Lin Shuhe coughed up three liters of blood.
Mu Zhe was overjoyed.
But Mu Xi's blade followed closely behind. Shen Gurong, who was looking embarrassed, heard the sound of a blade slicing through the air behind him. His eyes narrowed, and unconsciously he pressed on Mu Zhe's chest to prop himself up. He casually flicked out a burst of spiritual energy with his right hand, barely blocking Mu Xi's falling blade.
Mu Xi hadn't intended to hurt him. Seeing this, his wooden hand trembled violently, and the blade immediately slipped from his grasp, falling to the ground with a clatter.
Shen Gurong slowly withdrew his hand, lifted a corner of the veil, turned his head to look at Mu Xi, and frowned, saying, "Why did you suddenly start fighting?"
Mu Xi knelt on one knee and whispered, "It was Mu Xi who offended the Holy Lord."
Before Shen Gurong could react, Mu Xi raised his left hand and cleanly severed the right hand holding the knife.
The wood hit the ground with a dull thud.
Shen Gurong: "..." Shen Gurong was startled by the humanoid hand and instinctively fell backward, only to hear a muffled groan from the person beneath him.
Shen Gurong looked down and suddenly fell silent.
Only then did he realize that he was sitting on Mu Zhe's lap with his long legs spread apart, his left hand unconsciously supporting himself on Mu Zhe's chest; his fall had landed him squarely on Mu Zhe's waist and abdomen.
Mu Zhe stared blankly at him, utterly bewildered, his innocent expression only making Shen Gurong look like a lecherous man harassing an innocent man.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Startled, Shen Gurong abruptly stood up, flicked his wide sleeve, and with a taut, expressionless face, coldly said, "I...I'm tired."
Having said that, he completely ignored the mess and fled to the room on the pleasure boat, slamming the door shut.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Seeing that Shen Gurong was gone, Mu Xi expressionlessly picked up his severed hand and casually put it back, then picked up the knife again and swung it at Mu Zhe without blinking.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Just how obsessed was this puppet with cutting him?! Mu Zhe felt inexplicably irritated. Although he said he was content as long as he could stay by his master's side, he couldn't help but feel unsettled by his master's occasional affectionate gestures.
"This isn't good," Mu Zhe thought.
He gripped his Jiu Xi Sword, casually parrying Mu Xi's attack, and coldly said, "Fight on the roof of the pleasure boat." Mu Xi paused, glanced at the tightly closed door, then nodded and followed Mu Zhe to the roof of the pleasure boat.
As soon as Shen Gurong entered the room, he casually cast a barrier around the entire room, screamed, and collapsed onto the soft couch.
"Ahhh!" Shen Gurong rolled around on the bed, covering his face. His cheeks were so hot they almost burned his hands. "Why are you blushing?! Why are you blushing?!"
"This is still just an accident. Life is full of accidents, and who knows what kind of accidents might happen later."
"Calm down, stay composed. You are the number one Saintly Monarch of the Three Realms." After rolling around a few times, Shen Gurong found his face was still very red. He couldn't calm himself down, so he decided to fight fire with fire.
He sat up, his face expressionless, mentally replaying the incident that made him want to disappear into the ground. His face was burning hot, but he forced himself to think, "It was just a slight movement on my back, and... and I didn't touch anything else, so Mu Zhe probably won't mind."
"Besides..." Shen Gurong's face, which had just calmed down, turned red again. He stammered for a long time before finally thinking, "Besides, I kissed him yesterday."
This tactic of fighting fire with fire was indeed effective. Having witnessed the even more embarrassing and shameful incident before, Shen Gurong immediately felt that the hug he had just experienced was a trivial matter.
Shen Gurong quickly felt relieved; the heat on his face subsided, but he still had the mind to think about it.
"Hmm."
"Although it was just an accident, Mu Zhe's lips are quite soft." Mu Zhe, who was intently sparring with Mu Xi atop the pleasure boat, suddenly froze, his foot slipping. The next instant, Mu Xi's blade swept across, and he hastily blocked with his Jiu Xi Sword.
Mu Xi's strength was too great; the blow sent the distracted Mu Zhe tumbling horizontally down the river.
With a splash, he landed in the icy water.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Hearing the strange noise, Shen Gurong removed the veil, opened the window, and looked outside. He saw Mu Zhe, soaking wet, clinging to the wooden railing outside the pleasure boat, trying to climb back up.
Mu Zhe: "..."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Mu Zhe's gaze met his master's, and he immediately and awkwardly glanced away, completely unable to look at him.
Shen Gurong feigned composure, leaning his elbow against the window frame, chin in hand, looking at Mu Zhe with a nonchalant air. "Disciple, are you making up for not bathing last night?"
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe blushed crimson with embarrassment. He hastily wiped the water from his face, stammering, "I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Master. I... I was just sparring with Mu Xi."
"Sparring?" Shen Gurong's interest was piqued. "So you lost? You got knocked into the water?"
Mu Zhe: "N-no..."
"Then how did you fall into the water?"
Mu Zhe had no choice but to admit defeat, forcing a smile: "It's... I'm just not as skilled."
Mu Xi stood atop the painted boat, looking down at him. Perhaps wary of Shen Gurong's presence, he didn't pursue him further.
It was rare to see Mu Zhe so submissive to outsiders. Shen Gurong smiled and said, "It seems Xi Guxing's teaching wasn't very good. I'll teach you sword techniques when we return to Liren Peak."
Mu Zhe's eyes lit up, but he nodded calmly and reservedly, "Alright, then I'll trouble you, Master."
Shen Gurong said, "I am your master, it's only right that I teach you these things."
Mu Zhe had already integrated the memories from his yuandan, and he had mastered all the sword techniques Shen Feng Xue had taught him for ten years at the Burial Mound. He didn't really need to learn them again, but Mu Zhe couldn't help agreeing.
He cursed himself for being so demanding, saying, "Thank you, Master."
Shen Gurong asked, "Will you continue sparring?"
Mu Zhe had an extremely strong competitive spirit. Being defeated by a puppet was a disgrace to his life. His eyes narrowed, and he said, "Yes, that's right."
He was determined to cripple that puppet.
The puppet Lin Shuhe created, imbued with his ghostly aura, possessed a cultivation level nearly equal to Mu Zhe's, and even faintly suppressed the spiritual power of a half-baked Nascent Soul cultivator.
Shen Gurong assessed Mu Xi's cultivation level and nodded, "Hmm, alright, he can spar with you."
He said to Mu Xi, "Mu Xi, don't go too far."
Mu Xi replied, "Yes."
Mu Zhe frowned, saying, "Master, if he doesn't use his full strength, what's the difference between me sparring with a child?"
Shen Gurong chuckled, thinking to himself that this kid had quite the ambition.
He knew Mu Zhe wasn't one to boast; once he said that, he wouldn't die easily at Mu Xi's hands, which was why he took back his words.
"Mu Xi, spar with him properly."
"Okay, Mumu, beat him up badly, try to make him cry."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe's lips twitched. Just as he was about to use his spiritual power to dry off the water droplets on his body, he heard Shen Gurong tilt his head and say to him, "Your clothes are wet, come change before you continue sparring."
Mu Zhe: "..." Mu Zhe slipped and almost fell into the water again.
Ordinary cultivators could use their spiritual power to keep themselves clean for years, and even if they got dirty, a cleansing spell would make them as clean as ever. But Shen Gurong was different.
He was pampered and spoiled. Even after reaching the peak of his cultivation, he still changed his clothes every day. If his sleeves got even a little wet, he would change into a whole new set of clothes, never using his spiritual power to dry them.
Shen Gurong assumed that others couldn't stand it either, and naturally let Mu Zhe change his clothes.
Mu Zhe, feeling dizzy, climbed in through the window.
The bed was a mess, with what appeared to be someone rolling around. Shen Gurong coughed, subtly releasing a burst of spiritual energy that instantly smoothed out the glaring wrinkles.
He thought Mu Zhe hadn't noticed, but in reality, Mu Zhe had seen everything.
Mu Zhe calmly withdrew his gaze, pretending to be rummaging through his storage ring for clothes.
Relieved that Mu Zhe hadn't noticed, Shen Gurong leaned against the window frame, gazing at the endless cloud-shrouded peaks outside.
After a while, he glanced back unintentionally and saw Mu Zhe still holding clothes, looking at him hesitantly.
Shen Gurong said curiously, "Why don't you change? Be careful not to catch a cold."
Mu Zhe: "..."
A cultivator wouldn't easily catch a cold. Was his master a cultivator or a mortal?
Mu Zhe said dryly, "Change here?"
Shen Gurong: "Or what? Go to the top of the pleasure boat and get seen naked by the people on the shore?"
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe's face flushed red.
After saying that, Shen Gurong realized his words sounded a bit lewd. He awkwardly touched his nose, turned his head away, and muttered, "Just change. We're all men, I'm not looking at you."
Mu Zhe: "..."
Mu Zhe had no choice but to blush and quickly take off his wet clothes and change.
Shen Gurong leaned against the window for a while and saw that Mu Xi was already standing on the wooden railing at the edge of the pleasure boat. Despite it being only a narrow piece of wood, he stood very steadily, still holding the sharp knife in his hand, his clothes fluttering, like a hermit, staring blankly at the water.
Shen Gurong struck up a conversation with him: "Mu Xi, since you possess Sixth Senior Brother's ghostly aura, can you communicate with him?"
Muxi looked up at him and nodded, "Yes."
Shen Gurong's eyes lit up, thinking this was extremely convenient.
"Tell Sixth Senior Brother that I've boarded the pleasure boat and will arrive in Fuxian City early tomorrow morning. Tell him not to worry."
Mu Xi closed his eyes and relayed the message truthfully.
Soon, Mu Xi opened his eyes and gently parted his lips, but what came out was Lin Shuhe's impatient voice.
"I know," Lin Shuhe said. "When you get back, tell that brat to be careful. I've already told the Sect Leader about his wolfish ambitions. If you don't expel him from the sect, Senior Brother will definitely kill him with his sword."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong said helplessly, "Senior Brother, I remember you weren't this disgusted with Mu Zhe a while ago."
Could it be because of that accident?
Shen Gurong was puzzled.
Lin Shuhe snorted coldly, "Just let him die anyway." He then cut off the connection without further ado.
Shen Gurong sighed, not paying much attention.
After exchanging a few words with Mu Xi, he heard Mu Zhe's voice behind him: "Master, I'm ready."
Shen Gurong turned around and said, "Mm." Mu Zhe gripped the Jiu Xi Sword, bowed respectfully, and pushed open the door, his ears burning red.
Upon reaching the top of the painted boat, Mu Xi swung his sword. Anyone else would have been cleaved in two.
Mu Zhe remained calm, his face ashen, and charged forward with his sword.
The fight lasted all the way.
By the time he returned to Liren Peak, it was already the next morning.
Xi Guxing was waiting for him at the Boundary Spirit Tablet. Sensing a familiar aura not far away, he frowned and grabbed the short sword placed to the side.
Perfect timing. The shepherd was banished and died.
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