Mu Zhe cast several protective spells taught to him by Su Xiyan in the side room, ensuring Xue Manzhuang couldn't go out and harm his master, before spending the night in the icy spring in the backyard.
At dawn, as the sky brightened, Mu Zhe returned from the backyard, his body shivering. Even before entering his room, he sensed something was amiss.
His expression was cold as he quickly pushed open the door and rushed inside.
—Xue Manzhuang was gone.
The protective spells filling the room couldn't restrain Xue Manzhuang's wicked desire to see his beloved.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe, his face cold, went to find Shen Gurong. Just as he reached Shen Gurong's door, he sensed a fluctuation of spiritual energy emanating from the room.
He initially thought Xue Manzhuang was attacking Shen Gurong, and immediately tried to rush in. Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the carved window, and a figure slammed straight out, flying halfway across the courtyard and smashing the newly blooming evening mist flowers.
Upon closer inspection, the person lying amidst the fallen petals, bruised and battered, was none other than Xue Manzhuang.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Xue Manzhuang groaned and rubbed his aching back as he got up from the ground, pitifully saying, "My beauty."
Shen Meiren emerged from the room, raising a hand to lightly steady himself against the wooden pillar of the corridor, his eyes coldly sweeping over Xue Manzhuang.
His robes were disheveled, likely hastily thrown on after being woken from his sleep; his cloak was only half-draped, hanging loosely on his left shoulder, threatening to fall off.
Despite this unkempt appearance, he only appeared more languid and alluring. Shen Gurong's silk cloak was on backwards, making it difficult to see clearly, but he could vaguely sense from the incantation that it was Xue Manzhuang, that lecherous fellow.
He coldly said, "Are you tired of living?"
Xue Manzhuang was now aware of the situation. Although his previous memories hadn't returned, at least he wasn't just chirping like the little fat bird he used to be.
He fidgeted with his sash with his fingers, whispering, "I haven't seen you in so long, I missed you."
Seeing his bewildered expression, Shen Gurong rubbed his temples in exasperation.
Mu Zhe, his face grim, stepped forward, pulled Shen Gurong's cloak up, covering his thin body, and then gathered up the exposed part of his shirt.
Shen Gurong's expression softened upon seeing Mu Zhe. He said, "It's alright."
Mu Zhe remained silent, continuing to straighten Shen Gurong's clothes and correcting the inside-out ice silk robe.
Although Shen Gurong verbally refused, he felt quite comfortable being served. He squinted slightly, thinking: Having a disciple is truly wonderful; he's so young yet already knows how to respect his master.
Mu Zhe paused, then tied Shen Gurong's robe properly before standing respectfully to the side, remaining silent.
Shen Gurong, seeing his newly blossoming courtyard now a mess, felt a headache coming on. He pointed at Xue Manzhuang and coldly said, "You, replant the flowers for me."
Xue Manzhuang, instead of being angry at being ordered to plant flowers, was overjoyed, nodding vigorously as if he had received a great favor.
"Mmm! Good! Let's plant flowers for the beauty!"
Mu Zhe finally spoke: "Master, the Demon Lord should have arrived by now. If he knew the young master of the demon race was doing such menial work here, he'd probably be unhappy with our hospitality at Liren Peak."
Shen Gurong thought about it carefully: "That seems to make sense."
Shen Gurong turned to Xue Manzhuang, who was rolling up his sleeves to dig the ground, and said, "Stop planting, hurry up and leave."
Xue Manzhuang was stunned, and asked blankly, "Huh?"
Mu Zhe said coolly, "The young master is probably lost. Mu Zhe will take him back to Changying Mountain."
Xue Manzhuang: "Huh?"
Mu Zhe walked over, grabbed Xue Manzhuang by the collar, and forcibly dragged him away.
Xue Manzhuang thrashed about, yelling, "Ahhh? Beauty, not planting flowers anymore? I know how to plant flowers!"
Mu Zhe couldn't stand his blatant calling Shen Gurong "beauty"—even though he knew his master would definitely like that title—but he impatiently cast a silencing spell on Xue Manzhuang, silencing his incessant chatter.
Xue Manzhuang: "Mmm!"
Shen Gurong was very pleased to see Mu Zhe neatly drag Xue Manzhuang away, thinking the little protagonist was truly decisive.
Just then, Shen Gurong noticed a small head peeking around the entrance of Fanjiang Residence, like a little spirit beast.
Shen Gurong took a few steps forward and tentatively called out, "Xiwu?"
The little head at the doorway immediately shrank back, only timidly peeking out after a long pause. Xiwu clung to the doorframe and whispered, "Good morning, brother."
Shen Gurong… Shen Gurong's morning grumpiness, stirred up by Xue Manzhuang, instantly vanished.
His eyes curved into a smile: "Good morning, did you sleep well last night?"
Xiwu emerged from behind the doorframe, nodding with her head down.
Shen Gurong led her to the courtyard, taking out some snacks Su Xiyan had given him from his storage ring and placing them on the table, gesturing for her to eat.
Xiwu sat obediently and timidly opposite Shen Gurong, like a frightened little animal. She only dared to eat when Shen Gurong told her to, and even then, she only took the snacks closest to her, refusing to touch anything further away.
Shen Gurong's voice softened unconsciously, as if afraid of startling her: "Did you have a nightmare last night?"
Xiwu took a bite of the snack and shook her head.
When Shen Gurong spoke to her, she would always look up at him intently. But if he remained silent, she would immediately lower her head, staring blankly at her hands. However, she would soon seem unable to resist, timidly glancing up at him.
That look was enough to melt Shen Gurong's heart.
As the two were drinking tea, Yu Xinghe suddenly ran in from outside, shouting before even entering Fanjiang Residence, "Master! Master!"
Shen Gurong frowned, put down his teacup, and said calmly, "Shouting like that, what kind of behavior is this?"
Yu Xinghe, dressed in an eye-catching golden robe, rushed over, bowed respectfully, his eyes sparkling. He tried to soften his voice, but it was still piercingly loud.
"Master, something terrible has happened!"
Shen Gurong poured him a cup of tea and gestured for him to sit down and talk.
Yu Xinghe was a very sociable person, always eager to join in the fun. He knew all the secrets of every nook and cranny of Liren Peak, and he was always there to join in any lively gathering.
He sat down and downed Shen Gurong's fine tea in one gulp, like a cow chewing on a peony.
Shen Gurong's lips twitched. He thought to himself that he really shouldn't have poured such good tea for this child; he should have just given him water.
After finishing his drink, Yu Xinghe cleared his throat and began his long-winded speech.
Yu Xinghe rambled on: "The disciples brought by Fenglu City are all at the Golden Core stage. Our Liren Peak participants probably only have our junior brother who can rival them! Ah, speaking of Fenglu City, they even have female cultivators among them! Master! Female cultivators!"
Shen Gurong: "..."
Yu Xinghe continued: "There seem to be quite a few female cultivators coming to Liren Peak this time. Xianyun City also has two. Ah! They're so beautiful! If I were to draw lots and encounter them, I'd definitely surrender immediately; their beauty is killing me."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Yu Xinghe kept babbling: "Oh right, what was I about to say? Oh, right! Fenglu City, Fenglu City! There's a female cultivator among the disciples of Fenglu City… no, that's not right either."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Expelled from the sect.
Finally, under Shen Gurong's cold gaze, Yu Xinghe's survival instinct kicked in, and he remembered what he was going to say.
"Yes, a disciple from Fenglu City died."
Shen Gurong had almost chased him away, but after listening for so long and finally hearing the key point, he perked up a bit. He propped his chin on his hand and asked, "Oh? How did he die?"
Yu Xinghe finally got a response from his master, and his spirits lifted. He was about to start babbling again.
Xiwu couldn't help but whisper, "Tell your brother the important thing."
Yu Xinghe: "..."
Seeing his previously cheerful "Junior Sister" suddenly become "Junior Aunt," a look of utter misery returned to Yu Xinghe's face. His excitement finally subsided somewhat, and he began to speak more respectfully about the important point.
“I overheard something nearby. It seems to be that disciple who offended Master a few days ago. He was recuperating at his guest residence on Changying Mountain, but somehow, a red-banded snake suddenly flew in through the window last night and bit him.”
Shen Gurong: “A red-banded snake?”
Yu Xinghe nodded: “It was red, with markings. The disciple’s cultivation was ruined, and the snake venom couldn’t be expelled. He died instantly; there was no saving him.”
The late spring cold snap had passed, and as the ice began to thaw, the snakes, dormant all winter, awoke. With the boundary spirit tablet on Liren Peak removed, they crawled unimpeded towards the peak, following the flow of spiritual energy.
These past few days, snakes have been easily spotted. Although snake venom is deadly to mortals, it’s not worth the attention of cultivators, so no one has bothered to drive them away.
Unexpectedly, this has led to a great disaster.
Yu Xinghe said, "City Lord Feng Yun is seeking justice from the sect leader, but if a snake bites a person, how can the blame be placed on our Liren Peak? It's his own fault for not mastering his skills, hmph."
Shen Gurong fell silent.
Xiwu noticed his lowered eyes seemed somewhat dim, and looked at him blankly, "Brother?"
Shen Gurong looked at her.
Xiwu looked flustered, clumsily comforting him, "No, it wasn't brother's fault. Brother was only trying to save me."
Shen Gurong was stunned, a sudden chill running through him.
His silence just now was simply because he was thinking, not because Xiwu thought he was blaming himself for destroying the disciple's core with that sword strike, leading to his tragic death.
Only Shen Gurong himself knew that even upon hearing the news of the disciple's death, his heart remained completely unmoved, as cold as someone who had witnessed countless killings.
Why don't I feel remorse?
Shen Gurong pondered deeply. If he were back in Huitang City, and someone had indirectly died tragically because of him, he would have been filled with remorse. But now, he was asking himself the opposite question.
Why don't I feel remorse?
'What's there to mourn?' Shen Gurong quickly realized, almost coldly. 'His heart was malicious; he would naturally suffer retribution. I spared him before, which was already showing mercy.'
Besides, it was just a book.
Shen Gurong reached out and touched Xiwu's head, saying softly, "It's alright."
He stood up, had Yu Xinghe take Xiwu back to the side courtyard, and quickly left Fanjiang Residence, using the disciple contract to find Wen Liubing.
Soon, Wen Liubing descended from the sky on the wind, still covered in frost, as if he had just come down from Yuxu Mountain.
He bowed respectfully, "Master."
Shen Gurong asked, "Were you in the side courtyard yesterday?"
Wen Liubing replied, "Yes."
Shen Gurong's eyes darkened slightly. "Did you see Xiwu do anything strange?"
Wen Liubing thought for a moment before answering, "After Master went to see her, she threw the snake into the flowerbed and then went back to her room without doing anything else."
"And then? Did she use any spiritual power in her room?"
"No."
Shen Gurong finally breathed a sigh of relief. For some reason, he had just suspected that Xiwu was responsible for his disciple being bitten to death by the red-banded snake.
Thank goodness.
Shen Gurong said, "Take me to Changying Mountain."
Wen Liubing nodded in agreement and led the way.
The martial arts arena for the Chanwei Tournament had already been set up at the training ground on Changying Mountain, where a group of energetic young people had gathered and were sparring.
As Shen Gurong passed by, he initially had no interest, but a glance out of the corner of his eye revealed that Mu Zhe was on the dueling platform.
Intrigued, he and Wen Liubing walked forward to watch.
Mu Zhe on the platform was expressionless. He wielded the Jiu Xi Sword with practiced ease, sweeping it horizontally and sending the opposing disciple tumbling off the platform. The disciple rolled several times before scrambling to his feet.
Mu Zhe clasped his hands in a fist salute and coldly said, "Thank you for the concession."
The disciple dressed in Fenglu City robes, his face flushed, gripped his sword and returned to the crowd.
The Liren Peak disciples watching nearby immediately cheered, "Brother Mu! Brother Mu is valiant! Another victory! Ten consecutive wins!"
Mu Zhe wasn't interested in ten consecutive wins; he simply wanted to fight more, to fully master the Jiu Xi Sword before the Chanwei Tournament, and to increase his chances of winning.
He glanced around and coldly asked, "Who else?"
The disciples of Xianyun City, unable to tolerate his arrogant demeanor, snorted and lightly leaped onto the dueling platform, pointing to themselves with their thumbs up, saying, "Me, your master!"
Mu Zhe frowned, clearly disapproving of such self-reference.
The disciples of Liren Peak, valuing harmony, all spoke politely, saying, "Insolence! How dare you call yourself 'I' in front of your junior brother! Did I, your father, approve?!"
Mu Zhe: "..."
Everyone: "..."
Mu Zhe rubbed his temples, offering no comment, and slightly bowed, saying, "Please enlighten me."
Just as he gripped the Jiu Xi Sword, he heard Jiu Xi say in his consciousness, "Hey, your master's here."
At the same time, Shen Gurong's voice boomed into Mu Zhe's ears from nearby.
Hit him!
Beat him down!
Mu Zhe, his face expressionless, turned his head and saw Shen Gurong standing not far away, his hands tucked into his sleeves, coldly watching him.
'Hurry up and hit him! He's already referring to himself like that, and you're still putting up with it? Are you even a man? Hit him! What are you looking at? Is there a flower on Master's face? Is it that handsome?!'
Mu Zhe: "..."
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