The bright rays of sunlight fell onto the surface of the lake, scattering glittering reflections on the water that sparkled with enough brilliance to dazzle the eyes.
On the flat surface of a large rock situated by the lakeside sat a white-clad person, his legs crossed and posture straight.
This calmly meditating figure looked like a picture painted solely in black and white. The smooth fall of his ink-like hair spilled over and contrasted against the unblemished snowy robe in a solemnly stark, yet nevertheless complementary lack of colors. And despite being tinted with the faint flush of warmth denoting life, his skin still seemed a radiant white due to the tranquility and quietude surrounding him, as if time itself had stilled, immortalizing this peaceful scene.
Suddenly, the lashes of the serenely meditating man lightly trembled, then slowly rose, revealing bright and keen eyes that shone liquidly in the light.
Qinghe slowly unfolded his legs and sat more relaxedly while looking around to survey the situation.
Sitting in the shade under a nearby tree, Jing Shui and Wu Xiao were talking softly, Jing Shui's face flushed a faint pink as he shyly held on to Wu Xiao's hand.
A bit further away, Wei Xiang was lying stretched out on the grassy ground, appearing to be asleep. But seemingly sensing his beloved's gaze on him, his eyes eased open as he turned to look in Qinghe's direction. Pushing himself up in a smooth motion, Wei Xiang began walking towards his little lover while Wu Xiao and Jing Shui also finally noticed that Qinghe had awakened from his meditation.
Wu Xiao was the first to speak. "Xiao Feng, how is your cultivation? Is it stable enough for the coming tournament? After all, you'll have to fight using your spiritual energy. Will you really be alright?"
Qinghe nodded and reassured him, "I don't see any problems. My body has already caught up with my cultivation, so even if it were to rise by a level more, I can still handle it fairly easily."
Having finally reached Qinghe, Wei Xiang heard their conversation and decided to take a peek at his beloved's soul just in case. "Yes, the restrictions seem pretty stable and there are no abnormalities with his soul."
With equally surprised expressions, Wu Xiao and Jing Shui turned to Wei Xiang.
"You can see people's souls?" Wu Xiao burst out.
At the same time, Jing Shui asked, "You have the dragon's eyes?"
Hearing this strange statement, everyone looked at Jing Shui confusedly.
Qinghe was just wondering whether his friend had somehow found out about Wei Xiang's heritage when Jing Shui elaborated, "Ah, it's a type of constitution, I guess. Legends state that true dragons from the heavenly realm have the ability to look into a person's soul. They say that sometimes those descended from the bloodlines of true dragons can also manifest this ability, so it's called 'dragon eyes' or 'dragon sight'. It doesn't mean that these people are necessarily related to spiritual beasts, just that they might have had a true dragon somewhere far back in their bloodline."
Wei Xiang looked amused at this bit of information while Qinghe secretly heaved a breath in relief.
It wasn't that he minded his friend finding it out, but this was after all not Qinghe's secret to reveal. If Wei Xiang wanted to, he would tell them in his own time, but until then, Qinghe was prepared to keep the secret of his lover's birth hidden.
Qinghe calmly switched the topic as he asked, "Brother Jing, will you be participating in the coming Hundred-Year Tournament?"
Jing Shui nodded. "I've already reached fifth realm and finished consolidating it, so I'm qualified at least. I suppose I'll be one of the few representing my sect. Brother Feng, you are also taking part, yes?"
"I guess so. I don't think my junior brothers will have had the time to achieve a breakthrough into fifth realm yet," Qinghe said. After all, in his absence, the twins would have had to shoulder the majority of the work that Qinghe usually took care of, not leaving them with enough time to cultivate and raise their level.
"I see," Jing Shui said consideringly. "Then what about Brother Chen? I've heard that he is throwing himself into intense training. Shouldn't he have had a breakthrough to fifth realm by now?"
Qinghe smiled helplessly. "Yes, in fact he did. But he hasn't yet finished consolidating his level yet. And the gap between his last few advancements have been very short, so if he doesn't take his time right now and stabilize his base, then it will only cause him troubles in the future."
Jing Shui nodded in agreement.
Just then, with a flutter of spiritual energy, a bird-shaped message entered their field of vision, flying down from the sky and heading towards the group.
As one, the four cultivators ceased speaking and diverted their attention towards the warm yellow colored bird.
The bird was a cute and chubby little sparrow, seemingly molded out of glowing light and enclosed within a transparent bubble of energy as it made straight for Qinghe, its little wings flapping in quick little motions.
Without getting up from where he was seated on the rock, Qinghe lifted a hand, his index finger extended as if offering a perch. The little bird swooped down to accurately land on it, its little claws carefully encircling the slender finger to anchor itself stably.
Wu Xiao raised his eyebrows in recognition. There was only one person he knew who sent out this little bird as their messenger.
In his clear voice, Qinghe ordered the bird, "Speak."
Obeying, the bird's beak finally opened. But rather than sweet little chirps, what came out of its mouth was the pitiful and worried sounding voice of an old man, creating an absurdly comical disparity.
"Qing-er, where have you run off to now?! Master is very worried that you will miss the Hundred-Year Tournament. It only happens once every hundred years, so if you miss it now, you will have to wait another century! Your senior and junior brothers cannot participate this time, so you will be representing your master. Qing-er, there is only around a week left before the tournament begins, so hurry back and don't keep your master worrying like this―!"
Zhen YiLan's voice abruptly halted before continuing in a more muffled tone, as if he were speaking to someone else at the side, "…Ah, Jin-er, no― wait, there's even more paperwork? Ah! This much?!"
Then in a more miserable tone, the message went on, "Qing-er, your master is going to die under all these piles of papers! Please, hurry!"
As the complaining voice finally stopped, the little bird shut its beak again and dissolved into light before disappearing completely.
Qinghe let out a deep sigh. His master was really too troublesome.
Clapping him lightly on the shoulder, Wei Xiang hid his amusement as he advised, "I think we've rested enough. Let's resume."
What could Qinghe do but nod in resignation?
His heart, however, was wallowing in bitterness that he hadn't been able to frolic in the clear waters of the lake as he had wanted to.
Oh well, he would just have to wait until he got back home. Then he could play in the stream flowing through his backyard to his heart's content, and maybe even rope in his lover so that they could engage in a few rounds of passionate water sports.
And so, the group sped up as they steadily made for their destination. But since not all their sects were in the same place, they had to split up partway, with Jing Shui and Wu Xiao going in one direction while Qinghe and Wei Xiang went in another.
The easiest way to reach the Silver Moon Sect was to go through the Golden Sun Sect, so Wu Xiao accompanied Jing Shui as they entered the grounds of the latter's sect.
Over the last few hours, Jing Shui had grown strangely subdued, his cheeks flushing red and his eyes evading Wu Xiao's. And though Wu Xiao had noticed his beloved's odd behavior, he didn't comment on it.
With a smile in his eyes, he spoke, "Ah-Shui, I'll be going in a different direction from here, so we'll have to part ways for now."
Jing Shui gave a jerky nod and stuttered in a fluster, "I-I'll see you l-later then." And then he immediately sped away like his backside was on fire.
Wu Xiao blinked confusedly at the swiftly retreating back of his beloved. Really now, what was up with his Ah-Shui all of a sudden?
And then he remembered something.
Back when they had been staying at the palace, Wu Xiao and Jing Shui had decided together that they'd have sex after returning. And as they were making their way back, Jing Shui must have recalled what they had discussed before and must have gotten shy because of that.
With an amused chuckle, Wu Xiao shook his head. What was he going to do with this adorable and bashful lover of his? Wu Xiao supposed he would just have to wait for Jing Shui to make up his mind and take the initiative to come to him on his own.
Thinking this to himself cheerfully, Wu Xiao continued on towards his sect. But as he walked, he suddenly came across his senior sister on the way.
Liu Xue was marching somewhere with a serious expression on her face as she dragged along a disciple behind her. The little disciple was carrying an armload of papers as he tried to frantically keep pace with his sect master's long strides.
Seeing Wu Xiao, Liu Xue abruptly changed directions.
"Oi, Xiao Xiao, if you're back, then say so. Why are you sneaking around in my sect like this?" was how Liu Xue greeted Wu Xiao at running across him again after a long time.
Wu Xiao snorted. "I grew up in this sect right alongside you, so don't give me that nonsense, Elder Sister. And anyway, I just came back, so where would I have had the time to inform you about my return?"
Liu Xue rolled her eyes as she huffed, "I keep telling you to call me Senior Martial Sister. You brat, is this the respect you show your senior disciple?"
"Yes, yes, you keep lecturing me about that, but why don't I remember ever being called Junior Martial Brother by you, Elder Sister?"
Shifting her gaze away, Liu Xue replied breezily, "Why should I? Xiao Xiao sounds good enough. Who'd waste their time spouting all those extra syllables each time?"
"You hypocrite!" Wu Xiao burst out.
Liu Xue stuck out her tongue childishly, completely disregarding her image.
The little disciple with a mountain of papers in his hands whipped his head back and forth as the two sect masters kept bickering. He felt like crying. Couldn't they both indulge in their sibling affection after he was done carrying this stuff? It was so heavy that his arms felt like they were going to pop right out of their sockets at any time, you know!
As if sensing his grievances, Wu Xiao suddenly turned to look at this little disciple.
His frowned as he felt a sense of familiarity, as if he'd seen this little disciple before. Narrowing his eyes, Wu Xiao suddenly remembered. So it was that brat!
Seeing Wu Xiao's gaze on the little disciple, Liu Xiao grinned evilly. "Xiao Xiao, this is Wen Huan. Isn't he cute?"
A light pink dusted Wen Huan's cheeks at the praise.
This Wen Huan was, in fact, the Junior Brother Wen who had kept trying to speak up against Qinghe in the hidden realm. After he'd sincerely apologized to Qinghe, Jing Shui had begun to feel somewhat favorably towards him, and so he helped him out now and then, which seemed to have brought Wen Huan to the notice of Liu Xue, who had then accepted him as a direct disciple and started using him as an errand boy with delight.
Wu Xiao frowned and shot his senior sister a look. "I'll be taking my leave now. I'm sure I have much work piled up and waiting for me on my desk."
Liu Xue laughed smugly as she put an arm around the little disciple and pulled him closer before instructing, "Xiao Huan, call me 'master'."
Though Wen Huan felt exceedingly confused, he still dutifully did as told. "Yes, Master."
Wu Xiao frowned harder, then his forehead suddenly smoothened as a wry grin stretched his lips. "Oh, I forgot to tell you something before."
Then bowing towards a befuddled Liu Xue, Wu Xiao spoke, "Senior Sister, your junior brother humbly asks for your blessings to live a happy life together with your first disciple from now on. After all, Ah-Shui has at last agreed to become my lover!"
Liu Xue's brow twitched. Damn this one-upping little bastard!
"Wu Xiao, you sly old fox. So you finally seduced my little disciple into your evil clutches! This is so unfair!" Liu Xue groused.
Wu Xiao chuckled with even more smugness than what Liu Xue had shown before. Pointedly looking at Liu Xue's arm still around Wen Huan's shoulder, Wu Xiao refuted, "What do you mean unfair? This is exceedingly fair."
Then chortling happily, Wu Xiao continued, "There is one saying that fits this situation especially well, it's something that the disciples from the Mist often like to use: Karma is a bitch."
"You're the one who's a bitch," Liu Xue immediately retorted in a mutter under her breath.
Wu Xiao blinked innocently, his eyes shining with laughter. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. What did the dignified sect master of the Golden Sun Sect just say?"
Growling her dissatisfaction, Liu Xue warned, "You better treat my little disciple well or I'll break your legs."
Uncaring of his senior sister's tone, Wu Xiao smiled warmly, "I know, I know. Elder Sister, do you really think you need to threaten me before I promise to cherish and take care of my beloved Ah-Shui?"
Liu Xue glared at Wu Xiao. "Nevertheless, I'll be watching you."
Then with a huff, Liu Xue turned and continued her march towards her previous destination while dragging Wen Huan along again.
But away from Wu Xiao's sight, Liu Xue's lips curled up, her eyes glowing with happiness. Though she had meant every word she said to Wu Xiao, she was more pleased by the union of her junior brother and little disciple than she let on.
Wen Huan peeked up at his master's strange reaction, then looked away. Never mind, it was none of his business. These sect masers all had unfathomably abnormal personalities anyway, so he shouldn't let this faze him.
But still, no matter how much he pondered, Wen Huan still couldn't understand. Why did Sect Master Wu behave so strangely when he saw him calling Sect Master Liu as 'Master'? And why did it seem like the silver-haired sect master knew him from somewhere?
Shaking his head, Wen Huan decided to leave these thoughts behind in favor of hurrying up to keep pace with his master.
On the other hand, Wu Xiao stood still in the same place, thinking about that little brat Wen Huan calling his senior sister as 'Master'.
With bitterness, Wu Xiao complained in his heart―That address was supposed to belong to him! He was his master, dammit! …Or at least, he was going to be in the future!
The only reason Wu Xiao couldn't yet take in that Wen Huan as his disciple was because of the traditions of the Silver Moon Sect, or specifically, the traditions pertaining to the selection of the next sect master of the Silver Moon Sect.
And these traditions were established for a reason.
The sect masters of the Silver Moon Sect each had a single prophecy at the time they assumed their position. Maybe this was something that had developed over time or maybe it was the result of the complicated ceremony during which the power of the sect leader was passed over, but the undeniable truth was that they would undoubtedly receive this prophecy while they assumed their seat. And the contents of this prophecy revealed to them the identity of the child who would become their direct disciple, the one who would be their successor and the only disciple the Sect Master would ever have.
But the Sect Master couldn't just take them in directly as their disciple. This was because all sect masters of the Silver Moon Sect and their successors were able to view the future, just like the people from the subdivision of Silver Mist.
After all, viewing the future was a risky thing. If the seer with this ability decided to unintentionally or intentionally interfere with predetermined events, then the effects would be unpredictable and could even be catastrophic. To avoid this temptation of altering the future, the people of Silver Mist stayed within the Silver Mist compound allotted to them and chose to never leave its premises.
This restriction usually even applied to the Sect Master, but since Wu Xiao's precognition ability was not that far-reaching enough to cause him trouble, he wasn't prevented from going out now and then.
But if all sect masters of the Silver Moon Sect, after being identified due to the prophecy while they were still a child, were to be confined from a young age to avoid them misusing their ability, then they wouldn't be able to develop into healthy human beings, much less master the necessary skills to run an entire sect. After all, going outside and interacting with different types of people and experiencing different kinds of situations was no doubt an important part of growth, especially for a child.
And so, a solution was proposed.
The disciple who was chosen to be the Sect Master's direct disciple would have their precognition ability sealed, then they would be inducted into the Golden Sun Sect as a disciple. This was not only because of the close ties between the Silver Moon Sect and the Golden Sun Sect, but also because by becoming a part of such a worldly sect, it would be easy for the disciple to gain a wide array of experiences and wisdom.
Then, when the time came to officially choose the successor who would become the future Sect Master of the Golden Sun Sect, the identity of the Silver Moon Sect's head disciple would also be revealed. Until then, even the disciple themselves wouldn't know that they had been chosen.
During the ceremony of instating the new successors of the Golden Sun and Silver Moon Sects, the seal on the Silver Moon Sect's direct disciple's ability would also be removed. After this, having gained enough experience and knowledge, they would be taken in at last by their true master, the current Sect Leader of the Silver Moon Sect, and live their life mostly in the sect's grounds.
It had been so for Wu Xiao, and it would be so for his direct disciple as well.
And the person whom Wu Xiao knew to be his disciple was Wen Huan.
But before Wu Xiao could develop the close feelings of a master and disciple with Wen Huan, his senior sister was already making that little disciple acknowledge her as his master! It was infuriating and so enviable!
Therefore, in retaliation, Wu Xiao had revealed the development in his and Jing Shui's relationship. Though he would have mentioned it sooner or later, he was very gratified at being able to get even with his sister!
Hmph, so what if she had an arm around his future disciple? Wu Xiao already had the affections of his senior sister's little disciple as his lover!
And now that he had started thinking about Jing Shui, Wu Xiao's mind began wandering, thinking of how shy his Ah-Shui had been just now.
With anticipation and warmth filling his heart, Wu Xiao began walking towards his sect, his mind completely occupied with thoughts of his Ah-Shui.
Meanwhile, Jing Shui was in his room, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling in a daze, his head just as packed with thoughts of Wu Xiao.
Excitement and nervousness seemed to flutter madly in his chest as Jing Shui thought about how he and Wu Xiao would soon consummate their relationship, their bodies joining into one.
Jing Shui thought back to that day when Wu Xiao had confessed his affections, on how warm and firm Wu Xiao's hands had felt even through his clothes, how hot and slippery his lover's tongue had been as it had stroked everywhere inside his mouth. Jing Shui could still remember the eager and hungry look in Wu Xiao's eyes when he had looked at him, the deep voice with which he called him "Ah-Shui," that slight flush of pink suffusing his cheeks, those silken lips parted with desire…
The more he deliberated on how Wu Xiao had looked that day, the hotter his body seemed to become, the blood in his veins seeming to rush faster and faster.
Feeling restless, Jing Shui shifted around on his bed. His clothes felt too restrictive, the friction of cloth against skin too distracting. His hands lightly tugged and pulled at his robe, wanting to remove it quickly, but a sudden knock on his door interrupted him.
Feeling strangely lightheaded, Jing Shui got up to open the door.
Standing outside was Liu Xue.
"Master?" Jing Shui called out while blinking confusedly. Why was his master here? Did she have an assignment for him?
Liu Xue studied her little disciple's red face and his dazed eyes, then smirked. "Xiao Shui, who were you thinking about just now?"
Jing Shui looked at her as if he didn't understand why she would ask him something like this, but he still answered truthfully, "Wu Xiao."
Her smile getting wider, Liu Xue stepped into Jing Shui's room and closed the door behind her. Then retrieving a large, flat box, she directly handed it over to her little disciple. "The next time you spend a night together with Wu Xiao, wear this."
With puzzlement, Jing Shui opened the box, only to find a thin robe inside, its material soft and extremely luxurious. Its color was that of the sunlit sky reflected on clear waters, a gentle, warm, and light blue. As Jing Shui reached out his hand and touched it, the cloth felt cool and pleasant under his fingertips.
There were no decorations marring the smooth, satiny surface of the cloth. The cut of the robe was also simple, yet exuded refinement due to this simplicity. And the light blue material, when placed against Jing Shui's skin, lent it an exceedingly radiant and tender look, making him appear very refreshing and charming.
Liu Xue nodded with satisfaction and said, "It looks very good on you. As expected, my eye for these things is never wrong. Xiao Shui, don't forget to wear it for your lover when you're banging each other later, alright?"
Then leaving behind a flustered and stuttering Jing Shui, Liu Xue swept out the room with a grin.
After seeing her little disciple in that robe, her junior brother would definitely have to agree that he owed her one.
...
The second Qinghe made it back to the sect, he forwent reporting to his master and headed straight to his room and the stream beyond, impatiently dragging a laughing Wei Xiang along with him.
After quickly disrobing, Qinghe pulled Wei Xiang into the water to play and wash together. To no one's surprise, the pair of lovers soon became engaged in other activities, the sounds of their continuous lovemaking echoing throughout the backyard along with the violent splashing of water constantly being disturbed by the two passionately writhing bodies.
It was only many hours later that the couple wiped themselves dry and returned to the room.
Sighing happily, Qinghe laid down on the bed with contentment, preparing to finally sleep without worries. Staying in such an unfriendly territory like the palace for so long without being able to let his guard down had really been very taxing.
But sensing that his lover hadn't yet come to lie down beside him, Qinghe curiously looked up, only to be met with the sight of Wei Xiang putting on his uniform. He felt like it had been a long time since he'd seen his lover in his Sentinel garb, as Wei Xiang had worn civilian clothing all this while in the palace.
"Xiang?" Qinghe called out, a question apparent in his soft voice.
Wei Xiang looked back at the bed, his gaze running over his drowsy and sated lover lying limply on the white sheets, his smooth limbs stretched, his hair scattered around him lazily.
Qinghe's exposed skin still visibly retained moisture, seeming to invite Wei Xiang to touch and kiss it, to begin yet another round of passionate activities, their sweaty skin sliding against each other, their bodies wrapping around one another, their chests pressing together so tightly that they could feel the other's heartbeat thudding uncontrollably, their heated bodies pressing into each other as they rocked as one in a wild, primal rhythm until…
Abruptly stopping that alluring line of thought and shaking his head to clear it, Wei Xiang curbed his rising lust and focused on answering his beloved, "I still have a matter left to handle regarding apprehending a few escaping criminals. I should be back by the time you wake up."
Qinghe sleepily pouted, then asked astutely, "Are these criminals by any chance from the Xing Long Empire? Or more specifically, someone from the imperial palace?"
Wei Xiang did not attempt to hide anything as he nodded while he finished putting on his uniform.
Smiling knowingly, Qinghe closed his eyes and snuggled into the bedcovers. In a voice already gone thick from sleep, he spoke, "Alright then. Come back to me safely and quickly."
With warmth pooling in his eyes, Wei Xiang silently walked up to the bed and bent down to place a gentle kiss to his little lover's temple.
"I will. So sleep well," he whispered almost soundlessly, his fingertips carefully, tenderly brushing back his beloved's hair.
Then straightening again, Wei Xiang cast one more loving glance over his Qinghe's peaceful expression before he turned away, disappearing into the insubstantial shadows.