Sect Master Wen's Junior Martial Brother Who Shared His Hardships Has Returned - Chapter 15

“Rumble—” 

Thunder crashed loudly, and feet that had rarely known hardship stepped onto icy rainwater. Ink-black hair like brocade and thin clothing were quickly soaked through.

The heavy rain blurred his vision, and he had run only about ten steps before colliding with a dark silhouette.

A rich sandalwood scent enveloped him, and this familiar fragrance gave him boundless peace of mind. The other person’s figure was tall, his shadow covering him completely.

Wen Chaoxi seemed to realize something, and stepped back slightly.

He held an umbrella in his hand, which tilted as he stepped back, rainwater falling onto its surface. Xu Chaoqi was protected securely, and the droplets on his face lessened.

The heavy rain fell on half of Wen Chaoxi’s body, but he paid it no mind. His consciousness was entirely given to Xu Chaoqi—not a single thought spared for the rain.

Xu Chaoqi lowered his head, looking at his Senior Brother’s footsteps. Suddenly he raised his head and buried himself directly into his Senior Brother’s embrace.

It had been so long since he had burrowed into this embrace. The icy rainwater met dry clothing, and the cold was driven away by warmth.

His Senior Brother’s embrace was solid and steady. Xu Chaoqi’s heart, which had been drifting outside with nowhere to settle, seemed to have finally found a place to return to—it actually calmed down, gradually finding peace.

The moment Xu Chaoqi threw himself into his embrace, Wen Chaoxi moved the umbrella backward. Even though the two of them were already pressed together, Wen Chaoxi still tilted the umbrella toward Xu Chaoqi, covering his soaked back, while he himself still had parts of him outside the umbrella’s shelter.

Xu Chaoqi held him, and the scent on the other’s body was also a scent he hadn’t smelled in a long time. That somewhat thin figure was pressing inward with force, and he could feel the intense longing in the person held in his arms.

Wen Chaoxi’s Adam’s apple rolled slightly, his eyelids lowering.

He had already lived past ten thousand years—what was there he didn’t understand?

The bond of youth had made the two of them innocent and close since childhood, with never any barrier between them. Xiao Yao was still that same Xiao Yao, unversed in the ways of the world—his Senior Brother was the most important person to him, whom he regarded as an actual elder brother, his entire chest full of feelings being purely familial affection.

But his Senior Brother had already lived alone in this world for ten thousand years, having seen more than his share of right and wrong, of filth and impurity.

Since the first time after Xu Chaoqi’s return that he had leaned against him with a mind as clear and bright as when he was young, how could he, as the Grand Ancestor of the Twenty-Seven Regions, not understand that the bond between the two of them had already crossed a line?

Xu Chaoqi didn’t know this. He drew closer each time, more than the last, as if sticking close to his Senior Brother would bring him boundless joy.

The kiss Xu Chaoqi couldn’t hold back had left Wen Chaoxi’s Dao heart unsteady. He understood that his heart had become disordered—that within the wholehearted, genuine affection he had doted upon his junior brother with since childhood, at some point unknown, a thread of unspeakable desire had woven itself in.

The person in his arms had long since become an adult, someone who could go seek a Dao companion to accompany him for life.

He was no benevolent man—who knew how many things he had done ten thousand years ago. Whatever he desired, in the end, all became his to possess.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t have his junior brother. If he merely coaxed gently by his ear, the other would dazedly don wedding robes and become his Dao companion, intimate and inseparable.

But it was precisely because of the other’s wholehearted, complete trust that Wen Chaoxi could not bring himself to harbor even the slightest impurity. He would use scheming and calculation on everyone else in the world—but Xu Chaoqi alone, he would not let this bright pearl gather a speck of dust.

He was his Senior Brother, his elder. Just this bond of familial ethics alone, he would not easily transgress.

Moreover… he was no longer young. Xu Chaoqi deserved a wider sky.

That night, he deliberated for a long while, and finally decided to let Xu Chaoqi understand this matter clearly. He wished to return the wings to him—but when the other truly intended to take them, a knot of stifled anger built up in his chest once more.

Several days later, he finally, rarely, let it go.

The rain pattered noisily. Xu Chaoqi nestled in Wen Chaoxi’s embrace, and Wen Chaoxi pressed his lips together.

Xu Chaoqi realized he was soaked through entirely, and worried he had gotten his Senior Brother wet too, so he hastily loosened his arms.

Just at that moment, Wen Chaoxi took off his outer robe, wrapping the wide garment tightly around Xu Chaoqi, while he himself was left in only a thin black inner robe.

Xu Chaoqi tilted his head up, and his Senior Brother looked down at him in turn.

His Adam’s apple rolled, and suddenly he said, aggrieved. “Senior Brother, my hair hasn’t been properly combed for several days now, it’s getting more and more tangled…”

The little eagle who had once wished to fly had folded its wings, returning once more to the great eagle’s nest.

Wen Chaoxi saw through something, a flowing light hidden deep in his eyes. He averted his gaze from Xu Chaoqi’s, reaching out to gently brush Xu Chaoqi’s wet hair out of his line of sight, so that things before him would be bright and clear.

“Senior Brother will help you comb it later…”

“Senior Brother, I want to eat steamed little dragon fish.” Seeing that things with his Senior Brother had eased, Xu Chaoqi brought up the delicacy he had been longing for these past days.

In the darkness, Xu Chaoqi couldn’t see much, and naturally didn’t see the gentleness in his Senior Brother’s eyes nor the faint smile at the corner of his lips.

“Alright.”

They walked toward the front hall, treading through the rainwater. After a while, his Senior Brother suddenly said, “At night you may only eat a small half bowl, you mustn’t eat too much.”

Hearing this admonition, Xu Chaoqi showed no displeasure at all—instead joy welled up in his eyes.

“Okay!” He agreed, yet his heart did not rest.

He gazed at the drizzling rain gradually lessening, and quietly drew closer to his Senior Brother.

He glanced upward now and then. After watching for about the span of a few breaths, he lowered his voice, saying hoarsely, “Senior Brother, my lower back has been aching these past two days…”

Wen Chaoxi paused slightly, his figure unsteady for an instant. His fingertips moved faintly, curling toward his palm, his eyes half-lidded, as if he hadn’t heard at all.

How could Xu Chaoqi get what he wanted this way? Seeing his Senior Brother not speak, he tugged at his Senior Brother’s sleeve, his beautiful eyes somewhat puzzled, but still, in a faint voice, he said again, “Senior Brother, I’ve been feeding the little fish too much these past two days, my back is a bit sore.”

Wen Chaoxi lowered his eyes to glance at Xu Chaoqi’s somewhat slender waist, then withdrew his gaze, coaxing in a low voice, “Take more medicine these next few days, and try to bend your waist as little as possible from now on.”

Xu Chaoqi: …

He reached into his Senior Brother’s sleeve and grasped his Senior Brother’s palm. At this moment he was like someone who had been lonely for a long time, wanting to receive comfort from someone dear to him.

“Senior Brother, tonight help me with a massage…” He hadn’t been resting well these past few days, and had also been caught in the rain, his voice hoarse with a trace of expectation.

For some unknown reason, Xu Chaoqi rarely noticed his Senior Brother’s breathing.

The slightly cool palm burrowed into his own, and Wen Chaoxi’s heart beat twice, out of rhythm. He stared blankly at the rainwater flowing on the ground, his eyelashes concealing the expression in his eyes. After a long moment, he too answered the person beside him, his voice slightly hoarse.

“Alright.”

****

The Centennial Grand Disciple Competition would begin in just two more days. During this period, Song Shuiqing had been forgetting to eat and sleep every single day, drawing talismans one after another, his skill growing ever more proficient.

The West Region Lord had watched his son grow from childhood, and every word he spoke, in and out, was about how Song Shuiqing didn’t know how to cultivate, idled about, and wasted his days.

Some time before the competition, he had habitually meant to scold his son a bit more, only to discover that the boy had suddenly become nowhere to be found. When he finally found his son in the study, he saw him diligently drawing talismans.

The West Region Lord froze for a moment, rubbing his eyes, somewhat astonished.

When guests arrived, he entertained them while laughing and saying, “This son of mine is just putting on a show. At most an hour, and he won’t be able to bear it, and he’ll go out to play.”

Yet an hour later, Song Shuiqing was still diligently drawing talismans. The West Region Lord opened his mouth, then closed it again.

After the guests finally left, the West Region Lord hurriedly shooed away the servants. “Everyone stay far away, don’t disturb the young lord’s cultivation!”

Song Shuiqing studied for four hours straight, while the West Region Lord paced anxiously outside. “How did he suddenly become so promising? This old man isn’t used to it at all.”

Thinking this over, he took the meal tray a servant handed him, knocked gently on the door, and carefully stepped inside. “Shuiqing, let’s rest a while before continuing to study—nothing about studying is more important than eating. Don’t wear your body down.”

Song Shuiqing was startled by this display from his father. His father usually only ever called him a “wretched son”—when had he ever called out to him so gently?

Speaking of eating, he checked the time, and was shocked to find four hours had already passed!

This was the first time he had ever enjoyed such attentive care from his father. Song Shuiqing, flattered and surprised, picked up his chopsticks and began to eat.

The West Region Lord found the boy’s behavior excessively abnormal, so he probed, “Shuiqing, why are you being so diligent today?”

There was nothing worth hiding about this matter, so between mouthfuls he devoured his food and said, “It’s Brother Qi! He told me to enter the Centennial Grand Disciple Competition, and said he’d come watch me from below the stage when the time comes!”

“Brother Qi?” The West Region Lord frowned. “Who is that?”

“His surname is Xu, and his name has a ‘Qi’ in it, so I call him Brother Qi.”

“Xu Qi?”

“Mm-hm, that should be it. He’s amazing at drawing talismans!”

The West Region Lord’s brow relaxed at once—he now knew who this was.

“Is that the boy who secretly drew talismans for you to fool your old man?”

Song Shuiqing was shocked—how did his father know?

Seeing the boy’s expression, the West Region Lord was amused into laughter. Fortunately, since the boy had been diligent today, he decided not to scold him.

“You’re saying he can draw talismans like that? That kind of talent isn’t something ordinary people possess—it’s probably something rarely seen even once in ten thousand years.”

Fortunately, this boy had finally made a useful friend, so he decided not to say anything more.

“Xu Qi, is it? Your father will remember. In the future, if I see him, I’ll look after him a bit.”

Song Shuiqing was overjoyed—this was exactly what he had hoped for.

From then on, Song Shuiqing cultivated even more diligently, sometimes not even noticing until he had practiced all the way until dawn, which left the West Region Lord both gratified and heartbroken for him.

Ordinarily, the words the West Region Lord most often said to Song Shuiqing were—

“Slacking off again today?”

“Have you finished drawing the talismans yet?”

“You, participating in the Centennial Grand Disciple Competition? If you can even find the door to it, I’ll be secretly delighted.”

Now it was—

“Stop studying, go rest for a while, eat more.”

“Go to sleep. Whether you draw the talismans today or tomorrow makes no difference.”

“The Centennial Grand Disciple Competition isn’t important. Even if you don’t get a spot, your father will still be satisfied.”

Even when guests came, the West Region Lord’s mouth was full of nothing but talk of his son.

“I told him to rest, but he won’t listen—he insists on studying, there’s no stopping him, ah. It’s not as if our family lacks money—what are we working so hard for? Isn’t it just so he can have an easier life? And yet look at him now, ah!”

The guest’s smile was strained. “The West Region Lord has such a fine son—what a blessing!”

The West Region Lord: “Isn’t that the truth?”

The guest: … heh~ptui! 

Despite Song Shuiqing having exerted himself to the utmost, his innate talent was insufficient from birth.

The Way of Talisman had one hundred spots. When the rankings came out, he was ranked one hundred and first.

When Song Shuiqing saw this result, it felt as though the sky itself was collapsing. He sat in his room for half a day, and even his usually carefree heart—his eyes actually reddened.

The West Region Lord walked in slowly with his hands behind his back. Seeing his son’s state, he sighed and sat down in front of him.

Song Shuiqing muttered, uncomprehending, “Wasn’t I diligent enough? I already tried my best.”

The West Region Lord hesitated, then said, “Perhaps you haven’t yet made your very last effort?”

Song Shuiqing raised his head, tears clouding his eyes.

“I only sleep two hours a day. If it weren’t for the pills I’ve been taking, I would have collapsed long ago. Even while eating, I draw talismans at the same time… Haven’t I tried my best?”

The West Region Lord fell silent for a moment. He placed the Centennial Grand Disciple Competition token he had been holding behind his back down in front of Song Shuiqing.

He cleared his throat and said, “That’s why your father made his best effort too—I donated six secret realms to the Centennial Grand Disciple Competition, and exchanged them for a spot for you.”

Song Shuiqing: ….