Shi Yue knew that there was nothing he could do. If it was Xie Yi’s body, then it was a personification of his self. Interacting with it could indeed have consequences for reality.

But this was nothing but an image. No matter what he did, he couldn’t make it feel any better. Even then, you weren’t supposed to interfere with one’s mind.

He knew it, but he still went down on his knees and brought up his hands to lay on the man’s cheeks.

The black eyelashes fluttered. His crying didn’t slow, but his sobs died down as he closed his eyes.

It was painful. It was a painful sight. His imagination as to why Xie Yi would see Tiankong like this was hurting him, but he couldn’t stop it.

Biting on his lips, he pulled the figure closer and gently dragged him into his arms.

Some of the ribs cracked and the heart fell, vanishing into the bloody sea below them.

Tiankong’s rigid body relaxed slightly against his chest. His head moved to lean on his shoulder. He exhaled in a long sigh and his body grew limp, similar to how Xie Yi had lost consciousness.

Shi Yue would have liked to think it felt like a person falling asleep - but it was more like the last breath of life leaving him.

Time was a complicated thing when you went into someone’s mind. He stayed in the position for a while, just stroking over the man’s head and ignoring the blood that was dying his robe red.

With every additional second, his channels were beginning to hurt more.

He had to leave. It was hard to convince himself to go, but he had to.

The body in his arms was warm - less the figure’s own warmth than Shi Yue’s transferring over. He felt afraid of it cooling down the moment he left him.

His brain felt like it was suddenly being thrown around and Shi Yue felt a burst of dizziness. He shook his head to clear himself of it.

He couldn’t push him away. He couldn’t lay him down in the darkness.

Shi Yue’s face showed a pained expression. He shifted his grip on Tiankong and gently began to lift him up. He staggered under his weight and size, then steadied himself.

With slow steps, he walked back to where he came from.

Xie Yi was still lying in the same spot without moving, but the beast shadow turned to him.

“Don’t reject him”, Shi Yue whispered pleadingly.

The world around him stayed calm, even as he laid down Tiankong near Xie Yi - within the carefully drawn borders of the sect on the ground, and under the protection of the beast.

To his surprise, Xie Yi’s eyes opened.

Shi Yue froze - the boy shouldn’t be awake. And, according to the blank look in his eyes, he wasn’t.

Maybe it was a subconscious reaction.

The youth stretched out his arm, then hooked a finger around Tiankong’s. With a soft sigh, he closed his eyes again.

Shi Yue stood for a while, numbly watching. The beast curled its scorpion tail around the two before it turned immobile.

With a heavy heart, Shi Yue forced himself to leave towards the end of the array.

The moment he came outside, he checked the time. Over an hour had passed since he had entered the array and the elders were gone already.

His chest felt constricted after his spiritual energy had been overtaxed. It felt a lot like not having enough oxygen to breathe - his thoughts were slow and sluggish.

Shi Yue turned around. 

Contrary to his spiritual counterpart, the real body was lying completely straight on the ground. The drugs were still working, so Xie Yi was sleeping with knitted eyebrows.

Shi Yue walked over. The array had stopped working, so he was now able to approach the youth without entering his mind.

Once in front of him, he picked him up just as gently as Tiankong. Wrapping his arms around the youth, steadying him on his chest and holding him almost too tightly.

The young man shifted in his arms, turning to him. Then his eyebrows relaxed.

The Grandmaster pursed his lips at the sight, then surrendered to himself. Instead of the guest bedroom, he carried Xie Yi out and all the way to his home, to a smaller side room.

He sat down on the long lounge and twisted his body a bit to lean against the siderest. Xie Yi stayed placed tightly against him.

By now, the drugs’ effect was more similar to keeping Xie Yi asleep. He twisted a bit, then hooked his fingers around Shi Yue’s collar and curled himself up.

The cultivator looked down on his disciple with a soft gaze. Almost involuntarily did he tilt his head down to lean it against Xie Yi’s for a moment.

His disciple was like a growing dragon. There were a lot of things he didn’t understand yet, but he drew everyone’s gazes with his bright, glowing eyes. A dangerous entity that managed to attract people despite one knowing the danger.

Xie Yi was charming.

It was hard to resist someone if you weren’t averse to them and could feel them pursue you whole-heartedly and with pure intentions.

But Shi Yue didn’t want a relationship with his disciple and he felt weird at the thought of entering a relationship with a man.

Maybe there were only a few little things missing to tip the scales over; for him to actually consider it - even if he wasn’t aware of it yet. His mind would not accept the thought.

The cultivator, who was older than most humans, had perfected the same thing that all higher cultivators would perfect one day.

The skill to ignore your own thoughts and act a fake stance so well that they would hypnotize even themselves.

At this moment, however, there was no one around and the undersupply of spiritual energy was causing his mind to go foggy. Self-control was, in the end, a mostly conscious effort.

Now the body in his arms was too warm, too comfortable, too snuggly fitted against himself.

Xie Yi smelled of metal; an uncommon scent. It hovered somewhere between the rusty scent of blood and that of iron, just strengthening the feeling of the youth being a natural warrior.

Despite that, Shi Yue didn’t dislike it.

He simply leaned his head on the disciple that he was holding close to himself. The young man’s chest rose and fell with every silent breath.

The soft black hair tickled his face and lips, the scent of metal working to dim his thoughts further.

Shi Yue’s hazed eyes closed.

“Don’t worry”, he whispered into the black hair. “I’m here for you.”

But even he did not know whether the person he was talking to was his disciple or the figure inside the young man’s head.

---

When Xie Yi woke up in the morning, he felt drained. His whole body was aching like he had run a marathon and his head was booming with every heartbeat. 

He looked around with fuzzy eyes, trying to recognize his surroundings. 

It was Shi Yue’s place. He was lying on a comfortable lounge, covered with a warm blanket.

Xie Yi lifted it up and looked at it. Dazed, he raised a hand to his head.

He felt like he had had a very nice dream, despite all the exhaustion.

A very nice dream that made his heart settle down and make him feel at ease. It was like his chest wasn’t hurting as much as the day before. Although his head and muscles were now hurting instead.

He yawned, then forced himself to get up while rubbing his eyes.

He opened one door, then another. Behind the third door, he found Ying Hua resting on the windowsill. She looked up, then pointed into a direction and went back to closing her eyes and enjoying the sunshine.

Xie Yi didn’t disturb her and closed the door before walking into the direction she had pointed.

He found his master outside - sitting in the pavilion.

“Shi Yue”, he happily called out, half throwing himself into the chair opposite of the cultivator. And shortly flinching at the complaints of his body.

Shi Yue tensed and relaxed again. He glanced up at Xie Yi, then looked away. He shoved a tea with medical properties over. Judging by its use, it had been intended for Xie Yi in the first place. “You’re awake. How is your head? The array is taxing on people.”

“Kinda fine”, Xie Yi responded, tilting his head as he stared at his master. Something was a bit unusual. “Was everything alright in my, uh, head?”

“Yes. I made sure they didn’t look around too much”, Shi Yue responded. “At least they’re convinced that you don’t have any bad intentions, that is the most important.”

“So I’m free again?”, the youth probed, leaning forward a bit.

Shi Yue smiled. “Yes.”

“...And your succeeding disciple?”

“Hmm? Who informed you of that?”, Shi Yue said with a raised eyebrow. He had indeed said that, but only with the elders around. No one else should know of it and he doubted that they or the sect leader had told the boy.