Chapter 34#
Draw#
Feng Xianyu perched on the bed with disheveled black hair, wearing only a white undergarment, a look of blank confusion and disbelief on his face. The cricket box he had been playing with the night before was still haphazardly placed on the headboard, and that “Great General” was chirping tirelessly. Half of the blanket was dragging on the floor, right by Zhuo Yu’s feet.
Judging by Zhuo Yu’s expression, it seemed hard to imagine that anyone could sleep so “expansively and unrestrainedly.”
Suddenly, Zhuo Yu reached out a hand.
Feng Xianyu was startled, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He bounced up on the spot and buried his head under the covers, not showing his face, and said in a muffled voice, “Staring won’t help. I’m not getting up!”
He wanted to see what clever tricks this little senior disciple could come up with!
But unexpectedly, there was no response at all. Feng Xianyu held his breath and waited for a long time, until he himself felt warm from being under the covers. Finally, his curiosity got the better of him; he lifted a corner of the blanket and secretly peeked out.
A gaze immediately struck down, directly meeting Feng Xianyu’s eyes through the gap in the blanket.
Those eyes were so dark and deep. Feng Xianyu abruptly closed the blanket again, his voice very muffled: “Don’t be delusional. I’m not getting up!”
Without waiting for a single word from Zhuo Yu, Feng Xianyu felt that every second under the dark blanket was like a year.
He had gone to bed too late the night before. Soon, drowsiness swept over him. Feng Xianyu struggled a little, then gave up, and at some point he fell asleep again.
In the dream, he walked proudly through the crowd, straight to the white-clad young sword cultivator at the end, raised his chin like a victorious general, and said smugly, “Call me senior brother! Hahaha!”
Zhuo Yu raised his cold, expressionless face and looked back at him silently.
His lips moved. Feng Xianyu stared at Zhuo Yu’s mouth with extreme anticipation, his heart in his throat.
But suddenly he woke from the dream. It was already past noon, with a gentle breeze and warm sun, and the air was filled with the fragrance of flowers.
Feng Xianyu had not yet reached the stage of fasting, so he was already hungry with his stomach growling. He opened his eyes and sat up, not knowing when he had crawled out from under the covers. Having slept well, he was in a good mood, stretching and yawning. Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a white figure meditating beside a low table a few steps away.
At that moment, Zhuo Yu lifted his eyelids and looked over with an indifferent expression.
Feng Xianyu was startled, instantly shaking off the last traces of sleepiness: How was Zhuo Yu still there!
“…Why are you still here?!” Feng Xianyu blurted out as if he’d seen a ghost.
Zhuo Yu’s face was as cold as in Feng Xianyu’s dream, and his words were crisp and clear: “Master ordered me to watch over you.”
Feng Xianyu: “…”
The next morning, Feng Xianyu still couldn’t get up. Zhuo Yu waited patiently by the bed until noon, neither calling out nor doing anything, just sitting there meditating.
The next day, same thing.
This went on for seven straight days. Even the elders who taught classes came personally to ask Zhuo Yu the reason, while casting reproachful looks at Feng Xianyu. Later, even the junior disciples in the sect hesitantly and stammeringly suggested that Feng Xianyu let Zhuo Yu go.
Feng Xianyu exploded when he heard this: “Was it that I wouldn’t let him go?”
Just then, Zhuo Yu passed by and nodded: “It’s not his fault.”
The junior disciples were greatly moved: “Senior brother is magnanimous!”
Feng Xianyu felt like he had taken countless arrows to the knees. He couldn’t defend himself no matter how much he talked. Even with his thick skin, he couldn’t bear it, so he had to concede. After class, he went specifically to find Zhuo Yu and said, “You don’t have to try so hard. I really can’t get up. Even if you drag me over, I’ll just doze off.”
Yet Zhuo Yu asked, “Why can’t you get up?”
What else could it be? Of course because I’m lazy, Feng Xianyu thought, and made up an excuse: “I haven’t slept enough.”
Zhuo Yu gave him a deep look, nodded, and said, “I understand.”
With that, he turned and left. Feng Xianyu was confused: “Understood? What does he understand?”
But he would learn the answer soon enough.
That evening, feeling bored, Feng Xianyu was about to go down the mountain for some fun. As soon as he opened the door, he froze. Zhuo Yu was standing right outside, as if he had been waiting for a long time, just waiting for him to open the door.
“Something?” Zhuo Yu broke the silence first, asking.
Feng Xianyu: “…”
Zhuo Yu: “Mm?”
In an instant, Feng Xianyu seemed to understand something. He immediately turned into a frostbitten eggplant, wilting, and said dejectedly, “Nothing. I’m about to go to bed.”
With tears in his eyes, he was about to close the door, but Zhuo Yu blocked it with one hand and then followed Feng Xianyu’s footsteps, calmly walking in.
Feng Xianyu asked in horror, “What are you coming in for?”
“Go to bed early, then naturally you’ll sleep enough.” Zhuo Yu said the most infuriating thing to Feng Xianyu in the most matter-of-fact tone.
Feng Xianyu: “…”
Feng Xianyu, under Zhuo Yu’s shadow-like stare, nervously lay down on the bed, pulled the thin blanket over himself, but felt no sleepiness at all. He was almost in tears.
Zhuo Yu was meditating in the spot he had often been the past couple of days, his outline blurred in the darkness.
“…Aren’t you going to sleep?” Feng Xianyu couldn’t help asking.
“You sleep first,” Zhuo Yu said. “I’ll watch you.”
Feng Xianyu: “…”
Zhuo Yu misunderstood: “Do you want some benzoin incense?”
Feng Xianyu let out a long, deep sigh and said, resigned to his fate, “…Light it.”
Zhuo Yu actually got up and added incense to the burner. After a soft clicking sound, the air gradually filled with the heavy fragrance of benzoin, soothing to the heart.
Just as Zhuo Yu seemed about to return to his usual spot, Feng Xianyu turned his head and suddenly said, “Together.”
Zhuo Yu paused in his movements: “What?”
“Why bother meditating?” Feng Xianyu compromised. “Let’s sleep together. I’ll definitely get up early tomorrow, okay? I’m really scared of you. I concede, okay? Just this one thing.”
After half a stick of incense, or maybe longer.
Finally, Zhuo Yu slowly moved over, and his white outer robe was hung on the clothes rack.
Feng Xianyu had already dozed off and gone to meet the Sandman.
The next day, Feng Xianyu finally managed to drag himself out of bed just in time, yawning as he followed behind Zhuo Yu into the classroom, thinking about how fun it had been to roll that snowball in his dream last night.
As soon as he entered, the whole room fell silent.
“What are you looking at!” Feng Xianyu finished a yawn and said listlessly, “I’ve let your precious senior brother go. Are you satisfied now?”
With that, he plopped down on the cushion, constantly yawning while stealing glances at Zhuo Yu.
Soon he poked the disciple next to him: “Don’t you think Zhuo Yu looks a bit off today? Not in good spirits?”
“No, not really.” The disciple stared for a moment, but was ultimately burned by the “radiance” emanating from Zhuo Yu. “Isn’t senior brother always like this?”
Feng Xianyu shook his head: “He didn’t rest well.”
“Really???” The disciple couldn’t tell. Maybe it was Feng Xianyu’s imagination.
In the evening, after bathing, Feng Xianyu propped his chin on his hand and listlessly played with dice. He played for a long time without knowing what he was doing. The room was silent. Suddenly, he realized he seemed to be waiting for something.
What was he waiting for?
Feng Xianyu frowned, thought for a moment, then tossed the dice aside. He opened the door and saw that Zhuo Yu’s lamp was still lit.
He ran over to Zhuo Yu’s door, patting it, and cleared his throat: “Zhuo Yu!”
After a long while, Zhuo Yu’s cold and hard voice came: “…What is it?”
“Weren’t you supposed to be watching me? Where are you?” Feng Xianyu asked matter-of-factly.
Zhuo Yu said from inside the door: “You managed to sleep last night.”
Feng Xianyu didn’t care about that: “Open the door, quick, open up.”
The door didn’t budge.
Feng Xianyu called louder: “Zhuo Yu!”
Still no movement.
Feng Xianyu: “Zhuo Yu! Master Zhuo! Dear Zhuo Yu! Dear senior brother! Senior brother! Senior brother, please open the door! Open it, open it, open it! If you don’t, I’ll stay here all night! When Dad comes back, I’ll tell on you, say you were disobedient, you promised to watch me but gave up after just a few days! I’ll complain that you bullied me, that you wouldn’t let me in at night!!!”
After his tantrum, Feng Xianyu pressed his ear against the door and finally heard the steady footsteps. He was overjoyed, quickly stood up straight, and waited happily for Zhuo Yu to open the door.
Sure enough, the next second, the door opened.
Before Feng Xianyu could even say “Zhuo Yu,” he suddenly smelled a very strong fragrance. Without any warning, his eyes rolled back and he fell asleep. When he opened his eyes again, it was already broad daylight the next day!
Feng Xianyu was furious. The moment he woke up, he angrily went to find Zhuo Yu. The two had a fight in the training ground, ending in a draw. After the fight, Feng Xianyu felt bored again. He thought to himself that it wasn’t that he had to fight—he just wanted Zhuo Yu to obediently play with him. Why couldn’t that be done.