Heavenly Soul [BL]

Wei Xiang strode down the corridors of the Sentinel headquarters. Despite his heavy gear and sturdy boots, he made not even a whisper of sound as he moved. His face was uncharacteristically stiff and gloomy, his posture bristling with suppressed aggression. He was the very picture of a domineering officer, if only it weren’t for the tips of his ears glowing red.

Anyone who saw him saluted and made way without question. They clearly perceived that the Sentinel Grandmaster’s third and favorite disciple was in a very bad mood.

Stalking to the doors of his master’s office, Wei Xiang pushed into the room unceremoniously.

His master was sitting behind his desk and reviewing some paperwork, but seeing his youngest disciple’s scowl, he calmly set them down. “What’s wrong?”

On the side, Wei Xiang’s second martial brother snickered, “Boy, don’t you look furious. You seem like you could cough out blood purely from anger.”

Wei Xiang unclenched his teeth enough to spit out politely, “Second Brother, may I ask you to kindly step out. I have something to discuss with Master.”

Laughing to himself, Kong Min provoked, “And if I refuse? We are all brothers here, what need is there for you to hide anything.”

At the end of his patience, Wei Xiang growled, “Kong Min, you bloody well get out or so help me, I’ll peel off your skin and use your bones to sharpen my claws.”

Seeing he meant business, Kong Min lifted his hands in an ‘I surrender’ gesture and finally decided not to push him anymore, getting up and leaving with a swagger.

As soon as the door closed, the leader of the Sentinels gestured to the seat in front of him. In a quiet tone, he said, “Xiang-er, sit down and explain.”

Wei Xiang sat down facing his master.

The Sentinel Grandmaster was a beautiful man, his build slender and graceful. But his androgynous body held an explosive power that could easily tear down this entire world. He was, after all, one of the strongest deities even in Heaven.

Most people thought him cold, but he just had a severe case of facial paralysis. To Wei Xiang, he was both a father and an older brother, the person he felt closest to.

He felt thankful that his master who rarely returned home had finally made it back this week. He would definitely need his permission to undertake this and to take care of the arrangements for while he was gone.

The Grandmaster just waited patiently for him to organize his thoughts.

“I need to be assigned to monitor someone and I need you to make space in my schedule for that.”

The room was silent for a while.

The Grandmaster asked simply, “Why?”

For some reason, Wei Xiang felt frustrated and restless. He got up and began to pace across the room. “Did that idiot Kong Min tell you about the Behemoth from the hidden realm?”

“Yes,” came the unruffled reply.

“Then do you know about the disciple who defeated it?”

“Yes, Heavenly Peak Sect’s second disciple.”

Wei Xiang nodded. “I’ve found some interesting things about him while shadowing him these past few days. I want to investigate more.”

“Is he a threat?”

“He might be. I don’t know.” Wei Xiang truly couldn’t fathom the depths of Feng Qinghe. He couldn’t yet assess his threat level.

“Is it possible for him to be?” his master asked.

“He is definitely capable enough,” Wei Xiang replied wryly. Then sitting back down, he gave a detailed account of all the things he saw or overheard pertaining to Feng Qinghe, except for the time he peeped at him while he bathed, of course. Wei Xiang explained how he had the cunning and was manipulative enough to be a major threat if he was so inclined, especially since he now had a solid connection to the head disciple of the Golden Sun Sect, and who knew how many more significant people knew him under the surface.

“…so that’s why I want to keep watch on him,” Wei Xiang finished.

The Grandmaster looked at his flustered disciple explaining with what could almost be mistaken as excitement. This surprised him. He had never seen his youngest disciple ever being excitable before. He had also noticed that when he first entered, Wei Xiang’s ears were red as if from embarrassment.

From what he had observed throughout these past few thousand or so years, Wei Xiang was a calm, mature and sardonic person with a slightly sadistic streak. He was his successor and someone who handled the majority of the Order’s matters. This was not because he was favored the most, but because he was the only one among those in the top who could carry out administrative duties with at least some measure of competence. The Grandmaster could do it too, but he was too busy wandering outside in search of something.

Due to the burden of his responsibilities and certain things from his past, Wei Xiang walked through life with a noble and untouchable air around him. Other than the Grandmaster, he was never close or paid attention to anyone else.

And now he wanted to put aside his work and personally shadow someone he thought was cunning and interesting, and by his earlier flushed ears, also tempting.

As someone who was married, the Grandmaster was knowledgeable enough to surmise that his disciple was interested in this person who was crafty enough to be a threat. Should he encourage his affections?

Hmm, why not?

“Alright then, I’ll arrange it,” the Grandmaster said, surprising the Wei Xiang who had already started preparing other excuses. “Shadow him until you’re clear about his intentions. But finish your paperwork first.”

Wei Xiang nodded gratefully. It might take a day or two to be done with his work if he hurried, and then he could see what other surprises Feng Qinghe had in store for him.

Seeing a corner of his lip curl up in anticipation, the Grandmaster couldn’t help but feel like he was leading a wolf to slaughter the sheep.

Coughing lightly at the thought, he added, “Xiang-er, don’t hide this time. Accompany him in the open.”

Seeing that his disciple looked puzzled, the Grandmaster explained, “Since he hasn’t yet committed a crime, shadowing him at this point is just stalking. I don’t think it will be appreciated.” He was clearly already thinking about the future of their relationship.

Wei Xiang just dismissed his worries, “He isn’t the type to get mad over that. I’m sure he was aware that he was being followed the entire time. He even kicked a ball at my head though I was still shadowing.” He sounded very proud and pleased when he said this.

The Sentinel Grandmaster was suddenly plagued by a different worry. Why did he feel like his disciple was the sheep being targeted by the wolf?

But the Grandmaster was clearly overthinking it. Qinghe not only wasn’t interested in Wei Xiang, he had long since put him out of his mind after the Sentinel ran out this morning.

Right now, he had other things to worry about.

“What did you just say?” Qinghe asked smiling as he cocked his head to the side.

He was in the great hall where the Elders and the sect master met, having been summoned to discuss an important issue.

Zhen YiLan gulped discretely. He knew that his disciple was furious, so he did the rational thing and shut his mouth. Alas, not all had self-preservation instincts like him.

“We said,” carefully enunciated a black-haired Elder, “that you are more suitable to take over the position of the sect master in the future. Don’t you agree, Disciple Chen?”

Standing by Qinghe’s side, having been summoned just like him, was the sect master’s head disciple, Chen Xiande. He looked like he had just bitten deeply into a lemon, peel and all. But despite his obvious dissatisfaction, he didn’t say anything to refute the Elder since he knew that he would only be harming himself by arguing. Their opinion on him had already hit rock bottom. He could only clench his fists and bow his head while bearing it.

Qinghe wanted to sigh. It wasn’t that his senior brother was stupid or unnecessarily cruel, he had just never been taught properly. From the second he stepped foot onto the path of cultivation, all he’d received was scorn for the ‘dishonest means’ his father had used. But instead of taking the issue to his father, they placed the blame solely on the son. And now with his father dead, the scorn was openly shown.

These petty Elders were each thousands or ten thousands of years old, why couldn’t they be a bit more mature when dealing with a kid instead of deepening his issues?

Though Chen Xiande had tried to torment him, it was undeniable that the one most harmed was himself and not Qinghe.

“I humbly deny this honor. Please let Senior Brother remain in this position,” Qinghe bowed, still smiling gently.

The Elders frowned. Why was this disciple so resistant? We are offering you the glorious position of the Sect Master of Heavenly Peak Sect, not trying to sell you low-quality cabbage!

Though he could deduce their thoughts, Qinghe remained firm. To the side, Chen Xiande revealed a surprised expression that he quickly covered. He had always thought that this had been his junior brother’s goal all this time, to steal the seat of the sect master. But why was he refusing it now? It must only be for show!

“Disciple Feng, being humble is good, being stubborn is not!” warned another elder.

Inwardly, Qinghe sneered: Then why don’t you stop being stubborn, you bunch of old fools!

“This disciple merely feels that Senior Brother would be the more appropriate choice if only he were given a bit more training.”

The black-haired Elder scoffed, “We find him unsuitable and ask you to assume this responsibility in the future. Are you not up to the task?”

It was a provocative sentence and if the one it was directed to was hotheaded, they would immediately claim to be more than up to the task. But was Qinghe really that easy to provoke?

“Yes, I’m afraid I’m not suitable,” Qinghe admitted seemingly in humbleness.

The black-haired Elder wanted to cough out blood in frustration.

Qinghe truly didn’t feel that he was good to be in an administrative position, he was more suitable to be sent out on political missions or gathering materials on his own. And of the four disciples, Chen Xiande could truly fill this gap if only he had a bit more training.

“Then how about this,” said a wizened Elder with lusterless gray hair. “Disciple Feng, since you insist that your senior brother can take on the mantle of sect master with a bit of training, why don’t you prove it? By teaching him personally.”

Though his voice sounded old and wise, his eyes glinted with hints of malice. The other Elders and even the sect master looked at the gray-haired Elder like he was crazy for suggesting such a thing.

Oh, bring it on you old geezer!

“I’m afraid Senior Brother will not assent to learning from someone younger than him,” Qinghe said, still smiling.

Seeing that he wouldn’t make any headway with him, the Elder turned to Chen Xiande, “Is that right, Disciple Chen? You only have two options, give up your right to the seat of the sect master, or sincerely learn from your junior brother. So what do you choose?”

It was downright malicious to make him choose between those two options since either would feel humiliating for him.

Qinghe looked to the side to gauge his senior brother’s reaction, only to find himself being studied. There was a complex cloud of emotions in Chen Xiande’s eyes as if he didn’t know what to think. He’d presumed his junior brother would hem and haw but end up ‘reluctantly’ accepting the position. But he not only didn’t budge till the end, he also stood firm that Chen Xiande should get the position. Just what should he think about it?

After his brain spun around in circles for a while, he finally made a decision, though he didn’t know if it was the right one.

“I… I shall accept my junior brother’s teachings,” Chen Xiande finally forced out, his voice hoarse from strain. Then he made a slight bow that was more like a nod towards Qinghe.

Everyone in the hall was dumbfounded.

What was with this unexpected development?!

Qinghe just smiled tranquilly.