High-Risk Master - Chapter 20: Similar

After the white crane left, Lou Bugui finally looked away from the poisonous weeds and said, "Third Senior Brother is mighty."

Xi Guxing: "..."

Xi Guxing glared at him: "Don't remember a single word I said just now. Forget it all."

Lou Bugui: "Why?"

Xi Guxing, annoyed and embarrassed, said: "I said forget, so forgot it! If I find out you told anyone, watch out for your herb garden!"

Lou Bugui was taken aback and hurriedly stammered, "Okay, okay! I...I'll forget it right away! Senior Brother didn't commit insubordination, didn't try to betray his master, didn't say 'I, Xi Guxing, am the leader of Liren Peak'..."

Xi Guxing: "..."

Xi Guxing painfully rubbed his temples, feeling that no sect leader in the entire Three Realms was more distressed than him.

He got up to leave, out of sight, out of mind.

Lou Bugui, desperately trying to forget Xi Guxing's treasonous words, called out to him in the midst of his busy work, "Senior Brother, what about Eleven? Are you going to bring him back?"

Xi Guxing tapped the hilt of his sword at his waist lightly, saying impatiently, "Although Li Suo is useless, he's at least a Golden Core cultivator, and Shen-shidi has Master's protective barrier. Going down the mountain shouldn't be a big problem."

He thought for a moment, then lowered his voice as if he had disturbed something, "You and I both know that the artifact the Demon Lord and Master mentioned is uncertain to even exist. Shen-shidi has been implicated for no reason, and he still doesn't know who he's taking the blame for. Trapped on Liren Peak for years, he can only use a split-spirit puppet every time he goes out. Tell me, which cultivator in the world is as frustrated as him? Since he's gone down the mountain by accident today, let him go. I'll handle everything."

Lou Bugui tilted his head: "But he can't use his spiritual power now. If he encounters danger..."

Xi Guxing: "He won't die. I'll take full responsibility for whatever happens."

Lou Bugui called out to him: "Senior brother, what if something unexpected happens?"

Xi Guxing was annoyed by Lou Bugui, but considering the man's foolishness, he mustered his last bit of patience: "A few days ago, Sanshui led the Zhuxie sect in pursuit of a water ghost that escaped from Dongting Lake. They should arrive in Fuxian City, Jingzhou, around today."

"Sanshui?" Lou Bugui thought hard. "Ah, Eleventh's eldest disciple, he's back?"

"Yes, he's led the Zhuxie sect for many years. He's calm and collected. His master can be easily found through the disciple contract," Xi Guxing said. "With his current cultivation level, protecting Shen-shidi shouldn't be a problem."

Lou Bugui finally felt relieved.

Shen Gurong was unaware that his senior brother had almost declared war on the demon race because of him. At this moment, he was nestled on Mu Zhe's head, watching the bustling crowd with curiosity.

In Fuxian City of Jingzhou, a prosperous and bustling city, a river flowed from the moat along the wide official road, its banks lined with willows and painted bridges, and flowers blooming amidst green tiles and red walls.

During the Flower Festival, the city's residents went on outings to enjoy the spring blossoms and pray for blessings to welcome the Goddess of Flowers.

Every year during the Flower Festival in Huitang City, Shen Gurong would go on outings with his brother.

Because of Shen Gurong's obsessive habit of painting portraits of ladies, his rule-abiding brother always kept a close eye on him. Once at a destination, his brother would take him to a group of men, forcing him to listen to the pedantic pronouncements of scholars, which he found incredibly annoying.

Thinking back, this was the first time Shen Gurong had ever felt so free during the Flower Festival.

He had initially been filled with despair because he couldn't transform back into human form without seeing Xi Guxing, but the moment he entered Fuxian City, Shen Gurong immediately forgot about Xi Guxing.

—He was now only interested in admiring handsome men and, incidentally, drawing a picture.

Unfortunately, his little paws couldn't even hold a brush properly, and he could only frantically scratch at Mu Zhe's head.

Mu Zhe felt a chill run down his spine, frowned, and gently lifted him down: "Hungry?"

Shen Gurong stood in his palm, his feet still scratching him, making a few chirping sounds that Mu Zhe couldn't understand at all.

Yu Xinghe watched from the side, his eyes welling up with tears. He muttered softly, "I want to raise a spirit beast like that too."

Li Suo, having just bought two sugar figurines, smiled and asked, "Would you like one of these?"

Yu Xinghe immediately recognized the figurine as a round, chubby little phoenix and happily accepted it. "Thank you, Senior Brother! Xinghe loves it!"

Li Suo then handed another phoenix candy to Mu Zhe, who bowed his head and thanked him softly before handing it to Shen Gurong.

Shen Gurong smelled the sweet aroma, jumped over, and pecked the candy figurine twice, piercing a hole in the little phoenix.

Shen Gurong tasted it, but finding no sweetness, spat out the sugar crumbs.

"Chirp."

Disgusting.

Li Suo, with the two children in tow, arrived at the inn and booked two rooms. Mu Zhe, who was licking the sugar figurine that Chen Gurong had rejected, tugged at Li Suo's sleeve and whispered, "Senior brother, aren't we going back tonight?"

Li Suo replied, "Today is the Flower Festival, and people will be releasing lanterns. Let's watch the lanterns before we go back."

Yu Xinghe, having already finished chewing the sugar figurine, his lips covered in sugar crumbs, said carefree, "Okay! Let's release lanterns! Let's release lanterns!"

It took the three of them half a day to settle into the inn after descending the mountain. After lunch, Li Suo took the two of them boating on the Snow Night River in Fuxian City.

The Snow Night River was filled with vibrant red flower petals. The bow of the boat cut through layers of water, slowly passing under the stone bridge in the city.

Shen Gurong jumped off Mu Zhe's head, stood on the edge of the boat, and kept crying out as he looked at the colorful flowers and willows on the bank.

Li Suo, enjoying the spring scenery, turned around upon hearing the sound: "What's wrong with him?"

Mu Zhe examined him closely and said, "Happy...right?"

Shen Gu Rong was indeed happy; if he were in human form, he would probably be even happier.

His father named him "Gurong" at birth, intending for him to be a tolerant and forgiving person, but unexpectedly, Shen Gurong, from a young age, loved beauty, turning this "Gurong" into "self-absorbed in his appearance."

Shen Gurong always carried a round mirror with him, constantly looking at himself in it, believing everyone else in the world was ugly.

He was narcissistic to the extreme.

This personality led him to paint his first portrait—of his handsome teacher—for which his father dragged him by the ear to apologize.

After that, he began painting portraits of ladies, even though he painted purely for the enjoyment of beauty, with absolutely no lewd intent, he was always punished whenever he was discovered.

The more he was punished, the more rebellious he became, indirectly leading to a rapid improvement in his painting skills within just a few years.

Shen Gurong was hopping around, looking towards the shore, his mind conjuring up ink paintings of beautiful women. His feet clawed at the edge of the boat, looking extremely excited.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one knew he was Shen Feng Xue, Shen Gurong had long since let loose. Before, he would feel ashamed for half a day even for a simple chirp, but now he had no inhibitions, chirping whenever he wanted, acting cute whenever he wanted.

The boat traveled on the river. Because it was the Flower Festival, many painted boats drifted by, creating a lively scene.

The carpet of flowers on the water's surface was torn open, revealing the clear water.

Halfway through, Shen Gurong glanced down at the water unintentionally, suddenly paused, tilted his head, and chirped.

This reflection in the water...it looks a little strange.

Shen Gurong tried to move to the side, but the reflection on the water was a beat slower, hesitating before slowly shifting its position.

Shen Gurong: "???"

Shen Gurong stared at the water in disbelief, suddenly wondering if he was blind.

The next instant, the reflection distorted slightly, and a red shadow rippled outwards.

Then a strange-looking man appeared on the water, his seaweed-like fur floating menacingly, his eyes fixed on him with a sinister gaze.

The man's eyes were white, and he softly parted his lips: Who are you?

Shen Gurong: "..."

Ahhh!

Shen Gurong let out a shrill "chirp," his fur standing on end. He desperately clung to Mu Zhe's sleeve, which hung limply to the side: "Chirp chirp!"

Look in the water!

Mu Zhe looked at him suspiciously, roughly guessing what he meant, and glanced down at the water's surface.

The water's surface was covered only with flower petals and their indistinct reflections.

Nothing seemed strange.

Shen Gurong stared wide-eyed in horror at the man still glaring at him menacingly on the water's surface.

The man said coldly: "Why does a phoenix possess a human soul? Do you know the art of soul transference?"

Shen Gurong screamed again, flapping his wings and plunging into Mu Zhe's arms.

Mu Zhe was startled.

Shen Gurong trembled with fear, repeatedly crying out, "Chirp! Chirp!"

A ghost! A ghost!

His screams were so piercing that even Yu Xinghe, who was splashing water, turned his head curiously.

Shen Gurong screamed as he burrowed into Mu Zhe's clothes, finally finding safety only inside them, his small body still trembling.

Mu Zhe thought he was afraid of water and gently patted him through his clothes. Seeing this, Li Suo quickly told the boatman to bring the boat to shore.

Even after Mu Zhe disembarked, Shen Gurong was still in a daze, chirping listlessly, truly terrified.

Seeing Shen Gurong so frightened, Mu Zhe had no energy left. Li Suo took him back to the inn first, then took Yu Xinghe to continue playing.

In the room, Mu Zhe placed Shen Gurong on the bed and poured him a glass of water.

Shen Gurong pecked at the water listlessly a few times, then, still shaken, burrowed under the quilt, pretending to be dead.

Fortunately, he was currently in phoenix form. If he had reacted this way to a ghost when he was in human form, Shen Feng Xue would have been utterly humiliated.

Shen Gurong lay there silently for a while when suddenly he heard a knock at the door.

Mu Zhe, who was reading nearby, went to open the door. Yu Xinghe skipped in, looking very happy.

"Mu Zhe! Mu Zhe!" Yu Xinghe exclaimed joyfully, holding a small cage covered with a red cloth, his face beaming with excitement as if showing off a treasure. "Look what I bought!"

Mu Zhe's interest waned, but he still played along: "What did you buy?"

Yu Xinghe ripped off the red cloth: "Tap tap! Look!"

Mu Zhe glanced at it listlessly, then suddenly froze.

Inside the small silver cage sat a plump, fiery red bird, round and adorable.

Mu Zhe stood up strangely: "Where did you buy this?"

"The Flower and Bird Pavilion!" Yu Xinghe's face flushed with joy. "I bought it for only five hundred spirit stones!"

Mu Zhe: "..."

Even the usually composed Mu Zhe was stunned by five hundred spirit stones: "Five hundred spirit stones?"

In the mortal world, an ordinary family's annual expenses were around ten spirit stones. Had Yu Xinghe been swindled out of his mind?! "Mmm! Mmm-hmm!" Yu Xinghe, brimming with wealth, was still happily skipping along. "Where's your spirit beast? Let it out quickly!"

Mu Zhe's expression was strange; he looked at Yu Xinghe as if he were a rich fool.

However, having known Yu Xinghe for over a year, Mu Zhe roughly knew that Yu Xinghe came from a wealthy family, and his daily life was extravagant, unlike anything Mu Zhe had ever seen

He wondered why such a young master would leave his hometown to cultivate on Liren Peak.

Shen Gurong, hidden under the covers, heard Yu Xinghe's voice and timidly peeked out, his gaze immediately landing on the plump little bird in the cage on the table.

Shen Gurong's pupils contracted sharply.

That was…

Yu Xinghe opened the cage door, and the little fat bird, looking bewildered, hesitantly hopped out, tilting its head to look at the two people in front of it, seemingly trying to distinguish friend from foe.

This bird resembled Shen Gurong, except it had a tuft of white down between its eyebrows, and its eyes were lifeless, giving it a somewhat dull appearance.

Mu Zhe secretly compared them, still feeling that his spirit beast was more spirited and adorable.

Just as Yu Xinghe was proudly showing off his spirit beast worth five hundred spirit stones, a flash of red light suddenly appeared before his eyes, followed by two bird calls, "Chirp" and "Cheep," coming from the table. Looking down, he saw the two little fat birds wrestling together.

Yu Xinghe: "…"

Mu Zhe: "…"

Shen Gurong was furious. He fiercely pressed the little fat bird down and reached out his claws to pluck the downy feathers from its head.

"Chirp chirp!"

The little chubby bird looked completely bewildered, being relentlessly plucked by Shen Gurong, utterly powerless to fight back.

It choked back tears, letting out two soft chirps.

"Xue Manzhuang!"

Shen Gurong cursed, his chirping rising and falling, nearly pulling Xue Manzhuang bald with his plucks, leaving a clump of red downy feathers scattered.

"You damned Xue Manzhuang!! Give me your life!"

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