Be Gentle, Immortal Master

My last syllable had barely faded when the sound of an excruciating cough echoed in the room behind me. My head snapped back instinctively, and when I realized what had happened, I cursed myself for saying such words so carelessly. Bai Ye wouldn't be able to tolerate me swearing on my life like this, of course, and his current condition was far from ideal for handling shock. I should have thought of it …

A frown formed on the Gatekeeper's face in the meantime. Fortunately, the cough stopped soon enough, and I somehow managed to pull myself back together quickly and explain, "Like I said earlier, my master has taken some injuries during his retreat. Our discussion … may have been too distracting for him at the moment."

The Gatekeeper's frown deepened. Just as I thought he was about to chide me again, Teng Yuan interjected, "Considering Bai Ye's situation, Gatekeeper, may I suggest that we return on a different day if the discussion needs to be continued? We came to examine the power surge from Twin Stars, and the conclusion for that issue is already clear. As to how to handle the demonic sword in the future—" he gestured at me, "—what she suggested isn't unreasonable. Either way, the decision doesn't have to be made today. We can easily keep a close eye on the matter in the meantime."

The Gatekeeper looked at him. "How are we to track her progressions with the demonic sword?" he asked. "Bai Ye's words cannot be trusted in that regard. He has been too lenient on this disciple for too long."

Teng Yuan smiled. "I can help if you will trust my judgment. Yun Qing-er visits my hall frequently to spar with my disciples. It won't be difficult for us to notice her changes if there are any."

The Gatekeeper hesitated. After a long consideration, he grunted another sigh and gave me a dark stare. "We will leave it like this for now," he said. "Remember your words. No one can save you from your own oath if you break it. Not even your master."

I lowered my head obediently, and I resisted the temptation to give Teng Yuan a huge bow of gratitude. Without another word, the Gatekeeper summoned his flying sword, and the group of masters followed him out of my sight.

Heaving a temporary sigh of relief, I turned and made my way back into the meditation chamber. I knew the Gatekeeper wasn't one to give up easily, and he would probably return in just a few days, but that was enough time left for me to prepare for a better response. I certainly couldn't let him take Twin Stars away from me. If he were to insist—

Those thoughts stopped when I met Bai Ye's unfocused gaze, and my steps halted.

Even though he couldn't see me, the look on his face told me that he would be glaring as hard as possible at me right now if he could. In a hoarse and clearly displeased voice, he said, "You should've never sworn on anything like that."

Well, I did feel guilty about it earlier when I heard his cough, and I did warn myself that I should never do it again when he was within earshot. But hearing him blaming me this way, I suddenly couldn't resist the urge to smirk. "You are worried for me?" I asked, sitting down at his side. "Then you should know how I felt when I found out that you wanted to sacrifice your life and die for me. It feels terrible, doesn't it?"

The anger on his face faded, replaced by surprise. I leaned over, wrapping my arms lightly around him. "Don't worry, I won't let those things happen," I said softly. "I won't let Twin Stars overpower me, and I won't let anyone harm me. I won't give up my life for anything, because I know how much that would hurt you … So do the same for me, will you? We'll both live. For hundreds of years more, together."

A long pause. "Qing-er," he said at last, his voice slightly trembling. "I would never leave you by yourself if I had a choice … I've been searching for a cure to this for over two hundred years. If there was one, I would've found it by now. Sometimes … There isn't always a solution to every problem, and the best we can do is to accept reality the way it is."

"That is not what I will do," I said firmly. "Your search and mine won't be the same. I'm already two hundred years late, so it's high time that I take my turn now. I know I'm not nearly as well learned on medicine as you are, but you said I have a good instinct for finding solutions, remember? With the help of Twin Stars, I might just be able to surprise you."

His brow knitted. I knew he didn't like what I just said at all, but I was getting used to his stubbornness, and I was ready to spend the rest of the week or even month waiting for him to come around. "I was at Azure Dragon Palace earlier," I continued. "Do you know what the master there told me? He said that oftentimes, there IS a solution to everything. The question is how far a person is willing to go and how much they are capable of going." Lifting my head, I stared into his hazy eyes. "I've always believed everything you tell me, Bai Ye. But this time, I'll choose to believe what he said instead, and I'll do everything I can to save you."

He opened his mouth to speak again, but I pressed a finger to his lips, stopping him. "No more arguing today. You need rest. We can continue the discussion tomorrow, and you'll have plenty of time to keep trying to persuade me out of this if you wish.." I pecked the corner of his mouth lightly. "But so do I … And who do you think will win?"𝒇re𝐞w𝐞𝚋𝒏𝚘ѵeƖ c𝗼𝑚