Xiao Qinghe shot him a look. "Why all the questions? Keep your voice down. Don't let Master find out."
If Master discovered that he had sneaked Xie Jun into the Scripture Pavilion, he would probably punish him.
Xie Jun was even more puzzled. "Xiao Qinghe, why exactly did you save me in the cave?"
Xiao Qinghe rapped him on the head. "Who are you calling Xiao Qinghe? Call me senior brother!"
Xie Jun fell silent, refusing to say it.
Xiao Qinghe found a cultivation manual and casually tossed it to him. "Practice this one. You can't practice the others."
The other cultivation methods were incompatible with the Demon Clan. Practicing them recklessly would only cause cultivation deviation.
Now even more certain that Xiao Qinghe knew he belonged to the Demon Clan, Xie Jun's gaze turned sharp. "Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"
"Would you?" Xiao Qinghe poked his head out from between the rows of bookshelves, the corners of his lips lifting slightly. "I did save your life, you know."
His voice rose a little at the end, carrying more than a hint of smugness.
There was none of the mockery or hatred Xie Jun knew so well in his expression. It was as though Xie Jun were no different from anyone else, just an ordinary junior brother.
Xie Jun shuddered.
He had been born into the Demon Clan and branded an ill omen. Because of that, he had suffered endless humiliation and hovered on the brink of death several times.
Everyone who had seen his true form had wanted to kill him, without exception.
Xiao Qinghe was different.
"Why?" Xie Jun asked hoarsely. "You know perfectly well that I'm different from you."
"Different how? That's racial discrimination!" Xiao Qinghe felt deeply offended. "Just because you're naturally gifted doesn't mean you get to look down on my mediocre aptitude and mortal body!"
Xiao Qinghe really couldn't accept it.
Everyone else who transmigrated got to be the protagonist, turn their fortunes around, gain overpowered abilities, and build a harem. Why did he have such dreadful aptitude that he could only run errands for Master, only to end up being killed by Master?
It couldn't possibly get any shittier!
Luckily, he had someone ridiculously overpowered nearby to latch onto.
Xiao Qinghe stuffed another book into Xie Jun's arms and said earnestly, "Brother, train hard. My future depends on you!"
Something seemed to flow into Xie Jun's heart along with that book.
He gazed at Xiao Qinghe, emotions surging within him.
Just as he was about to speak, he spotted several books lying open on a nearby table. "What's this area for?"
"That's where I read and practice my handwriting," Xiao Qinghe said.
Xie Jun picked up the book on top, his expression turning strange. "This is what you usually read?"
"I get bored, so I read to pass the time," Xiao Qinghe answered offhandedly. Noticing that Xie Jun was looking at him even more strangely, with a hint of wariness, he instinctively glanced at what Xie Jun was holding.
Then he fell apart.
There, on the pages-
Text and illustrations, vivid and lifelike.
Wasn't this fucking porn?
Even more bizarrely, why were both men in the pictures men?!
No, wait!
The real question was, why was something like this on his desk?!
"System, are you screwing me over again?!" Xiao Qinghe nearly spat blood.
The system's reward was in the Scripture Pavilion. Was this what it meant?!
What kind of fucking reward was this?
Didn't it know Xie Jun had a phobia of men and couldn't stand this stuff?!
Xiao Qinghe was frantic. "This isn't mine! It's Master's! That's right, it's Master's!"
"My disciple?" Faint footsteps sounded outside the door.
Speak of the devil.
If Master caught him bringing Xie Jun into the Scripture Pavilion, he would skin him alive!
Heaven wanted him dead!
In a moment of blind panic, Xiao Qinghe grabbed Xie Jun and shoved him into the gap between two rows of books.
By the time he came to his senses, he had squeezed in too.
They stood face-to-face, their bodies pressed together without an inch of space between them.
"You..." Xie Jun went rigid.
"Shh..." With no time to worry about anything else, Xiao Qinghe covered his mouth and glanced toward the entrance.
Bai Yuqing walked slowly into the Scripture Pavilion, white robes fluttering despite the lack of wind. Seeing no one inside, he looked faintly puzzled. "My disciple?"
He had clearly heard his disciple calling him just now. Had he imagined it?
Bai Yuqing shook his head and was about to leave when he noticed a book lying open on the table.
Its explicit contents made his pupils contract slightly.
Xiao Qinghe was about to lose his mind. That was the pornographic book Xie Jun had just opened!
Bai Yuqing turned a couple of pages, his brows drawing together slightly.
Making one last desperate effort, Xiao Qinghe whispered, "See, junior brother? That book really is Master's."
He had dumped the blame squarely onto Master.
Yet a moment later, Bai Yuqing murmured, "Why would my disciple buy a book like this?"
A slap in the face.
A loud, resounding slap.
Xiao Qinghe wanted to die. Completely and utterly.
Worse still, he could distinctly feel Xie Jun growing stiffer by the second. Those dark eyes stared fixedly at him, their shifting depths impossible to read.
Brother, you've got it wrong!
It's all a misunderstanding!
"That book really isn't mine!" Xiao Qinghe covered his face.
Bai Yuqing seemed to sense something. He abruptly looked their way, then approached one step at a time.
He stopped only when a single bookshelf separated him from Xiao Qinghe and called again, "My disciple, are you there?"
The shelves were packed with books, barely concealing Xiao Qinghe's figure.
But they couldn't hide his feet.
If Bai Yuqing took a few more steps, Xiao Qinghe's feet would definitely be exposed.
Bai Yuqing narrowed his eyes slightly and took another two steps forward.
Just as Xiao Qinghe's feet were about to enter his field of view, Xiao Qinghe thought-
I'm really done for!
Suddenly, a powerful grip closed around his waist and lifted him bodily off the ground.
Caught completely off guard, Xiao Qinghe nearly crashed into the other boy. He barely steadied himself by grabbing his shoulders, then went rigid as stone.
A boy with a phobia of men had picked him up.
Face-to-face, with his arms around Xiao Qinghe's waist, no less.
This was terrifying!
"Don't make a sound," Xie Jun mouthed in a silent warning.
How could Xiao Qinghe dare move?
Even though he could guess that Xie Jun had resorted to this only to keep Xiao Qinghe from being discovered and exposing him in turn, actually having Xie Jun do it scared him shitless.
He was terrified that Xie Jun would kill him to silence him the very next second.
Tap, tap...
Bai Yuqing's footsteps sounded right behind him. "My disciple?"
With Xie Jun pressed against him in front and Bai Yuqing behind him, separated by only a bookshelf, Xiao Qinghe broke into a cold sweat and scarcely dared breathe.
"Not here?" Unable to find anyone, Bai Yuqing finally left.
Xiao Qinghe quickly climbed down from Xie Jun's arms. Not daring to look at the boy's expression, he turned and fled.
The boy's gaze was dark as he lowered his eyes to his own hand.
That hand had held Xiao Qinghe around the waist.
The touch hadn't brought the disgust and revulsion he had expected. All he had thought was-
So slender.
So soft.
He raised his eyes toward the book on the table, the one that made Xiao Qinghe want to bash his head against a wall, and narrowed them slightly.
Xiao Qinghe had thought running away would let him escape that scene of utter humiliation. He had been far too naive.
From that day on, Xie Jun looked at him very strangely and started watching his every move.
When he practiced qi cultivation, Xie Jun stared.
When he cooked, Xie Jun stared.
When he bathed, he finally couldn't take it anymore. "Junior brother, I'm about to take my clothes off."
As though waking from a dream, Xie Jun finally withdrew the gaze that had made Xiao Qinghe feel as if needles were digging into his back.
Xiao Qinghe let out a long sigh of relief. What had he done to deserve this?
Before you continue