Devouring The Heavens

Xuanyuan jumped into a stream not far from the treehouse.

Guxing was guarding his belongings - a clean set of linen clothes, a bottle of fresh smelling medicine and a rusty black dagger.

He took off his dirty clothes and jumped into a stream for a swim.

When he was finally clean, he swam over to the shore while naked and opened the jade bottle. A fresh, cool scent rushed into Xuanyuan's nostrils, it was incredibly refreshing. He already felt his body relaxing merely by smelling the medicine.

Xuanyuan took the medicine and poured a few drops onto the hideous looking wound across his chest. There was still blood leaking from the wound, but after applying the medicine, it visibly started to heal.

Xuanyuan was astonished.

"God, what is this? It's so effective!"

He understood that he shouldn't waste a single drop of this medicine. Every precious drop inside the bottle could be a life saving treasure in an emergency.

So he ignored the small wounds and only used a few drops on the larger wounds to heal them. He then put on his clean clothes and carefully hid the bottle inside his secret pocket . When he was done, he rushed back to the tree house with a giddy look.

"My beautiful Master, I'm back..."

Xuanyuan had begged on the streets since he was a child, so he quickly learnt how to read people. Sometimes he would talk to a fortune teller and learnt some physiognomy from them, it was the art of reading people through their facial features. He knew instinctively if a person was used to committing good acts or evil acts. However, this body and his past life were both young men. They didn't have experience dealing with devious minds.

Xuanyuan trusted his instinct and he believed that if a powerful woman like Yin Zhenluo really wanted to kill him, he would have already been long dead. Now that she had agreed to teach him, he owed her a great debt already. He didn't dare to be suspicious of her motives.

The beautiful sunset was lingering on the horizon, but it did not linger long.

The last ray of the remaining sunlight filled the tree house before fading into darkness.

There was a grilling rack in the middle of the room which was grilling an entire hog. This type of grilled hog was a speciality of Xuanyuan. He found things like skinning, gutting, and grilling were very easy with the memories that came with his new body. He added a multitude of different herbs and seasoning as the hog roasted. The grilled pork smelt delicious.

Guxing stood next to the grill and drool started to drip from its tongue. Yin Zhenluo sat cross-legged on the ground. She was amused by Xuanyuan's intense concentration and said "I wouldn't have thought that you would be a fairly good cook."

He gave her a glance and smiled confidently,

"Of course. Surely I am better than you."

She was irritated by this comment. A woman of her status no longer needed to do chores like cooking and cleaning. She pulled a long face and didn’t speak another word.

Xuanyuan grinned a little, not minding her irritation. When the food was done, he cut the most tender part of the pork and put it onto a wooden plate. The dagger cut the meat like it was cutting soft clay. He handed the plate to Yin Zhenluo with a flattering smile.

"Beautiful master, this part is specially prepared for you."

Yin Zhenluo took another look at the yound boy. Even though Xuanyuan wasn't particularly good-looking, his face seemed very refreshing when he smiled.

"That's more like it." Yin Zhenluo was a cultivator and practitioner on the martial path, but she still had to eat and drink occasionally to sustain her body. She wasn't going to refuse the delicacy in front of her.

Xuanyuan's gaze drifted down to under Yin Zhenluo's collar bones when he handed her the plate. His heart started to race. He had to take a deep breath and use all of his willpower to force his eyes away. The sight of his beautiful master strengthened his belief, "Xuanyuan, you must take a practitioner like Master Yin Zhenluo as your wife. You need to work hard, otherwise you'll be no match for such a powerful woman. How embarrassing would that be?"

Yin Zhenluo took the plate and was focused on the food. She didn't notice Xuanyuan's expression, nor did she know what was on his mind.

She took out a small silver knife and cut a tiny piece of pork. She chewed it slowly and enjoyed the delicious flavour.

However, she saw that Xuanyuan and Guxing were eating some old dried meat. She was confused and asked. "Why are you eating old dried meat instead of the freshly cooked meat you prepared?"

Xuanyuan smiled after hearing her question.

"Today I became your disciple, obviously I have to prepare something delicious for you. The hog would've fed Guxing and I for two days, longer if we rationed it. There are always powerful beasts wandering around the forest. It is not everyday that we get to enjoy a full stomach. We don't mind having dried meat as long as we can eat."

Xuanyuan halved the hardened dried meat and gave it to Guxing. They both started to eat their half of the dried, flavourless meat. Yin Zhenluo felt a bitter taste in her mouth. She had grown up in a prestigious family and never wanted for anything. They both lived in very different worlds.

"Xuanyuan, where are your parents?"

He stopped chewing when he heard her question. His eyes revealed a trace of loneliness. In both his last life and this life, he was an orphan. He never had parents who would love and care for him. After a while, he answered,

"I'm an orphan. I have never had parents to care for me. Guxing and Guyue were the only ones to ever care for me, but Guyue is now dead because of the young master Yuejue."

Yin Zhenluo saw the loneliness that was hidden deep in his eyes. It softened her heart and she sighed, she no longer continued to question him.

Xuanyuan was observing Yin Zhenluo as she ate her pork. She chewed very slowly and her every movement was elegant.

Some time had passed and night had darkened the sky. The cold moonlight shone through the window, shining down on Yin Zhenluo. Under the moonlight, she looked like the fairy of the moon, Chang-e, cold and untouchable. He was mesmerised and couldn't look away.

At this moment, he was revelling in the bliss. How nice it would be if this moment could last forever. If he could just watch over her forever.

Yin Zhenluo opened her eyes and saw that Xuanyuan was staring at her while she ate. She pointed at the grilled pork behind him and said. "Dry the meat, in the future I will eat what you eat. There's no need to prepare such special meals for me. Your practice will start tomorrow."

Xuanyuan nodded while drooling.

She stood up and rolled her eyes, half with annoyance and half with amusement. She walked towards the bed and laid down. She then told Xuanyuan. "Go get some rest. I'll take the bed and you can sleep on the floor."

Xuanyuan wiped his drool from his mouth and nodded vigorously,

"Of course. I'm grateful for not having to sleep outside."

"Also, since you are my disciple, there is one rule you have to follow." Yin Zhenluo laid on her side. Her eyes seemed more tender when under the moonlight. Her beauty was making Xuanyuan feel light headed.

"Starting from tonight, if you successfully ambush me at anytime, I will let you do whatever you want.”

Yin Zhenluo's smile was stunning like a blossoming flower.

When she finished her words, a fire was lit in Xuanyuan's eyes. His body trembled and his mouth started watering. He rushed in Yin Zhenluo’s direction and attacked like a hungry wolf.

"That's not an ambush, that's more like suicide."

She sighed and flicked her finger lightly against his forehead. A strong wind hit Xuanyuan's head and knocked him backwards. He rolled across the floor in an embarrassing state.

Guxing didn't growl at Yin Zhenluo this time. It actually looked amused by the schadenfreude.

Xuanyuan refused to admit that he would fail to ambush a woman. He tried another seventeen times that night and failed to touch even a hair on her body. It was a miserable failure.

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