Chapter 39: The Conversation

Chapter 39: Conversation

Upon hearing this, Su Hang shyly jumped down from Immortal Venerable Lingqing's embrace, a faint blush spreading across his cheeks. He hid behind Immortal Venerable Lingqing, burying his face tightly against the Immortal Venerable's back, not daring to look again.

His clingy, playful behavior had been seen by others—what a loss of face!

The newcomer was none other than the Sect Master. He gently fanned himself with a folding fan, his fox-like eyes sweeping over the two before him. Seeing the harmonious master-disciple pair, he gave a faint smile: "Am I interrupting something?"

Immortal Venerable Lingqing didn't bother with pleasantries, his face turning cold and his lips set in a thin line: "Yes, you have."

He had never intended for Su Hang to meet outsiders anyway—would keeping him by his side forever really be such a hardship?

But seeing that Su Hang's condition showed no signs of improvement, and having no idea what to do himself, he couldn't help but panic. The Sect Master had happened to calculate that the two would face this tribulation, so he brought his own disciple to resolve this crisis.

Yet this didn't mean Immortal Venerable Lingqing would allow others to witness Su Hang acting cute.

Every time he thought of this, it annoyed him.

From behind him, Su Hang noticed the cold, emotionless tone in Immortal Venerable Lingqing's voice—clearly he was angry. Su Hang quietly retreated, lowering his head, but stealing cautious glances, thinking he'd embarrassed his master and that his master was upset because of it.

But the moment Su Hang pulled his little head away from Immortal Venerable Lingqing, the Immortal Venerable's face darkened even more. He pursed his lips, annoyed with everyone there except Su Hang—including Ji Chuan standing behind the Sect Master.

"Don't be mad, Junior Brother. Once your little disciple is cured, won't you two be free to do whatever you want?"

The Sect Master narrowed his eyes slightly, using his fan to hide half his face, still teasing: "Oh my, someone's feeling jealous~ I can't bear to watch, can't bear to watch."

Su Hang blushed at these words. He didn't mind the Sect Master teasing him, but why do it in front of Immortal Venerable Lingqing? He did feel a tiny bit jealous over the Sect Master interrupting his time with his master, but he hadn't shown it much.

He poked his head out from behind Immortal Venerable Lingqing, intending to see the Sect Master's current expression, but unexpectedly made eye contact with Ji Chuan standing beside the Sect Master.

Su Hang: ...

Ji Chuan noticed Su Hang looking at him, tilted his head, and gave him an amused look, and even raised his hand to wave at him.

Su Hang didn't want to deal with this guy and hid back behind Immortal Venerable Lingqing, only to be yanked out by a big hand like a little chick.

Su Hang looked up, confused, and found that the Sect Master had somehow appeared beside Immortal Venerable Lingqing and was now eyeing him with interest.

"Stop hiding. You two kids go play for a bit—your master and I have business to discuss."

The Sect Master said this, then gave another meaningful smile, looking up at Immortal Venerable Lingqing and asking: "Junior Brother, people of the same generation get along better, don't you think?"

Su Hang pouted too, his eyes full of annoyance at the Sect Master's earlier move. But he kept his head lowered, not daring to let the Sect Master see, afraid of embarrassing Immortal Venerable Lingqing.

Yet the moment he heard the Sect Master's words, he quickly looked up at Immortal Venerable Lingqing, forgetting his earlier annoyance entirely, staring straight at him.

Same generation or not, he and the Immortal Venerable got along great and could talk about anything. Those so-called Su family peers, on the other hand, only knew how to mess with him all day.

Su Hang desperately needed Immortal Venerable Lingqing to confirm they got along well.

But Immortal Venerable Lingqing just frowned slightly, glanced at the Sect Master, who was smirking, and didn't answer. Instead, he changed the subject, looking at Su Hang while his gaze also seeming to flick toward the Sect Master: "Half an hour. You two can talk outside for half an hour."

Su Hang opened his mouth, but no words came out. He felt conflicted.

He really had been cooped up these past few days and really wanted to go out and breathe the crisp air of Falling Snow Peak. But he also didn't want to hang out with that annoying Ji Chuan, so he was torn.

Ji Chuan, however, didn't seem to notice Su Hang's downcast look. He flashed a wide grin and raised his hand high, waving it around lazily: "Hey, Su Hang, long time no see!"

Su Hang pouted, but a pair of cool hands gently brushed his cheek. Su Hang sniffed—it smelled like Immortal Venerable Lingqing.

He turned to see the Immortal Venerable standing behind him, smiling softly, his hand resting gently on Su Hang's shoulder.

Su Hang was now wearing an extra robe—Immortal Venerable Lingqing's.

"Go on. Don't wander too far."

The Immortal Venerable was now very close to Su Hang, his voice practically right against Su Hang's ear. Su Hang's ear went numb and his cheeks flushed.

"Mm."

His voice was lost in the wind as Immortal Venerable Lingqing followed the Sect Master into the main hall to discuss their "important matters."

Su Hang pulled the Immortal Venerable's robe tighter around himself, his nose full of his master's crisp scent.

"Hey, pretty boy, you coming over or what?" Ji Chuan, seeing that Su Hang refused to move, grinned and approached him, saying: "Still mad? Oh, I'm so wronged—I don't even know what I did, and you're already this upset."

Su Hang rolled his eyes internally, thinking this jerk hadn't done anything obvious, but his heart was rotten—he was basically wishing Su Hang and Immortal Venerable Lingqing were dead.

Still, following Immortal Venerable Lingqing's orders, he walked over to Ji Chuan and led him into the small pavilion.

The wintersweet flowers were still bright red in the snow, and the pavilion was covered in pristine white snow, but the inside was spotless. A few teacups sat on the stone table, looking like they'd been there for ages.

Su Hang wanted to be a good host and picked up a teacup to make tea, but Ji Chuan stopped him: "What's so great about that bitter tea? We only have half an hour—we might as well just talk. Do you hate me that much? You don't want to say a single word to me?"

Ji Chuan didn't stand on ceremony. After stopping Su Hang, he plopped down in the host's seat, crossed one leg over the other, shoved the teacups aside carelessly, and grinned at Su Hang.

Su Hang's eyes went wide. He hurried over to Ji Chuan and reached out like he was going to shove him: "What are you doing sitting there? Don't you know that's Immortal Venerable Lingqing's seat? You can't sit there."

Ji Chuan grinned, and before Su Hang could even touch him, he hopped up, saying lightly: "Finally talking to me? I thought you'd ignore me forever no matter what I did."

Seeing that, Su Hang could only sit down next to Ji Chuan and say: "Don't be so rude."

Ji Chuan sat close to Su Hang, never taking his eyes off him. He noticed Su Hang looked pale, thinner than before, and he was out of breath after just a few steps. After that little scene earlier, Su Hang had broken out in a light sweat and was breathing softly through parted lips.

"Are you ill?"

Ji Chuan's look at Su Hang held a deeper meaning. Of course, he knew Su Hang didn't have much time left. As the story went on, Su Hang would die—quietly, without a sound.

"Am I going to die?"

Su Hang's clear voice rang out, his eyes a little red. He'd heard Ji Chuan's thoughts loud and clear. He usually didn't care about Ji Chuan's crazy thoughts, but for some reason, a sense of unease lingered.

It seemed he would die—after finding someone he loved, after learning to cultivate, after finally getting his own sword, after finally crawling out of the mud and getting ready for a new life.

But all of it came to a sudden stop because of his illness.

Ji Chuan's smile froze at the question: "How could that be? Wicked people live long, you know."

Su Hang just nodded, but the unease kept spreading, so he decided to change the subject: "You're in the Outer Heavens—do you know what's going on out there? Has Guanwei Academy started classes yet? Do you know how Qu Wenshan and Zhihua are—"

Before he could finish, Ji Chuan closed his eyes and covered Su Hang's mouth, cutting him off: "Stop, stop, stop! You're asking so many questions at once—I can't keep up."

Ji Chuan opened his eyes to see Su Hang staring at him with those big, watery, apricot-shaped eyes, his dark eyes fixed on Ji Chuan, whose palm was pressed against Su Hang's soft lips.

He sighed to himself, thinking it really was a shame for someone so young to die so soon, but he answered Su Hang's questions out loud: "Guanwei Academy started classes a while ago. Zhihua and Qu Wenshan are both there these days. That good friend of yours even joined the academy's competition—wielded his immortal sword pretty impressively—but... didn't place. After all, he hasn't been cultivating for long.

As for Qu Wenshan, he's now a personal disciple at Baigong Hall. He's doing just fine—no need for you to worry about him."

Su Hang let out a soft laugh, turned his head, and looked off into the distance. Under the gray sky, light snow was falling, covering their footprints. The mist here never seemed to lift, and Ji Chuan could only see the pavilion and the person sitting inside it.

"It's nice, isn't it? They're all moving forward. I guess I will too."

Su Hang's voice was soft and gentle, while Ji Chuan's eyes darted around, forcing a faint smile and shrugging like he didn't care: "Right, and with Immortal Venerable Lingqing guiding you, why would you ever worry about your future?"

He was lying, of course. Who knew when it'd all be over? Might as well soak it all in while he still could.

Ji Chuan's words didn't match what he felt, his eyes revealing a complex mix of emotions.

Meanwhile, Su Hang, hearing Ji Chuan's words, a spark lit up in his eyes. He'd made up his mind to stop reading Ji Chuan's mind.

If you overthink every day, you'll worry yourself sick even if you're perfectly healthy.

By refusing to look or care, Su Hang had been dodging the coming disaster in his own weird way, keeping up the illusion of peace.

With that thought, Su Hang stood up, his eyes crinkling with a smile as he turned to Ji Chuan: "Did you know? My master personally forged a sword for me. He said it's a waist sword—a flexible one. Would you like to see it?"

Ji Chuan sat up straight at that, a smile that was almost gentle spreading across his face, his pupils slightly widening, a trace of nostalgia flickering in his gaze.

Maybe there wouldn't be a next time for the two of them.

Seeing Ji Chuan not respond, Su Hang drew the waist sword from his belt. The blade, coiled at first, whipped through the air a few times before going rigid, its resonant ring echoing throughout the pavilion.

Ji Chuan clapped right on cue, cheering, "Bravo!"

Su Hang smiled shyly, as if showing off a novel toy, and immediately began to dance with an unpolished sword routine.

Ji Chuan watched, his gaze growing more distant, then muttered to himself: "Just cannon fodder—doesn't even have a name in the story. Whether he lives or dies probably doesn't change anything, right?"

==========Author's Note:==========

Ji Chuan: Whether cannon fodder lives or dies shouldn't affect the plot much, right?

Lu Chengyan: ...Fine, so all those words were said in vain.

Babies, if all goes well, there will be another chapter tonight. Thanks for your support, and I'm so grateful to everyone who's followed this far! Love you all!