After Accidentally Entering the Forbidden Land and Forming a Bond with the Grandmaster - Chapter 9

A temporary home with my wife.

Xie Zhuo smiled, perhaps in anticipation of Chu Lanci’s reaction tomorrow, or perhaps because the contrast was simply too stark. During the day, Chu Lanci kept a polite distance, calling him “Master” with utmost gravity. Yet at night, he was beneath him, crying out in total disarray.

Did he even know his own state?

The funniest part was that Xie Zhuo had actually played along with him. He really was losing his mind.

The next morning, Xie Zhuo fully expected to face a world-shaking commotion from Chu Lanci. Instead, he found him sitting there in deep thought, no longer mentioning anything about being beaten by someone.

“What is wrong with you?” Xie Zhuo asked pointedly.

Chu Lanci looked up at Xie Zhuo and shook his head. “I today…”

“What about today? Let us get back to making things. Did you not say you wanted to make more items to give this cave a sense of ‘home’? Hmm?” Xie Zhuo spoke with a smile, deliberately emphasizing the word home.

Chu Lanci paused, deep in thought. “Master, I do not know, but my waist is a bit sore. I do not know if I can still…”

“A sore waist, is it?”

Chu Lanci did not speak further, merely giving a silent hum of affirmation. He felt incredibly fatigued and only wanted to rest rather than walk. “Maybe we should wait a day, Master. I am a bit tired.”

Xie Zhuo countered, “That will not do. You are being lazy.” He still had spells to teach him, after all.

“I am not. Then, alright. Let us go.” Chu Lanci took a breath and stood up. The moment his feet hit the ground, his legs felt terribly weak. He certainly would not be able to walk fast, so he moved slowly. Not wanting Xie Zhuo to notice anything unusual, he looked up, only to find Xie Zhuo watching him with a burning gaze.

“Let us go, Master.”

Xie Zhuo withdrew his gaze and gave a feigned, indifferent response.

The two left the cave and headed toward the warm spring again. Naturally, Chu Lanci walked slowly. To avoid Xie Zhuo noticing his struggle, he said, “How about you go ahead, Master? I will pick up some stones.”

Xie Zhuo looked back, asking despite already knowing the answer: “Uncomfortable?” Was it too much? He had been quite immersed and indeed had not considered Chu Lanci’s feelings. It should not be painful, per se, but it would definitely be sore.

Chu Lanci shook his head quickly. “It does not hurt. It is just that I want to pick up some stones.”

“Fine, we will sit here for a while then.”

Chu Lanci could not argue. He stood there, avoiding Xie Zhuo’s gaze, looking elsewhere as if searching for stones. While he looked at the stones, Xie Zhuo watched him constantly.

After a long silence, Xie Zhuo spoke first, just to find a topic: “You mentioned wanting to give me a gift from your sect yesterday. Have you thought about it yet?”

Chu Lanci let out a startled sound. “I have not thought of it yet.” In his memory, he had fallen asleep very early last night and had been in a daze ever since. There was no time to prepare a gift.

“You have to keep your word,” Xie Zhuo reminded him. He had not cared much before, but now he was full of interest regarding Chu Lanci’s gift.

“Yes,” Chu Lanci hesitated. “Master, I suspect there are ghosts here.”

“Ghosts? What ghosts?” With him there, no ghost would dare approach.

“A seductive ghost. My head is full of thoughts of being, just like you said, with a man.” He stammered, finding it difficult to speak of, but he managed to clarify.

Xie Zhuo replied, “You are overthinking. What ghosts? With me here, there will be no ghosts.”

Chu Lanci nodded. “I thought so, too.” He did not mention that the ghost’s face looked exactly like Xie Zhuo’s. Perhaps he really was overthinking things.

Xie Zhuo thought for a moment. Chu Lanci was the one who asked to have his memory erased, and now he was being called a ghost. “It might be the cold affliction causing you to hallucinate.”

“I thought so, too.”

“Or perhaps…”

“Hmm?”

Xie Zhuo gave a slightly mischievous smile. “You have improper thoughts about me.”

Chu Lanci blinked, looking a bit dazed. Did he have improper thoughts about Xie Zhuo? Why? Was he that starved for affection? But it was not impossible. Every time he saw Xie Zhuo, messy thoughts would arise: of himself being turned over and over, and of Xie Zhuo’s fierce, domineering thrusts.

Maybe it really was that.

“Do not think about it anymore, little dummy.” Xie Zhuo walked over to him. He had just wanted to tease his little disciple, but now everything felt different.

Seeing the tall, upright figure standing right in front of him, Chu Lanci’s sense of unease intensified. His face flushed and his heart raced. Was this what improper thoughts felt like? Toward his Master? Toward a man? Once Chu Lanci entered a mental trap, he could not get out. His mind was exceptionally simple and stubborn. Sometimes he would get stuck on a single point and refuse to budge.

Now, he felt his Master made sense. Maybe he really did have improper thoughts about him.

Xie Zhuo smiled slightly, turned his back to him, and crouched down. “Come, I will carry you over.”

Chu Lanci fidgeted. “But I…”

“Get on,” Xie Zhuo commanded. “It is only natural for a Master to carry his disciple.” He really wanted to slap his own face; he had never said such self-deprecating things in his life.

“Oh,” Chu Lanci obeyed obediently, leaning onto Xie Zhuo’s back.

Xie Zhuo thought Chu Lanci might hesitate, but he had not expected him to give in so quickly. He was such a well-behaved little disciple.

He carried the man on his back and walked forward. Once they reached the warm spring, the teaching began. However, Chu Lanci was quite lax today, merely watching Xie Zhuo work. He watched him craft a chair.

From his initial disdain to his later immersion in woodworking, time passed unknowingly. Xie Zhuo even managed to find some fur from somewhere and made a fluffy blanket.

They moved all the finished furniture back to the cave, mostly carried by Xie Zhuo. Items like curtains and vases were added to the schedule. Things Xie Zhuo once called boring, he now did with great enjoyment.

After a few days, the cave truly began to feel like a home.

Chu Lanci recovered for a day and joined the production team. One spell was enough for him, so he did not ask Xie Zhuo to continue teaching. Xie Zhuo, likely tired of the struggle of teaching him, did not bring it up either.

The cave was now a miniature home. Though not luxurious, it was filled with a warm, lived-in atmosphere. Various pieces of furniture were present. A round wooden table stood in the center with a coarse ceramic vase holding a few sprigs of freshly picked wild mountain cherry blossoms. An indigo cloth curtain hung at the cave entrance. The fabric was common, but it was embroidered with a few stalks of ink-wash bamboo. Behind the bed, they placed two prayer mats polished white from use. In the corner, there was even a small clay stove with hot tea simmering on top.

They even kept a few rabbits.

The idea of raising rabbits was Chu Lanci’s suggestion, meant to make the cave feel more lively. Every time Chu Lanci suggested something, Xie Zhuo’s first reaction was to oppose it. Why raise rabbits? Yet, for reasons unknown to him, the end result was always following Chu Lanci’s lead. More strangely, under Chu Lanci’s guidance, he unknowingly did many things he had never done before.

He had no time to think of the past. He woke up thinking about how to decorate, and he did not even have time to think about that business, provided the cold affliction did not flare up.

He had roughly figured out the pattern of the Frost-Cold Curse. It was trending toward stability, and the intervals between flare-ups were growing longer.

Aside from making things, they did not forget about cultivation. In their spare time, Xie Zhuo taught Chu Lanci some extremely simple spells, though even the simplest were as difficult as reaching the heavens for Chu Lanci. Fortunately, the Master was powerful enough that it did not matter if the disciple was a bit lacking.

One day, as spring arrived, Xie Zhuo was preparing materials for the next day’s work when he looked back and saw no one on the bed. Where did his little disciple go? He hurriedly got up to look. This forbidden area was dangerous, and he could not have him go missing.

Walking out of the cave, Xie Zhuo suddenly stopped. He had actually forgotten to use magic. Had he spent so much time with Chu Lanci that he forgot how to be a cultivator?

And what was this thumping feeling in his heart? It felt very new to him. He was worried.

While using his techniques, he cast a Search Spell. Normally, such a spell would find a person in no time. But Chu Lanci was nowhere to be found. He searched while comforting himself: how big can this forbidden area be? Where could he possibly go?

Eventually, the spells were cast and the search was done, but there was still no sign of Chu Lanci.

The weather in the forbidden area was fickle. The sunny sky suddenly turned into a heavy snowfall, which was a common occurrence here. As spring approached and the five elements sprouted, the weather became even more unpredictable.

If he did not find him before dark, Chu Lanci would likely die in the forbidden area. Xie Zhuo realized then just how fragile his little disciple was. This weakness was not that he cried; it was a total lack of adaptability to this environment. Such a person was truly unfit to survive in the cultivation world. But since Xie Zhuo was his Master, even if only for a day, he had to act.

With a dark expression, he drew his Qingshuang Sword and commanded, “To work, Qingshuang.” The sword spirit was still slumbering, but upon hearing its master’s command, it woke instantly, not daring to slack off.

Xie Zhuo pressed two fingers together like a blade and swiped them across the spine of the Qingshuang Sword. The blade suddenly erupted with a piercing cold light, frost patterns blooming in layers from the edge like a burst of ice lotuses. He reversed his grip and stabbed the sword into the ground, shouting coldly: “Qingshuang as the guide, tracking across ten thousand miles!”

The moment the sword tip touched the ground, all the frost and snow within ten miles hovered in the air, transforming into countless crystalline silk threads that spread like a spiderweb into the depths of the forbidden area. Each thread ended in a starlight glow, illuminating the withered forests and glaciers usually shrouded in miasma.

Instantly, an icy map appeared before Xie Zhuo’s eyes. He immediately spotted a small figure slowly finding his way in the center. Watching him walk so slowly, Xie Zhuo could not help but want to laugh. It was not out of mockery, but because he had seen mortals before and he simply found Chu Lanci incredibly cute. The little guy was cute, especially when they were dual-cultivating.

His initial worry shifted into a sigh of relief. Without further delay, he went to bring his little disciple home.

Chu Lanci was lost. He had come out today planning to pick some spiritual herbs. But on the way back, he became confused.

He felt a bit lost and helpless. He should have told his Master, but he did not want to trouble him over such a small thing. He had his own selfish reasons, too; he wanted to save some herbs to sell for money later.

After walking for a while, he saw a familiar figure standing ahead. Chu Lanci doubted his own eyes, but once he saw clearly, he ran over, shouting, “Master!” He was beaming with joy.

Xie Zhuo decided he must impress upon Chu Lanci the severity of wandering off. He said solemnly, “The forbidden area is dangerous. I told you that when we first arrived. You should not have gone out alone.”

It was the first time Chu Lanci had seen Xie Zhuo so serious. He stared at him blankly.

“What is it? Why are you not speaking?” Xie Zhuo wondered if he had scared him.

Chu Lanci was not scared; he just had not reacted yet. Now that he had, he replied slowly, “Master, I know. But you forgot, I have the talismans you gave me. See?” He pulled out his talismans. He had not come out unprepared; he knew it was dangerous.

Xie Zhuo looked and saw they were indeed his. In his worry, he had forgotten about them. “Then why did you not use them?”

Chu Lanci replied, “I did not want to trouble you, Master.”

He was an adult man with his own hands and feet; why did his Master always treat him like a child?

Xie Zhuo did not know what to say. Even the last time they dual-cultivated, Chu Lanci had tried to keep things so separate. “Anyway, I had nothing else to do.”

Chu Lanci smiled. “But I cannot let my Master act as my bodyguard. I know you care about me, Master. Thank you. Once we leave the forbidden area, I am really going to hate being apart from you.” He waved his hand with a smile and walked forward. “Let us go back quickly, Master.”

Yes, spring had arrived, and the two were preparing to leave the forbidden area.

Xie Zhuo watched the receding, thin figure. He had to admit one thing: although his little disciple was weak, he lived quite freely and did not seem to strictly need him as a Master. After leaving the forbidden area, he would surely be fine. After all, he knew how to do so many things. Even if his abilities were ordinary, he worked hard at living.

Wait a second. Did Chu Lanci just say he would hate to be apart from him? That meant he did not want to leave him. Yes, it must mean that.

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