After regaining his sight, Shen Gurong was immediately struck by this devastating blow, nearly causing him to drop the priceless ice silk and throw it at Lin Shuhe's smiling face.
However, once his vision cleared, he finally saw what his cheap sixth senior brother looked like.
Perhaps the Southern Lord of Calamity only accepted disciples based on appearance; Shen Gurong's senior brothers were all exceptionally handsome. Even though Lin Shuhe looked like he was on the verge of death, he still possessed an undiminished charm, appearing instead with a unique, melancholic allure.
Lin Shuhe blinked lightly. His voice was soft, and his movements were usually incredibly light. His pale, jade-like hand rested lightly on the abacus, casually moving the keys, as if a slight touch would truly kill him.
"What? Haven't seen your senior brother in so long, are you stunned?" Lin Shuhe teased him.
Shen Gurong withdrew his gaze and remained silent.
In Shen Feng Xue's memory, Lin Shuhe... was described as frail and sickly, seemingly on the verge of death, and there was a deliberate mention of him as cold-blooded and ruthless. However, Shen Gurong couldn't see any trace of that ruthlessness in Lin Shuhe.
After all, Shen Feng Xue had caused him so much trouble, yet upon arriving here, he still treated him well, providing him with good food and drink. Even if he spoke harshly or went too far, it was nothing more than administering some insignificant medicine or making sarcastic remarks to his disciple.
This kind of person, with a sharp tongue but a soft heart, seemed inherently incompatible with the word "cold-blooded."
The "cold-blooded and ruthless" Lin Shuhe couldn't stand for long. He waved his hand: "Standing there waiting to be struck by lightning? Come help me."
Shen Gurong: "..."
At Liren Peak, he was always the one being helped. This time, he finally encountered someone even weaker than himself. Shen Gurong stepped forward and raised his forearm to Lin Shuhe.
Lin Shuhe unceremoniously placed his soft, boneless hand on Shen Gurong's forearm, casually saying, "Yesterday, Third Senior Brother said that Master noticed your protective barrier had shattered. He wanted to leave seclusion, but he... persuaded him to return."
Shen Gurong helped him to a soft couch by the door where they enjoyed the rain, then paused upon hearing this.
Lin Shuhe glanced at him, then pointed to the table, instructing Shen Gurong to pour him tea.
Shen Gurong lowered his eyes and poured him tea.
"Tsk, you're always like this." Lin Shuhe took the tea, flicking Shen Gurong's wrist with his finger as he spoke lightly, "You react like this whenever Master is mentioned. But you should know your own spiritual veins; consuming too many spiritual substances is harmful in every way. Master is just worried about you."
Shen Gurong's eyes flickered slightly, recalling the rumors circulating in the Three Realms that Shen Feng Xue's cultivation was low in his youth, and that he had gradually increased his cultivation by relying on countless spiritual herbs that Nan Yangjun had found in the future. According to Lin Shuhe, those spiritual items detrimental to Shen Feng Xue seemed to be something he actively chose to consume, and Nan Yangjun apparently disapproved.
Shen Gurong tried to probe him again. His eyes were lowered, his eyelashes trembling slightly, and he said softly, "I know, but..."
Lin Shuhe said, "You just harbor resentment towards your master."
Shen Gurong: "I don't."
Lin Shuhe looked at him strangely and said, "Do you think I'm as blind as you?"
Shen Gurong: "..."
Lin Shuhe was too tight-lipped; unlike Xi Guxing, he couldn't be easily swayed. Shen Gurong asked several questions but couldn't get any important information, so he had to give up.
The two leaned back in their soft chairs, enjoying the rain.
After watching for a while, Shen Gurong realized that the Lin Guan Medical Clinic was located in a deep alley of a coffin street. It was just past noon, and the coffin shops next door were gradually opening for business, but the further into the alley, the quieter it became.
Shen Gurong shrank back, frowning. "I heard you were recuperating in Xianyun City, but how can you recuperate in a ghostly place like this, filled with yin energy?"
Lin Shuhe listened to the rain with his eyes closed, a smile playing on his lips. "A ghostly place is good for recuperating."
Shen Gurong: "Hmm?"
Shen Gurong waited and waited, but received no answer. He glanced at Lin Shuhe sideways.
Lin Shuhe was extremely prone to fatigue. He was exhausted after just making the ice silk, and fell asleep before he could even finish speaking.
Shen Gurong shook his head and took the crane cloak beside him, covering him with it.
Lin Shuhe was completely unguarded with him, falling into a deep sleep without even activating his protective spiritual energy. It was unclear whether he was too carefree or had been on guard all along.
The long street was shrouded in mist and rain. Shen Gurong idly watched the rain for a while, finding himself with nothing to do and feeling utterly bored, so he went to find the puppet whose true face he had always wanted to see.
The puppets usually stayed in their small compartments in the medicine cabinet, only coming out when summoned by Lin Shuhe.
Shen Gurong circled the medicine cabinets along the two walls many times, noticing that each compartment was labeled with a name. One corner compartment was labeled "Shen Eleven. Yongping Twelfth Year. Not Abandoned."
Shen Gurong tilted his head. Shen Eleven, Not Abandoned?
What did that mean?
He'd always been very curious. Although his subconscious told him not to rummage through Lin Shuhe's things, the medicine compartment with his name on it was just too tempting.
Shen Gurong squatted there, hesitating for a long time, before finally trying to pull the compartment out gently with two fingers.
The compartment was empty, completely blank. Shen Gurong searched a bit and found it was indeed empty.
He pursed his lips, pushed the compartment back, and stood up listlessly. Just as he was about to take a step, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong was easily startled; his breath hitched, and he took a half-step back, almost crying out.
But upon closer inspection, he realized the figure before him was the wooden puppet he had been searching for.
The puppet was tall, its joints remarkably lifelike. It wore only a rough linen garment, and its face was unfinished, with only vaguely sculpted features. It stared at him expressionlessly.
Shen Gurong rubbed his chest, knowing there was no danger in Lin Shuhe's clinic, and boldly stepped forward to examine the puppet closely.
After turning it around twice, Shen Gurong curiously poked the puppet's wooden face—he didn't know how Lin Shuhe had done it; although it felt like wood, it looked exactly like a real person's.
However, after looking at it for a while, Shen Gurong strangely realized that the puppet's face seemed somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place who it resembled.
The inscription read "Shen Eleven"—could it be his face?
But no, that didn't seem right. The face was completely different from his own features.
An acquaintance of Shen Feng Xue?
But why make a doll of him?
Shen Gurong looked at the rotten wood and the unfinished carving, then realized the meaning of the inscription.
"In the twelfth year of Yongping, this unfinished doll was abandoned for some reason."
As Shen Gurong was lost in thought, he heard Lin Shuhe sigh.
"I didn't even notice, and you've already caused me so much trouble."
Shen Gurong turned around. Lin Shuhe had woken up sometime earlier and was now staggering, leaning against the doorframe, looking at him with a pale face and a helpless smile.
Shen Gurong felt a little guilty: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
Lin Shuhe wasn't angry. He was so weak he had no strength left. He weakly waved his hand, and Shen Gurong came over and supported him.
“That was originally a big gift I wanted to give you,” Lin Shuhe said softly, leaning half his weight on Shen Gurong. “But I didn’t give it to you.”
Shen Gurong raised an eyebrow: “Why didn’t you give it to me?”
Lin Shuhe glanced slightly to the side, saying casually, “I was sick at the time, so I didn’t have the patience to do it.”
Shen Gurong thought: A lie.
Shen Feng Xue's subconscious told him that whenever Lin Shuhe's gaze wandered, he was lying.
But Shen Gurong didn't call him out on it, casually asking, "So, whose face do you want to carve?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Shuhe suddenly turned his head to look at him, his eyes flickering slightly.
His gaze was strange as he softly asked, "You really didn't notice?"
Shen Gurong glanced at him: "The face hasn't even been carved yet, how could I tell?"
Lin Shuhe remained silent for a long while, and just when Shen Gurong almost thought he had said something wrong, he chuckled softly and said, "That's right, you're blind."
Shen Gurong: "..."
I'm going to throw you, I really am.
No matter how much Shen Gurong asked, he couldn't find out whose face it was. Frustrated, Lin Shuhe simply waved his hand, and the doll shrank to the size of a palm, casually tossing it to Shen Gurong.
Shen Gurong looked at the doll, shrunk dozens of times, then looked at Lin Shuhe.
Lin Shuhe said calmly, "Go where you want."
Having said that, he ignored Shen Gurong and slowly returned to the backyard, probably to catch up on some sleep.
Before leaving, Lin Shuhe added, "That mermaid should be looking for you around. As long as you don't leave the Lin Guan Medical Clinic, she can't do anything to you. Don't wander off."
Shen Gurong thought: If this were a storybook, after hearing that, I definitely wouldn't listen, or I'd accidentally leave the clinic and get caught by the mermaid and have my bones pulled out.
Lin Shuhe, leaning against the doorframe, frowned and said, "Did you hear me?"
Shen Gurong nodded, "I heard you."
Lin Shuhe then smiled and said, "Good boy."
Shen Gurong: "..."
What exactly did Xi Guxing tell Lin Shuhe? Why did Lin Shuhe treat "good boy" as a catchphrase?
I'll go back and kill Sect Leader Xi.
Judging from Lin Shuhe's expression, he'd probably sleep until evening, so Shen Gurong could only sit by the door and continue enjoying the rain. Fortunately, Lin Shuhe had a conscience; before leaving, he summoned two dolls for him to play with.
Shen Gurong's skin crawled the moment he saw the dolls' faces.
He immediately refused.
Lin Shuhe slammed the door shut.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Helpless, Shen Gurong leaned back in the soft chair, tilting his head to look at the two dolls whose faces looked like they'd been stained with an overturned dye vat.
Lin Shuhe's aesthetic sense was exceptionally unique. These two faces, so ugly that even ghosts would scream at the sight of them, he had actually given them the names "Flower-like Face" and "Moon-like Beauty," and even carved the words on wooden boards to hang on his wrist.
Shen Gurong stroked the small doll in his hand, lost in thought. He racked his brains but still couldn't recall where he'd seen the face before. He casually poked the doll's blurry face and muttered, "Who are you? Speak! Speak!"
He was just playing with himself while no one was around, but the doll serving him thought he genuinely wanted it to speak. It made a series of clicking sounds and came over, its wooden mouth opening slightly, its tone slow and deliberate, just like its master.
"Your Majesty, dolls need ghostly energy to function."
Shen Gurong tilted his head to look at it, then immediately looked away. Those vibrant colors… were simply too much for his eyes.
"Ghostly energy?"
The doll said, "Yes, we are powered by our master's ghostly energy."
Shen Gurong was startled and abruptly turned his head.
The doll, unaware that it had exposed its master's secret, stared at him blankly.
Shen Gurong's heart pounded. He asked with difficulty, "Lin Shuhe... cultivates the Ghost Path?"
The puppet replied, "Master, he cultivates...not...the Ghost Path."
Shen Gurong: "..."
So, the more important the question, the more complicated and slow your answer becomes?
However, hearing this answer, Shen Gurong breathed a sigh of relief. After all, those who cultivate the Ghost Path are often born with ghostly energy, or their souls, after death, choose a wrong path to remain in the mortal realm.
Although Shen Gurong didn't discriminate, the Ghost Path was ultimately not considered a righteous path.
Before he could finish rejoicing, he heard the puppet slowly and deliberately say, "Master has been on the verge of death for many years."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong's heart jumped again.
On the verge of death...for many years?
On the verge of death is on the verge of death, death is death, how can someone be on the verge of death for many years?
This simply doesn't make sense.
Shen Gurong took a sip of tea, then, fearing Lin Shuhe might overhear, asked softly, "Why would you say that?"
Although the puppet had been instructed by Lin Shuhe to obey Shen Gurong's every command, it hesitated upon hearing this question.
Shen Gurong, anxious, kicked his foot and said softly, "Speak."
The puppet pursed its lips: "Master forbids me to speak."
Shen Gurong frowned: "Can't I even ask?"
The puppet seemed confused again, its whole body trembling, seemingly swaying back and forth between Shen Gurong's commands and Lin Shuhe's instructions.
Seeing an opening, Shen Gurong gently coaxed the innocent puppet, "Your master told you to listen to me, didn't he?"
"Yes."
Shen Gurong: "Then I'll ask you now, will you listen?"
Puppet: "Click-clack-clack."
Shen Gurong pressed on: "If you don't speak, you're disobeying my orders, which is equivalent to disobeying your master's instructions. Be careful, you might get chopped up for firewood."
The puppet thought about it; one order forbidding it from speaking of this matter was obviously less weighty than two orders from its master and the Holy Lord. So it immediately rebelled.
The puppet recounted in detail: "Forty years ago, my master was seriously ill and on the verge of death. The Holy Lord was suppressing and sealing the demonic cultivators, and Heaven bestowed upon my master a meritorious opportunity..."
Before it could finish, a deafening roar of a demonic beast suddenly echoed through the long street, completely silencing the puppet's remaining words.
Shen Gurong roared in fury, "I knew it!!"
It's the same in the stories; whenever an important character is about to reveal a crucial clue, someone always interrupts at the most inopportune moment, thus providing dozens more stories to tell.
When the roar subsided, the puppet had finished speaking.
Shen Gurong stood up, stepped forward, and grasped the puppet's shoulder, urgently saying, "Say it again, 'A meritorious opportunity has been bestowed,' and then what?"
After speaking, he realized that the puppet had already said the important thing; what followed was completely irrelevant.
For nearly a century, Shen Feng Xue had suppressed countless wicked ghost cultivators and demonic cultivators. The Heavenly Dao had bestowed a meritorious opportunity, which Shen Feng Xue used to keep Lin Shuhe alive.
That's why the puppet used such a strange phrase as "nearly dead for many years."
Shen Gurong lowered his hand, and before he could gather his thoughts, he heard another roar from not far away.
Shen Gurong turned around and saw a gigantic nine-tailed fox occupying half the street, its body radiating spiritual energy, locked in combat with an unidentified person.
It was Qingyu.
Shen Gurong frowned. Could it be that the Demon Lord had sent Qingyu to protect him this time?
Just then, perhaps sensing the spiritual energy of its own kind, Xue Manzhuang, who had been sleeping in Yu Xinghe's room, suddenly flapped its wings and flew over. Upon seeing Shen Gurong, it immediately transformed into its youthful human form.
Xue Manzhuang beamed with joy and instinctively cried out, "Beautiful..."
Before he could finish the word "human," Shen Gurong gave him a cold glance.
Xue Manzhuang choked instantly. Calling someone "beautiful" always resulted in him being secretly beaten by Mu Zhe; over time, he had developed a phobia of it.
He quickly walked over, chirping softly twice.
Shen Gurong asked calmly, "What did you call me?"
Xue Manzhuang whispered, "Holy Lord."
Shen Gurong nodded, then pointed in the direction of the nine-tailed fox and said, "Go and see who Qingyu is fighting."
Xue Manzhuang immediately transformed into his original form and happily flapped his wings to fly off and investigate.
A short while later, he returned.
"With a woman, a very ugly woman, her bones are all jumbled up," Xue Manzhuang said disdainfully. "I think her name is Sang Luofu."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Isn't Sang Luofu the most beautiful woman in the Three Realms? In the eyes of this flirtatious phoenix, Xue Manzhuang, she's considered ugly?
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