On the painted boat, Li Suo leaned halfway out of the window, resting his chin on his hand and lazily watching the crowd on the shore.
Yu Xinghe, nestled close to Mu Zhe, whispered, "Mu Zhe, is Senior Brother waiting for someone? He's been looking around ever since he left."
Before Mu Zhe could reply, Li Suo turned and tapped Yu Xinghe with his folding fan, laughing and scolding, "You little brat, can't you keep your voice down when you're gossiping behind people's backs?"
Yu Xinghe didn't seem to mind the tap and continued, "Xinghe's telling the truth, Senior Brother's been acting like he's lost in thought, it seems like..."
He tilted his head, thought for a moment, and uttered a rebellious word: "...a young girl in love."
Li Suo: "..."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe quietly moved closer to the window, trying to avoid being affected by Yu Xinghe's beating.
A moment later, Yu Xinghe, tears welling in his eyes, covered the spot on his head where he had been hit, sobbing, "Senior brother, Xinghe knows he was wrong."
Li Suo chuckled, "Did it hurt?"
It didn't actually hurt much, but Yu Xinghe always knew how to look to make people feel more sorry for him. He nodded, sobbing, and said in a childish voice, "It hurt so much."
Li Suo laughed for a while, then beckoned him over. Yu Xinghe came over, looking aggrieved.
Li Suo rubbed his little head, coaxing him, "Does it still hurt?"
Yu Xinghe's eyes crinkled into a smile as he nestled on Li Suo's lap, saying it didn't hurt anymore.
Mu Zhe pursed his lips, casually stroking Shen Gurong's feathers while looking out the window, lost in thought.
Shen Gurong tilted his head, looking on, and for some reason suddenly felt that little Mu Zhe seemed sad.
Mu Zhe stared blankly at the bright lights outside, when suddenly he noticed the little bird that had always docilely allowed him to pet it was acting up again, fluttering its wings and flying to the side, pulling away from his hand.
Mu Zhe's pupils contracted sharply, a deep-seated panic finally breaking free. He almost uncontrollably reached out and crushed the bird in his palm.
His hand on the table trembled slightly. Realizing his thoughts were wrong, Mu Zhe forcibly suppressed the sudden surge of violence within him—but it wasn't easy.
The murderous intent to destroy anything that dared to escape his control washed over his mind. For a fleeting moment, Mu Zhe's pupils dilated, as if possessed by the plague demon.
But only for a second. His watery pupils returned to normal.
Mu Zhe suddenly felt utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. He no longer cared about Shen Gurong, who was trying to escape him.
'Let him be,' Mu Zhe thought. 'It was never mine to begin with, and it will never belong to me in the end.'
He lowered his eyes slightly, his exhaustion barely concealed.
Just then, Mu Zhe suddenly felt a strange touch on his arm.
Looking up, he saw the little red ball struggling to climb up his arm.
Mu Zhe: “…”
Shen Gurong’s wings were still slightly sore. Being a pampered young master, even the slightest movement made him wince in pain.
Usually, when he climbed onto Mu Zhe’s head, Mu Zhe would hold him and help him. But this time, Mu Zhe didn’t move, so he could only flutter his way up to Mu Zhe’s shoulder using one wing and two short claws.
He was exhausted. He took a few breaths on the spot before pulling on Mu Zhe’s hair to continue climbing.
Mu Zhe tilted his head, somewhat bewildered.
Shen Gurong finally scrambled onto Mu Zhe's head, panting for a moment before flapping one wing and hopping lightly twice.
Mu Zhe: "?"
Mu Zhe felt the faint yet undeniable force on his head, his little face blank for a long time, completely bewildered.
Seeing him still dazed, Shen Gurong anxiously hopped again.
"Chirp!"
After three or four hops, Shen Gurong was so tired he was practically sticking out his tongue before Mu Zhe suddenly realized what was happening.
Was he... comforting him?
Because no one was touching his head, this chubby little thing was climbing on his head and hopping around—was that... a head pat?
This time, Mu Zhe was truly stunned for a long time, so long that Shen Gurong was so tired he rolled off his head and landed headfirst on the small table before he finally reacted.
Mu Zhe belatedly caught him, his lips slightly pursed, a hint of tenderness flashing in his previously icy eyes.
He gently rubbed Shen Gurong's head and whispered, "Does it hurt?"
Shen Gurong didn't seem to feel much pain, giving him a soft peck, looking quite obedient.
Mu Zhe smiled, his previous gloom vanishing completely.
Seeing him smile, Shen Gurong suddenly had a terrifying thought.
Mu Zhe could smile like that at a bird, yet he couldn't address Shen Gurong kindly as "Master," and every time he saw Shen Feng Xue, he was as fearful as a mouse before a cat.
Wouldn't it be more convenient for him to remain by Mu Zhe's side in his phoenix form than with Shen Feng Xue's identity?
Shen Gurong tilted his head, lost in thought. Finally, he gritted his teeth and made a firm decision: if pretending to be a phoenix for a while really would allow him to go home, then he could consider continuing to chirp, and even chirp in all sorts of different ways.
As long as he could go home, he would accept anything.
Just then, the pleasure boat suddenly began to rock violently, accompanied by a piercing sound. The water outside the window instantly surged several meters high, as if it had collided with something.
Yu Xinghe screamed, nearly falling off his chair, but was caught by Li Suo.
Li Suo, sensing something, placed Yu Xinghe beside Mu Zhe, his expression grave: "Mu Zhe, watch over Xinghe."
River water mixed with flower petals was already pouring in through the window, splashing Mu Zhe directly. Still shaken, he forced a nod: "Yes."
After speaking, Li Suo extended two fingers and gently pulled at the pulse point on his wrist, drawing blood. He had actually pulled a spirit sword from the spiritual vein.
Yu Xinghe clung tightly to Mu Zhe, and upon seeing this, almost cried out in fright: "Senior Brother! You're bleeding!"
Li Suo's face remained sickly pale. He touched his wrist, and the wound vanished instantly.
He smiled at the two little ones: "It's nothing."
With that, he lifted the bamboo curtain and quickly climbed down the wooden stairs of the flying pavilion.
Yu Xinghe trembled with fear. Mu Zhe patted his head and turned to look out the window.
Chaos reigned outside the pleasure boat. The Snow Night River resembled a giant dragon entering the sea, with enormous creatures churning and splashing, creating towering waves several meters high. Some small boats were even capsized.
The servant was right; this pleasure boat truly possessed the talisman of Liren Peak. Despite the chaos outside, the boat suffered little damage. The surging waves were instantly blocked by a transparent barrier.
Shen Gurong, nearly nauseated from the shaking, glanced at the scene outside and started chattering incessantly.
Mu Zhe, his expression grave, assumed he was frightened and gently patted him, saying, "Don't be afraid."
Shen Gurong: "Chirp chirp—chirp!"
In the chaos, a pastry hit Shen Gurong squarely on the head, silencing his unfinished chirp.
Seeing the raging waves outside, Mu Zhe silently channeled his remaining spiritual energy, attempting to create a protective barrier for the two people and two birds, just in case.
The spiritual energy slowly gathered in his spiritual veins, forming a gentle stream that filtered out the surrounding noise. Suddenly, a highly recognizable voice pierced his ears, leaving him completely stunned.
Shen Gurong was calling out in a hoarse voice.
"There's a water ghost! A water ghost that eats people!!"
"Isn't it said that water ghosts lure living people into the water to escape reincarnation? I made eye contact with him today...could he be here to take me as a scapegoat?!"
"Master! Senior Brother, save me!"
Mu Zhe: "..."
For a moment, Mu Zhe's young face went blank. He stared in disbelief at the little red bird perched on the table, feeling as if he were in a ridiculous dream.
He remained stunned for a long time. The turbulent waves outside had completely ceased, the riverbank was as still as a deep pool, the carpet of petals had all been swept to the shore, and even the lanterns released by the people were nowhere to be seen.
The entire snowy river was calmer than ever before.
Li Suo, carrying his sword, climbed up the wooden steps. Seeing that the two were unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Yu Xinghe immediately rushed over to him, asking fearfully, "Senior brother, what happened just now? Was there a ghost cultivator?"
Li Suo reassured him, "It's nothing, just a small water ghost. It's been driven away by the demon slayers."
Yu Xinghe was relieved, but still terrified, he clung to Li Suo's hand, unwilling to let go.
Li Suo led Yu Xinghe back and saw Mu Zhe looking utterly dejected. Thinking he was still shaken, he was about to comfort him when a sound came from below the wooden stairs.
"My lord! My lord, are you alright?!"
"I...I'm fine, no...he escaped."
"You did your best. If you weren't unwell, you could have subdued that water ghost in one strike!"
"Yes, yes, my lord, let's get off the boat first."
"No..."
Then came heavy footsteps up the wooden stairs, as if someone was coming up.
Li Suo was startled.
Shen Gurong, hearing that the water ghost had been driven away, immediately perked up.
He thought Mu Zhe was frightened and was affectionately nuzzling Mu Zhe's cold palm, softly calling, "Chirp chirp."
Don't worry, the water ghost is gone.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe stared at him, still unable to recover, his young face unusually filled with barely concealed vulnerability and sadness.
Shen Gurong felt a pang of heartache. He hopped to the scattered pastries on the table, picked out a round one, and hopped to Mu Zhe's side, still holding it in his mouth.
Eat, eat this, calm your nerves.
Mu Zhe looked at him with a speechless expression.
Seeing that his expression had improved, Shen Gurong quickly fetched more pastries for him.
Wen Liubing followed the disciples of Shuimo, step by step up the wooden steps, accurately finding the small cubicle by the window.
Li Suo, his face beaming with joy, pulled back the bamboo curtain, his eyes sparkling as he looked at the person not far away.
Wen Liubing strode over with several demon-slaying soldiers, a bloodstained longsword in his hand, as if he had just returned from a killing. His imposing aura was terrifying; the guests next door shrank back in fear, unable to bear watching.
Encountering demon-slaying was never a good thing.
Wen Liubing walked briskly to Li Suo's side, watching as the ink-wash pattern seemed to grow wings and flew around twice in the air before gently landing on... a small, chubby bird.
Wen Liubing paused, startled.
Shen Gurong was still persistently feeding Mu Zhe pastries, carefully selecting round ones, when he suddenly felt something land between his brows.
He looked up and saw a black and white butterfly.
His phoenix instincts kicked in, and he spread his wings and flapped them.
Li Suo finally snapped out of his daze and exclaimed joyfully, "Senior Brother Sanshui!"
Wen Liubing, having already vomited once, was dizzy and his mind was blank; it took him a while to recognize Li Suo.
He removed his wide-brimmed hat and nodded slightly as a greeting.
Then, to everyone's surprise, Wen Liubing suddenly bowed respectfully, performing a disciple's salute to the little red bird chasing butterflies on the table.
Shen Gurong was also taken aback. Who was this person?
Wen Liubing said in a deep voice, "Disciple Sanshui greets Master."
A deathly silence fell over the surroundings.
Everyone froze, as if struck by lightning, their gazes simultaneously falling on the plump little red bird.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong looked at the man before him with some confusion, memories related to him flashing through his mind.
Wen Liubing, Sanshui, Shen Feng Xue's eldest disciple.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Oh.
Shen Gurong, perhaps stunned by the sudden revelation of his identity, felt a strange calm amidst the chaos of the crowd.
He had seen through the illusions of the world; he was detached from worldly desires.
Wen Liubing, is it?
Shen Gurong thought expressionlessly.
Very well, you're expelled from the sect.
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