It's not easy being a Master

43

Yan Jin’s usual forbearance disappeared and he exhaled a constricted breath.

Shen Zhixian was overwhelmed and muddle-headed. He blurted out, “Couldn’t help what?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Shen Zhixian regretted it immediately. But, the words couldn’t be recovered, and he could only listen as Yan Jin said, “I couldn’t help...wanting to do bad things to Sui Xian.”

Shen Zhixian, who’d just experienced the “bad things,” couldn’t help licking his lips, which seemed to still carry Yan Jin’s residual heat. His throat felt dry and parched, making it difficult for him to speak.

He’d thought of thousands of defenses to prevent Yan Jin from blackening, to prevent Yan Jin from killing him. But, he’d never thought that he might need to prevent Yan Jin from thinking of him.

Who was he now in Yan Jin's eyes? Sui Xian or Master?

If it was Master...Shen Zhixian somehow remembered a trending post he’d seen on a forum in his past life.

—On the ranking of high-risk occupations in ancient pure love fantasy novels.

A group had commented: “Congratulations to the Masters for being pushed to the top of the list.”
.
Shen Zhixian: "........."

It was moments like this that made Shen Zhixian somewhat hate his excellent memory. Despite how long it’d been, he could still vaguely recall the delighted congratulations and the many comments that followed.

“Being too good to the disciple, it’s the Master.”

“Being not good enough to the disciple, causing him to blacken, it’s also the Master.”

“To whom the disciple owed a debt to, whether good or bad, also still the Master.

Shen Zhixian: "........."

Shen Zhixian forcibly suppressed his memories of the derailing comments, and thought of Sui Xian again.

Not himself, but Yan Jin’s “Sui Xian.”

He had embraced Yan Jin in his childhood, had coaxed him and treated him well, so well that Yan Jin still remembered this “Sui Xian.”

Was Yan Jin really thinking of him, or did he like him because of this “Sui Xian?”

Or maybe it was simply...

Shen Zhixian was in a complex mood and was lost in thought for a while.

Yan Jin's eyes dimmed when he saw that Shen Zhixian wasn’t speaking, that his face had an indiscernible expression, and that the faint coldness that he'd always emitted while within the grounds of Qingyun Sect had reappeared. He released Shen Zhixian, turned over, and stood next to the bed. His voice was both tight and bitter as he said, “The disciple overstepped. Master, please have a good rest. I…”

Now, whenever Shen Zhixian heard the word “Master” from Yan Jin's mouth, his heart would feel constricted and chilled. He regained his senses, stammering to answer while he tried to sit up.

But his mind was stretched taut and the wine hadn’t completely dissipated from his body. When he tried to sit up, he nearly fell over. Yan Jin instantly reached out to steady him.

The moment Yan Jin's hand wrapped around Shen Zhixian’s wrist, Shen Zhixian suddenly felt a trace of nervousness and apprehension, flashing by so fast that he could hardly follow it.

Hold on!

--This wasn’t his emotion!

That feeling came again.