Mu Zhe "understood" his master's meaning and stepped forward to Shen Gurong, saying, "Let me dry your hair, Master."
Shen Gurong was visibly pleased, but quickly suppressed it, nodding casually in agreement.
While bathing, Shen Gurong hadn't noticed and splashed water on his hair, unintentionally getting quite a bit of water into his left ear. He frowned and rubbed it, but quickly withdrew his hand.
If fox ears were on someone else's head, Shen Gurong would scream uncontrollably, but on his own, he needed courage even to touch them, let alone rub the water inside.
Fortunately, his disciple was very perceptive.
Shen Gurong was satisfied.
Mu Zhe stood by the bed, lowering his gaze to stroke Shen Gurong's white hair, using his spiritual power to gently wipe away the moisture.
Shen Gurong felt a tingling sensation run through his body again from the caresses, a thin layer of mist welling up in his eyes. The feeling was both pleasurable and unbearably weak. He could easily shoo Mu Zhe's hand away, but Shen Gurong couldn't even move a fingertip.
The pleasure of being caressed made Shen Gurong unable to stop, wishing he could bury his entire head in Mu Zhe's warm palm.
Mu Zhe stroked his hair while staring intently at his upright ears.
His master… was an extremely mysterious person. Despite possessing cultivation far superior to anyone else, he acted like an ethereal mortal.
Cultivators often use meditation to replace the rest of ordinary people, but Shen Gurong was different. He needed to sleep every day, not in meditation, but truly in a deep sleep, his consciousness hazy; and in the morning, he would whine like a child.
—Even though all he needed to do was circulate his spiritual energy to dispel the fatigue in his meridians.
Furthermore, after each bath, he never proactively used his spiritual power to dry his hair. Instead, he seemed accustomed to mortals patiently drying his hair with towels.
Mu Zhe had once asked Xi Guxing about it.
Xi Guxing scoffed, "He's been quite pampered ever since he came to Liren Peak. He never uses his spiritual power to do these things."
Mu Zhe paused, then asked, "Why?"
Xi Guxing's smile froze before he said sarcastically, "Of course, it's because Master spoils him."
Mu Zhe hesitated. Even if he was spoiled, surely not to this extent?
Mu Zhe absentmindedly stroked his half-dry hair, drawing out the water droplets from Shen Gurong's fox ears.
When things were almost done, Mu Zhe, after much hesitation, finally mustered his courage and softly asked, "Master, you..."
Shen Gurong uttered a muffled nasal sound: "Hmm?"
Mu Zhe's fingertips tightened around Shen Gurong's white hair. He took a deep breath and asked an extremely rebellious question.
"Are you... a mortal?"
Cultivation is extremely difficult for mortals. Mu Zhe was, without a doubt, a mortal. If it weren't for Shen Feng Xue's countless spiritual herbs and half a yuandan, he might never have entered the Dao in his lifetime.
But Shen Gurong... seemed different.
Mu Zhe had once consulted Shen Feng Xue's disciple register in the Li Ren Peak library.
From the moment Shen Feng Xue entered Li Ren Peak, he was protected by the entire sect. Even Chao Jiuxiao, who disliked him the most, didn't treat him coldly. It seemed...
Mu Zhe frowned deeply.
It was as if... the entire Liren Peak owed Shen Feng Xue something.
Shen Gurong's series of actions, so remarkably similar to those of an ordinary person, emboldened Mu Zhe to delve deeper into his thoughts.
If his master was also an ordinary person before entering Liren Peak, could that explain why he, also an ordinary person, was so devoted to him?
After speaking, he anxiously awaited Shen Gurong's reply.
Shen Gurong remained silent for a long time, his breathing becoming inexplicably rapid. Mu Zhe abruptly withdrew his hand, cool strands of white hair slowly slipping through his fingers.
Shen Gurong's shoulders trembled slightly, and he remained silent, his back to him, offering no reply.
Mu Zhe then seemed to awaken from a daze, bowing his head and stammering, "Master, I misspoke."
Shen Gurong still remained silent.
Only then did Mu Zhe belatedly realize something was wrong. He raised a hand, suspiciously, and pressed it against Shen Gurong's shoulder: "Master?"
Shen Gurong's ears were ringing; he hadn't heard a word Mu Zhe had said. His body trembled slightly, and in a daze, he felt a hand on his shoulder, a warm palm brushing against his skin through the thin fabric of his clothes. Even this small touch sent a shiver down Shen Gurong's spine. Without thinking, he grabbed Mu Zhe's hand and forcefully flung him away.
With a thud.
Caught off guard, Mu Zhe was thrown against the bookshelf, his back nearly hitting the wall.
He barely managed to steady himself, staring in astonishment at Shen Gurong.
"Master?"
Just one glance, and he froze.
Shen Gurong, dressed in a thin white robe, sat on the edge of the bed. He seemed to be in great pain, his lips slightly parted as he breathed heavily, tears welling in his eyes and clinging to his long eyelashes, threatening to fall.
He braced himself against the edge of the bed, letting out a few low gasps before letting out an uncontrollable groan, which he quickly swallowed back by biting his lip.
He looked as if he had been drugged.
Mu Zhe was stunned, momentarily at a loss for what to do.
Shen Gurong, his eyes closed, the tears on his eyelashes rolling down his cheeks like jade beads, whispered, "Go...go and call the sect leader."
Mu Zhe stammered, "You..."
Shen Gurong: "Go quickly!"
Mu Zhe immediately went out to fetch Xi Guxing.
Hearing the door close, Shen Gurong's arms went limp, and he collapsed onto the soft bed. His eyes were hazy as he stared at the bed curtains above him, his mind a complete blank, unable to comprehend anything.
In his daze, someone approached him. A tall figure blocked the light, the face indistinct and unclear.
"Are you sure you want to enter the Dao?"
Shen Gurong looked at him blankly, trying desperately to make out his face, but his vision was always obscured by a white mist.
In his dazed state, he was no longer lying on the bed, but standing on the edge of a deep pool.
He glanced to the side, and the words "Wind and Rain Pool" came into view.
A hand was extended in front of him, holding a glass bottle in its palm.
"This is a elixir for cleansing the marrow and refining the essence," the person said. "If you are truly determined to enter the Dao with a mortal body, then take it and leap into the deep pool." Shen Gurong stared, stunned.
"The cleansing and marrow-refining process is as painful as being slowly sliced to death. You might die from the pain before the elixir takes effect."
"You should think this through."
Shen Gurong immediately tried to shake his head.
"No, I'm afraid of pain. I don't want to enter the Dao."
The next instant, he watched as he reached out a hand and grasped the glass bottle.
Shen Feng Xue's voice came, coldly saying, "I've thought it through."
With that, he drank the medicine in one gulp and leaped into the Wind and Rain Pool.
Before Shen Gurong could react, a knife-like pain shot through his entire body, and water surged in from all directions.
The dull pain came in waves, like a never-ending raging storm. Shen Gurong couldn't even scream, letting the water and the pain engulf him.
Shen Gurong didn't know where he got the energy, yet he still had the leisure to think: "Is this Shen Feng Xue's memory? In the early stages, didn't he... use countless spiritual herbs to build up his cultivation? Those spiritual herbs he mentioned..."
Could it be this kind of spiritual herb that caused him such painful marrow cleansing?
His meridians had been crushed and reformed countless times before a hand finally pulled him out of the dark pool.
The person said, "Not yet entered the Dao."
Shen Feng Xue was soaked to the bone, his face ashen. He gritted his teeth and said, "Again."
Another bottle of spiritual herbs.
Entering the Dao is far too difficult for mortals. Shen Gurong couldn't remember how many times Shen Feng Xue had used spiritual herbs. He felt like he was being implicated, surrounded by water and pain time and time again, as if trapped in an inescapable purgatory.
Finally, the voice that had coldly and ruthlessly said "Not yet entered the Dao" countless times spoke softly.
"Entered."
Shen Gurong was stunned, then breathed a huge sigh of relief.
Before he could even catch his breath, a bucket of cold water was suddenly splashed on his face.
He stared blankly around.
There was no one there; even the man who had been speaking to him was gone.
Shen Gurong wondered blankly: Where am I? Shouldn't I be at Fanjiang Residence?
Who splashed water on me?
Inside Fanjiang Residence.
Mu Zhe exclaimed in astonishment, "Martial Uncle Lou, what are you doing?!"
Lou Bugui tilted his head, holding a small watering can in the courtyard, said in confusion, "Splashing water."
Mu Zhe rushed anxiously to the bedside, wiping the water droplets from Shen Gurong's face with his sleeve.
He had gone to look for Xi Guxing earlier, only to find that the sect leader wasn't at Liren Peak, so he had to settle for calling Lou Bugui instead.
Who knew that Lou Bugui, upon arriving, would only glance at Shen Gurong, who was writhing on the bed as if in great pain, and then directly splash a bucket of water on him; Mu Zhe couldn't even stop him.
Shen Gurong's face was ashen, his fingers gripping the bedsheets tightly, creating deep wrinkles. Even after being splashed with water, he remained unconscious, still panting, his voice almost a sob.
Mu Zhe was at a loss: "Master? Master!"
Lou Bugui went out and scooped up another ladle of water, splashing it on Shen Gurong's face without blinking.
Mu Zhe quickly shielded Shen Gurong, letting the water splash onto his back.
Lou Bugui looked at him strangely, saying, "What are you doing?"
Even someone like Mu Zhe was losing his temper. He suppressed his anger and said, "Why did you splash Master with water, Martial Uncle?"
Lou Bugui exclaimed "Ah!" and suddenly asked abruptly, "What month is it now?"
Mu Zhe instinctively answered, "Mid-February, the Spring Equinox."
Lou Bugui said, "That's right."
Mu Zhe was stunned. Right? What was right?
Lou Bugui muttered softly, "He has the spiritual power of a fox within him; his ears are extremely sensitive and can't be touched, especially now that it's springtime..."
Mu Zhe didn't understand what Lou Bugui was talking about and gave him a blank look.
Lou Bugui said, "If he doesn't calm down by being splashed with water, he'll feel terrible."
Mu Zhe's mind was a mess, and instinctively he didn't want his master to suffer: "But..."
Lou Bugui never worried about killing people when healing them. Seeing Mu Zhe trying to stop him from splashing water, he had no choice but to use the jade marrow to find Xi Guxing.
Xi Guxing should be down the mountain; he returned quickly after receiving the message.
He rushed into the room and saw Shen Gurong unconscious, his brows furrowing deeply.
Lou Bugui said, "I wanted to splash water on him, but Mu Zhe stopped me."
Mu Zhe had quickly composed himself. His face was flushed, and he sat on the edge of the bed, protecting Shen Gurong, stammering, "Martial Uncle, please..."
Please think of a normal way to treat him.
Xi Guxing frowned and said, "As long as the fever goes down, right?"
Lou Bugui: "Yes."
"Easy." Xi Guxing strode forward, shoved Mu Zhe aside, picked up Shen Gurong, and quickly headed for the backyard.
Mu Zhe suddenly had a bad feeling and immediately followed.
Shen Gurong remained in a daze for a long time in his dream before finally regaining control of his body, his fingertips twitching slightly.
Being submerged in water throughout a dream is indeed unpleasant. Even though the excruciating pain had mostly faded after waking, the feeling of cold water enveloping his body was etched into his very bones, impossible to forget.
Shen Gurong, still groggy, thought, "I never want to go into the water again..."
Before he could finish his thought, he felt as if his body had suddenly lost its weight and was suspended in mid-air.
Before he could react, he was thrown into a bone-chilling icy spring.
Shen Gurong: "..."
Xi Guxing clapped his hands, turned to Lou Bugui, and asked his junior brother for his opinion: "Is this alright?"
Lou Bugui nodded and said, "Yes."
Mu Zhe: "..." Master!!
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