Making a Decision

[Mei Chao Bing froze. Feeling the weight of Yun Bei Fen suddenly press down on him completely he knew that something was wrong.

"Yun Bei Fen?" He reached up and shook him but there was no response. When he took his hand back it was sticky with blood.

Mei Chao Bing's eyes widened in fear. "Yun Bei Fen!" He embraced the limp body above him and rolled around, shielding it to make sure nothing more could happen to him. He concentrated on their surroundings to find out where the attack had come from but he couldn't find anything. He cursed silently, picked Yun Bei Fen up and hurriedly took shelter under a small ledge.

"Don't worry, Junior Martial Brother. I'll get us out of here."

He still didn't get an answer and Yun Bei Fen's face was rapidly losing color. Knowing those heretic practitioners the weapon had probably been poisoned.

Mei Chao Bing took a deep breath and placed Yun Bei Fen down. "I'll be right back," he promised.]

Su Yan stared at the screen. Alright. This was a man who had to fear to lose the person he loved before he even had the time to get to know him much less confess. But he had to go or Yun Bei Fen would certainly bleed to death or succumb to the poison. He could only get him out of there if he defeated the heretic practitioners around them. Since he didn't know if he would manage … shouldn't he do something special?

Su Yan pressed his lips together. He felt like it was the right reaction but he somehow felt embarrassed having to write it. Oh god! Wouldn't people read this later on? What would they think?

He couldn't help but think of his father's reaction. Would it really be alright to write a romantic story about two men? Wasn't he just inviting trouble with that? If Yun Bei Fen was a cute Junior Martial Sister instead nobody would have anything to complain about, right?

Then again, most people had reacted alright even though it hadn't even been an issue back then. His co-workers, even his boss … Maybe his father was the exception instead? Mn, that had to be it! He should just write whatever he felt was right.

[Then, Mei Chao Bing bent down and lightly kissed his temple.

He would definitely return and save him. Those heretic practitioners that had dared to hurt him … they should better pray for their lives! With a grim expression, Mei Chao Bing stood up, unsheathed his weapon, and stormed out of their hiding place.

He didn't need long to find them. With him out in the open, they naturally started attacking. Mei Chao Bing weaved through their attacks easily and took them down one after the other.

Being shunned by everyone in the sect had actually done him good. He had completely concentrated on his cultivation and was easily one of the best disciples they had. These small fry that had to couch at such a place wasn't even worth his time. It didn't even take him half an hour to take them out.

Afterward, he hurried back to Yun Bei Fen. He gripped his wrist and felt for his pulse. It was already weak. He couldn't lose any more time or Yun Bei Fen really wouldn't make it.

He picked him up, took out his sword and flew back to the dwellings. He only halted in front of the house of Yun Bei Fen's Master. "Elder! Elder!" He hurried over and hammered against the door. He didn't care if he was rude. He only thought about how Yun Bei Fen would die if he didn't make it in time.

Yun Bei Fen's Master was sitting inside. He frowned at the rude disturbance and wanted to ignore it but then he smelled the blood. He frowned even more, opened his eyes and hurried over to the door. When he opened he was greeted by the sight of the blood-soaked appearance of his own disciple.

"Fen'er!" He took his disciple from Mei Chao Bing without deigning to look at him. He only had eyes for Yun Bei Fen now.

He gently put his disciple down on the bed, opened his robes and took a look at the wound. The weapon had gone right through. Even the bone had been punctured and the flesh around the opening was turning black. He was definitely poisoned.

His Master took out a pill and fed it to him. A moment later, the poison stopped spreading and finally receded but there was still blood seeping out and Yun Bei Fen was incredibly pale. It looked as if his skin was made of paper.

Mei Chao Bing still stood in the doorway and observed the treatment. His heart throbbed. Would Yun Bei Fen live through this? And even if … would he heal completely after this?

He bit his lip. This was his fault. He hadn't paid attention. Otherwise, Yun Bei Fen never would have needed to shove him out of the way. And if he hadn't done that … he would still be alright now.

Finally, Yun Bei Fen's Master stepped back and gave a relieved sigh. He, too, had been incredibly worried seeing his disciple like that. Yun Bei Fen wasn't his only disciple but definitely the one he was closest to. In fact, he had thought about adopting him once. He just hadn't gone through with it because he was afraid Yun Bei Fen wouldn't like the idea. He was his Master, after all. It might not be good to make it overly complicated.

He turned around to the man still standing in the doorway. He didn't know him since he didn't pay much attention to the matters that didn't pertain to his disciples but he could imagine who that person was.

"What happened?"

Mei Chao Bing lowered his head. "It's my fault." He didn't explain anything else. What was there to say?

Yun Bei Fen's Master nodded. "He'll need to rest for a few days. It wouldn't be good to leave him alone but I have some matters to attend to. You stay with him to make up for what you did wrong."

"Mn." Mei Chao Bing stepped aside.

Yun Bei Fen's Master left. As soon as he was through the door, he looked back and smiled. "You better use this opportunity well, Fen'er."]