I Ran Away with the Scumbag's White Moonlight Chapter 39

Upon suddenly hearing the voice of the Sect Leader from outside the room, Shi Jingxian almost fell off Bai Qinglian's back. Fortunately, Bai Qinglian, who had been holding his hand all along, gave him a pull, allowing Shi Jingxian to stabilize himself.

Once he regained his balance, Shi Jingxian's first instinct was to distance himself from Bai Qinglian beneath him. However, just as he was about to leave the bed, Bai Qinglian, who had been firmly pinned down by him, somehow managed to flip over from his prone position.

Shi Jingxian was eager to leave, but Bai Qinglian gave a slight squeeze on the forearm that he had been holding onto without letting go.

"Ugh!"

The young master widened his already round eyes, a clear look of surprise appearing in his amber pupils. A slight tingling sensation suddenly came from the spot on his forearm where Bai Qinglian had gripped him.

The tingling was fleeting, and Bai Qinglian had already withdrawn his hand. Yet, the lingering numbness made it impossible to dismiss it as an illusion. Shi Jingxian even felt as if he had been shocked by something. But where would electricity come from on this ancient martial arts planet?

Instinctively, he looked at the man in front of him, but the instigator's face showed no sign of anything unusual. Bai Qinglian glanced at Shi Jingxian with his pale silver eyes, then shifted his gaze away, silently tidying his slightly disheveled long hair and clothes.

His smooth, silver-gray hair fell down, slightly covering his strikingly handsome and aggressive profile. Coupled with his calm and reserved demeanor, Bai Qinglian looked exceptionally innocent. At first glance, it seemed as if he had just been bullied by Shi Jingxian.

Shi Jingxian: ??

Before he could remove the question marks from his head, he heard the voice outside the door again.

"Ya'er? Are you okay?"

Perhaps having heard the young master's earlier exclamation, the Sect Leader's voice now carried an extra note of concern. Shi Jingxian, unable to question Bai Qinglian, hurriedly went forward to open the door.

Sure enough, standing outside was the Sect Leader, with Xiao Yi following behind, holding a basin of water and a wet cloth. The Sect Leader looked inside the room, and upon seeing Bai Qinglian, couldn't help but frown.

Shi Jingxian followed his gaze and saw that Bai Qinglian had already regained his cold demeanor, with no trace of the earlier oddity. Upon hearing the Sect Leader's voice, Shi Jingxian had been flustered, but now, seeing Bai Qinglian's expression, it seemed as if the earlier shock and innocent look were all just illusions.

Bai Qinglian even calmly told Xiao Yi, "Close the door, the medicinal aroma will disperse."

Xiao Yi quickly put down the basin and towel. The Sect Leader glanced at him and directly instructed him to close the door and leave.

With only the three of them left in the room, the young master stood awkwardly for a while before squeezing out a dry sentence, "Dad, why are you here?"

The room was still warm with the fire burning. The Sect Leader lit the lamps and candles in the room, and seeing the young master wearing only thin inner clothes, he took a red velvet cloak from the side and draped it over the young master's shoulders.

The young master's shoulders were slender, and the cloak wouldn't stay on, so the Sect Leader personally tied the straps for him. Once he was wrapped up tightly, the Sect Leader said, "The servant said you fell asleep while soaking in the hot spring, so I came to check on you."

The young master was slightly stunned, "…Xiao Yi?"

The Sect Leader nodded, "He said you fell asleep halfway through soaking in the hot spring. Although Sect Master Bai said it was normal, he was still worried. After helping you change clothes, he came to inform me."

As he spoke, he looked up at Bai Qinglian. "The servant also said that after you changed out of your wet clothes, Sect Master Bai lit incense to continue dispelling the cold for you."

The young master: "…"

So, everything Bai Qinglian did earlier was normal procedure, and he hadn't even touched his clothes?

Bai Qinglian's face showed no sign of anything unusual. The Sect Leader withdrew his gaze and gently ruffled the young master's soft hair.

"I heard some commotion inside earlier. What happened?"

The young master could only reply in a low voice, "It's nothing… Dad, I misunderstood Sect Master Bai."

Recalling the words he had shouted earlier, Shi Jingxian couldn't help but feel a bit regretful. He didn't even know why he had said such things. It was as if he had been influenced by something.

This matter was indeed an overreaction on Shi Jingxian's part. Although he hadn't let go of his vigilance towards Bai Qinglian, he still sincerely apologized to him.

Bai Qinglian didn't seem to mind and simply bypassed the young master to ask the Sect Leader if they should continue dispelling the cold.

If it were up to the young master to answer, he would probably refuse outright. But upon hearing Bai Qinglian's words, the Sect Leader hesitated. He noticed that although his child had a sulky expression, his complexion had clearly improved, no longer looking as pale and cold as it had in the past few days.

Even now, standing in the room in his inner clothes, the child could move freely off the bed. So, before the young master could protest, he heard the Sect Leader say, "If it's necessary, then I'll trouble Sect Master Bai."

"…"

There was no choice. The young master could only reluctantly lie back on the bed. The bed was surrounded by curtains, and the light from the lamps couldn't penetrate, creating an ambiguous atmosphere. Bai Qinglian lit the incense again, and the familiar, drowsy scent filled the air.

Perhaps it was indeed necessary for dispelling the cold, and he was just overthinking it. The young master thought to himself, noticing the Sect Leader also approaching and standing by the bedside.

Turning his head, he saw the Sect Leader, and only then did he realize that the Sect Leader's collar revealed the purple fitted martial attire he usually wore when practicing with his sword. It seemed the Sect Leader had rushed over upon hearing Xiao Yi's report, only throwing on an outer robe without even changing out of his martial attire.

The hand on his back slowly moved downward, the heavy pressure making it difficult to breathe. Deep memories surfaced in his mind. When Ling Yao was young, no matter how busy the Sect Leader was, he would always come to accompany him while taking medicine. Now, the bitter taste of the medicine was forgotten, but what he remembered most was the candied fruit the Sect Leader would feed him after each dose.

Whether sick or injured, whenever he felt unwell, the young master always had the Sect Leader by his side. After the Demon Sect's destruction, Ling Yao was taken away by Xuanyuan Nan and left with Cui Hua. Initially, he could still taste a hint of sweetness from the candied fruit amidst the metallic taste in his mouth, but eventually, the sweetness was completely overshadowed by the taste of rust.

It was then that Ling Yao truly confirmed once again that his father was really gone. Xuanyuan Nan had already received news from Cui Hua that the young master of the Demon Sect was about to give in, but unexpectedly, Ling Yao suddenly held on.

Even Cui Hua, who was accustomed to both submission and resistance, couldn't understand what allowed this young master, who seemed to have grown up in a honey pot, to endure so much torture.

The sudden flood of memories was like a winter tide, the bone-chilling cold completely engulfing him.

[Ding—Restorer's emotional fluctuation level: 4, significant short-term fluctuation detected, please stabilize emotions.]

"Cough, cough…"

The ambiguous sweet scent made him drowsy, and the heavy, oppressive feeling continued to emanate from the hand moving slowly on his back. Shi Jingxian coughed intermittently, burying his face in the high pillow in front of him.

For some reason, even though Bai Qinglian was dispelling the cold from the young master's body, Shi Jingxian felt as if it was himself being taken over by those long fingers.

The massage technique, infused with internal energy, was quite skilled, and the young master's body, tormented by the cold for several days, responded with comfort. The only thing amiss was Shi Jingxian himself, whose consciousness seemed to have temporarily detached from his body, with all senses becoming dull, unable to clearly hear even the Sect Leader's voice beside him.

In a daze, his consciousness was enveloped by an irresistible fatigue, everything gradually fading away, and Shi Jingxian slowly sank into darkness.

The subsequent memories were like a power outage. When Shi Jingxian woke up again, the morning light was already filtering in, and birds were chirping outside.

He sat up abruptly in bed, dazed for a moment, then belatedly realized he felt a bit hot. The room was still warm with the fire burning, and there were two warmers placed at the foot of the bed. Thick curtains surrounded the bed, and the young master was dressed in fluffy, fleece-lined pajamas, with three layers of velvet quilts covering him snugly.

Three layers of velvet quilts, each as thick as two knuckles.

Shi Jingxian: "…"

He pulled down the soft, furry scarf loosely wrapped around his neck, and the cool air against his sweat-dampened neck made him realize that his connection to Ling Yao's body had been restored.

Everything from last night seemed shrouded in a thin veil, hazy and unclear. Shi Jingxian rubbed his forehead, and hearing the sound of him getting up, Xiao Yi was already at the bedside, asking if he wanted to get up.

The night's sleep had been like a coma, even deeper than the drowsiness from soaking in the hot spring the previous night. Shi Jingxian felt quite refreshed now, and after struggling to peel off the three layers of velvet quilts, he finally managed to get out of bed.

The Sect Leader and Bai Qinglian had already left, and after breakfast, Xiao Yi recounted the tasks to the young master.

The whole process was quite normal, almost uneventful. The young master had fallen asleep during the cold dispelling process, and once it was over, Bai Qinglian and the Sect Leader left together.

There was nothing unusual about these events, but another piece of news that came this morning caught Shi Jingxian's attention.

Among the medicinal ingredients needed to awaken Shen Zhuo, three had already been gathered, leaving only two secret medicines stored by the royal family.

The Sect Leader was planning how to obtain the remaining two medicines.

Involving the royal family and Nan Fei, Shi Jingxian couldn't sit still. Grabbing a thick red cloak, he hurried to the council hall.

The council hall was heavily guarded, and the young master rushed in alone, finding four people inside as expected.

Since it concerned Shen Zhuo, Bai Qinglian hadn't left this time either.

The Sect Leader seemed to have anticipated the young master's arrival, and as soon as he entered, he had a prepared blanket and soft chair brought over.

After the cold dispelling yesterday, the young master felt much better than before. But while he was staring at Bai Qinglian, the servants had already set everything up.

The young master, already dressed like a red-wrapped white dumpling, sat in the soft chair, holding a hand warmer, covered with a blanket, with a cotton hat and scarf, looking like he was nestled in a cotton ball, with only his round eyes visible.

Shi Jingxian felt a bit helpless, trying to pull his ears out from the furry scarf so he could hear the others talking.