Young Master Shen was so angry his feathers stood on end, still barking furiously as Mu Zhe pulled him away.
"You cunning bird! If you've got the guts, fight me right now! I'll peck you to death!"
Xue Manzhuang's eyes were filled with tears as he sobbed, buried in Yu Xinghe's palm, clearly in considerable pain.
Yu Xinghe tenderly stroked the bald patch on his head, looking at Mu Zhe angrily, and said, "Mu Zhe, is your spirit beast jealous of my little pet's beauty and deliberately pecking at him?"
Shen Gurong retorted angrily: "Are you blind? No matter how you look at it, my beauty is far superior! Yu Xinghe! You're expelled from the sect!"
Mu Zhe frowned, gently stroking Shen Gurong's body, and said casually, "He's always been very well-behaved and wouldn't attack others without reason. Perhaps there's something wrong with your spirit beast. You should investigate its background before raising it."
Yu Xinghe snorted, holding Xue Manzhuang and muttering softly, "I already asked! This spirit beast has a tiny bit of phoenix blood, and it'll breathe fire when it grows up!"
Mu Zhe rubbed his temples: "You believe that?"
Yu Xinghe believed it, and angrily went to find Li Suo with the spirit beast.
Shen Gurong angrily shouted at Yu Xinghe's retreating back: "Xue Manzhuang, stay! Let's have a one-on-one peck! Xue Manzhuang!"
Mu Zhe saw him jumping up and down in anger and helplessly patted him.
He thought it was just a docile canary, but its claws are quite sharp.
Night fell, and the city was dimly lit at the first watch of the night.
The banks of the river were lined with people carrying lanterns, and the trees were adorned with colorful ribbons tied tightly together, their petals fluttering in the evening breeze.
Previously, Yu Xinghe had been green with envy for Mu Zhe's spirit beast, but now he finally had one himself. He was overjoyed, his head covered in snow, holding Li Suo's hand, babbling in a childish voice.
"Senior Brother Li Suo, do you think Master will like this kind of spirit beast?" Yu Xinghe couldn't stop talking about his master. "After Master comes out of seclusion and sees me raising a pet, will he think Xinghe is neglecting his duties?"
Seeing his earnest worry, Li Suo smiled and said gently, "The Holy Lord will like it."
Shen Gurong, sulking in Mu Zhe's arms, couldn't help but retort angrily: The Holy Lord won't like it!
The Holy Lord would never like that little phoenix that turned him into this!
Xue Manzhuang, nestled blankly on Yu Xinghe's head, turned around in confusion at the sound of his voice, meeting the angry gaze of Shen Gurong.
Shen Gurong didn't know if he had reverted Xue Manzhuang back to his infancy; his previous arrogance had vanished, replaced by the innocent naivety of a newborn.
However, deep down, he still harbored a strong attachment to Shen Feng Xue. Even after being beaten like that, he still instinctively liked the little dumpling.
Xue Manzhuang gave a soft peck.
"I like you."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong roared: "Insolence—"
Mu Zhe, confused by Shen Gurong's antics, saw him struggle to jump out of his arms and quickly caught him to prevent him from falling.
"Stop fooling around."
Shen Gurong was frantic. Ever since meeting Xue Manzhuang, he'd been constantly thinking about how to get him to take back the phoenix spiritual power from his spiritual veins. But every time he tried to rush up and have a "friendly chat" with him, Mu Zhe would hold him down, preventing him from leaving his side.
Shen Gurong tried many times but failed each time. Finally, he used his wings and claws to climb onto Mu Zhe's head, looking Xue Manzhuang in the eye, intending to negotiate like this.
"Can you take back the spiritual power from my spiritual veins?"
Xue Manzhuang rested his head on Yu Xinghe's bun, tilting his head blankly, "What?"
Shen Gurong: Spiritual power! Your phoenix spiritual power!
After a long pause to understand, Xue Manzhuang opened his wide eyes: "Ah! So I really am a phoenix!"
Shen Gurong: ...
Shen Gurong buried his face in Mu Zhe's hair in frustration.
Seeing Xue Manzhuang's foolish appearance, he probably didn't even know how to control his spiritual power, let alone accurately draw the phoenix spiritual power back into his spiritual veins.
Shen Gurong thought despairingly: What do I do now? Do I really have to wait a month for the spiritual power to dissipate before I can return to human form?
He's only been a phoenix for two days now, and Shen Gurong already feels his thinking is leaning towards that of a bird. If he returns to human form in a month, will he even be pecking at water?
The more Shen Gurong thought about it, the more terrifying it became. He couldn't help but shiver, his feathers standing on end.
Xue Manzhuang looked at him and earnestly praised, "You're so handsome."
Shen Gurong: ...
Shen Gurong grinned maliciously: You'll be even more handsome when I pluck all your feathers.
Xue Manzhuang trembled and timidly shrank to the side of Yu Xinghe's bun, only daring to steal glances at him.
The main street of Fuxian City was bustling with people. Li Suo, afraid the two would get lost, led them by the hand, one in each arm, towards the riverbank.
The snowy night river was dotted with starlight, reflecting the bright moonlight like a fiery lotus in a vast snowy landscape. Elegant music drifted from painted boats laden with flowers, and people were throwing farewell grass onto the shore.
Yu Xinghe asked Li Suo obediently, "Senior brother, shall we go on a big boat too?"
Li Suo's gaze wandered casually through the crowd, as if searching for someone. Hearing this, he lowered his head and smiled, "Xinghe wants to ride?"
Yu Xinghe nodded, "There are so many people there, it's so lively."
Li Suo then asked Mu Zhe, "Mu Zhe, do you want to ride?"
Mu Zhe: "Anything is fine."
Knowing Mu Zhe's unassuming nature, Li Suo bent down and carried the two of them, one on each side, onto a painted boat with the crowd.
Shen Gurong, still fearful of the water ghost he'd seen during the day, had been cursing Xue Manzhuang, but as soon as they were on the boat, he immediately cowered, jumping back into Mu Zhe's arms, not daring to peek out for fear of seeing anything he shouldn't.
The boat had two levels. Yu Xinghe wanted to see the flowers, so Li Suo led them to the second-floor pavilion.
Opening the carved windows, the river views on both banks and in the distance came into view, a breathtaking vista.
Mu Zhe glanced at the location and knew that his senior brother Li Suo had spent a lot of spirit stones, but seeing Yu Xinghe jumping for joy, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.
The pavilion wasn't very large. The small cubicle where the three of them were seated was separated by a floor-length bamboo curtain, allowing only a vague glimpse of the figures in the next room.
After they were seated, Mu Zhe placed Shen Gurong on the table and broke off a few pieces of pastry for him.
Shen Gurong didn't want to eat and turned to skip off to find Xue Manzhuang.
But as soon as he moved a few inches from Mu Zhe's grasp, Mu Zhe would forcibly pull him back, encircling him to prevent him from running away.
Confused, Shen Gurong could only pretend to be obedient and peck at the pastries a few times.
Phoenixes have no taste for anything, and after a few tasteless pecks, Shen Gurong suddenly discovered that the roasted sesame seeds on a pastry called "Rolling Snowball" tasted quite good.
He shook his wings and happily began to peck at it.
Mu Zhe glanced at him, and his wary posture relaxed slightly.
After Shen Gurong had been pecking for a while, the painted boat suddenly rocked slightly, as if it was docking to pick up other guests.
After sailing for a while, fireworks from Fuxian City began to bloom intermittently on the horizon.
Mu Zhe had never seen fireworks before, and the sudden explosion startled him, making him flinch slightly before he recovered.
While Mu Zhe was watching the fireworks outside the window, Shen Gurong stealthily jumped out of Mu Zhe's embrace, scrambling towards Yu Xinghe to find Xue Manzhuang.
He had only taken a few steps when a small hand suddenly grabbed him, lifting him into the air as Mu Zhe pulled him back.
Just as Shen Gurong was about to feign ignorance, he suddenly felt a slight tightening in the hand holding him.
Previously, Mu Zhe had been careful not to hurt him, never daring to use too much force, but now he seemed unconcerned, gripping Shen Gurong's entire body tightly, his gaze fixed on him intently.
Fortunately, Shen Gurong was covered in soft fur, so the grip didn't hurt.
He looked at Mu Zhe's gloomy face with some surprise, not understanding what was wrong with him.
Mu Zhe took a soft breath, raised his other hand, and gently stroked Shen Gurong's head. His voice was soft and childlike, with a touch of naivety.
"You're mine."
It was like a child declaring ownership of a toy, but for some reason, Shen Gurong felt a chill run down his spine.
Seeing him stunned, Mu Zhe loosened his grip, lowering his eyes to gently stroke Shen Gurong's head.
"Don't always think about going to other people's places. If you try to run away again, I'll have to lock you up."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong looked at him wistfully, thinking that if he were in human form now, he'd definitely be expelled from the sect.
Usually, Mu Zhe was steady and composed, acting calmly and even occasionally displaying an unpleasant gloom. Compared to Yu Xinghe, his presence was practically nonexistent. Sometimes, even Li Suo, who prided himself on fairness, would instinctively favor the more unconventional Yu Xinghe.
Shen Gurong had initially thought Mu Zhe was a content and obedient child, only becoming somewhat taciturn after being "abused" by Shen Feng Xue. Now, after these words, he understood that Mu Zhe wasn't unwilling to fight for things; he was simply too lazy to fight for things that were meaningless to him.
And this bird…
From the moment Mu Zhe found it, he had poured excessive attention into it, his affection for it even exceeding that for Shen Feng Xue.
Since arriving at Liren Peak with Shen Feng Xue, everything Mu Zhe possessed had been given to him unilaterally by Shen Feng Xue—spiritual objects, status, even cultivation. He was like an empty shell, forcibly filled with things that didn't belong to him.
But he never felt satisfied; only fear filled his heart.
To survive, Mu Zhe had learned to read people from a young age, possessing a keener understanding than some adults even at only six years old. However, no matter what, he could never see through Shen Feng Xue, who seemed shrouded in frost and snow.
His master, dressed in blue robes with white hair, possessed an icy aura that seemed to linger. A single glance from him could send chills down Mu Zhe's spine, even under the blazing sun.
Everything Mu Zhe possessed was entirely at Shen Feng Xue's mercy; even his own life was not under his control.
This little spirit beast, which had inadvertently entered his life, was perhaps the only proof he could have of himself.
Mu Zhe lowered his gaze and gently stroked Shen Gurong. Seeing that he was silent, he put him down.
This time, Shen Gurong dared not run away again—if Mu Zhe really chained him up, Shen Feng Xue's reputation would be ruined, and even in death, he would likely jump out and take Shen Gurong down with him.
The shore was bustling with people. A servant from the pleasure boat respectfully greeted the group arriving for their journey. He glanced up unintentionally, and his expression instantly changed.
The group consisted of six people, their dark red cloaks embroidered with dragon and phoenix patterns symbolizing the exorcism of evil spirits, clearly visible even in the candlelight.
“Exorcist… Lord,” the servant said with a pale smile, “our pleasure boat has exorcism talismans from Liren Peak, so there shouldn’t be any ghosts causing trouble. I wonder…”
Exorcists often act with great fanfare; if a demon were to actually fight an exorcist, the entire river would likely be blown up.
The man at the head of the group was tall, his face obscured by a wide-brimmed hat. His voice was deep: “There are no evil spirits on this pleasure boat. We are simply searching for someone.”
The servant breathed a sigh of relief and respectfully escorted them away.
Once aboard the pleasure boat, the veiled man's attendant, a disciple of Zhuxie, whispered, "Lord Wen, the Dongting Lake water ghost is incredibly powerful. It would be perfectly at home in the Snow Night River. If we don't capture it soon, trouble may ensue."
Wen Liubing ignored him.
Seeing his single-minded focus on finding someone, the man wanted to urge him further but knew Wen Liubing's autocratic nature, so he sighed silently and didn't bring it up again.
Another Zhuxie disciple glanced at the lavishly decorated pleasure boat and asked uncertainly, "My lord, is the Holy Lord truly in a place like this?"
Wen Liubing spoke this time, his voice deep and resonant: "The disciple's contract cannot be wrong."
"But you…"
Wen Liubing frowned, turning to look at him, his imposing aura radiating authority: "Hmm?"
The Zhuxie disciple stammered, "You… don't you suffer from seasickness?"
Wen Liubing: "…"
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