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nSilver, thank you for the Ko-fi!

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nEditor: Casey

nShi Qing was also quite surprised to hear that Gu Qiushu wanted to stay.

nHe saw that the Heavenly Derivation Sect Master seemed like he might keel over any second now out of anger, so he kindly interjected: “Gu-xianzhang needn’t worry. I can come over once every three days to your sect to treat you. My puppets are very swift so it won’t take long.”

nThe young man noticed how Gu Qiushu’s expression became even colder than usual.

nHe seemed to be glaring at Shi Qing, who looked back innocently.

nHe was speaking on Gu Qiushu’s behalf with nothing but good intentions, ah.

nPeipeipei. As expected of someone who started cultivating as a child. This guy is so oblivious to the nuances of human interaction.

nThe Heavenly Derivation Sect Master didn’t expect Shi Qing to take the initiative to let everyone go.

nAlthough this Sect Master Shi’s been nothing but genial since they arrived, his many years of experience in the cultivation world told him that Shi Qing was definitely not as nice as he appeared to be.

n“You heard him, Shidi. Return with me to the sect first. I still have questions for you.”

nThe Heavenly Derivation Sect Master didn’t even consider the possibility that Gu Qiushu would refuse him.

nAfter all, although Gu Qiushu appeared cold to everyone else, the Heavenly Derivation Sect Master knew as his shixiong that Gu Qiushu was actually very obedient.

nWell, to his shixiong at least.

nLooking back, Gu Qiushu tirelessly cultivated day and night after he told him to work hard, eventually honing himself into a big popsicle. Before his shidi became a big popsicle, the Heavenly Derivation Sect Master taught his disciples according to his own educational philosophy.

nHowever, around the time he took in Ye Zi, after discovering what he had taught his shidi into, he didn’t dare to continue with his previous methods. Even though Lin Xingzhi turned out quite normal under his tutelage, he wasn’t willing to take any chances.

nSo Ye Zi was raised to be a naive, lively, and cute little…foodie.

nTo this day, the Heavenly Derivation Sect Master would feel a pang of regret whenever he remembered this incident.

nNow that he has more disciples, one thing became clear to him.

nHis shidi turned out this way because that was just the way he was.

nBut at least he was very obedient.

nThe Heavenly Derivative Sect Master derived some comfort from that fact.

nHe confidently waited for his shidi to come to his side and return to their Sect with him.

nHowever, Gu Qiushu didn’t move.

n“I will stay here.”

nThe Heavenly Derivation Sect Master: “…”

n…What’s the matter with you all of a sudden? It’s not like you don’t have a sect to go back to, so why are you so insistent on staying in someone else’s???

n“Shidi, ah. Can’t you see how busy Sect Master Shi must be right now? If you really need him for something, why don’t you reschedule for another day? It’s best for us to head back first.”

nYet no matter what he said, Gu Qiushu’s resolve didn’t waver in the slightest. He refused to budge with a cool expression on his face.

nThe Heavenly Derivation Sect Master: “…”

nSigh. This situation really left him with no face, ah.

nForget it, forget it.

nAlthough Gu Qiushu was cold by nature, he wasn’t aloof to the point of foolishness. If you look at his insistence on staying from another perspective, it meant that he didn’t believe the Steel Bones Sect was a dangerous place.

n“Since you want to stay, then so be it.”

n“You have transmission talismans on you, right?”

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nGu Qiushu nodded. “Yes.”

n“Good, good. Send me one directly if something is amiss.” Said the Heavenly Derivation Sect Master before cupping his hands at Shi Qing again. “Then I will leave my shidi in the care of Sect Master Shi.”

n“No need, no need.”

nSprawled horizontally across his seat, Shi Qing smiled like a fox that got into the henhouse.

nAfter the Sect Master left, he waved and dismissed all of the Steel Bones Sect disciples.

nSoon only he and Gu Qiushu were left in the spacious hall.

n“Xianzhang, come and drink some wine with me.”

nGu Qiushu stepped forward without hesitation and seated himself at Shi Qing’s side. His expression was still aloof, but his eyes were focused on Shi Qing rolling back his sleeves to pour him a drink.

nAfter the wine was poured, Shi Qing picked his own cup up with one hand and handed Gu Qiushu’s over with the other.

nGu Qiushu took the cup. He saw Shi Qing down it in one go, so he tilted his head back and did the same.

nShi Qing refilled their cups again. His eyes, slightly reddened from the alcohol, drifted to rest on the white-robed Xianzhang.

n“Xianzhang, ah. Why did you stay? I thought you despised me?”

nGu Qiushu sat up straight. “Not at all.”

n“Really? You avoided me like I was a snake or scorpion before. You treated me like I was some vicious beast.”

nThey were drinking spiritual wine. As a mortal, Shi Qing couldn’t withstand this liquor. His face immediately became flushed. He stopped drinking and just dazedly stared at the person in front of him with his chin resting on one hand.

nThe sight of his drunken state made Gu Qiushu’s lips open a fraction.

nHis voice was still cold and clear, but something was different about the undertone. “Not anymore.”

n“Not anymore… So you did before?”

nThe smile of the person in front of him only grew sweeter. With such a saccharine expression, he guilt-tripped Gu Qiushu. “Xianzhang, have I mistreated you in some way? Why did you dislike me so?”

nGu Qiushu tightened his grip on his sword’s hilt. He instinctively wanted to lean back in the face of this forceful interrogation and the other person leaning forward, but something made him stand his ground instead.

nAs a result, the two of them were so close that they were just one move away from touching.

nGu Qiushu was not good at explaining himself, but he tried his best to clarify, “I misunderstood you.”

n“I know you did.”

nSeeing that his ears were as red as could be, Shi Qing laughed and leaned back, restoring the distance between them.

nGu Qiushu’s expression relaxed at first, but he felt strangely disappointed on the inside. The spoiled person in front of him seemed to be completely drunk at this point. He started incoherently admonishing the white-robed Xianzhang.

n“You’re a big pig trotter. A heartless one at that. You dislike me every time, every time!”

nGu Qiushu didn’t understand. But he rushed over to catch the rambling young man when he started tilting backwards.

n“Big pig trotters…? What are those? Some kind of demonic beast?”

nShi Qing sighed and patted him on the shoulder.

n“It’s you. You’re the big pig trotter, ah.”

nHe felt a little drunk too.

nSeriously, this wasn’t an act this time.

nEven if he was quite strong-willed, that didn’t mean much in this mortal body.

nHe asked Gu Qiushu, “Why did you choose to stay behind just now? You shouldn’t have.”

nGu Qiushu could feel the person in his arms breath in and out as he supported him. His eyelashes faintly trembled as he replied honestly, “Just now, I thought you seemed very lonely.”

n“Is that some sort of joke? Me, Shi Qing, lonely??”

nShi Qing laughed at his naivety.

nHe buried himself in Gu Qiushu’s arms and laughed so hard his stomach started to cramp.

nThe white-robed Xianzhang embraced him silently. Suddenly, he reached out and gently wiped away a trace of wetness that had gathered at the corner of his eye.

nShi Qing stopped laughing.

n“That was from laughing too hard.”

n“I know.”

n“En. It’s good that you do.”

nHe patted his cheeks.

nSystem, flush the alcohol from my body.

nDing! Hello, your System is not online right now. Press 1 to automatically reply 666, press 2 to reply yingyingying, press 3 to use saved points to watch TV.

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nShi Qing: “…”

n“This guy’s so unreliable.” He grumbled in his mind. He rarely ever relied on the System in all these worlds, but the one time he needed it, this dummy wasn’t online!

nGu Qiushu looked at Shi Qing. When that expression that made him want to comfort the young man appeared again, his heart inexplicably began to ache.

n“Shi Qing, what’s wrong?”

n“Nothing.”

nShi Qing poured himself another cup. A charming, fox-like smile adorned his face, but his gaze towards Gu Qiushu was hollow. “I just knew that none of you were reliable.”

nThe white-robed Xianzhang, who was branded as unreliable, didn’t try to retort. He just carefully tugged on Shi Qing’s sleeve to make sure he sat still and didn’t fall.

nInstead of being grateful, Shi Qing grabbed his hand with disgust and made the other person hold his hand instead.

n“If you’re going to grab something, grab my hand, not my sleeve. Sheesh.” He said as he drank another cup of wine.

nGu Qiushu frowned slightly. Seeing that Shi Qing planned on continuing to drink, he took the initiative to stop him for the first time. “No more for you.”

n“You’re not the boss of me. I’ll drink if I want.”

nShi Qing could act cute and spoiled at this moment. He knew Gu Qiushu was weak to that sort of thing. But the alcohol lowered his IQ quite a bit. Not only did he verbally mouth off, he even thought about punching Gu Qiushu.

nGu Qiushu “…There’s a look in your eyes like you want to hit me.”

n“Yep, that’s right. You saw right.” Shi Qing readily admitted, “I do want to hit you.”

nThe white-robed Xianzhang: “…”

nAfter carefully thinking about it, he had been quite rude to Shi Qing this whole time.

nSo Shi Qing wanting to hit him wasn’t exactly strange.

nHe closed his eyes, his voice still cold and faint, “Then hit me if you want.”

nShi Qing punched him in the chest, but there was no force behind the blow.

nRegardless, his heartbeat sped up in response.

n“You’re really annoying. Why do you hate me every time?”

nGu Qiushu didn’t understand what he was saying. He could only try his best to explain, “I thought you had nefarious intentions before because I was sent to the dungeons right after being captured. I apologize.”

n“It’s so, so frustrating! It’s like this every time!”

nI hated him every time?

nGu Qiushu actually couldn’t remember. Did he hate Shi Qing every time?

nBut soon he was too distracted to ponder this matter further.

nTentatively, Shi Qing’s palm caressed the spot he had hit before like he was looking for something.

nNo one had ever been this close to Gu Qiushu before, yet he couldn’t seem to dislike the contact. He even found Shi Qing’s current state rather pitiful.

nGu Qiushu stiffened as he felt the other person’s far too soft and warm palm rest over where his heart was.

nHe heard him speak in a drunken, languid tone with narrowed eyes:

n“Your heart is beating so fast. I’ve tried so many ways to make your heart beat faster before, but you didn’t cooperate. But now that I’m not even trying, it’s beating so fast. And you say you’re not a big pig trotter…”

n“Look at you, you’re like a big ice cube. You spit out a word or two at most, and your expression’s cold enough to scare someone to death. There’s nothing but faults to be found on your whole body. Who would like you? Who wouldn’t put their own happiness first? Only a dummy would like you.”

nGu Qiushu sat stiffly in place. His eyelashes moved slightly in response to those words. “Cultivation is my only interest. I’m fine with no one liking me.”

nShi Qing: “Oh shut up.”

nGu Qiushu obediently shut his mouth and stayed quiet.

n“This is what I hate the most about you. The more I look at you, the more annoyed I feel. How is it possible to be this annoying??” Shi Qing grumbled under his breath.

nBut suddenly, the previously grumbling person buried his face in Gu Qiushu’s chest. He didn’t say anything, nor did he move. He just hugged Gu Qiushu.

nThe white-clothed Xianzhang, however, was completely baffled.

nHe sat there stiffly, allowing the other person to hug him.

nShi Qing: “I’m sick of it.”

n“Don’t be like this next time.”

nGu Qiushu didn’t know what Shi Qing was talking about, but he nodded despite his confusion.

n“Okay, I promise.”

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nAuthor’s Corner

nI’m going to go insane aaaahhhhhh. Four times. I edited this four times. Are these damned eyes of mine just for decoration??

nI think either I’m an idiot, or I’ve become one after staying up one too many times. I found two misplaced paragraphs before, so I quickly came back to correct them. But V chapters have a word count requirement, so I frantically wrote some more for that. I thought I fixed it okay, but on a second read-through after sending it out, I discovered that I forgot to take out the two wrong portions from before. I told myself it wasn’t a big deal and came back to fix it again. Then I confidently sent it out again, only to discover I left those two parts in again… So here I am once more…

nYes, I’m wrapping it up.

nHahahahahahaha, are you happy? Are you excited? Are you overjoyed?

nIn fact, I would be wrapping things up even if there wasn’t a new novel I want to start. Following the main outline really is too painful. Just the thought of having to continue to prepare outlines for every world makes me sad. I probably won’t do another QT novel for a while. I don’t wanna write outlines anymore wuwuwu

nCome, come, come. Happy Christmas Eve! All the chapters have red pockets, ta-dah! Even though red pockets aren’t worth enough to buy apples, you can buy what you like, ya?

nRandomly sending out red pockets! Night night~

nRain

nPoor Shi Qing. He’s had it rough now that I think about it. The person he loves most always hates him in the beginning, world after world…

nThe next chapter will conclude this arc. Seven chapters left!

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