Sleep in My Bedroom
After more than half a month, Ji Chaoyun finally stepped onto Wenqu Peak again.
As Feng Qi dragged him into the familiar courtyard, Ji Chaoyun could not help asking, “Didn’t you say you refuse to live with anyone else?”
“Which means that if you live here, you’re not allowed to make noise or disturb my rest. Otherwise...” Feng Qi pointed toward the lotus pond in the courtyard. “I’ll throw you into the water.”
Ji Chaoyun: “...”
“There are two bedrooms here. The larger one on the left is mine. No one has ever lived in the one on the right, so I’ve been using it to store miscellaneous things. Clean it up yourself.”
Feng Qi crossed the stone bridge and lay down on the bamboo couch beside the lotus pond. He continued leisurely, “From now on, you’ll also take care of the courtyard out front and the spirit fields behind the house. That shouldn’t be difficult for you, right?”
“Also, I’ve raised these gold-tailed koi for many years. You’re not allowed to eat them.”
“...” Ji Chaoyun was speechless. “Don’t worry, I don’t eat koi.”
After saying this, he headed toward the bedroom on the right.
The moment he pushed open the door, a cloud of dust billowed out.
No one knew how long it had been since the room was last cleaned. A thick layer of dust covered everything inside, while miscellaneous objects had been piled around haphazardly and leaned crookedly against one another.
Ji Chaoyun stood silently at the entrance for a moment, unable to find even a place to put his foot down.
Seeing that he had not entered after some time, Feng Qi walked over. “What’s wrong... cough, cough, cough!”
The cloud of dust hit him full in the face. Feng Qi covered his nose and hurriedly retreated several steps.
Ji Chaoyun glanced back at him and was about to enter when Feng Qi grabbed him.
“Cough... wait... cough!” Feng Qi dragged him backward as though fleeing a disaster, then raised a hand and used a spell to slam the door shut with a bang. “What are you thinking? It’s that filthy and you still want to go inside? Cough...”
Ji Chaoyun gave him an indescribable look. “Since moving here, have you never opened that room even once?”
Feng Qi thought about it. “More or less. When I first entered the academy, I had people move all the miscellaneous things in the courtyard into there. I haven’t opened it since.”
When he first entered the academy...
That was more than fifty years ago.
Ji Chaoyun closed his eyes briefly. “Forget it. I’ll simply clean it. Your Highness should stand farther away so the dust doesn’t get on you.”
“At this hour? How long do you plan to keep cleaning?” Feng Qi said. “I’ll find someone to clean it tomorrow. Leave it alone for now.”
“But...”
“What ‘but’?” Feng Qi interrupted without allowing him to argue. “You didn’t rest last night, you spent all day traveling today, and you still have lessons tomorrow. Do you not know how to get tired?”
...At least I’m not as delicate as you.
Ji Chaoyun complained inwardly, then patiently said, “I was going to ask where I’m supposed to sleep if I don’t clean it.”
Feng Qi: “...”
There were only two bedrooms in the courtyard.
If this one could not be used, then there was only...
Feng Qi’s gaze drifted toward his own bedroom, and he hesitated.
Second Highness Feng had never shared a room with another person since the day he was born. This particular line of defense was not so easy to cross.
But if he let Ji Chaoyun leave now, tricking him back onto Wenqu Peak a second time would probably be even harder.
Feng Qi gritted his teeth. “Sleep in my bedroom!”
Ji Chaoyun looked somewhat surprised, but he did not refuse.
It was already curfew on the main peak. Without the fearless Second Prince Feng accompanying him, Ji Chaoyun would probably be caught by the night patrol disciples and dragged back to the Supervisory Hall the moment he passed through the barrier.
There was another reason as well.
He had accidentally revealed his spirit beast form yesterday, then spent the entire day traveling today.
He really was tired.
Feng Qi was particular about his routine before sleeping. He insisted on soaking in the hot spring behind the residence to relieve his fatigue. His soak lasted nearly half an hour.
By the time he quietly returned to the bedroom, night had already grown deep, yet he discovered that Ji Chaoyun was still awake.
Ji Chaoyun wore only his inner robe. His hair hung loosely after bathing, and he sat beneath the lamplight reading.
Dragons lived beneath the water without seeing sunlight, so their skin was naturally cool and pale. This was even more noticeable on Ji Chaoyun.
Yet beneath the lamplight, his sharply defined features were wrapped in a layer of warm, soft light, lending a faint trace of color to his face.
Feng Qi leaned against the doorway and quietly watched him.
For some reason, the awkwardness he had felt earlier disappeared completely the moment he saw this sight, replaced by another secret, indescribable flutter in his chest.
Feng Qi’s gaze slowly traced Ji Chaoyun’s face inch by inch.
Suddenly, a hint of regret appeared in his heart.
If only he weren’t a man...
The thought flashed through Feng Qi’s mind, and he immediately came back to his senses.
What had he just been thinking?
If Ji Chaoyun were not a man, then what?
He had no time to continue thinking nonsense.
Ji Chaoyun closed the book in his hands and looked up. “Why are you standing there?”
“...Nothing.” Feng Qi walked forward as though nothing had happened and glanced at the book in his hands. “Why did you take another book from my collection in Cloud-Ascending Tower?”
A trace of guilt flashed through Ji Chaoyun’s eyes.
Then, without changing expression, he said, “Aren’t books meant to be read?”
This was far from the first or second time Ji Chaoyun had taken books from Ascending Cloud Tower.
Every time, Feng Qi had pretended not to see it.
By now, he had spoiled the little yao dragon enough that Ji Chaoyun was beginning to push his luck.
Feng Qi looked down at him for a long moment. In the end, he did not argue.
He raised a hand and extinguished the lamp. “Sleep!”
The room fell into darkness.
Ji Chaoyun heard the rustle of Feng Qi climbing onto the bed.
After hesitating for a moment, he climbed onto it as well.
Ji Chaoyun had once said that Feng Qi drank only from sweet springs and perched only upon parasol trees, knowing nothing of mortal hardship.
At the time, he had only spoken out of anger.
He had not expected Feng Qi to truly be as particular as the phoenixes of legend.
Second Highness Feng’s bed was made from the finest parasol wood, covered with soft bedding and a plush blanket. Lying upon it was extraordinarily comfortable.
Ji Chaoyun touched the silk quilt covering him and thought that anyone who did not know better might believe some exceedingly precious little princess lived here.
The two lay on opposite sides of the bed, separated by a gap wide enough for another person.
Ji Chaoyun lay on his side with his back toward Feng Qi.
Then he heard the other man ask from behind him, “Ji Chaoyun, have you always been somewhat prejudiced against people like us who were born in the Immortal Realm?”
Ji Chaoyun did not answer for a long while.
Finally, he asked, “Why do you ask?”
“Just a feeling,” Feng Qi said. “I heard that while you were staying at Changqing Court, you often went out onto Hongmeng Mountain to help others through the trials. That’s why many wandering immortals in the academy like you.”
“That doesn’t resemble the Ji Chaoyun I usually know at all.”
Ji Chaoyun fell silent for a moment before saying quietly, “I came from the mortal realm, so naturally I feel closer to wandering immortals. Aren’t many other disciples in the academy the same?”
The factions within Hongmeng Academy were clearly divided.
Wandering immortals either attached themselves to descendants of immortal families or banded together among themselves for mutual support.
Such behavior was indeed common.
“It’s nothing. I just always felt you weren’t the kind of person who placed much importance on someone’s background.” Feng Qi added, “You haven’t been in the Immortal Realm for very long and know very little about it. Have you ever considered that this place may not be as bad as you think? At least I... am not the way you think I am.”
Ji Chaoyun fell silent again.
The room remained quiet for so long that Feng Qi thought the other man had already fallen asleep.
Then Ji Chaoyun suddenly said, “I agree with half of what you just said.”
The Immortal Realm was still the same Immortal Realm, but you truly are not that kind of person.
Feng Qi instinctively asked, “Which half?”
“...Figure it out yourself.”
Ji Chaoyun took the sachet from his robes, brought it to his lips, and gave it a light kiss.
He said softly, “I’m going to sleep. Good night.”
Feng Qi turned his head toward him.
In the darkness, he could only make out Ji Chaoyun’s silhouette.
He quietly watched that figure for a long time before giving a gentle smile.
“Good night.”
☁
Early the next morning, Ji Chaoyun arrived at the classroom on time for morning recitations.
Feng Qi almost never attended morning for no reason more complicated than being unable to get out of bed.
When Ji Chaoyun left that morning, he had originally intended to wake him.
Unfortunately, the Second Prince had only the night before half-threatened and half-warned him that his temper upon waking was exceptionally terrible.
In order to avoid being thrown into the pond by this great lord, Ji Chaoyun ultimately did not dare disturb him.
However, when Ji Chaoyun arrived at the Sword Practice Grounds that afternoon, he immediately spotted Feng Qi standing in the middle of the open field.
As though sensing him, Feng Qi turned toward Ji Chaoyun’s direction.
Their gazes suddenly met.
Ji Chaoyun instinctively looked away.
The corner of Feng Qi’s lips curved upward, though he quickly suppressed it.
He shouted loudly, “Why aren’t you coming over? The afternoon bell has already rung twice. What are you dawdling for?”
The disciples gradually arrived at the Sword Practice Grounds.
Ye Chenxing leaned close to Ji Chaoyun’s ear and whispered, “Why is that flower peacock here? Higher-ranked disciples hate supervising our training more than anything. They usually avoid it whenever possible.”
“That flower peacock doesn’t even attend his own lessons, and no one dares assign him to supervise training. Did he eat the wrong medicine today?”
“When something abnormal happens, there must be something strange behind it,” Bei Ran said worriedly. “Brother Ji, you fought with him before. Do you think he came here deliberately to get revenge?”
Feng Qi had suppressed everything involving Ji Chaoyun nearly losing control earlier.
No one in the academy knew what had truly happened. Even Ye Chenxing and Bei Ran believed Ji Chaoyun had arranged a duel with Feng Qi and had therefore been sent into confinement.
Ji Chaoyun was about to explain when Feng Qi sensitively cast a glance toward their group and scolded, “What are you still whispering about? Yes, I mean you. Why are you standing so close together? No talking!”
Ji Chaoyun: “...”
Feng Qi looked away as if nothing had happened.
“...I asked Immortal Lord Kaiyang about your training. All of you are usually far too lazy. If you don’t cultivate properly, how do you expect to pass the academy examinations?”
“Your Senior Brother is in a good mood today, so I came to teach you a few moves.”
He raised his hand.
A circular barrier roughly three zhang wide appeared in the grass with Feng Qi at its center.
“Line up and come fight me one by one. Those who pass may return to sword practice. Those who fail will receive a punishment of my choosing.”
“We’ll start with the Profound rank.”
One by one, the disciples entered the circular area and fought Feng Qi alone.
There was no questioning Feng Qi’s foundation in movement techniques. Even if every disciple present attacked him together, they might not necessarily be his match.
Yet now, he truly seemed to have come to instruct them.
He never once drew a weapon. Instead, he repeatedly dismantled their moves and fed them openings, teaching each disciple how to respond to an opponent.
Occasionally, someone with such a poor foundation that they could not withstand his techniques at all would be struck directly out of the barrier and declared to have failed.
Feng Qi tailored his instruction to each individual, so the length of every match varied.
Yet after each bout, the disciples gained a great deal.
The atmosphere across the Sword Practice Grounds gradually became lively.
Ji Chaoyun, however, instinctively felt that things could not possibly be so simple.
Had this man really come here purely to teach the disciples?
His gaze unconsciously shifted toward the distance.
Xu Zixing had been distracted from the very beginning of the lesson, constantly hiding behind the crowd with no one knowing what occupied his mind.
When he noticed Ji Chaoyun looking at him, Xu Zixing hurriedly looked away and moved behind several other disciples.
At that moment, Feng Qi lazily called out, “Next, Xu Zixing.”
Xu Zixing’s entire body suddenly trembled.
His face instantly turned white.
Feng Qi appeared not to notice in the slightest.
He frowned and swept his gaze across the crowd. “Where’s Xu Zixing? Why aren’t you answering? Did you not come?”
“I... I’m here.” Xu Zixing answered quietly.
Uneasily, he made his way through the crowd and entered the barrier.
A smile lingered at Feng Qi’s lips.
As though entirely casually, he rubbed his wrist.
The golden chain around it fell loose and transformed into a long golden whip in his hand.
Spiritual light shimmered across the whip.
Xu Zixing’s face turned even paler, and he instinctively stepped half a pace backward.
“Don’t be nervous,” Feng Qi said. “I’m getting a little tired from all this fighting. You don’t mind if I use a weapon, do you?”
Xu Zixing stammered, “I-I wouldn’t dare...”
“Good.”
The smile vanished from Feng Qi’s face in an instant.
He said coldly, “Let’s begin.”
☁︎₊˚⊹ The Author’s Jade-Slip Aside ⊹˚₊☁︎
His Highness is about to beat someone up~
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