Be Gentle, Immortal Master

By the time we were both sweaty and spent, I was too wobbly to be able to get back into my clothes, so he picked me up and rolled me into his bed instead. "Bai Ye …" I protested a bit too feebly as he tucked me under the blanket. "We could've cleansed first—" I winced at the crispy sheets smearing wet beneath me, "—and it's not night yet."

"It will be night before you know it." He lay down next to me, gathering me in his arms. "And we'll clean the sheets at the end. I promise they will get much messier than this."

His breath was hot against my face, and I felt my cheeks burn. He still wanted more of me, I thought with a furtive smile. We weren't done for the evening.

"Then will you let me check your wounds first?" I asked. Distracting and untimely as it sounded … We had already sweated enough, and I wanted to make sure that those cuts did fully scab before making anything worse.

He grunted reluctantly. "You can look over my shoulder," he tightened his arms around me, "but I'm not letting go of you."

I chuckled at his almost childish act. "I'll stay in your arms for the rest of the night if you want me to," I said and pecked his lips. Carefully wiggling one of my hands free and moving his hair to one side, I craned my neck and peeked over his shoulder.

He didn't lie about immortals healing fast. The once horrifying wounds were completely gone now, and even the scabs had fallen off from the shallower parts of the cut. I resisted the urge to lift my fingers and touch the new skin bulging over it. "I'll make some new ointment for you to prevent scarring," I said. "Now should be the perfect time to apply it."

Though I wondered if immortals didn't scar easily either. I had never seen any signs of old injuries on him except those over his heart, and I somewhat doubted that they were the only wounds he had ever gotten in the past. Were those the only ones that left him scars? What was different about them?

Of course, he wouldn't tell me even if I asked. "How about your muscles?" I asked instead, pulling my head back and burying it back into his chest. "That claw mark sliced through multiple tendons … Would you be able to use a sword when we're at the Jade Temple?"

He chuckled. "I don't need to use a sword on this trip. The show is all yours, and I'm only there to watch." He paused for a second. "Though the Gatekeeper seems to be planning something different this year. He's been working with the other sects to arrange some form of lessons, which might end up involving light usage of swords."

"Lessons?" I looked up at him, curious. "You are teaching?"

"Only if I accept the invitation. Chu Yang is trying to convince the other sects that this trip should be a sharing of experience and knowledge, instead of mere competition among the younger generation. He wants every master to hold lessons for disciples across different sects, so that everyone can share the techniques that are usually kept as a secret from the rest of the world—only the barest basics, of course, but sometimes even that can be an eye-opening experience to an outsider."

I nodded thoughtfully. The Gatekeeper seemed to have quite a foresight in this. Endless competitions wouldn't be good for the progress of any knowledge.

"Qing-er." He rubbed the back of my head. "This is what Su Nian came to talk to me about. I didn't go to her hall the other day, so she found a new excuse to bring this message to me from the Gatekeeper. I promise I didn't—"

"I know." I smiled a bit sheepishly. "I didn't doubt you, I was just …"

I was just shocked by seeing how perfect she was, I thought. But that no longer mattered. "It's irrelevant now," I said, circling my arms around him. "Tell me more about the lessons … What would you teach if you accept it? Would it be something I've already learned?"

He laughed. "You are my disciple. I would never teach anyone else what I haven't taught you." He squeezed me a little in his embrace. "Though if you want to be in my lessons, I can always pick something new for you. Talisman drawings, for example. Or alchemy. Or …"

"I'll learn anything, even if it's what I already know." I grinned. "I just want to see you more. I … don't want to be in someone else's lessons if I could be in yours."

He laughed again. "If you prefer, I can just decline the invitation and stay with you instead." He leaned forward and brushed his lips over my temple. "We don't have to join whatever they plan, and I can teach you other things … alone."

A little flame crackled inside me. "Can … Can you still use those barrier spells at the Jade Temple?" I asked. It was a question that had been burning in my mind for the whole week, though I had found it too embarrassing to ask until now. "Can … Can we …"

The hand wrapped behind me suddenly pinched my bottom, and I ouched. "Did you think I would have accepted the invitation to this trip if the answer was no?" he said. There was feigned anger in his voice. "We might be at the Jade Temple for a month, or even longer. What kind of torture were you expecting to put me through?"

He didn't wait for me to respond before he rolled us over, pinning me beneath him. When we locked eyes, I caught a glimpse of the fire burning bright within those beautiful, dark pupils. "Qing-er," he whispered into my lips as his hand grazed down my body once more. "Don't try me.. I could never have enough of you."

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