Ye Jiuya looked towards Chen Weichen and saw him turn his head.

Chen Weichen's eyes held a hint of surprise, but his expression remained gentle.

The lanterns hanging in the corridor emitted a hazy orange-red glow. In the spring night, the breeze carried a faint fragrance of grass and wood, stirring the wind chimes hanging from the eaves, tinkling softly.

"Swordmaster Ye," Chen Weichen tilted his head slightly, with a hint of puzzlement, "You were looking for me?"

In the days since returning from the demon realm, aside from Chen Weichen initially explaining some of what happened there, they hadn't really spoken.

Of course, the experiences in the demon realm were completely fabricated. Young Master Chen said that at Xingluo Abyss, he had a flash of insight and learned the secret of the Nine Nether Spring Water. So he fought fiercely with the Demon Emperor for a day and night, and accidentally fell into the pool, suffering the agony of having his muscles and bones cleansed. In the end, he obtained the blood, and the Demon Emperor chased him resentfully for a thousand miles, but he ultimately escaped.

Then they each went into seclusion. After coming out, unless necessary, they didn't exchange more than a few words.

Since he didn't speak, Ye Jiuya naturally had nothing to say to him, let alone detain him like tonight.

Chen Weichen felt a bit uneasy for a moment.

- Could it be that he discovered flaws in my account of the trip to the demon realm and wants to interrogate me in detail?

As he was lost in his own wild thoughts, he heard Ye Jiuya speak as concisely as ever, "Hand."

Chen Weichen obediently held out his hand.

Then a cool hand grasped his wrist, and chilly energy probed in, circulating in his meridians, separating the clear and turbid energies that he was struggling to suppress to avoid conflict, but still remained entangled.

The turbid energy among them shrank back timidly upon encountering that energy, no longer stirring up trouble.

It turned out he could see that Chen Weichen was not able to completely suppress it and had to suffer quite a bit every day.

Chen Weichen mumbled, "Thank you for your concern, Swordmaster Ye."

He looked up and saw Ye Jiuya looking at him, his voice cool, "Your meridians have not been opened up, you cannot delay. Why did you not come to me?"

"It's not a big problem, I can still handle it myself," Chen Weichen lowered his eyes, looking innocent. "I haven't dared to come to you recently."

His words were vague. Ye Jiuya frowned slightly, seeming not to understand, "Haven't dared?"

Chen Weichen said softly, "At first, looking at the moon in the sky, I felt that just seeing it would be enough. The more I looked, the more I thought if I could get a little closer, I would have no regrets in this life. So I climbed a high mountain - when I got close, I saw the moonlight shining on others, and I became sad, just wanting to pluck it down so only I could see it."

Ye Jiuya recalled how this person always liked to stick to him last autumn.

He didn't know when their interactions had become so distant.

"It turns out that the greed, ignorance, anger and delusion in the mundane world are much more painful than I anticipated," Chen Weichen stood in front of the carved railing, facing the gentle wind, and sighed. "I'm afraid of my own pain, and also afraid that increasingly impure thoughts will taint the bright moon, so I can only hide and not look at the sky."

At this time, the wind picked up, blowing down specks of peach blossoms, falling on the small stream flowing past the rockery, drifting far away with the current.

Chen Weichen leaned against the railing, his fan waving up and down in his hand, his eyelashes slightly lowered.

Ye Jiuya looked at his somewhat subdued expression and downcast lashes, and suddenly felt the poetic lines on the fan come to life.

How much worry and sorrow from the mundane world were in this person's heart? Where did they come from? Tossing and turning, not going away, consuming him day and night.

He said to Chen Weichen, "I cultivate the Heartless Dao and cannot comfort you. If you cannot let go, then treat me as if I have feelings."

Chen Weichen looked up at him, "How should I treat you as having feelings?"

"If you have a request, I will definitely not fail you. If you are in trouble, I will protect you completely."

Chen Weichen stared at him for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh, "Ye Jiuya, you are really adorable."

Ye Jiuya's voice was flat, "Why adorable?"

"Then why do you want to do this?" Chen Weichen asked.

"When you were born, you carried the soul of Emperor Yan, which was innocent in itself. The entanglements of the mundane world, falling into emotional obstacles, are normal human feelings. You have suffered a lot because of me along the way, I owe you a great deal."

"You are indeed a man of your word, repaying favors," Chen Weichen shook his head and said to him, "But you don't know that emotional debts are things that the more you repay, the more entangled they become, only ending when both die. There is no day of being fully settled."

Ye Jiuya said, "Since you don't admire money or power, nor do you wish to cultivate immortality, I have nothing to repay you with except this."

Chen Weichen gripped the fan handle, deep in thought, "That's true."

The melancholy in his eyes was covered by frivolity, and he raised an eyebrow, "But if you accidentally fall for me and ruin your cultivation, although it would fulfill my wish, it would really not be a good thing."

Ye Jiuya said flatly, "It won't happen."

"But I remember those things. Even if I'm only half of Emperor Yan, if the Emperor Yan you knew had feelings for you, could you remain unmoved?"

But there were no ripples in Ye Jiuya's eyes, "I associated with him for more than ten years, treating him only as a friend and teacher, without a hint of improper thoughts."

Chen Weichen glanced at him, "That's what you say."

He seemed a bit uneasy, tapping the fan handle lightly on the railing a few times before saying, "Swordmaster Ye, you are a truly heartless person. For you, the obsession with Emperor Yan and the debt owed to me are merely entanglements hindering your Great Dao, needing to be repaid one by one. Because I suffer for love, you want to repay me with love, but having no love of your own to give, you can only pretend to have feelings to fulfill my wish in this world."

Chen Weichen stretched out his hand, hesitating in midair as if not daring, then gently landed it - landing on the jade-like, snow-white face of the person in front of him.

His fingertips lightly traced the side of Ye Jiuya's face, carrying a hint of warmth, his movements and the look in his eyes equally tender and affectionate.

"Drinking poison to quench thirst, it's not impossible. Although I know in my heart, as long as I can deceive myself, my heart will be comforted. After half a year, you sever all ties and ascend the path to heaven. I will have my wish fulfilled and go to the Yellow Springs in an absurd manner, but it's really wonderful." Chen Weichen narrowed his eyes and smiled, "In this half year, since you've allowed me to fantasize, I can only comply."

Ye Jiuya took in his expression and although he was not well-versed in the ways of the world, he knew that beneath that frivolous smile was utter desolation.

- He was living with the intention of dying.

"Taking the soul without harming life, divining the secrets of heaven, one must not believe completely," Ye Jiuya said.

Chen Weichen withdrew his hand and turned to leave: "It may not harm life, but if one wants to die, they can die in any way."

Ye Jiuya watched his departing figure, his eyes calm and unperturbed.

Late at night, the bright moon gradually rose high. Mist like clouds shrouded the stream, drifting slowly with the water. Wind chimes tinkled under the eaves.

Footsteps came from deep within the corridor. Xiao Dao walked over carrying a lantern: "Immortal, the young master said the night is deep and the dew heavy. He asked me to bring you to rest."

Arriving at the guest room, there were light silk soft curtains, bright candlelight, a coral tree in front of the desk, and moonlight pearls on the walls.

Directly facing the wall hung a painting of a landscape, with an inscription that seemed to be in the same hand as the fan.

Seeing his gaze, Xiao Dao said: "The young master excels in the zither, chess, calligraphy and painting. That is his work."

The pretty maid, having said this, pursed her lips slightly and said: "Immortal."

Ye Jiuya looked at her: "What is it?"

"My young master is an extremely good person, just a bit eccentric in temperament. I ask that you be patient with him." The maid's tone was sincere, no longer showing the petulant attitude she had when speaking with Chen Weichen.

"The young master is not of sound mind. If there are any hindrances in his cultivation, you..." The maid was momentarily at a loss for words.

But Ye Jiuya asked softly: "Not of sound mind?"

"From childhood until now, the young master only knows how to laugh, not cry. He never seems truly happy, nor does he get angry. He acts crazy and unrestrained day to day. The lord and lady were worried and secretly invited countless doctors and diviners, all to no avail. The lady feels the immortal has already gone to great lengths in agreeing to guide the young master in cultivation, so she does not dare impose further. If there was a way to cure him..." Xiao Dao paused before continuing, "We don't expect him to accomplish great things, just to live peacefully and happily like an ordinary person of flesh and blood. The young master does not like rules and regulations. If anything is amiss, I only hope the immortal will not blame him."

Saying this, her voice choked with sobs. Xiao Dao wiped away tears: "All of us always hope for the best for the young master."

Ye Jiuya was silent for a long time. Meeting the maid's eyes, he said: "I will treat him well."

When Xiao Dao returned, Chen Weichen was trimming the lamp wick. Raising his head and seeing her red-rimmed eyes, he put down the silver hook and laughed lightly: "Did he bully you?"

Xiao Dao took the sandalwood comb from the side and combed through his loosened hair: "You're all alone. Without Ah Hui, who knows what sorry state you'd end up in. I had no choice but to entrust the immortal to take good care of you."

But Chen Weichen did not speak. After a long while, he said: "Ah Dao, I'm in such pain."

Xiao Dao's hands paused. She turned to face him: "What's wrong?"

In the flickering candlelight, shadows danced across the young master's face. His voice was soft and slow: "If there is a next life, I want to be human."

Xiao Dao was startled by his words: "What kind of talk is this?"

"Humans have joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, the seven emotions and six desires. They also wouldn't be thinking of someone from the moment they were born," his gaze was a bit dazed. "How nice that would be."