It's not easy being a Master

15

Shen Zhixian felt as if he was floating in a dark sea.

The water pressed down on him, making it hard to breathe. His chest felt hollowed out, as if a hole had been cut into it, turning every struggle for breath into agony.

Just bear it one more time. Shen Zhixian thought hauntingly that, very soon, he would be stewed in water and die.

In the chaos, he felt something tugging at his sleeves. He subconsciously touched it with the back of his hand. The little hands that were pulling tightly at his sleeve were cold to the touch.

Who was it…?　　　

The pain eased a bit, allowing him to finally focus enough to follow the little hands. It led to a thin body that probably belonged to a seven or eight year old child.

The child’s wrists were as thin as twigs. Shen Zhixian held them gently, noticing how weak the pulse was, as if it might suddenly stop at any moment.

His body was still sinking, and the cold sea seemed to compress around him. Shen Zhixian endured the pain and tried to hug the boy, hoping to take him up to the surface. Just then, a gleam of light penetrated the dark sea water and fell on the child’s face. 　　

Shen Zhixian looked down at the person he was holding.

Jan Yin?!!　　

This face clearly belonged to Yan Jin. No, maybe this was Yan Jin when he was a child?

He was so surprised that he forgot to move. Suddenly, the child opened his eyes and a pair of red pupils coldly gazed at him. The hands that had originally been tugging at his sleeves now silently rose up to his throat.

“Master…” The cold voice that rang in his ears was as indifferent as the child’s appearance. “This is in return for the spirit root you gave me.”　　

Shen Zhixian was stunned. His lips trembled and he wanted to speak but the hands at his throat tightened hard, choking off his words.

That nightmare scene that he’d nearly forgotten slammed back into his consciousness. Shen Zhixian’s throat was tightly squeezed and the pain in his chest intensified with his suffocation, turning his vision dark. 　　

“No...no…” He gasped intermittently, struggling to spit out the broken words. “No...I...Ah!”

With a bang, Shen Zhixian burst out of the water while being enclosed in a warm embrace. The pressure around him immediately fell away, and his throat no longer felt choked. With one hand, he grabbed on to the person holding him while, at the same time, he tilted his head sideways and vomited out blood-tinged water.

There was a thin layer of mist in front of him. He gasped, the look in his eyes frantic even as his body shivered uncontrollably. He fruitlessly repeated, “It wasn’t me...I didn’t…”　　

The man in Yan Jin’s arms looked pitiful and very fragile.

Shen Zhixian’s frame was naturally thin, with the metabolism of one who would not get fat no matter how much he eats. Meanwhile, the thin bamboo pole of the past had grown up into a strong and sturdy young man.

As Shen Zhixian slumped against him, Yan Jin realized that his waist was so thin that he could wrap one hand around it.

Shen Zhixian was obviously not fully awake yet. His head leaned weakly on Yan Jin’s shoulder, his face so pale that Yan Jin could even see the thin blue veins underneath the fine and thin skin. Mumbling incoherently, Shen Zhixian pulled at Yan Jin’s collar with one hand.　　

His inner clothes were soaked with water, making the wet fabric cling to him. As a result of the struggle, his clothes were messy, the collar slipping open enough to reveal delicate, jade-like collarbones.