After Crossdressing and Provoking Long AoTian

Girl in the Bamboo’s gaze rested on the Sea of Books Formation. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.

“You know where I came from?”

“I know every interesting thing beneath heaven.” Wen Tianxia’s eyes curved with amusement. “The more secret it is, the more I enjoy digging into it.”

Girl in the Bamboo looked at him. “Among mortals, someone like you probably wouldn’t have a very good reputation.”

“My reputation in the cultivation world isn’t very good either.” Wen Tianxia chuckled, sounding proud rather than ashamed. “Back when I traveled the world, people chased me out wherever I went. That forced me to cultivate seriously and advance at breakneck speed.”

“Come to think of it, I owe my present cultivation partly to all those petty bastards from back then.”

Girl in the Bamboo: “...”

“I only came to make sure they were safe.”

“Now that I know their lives aren’t in danger, I was planning to leave. If no one had called me out, I should already be on my way back.”

The Sage’s Book seemed thoughtful. “So if this happens again, I shouldn’t expose the person hiding nearby.”

“Oh.” Wen Tianxia nodded slightly. “So you’re babysitting for someone.”

Girl in the Bamboo withdrew her gaze and lowered her eyes.

“...I wouldn’t call it that.”

“I haven’t really helped them much.”

Wen Tianxia raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like something’s troubling you.”

Girl in the Bamboo looked up. “Can you resolve it?”

“I’m not some great master.” Wen Tianxia stood with his hands behind his back. “Questions like that are yours to resolve.”

“If you truly think you’ve been no help, then why did you uproot yourself, leave your homeland, and follow them?”

The Sage’s Book flickered faintly and was just about to speak when Wen Tianxia glanced at it.

“You listen for now. No talking.”

Girl in the Bamboo lowered her head.

“I owe him.”

“If you know my origins, then you should know that I truly do owe him.”

“Of course I know your origins.” Wen Tianxia glanced at the Sage’s Book. “Fine. It can listen too.”

“Years ago, Tianxuan Nü left the infant Ye Chenyan a rare Heaven-Reaching Bamboo to serve as material for his future lifebound magical artifact. She also left it a breath of immortal energy.”

“Then, through a twist of fate, immortal energy dried up across heaven and earth. Ye Chenyan nearly died in that pocket world after its spiritual energy was exhausted. Meanwhile, you waited for him so long that you ended up taking form with the help of that breath of immortal energy.”

“Plant spirits capable of taking form are exceedingly rare,” Girl in the Bamboo said quietly. “Without that breath of immortal energy, and without the demons of Nanzhou protecting me in the Immortal-Bewildering Forest, I would never have had the chance to take form.”

“I received an opportunity from his mother. Naturally, I must find some way to repay him.”

Wen Tianxia nodded slightly.

“I still remember when you first took form. That Flying Serpent in Nanzhou even called Tianji Zi over. The two of them discussed what to do with you.”

“They must have eventually come up with something.”

Girl in the Bamboo raised her eyes.

“Yes. They asked me to nurture a sword within the bamboo for him.”

“I’ve already taken form. Giving him my original body wouldn’t affect me too severely.”

“But...”

She frowned faintly.

“He doesn’t use swords.”

Wen Tianxia muffled a laugh.

“Now that truly is a twist of fate.”

“And the fact that he refuses to use swords? You can blame Guiyi Sect for that.”

Girl in the Bamboo sighed.

“At first, I thought I could protect them along the way. But he advances too quickly. Before I could help with much of anything, he was already reaching the point where I soon wouldn’t be able to help at all.”

“So you still feel indebted to him, and you don’t want to travel alongside them as an equal.” Wen Tianxia shook his head. “You’ve been in human form for this long. Have you still not started thinking of yourself as a person?”

Girl in the Bamboo looked at him strangely.

“I’m not a person.”

“All right, let me correct myself.” Wen Tianxia gave in helplessly. “You’ve been in human form for this long. Have you still not started thinking of yourself as a life of your own?”

“If you can never repay the debt, are you planning to spend the rest of your existence living for him?”

“It isn’t as though you refuse to repay him. If you ask me, if your conscience bothers you that much, leave him an IOU and then go do whatever you want.”

Girl in the Bamboo froze.

“Whatever I want?”

“Heaven and earth are vast. Roam wherever you please.” Wen Tianxia pointed at the kittens in her arms. “If you like little fluffy creatures like those, you could even find a Beastmaster Sect and become a guardian elder.”

Girl in the Bamboo lowered her head, looking thoughtful.

Then she asked, “How do I write the IOU?”

Wen Tianxia: “...”

He burst out laughing and pointed at the Sage’s Book.

“Do you have any IOUs recorded in there? Find her a sample.”

The Sage’s Book began flipping through its pages.

And somehow, it actually found one.

...

Inside the Sea of Books Formation, Yu Qingtang and Ye Chenyan had only just stepped in before realizing Wen Tianxia had not been exaggerating.

There truly was nothing here.

White mist stretched in every direction. Walking north, south, east, or west made no difference. Everywhere was exactly the same unchanging haze.

Apparently, when Wen Tianxia created this formation, he had thought only about function and had not spared a single thought for scenery.

“Since every direction looks the same, we may as well stay where we are.” Ye Chenyan looked around. “You can’t even see sunrise or sunset. No wonder he said that after staying here too long, your sense of time would start getting distorted.”

Yu Qingtang slowly nodded, looking somewhat uncomfortable.

“So... we just start cultivating?”

“What else would we do?” Ye Chenyan gave him an amused look. “Unless you want to first...”

“Eat something,” Yu Qingtang finished for him. “But we came in full.”

He looked deeply troubled.

“Sigh. No wonder they call this place a cultivation sanctuary. There isn’t even anything here to slack off with.”

“You start first. I need a moment to mourn the happy life I’ve left behind forever.”

“Oooh—” Ye Chenyan drew out the sound and sat cross-legged on the spot, looking pitiful. “Being locked up with me makes you that unhappy?”

Yu Qingtang turned toward him.

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you? You’re deliberately picking a fight, aren’t you?”

“Obviously I’m unhappy because I have to cultivate. How could I possibly be unhappy because I’m locked in here with you?”

He pulled a soft cushion from his storage ring, put it beneath himself, and scooted over in front of Ye Chenyan.

“I originally brought one for you too, but now you’re not getting it. You can sit on the floor...”

He looked down at the endless white mist beneath them, then corrected himself.

“Sit in the fog.”

“Where’s mine?” Ye Chenyan tugged him closer and reached for his storage ring.

Yu Qingtang immediately raised his hand high and shouted, “What are you doing? Robbing me in broad daylight?”

“I was wrong.”

Ye Chenyan bent down and looked up at him.

“Senior Brother Yu—give me a cushion.”

Yu Qingtang eyed him warily.

“Every time you call me Senior Brother Yu, you’re plotting something.”

“How could I possibly—”

Ye Chenyan drew the words out, smiling so broadly his teeth showed.

Even as he spoke, one hand had already braced itself beside Yu Qingtang.

He leaned close to Yu Qingtang’s ear and lowered his voice.

“I only broke through recently. The next step for me is Soul Transformation.”

“Accumulating spiritual power is important, of course, but inspiration matters even more.”

He looked up at Yu Qingtang meaningfully.

“I feel like my spiritual power is almost there. I’m just missing a little inspiration.”

Yu Qingtang blinked in confusion.

“Inspiration?”

“Want me to play you the Heart-Questioning Melody?”

Ye Chenyan shook his head lightly.

Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened slightly.

He secretly glanced left and right.

Then he darted forward and kissed Ye Chenyan on the cheek.

Ye Chenyan’s eyes flew wide.

Yu Qingtang cleared his throat awkwardly.

“There. Happy? Now cultivate properly!”

“Uh...”

Ye Chenyan’s gaze wavered. His ears gradually reddened.

He muffled a laugh and muttered,

“That wasn’t even what I meant.”

Yu Qingtang whipped his head toward him in shock.

“What?”

“You’re seriously going to take advantage of me and then act innocent?”

He reached out and pinched Ye Chenyan’s cheek.

“Then give it back!”

Ye Chenyan looked up at him with amusement.

“Want me to kiss you once in return?”

“In your dreams!” Yu Qingtang tugged at his cheek. “Give me back the shameless face I just kissed.”

Ye Chenyan closed his eyes and lifted his chin slightly.

“All right. Go ahead.”

Yu Qingtang: “...”

When he made no move, Ye Chenyan opened his eyes again and peeked at him.

“Don’t want it back anymore?”

“Ahem. I wasn’t playing innocent. I really didn’t mean that just now. What I meant was...”

He took Yu Qingtang’s hand and said quietly,

“Dual cultivation.”

Yu Qingtang: “...”

Certain memories from the cultivation chamber in the Ancient Academy Realm slowly resurfaced.

Yu Qingtang quietly withdrew his hand, grabbed his cushion, scrambled upright, and bolted.

“Hey—”

Ye Chenyan hurriedly caught him and pulled him back.

“What are you running for?”

“No!” Yu Qingtang declared righteously. “Cultivate properly! Don’t start thinking about crooked shortcuts!”

“What respectable protagonist levels up through dual cultivation?!”

Ye Chenyan held him down and refused to let him escape.

“Then I won’t be a respectable protagonist.”

Yu Qingtang stared up at him blankly.

“Huh?”

“Come on, let’s practice.” Ye Chenyan tugged at him gently. “I already told you before. It’s a legitimate cultivation method.”

“You weren’t used to it last time. That should’ve just been a special case. I have much better control over my spiritual power now. I definitely won’t make you uncomfortable.”

Yu Qingtang’s expression turned complicated.

“It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable.”

“If it wasn’t uncomfortable...” Ye Chenyan leaned closer, softening his voice as he coaxed him, “then how about we try?”

“I can’t find the inspiration I need on my own, so I need a little external help.”

Yu Qingtang muttered quietly,

“But our cultivation paths are completely different. How could looking at mine possibly help you?”

“How about I take you to those two instead—”

“No way.”

Ye Chenyan rejected the suggestion instantly.

“I’m not dual cultivating with them.”

Yu Qingtang slowly turned to look at him.

“So it does have a special meaning after all, doesn’t it?”

Ye Chenyan’s gaze drifted away.

“...No.”

Yu Qingtang draped an arm over his shoulder.

“Junior Brother Ye, your lying skills seem to have gotten worse.”

“They haven’t.” Ye Chenyan turned his head aside without looking at him. “I just can’t bear to lie to you anymore.”

Yu Qingtang: “...”

Ye Chenyan stole a glance at him and met Yu Qingtang’s eyes.

Yu Qingtang stared at him wordlessly, then slowly held up two fingers.

“Just a tiny bit.”

“Okay.”

Ye Chenyan agreed so quickly that Yu Qingtang immediately suspected he had fallen into a trap.

Ye Chenyan pulled him down onto the cushion.

The two sat facing each other, cross-legged in cultivation posture.

Yu Qingtang was still hesitant.

“Did I just get tricked again?”

“No.” Ye Chenyan looked at him with utterly sincere eyes. “How could you?”

A short while later, Yu Qingtang was sprawled facedown on the ground, his entire body bright red, refusing to lift his head and face the world.

He spoke weakly.

“I definitely got tricked.”

Ye Chenyan lay down beside him and poked one of his scarlet ears.

“It... it really wasn’t that—”

Yu Qingtang lifted his head and glared at him.

Ye Chenyan obediently shut his mouth.

His gaze shifted.

Then he said quietly,

“But I do feel like it helped a little... Didn’t you?”

“I feel kind of overstuffed.”

Yu Qingtang lay there sensing the spiritual power inside himself, then crawled up to inspect the little glass bead.

“Don’t tell me this thing’s already full?”

“No. I’ve been watching it.” Ye Chenyan sounded certain. “It hasn’t filled even a little.”

Yu Qingtang leaned closer in disbelief.

“It has to be broken. I already feel stuffed and it hasn’t reacted at all? No, I’m going out to ask Academy Head Wen.”

He had made it halfway through his escape when Ye Chenyan grabbed him and hauled him back.

Ye Chenyan put an arm over his shoulders, smiling faintly.

“There’s another possibility.”

“It isn’t broken.”

He patted Yu Qingtang on the shoulder.

“Someone is slacking off and trying to escape cultivation.”

Yu Qingtang: “...”

“Practice a little more,” Ye Chenyan coaxed him. “You’re almost at the Out-of-Body stage. I’ll feel more at ease once you get there.”

By the second time Yu Qingtang collapsed on the ground, completely unable to move, he had finally figured out several things.

“We entered this formation to accelerate your cultivation, right?”

Ye Chenyan nodded.

“Mm.”

Yu Qingtang pointed at himself.

“When you said dual cultivation, you were secretly pumping spiritual power into me, weren’t you?”

Ye Chenyan guiltily looked away.

Yu Qingtang exploded.

“We agreed to pull up the seedling to make it grow, and the seedling was supposed to be you! Why are you pulling on me?!”