Ten years had passed, and yet the bamboo flute remains the same. Shen Gurong casually twirled it between his fingers, the jade-like texture gliding across his five fingers and wrist.
When Shen Gurong was young, learning the bamboo flute from his teacher, perhaps because it was too noisy, the teacher rarely taught him any tunes. Seeing that he always stared at his bamboo flute, the teacher simply taught him to twirl it between his fingers like a fan.
Over time, he could make even a simple bamboo flute into something extraordinary.
Shen Gurong gently stroked the two characters "Feng Xue" carved on the bamboo flute, unconsciously thinking, "To be so narcissistic as to carve his own words on this bamboo flute, it seems Shen Feng Xue isn't exactly a respectable person."
While he was lost in thought, a violent cough came from beside him.
Shen Gurong had just turned his head when he saw a cyan shadow fly towards him, crashing into the massive Bodhi tree with a thud, sending branches and leaves scattering.
The one being forced back was Mu Zhe. He coughed a few times, clutching his chest, and leaned against the tree to his feet.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Xi Guxing, his black robes fluttering, casually flicked his short sword, his eyes cold as knives, and said, "Get up, come again."
Mu Zhe's cultivation was completely suppressed; he couldn't even muster a trace of spiritual power. Even though he was beaten like this, he still gripped the Jiu Xi Sword tightly.
He said, "Yes."
With that, he charged forward again, sword in hand.
In no time, Xi Guxing had knocked him straight into the Lotus Lake.
With a splash, a large spray of water erupted.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong stammered, "Senior brother, it's just sparring with a junior, it doesn't have to be like this..." Heartless, isn't it?
Xi Guxing gave him a cold look and said, "A strict teacher produces outstanding students, a doting mother spoils her child."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Just then, a splash suddenly erupted from Lotus Lake, and Mu Zhe was swept out of the water by a dragon's tail, crashing straight towards Shen Gurong with a loud bang.
Shen Gurong instinctively tried to deflect the "hidden weapon," but at the last second he remembered this was his disciple. He quickly withdrew his spiritual power and caught the soaking wet Mu Zhe.
Chao Jiuxiao's force was too great; after Mu Zhe collided with Shen Gurong, he was actually knocked back two steps, landing in Shen Gurong's arms.
Water droplets slowly dripped down Mu Zhe's body, instantly soaking Shen Gurong's robes.
Shen Gurong: "..."
A gigantic dragon head emerged from Lotus Lake, coldly saying to Jiuxiao, "Don't throw anything at me."
Then it retreated again.
Shen Gurong: "...You!"
Seeing Shen Gurong's rare moment of frustration, Xi Guxing laughed gleefully.
But halfway through his laughter, he belatedly realized that Mu Zhe was embracing his eleventh junior brother in an ambiguous manner, their posture clearly indecent.
Xi Guxing: "..."
Xi Guxing immediately flew into a rage: "Shameless! Don't touch him!"
Shen Gurong glanced at Mu Zhe and noticed his face was even paler. He was struggling to stand up, but he couldn't unleash his spiritual power, and his body had been beaten by the two of them. Even with his Nascent Soul stage, he was truly unable to withstand the onslaught.
Shen Gurong, his head aching, supported him, asking worriedly, "Are you alright?"
Mu Zhe shook his head, his face pale, "I'm fine."
His pitiful appearance, so desperate to avoid worrying his master, only made Shen Gurong's heart ache more.
Shen Gurong held Mu Zhe's wrist and channeled a stream of spiritual energy into his meridians.
Mu Zhe didn't reject the influx of spiritual energy into his meridians. Following the energy, he circulated his yuandan for one cycle before slowly exhaling, his complexion finally improving.
Xi Guxing stormed over, grabbing Shen Gurong's wrist and pulling him away, coldly saying, "Go play your bamboo flute over there. I'll continue sparring with him."
Mu Zhe was probably still shaken, his eyes filled with fear as he looked at Xi Guxing. When Shen Gurong caught that rare look of fear, he immediately lowered his eyes, concealing all his emotions.
He stammered, "Yes, Sect Leader."
Xi Guxing: "???"
Xi Guxing was both furious and confused, thinking, "What the hell are you pretending for?! Every time I've sparred with you in the past ten years, it's been more brutal than this! You didn't complain a single word of hardship even after meditating in the freezing cold of Yumian Mountain for half a month, how come you're acting so pretentious after just two moves?!
Still trembling?
Tremble my ass!
Shen Gurong, successfully swayed by his disciple, glared at Xi Guxing with dissatisfaction, saying, "He's already so afraid, and you still want to force him? Did his frequent ascetic training and ruthless nature come from all these years of being beaten like this by you?"
Xi Guxing: "..." Xi Guxing's injustice was so great that Yumian Mountain would bloom with a hundred flowers.
He exclaimed in astonishment, "I...he! You!"
Xi Guxing had no words to express his bitterness.
Before he could finish speaking, Shen Gurong pulled away from his hand and walked to Mu Zhe's side. He gently stroked the damp stray hairs on Mu Zhe's forehead and said softly, "Let's go back. No more sparring."
Mu Zhe stammered, "Yes."
Shen Gurong led Mu Zhe back to Fanjiang Residence. Xi Guxing was furious, blurting out without thinking, "Shen Gurong, don't come crying to me when you're being 'slept with' someday!"
Shen Gurong frowned. What kind of nonsense was this?
Meanwhile, Mu Zhe, seemingly lost in thought, blushed instantly.
After his outburst, Xi Guxing realized his mistake and slapped his mouth in embarrassment. He glared at Chao Jiuxiao, who was peeking in, and without asking any questions, yelled, "What are you looking at? Plug your ears! Aren't you afraid of getting a sty?" Chao Jiuxiao didn't know that humans could get styes in their ears, but he didn't care. He transformed into a small dragon, perched on some lotus flowers, and lazily said, "What's there to hide about such things? A few years ago, what my fourth senior brother said to me was even more filthy, and I didn't think anything of it."
Upon hearing "fourth senior brother," Xi Guxing's face turned green: "What did he say to you?"
"Nothing."
Just as Xi Guxing was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he heard Chao Jiuxiao say, "He just told me about his 180 sexual acts, and all the men he'd slept with during his years as a courtesan."
Xi Guxing: "..." One day, he'd kill Jing Zhuchen!
Chao Jiuxiao added, "Didn't you ask your fourth senior brother to lead your morning lessons when you went to see Master? He taught half a day of the Hehuan Dao Heart Sutra during that Jingxin Sutra lesson."
Xi Guxing: "???"
"If you don't believe me, you can ask any disciple. They'll definitely remember the Hehuan Dao Heart Sutra from back then."
Xi Guxing's face was ashen. He picked up his short sword and left, probably intending to kill someone.
Chao Jiuxiao, having tricked his fourth senior brother, was happily basking in the sun when he suddenly heard a terrifying bamboo flute sound coming from the nearby Fanjiang Residence.
Chao Jiuxiao: "..."
Chao Jiuxiao immediately transformed into a gigantic demon form and continued to wreak havoc on Lotus Lake.
One day, he would kill Shen Eleven!
The hated Shen Eleven was sitting in the courtyard playing the bamboo flute. A transparent barrier covered the large Fanjiang Residence, blocking out all the raindrops cascading from the sky; only the pattering sound could be heard, a mere pretense of listening to the rain.
Shen Gurong played a few notes, listened to the rain falling overhead, nodded, and commented to himself, "This bamboo flute and the sound of the rain are quite a match." Equally deafening, an ear-piercing cacophony.
Shen Gurong played for a while, but even he couldn't take it anymore. Just as he was about to put the flute away, he noticed a small head peeking at him from outside the Fanjiang Residence.
Shen Gurong raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is that Xiwu?"
Xiwu walked in somewhat shyly, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him. "Senior Brother, you're back."
Shen Gurong smiled at her and said, "Yes, how have you been these past few days?"
Perhaps it was because of her appearance, but every time Shen Gurong saw Xiwu, he couldn't help but soften his voice, afraid of startling her.
Xiwu nodded. She stepped forward and timidly tugged at Shen Gurong's sleeve, stammering, "I've been learning about herbs with Senior Brother Lou these past few days, it's...it's been so much fun."
Shen Gurong instinctively reached out and ruffled her hair, but as he did so, his sleeve drooped slightly, revealing half of his fair, jade-like wrist.
Where should have been a black bead, now only a red cord and a golden bell remained.
Xiwu's brow furrowed deeply.
Her bead was gone.
Instead, the red cord and golden bell that should have been there were now wrapped around his wrist. It was quite an eyesore.
Shen Gurong also noticed the strangeness on his wrist. He smiled faintly, knowing that Xiwu had probably used some secret method to stuff a snake into the bead, even managing to deceive Mu Zhe, so he didn't ask further.
Anyway, Xiwu didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards him, and the black snake had even saved his life at the last minute. Logically and emotionally, he shouldn't question it.
After Sang Luofu died, Lin Shuhe vomited blood, and Shen Gurong hadn't had time to check on the black snake before leaving. Now, meeting Xiwu's somewhat hurt gaze, he felt a little uneasy.
"I'm sorry," Shen Gurong said, "I lost the bead."
Xiwu wasn't angry: "Then I'll give you another one, Senior Brother."
Shen Gurong instinctively refused: "No need."
After all, knowing that the bead might be a black snake in disguise, having it coiled around his wrist felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
Xiwu lowered her head sadly, not pressuring him further. She said, "Senior Brother, that demonic cultivator I mentioned before came to me in my dreams again."
Shen Gurong, who had been fiddling with the golden bell on his wrist, paused upon hearing this and looked at Xiwu: "What did he say?"
Xiwu truthfully replied, "He told me to find a way to lure Li Suo to the Burial Mound."
Shen Gurong frowned: "Li Suo? Why him? Did he say anything else?"
Xiwu shook her head: "Nothing else. I only came out of the dream after I agreed."
Shen Gurong was somewhat bewildered.
This didn't happen in the book at all. After all, Li Suo died ten years ago at the hands of Mu Zhe, who was possessed by the Plague Demon. It was impossible for him to be with the demonic cultivator at the Burial Mound…
…The Plague Demon?!
For Shen Gurong, the ten years of seclusion were merely a short time. He remembered the details of that year extremely clearly.
After the Plague Demon possessed Mu Zhe, the first person it wanted to kill was Li Suo.
While it's possible that only Li Suo stopped him at the time, the plague demon's resentment towards Li Suo was genuine; it was truly determined to kill him at all costs.
But what was the reason?
If that plague demon was also sent by the demonic cultivator from the Burial Mound, then why kill Li Suo?
Li Suo was just a sickly Golden Core cultivator; what was there about him worth killing?
Or rather, what did Li Suo possess that the demonic cultivator coveted?
Shen Gurong fell into deep thought, his hand unconsciously tapping the bamboo flute in his hand.
Xiwu sat quietly beside him, staring at his face with almost greedy eyes.
Soon, Shen Gurong snapped out of his reverie, and Xiwu immediately withdrew her gaze, reverting to her gentle and obedient junior sister persona.
Shen Gurong asked, "Did you tell Li Suo?"
Xiwu, though young, was quite shrewd. She shook her head, "I was afraid something might happen, so I didn't tell anyone."
Shen Gurong patted her head approvingly, saying, "You did very well."
Xiwu shyly rubbed her head against Shen Gurong's palm, as if helping him was the most gratifying thing.
She rubbed against him, then looked curiously at the top of Shen Gurong's head, saying, "Senior brother, why did you suddenly grow ears?"
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong coughed heavily, saying, "Cough cough, it's nothing, just an accident."
Xiwu stared at the ears for a long time before saying seriously, "Senior brother looks good no matter what." Even fox ears are good-looking.
Shen Gurong was incredibly embarrassed and quickly said, "If you have nothing else to do, go back first. If there are any problems, come find me."
Xiwu stood up, nodded in agreement, and left, looking back several times.
Shen Gurong sat in the courtyard for a while before finding a passing disciple and asking him to fetch Li Suo. Soon, the disciple came running back: "Holy Lord, Senior Brother Li Suo has come down the mountain on urgent business."
Shen Gurong: "Down the mountain?"
"Yes."
For some reason, Shen Gurong suddenly had a bad feeling.
The demonic cultivator had just entered Xiwu's dream, leading her to the Burial Mound. Not long after, Li Suo, who had always been weak and rarely went down the mountain, left Liren Peak. This…
Could it really just be a coincidence?
Countless images flashed through his mind, but they didn't make sense when connected. Shen Gurong's thoughts jumped around very quickly, and he tried to connect some seemingly insignificant details in his memory.
Why did the Plague Demon chase after Li Suo?
Why… back in Fuxian City, did Li Suo's spirit sword come out of his body's spiritual veins?
At the time, he only found that scene strange, assuming that some people in the Three Realms kept their spirit swords in their spiritual veins, so he didn't think much of it.
But now, thinking about it, he felt a chill run down his spine.
A cultivator's spiritual veins are their lifeblood; even a drop of spiritual energy, like mist, entering them would cause discomfort. How could a normal person forcibly place a spiritual sword into their spiritual veins?
Just as he was about to get up to look for Li Suo, Mu Zhe emerged from the side courtyard, accompanied by the youthful humanoid Jiu Xi.
Shen Gurong glanced at Jiu Xi, his chaotic thoughts seemingly clearing away like clouds parting to reveal light.
Everything seemed to have a reasonable explanation.
Mu Zhe walked over and nodded slightly: "Master."
Jiu Xi nodded too.
Shen Gurong took a deep breath, his mind filled with doubt, and calmly asked, "Jiu Xi, you've been in the Sword Pavilion for so many years, do you know who possesses the second-ranked Ferocious Sword on Liren Peak?"
Jiu Xi was munching on fruit. Hearing this, he tilted his head, looking bewildered, and said, "Huh? You mean Lian Gou?"
"Yes."
"I don't know," Jiu Xi said casually, "but I heard that it was taken by a demonic cultivator a hundred years ago. After Lian Gou recognized its master, it gave birth to a sword spirit, and even has a human name... um, what was it again?"
Shen Gurong's heart jumped.
Jiu Xi slowly finished the last bite of fruit before exclaiming, "Ah, I remember now."
"It's called Li Suo."
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