Turning to his friend who had gone wide-eyed at witnessing this scene of Official Gao getting cleaned up so swiftly, Qinghe spoke, "Yan Lin, I chased away the mean people, so you don't have to be scared anymore. Wasn't I helpful?"

Hearing this, Yan Lin finally cracked a smile, his anxiety slowly melting away. His little friend might have changed in many aspects—he might have gotten stronger, gained a high standing as a cultivator, and might now have a lover by his side—but on the inside, he was still the same Qinghe who wanted to beat up everyone who threatened his dear ones.

"En, you were very helpful. Thank you," Yan Lin praised softly, his lips lightly curving upwards.

Qinghe showed a small, proud smile now that his accomplishment had been acknowledged. Since he'd done something so good, didn't he deserve to get a reward now?

Qinghe's gaze eagerly wandered over to the still unopened jars of wine on the table, the greedy glint in his eyes unmistakable.

Seeing his beloved's burning gaze directed towards the containers of liquor, Wei Xiang amusedly wondered whether his placement in the heart of his drunken lover was actually below that of a few jars of alcohol.

But more than that, Wei Xiang truly feared the chaos it would result in if Qinghe was allowed to imbibe any more wine. It would be better if they left right now.

Thinking that, he immediately rose up with Qinghe still in his arms. Not minding the change in alt.i.tude, Qinghe made a pleased hum and happily snuggled deeper into the firm arms of his beloved, his attention being diverted to the warm chest he was being held against that vibrated pleasantly as Wei Xiang spoke.

"Thank you for dinner and the pleasant company. We will take our leave now," Wei Xiang said, politely bidding goodbye to a cheerful Yan Lin and Zhang LiYing before walking towards the door.

Qinghe giggled and poked his lover playfully. "What are you planning to do to me after taking me away from watching eyes, Sentinel?"

"Maybe spank some good manners into you for being such a naughty little imp," Wei Xiang joked, smacking his mischievous lover's b.u.t.t lightly and making Qinghe wriggle around in restlessness.

His eyes growing half-lidded, Qinghe felt heat slowly suffusing his body as he basked in the warmth radiating from his lover's muscled arms that were so firmly wrapped around him. Drowning in the familiarly comforting scent of woodsmoke and metal, his thoughts slowly wandered in a certain direction…

Wei Xiang was yet unaware of his beloved's changing mood. After walking a little distance away from the cottage, he found a secluded spot and used the shadows to transport them both to Qinghe's room. The Sentinels' ability to use the shadow realm was after all a closely guarded secret and was not something he wanted others to become aware of.

And now, Wei Xiang had also finally found out how Qinghe had come to know about this ability in the first place.

As Wei Xiang placed a dazed Qinghe on the bed, his mind still churned with thoughts as he ruminated over the things he'd learned today.

His beloved's all-encompa.s.sing control over wind was a truly terrifying thing. Even though they now knew about all the ways the wind could be used to gather information, none of them could do anything regarding this. After all, how exactly would one go about guarding against wind of all things?

"…Xiang…"

Qinghe's low whisper sounded from the bed, breaking Wei Xiang out of his thoughts. He looked down to find that his little lover had almost stripped all his clothing off, only a thin white robe remaining. Even that was half undone, one collar already having slipped off his shoulder to reveal smooth white skin.

Swallowing thickly, Wei Xiang asked, "What is it, love?"

s.h.i.+fting in apparent discomfort, Qinghe spoke in a husky voice, "I want you."

Wei Xiang felt his heart stop for a second before it started beating again harder than before, almost leaping within his chest. Qinghe's meaning couldn't be any more clear.

It seemed his lover was finally prepared to go all the way, but…

Looking at Qinghe's flushed cheeks and his dazed gaze, Wei Xiang steeled his resolve and firmly refused. "No, you're drunk. You are not of clear mind right now."

"Xiang…please? I'm ready," Qinghe continued to entice.

Wei Xiang endeavored to maintain his determination in the face of his beloved's temptation.

Sensing Wei Xiang's internal struggle, Qinghe beseechingly gazed up at him with half-lidded eyes, his thick lashes sparkling with moisture. His pupils had expanded due to intoxication, his gaze showing unhidden desire as he blinked slowly, languorously. His l.u.s.trous lips were slightly parted, the softness beckoning and beguiling to come and have a taste.

Such a potent enchantment could hardly be resisted as it was. But Qinghe added another thick layer of attraction atop the magnetic allure by beckoning in a sultry voice, "Xiang, I want you… Don't you want me too? Come, have me."

Wei Xiang felt his reason straining against the sudden, intense flash of arousal that burned through him, flooding his senses. He gritted his teeth and attempted to maintain control, exercising the iron discipline of a trained Sentinel.

In a tense voice, he spoke, "Qinghe…now is not the right time."

Frowning in displeasure, Qinghe reached forward and boldly grabbed Wei Xiang's bulging hardness. Lightly squeezing and ma.s.saging it, he observed smugly, "See? You also want me."

Feeling the veins in his forehead bulging due to the strain of holding himself back, Wei Xiang slowly and gently removed his lover's soft hand from between his legs.

In a patient tone, Wei Xiang explained, "I never denied wanting you. But Qinghe, you're drunk. I will not take advantage of you when you're in this state. I don't want to do something you might come to regret. I do not want to rush into this and end up hurting you."

Hearing this, Qinghe's stubbornness wilted. After knowing that his lover's rejection was only due to care for him, how could he keep protesting?

Qinghe slumped dispiritedly onto the bed, pouting and mumbling complainingly about his beloved's unnecessarily firm morals.

Wei Xiang looked at his lover behaving so cutely and couldn't resist wrapping his arms around Qinghe in an embrace. "If you still want to go further tomorrow, then I will naturally oblige."

Qinghe's mood considerably brightened.

Continuing, Wei Xiang said, "I still have some work to finish tomorrow relating to your friend Yan Lin's village and the matter with that official's arrest. So after I'm done, I'll come visit you at night. You have until then to decide what you want to do."

Nodding cheerfully, Qinghe agreed. "Okay! We'll do it tomorrow, don't forget your promise!"

Wei Xiang's lips curved up wryly at his little lover's keen enthusiasm. Smiling affectionately, he disentangled himself from his unwilling lover to also undress before he laid down again. Qinghe happily jumped back into his arms.

Nestled together, they slept peacefully, both their minds filled with expectations and excitement towards what was to come tomorrow night.

...

After waking up the next morning alone in bed, Qinghe recalled the promise last night and felt his stomach clench in a mixture of nervousness and antic.i.p.ation.

Though he felt a bit embarra.s.sed about his boldness while drunk, he did not regret it. He really did feel ready to take their relations.h.i.+p to the next stage. Even if he had not been inebriated, he would have still made it known that he wanted to go further, albeit in a different and more restrained way.

But at the same time, he couldn't help feeling apprehensive.

Till now, though he and Wei Xiang had touched each other with their hands and mouth, it had never escalated into anything further.

Truth be told, he knew that it was because Wei Xiang saw through his fears. After his experience at the orphanage, he had become somewhat…afraid of s.e.x, of the loss of control it represented. But he also knew that doing it with Wei Xiang would be incomparably different from when those people had touched him.

His Wei Xiang would be very good to him and treat him well with kindness and affection.

He couldn't help but wonder, what would it feel like?

Qinghe tried imagining Wei Xiang naked and lying on top of him, their skin pressed against each other, his lover's long fingers reaching towards that place and…

He couldn't think any further. He really seemed to be too inexperienced to try and predict how it would play out. All he knew regarding s.e.x among two men was that one of them would poke the other in the b.u.t.t with their 'little dragon'. Other than that, his knowledge regarding this matter was woefully inadequate.

Burying his red face in his hands, Qinghe tried to calm himself. Dammit, he had faced vicious demonic beasts with less nervousness than he was feeling towards his first night with his lover. It was really too incomprehensible!

But thinking that he would be accepting Wei Xiang into his body tonight…

Qinghe's face flushed further. He could feel a stinging heat in his nose in response to his less-than-pure thoughts and his hand immediately flew up to his nose as he tilted his head back to contain a nosebleed.

Ah, how my delicate virgin heart is all aflutter! Qinghe thought to himself sarcastically, then sighed.

Tamping down the rampant eagerness and uncertainty, he decided enough was enough.

In a bid to cool down his rampaging mind, Qinghe decided to take a bath and begin preparing for the day.

But his sinful thoughts still seemed to follow him into his work.

That entire day, the disciples of Heavenly Peak Sect saw their Senior Brother Feng walking around in a daze and felt puzzled. They had never seen their extremely capable and self-possessed senior brother like this before. Just what on earth could be weighing on his mind today? Whatever it was, it must be extremely important!

As Qinghe dealt with his master's work as per usual in the main hall, even the Elders at the sides noticed his peculiar behavior this day.

Normally, Qinghe was decisive and firm as he processed the various doc.u.ments and made the necessary arrangements to implement plans for improving the sect further or dealt with other minor issues that popped up. His gaze as he read through the papers was usually sharp like a sword slicing cleanly through prey, swift and thorough. There was never a moment wasted as he efficiently went through the work piled up on the sect master's desk, making the watching Elders feel inadequate in front of this competent youngster.

But the Qinghe today worked at a glacially slow speed. He would carefully have to read a doc.u.ment several times before the contents seemed to register in his brain. He would often stare off into the distance for a long while before suddenly turning red and fl.u.s.tered. His hands also seemed to have gotten quite a bit clumsier as he knocked over the papers, brush, and inkstone again and again…

To put it simply, the Elders thought that this scarily efficient senior disciple who suddenly seemed to have become a fumbling mess was…really very cute!

The Qinghe today seemed to perpetually be either in a dazed state or in a fl.u.s.tered muddle. Without his usual piercing intelligence sharpening his gaze, he looked like a befuddled and fuzzy little animal.

A crash sounded once more in the main hall as Qinghe knocked over another inkstone. Qinghe looked down confounded at the broken pieces and the splatter of ink on the floor. How had another inkstone ended up in this state? It was a mystery!

Unable to bear to see Qinghe reduced to this, an Elder lightly coughed before kindly advising, "Disciple Feng, you can leave helping with your master's work at that for today. Since there seems to be a lot weighing on your mind, you may take the day off to set your thoughts in order."

Qinghe looked up in a daze and nodded. "This disciple offers his thanks to the Elder," he said perfunctorily before standing up and leaving the hall.

Looking up, Qinghe saw that evening had already arrived.

And soon, night would fall.

Qinghe's heart thumped erratically.

As Qinghe made his way back to his room, he felt overly conscious of others' gazes. Would they know what he was thinking of? Of what he was going to do tonight?

Since this was the night Qinghe was going to lose his virginity, he felt like something about him would undeniably change once morning arrived. Would others be able to tell?

By the time he returned to his room, Qinghe was just as nervous and antic.i.p.atory as he had been when he'd departed this morning.

Sitting down, Qinghe wondered, would he need to prepare something? Would he need to prepare himself in some way?

He didn't know.

Qinghe buried his face in his hands and felt he had at least one thing to be thankful for. As a cultivator, he didn't have to eat or digest food, and as such, his back pa.s.sage remained unused for the most part, saving him the trouble and awkwardness of having to manually clear it before they did it. Even though he wasn't very familiar about such matters, he only had to think a bit about the mechanics of s.e.x to figure out that such a thing must be necessary. He shuddered to think of how inconvenient it must be for mortal humans.

And as the sky slowly darkened to night, Qinghe's mind anxiously flitted between different things, always ending on the thought that he would finally be sharing his body with his beloved tonight.

The cool wind blew inside, bringing with it the scent of the night mingled faintly with the smell of woodsmoke. Darkness pooled in the corners of the room, and in the placid black, something stirred.

Qinghe lifted his head and looked up as a figure slowly detached from the shadows.

Wei Xiang's eyes held unfathomable depths as a corner of his lips lightly curled up. In a playful tone, he spoke, "So Qinghe, how do you want to spend this night?"

While trying to calm the wild beating in his chest, Qinghe replied softly, "My choice remains the same."

Looking at his little lover's fists clenched on either side, Wei Xiang's smile grew wider. Was his Qinghe nervous? Though it was understandable, Wei Xiang still felt that it was a treat to see his always calm and composed beloved in such a state.

Unable to meet Wei Xiang's intense gaze, Qinghe looked away, a blush spreading across his face.

Soundlessly walking closer, Wei Xiang lifted a hand and lightly brushed away a strand of hair from Qinghe's face without touching his skin. Feeling the air being disturbed so close to his cheek, Qinghe squeezed his eyes shut.

Leaning down, Wei Xiang spoke softly, "If you don't want to, we don't have to."

Qinghe wordlessly shook his head. Then opening his eyes and lifting up his face, he steadfastly met Wei Xiang's gaze as he affirmed, "I want to do this. I won't regret it. It's just that…" Qinghe looked away again as his fingers started fidgeting. "I didn't think I would feel so… I just don't know what to expect. I…feel too out of depth in this situation."

Wei Xiang's gaze warmed. He could just imagine what a state his lover must have spent the entire day in.

Sitting down beside his beloved, Wei Xiang enfolded him in a hug. In a comforting tone, he spoke, "Qinghe, do you remember what I said in the beginning, when I first asked you to be my lover?"

Looking up at his beloved's familiar face, Qinghe tilted his head, silently asking him to go on.

"I told you that when two people make the decision to become lovers, they make their own rules. That statement still stands. There's no particular way this has to go. We can go at our own pace and do things we are both comfortable with. Even if you don't know everything about what's going to come, trust that I'll guide you and carefully look after you. This is something we will both do together, and just like always, I'll be here for you."

Qinghe felt the uncertainty and tightness in his heart beginning to loosen. That's right, this was his Wei Xiang after all. He would teach him and guide him, and most of all, he would take care of him.

Though his reservations had lessened, they still hadn't completely disappeared.

Wei Xiang patiently continued in a kind and measured tone, "If you aren't sure about what to do, then I can take the lead for now. If you want me to stop or if you want me to do something, just tell me or show me directly, okay?"

Qinghe felt touched at how careful Wei Xiang was being. It was clear that his lover was treating his comfort with the utmost importance.

Hesitantly, Qinghe asked, "Would that really be alright?"

Because as tempting as it was to let his lover take the lead during their first time together, Qinghe felt like he would be making Wei Xiang do all the work at this rate. Shouldn't he also contribute?

But Wei Xiang rea.s.sured calmly, "Yes. I don't mind at all. Remember, there are no fixed rules. There is no particular way this has to be done. The important thing is that the both of us agree to it and enjoy doing this."

Qinghe seriously thought on his words. Feeling the last of his doubts vanis.h.i.+ng with rising antic.i.p.ation taking its place, Qinghe slowly, deliberately nodded.

With implicit trust in his eyes, Qinghe looked up at Wei Xiang and spoke, "Then, Xiang, I…will give myself to you, so please take care of me."