After Accidentally Entering the Forbidden Land and Forming a Bond with the Grandmaster - Chapter 11

Xie Zhuo remained silent for a long time. After a while, he finally asked, “Is there anything else you need?”

Chu Lanci shook his head and smiled. “Nothing is missing; it is perfect.”

Xie Zhuo recalled how every time they finished their intimacy, Chu Lanci would be reduced to tears. Furthermore, he would be unable to walk. He suggested, “What would you like to eat? Master will go find something for you.”

“No need, Master,” Chu Lanci replied. “I cannot always let you go.”

Xie Zhuo stood up regardless. “Sit down; I will go. Master still has a few matters to attend to.”

Chu Lanci stayed obediently and sat back in his chair.

After Xie Zhuo left, Chu Lanci passed the time playing with a little rabbit in the room. Once he was finished, he noticed it had started raining outside. Feeling a wave of drowsiness, he leaned against the table and fell asleep.

To be honest, during his time in the Forbidden Grounds with Xie Zhuo, he had become quite lazy. Xie Zhuo did almost everything; Chu Lanci was only responsible for eating and sleeping, to the point where he felt he had gained some weight. He pinched the skin on his stomach. Upon touching it, he realized he really had grown a bit of a belly.

He remembered Xie Zhuo saying back then, “You are too thin.”

His Master was truly good to him, though he did not know how long this fate would last. While thinking about this, he drifted into a hazy slumber.

Yunheng Sect, Tianji Peak

Atop the high peak, a figure sat cross-legged on the Nine Heavens Jade Platform, surrounded by the flowing aura of Taixu Pure Qi. This person was the Sect Leader of the Yunheng Sect: Lord Xuantian, Yan Linfeng.

The meditating man suddenly opened his eyes, lifted his robes, and walked out of the hall. He saw a disciple rushing up the stone steps; it was his eldest disciple, Li Shuchen.

“Sect Leader! Sect Leader! Countless crabapple flowers have appeared out of nowhere in the desert outside! Many disciples have gone to see them!”

Li Shuchen spoke as if describing a terrifying phenomenon. He had been there when the flowers bloomed. Withered branches across ten thousand miles had returned to spring in an instant, turning the wasteland into a sea of flowers.

This ability was known as “Law-Ordering Speech.” Generally, only those at the late stages of the Great Transcendence Realm could achieve this.

In all the world, who else could possess such power?

“He is here,” Yan Linfeng remarked.

Li Shuchen was bewildered. “Who is here?”

Yan Linfeng turned and said, “Manage the sect affairs. If I can return, it is for the best. If I cannot, then it is simply my tribulation.”

The words were ambiguous. Fearing for his master, Li Shuchen said anxiously, “Master, let me go with you!” He wondered if someone was coming to harm his teacher.

Before he could finish, he saw the clouds churning over the distant Piaomiao Peak. A dark figure stood suspended in the void. Because of the distance, his features were blurred, but his aura was sharp and overbearing. It was not something a commoner could look upon.

From afar, the man’s voice transmission reached them clearly.

“Senior Brother, it has been a hundred years. I trust you have been well.”

Yan Linfeng replied with a smile, “You planted crabapple flowers at my front door.” Clearly, he found the gesture amusing.

The figure across the void replied, “There ought to be flowers here.”

Li Shuchen had never seen his master like this. Was the person opposite them a friend or a foe? If they were a foe, why did his master call it a tribulation?

Before he could ask, his master had already mounted his sword and flown toward the man.

As he departed, Yan Linfeng sent a final message to the visitor: “A hundred years apart, and Immortal Jingyuan is still such a lover of flowers.”

Li Shuchen watched the two figures fade into the distance. He stood there stunned. Immortal Jingyuan! There was only one Immortal Jingyuan in the cultivation world. He held the divine sword Qingshuang. His blade governed the world and defied the Heavenly Dao. He could sweep the lands with a single strike.

He had once split the Nine-Fold Lightning Tribulation with a single stroke to rescue a trapped friend. He had charged alone into ancient forbidden lands to lull a waking Primordial Demon God back to sleep. He had even guarded the Burial Immortal Abyss single-handedly for seven days and nights, preventing a million demonic cultivators from crossing the border.

His most iconic feat, however, was when Qingshuang unsheathed itself to recognize Xie Zhuo as its master. One cold blade froze fourteen provinces. Since then, his name had shaken the world, and he had held the top spot on the Immortal Rankings for three hundred years.

Coupled with the “Thirty-Six Cities Incident” a hundred years ago, a saying circulated through the cultivation world:

“When Qingshuang crosses the border, the Fourteen Provinces live on their knees, and the Nine Heavens die lying down!”

Was his master being taken away by this Sword Demon, Xie Zhuo?

By the time Xie Zhuo returned, it was already dark. He had taken so long because, aside from finding food for Chu Lanci, he had surveyed the current state of Qianshan and met with his Senior Brother, Yan Linfeng.

A hundred years had passed, and Qianshan was not what it used to be. He could not ignore it. This was the home of his two fathers, and he had a responsibility to protect it. Since he had to return to Qianshan, he decided he could agree to Chu Lanci’s proposal. He did not think Chu Lanci was joking; the boy clearly wanted it.

They would marry, or rather, form a covenant.

There were many reasons for this. First, Chu Lanci suggested it himself. Second, Xie Zhuo was not a scoundrel; he would take responsibility for his actions. He had slept with the man for a month, so it was perfectly reasonable for the other to ask him to take responsibility.

Third, he needed a covenant to announce his return to the world.

As for the timing, they would decide later. The necessary items for the ceremony would be arranged by others once they reached Qianshan.

It was decided.

Having made up his mind, Xie Zhuo walked forward and looked down at the sleeping Chu Lanci.

He had lived for hundreds of years and possessed a cold, arrogant nature. Chu Lanci was one of the few people he actually found decent. Before entering the Forbidden Grounds, he had been surrounded by all sorts of people: those who hated him, envied him, adored him, or worshipped him.

But to the current Xie Zhuo, Chu Lanci was definitely different. He was quite special.

Sensing a burning gaze, Chu Lanci slowly woke up. He raised his head, saw Xie Zhuo watching him, and hurriedly sat up with a bright smile. “Master!”

Xie Zhuo gave a soft “Mm” in response. “Come and eat.”

Chu Lanci sat at the table and saw it filled with delicacies: stir-fried spring bamboo shoots, Sweet and Sour Golden Scale fish, and marinated goose palms. These were simple yet delicious mortal foods.

“There is so much!”

Xie Zhuo asked, “Is having a lot a bad thing?”

Chu Lanci laughed. “I have gotten so fat, really.” He even poked his belly to show Xie Zhuo.

Xie Zhuo glanced at it and asked, “Where exactly are you fat?” He was still thin.

“Really! If I keep eating, I will turn into a ball.” Chu Lanci smiled and picked up a piece of fruit. It was not that he disliked eating; he was just used to irregular meals since childhood. Having so much at once was difficult to stomach.

Xie Zhuo thought for a moment, then said, “Being a bit fat is good.”

Chu Lanci chuckled. “Is it? Why?”

Xie Zhuo paused. After a long silence, he muttered, “It is more comfortable to hold.”

Chu Lanci nodded in agreement. “I agree with that.”

Xie Zhuo thought to himself that the boy certainly had a way with words. He wondered what exactly Chu Lanci was agreeing to. He found the boy to be surprisingly open-minded.

After eating, Chu Lanci wanted to clean up, but Xie Zhuo would not let him. He used a spell to finish the task instantly.

Seeing this, Chu Lanci said, “Master, let me give you a massage then.” They would likely part ways in a few days. Though he had not learned much due to his own poor aptitude, he subconsciously wanted to stay on Xie Zhuo’s good side.

That way, if anyone bullied him or his village in the future, he could use Xie Zhuo’s name.

Xie Zhuo frowned. “A massage? Where?” He wondered if the boy’s Cold Affliction was about to flare up and if he would even have the strength.

“The shoulders?” Chu Lanci smiled again. He loved to smile. Despite his poverty, he was happy every day because he was easily satisfied. Even a menial task like delivering food was something he did with gusto.

Xie Zhuo replied, “Go ahead.”

Receiving permission, Chu Lanci immediately moved behind Xie Zhuo and half-knelt to massage his shoulders.

However, given his strength versus Xie Zhuo’s physique, Xie Zhuo did not feel any relief. It felt more like a kitten acting spoiled or perhaps an invitation for intimacy.

After a short while, Xie Zhuo lightly caught Chu Lanci’s hand.

Chu Lanci looked back at him, confused. “Hmm? Is it uncomfortable?”

It took Xie Zhuo a long time to say, “It tickles.”

“Where does it tickle?”

Xie Zhuo sighed. “That is enough.”

It was better to just wait for the Cold Affliction to hit. This massage was making him feel predatory. He had previously practiced the Way of Heartlessness, which eschewed all emotions and desires. He wondered how he had become so focused on carnal desires immediately after being unsealed.

He was a Master, after all. To be so focused on physical desires was unseemly. He held himself to high standards, which made his current state quite contradictory.

Since he had not served Xie Zhuo well, Chu Lanci did not push it. He obediently climbed onto the bed to sleep.

Xie Zhuo waited. He waited until Chu Lanci was fast asleep, but the Cold Affliction never came. It suddenly dawned on him: had the Frost-Cold Curse placed by the elders become invalid once he left the Forbidden Grounds?

He checked with a spell and saw that it was true.

“Dammit,” he cursed under his breath.

When he did not need those old men, they trapped him for a hundred years. Now that he wanted the side effects of the curse, they had completely lifted the seal. He looked meaningfully at the sleeping Chu Lanci, his face darkening. If he had known, he would have stayed in the Forbidden Grounds for a few more days.

He had just been teased by Chu Lanci, and his internal fire was rising. He had to use a spell to forcibly suppress his desires.

Well, since we are getting married soon, it does not matter.

With that thought, he climbed into bed, lay down beside Chu Lanci, and extinguished the lamp.

In the silence, he felt Chu Lanci roll over and curl into his arms. Xie Zhuo looked down and saw the man was still asleep. They had slept together often lately, so their positions were naturally a bit messy.

But Xie Zhuo was feeling sensitive tonight, so he pushed Chu Lanci away. To his surprise, as soon as he pushed him, Chu Lanci moved back in.

Tonight, Chu Lanci seemed to be sleeping soundly. He even talked in his sleep: “Master, Master… getting married. Congratulations on your marriage, and congratulations on mine. Congratulations on our marriage.”

Xie Zhuo heard the mumble and realized that even in sleep, the boy did not forget about the wedding.

He decided he would put the matter on the schedule. Thinking this, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

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