Gu Qingyu tried to laugh it off as she rubbed her forehead. "Uh, but I can't just ignore Qi Wan..."
"You dimwit." Yan Zun flicked her forehead again, "Then it's fine for you to throw your life away without considering how everyone that you leave behind would feel?"
His words silenced her. Yes, if she is replaced by anyone else, then she would be worried to death. She was so concerned with keeping Qi Wan alive that she did not consider anything else.
Yan Zun noticed her silence, lowered his hand and continued, "Stupid apprentice, you are in real danger this time. First, your injuries from the masked man have not healed. Then you were caught in Xian Di's weapon, Fang. Your body is already battered and torn. And now you're donating your blood on top of all this, are you an actual saint or do you have a death wish?"
She smiled awkwardly. "I..."
"What? Your body was already at its limit, why did you force yourself and tried to go past that limit? You think things would work out every time you put your life on the line?" He has never scolded her like that, she had truly angered him this time.
Gu Qingyu understood that his anger stemmed from worry for her, and lowered her head. "I know, I'm sorry."
"What will you do next time?"
"Next time something like this happens..." She raised her head and looked at Yan Zun, and the moment she saw his narrowed eyes, she lowered her head again. "I'll get the others..."
"That's more like it." Yan Zun turned away. But it was obvious to him that Gu Qingyu only said that to pacify and appease him.
"Master, then I...may I wake up and go back?" She asked in a soft voice.
Yan Zun turned back with a smile as his dark hair tumbled over his shoulders like a waterfall. That smile was charming, devilish, but it chilled her to the bone. "Do you think you can still wake up?"
She shivered. "So...I...I can't go back?"
Yan Zun chuckled with satisfaction at the sight of the raw fear in her eyes. "No, you can go back whenever you want."
She had been tricked by this stupid rock demon. Gu Qingyu answered as she scratched her head. "Okay, Master, I'm leaving now."
"Okay." Yan Zun narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled. Gu Qingyu covered her nose, as her vision faded to black.
When she opened her eyes again, something was resting on her face. She turned her face away, only to stare right at Qi Wan, who was way too close for comfort. He laughed when he saw that she had woken up, nonetheless, there was distress and worry in his voice. "Boss, you finally woke up."
It turned out Qi Wan's hand was on her face.
Gu Qingyu was about to slap away his hand when she noticed something and her eyes became as wide as saucers. Reflected in Qi Wan's green eyes was a tiny, white cat with tiger stripes. That cat was staring right back at her. Gu Qingyu blinked, was that her? She suddenly remembered what Yan Zun had said, her body was already at its limit. Was he referring to her human form? Is that why she was forced into her form as a mini white tiger?
Gu Qingyu's wide-eyed look was incredibly adorable in Qi Wan's eyes. He sat up, leaned on the pillow, and then gently picked up the tiny white tiger and placed her in the crook of his arms. " Boss, how do you feel?"
She growled as the fur on her back stood up. "I hate this! I want to turn back!"
"Boss, your body is weaker than I am now, so don't move." Qi Wan gently smoothed out her fur. "Really, you should not donate blood when you yourself is already injured."
Gu Qingyu relaxed under his careful soothing, curled up in his arms, and purred. "This is called being helpful!"
"Fine, good on you for helping people." Qi Wan replied, rubbed her head and continued to stroke her fur. "But, if this happens again, just leave me alone."
Gu Qingyu stopped her purring and listened to Qi Wan intently. He continued after a pregnant pause, "At the very least, I was your guardian in my previous life. And now I have been brought to this world, or time, to protect you. It would be ridiculous if my charge died on my watch. And, boss, I'm serious, you don't have to do so much for someone like me...Hey, ow!"
He was interrupted by a slap from Gu Qingyu. She hissed as she swatted at him with her paws. "Don't say such stupid things! You have three seconds to take back what you just said!"
But Qi Wan stood his ground. "Boss, I'm serious!"
She would have pounced onto his face if she could. But her current form was even smaller than the last time, she could only reach his neck even if she stood on her hind legs. His collarbone was surprisingly delicate and beautiful, and his skin was soft and supple. His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, coupled with his tousled hair and open collar, he looked very sexy. If she had been in her human form, she might have to deal with intense nose bleeding. Gu Qingyu bared her teeth, tilted her head slightly and gently nipped his neck.
Qi Wan squealed. "Boss!"
Gu Qingyu raised her head and looked at Qi Wan. He blushed, a little at a loss. "Boss, although I like you very much, but you are a cat now...so...erm..."
Gu Qingyu was speechless, and bit his neck again, this time with more strength.
Qi Wan grunted in pain. "Boss, softer!"
At this moment, something fell onto the ground and clattered. Gu Qingyu followed the sound and turned, Qi Yichen was standing at the door, with abject horror and shock written all over his face. At his feet was his fan. He squatted down in an instant, avoiding her eyes and picking up his fan. "I...I didn't see anything! Don't worry, Brother Zhu, Brother Jia is not here, please go ahead! I'll alert you the moment he's back!"
Gu Qingyu had the sudden urge to swat him, and she would act upon it if she was in her human form. Although, she would not blame Qi Yichen for reacting the way he did. He walked in to a tiny white tiger standing on Qi Wan's chest with its hind legs, the tiny white tiger's paws resting on his shoulders as it nipped his neck lightly. And Qi Wan's squeals were quite misleading.
Qi Wan tilted his head up and rubbed his neck, there was a small mark. His lips drew into a thin line. "Boss, you're so mean, it hurts."
Qi Yichen's brows flew up with his hairline, he might have heard something he should not have. Suddenly, Gu Qingyu wished she could use her giant White Tiger form and bite Qi Wan to death. At this moment, Mo Bai walked in with two bowls of medicine in his hands. When he saw Gu Qingyu, his eyes clearly lit up. "Yu'er, you're awake?" Gu Qingyu slowly got down from Qi Wan's shoulders and returned to his arms. She yawned lazily and nodded.
And with that, she had reached maximum cuteness. Qi Wan immediately reached out and pinched Gu Qingyu's face, and then continued to stroke her fur.
"Sorry, I was brewing the medicine just now." Mo Bai explained why he was not in the room. He walked to Qi Wan and passed him a bowl of medicine.
"Thank you." Qi Wan took it and finished it in a single breath.
Mo Bai leaned down slightly to look at Gu Qingyu, stretched out his hand and held out the other bowl of medicine. "Yu'er, yours."
Gu Qingyu took the bowl with her paws, even though the bowl was as big as her. Then, she dipped her head into the bowl and lapped away.
"She's so precious." Qi Wan gently tilted the bowl to give her more room. "Slow down, don't choke."
After Gu Qingyu finished the medicine, she lifted her head from the bowl, lapped and cleaned her face, then curled up in Qi Wan's arms for a nap. And the man with green eyes melted instantly at the sight of a tiny, white furball curled up in his arms and gently ran his palm along her fur again.
Qi Yichen opened his fan with a snap and fanned with a twinkle in his eyes. "A truly harmonious sight." Mo Bai stiffened instead, he turned around and walked out of the room.
Qi Wan shuffled down the bed and laid down as carefully as he could. He pulled the quilt just up till the tiny white tiger's neck, taking care not to smother her. As the tiny white tiger was curled up on his chest, half of his chest was uncovered by the quilt. But with a warm, snuggly fuzzball resting on his chest, he was not cold at all.
"I should go now, sleep well." Qi Yichen smiled and walked out of the room as well, closing the door behind him.
Gu Qingyu did not visit the spirit world, she genuinely wanted to take a nap. She too was aware
She had felt dizzy ever since their recent encounter with Xian Di, and her hand would shake from time to time. Was it a remnant from him? Xian Di can control electricity, that would mean that Fang should be an electric-type weapon. But based on her experience, he should be able to do more than control electricity. And is the masked man dead? She had not seen him after that battle where she had been knocked out by the explosions. And no one has so much mentioned a word about him since then. He's probably blown to bits…When would she be able to return to her human form? What if she was stuck with a cat's body forever? The thought alone frustrated her. She fell asleep as stray thoughts swirled in her mind.
Qi Wan did not sleep, instead he watched Gu Qingyu silently. His hand gently smoothed over her fur, and he could feel tiny trembles as she slept soundly. A wry smile danced across his face.
You're just too strong sometimes, boss. You can count on me, I'm here with you. And I would never let anything hurt you, no matter what. I will use my life to protect you, even if I die, I will not let anyone hurt you. After all, we have spent three lives together already. Our past life, our lives right now, and in the future, where we came from. I am your guardian, and also your Qi Wan. And I will always protect you, watch over you, and stay by your side, until the end. I'll be here for you even if you try to drive me away. I just want to love you purely, I don't want to worry so much, and just protect you. I will accompany you to do everything you want, and I will try to give you whatever you want.
Qi Wan's eyes were gentle, and the sun shone on his face through the gaps in the curtains as a cat slept soundly in his arms.