Chapter 41: Will You Be My Bonded Companion?

Watching Qingchen sleep, Ling Wu knelt beside the couch, chin propped on one hand, a wistful look on her face.

Who knew when her master would wake.

Those brawny male immortals clearly had no notion of cherishing anything delicate. Her master was cool and restrained by nature—how could he hope to keep their drinking pace? On ordinary days she had only ever seen him get through a few pots of peach-blossom wine. The Dragon Palace's wine was fierce; this much was bound to make him ill.

Ah—if only she had known, she never would have left his side for the sake of a little face. Then he would not have been plied with drink.

Up close, she could smell the faint fragrance of wine on him.

Her master had been pickled through and through.

A chance to study his sleeping face this closely was not to be missed.

Last time in the peach grove she had barely looked before he woke, and her knees had gone weak with fright. Today, at least, she could look her fill.

Gazing at her master's face, Ling Wu suddenly wanted to reach out and trace his features.

Skin that fine was bound to feel wonderful.

By the time she realized how disrespectful the thought was, it was too late. Her fingertips had stopped just above his lashes, frozen between landing and retreating.

She was done for! How had she dared take liberties with her master?

Fortunately, the man noticed nothing at all; he was sleeping soundly.

Very carefully, Ling Wu used her other hand to drag the troublemaker back, her heart hammering.

She could have sworn his lashes had fluttered just now, and her palm was tingling.

The longer she looked, the more that strange feeling rose in her, and the fairy attendants' words sounded again in her ears.

—"You have no idea—the Divine Sovereign never used to be like this! For the past hundred-odd years he has been crossing back and forth between the realms of the living and the dead. They say it is because he is searching for a woman's soul."

For a hundred years, he had been searching for another woman?

She could not bear the picture even in imagination.

She said quietly, "Master, this disciple has only you. Don't you dare abandon me. The world is vast, but apart from Kunlun I have nowhere else to go. And if you do find her—what will become of me? Will you refuse to acknowledge me as your disciple any longer?"

"If you don't want me, then I—I..."

The words "I will die" simply refused to come out.

Everything is precious, but life is dearer still.

Ling Wu had always been shamelessly fond of living. Only the living could hope for a turn of fortune.

"Ah." She heaved a mournful sigh. "If you don't want me, then so be it. I haven't ascended yet—a few decades of lifespan, that's all. When the time comes I'll go down the mountain with all the skills you taught me. I dare say I won't do badly for myself."

It was a shame, though. Once she left her master, she would have no more ties to the Celestial Realm. Her plan to find a male immortal and take him as her companion would come to nothing as well.

As if she were leaving tomorrow, Ling Wu grew sadder with every word, her heart twinging, her eyes going damp.

"And who knows whether the senior brothers will still acknowledge their Little Junior Sister after I'm gone. They won't, I expect—those spiteful creatures have always said I shame Mount Kunlun and can't wait to have me cast out of the sect. If I really leave, I'll be doing exactly as they wish!" At the thought of her senior brothers, she was gnashing her teeth again.

After a while of weeping and raging, the man before her began to show signs of waking.

Qingchen's brow twitched, and slowly he opened his eyes.

Ling Wu startled all over again. Kneeling as she was on the floor, there was now no graceful way to move at all.

Her unfinished words stuck at her lips. She stared at him blankly for a long moment, then managed two dry little laughs to break the silence.

"Master, you're finally awake!"

Qingchen's gaze was still hazy; anyone could see he had not fully come to.

Rather endearing, really.

No wonder the world said her master's beauty appealed to men and women alike. Faced with looks like these, men who fancied men would go mad on the spot.

Qingchen sat up slowly, eyes lowered, and looked at her, his voice hoarse. "How long did I sleep?"

"Half an hour?"

That was about right. From her arrival to all this talking, half an hour at least had passed.

She rose at once to pour him tea, unable to keep from nagging. "Master, the next time I'm not beside you, don't drink this much again. It isn't even your birthday. Those immortal friends of yours are a strange lot—pressing cup after cup on you as if afraid you'll drink too little, and when they've knocked you flat, not one of them comes to look after you."

"Here—tea first, to soothe your throat." She settled back at his side.

Qingchen accepted the cup at his leisure and met her eyes, a faint smile in the depths of his own. "How conscientious our Ah-Wu is."

"I heard you crying in my sleep. Who has upset you this time?"

The tear tracks at the corners of Ling Wu's eyes had not yet dried.

At that she fished out the little mirror she always carried to check—but his hand was there first. She felt a sweep of coolness pass across the corner of her eye.

"M-Master." So startled was she that she forgot to move, frozen where she sat.

He withdrew his hand as though nothing at all had happened and took a leisurely sip of tea.

What a strange feeling.

Ling Wu suppressed the flutter in her chest, put the mirror away, and drew out a handkerchief to wipe his hand dry for him.

"Next time let your disciple do it herself." She was hardly a child incapable of wiping her own tears.

"Mm."

She had no idea whether it was dark outside. The Dragon Palace lay at the bottom of the sea, where day and night were indistinguishable; she could only go by feel in judging whether it was time to return.

"Did Ah-Wu overhear something again?" Qingchen set down his cup and narrowed his eyes at her.

He slept very lightly; nothing but greed for drink would have let him doze off here. Of everything Ling Wu had said, he had caught only scraps that would not string together.

At the question, her head dropped again, her eyes darting every which way. She did not know how to begin. Those attendants had been gossiping about her master behind his back—improper in itself. A man of his standing was far above the judgment of a few little fairy attendants.

Her master seemed gentle enough day to day, but no one became the Divine Sovereign by being as easy to deal with as he looked.

And if—just if—what they said touched one of his nerves, would she not be dragged down along with them?

Perhaps he saw the misgiving, for Qingchen gentled his tone. "I only cannot bear to see Ah-Wu sad. Some things, Ah-Wu, you would do better to ask me directly."

With that, the knot in her chest loosened a little.

She hedged. "It's just—the fairies were saying Master is very handsome, and very capable, and they all wish to meet you. Only, these hundred years past, Master hardly ever attends the banquets..."

"He is always crossing between the living and the dead, searching for, searching for..."

"Searching for what?" Qingchen raised a brow.

"A woman's soul." Ling Wu turned her face aside, her throat tight, her eyes brimming all over again.

Other girls' young hearts were set on ascension. Hers was busy dreading the day her master decided he no longer wanted her.

Qingchen gave a soft laugh. "Is Ah-Wu so afraid that I will find you a mistress?"

Ling Wu shook her head.

Yes—and no. Deep down, what she feared was her master loving someone more than her. But he was a male immortal, and he did not cultivate the Path of Heartlessness; how could he remain alone forever?

"This disciple is only afraid that once Master has a wife, he will no longer want me," she mumbled.

"You have been so good to this disciple. One day, if you gave all of this to someone else, I could not bear the fall."

If she was bound to lose it, better never to have had it at all.

"I will be good to Ah-Wu and to no one else."

That was the last answer she had expected. She had braced herself to be fobbed off.

Her head came up sharply, and she fell straight into the depths of Qingchen's eyes, which held more feeling than she could read.

"If it frightens you so much, then when you ascend, I will take you as my bonded companion."