FIMA Ch157: Debonair

In the end, Xie Xueyi didn’t drink all the spirit tea.

Not long after they sat down, another guest arrived at the Waterside Pavilion by the Cliff.

A flash of white light appeared in mid-air, and from it emerged a tall figure.

The newcomer wore a loose grey robe, with long black hair cascading over his shoulders. His skin was rosy and smooth, looking around thirty years old, still quite young. But the deep, boundless eyes revealed centuries of time and experience.

“Ah, Siyuan, you already have a guest?”

Gu Siyuan immediately stood up, respectfully greeting, “Master.”

Xie Xueyi also stood up. “Greetings, Mountain Lord.”

The visitor was none other than the current lord of Qingchen Mountain.

He glanced at Gu Siyuan, kindly saying, “I just came out of seclusion and heard that my disciple’s spiritual power has greatly increased. Not bad, you’ve brought honor to Qingchen Mountain.”

Gu Siyuan, recalling his master’s personality, replied perfunctorily, “It’s all thanks to you, Master.”

The Mountain Lord, instead of modestly declining, proudly smiled. “At the Five Mountains Grand Ceremony, I said it was a sign of our luck, both for Qingchen Mountain and you. Otherwise, why would Ji Jinghuan have been late, giving you the position of senior brother? When the time is right, everything aligns. Back then, some people had their doubts, but now it’s all justified.”

“Tsk…”

In novels, this sinister laugh is the standard for smug villains.

Xie Xueyi also widened his eyes in curiosity, scrutinizing the mountain lord. Is this the demeanor of a Nascent Soul Patriarch?

The mountain lord met Xie Xueyi’s gaze, grinned, and then turned to Gu Siyuan, continuing, “Siyuan, the future of Qingchen Mountain is entrusted to you. You must keep working hard. The day when we punch Ziji and kick Baiqing Mountain is just around the corner. Hahaha…”

Gu Siyuan really couldn’t bear to look directly at that smile, feeling even more embarrassed in front of Xie Xueyi. He changed the subject and asked, “Master, how did your seclusion go this time?”

The mountain lord sat down and poured himself a pot of spiritual tea before glaring at Gu Siyuan, “You’re really hitting the sore spot. My ‘Nine Heavens Star Technique’ has reached the sixth level. Breaking through after this is as hard as ascending to the heavens… Do you think it’s as easy as it is for you? Disciple, you must be humble and cautious, avoid arrogance and impatience, don’t become conceited just because of a little achievement.”

The corner of Gu Siyuan’s mouth twitched.

Who was the one laughing so smugly just now?

The mountain lord clearly didn’t want to talk much about this and turned to Xie Xueyi, asking curiously, “Disciple, is this the furnace you found? Why did you find a demonic one? Is it more passionate and affectionate in bed?”

Xie Xueyi shuddered, body tensing up as the man saw through his background at a glance.

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged, and he said indifferently, “This is a newly inducted junior brother. I found something strange about him, so I decided to keep him close to monitor him. Master, don’t overthink it.”

The mountain lord scoffed disbelievingly, “Disciple, you haven’t seen through this, have you? If you fancy the beauty of the little furnace, just admit it. If he were truly a demonic infiltrator, you could directly extract his soul and kill him. Why go through all this trouble and degrade yourself to act as a spy?”

Xie Xueyi’s lips trembled.

Please, don’t talk about soul extraction and killing so casually in front of him, okay?

Gu Siyuan glanced at Xie Xueyi’s expression from the corner of his eye, frowning slightly.

He raised his eyes to look at his master, speaking coldly, “Since Master specifically came down the mountain today, you must have something important. What is it?”

The mountain lord’s attention was immediately diverted, “Right, important matters. The Immortal Spirit Secret Realm is about to open, right? This time, our sect will definitely be led by you. You’re a precious asset now. I must give you some life-saving items. If you fall in there, it would be a great loss for our Qingchen Mountain.”

“…” Gu Siyuan and Xie Xueyi.

This mountain lord really knew how to talk.

Gu Siyuan cupped his hands, his face calm, “Thank you, Master, for the treasure.”

The mountain lord waved his hand casually, “No need for formalities between us. Just remember my kindness and bring back some treasures from the secret realm for me.”

“Yes.” Gu Siyuan responded coldly, obviously unsurprised by this result.

“Then I’ll be off. I won’t disturb your fun time with your little furnace…”

The mountain lord drank most of the spiritual tea and left with a grin.

Xie Xueyi only let out a sigh of relief after the figure completely disappeared.

Tsk, what a useless treasure to conceal demonic aura.

Although the mountain lord didn’t mean any harm, the pressure of a Nascent Soul cultivator was immense. That one glance almost made him lose control of the seal inside him.

Gu Siyuan looked at his state and immediately asked, “What’s wrong?”

Xie Xueyi raised his eyes to look at the person in front of him, his eyes turning as he acted spoiled, “Brother, your master saw through my identity with just one look. I was really scared. Come touch and see if my heart is beating fast.”

Saying this, he reached out to grab Gu Siyuan.

Gu Siyuan caught his slender wrist and rubbed it a few times, smiling faintly, “When Master was here just now, I didn’t see you that nervous.”

Xie Xueyi, annoyed by his lack of understanding, made a face at him.

Then, out of curiosity, he asked, “But I didn’t expect your master to have such a lively personality. He doesn’t seem to mind you bringing a demonic person into the sect?”

Gu Siyuan nodded, speaking indifferently, “He is focused solely on cultivation, naturally carefree and doesn’t like managing things, let alone being unable to manage me.”

“Mm-hmm, our brother is so impressive.” Xie Xueyi laughed proudly, “Hey, since your master is so carefree, how did he become the mountain lord?”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him, deliberately lowering his voice, “Because in this entire Qingchen Mountain, he is the strongest. No one can defeat him, even if the four great elders join forces, they can’t match him, so he has to be the mountain lord.”

“…” Xie Xueyi.

Feeling more afraid, what should he do?

When his master gets angry, wouldn’t he have no chance to escape…

He instinctively grabbed Gu Siyuan’s clothes tightly, taking a few steps forward, almost wanting to shrink into Gu Siyuan’s arms.

“Just stay here at ease, don’t worry about him.” Gu Siyuan’s eyebrows raised slightly, and the large hand on Xie Xueyi’s head gently rubbed a few times, “I’m here.”

The voice was low, but it was full of security.

Xie Xueyi’s heart softened.

The large hand on his head was broad and warm, spreading an endless warmth from his spine to his heart, completely different from the cold and calm feeling Gu Siyuan usually gave.

He couldn’t help but move his neck, gently rubbing under that hand, calling softly, “Brother…”

Gu Siyuan stroked the soft hair, the corners of his lips curving up, “Just like a little lion in the forest, not only liking to bite but also rubbing around.”

“But, I only rub against Brother, and I only bite Brother.” Xie Xueyi smiled proudly, then tiptoed, his lips approaching Gu Siyuan’s ear, adding softly, “Of course, I’ll only kiss Brother…”

The unfinished tone rose slightly, like a feather or a hook, lightly scraping across one’s heart.

Gu Siyuan squinted his eyes.

The hand on Xie Xueyi’s head slowly moved down, grazing his cheek and ear, then suddenly grabbed his chin, speaking coldly, “Just pretending to be pitiful for a while, and now you’re proud again.”

Xie Xueyi laughed softly, extending his bright red little tongue to lick the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, seductive and dangerous like a viper: “Since brother told me to stay put, what is there to fear? I know… no matter what happens, brother will protect me, right?”

Gu Siyuan lowered his eyes: “After all these years in the demonic path, your skills in seduction have indeed improved.”

“So, my dear brother, have you been seduced by me? Has your heart… been moved?” Xie Xueyi’s breath was fragrant as he lightly tapped his white fingers on the green sword robe over Gu Siyuan’s chest.

Gu Siyuan’s expression remained unchanged, but his grip on his chin tightened slightly: “And if it has? Is Junior Brother Xie working so hard because he truly plans to become my furnace?”

Xie Xueyi was stunned, clearly not expecting someone as serious as Gu Siyuan to say such things.

He laughed lightly: “Brother, were you inspired by your master just now? I don’t think your master is as single-minded about cultivation as you say. His mind is full of tricks like farnance and romantic pleasures. Have you been influenced by him to be so hypocritical?”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him: “You do focus on the key points. Romantic pleasures? Do you desire them?”

Xie Xueyi pressed his cheek against Gu Siyuan’s hand, rubbing it: “Brother, I do. But do you? Have you secretly bought those little books?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Gu Siyuan’s lips curled slightly: “We can start enjoying ourselves right now.”

“Ahem…” Xie Xueyi coughed lightly, eyes wide with disbelief: “You… you… you mean it?”

Could it be that his previous coldness was an act, and he had actually been planning this all along?

Was he about to lose his innocence today?

Was he going to have a spouse?

Gu Siyuan sneered: “Have the desire but not the courage?”

“Who said that? Who doesn’t dare?” Xie Xueyi’s voice trembled: “I’m just afraid that my lack of experience might make you uncomfortable, and I care a lot about you.”

Gu Siyuan suddenly paused, raising an eyebrow: “Make who uncomfortable?”

Xie Xueyi blinked, resolutely saying: “Of course you, since I’m quite big.”

As he spoke, he glanced down at the area between his thighs.

Gu Siyuan’s eyes darkened: “You’re big?”

Xie Xueyi nodded, then said awkwardly: “If you feel uncomfortable, bear with it, otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll be too soft-hearted to continue.”

Gu Siyuan felt he needed some wine to calm his mind.

With a flick of his sleeve, several bottles of wine appeared on the low table.

Xie Xueyi blinked: “Why so much wine all of a sudden?”

Gu Siyuan gave him a cold glance: “How can we enjoy ourselves without wine?”

“Ah…” Xie Xueyi furrowed his brows, then quickly nodded, “You’re right. You’re probably drinking to build courage. I… I’ll try not to hurt you, let’s start!”

Gu Siyuan stared at him for a long moment, then nodded, and threw the long sword Xie Xueyi had just put down back at him: “Alright, let’s start!”

Xie Xueyi caught the sword.

After a long silence, he looked incredulously at Gu Siyuan, touching the pattern on the sword hilt: “You… still want to use the sword? You play so wild…”

Gu Siyuan couldn’t be bothered with whatever nonsense he was thinking, and said with a half-smile: “You practice your sword under the moon, I drink my wine and sing. Is this not the greatest pleasure in the world? Why not start now?”

“…” Xie Xueyi.

While practicing his sword, Xie Xueyi pondered bitterly: Had he misunderstood something?

Was this what they meant by romantic and pleasurable?

…

The Celestial Spirit Secret Realm was said to open in two months.

Gu Siyuan borrowed a large number of jade slips on artifact refining from the library.

Xie Xueyi curiously asked: “What are you doing?”

Gu Siyuan: “Preparing some things to take into the secret realm.”

From the information he received, there were some changes in the Celestial Spirit Secret Realm this time, making it more dangerous than in previous years. He wasn’t sure what dangers he would face inside, so it was better to be well-prepared.

After spending two days reading all the jade slips on artifact refining, he took Xie Xueyi to the Artifact Refining Peak.

In the Taixuan Immortal Sect, the Artifact Refining Peak and the Alchemy Peak, though not as independent and prestigious as the Five Mountains, were still extremely important and indispensable parts of the sect, generally off-limits to outsiders.

However, there are always exceptions.

Gu Siyuan, as the senior disciple of the current generation, was growing at such a pace that he was likely to become the sect master someday. His request for a refining room at the Artifact Refining Peak was not unreasonable and could be accommodated.

In the days that followed, Gu Siyuan became deeply engrossed in artifact refining.

Xie Xueyi, seeing him like this, thought he could finally relax for a while, no longer needing to wake up earlier than the chickens and sleep later than the dogs for his rigorous training.

But who would have thought that the obsessive cultivation maniac Gu Siyuan, while refining artifacts, would still insist on Xie Xueyi practicing nearby.

Xie Xueyi was shocked: “Isn’t artifact refining and alchemy supposed to require absolute silence and focus? Won’t my sword practice disturb you? Brother, what if the furnace explodes or you get hurt? I really don’t want to delay you.”

At this rate, he seemed about to say, “Brother, I think we’re not suitable for each other…”

Gu Siyuan listened to his nonsense without a change in expression. Only after completing the entire set of refining gestures and ensuring the initial refinement in the furnace was done did he look up and give Xie Xueyi a cold glance: “Don’t worry, you won’t disturb me. Even if there were a hundred of you, it would be the same. You practice your sword, I’ll refine my artifacts.”

“…” Xie Xueyi.

How could there be such a person?

At this moment, a shadow flashed in front of his eyes.

Xie Xueyi reached out and caught it—it was a newly forged spirit sword. He casually weighed it a few times and then twirled it a few times.

When he came back to his senses, his eyes widened: “Brother, did you just forge this?”

Gu Siyuan continued adding things to the furnace while casually nodding: “Yes, this one is better.”

Xie Xueyi’s white fingers touched the sharp blade of the spirit sword, truly impressed.

The spirit sword he had been using was the standard-issued sword given to new disciples upon entering the sect, suitable for late-stage Qi Refining disciples, and already the pinnacle of craftsmanship for its level.

But now, looking at the spirit sword Gu Siyuan had just forged, though it was of the same level, it was even more refined. Whether in sharpness or hardness, it was superior.

So, this person had been watching him, listening to his annoying chatter, and yet still managed to forge such a fine spirit sword.

Xie Xueyi puffed out his cheeks, feeling a rare sense of guilt.

Was he being too lazy and not striving enough? Did he not deserve this ruthless and cold-hearted man?

Thus.

In the following period, Xie Xueyi, for once, diligently practiced without complaining or acting coy, obediently and earnestly repeating the sword moves Gu Siyuan had previously taught him.

Gu Siyuan, having finished refining the current batch, noticed the unexpected silence beside him. He sat cross-legged, watching Xie Xueyi practice his sword, not taking his eyes off him.

Xie Xueyi, feeling even more pleased, practiced even more vigorously.

After a while, he twirled his sword in a beautiful flourish, completing a set of moves, and looked at Gu Siyuan with bright eyes: “Brother, did I do well?”

Gu Siyuan frowned.

Xie Xueyi puffed out his cheeks: “What’s wrong? Did I make a mistake?”

Gu Siyuan looked up at him, his voice indifferent: “Why don’t you talk while practicing your sword?”

“Ah…” Xie Xueyi’s eyes widened.

Gu Siyuan raised an eyebrow: “You were so noisy before, now it’s unsettling.”