Qi Shu did not know much about the body of a furnace cauldronReferring to an individual with a certain body type - not an actual furnace or cauldron..

In the cultivation world, there were many cultivators who, in search of a shortcut, turned a good person into furnaces and used them for their own practice'Furnaces' are often used in dual cultivation (sex) to further the cultivation level of one or both partners. Usually though it's to the detriment of the 'furnace' who loses both cultivation and sometimes their life.

In this paragraph there is a distinction made between someone being turned into a furnace and someone who is born that way. Gu Hanjiang is the latter. and that was normal. However, it was very rare to be born with a true furnace physique, and even Qi Shu had only read a few words about it in one of the ancient books.

“—Ouch!"

A sudden cry of alarm came from within the Sect library in the early morning. Dozens of books rolled off the high shelves and scattered to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Mo Qi walked quickly through the lines of bookshelves, and at the end of them, all he saw was a mountain of ancient books in which a person was solidly buried, revealing only the plain hem of some clothing.

"Who are you?"

Mo Qi, still holding a scroll in his hand, frowned and crossed his arms.

"Whichever Elder this disciple belongs to, don't you know that these rows of books are not allowed to be borrowed by ordinary disciples? It’s so early, clearly you didn’t go to morning classes—when did you sneak in here? Why didn't I see you before?"

A hand pulled open a corner of the book mountain.

Mo Qi: "Qi Shixiong?!"

"It's me." Qi Shu's entire body was buried into the mountain of books, and he was rubbing the corner of his forehead that was hurt by the spine of the book. "Also, I didn't sneak in this morning. I didn't leave last night."

“Aiya Da-shixiong, what are you doing…couldn’t you have told me which book you want to find? How did you make it like this…” Mo Qi hurriedly stepped forward to rescue Qi Shu from the pile and stared at the person in distress before looking at the mess on the ground with a heartbroken expression. “These are all ancient out-of-print books…How long is it going to take me to clean up…"

"I just wanted to find a book, how did I know there were so many things piled on top of it." Qi Shu swiped at the dust on his clothes from being under the mountain of books and patted the hem of his robes down before asking, "Why are you here?"

Mo Qi was squatting on the ground picking up the books one by one, listening to his words in silence for a moment, "Shixiong, during the three years you were not in Kunlun, the Library has been under my management, you at least know this, don’t you?"

Qi Shu blinked.

He really didn't know.

Mo Qi was the fourth oldest in the Sect, and was the disciple of the Acting Sect Leader, Qing Lan Xianzun. This boy had been a nerd since he was a child, spending more time with books than practicing, and had been lectured for this.

Now he has been assigned to look after the Library, which was a good use of his time.

Mo Qi picked up a pile of books and headed out, but Qi Shu thought better of it and chased after him, "Let me help you!"

The two of them made a few trips back and forth, moving all the books that Qi Shu had knocked over to the front room, where they could be re-organised and sorted before being returned to their places.

Qi Shu put the last pile of books on the table and leaned on the edge, "I mean, Lao SiFourth Brother. don't be in a hurry, I'll help you sort them later, can you do me a favour first?"

"Forget it, everyone knows you get sleepy when you see a book, how dare I ask you to help me." Mo Qi said, "Just say what you want."

"That's right, I’m not as good as our Shidi Mo'sYounger brother Mo (non-familial). ability to remember everything at a glance when reading." He smiled cheerfully and asked the question he most needed an answer to, "You have been looking after the Library for so many years, you must have read all the books here?"

Mo Qi gave him a look as though he wanted to say something.

"Shixiong, do you know how many books are in this Library?"

Qi Shu: "How many?"

Mo Qi: "Thirty-seven thousand five hundred and sixty-three books."

Qi Shu: “...”
Qi Shu: "That precise?"

"I meant to say…" Mo Qi put down the book in his hand, "Even if I don't sleep, I wouldn't be able to read them all."

Qi Shu: "Then how many have you read?"

Mo Qi thought carefully, "Only read twenty-three thousand or so books, I think."

Qi Shu: “...”

He didn't see any difference between that amount and reading them all.

Qi Shu cleared his throat, "I wanted to ask you to help me find a book."

Mo Qi: "What kind of book?"

"I remember that there is a book in the collection on how to cultivate a furnace body to attain the Dao. I had seen it when I was a child, but I can't find it now."

Mo Qi gave a start as he sorted through the books.

He got up and checked inside the Library before walking quickly to the door and slamming it shut with a bang.

Qi Shu asked, "What are you doing?"

"I was going to ask you what you were going to do!" Mo Qi said urgently, "Shixiong, keeping a furnace is a big taboo in the Sect, and being found out is grounds for expulsion. You have such a high cultivation level, and you are a personal disciple of Lingxiao Xianzun, why do you want to do it?"

"..." Qi Shu: "No, I didn’t, it’s not that…"

Mo Qi: "Then why are you looking for the book?"

Qi Shu was silent.

Of course he was looking for the book because he wanted to know how to help his Shizun, but this must not be told to outsiders.

Qi Shu pondered for a moment and said seriously, "If I tell you, you have to help me keep it a secret."

Mo Qi: "Naturally."

Qi Shu sighed elaborately and made a despondent face, "Actually, I am trying to save someone."

"When I went down the mountain for training I met a man I fell in love with at first sight. But I only recently learned that he has an extremely rare furnace physique, and some time ago he hit a bottleneck in his cultivation and nearly suffered a qi deviation. If I don't do something about it, I'm afraid that his life is in danger."

"Lao Si, you know it's rare for me to like someone, how come I've encountered such a thing…"

When he said this, Qi Shu looked sentimental and sad, even his voice was trembling, which was moving to hear.

Mo Qi's eyes also softened, he raised his hand and patted Qi Shu's shoulder, sighing, "Shixiong, I really didn't expect you to be such a softhearted person."

* * *

As Qi Shu was led into the heated pavilion of the Library, Mo Qi snapped a stack of books onto the table in front of him, raising a layer of dust.

"All the records about furnaces in the Library are here."

Qi Shu looked at the mountain of books that were stacked higher than him and his jaw dropped, "This…all of these?"

"That's all for now, there might be some missing, I'll have to go look for them again." Mo Qi said, patting Qi Shu on the shoulder at his frightened look, and saying solemnly, "Go for it, Qi Shixiong."

Then, he closed the door of the heated pavilion and left.

Qi Shu had never been a reader, even since he was a child. Before he studied at Kunlun, the village was poor and did not have the means to read and write. He was taught to read and write by his Master after he went to Kunlun, but he preferred sword and martial arts to that.

The books Mo Qi found were almost more than he had ever read in his life.

But for the sake of his Master.

He endured it.

Qi Shu took a deep breath, picked up the book nearest to him and flipped it open.

After a moment, he closed the book heavily.

What the fuck was written in here?

Most of the ancient books were written in obscure terms, and it was clear that he knew every word, but together he just couldn't understand it.

But no.

From the way Shizun had reacted yesterday, Qi Shu could tell that there was no way he could tell him the truth, and if he didn't do something, he would have to watch him go on like this. In the long run, he would suffer a qi deviation at best, or worse, his life could be at risk.

That’s yet to be seen. He has to keep reading.

Qi Shu put the book back and took another one out of the pile.

This book looked much newer, with two little people drawn in pencil on the spine, but no name written on it.

Qi Shu turned to the first page, and in the bottom right corner was a small line in handsome script.

—’The Secret Method of Spiritual Cultivation - Teaching You How to Dual Cultivate with a Furnace’.

Qi Shu: “...”

* * *

It was getting dark and Mo Qi was still tidying up the ancient books that had been messed up by Qi Shu. The candle on the table flickered and someone walked in.

Mo Qi didn't even look up, "It's curfew time soon, the Library is strictly forbidden for disciples to enter, please be early tomorrow."

The visitor didn’t stop, but walked up to him.

"Do you not understand what I said—" Mo Qi said and looked up, but froze.

The person in front of him was dressed in a plain white robe and his face was as cold as ice.

"Xian-Xian-Xian-Xianzun!" Mo Qi slid down from his chair with a roll and fell to his knees, "I have seen the Immortal Sovereign!"

Gu Hanjiang's eyes only stared at him for a moment before they faintly moved away, saying in a cold voice, "Is your Qi Shixiong here?"

"Qi, Qi-Shixiong, he…" Mo Qi's tongue was in a knot as he shivered and pointed in the direction of the heated pavilion.

Gu Hanjiang ignored him and walked straight in that direction.

His steps were smooth and unhurried, yet from head to toe he exuded an aura that prevented anyone from coming close.

It was only when Lingxiao Xianzun's figure disappeared among the bookshelves that Mo Qi's breath slowed down and he fell to the ground with palpitations in his heart.

This Lingxiao Xianzun was getting scarier by the day, and he didn't know how Qi Shixiong could get along with him.

Wait…

Xianzun rarely leaves Baizhang Peak usually, much less come to a place like the Library. Since he was so angry and even came at night looking for him, he couldn't have learned the secret that Qi Shixiong had a furnace loverNot someone who loves furnaces...but a lover with a furnace physique. waiting for him in the mortal world, could he?

Mo Qi's heart was appalled.

That would not do.

Lingxiao Xianzun did not care how others speculated. He quickly arrived outside the warm pavilion and was about to knock on the door when he saw the light inside through a gap in the door.

Qi Shu was sprawled across the table with his back to the door, motionless, seemingly asleep.

Gu Hanjiang thought for a moment, condensed his Qi at his fingertips and gently pushed the door open.

He walked in silently.

This warm pavilion was for the disciples of the Sect to study in, and there were a dozen other similar pavilions, each one not very big, and after a table and desk, there was no more room for anything else.

Qi Shu had long arms and legs, so he could only lie across the table with his legs curled up on the seat, looking very aggrieved.

He has been tossing about in the Library all day. A few strands of loose hair fell on his forehead from his hair, which was uncrowned and simply tied with a hairband. The side of his face was still stained with dust from somewhere, dirty like a tabby cat.

"Master…" Qi Shu was obviously not sleeping comfortably, frowning and moving, whispering dreamily under his breath, "Don't ignore me…"

Gu Hanjiang's eyes moved slightly.

He stood beside Qi Shu, and his voice was extremely soft, "You stayed up all night yesterday, and clearly plan to spend the night here again."

“...It's clear that you're the one ignoring me."

A cultivator was sensitive to the outside world, not to mention that Qi Shu was sleeping restlessly. When he felt someone approaching, he opened his eyes in a daze.

"Master?" He rubbed his eyes, "How did you—"

He was about to get up when his legs, numb from sitting, were caught under the table and he fell back into place, "Hiss…this damned broken table. Cough. Master, why…why did you come here?"

Gu Hanjiang: "It’s almost curfew, I’m here to look for you."

"Huh?" Qi Shu froze before noticing that it was already dark outside, "So it's so late, sorry Master, I—"

"Why didn't you return last night?" Gu Hanjiang interrupted him.

"I…"

Qi Shu scratched his hair, a little embarrassed.
He certainly didn't mean to not go back, but there was really no cure for his problem of getting sleepy when he read a book. No one had found him in the Library yesterday and he had slept from before curfew until early this morning.

Gu Hanjiang suddenly said, "Are you afraid of me?"

"Huh?"

Qi Shu froze.

Gu Hanjiang stood in front of him, his eyes downcast as he looked at him, that face was still cold, no emotion could be seen. But Qi Shu understood what he meant.

That night Gu Hanjiang nearly experienced a qi deviation and did something…he wouldn't normally do to Qi Shu.

Although Qi Shu did not care in his heart, he happened to stay out all night the next day, and when this fell in the eyes of the other party, Gu Hanjiang would naturally misunderstand.

"I'm not hiding from Master!" Qi Shu couldn't care less about whether he lost face or not, he hurriedly explained, "I only came to the Library yesterday to read more books, but I accidentally fell asleep and when I woke up it was already dawn, that's why I didn't return. Disciple really has no intention of hiding from Shizun, Master, please believe me."

After Gu Hanjiang quietly listened to him finish, he gazed at his face for a moment more, then lightly moved away.

"?" Qi Shu suspected that he had seen it wrong, "Master, did you just smile?"

Gu Hanjiang: "..."

Gu Hanjiang: "No."

"What do you mean, ‘no’. You smiled, right?" Qi Shu asked, "Was it funny?"

"Hmm." Gu Hanjiang actually nodded seriously and whispered, "You've been like this since you were a child"

He got the best grades in swordplay, but failed in scripture, and fell asleep whenever he read books, and Gu Hanjiang had to carry him back to the house several times.

Qi Shu was not too happy to hear Gu Hanjiang talk about his childhood, it always made him feel that his Master still saw him as a child.

He didn't want to be a child, he wanted to be his Master's...

Cough.

What’s more, his current cultivation base is not low and is more than enough to protect his Shizun.

Qi Shu frowned unhappily and didn't wait for him to say anything, but he heard Gu Hanjiang ask again, "What are you reading, such a waste of time."

His mood was obviously better than before, and he bent down in a condescending manner and reached out to take the books that Qi Shu had piled up in front of him.

Coincidentally he just happened to get the book, ‘The Secret Method of Spiritual Cultivation’.