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

Chu Xianlan's voice was almost trembling.

The sounds of the wind, birdsong, cicadas, and even the rustling of the bamboo forest in the distance were all hidden in the dark night, as if only the two of them remained in the vast world.

"Don't talk nonsense when you're drunk." Yi Chen lowered his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Chu Xianlan stared blankly, still gripping the object tightly. She swallowed hard, and after a long pause, finally said, "Master..."

Master turned around, and Chu Xianlan, still clutching her hand, followed him a few steps while watching his retreating figure.

Yi Chen had always known that Chu Xianlan couldn't resist any request he made. As long as he asked, it would be easy for him to get a relationship with her.

With a gentle beckoning, the boy would come closer. Even if he did something excessive, he never held a grudge. Chu Xianlan was like a docile puppy that always trusted its master, mindful of its habit of not daring to disobey, allowing itself to act recklessly and do whatever it wanted.

But Yi Chen didn't want to be the one to have his way.

All that I ask for is what I do willingly.

A multitude of contradictions weighed heavily on his heart, obscuring the sun and proving difficult to resolve. But he refused to let Chu Xianlan compromise out of coercion and fear, thus relinquishing control and handing over the power of decision to the other party.

Yi Chen had already accepted it. Whether it was a lie or regret, as long as Chu Xianlan was happy, it didn't matter.

But now, Chu Xianlan is able to say these words while drunk.

Surprised, Yi Chen's emotions shifted several times, and finally, a surge of anger welled up unexpectedly.

This is an extremely rare emotion for him.

"Master!"

After taking a few steps, Chu Xianlan was unwilling to walk any further. She exerted force with her back foot and pulled the person backward with all her might, like a stubborn bull throwing a tantrum.

Yi Chen turned around with a tense expression, his eyes deep, dark, and murky, as if a storm that had been suppressed for a long time was finally about to break. He asked in a deep voice, "What's the reason this time?"

Chu Xianlan was stunned.

"...Was it because I didn't reach out to you, or because the jade pendant was lost? Did it make you mistakenly think you would be abandoned? These things...as long as you want it, your master can grant it, and I will never abandon you again."

"Chu Li," Yi Chen paused slightly, pressing his temples in exasperation, "what exactly are you dissatisfied with?"

Yi Chen's annoyance lingered.

He was annoyed that he could pass off a fake as real, while he himself remained silent and secretive.

You were the one who stirred up the stagnant water first, but in the end, you insist on claiming that you are completely innocent.

A young man may be sometimes dreaming and sometimes waking, sometimes in a daze, but he cannot be so emotional and live his life in a murky state.

When drunk, you bring up the past, claiming he taught you about love. But what happens when you sober up tomorrow, when the intoxication wears off and reason returns? Will you regret it again, making excuses and saying that these things weren't what you wanted... and continue to treat everything from tonight as nonsense and forget about it?

How can Yi Chen be sure that his sincerity at this moment won't vanish in an instant and turn into a joke?

"I don't feel dissatisfied..." Chu Xianlan frowned, opened her mouth and said.

What is he dissatisfied with?

With the life-binding Gu removed and the master-disciple contract still intact, he temporarily escaped the pursuit of the outside world after overcoming the difficulties. He devoted himself to cultivation and worked hard to improve himself, so that he could stay by his master's side forever. Wasn't this what he wanted?

really?

Is this what you wanted?

He felt as if every word his master spoke was a tiny thorn pricking him. It was clearly pricking him, but it was his master who was wounded and bleeding, not him.

Chu Xianlan saw the fleeting vulnerability and sorrow in Yi Chen's eyes, and felt...

Not satisfied.

Why? He pondered.

Although Chu Xianlan's brain had just been soaked in spiritual urine, he still seriously recalled that sometimes, his long-term dependence made him unable to distinguish his feelings for his master. He subconsciously let them exist without thinking about them, asking about them, or facing them.

Because he didn't know how to face it either.

But he knew clearly that nothing in his life had ever made him as dissatisfied as he was now.

Suddenly, as if a sudden breakthrough had been made in her meridians, Chu Xianlan made a bizarre move that no one could have imagined in their life.

He boldly grabbed Yi Chen's hand, placed it on his chest, pressed it down heavily, and maintained the position as he said, "From a very young age, even earlier than when I went to the Taiyi Sect, when I was only this tall..."

Chu Xianlan gestured with her other free hand, indicating that it was below her waist, and then looked up.

"—I'm watching you."

Those eyes were as clear as stars, yet seemed to hold a burning flame within them, causing Yi Chen to hold his breath.

Chu Xianlan had seen him before he entered the Taiyi Sect? He... had never heard of this before.

The tremors in my palm gradually grew deafening.

Beneath the skin, the heart beats with the sincerity of a young man.

"They all say that cultivators can turn their hands to make clouds and rain, they are gods. You are a mortal descended to immortality, so rounding up, you are also... a god. At that time, I lived in the backyard of the gambling den. After dark, the storage room was dark, damp, cold, and cramped. You couldn't see anything. No one cultivated immortality in that kind of remote place, and there was no contact with the outside world. I thought I would be there for the rest of my life, or maybe there was no such thing as a rest of my life. After all, it's normal for a kid like me not to live more than a few years."

"Several children I knew died... But thankfully, I was small back then and didn't eat much, so I survived quite well."

Yi Chen's fingertips trembled, and his heart clenched uncontrollably.

Regarding his apprentice's days living and working in the gambling den, what he knew was only what the apprentice mentioned, and it wasn't very detailed. Because when the boy talked about the past, he mostly glossed over it, saying that he was too young to remember.

I clearly remember everything.

"But ever since I met you from afar, my luck has been incredibly good." Chu Xianlan will never forget that scene, and she will always remember that frost-like, snow-like figure flying across the sky.

People admire the divine radiance, and are overjoyed even if they only receive a glimpse of it.

Chu Xianlan was still tipsy, but when she shared this, her tone became somewhat proud and surprised. She talked about this and that, her eyes as beautiful as a clear blue sky.

Looking into those eyes, Yi Chen felt a sense of tranquility, as if he were isolated from the world.

Perhaps in those curved eyebrows, he saw a vast, clear blue ocean.

"An ordinary little beggar, someone you could see anywhere, not only possessed spiritual roots and could cultivate, but was also sent to the Taiyi Sect... So, it must have been because of that divine favor that his fate was changed. Master, isn't that right?"

Yi Chen said, "That's not right."

"What fate bestows upon you is all that you deserve; you are worthy of it, and it has nothing to do with anyone or anything. You are the most precious, and you have never been just an ordinary little beggar that you can see anywhere."

Yi Chen grasped Chu Xianlan's hand, the one that had guided him to feel his heartbeat.

"And I am not a god either."

After hearing this, Chu Xianlan thought in a daze—well, if he's not a god, then it's not blasphemy.

No...

Doesn't count.

No!

There are no gods here. I'll say it three times because it's important.

Chu Xianlan suddenly raised her body, closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and shadows fell below her eyes like the wings of a bird. The light red that rose from her ears spread to her eyes and then to her lips.

I stopped thinking about anything.

Action precedes thought; in the instant their lips touch, it's like a sacrifice, generously transferring all their warmth to another.