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When Ye Chuanze arrived at the Serene Pavilion, Hongjun was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed on the Lotus Platform above. His silver hair cascaded down to his waist, and the purple hem of his robe trailed on the ground. Upon seeing him, Ye Chuanze's expression became slightly unnatural, and his gaze flickered for a moment as he recalled the chaotic thoughts that had filled his mind upon waking that morning. This made him feel a bit uneasy; although he knew these were just his unfounded musings and would not happen in reality, he still felt somewhat concerned.
Suddenly realizing, Ye Chuanze discovered that he seemed to care too much about Hongjun. This made him furrow his brows, as the development of the situation was somewhat unexpected.
When Hongjun opened his eyes, he saw Ye Chuanze deep in thought with a frown. His expression shifted slightly as he spoke, "You have arrived."
Ye Chuanze snapped back to reality and looked at Hongjun, respectfully bowing and asking, "May I ask why Master has summoned me?"
Hongjun did not answer directly but instead asked, "Did you sleep well last night?"
Ye Chuanze frowned, puzzled as to why he would ask such a question, but replied nonetheless, "I had no dreams and slept until dawn; I should have slept quite well."
However, upon hearing this, Hongjun frowned again and asked, "Do you feel any discomfort in your body?"
Ye Chuanze honestly replied, "After waking up, I had a bit of a headache and my throat feels uncomfortable; it’s probably due to a hangover."
Hongjun sighed upon hearing this. "As expected, your alcohol tolerance is too low; you get drunk too quickly. From now on, I will accompany you to help you practice your drinking."
Ye Chuanze nearly couldn't hold back from speaking out of turn at this moment. Shouldn't the normal response be to advise him to drink less and take care of his health? What was Hongjun doing… completely reversing the situation!
Hongjun glanced at his expression and continued, "Having such poor alcohol tolerance is truly embarrassing; it brings shame to me as your master. From now on, I will personally teach you to improve your drinking skills so that you won't embarrass me in front of others in the future."
Seeing that Hongjun had said this, Ye Chuanze could only agree, saying, "Yes."
Upon hearing this, Hongjun finally relaxed his brow and appeared satisfied.
At that moment, Yaochi entered holding a bowl of unknown soup. She placed the bowl on a nearby table and then quietly withdrew.
Ye Chuanze curiously glanced at the bowl of soup placed on the table, secretly wondering what it was. Hongjun noticed his small movement and said calmly, "You just woke up from a hangover, so it's inevitable that you'll have a headache for a while. I've asked Yaochi to prepare some herbal soup for you to drink."
Upon hearing this, Ye Chuanze looked at the dark soup and frowned. The sight of such unappetizing liquid made him feel completely unwilling to drink it.
Seeing that he was still hesitating, Hongjun urged, "Hurry up and drink it."
"…Master, I'm feeling fine now, my head doesn't hurt at all, so there's no need to trouble you," Ye Chuanze politely declined.
Hongjun, without raising an eyebrow, replied, "Yaochi has already prepared the soup; there's no trouble in this matter. You should drink it."
"I really don't have a headache," Ye Chuanze insisted, struggling against the situation.
Hearing this, Hongjun frowned and noticed his reluctance. After thinking for a moment, he took out a white jade bottle from his sleeve. He opened the bottle and poured out a round pill about the size of a pearl. The pill lay quietly in Hongjun's palm, emitting a faint medicinal fragrance. He said to Ye Chuanze, "Take this pill after drinking the soup; it has a pleasant aroma and sweet taste. You'll like it."
"…" Ye Chuanze remained silent.
Seeing Hongjun's determined demeanor, it seemed he had no choice but to drink the dark soup today. With a resigned expression, he picked up the bowl. A strong herbal smell hit him immediately, causing him to frown in distaste. After hesitating for a moment, he steeled himself and gulped down several mouthfuls of the soup until it was all gone.
After finishing, Ye Chuanze was left with a bitter taste in his mouth from the medicine, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Throughout the ordeal, his brows remained tightly knitted, clearly unhappy about drinking the herbal concoction.
"Come here," Hongjun called out.
Ye Chuanze glanced at him and obediently walked over.
"Bow your head."
He lowered his head. "Open your mouth," Hongjun instructed again.
Ye Chuanze frowned even deeper upon hearing this, but still slightly parted his lips. Hongjun pinched a spirit pill between his fingers and placed it in his mouth. The pill gradually dissolved, filling his mouth with a fragrant sweetness that masked the bitter herbal taste.
Hongjun glanced at his complexion and handed him the white jade medicine bottle, saying, "If your mouth is still bitter, just take a few more."
Ye Chuanze silently accepted it and tucked it into his robe, secretly cursing the wealthy people! Treating spirit pills like candy is truly wasteful!
Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Hongjun said, "If you are willing, stay at Purple Cloud Palace, and I will teach you the art of alchemy."
Ye Chuanze thought for a moment upon hearing this and replied, "No need. The art of alchemy is not suitable for me; I don't want to waste time and energy on it."
Upon hearing this, Hongjun frowned. "If you like, I can put in more effort to teach you. After a few lessons, you'll get the hang of it."
"No need. I am self-aware; I truly have no talent for alchemy, so please don't trouble yourself," Ye Chuanze refused. After a pause, he added with a grin, "If you really care about me, why not give me a few more bottles of pills? Just one more would do."
Hongjun couldn't help but scold him, "Greedy!"
"I'm not greedy; I only need one bottle," Ye Chuanze replied with a sly smile.
"You say you only want one bottle, but you actually want more than that," Hongjun countered.
Nevertheless, Hongjun still took out various pills and handed them to him. Ye Chuanze roughly counted and found at least several dozen bottles. He couldn't help but be astonished; how wealthy must Hongjun be! Just the pills alone numbered in the dozens.
"Keep these pills for later use. If you run out in the future, come find me," Hongjun said after a brief pause. "You can also ask your senior brother for help."
The senior brother Hongjun referred to was Laozi, who was well-known for his alchemical skills in Primordial. The Three Pure Ones each had their strengths: Laozi excelled in alchemy, Primordial was proficient in techniques, and Sky-Connecting had deep knowledge of formations.
After hearing this, Ye Chuanze thought to himself that asking Hongjun was fine, but asking Laozi was out of the question. His relationship with Laozi wasn't close enough for that. Among the Three Pure Ones, aside from Sky-Connecting, both Laozi and Primordial maintained a distant attitude towards him. Even with Sky-Connecting, Ye Chuanze felt their relationship was merely ordinary and hadn't reached a deep level of friendship. The Three Pure Ones were always cautious around him and reluctant to involve themselves too much with him. This was likely due to his background issues; his birthright destined him for poor fortune.
Hongjun glanced at his indifferent expression, shook his head slightly, and sighed, "Fool! I did not know you thought this way in your heart. The Three Pure Ones are your fellow disciples; after all, they are different from others in relation to you."
Upon hearing this, Ye Chuanze's expression changed slightly, but he remained silent.
Seeing this, Hongjun's gaze darkened as he looked at him and asked sternly, "Tell me, what do you think in your heart? How do you view your fellow disciples? How do you view me?"
After a long silence, Ye Chuanze's voice came out low and hoarse, "A senior brother is just a senior brother; a master is just a master."
Hearing this, Hongjun couldn't help but show a hint of disappointment on his face. He shook his head and sighed, "You... you truly disappoint me!"
After hearing this, Ye Chuanze pursed his lips slightly, his expression remaining cold.
Hongjun did not wish to say more to him; he looked weary and waved his hand, saying, "You may go now!"
Ye Chuanze turned around silently and walked away.
Hongjun raised his eyes to watch his departing figure. His gaze suddenly swept over Ye Chuanze's unbound hair, and he paused for a moment. "Come back!" he called out coldly.
Ye Chuanze halted in his tracks and stood still for a while without moving.
Hongjun said again, "Come here; let me help you with this."
Ye Chuanze expressionlessly turned around and walked toward him.
Hongjun stood up and took out a peach wood hairpin. He untied the hairband from Ye Chuanze's hair, lifted it gently, and skillfully styled it into a bun. Ye Chuanze remained silent and expressionless as he stood there, allowing him to move freely.
After a while, Hongjun stopped his actions and glanced at Ye Chuanze's styled hair. A hint of satisfaction crossed his face, and his expression softened considerably as he said, "You should learn to style your own hair; you can't go on meeting people with your hair down like this."
Ye Chuanze quickly replied, "Isn't Master here with me?"
Hongjun couldn't help but chuckle, "I cannot always be the one to tie your hair."
"Why not?" Ye Chuanze retorted, "If you are willing, I wouldn't mind. What's stopping you?"
Hongjun shook his head and said, "I cannot always be by your side, and you wouldn't want to stay by mine forever either."
Before Ye Chuanze could respond, Hongjun added, "Alright, it's time for you to go."
Hearing this, Ye Chuanze silently swallowed his words and turned to leave without saying a word.
Hongjun stood in place, watching his departing figure for a long time.
As Ye Chuanze walked away, the warmth on his face completely vanished, leaving him cold and gloomy. A hint of hostility was faintly visible between his brows. Hongjun... The words spoken by Hongjun today revealed the gaps and barriers between them; he had never truly trusted him completely. This was not his fault; it was simply the way of the world. He could not fully trust anyone, no matter who they were.
He had never intended to deceive Hongjun about his true feelings because he knew he could not fool Hongjun. Hongjun was far too intelligent to not see through him or understand what he was thinking. However, he believed that Hongjun would not voice it; pretending to be confused while knowing the truth seemed like the wisest course of action. And Hongjun had always acted this way until today... when he exposed the barriers that existed between them.
Thinking of this, Ye Chuanze's gaze grew even colder. He felt as if he no longer understood Hongjun. What exactly did Hongjun want?
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