The scent on him

Xiaoqiu spotted him first. "Your Highness! We finally found you!"

Chi Yu looked back and could not help laughing again.

Xie Xiyi looked at his radiant smile and asked expressionlessly, "What are you laughing at?"

Chi Yu teased him with a laugh. "Bad kitty."

Xie Xiyi's expression cracked slightly, and even his gentle voice grew a little heavier. "What did you say?"

With outrageous boldness, Chi Yu repeated, "I said you're a bad kitty. Do you know what a cat is? The little mousers in the mortal realm are called cats."

Xie Xiyi: ?

Xie Xiyi: "..."

Xie Xiyi's golden eyes shot death rays. "You called me a cat?"

Seeing his expression turn wrong, Chi Yu hurriedly stopped laughing and corrected himself. "Uh, you're a tiger. The king of beasts, a tiger!"

Expressionless, Xie Xiyi said coldly, "I am human. Do not compare me to beasts-there will not be a next time."

Chi Yu: "...Oh."

That was what a hopelessly literal straight guy without a single funny bone was like. (x

Author's note:

Little Puppy Fish: Failed to turn him into a kitty. (x)

Little Top: I'm human. How could I be a cat? Blunt.jpg

Later: meow, meow, meow.

Chapter 31: The scent on him

Chi Yu discussed where to go with Xie Xiyi.

Before Xie Xiyi could speak, Xiaoqiu eagerly chimed in. "Let's go to Wangxian Continent! That's where His Highness went last time. There are lots of monsters and demons there!"

Chi Yu glanced at the map and said, "No, we can't go to Wangxian Continent this time. There are too many people there! Eight people from our class went to Wangxian Continent, twelve from the Cessation Class, thirteen from the Origin Class, and seven from the Suffering Class."

Xiaoqiu: "..."

Xie Xiyi: "..."

Xiaoqiu asked incredulously, "How do you know? Did you put tracking talismans on them? No, that can't be right. Those are really easy to discover."

Xie Xiyi's golden eyes also fixed on him, waiting to hear what explanation he could offer.

Chi Yu laughed and said mysteriously, "Not just them. I even know where Senior Brother Xuanji went."

Xie Xiyi said expressionlessly, "Saying things like that will get you beaten up."

Chi Yu said quite naturally, "I know. That's why I'm only telling you two. After all, the three of us are the ones on the same team, right?"

Xie Xiyi said nothing, but Xiaoqiu was deeply moved. "Don't worry, Aotian-ge. I'll take this secret to my grave!"

Xie Xiyi gave Chi Yu a long look and remained silent-such trust had come out of nowhere.

In the end, they decided to go to the Wasteland.

True to its name, the Wasteland was a relatively desolate and savage continent, yet its spiritual energy was quite rich, giving rise to many Yaoshou and demons.

Chi Yu made this decision too. Xie Xiyi said nothing, handing leadership over to Chi Yu without any resistance.

Chi Yu took a flying artifact out of his Sumeru Ring and flew toward the Wasteland with Xie Xiyi and Xiaoqiu.

The flying artifact needed spiritual power to keep going, and Chi Yu was somewhat weak in that regard. He had meant to ask Xie Xiyi to take turns controlling it with him, but then thought that asking would make him seem weak and give someone cause to look down on him for nothing. Better to keep quiet.

With that thought, Chi Yu concentrated on controlling the flying artifact, taking pills whenever his spiritual power ran out.

Repeating this cycle considerably improved his control over his spiritual power.

Just what I'd expect of myself!

At mealtimes, they found somewhere to stop and cook.

Thus, Xie Xiyi got to see Chi Yu stir-frying and tossing food in the wok.

Even when doing chores that only mortals did, he took great pleasure in them and showed no impatience at all.

Xie Xiyi felt that this person held many mysteries, but precisely because of that, he could allow his gaze to linger on Chi Yu.

Xiaoqiu also watched him cook intently, already salivating.

By the time Chi Yu finished three dishes and a soup and brought them to the table, Xiaoqiu had already served him some rice, along with a bowl for Xie Xiyi.

This time, Xie Xiyi did not say he would not eat. He sat down looking perfectly normal, his waterfall of long black hair trailing onto the ground as he did.

Chi Yu noticed at once and fussed a little unnecessarily. "Senior Brother Xuanji, your hair's on the ground. Didn't I give you a hair tie? Aren't you going to use it?"

Xie Xiyi said, "No talking while eating."

Chi Yu held a hand out to him, a smile appearing on his face as he said eagerly, "Senior Brother Xuanji, give me the hair tie. I'll tie your hair up for you."

"..." Xie Xiyi said expressionlessly, "No need. A Dust-Cleansing Art can clean it."

Chi Yu kept his hand out, his beautifully curved eyes fixed on Xie Xiyi as his tone softened a little. "Senior Brother Xuanji, you haven't used a single thing I gave you. It's a little upsetting to think about. Do you think my gifts aren't good enough?"

Xie Xiyi: "..."

He averted his gaze, reached into his wide sleeve, and took out the hair tie Chi Yu had given him.

It was made of red braided cord, adorned with lovely purple-and-gold tassels and little golden bells that jingled. It was very flashy.

Suppressing a laugh, Chi Yu took the hair tie, walked behind Xie Xiyi, and gathered up his long hair-

Xie Xiyi had a beautiful head of hair, jet-black and supple, gleaming like black jade in the light, like a length of exquisite silk.

Once Chi Yu touched it, he found himself reluctant to let go. Stroking it, he could not help praising it. "Senior Brother Xuanji, your hair is in such good condition. So black and glossy, like black pearls."

As he drew closer, he caught a familiar, delicate fragrance that stirred a faint memory of Chi Yu----

He kept feeling as though he had smelled it somewhere before.

He could not help lifting a lock of black hair and sniffing it carefully.

Unable to stand his peculiar behavior any longer, Xie Xiyi said coldly, "You're behaving like a lecher."

Coming to his senses, Chi Yu put down the lock of hair and smiled as he gathered Xie Xiyi's hair together and tied it at the back of his head. The purple-and-gold tassels and little bells dangled down, disappearing among his long black hair and adding a few bright touches of splendor to his plain attire.

Only after tying up his long hair did Chi Yu curl his lips into a smile and say, "If I'm a lecher, then which respectable family's sheltered young lady are you, Senior Brother Xuanji?"

His conscience was clear, and he saw nothing wrong with what he had said. Quite naturally, he continued, "Senior Brother Xuanji, your hair smells lovely. What do you wash it with? Could you recommend it? I'd like to use it too."

In the cultivation world, a single Dust-Cleansing Art took care of brushing teeth, washing faces, washing hair, bathing, and all manner of other things. But Chi Yu still valued the ritual of it and did not rely on the Dust-Cleansing Art. He washed and bathed himself, finding substitutes when he had no toothpaste, shampoo, or soap.

As Chi Yu saw it, Xie Xiyi certainly would not smell so fragrant if he only used the Dust-Cleansing Art, which was why he had asked.

Xie Xiyi said nothing, merely taking a white jade bottle from his sleeve and tossing it to Chi Yu. "Just this one bottle. There isn't any more," he said indifferently.

Chi Yu caught it deftly, opened the cap, and sniffed gently. Sure enough, it smelled just like Xie Xiyi's hair. Delighted, he said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Xuanji!"

He happily put the cap back on and decided to use it that very night.

And Xie Xiyi soon regretted it.

Because Chi Yu's scent became exactly like his.

It was very strange.

Yet Chi Yu leaned closer, seemingly oblivious, his face beaming with a brilliant smile and his eyes full of boundless life and animation. "Senior Brother Xuanji, what do you think? Does it smell good? Yes, that's right, I found out it lathered, so I used it to bathe too!"

As he spoke, he pulled his sleeve in front of Xie Xiyi, wanting him to smell it.

There was no way Xie Xiyi would do something so discourteous. He turned his head slightly to avoid Chi Yu's intrusion and said coldly, "Move it away."

Catching sight of what seemed to be displeasure on his face, Chi Yu scratched his cheek in puzzlement and asked, "What's wrong? Is the scent too strong?"

Xiaoqiu obligingly sniffed his sleeve all over and praised it. "It smells good! It's not too strong! It's just right!"

Xie Xiyi: "..."

He began to regret giving him that bottle of Scented Balm.

Yet Chi Yu could not fathom his thoughts and continued, utterly oblivious, "But I keep feeling that it doesn't smell quite the same as it does on you, Senior Brother Xuanji."

Xie Xiyi did not want to smell it, but Chi Yu's scent still forced its way into his nose. The fragrance had mingled with Chi Yu's own warmth, rising into a faint, warm aroma.

He paused, then said indifferently, "The flesh and blood of every cultivator smell different. Naturally, fragrances produce subtle differences in scent on them."

Chi Yu understood at once. "Oh, I see."

He pulled up his collar and sniffed, another delighted expression appearing on his face. "This really smells good. Such a lovely scent. Where did you get it, Senior Brother Xuanji?"

The corners of Xie Xiyi's lips suddenly lifted in a faint smile. "I killed a Yaoshou last year. This Scented Balm was refined from his stomach."

Chi Yu: "..."

His gaze fell on Xie Xiyi's face. Seeing his smile, he knew he was trying to scare him again. Where had this nasty sense of humor come from? Had he seemed too weak before? Was that why Xie Xiyi thought hearing this would frighten him?

Without betraying anything, Chi Yu continued smiling. "Really? Senior Brother Xuanji, you actually wash your hair with corpse oil? Isn't that rather gross?"

Xie Xiyi: "..."

Xie Xiyi stared at him with his golden eyes for a while before explaining casually, "It isn't corpse oil. That Yaoshou had a scent gland in its stomach that secreted mucus to help it digest food."

Chi Yu covered his mouth and laughed. "Oh."

Xie Xiyi: "..."

He let his smile fade and stopped talking.

The sun and moon were both so clear in the cultivation world that tonight's moon, too, resembled a silver lantern. Even without any lamps lit, the Flying Boat was as bright as day. White clouds like cream and gauze passed through the Flying Boat's path, only to be kept outside by its barrier, leaving just flickers of light and shadow from their gaps on Chi Yu's face.