[Young Master Xian]—❈—22.5:: unnamed

A/N: so, after some thought, I've decided to post this as the completion of chapter 22, hence the 22.5 in its title.

Chapter 23 should be out by Sunday. I don't want to rush it because there's some things in there that I want to come out looking their best so... hold onto this for now, please.

Thank you.

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“What the fuck happened here?”

…

“Uh…”

…

“I tried to cook,” I say.

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Xiuying stares at me with the expression such a statement deserves.

“You tried to cook?” she asks flatly.

“Yep,” I say, rising and offering Meng Yi a hand to help her up too.

Xiuying gives the room a second, meaningful scan.

“And what the fuck were you cooking? Thunder powder?” she asks, then points at Meng Yi. “Also, what happened to her?”

I look at Meng Yi, scanning her for injuries. I see none. “What happened to her?” I ask Xiuying cluelessly.

The woman’s eyes flash with a clear desire to wring my neck.

Ever helpful, Meng Yi says, “I believe she’s referring to my recent… advancement, Young Master Xian.”

“Oh, that. Well, um… she had a breakthrough.” I say, latching onto the first thing I can think of.

“A breakthrough,” Xiuying says, looking like she can’t believe ears. “That’s seriously what you’re going with?”

“Yeah, it’s not very believable, is it?” I have to admit. “Especially not in this situation.”

“No shit,” Xiuying says.

“Are you implying I’m incapable of having breakthroughs in my cultivation?” Meng Yi asks with some annoyance.

Xiuying shoots her an unimpressed look. “Girl, if you had that much talent, you wouldn’t need this one,” she says, gesturing at me.

Meng Yi thinks about that for a moment, before shrugging like ‘well, you’re not wrong.’

“So, you two wanna tell me what actually happened here?” Xiuying asks.

Meng Yi and I look at each other, and in a strange moment of matching wavelengths unlike I’ve ever experienced, we both turn to Xiuying and say, “He tried to cook/She had a breakthrough.”

Xiuying scowls at us for several seconds. “Fuck you both,” she says succinctly.

I expect Xiuying to be extra rough with me during training today, out of spite or something, but to my surprise, she isn’t.

Now, this could simply be because she’s always come at me so hard that turning it up by even the smallest amount would take this from training into abuse… in fact, I suspect that’s exactly why, considering how she scowls at me throughout the session, but I decide to take the win regardless.

It sucks that we have to lie to her, especially when it’s so blatant too, but I guess needs must.

It’s too bad really, because, despite the daily abuse, I’m starting to think of Xiuying as a friend, and I’m not exactly flush with those these days.

A solid kick to my stomach drags my focus back to my current activity with an explosive gasp of air.

Staggering back, I cradle my sore abs.

“Focus,” Xiuying instructs, and I give her a shaky thumbs up in understanding.

Maybe I spoke too soon about her not wanting to cross into abuse.

“It’s some sort of treasure, isn’t it?” Xiuying asks as I try to get my breathing back under control.

“What?”

“The thing that made Meng Yi advance, it’s some sort of treasure. You gave it to her, and then I’m guessing, like a complete idiot, you tried to burn the seed, or maybe the peel.”

I open my mouth to come up with a denial to her words, spot the ‘don’t fuck with me’ expression on her face, and wisely decide to, in fact, not fuck with her.

“It’s not like we knew it was going to explode,” I say instead.

“Everyone knows that, Qigang,” Xiuying says. “Everyone does.”

I shrug noncommittally.

“Why did you lie?” she asks after a moment. “Did you think I would be jealous or something?”

“What? No, of course not, it’s…” it’s what? I have a superpower that some people would be willing to start a war over, and the need to keep that a secret makes me need to also keep a bunch of other stuff secret too?

“…it’s complicated,” I settle on.

“Why?” Xiuying asks. “Didn’t you get it from the same place you got the celestial plum?”

“Sort of,” I say.

Xiuying’s gaze practically bores into me at that answer.

“Qigang, you haven’t been taking gifts from strange entities, have you?” she asks, signs of worry clear in her eyes.

Despite her worry, I can’t help but laugh. “No, don’t worry about that. I’m not that stupid. Besides, you really think Meng Yi would let me do something like that?”

“I guess not,” Xiuying accepts. “She’s got a good head on her shoulders regardless of anything else.”

“Like what?” I ask and she gives me a questioning look, not following.

“You said ‘she’s got a good head on her shoulders regardless of anything else’. Anything else like what?” I ask again.

Xiuying looks surprised to be put on the spot, but I suspect that it’s more than surprise that makes her avoid my gaze and question when she says, “It’s nothing. I just don’t like some of the choices she’s made for herself.”

“Choices like me?” I ask.

Maybe it’s narcissistic, but I’m pretty sure that this is about me. Or rather, the unpleasant piece of scum that was old me.

Xiuying gives me a long, hard look. “No offense, I mean, I know you’ve changed now and everything, but she deserved better than to be some asshole’s bedwarmer,” she says.

“I agree,” I say easily. “But unfortunately, people don’t always get what they deserve.”

“So?” she retorts angrily. “That doesn’t mean you roll over like a dog. You fight! Even if it kills you, you fight!”

The passion of her statement shocks me for a moment, but I recover quickly enough. This is pretty much what I’d expected after all.

When I’d first seen the dynamic between Meng Yi and Xiuying, it had been immediately obvious that these are two women who respect each other, even though they have differing views of the world.

Meng Yi is obviously the sort who works with what she has, while Xiuying will definitely bang her head against the wall in her path until one or the other gives.

I can’t say for certain which one of these is better, but I do know that they’re practically antithetical to one another.

“Doesn’t she have family?” I ask, replying to Xiuying’s comment about fighting even if it costs your life. “She’s mentioned sisters a few times.”

Xiuying’s jaws clench, and she stands silently before me with a scowl aimed at nothing.

“That’s the problem with love, isn’t it?” I muse. “So nice to have, and yet, in many ways, it’s a chain around your neck.”

And that’s the simple truth of the matter. For Xiuying, fighting, even if it means her death is a viable option because her life is all she has to lose. But that isn’t always the case though, is it?

For some people there are much worse things than dying.

Xiuying sighs and looks at me with some irritation, though the lack of real heat in her expression suggests that she isn’t truly upset with me. “When did you get so wise?” she asks.

I shrug. “Blame enlightenment,” I say, getting a snort out of her.

We stand quietly for a time, thinking our own thoughts, until finally, Xiuying says, “I can’t believe you gave it to her.”

“Gave what to who?”

“Whatever you gave to Yi that you tried to burn like an idiot,” she explains. “I sensed it in her qi, it has to be noble rank at least. That’s an amazing treasure, Qigang.”

I shrug. “She’s earned it,” I say.

“No, she hasn’t,” Xiuying says back. “Not that.”

The words are said without malice or jealousy. This is simply Xiuying saying what she believes to be the truth.

“You know, Meng Yi said the same thing,” I say.

“Good,” Xiuying says, then after a moment, she adds: “I’m glad you changed, Qigang.”

I blink in surprise at that. Then I smile. “Me too.”

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Qigang’s Reward Space:

Xian Refinement Method Qi Pill [2 peasant rank, 3 sage rank]

Prismatic Starlightdew Mint Tea (134ml) [noble rank]

[1] Peasant Rank LinWei Cultivation Circle

[1] pair of Core Formation Realm Hellsnow Fox Fur Slippers

[1] Bag of Prismatic Starlightdew Mint Tea

[4] Memory Stones [beast rank]

[1] Dried Core Formation Realm Blood Goat Liver [beast rank]

Core Formation Realm Siren Bee Honey (75 cl) [sage rank]

[1] Core Formation Realm Fire Goat Drinking Horn [beast rank]