While comfortably soaking in the hot spring, Shen Gurong suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Turning his head, he could only see a hazy white mist.
His vision was now almost blind; the inability to focus his gaze made him feel utterly insecure. It was as if evil spirits surrounded him from places he couldn't see, ready to devour him at any moment.
Shen Gurong felt a sudden, inexplicable fear. He whispered, "Mu Zhe?"
No one answered.
The more Shen Gurong thought about it, the more frightened he became. He guessed that the ice silk hadn't been thrown very far, and tried to reach out to retrieve it. But every time he reached out, he feared someone would grab him. His hand hesitated for a long time, then finally gave up.
"Mu...Mu Zhe."
When Mu Zhe came over with the clothes, he was met with this soft, frightened voice.
He hurried closer, waving away the surrounding mist, and saw his master huddled in a corner between a boulder and the rock wall beside the hot spring, his entire body submerged in the water. The clear spring water reached above his chin, gently staining Shen Gurong's vibrant lips.
He looked somewhat frightened, and it was unclear how long he had been soaking in the water in this position. His cheeks were flushed, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and even the corners of his eyes showed a hint of red.
Mu Zhe's breath hitched, afraid of frightening him, and he whispered, "Master, I'm here."
Upon hearing his voice, Shen Gurong immediately tried to speak, but forgetting that he was submerged in the hot spring, he inadvertently swallowed a mouthful of water, choking and coughing violently.
Mu Zhe quickly stepped forward, put down his clothes, and gently patted his back.
Shen Gurong coughed, his eyes filled with tears, struggling to grab Mu Zhe's forearm, and said with difficulty, "Ice silk...give me ice...cough!"
Mu Zhe gathered the surrounding clothes and stuffed a new piece of Bingxiao into Shen Gurong's hand.
Shen Gurong finally recovered. Perhaps feeling embarrassed, he turned his head away evasively and whispered, "I'm fine now, you...go ahead and do your work."
His white hair, cascading down his back, clung to his body. Shen Gurong raised a hand to brush his hair away, casually tucking it into his shoulder, revealing his long, slender neck and the beautiful shoulder blades on either side.
Mu Zhe glanced at him subtly.
A bright red mole, almost dripping with blood, was on the center of Shen Gurong's nape. As he slightly turned to brush his hair away, the red mole, contrasting with the lingering redness at the corner of his eye, made him appear even more alluring.
Mu Zhe suddenly realized that his aloof and ethereal master was alluring in his pale blue and white attire, yet his vibrant colors were captivating.
Shen Gurong, noticing Mu Zhe hadn't left, murmured a puzzled "Hmm?"
Mu Zhe snapped back to reality, immediately suppressing his increasingly rebellious thoughts, stood up, bowed, and turned to leave.
Only after hearing the footsteps fade into the distance did Shen Gurong finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Shen Gurong, clutching the ice silk, didn't immediately put it on. Instead, he let out a silent scream, kicking his legs several times in the hot spring, splashing water everywhere.
After a long while, he finally managed to completely vent his embarrassment, wanting to drown himself, and blushed as he put on the ice silk.
The hot spring was filled with steam, making his vision a little blurry, but Shen Gurong didn't think much of it. Estimating that it was about time, he got up to get out and put on his clothes.
Just as one foot touched the shore, the familiar hanged ghost suddenly fell before him, roaring menacingly once more.
"Are you dead?! Give me back my money!"
Shen Gurong: "..."
Mu Zhe had just stepped out of the backyard hot spring, glancing at the gloomy sky, intending to brew some tea for his master to drink when he came out. But he had only taken a few steps when he suddenly heard a short, agonizing scream behind him.
"Ah—!!"
It was Shen Gurong's voice.
Mu Zhe was startled and quickly went back, but as soon as he stepped into the backyard, he felt a terrifying surge of uncontrollable spiritual energy fly towards him, brushing past him and slamming into the roof of the front yard with a deafening crash.
A deafening sound followed, and half of the main building of Fanjiang Residence collapsed.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe wasn't afraid. He quickly stepped forward, about to casually brush away the surrounding white mist to find Shen Gurong, when suddenly he felt someone stumble through the mist and land squarely in his arms.
Mu Zhe froze.
Shen Gurong was completely naked, his entire body soaked through. The ice-silk covering his eyes was gone, and his face was deathly pale. He trembled violently, clinging tightly to Mu Zhe, even his once vibrant red lips were bloodless. He looked utterly terrified.
His lips trembled slightly, stammering incoherent words.
“Traitor…traitor…”
“Don’t you know that ice silk…Ghost…?”
“Ugh…”
Mu Zhe: “…”
Shen Gurong was terrified, cursing Mu Zhe while simultaneously seeking some security from him. He clung to him tightly, refusing to let go, his soft, clingy whimpers filling Mu Zhe’s ears.
Because of the way Shen Gurong buried his face in Mu Zhe’s neck, Mu Zhe could easily see the vibrant red mole when he looked down.
While Mu Zhe was still stunned, Shen Gurong, terrified, quickly lost his strength and slid down. Mu Zhe quickly regained his senses, reaching out to catch his slender waist and pulling him back into his arms.
Still shaken, Shen Gurong muttered, "Expelled from the sect... Waaah, I'll expel him in a couple of days..."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe only then realized, a beat too late, that his master was completely naked. His face flushed inexplicably, and he whispered, "Master, first... first, put on some clothes."
Shen Gurong's ears were filled with the demon's ferocious roar; he didn't hear what he was saying at all, only clinging softly to him.
Mu Zhe, his face burning red from the pressure, gently pulled him aside, groping for Shen Gurong's clothes.
Shen Gurong, thinking he was going to get the ice silk, immediately stomped on Mu Zhe's traitorous hands with his bare feet, again and again, as if striking anxiously.
He was terrified: "No ice silk!"
Mu Zhe said softly, "I'm just getting you some clothes..."
When people are extremely frightened, their ears can't hear anything. Shen Gurong was in that state at the moment. His light-colored pupils contracted, and he repeated anxiously, finally uttering a harsh threat: "No ice silk! If I get the ice silk, I don't want you anymore!"
Mu Zhe was both amused and exasperated. Just as he was about to comfort him and bend down to pick up the clothes on the ground, Shen Gurong suddenly lunged forward, shoving Mu Zhe into the hot spring.
With a splash, both of them fell into the water.
Mu Zhe: "..."
How could his frightened master be even harder to handle than him in his dumpling form?
Mu Zhe emerged from the water, pulling the nearly choking Shen Gurong out as well.
Shen Gurong's mind had completely blanked. He clung tightly to Mu Zhe's shoulders, water droplets slowly sliding down his face. His expression was blank, yet he looked utterly aggrieved: "I said I don't want it, but you insist..."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe finally understood why the sect leader always said Shen Gurong loved to whine, especially this kind of unconscious whining, which struck Mu Zhe's heart squarely.
Mu Zhe could only hug him and coax him: "We won't take it, we won't take it."
Shen Gurong finally managed to hear something clearly and looked up at him blankly.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside. Before Mu Zhe could even react, a golden figure swept in like a gust of wind.
Yu Xinghe's eyes were bright. Even before he got close, he exclaimed, "Master! Has Master emerged from seclusion?! Xinghe can sense Master's spiritual power!"
Mu Zhe: "..."
Yu Xinghe's cultivation wasn't particularly high, but perhaps because he was always being chased by Mu Zhe, his escape skills were top-notch; almost no one on Liren Peak could catch him.
He arrived in front of the two in the blink of an eye.
Yu Xinghe was adorable, delicate, and good at acting cute. Plus, he was the youngest disciple on Liren Peak back then, and all his senior brothers doted on him, which over time spoiled him into having a willful and unruly personality.
Fortunately, he understood right from wrong, and even when he caused trouble, it was always for minor, harmless things, and no one held it against him.
He often entered other people's rooms without saying hello, and because of this bad habit, Mu Zhe had placed a restriction on his door since childhood.
—Yu Xinghe and the ghost cultivators are not allowed to enter.
Yu Xinghe, being a habitual brat, didn't think much of it and excitedly rushed into his master's bathing area, waving away the surrounding steam. His excitement and anticipation froze when he saw the two embracing in the hot spring.
Mu Zhe's face turned green. He placed the dazed Shen Gurong beside a boulder, then flashed forward, and before Yu Xinghe could react, grabbed a red robe from the ground and quickly wrapped it around Shen Gurong's body.
Yu Xinghe was still in a daze, looking like, 'Who am I? Did my little senior brother finally blind me?'
Mu Zhe flicked his spiritual energy, separating the water droplets from his body, instantly becoming refreshed. He coldly looked at Yu Xinghe and said, "Have you finished copying the scripture I told you to copy a hundred times?!"
For the past ten years, Mu Zhe's talent and cultivation had been among the best in Liren Peak and even the Three Realms. Being the senior brother, Yu Xinghe was always kept under strict control.
A few days ago, he missed his master and went to Yuxu Mountain to deliver flowers. When Mu Zhe found out upon his return, he immediately placed a restriction on Yu Xinghe's wrist, ordering him not to leave the house until he had copied the scripture a hundred times.
Yu Xinghe, used to being punished, instinctively replied, "I've already finished copying it."
"What did I say before? Don't enter other people's rooms without permission. Didn't you remember?" Mu Zhe said coldly. "Disrespectful! Trespassing on Master's residence! Go back and copy it a hundred more times."
Yu Xinghe: "..."
Yu Xinghe was finally jolted back to his senses. His face was filled with horror, his eyes wide open. He didn't even have time to think about the extra hundred copies of scripture he'd unexpectedly received. His gaze darted back and forth between Mu Zhe and Shen Gurong in the hot spring several times before he stammered, "Master... and Junior Brother..."
He didn't finish, but was so shocked by his own guess that he gasped!
Fearing he might overthink things, Mu Zhe didn't hesitate to place another restriction on Yu Xinghe's wrist, saying almost angrily, "Go back right now!"
Yu Xinghe didn't even have time to react before Mu Zhe pushed him out of Fanjiang Residence.
When he returned, Shen Gurong had already fumbled to put on his robes and was fastening his waist sash.
The sash had several thin red silk ribbons, each ending in a black tassel. He couldn't see them and had to tie them haphazardly, but somehow he managed to tie none of the three ribbons correctly. They were crookedly wrapped around his waist, creating a rather peculiar effect.
While Mu Zhe had been kicking Yu Xinghe out, Shen Gurong had completely recovered and quickly composed himself.
He'd been embarrassed so many times that it was commonplace, and he felt no shame whatsoever.
But when the familiar footsteps sounded in his ear, Shen Gurong, who had mentally prepared himself, suddenly found his ears turning bright red, as if they were about to bleed.
Mu Zhe stepped forward, retrieved the worn-out ice silk, and handed it to Shen Gurong with both hands: "Master, this is the old ice silk."
He vaguely remembered that when he was young, his master had once, for some reason, preferred to be blind rather than wear ice silk. Recalling Shen Gurong's terrified scream just now, Mu Zhe roughly guessed that the problem must lie with the new ice silk.
Shen Gurong's hand trembled, and he turned his head away, whispering, "I won't wear it."
Let me die blind instead.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe gently persuaded, "Just now, this disciple didn't know that the ice silk was unusual. If Master is still angry, you may punish Mu Zhe."
Shen Gurong felt somewhat embarrassed to tell others that he was afraid of ghosts. After all, Shen Feng Xue had earned the title of Holy Lord by slaying demonic cultivators and vengeful ghosts. If people knew that the one who exorcised ghost cultivators was afraid of ghosts, the Three Realms would surely laugh their heads off.
Shen Gurong didn't want to talk about this, but upon hearing the word "punishment," he awkwardly started a conversation: "I saw you punish Xinghe just now. What trouble did he get into?"
Mu Zhe originally wanted to tell Shen Gurong about Yu Xinghe's annual "grave visits," but he suddenly recalled that when Shen Gurong emerged from seclusion earlier, he seemed to have a sprig of evening mist flower tucked behind his ear, and it seemed he quite liked it.
Unsure of his master's temperament, he could only pick a few things that didn't actually constitute a crime: "Lazy and gluttonous, lazy in cultivation, neglecting his duties, and having made no progress in cultivation for many years."
Shen Gurong thought: Wow! Isn't that describing me?
Mu Zhe: "..."
His master was the number one person in the Three Realms, only half a step away from becoming a saint. His cultivation was something countless people in the Three Realms couldn't achieve even after hundreds or thousands of years. He didn't know how his master had categorized him as someone who had "made no progress in cultivation for many years."
Shen Gurong coughed lightly and said, "Yes, as for your senior brother, you did very well."
Mu Zhe nodded reservedly, indicating that his master was too kind.
Shen Gurong still didn't want to wear the ice silk. Thinking that Mu Zhe had already seen his cowardly behavior from beginning to end, he decided not to hide it anymore. He raised his hand and said, "It's getting late, help me back."
Mu Zhe took a few steps forward, gently taking Shen Gurong's arm, and asked softly, "Does Master intend to rest?"
Shen Gurong nodded.
"But..."
Mu Zhe hesitated. He said softly, "Master's Fanjiang Residence had its roof collapsed by your spiritual power just now. I'm afraid you can't stay there today."
Shen Gurong: "..."
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