Let Me Hold You While We Sleep Tonight, All Right?
Ji Chaoyun had not yet recovered, and before long he drifted back into a muddled sleep. By the time he woke again, the moon was already high in the sky.
Night had deepened when a dark figure flashed past the half-open window.
Feng Qi quietly closed the window behind him. No lamps were lit inside the hall, but that did nothing to hinder his sight. He quickly walked to the bedside and found Ji Chaoyun wrapped in the quilt, with only half his face exposed.
He seemed to be sleeping soundly.
“Chaoyun, Chaoyun?” Feng Qi stood beside the bed and called quietly, “Stop pretending. There’s no one else here.”
“...” Ji Chaoyun gave no sign of hearing him. He lay there quietly, his breathing steady and deep.
He was really asleep???
Feng Qi was both exasperated and amused. He bent down and reached out to poke Ji Chaoyun’s cheek. “Don’t tell me you’ve been sleeping ever since you came back. How many shichen has it been? Didn’t my brother tell you to wait for me tonight?”
“Stop making noise...” Ji Chaoyun impatiently turned over and buried his face in the quilt.
“But... I came all this way specifically to see you,” Feng Qi muttered softly.
In the end, they had failed to keep their secret meeting earlier that day hidden. The clan elders and immortal physician had taken turns giving Feng Qi a thorough scolding, then stationed even more people both inside and outside his hall. He had waited until deep into the night before finally managing to sneak out with Feng Ji’s help.
One could well imagine how difficult the entire ordeal had been.
Second Highness Feng had never imagined that his little dragon would show absolutely no consideration for how difficult it had been for him to come all this way and would actually fall asleep without a care in the world.
Even so, Feng Qi could not bear to truly wake him. He sat down on the floor beside the bed, rested half his body against the edge of the mattress, and idly played with a strand of Ji Chaoyun’s hair that had fallen outside the quilt.
With another living person suddenly in the room, Ji Chaoyun could not remain completely unaware forever. Before long, he opened his eyes in a daze.
Feng Qi immediately withdrew his hand, straightened his back, and assumed a solemn expression.
“You... why are you here?” Ji Chaoyun rubbed his eyes. Ji Chaoyun rubbed his eyes, his voice low, roughened, and soft, clearly still heavy with sleep.
It was rare for Feng Qi to get such a close look at Ji Chaoyun in this muddled state after waking. He smiled in satisfaction and said warmly, “I came to see you. Didn’t my elder brother tell you?”
“Hm?” Ji Chaoyun blinked, then belatedly glanced toward the window of the inner room.
He instantly woke fully and hurriedly said, “I-I forgot. Sorry...”
“Fortunately, you didn’t lock the window.” Feng Qi sighed. “I have no cultivation at all right now. If you had locked it from the inside, I truly would not have been able to get in tonight.”
Ji Chaoyun asked, “So... what did you come to see me for?”
Feng Qi propped his chin on one hand and looked at him with a smile. “If I come looking for you at night, naturally it is to do something that can only be done at night.”
“...” Ji Chaoyun froze, and for some inexplicable reason, his heartbeat quickened.
Feng Qi asked softly, “You have slept for so long. You should not be tired anymore, right? Shall I help wake you up properly?”
Ji Chaoyun’s heart raced. Beneath the quilt, his hand instinctively tightened around its edge, but he did not answer.
Feng Qi slowly pushed himself upright and leaned toward Ji Chaoyun. He stared fixedly at him and frowned. “I asked you a question. Why is your face red?”
“It isn’t!” Ji Chaoyun barely dared look at him. “W-What are you going to do?”
Feng Qi stood up and laughed. “Get dressed. I am taking you somewhere.”
“...?”
☁
One incense stick’s time later, Feng Qi had brought Ji Chaoyun to the cliff on the western side of Fengming Valley.
Fengming Valley was like spring throughout all four seasons, and the night breeze was slightly cool. Ji Chaoyun pulled his outer robe more tightly around himself and trudged across the soft grass, inexplicably feeling somewhat stifled.
What was this... dragging him out in the middle of the night to climb a mountain?
“Can’t walk anymore?” Feng Qi noticed that he had slowed and turned back. “Want me to carry you on my back?”
Ji Chaoyun said sulkily, “No.”
Feng Qi had grown up here and knew the path up the mountain extremely well. The two walked for less than half an incense stick’s time before reaching the top of the cliff.
The scenery here was completely different from within the valley.
Looking down from the top of the cliff, the entirety of Fengming Valley could be taken in at a glance. Fengming Valley was surrounded by mountains on all sides, and its towering grand halls surpassed even the palaces of mortal emperors.
The brilliant, star-filled night sky seemed to hang very low, while the vast river of stars appeared to stretch without end, shining across the distance in answer to the lights within the valley. Together, they resembled a tranquil and beautiful painted scroll.
As Ji Chaoyun gazed at the sight before him, the slight resentment in his heart gradually faded away.
Feng Qi casually sat cross-legged on the grass, propped his chin on one hand, and asked, “Well? Not bad here, right?”
Ji Chaoyun asked, “Why did you suddenly think of bringing me here?”
“No particular reason. I just wanted you to see it.” Feng Qi said quietly, “When I was little, I would come here whenever I was unhappy. I only had to sit here for a while, look at the clansmen down in the valley, look at the Milky Way in the distance, and all my troubles would disappear.”
One sat and one stood upon the grass. Ji Chaoyun looked at Feng Qi and immediately understood.
In Feng Qi’s eyes, Ji Chaoyun had only just learned of Feng Xiao’s “death,” so naturally he would be deeply saddened. Ji Chaoyun rarely showed his emotions outwardly, so although he had not displayed any sadness today, Feng Qi still believed he was hurting inside.
No wonder he had gone to such lengths to bring him here.
Ji Chaoyun followed Feng Qi’s example and sat beside him. He said softly, “Feng Qi, I’m not unhappy.”
Feng Qi tugged at a blade of grass near his feet and asked vaguely, “Really?”
“No. Actually, a little.” Ji Chaoyun looked at Feng Qi, a touch of melancholy entering his smile. “However, you are still alive, and so am I. Just as you said, there is still a long future ahead. So long as we are alive, there is still hope, is there not?”
“You truly think so?”
“Mm.”
Feng Qi let out a breath as though a heavy burden had been lifted, then stretched. “I even thought up a whole pile of things to comfort you with. Looks like none of them are needed now.”
He paused, then added, “Since there is no need to discuss that matter anymore, shall we talk about something else?”
“What?”
Feng Qi braced both arms behind himself, a mischievous smile appearing on his lips. “Back in the stone cave on Mount Sumeru, although I had lost consciousness, I vaguely heard a few things.”
Ji Chaoyun’s expression changed. “W-What did you hear?”
Feng Qi drawled, “I heard you say... that there was something you wanted to tell me personally. What was it?”
Ji Chaoyun had barely begun to relax after hearing that this was what Feng Qi meant when he suddenly realized something else. Instinctively, he tried to retreat.
Feng Qi seemed to have anticipated this and caught his wrist at once.
Feng Qi pulled hard, bringing Ji Chaoyun down onto the grass with him. He spread an arm and firmly pinned him in place. “You are not allowed to run. Tell me, what did you want to say to me?”
He lowered his head and stared at Ji Chaoyun. His eyes were full of teasing amusement, yet his gaze was also intensely focused and fervent.
Ji Chaoyun’s breathing unconsciously grew lighter. With the back of his head resting against the soft grass, he leaned away as far as he could. “I...”
Feng Qi maliciously pressed closer. “What?”
At that moment, several streaks of golden spiritual light swept low across the sky. They were clearly Phoenix clan disciples returning from outside.
Ji Chaoyun saw distinctly that when those streaks of light passed over this patch of grass, several of them gave a visibly strange wobble.
“...” Ji Chaoyun’s ears burned hot. He shoved Feng Qi away with force. “I didn’t say anything. You heard wrong!”
Feng Qi was clearly still unaccustomed to having no spiritual power. Ji Chaoyun’s shove sent him falling heavily onto his backside in the grass, leaving him stunned.
Ji Chaoyun brushed bits of grass from his clothes and stood. Grinding his teeth, he said, “If you touch me like that in public again, I will...”
“You can’t blame me for this. No one usually passes through here.” Feng Qi rolled over and sat up, protesting repeatedly. “I didn’t want anyone seeing us either. Now the immortal physician is going to nag me again tomorrow.”
Only then did Ji Chaoyun notice that many more clan members were flying back from that direction in the distance.
“Where did they go?” he asked.
“To search for traces of the Demon Clan,” Feng Qi said. “So many demons appeared on Mount Sumeru, which means they must have a stronghold outside the Demon Realm. My elder brother has been sending clansmen out these past few days to investigate their whereabouts. They’re probably returning to report now.”
“Did they find anything?”
“No.” Feng Qi shook his head. “If it were that easy, the chaos at Mount Sumeru would never have happened. Ever since the Heavenly Fox clan’s artifact was stolen, the Phoenix clan, the Heavenly Fox clan, and several other powerful clans and sects of the Immortal Realm have been searching for traces of the Demon Clan. So far. They have found nothing so far.”
Ji Chaoyun thought for a moment. “Has the search only covered the Immortal Realm?”
Feng Qi frowned slightly. “You mean...”
Ji Chaoyun said, “I was just wondering whether the Demon Clan’s stronghold might be in the mortal realm.”
“Just as you said, everywhere in the Immortal Realm is already searching for traces of them. If they were truly hiding there, how could no one find them? Furthermore, so many demons suddenly appeared on Mount Sumeru. If they had truly traveled there from the Immortal Realm, the disturbance would have been far too great. How could the Immortal Realm have failed to notice?”
Feng Qi considered this. “Put that way, the Demon Clan’s stronghold really could be in the mortal realm.”
“It’s only a guess.” Ji Chaoyun lowered his eyes. “The mortal realm is vast, however. Finding someone there would be like searching for a needle in the sea.”
The two fell silent for a moment. Feng Qi sighed. “This is all my fault.”
“What?”
“I should not have acted on impulse and killed Xi Chen.” Feng Qi clicked his tongue. “My elder brother has certainly lectured me enough about that over the past few days.”
“Indeed,” Ji Chaoyun said. “Xi Chen was the mastermind behind stealing the Heavenly Fox clan’s artifact and planning the attack on Mount Sumeru. If he were still alive, he might have become the breakthrough the Immortal Realm needed to locate the Demon Clan’s stronghold.”
Knowing he was in the wrong, Feng Qi said nothing.
Ji Chaoyun continued, “Still, he is already dead. It’s no great matter. There will always be another way to find the Demon Clan.”
“...”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Feng Qi raised a brow and smiled. “I feel like... you’re not quite the same as you were before.”
Ji Chaoyun met his gaze and said quietly, “You’re not the same as before either.”
“How am I different?”
“Want to know?” Ji Chaoyun looked down at Feng Qi from above, pressed a hand to his shoulder, and leaned beside his ear. He enunciated each word slowly and softly. “I am not telling you.”
The moment he finished speaking, a light breeze rose beside them. In the blink of an eye, Ji Chaoyun had already appeared at the other end of the grass.
Ji Chaoyun waved at him from afar. “It’s already late. Hurry back.”
Feng Qi said indignantly, “Ji Chaoyun, you’re taking advantage of me again just because I can’t use immortal arts right now!”
The two chased one another down the mountain path they had taken earlier.
Ji Chaoyun had spiritual power protecting him and moved as though wind had risen beneath his feet. Before long, he reached the foot of the mountain.
Seeing no trace of Feng Qi behind him, he leisurely returned to the side hall where he was staying. Just as he was about to push open the door, someone suddenly wrapped both arms around his waist from behind.
“Caught you.” Feng Qi was still slightly out of breath. One arm circled Ji Chaoyun’s waist while his other hand pushed open the door. Half embracing and half carrying him, Feng Qi pushed him into the room.
The room was submerged in darkness, but both of them possessed excellent night vision and were completely unaffected.
Feng Qi pressed Ji Chaoyun beside the door and said softly, “Fool. This is my home. Did you think there was only one way down the mountain?”
“...” Ji Chaoyun said, “I admit defeat.”
Amusement filled Feng Qi’s eyes as he deliberately drawled, “Then let me think about how I should punish you.”
Ji Chaoyun hurriedly pleaded for mercy. “Second Highness Feng, please show mercy. Can whatever punishment you have in mind wait until another day? I’m a little tired.”
Feng Qi stared fixedly at him. His arms suddenly exerted force, and he lifted Ji Chaoyun horizontally into his arms.
He carried Ji Chaoyun into the inner room with long strides, gently placed him on the bed, then leaned over him. “Your punishment is... let me hold you while we sleep tonight. All right?”
Without even thinking, Ji Chaoyun answered, “N-No!”
Feng Qi did not move. He softened his voice and asked quietly, “Really no?”
Moonlight spilled through the window, illuminating half of Feng Qi’s face and making his features appear exceptionally deep and handsome. Clear moonlight seemed to rest within his eyes, while his voice was deliberately kept low and soft. Every word seemed to tread directly upon Ji Chaoyun’s heart.
For the first time, Ji Chaoyun fully understood the weight of the words “beauty clouds the mind.” His entire body went weak, without a trace of strength left, and he was on the verge of casting aside his armor and surrendering.
But Feng Qi said, “Forget it. I should go back.”
“?” Ji Chaoyun stilled and looked up at him, as though trying to determine whether he truly meant it.
Feng Qi seemed completely unaware. He took Ji Chaoyun’s hand on his own and said seriously, “Uncle taught me that a person shouldn’t be too greedy. It’s enough to take a little advantage each day. One must not take too much.”
“...”
Feng Qi continued, “For example, today you let me hold your hand. In a few days, perhaps you will let me kiss you. A few days after that, I might be able to hold you while we sleep. If we take things slowly like this, before too long, I will be able to...”
He chuckled softly and lowered his voice. “I can’t say any more. If I do, you’ll get angry again.”
Ji Chaoyun was nearly laughed into anger by him. Grinding his teeth, he said, “Yes. Shut up.”
“Mm, I’ll shut up. I’m leaving now.” Feng Qi straightened and wanted to leave, yet he was also reluctant to go.
After hesitating for a moment, he quickly took Ji Chaoyun’s hand and pressed a light kiss to his cool fingertips. “Good night.”
A moment later came the soft creak of the window.
It was the sound of Feng Qi silently climbing out and closing it behind himself.
Ji Chaoyun leaned against the headboard, listening to the window open and close, and ground his teeth hard.
This. Absolute. Fool!
☁︎₊˚⊹ The Author’s Jade-Slip Aside ⊹˚₊☁︎
Feng Qi: I don’t casually take advantage of my wife. I really am such a good person.
Little Dragon: Yeah. You should just stay a good person forever :)
——
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