The best of friends

He responded graciously to anyone who greeted him, though of course, he put very little heart into it.

Xie Xiyi said mildly, "Cultivating twelve hours a day? He was just fooling you."

Chi Yu's pupils shook. "Huh?"

Was twelve hours still not a lot?

Did the Crown Prince mean Qingxuan was the sort of person who told his classmates he never studied at home?

Old man staring at his phone on the subway.jpg

This was way too competitive!

Xie Xiyi disdained speaking ill of others, so he left it at that.

This cultivator named Qingxuan secretly practiced breathing exercises even as he walked. Spiritual energy surged thickly throughout his body, and he was at the peak of Foundation Establishment. Who would believe he cultivated only twelve hours a day?

Only Long Aotian would fall for that, and he really had.

Lecturer Hong soon arrived. After finishing his lesson, he announced something. "This year's Hongbao Trial will take place early, in three months. You may discuss who to team up with. Each team may have only two to four people and must not exceed five. Once you've decided, come to me to collect a Jade Token."

He paused, then added, "If you don't know what the Hongbao Trial is, ask a senior brother nearby. I won't elaborate here."

With that, he dismissed class without dragging it out at all.

Chi Yu asked Xie Xiyi, "Senior brother, what's the Hongbao Trial?"

Before Xie Xiyi could answer, Lianchi turned around from in front of them and told Chi Yu, "The Hongbao Trial is a cultivation method unique to the Chan Sect. Cultivating here alone won't let you grasp the truths of Chan, so you have to go down the mountain for experience and deepen your understanding through the outside world. Every Immortal Sect has trials like this, but the Chan Sect places more importance on them. Everyone goes down the mountain together, and there are rewards, too. Naturally, Senior Brother Xuanji took first place in the last Hongbao Trial. His prize was a whole string of Bodhi Seeds. Those are especially good for cultivation, and that reward helped him enter Second Chan."

Qingxuan walked over and said in a cool, clear voice, "Senior brother, may I join your team?"

The corners of Xie Xiyi's lips rose slightly. He reached out, took Chi Yu's wrist, and raised it to show Qingxuan. "I'm teaming up with him."

Qingxuan said, "There are still two places left. You could add me, senior brother. I'm a talisman master, so I can be of some help."

His dignified, aloof bearing was quite deceptive. Lianchi had a good impression of him and said with a smile, "Junior Brother Qingxuan, why not team up with me?"

Qingxuan glanced at him without speaking.

Lianchi understood that this was a refusal. He scratched his head and walked away with a smile.

Xie Xiyi said mildly, "Must I spell it out? I'm refusing you. Even with two places left, I won't team up with you."

Qingxuan asked calmly, "Why?"

Xie Xiyi's lips curved slightly. "Because too many people latch on to me like this. It's annoying."

Qingxuan: "..."

His voice remained cool and clear. "Forgive the offense, senior brother. I'll take my leave."

With that, he left.

Chi Yu said nothing. Only after Qingxuan had gone did he ask, "Senior brother, are you sure you want to team up with me?"

Xie Xiyi said, "Bring Xiaoqiu. You'll look after him."

Chi Yu said, "Oh."

His role was plain to see. He was the support.

But how could Long Aotian settle for being support?

He might not need to use combat power, but he couldn't go without it.

Chi Yu seriously considered what cultivation specialty to choose.

What did other Long Aotians usually cultivate? He thought about it... Well, eight out of ten were sword cultivators, while the other two were masters of every martial art.

He had plenty of energy, so learning a few extra things would be fine. But it also seemed unnecessary. After all, he didn't plan to stay long. He still intended to go home.

After thinking it over, he decided to choose sword cultivation.

Once he had decided, he had barely opened his mouth when Xie Xiyi extended two slender fingers and pinched his lips together.

Chi Yu widened his eyes, asking with his gaze, What are you doing?

Xie Xiyi withdrew his hand. "The moment you open your mouth, I know nothing good will come out."

Chi Yu said in some surprise, "You already know me so well after just a few days, senior brother?"

Xie Xiyi froze slightly before realizing that he had become this close to the dragon in just a few days.

Xie Xiyi's stern brows drew together slightly-this was a very bad sign.

He had never intended to form close friendships with any other cultivators.

But Long Aotian had this peculiar charm. He had also become fast friends with the people of Dao Di Chan Abode in only a few days.

Xie Xiyi was merely one of them.

At that thought, Xie Xiyi felt a subtle discomfort.

He spoke coldly. "Don't call me senior brother anymore."

Chi Yu said, "Huh? What should I call you, then?"

Xie Xiyi said, "Add Xuanji. My Dharma name is Xuanji."

"Oh, okay, Senior Brother Xuanji." Chi Yu tried it with a smile.

Yet Xie Xiyi still felt somewhat irritated. He recalled Xiaoqiu's jealous behavior, which he had thought absurd, only to discover that his own state of mind was now remarkably similar.

That only irritated him further.

A trace of ill temper inevitably showed on his face. "You certainly are friendly with everyone, calling them senior brother and junior brother nonstop. What have you gotten out of them now?"

Chi Yu felt terribly wronged. "I am not! You're accusing me unfairly! You're the only one I've asked for things!"

The corners of Xie Xiyi's lips had just begun to lift when Chi Yu continued, "Because I feel like you're much more likely to give me something if I ask you, hahahaha."

Xie Xiyi: "..."

Chi Yu said, "Right, Senior Brother Xuanji, I want to learn a sword technique. Do you have any more sword manuals? Do you practice swordsmanship? If so, could I trouble you to teach me?"

Xie Xiyi: "..."

He found it utterly incomprehensible. Could someone this shameless really exist?

Chi Yu pressed his palms together, his eyes sparkling. "Senior Brother Xuanji, please! I'll repay a drop of kindness with a gushing spring!"

Xie Xiyi: "..."

He took out a sword manual and tossed it onto the table. "Read it yourself. I don't have that much free time."

With that, he stood and left.

Chi Yu picked up the sword manual and smiled slightly.

The Crown Prince really was softhearted.

Still, he couldn't always take. Friendship needed give and take.

For the moment, though, Chi Yu couldn't think of anything to give the Crown Prince, so he set that aside.

He happily took the sword manual back to read.

Xie Xiyi returned to his temporary palace and gazed at its vast interior, his expression cold.

He marveled at how easily he always gave in to that dragon.

Yet he soon calmed down again.

He tapped a finger against the table. After roughly a hundred taps, Chi Yu's voice came from outside. "Senior Brother Xuanji? There are lots of parts in this sword manual I don't understand, either. Could you teach me? I brought you something tasty."

With that, he rushed inside. On seeing Xie Xiyi, he smiled and solemnly promised, "Just this last time! I swear!"

He sat down opposite Xie Xiyi with easy familiarity and took some homemade dried melon from his Sumeru Ring. "Senior Brother Xuanji, have some of this. I made it myself. The melons around here are especially delicious, and they have a distinctive flavor when dried, too."

Though Xie Xiyi placed little importance on satisfying his appetite, he didn't mind trying a piece now. He picked one up and put it in his mouth, and his palate, accustomed to blandness, immediately tasted its wonderful flavor.

As though imbued with Chi Yu's vitality, its sweetness forcefully claimed his mouth.

After swallowing, Xie Xiyi gave his assessment. "Not bad."

Chi Yu smiled. "As long as you like it, Senior Brother Xuanji. You can have all of it, then. Cultivators don't have to worry about cavities, so there's no harm in eating more."

Xie Xiyi said, "I don't like it. I was merely being polite. Don't take it seriously."

Chi Yu said, "Oh."

He couldn't help laughing, his rounded eyes narrowing slightly with his smile.

Xie Xiyi glanced at him with his golden eyes. "What are you laughing at?"

Chi Yu said with a smile, "Nothing."

He could clearly see that Xie Xiyi liked it. Before Chi Yu spoke, he had been about to reach for another strip.

Besides being softhearted, the Crown Prince was a bit of a tsundere.

It was rare to meet someone with such contrasting sides.

The sight of his silly smile left Xie Xiyi subtly displeased, and he ordered him out. "You can leave now."

Chi Yu's eyes widened. "Huh? Senior Brother Xuanji, you haven't explained this sword manual to me yet!"

Xie Xiyi said coldly, "I'm not in the mood. Get out."

Chi Yu: "..."

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Author's note:

Little Top: Nobody leaves my place smiling.

Little Puppy Fish: Someone will from now on. Puppy holding a rose in his mouth.jpg

Chapter 29: The best of friends

Although the Crown Prince's mood changed quickly, Chi Yu still managed to snag private lessons.

Sometimes, one had to admire Long Aotian's luck. First, Ling Hezhou had guided him through the basics of cultivation. Even after moving somewhere else, he still had someone giving him cultivation methods and instruction.

What could he say? That was Long Aotian!

Under his domineering aura, those who liked him automatically became his helpers.

Chi Yu happily went to the market below the mountain and bought a mid-grade spirit sword. His cultivation was shaky, and he didn't understand many of the insights and tricks involved, so he couldn't refine a Life-Bound Spirit Sword. He could only put the spirit sword in his Sumeru Ring.

He set aside two hours every day to practice swordsmanship.

Xie Xiyi offered a lukewarm assessment. "It'll take at least a hundred years to get anywhere."

What sword cultivator hadn't started out practicing from morning until night? He spent only two hours a day practicing. What could he possibly accomplish?

Chi Yu replied with perfect confidence, "That's pretty good already. I only cultivate for three hours a day."

It wasn't that he wasn't diligent. He needed to leave some time free for the Forbidden Curse to activate.

He remembered the villain saying that the Forbidden Curse seemed to have a time limit. But when he opened his mouth to look at the Forbidden Curse on the root of his tongue, he couldn't see it. Clearly, it didn't normally show itself, and he didn't know whether it was still effective.

The villain had said there was also a Forbidden Curse that would kill him. He had never triggered that one, either, and had no idea what its triggering conditions were.