Chapter 18: Be Good

“Are you waiting for your shixiong to come?” Jun Yewu’s complexion had recovered somewhat. He looked at the youth leaning against the boulder; the boy kept glancing towards the mouth of the cave, looking thoroughly anxious.

Lin Shijin drew his gaze back. He was worried, but did not dare show it. He stole a look at Jun Yewu and said nothing.

“Good that he’s delivering himself to me. I was just wondering how to get hold of him.” Jun Yewu rose, his robes falling neatly into place as he moved closer. He seized Lin Shijin’s wrist, and on it, Lin Shijin saw an invisible golden spell-mark.

“Between you and him, I far prefer your shixiong’s face.” Jun Yewu coughed, still a shade wan. “Any beauty I take a fancy to, none of them escapes.”

The golden spell on Lin Shijin’s wrist flickered and leapt. It didn’t hurt, but his heart tightened. So Jun Yewu still intended to target Sheng Rufei. He struggled to pull his hand back.

He managed to withdraw, yet the golden curse remained on his wrist. He had no idea when it had been placed there.

“With that golden spell, I can find you wherever you go,” Jun Yewu said softly. “We’ve no idea what the soul-bond might do. If it summoned you away without warning, it would be troublesome for me to locate you.”

He still had great use for this youth. Losing him now was out of the question.

Lin Shijin tried touching the golden curse with his fingers, only to find he couldn’t even make contact. A chill crept over him. “When did you put this on me?”

Jun Yewu only smiled. He drew an array on the ground. It was clearly a teleportation formation. He looked Lin Shijin up and down and was evidently dissatisfied.

The city would be under martial law by now. Sneaking in would not be easy.

Lin Shijin tried again. This time he touched the gold mark with spiritual energy; the spell vanished at once. He shook his wrist. The golden imprint was gone.

“If you behave later, I may consider sparing you.”

Jun Yewu seized his wrist again. The teleportation array lit up, and a moment later the two of them were gone, reappearing inside a carriage.

Lin Shijin didn’t react immediately. Not until he realised he was now dressed in a jade-green gown embroidered with delicate hairpin blossoms, the belt at his waist pulled tight.

The carriage rocked; beads and jade ornaments chimed above his head. He stared wide-eyed. A hand had settled around his waist, and warm breath brushed his ear.

“Be good. Stop trying to be clever.”

Lin Shijin felt the skin at his nape tighten. He turned his head stiffly. Beside him sat Jun Yewu in another borrowed face, sickly and frail-looking, leaning against the carriage wall with an arm around him.

He was dressed entirely as a woman. Lin Shijin could roughly guess what had happened. The hand on his waist made his whole body tense. Jun Yewu’s gaze fell upon his face… burning, appraising.

His sword was missing too. It had only been an ordinary blade. Jun Yewu could likely snap it with a flick of his fingers. Still, it was still better than being unarmed.

He inched sideways, trying to escape Jun Yewu’s touch. He’d barely shifted when the other dragged him firmly back, fingertips lifting his chin; his voice was gentle.

“Looking at you like this, you’re much easier on the eye.”

Jun Yewu lowered his gaze to the youth in his arms. Dressed in green silk, slender and delicate, hair pinned up, his face was strikingly beautiful and almost androgynous.

But his eyes betrayed everything: tension, caution, fear.

Lin Shijin felt a wave of dread. His reluctance was written all over him, his spine rigid. He bitterly regretted not cultivating properly when he had the chance.

The original plot had now swallowed him whole. He had no power to resist, entirely at another’s mercy. And he was timid besides, with no courage to gamble his life.

He curled inward with self-loathing. Jun Yewu held him tighter as the carriage swayed.

He could scarcely breathe. Watching Jun Yewu’s eyes flutter shut, he feared that brushing a wound might provoke a scolding… or a beating.

So when Jun Yewu seemed to fall asleep, he gingerly took his hand and tried to pry the fingers open.

Nothing happened. Encouraged, he prised the fingers open one by one, set the hand aside, and slipped to the other end of the carriage. Only then could he draw a full breath.

But before he relaxed, the man who had been pretending to sleep opened his eyes. Jun Yewu looked straight at him, amusement glimmering there.

“What did I just say?”

A cold shiver climbed Lin Shijin’s spine. His limbs froze; he could not move. Jun Yewu’s gaze held a depth that made his breath catch.

Lin Shijin’s body lurched forward, compelled. Jun Yewu remained seated. Lin Shijin sensed what he intended, dread rising. He didn’t want to go near him, but his body no longer obeyed.

He could still speak. Blinking stiffly, he attempted reason. “You never said I couldn’t move.”

He had only moved a little. Why be so petty? He was clearly doing this on purpose.

Jun Yewu let out a soft chuckle. The air in the carriage chilled. His surface smile remained gentle.

“Come here.”

Impossible… yet his body surged forward. Something shoved him from behind, and he toppled directly into Jun Yewu’s lap.

Heat rushed to his face. He remembered this scene: originally meant to humiliate Sheng Rufei, now enacted upon him instead. His arms lifted stiffly as though he were embracing Jun Yewu of his own accord.

“I told you to behave,” Jun Yewu said lazily. The boy now sat before him. His tone remained soft as he pinched Lin Shijin’s cheek. “You never listen.”

Lin Shijin’s face burned with shame and anger. His fingertips trembled. The hand on his cheek slid to his lips, caressing lightly.

“Talk to me.”

He hadn’t been allowed to speak before; now he was being forced to. For a moment, Lin Shijin actually considered strangling him. He turned his head away, pressing his lips shut.

“Don’t want to talk?” Jun Yewu tugged his earlobe. “Then breathe a little.”

It was an offhand threat, nothing more. The boy stared at him in disbelief. His eyes reddened, and both face and ears flushed.

Aggrieved and furious.

Clearly coddled, unused to compromise, yet too afraid to resist. It suited his foolish, helpless look.

“Did you hear me?”

Jun Yewu tugged at his ear twice more. The boy’s eyes reddened further, like a frightened rabbit, his lips tightly pressed, looking utterly wronged.

Jun Yewu was not one to soften.

Lin Shijin’s grievance mounted; his nose stung. His arms were still pinned around Jun Yewu, treated like a mere toy. His voice came out taut with reluctance.

“You say speak, I speak. You say don’t speak, I won’t. Why should I listen to you?”

Jun Yewu looked at him with unexpected fondness and ruffled his hair.

“Because my cultivation is higher.”

“Forget you. If not for certain circumstances, the one in my arms would be your shixiong right now.”

“If you want to complain, blame your luck,” he said, pinching his cheek again. “Looking foolish and soft like that. You’re easy to deal with.”

It was the first time Lin Shijin had ever been told he looked foolish. A shadow passed through him. Mild-tempered as he usually was, this was the first time he felt true dislike for someone.

If only I had a sword…

Even then, he wouldn’t dare kill. He didn’t even step on ants for fear of karmic retribution. At most, he’d tell on him… to have Feng Rugao flick his fingers and crush Jun Yewu like an insect.

“My shixiong won’t be caught by you. He’s far stronger than me.”

Lin Shijin muttered this, eyes still red, gaze lowered to avoid Jun Yewu’s face. “If you treat me like this, when I become strong, I won’t forgive you.”

It was a child’s threat. Jun Yewu raised an eyebrow and let out a quiet, derisive laugh. “Then I’ll wait.”

Voices and hoofbeats sounded outside. Lin Shijin pricked his ears, listening intently. He had a plan in mind, but Jun Yewu noticed at once, pulled him close, and immobilised him.

The curtain was suddenly lifted. Lin Shijin glimpsed a familiar disciple’s robes. He tried to push Jun Yewu away, but his limbs were limp.

“Routine check. No entry without a token.”

Jun Yewu held him close, using him to hide the blood on a dagger, and tossed a token out through the curtain. A faint smile curved his pale lips.

“My wife has been terribly clingy on the road. Forgive us, Immortal. It’s not convenient at the moment…”

As he spoke, he pressed a finger sharply into Lin Shijin’s waist. Lin Shijin gasped softly… a sound all too suggestive in the dim carriage.

The patrolling disciple flushed and hesitated, but then his eyes brightened at the sight of someone approaching.

Lin Shijin tried to cry out. He recognised the Fuguang sect robes. But before he could make a sound, a hand clamped over his mouth. Jun Yewu stroked his neck gently.

“You don’t want to die here, do you?”

At that, Lin Shijin froze. The curtain lifted once more, and a cool, familiar voice sounded.

“The city is under martial law. Everyone entering or leaving must verify their identity.”

The curtain rose… revealing Sheng Rufei’s cold, striking face.