15. Pet Adoption (4)
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Ying Long delivered him straight to an unoccupied bedroom with a whole, actual bed inside after they ate, where Xu Jian slept like the dead.

As someone from the modern world, he’d always known comfort, whether or not it came with some small annoyances he'd have to bear with. He could sleep on a shoddy mattress, on a cot, on a bed, on a futon, and be easily satisfied.

He was unused to luxuries.

At first it was uncomfortable, after so long on hard ground, but as he sank into the plush mattress and felt the firmness of the frame underneath, with the soft cover of the blanket over him, and a pillow under his head…

He didn’t even dream. It was like he had evaporated into nothingness. An endless blackness, as secure as a womb.

He dreamed, like he hadn't in a long time. He dreamed he was walking a long stretch of road, and a path of dragons were moving like a river next to him. They were massive, and he didn't bother them.

He dreamed he stopped at a gas station. Cultivators in flowing robes were loitering by the door. He dreamed he saw a familiar face through the window. 

He dreamed he kept walking. He dreamed he started running.

Xu Jian felt the solidness of reality return, slowly, in the corner of his mind. It was secure, consistent against a gentle swaying motion, and he pressed his cheek against the warm surface.

...That wasn’t a bed.

Xu Jian’s eyes fluttered open to a blur of fabric, fur, and skin. He was being cradled in cloth, but he could feel a hand underneath him. He recognized this position. He turned his head out to the bright morning light.

He was lodged in Ying Long’s robes.

“I thought you might like this position, since you were so insistent.” Ying Long’s voice rumbled against his chest. He looked patronizing as always.

Xu Jian sucked at his teeth. He couldn’t bring himself to say that he only climbed into Ying Long’s robes because he thought it would bother him.

Well, there was no need to be held like a baby in a harness, especially when he didn’t fit; Xu Jian had previously wrapped himself around Ying Long’s entire torso to squeeze in, but in order to cradle him, Ying Long had scrunched Xu Jian into the fetal position, with his face resting against his collarbones. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but had to look pretty stupid to observers. Xu Jian hoisted himself out of Ying Long’s clothes and clambered onto his shoulders. He liked sitting atop the Mountain demon; it felt good to be taller than everything.

They were making their way across the main courtyard. It was still a disaster, but Xu Jian could see servants begin to reach the outdoors with their repairs. He watched with mild interest, then slapped at Ying Long’s face.

Ying Long made an odd grunt, but he still looked up with the smug smirk fixed in place. “...Yes?”

“Where’s my things.”

“Dropped off in your room long before you retired.”

“Good.” They seemed to be headed somewhere very out of the way. “Where are we going?”

“To get treatment. You’re very sick, aren’t you?”

Xu Jian blinked. “Am I?”

Ying Long was silent. After a pause long enough even Xu Jian could tell how awkward it was, he placed his hand on Xu Jian’s ankle.

“You...said you were wary of addiction?”

Xu Jian tilted his head, and after a moment, understood what Ying Long was implying.

When you suffered from substance abuse, particularly drugs and alcohol, shaking was one of the more common symptoms. He had been shaking uncontrollably since he first arrived, and the fact he hadn’t stopped trembling even after sleeping in a warm bed must have been alarming. It was precisely because he was accustomed to substance abuse that he hadn’t realized the shaking was a problem.

“I suppose checking is a good idea,” he mused. He suspected it had something to do with the System, but it could be something terrifying like the body failing to handle his presence or something. It couldn’t hurt to double-check.

'System?'

[CALCULATING...]

'What are you calculating?'

[REWARD]

Reward...?

After thinking on it, he realized what it meant. He'd reached the second reward level with that burst of points his confession to Ying Long had given him.

But it had given him the Path of Wind right away, even if it needed time to apply it. Why was it still calculating what reward to give even though a few days have passed?

...It couldn't be...The system didn't really understand how a reward system worked to begin with. It arbitrarily applied one when he asked for guidance, and couldn't intuitively develop a new mission. Knowing that...

'You can't think of what kind of reward to give me?'

The System's silent observation bore down on him.

Forgetting the tremor, for the moment. 'Do you want me to think of something for you?'

The pressure increased.

'Mn...Well this is a cultivation novel, right? I think the most important thing cultivation novel protagonists have is...a pocket dimension.'

The pressure increased so much it made Xu Jian anxious. He felt like his soul was being clenched, and he unconsciously dug his fingers into Ying Long's hair.

'Li...Like a storage ring? Somewhere to hide things, like books? Lai Mingliao's mentor gave him a storage ring after he completed three trials and proved he could learn under him. It was in chapter 200 or so?'

The pressure relinquished.

[RING]

'No, they're too careful with that sort of thing. Can't you store things for me yourself?'

[SYSTEM STORAGE]

'Yes?'

[CALCULATING]

Even though it went back to calculating...or thinking? The weight of the System's gaze didn't leave him. It wasn't a big deal to wait; Ying Long was cheerfully showing Xu Jian off like he was a shiny new toy.

[SYSTEM STORAGE PROCESSING]

Oh, it worked.

The System's gaze finally lifted, and Xu Jian felt he was alone again. He sighed in relief. He was starting to feel worse and worse for the System with each conversation. It would be nice if he could talk to the administrator instead, but at the same time, he felt that a conversation with an autonomous person would be a lot more tense than his little talks with his helpless System. Besides, he felt as if he could probably scam a lot of good things out of it, with the way things had been going.

They reached their destination quickly after that. On the Western wing of the palace was a building complex nestled in the corner, free of any damage. It looked like no one had been in the area in weeks. Ying Long plucked Xu Jian off his shoulders and set him down at the door, and they went in together. Of course, Ying Long had to duck. The only building large enough for him was the main hall.

The two of them poked around to see alchemy arrays and examining tables, but no people.

Xu Jian looked up at Ying Long curiously. “Where have the residents of Hyacinth Palace gone?”

“Arrested. Imprisoned. Their servants and disciples should be free to do their duties, though.” There was a slight pout to his tone.

“I'm sure they're very frightened of demons brutalizing them should they leave their homes, my lord,” Xu Jian said.

Ying Long only huffed. “But how am I to order them back if I don't know who belongs to the palace?”

“I'd imagine publicly announcing you don't intend to brutalize anyone may help, my lord.” Xu Jian picked up a cauldron and inspected it. The inside shone like mother-of-pearl.

“A sign of weakness.”

Xu Jian's tongue was halfway through the motions of being clicked before he remembered himself and bit down on it.

Their exploration became lazy, only continuing for the sake of completing the tour of the building, considering how empty it was. There were a lot of storage rooms and libraries, though the scrappy-looking books covered in ink implied that the library was for notes disciples took, and not actual texts.

It gave him an idea of the level of bookbinding in this era; scrolls, accordian-style books, and single-spine books all existed simultaneously, for different needs. He could only steal paper scrolls during his month at the pier, as silk was conspicuous, so he enjoyed seeing the variety.

The tour was actually quite fun; he felt he was learning a little more about cultivators, and because Ying Long had no experience with the palace or the medical arts, he was wonderfully quiet.

Then Xu Jian threw open the next door, and found himself face to face with a disciple of Hyacinth Palace.

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