I Took You as My Disciple, Not My Husband - Chapter 3

Lou Qi returned in the middle of the night, when I was sound asleep.

Feeling myself pinned in place, I slowly woke. The obsessive look in his eyes brought me fully awake.

“How dare you! Release me at once.”

Lou Qi suddenly smiled, but there was no amusement in his eyes. If anything, they looked a little crazed. “Release you? So you can abandon me again, Master?”

As he spoke, he leaned closer, until his lips touched my earlobe, cold against my skin.

“Master, you said you would never abandon me, no matter what. You lied.”

I had never been this intimate with anyone. Instinctively, I tried to draw away, but I couldn’t move.

I looked at Lou Qi. His eyes were red, and beneath their possessive intensity lay fragments of unease.

He was the child I had raised, after all. My heart softened a little.

I gentled my voice, meaning to explain that I hadn’t abandoned him. What I had set out to do was dangerous; only with him guarding the Demon Realm could I feel at ease.

Before I could speak, that cold touch moved to my neck. Every hair on my body stood on end.

“Lou Qi, calm down. Let me go, and I’ll explain.”

“No.”

“Insolent! I am your master—”

He cut me off. The touch of his lips against mine made my eyes fly wide.

He…

I was his master!

I pushed at him, but he caught my hand and laced his fingers through mine. As he grew bolder, shock and anger surged through me.

Ignoring the consequences, I forced my power through my blocked meridians and struck him with my palm, breaking free of his hold.

He hadn’t guarded against it—or perhaps he hadn’t wanted to dodge. He flew into a screen and fell to the floor.

I straightened the front of my robe and sat up. A moment later, the backlash made me cough up a mouthful of dark blood.

Paying little attention to the internal injury, I wiped my mouth and tried to sever the chain with a spell. I had no idea what it was made of. No matter which technique I used, it wouldn’t budge.

Lou Qi wiped the blood from his lips, then laughed.

“Don’t waste your strength, Master. It’s a divine artifact forged from dark iron.

“I know how powerful you are. I went out of my way to find this gift for you. Even at your full strength, you might not be able to break it. And now you’re injured.”

I calmed down and watched him quietly. “What exactly do you want?”

“Nothing. It’s just that you keep breaking your promises.”

Lou Qi slowly stood, his eyes lowered so that I couldn’t read them. “I don’t want anything. Only for you to stay with me.

“That’s all.”

I was about to speak when all strength left me. I collapsed onto the bed.

Feeling my power dissipate again, I panicked. “Lou Qi, what have you done to me?”

He looked innocent. “Nothing. I know you, Master. I knew you would force your meridians open and hurt yourself, so I added healing medicine to the incense beforehand. You’ll be all right.”

It wasn’t nearly as simple as he made it sound. I knew he was hiding something, and anger simmered inside me.

I had treated him sincerely. I had never been on my guard with him. And this was how he repaid me.

I watched Lou Qi approach, step by step. This time, I didn’t even have the strength to raise a hand.

He took a cloth and gently wiped the remaining blood from my face, his expression tender.

“Master, I know what you’re trying to do. I can help.

“I can protect you now. Can’t you stay with me? Like before.”

I watched him in silence for a while before speaking. “You know everything.”

“Everything, Master. More than you do, even.”

Lou Qi untied the ribbon at the end of my hair and gently smoothed the disordered strands.

“I told you. I will always be on your side.”

I relaxed a little. “Then give me the antidote first. We can discuss our plans properly.”

His hand paused. The corners of his mouth lifted, his eyes curving with the smile. It softened some of the gloom and obsession in his face, making him look almost innocent.

“You’re not exactly subtle, Master.

“What do you take me for? A child you can coax into anything with a few sweet words?”

I fell silent.

It had only been a few years. Where had my sweet, obedient little disciple gone?

While I remained speechless, Lou Qi lay down fully clothed and gathered me into his arms. Resting his chin on my head, he played with my hair.

“Master, I’ve grown up. You can tell me things now. I can take care of everything for you, as long as you stay with me.”

The position was far too intimate. I wasn’t used to it.

By any reasonable measure, I hadn’t been away long—not even as long as an ordinary period of secluded cultivation. I began to wonder what had happened during those few years.

How had my obedient little disciple turned into a wolf cub?

I raised my eyes to his. Meeting his gaze, I couldn’t help frowning and instinctively tried to move away.

The way he looked at me had changed. It wasn’t as affectionate as before, yet somehow it seemed even more intimate. I couldn’t put it into words.

Whatever it was, how could a master and disciple share a bed this way?

I wanted to say something, but my consciousness kept slipping.

Before I lost awareness completely, I heard him say, “Get some sleep, Master. By the time you wake, everything will be over.”