Be Gentle, Immortal Master

I kept myself busy for the rest of the day. Bai Ye was too weak to move back to his room, so I brought all our blankets and covers to the meditation chamber and assembled a makeshift bed out of them. Carefully supporting his body, I moved him onto the cushioned surface and laid him down, tucking him under the warm layers. He was still ice-cold, and I didn't know if it'd be safe to pass him my spiritual power at this point, so I made a fire by the bed for the first time in five years. Then I heated a handful of rocks from the garden and wrapped them up, tucking them next to him under the blankets.

He still looked grudging the entire time, but at least he cooperated and acquiesced to everything I did, which was all I needed at the moment. After settling him down, I made a quick trip to my kitchen and fetched the remaining tuber fleece flower, starting a brew over the fire next to him.

He should've saved all these precious herbs for himself, I thought with a dull pain in my heart as I stirred the pot. Snow lotus, tuber fleece flower … These were the best ingredients for treating patients with too much yin in their body. He told me before that I should brew these to offset the adverse effect of my regular potion, and I had never suspected that what he said was only an excuse. The true reason was Twin Stars … because its demonic power came inherently with strong yin. Even though he was already transferring most of the impact to himself, he didn't want me to feel the slightest discomfort or be affected by any potential long term harm, so he collected all these rare medicines to nurture me, all the while bearing much, much worse damage to his own body.

Just how far would he go to shield me from every little threat he could think of, at the risk of his own life?

My eyes drifted over to the makeshift bed. He was inclining against a stack of pillows, his eyes closed. He looked more solemn than usual with his lips pressed into a thin line, his contour sharper than ever from the gauntness. I winced, and I wondered if I could ever get used to seeing this new look on him. Never had I hated high cheekbones and a pointy chin as much as I did now.

All of this was because of me, I thought with a pang of guilt.

"Qing-er." His lips suddenly moved. "Are you going to stare at me like this for the rest of the day?"

I blinked. His eyes were still closed, and his vision … "H-How do you know I'm staring at you?" I stammered in surprise. f𝐫ℯe𝘸𝙚𝑏n𝑜ѵ𝒆l. 𝐜𝚘𝓶

"You stopped stirring the pot."

Oh … Right … He was too familiar with signs of me getting distracted. I hastened to get back to the brew, making sure that nothing was burned, and I found myself smiling a little at his observance. If his mind was still so sharp, then at least it meant that he wasn't in that weak of a state, so I should still have plenty of time left to find the solutions.

The potion was done soon afterward. Carefully pouring it into a bowl, I blew on the liquid until it was cool enough to drink, then scooted over to his side. But just as I was about to pass it to him, he turned his head away. "This was supposed to be for you," he said. "I don't need it."

His lies weren't very brilliant, I grunted inwardly. Telling myself to stay patient, I said, "Your disciple isn't that dumb, Bai Ye. It might have taken me a while to figure it out … but I know what these are for now. I haven't felt any chill from the bonding for months, whereas you are frozen like a sheet of ice as we speak. Don't try to convince me that you don't need it."

He was quiet for a moment. Then he sighed and shook his head. "It's a waste of effort, Qing-er. Remedies like this only alleviate the symptoms, and they can only treat mild cases like yours. For me … It doesn't fix the crux of the issue, and it won't help with anything in the end."

"That is not true," I argued. "It might not be enough to fix the problem at once, but it'll help you feel better and buy me more time to find a better solution." Softening my voice, I added, "You have no idea how pale you look right now. It pains me to see it … Will you do it just for me? Plus, I've already adjusted the portions so that it'll work better on you. I can't drink it either if you don't, and that will truly make it go to waste."

He frowned. "You adjusted the portions?"

Smiling smugly, I nudged the bowl into his hand. "If you want to stop me from doing it again, then get better quickly so you'll have enough strength to fight me. Otherwise, I'll be making this and other potions for you every day until we run out of all our supplies."

The look on his face couldn't be more helpless. Hesitantly, he held the bowl, and I helped him support its weight so that it wouldn't slip out of his unsteady grip. But instead of raising it towards his mouth, he spoke again. "But—"

"I have other ways to make you drink it if you keep finding more excuses," I cut him off, determined to fight this mule to the end. Leaning into him, I whispered against his lips, "If you refuse to do it yourself, then how about I feed you … mouth to mouth?"

He froze for a second.. Then, before I could even help him with the bowl, he lifted it and tilted his head back, and he gulped everything down in the blink of an eye.