Those words seemed to add frost to an already cold day. The blue-clad youth shivered, his smug smile freezing on his face.
An indescribable sense of danger made him abandon the desire to compete.
Killing aura.
It was killing aura, though not an intention to kill.
But the blue-clad youth had always been cautious. He knew the world was unpredictable. The stranger might not intend to kill now, but who could say whether that would remain true if they continued competing?
The object was probably useless. There was no reason to make an enemy over it. Having reached Golden Core himself, the blue-clad youth had long since learned not to stake everything on vague possibilities.
Once he realized that the other person was someone he could not handle, he abandoned the confrontation instead of persisting as stubbornly as he had against Xu Ziqing.
Everyone else had already withdrawn while he and Xu Ziqing were bidding, and no one spoke now.
When the blue-clad youth fell silent, the brocade pouch naturally went to the new bidder.
Xu Ziqing was startled, then warmth filled his heart. He turned toward Yun Lie. ‘Thank you for helping me, Senior Brother.’ After some thought, he took a storage pouch containing his spirit stones from his ring and held it out. ‘There are approximately fifty-five thousand lower-grade spirit stones here. Please accept them. I’ll gather the remaining forty-five thousand and repay you later.’
He truly wanted there to be no distinction between himself and his senior brother, but wishing it did not mean he could behave as though it were already so. Although he harbored romantic feelings for Yun Lie, he believed his affection was sincere and pure. He could not take his senior brother’s generosity for granted. He was grateful for all the help Yun Lie had given him.
Yun Lie glanced at him and said, ‘Keep them for now.’
Xu Ziqing paused, about to protest.
Yun Lie continued, ‘Your cultivation is still weak. Spirit stones can supply the spiritual qi you need.’
Xu Ziqing’s fingers stilled, and he finally put the pouch away.
He smiled bitterly to himself. Once Yun Lie brought up his inadequate cultivation, he could hardly argue.
Since falling in love with Yun Lie, he had become painfully aware of the difference between their cultivation levels. Even with diligent practice, closing that gap seemed difficult. Sometimes he regretted being born so much later, unable to meet his senior brother at the beginning of his journey. But then he remembered that if events had happened differently, he might never have met Yun Lie at all. Even if they met, they might never have become close. Such thoughts helped him suppress the regret.
The spiritual qi at the prince’s residence was abundant, but it was not like the Wuling Immortal Sect. Xuan Ze possessed a third-rank spirit vein, but it did not extend throughout the estate. It lay beneath Prince Tiancheng’s own courtyard and nearby courtyards reserved for Nascent Soul independent cultivators. Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie could not enjoy the same benefits.
When Xu Ziqing had lived with Yun Lie on Little Slaughter Peak, they had chosen a particularly rich spiritual aperture for their cave residence. The prince’s estate possessed decent spiritual qi, but it was not as pure as that of the aperture.
Therefore Xu Ziqing had to arrange spirit stones into a Spirit-Gathering Formation to concentrate the estate’s qi and make it more abundant.
Thinking of this, Xu Ziqing felt that he owed Yun Lie yet another debt. Even if men should not quibble over minor details, he wanted to repay his senior brother’s kindness someday. Being continually cared for without the ability to give anything back unsettled him. He sighed inwardly. If I were a woman, I could offer myself in marriage. But since I’m a man, I must consider that carefully.
Besides, he already loved his senior brother. Offering himself would only fulfill his own desires, rather than truly benefit Yun Lie.
His repeated hesitation was understandable. In his previous life he had spent years confined to a sickbed. Peaceful as his temperament was, he inevitably felt like a burden upon his family, taking without being able to give anything in return. Over time this had made him more sensitive and prone to overthinking than most men.
In this life, blessed with a healthy body and a path to immortality, he had hoped to cultivate through his own efforts. Instead, he was continually sheltered by his senior brother. Without Yun Lie’s protection, he might long since have died. Unconsciously, he had returned to the state of mind he knew from his previous life: filled with affection and happiness, yet afraid he was doing too little and somehow failing the one he loved.
His thoughts turned repeatedly between his two lives.
Before he knew it, Xu Ziqing had fallen into a daze.
Suddenly, an icy snort rang directly within his sea of consciousness, jolting him like a thunderclap.
His senior brother called, ‘Ziqing.’
Xu Ziqing shuddered as though doused in cold water and regained his senses. Looking up, he saw Yun Lie offering him the embroidered brocade pouch and immediately understood.
Yun Lie had seen him silently put away his storage pouch, then stare into space with a seemingly calm face.
To others, Xu Ziqing’s expression might have appeared entirely ordinary. But Yun Lie had watched him grow over many years and recognized the melancholy in his eyes.
He had allowed Xu Ziqing to remain lost in thought until Dragonflight Trading House delivered the pouch. When Xu Ziqing still failed to stir, Yun Lie used the opportunity to awaken him.
Xu Ziqing hurriedly accepted the pouch and placed it into his storage bag.
Xuan Ze and the others regarded the scene as evidence of profound affection between the martial brothers. The independent cultivators among the retainers, who had never had proper teachers, felt particularly envious.
Some even thought, If I had a sect, with senior and junior martial brothers of my own, perhaps we could care for and help one another like them.
But then Yun Lie’s voice sounded in Xu Ziqing’s mind again, as calm and cold as ever, yet reassuring to him like a pillar supporting the heavens.
Yun Lie transmitted, ‘How many years have you cultivated?’
Xu Ziqing did not understand but answered honestly, ‘Twelve years.’
Yun Lie said, ‘I have cultivated for sixty-four years, starting from Qi Refining.’
Xu Ziqing nodded. He remembered.
His senior brother was so many years older. To cultivators, that difference was not immense, but ever since Xu Ziqing fell in love, it had seemed an impassable chasm, driving him to cultivate harder.
Yun Lie continued, ‘How long have we known each other?’
Xu Ziqing caught his breath and answered seriously. ‘Also twelve years.’
Yun Lie nodded. ‘What is the lifespan of a Golden Core Perfected One?’
Now Xu Ziqing began to glimpse his meaning. ‘Eight hundred years.’
Yun Lie fell silent briefly, then said, ‘I have cultivated the Ruthless Slaughter Sword Dao for decades without a single close friend or confidant.’
For some reason, Xu Ziqing smiled. ‘I’ve made other friends, but from beginning to end, no one has been as important to me as the man I once called Brother Yun and now call Senior Brother.’
At last Yun Lie said, ‘You have cultivated for only a short time, whereas I have cultivated much longer. Essence Transformation and Golden Core alike are nothing more than fleeting ripples on the path to immortality, hardly worth mentioning. That path is perilous. Today I help you; tomorrow you may well be the one to help me. Ziqing, do not be impatient.’
Xu Ziqing’s heart softened, his eyes almost filling with tears. After a long moment, he lowered his head slightly and said quietly, ‘Senior Brother, I’ve made you worry.’
For a man of Yun Lie’s temperament, these words were an extraordinary expression of openness and heartfelt trust.
Xu Ziqing had always reminded himself that when his cultivation rose, he would repay his senior brother. Yet his unease had never disappeared. He was not afraid that his own talent was inadequate, only that Yun Lie might advance too quickly for him to catch up.
Now Yun Lie, despite having frozen his seven emotions, had offered him comfort. If Xu Ziqing continued brooding, he would be wasting that kindness.
At that moment, a thought arose in his heart.
Then let me owe him. Let me owe him more and more.
Besides his senior brother’s sincere care, these debts of affection might themselves become bonds between them. The worst possible outcome was repaying him with his life. And if it ever came to that, Xu Ziqing would regard it as a kind of fulfillment.
All cultivators, whether following heaven or defying it, were selfish beings who seized the world’s fortune in pursuit of immortality. Even their friendships usually ranked beneath their own lives.
For Xu Ziqing to willingly entrust his life to his dearest senior brother was unusual. This resolve lifted his state of mind to a new level of detachment. In the future he would act more cautiously, yet with greater fearlessness.
With that trace of dust brushed from his heart, a smile returned to Xu Ziqing’s eyes.
Their quiet exchange had not interrupted the blind auction. By now the last object had been sold, and the event was over.
Xuan Ze’s retainers and honored guest elders had all won various items. They gathered their beautiful attendants and prepared to leave together.
Yun Lie and Xu Ziqing also rose without attracting attention. Throughout the auction they had purchased only that embroidered pouch, and they did not intend to inspect its contents here.
On their way through the doors, Xu Ziqing remembered the Ghost Spirit Sect confrontation. He looked about discreetly, hoping his strange intuition would help him discover the person whose voice had sounded familiar.
But he found no trace of anyone. Only once they reached the entrance did his heart suddenly stir and he turn toward a particular direction.
‘Huh?’ There was nothing there. Xu Ziqing frowned in puzzlement.
Before he could examine the place, several black-clad men emerged behind him, cloaked in ghostly qi and radiating such malice that it was palpable from several zhang away.
Xu Ziqing frowned slightly. He did not want trouble, much less the Ghost Spirit Sect’s attention. While no one was looking, he withdrew his gaze and pretended not to notice.
He quickened his steps, walking shoulder to shoulder with Yun Lie as they left.
Once they returned to Prince Tiancheng’s residence, Xuan Ze was evidently eager to inspect his own purchases and did not stop to chat. The others were similarly impatient, and everyone tactfully departed.
Xu Ziqing accompanied Yun Lie to his courtyard. They intended to open the brocade pouch’s restriction, something Xu Ziqing could not yet accomplish without his senior brother’s help.
Inside the courtyard, they dismissed the attendants and sat opposite each other.
Xu Ziqing opened his palm. Light flashed, and the exquisitely embroidered pouch appeared.
Yun Lie extended a finger and pointed at it.