The Melancholy Traveler

[Short story added to the site on 2024.10.10] Clingy big puppy gong x powerful figure in the martial world shou When Chi Qiu was six, disaster struck his family, and he became an orphan overnight. Chi Gongxi took him home, accepted him as a disciple, taught him martial arts, and raised him to adulthood, until he became the best in the world. Just as Chi Qiu's fame reached its height, a rumor suddenly spread through the martial world: Chi Qiu had killed his own master. What kind of heartless, ungrateful villain would do such a thing? After that, Chi Qiu began causing trouble wherever he went. The prized treasure of Xuanshang Sect is missing? Chi Qiu stole it. The daughter of Cangyuan Pavilion has been kidnapped? Chi Qiu kidnapped her. Old Wang's underpants from the village entrance have disappeared? Chi Qiu took them. Chi Qiu: Wait, something doesn't seem right here... Everyone in the martial world wants him dead, but unfortunately, no one can beat him. Then there's one person who's different. He clings to Chi Qiu's arm and insists on becoming his disciple. Chen Tianmu took up martial arts because of Chi Qiu, and he has always had one dream: to become Chi Qiu's disciple. He doesn't believe a single word of those rumors in the martial world. Come on, Chi Qiu is the best person in the whole world. Who knew that before Chen Tianmu could find him, Chi Qiu would retire from the martial world? Chen Tianmu's search for a master grows increasingly arduous, but at last, his perseverance pays off and he finds Chi Qiu. Chi Qiu: I don't take disciples. Chen Tianmu: You do. Chi Qiu: I don't. Chen Tianmu throws both arms around his: If you won't take me, I'm not letting go! Chi Qiu: ... Oh, what a terrifying threat. Then he throws Chen Tianmu away. Three times. Chen Tianmu: You're so mean! To get some peace and quiet, Chi Qiu openly admits that the rumors are true: he really did kill Chi Gongxi. Chen Tianmu is stunned. Oh no, his idol really has fallen from grace!! Chen Tianmu can't accept it. He grabs Chi Qiu's arm again. "Give me back my honorable and noble master!" Chi Qiu helplessly shrugs. "It's already happened. How am I supposed to give him back?" Right, how can he? Chen Tianmu is troubled too. Does that mean all the devotion he's given over the years was for nothing?! Then Chen Tianmu realizes his devotion wasn't for nothing, but it has changed into something else. He harshly berates himself in his thoughts, but his feelings keep growing against his will, and in the end he gives in. Chi Qiu: What happened to your principles and your limits? Chen Tianmu: You're both. The entire martial world has had enough and decides to unite against the villain Chi Qiu, who has committed one evil deed after another. Sect Master of Xuanshang Sect: Give back our sect's treasure! Chi Qiu says expressionlessly: You stole it from your own vault. What does that have to do with me? Master of Cangyuan Pavilion: Give me back my daughter! Chi Qiu raises an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want me to say? Fine, she ran away with a girl." Master of Cangyuan Pavilion: … Everyone: Ooh~ Chi Qiu shrugs. "See? You don't like it when I tell you." Someone refuses to believe it and points at Chen Tianmu. "Then what about how you deceived and seduced this young martial artist fresh out of training?" Chen Tianmu hastily steps forward. "Um... just to clarify, I was the one who seduced him." Everyone: … HE, fixed pairing, no switching Preorder: Little Uncle, So What If I Kiss You? Welcome to add it to your collection~ #I think of you as my nephew, but you want to get with me? Short-fused, quick-to-anger gong x classic nurturing, motherly shou (not the huge-pecs kind) The thing Chai Shao regrets most in his life is letting his master, Lu Chengyi, cover his night shift. The price was one life, and a "little nephew" who has hated him to the bone ever since. Lu Hui grabs him by the collar and glares. "Chai Shao, why wasn't it you who died?" As it happens, Chai Shao becomes Lu Hui's guardian. The kid is hard to handle and never listens to him. He doesn't even call him "Uncle" most of the time. Every few days, he finds some new way to cause trouble. Slashing Chai Shao's tires so he'll be late for work is child's play. The teachers calling him into the office to pick Lu Hui up after a fight is practically routine. But no matter how much trouble Lu Hui causes, Chai Shao never says a harsh word to him. He only indulges him, because he owes Lu Hui that much. Until after the college entrance exams, Lu Hui leaves with his suitcase, saying he'll never come back. Chai Shao is relieved, though suddenly he feels empty inside. Just when he thinks their paths have parted for good, Lu Hui inexplicably comes back, seeming like a different person. Cooking, waiting by the door, looking at him with far too much affection... "Uncle, try this." "Uncle, why did you get home so late?" This sudden "filial devotion" leaves Chai Shao dazed and almost flattered. Lu Hui is also incredibly clingy, always calling for him. When Chai Shao asks what he wants, Lu Hui says nothing. The constant calls leave Chai Shao flustered and distracted. One day, Lu Hui gets drunk and half-hugs, half-carries Chai Shao back to the bedroom. Chai Shao magnanimously plans to give up the bedroom for him. Who could have guessed that the brat would suddenly grab his wrist and pin him to the bed, warm breath spilling against his ear? Lu Hui says, "Uncle, I want you." Chai Shao: ? Did you go to a respectable university? Through gritted teeth, he says, "I'm your uncle." Lu Hui laughs irreverently. "Come on, Uncle. What's wrong with one kiss?" Chai Shao slaps him across the face. Lu Hui hates Chai Shao. You could even say he despises him. If his family weren't so unreliable, he wouldn't have wanted to live with Chai Shao at all. Unfortunately, fate has decided otherwise, so he holds his nose and moves in. But he has no sense of being a guest in someone else's home. Knowing Chai Shao won't discipline him, he gets up to mischief just to amuse himself. He thinks he'll hate Chai Shao for the rest of his life, until the accident, when Chai Shao collapses in front of him, covered in blood. Seeing the familiar face drained of color, Lu Hui's heart races beyond his control. Only then does he realize that his childish pranks have long since turned his hatred into something he can't put into words. He tries to walk away, but all he does is understand his own feelings more clearly. Since that's the case, there's only one reason he came back... Lu Hui catches the hand coming toward him with ease and pins it behind Chai Shao's back. There's not a trace of drunkenness in his eyes as he asks quietly, "Uncle, could you really hit me?" Chai Shao tries to struggle, but the arm holding him doesn't budge. He laughs in anger. "Let me go and find out if I could." Lu Hui gives him no chance to fight back and bites the side of his neck. "Uncle, you've taken care of me all these years. Let me take care of you for a change." Chai Shao: ... He remembers sending a little puppy away. How did it come back as a wolf cub? "Uncle, you're mine, body and soul." Theme: Face hardships without fear, follow your heart, and move forward bravely