Shen Gurong and Mu Zhe had been registered together for two or three years, but every time they returned to Liren Peak, Mu Zhe was still glared at by his senior uncles.
Mu Zhe didn't seem to care. In front of his senior uncles, he was poised and respectful, neither humble nor arrogant; but the moment he turned to Shen Gurong, he acted as if the sky were falling, as if the whole world was against him, Mu Zhe.
Shen Gurong had been subtly and overtly complained to by Mu Zhe several times, and in desperation, he decided to return to Liren Peak to confront his senior brothers.
Mu Zhe wanted to go with him, but Shen Gurong, fearing he would be bullied by Xi Guxing and the others again, coaxed him to stay.
Mu Zhe, having overdone his act: "..."
He had no choice but to swallow his anger and watch Shen Gurong leave.
Shen Gurong leisurely returned to Liren Peak. Li Suo came to greet him, chattering incessantly about how amazing his senior brother Sanshui was, blah blah blah.
Shen Gurong raised an eyebrow and said, "Sanshui has made something of himself."
Li Suo, who had admired Wen Liubing since childhood, clenched his fist and said, "Senior brother Sanshui was always destined for greatness!"
Shen Gurong smiled.
Soon, he arrived at Xi Guxing's residence.
Xi Guxing was practicing his sword when he saw Shen Gurong approaching. He glanced at him and casually said, "You're here."
Shen Gurong walked over and sat on a stone bench nearby. "Yes."
Xi Guxing sheathed his sword and glanced back. "Mu Zhe didn't come with you?"
"No."
"Tsk." Xi Guxing sat opposite him and poured him tea. "Isn't he always clinging to you like glue? How could he bear to let you come out alone?"
Shen Gurong said, "You're mistaken. We're Daoist partners, not twin lotus blossoms. We're not always side by side."
"What's the point of always being together?"
Xi Guxing said with a forced smile, "I think he wishes he could be a twin lotus with you, never to be separated for all eternity."
Shen Gurong sensed the hostility in Xi Guxing's tone, sighed, and said, "Senior brother, I remember you used to like Mu Zhe a lot, why are you so averse to him now?"
Speaking of this, Xi Guxing became furious: "I liked him when he was obedient and well-behaved, but look at him now! Is he even acting like a human being? Offending his Master, I don't know where he got the nerve?!"
"Calm down, calm down," Shen Gurong soothed him.
"Senior brother, don't be angry. Let's talk this out."
Xi Guxing said impatiently, "What's there to say? There's nothing to talk about."
Shen Gurong said, "Mu Zhe is my Daoist partner. You'll have to accept him sooner or later."
Xi Guxing retorted angrily, "Why would I accept him? To accept his rebellious and offensive behavior?!"
Shen Gurong muttered under his breath, "I didn't even say that."
Xi Guxing raised his hand as if to hit him, "You're going to drive me crazy! You have no backbone at all! A few sweet words from your disciple..."
"You were easily swayed by words!"
Shen Gurong dodged, saying, "Senior brother, I'm not a child anymore."
Xi Guxing was furious: "You know you're not a child, yet you let your disciple run wild all day. Look at your neck, you don't even cover it properly before coming out. What, are you planning to tell me how he tormented you in bed?"
Shen Gurong: "..."
Xi Guxing: "..."
When Xi Guxing got angry, he spoke without thinking, and many times he said the wrong thing, and he regretted it as soon as it was said.
The two looked at each other.
Shen Gurong subtly adjusted his collar and whispered, "Senior brother, do you have a robe to lend me? I'm going to find the other senior brothers later."
Xi Guxing: "..."
Xi Guxing angrily took out a cloak and threw it at him, shouting, "Get out! Get out! Get out!"
Seeing that he couldn't reason with Xi Guxing, Shen Gurong quickly put on the cloak and ran away.
"Forget it," Shen Gurong thought. "Since Xi Guxing is always so grumpy with me, his attitude towards Mu Zhe is practically the same whether he accepts him or not. I might as well just leave it at that."
With this thought in mind, Shen Gurong gathered his clothes and went to find his second senior sister.
Li Suo led him to find Su Xiyan, and on the way they encountered Shen Xiwu. Xiwu was overjoyed to see her brother and happily offered to lead the way.
Shen Gurong patted Shen Xiwu's head and smiled, "Xiwu has grown quite a bit taller now?"
The half-grown child had now become a graceful young woman. Shen Xiwu smiled and skipped along, leading the way: "Brother, you haven't come for so long, Xiwu has missed you so much!"
Shen Gurong: "I was wrong, I was wrong. I'll come back more often from now on."
Shen Xiwu nodded.
Shen Xiwu spent her days traveling throughout the Three Realms with Su Xiyan, and the ghostly aura and gloomy atmosphere around her had long since dissipated. Even her strange possessiveness towards Shen Gurong had lessened considerably.
Shen Gurong was pleased. He didn't want Shen Xiwu's world to be confined to him; she needed to see the outside world and broaden her horizons.
Xiwu led him to the Wind and Rain Pool. Su Xiyan was discussing the next trip to the Gu Hong Secret Realm with Chao Jiuxiao. Seeing Shen Gurong approach, she raised an eyebrow slightly and said, "Eleven's back."
Shen Gurong thanked Shen Xiwu and walked over slowly.
Chao Jiuxiao transformed into human form and sat cross-legged beside the Wind and Rain Pool, wearing only a thin robe. Seeing Shen Gurong bundled up tightly, he snorted and mocked, "So cold? You're too weak."
Shen Gurong knew he never said anything nice, so he ignored him and wrapped his cloak even tighter.
"What are you talking about?"
Su Xiyan said softly, "We're talking about the next Gu Hong Secret Realm."
Shen Gurong said, "Isn't there still many years?"
Chao Jiuxiao snorted, "I need to prepare for ascension. Someone like you who can't ascend..."
Su Xiyan glanced at him.
Realizing he'd said something inappropriate, Chao Jiuxiao awkwardly stopped, mumbling, "I...I didn't mean that."
Shen Gurong didn't seem to mind: "It's alright—so what are your plans? Do you need my help?"
Chao Jiuxiao was taken aback: "You're willing to help?"
"Of course." Shen Gurong nodded. "It's just a small favor, why wouldn't I be willing? Just come looking for me."
Su Xiyan smiled, looking thoughtfully at Shen Gurong, seeing Chao Jiuxiao's delighted expression...
Suddenly, she spoke, "Is there something you need our help with, Eleven?"
Chao Jiuxiao was also taken aback, quickly suppressing his joy, his ears turning red as he roared like a dragon, "I knew you had ulterior motives! You wouldn't help me so easily!"
Shen Gurong said helplessly, "It's nothing serious, I just wanted to ask my senior brothers not to treat Mu Zhe coldly next time they see him."
Upon hearing this, Su Xiyan couldn't help but laugh, "I'm very gentle with him."
Shen Gurong muttered softly, "But Mu Zhe always says you're more terrifying."
Every time Mu Zhe came, Su Xiyan was the gentlest with him, but Mu Zhe felt that Su Xiyan was the most distant, never truly accepting him, treating him completely like an outsider.
That smile hid a knife, only he couldn't bring himself to do it in front of Shen Gurong.
Su Xiyan's smile froze.
Chao Jiuxiao sneered, saying, "He dragged me down a generation for no reason. I'm already being kind by not consuming him; anything else? No way!"
Su Xiyan hesitated for a long time before saying, "Eleventh, it's not that we dislike him, it's just..."
He sighed, saying, "You've practically grown up under our watchful eyes. If you married a Daoist partner and lived on Liren Peak, we probably wouldn't have any objections. But you moved away from Liren Peak with your disciple to Taozhou, such a far place, and only come back once in a long while..."
Shen Gurong's heart skipped a beat.
Su Xiyan tried to find the right words: "Do you understand? It's what a daughter's family thinks after she gets married—it's what we think now."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong said expressionlessly, "Oh, those senior brothers are quite sentimental."
Su Xiyan laughed, "There's nothing we can do about it. The cabbage we painstakingly nurtured was...stolen. Anyone would feel resentful, right?"
Shen Gurong felt that his second senior sister meant to say, "The cabbage we nurtured was eaten by a pig."
Chao Jiuxiao quipped sarcastically, "And you were the one who got pinned down."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong grabbed his collar, staring at them in astonishment.
Su Xiyan sighed, retrieved a pair of thin gloves from her storage ring, and said, "Cover your hands, is Mu Zhe treating your wrists like pig's trotters?"
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong blushed, quickly taking the gloves and putting them on.
Shen Gurong hurriedly bid farewell to his two senior siblings, waited outside for a while, then randomly found a young boy and asked him to take him to find Lou Bugui.
Lou Bugui was making medicine. He glanced at Shen Gurong, hurriedly mashed a dose, and anxiously shoved it into Shen Gurong's hand.
Shen Gurong took it suspiciously: "What's this for?"
Lou Bugui said seriously, "For excessive indulgence."
Shen Gurong: "..."
The medicine fell directly from Shen Gurong's hand.
Shen Gurong remained expressionless: "Senior brother, what are you saying, senior brother?"
Seeing his expression, Lou Bugui stammered, "Did I...did I say something wrong again?"
Shen Gurong knew Lou Bugui's mind couldn't hold much, so he helplessly rubbed his temples, picked up the medicine, and, his face flushed, threw it into the mustard seed container, mumbling, "I...I'll take it."
Lou Bugui finally cheered up.
He pulled Shen Gurong's hand and sat him down, blinking, "Did Eleven want to see me about something?"
Shen Gurong explained his purpose.
Lou Bugui tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said, "I wasn't cold to him."
Shen Gurong breathed a sigh of relief; he knew the word "cold" didn't exist in Lou Bugui's mind.
Then he heard Lou Bugui say, "But he took Eleven away from me, and I still don't like him."
Shen Gurong was speechless.
Lou Bugui rarely expressed his emotions so clearly, and he rarely said he disliked someone so directly.
"After Eleven and he became Daoist partners, he hasn't returned to Liren Peak," Lou Bugui whispered. "Did he lock you up?"
Shen Gurong quickly said, "No, no." Although Mu Zhe was possessive, he hadn't actually locked him up yet; otherwise, Shen Gurong would have made him cry long ago.
Lou Bugui fidgeted with his fingers, muttering, "Then if Eleven doesn't like him anymore, I... I'll help you poison him."
Shen Gurong: "..." Tenth Senior Brother, a bit scary.
Seeing his expression, Lou Bugui realized his words might be wrong. He became anxious, almost to the point of tears.
"I'm sorry, I misspoke," Lou Bugui sobbed. "Eleven doesn't like poison, I... I'll never research poison again, boohoo."
Shen Gurong recalled what Lou Bugui had said to him at the Wind and Rain Pool after researching the Soul Separation technique. Seeing him like this, he realized Lou Bugui had been grieving over this all along.
Grieved for so many years.
Shen Gurong hesitated for a long time before gently raising his hand to pat Lou Bugui's head, softly saying, "This isn't your fault." Lou Bugui looked at him blankly.
Shen Gurong said, "Researching what kind of poison you want is your freedom. You didn't do anything wrong. The ones who are wrong are those who use poison for misuse."
Lou Bugui didn't understand this. He tilted his head and looked at him for a long time, anxiously tugging at his sleeve, wanting him to explain.
Shen Gurong simply cut to the chase, saying, "I don't blame you, Senior Brother."
Lou Bugui murmured, repeating, "Don't...don't blame me?"
Shen Gurong said, "Yes, I will never blame you, Senior Brother."
Lou Bugui struggled to understand this meaning. Shen Gurong wasn't in a hurry, patiently waiting for half an hour before Lou Bugui finally broke down in soft sobs.
Shen Gurong coaxed him, "Alright, don't cry."
"I won't cry, I won't cry." Lou Bugui was easy to coax; once he said he wouldn't cry, he wouldn't. He was even more obedient than Mu Zhe. He wiped away his tears and quickly regained his cheerfulness, saying, "I won't glare at Mu Zhe anymore. I'll treat him well."
Shen Gurong, seeing that after all his running around, he had finally convinced someone, almost burst into tears.
He stayed with Lou Bugui for a while longer studying the poison before leaving Liren Peak and heading to Xianyun City.
Upon arriving at the Lin Guan Medical Clinic, Lin Shuhe didn't even open his eyes to study, saying directly, "No way, you can leave."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong's face darkened: "Senior brother, I haven't said anything yet."
Lin Shuhe had Hua Rongyue fan him, lazily saying, "I know what you're going to say. I've always disliked that brat Mu Zhe. You want me to give him a good face? No way! I'm already being kind by not poisoning him."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Why is everyone so ruthless? Shen Gurong had no choice but to try and reason with him, babbling and nagging.
Lin Shuhe wouldn't listen; nothing he did could persuade him.
Shen Gurong had no choice but to go to Suihan City.
Jing Zhuchen asked in surprise, "You're actually trying to persuade me? This is all I can do for Mu Zhe, isn't it? I've given him almost everything I own, even some of the poses I drew for him..."
Shen Gurong: "..."
Shen Gurong said coldly, "I'm here to tell you to treat Mu Zhe coldly from now on, and not to speak to him anymore."
Jing Zhuchen: "..."
Exhausted from his efforts, Shen Gurong returned dejectedly.
Seeing him return, Mu Zhe immediately barked and ran to greet him, "Master is back!"
Shen Gurong glanced at him wearily, "Mm."
Seeing his expression, Mu Zhe knew things hadn't gone well, but he wasn't discouraged. After all, every time he returned from being humiliated at Liren Peak, his master would always pity him and reward him, readily cooperating with whatever he wanted that night.
Mu Zhe loved it.
But now he couldn't feign joy, so he pretended to be sad, lowering his eyes and saying, "My senior uncles still don't like me."
Shen Gurong comforted him, "They will like you. This time it was very effective. Your tenth senior uncle will change his attitude towards you from now on. You'll see next time you go."
Mu Zhe nodded sadly.
Shen Gurong knew what Mu Zhe wanted most, so he gave him what he asked for. During dual cultivation, he was extremely cooperative, doing whatever positions he wanted. Even when pushed too far, he didn't beg for mercy, just forcibly enduring it. Only when he couldn't bear it anymore would he sob softly, incredibly alluring.
Mu Zhe wished he had a few more senior uncles to treat him coldly.
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