A strange calm settled over Shen Gurong. Far from feeling the shame and embarrassment of having his fox ears seen by an acquaintance, seeing that the person was Mu Zhe, he felt a sense of "it had to be this way."
If fate decreed that someone would see him in this embarrassing state, it would undoubtedly be Mu Zhe.
It's clear how powerful habit can be.
Shen Gurong's fox ears stood upright, even the fur on them slightly bristling. He remained remarkably calm and asked indifferently, "What are you doing here?"
Only after asking did he realize that Mu Zhe had returned to Yuzhou City with Yu Xinghe.
Mu Zhe stared intently at his fox ears. Only when Shen Gurong spoke did he snap out of his daze, almost embarrassed, and lowered his head, stammering, "I...I accidentally saw Qingyu and learned that Master was here. I wasn't intentionally...eavesdropping."
Fox ears...
Shen Gurong thought: Shouldn't I be embarrassed in this situation? Why is he so ashamed? His face is even red.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe then belatedly realized that he could hear his master's thoughts again.
It must be because Shen Gurong's spiritual power had recovered.
Shen Gurong nodded: "Hmm, isn't Xinghe with you?"
Mu Zhe's head remained lowered, and his cheeks grew increasingly red. He whispered, "Yes, he went home. I have other things to do in Yuzhou City."
Fox ears.
Shen Gurong pondered his other matters and then suddenly realized why the eerie atmosphere throughout Yuzhou City had been disappearing one after another since last night—it was most likely because Mu Zhe was secretly slaying demons.
This child's temperament is just like Sanshui's. Shen Gurong thought to himself that after he comes of age, he will probably leave Liren Peak, and then he can go with Sanshui to slay demons.
Mu Zhe silently thought, 'I don't want to leave Liren Peak as soon as I come of age like the other senior brothers.'
Fox ears!
Mu Zhe slightly raised his head, his peripheral vision instinctively glancing at Shen Gurong's fox ears, but every glance sent a shiver down his spine as if struck by lightning, yet he still couldn't resist the urge to steal a look.
Lin Shuhe leaned back on the couch, watching the two. One harbored ulterior motives, his rebellious thoughts written all over his face, while the other was incredibly oblivious, still believing himself to be an arrogant, aloof, and supremely kind master. He found it amusing, biting his lip and chuckling silently.
Lin Shuhe casually beckoned over a small bag of jujube paste pastries, picked one up with his slender fingers, and took a bite.
Hmm, buying pastries was the right decision.
Shen Gurong probably noticed Lin Shuhe was eating pastries while watching the show, gave him a disapproving glance, and called Mu Zhe to accompany him to the next room.
Lin Shuhe was somewhat disappointed: "Huh? Leaving already?"
Shen Gurong coldly replied, "Do you want me to watch you like a monkey? Stay put, we're going back to Xianyun City this afternoon."
Lin Shuhe had rested enough and nodded.
Shen Gurong left with Mu Zhe.
On the way to the next room, Mu Zhe followed behind Shen Gurong, this time brazenly raising his head to look at Shen Gurong's twitching ears.
Fox ears…
Master's fox ears.
Mu Zhe thought expressionlessly, 'Fine.'
Once inside the room, Shen Gurong turned to look at him and asked seriously, "What did you do in Yuzhou City? Did you deal with those people in the city?"
Mu Zhe's gaze met his unintentionally, and he immediately lowered his head in embarrassment, mumbling, "Yes."
Shen Gurong was completely bewildered: "What is it?"
What's wrong with this child? Why is his face so red?
Mu Zhe's face turned even redder, and he didn't dare look at Shen Gurong at all. The blush spread to his ears, making his whole face burn.
“Thirteen plague demons have infiltrated Yuzhou City… Jiu Xi said it’s likely someone is trying to create a ‘plague demon breeding’ array,” Mu Zhe said briefly. “This kind of array is extremely insidious, so I dispersed the thirteen plague demons to prevent future trouble.”
Shen Gurong had originally planned to handle it himself, but he hadn’t expected Mu Zhe to be so capable. He nodded and praised, “Well done.”
With that nod, his fox ears twitched slightly, making Mu Zhe’s heart tremble.
Mu Zhe quickly lowered his head again, his face burning even more.
“Hmm.”
His heart was pounding wildly; anyone who didn’t know better would think he was on drugs. Mu Zhe gently patted his chest, trying to forcefully suppress his agitated heart.
Just then, a faint aroma of pastries wafted over. Mu Zhe abruptly looked up, his forehead bumping against Shen Gurong’s cool palm.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe's heart pounded wildly.
Shen Gurong stood before him, raised his hand to touch his forehead, and frowned, saying, "It's very hot. Are you feeling unwell?"
Mu Zhe was startled, then immediately shook his head frantically.
Shen Gurong moved his hand down to touch his cheek, saying, "You said you weren't? Your face is burning up like this. I'll find a physician to take a look at you."
Mu Zhe grabbed Shen Gurong's hand, stammering, "Master, no, no need."
Shen Gurong looked at him suspiciously: "Are you really alright?"
Mu Zhe: "Yes, I'm perfectly fine."
His heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of his throat, but he was perfectly fine.
After hearing him finish, Shen Gurong said calmly, "Alright, since you're alright, let's talk about your 'spiritual medicine.'"
He spoke the words "spiritual medicine" through gritted teeth.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe... Mu Zhe suddenly understood why Shen Gurong had been cursing him in his heart and wishing he could kill him.
Shen Gurong slowly walked to the chair, gathered his robes, and sat down. He propped his elbow on the table, slightly tilting his chin, and coldly looked at him with his narrow eyes, saying, "Explain."
Mu Zhe's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't dare to glance at Shen Gurong's fox-like ears anymore.
“Master, that’s…that’s Qingyu’s spiritual power. His intention was to…” Mu Zhe stammered, “…to let me…”
Shen Gurong tapped the table lightly with his knuckles, his master’s voice stern: “Louder! Haven’t you eaten?”
Mu Zhe: “…”
Mu Zhe’s eyes reddened slightly. He forced himself to raise his voice, his tone trembling, and said, “He said Master praised his fox ears, so he must like him. He wanted me to try using his spiritual power to transform into fox ears to please…please Master.”
Shen Gurong: “…”
This reason was so unexpected, it shocked Shen Gurong for a whole year.
His feigned air of authority as a master instantly crumbled. He lowered his elbows, looking somewhat flustered, and said, "Ah? Is that so?"
Seeing the coldness had faded from his face, Mu Zhe seized the opportunity, his voice trembling even more, and said, "I only accidentally dropped the glass bottle on the bed, it wasn't intentional... to scheme against Master."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong's heart was melting. He stammered, "I didn't say you schemed against me, ah, Master just... I, I just wanted to ask where this spiritual energy came from. See, was my tone scary just now?"
Mu Zhe "instinctively" nodded, but under the pressure of his master's "tyranny," he quickly shook his head, "No, not scary at all."
Shen Gurong thought: Oh no, he's going to cry again.
Mu Zhe: "..."
It seems his master really is going to remember this for the rest of his life.
Mu Zhe took a deep breath, realizing he'd gone too far in "tricking" his master into showing him pity. He quickly suppressed his feigned trembling and said respectfully, "It's Mu Zhe's fault, causing Master to be tainted by the demon cultivator's spiritual power."
His earnest apology struck a chord with Shen Gurong, who was already feeling guilty.
This was truly awful. Shen Gurong scolded himself, "The child knows nothing. It was your own fault for being so talkative and letting the puppet break the glass bottle. You brought it on yourself, so why are you blaming others?"
Mu Zhe hesitated for a moment. Actually… it wasn't entirely his own fault. If he hadn't jumped into the water in the middle of the night to retrieve the lost glass bottle, his master wouldn't have touched it.
Mu Zhe said, "Really…"
It really was my fault.
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Shen Gurong stand up and walk towards him.
Mu Zhe stared at him, stunned.
Shen Gurong stepped forward, raised his arm to hug Mu Zhe's neck, and with a slight pull, drew Mu Zhe's forehead towards his neck, making Mu Zhe lean against him.
Mu Zhe: "…"
Mu Zhe was forced to adopt a submissive posture, his face completely bewildered.
Shen Gurong rubbed the back of his head. Mu Zhe was so grown up, yet he still treated him like a little dumpling.
He gently comforted him, "It was Master's fault for misunderstanding you."
Children need a little discipline, a little reward.
Mu Zhe remained silent.
In his mind, Shen Gurong was giving him a light, painless pat before showering him with a mountain of sweets.
Mu Zhe leaned stiffly against Shen Gurong, having completely forgotten what he was about to say.
What fault? He didn't know.
What about those ugly, annoying fox ears? He knew even less.
His Master was the best in the world.
Shen Gurong held him for a while, then suddenly frowned, "Why are you so hot again? Are you really not sick?"
Mu Zhe said hoarsely, "It's because Master's body is too cold."
Shen Gurong didn't understand: "Really? I don't feel that way."
Of course, one's own palms cannot detect one's own body temperature.
Mu Zhe said, "It's probably the nine-tailed fox's spiritual power in Master's spiritual veins causing trouble."
As he spoke, he subtly glanced at Shen Gurong's fox ears, hesitated for a long time, and then mustered his courage to say, "Master's ears must be very cold."
Shen Gurong raised his hand and touched his ears, which drooped and then stood up again. He asked doubtfully, "No, I don't feel cold."
He was very curious and casually said, "Why don't you touch them and see?"
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe's pupils dilated sharply.
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