Huí Guāng Fǎn Zhào - 回光返照

Chapter 11 - Watch a Good Show

Streaks of golden rays slowly began to peak across Conglong Valley as it dissipated the early morning mist, ushering one of the hottest days of the summer. Waking from a dream, Jiang Yuming blinked quickly trying to get used to the darkness of the room. He was covered in a layer of sweat, but for the life of him, could not remember what he was dreaming of. Giving up on sleeping some more, Jiang Yuming stretched and stood from the bed intending to get dressed for practice.

In a rare occurrence, Gao Guiren was still asleep beside him, perhaps too tired from their sword practice the night prior. [Cascading Ginkgo] was originally written for two and most effective as a sword play between couples. Surprisingly Gao Guiren and Jiang Yuming had managed to work through most of the techniques and found a good rhythm between them. Jiang Yuming had wanted to continue late into the night but Gao Guiren's stamina was lacking, calling it quits after they only managed two rounds.

At first, Jiang Yuming thought it would have been weird to sleep with another person beside him but after so many months it became comforting. He watched the rise and fall of Gao Guiren's chest and gently reached out to brush a few strands of loose hair away from his (GGR) face. Perhaps if they met each other normally they could have become close friends, but life never goes the way one expects.

He didn't realize how long he was staring at Gao Guiren until he began to hear the world around them stir. The room began to lighten and the birds had fully begun their daily songs. Jiang Yuming nimbly made his way out of bed, parting the curtain and climbing over Gao Guiren who was sleeping on the outer edge.

Walking barefoot, he stepped into the main room and opened the window to let in some light. The dew had begun to rise as the sun began to heat up the valley, bringing with it the unpleasant humidity of summer. The only saving grace was the light breeze that blew down from the mountain that kept the air moving and made it somewhat manageable for the valley's occupants. Jiang Yuming decided to fetch some water for them to bathe and opened the door to the outer courtyard.

It wasn't until he was at the well and staring at his reflection that he realized he had not put any outer closed on nor any shoes. With the summer heat and humidity, the long hair and the many layers of robes, it was slowly smothering him to death. As a modern person, the tolerance of nudity was much different from the conservative ancient cultivation view point. In a perfect world, he would be living at his villa with air conditioning. However, he realized he was practically walking outside in his underwear, even if he was fully covered.

"Don't you think it's too early in the morning to go streaking?"

Looking back, towards the main building, Jiang Yuming saw Gao Guiren propped up against the door with only an outer robe draped loosely over his shoulders. His feet were bare and exposed his delicate white ankles to the light. Gao Guiren had not even put up his hair, letting it hang loose behind him. In a drama, this would be the moment where petals would fly and the male lead would be back lit showing off his beauty.

The air seemed to heat up even more around Jiang Yuming as he replied, "It's too hot and the cultivation world doesn't believe in basketball shorts."

Gao Guiren's smile made him even more dazzling, "Hurry up with the water, we should get ready, the wedding is today."

Jiang Yuming promptly filled the bucket with the cold water and poured a bucket over his head. The cold water brought him back to his senses and shaking his head he rid himself of the thought that he had begun to find Gao Guiren attractive. Although Jiang Yuming enjoyed both sexes equally, he had always thought his preference leaned more towards devastatingly beautiful, lithe, and strong men like himself. After all, who doesn't like a tall, rich, and handsome man?