When I woke up, the entire cultivation world was talking about my master.

Several hurried footsteps echoed from the quiet bamboo grove courtyard. Before Chu Xianlan could react, the door slammed shut with a loud bang.

He was forcibly brought back by his master.

In a daze, they arrived at the small courtyard that Xiao Huandu had arranged for them.

Yi Chen lifted his disciple up with his arm, and casually brushed aside the objects on the desk with his other hand, placing Chu Xianlan on the desk.

Then, Yi Chen leaned down and pressed down.

One was standing, the other was sitting, and they were facing each other directly.

That look was unlike his master's usual one; his eyes now revealed serpentine features, with a wisp of messy silver hair falling right in front of his brow. The sharp lines were no longer angular and aggressive, but rather possessed an indescribable allure.

Are you afraid of me?

When Yi Chen said this, his tone was no longer cold and aloof; it was even somewhat... vulnerable.

"Disciple...no." Chu Xianlan's thoughts were seen through, her pupils trembled slightly, and she shook her head.

How could he be afraid of his master?

In this world, his master treated him the best, but... such a master was really... making Chu Xianlan not know what expression to use to face him.

He didn't know when it started, but Yi Chen felt increasingly unfamiliar to him, as if the part that belonged to "Master" was being replaced by another identity that he couldn't understand.

Before Chu Xianlan could think it through, her fingertips moved up and her chin was captured.

In an instant, the intense heat of another person followed.

The sensation of their lips touching made Chu Xianlan's heart race to an alarming degree. In an instant, Chu Xianlan felt like a small animal being held by the scruff of its neck, her pupils dilating slightly, and she stiffened to the point of being unable to move.

Here we go again... No matter how many times you experience this, you can never get used to it.

Guilt and self-blame entwined my heart like vines.

It was precisely because this intimacy came from his master, whom he had looked up to since childhood, that he felt apprehensive and bewildered. At this moment, several questions that he had never carefully considered flashed through his mind at an inopportune time.

After repeatedly overstepping his bounds, how will he and his master get along in the future?

Can they still function as usual?

Chu Xianlan dared not think any further.

Slowly close your eyes, referencing past experience in suppressing Gu poison, and wait for the dual cultivation technique to circulate.

Anyway... once the Life-Binding Gu is removed, this will be the last time.

But what he received in return was a kiss that deepened further.

The all-too-familiar scent pried open his teeth, probing deeper, almost engulfing the boy entirely.

Chu Xianlan let out a sob, and before she could even be shocked, she was forcibly dragged into the vortex of entanglement.

Yi Chen admitted that he truly loved the warm, piercing heat emanating from his disciple. The feeling was so comforting that he couldn't bear to let go.

In the heavens and on earth, in the six directions and eight wastelands, only this one person could fill all the voids in his lifeless heart.

That was the only variable besides destiny.

The domineering force that once stirred up the storm gradually faded, and the caresses of their lips were no longer filled with anxious longing. The possessiveness became increasingly tender and affectionate. Half-demons are gifted in everything they learn, and kissing was no exception. Yi Chen embraced Chu Xianlan, wishing he could be pressed tightly together, inseparable. Although he had not drunk any alcohol, he felt a kind of intoxicating and dazzling hazy dizziness.

One day, even the aloof immortal will admit that he has desires.

If what you want is not much, why bother to hide it?

Anyway, it was unavoidable; it was just a matter of time.

Chu Xianlan was dazed from the kisses, a hint of pitifulness appearing between his brows, and a faint blush rising to his cheeks. As his breathing quickened, he was pulled into an embrace and heard a sentence fall into his ear.

"Chu Li, let's become Daoist partners."

Those who cultivate themselves speak words that become law.

As if the snow had melted and the fog had dissipated, as if the clouds had parted and the moon had shone, at the moment when the dust had settled, Yi Chen turned his head and gently kissed his hair.

He accepted Chu Xianlan's jade pendant, but he never gave the boy an answer. The answer that came so long ago should have been given by him.

Chu Xianlan's eyes were still misty with tears, and her mind seemed to be stuck as she slowly asked, "...What did you say?"

Yi Chen is not good with words; he is better at expressing his love through actions than with words.

He took his disciple's hand, and a soft light emanated from their clasped palms, gently yet firmly binding their spiritual power together. A Daoist bond gradually formed, merging into their very bones and blood.

Chu Xianlan suddenly regained her senses.

wrong.

He interrupted the merging of spiritual energies, looked up, and asked in confusion, "Master, how can we become Daoist partners?"

That's something that should only be done when two people are in love and devoted to each other. How could it be something between a master and his disciple?

He... formed a contract with his master, or a Daoist partner contract? Is that right?

In the suffocating silence, Yi Chen calmly spoke: "Why not?"

"How can that be?" Chu Xianlan asked.

Back and forth they went, like a typical debate between a master and disciple, each pair of eyes displaying different emotions.

"Our hearts are connected, and we should become Daoist partners. Xianlan, from the past to the present, haven't you always been in love with your master?" Yi Chen stared straight at his disciple's face, stating only the facts, his tone without much variation.

At this point, Chu Xianlan's face gradually lost its color, and she seemed to freeze from head to toe. Memories of the past kept surfacing, and her eyes changed in an instant.

Heartfelt joy?

What about his master?

Master always...believed that he...had...that kind of affection?

Deep in the bamboo forest, a gust of wind suddenly arose and blew into the courtyard, brushing against the hair on the two people's foreheads.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared before her eyes. An unprecedented panic and fear belatedly crept into her heart. Chu Xianlan could no longer think clearly. Her mind was blank, and only instinctive fear spread.

His voice trembled with panic, his knees buckled, and he knelt down in a disheveled state before Yi Chen:

"This disciple has no right! This disciple wouldn't dare!"

As if a deep-seated fear had been unearthed, the boy trembled and breathed rapidly, yet he didn't know what he was afraid of.

His intense emotions led him to speak recklessly.

"...Master! Your disciple has always held you in the highest esteem and admiration, never harboring the slightest intention of overstepping my bounds, nor ever having entertained any improper thoughts! If there is even the slightest falsehood in your words, if... if your disciple has ever had any thoughts that should not have been..."

Before he could finish speaking, a force pulled the boy up from the ground.

The hand was extremely cold, but Chu Xianlan felt as if she had been burned, and lowered her head, trying to shake it off.

Yi Chen still hasn't let go.

Not only did they not loosen their grip, but they also used their other hand to clamp Chu Xianlan's chin, forcing him to tilt his face up.

Chu Xianlan's breath hitched, her gaze forced to meet the other's deep, pool-like eyes, cold pupils looking down without a trace of compassion or warmth.

Faint white scales appeared under Yi Chen's eyes.

"Say those words again while looking at me."