Shen Gurong was already getting tired of his standoff with Li Genglan. He naturally took Mu Zhe's hand and led him to the center of Xianzhou City.
Mu Zhe was stunned for a moment, staring at their clasped hands, unable to react for a moment, before Shen Gurong instantly transported him to the massive central magic array.
After landing gracefully, Shen Gurong removed the illusionary spell from his body and, without blinking, banished all the demonic cultivators around the array, leaving only a small demonic cultivator trembling with fear, gripping a sword.
He slowly walked to the small demonic cultivator, his sleeves tucked in, and said calmly, "Where is Li Genglan?"
The small demonic cultivator's legs were trembling with fear: "Saint Shen... Saint..."
Shen Gurong clicked his tongue. Why leave someone who couldn't speak? He didn't wait for the small demonic cultivator to keep babbling, gesturing for him to leave, and turned his gaze to the mustard seed beside the array.
There should have been houses in the center of the city, but judging from the marks, they seemed to have been violently crushed, surrounded by scattered stone fragments. Only a tiny hut stood at the northernmost point, from which a dense demonic aura continuously flowed.
Shen Gurong raised an eyebrow slightly and walked towards the hut.
Mu Zhe frowned, stepped forward, and grabbed Shen Gurong's wrist, saying in a deep voice, "You can't go in. There might be a trap."
Shen Gurong smiled and said, "Of course I won't go in."
Mu Zhe: "Then you…"
Shen Gurong held out her hand to him and said, "Lend me the Jiu Xi Sword."
Mu Zhe hesitated for a moment before handing the Jiu Xi Sword to Shen Gurong with a complicated expression.
As a cultivator, one never allows others to touch their natal sword, not even their Daoist partner. But Shen Gurong seemed oblivious to this; whenever he needed his sword, he simply asked Mu Zhe for it, not worrying that his disciple wouldn't give it to him.
He wielded the Jiu Xi Sword with practiced ease, gathering spiritual energy in his fingertips and slowly slicing it across the blade. Blood instantly gushed out, leaving a bright red mark on the snow-white sword.
The Jiu Xi Sword, initially lashing out at Mu Zhe reluctantly, instantly became speechless upon touching Shen Gurong's blood, greedily devouring the blood brimming with spiritual energy from a Mahayana cultivator.
A single drop of Shen Gurong's blood was far more useful than the Jiu Xi Sword consuming dozens of demonic cultivators.
The sword suddenly erupted with a powerful surge of spiritual energy, causing Shen Gurong's sleeves and white, flowing hair to flutter wildly. His eyes shone brightly, as if reflecting countless flames.
The Jiu Xi Sword hummed loudly as he flicked it.
Shen Gurong said, "Get out of the way."
Before Mu Zhe could react, he forcefully swung the Jiu Xi Sword towards the mustard seed hut in front of him.
The mustard seed hut by Li Nanyang was a coming-of-age artifact given to him by Li Nanyang years ago. It was imbued with Li Nanyang's protective barrier. Shen Gurong knew just how powerful Nanyang's protective barrier was; it was so domineering that it could withstand several Nascent Soul lightning tribulations for him. For someone like him, a Mahayana cultivator who had lost half of his yuandan, breaking it would be extremely difficult.
Fortunately, Li Nanyang hadn't fully become a saint back then, and the barrier on the mustard seed hut wasn't as strong as the one on Shen Gurong's body at the time. Shen Gurong used all his cultivation to strike it, and the independent space detached from the Three Realms slowly cracked in the void.
Shen Gurong raised an eyebrow and lightly sheathed the Jiu Xi Sword.
"This tortoise shell isn't very hard," Shen Gurong commented.
His spiritual energy had been almost completely depleted by that attack. It would probably take a while to fully recover, but Shen Gurong couldn't wait that long. He turned and returned to Mu Zhe's side.
A protective barrier appeared before Mu Zhe, blocking all the spiritual energy emanating from Shen Gurong.
Seeing Shen Gurong rushing towards him, he instinctively dispelled the barrier and pulled Shen Gurong to his side.
Shen Gurong reached him, grabbed his collar, and said, "Circulate your yuandan."
Mu Zhe: "What?"
Shen Gurong: "Quickly."
Mu Zhe was confused, but obediently circulated his yuandan in his dantian, spiritual energy instantly spreading throughout his body.
Just as he was wondering what Shen Gurong was doing, he felt his master's hand tighten slightly on his collar. Caught off guard, he lowered his head, and his lips touched something warm and soft.
Shen Gurong covered his lips with a kiss.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Shen Gurong's eyes held no lust. He captured Mu Zhe's lips, his tongue gently probing inside, the spiritual energy circulating within Mu Zhe's body seemingly drawn in, flowing like a gentle stream into Shen Gurong's lips.
Soon, with the aid of the Daoist Contract, Shen Gurong's yuandan rapidly circulated, fully restoring his spiritual energy in just a few breaths.
Noticing the restoration of his spiritual energy, Shen Gurong released Mu Zhe, gently smoothing the wrinkles in his clothes as a reward. Then, he turned, gripping the Jiu Xi Sword, and once again swung it towards the mustard seed hut.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe froze, staring blankly as Shen Gurong slaughtered his way through the crowd. After a long while, he raised his hand to touch his still slightly numb lips, his heart filled with icy coldness.
Shen Gurong... was he just using him as a tool?
Shen Gurong cleaved the mustard seed in two with overwhelming force, shattering the barrier. The contents of the mustard seed instantly spilled out, leaving a chaotic mess. Li Genglan, radiating demonic energy, sat in his wheelchair, glaring at him with a grim expression.
He spoke slowly and deliberately, his words dripping with hatred and murderous intent, as if he wanted to grind Li Genglan to dust: "Shen... Ele... ven."
Li Genglan was about to speak when Shen Gurong raised a hand, interrupting him: "Wait a moment."
Li Genglan choked, his words forced back, left only to coldly watch what Shen Gurong was up to.
After stopping Li Genglan, Shen Gurong turned and nonchalantly returned to the gloomy-faced Mu Zhe, returning the Jiu Xi Sword to him.
Mu Zhe felt deeply uncomfortable. He sheathed the Jiu Xi Sword, his hands hanging limply, saying nothing.
Shen Gurong then began to attend to the most important matter of his life—coaxing Mu Zhe.
Instead of killing Li Genglan, he held Mu Zhe's hand gently, seemingly oblivious to their presence, his face full of smiles: "What's wrong? Are you angry again?"
Mu Zhe was utterly indifferent, his handsome yet strangely unsettling face devoid of any expression, powerful and aloof. No one could tell he was sulking.
He whispered, "No."
"Still saying no?" Shen Gurong said, "My Dao Companion Pact can feel your sourness, you're practically crying."
Mu Zhe: "..."
"Don't you like me kissing you?" Shen Gurong asked again.
Mu Zhe pursed his lips and shook his head: "No."
Shen Gurong carefully considered what he had done to offend Mu Zhe, and after much thought, tried to guess: "Don't you like me kissing you to restore my spiritual power?"
Mu Zhe didn't speak.
He guessed right.
Shen Gurong sighed, surprised that Mu Zhe's mind was so sensitive, even more sensitive than the back of his neck.
“Alright,” Shen Gurong said, “I won’t do this anymore, okay? Don’t be angry.”
Mu Zhe felt even more aggrieved.
He actually hoped Shen Gurong would scold him for his petulance.
The more unconditionally Shen Gurong tolerated him, the more he treated him like a child, the more he felt that his master didn’t love him for who he was, but rather because of someone from his past life, and had been suppressing his own feelings to indulge him.
Even Mu Zhe felt he was being dramatic; how could Shen Gurong not feel the same way?
If it were someone else, they would have already gotten angry because of him.
After coaxing him, Shen Gurong felt the emotions transmitted through the Daoist Contract become even more bitter.
Shen Gurong: “???”
Shen Gurong took a deep breath, his expression finally turning cold. He said, “Mu Zhe.”
Mu Zhe looked up at him, his eyes slightly red.
Shen Gurong, who had just forced his heart to harden, immediately softened again. He sighed, "I've said before, just tell me what you want, otherwise how can I give it to you? It's the same now. Just tell me directly what's making you angry, otherwise how am I supposed to know? Guess? This is my first time loving someone, and I'm terrible at guessing people's thoughts. If you don't tell me, and I can't figure it out, we'll break up sooner or later."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe stared at him blankly for a long time before stammering, "Master...it's the first time..."
Shen Gurong asked suspiciously, "Otherwise? What are you thinking?"
Mu Zhe lowered his head, looking at the pebbles on the ground, and softly pleaded, "Master...I won't break up."
Shen Gurong waited and waited, only to hear this. He almost laughed in anger: "Mu Zhe, are you still a child? Can't you act like a man? Tell me, what's making you angry?"
Mu Zhe...Mu Zhe really found it difficult to speak, and most importantly, he was afraid of getting an answer he didn't want to hear.
But as Shen Gurong said, if he remained silent, Shen Gurong would know nothing, and the two would eventually separate.
Even the most tightly bound Daoist partnership contract has a way of being broken.
Mu Zhe took a deep breath, about to speak, when Li Genglan, who had been ignored for so long, finally couldn't hold back and shouted sharply, "Shen Eleven! Are you deliberately provoking me?!"
Mu Zhe: "..."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong expressionlessly snatched back the Jiu Xi Sword, and without even looking at Li Genglan, swung it fiercely. With a loud boom, dust filled the air.
Amidst the chaos, he still looked into Mu Zhe's eyes, encouraging him, "Ignore him, keep talking."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe looked at him with a complicated expression, finally giving in completely. He leaned close to Shen Gurong's ear and whispered something.
Shen Gurong, whose ears were also sensitive, instinctively recoiled, but upon hearing these words, he stiffened, staring at Mu Zhe in astonishment.
The two exchanged glances.
Shen Gurong said strangely, "You've been agonizing over this all this time?"
Mu Zhe nodded, his face pale.
For him, this was the most important thing.
He had always disliked the way his master looked at him as if he were someone else, and now that he knew that person truly existed, his heart was filled with unease and fear, terrified of being abandoned by Shen Gurong.
His master was so good; upon reflection, he seemed to have absolutely no leverage to keep Shen Gurong. He had nothing, even the love he received was stolen from someone else. It seemed that he could never openly and honestly obtain Shen Gurong's complete heart.
Mu Zhe felt utterly despicable. He had clearly relied on his past life to get Shen Gurong to agree to be with him, yet he was being pretentious, wanting to sever ties with his past life and receive Shen Gurong's pure, unadulterated love.
He reaps the benefits of his past life while simultaneously harboring resentment and jealousy.
He's hypocritical.
Mu Zhe used almost every despicable word to describe himself, nearly bringing himself to tears.
So despicable, so pathetic.
The more Mu Zhe thought about it, the more distressed he became. The emotions transmitted through the Daoist Pact almost forced Shen Gurong to shed tears.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong stared at him for a long time before raising his hand to pat his shoulder, saying earnestly, "Disciple, you should read fewer storybooks. These kinds of 'stand-in' stories haven't been read much for a hundred years."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe: "???"
Mu Zhe never expected Shen Gurong to react like this, staring at him blankly with wide eyes.
Shen Gurong sighed and said, "If I were to agree to your request against my conscience just because you're the reincarnation of Master, if Master knew in the afterlife, he'd probably punish me by making me recite the Disciple's Rules a thousand times and call me a lecherous playboy."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Watching this pair of lovebirds flirting, Li Genglan, who had barely dodged Shen Gurong's attack, was already pounding the armrest and roaring, "Shen Eleven! Shen Feng Xue—"
"Think it over carefully yourself. Figure out whether my feelings for you are genuine or not, and whether I'm really toying with you." Shen Gurong glanced at him and said, "Alright, if I don't kill Li Genglan soon, he might be furious. When I get back, give me an answer from your heart. If you answer wrong, be careful, or Master will punish you by making you copy books."
Mu Zhe: "..."
After Shen Gurong finished speaking, he impatiently gripped the Jiu Xi Sword and charged towards Li Genglan, his eyes filled with coldness.
What a noisy insect.
Leaving Mu Zhe standing there, unable to recover for a long time.
Author's Note:
Mu Zhe delivers a perfect answer: Master wasn't toying with me.
Master: But you are toying with me now!
[Just kidding. Why haven't I written until I die in the middle of the night?]
[Throws pen down.]
[Kill him within two chapters.]
Lol, miss Mu throwing tantrums.lol. Tq
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