After Accidentally Entering the Forbidden Land and Forming a Bond with the Grandmaster - Chapter 12

The next day, Chu Lanci woke up to find that Xie Zhuo had gone out again.

Since leaving the forbidden grounds, Xie Zhuo’s excursions had become more frequent. Chu Lanci did not know what he was doing, and Xie Zhuo never told him. Because Xie Zhuo did not volunteer the information, Chu Lanci did not ask.

He followed his usual routine: feeding the rabbits, eating, and staying inside the house, as he did not quite dare to venture out on his own.

Xie Zhuo returned at noon. His face showed slight signs of travel-weariness, yet he remained handsome. Chu Lanci’s eyes widened in fright when he noticed faint bloodstains on Xie Zhuo’s robes. He hurried forward to help, but Xie Zhuo kept him at a distance. “There is poison on my body,” he warned.

Chu Lanci asked in surprise, “What kind of poison? Are you alright?”

“It is fine. I just need to regulate my breath and meditate.” Xie Zhuo had just finished a battle with the Qianshan Sect Leader, Immortal Jade Flower, and had defeated him. In Qianshan, rules were dictated by strength; he was now the Head Sect Leader of Qianshan.

He had not spent the last hundred years in idleness; he had cultivated everything he was supposed to, as well as things he was not. Dealing with a mere Great Fit stage cultivator was quite easy for him.

Chu Lanci watched Xie Zhuo closely as he sat with his eyes shut. Many expressions flickered across his peerless face: indifference, coldness, impatience, and even a weariness of the world. Every emotion was there except for joy. Chu Lanci wondered what his Master had done and why he was in such a bad mood.

He did nothing else but sit by the edge of the chair, waiting for his Master until he eventually fell asleep.

Xie Zhuo took some time to heal his injuries. During his recovery, he formed a protective spiritual barrier that no one could cross, naturally including Chu Lanci. When the healing was complete, he opened his eyes and saw Chu Lanci asleep against the table.

After a moment of thought, he stood up, walked over, and lifted the man into his arms.

At that moment, Chu Lanci woke up. He struggled slightly and said sleepily, “Master, are you better?”

Xie Zhuo did not answer but continued to carry him to the bed. “I am fine. Lie down.”

Chu Lanci looked up at Xie Zhuo, but Xie Zhuo let him go. Knowing his Master was in a bad mood, Chu Lanci felt that as a disciple, he should not pry but should instead try to cheer him up.

“Master, let’s go boating.” He estimated that if they stayed inside for another day, they might grow apart. He wanted to spend more time with this powerful figure; it might make it easier to ask for help in the future.

Xie Zhuo frowned. “What boat?” He had never gone boating with anyone in his life.

“It is the river where I get the water. The sunlight there feels especially comfortable. When the morning light hits the water, the whole river looks as if it has been sprinkled with gold dust. I thought then that going boating there would be beautiful. Please go, Master.” He looked up with a smile, a soft and warm light dancing in his eyes.

Xie Zhuo’s cold, hard expression seemed to waver under the brilliance of that smile, and his brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

“Are we going?” Chu Lanci asked.

Xie Zhuo stood up. His tall frame seemed to occupy half the room, casting a shadow over Chu Lanci. He replied calmly, “Let’s go.”

Chu Lanci smiled. “Good. Let’s take the little rabbits so they can get some sun too.” He was happy that Xie Zhuo had agreed. It was better to do something; he felt that Xie Zhuo was much more peaceful when occupied, or at least acted more like a normal person.

“Why bring those two beasts?”

Chu Lanci stopped in his tracks and looked back at him, feeling somewhat bewildered.

Then he heard Xie Zhuo add, “Take them if you want.”

Chu Lanci smiled again. “Alright.”

In the end, Chu Lanci did not bring them, deciding it would be a hassle to have them on the boat while the two of them were rowing. He fed the rabbits, and then left with Xie Zhuo.

The weather was perfect, with a gentle breeze and beautiful sunshine. The river was relatively secluded, surrounded by thick grass, with dappled sunlight dancing on the shimmering green water. It was a perfect spot for boating.

Chu Lanci picked some fruit and placed it in the small boat before he and Xie Zhuo boarded. Once they were on the water, Chu Lanci insisted on doing the rowing. He dipped the wooden oars into the water, breaking the surface and sending ripples outward in circles. He rowed slowly as the breeze blew, and everything felt incredibly beautiful.

Xie Zhuo sat at the stern, watching the tension in Chu Lanci’s back. A simple teleportation spell could have taken them to the other side instantly, yet the man insisted on this time-consuming effort. However, the scene was beautiful. The river reflected the spring light, dissolving Chu Lanci’s silhouette into the water as it swayed before Xie Zhuo’s eyes.

“Master, I can sing,” Chu Lanci said.

Before Xie Zhuo could reply, he began to hum softly. “The morning bell rings, the mist is thick, white cranes fly over Qingwa Peak. Brother practices his sword to cut the morning dew, Sister gathers herbs with a bamboo basket on her back.”

After finishing, Chu Lanci laughed. “Is it interesting? I sometimes sing it to my students.”

Xie Zhuo remained silent before asking, “A love song?”

Chu Lanci gasped. “I suppose so. There is a second half. Brother complains: ‘You are too slow!’ Sister laughs: ‘Wait for me.’ A small cloth shoe falls on the stone steps, startling the mountain birds into flight. The morning bell in the song is the one from your Qianshan Sect.”

Qianshan was a great sect, and its bell rang at set times every day. The sound carried spiritual energy and echoed through a thousand peaks and ten thousand villages, sounding quite melodious.

After speaking, he set the oars aside and sat opposite Xie Zhuo. He placed several jars of wine on the small table. “Master, will you drink?”

Xie Zhuo replied, “I will not.” But after a second thought, he decided a few cups would not hurt. “A little, then.”

Chu Lanci smiled. “Master, is the ‘Zhuo’ in your name the one with the wine radical?”

“It is.”

“Oh, I see. That is very good.” Chu Lanci said, “Then let’s have a few cups. Sometimes when I think about it, it feels incredible. We are so different, yet we ended up together. Do you think this is a fate granted by the heavens? Ha ha ha. But truly, there are a few things I want to say. Master, thank you for this period of time. If not for you, I would certainly have died long ago. We only met by chance, yet you have been so good to me.”

He said all this because he was thinking of their eventual parting, which made him feel quite sentimental. He was simply looking for an opportunity to say goodbye to Xie Zhuo. After speaking, he gulped down several cups of wine.

He had a low tolerance for alcohol. After drinking, his cheeks grew hot, and he felt a faint drunkenness.

Xie Zhuo watched Chu Lanci, who was already tipsy after just two cups, and thought silently: Met by chance? We have been sleeping together for months. Furthermore, there was a reason he was “good” to him; otherwise, how could he treat a stranger so well?

In Chu Lanci’s eyes, he was a Master and a stranger. In his own eyes, Chu Lanci had been his dual-cultivation partner for months. If one night as a couple brings a hundred nights of gratitude, they had shared a bed so many times that the bond was even deeper.

It was Chu Lanci’s misfortune to encounter him just as his Heartless Dao had been broken. A hundred years ago, even a celestial being would not have moved him.

Xie Zhuo felt emotional, but his words remained calm, refined, and polite. He replied, “I have not done much for you; it was a simple matter. Do not take it to heart; it was what I should have done.” He had only taught him a few spells, spent half a day on them, and Chu Lanci had not even fully mastered them. He had basically stopped teaching him after that. There were many reasons, the most important being that he did not think Chu Lanci was cut out for cultivation.

“Master,” Chu Lanci suddenly reached out and grasped Xie Zhuo’s hand. “You are such a good person. Although I do not know why you were locked up here, I have been very happy being with you during this time.”

Xie Zhuo saw the alcohol affecting Chu Lanci. He held down the wine cup and said in a deep voice, “Do not drink anymore.”

“Um, do not stop me!” Chu Lanci became more intoxicated as he drank. He tilted his head back and downed another cup of spiritual brew. “Master, you did not dislike me for my dull natural talent and even took me as a disciple. I am truly grateful to you. You are so good, yet I have some messy thoughts about you. I really deserve to die.”

These words sounded very much like a deep confession. Before he could finish, Chu Lanci succumbed to the alcohol and fell asleep against the table.

Xie Zhuo sat there in contemplation. He believed the key point of Chu Lanci’s words was that Chu Lanci liked him and had “messy thoughts” about him. He wondered if he should accept this confession.

When Chu Lanci woke up, he found himself still in the small boat, lying against the deck. The boat rocked gently. He slowly sat up and saw Xie Zhuo still sitting not far away.

Seeing him wake, Xie Zhuo looked up at him. “Are you awake?”

Chu Lanci hurried to call out, “Master!”

He was sober now, but his mind was a mess. He did not know what kind of nonsense he had babbled. He wondered if he had mentioned having “thoughts” about Xie Zhuo. That had nothing to do with anything; it was just that lately, his mind was filled with fragments of himself being possessed by Xie Zhuo. There were so many that he could not help but let his imagination run wild.

The order of things in his dreams was a bit misplaced; he was a man, so why was he always the one being pressed down?

He was a man and had needs, regardless of where those needs came from. Thus, the needs were real, the gratitude was real, and the admiration was real. It was just that there was nothing else beyond that.

Xie Zhuo asked, “Do you feel better?” He had already cast a spell, so the man should be sober.

Chu Lanci nodded with a smile. “Much better. I actually cannot drink at all; I pass out after one drink. Ha ha ha.” This laughter was to ease the embarrassment of his drunkenness.

“You cannot drink, yet you drank so much?”

Before Chu Lanci could answer, Xie Zhuo leaned back slightly and said in a peaceful tone, “Is it only after drinking that you dare say those things?”

Chu Lanci felt guilty upon hearing this. Those things? What things? What did I say? He immediately said, “Master, I didn’t, let me explain.” This was just a man’s normal impulse. Weren’t all men like this?

“Explain what?”

“I do not know why I am like this. Sometimes my dreams are full of those things.”

“What things?” Xie Zhuo stared at him with piercing eyes. “Tell Master about them.”

Chu Lanci felt even more guilty and shook his head weakly.

Xie Zhuo’s eyes darkened. He reached out a long arm and pulled the man into his embrace. The boat tilted sharply as he placed his hand on a part of Chu Lanci’s body where he should not have. “Is it here?”

Support After Accidentally Entering the Forbidden Land and Forming a Bond with the Grandmaster