Shen Gurong rolled away.
The bright red Daoist Contract transformed into a spirit butterfly, flying in mid-air, scattering starlight-like spiritual energy to guide Shen Gurong.
Only after walking two streets did Shen Gurong belatedly realize what was happening.
Wasn't Mu Zhe sent away to deal with the plague demons? Why were the plague demons he sensed in his divine sense in the center of the city, while the Daoist Contract was flying south?
He still couldn't find Li Genglan's presence in the entire Xianzhou. Shen Gurong hesitated for a moment, then continued following the Daoist Contract.
Although he scoffed at the array Li Genglan mentioned, he still had to be cautious. It was said that the insidious array for "raising plague demons" was found by Li Genglan in the Gu Hong Secret Realm; he might have other, even stranger and more insidious arrays.
His immediate priority was still to find Mu Zhe.
Shen Gurong had toiled for a century to kill Li Genglan, only now realizing that his hatred for Li Genglan paled in comparison to Mu Zhe's petty temper.
Li Genglan could be killed later, but he didn't want Mu Zhe to be even slightly saddened by unnecessary misunderstandings.
"What a good master I am," Shen Gurong boasted, then after walking for a while, he suddenly felt his Dao Companion Pact go mad, flapping its wings and flying towards the crowd ahead.
Shen Gurong was startled, immediately realizing Mu Zhe was right in front of him.
Just as he was about to move forward, he felt someone rush to his side, grab his hand, and pull him into their arms.
Shen Gurong recognized Mu Zhe and didn't resist, letting Mu Zhe hold him tightly.
Although Shen Gurong had cast an illusion spell, making him undetectable to those around him, being held in his disciple's arms in public still made him blush.
Shen Gurong coughed lightly, gently pushing away Mu Zhe, who was clinging to him tightly, and whispered, "Not here, we..."
Let's find an alley, sneak around.
But before he could finish speaking, Mu Zhe's resistance caused him to tremble violently, as if afraid he would escape. Mu Zhe tightened his arms, almost strangling him.
Shen Gurong struggled to breathe, then tried to pull away again: "Ugh, Mu Zhe, you..."
Mu Zhe's bloodshot, dilated pupils narrowed sharply. He brushed aside Shen Gurong's long hair that hung down his back and bit down hard on the back of his neck.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong winced in pain. Mu Zhe's bite was completely forceful; he felt as if a chunk of flesh had been bitten off by the little brat, and he gasped for breath in pain.
The back of the neck is a vital spot, and Shen Gurong never lets anyone touch it. But now, Mu Zhe has bitten him there, and he can't muster any resistance, only managing to relax his body with difficulty.
The little brat surnamed Mu bit into the tender flesh of Shen Gurong's neck, leaving a red tooth mark before slowly releasing his grip. Where Shen Gurong couldn't see, Mu Zhe was expressionless, his eyes slightly red, and half of his face was covered by a red birthmark of unknown origin, making him look extremely terrifying.
Shen Gurong noticed that Mu Zhe had released his grip and slowly breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his hand and patted Mu Zhe's back as if comforting a child, whispering, "What's wrong?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Gurong felt a drop of water fall on the back of his neck, leaving a small, warm, damp mark.
Shen Gurong was stunned.
Miss Mu...is crying again?
Shen Gurong was about to speak, but then felt that pointing it out might hurt his disciple's pride, so he pretended nothing had happened.
Just then, he suddenly felt Mu Zhe gently lick the back of his neck. This lick was even more stimulating than the previous one.
His whole body went numb. The spot where he had been licked was the red mole on the back of his neck; it was both painful and tingling, and just that one touch made Shen Gurong's waist go limp.
Shen Gurong's eyes widened. He had never known that the red mole on the back of his neck was so sensitive. A gentle touch felt like being under a love potion; a tingling pleasure spread throughout his body. His slender fingers gripped Mu Zhe's wide sleeves, wrinkling the fine robes.
"Mu... Mu Zhe..." Being treated like this by Mu Zhe in broad daylight, even knowing that no one around could see them, Shen Gurong still felt a shame of being naked and exposed to everyone's gaze.
He gripped Mu Zhe's collar with all his might, his eyes brimming with tears, and murmured, "Mu Zhe, Mu... Mu Zhe, Master has something very important to tell you. Let's find a place where no one's around..."
Shen Gurong's body went weak, and he was so ashamed he was about to cry. He had originally intended to use his status as Master to make Mu Zhe obey him, but Mu Zhe didn't seem to be intimidated at all. Instead, he chuckled softly in Shen Gurong's ear.
Shen Gurong felt half his body go numb from the chuckle, and he clung to Mu Zhe's collar to keep from falling.
Mu Zhe whispered, "Yes, Master."
Shen Gurong... suddenly had a bad feeling.
Mu Zhe released him, took his hand, and walked into a nearby alley without looking back.
He walked very slowly, and Shen Gurong tried hard to keep up with him. Then he thought, oh right, I'm in the Great Ascension stage.
Belatedly realizing what was happening, Shen Gurong quickly circulated his spiritual energy to dispel the soreness in his body before hurriedly catching up with Mu Zhe.
His free hand clutched the back of his neck, hissing as he touched the teeth mark. He wondered what had triggered Mu Zhe to bite so viciously.
Was it because he had lied and said he hadn't been possessed?
No, that couldn't be that serious, could it?
Shen Gurong was confused, but he was terrified of being surrounded by people and just wanted to find a secluded place to talk things out with Mu Zhe.
However, as he reached the alley entrance, seeing the dark alley and glancing at Mu Zhe who wasn't turning back, Shen Gurong suddenly felt a pang of fear.
This fear was inexplicable, like the terror of the unknown, or the trepidation of prey before falling into a trap.
He hesitated for only a moment before Mu Zhe pulled him into the alley.
Shen Gurong's heart suddenly pounded.
The alley was pitch black. Mu Zhe seemed to have raised his hand to shut out the alleyway, instantly blocking out all sounds from the main street. The only sounds in the alley were their breathing and the rustling of clothes.
Shen Gurong steadied himself, realizing that the person before him was Mu Zhe, and he had nothing to fear.
With this thought, Shen Gurong regained his composure, released Mu Zhe's hand, gathered his hands in his sleeves, and slowly said, "I lied to you before."
In the darkness, Mu Zhe's body stiffened slightly.
Shen Gurong felt his breathing suddenly quicken, and knew that he must be struggling with this matter, hence his unusual behavior.
He sighed and recounted to Mu Zhe the whole story of his amnesia being a result of possession, adding at the end, "I didn't mean to lie to you."
After Shen Gurong finished speaking, Mu Zhe was stunned for a long time before smiling and saying, "It's not important."
Shen Gurong tilted his head: "Hmm?"
The spiritual barrier in Shen Gurong's eyes hadn't completely dissipated, and even at the Great Ascension stage, he couldn't use his cultivation to see. In the darkness, he couldn't see Mu Zhe's expression, only his tone of voice to judge whether he was angry or not.
Mu Zhe's tone sounded like he wasn't angry, but the more he listened, the stranger it sounded.
As he was thinking, Mu Zhe had already come over and hugged him again, but this time the embrace was very gentle.
He raised his hand and gently stroked the back of Shen Gurong's neck, watching the teeth marks from before slowly healing as his spiritual energy circulated. In just a few breaths, they had turned into pale pink teeth marks, enveloping the bright red mole.
Both alluring and seductive.
"It doesn't matter." Mu Zhe's face was expressionless, his dilated pupils still unclosed, making him look extremely eerie, but his tone was gentler than ever before. "Who my master is doesn't matter, I don't care."
These words sounded like sweet nothings, and Shen Gurong, in a daze, believed them.
Seeing the crisis averted, Shen Gurong shrank back slightly before smiling and saying, "It's good you're not angry—um, don't touch the back of my neck, it's itchy."
Mu Zhe readily withdrew his hand and softly asked, "The marks on Master's body... disappeared quickly."
Shen Gurong didn't know why he said that, but nodded and said, "With the circulation of spiritual energy, minor injuries usually disappear quickly."
Mu Zhe was slightly taken aback. He touched the still-present mark on the back of his neck, and suddenly laughed. He leaned on Shen Gurong's shoulder and murmured, "Doesn't Master like me poking you?"
Shen Gurong muttered softly, "That wasn't poking, you were trying to eat me."
Shen Gurong's neck was extremely sensitive; a bite there was excruciating. He pulled at his clothes, revealing his fair, jade-like neck, and pointed, indicating that Mu Zhe should bite there.
“Bite here, I’ll leave the mark,” Shen Gurong said. “The back… it hurts so much.”
Mu Zhe stared intently at his neck, then gently stroked it, blood slowly flowing beneath his fingertips, his pulse throbbing.
“Okay,” he obediently replied.
Shen Gurong breathed a sigh of relief, obediently pulling down his clothes, waiting for Mu Zhe to poke his neck.
But he waited and waited, not only did he not receive a poke, but the spot on the back of his neck where the mark had just disappeared was bitten hard again.
Shen Gurong: “…”
Shen Gurong was almost in tears: “Mu Zhe!”
Having done his mischief, Mu Zhe showed no remorse whatsoever, his tone remaining perfectly calm as he said, “But Mu Zhe just likes to leave it here.”
“It hurts!” Shen Gurong glared at him in the darkness. “It hurts and itches, it’s tingling and numb, are you trying to kill me with discomfort?”
Shen Gurong also lost his temper, directly stroking the back of his neck, and the teeth mark disappeared again.
He tugged at his collar, coldly saying, "Just my neck."
Take it or leave it, I'll indulge your bad habit.
Mu Zhe looked at him expressionlessly, grabbed his hand again, and bit him on the back of his neck.
Shen Gurong: "..."
"Traitor! Bastard!" Shen Gurong couldn't even remember how many times he'd been bitten. Finally, he was terrified by Mu Zhe's stubbornness and reluctantly gave in.
"Fine, fine, right here, right here." Shen Gurong's eyes were red-rimmed. He tilted his head slightly, wiping the water droplets from his silk handkerchief, and complained in a low, hoarse voice, "You'll kill me sooner or later."
Mu Zhe looked at his face, which looked like he'd just cried, and was finally satisfied.
His dilated pupils slowly focused into a single pupil. Mu Zhe released the barrier, and light poured in from outside, faintly illuminating the half of his disfigured face.
Shen Gurong, enduring the discomfort, gently touched the teeth marks on the back of his neck. Strangely, he felt nothing when touching the red mole himself, but when Mu Zhe touched it, he had a vaguely uncouth reaction, his body going limp as if melting into water, almost embarrassing himself in public.
What was the reason for this?
As he muttered to himself, he inadvertently glanced at Mu Zhe's face, paused, and frowned, asking, "What happened to your face?"
Mu Zhe remained as gentle as ever, his eyes lowered, obediently compliant. He said calmly, "The plague has relapsed."
"Relapsed?" Shen Gurong stepped forward and touched his face, examining it carefully for a long time before saying, "That's impossible. Didn't the spiritual fruit from the Human Face Tree almost completely neutralize your plague?"
Logically, it shouldn't have relapsed.
Mu Zhe took his hand and rubbed it against his face, his eyes deep as he looked at him, his tone unchanged as always.
"Master, if my face remains like this from now on, will you still love me?"
If I no longer have that face like yours, will you still treat me as well as before?
Will all the special treatment you gave me be mercilessly taken back because of this disfigured face?
Mu Zhe imagined the scene of Shen Gurong abandoning him without hesitation, and his entire body was boiling violently, as if his burning passion had turned into molten lava, slowly flowing through his body, burning him into a withered skeleton, a walking corpse.
But if Shen Gurong really abandoned him because of this face, Mu Zhe thought about it, and even if he had many ways to force him to submit, he simply couldn't bear to use them on Shen Gurong.
He could only let Shen Gurong slip through his fingers like quicksand, leaving not a trace.
Mu Zhe's expression remained unchanged, but his body was already trembling slightly.
He suddenly felt a renewed fear of Shen Gurong's answer. He stared at Shen Gurong's lips, almost wanting to stop him in terror, to prevent him from saying anything he didn't want to hear.
Wouldn't it be better to pretend he knew nothing, to continue accepting all of Shen Gurong's kindness and affection with that "Sir's" face?
Mu Zhe knew this was the best outcome, yet he still covered his face with the birthmark to test Shen Gurong.
He couldn't accept being loved as someone else.
Mu Zhe's mind was a jumbled mess; he didn't even know what he was thinking.
How long had passed? Perhaps a moment, perhaps an hour—Mu Zhe felt it was an eternity—before Shen Gurong finally spoke softly.
"What are you thinking about?" Shen Gurong looked at him curiously.
Mu Zhe froze, looking up blankly. He had imagined countless reactions from Shen Gurong—perhaps he would turn and leave, perhaps he would deceive himself by saying he didn't care about appearances, perhaps…
Many "perhaps," but he had never imagined Shen Gurong would have this… utterly ordinary reaction.
Shen Gurong's face showed genuine curiosity, as if he found it strange that Mu Zhe would ask such a question, like hearing a mentally sound adult ask him why flowers are red.
His face was full of doubt, amusement, doting, and even deeper love, but lacked the alienation and disgust that Mu Zhe feared most.
Mu Zhe was stunned.
"So what if your face is like this?" Shen Gurong said. "Besides, you've always looked like this. I'm tired of seeing you."
He raised his hand and touched Mu Zhe's face, clicking his tongue, and laughed, "I didn't like you because of your appearance. Even if you were disfigured, it wouldn't make a difference to me."
Mu Zhe stared blankly at him, unsure how to react.
Shen Gurong tilted his head and said, "Hmm, anyway, the most handsome person in the Three Realms is me, your Master. If I were really a lecherous man who loves good looks, I'd just look in the mirror every day, why would I need you?"
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe was stunned for a long time by these words. He had never imagined that Shen Gurong would answer his question from such a strange and tricky angle.
And this statement... seemed to make perfect sense, but upon closer inspection, Mu Zhe didn't seem to have gotten the answer he wanted most.
Stirred up by Shen Gurong's words, Mu Zhe fell into deep thought.
What was he pondering just now?
Just then, a loud bang suddenly came from the center of the city, followed by a strange aura that permeated the entire Xianzhou.
Shen Gurong was startled, and immediately leaped into the air, his robes fluttering in the wind.
A pillar of light shot out from the center of the city, reaching towards the heavens, breaking through the mist that lingered over Xianzhou. The sky seemed to ripple like a stone falling into a deep pool.
Mu Zhe belatedly caught up: "Master?"
Shen Gurong's eyes darkened slightly. "It's the aura of a plague demon."
Author's Note:
Yu Xinghe's confiscated pile of substitute novels misled Mu Zhe. (Not...)
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