Your Disciple or Your Master? - Chapter 3

When I woke again, all the color drained from my face.

Xie Wuwang and I were pressed tightly together. One arm encircled my waist, and I was sitting on his lap.

“Master! I’m here to take you home!”

Xie Xingran ran over to the bank in high spirits, only for the smile to freeze on his lips.

Xie Wuwang turned to look at him. Beside my ear, he said, “Qingya, is this the disciple you took in? What a fool. He isn’t worth an injury like this.”

I stood up awkwardly. On the bank, Xie Xingran leaped into the water with a splash and scooped me into his arms. He stared coldly at Xie Wuwang. “…Why do you have my face?”

Then he added, “You don’t get to decide whether it was worth it!”

My heart pounded wildly. I should have reprimanded Xie Xingran, but I didn’t dare move.

I watched the two of them glare at each other, the tension sharp enough to draw blood.

They must have recognized each other already, right?

At this point, however, neither could stand the sight of the other. Xie Wuwang thought Xie Xingran stupid and naive; Xie Xingran thought Xie Wuwang cold and heartless, a perversion of the man he should become.

Xie Wuwang plucked a lotus and offered it to me. Just as I reached for it, Xie Xingran’s foot slipped. Startled, I threw my arms around his neck.

Xie Xingran shot him a provocative look. Something shifted in Xie Wuwang’s eyes.

I hastily stuffed the flower into my robe. It was a Netherfrost Lotus, a miraculous healing treasure.

Xie Xingran’s face remained taut all the way home.

I closed my eyes and pretended not to notice.

“Master, I’m angry. You accepted a flower from him.”

I sighed.

When I opened my eyes, his were rimmed in red, his expression wounded.

“That was a Netherfrost Lotus. It can save lives. You know that.”

“I still won’t allow it. If you want one, I can pick it for you.”

I nearly told him that the Netherfrost Lotus recognized its owner. Then I remembered that the two of them were the same person and held my tongue.

“Did you only save me because I look like… that man?”

I thought back to the day I found Xie Xingran surrounded by wolves, staring at me with those pitiful eyes. His face—identical to Master’s—really was why I had saved him.

After all, my feelings for Master had never been ordinary.

And Xie Xingran was the precious little figurine I kept at my side.

“That was your grandmaster,” I said helplessly.

“Did you take me as your disciple because of this face?”

“Is that why you’ve always been so good to me?”

Tch.

My head was starting to ache.

Then he noticed the mark on my neck and fell apart completely. “What’s that on your neck?”

My neck?

I touched it. It was a little sore.

“Did you accept me because you’re in love with him?!”

I struggled to get down from his arms. He clung to me, eyes red with anger, so I clenched my fist and struck his shoulder. “Enough nonsense! He is my master!”

At my stern expression, Xie Xingran pursed his lips. “I’m sorry, Master. Don’t be angry. I was just… I was jealous.”