The sound came from the desk, and Shen Liuxiang drowsily opened his eyes. Looking up to see the dark-robed figure already at the door, he rubbed his eyes and chased after him.
Halfway there, he saw that the paper objects he had folded all day were completely destroyed, with only cold ashes scattered on the ground.
He let out a pained hiss, wanting to condemn the culprit, but Zhou Xuanlan, without looking back, mentioned dinner. Shen Liuxiang choked, then broke into a smile.
Freshly prepared delicious dishes were placed by palace servants on a jade table in the pavilion.
Zhou Xuanlan didn’t eat, but went to the study.
Shen Liuxiang picked up the chopsticks by himself, took a few bites. Though the air was filled with coldness, the hot food in his stomach made his whole body feel warm and comfortable after eating.
Zhou Xuanlan came out of the study, walked along the corridor, and turned his head to see the young man in the pavilion had finished his meal with a satisfied expression. He stood up, walked around the pavilion twice, then raised an eyebrow as if thinking of something, and quickly ran off.
Zhou Xuanlan’s divine consciousness unconsciously followed him.
Outside the sleeping palace, Shen Liuxiang pushed the door, and upon finding the barrier still there, bared his teeth at it with a fierce air and muttered a couple of phrases.
Turning around again, he laid out his bedding in the corridor and sat cross-legged to cultivate.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty,”
Zhou Xuanlan came to his senses, frowning as he looked at the palace servant calling him.
The palace servant carefully said: “Your Majesty has been standing here for half an hour. Do you have any important instructions?”
Zhou Xuanlan was startled, realizing he had been too absorbed. As if frightened, he withdrew his divine consciousness, his face darkening as he left without a word.
The next day, Shen Liuxiang was again taken to the pavilion.
Zhou Xuanlan set up a defensive barrier around himself. Whatever Shen Liuxiang threw was intercepted outside, and looking at the sad pile of folded paper on the ground, he lightly pursed his lips.
In his boredom, he yawned, then tapped the barrier with the reverse scale, surprisingly discovering that the barrier no longer blocked him.
Shen Liuxiang blinked, then slipped inside the barrier.
When Zhou Xuanlan finished cultivating and opened his eyes, his body slightly stiffened.
As if sensing something, he looked down. The young man’s head was resting on his lap, his handsome, fair face peaceful in sleep, one hand lightly grasping the dark edge of his robe, as if afraid he would run away.
Zhou Xuanlan: “…”
He had never been this close to anyone before.
Zhou Xuanlan’s hand fell on the slender, fragile neck, his face flickering with expressions. After a while, he moved it to Shen Liuxiang’s face, his fingertips gently caressing.
Going to such lengths to cling to him, she must be treating him as her former disciple.
Unfortunately, he is not.
Zhou Xuanlan was certain. He reached out and coldly pinched the young man’s cheek, waking him up.
Shen Liuxiang opened his eyes, indignant.
Spending days in the pavilion and nights in the corridor, Shen Liuxiang had stayed at Xuanyao Palace for several days like this. Zhou Xuanlan’s attitude toward him had improved considerably; at least eating and drinking well was no longer a problem, and he no longer showed killing intent.
However, Shen Liuxiang was somewhat puzzled. His previous communication talismans had received no response. He had sent several more, but they were all like stones sinking into the sea.
Today, the weather was stuffy. After dinner, heavy rain that had been brewing all day poured down, wetting most of the corridor with slanting rain.
Shen Liuxiang moved his bedding closer to the door.
The night was already filled with chill, and the damp scent of the rainy night rose from the floor. Cold wind, accompanied by the sound of thunder and rain, howled through the corridor, making things worse. One blanket was hardly enough to resist the cold.
Shen Liuxiang shrank inside the blanket, curled up, his phoenix eyes open, his ear to the ground, listening for movement inside the room.
The person inside seemed to be in some kind of predicament, pacing back and forth, with particularly complex footsteps.
Gradually, the footsteps approached the door.
Shen Liuxiang nervously gripped the reverse scale. Zhou Xuanlan should not let him stay in the rain-soaked corridor, miserably, for a whole night.
“He should come out to get me now,” he blinked his phoenix eyes, muttering softly.
Inside the room, Zhou Xuanlan calmly closed his eyes, heard the sound of rain and wind, and opened them again.
Under his divine consciousness, the person at the door was wrapped in a blanket. In this season, with such night weather, it would be bone-chillingly cold outside.
Zhou Xuanlan got up, took down the robe from the screen, put it on while walking outside, and nearing the door, his footsteps paused slightly.
During the day in the pavilion, seeing the gloomy weather, he had reminded him that in Xuanyao Palace, not to mention ordinary empty rooms, there were many sleeping palaces of various sizes that were empty and could be used freely.
Who knew Shen Liuxiang would say seriously: “Separate rooms are for those with relationship problems. We’re fine, we should sleep together.”
Afterward, still holding a grudge about being thrown out of the sleeping palace, even though the reverse scale could get him past the barrier, he refused, saying, “You threw me out, you have to personally carry me back in.”
Zhou Xuanlan had never seen anyone climb into his bed so blatantly, so arrogantly, nor had he seen such a presumptuous person forcing him to compromise.
Zhou Xuanlan thought about letting him endure a night of cold as a lesson; perhaps tomorrow he would obediently go back to his room.
He turned around, moving away from the door.
Before long, the sound of rain outside grew stronger. Zhou Xuanlan, feeling restless, came down from the bed again, picking up something before leaving, and walked straight to the door.
With Foundation Establishment cultivation, the body wasn’t much stronger than a mortal’s. With cold wind occasionally blowing through the corridor, catching a cold… might affect the reverse scale.
Zhou Xuanlan’s slender hand pressed on the door, opening it.
Light from the room spilled onto the corridor, enveloping the raised thin blanket.
Zhou Xuanlan stood at the door, his eyes lowered, seeing Shen Liuxiang who immediately poked his head out from the blanket.
The young man’s lips curved slightly into a smile, his eyes particularly bright under the soft light, as if he had anticipated that the person inside would come out. “Are you going to take me in?”
So certain, so confident of victory.
Zhou Xuanlan’s heart suddenly surged with irritation, his thin lips pressed into a cold curve, his tall figure motionless.
This certainty, treating him as the person from before…
The light fell on Zhou Xuanlan’s handsome features, which were filled with gloom.
He was silent for a while, then revealed the hand behind his back, both hands holding a pillow, which he tossed to Shen Liuxiang.
With a “pa,” the door closed again.
After entering the room, Zhou Xuanlan’s divine consciousness fixed on the outside, seeing Shen Liuxiang stunned for a long time, his eyelashes lowered, seemingly showing some disappointment. Then he looked down, looked at the pillow in his arms, and with his lips slightly curved, muttered, “Well, at least there’s a pillow. Making progress a bit every day.”
Saying this, he retreated into his rolled-up thin blanket.
Zhou Xuanlan frowned, surprised that he was satisfied with just a pillow.
His divine consciousness remained outside all night. Shen Liuxiang stayed in the corridor, never using the reverse scale to cross the barrier, seemingly determined to make him personally retrieve him.
As dawn approached, Zhou Xuanlan pretended to go out, making considerable noise, but the figure curled in the blanket didn’t move at all.
Zhou Xuanlan realized something was wrong, lifted the blanket, and saw the person inside hugging a soft pillow, with an unusual flush on his cheeks, a slight frown, and a burning forehead.
Since Shen Liuxiang had made the corridor his home, the palace servants had all retreated to the rear to keep watch.
The palace servants who came to attend upon hearing the commotion only saw the Demon Emperor carrying a young man in his arms, his expression slightly tense, striding into the sleeping palace: “Someone, prepare medicine!”
Shen Liuxiang, feverish and confused, felt the blanket being lifted in his sleep, a warm familiar scent wrapping around him, particularly attractive in the cold, damp, gloomy rain.
Zhou Xuanlan, with a solemn face, looked at the person he was carrying horizontally. Dressed in thin inner clothes, with a pale face showing a feverish flush, he unconsciously leaned closer to him.
Zhou Xuanlan felt the closeness, his body slightly stiffening, quickly entering the room and placing the person on the soft bed.
Shen Liuxiang was still at the Foundation Establishment stage and couldn’t dissolve certain pills, so they could only use spiritual herbs boiled into medicinal juice for him to drink.
But the person on the bed was uncooperative. When the alchemist tried to feed him the medicine, the juice flowed from the corner of Shen Liuxiang’s mouth. The Demon Emperor’s brow furrowed, making the alchemist tremble with fear. Then the medicine bowl in his hand was snatched away: “Get out, I’ll do it.”
The alchemist quickly stepped aside. Zhou Xuanlan pinched Shen Liuxiang’s jaw, making his rosy lips open, placed the spoon at his mouth, and poured the thick black medicine into it.
But before a third of it had entered his mouth, probably finding it too bitter, Shen Liuxiang immediately closed his mouth.
Zhou Xuanlan frowned, reached out to grip his jaw, intending to force the medicine down, but his gaze fell on the pale, sickly face. After hesitating for a moment, he ordered someone to bring something.
Shen Liuxiang’s long eyelashes trembled, his eyelids seemingly weighing a thousand pounds. In his feverish confusion, he tasted a long-missed sweetness on his lips.
Like a sugar figurine.
He slightly opened his mouth, his tongue reaching out to lick, confirming it was indeed. Just as he was about to continue tasting, a pungent, strong medicinal flavor rushed into his mouth and slid down his throat.
Shen Liuxiang coughed, quickly closed his mouth tightly, his brows deeply furrowed.
But before long, the sweetness of the sugar figurine returned. Shen Liuxiang pressed his lips together, couldn’t resist opening his mouth again, and another spoonful of medicine rushed in.
This repeated, and under the constant temptation of the sugar figurine, Shen Liuxiang finished a bowl of medicine.
His mouth was full of bitterness. In his dazed state, he had no idea what had happened, only feeling that getting a bit of sugar was so difficult. Fortunately, a small piece of sugar figurine finally landed in his mouth, not running away this time.
When the good spiritual herbs took effect, the burning temperature on Shen Liuxiang’s forehead subsided. He slightly opened his eyes, and in his swaying vision, caught sight of a tall figure by the bed.
Zhou Xuanlan handed the medicine bowl to a palace servant, and his sleeve was tugged.
Though the force was extremely light, that jade-white hand was holding tightly, fingertips turning white, not letting go.
“Zhou Xuanlan…” Shen Liuxiang’s voice was slightly hoarse.
As if performing some kind of confirmation, his eyes, covered with a layer of mist, stared at him unblinkingly, calling his name.
After all the attending palace servants had left, Zhou Xuanlan’s face showed mixed emotions. After a moment, he bent down, his slender fingers lifting Shen Liuxiang’s chin slightly.
He stared at those phoenix eyes and said word by word: “Don’t mistake this lord for that disciple of yours, otherwise…”
Zhou Xuanlan’s fingertips tightened slightly, leaving faint red marks on the fair chin: “I won’t spare you.”
Shen Liuxiang winced with pain, becoming somewhat more clear-headed, and frowned in rebuttal: “You are him.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“…”
Zhou Xuanlan’s heart surged with irritation. In his understanding, he couldn’t possibly be that disciple. Shen Liuxiang was clearly treating him as a shadow, never having considered that one day he would become someone’s substitute.
After Shen Liuxiang repeatedly insisted that he was, Zhou Xuanlan’s black eyes grew deep, coldly looking at the person on the bed, prying open the slender fingers that were tightly gripping his sleeve, one by one.
Then he held them again, placing Shen Liuxiang’s hand over his heart.
“If I were your disciple and liked you, my heart should be warm,”
Zhou Xuanlan stared at Shen Liuxiang, as if tearing open a wound, bloody and naked, presenting it before Shen Liuxiang.
“But my heart is cold, never having been warm.”
“Or perhaps, you did something to make it this cold.”
Shen Liuxiang’s face lost all color, frighteningly pale. His fingertips trembled, wanting to withdraw his hand, but Zhou Xuanlan forcefully pressed it against his heart, immobilizing it.
Zhou Xuanlan looked at his expression, his thin lips curving slightly, unusually satisfied.
He should understand now, he thought.
But in the next moment, Zhou Xuanlan was stunned. In his vision, those beautiful phoenix eyes of Shen Liuxiang suddenly welled up with tears, unstoppably.
Zhou Xuanlan’s whole body froze, and the hand against his heart slid down.
…Why was he crying?
He didn’t cry sleeping in the corridor all night, nor when forced to stay in the pavilion during the day. Why was he crying now?
Zhou Xuanlan’s heart suddenly panicked. He reached out to touch Shen Liuxiang’s cheek. Shen Liuxiang turned to his side, his soft black hair spread on the pillow, silently burying his face in the blanket.
Zhou Xuanlan’s expression subtly changed. He got onto the bed, pulled the person out from under the covers, and instinctively held him in his arms.
He grabbed one hand and pressed it to his heart: “Feel it again, it’s warm, it’s actually warm.”
Shen Liuxiang: “It’s cold.”
Zhou Xuanlan’s heart was in a mess, his mind in such disarray that he couldn’t think clearly. His every move was unlike himself, even explaining in a panic.
“It’s been cold lately, so I got chilled. You’re warm; give this lord a warm-up and it will be hot.”
As the words fell, he heard the young man in his arms burst into laughter with a “puff.”
Zhou Xuanlan: “…”
Acting, deceiving him.
Zhou Xuanlan’s face suddenly darkened, his hand on Shen Liuxiang’s waist tightening, using some force to bring him closer, then in a rage giving a gentle push outward. “Always using these deceptive little tricks, stay away from this lord.”
“That won’t do,”
Shen Liuxiang said hoarsely, reaching out to cling to him, burying his face in the familiar hollow of his shoulder. “If I stay away, what if your heart gets cold again?”
Zhou Xuanlan noticed the wetness on his face and was silent for a moment: “Master… it’s warm, don’t worry.”
After Shen Liuxiang fell into a deep sleep, Zhou Xuanlan belatedly realized what he had done, his handsome face full of irritation.
He should throw the person out, he should go cultivate, handle affairs, not indulge someone nestling in his arms to sleep when the sun was already high.
Zhou Xuanlan’s black eyes scattered with fierce aura, growing more intense as time passed.
Just as he was about to erupt, a hand reached toward Shen Liuxiang, fiercely tucking in the corner of the blanket: “Don’t move around.”
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Thank You for the new chapter♡ฅ(ᐤˊ꒳ฅˋᐤ)