Anti-Wingman
5.5k 7 117
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

Liang Fei stared out the window of his home, watching the rain as it fell. The coolness of the air and the relaxing feel of being safe inside was a pleasant feeling. Even better with others around as well.

Taking the tray in hand, he walked over to his sitting room to greet his guests. Usually, the place was messy since he was rarely home but since it was raining, he took the opportunity to clean up. That and he knew he'd have guests that day.

Opening the door, he saw Sect leader Zi Shuren and head alchemist, Fang Zhihao, sitting together at the table. They were talking but they were whispering so Laing Fei couldn't hear them well.

"What are you doing here, Zhihao?" Shuren said in clipped tone, obviously annoyed by the other man. This other man acted completely ignorant of his actions.

"What do you mean, dearest brother?" Zhihao replied, completely oblivious and innocent in tone but his eyes gleamed with mischief. He knew what he was doing. "I can't visit a friend?"

"Since when did the two of you get so close that you visit his home?" He snapped, now suspicious of all the times Liang Fei said he was too busy to host him.

"I could ask the same of you, sect leader." Zhihao countered, cocking a brow. He knew why his friend was there. While others wrote off the man's interest in Liang Fei as just a desire to beat him, since Liang Fei was the only one not felled by his cold stare, Zhihao knew better.

His dearest brother had been compromised and now wishes to court Liang Fei.

Zhihao wasn't dumb. He knew of the strange attractions some had but he'd hoped his dearest brother wouldn't succumb to such practices. Not that he blamed him since Liang Fei was so...adorable.

His stone face made him hard to read but his mannerisms and words made it more than clear that Liang Fei was a kind and considerate man. Had he been born a woman, Zhihao would have been first in line to court her.

But he was a man!

Lucky for him, that was enough to save Zhihao but Shuren wasn't the same. He was a predator who had finally chosen a marriage partner, like Zhihao had been nagging him about for years. He just hadn't figured his ice prince of a brother would choose a man as opposed to a woman.

"I have my reasons." Shuren said, his eyes falling on Liang Fei as he placed the tray on the table. His eyes darkened slightly, his attention solely on the man.

"As do I." Zhihao muttered, staring at Liang Fei, who was completely oblivious to the stare. Somehow, he'd never noticed all the looks this man gave him, innocently letting this beast into his home with no fear of being pushed down. Someone has to protect this pure flower.

"Sorry for taking so long." The flower said, bowing to them both before sitting. His movements were smooth and elegant, unintentionally entrancing the men before him.

"No need to apologize, little brother." Zhihao assured him, nudging Shuren with his knee since the man was staring at Liang Fei with a dazed look. Must he be so obvious? "It allowed us to talk some." He said, ignoring the cold glare he received from Shuren. Like Liang Fei, Zhihao was immune to that chill so it was nothing but a summer breeze for him.

"We weren't disturbing you, were we?" Shuren asked, watching Liang Fei serve them. He shook his head.

"No, I enjoy the times you come to visit, sect leader." He assured him.

"I see." Shuren sighed, enjoying their little 'moment' before it was so rudely interrupted.

"How about me, little brother?" Zhihao asked, shoving Shuren aside. "Do you enjoy my company."

"Of course." Liang Fei frowned a bit, confused by the shove but wrote it off as brotherly. "It's nice to have visitors every once in a while."

"You have no preference?" Shuren asked, still glaring at Zhihao.

"Hm?" Liang Fei took a moment to think about it. He had quite a few visitors who came by. His students mostly but a few elders who liked the tea he brewed or the juice he made. Actually, most of them were only there for his snacks so it was good either way. "No, not that I can think of."

"I see." Shuren took a swig of tea, hiding his scowl in the cup. He'd been hoping he'd be a favorite. In a surprising twist, Liang Fei seemed to sense he'd said something wrong so he rushed to fix the problem.

"I do thank you, sect leader, for indulging me." He said, laying out some snacks on the table. "You didn't have to lend me books to read and I appreciate the gesture."

Liang Fei, an avid reader, still felt happiest when reading so he'd taken to borrowing (actually borrowing this time) book from the library to keep himself entertained. Even the books on alchemy was not safe from his grasp. But as all things, the good times quickly came to an end.

He'd run out of books to read.

As he tried to think of a solution, Zi Shuren had shown up and offered him the use of his personal library. The books publicly available to disciples and the books held in his personal library were like heaven and earth. It couldn't even be compared.

As such, like a child offered candy, Liang Fei followed along, borrowing books once a week from the sect leader. During those minutes of searching, Shuren would try and talk to him but Liang Fei, being himself, missed all the hints and answered in swift and monosyllabic words leaving the man no means to ask anymore.

It was frustrating. But Shuren was a stubborn man.

"No need to thank me." He replied, his mood a bit better. "They would have just collected dust anyway."

And how else would he get a chance to talk to you uninterrupted? He thought ruefully.

Just as he thought that, his adversary spoke.

"Though coming here every other day to pick them up is a bit much, don't you think?" Zhihao noted, munching on a snack placed before him. Their host had called them 'cookies' and he very much liked them.

"Zhihao!" He snapped, his hand clenching as his friend blinked innocently at him.

It was all this bastards fault he had to go through so much trouble. While he didn't get every close due to Liang Fei's apparent inability to hold a conversation for any amount of time (at least with him), it was time spent well. But all of a sudden, Zhihao started coming along, blocking all of Shuren's attempts at courting.

He'd been reduced to coming to Liang Fei's home, with the excuse of collecting his books, with hope that Zhihao wouldn't dare intrude. He was wrong it seemed.

(AN: Nothing gets past mama bear Zhihao)

"Hm? Is it?" Liang Fei mumbled, staring down at his table before looking up at Shuren. "Sect leader, I am not bothering you, am I?" He hoped he wasn't being a bother. He just really wanted some books to read when he wasn't teaching.

"No, if I didn't wish to be here, I wouldn't come at all." Shuren stated, shoving Zhihao aside. "Don't listen to him."

"That's no way to talk to your brother, Sect Leader." He laughed, smiling slyly. "I came all this way to spend time with my favorite people." This was an open challenge, seeking to get a rise from the other man. Out of everyone in the world, Zhihao was the only one to enrage the ice prince to almost yelling. It was his pride.

"No one asked you to." He grumbled.

"Just think of me as a chaperone."

"We don't need one."

"I think you do."

"You..."

Liang Fei watched them, not understanding what was being spoken about before dismissing it. It was probably just an inside joke or something. He doubted it had much to do with him. Why would it anyway.

Still, Liang Fei was happy to spend time with the two men. He forgot how nice it was to talk with people his own age, relatively. 

"So about your mission." Shuren started, the tone of the conversation shifting to a more serious one. Even Zhihao's smile faded just a bit, his gaze sharp as a blade. Every time Liang Fe saw it, he was surprised. How did the man change his expression so quickly? "Are there any questions?"

Liang Fei shook his head, his mind clear of any questions. It was fairly straightforward. He was to investigate some suspicious events that had occurred recently in another province. Due to its level of importance, he, a sect elder was sent as opposed to just a regular cultivator. That and the level of secrecy.

While many knew he was leaving, no one knew the details of said mission, only being told it was a regular extermination mission. This wasn't a lie but neither was it entirely true.

There was whispers of some dark cultivators kidnapping villagers and doing something with them that no one had figured out yet. But Zhihao suspected it had something to do with the sudden migration of divine beasts.

Liang Fei had been told that beasts of various levels of danger have been spotted in areas they are not known for. Sea beasts beaching themselves and mountain dwellers descending for no apparent reason.

Something was happening and Shuren wanted him to look into it.

That and look into why it was that the sects in the affected areas were apparently doing nothing about the incidents. When brought up, they denied anything was even happening, assuring Shuren that if anything like what they spot of was happening, they'd be doing something about it.

The only reason Shuren knew this was happening elsewhere was because a distressed messenger had reached them, begging for help.

Apparently, no one had been listening to their pleas so they braved the elements to reach a sect that would help. And the sect was TianJian.

As of now, those dark cultivators had yet to touch their province but that could easily change at any moment.

"Will you be alright by yourself?" Zhihao asked, frowning to himself. He was against the idea of sending Liang Fei, wanting to go himself. Yet Liang Fei had volunteered himself.

"I won't be alone." He replied, eating his snacks leisurely.

"You really want to bring a disciples with you one such an important mission?" Shuren asked, a bit taken aback. Usually, he wasn't against the idea but considering the level of danger, it was strange.

"To everyone else, it isn't so why not?" Liang Fei countered. He knew he'd be resisted on this but he felt he needed to do this.

"Because you know it is dangerous." Shuren narrowed his eyes, his ice cold gaze boring into Liang Fei, displaying his complete rejection of this idea. "They could-

"I won't put my student in any danger, I assure you." Liang Fei interrupted, his gaze sharpening like a knife, cutting the man off. The tension between them grew as neither side eased up even a little.

This left Zhihao to ease things along.

"It's not..." He started, stopping only when both men turned to glare at him. He flinched, not wanting to but being unable to stop it. He could handle one icy glare but two was too much. "We don't doubt you'll keep them safe but circumstance might change."

"Moreover, you chose to go by carriage, which brings with it a lot more obstacles.

When given the choice between flying swords or carriage as a means of transportation, Liang Fei didn't hesitate to choose the carriage. It was obviously the slower method but in his mind, it was the only method.

Liang Fei knew he could fly. It was one of the things that reminded him that he was, indeed, in a fantasy novel. The first time he saw it, he thought he'd have a heart attack at how... frightening it looked.

Liang Fei was scared of heights. He'd always been and learning he was in ancient China, he felt happy he wouldn't have to be subjected the horror of flying like in modern day. While he could jump high and stand on high peaks without concern, it was really because his feet was on the ground.

On swords, it was nothing but him and open air. At least in airplanes, there was something between him and certain death yet people here flew on swords like it wasn't dangerous at all.

So the thought of flying without any means of protecting him from falling to his death was... no. Just full stop, no.

Not to mention his sword, which he still didn't even know the name of, was unusable. In all the time he'd been here, the blade refused to show itself to him, treating him like air when he tried to draw it. Yet it refused to leave his side, seeming to follow him around whenever he forgot to bring it.

Was the thing alive? Nothing he'd read indicated that but who knows. Perhaps that was the norm in cultivation novels!

As Liang Fei pondered this, his guests had to wait for his response. This wasn't an issue. They were used to this man's habit of getting lost in his own thoughts. Conversations would come to a grinding halt just because Liang Fei forgot other people were waiting for a reply.

"Should we just go?" Zhihao muttered, seeing Liang Fei just stare into space. Really, he hoped this man didn't do this outside. Heavens know what could happen if left by himself.

If the person in question heard these thoughts, he'd have spit blood at the accusation. He was very much aware of his surroundings! It just he got lost in thought often. So what if he'd ended up in strange places because he was walking while daydreaming dozens of times. It was perfectly normal, damn it!

(AN: Liang Fei is like the kid you keep on a leash to prevent him from walking into the street.)

"You can go if you like." Shuren replied, taking the opportunity to admire Liang Fei's beauty. While he often told himself his interest in the man was pure, he couldn't help but get distracted by every little thing about him. The gleam in his eyes when he spoke sometimes, the softness of his skin (which he had yet to touch but dreamed of doing) and the smooth cadence of his voice.

All of those things were the reason he went through so much trouble just to see him.

Just as Zhihao was about to respond, he heard the hurried steps of someone approaching their room. Seconds later, the door slid open with a slam, bring two out of the three pairs of eyes on the intruder.

Young Xieren stood in the doorway, his figure one of strength and brashness, the epitome of youth. Zhihao knew him, since he'd been so close to his apprentice, Xinyi but this was the first time Shuren had met the child.

Yet why was he glaring at him so hatefully?

Xieren glowered at the two men, hating that Shizun had invited other people into his home. He already hated that his fellow disciples came and went when they pleased but the elders too? Why?!

All these people would ruin his master's home and cover up his wonderful smell.

"Shizun!?" He called out, brazenly ignoring the sect leader and head of Alchemy to call out to his master. Said master, still lost in thought, jumped at the sound. For a moment, the man looked dazed and confused as he looked around to find the source of the shout.

All three men shared the same thought just then.

How cute~

When his eyes landed on Xieren, his expression eased back to his usual stone faced expression, though Xieren felt happy. Shizun was looking at him instead of those other men.

"Xieren, what are you doing here?" He asked, cocking a brow. "Lessons are over."

"Yes but you said you'd be testing us today, remember?" He reminded the man, stepping forward. He'd grown used to entering Shizun's home, as did everyone, since the man let anyone in. Xieren disliked sharing but he supposed it was fine since Shizun seemed happy about it.

"Oh, was that today?" He muttered, furrowing his brows. It had been a few days since he'd put out the sign in sheets and he'd gotten a good amount of prospects. He could only pick three to represent him so he had to pick the best out of them all. That and it'd help build bonds between them.

"Did you forget?" Zhihao joked, smirking at the obvious conclusion. It was clear the man had indeed forgotten about the test. It was very like him.

"It would seem so." He sighed, a bit embarrassed. He'd been focused on his mission, he'd forgotten he still had to chose his representatives. How irresponsible. "I'm very sorry. I must attend to those matter. Please excuse me."

Zhihao waved it off, not really minding since he'd planned on leaving anyway. It was only Shuren who looked displeased, but not about Liang Fei leaving.

"Aren't you teaching your students well enough, Elder Shao?" His voice cut through the air, freezing the heart of all who heard it. Both Xieren and Zhihao shivered unconsciously, chilled to the bone by mere words. Liang Fei just turned back the man, raising an eyebrow.

"Well enough?" He echoed, a bit bothered by the man's words. He took pride in his students and disliked hearing such things.

"Your student didn't greet us when he walked in." He stated, not bothering to look at the two. Zhihao cocked a brow, a bit surprised he didn't mention the obvious glare they'd also received. Either way, the damage had been dealt.

"Is that true?" Liang Fei said, his voice chill and calm. Xieren knew he was in trouble.

"Eh? I... Yes?" He stammered, staring at the ground. He hadn't really meant to be rude, since doing so would make Shizun mad but... He really didn't want to bow his head to anyone but Shizun. Before he could say another word, pain exploded in his head and Liang Fei smacked him with the base of his sword. "Ack, S-Shizun! That hurt!" He whined, rubbing his head as he stared up at the man, trying to gain favor by pouting. 

It did not work.

"Don't 'Shizun' me." He retorted, gesturing with his sword. Some teachers used rulers while he used a sword. Same difference either way. "It's rude not to greet your elders when you enter a room. Now apologize and greet them properly."

"B-but-"

"No buts. Now." He ordered, his gaze hard and fierce, sending shivers through the young man. His heart raced at the authority in that single word. He didn't want to. His pride and self rule made him want to reject him but...

It was an order from Shizun after all.

"My deepest apologies, Elder Fang. Sect leader." He said with a bow, his face a bit red from embarrassment. "This lowly disciple seeks forgiveness and wishes to make amends." He said, secretly promising to get strong enough to beat this man. He might be his sect leader but if e beat the man, he wouldn't have to bow, right? Definitely, so he'd get stronger than him too.

"As long as you don't fail to do so again, I see no reason not to let it go." Shuren said, not missing the determined look in the child's eye. There was something familiar about it.

"This humble disciples thanks Sect leader for his patience." He said, a bit huffy. IF not for it being an order, Xieren possibly would risk punishment for being rude. He could take it after all and-

A hand was place on his head, gentle and warm. It didn't move, just resting there but Xieren felt his whole world revolve around that hand.

It was.

it had to be...

A good job head pat!!!

His heart soared as he celebrated the first gentle touch he'd received in years from Shizun. Everything else had been helping hands and sparring matches but just for greeting a man, he got this much?

Perhaps he'd let Shizun punish him more if he got head pats afterward.

Liang Fei, was happy about Xieren, knowing he disliked these sort of things. Even after teaching the young man manners, he was still reluctant to follow proper etiquette. It was always 'Shizun is my master already so why bow to others too?' with him. It was so hard to deal with.

So he was thankful he'd gotten the child to give in so easily, since teenagers were notoriously rebellious. His happiness made him pet the child before he could consciously stop himself. He stopped at just that though, not wanting to upset him.

I just hope he isn't too upset about being touched by me. He thought, inwardly sighing.

"Good job, now let us get going." Liang Fei said, a bit impatient to get his work done. His hand was still on Xieren's head when he turned to his two guests. "Sect leader, Elder Fang, I apologize but I must cut our meeting short."

"It's fine." Zhihao assured him. He knew how much his student meant to Liang Fei so he wasn't surprised they were being asked to leave. "We will see ourselves out."

It was only then that Liang Fei realized his mistake. He'd failed to offer to see them out. How incredibly rude, especially to the sect leader.

"I can-" He started before being interrupted by Zhihao.

"No no, just go." He said, waving him away. "We'll be fine, I promise."

"Right." Liang Fei bowed before turning away, almost leaving a somewhat dazed Xieren behind. His eyes were glazed over with joy, though Liang Fei failed to notice. Seeing the child standing there, he called out. "Lets go, Xieren."

"Y-yes, Shizun!" He replied, a smile on his face as he followed the man's back. His eyes gleamed with joy at the touch he'd received. It wasn't a full on head pat but he'd made contact!!

After the student-teacher duo left, Zhihao and Shuren remained in their seats, staring after them. The room was quiet as Zhihao leisurely finished the snacks prepared for them. There was no need, after all, to leave them be, right?

"Zhihao."

"Yes, oh fearsome leader?" He casually replied, eating a cookie before half heartedly offering one to the stone faced Shuren. "Did you wish for something from me as well?" Shuren ignored the cookie, his gaze solely on the doorway Liang Fei and Xieren had disappeared through moments before.

"Who was that child just now?"

"Eh? You don't know him?" He asked, taking the cookie for himself. "No of course you don't, you rarely pay any mind to disciples." He continued, shrugging his shoulders and relaxing in his seat. "He's Elder Shao's disciple, you know the one he picked up a while ago."

"The 'special' child?" He said, thinking back to the day Liang Fei tossed some kid in front of him like he was trash. This obviously confused the man since the letter sent about the child sung his praises. The letters before that point talking about him made the child sound promising yet upon arriving, the man had just tossed the child to the ground, the muddy terrain being the only thing to cushion his fall.

The behavior was not what he'd expected from someone singing the child's praises before but the Liang Fei of that time was known for his shifts in favor. One day, you are gold, worth everything and the next, you are nothing.

That's how he was.

He still remembered that child looking up at him from the mud, a single gold eye peeking through the matted and dirty hair atop his head. His other eye was swollen and bruised, as it punched. Yet what truly caught his eye wasn't the bruises or even Liang Fei's treatment of the child. No it was the look in his eyes.

That look, hatefully glaring up at him like the world should burn before his eyes. It was the look of a person determined and capable of being strong. Shuren had wanted the child for himself, to train but Liang Fei had already claimed him, dragging the child through the mud.

"So you do remember." Zhihao said, dragging Shuren from his memories of the past. Without him even noticing, his confusion over the drastic shift in behavior was quickly being overwritten by a hard working, if not resentful system. "Yeah that's him, Xieren. He's friends with Xinyi from my division, so we bump into each other often. Though I don't think I've ever seen him smile before so maybe it wasn't him"

Zhihao was confused as well, since he'd never seen Xieren when he was around Liang Fei. Seeing him like that, flustered and jovial, he began to see why Xinyi, cheerful as she was, called him brother. Before this point, he thought the kid was incapable of smile, always looking either outright cold or just mildly amused, a smirk or a minute raising of a single corner of his mouth to show his amusement.

Yet today he was full on smiles, all after be punished by his 'hateful' master.

Was the child right in the head?

Zhihao was busy trying to determine this child's sanity while Shuren just continued to stare into space, feeling that there was something strange about that kid.

He'd find out just what it was that made him suspicious in his eyes.

117