With Elder Huang’s departure, Yi Yeguang was once again left to his own devices.

Off in the corner, the wooden chest was eerily quiet – which would’ve been nice, if not for everything else – everything else, like the blood Yi Yeguang had coughed up this morning, and that he could feel tickling his throat even now. Honestly⸺

He snorted, and then looked over to where his own sword lay – ever quiet, ever listening. As far as blades went, it was a good one; sharp and sturdy, and ever receptive. If Founder Yi’s blade was a blade with too strong opinions, then Yi Yeguang’s own blade – Yìfàn – was a blade without, but not really. It simply kept quiet about them, allowing itself to be ordered about. A more prideful blade would’ve undoubtedly been offended, but if Yìfàn minded, then Yi Yeguang had yet to notice. Of course, he hadn’t really asked or paid that much attention for that matter, so⸺ “Ugh.”

He shook his head tiredly. He nearly immediately regretted it though, because the movement triggered a coughing fit similar to the one that he’d experienced this morning. This one was noticeably stronger though, abating only after it had reduced him to a crumpled and gasping heap.

“The worst, honestly...”

Muttering this, he allowed his eyes to slide shut, if only for a bit. He would get back up soon, once the immediate onslaught had passed.

 

---

 

Thankfully, it seemed as though Founder Yi’s cursed sword had granted him some reprieve, because after lying down on the floor for a bit, Yi Yeguang felt a whole lot better – not better as in good, but better as in ‘I can get up and get back to work’. Because frankly, there was much left to do, and despite his limited time and energy, Yi Yeguang knew that the sooner he dealt with it, the better for everyone, really.

Because sure, he might’ve had some grievances – maybe even a lot of them – towards certain people here at the Green Jade Peaks. However, by and large, he was fond of them – though admittedly some more than others. As such, he didn’t want to leave them with any greater mess than necessary, just in case.

For one thing, Yi Yeguang certainly hadn’t forgotten about the position he had been in all those years ago. It wasn’t one that he’d wish upon anyone really, and especially not anyone currently at the Green Jade Peaks. Then again, whoever succeeded him wouldn’t really have to deal with that exact scenario, so at least there was that.

Mingyue was all grown up now, fully capable of taking care of himself and others. Besides, even if his demonic heritage came to light, it honestly wouldn’t make that much of a difference at this point – and even if the Windward Sect’s relationship with the other righteous sects soured significantly, they’d probably be able to escape total annihilation. As such, there was no need for anyone to wield Founder Yi’s sword, and at this rate, no one would – not even Yi Yeguang.

Like Mingyue said, that thing wasn’t needed – it wasn’t needed and it needed to be disposed of, and this task naturally fell to Yi Yeguang.

And as for anyone else’s opinions on the matter, Yi Yeguang found that he didn’t really care – they could complain all they liked if he made it back out again, and if he didn’t, well, then they could try and pry that thing from his cold dead hands.

The deepest caves of the Green Jade Peaks; it seemed as though they might actually become his tomb after all – and if so, then wouldn’t that just be beautifully ironic? It would, because if so, then Yi Yeguang would’ve come full circle, but this time around, he would be dragging that damned sword down with him.

Because honestly, Founder Yi’s legacy? To Hell with Founder Yi’s legacy.

And if the immortal himself took any issue with Yi Yeguang’s handling of the matter, then he was welcome to come down and deal with it himself – and with his damned sword while he was at it.

Also, if the Windward Sect somehow felt that they needed some damned sword to legitimise any Sect Leader, then they should just use Yìfàn; a far superior bargain in Yi Yeguang’s opinion – if not in terms of strength, then certainly in terms of reliability.

And as far as the position of Sect Leader went, well, since there was no natural successor to the position, the remaining Peak Lords would obviously have to decide on that – and if none of them wanted it full-time, then they could nominate someone else or take turns for all that Yi Yeguang cared.

Honestly, why had he even put up with this shit for so damned long? Like, yeah, sure, he had vowed to protect Mingyue, but⸺ Yi Yeguang could’ve just helped him leave and perhaps even gone along, or perhaps commanded Jiao Ziyu to go along. He could’ve probably even convinced Elder Huang to go along – not that the man would’ve needed much convincing or anything, given other’s earlier statements of defecting if anyone ever tried to make him Sect Leader.

Yi Yeguang could’ve probably done all that, but he hadn’t. Instead, he’d sought to take responsibility and attempted to do better, and he knew for a fact that it hadn’t all been to no avail. It hadn’t, because some things had definitely improved under his reign, and most things hadn’t gone to Hell under it either. So⸺ “For all it’s worth, you could’ve definitely done a whole lot worse.”

They could’ve definitely done a lot better too, of course. But that went without saying, really, and there was no use thinking about it either. Instead, it was time to get back to work.

 

---

 

Morning passed, then afternoon, then evening, and barring a few short breaks, Yi Yeguang had been working quite diligently, largely unbothered by that accursed sword. He’d remained largely undisturbed too – which was a relief. But of course, like so many other good things in Yi Yeguang’s life, it was bound not to last. And it didn’t.

Peak Lord Cheng, who’d been standing outside for hours, had left only to later return – and with obvious purpose at that. It had been naïve of Yi Yeguang to think otherwise, but⸺

When the other had drawn his blade – Zhènglíng – and struck at the barrier, Yi Yeguang had been shocked. Because it was distinctly out of character for the normally quite emotionally restrained Peak Lord to suddenly start slashing and hacking at the barrier with a fervour normally reserved for night hunts – of which there’d barely been any in recent months, both due to a lack of need and due to the chaos that they’d been forced to deal with at home.

Had the man finally snapped under all the pent-up frustration? Or had Youming Jun done something again, or was this all somehow Yi Yegaung’s fault?

In any case, sensing Peak Lord Cheng hack away at his carefully constructed wards, Yi Yeguang finally decided that he’d had enough. Irritated, he stood up and flicked his wrist, deactivating the wards before that overzealous subordinate of his had the time to wreck them completely – because they had already sustained significant damage, and it would suffice to say that Yi Yeguang wasn’t pleased. He didn’t show it though, plastering a bland smile on his face and tucking his hands into his sleeves well before that damned fool Cheng Kong slid the door open and stepped inside without as much as a greeting or even removing his boots.

Standing in the doorway, Peak Lord Cheng made for a quite striking image. Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time to admire it, and Yi Yeguang instead allowed himself to focus on the blade still clutched quite tightly in the other’s grip.

“Peak Lord Cheng,” he said, keeping his voice perfectly level even as the other steadily advanced on him. “It’s quite late. Might I inquire as to which sort of emergency has brought you to my door⸺?”

One foot landed in front of him, soon followed by another.

Peak Lord Cheng was looming over him. The other wasn’t that much taller than him in reality, but in this particular moment, Yi Yeguang felt very small under the intensity of the other’s scowl. And it was definitely a scowl – a real one.

However, Yi Yeguang scarcely even had time to process this before the other’s actions rendered him absolutely speechless. Because Peak Lord Cheng suddenly dropped the sword, practically tossing it aside as he instead grabbed Yi Yeguang by the waist and pulled him in, grabbing hold of his chin and then⸺

Soft and warm lips crashed against his own, and in that particular moment, Yi Yeguang’s mind became blissfully blank. This only lasted for so long though, before the startling reality of the situation came crashing into him, and he broke it off and tried to push away only to be held even tighter.

“Ah-Guang...” Peak Lord Cheng murmured into his hair; completely out of his mind.

What the fuck? What in the actual fuck?

 

---

 

Yi Yeguang had certainly dealt with a whole bunch of outlandish situations – many of them in recent years, even months – but this one? This one definitely took the cake, and the circumstances at hand made it very difficult for him to keep a cool head in the face of it.

“Ah-Guang...”

Damp yet hot fingers tangled with his, attached to a similarly wet but hot body. Because Peak Lord Cheng was drenched – courtesy of Yi Yeguang just having dropped him into the nearby garden pond. But he was also hot – courtesy of whichever aphrodisiac was burning its way through his veins. Peak Lord Cheng was also quite obviously out of his mind, and Yi Yeguang felt quite out of his depth in regards to how to deal with it all.

Firstly, there was Yi Yeguang’s own position; pressed down onto his very own bed by his still dripping and obviously intoxicated subordinate.

The dip into the pond’s permanently cool waters had done little to cool the other off, as Peak Lord Cheng had emerged in virtually no time at all and then proceeded to stalk right up to Yi Yeguang and literally – quite literally – swept him off of his feet.

Yi Yeguang had obviously protested such treatment though, and pleaded with Peak Lord Cheng to come to his senses before resorting to hissed demands to be let back down. And Peak Lord Cheng had let him down – physically as well as figuratively – dumping him on top of the bed before ensuring that he stayed there.

Yi Yeguang obviously hadn’t taken that sort of thing lying down though – figuratively or literally. However, to his great dismay, he’d found himself unable to replicate his earlier feat of throwing the other across the garden. And since words didn’t seem to have much of an effect, Yi Yeguang had gone for option number three, namely physical violence.

Unfortunately for him though, Peak Lord Cheng’s reflexes seemed to be working just fine in spite of him being completely out of his mind.

As such, Yi Yeguang had found himself in his current position, trapped underneath his most loyal and most respectful subordinate, his hands now pinned. It was, simply put, not a great position to be in – not the worst position Yi Yeguang had ever been in, sure, but definitely in the top twenty or so. Because this was Peak Lord Cheng – normally so competent, normally so restrained – who was now still competent but definitely out of his mind.

“Ah-Guang, I...”

Yep, definitely far out of his mind. There was a fair bit of alcohol on his breath as well – which was startling, because Yi Yeguang knew for a fact that Peak Lord Cheng drank only rarely and only very modest amounts. Honestly⸺

“Peak Lord Cheng,” he said, somehow managing to keep his own voice perfectly steady in spite of everything. He didn’t quite manage to keep his mounting irritation from seeping into it though, not completely. Because he was frustrated, and with an awful lot of things at that. Yi Yeguang was frustrated with this situation, with Peak Lord Cheng, with himself, with that accursed sword and with his own furiously beating heart. He was also decidedly displeased about the fact that someone had seen it fit to not only get Peak Lord Cheng drunk, but to also dose him with some extremely stimulating concoction.

All this reeked of someone’s manipulations, and Yi Yeguang would be having words with his prime suspects as soon as he had resolved the situation at hand – which was easier said than done, given the weight on top of him and the fingers interlaced with his. It wasn’t an optimal position to do anything, really.

However, even with that accursed sword wreaking havoc on his meridians, Yi Yeguang wasn’t completely helpless. Unfortunately, out of the two of them, Peak Lord Cheng was the superior martial artist and also rather hard-headed – in both senses of the word – which made Yi Yeguang reluctant to use his own head in any physical sense, because that would’ve just landed him a concussion, honestly.

Yi Yeguang was aware of his own strengths, weaknesses, and limits, and he’d sparred against Peak Lord Cheng enough times to know himself to be the weaker one in terms of strength. In terms of strategy however, he was the stronger one, at least under normal circumstances.

However, these were not normal circumstances, and strangely enough, this particular scenario had never featured on the list of contingency plans Yi Yeguang had compiled throughout the years; a definite miscalculation on his part.

It was a definite miscalculation, because Yi Yeguang shouldn’t have allowed himself to be caught off guard like this – and as he lay staring up into Peak Lord Cheng’s hazy red-rimmed eyes, he knew that he could’ve put up more resistance than he had, no matter his current circumstances. But he hadn’t, perhaps because some part of him had been wary of how Peak Lord Cheng might react to getting punched in the face.

On one hand, it could’ve potentially snapped Peak Lord Cheng out of it, but on the other, well⸺

Yi Yeguang considered his options. Because besides that initial kiss and embrace and the insistence upon keeping him pinned, Peak Lord Cheng didn’t really seem inclined to do much besides stare. And with his fingers all tangled up in Yi Yeguang’s, the other’s movements would be limited. And if Peak Lord Cheng did let go, well, that would give Yi Yeguang another opportunity to strike.

Still, this was an undeniably uncomfortable situation. Because while Peak Lord Cheng’s body ran a whole lot hotter than usual, the other had still taken an involuntary dip in the pond. As such, his hair and attire was still dripping, and with him on top, this naturally left Yi Yeguang quite soaked as well.

Furthermore, with the wet cloth clinging more tightly to skin, Yi Yeguang was by no means oblivious to the bulge pressed up against his inner thigh – nor to the stirrings in his own gut. He was by no means oblivious to Cheng Kong’s feelings in this matter either – and thanks to the actions of a certain demon bastard, plausible deniability was no longer an option.

But what Yi Yeguang did have was a sense of integrity, at least in this regard. Because even though he was aware of how the other felt about him, he knew better than to give in to any physical desires – because Cheng Kong was clearly under the influence of something, and as such, not able to consent.

Granted, Cheng Kong was technically the aggressor in this whole scenario, but Yi Yeguang knew that he couldn’t allow this to continue much further than it already had. Because his own feelings and reservations aside, Cheng Kong would never forgive himself. The realisation of what he had done would destroy him.

Thinking this, Yi Yeguang bit into his lip, then closed his eyes and breathed in deeply through his nose – in, out, in, out, in – because this had certainly gone on for long enough; it was time for some damage control.

Opening his eyes, he readied himself to use what limited leverage he had to break free.

However, right before he did, something caught his attention; the light flicker of someone’s presence. Yi Yeguang didn’t look though. He didn’t need to, honestly. Because while the presence was faint, it was hardly an unfamiliar one – and normally, not a particularly welcome one either.

In this particular case though, Yi Yeguang felt ready to make an exception. Still⸺ “Are you here to watch or to help, you damned bastard?”