By the time Ye Cheng and Bai Jing returned to Longxu Village, the sun was already beginning to set.
Old Man Lan stopped the ox cart outside their small courtyard. Ye Cheng climbed down first before turning around to help Bai Jing.
Bai Jing hesitated when he saw the hand extended toward him: "I'm fine. I can get down." He whispered.
Ye Cheng said seriously: "The physician said you shouldn't strain yourself."
Bai Jing shook his head: "It's only getting off a cart."
Ye Cheng still didn't withdraw his hand. Bai Jing stared at it for a moment before obediently placing his hand in Ye Cheng's.
"Thank you."
Once his feet touched the ground, he immediately pulled his hand back.
Ye Cheng noticed but said nothing. After thanking Old Man Lan, the two entered their courtyard.
The moment Bai Jing stepped inside the house, his gaze immediately moved toward the wooden table. Everything was exactly where he had left it.
The brushes, inkstone, loose sheets of paper, and the manual he had spent so much spiritual energy copying were untouched. Even the empty medicine bottle was still lying near the leg of the table where it had fallen.
Ye Cheng followed his gaze and said: "I didn't touch your things."
Bai Jing nodded: "Yeah, I see…"
Ye Cheng frowned slightly: "Is there something important there?"
"No!"
Bai Jing's answer came so quickly, that Ye Cheng looked at him suspiciously.
Bai Jing immediately lowered his voice: "I mean... they're just some things I was working on."
"Oh." Ye Cheng didn't ask further.
Ye Cheng sat Bai Jing on the table and began busying himself. After turning around for over ten minutes, Bai Jing realized that the other party was doing nothing in particular.
"Are you trying to make dinner? What are we having?"
Ye Cheng suddenly paused in his actions. He remembered the physician's instructions very clearly, Bai Jing needed rest.
That also means Bai Jing isn't allowed to cook in his current condition. Unfortunately, Ye Cheng quickly discovered that knowing someone needed to rest and actually knowing how to take care of that person were completely different matters.
But when Bai Jing sat at the table and asked whether there was anything to eat, Ye Cheng stared silently at the kitchen.
Bai Jing followed his gaze: "...You don't know how to cook?"
"..." Ye Cheng remained silent.
Bai Jing immediately understood, he sighed: "I'll cook."
Ye Cheng hesitated: "The physician said to rest."
Bai Jing waves his hand:"I'm making dinner, not climbing a mountain."
"But..."
Bai Jing asked: "Then, are we going to starve?"
"...Forget it, just be careful."
"Ok."
Ye Cheng finally gave in, and Bai Jing prepared a very simple dinner.
He made a light vegetable soup, steamed some rice, and reheated a little preserved meat.
Ye Cheng tried to help by carrying water and preparing the fire.
Unfortunately, he wasn't much of a help. Ye Cheng moved aside.
Bai Jing removed several pieces of wood that Ye Cheng put on the fire.
"You only need enough to keep the flame steady."
Ye Cheng watched carefully, and nodded occasionally.
"En."
Bai Jing glanced at him from the corner of his eyes. For some reason, seeing Ye Cheng seriously listening to him felt strange.
Everything about today felt strange. Ever since leaving the clinic, Ye Cheng had been paying attention to him.
He helped him onto and out of the ox cart. He repeatedly asked whether he felt uncomfortable, and carried the things they brought back from town. He wouldn't even allow him to carry the water bucket.
Bai Jing didn't know what to do with this sudden attention.
Only a few days ago, Ye Cheng had been furious enough to strike him.
Now he was standing beside the stove because the physician said Bai Jing shouldn't work too hard.
The difference was so great that Bai Jing couldn't relax.
He kept expecting Ye Cheng's expression to change. Just one displeasure will be enough to assure him.
Dinner was very quiet.
Bai Jing ate slowly while occasionally glancing at the man sitting across from him.
Ye Cheng finally put down his chopsticks and asked: "What?"
Bai Jing immediately looked at his bowl and shook: "Nothing."
"You've looked at me six times."
"...I did?"
"Seven now."
Bai Jing was stunned and stopped looking altogether.
Ye Cheng sighed and continued eating.
After dinner, Bai Jing washed himself with warm water. Ye Cheng heated another pot afterward and bathed as well.
By then, the village had gone completely dark.
Bai Jing entered the house and reached for the bedding he normally spread on the floor.
Before he could take it, Ye Cheng picked it up.
Bai Jing froze and asked in awe: "What are you doing?"
"Go to bed."
Bai Jing looked toward the floor: "I will, once you give me back my sheets."
Ye Cheng frowned: "Come sleep on the bed."
Bai Jing slowly turned toward the bedroom, asking : "...Your bed?"
Ye Cheng looked at him strangely: "Our bed."
Bai Jing's expression became even more peculiar.
For almost a month, he never thought he would hear that word.
Ye Cheng carried his bedding into the bedroom, while Bai Jing remained standing in the sitting room.
"Bai Jing."
Hearing his name, he immediately followed.
Ye Cheng placed his bedding on the bed: "You'll sleep here from now on."
Bai Jing's eyes widened: "With you?"
"You're my partner." Ye Cheng said as a matter of fact.
That wasn't an answer Bai Jing found particularly reassuring.
He glanced between Ye Cheng and the bed: "Can I still sleep outside?"
"No."
Bai Jing immediately stopped arguing: "All right."
The answer came so quickly that Ye Cheng frowned. Bai Jing began removing his outer robe. He didn't want to refuse repeatedly and somehow anger Ye Cheng again.
Besides, this was technically his marital bed too.
It was just strange that he was about to sleep on it for the first time almost a month after getting married.
Bai Jing climbed onto the bed and obediently moved all the way to the inside. He lay down straight, making sure he was in the proper position.
His hands rested neatly over his stomach, his legs didn't move, and his entire body remained so stiff that he looked less like someone preparing to sleep and more like someone pretending to be asleep while awaiting judgment.
The moment Ye Cheng sat on the other side, Bai Jing became even more rigid.
Ye Cheng glanced at him: "Bai Jing, relax."
"I am relaxed."
Ye Cheng looked at the fingers tightly gripping the blanket and said nothing.
Several minutes passed but Bai Jing remained awake. When Ye Cheng shifted slightly, he would immediately stiffened.
Finally, Ye Cheng got off the bed.
Bai Jing opened his eyes: "Where are you going?"
"To meditate."
"Oh."
The relief in that single word was impossible to miss. Ye Cheng paused, then he silently left the bedside.
Only after he settled some distance away and began meditating did Bai Jing's tense body gradually loosen.
His exhaustion from the previous night had not completely disappeared. Once he stopped worrying about Ye Cheng lying beside him, sleep came quickly and his breathing gradually evened.
Ye Cheng opened his eyes and sigh deeply.
He had frightened his own partner so badly that Bai Jing couldn't even sleep beside him.
Ye Cheng looked toward the bed. Moonlight entered through the small window and fell across Bai Jing's face.
For a moment, Ye Cheng stared at him and was lost in thought. Bai Jing has an astonishing natural beauty.
Calling him the most beautiful ger among Qingzhou's younger generation wasn't an exaggeration. His features were delicate without appearing weak, and without the arrogance and spoiled temperament Ye Cheng had expected from a noble family's young master, his appearance somehow seemed even softer.
Sleeping peacefully, he looked particularly harmless. Ye Cheng's gaze lingered for a moment before he closed his eyes again.
Then he heard something.
"...Sorry..."
Ye Cheng immediately opened his eyes.
Bai Jing was talking in his sleep: "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to cause trouble..."
Bai Jing's eyebrows drew together as he continued: "I admit that I'm clumsy sometimes… But I work very hard."
Ye Cheng's expression changed slightly.
"I'm not delicate either. I can carry things... gather mushrooms... and cook..." His voice became increasingly aggrieved as he spoke.
"Just give me a chance..."
Ye Cheng stared at him.
Bai Jing suddenly pouted and cursed: "And that stupid manual… You shouldn't be angry about it forever."
"..."
"It would've hurt you anyway. If it hadn't messed up and I tried to replace it, I wouldn't have discovered that the technique was wrong…"
Ye Cheng's expression immediately sharpened: "What did you say?"
Naturally, Bai Jing didn't answer consciously, he was in his own little world, complaining to who knows what…
"It would've ruined your cultivation… But don't worry, I replaced it. Though it caused me all of my savings… As long as you're not angry anymore…"
His voice gradually faded as he buried half his face beneath the blanket. Ye Cheng had to lean closer to hear what he was saying.
Then, with obvious pride even while sleeping, he mumbled: "Although the technique is not finished yet, mine is much better than that garbage you brought."
Ye Cheng remained beside the bed for several moments before he said to the sword spirit: "What do you think?"
The Sword Spirit responded lazily inside his consciousness: "What?"
"Can you check the ruined manual?"
"Sure." The Sword Spirit immediately went to the living room.
The Sword Spirit checked out as much content as it can from the damage manual. After listening to it, Ye Cheng's face was completely drained of colors.
"Where did you get this manual?" Asked the sword spirit.
"You know where I got it."
The sword spirit shrugged: "I know where you said you got it. I'm asking whether you're certain."
"Master Lu gave it to me."
The Sword Spirit cursed.
Ye Cheng's expression darkened. That old Lu was really wicked. It's better if he doesn't give anything but he's actually scamming to destroy his future