Qi Mingyue was naturally aware of the changes under him. Father Emperor’s eyes were like fire as his scorching gaze watched him firmly, but he didn’t see him make a move. Doubtful, he called out softly, “Father?”
Qi Xutian took a deep breath, stubbornly suppressed the desire in his heart, and held him in place, “MingEr, don't move.” His hoarse voice was tinted with endurance, noticeably suppressing something within as his fingertips caressed the alluring pink lips. He whispered, “The poison hasn’t been removed. You vomited blood once again just a few days ago, how can I want you at this time? We’ll be parting soon and if I taste you today, I’m afraid I won’t be able to bear it and won’t let you leave my side.”
Qi Mingyue couldn’t resist the tenderness, considerateness, and even dominance in Qi Xutian’s words. His father cherished and cared for him so much that he felt a burst of warmth in his heart. He had never tasted this feeling in his previous life, and now that he had obtained it once, it was awfully difficult for him to give it up. But now, they had to separate temporarily. For everything he would encounter in the future, he had to become more powerful, to protect himself but also to protect his father.
Reaching out to embrace Qi Xutian's waist, he leaned against his chest and felt the warmth of his familiar embrace. The two of them were silent as they simply cuddled with each other.
Qi Xutian calmed his lust down and caressed the young man in his arms. His firmness and calmness always made him admire, but it also made him feel distressed. Aside from companionship, MingEr seemed to have no other request from him, so he could only do this much. Such a stubborn and proud temperament gave birth to a bit of admiration in him. There is only one person in this world who could make him like this, restrain his lust for him and even though he couldn’t touch, he was still happy.
The two of them were feeling downcast because of their imminent parting, but the door of the room suddenly slammed open. Chu Yu stood at the door and looked at the two of them embracing intimately inside but did not notice the atmosphere in the room. He confirmed once again, “Did you really agree to stay and learn Tianyin?!”
Qi Xutian squinted his eyes, his lips raised to form a dangerous smile that didn’t quite seem like a smile. He looked at him lightly and spat out concisely, “Get out.”
Although these words were said lightly and did not carry any emotion, Chu Yu still felt that the words were like frost. The chilliness in them really shocked him and a cold sweat broke out at once. Right then, he knew that an emperor’s majesty wasn’t something ordinary people could withstand. For example, he was now regretting. He shouldn't have forgotten that the person in the room wasn’t just anyone, but the Emperor of Cang He, Qi Xutian.
He was a person who was obsessed with Tianyin, and always reacted a bit poorly to other things, so even though he was terrified, he still stood in place blankly, forgetting whether he had to enter or leave.
Qi Mingyue turned his head sideways; he had a headache towards such a ‘senior’. “I will find you for guidance on Tianyin tomorrow, there is nothing today. Senior Chu, you should go back and rest well.”
Upon hearing his words, Chu Yu nodded but didn’t move. He peeked at Qi Xutian cautiously and still seemed to be afraid. Qi Mingyue noticed and had to speak, “Senior Chu, turn around and go out.”
“Oh.” Chu Yu scratched his messy hair. He acted out the command word for word and he stepped out the door. Then, he heard Emperor Cang He's voice speak again, “Shut the door.”
With a bang sound, the door closed quickly as if someone was chasing him. The fact that Chu Yu was like this made Qi Mingyue not know whether to laugh or cry.
“Father, he is afraid of you.” Qi Mingyue said with a smile, he found it interesting to have such a teacher. He was sure he wouldn’t be bored when he learned Tianyin.
“Let him do whatever he wants.” Qi Xutian retracted his cold eyes and smiled wickedly at Qi Mingyue, “I will be leaving today, shouldn’t you give me something as a souvenir?”
Although he didn't know what Qi Xutian’s idea was, Qi Mingyue smiled acquiescently when he heard the words, “Why not?”
Before Qi Xutian could react, he leaned towards his neck and kissed his ear softly. Then he moved his pink lips down towards his neck, dropping deep kisses like Qi Xutian usually did. He rolled his tongue over the spot and sucked on to the side of his neck, then he even unfastened his lapel, leaned over and left a string of hot and wet kiss marks.
“This is my repayment, Father.” It was the first time he saw red marks printed on Father’s light, wheat-coloured skin and it made him smile with delight. His heart also felt especially contented. He finally knew why Father Emperor loved leaving marks on his body so much. These traces seemed to imply ownership, and the sight in front of him made him very satisfied.
Qi Xutian saw him smile and didn’t care about his lapels that were still wide open. He pointed at the marks littering his neck and chest, and said to Qi Mingyue, “So now, I am your man. You must not forget that I’m always in the palace looking forward to your return.”
He spoke as if joking, but Qi Mingyue heard the worries inside and said to Qi Xutian with a serious expression, “We haven’t even parted yet, why are you talking about returning already? Father, you need to know that you will always be on my mind. Once you have settled the matter in the palace, I would also have learned Tianyin and would no longer be a burden to you.” Inhaling the familiar scent of Qi Xutian, he had a foreboding that the time of their separation wouldn’t be short.
Qi Xutian understood the meaning of his words but did not intend to change his decision.
The theory about the alien star had been revealed, but there was still a way around the notion that MingEr was the alien star. The first priority was to resolve the rumours in the palace and returning was a matter of urgency.
He helplessly kissed MingEr on the cheek and was quite reluctant to let him go, “I’m going back to the palace, and I’ll leave a shadow to protect you. Even though Wu Yao is there, some additional protection around you would make me rest assured. As soon as the problem of gu poison is resolved, remember to inform me through the shadow.”
“I’ll remember.” Qi Mingyue nodded slowly; he didn't want to be separated from the man in front of him for too long. Father's patience was limited, especially towards things related to him. If it took too long, there was no telling what he would do.
Qi Xutian stood up, stretched out a hand and gently caressed his cheek. While gazing at the young man in front of him, he said, “I’m leaving.”
Qi Mingyue nodded and saw him turn around and walk out the door, and suddenly, his heart felt a little empty. Regarding their long-term companionship, only when they were about to separate, did they realize that those little things had already firmly tied the two together.
He slowly took a deep breath, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, then restored his mood, intending to get used to the days when he could not see his father.
Outside the door, Qi Xutian was also a little lost. He was originally an unsentimental person and had never thought of anyone as special. When he met MingEr, only then did he know that heart could grow so hot that he wanted to possess him and wanted him to be the only one in his eyes. Such a crazy obsession made him unable to resist, but now, they had to part for a short time.
After calling Hong Qi and Ying Ran, Qi Xutian instructed them, “Stay here and take good care of MingEr. Everything from food to clothing should be like in the palace, do not let him suffer.”
Hong Qi and Ying Ran raised their heads to respond but suddenly, they were left stunned. They appeared to be shocked and lowered their heads before voicing their agreement.
Qi Xutian, however, looked calm as always, with his lapel wide open, revealing the little red marks on his neck. He seemed unconcerned and didn't hide it in the slightest.
Shadow Five had been waiting for a long time for Qi Xutian to return to the palace with him and upon seeing the marks littering His Majesty’s neck, he similarly showed a surprised expression. He did not expect that His Majesty’s favour and indulgence towards His Highness had reached such a point.
As an emperor, he didn’t allow others to leave the slightest trace on him. The imperial concubines who used to serve in bed were even more afraid to touch His Majesty carelessly, fearing that their nails would leave marks on his body in their moments of passion and they would be punished. As Shadow Guards, they were very clear about many things that weren’t known to outsiders, but only the Xuantian Palace was inaccessible to them.
They finally came to know the reason for that in the Underground Palace that day. Recalling His Majesty's intimacy with His Second Highness in front of everyone that day, Shadow Five suddenly felt that what he saw before him was not too surprising.
“Let's go.” Qi Xutian commanded and disappeared in front of Shadow Five.
Shadow Five hurriedly followed. His Majesty's skill was unfathomable, so he didn't dare slack in the slightest. He hurriedly went down the mountain with him, took the carriage and set off to YeYao.
On top of the mountain, Qi Mingyue gazed at the clouds and mist below, sighed silently and turned around to go back to the house.
The next day, Chu Yu began to tell him the secrets of Tianyin with great enthusiasm. Xiao Yin and Lan were naturally happy that someone would share their daily monotonous routine with them. They appeared delighted.
Qi Mingyue, however, wasn’t able to lift his spirits. He raised his sleeves to lightly tap Chu Yu's dumb face, and said lightly, “Come to the point[1].”
How dare Chu Yu offend the hard-to-get precious treasure that he had finally gotten his hands on? With a hurried nod, after the Dao was cleared, he began to talk about the use of Tianyin in detail.
Qi Mingyue had learned the basics from Jiang Yao and was very skilled when it came to Pure Heart Technique; it could be said that he had a deep foundation. Chu Yu was very satisfied with this, “With Mingyue’s natural talent in Tianyin, practising would deliver twice the result with half the effort. It's more efficient than ordinary people.”
Qi Mingyue couldn't help but ask, “How long will it take? And when does Senior plan to remove the Lianxin gu from me?”
Chu Yu's expression turned difficult, “It's not that I don't want to, it’s just that it isn’t easy to draw the gu out. Although the power of Tianyin can do it, you need to exert all your strength. I'm afraid that if you don’t master it, you won’t be able to stand the effect of Tianyin and become influenced just like I was. However, even if the gu is drawn out somehow, you would be like a walking corpse, or even if you’re barely strong enough to support it, the gu would be disturbed by the breath in your heart and cannot be completely removed.”
"In that case, does it mean that I won’t be able to get rid of it until the day I’ve mastered it?"
"Yes. That's why I want you to stay and learn Tianyin." Chu Yu scratched his hair. He, too, was helpless, but this was the only way to safely remove the Lianxin gu.
"It seems that I have to learn it as soon as possible." Qi Mingyue was not disappointed when he heard this. Since he had already planned to learn the lost martial art of Tianyin, he was ready for it. Hence, this just strengthened his determination.
Indus’ Notes:
[1] The literal translation was ‘the point’ but that didn’t seem clear enough to me.
Previous | Project Page | Next
Uploading this chapter was such a chore. Some problems cropped up which I had to fix; you may have seen the chapter I published an hour ago that led to Chapter 47, I had to work on fixing that (aka delete and reupload it). What a great start to my morning, I feel like I have aged ten years. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. :)