Long, long ago, Gu Qing had wanted to do things like this, including but not limited to checking whether his master's exquisitely beautiful face was real.
He had also wanted to lie in that bamboo chair and pick up Lord White Ghost and give him a rub, but in the end, all of these had remained mere thoughts.
No one even knew he had thought such things.
These things seemed somewhat rebellious and outrageous, but Yuan Qu had secretly done them, Zhuo Rusui had shamelessly done them, and Ping Yongjia had foolishly done them. Only he had never done them.
And so he had become Divine End Peak's steady, cautious, calm, and meticulous Eldest Senior Brother. Only today had he finally revealed his childish side.
The reason he had suddenly become so bold was naturally that he was going to undertake that great matter today. Whether he succeeded or failed, he would probably die.
With the long night ahead, what was there left to fear? What need was there to keep concealing himself? Never mind his master's face-even his martial aunt's dimples, he would dare to touch.
Thinking of these things, he straightened the thin blanket over Jing Jiu and carefully tucked it in, even though he knew perfectly well that it served no purpose.
At certain supremely important moments, a sense of ritual could calm those involved, allowing them to gain courage and strength.
He left the study and entered the quiet courtyard. Standing where the begonia tree had once stood, he looked up at the layer of willow catkins in the sky.
After years of reinforcement by the formations of the Green Mountain Sect, Fruitful Accomplishment Temple, Water-Moon Convent, and One-Thatch Studio, the Jing Residence had become forbidden ground, isolated from the world. Even the willow catkins, which