Once Cultivators Zhao and Yu left, Wang Li Wei and Luan Hengwei jumped to their feet.

“Thank you, thank you, Senior Lin!” they said, bowing to Lin Yjiun.

“Don’t thank him yet, you may end up crying from how many mistakes he picks out,” Zhou Sheng said. His lips curled into a smirk, but there was a flash of bitter memory in his eyes.

“As long as these two young cultivators work hard, what more can we ask of them?” Wen Zhihao said smoothly.

Wang Li Wei twitched at Wen Zhihao calling him ‘young’, but he nodded firmly to Senior Lin nonetheless. “Yes, we will work hard. Thank you for your guidance.”

Lin Yijun waved a hand. “Sit, enjoy the rest of this picnic.”

“Yes!”

Lin Yijun gracefully descended into a seated position next to Zhou Sheng. He took out the little bell to produce a sphere of privacy around them: others could see but they could not hear.

Zhou Sheng raised his eyebrows in askance.

Lin Yijun lowered his head slightly. “I...should apologise for those past times that I tried to guide you. I won’t repeat the same mistakes.”

Zhou Sheng sighed, propping a hand slightly behind him and tilting his head back. “It doesn’t matter. Even if you taught like Wen Zhihao, I still wouldn’t have succeeded as a sword cultivator.”

Lin Yijun’s lips as his mouth felt a hint of vinegar. “Wen Zhihao is not a sword cultivator. Zhou Sheng, what would you like to eat? I’ll summon the dishes for you.”

Zhou Sheng leaned forward again. “That cake that Wen Zhihao calls a green tea cake...a slice of that dish that Wen Zhihao calls pi-sa…”

Wen Zhihao, Wen Zhihao! Lin Yijun pressed down his inexplicable irritation. He took down the privacy sphere around them and used his qi to manipulate the wind to carry the requested dishes over.

Zhou Sheng hummed. He reclined back with one arm towards Lin Yijun, and a plate of pale green cake balanced on one knee.

Lin Yijun compared his stiff sitting posture to Zhou Sheng’s relaxed posture. Gingerly, he tried to similarly place a hand behind him in order to lean back.

He froze when his hand brushed over warm skin, with the faint sense of lively qi.

I want to...I want to… Lin Yijun’s heart started to beat rapidly.

Zhou Sheng stopped eating and turned his head to him.

Lin Yijun didn’t meet Zhou Sheng’s gaze. He pulled his hand back, curling it into a fist. His skin felt tingly.

Despite the embarrassment, a thought emerged in Lin Yijun’s mind: I want to touch him again. But seeing Zhou Sheng’s growing-suspicious expression, Lin Yijun suppressed the urge.

“Let me make you a cup of tea,” Lin Yijun said instead.

Zhou Sheng made a face. “It’s not that—”

“No, this is a tea blend from Cultivator Huang, you will find it much more palatable.”

“Then go ahead.”

Zhou Sheng secretly watched as Lin Yijun produced a tea set from his spatial device and went through the steps of making the tea.

The way Lin Yijun had pulled back and curled his fist...was it so shocking to touch a demonic cultivator in the flesh?

The faint impressions of Lin Yijun’s hand still lingered on the back of Zhou Sheng’s hand, but he made no move to rub it away. Doing so...would be too suspicious.

Zhou Sheng’s fingers dug into the ground a little. He breathed in some of Wen Zhihao’s calming qi in the air and exhaled. Only then did he accept a cup of tea from Lin Yijun.

The tea that Lin Yijun made was only lightly infused with spiritual energy and had faint fruity and floral notes. It paired well with the grassiness of the green tea cake. Meanwhile, the pi-sa had delicious toppings and the chew of the bread-like base was addictive.

“I must thank Wen Zhihao for these dishes,” Zhou Sheng said.

Lin Yijun’s lips tightened. “He did not cook these dishes. A mortal surnamed Liu does.”

“But would I be able to eat them without him? And look at this calming stone.” Zhou Sheng pulled out a pitch-black, irregular stone from his sleeve and casually tossed it into the air. “How difficult is it to craft a heart-soothing treasure? And yet Wen Zhihao does so in passing.” Zhou Sheng caught the stone, curling his fingers around it. “A cultivator who becomes his partner is guaranteed to be free of heart demons.”

Across the temporary picnic ground, Sun Fuyu’s ears were pricked. He had been paying attention since the first mention of Wen-ge. He smirked slightly at the compliments Zhou Sheng was dropping.

Lin Yijun’s eyes narrowed at Zhou Sheng. “Disciple Wen’s partner is Disciple Sun.”

“But they clearly haven't dual cultivated yet. They are Dao Companions only in name,” Zhou Sheng said idly.

Sun Fuyu’s expression dropped. He grabbed his Wen-ge’s hand. So what if we haven’t dual cultivated yet?! You’re not taking Wen-ge!

Wen Zhihao absentmindedly squeezed Sun Fuyu’s hand back in comfort. He heard nothing of Lin Yijun and Zhou Sheng’s conversation, as he was listening to Xiao Bai haltingly give his opinion on the different dishes. “That’s okay, Xiao Bai, you don’t need to like everything. Let Uncle eat the rest of that for you, you can try something else...”

Lin Yijun frowned unhappily. “Don’t try anything on the juniors of my sect.”

Zhou Sheng tilted his head back lazily. “You’re not my shixiong anymore, why do you care so much?”

Lin Yijun felt a stab in his chest. “I—I’m your friend now! And as a senior cultivator of the sect, I—”

“Need to protect the innocent disciples from a demonic cultivator like me?”

Lin Yijun gritted his teeth. “That’s not what I meant. Zhou Sheng, you are a good cultivator.” He huffed. “Zhou Sheng, eat some of this stir-fried water-spinach. It is one of the dishes that Wen Zhihao said you should eat, correct?”

“Wen Zhihao has been talking to you in private?” Zhou Sheng asked, his chest tightening uncomfortably.

“He talks to you in private too,” Lin Yijun retorted. He summoned a plate of water-spinach and a bowl of rice for Zhou Sheng. “Eat!”

While both of them changed the conversation and stopped mentioning Wen Zhihao, Sun Fuyu couldn’t relax. Zhou Sheng was allowed to recognise how great Wen-ge was, but he wasn’t allowed to covet!

But...but Sun Fuyu hadn’t reached Wen-ge’s cultivation level yet. If they dual cultivated, it would be Sun Fuyu taking advantage of Wen-ge.

“Is Xiao Yu tired?” Wen Zhihao patted Sun Fuyu’s hand.

Sun Fuyu raised his head and shook it. “No, not tired, Wen-ge.”

“Hm, well, I think some of the children are tired. It’s time for their—and my—afternoon nap…”

“Wen-ge can sleep here and I’ll keep watch!”

Wen Zhihao’s lips curled up. “You don’t need to keep watch, Xiao Yu.”

“Need,” Sun Fuyu insisted.

Wen Zhihao lifted Sun Fuyu’s hand and kissed the back of it. “Then we will be under your care.”

The back of Sun Fuyu’s hand tingled. He gave a shy smile and stood up to help pack up the eaten dishes. As he looked away, that same hand raised, brushing against his cheek and lips.

 

 

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I think Salted Fish has reached +100k words now  _(:3」∠)_  amazing given the short chapters...

Also, what do I mean by dual cultivation? Hehehe

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Fanart corner! 🥰

by Woes of Spring: