Be Gentle, Immortal Master

After returning the chest to where it belonged, I found Bai Ye's books in the lower drawers and brought them back to my room.

His stamina had surely recovered along with his sight, as he was out of bed for the first time in a month, standing by the wardrobe and organizing the racks when I came in. I halted in my tracks at the sight of a tidy bed and neatly folded nightgowns. "You didn't need to waste your spiritual power on cleansing spells!" I frowned a little.

He returned me a bright smile. "Spiritual power works like muscles in your body. It gets stronger the more you flex it."

That was the first time I had heard such a theory, and I doubted the validity of it. But considering trivial tasks like these were indeed harmless to him at this point, I didn't argue. "And you're flexing your muscles by reorganizing the wardrobe?" I asked.

His smile broadened as he plucked the books from my hands and set them down at the table next to him. "Your wardrobe is a little small for us both," he nodded at the shelves in front of us, "but I think I managed."

I darted a look. My wardrobe was small indeed, but since I had originally arranged all the shelves to be below my eye level—the top was too tall for me to reach—it looked more spacious than it was with all the empty room. Yet now that he had repositioned the racks and added his garments to the upper levels, the tiny wardrobe couldn't hide the reality of its tininess anymore. It was crammed from bottom to top, fading gradually in color from my brightest casual dresses to his white robes.

An unfamiliar sight that would certainly take some getting used to, but I loved every bit of it. Despite how busy it looked, this new arrangement reminded me that we were really living together now, just like any husband and wife would in the commoner's world.

"What do you think?" he asked with some uncertainty, seeing my silence. "If you don't like it, I can change it back right away."

"You don't need my permission or approval to change a wardrobe," I smiled. "That wasn't part of our deal. What WAS part of our deal is that you aren't going back to your own room anytime soon, so this space belongs to both of us now. You can arrange anything in here any way you like."

He raised an eyebrow. "You sound like you're expecting me to go back to my own room once your deal is over." Pulling me into his arms, he pinched my cheek, and I let out a little gasp. "Don't even think about it. As much as I miss my spacious bed, I get insomnia from it unless you are lying next to me. If you want me to keep recovering, then either move to my room with me, or let me stay here forever."

I couldn't help but laugh at his almost perfectly serious tone. "Then there's a lot that we need to work on in this room." I turned my head around to glance over the space. "If we are to stay here for a long time, we'll need a bigger wardrobe, a larger bed … My desk is a bit wobbly, and the drawers are all filled, so we'll need a new one for you as well. The canopy over the posters is too girly, and we'll have to take that off. The curtains are too bright, and we'll need a darker one to—"

To what? Make the room dimmer and more romantic for certain activities during the day? I swallowed the rest of my words, hoping that he hadn't followed my shameless thoughts yet. But he only continued listing the rest of the necessary improvements for me. "Maybe a sturdier bed frame and a more secure door as well," he smirked.

"Bai Ye!" I glared at him and pounded a fist over his shoulder. "That is not what I'm trying to tell you!"

He laughed. "And more soundproof walls for your beautiful voice," he whispered into my ear.

Those words burned my cheeks. Bai Ye … I gritted my teeth. Only the first day that he had recovered, and he was already back to his old self a hundred percent, if not more! I opened my mouth to defend myself, but my words were replaced by a gasp when his breath tickled my neck. "You are loud when you get too excited," he added.

"Bai Ye!" I proved him right by yelling at him then. "Y-You didn't ask for my permission—"

"I didn't kiss you," he argued, nibbling my earlobe softly and eliciting another pant from me. His arms tightened around me, and I felt the heat burning my body through my robe. "But if you want me to … Just say the word, and I will happily oblige."

I bit back the urge as his breath traveled down, brushing so lightly over my neck that the tingles spreading through my body almost drove me mad. This shameless man … I should've made that deal abundantly more clear!

"I-I'm serious, Bai Ye," I panted, trying to distract him with conversation. "If you aren't joking about staying here forever—"

"I'm not joking," he said, his teasing stopping just beneath my ear. "I have no more secrets to keep from you, and no more need to hide anything from you. So I can finally tell you now, Qing-er, that I don't want to go anywhere without you ever again, and I don't want to spend another night without you by my side ever again."

Placing his hands on my shoulders, he turned me to face him and look into his eyes. "Be it here at Mount Hua, or anywhere we might end up searching for that solution we need, I will always stay with you.. I swear to you that nothing will separate us again from this day forward."