My Life Is Yours

After they confessed their feelings, Yu Zhi thought he would be living a shamelessly uninhibited life. To his surprise, nothing had really changed. No, there was one change: Zhang Qiling would naturally slip an arm around his waist and pull him into his embrace. That was all. After confessing to each other, the two of them had not even kissed.

Over the past few days, whenever they ate or talked, he kept unconsciously looking at Zhang Qiling's lips.

Only now did he notice how perfectly shaped they were, a pale pink that was almost colorless.

Perhaps it was because he was always letting his blood. But it suited his cold, stern bearing. Even at rest, his lips were slightly pressed together, giving him an aloof, distant air.

Now, though, when he looked at Yu Zhi, the corners of his mouth would lift ever so slightly without his noticing, revealing the faintest smile, his eyes full of warmth.

The sight made Yu Zhi want to kiss him and find out whether his lips were as cold as they looked.

Seeing Yu Zhi once again staring blankly at his lips, Zhang Qiling gave a low chuckle. It was light as a feather, yet it brushed against Yu Zhi's heart and sent it fluttering. His heartbeat felt so loud that both of them could hear it.

Zhang Qiling rose, walked over, and sat down beside him. Then he slowly leaned closer, pausing briefly with every inch he drew nearer, as if waiting for Yu Zhi to make a move. By the time his breath brushed Yu Zhi's lips, the man was still staring at him in a daze. Only his wavering, expectant gaze and heated red face betrayed his unease.

"Yu Zhi, look at me."

Then he cupped the back of Yu Zhi's head with one hand and kissed him.

Fireworks exploded in Yu Zhi's mind. At last, he had tasted the lips he had longed for. They were a little cool and soft, mingled with Zhang Qiling's own clean, bracing scent of cedar. Zhang Qiling's movements were passionate as fire yet tender, as though he were savoring the most exquisite delicacy.

It was truly going to be the death of him. Suddenly, a sentence sprang into Yu Zhi's mind: My life is yours!

"Focus."

Noticing that Yu Zhi's attention had wandered, Zhang Qiling bit his lip, a little displeased.

The two of them lost themselves in the kiss, unable to pull away. An old house really did burn fiercely when it caught fire! It was going to be the death of him. Yu Zhi felt as though his lips had been nibbled swollen.

Both of them were getting a little worked up, but they did nothing further, simply holding each other as they steadied their breathing.

Yu Zhi buried his face against the side of Zhang Qiling's neck, his lips brushing the skin over his carotid artery. He could clearly feel the pulse there racing just as fast as his own. Mischievously, he stuck out his tongue and licked it.

Zhang Qiling jolted, an indescribable pleasure mingling with the sensation. His neck was a fatal weak point, and he had never allowed anyone to touch it.

That sudden lick nearly killed him. The heat he had forced down surged up in an instant. He pulled the troublesome Yu Zhi out, gripped his chin, and kissed him fiercely.

In the end, Zhang Qiling calmed down and held Yu Zhi tightly. He did not want their first time to be so hasty; he still wanted to give Yu Zhi some ceremony. He was an old antique from the end of the last century, and kissing like this without the three matchmakers and six betrothal gifts was already forward of him. But he truly could not control himself.

Yu Zhi was a constant temptation to him, though the man himself was unaware of it.

After that day, Zhang Qiling became thoroughly restrained, but that only made Yu Zhi want to pounce on him even more.

Yu Zhi did not want to seem too eager, as though he could not wait to offer himself up.

Though he really was eager, that damned competitive streak had flared up at a time like this. He wanted Zhang Qiling to be the first to lose control!

In the end, he could only distract himself by cultivating the newly acquired Azure Nether Creation Art. Sure enough, cultivating with a suitable technique yielded twice the result with half the effort.

Aside from Zhang Qiling's lips, what Yu Zhi had thought about most these past few days was where to find a cultivation technique for him.

There were some techniques in that old ghost's memories. Two of them were of a relatively high level: one was the Azure Nether Creation Art, and the other was the Ice and Fire Qilin Art.

There were also several others that looked promising: the Fire God Art, the Wind and Frost Pill Scroll, the Jade Firmament Charm Manual, and the Falling and Drifting Flowers Art, as well as some ordinary ones. The old ghost had obtained them all through murder and robbery over the years.

After turning it over in his mind, Yu Zhi decided that only the Fire God Art suited Zhang Qiling. Perhaps they should look in the rear mountain treasury first. Something belonging to the Zhang Family would surely be more suitable for a Zhang Family member. The chances of finding one were slim, but they had to look before deciding.

As soon as he had the idea, he acted on it. The two of them went to the rear mountain once more, and entering it again was still a shock.

"Put everything here away. We can look through it slowly. It's all yours."

"You're giving me all of this?"

"Mm. Betrothal gifts!"

The two gazed at each other, their eyes full of affection. This time, Yu Zhi took the initiative and kissed Zhang Qiling. Their lips and tongues entwined, filling the room with intimacy.

"Zhang Qiling, look what I found!"

"What?"

"If I'm not mistaken, this thing goes with the jade thumb ring on your hand. Look at the pattern on it. Isn't it exactly the same?"

Zhang Qiling picked it up and examined it. It was a red ring, the same size as the one he wore, and the pattern on its side seemed to match the jade thumb ring. Even he had never seen the material it was made from. One side was smooth, while the other bore a pattern. He had always thought the thumb ring was designed that way; he had not expected it to have another piece.

"Let's see if it fits." Yu Zhi pulled over Zhang Qiling's left hand and slipped the red ring onto his middle finger, then turned the patterned side to join the two. With a click, they fit together perfectly, without the slightest gap. But after they waited a while, nothing changed; it only looked a little better. It seemed Yu Zhi had been overthinking it.

"Looks like you can only learn the technique I got from the old ghost."

"Mm, I'll listen to you." Zhang Qiling reached out and ruffled his hair. It felt as nice as ever.

Yu Zhi performed as consistently as ever, doing nothing but smile foolishly at him.

When would he ever become immune to that face? Every time, it held him completely spellbound. At this rate, he would definitely be the first to lose control!

He had overestimated himself far too much. Zhang Qiling had not even made an effort; otherwise, he would have laid down his arms and surrendered long ago!

"Here. This is a fire-element technique called the Fire God Art, a technique from the Fire God Hall. That old ghost got it by killing a disciple of the Fire God Hall. Give it a try. It's the highest-level one among the few fire-attribute techniques I found."

Yu Zhi handed him a square piece of jade, resembling an old court tablet.

Zhang Qiling took the tablet and looked it over. He recognized it as the kind of object ministers held at court during the Ming dynasty. There were several jade ones in the treasury, but this pale cyan piece was actually giving off a red haze. Its luster shifted as it moved, making it very beautiful. But he did not know what to do with it, so he looked at Yu Zhi and asked him to demonstrate.

"I refined this again. In the cultivation world, techniques are generally stored in jade slips containing spiritual energy, but I couldn't find any here. Only a few court tablets and some odds and ends of jade had spiritual energy, so I tried to see whether I could use this. I didn't expect it to actually work. To use it, just press it against your forehead. I engraved the contents inside with spiritual power. The spiritual energy in this jade slip should barely be enough for two uses, so give it back to me after you've received the information. We can't waste it."

These crafting methods were essential skills in the cultivation world, skills everyone knew and had to know.

Over the past few days, they had found many useful things among the piles in the treasury. Even the jade that made up the largest part of the Zhang Family's collection still contained some spiritual energy. It could also be refined into sound-transmission jade slips or bottles for pills.

In a few days, Yu Zhi would teach him how to make them. As the saying went, it was better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish.

"Okay."

Zhang Qiling took it and pressed it directly to his forehead, closing his eyes as he felt the information about the technique pour into his mind. It was truly wondrous. Then he sat cross-legged where he was and began to comprehend it.

Watching the man act so promptly, Yu Zhi hardly knew whether to laugh or cry. Everything about him was good, except that he was too fast. Then Yu Zhi snickered to himself, because a saying had occurred to him: You can't call a man too fast!

Keeping watch over Zhang Qiling in case anything went wrong, Yu Zhi felt the red points of light gathering around him and could not help marveling once again at his aptitude.

He did not know whether it was because they were on a snowy mountain, but this time he sensed blue points of light gathering rapidly as well, surging toward Zhang Qiling. As a result, one half of his body was shrouded in flame while the other was covered in ice crystals, the two sides locked in a struggle.

His body began to tremble uncontrollably. The clothing over the tattoo on his chest burst apart, revealing an image of a qilin treading through fire before Yu Zhi's eyes. In the end, the red force proved stronger and swept over his entire body. A trace of blood escaped the corner of Zhang Qiling's mouth despite him.

All of this happened in less than a second, leaving Yu Zhi no time to act. He could only rush forward and send in spiritual power to examine and treat him. Fortunately, he was not injured; he had merely been jolted by the spiritual energy.

"How do you feel? Why did water spiritual energy enter your body just now?"

"I'm not sure either. It was circulating normally at first, but then a lot of water spiritual energy suddenly rushed in and began suppressing the fire spiritual energy."

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Then why didn't this happen when you were cultivating that previous technique? I know now. That one was an unattributed technique. You must have a water spiritual root or a mutated ice spiritual root. Judging from what just happened, you most likely have both an ice spiritual root and a fire spiritual root. Wait a moment."

Yu Zhi took out a court tablet, pressed it to his forehead, and engraved the Ice and Fire Qilin Art he had seen earlier into it. He seemed to understand what it felt like to have the Heavenly Dao deliver equipment to him. If he was not mistaken, this was Zhang Qiling's equipment!

After engraving it, he carefully searched through the old ghost's memories. He had not absorbed several thousand years of memories all at once, for fear that the flood would turn him into a fool. He treated the vast, jumbled memories only as a store of information, quickly searching it whenever he needed something.

Otherwise, with his own century and more of memories pitted against several thousand years' worth, Yu Zhi might end up becoming Chen Qingyu. He would not do anything so foolish.

"Sure enough, I wasn't mistaken. This technique belongs to your Zhang Family. It's called the Ice and Fire Qilin Art, and it was the technique cultivated by the Zhang Family's Qiling who perished together with the old ghost. Somehow, not only did the old ghost survive, he also obtained part of the other man's memories, including the technique and some secrets.

"Only those who succeed to the position of the Zhang Family's Qiling can cultivate this technique. It's passed down by the previous patriarch. That great battle came too suddenly, causing the inheritance to be cut off. If the Zhang Family hadn't sealed the ring, they certainly could have obtained the technique too. Maybe things wouldn't have ended up like this."

"Timing and fate." Zhang Qiling gave a low sigh.