Xuan Qing: Did You Sleep Well, Sect Master Yun?

Yun Yun sat to one side. Seeing him drinking alone, with a faint melancholy lingering between his brows, he could not help but grow curious and ask.

"What's wrong? Does the wine not taste good?"

Xuan Qing gently shook his head, gazing at the heavy dusk beyond the cave entrance before uttering a few words.

"I miss home."

Yun Yun paused slightly before replying.

"If you miss home, then go back."

Xuan Qing slowly lowered his eyes, his fingertips rubbing the rough surface of the wine flask, his voice carrying an inescapable loneliness.

"I can't go back."

Yun Yun's delicate brows drew together slightly, confusion rising in his eyes as he pressed further.

"Were you driven out by your clan, or are you out training and forbidden from returning for the time being?"

Xuan Qing tipped his head back and took another drink of fruit wine. Even its sweet, refreshing taste could not suppress the distant homesickness in his heart, and he curled his lips into a bitter smile.

"Neither. My hometown lies beyond countless mountains and rivers. It is a place I can never reach again."

Yun Yun listened quietly, a faint trace of pity stirring in his heart.

Looking at Xuan Qing's lonely profile, he hesitated briefly before speaking softly.

"I'll drink with you."

Xuan Qing was slightly startled and turned to look at the man beside him.

The dim dusk outlined Yun Yun's gentle features. His long lashes hung lightly, and his usual calm detachment had quietly faded, replaced by a rare warmth.

Xuan Qing raised a hand and passed him the wine flask.

Yun Yun extended his slender, fair hand to accept the wooden flask, tilted his head back slightly, and took a small sip of the fruit wine.

The sweet, faintly tart fragrance of fruit spread across his lips and tongue, while a gentle warmth slowly slid into his stomach.

He lightly pressed his lips together and handed the flask back, his gaze turning toward the endless, shadowy forest outside the cave as the evening breeze drifted in.

"Though I don't know where your hometown truly is, having someone with you means you won't be so lonely."

Yun Yun's voice was gentle.

Xuan Qing smiled faintly and took another small drink. The subtle intoxication quietly spread through his body, easing some of the homesickness buried deep in his heart.

Holding the wine flask, Xuan Qing's gaze quietly fell upon Yun Yun's face.

The evening breeze stirred the hair by his temples, stripping away the cold authority of a sect master. At this moment, he revealed the gentleness of an ordinary man.

After several rounds of drinking.

Yun Yun felt as though even the mountain breeze carried alcohol, leaving his whole body limp and weak.

He could no longer hold on. His body swayed slightly before falling straight down.

Xuan Qing reacted swiftly, reaching out to gently catch his soft body and slowly laying Yun Yun flat upon the dry stone floor.

He looked at the flush spreading across Yun Yun's cheeks, his long lashes hanging weakly as he breathed steadily and deeply.

Xuan Qing immediately circulated the Dou Qi within his body, swiftly purging all alcohol from his blood.

Then he lay down beside Yun Yun, closed his eyes, and sank deeply into sleep.

A night passed.

The bonfire in the cave had long since gone out.

Xuan Qing and Yun Yun were still asleep, their sleeping positions intimately entwined.

Yun Yun was sprawled atop Xuan Qing, holding him tightly as their warm bodies pressed firmly together.

Faint morning light passed through the cave entrance and fell slantwise across them.

Yun Yun was the first to awaken.

His long lashes trembled lightly as his hazy sleepiness gradually faded.

Subconsciously, he rubbed against the warm, steady support beneath him, his arms still wrapped around the other person's waist.

An unusual sensation traveled through his nerves.

Yun Yun's eyes flew open.

The youth's unique scent lingered beneath his nose. His chest was pressed completely against Xuan Qing's, and his entire body lay atop him.

Their limbs were intimately intertwined, with barely a trace of space between them.

In an instant, a scorching wave of heat surged up his cheeks.

Yun Yun's entire body stiffened at once, as though his blood had frozen in that moment.

Fragmented images from last night flooded into his mind: drinking, the evening breeze, and after that, everything became blurry.

He had never imagined it.

Upon waking, he would find himself sleeping soundly in Xuan Qing's embrace all night in such an intimate posture.

His heart pounded like a drum, and a brilliant flush rapidly spread across his fair face, burning all the way to the tips of his slender ears.

Holding his breath, Yun Yun cautiously tried to raise himself, afraid that the slightest movement would wake Xuan Qing beneath him.

He drew in his abdomen slightly and braced himself with his slender arms, preparing to gently escape this ambiguous position.

But just as his body rose a little, the sleeping Xuan Qing seemed to sense the movement. His arm tightened instinctively, lightly wrapping around Yun Yun's back.

Yun Yun's body jolted.

His breathing abruptly stopped. His clear eyes widened round as he lowered them in panic toward the youth's face so close at hand.

Xuan Qing's eyes remained shut, his breathing steady and deep. Clearly, he was still fast asleep.

Yun Yun's heart was in turmoil, caught between advancing and retreating. He neither dared to struggle forcefully and wake Xuan Qing nor could he endure such embarrassing intimacy.

Time slowly trickled by, and the surroundings were so quiet that only their faint breathing remained.

Yun Yun did not dare act rashly, waiting silently with his heart suspended.

After a long while, the youth beneath him still showed no sign of waking.

He held his faint breath, every muscle in his body tense, his movements as light as a feather.

Bit by bit, he cautiously tried to pry open the warm arm around his back, hoping to quietly slip free from Xuan Qing's embrace.

The warm touch clung firmly to his skin. With every inch he moved, Yun Yun's cheeks grew hotter, and an alluring blush spread across the roots of his ears.

After considerable effort, Yun Yun finally managed to gently move Xuan Qing's hand away.

He hurriedly pulled himself off Xuan Qing and sprang to his feet, not daring to lower his head for another look at the youth on the ground.

His steps were quick and hurried as he went straight to the cave entrance.

The cool morning breeze blew against his face, brushing over his burning cheeks and slightly easing the surging embarrassment in his chest.

He looked out at the rolling green mountains, his thoughts in disarray.

Inside the cave, Xuan Qing still maintained the position in which he had been lying, his eyelids seemingly closed.

In truth, he had awakened the moment Yun Yun first began to struggle.

When he had reached out to hold Yun Yun's back just now, it had merely been deliberate, so he could observe the man's reaction.

That earlier flustered shyness, every subtle change in emotion, had all fallen within his perception.

Xuan Qing was completely certain.

After spending these past few days together, Yun Yun had already developed feelings for him.

Xuan Qing slowly opened his eyes, his gaze stretching toward the slender, graceful figure at the cave entrance.

He leisurely rose from the ground.

Xuan Qing stopped beside him, turned his head to look at Yun Yun's faintly reddened profile, and spoke with a barely discernible smile in his voice.

"Did you sleep well, Sect Master Yun?"

Yun Yun's heart suddenly tightened.

He could not tell whether Xuan Qing knew about the two of them sleeping in each other's arms last night, nor could he tell whether that question was ordinary small talk or teasing.

His heart was in turmoil, and he could only pretend to be calm as he nodded lightly.

"Mm, not bad."