Heavenly Soul

Chen Xiande had been waiting for his junior martial brother for four hours in his room and had yet to see him. Was he paying him back for all the bullying he did back in the day? Had he returned after completing his task and was chatting happily with the sect master?

Chen Xiande was disgruntled. Just as he was contemplating going out to find the truth, thick dark smoke suddenly billowed up from a nearby shadow. Chen Xiande leapt up in shock. What was happening? An attack?

The smoke coalesced to form a tall, dark-robed man holding a disheveled white-robed figure in his arms. The white-robed man was injured and semi-conscious, with a beautiful but unfamiliar face. As for the other one, Chen Xiande only needed a moment to recognize that the tall figure was a Sentinel, but it still felt strange to him.

"What are you doing in Feng Qinghe's room?" the Sentinel asked suspiciously. Had he been waiting for a nighttime tryst?

Chen Xiande frowned, all thoughts of politeness flying out the window at the trace of accusation in the other person's eyes. "I am his senior martial brother, I should be the one asking. Sentinel, what are you doing in my junior brother's room at night?"

"I have been a.s.signed to observe him. Where else would I be?"

They both glared at each other.

Crickets chirped.

The wind blew.

The world went round.

Finally, the stare-down was broken by Qinghe as he stirred in Wei Xiang's arms. He opened his bleary eyes and recognized that he was in his room. Not thinking much about it, he patted Wei Xiang's chest to get his attention. "Set me by the medicine cabinet, over there near the headboard."

Wei Xiang hesitantly complied.

Chen Xiande finally got a glimpse of the indigo emblem st.i.tched on the stained white robe and was shocked. That voice, and the obvious familiarity with the room, it couldn't be…

Chen Xiande finally found his voice, "Junior Brother?"

"Hmm…" Qinghe absentmindedly hummed as he laboriously opened the cabinet doors. He could only stand despite his wobbly feet due to Wei Xiang's arms around his waist providing support. He didn't even spare a thought to why another's touch had stopped alarming him.

The clanking and clattering of bottles sounded relatively loud in the silent room as Qinghe rummaged for specific bottles before gathering them one by one in his arms as he found them. Thankfully, the bottles were labeled with large characters, so Qinghe could make them out despite his blurry eyesight.

"Why don't you come and take these bottles from him before they tumble down?" Wei Xiang suggested to the grumpy man who had been glaring at him all this time.

Chen Xiande huffed but came over and carefully collected the bottles from Qinghe's arms before putting them onto the table. Unaware, Qinghe just went on choosing and adding more bottles to his arms while Chen Xiande kept transferring them to the table.

After a few more minutes of this, Qinghe finally grabbed some more supplies like a mortar, pestle, and a tiny measuring ladle before stopping. He tried to move towards the table and almost fell. Seeing that supporting him by the waist wouldn't work anymore, Wei Xiang simply grabbed hold of his collar, holding him up as he staggered forward unsteadily.

Seating him down, Wei Xiang also plopped down beside him, curious to see what he was up to. Chen Xiande had already settled down on the opposite side of the table. He didn't even know what to think of this strange scene anymore. And was it just him or did his junior brother look somewhat disoriented and drunk?

"Junior Brother Feng? It is you, isn't it?" he asked hesitantly.

"Mn," Qinghe nodded distractedly as he concentrated on the medicine bottles. He chose one and opened it, slowly pouring some of the powder inside into the tiny ladle as if measuring it before dumping it into the mortar. Then he chose another bottle, this one filled with a green liquid, and poured it in again after weighing it.

He continued like this for a while, choosing a bottle and measuring its contents before throwing them into the mortar. His actions were steady and without flaws, strangely hypnotic. He would sometimes pause to grind the contents of the mortar with the pestle in smooth circular motions before going back to adding more ingredients.

Wei Xiang and Chen Xiande could only watch fascinated. Though he looked somewhat muddled, Qinghe's actions were as efficient and competent as can be. Each time he threw in a new set of ingredients, they would fly in a graceful arc before landing right in the middle of the mortar. The motions of his hand as he ground them

"Junior Brother, are you practicing alchemy on the side?" Chen Xiande asked, fl.u.s.tered. It wasn't possible, right? Learning martial arts in itself was so difficult, if he had also been learning alchemy on the side…

But his worries were groundless. Qinghe shook his head, "No, it's only herbal medicine. Alchemy has no cure for spirit paralyzing poison."

Both Chen Xiande and Wei Xian startled. Spirit paralyzing poison? But wasn't that incurable, the victims only able to die miserably due to stagnating spiritual power, their senses deteriorating, and finally, their core breaking down? It wasn't something common, but a few vials could still be found now and then in the black market.

Wei Xiang frowned. It seemed another crackdown on the black market was necessary. He'd send someone to take care of it later.

"Then do you really know the cure?" Chen Xiande was doubtful.

Qinghe unhesitatingly nodded. "Four parts sleepworm, one-fifth part silver, two-seventh parts scarlet vine, three parts quartz, one-eighth part amaranthine root…" he mumbled on and on as he unerringly continued to make the antidote.

Wei Xiang narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. It seemed that he did indeed know medicine, even to the point of unearthing the cure for an infamous poison. Would this person ever stop surprising him?

"Where did you learn it from?" Wei Xiang asked curiously.

"I found an ancient recipe during one of my tasks," Qinghe answered truthfully.

Chen Xiande looked thoughtfully at this junior brother of his who kept forcing him to change his impression of him. Though he wouldn't say he felt friendly towards him, his meaningless hate had at least lessened.

Seeing that his junior brother wasn't in a fully aware state of mind, Chen Xiande turned to the Sentinel who'd brought him. "So what happened to him?"

Wei Xiang considered whether he could be trusted before deciding to tell him the truth. Chen Xiande's eyes got wider and wider the more he heard. His junior brother had been in such a dangerous situation? What would have happened had the Sentinel not been there?

By the time they were done with the retelling, Qinghe had also finished his medicine and was glaring at the black goop with loathing. The appetizing odor of moldy mud and rotting fungus wafted from it.

Looking at his expression, Wei Xiang wanted to laugh. "Did the antidote turn out alright?" he asked, amused.

Qinghe nodded hesitantly.

"Then you should take it."

Pouting, Qinghe shook his head.

Holding back a chuckle, Wei Xiang took the little measuring ladle and scooped out some of the noxious goop still in the mortar, holding it in front of Qinghe's sullen face. "Here, open your mouth."

After hesitating, Qinghe opened his mouth and let Wei Xiang feed him the mulch, wearing a reluctant expression the whole time. Seeing this, Wei Xiang tried to cajole him, "If you eat this obediently, I'll let you ask me for one thing." As disoriented as Qinghe was right now, Wei Xiang reasoned that he wouldn't ask for anything too difficult.

Brightening up a bit, Qinghe nodded and managed to swallow the rest of the antidote. At the side, Chen Xiande was feeling like a third wheel interrupting a date. Surely it must just be his imagination.

After finis.h.i.+ng the medicine, Qinghe started to sway sleepily. He'd done everything that needed to be done and fighting the effects of the poison had tired his body out.

"Why don't you lie down and sleep?" Wei Xiang gently suggested. Feng Qinghe looked so uncharacteristically adorable, he was glad he had the opportunity to see him like this.

"You promised to let me ask you for one thing," Qinghe complained.

Wei Xiang could only give in to that aggrieved expression, "Alright then, tell me what you want."

Qinghe clamped his hand onto Wei Xiang's sleeve and got up, somehow able to maintain his balance while Wei Xiang let him drag him up, wanting to see where this was going. Still a bit dazed, Qinghe held out his other hand matter-of-factly towards Chen Xiande, who was surprised but also secretly pleased.

Just before he put his hand in Qinghe's, Chen Xiande remembered his fear of touch and made sure to keep his hand in his sleeve as he took Qinghe's palm. Though he didn't know why Qinghe didn't react to the Sentinel's touch, Chen Xiande wasn't insensitive enough to risk it.

The two were curious as they were pulled along by Qinghe, often having to stabilize him whenever he carelessly stumbled. Qinghe led them out the back door and to the backyard. He kept dragging them till they reached the stream before he let go.

Sitting on the stream's bank, Qinghe fumbled to remove his shoes and damaged outer robe before swinging his bare feet into the stream, splas.h.i.+ng them around in the cool water. His entire being seemed to relax and a smile graced his face. It wasn't his usual wide or warm smile, merely a small curl of his lips, but it was all the more radiant in its genuineness.

Seeing that his companions were just staring at him with weird expressions on their faces, Qinghe impatiently held out his hands. What were they doing? It was so much fun splas.h.i.+ng his feet in the water, why weren't they joining him?

Seeing his eager expression, the two awkwardly followed suit. As soon as they sat down, Qinghe immediately grabbed their sleeves. His smile grew content. Ah, this felt so good!

Wei Xiang and Chen Xiande had already figured out that his childishness must be an effect of the poison blurring his consciousness, so they went along without saying anything. Also, it really was fun in a soothing way.

The sky stretched endlessly above them, a vast expanse of peaceful black, as the wind whispered past now and then. Except for the sound of nightlife, the surroundings were calm and quiet. There was a strange sense of companions.h.i.+p in spending time like this together silently.

Qinghe grew sleepy and his head started drooping. Wei Xiang freed his sleeve from his grasp and put his arm around Qinghe, letting him rest on his shoulder after removing the armor.

Soft snores issued soon after.

Chen Xiande felt the tranquility loosening the tight knot of hate and frustration inside of him.

When he had first met Qinghe, he had been a weak-looking little runt. But strangely enough, Chen Xiande had been happy. He had gotten a little brother who would rely on him. He would keep him company, unlike the others who ostracized him for reasons he didn't understand at that time. Here was finally someone who would look up to him, a little brother who would need him!

But then Qinghe spent all his time with their master, lessening the already meager attention spared to Chen Xiande. He hadn't even come to greet his older brother.

It turned out he didn't need him after all…

The disappointment and sadness had hardened into a knot of hate that only grew tighter and more complex. Chen Xiande had never thought he would one day be able to look past it.

But here he was, feeling a strange sense of brotherly affection for this junior brother, contemplating whether he had been wrong all this time. The cool water brus.h.i.+ng past his feet seemed to brush away his frustrations as well, his worries taken along with the gentle currents. The warmth of the palm tightly holding on to his arm seeped through the fabric of his sleeve, softening his heart.

For the first time in a very long time, Chen Xiande's loneliness abated just for a bit.

"I'll put him to bed," Wei Xiang informed before standing up and lifting Qinghe along. Qinghe's hand was still clamped onto Chen Xiande's sleeve despite his sleep. With a conflicted expression, Chen Xiande gently disentangled his junior brother's fingers from the cloth before Wei Xiang took him away.

Chen Xiande wasn't worried about the Sentinel's presence. Each and every one of the Sentinels was meticulously screened based on their moral integrity, power, and self-control. There was no way a Sentinel could take advantage of someone in that state. So leaving his junior brother to the Sentinel shouldn't be an issue. He seemed to behave caringly enough towards him.

With a strange mix of emotions, Chen Xiande got up and left.