Gao Yang sat in the chair, baring his teeth in pain. It took him ages to get comfortable, and by then he was sweating buckets.
Shi Qingjue asked with concern, "Brother Gao, can you still bear it? There's really no need to rush so much."
"It's fine." Gao Yang forced the words out through clenched teeth. All his strength was going toward fighting the pain in his broken bones. "The Dragon King gave us a task. We can't keep putting it off. Having something to do will put my mind at ease, too."
"This was my idea," Shi Qingjue said. He had no intention of saddling anyone else with the blame for a bad idea, especially not the Dragon King.
"Thank you for the idea," Gao Yang said solemnly. Now that he was settled in the chair, the pain had eased considerably. "I've spent half my life running wild, and I've never owed anyone a favor. You're the one person I owe."
Shi Qingjue's face reddened a little. Gao Yang would be the one facing danger and hardship because of this plan, while he and the Dragon King stood to gain the most. "Once this is done, I'll be the one who owes you, Brother Gao."
"Haha!" Gao Yang laughed. "Look at us, going on and on like this. It's so mushy. If anyone saw us, they'd think you and I were... you know..."
"What?" Shi Qingjue asked, bewildered.
"I refuse to believe that with so many monks living together in Four Truths Blue Lotus, there isn't a single woman around. Surely there's no... funny business between them?"
Shi Qingjue understood, and his face turned even redder. "The Blue Lotus Monastery isn't what you imagine..." It wasn't what he himself had imagined, either. He didn't want to say more, and