I want fish congee

Sunlight filtered into Clear Wind Pavilion in scattered flecks as Lin Qingyang slowly opened his eyes. Beside the bed, Qi Mo lay slumped over, apparently asleep from exhaustion, the injuries from before still visible on his wrists and face.

Sensing that Lin Qingyang had woken, Qi Mo twitched his ears, then groggily opened his eyes. Seeing Lin Qingyang looking at him, he showed a rare hint of a smile on his usually expressionless face.

Lin Qingyang struggled to get out of bed, but the moment he moved, his whole body ached. He nearly fell back, and Qi Mo hurried to support him.

Lin Qingyang sat up and glanced at the Windflower Sword on the table. It still showed no sign of stirring. He tried his Spiritual Power again, but as soon as he circulated it, his chest hurt, making him cough several times.

"Elder Xue said it would take at least a month for your body to recover," Qi Mo said.

"How long was I asleep?" Lin Qingyang asked.

"It's been almost twenty hours since we returned," Qi Mo answered, pouring Lin Qingyang a cup of water.

After drinking the water, Lin Qingyang rubbed his still slightly dizzy head and asked, "How is the sect leader?"

"I heard the sect leader has taken the antidote, but the poisoning was too severe for him to wake up so soon," Qi Mo said.

Lin Qingyang frowned, reckoning that he probably did not have much time left.

"Would you like something to eat? I made congee," Qi Mo asked.

Lin Qingyang looked at him, his expression briefly stilling. "Do you have any wound medicine?"

Qi Mo immediately hurried to fetch it. "Does it hurt somewhere?" he asked with concern.

Without speaking, Lin Qingyang opened the medicine, dabbed up some powder, and pressed it straight onto the wound on Qi Mo's face. The sudden pain made Qi Mo instinctively tilt his head to dodge, but after that slight movement, he forcibly stopped himself and stayed still.

"You got hurt and didn't even think to put medicine on it," Lin Qingyang said.

"It'll heal soon," Qi Mo said. The Demon Clan naturally had powerful healing abilities.

As he applied the medicine, Lin Qingyang said, "Don't you have anything you want to ask me?"

When Qi Mo said nothing, Lin Qingyang continued, "Like why I took you to Greenstone Mountain, or what Chimei said..." Unusually, his voice grew quieter as he spoke. He was long past the age of feeling guilty about spouting nonsense.

Qi Mo was silent for a while before saying, "You have your reasons for whatever you do. No matter what anyone else says, I know you're a good person."

His words only made Lin Qingyang feel even more guilty. After applying the medicine, he pressed the porcelain bottle into Qi Mo's hand. "Remember to take care of your own injuries. I can't look after you forever."

Qi Mo lowered his head without speaking. Just then, a knock came from outside, and Feng Shu hurried in. He glanced at Qi Mo, then said to Lin Qingyang, "Master, Lei Cheng from Ink Cloud Hall is here. He wants Qi Mo to go over there."

Lin Qingyang frowned. Qi Mo remained calm, as though he had expected this. Of course he knew Mo Yan would not let him off. A Demon Slave injuring someone was a capital offense, and he probably could not escape this time. He had only wanted to see Lin Qingyang again before then.

Qi Mo rose to leave, but unexpectedly, Lin Qingyang said, "I want fish congee."

Qi Mo turned to look at him. Lin Qingyang said, "Catch the fish in the river on Back Mountain this time."

Beside them, Feng Shu frowned, knowing this meant Lin Qingyang would not hand Qi Mo over.

Qi Mo was silent for a moment. "You don't have to do this for me..."

"What, I can't give you orders anymore?" Lin Qingyang raised an eyebrow at him.

"No." Qi Mo paused before answering, then looked at Lin Qingyang again before hesitantly getting up and leaving.

Feng Shu frowned and looked helplessly at Lin Qingyang. "Master, is it worth offending Elder Mo over and over for him?"

"So what if I offend him? Is Mo Yan going to kill me?" Lin Qingyang said indifferently. "All right, come with me to Ink Cloud Hall."

Lin Qingyang's Spiritual Power had yet to recover, leaving him unable to use the Movement Technique, so he could only have Feng Shu accompany him on foot all the way to Ink Cloud Hall. Lei Cheng followed behind them with a helpless expression. His instincts told him that, up against Elder Lin, his master was going to come off worse again.

Ink Cloud Hall's overall style was much like Mo Yan: cold, hard, rough, and lacking in aesthetic taste. Just inside was an enormous training ground that looked even larger than the one by the sword stele. Racks on both sides were laden with weapons, and quite a few disciples were practicing on the grounds.

At the sight of Lin Qingyang, everyone stepped aside and bowed. The disciples of Ink Cloud Hall were still somewhat afraid of him. After all, they had all seen what had happened to Lei Guang. And although Lei Chen had not been crippled, Mo Yan had expelled him from Ink Cloud Hall, making him an outer disciple.

Lei Cheng led them to the inner hall. Lin Qingyang told Feng Shu to wait outside and went in alone.

The tables and chairs in the main hall were all utterly ordinary in design. As for ornaments, calligraphy, or paintings, there were none at all. Clearly, Mo Yan truly had no interest in such things. Only the table directly ahead held a stand, on which rested a long black whip as thick as two fingers. This was the Nine Skies Sect's disciplinary whip.

Lin Qingyang picked a chair at random and sat down. Before long, Mo Yan walked in, his face still somewhat pale. His condition was probably not much better than Lin Qingyang's. White bandages wrapped the wound on his neck, and at the sight of Lin Qingyang, he closed his eyes briefly with a look of exasperation.

"Elder Mo." Lin Qingyang smiled in greeting.

Mo Yan frowned. After waking, he had learned from his disciples that Lin Qingyang had brought back the antidote, not only saving the sect leader but curing his poisoning as well. This only made Mo Yan more convinced that he had misunderstood him at Greenstone Mountain. Yet recalling how Lin Qingyang had actually thrown the Snake Demon at his face for that Demon Slave still made him angry.

"What are you doing here?" Mo Yan asked irritably, his face dark.

"You were poisoned because of me, Elder Mo. Naturally, I ought to visit," Lin Qingyang said.

"Hmph. You have the nerve to bring that up," Mo Yan snorted.

"It was indeed my fault. Haven't I come to apologize to you in person?" Lin Qingyang said.

Mo Yan frowned. If they were to get into it, he had been the one to injure Lin Qingyang first. Yet Lin Qingyang had not mentioned any of that and was even apologizing to him, which instead left him feeling somewhat embarrassed.

"Forget it. I injured you too, so let's call it even," Mo Yan said stiffly.

The corners of Lin Qingyang's mouth lifted. Though Mo Yan was rigid and bad-tempered, at least he listened to reason.

"You're truly magnanimous, Elder Mo," Lin Qingyang said with a smile.

"I know why you're here. There's no room for discussion about that little beast. A Demon Slave daring to conceal a weapon is already a grave offense. He stabbed me in the neck. He was clearly after my life!" Mo Yan said resentfully.

"You must be joking, Elder Mo. With spiritual energy protecting your body, how could a mere Demon Slave possibly kill you?" Lin Qingyang said quietly.

Mo Yan frowned at him, his expression serious. "I know you want to save that beast, but if he dares to injure someone today, he'll dare to kill someone tomorrow! His temperament is different from other Demon Slaves. Keeping him around will bring disaster sooner or later!"

"He only did it because he was desperate to protect me, and I gave him that knife too. This whole affair began because of me. If you really must hold someone accountable, just punish me," Lin Qingyang said quietly.

"Don't try that shameless nonsense with me," Mo Yan said coldly. "Never mind you-even if the sect leader came in person today, it would do no good. I am dealing with that little beast today."

Lin Qingyang looked at him speechlessly, thinking, No wonder the first thing he destroyed once he rose to power was the Nine Skies Sect. You probably earned eighty percent of that hatred yourself.