The inn was located on the main street, in what was arguably the most bustling area of Yuzhou City. Its furnishings were extremely luxurious; even before entering, Mu Zhe knew this was indeed the kind of accommodation his master would choose.
The doorman greeted guests, and upon seeing this distinguished young man approaching, he quickly greeted him with a smile: "Are you here to stay?"
Mu Zhe answered succinctly: "Looking for someone."
The doorman asked, "Which distinguished guest are you looking for?"
Mu Zhe then realized he had forgotten to ask which room Shen Gurong was staying in, and could only reply, "The one directly opposite the window on the opposite roof."
The doorman's gaze turned strange.
Mu Zhe paused, realizing something was amiss with his statement. Directly opposite the window on the roof? Wasn't that a position only a beam-walker could see?
Just as the doorman was about to call for guards, a figure emerged from the lobby, passing by the two men.
Mu Zhe's gaze sharpened.
The man wore a long, flowing sky-blue robe, had a slender waist cinched by a belt, and a black veil that reached his calves, obscuring his face.
He stepped over the threshold without looking back, quickly leaving, a faint medicinal fragrance wafting from him.
Only after the man was gone did Mu Zhe belatedly realize that the man was likely his master.
He casually tossed a silver ingot to the servant to shut him up, then quickly followed.
Shen Gurong moved with incredible speed, as if in a hurry, flicking his finger as he went, sending a faint burst of spiritual energy to a roadside corner, presumably to avoid getting lost and to use the energy to find his way back to the inn.
Mu Zhe quickly caught up, about to speak: "Master..."
Shen Gurong: I'll kill that brat Mu Zhe sooner or later!
Mu Zhe: “…”
Mu Zhe immediately swallowed the “Your Excellency” he was about to say and silently bought a bamboo hat from a nearby stall and put it on.
Shen Gurong cursed Mu Zhe the whole way, and Mu Zhe, who initially just wore a bamboo hat, gradually evolved into completely covering himself to avoid being recognized by Shen Gurong.
Shen Gurong walked along, thinking about how to tear that brat who had tricked him apart with his bare hands.
Mu Zhe walked along, sadly thinking, why does Master resent me so much?
After walking two streets, Shen Gurong walked into… a pastry shop with his face ashen.
Mu Zhe: “…”
He watched helplessly as his seemingly otherworldly Master rattled off a string of pastry names he had never heard of before, his clear, melodious voice like a deep pool, sounding like he was reciting scriptures.
"...Snowball pastries, begonia cakes, osmanthus cakes, and two packets of jujube paste cakes, and a packet of icing sugar."
"Alright!"
A moment later, Shen Gurong emerged from the shop carrying a large bag of pastries.
Once outside, he started berating Mu Zhe again.
Mu Zhe was completely innocent; he had no idea what he had done to deserve such a scolding. Seeing that his master seemed angry again, he dared not approach to meet his master's wrath and could only silently follow from a distance.
Fortunately, Shen Gurong was so focused on berating him that he didn't notice anyone following him.
Following his spiritual energy, Shen Gurong almost got lost twice before finally returning to the inn. Mu Zhe quickly followed, using a concealing artifact.
In the second-floor guest room, Shen Gurong kicked open the door, tossed the pastries he was holding onto the table, and coldly said, "Here are the pastries you ordered."
On the bed, Lin Shuhe, disheveled and wrapped in a loosely draped robe, leaned against soft pillows, his lips as pale as paper, looking as weak as if he were about to die.
"Thank you, Eleven," Lin Shuhe said listlessly, "but Senior Brother doesn't really want to eat pastries right now. Could you buy some candied fruit instead?"
Shen Gurong: "..."
The pastries that Shen Gurong casually tossed landed squarely on the other trinkets on the table. Candied hawthorns, sugar figurines, dragon beard candies, and other items filled the table, all bought by Shen Gurong after he had gone out to buy them.
Shen Gurong gritted his teeth and said, "Lin Shuhe, don't push your luck."
Lin Shuhe looked completely innocent: "Is Senior Brother bullying you?"
Shen Gurong's voice was icy: "You're awake, so get up and come back to Xianyun City with me. What kind of behavior is it to lie in bed like this?"
Lin Shuhe coughed weakly and said, "Senior Brother is weak and probably can't move."
Shen Gurong said expressionlessly, "I'll carry you."
"Senior Brother probably can't stand the wind."
"I'll wrap you in clothes." Shen Gurong said impatiently, "From here to Xianyun... A city? I could reach it in a moment by riding the wind. Are you so delicate that you can't even handle a short while?"
Lin Shuhe stopped pretending. He squinted and smiled, "I can handle it, but I've never seen anyone get lost in a city while walking straight ahead. It's quite novel, and I want to stay a little longer."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Lin Shuhe seemed to find it amusing to see Shen Gurong get so flustered. Seeing his pale face, he laughed uncontrollably, even choking on his own phlegm.
Although Shen Gurong was annoyed, seeing him coughing like that, he still went over and patted his back to help him catch his breath.
"Cough cough." Lin Shuhe weakly placed his hand on his arm, saying listlessly, "Eleventh, Senior Brother wants to eat almonds."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong immediately flung his hand away, angrily saying, "Just cough yourself to death!"
Lin Shuhe: "Haha...cough."
Shen Gurong sat to the side, sulking. Lin Shuhe didn't tease him anymore, saying, "During your trips out, did you notice anything unusual about Yuzhou City?"
Shen Gurong paused, then frowned, saying, "There was a very peculiar smell before, but it seems to have dissipated now."
He had just finished speaking when he realized something, saying in surprise, "Yuzhou City, is that Yu Xinghe's home?"
Lin Shuhe looked at him strangely: "You took him as your disciple, and you don't even know where his home is?"
Shen Gurong immediately felt somewhat embarrassed.
Lin Shuhe said, "That's true. Anyway, you didn't willingly take that child from the Yu family."
Shen Gurong was somewhat surprised. He lifted the black veil covering his face and frowned, saying, "Xinghe..."
If Shen Feng Xue wasn't willing, then why did he take Yu Xinghe as his disciple?
He was of noble status; if he didn't want to, who could force him?
As soon as this thought arose, Shen Gurong's first thought was of Shen Feng Xue's master, Nan Yangjun.
Lin Shuhe, propping his chin on his hand, lazily explained, “Master said this boy has a karmic connection with you, but even the holy monks of Dazheng Buddhist Temple couldn't tell whether it was good or bad. They only said that if it was good, you could become a saint in one step; if it was bad, the outcome was unknown. Besides, back then you were so focused on that boy surnamed Mu that you almost went mad. Master was afraid you'd lose your true self, so he had Xinghe become your disciple, and also to see if that karmic connection was real or not.”
“Back then, you even had a rare argument with Master because of Yu Xinghe.” He finished speaking, then suddenly smiled, “You haven't forgotten all of that, have you?”
Shen Gurong: “…”
Shen Gurong was momentarily speechless. Seeing Lin Shuhe's fox-like smile, he lowered his head slightly, and half of his black veil fell down, obscuring his face.
He mumbled, “There are some things I don't quite remember.”
Lin Shuhe looked at him with a half-smile.
Shen Gurong felt extremely uneasy under his gaze, fearing that if he discovered this body wasn't Shen Feng Xue, Lin Shuhe, who was fiercely protective of his own and ruthless towards outsiders, would tear his heart out and leave him without a complete corpse.
Soon, Lin Shuhe smiled and said, "I noticed something when I felt your pulse earlier. The higher a cultivator's cultivation level, the more prone they are to inner demons. Besides, you've lost half of your yuansan, so this isn't unusual."
Shen Gurong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Lin Shuhe seemed tired from talking, slumping halfway down, sitting even lazier: "Yuzhou City is a mortal city. Yu Xinghe is a rare talent for cultivation, one in a hundred years. I remember he was supposed to go to Fenglu City to study under Feng Yun, but for some reason, he was sent to Liren Peak."
He beckoned to Shen Gurong, asking him to pour him a cup of tea.
Seeing that he seemed to intend to tell him something, Shen Gurong hurriedly and attentively offered him the tea.
Lin Shuhe took a sip and continued, "Back then, when Yuzhou City and Anyu Dao fought, it became known throughout the Three Realms. Yu Xinghe probably chose to go to Liren Peak at that time because of the divine artifact you possess. It's reasonable that you treated him coldly."
Shen Gurong fell silent, suddenly understanding why Shen Feng Xue treated Yu Xinghe so badly in the book.
Too many people approached him coveting the divine artifact, and Shen Feng Xue had killed too many. If Yu Xinghe truly came for the artifact, he couldn't bring himself to harm such a young child; he could only choose to treat him coldly.
But how much could such a young child know? He might not even know what the divine artifact was.
And the opportunity Nan Yangjun mentioned must have been bad in the book.
A bad opportunity that could lead to Shen Feng Xue's tragic death.
As Shen Gurong was pondering this, Lin Shuhe suddenly exclaimed, "Oh?" as if he'd seen something amusing. He lazily said, "Eleven, don't tell me that with your cultivation level, you can be eavesdropped on."
Mu Zhe, standing outside the door, froze.
Shen Gurong casually replied, "Just a demon guard."
Lin Shuhe then drawled out, "Oh."
He smiled maliciously and beckoned to Shen Gurong, "Come here."
Shen Gurong glanced at him, "What for?"
Lin Shuhe said, "Let your senior brother take a look at your ears."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong: "That's enough!"
Lin Shuhe laughed uncontrollably, then couldn't help but clutch his chest and cough violently.
Shen Gurong was startled, then reluctantly went over to help him up and pat his back to catch his breath.
Lin Shuhe, having caught his breath, smiled and removed Shen Gurong's veil, tossing it aside, saying, "Wearing a veil in your room, be careful you don't stunt your growth."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong was speechless, choked by his words.
Lin Shuhe glanced at the fox ears on his head and said, "I think they look quite nice. Why are you hiding them like this?"
Shen Gurong fiddled with his fox ears, muttering softly, "It just feels weird."
When the fox ears were on other people's heads, he loved them and always fantasized about touching them. But now that he had fox ears himself, he no longer had that desire.
He was now only focused on getting rid of the fox ears to avoid running into acquaintances and losing face.
If people knew that Holy Lord Shen had fox ears, he would probably be the laughingstock of the Three Realms for the next hundred years.
After arriving in Yuzhou City with Lin Shuhe yesterday, they found this inn and took a bath. The dye that had been on his white hair was now clean, revealing a head of silky white hair. Combined with the white fox ears, Shen Gurong looked like a moon goddess.
Recalling the mysteriously vanished "spiritual elixir" from the glass bottle, and knowing that the demon guards who came this time were Qingyu, Shen Gurong quickly realized that it was his rebellious disciple, Mu Zhe, who had caused this trouble.
Without that spiritual elixir, he would never have become like this.
The more Shen Gurong thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt, and his fox ears drooped slightly.
Lin Shuhe admired his junior brother's rare appearance and commented seriously, "You look quite handsome like this."
Shen Gurong snorted, "I don't believe you. You're always scheming against me."
Lin Shuhe laughed, blinked slightly, and said, "Then shall I scheme against you one more time?"
Shen Gurong frowned.
Lin Shuhe smiled slyly, a sly smile playing on his lips, and said, "What are you waiting for outside? Come in."
Mu Zhe outside the door: "..."
Shen Gurong, bewildered: "Who are you talking to?"
Lin Shuhe: "Didn't you notice someone outside?"
Mu Zhe possessed half of Shen Feng Xue's yuandan within him, their spiritual power originating from the same source. Shen Gurong, using his spiritual power to probe the surroundings, couldn't detect anyone outside.
Shen Gurong shook his head, utterly bewildered, then heard the door behind him gently push open, and Mu Zhe walked in.
Their eyes met.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe had felt awkward eavesdropping outside, and because his master had been threatening to kill him, he didn't know what he had done wrong, and felt a little aggrieved.
But all these emotions vanished the moment he pushed open the door and saw Shen Gurong.
Mu Zhe stared blankly at Shen Gurong, dressed in blue with white hair, before finally fixing his gaze on Shen Gurong's suddenly upright fox ears.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Comments
Post a Comment