resort to whining and pleading. Ye Chi was no exception, dragging out his words like a hanged ghost's tongue: "Master, didn't you say I could skip class if I didn't want to...?"
“That’s the other elders’ class,” Ya Feiyu said. “If you weren’t my disciple, I wouldn’t force you to come, but you are my disciple, so you have to know everything I teach you.”
"Fine." Ye Chi got up with a particularly aggrieved expression, staring at Ya Feiyu with resentful eyes. After changing into his disciple's robes, he followed Ya Feiyu to class, also with an expression of utter despair, as if life had hollowed him out.
Ya Feiyu found it amusing. He glanced at him indifferently and said, "If you're so unwilling to cultivate immortality, I can discuss with the sect leader about kicking you out of the sect..."
Forget it, he only joined the Qinglian Sect to save his life. These words instantly woke Ye Chi from his morning grumpiness. Suddenly, he felt his back and waist were no longer hurting, and he could run and jump again. He waved his hands repeatedly to prove himself: "No, no, no, forget it, I still want to stay by Master's side."
Shi Bai then said quietly, "If you really wanted to, why wouldn't you want to go to class?"
Ye Chi was not annoyed at all when his true intentions were exposed. Instead, he said with great confidence, "I'm just grumpy when I wake up. I'll be happy to go once I'm all better."
"I really don't understand you."
...
The classroom was already filled with people waiting. Ya Feiyu was lecturing on the history of cultivation, but Ye Chi had little interest in that subject, so he found a seat a bit away from Shi Bai and ended up sitting next to Xu Miaomiao. This little girl had been crying her eyes out yesterday, but today she was inexplicably energetic. Ye Chi vaguely felt that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Just as he was getting sleepy in the middle of class, Xu Miaomiao gently poked him.
Meeting her gaze, Ye Chi finally understood what the strangeness he had vaguely sensed was.
The look in Xu Miaomiao's eyes was one that shouldn't have been on her—a look bordering on madness.
And what she said was even more shocking:
"I've found Junior Brother Cen."
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