The next morning when Qinghe opened his eyes, the first thing that greeted him was the smirking face of a certain Sentinel who was lying next to him on the bed. Looking radiant and bathed in sunlight, he seemed too bright to be real.
"Ah, you're awake," Wei Xiang's voice noted huskily. "I was afraid you'd be too tired after last night." What he was implying was obvious.
Qinghe blinked, then uncaringly turned around to resume his sleep. It was too early for him to deal with this crap, he'd rather visit dreamland again.
Low laughter filled the space. "Come now, get up. Don't make me tickle you awake."
Sensing the very real threat in that sentence, Qinghe propped himself up while grumbling moodily and glared at the Sentinel.
Getting up into a sitting position, he introduced himself, "I'm Wei Xiang, the Sentinel Grandmaster's third disciple. I've been assigned to observe you for certain reasons. I'll be staying with you until my assignment is complete. Any questions?"
Sighing, Qinghe shook his head. He already remembered for the most part what happened yesterday. There were only a few blurry parts, which he could fill in easily enough. This Sentinel called Wei Xiang had helped him out of a tough spot and was even generous enough to bring him home and take care of him, so of course he didn't object to him staying or acting so familiar.
As for personal space… Qinghe had long since gotten used to not having any. In the orphanage during night, the unwashed half-bare bodies of the children had to be stacked one on top of the other to fit in the common sleeping room. So having someone sharing his room and bed was hardly as shocking to him in comparison.
Qinghe casually got up and started his morning routine. This time, Wei Xiang didn't dare follow him to peek on him bathing. It was only polite to limit his shameless behavior towards his host.
After Qinghe was done freshening up, he invited Wei Xiang to also do the same. Retrieving a spare set of his uniform from his spatial storage, Wei Xiang also bathed and changed. Once they were both presentable, they prepared to head outside.
Just before leaving the room, Wei Xiang noticed that a lock of Qinghe's hair was stuck under his clothes. He helpfully hooked a finger under it and pulled it out.
Feeling the light touch of a finger on his sensitive neck, Qinghe tensed for a moment before relaxing. He looked back at Wei Xiang, puzzled. Why hadn't his touch repelled him? The only exception till now had been the twins, and even that was because… Wait, could it be that?
"You. Are you not human?" Qinghe directly asked him.
Lifting an eyebrow, Wei Xiang responded breezily, "Why would you think that?"
Qinghe wanted to pry but decided to leave it for now. It didn't matter much to him either way.
They headed towards the sect hall to meet the sect master. Qinghe and Wei Xiang both directly ignored the stupefied gazes of the disciples they passed, Qinghe while smiling as gently as always and Wei Xiang looking completely unconcerned.
After they reached the doors of the hall, Qinghe as usual pushed in and bowed while saying, "Master, your disciple is here with a request."
Zhen YiLan was at first happy at seeing his disciple, it seemed he was not angry at him for what happened last time! Then he noticed and looked confusedly at the Sentinel accompanying him.
"Qing-er, why is the Sentinel with you?" he asked worriedly.
Before Qinghe could ask him to just treat Wei Xiang like air, the Sentinel spoke up. "I'm here under the Grandmaster's instructions to observe your disciple. Please pay me no mind."
"Observe?" Zhen YiLan was clearly alarmed. "Why, what happened?"
With a solemn expression, Wei Xiang said, "He's been suspected of smuggling black market drugs."
The tip of Qinghe's eyebrows twitched.
"Oh, Qing-er!" the sect master exclaimed, heartbroken. "How could you?"
Master, so you're just going to believe him? What is this, a play with dog blood drama? He wanted to curse that darn Wei Xiang for being up to his mischief again!
Qinghe turned around and kicked at the chuckling man and snapped, "Behave!"
Raising his hands in surrender, Wei Xiang nimbly dodged as he laughed. "Yes, yes. So cease your domestic violence."
Though Qinghe didn't pay the words any mind, there was a sudden lack of the sound of papers turning. All the Elders and even the sect master were looking between them strangely.
Did he just say 'domestic violence'? And the casual way they were behaving, could it be…
Zhen YiLan gave voice to all their thoughts, "…Are you both lovers?"
The Elders all gasped as if they hadn't been thinking the exact same thing.
"…"
Was this dog blood drama still continuing? Can someone please give me the script to this shitty play?
Through clenched teeth, Qinghe gritted out, "No, we are not."
Wei Xiang decided he'd had enough fun and kept his mouth shut while his eyes still twinkled with amusement.
Taking a deep breath, Qinghe forcibly pulled the topic back on track. "Master, may I be permitted to reserve Starry Mountain Peak for seven days?"
Realizing that he had been teased, Zhen YiLan easily put the previous topic aside and asked, "Seven whole days? Is it because of what happened yesterday?"
Surmising that his senior brother must have told him, Qinghe didn't attempt to hide it. "Yes."
"Hm, alright. Take care of yourself then."
"This disciple thanks Master," Qinghe bowed politely before leaving, Wei Xiang in tow.
The sky outside was bright blue, wispy cotton-like clouds being dragged along by the wind. The pleasant breeze brushed their faces, leaving behind a light touch.
"So what is this Starry Mountain Peak?" Wei Xiang asked curiously.
"It's a place that helps a lot during cultivation," Qinghe said simply.
"Yes, but in what way?" Wei Xiang remained persistent.
"It helps with concentration during meditation and has an exhaustive supply of spiritual energy. It's also good for training," he explained.
Qinghe led them through a path with bamboos towering on either side, turning the sunlight into a diluted green. The walk along the path was leisurely and pleasant.
At the end of the path was a barren hilly area, huge crystal boulders scattered among normal rocks. Wei Xiang's eyes flashed golden for a second before reverting to black. The sheer amount of spiritual energy in the air surprised him.
As Qinghe led them deeper, the amount and size of the crystal boulders increased, until they eventually reached a massive mountain that seemed to be made entirely of glass. Through it, one could make out the fragmented image of clouds drifting along the sky above—it was that clear.
"During nighttime, you can see the stars in the sky through the mountain, that's why it's called Starry Mountain. Its summit is called Starry Mountain Peak and is the best place to cultivate."
"So we are climbing up then?" Wei Xiang asked matter-of-factly.
Qinghe hesitated before saying, "You don't have to follow me till there. The wind currents at the peak are very sharp and coated with spiritual energy, that's why it's good for training. It'll be uncomfortable for you."
Raising an eyebrow, Wei Xiang asked, "Do you even need that kind of training right now? Aren't you going to focus on your restrictions and core?"
He had clearly been listening to their conversation outside the hidden realm, but Qinghe didn't mind.
"Yes, but I can't use my spiritual energy right now to shield myself, so I can only bear with it."
"I will go with you," Wei Xiang said decisively.
"You don't have to…"
Not giving him time to finish speaking, Wei Xiang leapt up to scale the mountain. Giving up on persuading him, Qinghe followed after removing the appearance changing talisman. The spiritual power in it could disrupt him while he tweaked the spiritual power already in his restrictions.
Within an hour, they had reached the summit.
The mountain under their feet was cool and smooth and the scenery at the top was beautiful. The land stretched out on all sides, extending into the horizon until it touched the sky. The buildings in the distance looked like tiny paper houses. Lush greenery scattered the land in patches and added fresh color. The world from up here looked wide and majestic.
Not wasting time, Qinghe sat down to meditate.
The wind here was as harsh as expected, violently whipping around their hair and clothes. The air currents blew forcefully, making a loud, almost deafening whistling noise. The air pressure here was significantly different from that on the ground, making one feel like their head was about to burst.
Within a few minutes, the wind had abraded Qinghe's skin until it turned red and his lips had started to chap. But focusing entirely on meditating, Qinghe didn't pay his physical discomfort any attention.
On the other hand, Wei Xiang was worried about Qinghe and moved to sit in front of him to block the wind while imitating his posture. But the wind kept changing direction and Qinghe's face only turned redder.
Deciding that there was no helping it, Wei Xiang unfurled two giant wings from his back. They opened by tearing through his clothes and spread over them both like a membranous tent, completely blocking off the wind and its ghastly howling. Within the shelter of the wings, the air gradually began to warm.
Qinghe's expression relaxed in comfort.
They stayed like that for days, Qinghe meditating and adjusting the holes in the restrictions and Wei Xiang covering them both with his wings without minding the buffeting air currents.
All this time, Wei Xiang was also keeping an eye on Qinghe's soul, trying to see past the mess of wiggles that was the Soul Sealing spell. On the sixth day, he finally caught a glimpse.
Qinghe had succeeded in widening a particular hole and was beginning to reinforce its boundaries. When Wei Xiang was finally able to see through to his soul, he gasped in quiet wonder.
Most souls he'd seen were a misty gray swirling with wisps of various other, darker shades including black. On rare occasions of meeting specially gifted people favored by Heaven, he found their souls to be mostly light grey with bright curls of white and only tiny amounts of black. The idea was that the lighter a person's soul, the more potential and heavenly favor they had.
But Qinghe's soul was almost completely transparent with only floating wisps of pure white. Wei Xiang had never seen a soul like this, it was unbelievably stunning. And he hadn't even seen the entire soul, just a part of it through a small gap.
Even the soul of the Sentinel Grandmaster, who was an actual deity from Heaven, couldn't compare. His soul had been an even, pure white with only the faintest trails of silvery grey. Wei Xiang had thought at that time that he could never possibly see a purer soul.
He was proven wrong.
Soon enough the gap was stabilized and narrowed, the beauty of the soul inside hidden away again.
With his soul closed for view, Wei Xiang resumed staring at Qinghe's face as he had been doing these past days. He had grown to find his true face quite pleasing. The curve of his lashes as they fanned out and lightly touched his cheek, the plush and pink mouth glistening faintly, and his smooth creamy skin that lacked any blemishes―everything about him had become familiar to him. Though Qinghe could be said to have a cold and perfect kind of beauty, after familiarizing himself with it, Wei Xiang found Qinghe's looks more appealing and likable than before.
He remembered how Qinghe's sect master and Elders had mistaken them for lovers and contemplated on it.
Maybe he should make it a reality, Wei Xiang finally thought, his lips bending in a small smile.
Exactly seven days had passed since they settled on Starry Mountain Peak when Qinghe opened his eyes.
He was greeted with the sight of something translucent stretched around him, seemingly gilded with bright gold at the edges. It took him a while to make sense of what he was seeing.
Wei Xiang was sitting opposite him and these were actually golden wings extending from his back and wrapping around them, the membrane exuding a pearly sheen. He could see faint, darker lines of blood vessels within the membrane. The air enclosed inside was warm and comfortable, the noise of the wind currents muted to a faint whooshing.
Had Wei Xiang been tirelessly protecting him all this time?
Seeing that he was awake, Wei Xiang put away his wings as his bones creaked painfully from the long period of disuse. Once folded, they seemed to disappear into his back. Two large rips could be seen on his back where the wings had pushed out, displaying the smooth and warm skin beneath.
"Were you successful?" Wei Xiang asked.
"Yes. Thank you for shielding me," Qinghe said, truly grateful.
Now that he was without the protection of Wei Xiang's wings, the wind coldly cut into his skin again and the high-pitched whistling grated on his nerves. He was truly thankful for having been spared this torment while in a crucial period of cultivation.
Done with what they had come here for, the two quickly descended the mountain, and Qinghe considerately chose not to ask Wei Xiang if he was a half- or full-blooded winged serpent beast.