After the two had been intimate for a while and Yun Lie was finally satisfied, Xu Ziqing straightened his clothes and turned toward the twin lotus brothers. The two lotus spirits had no intention of behaving disrespectfully. Earlier, on seeing Yun Lie pin Xu Ziqing beneath him, they had retreated into their respective lotus buds. Only once the pair had finished did they emerge again.
Xu Ziqing felt a little embarrassed, but quickly brushed it aside. “If Senior Brother and I wish to leave, what must we do?”
Yanhua and Yuehua exchanged glances. “Master need only collect the Cold Jade pool. You will then be transported directly into the white-jade palace.”
After a moment’s thought, Xu Ziqing was not especially surprised.
Since the Cold Jade pool was the formation’s eye, removing it would naturally break the formation.
He gave the matter no further thought. Something else troubled him.
And that concern, of course, was for his senior brother, who had fallen into demonic corruption.
Thinking of this, Xu Ziqing could not help frowning slightly.
His senior brother had refined the Seven Emotions Demon Mara and absorbed all its demonic energy. His strength had certainly increased greatly, but his demonic impulses had not yet faded. Who knew what opportunity would allow him to suppress them and return to his true nature?
Xu Ziqing did not mind waiting and was confident he could do so patiently. But upon leaving, they would inevitably encounter others who had come to explore the secret trove. Yun Lie had already made a name for himself on the Heavenly Dragon Ranking. Whether they met immortal-path or demonic-path cultivators, his present condition would be terribly inconvenient.
Xu Ziqing sighed again.
Had his senior brother been emanating demonic energy from head to toe, Xu Ziqing would simply have pulled him away, heedless of the treasures here or any promises he had made. Unfortunately, Yun Lie’s aura was almost indistinguishable from before. Only those dreadful eyes betrayed him. Staying could be dangerous, yet Xu Ziqing was reluctant to leave.
His feelings became complicated.
After considering the matter, Xu Ziqing turned to Yun Lie. “Senior Brother, do you know what condition you’re in now?”
Yun Lie looked at him. His pitch-black eyes reflected only one figure. “You said I had fallen into demonic corruption.”
Xu Ziqing nodded. “So Senior Brother has sensed something amiss?”
“Yes,” Yun Lie said.
Although his memories had not returned and his demonic impulses remained powerful, after manifesting his embryonic Minor Cosmos Yun Lie had faintly sensed that he had once behaved differently.
Yet his present actions were governed entirely by his desires, and nothing felt unnatural to him. He could not distinguish what had changed and had no wish to try. Acting freely on instinct alone gave him pleasure.
Xu Ziqing felt somewhat reassured by his reply.
If his senior brother could not detect even the slightest difference, suppressing his demonic impulses later would prove much more difficult. But this was indeed his senior brother, whose will was so resolute. Even corrupted, he remained remarkably perceptive.
All they needed now was to wait.
Yun Lie approached, pulled Xu Ziqing into his arms, and slipped a hand beneath his clothes.
Xu Ziqing froze. “Senior Brother?”
Yun Lie inclined his head. “Go on.”
Xu Ziqing could only smile wryly.
Very well. He had no idea where his senior brother had acquired this enthusiasm, but Yun Lie always seemed to want such closeness. Xu Ziqing was delighted to be near him, and equally helpless about it.
At this rate, he feared he would soon have no modesty left before his senior brother at all.
Even as he thought this, when Yun Lie began licking his neck, Xu Ziqing tipped his head back and allowed it. Breathing a little unevenly, he said, “S-Senior Brother, we really ought to leave now. Please, not again…”
Yun Lie did not stop. Only after another half ke did he press close to Xu Ziqing’s cheek. “Leave for where?”
Xu Ziqing told him everything, from how they had entered the forest and undergone the trials to how they had been drawn into the inheritance grounds, why Yun Lie had fallen into demonic corruption, and why they now needed to go. He related every detail, concealing nothing.
After refining all the Demon Mara petals, Yun Lie had at first responded to emotions almost like a small child, but as the days passed many of his reactions had become no different from those of an adult. Xu Ziqing could therefore discuss matters with him rather than deciding everything on his own.
Yun Lie nodded when he finished. “I’ll follow your lead.”
Xu Ziqing was taken aback.
In the past he had always followed his senior brother’s lead. Now his senior brother was saying he would listen to him. Since falling into demonic corruption, Yun Lie had become far more direct in his behavior and much more openly affectionate toward Xu Ziqing.
An unexpected melancholy suddenly came over him.
Once his senior brother suppressed the demonic impulses and recovered his memories, he surely would not treat Xu Ziqing as he did now.
They had already grown so close, often behaving like Dao companions, utterly entwined and almost inseparable. Xu Ziqing’s own feelings had burned ever more fiercely. If he had to restrain himself again and could no longer be so intimate with his senior brother, he would probably find it very difficult to adjust.
But these thoughts passed quickly, and Xu Ziqing did not dwell on them.
His senior brother recovering his memories and attaining a body embodying both immortal and demonic power were far more important. There was no need to mention his smaller private wishes. He had always been patient; he was not afraid of returning to his former place at his senior brother’s side. Besides, Yun Lie had treated him exceedingly well even before falling into demonic corruption, merely without the closeness of lovers.
Cultivators were supposed to have little attachment to passion and desire. Thus… surely it was nothing extraordinary.
Since Yun Lie had agreed to follow his lead, Xu Ziqing said, “Now that Senior Brother knows you’re in a demonic state, you mustn’t let anyone see those demonic eyes. Do you have a way to conceal them?”
If Yun Lie went outside with those pitch-black eyes steeped in demonic energy, even a Qi Refining cultivator could recognize a demon. What trouble that would cause!
Yun Lie closed his eyes briefly.
After scarcely a breath he opened them again. When Xu Ziqing looked, they resembled ordinary human eyes once more. Only the irises remained unfathomably black, their depths impossible to see.
But no one would notice without staring carefully.
Relieved, Xu Ziqing smiled. “That’s good. Senior Brother looks no different from before.”
Yun Lie gazed at him steadily, then suddenly said, “You and I were good together.”
Xu Ziqing understood his meaning and nodded with a smile. “Of course we were.”
“Am I no good now?” Yun Lie asked.
Surprised, Xu Ziqing shook his head. “You’re very good now too.”
Yun Lie frowned slightly, apparently dissatisfied.
Xu Ziqing explained, “To me, Senior Brother has never changed, except for a few details. But you’re a disciple of an immortal sect. Without your memories, you cannot draw on much of your past experience, which places you at a disadvantage. There will always be shortsighted people who want to hurt you and cause trouble. And if you can fully suppress these demonic impulses and return to your true nature, you may form a body encompassing both immortal and demonic cultivation in one stroke. Your potential will be even greater, and your chances of attaining immortality will improve.”
Every word was spoken for Yun Lie’s sake, without a trace of selfishness.
Only then did Yun Lie relax his brow. “You must not leave my side.”
Xu Ziqing’s eyes softened. “Naturally.” He paused, then continued, “Senior Brother has treated me this way lately, though you may not understand what it means. Nor do I know whether you’ll remember any of it when you return to yourself… But whatever happens, my only wish is for you to survive this ordeal. That alone will fulfill my heart’s desire.”
This was as close as he had come to confessing his feelings. When Yun Lie’s seven emotions had been frozen, he might not have understood these words. Now, with demonic impulses filling his heart, perhaps he understood but could not judge them clearly.
To speak so openly from his heart without explicitly declaring his love was, for Xu Ziqing, the settling of a long-held matter.
After hearing him, Yun Lie said, “If you dislike it, you needn’t allow it.”
Xu Ziqing shook his head. “It makes me happy with all my heart.”
Yun Lie’s aura relaxed a little, as though he too felt pleased.
Xu Ziqing smiled and set aside these tangled affections. “We must collect the twin lotuses to leave this place. How should I go about it?”
Yanhua and Yuehua immediately replied, “Master need only treat it as a magical treasure and form the hand seal for collecting one. We won’t resist, and you’ll be able to take it at once.”
Xu Ziqing nodded. “Then you two move aside.”
The two clusters of red and white light obediently retreated, leaving his view unobstructed.
Xu Ziqing bent his fingers, chanted an incantation, and flicked out a strand of azure light.
The light shot into the Cold Jade pool like a streak of silk and became a luminous screen that covered the pool from top to bottom.
The screen then rolled inward, drawing the entire Cold Jade pool into itself.
Xu Ziqing opened his palm. Resting there was an object about two cun square, radiating piercing cold. Within it lay a pair of tiny twin lotuses, looking exceptionally delicate and charming.
He breathed out a puff of azure qi. The Cold Jade pool transformed into a jade carving, its original form as a treasure. The twin lotuses remained securely sealed within it.
As soon as Xu Ziqing collected the pool, heaven and earth trembled. The surrounding world seemed made of glass, rapidly shattering into countless pieces that collapsed in every direction.
Yun Lie reacted instantly, wrapping an arm around Xu Ziqing’s waist. The two became a streak of escaping light and appeared within a brilliant expanse. Behind them, flashes of red and white hurried after the escaping light, bursting free of the array in the same instant.
Xu Ziqing opened his eyes. As expected, everything he saw was white jade. Beneath his feet was the very rear courtyard where the white-jade pool had originally stood.
The white-jade pool was gone, naturally, because its true form, the Cold Jade pool, had been taken.
Yun Lie still held Xu Ziqing close, unwilling to let go.
Xu Ziqing slipped out of his embrace. Before Yun Lie could grow angry, he took both his hands and said, “Senior Brother, we’re outside now. We can’t behave quite so freely as before.”
Yun Lie looked displeased. “Why not?”
Xu Ziqing was at a loss for words.
Indeed, he had meant to indulge his senior brother’s wishes so that the demonic impulses could be vented rather than taking control. Suddenly demanding restraint now was hardly likely to satisfy Yun Lie. His demonic desires were overbearing, and he cared nothing for what others thought.
But… in private was one thing. Behaving in public as they had when alone would be utterly shameless. Even among the greatest demonic villains, unless they were depraved practitioners of the wicked demonic paths, who would conduct the secrets of the bedchamber before a crowd?
His senior brother had always been so stern and solemn. If Xu Ziqing carelessly indulged him now, Yun Lie would surely reprimand him after returning to his true self. How could Xu Ziqing bear to disappoint him?
Xu Ziqing said, “What Senior Brother and I do… in private should not be done before others. Please make this one concession for me. When only the two of us are together, I-I…” His face reddened, but he continued earnestly, “I promise I won’t let Senior Brother feel the least displeased.”