After a brief thought, Xie Qing smirked and said, "Master, spend the night with me!"
"Hm?"
Xu Mei froze in place, not understanding what Xie Qing had just said to her. She thought her ears were playing tricks on her and asked again, "What-what do you want?"
"Hm? Spend the night with you, that's what I asked for," said Xie Qing with a carefree expression on his face.
"You..."
Xu Mei was on the verge of exploding with embarrassment. Pointing an accusing finger at Xie Qing, she shook with embarrassment, her face turning red.
"Shameless! Aren't you ashamed to ask your Master for something like that?! We haven't even held hands!"
"Oh, then let's hold hands," suddenly said Xie Qing, smiling. He took her hand and then brought his mouth close to her ear, whispering, "But... it seems you misunderstood me."
"Hm?"
Xu Mei emitted an embarrassed chuckle, feeling the touch of Xie Qing's hands. She blushed, feeling like a silly eighteen-year-old who had just gone to the beach, where a predatory wolf tried to hit on her.
Xie Qing smirked, sensing her delicate body trembling with embarrassment. Her red face was incredibly cute, making him want to tease her even more.
"I meant... by spending the night, taking a walk, not what you thought," he said and chuckled softly, stroking her cheek. "My Master is so naughty..."
"!!!"
Xu Mei rolled her eyes and almost fainted. With Xie Qing's gentle touch and his tender tone, she melted, feeling like she had returned to her youth, surrounded by her parents.
And after a few seconds... she fainted.
"Uh... cultivator fainting from shock? This is nonsense..." muttered Xie Qing, smirking.
***
While Xie Qing was busy trying to wake up his Master, a group of people gathered in a dimly lit room. They all wore cloaks.
"No. 2 and No. 4 are dead. What should we do?" a hoarse voice filled with anger was heard.
"What can we do? Although they tried to kill this guy, it turned out he was stronger than we thought. Plus, our actions attracted the attention of the elders," added another.
"That arrogant bastard will be displeased. Again, hearing his complaints... sigh!"
"It's our collective fault. We underestimated this guy; he hid his talent. It will be difficult for our employer in the upcoming heir competitions."
"Ask No. 9 and No. 10 to track his movements. As soon as he leaves the sect by ten li, kill him immediately!"
After a brief and heated conversation, they left the room. Who were these mysterious people... well, who knows?
***
Xu Mei woke up an hour later, and after some difficulty explaining everything to her, she finally calmed down.
"So, you just wanted to take a walk with me, right?" Xu Mei said with a strange tone that even sounded disappointed.
"Of course. What did you think?" Xie Qing grinned audaciously, crossing his arms on his chest.
It was clear that he was enjoying the situation, not forgetting to tease his Master. The time he spent with her was wonderful.
"Hmph... you don't know how to choose your words, that's the problem," said Xu Mei with a barely noticeable blush on her face. Then she added, "But I would have agreed even if you hadn't asked me like that. Are you sure you won't regret it?"
"Regret? My beloved Master, such a word doesn't exist in your disciple's dictionary," said Xie Qing with a smile, proudly puffing out his chest.
"Hehe..." Xu Mei chuckled merrily and then said something that almost made Xie Qing lose consciousness: "Your confident look is much more attractive, you know? I like you much more this way."
"Ugh..."
Xie Qing squeezed his heart, feeling an invisible arrow hit him right in the center of his heart. He couldn't believe that his always cheeky Master said such a thing to him. He almost died of diabetes from her sweet words.
"M-Master, you're turning your disciple into a wolf," said Xie Qing with a feigned plaintive tone.
"Hmph. You're already quite the wolf, a white-eyed one at that," said Xu Mei, snorting and rolling her eyes.
"Why a white-eyed wolf?" protested Xie Qing, adopting a mournful expression. He sighed, "Ah, so this is what you think of me, Master. It hurts so much..."
"T-this... I didn't mean to offend you."
"Yeah, yeah... but the disciple's heart hurts so much... maybe I should undress, and you can massage my chest?"
"Go to hell!"
And ten minutes later...
Xu Mei gave in and decided to go for a walk with Xie Qing after all. He set a condition that she would let him lead their date today, causing Xu Mei to blush heavily.
And so...
They were in a city controlled by the sect. It had a too-long name, so Xie Qing didn't remember it.
The city was celebrating today. It was the day the city's hero was born, so all the streets were festively decorated, and stalls sold various candies and other street food.
Overall, the atmosphere was very lively and beautiful. Bright lights illuminated the city, and the laughter of the townspeople adorned the festive evening.
"Here, Master," Xie Qing said with a smile, handing her a dragon made of caramel that sparkled brightly from the lanterns. "I was told it's delicious, but I don't know if it's true..."
"Are you treating me like a guinea pig?" Xu Mei said, scrunching her mouth, but still took the caramel and licked it. Her eyes widened, "Oh, sweet!"
"Yeah?"
"..."
Xu Mei decided to simply ignore Xie Qing's flirtatious behavior. She chuckled and started eating her caramel dragon while Xie Qing led her through the streets filled with an atmosphere of joy and merriment.
Even just walking, without entering restaurants or other places, Xu Mei was very happy. After reaching her current level of cultivation, which became a bottleneck for her, she spent days in boredom. These days, when she felt so happy, were incredible. She looked at Xie Qing, who was trying to haggle for some special decoration and smiled.
"Heh... it's good that I listened to you and covered him from prying eyes, Mei-Mei," Xu Mei thought, looking at the person who had turned her life 360 degrees. Her eyes gleamed with determination, "I need to try hard... to make our relationship even stronger. I can't let him go for anything."
Xie Qing, who successfully managed to buy the decoration at a low price, suddenly felt a shiver down his spine. He looked around but only saw Xu Mei smiling affectionately, whose eyes, for some reason, seemed much deeper than before.
"Did I imagine it? It felt like I wanted to sneeze, but after a long struggle, couldn't... an unpleasant feeling."
...Knowing too much is harmful to your health, my dear friend.
The time was approaching deep night, but the city still didn't sleep. The city was still active, so Xie Qing decided to sit in a restaurant with Xu Mei.
"Here, Master," Xie Qing said with a smile, pulling out the chair for Xu Mei to sit. "What a polite boy," Xu Mei said with a smirk, then sat on the chair, saying, "Hmm, not bad. As expected from my disciple."
Xie Qing, who had already sat at the table, could only smirk and remain silent. The only thing he learned from her was how to understand alcohol and seafood. Only recently did she start teaching him about the sword.
However, Xie Qing was smart. He knew that if he pointed it out, he would get a free training session where the Master would "take good care" of him.
The waiter came, and Xie Qing allowed Xu Mei to place the order. She didn't hold back, ordering everything that came to her mind.
Sitting on the opposite side, Xie Qing sighed in relief. Before going on this date, he exchanged all his Contribution Points for real currency, as his Master taught him, so buying things in the sect made no sense. Although his heart bled when he calculated how much the dinner would cost, he didn't mind spending it on his Master.
"How can I, the future head of the Xie family, be so stingy?" he thought proudly, ignoring the fact that he could have chosen not to become the family head.
As he watched Xu Mei devouring her food, Xie Qing pondered about his family. The recent attack by two disciples was certainly not simple. The timing was too suspicious.
Xie Hui began to worry after the death of Guan Baichi. It was too suspicious that he died near the sect, so Xie Hui decided to send two more cultivators to the Qi Condensation stage who could kill him.
"How cruel... I never liked that bastard," thought Xie Qing, a cold gleam appearing in his eyes. "I remember he was hostile to everyone."
Xie Hui – his first senior brother. Although they weren't blood brothers, there was still a family connection through their father. This person's character was very rotten. He pursued only one goal – to gain benefits regardless of the losses.
"I'm not the only one targeted by this scumbag. I guess some of my brothers are already dead... well, that's life. The weak won't see tomorrow's light," thought Xie Qing, then smiled, locking eyes with Xu Mei. Wiping cream from the corners of his Master's mouth, he thought, "And I want to live. So, for my... our future and my goals, you'll have to die, Se Hui."
Being compassionate to enemies meant being cruel to oneself. That was an unchanging truth.
Xie Qing wouldn't allow their relationship to affect his future. In the war for inheritance...
"...pulling out the weeds so they don't interfere with the future harvest is a normal thing."
At least, that's what Xie Qing believed. He smiled gently when he saw Xu Mei's flushed face, transforming from his touches into a young girl. In Xie Qing's eyes, there was both love and determination.
"And I'll pull out all the weeds that get in my way."
======
This is the author. Thank you for reading this chapter.
If you've enjoyed the book so far, I would appreciate getting a review – it would greatly help me. Also, don't forget to vote with Power Stones, which also adds support to the book.
100 PS = +2 chapters!