EHRPS CH214

The Guiqing Sect, Lingzhao Peak.

The night soaked through the sea of clouds. A wind chime made of shells and red coral beads hung beneath the eaves, chiming with an ethereal, melodious sound in the evening breeze.

Inside Qiongxiao Pavilion. Nie Wuhui sat before a low desk, holding a scroll in one hand.

Two jade pots rested on the desk. One contained only black soil exuding demonic qi, while in the other, two finger-tall Meat Ganodermas squeezed together, one tall and one short, one black and one white. They were utterly adorable. Yet they clashed completely with the decor of the hall.

As Nie Wuhui turned a page, he suddenly heard a man’s deep, sexy voice, its tone laced with endless melancholy: “…Tell me, what exactly are we like this?”

Nie Wuhui didn’t even lift his head, turning another page. His gaze never left the book, as if he hadn’t noticed an extra person in the room, nor heard what that person said.

The candlelight flickered in the gilded crane-head lampstand. The sandalwood bookshelf behind the man cast mottled shadows, making him appear as though he were enveloped in a hazy frost. However, the frost was melted by the candlelight, making him look very warm.

Ming Xiu leaned against the windowsill, arms crossed in a dashing pose—one foot on the ground, the other resting on the window frame. The slight tilt of his head carried a touch of sorrow, like a lone swordsman.

Seeing Nie Wuhui give no reaction, he took a deep breath, then let out a heavy sigh. This sigh was incredibly long, forceful enough to blow the dust in the entire hall a hundred thousand miles away.

Nie Wuhui’s page-turning hand paused: “…” He lifted his eyelids, casting a sidelong glance at the man on the windowsill, and replied calmly: “It means you trespassed into the Guiqing Sect at night. It means you refused to take the main gate, insisting on jumping through my window.”

Hearing this, Ming Xiu sprang down from the windowsill. In a few strides, he unceremoniously dragged over a chair—one exclusively his own—from under the desk, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Nie Wuhui, his tone teasing: “It’s not my first time visiting at night, nor my first time coming through the window. Why are you only making a fuss about it now? Could it be that this Venerable is exceptionally lovable, and even Immortal Lord Wuhui couldn’t bear to reprimand me?”

He didn’t leave any room for a reply. As soon as he finished speaking, he pulled out a small basket of tangerines and pushed it in front of Nie Wuhui. “These are the first batch of tangerines just harvested from the Heaven Slaughtering Sect. Hurry and taste if they’re sweet.”

Nie Wuhui: “…” Forget it, I’m used to it.

Nearly fifty years had passed since their first meeting. These fifty years had been very lively for Nie Wuhui. In contrast, because he acted as an intermediary, the righteous and demonic paths had remained at peace, very tranquil.

During this time, the number of times a certain man had visited the Guiqing Sect, both openly and secretly, was countless. Mostly at night. He came every few days, and never empty-handed.

Nie Wuhui silently put down his book, surveying his bedchamber—the wind chimes under the eaves, the storybooks on the bookshelf that didn’t belong to him, the straw ornaments hanging from the crane heads, and the two Meat Ganodermas on the table…

If he hadn’t stopped him, the man probably would have moved his own bed in as well. It was hard to tell who was the master of this bedchamber and who was the guest.

Ming Xiu possessed the air of a true master of the house. Seeing Nie Wuhui lost in silent thought, he took the initiative to pick a plump, round tangerine from the basket, peeled it, removed the pith, and brought it to the man’s lips. “Here?”

Nie Wuhui lowered his eyes. With every breath, the fresh, sweet-and-sour aroma of tangerine pulp teased his senses, making his mouth water. He knew that if he opened his mouth to refuse, the man would seize the opportunity to shove the fruit right in, playing dumb with an innocent ‘Ah?’

So, out of habit, he accepted the tangerine wedge. “…Thank you.”

Honestly speaking, it wasn’t that Nie Wuhui hadn’t rejected him before. However, since the moment they first met, the man had acted intimately. Thereafter, Nie Wuhui had pushed him away time and time again, only to receive the man’s breezy response: “What’s the big deal? You treat me as a good friend, and I treat you as my future Dao Companion. Isn’t that the best of both worlds? Besides, shouldn’t close friends confide in and treat each other well?” “You pushing me a thousand miles away like this truly chills my heart to the bone. Don’t believe me? Touch and see?”

After speaking, he carried on as usual. Nie Wuhui: “…Twisting logic and forcing words.”

Unfortunately, that person simply refused to listen to reason. He constantly went his own way, exasperatingly stubborn. Yet, setting aside these flaws, Nie Wuhui truly admired him, respected him, and every conversation with him always carried a unique flavor. He genuinely wanted to be close friends with Ming Xiu.

However, this person was simply… The tangerine juice burst in Nie Wuhui’s mouth. The sweetness overpowered the tartness.

Over the past fifty years, he didn’t know how much food the man had forcefully stuffed between his lips and teeth. He had long lost the habit of abstaining from mortal food, completely steeped in the smoke and fire of the mortal world.

The hall quieted down. Ming Xiu, in a rare moment, stopped talking. He quietly watched the white-clad Immortal Lord’s profile as he ate the tangerine. Unable to hold back any longer, he lowered his voice and sighed with emotion: “A-Hui, your eyelashes are so long, and curly too. Like two fluttering butterflies, flying right into my heart…”

Nie Wuhui was long accustomed to him calling him random nicknames, one after another without any rules, and had heard too many of these intimate declarations of love to be the slightest bit surprised. He very calmly turned his body slightly sideways.

Unexpectedly, Ming Xiu acted quickly, lying flat on his back, his head landing squarely on Nie Wuhui’s thigh, pinning him down so he couldn’t move.

Nie Wuhui: “…Get up.”

As soon as he spoke, Ming Xiu adjusted his posture. Using Nie Wuhui’s leg as a pillow, his lower back and waist hung suspended in mid-air, looking as uncomfortable as possible. Yet his expression was smug and satisfied, a joyous smile hanging on his lips.

Step by step, inch by inch. Ming Xiu had finally gotten his wish.

But this man was greedy, and still unsatisfied. So, Ming Xiu opened his mouth, let out an “Ah,” and gestured, “Feed me a wedge too, let me taste it?”

Nie Wuhui pursed his lips. Lowering his eyes, he glanced at the man’s free hands. Before he could speak, he heard him righteously add, “I tired my hands peeling the tangerine for you just now, I don’t have any strength…”

Between the two people in the hall, neither believed it. But neither punctured Ming Xiu’s brazen lie.

Nie Wuhui had tried before, but if this person was blocked once, he had other, even more irresistible excuses ready. The most permanent solution was simply to give him what he wanted.

Nie Wuhui didn’t recall himself being weak-willed; otherwise, he wouldn’t have become the undisputed number one figure in the righteous path, deterring the demonic path for hundreds of years. Yet in front of Ming Xiu, he seemed to have lost his temper.

Perhaps Ming Xiu had noticed exactly this, growing increasingly unrestrained, stubbornly refusing to drop his unparalleled logic of ‘You treat me as a brother, I treat you as my wife.’ …His words and actions are improper.

After a moment of thought, Nie Wuhui actually did as Ming Xiu wished, popping a tangerine wedge into his mouth. Catching sight of his long, curly hair trailing on the floor, he said softly: “Get up, I’ll tie your hair for you.”

Hearing this, Ming Xiu raised an eyebrow. Following the man’s pull, he sat up, facing Nie Wuhui. He lowered his head, unguardedly exposing his vulnerable nape.

Nie Wuhui: “…” He was always like this.

Nie Wuhui stood up, stepped behind the man, and used his fingers to comb through the messy, curly long hair, gathering it strand by strand into his palm.

Ming Xiu lifted his head again, tilting his face up. He locked eyes with Nie Wuhui from an upside-down perspective. Feeling the slight tugging on his scalp, he suddenly reached his arm back and gave a yank behind Nie Wuhui— He pulled off Nie Wuhui’s silver satin hair ribbon.

Instantly, Nie Wuhui’s long hair cascaded down, falling in an incredibly smooth and pliant manner before him, the ends brushing against Ming Xiu’s face.

Ming Xiu narrowed his eyes, holding up his hand and saying: “Use this to tie it.”

Just as he never came empty-handed, Ming Xiu never left empty-handed either. Every time, he had to take something away from Nie Wuhui.…Like a thief.

Nie Wuhui silently took it, tying the silvery-white ribbon atop the man’s head. He stepped around to his front, pulled him up, and adjusted his loose collar. Throughout these actions, Nie Wuhui’s expression was proper and solemn.

Ming Xiu’s heart sank, and he took the initiative to ask, “You look like you’re trying to draw a line with me. Have I annoyed you?”

Nie Wuhui shook his head. He sighed softly and said, “If I calmly accept yet consistently fail to reciprocate your affection, over a long period, I fear it will become a hindrance to my Dao heart…”

Hearing the words ‘Dao heart,’ Ming Xiu reined in his expression slightly and replied, “You haven’t failed to reciprocate. You’ve been rejecting me all along, it’s just my fault for not listening.”

Nie Wuhui didn’t speak, shaking his head again.

Ming Xiu took a step closer, his gaze locked tightly on Nie Wuhui’s, and pressed, “Don’t worry about saving my face. Is it truly not because you’re annoyed with me?”

Nie Wuhui turned his head slightly and said softly, “…I consider you a close friend, so naturally I’m not annoyed. I simply have no intention of seeking a Dao Companion.”

The atmosphere took a sharp downturn. Ming Xiu, in a rare occurrence, was rendered speechless, unsure of what to say. Just then, a youthful voice rang out from outside the hall, “Master, Gu Chen requests an audience.”

Ming Xiu inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, speaking rapidly, “I snuck in here secretly, I’ll go hide first, we’ll talk later!”

With that, he darted up to the roof beams. Ming Xiu abandoned all pretense of elegance and dash, squatting unceremoniously on the beam with a somber expression, making him look even more ferocious.…Dammit!

Ming Xiu clearly realized one thing. Nie Wuhui had spoken very seriously just now, leaving no room to maneuver, and brooking no sophistry from him. Why? He clearly felt their relationship was growing closer and closer, that the day they would hold their Dao Companion ceremony wasn’t far off! Was it an illusion?…This Venerable is absolutely never wrong!

While Ming Xiu wrestled with himself internally up above, Down below, Nie Wuhui met with his disciple, Gu Chen.

Gu Chen was the only son of Sect Leader Gu Fengji. For various reasons, Nie Wuhui had taken him in as a personal disciple, and it had been over ten years now. The youth entered the hall, bowed to Nie Wuhui, his voice still carrying a hint of immaturity, “Master, Gu Chen has come to disturb you.”

With the Immortal Sect Grand Competition approaching, he had some matters to seek Nie Wuhui’s advice on, along with questions regarding his cultivation. For some reason, amidst their back-and-forth Q&A, Gu Chen inexplicably felt his Master was somewhat absent-minded today, possessing an indescribable oddness.

Once official business concluded, Gu Chen happened to spot the basket of tangerines on the desk. He smiled and asked, “Master has tangerines here? Seeing them makes my mouth water, could Master reward me with a few?”

As the son of the Sect Leader and Nie Wuhui’s sole disciple, Gu Chen’s food, clothing, and daily necessities were top-notch. He naturally wouldn’t covet a few ordinary, non-spiritual tangerines. Saying this was merely an attempt to act close to his Master.

And Nie Wuhui, having watched Gu Chen grow up, treated him with great affection, frequently giving him the spiritual food supplied by the sect to Lingzhao Peak to taste…

What Gu Chen didn’t expect was, Nie Wuhui fell silent for a moment, then gently refused him.

Up on the beam, Ming Xiu’s mood took a sharp turn!

A moment later. Seeing the irrelevant person leave, he dropped down right behind Nie Wuhui with a whoosh, his words tumbling out rapidly, “I knew I didn’t misunderstand, you clearly, you clearly…” “You clearly like me too!” “You didn’t want me to feel bad or get angry, you couldn’t even bear to give away the tangerines I gave you to someone else! Then why did you…”

Nie Wuhui didn’t turn around. He sighed again, attempting to reason with the man behind him. “Cultivators steal from the heavens, our lifespans cannot be compared to ordinary people, but they too have an end. I am already a thousand years old, while you have barely passed a hundred. If I truly cared for you, I shouldn’t covet momentary pleasure…”

But the words that came out of Nie Wuhui’s mouth, upon entering Ming Xiu’s ears, morphed into four words— He thinks I’m too young.

Ming Xiu was secretly frustrated. How was he supposed to fix that?!

In a moment of agitation, Ming Xiu wrapped his arms around Nie Wuhui’s waist from behind, his voice hoarse, “None of that matters, just give it a try with me!” “Leave the Guiqing Sect with me. I don’t want to go back to the Heaven Slaughtering Sect either. The two of us can find a quiet place in the mortal world and live like ordinary mortals…” “Three years, five years, either is fine. If you still choose to reject me then, I will absolutely never pester you again!”

After a long pause. Nie Wuhui closed his eyes, “…Alright.”

As soon as his voice fell, Ming Xiu felt as if he had been struck by heavenly lightning, his entire body going numb.

He couldn’t help but part the man’s loose hair, dropping a soft kiss on the back of Nie Wuhui’s neck. Warm, burning hot.

Nie Wuhui trembled slightly, but didn’t dodge.

In his daze, Ming Xiu heard that voice ring out again. The content was much the same, only the number had changed slightly, “Warning! The world’s main storyline has deviated by 60%.”

Immediately after, the voice continued: “Severe warning, the world’s main storyline is on the verge of collapse. Comprehensive monitoring system activated. Eradicating ‘anomalies’, please wait patiently…”