“Senior brother Gu! We finally found you.” Hu Lanfeng bent forward, hands on his knees as he regained his breath.

“…and cultivator Lin, hello.” The words were forced out as he greeted the other cultivator.

Lin Zijun completely ignored the newcomer as he waved his hand. Gu Changshou he could spend time with, but not the rest of his fellow Tianmen disciples. They were always so elitist and uptight about rules.

“Well… seeing that you’re busy with your fellow disciple, I’ll invite you another time.”

“Sure, until next time.” Gu Changshou nodded, watching him stroll away and into the arms of welcoming ladies in front of the brothel. Exhaling a deep breath in relief, he turned to his junior sect brother.

“Junior brother Hu, why are you here?”

“A task.” Hu Lanfeng glanced at the person next to his senior brother and then their busy surroundings. It was inappropriate for conversation and the numerous questions he had. “Let’s change a place to talk?”

“En, follow me.” Too lazy to find another place, Gu Changshou simply led them back to the inn.

Xiao Han tagged sullenly behind, not saying a word. First there was Lin Zijun, and then this junior brother Hu. While this person didn’t make him feel bad like the other nasty person, the continued interruptions made his chest stuffy. And Chang-ge did not speak up either…

“So,” Hu Lanfeng gulped the cup of tea down after they sat down, waving at the waiter who closed the door behind, leaving some snacks on the table. “Where have you been all this time, senior brother?”

He was ecstatic to finally see his senior brother. They weren’t very close – he was an inner disciple, and Gu Changshou was a core disciple – but they shared the same shifu. Most Tianmen disciples knew of Gu Changshou, and many were awed by him. But when he vanished mysteriously, rumors began to spread. Their shifu, Mu Zhouting, and the elders tried to manage them, but they could not control everyone’s mouths. It had been five months since anyone heard from senior brother Gu!

“Here and there.”

Gu Changshou replied vaguely, picking a lotus-shaped pastry and delivered it Xiao Han’s mouth. He had forgotten to teach Xiao Han how to use chopsticks. Fortunately, the food stalls they visited today did not require chopsticks, and the waiter brought some handheld pastries. In the meantime, he didn’t mind choosing things that were easier to eat or even feeding Xiao Han directly.

“Taste good?”

“…en.”

“Good, then have some more.” Wearing a doting smile, he wiped the crumbs off the corner of Xiao Han’s mouth, licking them off his thumb in one smooth action.

He slowly fed the rest of the pastry to Xiao Han, contently feeding him as he sat there without a fuss, quietly chewing. It was a pity the mask was still on. If it could be taken off… he would bet Xiao Han would look cute with cheeks bulging like a squirrel while he ate.

“Se, senior brother Gu! Who is this?” Hu Lanfeng almost fell out of his seat seeing his senior brother behave so intimately with someone.

Gu Changshou was friendly, but was never so intimate with anyone. The senior brother he knew would never feed anyone by hand, and then lick crumbs off his thumb! All the junior and senior sisters would be shocked to find out.

“Ah? This is Gu Hanqing.”

Although Hu Lanfeng was more open-minded and well-behaved amongst his fellow disciples, Gu Changshou could not predict how he would behave once he found out about Xiao Han’s situation or how he drank his blood to suppress the yin qi. Reporting back was for sure, but how the sect masters and elders reacted was uncertain. The thought of Xiao Han being captured and interrogated, or killed frightened him.

“Xiao Han, introduce yourself to junior brother Hu.” Hearing his name, Xiao Han raised his head, looking at Gu Changshou for help. Smiling warmly, he stroked his head in encouragement. “Go ahead.”

“He-hello…”

“Ah, hello, Xiao Ha–” Seeing the fierce glare from his senior brother, he quickly amended his words, “that is, Hanqing. Hello.”

Relieved his senior brother had returned to his friendly smile, Hu Lanfeng silently wiped the invisible sweat from his forehead. Who knew senior brother Gu could be so frightening? He wasn’t even using the pressure of his nascent soul, and that look was already deadly. At the near cost of his life, he learned an important piece of news: Gu Hanqing must be very important to his senior brother!

“Senior brother, when are you coming back to the sect?” Calming steering the topic back to something less sensitive, he took another discreet glance at Gu Hanqing who was sitting silently next to them. “Everyone is asking where you are these days.”

“Soon…”

He waved his arm ambiguously, picking up the cup of tea and taking a sip. Honestly, the thought of going back barely crossed Gu Changshou’s mind recently. All his time was spent thinking about Xiao Han. Where to bring him next, what to show him, what to eat…

He might be a rare, young nascent soul cultivator, but that alone didn’t mean anything in the larger cultivation world. Tianmen Sect was just one sect, and there were many other senior brothers and sisters, as well as elders, who were at or above the nascent soul stage. Gu Changshou was nothing compared to them; his name was only famous among younger generations due to his age.

“Soon? Why don’t you come back with us? Shifu is in a foul mood these days since he hasn’t heard from you.”

“Ah, Shifu is like that.”

Mu Zhouting liked to blunder and bluster, which frightened him quite a bit as a child, but it was all an outward appearance. Acting like that only showed how much he cared about his disciples and sect. Of course, Gu Changshou only realized this years later when he was more mature and less afraid.

“Senior brother Gu…” Hu Lanfeng cried resignedly at the unspoken rejection. He didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news and be punished to copy manuals for a week…

Turning his head, he looked at the masked youth. While he had no idea why Gu Hanqing was still wearing a mask inside, he didn’t care to ask why with his senior brother present. He knew senior brother Gu had family outside the sect, but he rarely spoke about them. And if this youth was also named ‘Gu’…

“Senior brother Gu,” he leaned to his side and whispered, so Gu Hanping wouldn’t be able to hear. “…are you not coming back because of your cousin?”

“Cousin?”

“I mean Hanqing.”

“En.”

So it really was because of him? Hu Lanfeng snuck a glance at the innocuous, masked youth at the table, examining and sniffing at a piece of pastry.

“Why don’t you come back with us and bring him along?”

“That’s not possible.” Without a solution to the yin qi problem, Xiao Han’s situation would be precarious. He trusted his shifu and the elders to be discreet, but bringing a living, breathing person to the sect without anyone finding out was impossible.

More importantly, Gu Changshou didn’t want to leave yet. Spending time strolling in the streets, watching Xiao Han’s eyes light up in joy when trying something new was nice, but he longed for the idyllic lifestyle they had before. Doing what they wanted, when they wanted, without worrying about people around them.

He had already bumped into several distant acquaintances before Lin Zijun and Hu Lanfeng. Seeing his acquaintances doing well was always pleasant, but the fawning reverence and overly familiar tone made him weary. There was some of it back in the sect as well, but he usually stayed on top of Tianheng peak with his shifu and the other core disciples, where it was much more peaceful. And Xiao Han knew nothing about the cultivation world or him, which let him relax fully.

“Well, you should at least send a message back to shifu, so he knows where you are.”

“Fine. So why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be training?” Gu Changshou calmly asked, changing the topic away from him. He didn’t expect to bump into anyone he knew well, which was why he picked Fujing city.

“I’m on an assignment. There are a couple other junior brother and sisters here as well.” Hu Lanfeng looked up from eating a pastry. “Didn’t you hear about the auction?”

“Auction?” Gu Changshou perked his ears at the word. Auctions were always a good thing to bump into.

“Yes, there are quite a few treasures being auctioned off, or so we were told…”

The uncomfortable feeling in his chest grew Xiao Han watched as Gu Changshou continued talking with his junior brother. Some of the words he could recognize, but most of it was completely alien. Worse, he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to speak. And if he was, he wouldn’t know what to say…

Sneaking a hand out, he wanted to pull on Chang-ge’s robes, but looking at the hand holding a cup, he retreated and grabbed a pastry instead. Nibbling on the flaky pastry, the previously sweet, milky filling was tasteless in his mouth.

He was very happy earlier when they walked on the streets together and looked at things. Chang-ge smiled at him a lot and held his hand too. But now, all he was doing was sitting there, drinking tea, and talking to his junior brother.

Even on the way back to the inn, he didn’t even look back or talk to him. It reminded Xiao Han of before when he was on the mountain; there were sometimes humans who saw him, but pretended not to see him and walked away. It wasn’t until they were back in the room and he fed him a pastry that it changed a bit. But even, now his attention was elsewhere.

After half a joss stick, Hu Lanfeng finally left, but not without having him promise to report back to the sect. Closing the door behind him and locking it, Gu Changshou sat back down and refilled his teacup.

He learned far more than anticipated from his conversation with junior brother Hu. It was no wonder there were so many local cultivators and a few from larger ones, like his Tianmen Sect, present in Fujing city. They were all here for the auction and hoped to pick some rare items up. Even he was tempted by it.

Seeing Xiao Han sitting there, fiddling with his cup, he habitually patted his head. “Sorry, I got caught up in talking. Did you have fun today?”

“…en.” He nodded.

It was scary at first, but slowly got better. He knew humans had many amazing things from what he observed and what Gu Changshou told him previously, but experiencing it was completely different. The sights, the sounds, and the tastes were more than he could imagine. Everything was new and different, which was a bit scary, but he never left his side.

But then those people came. First that Lin person who he didn’t like. And then that junior Hu. He heard stories about the Tianmen sect, the people there, and what it was like being a cultivator before, but it seemed very at the time when they were still on the mountain. He never expected to meet any of them.

“That’s good. Are you interested in going to an auction?”

“Auction?”

“It’s a place where people buy and sell things. Somewhat like the shops we visited before, but there are rare treasures at auctions.”

Hu Lanfeng shared there were several precious materials being auctioned that could be useful for replenishing blood or forging weapons. If not for him, then as a gift. Gu Changshou didn’t know how long he would be able to stay with Xiao Han – he had to return to the sect one day – but he wanted to make sure to at least provide him a few tools for self-protection and a space bag before he left. That way, Xiao Han would at least be able to protect himself from low-level cultivators.

There was a slow, but hesitant nod. “…en. Want to go.”

“Good, I’ll also introduce you to some of my junior brother and sisters, like junior brother Hu, along the way.”

“Ah?” Xiao Han raised his head in question.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be there.”

“…en.” He was going to have to meet other people? Was the auction going to be something where Chang-ge brought him there and talked with his fellow disciples again? Wondering whether they could not go, he lowered his head and frowned.

“Are you feeling okay?” A hand rose out to feel his forehead. “Are you tired? Do you want to lie down? We walked around a lot.”

Nodding mechanically, he went through the actions of taking off his outerwear and lay down. Sliding in, Xiao Han spent a moment reveling in the soft fluffy feeling before turning to face the wall. He wasn’t sure what was wrong with him, but he did not want to see Gu Changshou’s face.

Clutching his fists in tight balls, he curled tightly in the bed. Gu Changshou never said how long he was staying, and had brought back wanting to leave previously. Before he was injured and couldn’t move, but now that he could walk again, it was a matter of time. Sooner or later, Chang-ge would go back to his sect, leaving him to spend each day in the mountains living like neither a human nor animal.

Clutching the blanket, Xiao Han squeezed his eyes shut. After a long time, he felt a body climb in beside him, and turned around to hug him. Despite the familiar warmth penetrating into his bones, the stuffiness in his chest remained…