Bai Tu’s fur instantly stood on end.

He stared at Yun Ye, frozen in shock, his tiny body trembling uncontrollably from sheer nervousness.

“A rabbit?” Yun Ye frowned in confusion, stepping forward and picking him up from the ground.

Bai Tu trembled even harder.

Yet, Yun Ye didn’t seem too concerned. He simply cradled the little rabbit in his palm, scanning the room in search of the figure he had come for.

His gaze landed by the bedside.

The shattered teacup lay quietly on the floor, exactly where it had fallen. The robe Bai Tu had worn the night before hung neatly on the clothing rack.

Yun Ye walked over, brushing his hand across the bedding—it was still faintly warm.

Someone had left recently.

He mulled it over for a moment, then placed the trembling rabbit onto the bed. Holding Bai Tu’s long ears between his fingers, Yun Ye narrowed his eyes and seriously asked:

“Wait a second… are you my master’s pet rabbit?”

Bai Tu: “……”

Not expecting a response from the rabbit, Yun Ye let go.

Bai Tu immediately scurried under the blanket, burrowing deep inside. Only a small, round tail peeked out, trembling uncontrollably.

Yun Ye couldn’t help but chuckle at the adorable sight. With a hint of mischief, he reached out and pinched Bai Tu’s tail.

“Little guy, where’s my master?”

The rabbit frantically wriggled deeper into the blankets. The tiny, fluffy tail quickly disappeared, leaving only a small, trembling lump under the covers.

Yun Ye lost interest.

He really didn’t have the time to fuss over a rabbit right now—he only cared about one thing: where had his master gone?

“Could he be in seclusion?” Yun Ye murmured thoughtfully before turning and heading for the door.

A long moment passed.

Then, Bai Tu cautiously peeked out from under the blanket, just enough to reveal half of his head, eyes darting toward the door.

…He left? Just like that?

Bai Tu sighed in silence.

He had really overestimated his disciple’s intelligence. As it turned out, even if he stood before Yun Ye in his rabbit form and did a little dance, the fool still wouldn’t connect the dots.

With the room now completely quiet again, Bai Tu flopped onto his back and stared at the ceiling, defeated.

Just moments ago, Yun Ye had stood outside the door and said—he had feelings for him.

It had been eleven years since Bai Tu brought Yun Ye back to Tianyan Sect. Eleven years of being together day and night. Yet, Bai Tu had never once considered the possibility that Yun Ye might harbor such emotions for him.

But now that the words had been spoken aloud, Bai Tu finally realized.

Would an ordinary disciple cling to his master the way Yun Ye did?

And if Yun Ye truly felt nothing beyond respect, then why, when he was possessed by his heart demon, had he not descended into mindless slaughter? Why had he instead…

That single sentence was like a key, unlocking memories Bai Tu had overlooked, forgotten, or simply never paid attention to over the past decade. One by one, they resurfaced.

Before coming to this world, Bai Tu had been single all his life. As Immortal Lord Zhaohua, he had always been indifferent to worldly desires. So even when Yun Ye’s behavior bordered on overly intimate, it had never crossed Bai Tu’s mind to see it as anything more than simple attachment.

If things had been different—if he had noticed sooner—

Bai Tu froze, his rabbit ears drooping as he rubbed his face with his front paws in distress.

To be honest, even if he had realized earlier, he still wouldn’t know what to do about it.

This was, without a doubt, the most complicated situation he had faced since arriving in this world.

Because Yun Ye was his disciple.

Bai Tu weakly climbed down from the bed and made his way to the desk. Carefully, he gathered a trace of spiritual energy and infused it into the brush. The brush floated on its own, gliding across the paper, leaving behind bold and powerful strokes.

Once he was done, Bai Tu patted his slightly rounded belly and headed toward the door.

He couldn’t stay in this form forever. He should listen to his senior brother’s advice—find a quiet place to recover first. Once his spiritual energy was restored, then he could think about everything else.

But the moment he stepped out of his room—before he could even take a few steps—a hand grabbed him by the back of the neck.

Bai Tu was lifted off the ground, forced to meet a familiar face.

Yun Ye frowned at him. “Where do you think you’re running off to?”

Bai Tu, whose grand escape plan had been foiled before it even began: “…”

He kicked his legs frantically, but how could a little rabbit possibly match the strength of a full-grown wolf demon? In the end, he was effortlessly carried back into the room, looking exactly like a helpless prey animal being dragged back to a wolf’s den.

Yun Ye set Bai Tu down on the bed, but his gaze soon landed on something new—the letter resting on the desk.

He picked up the paper.

Bai Tu lay on the bed, carefully observing Yun Ye’s expression.

When he wrote the letter, he had been extremely mindful of Yun Ye’s feelings, deliberately avoiding any mention of last night or this morning. He only stated that he needed to go into seclusion for a while, reminding Yun Ye not to slack off in his training and to take care of himself.

Sure enough, after finishing the letter, the tension between Yun Ye’s brows eased.

The corners of his lips lifted slightly, a rare softness appearing in his smile.

Seeing that Yun Ye was distracted, Bai Tu seized the chance. Silently, he jumped down from the bed and bolted toward the door—

—only to run straight into a pair of long, straight legs.

At some point, Yun Ye had appeared in the doorway. He frowned and bent down, effortlessly lifting Bai Tu up again. “Why are you always trying to run?”

Yun Ye carefully folded the letter and put it away. He closed Bai Tu’s bedroom door, then cupped the small rabbit in his palms, bringing him back inside.

Placing Bai Tu on the desk, Yun Ye spoke with a serious tone. “I don’t know where you came from, but since my master is raising you, I can’t let you run off. Otherwise, he’ll blame me when he comes back.”

He paused, licking his lips, then lowered his voice. “So be good. Otherwise, I might just roast you and eat you. At worst, I’ll buy a few more rabbits to make it up to my master. Understand?”

Bai Tu’s eyes widened in shock.

Seeing his reaction, Yun Ye became even more amused. He poked the little rabbit’s forehead and teased, “Do you know how many ways there are to cook rabbit? Stir-fried, braised, roasted, deep-fried—I can make them all. Want to give it a try?”

Every strand of Bai Tu’s fur stood on end.

This bastard actually wants to eat him?!

Without hesitation, he bit down on Yun Ye’s finger, then clutched his belly and scrambled backward in a panic. In his rush, he nearly tumbled off the edge of the desk.

Yun Ye quickly caught him.

“Relax, I was joking,” Yun Ye said soothingly. “As long as you don’t run around, I promise I won’t eat you.”

He paused for a moment before asking, “By the way, are you hungry? I can go find something for you to eat.”

Bai Tu couldn’t agree fast enough.

Just hurry up and leave! The moment Yun Ye was gone, Bai Tu could escape.

But to his horror, Yun Ye simply grinned, raised a hand, and casually set up a restriction barrier around the desk, trapping Bai Tu inside.

Yun Ye smirked. “Let’s see you try and run now.”

Bai Tu: “…”

He really couldn’t run.

On a normal day, never mind Yun Ye’s flimsy little restriction—even a full-force formation wouldn’t be able to hold Bai Tu back. But right now, he couldn’t even return to human form, let alone break through this barrier.

Just as Yun Ye was about to leave, a faint, short sound reached his ears.

Rabbits had no real vocal cords, so all Bai Tu could manage was a soft, breathy noise—low and brief.

Yun Ye turned back.

The little rabbit stretched out a tiny front paw, pointing toward a chair nearby. His beautiful red eyes gazed at Yun Ye expectantly.

After a moment of hesitation, Yun Ye picked up the cushion from the chair and placed it on the desk.

The little white rabbit sluggishly climbed onto the cushion, flopped onto his back, and stopped moving.

…Since he couldn’t escape anyway, he might as well make himself comfortable.

Yun Ye: ???

Was this rabbit sentient or something?

^_^