Chapter 39: Murong Brother

The next day at si hour.

Wenren Sheng had just finished morning class and hadn’t even taken a single bite of food before he hurriedly ran off to Fufeng Pavilion to meet that mysterious person.

There was only one elegant private room on the second floor with guests inside. Without thinking, Wenren Sheng headed straight there. He had just lifted the curtain when a wave of delicious food aromas hit him in the face.

Wenren Sheng’s stomach was already growling from hunger. The moment he caught the scent, his tail instinctively started wagging, and his gaze followed it straight to the exquisite pastries on the table.

“Wow,” he exclaimed. “You really like the pastries here?”

He Mu sat at the table watching him, a smile rippling in his eyes.

“I do. What about you?”

“Then you have good taste,” Wenren Sheng acknowledged. “I like them too. There used to be someone who often brought me to eat these. I thought I wouldn’t get any after coming to Cang Province.”

With that, he glanced a few more times at the pastries on the table.

They were indeed all his favorites.

But Wenren Sheng wasn’t familiar with him yet, so he wouldn’t take the initiative to eat his food. Even though his stomach rumbled, he just kept wagging his tail nonstop while obediently sitting to the side without touching the chopsticks.

Hearing Wenren Sheng mention himself, He Mu’s smile deepened a bit as he followed up, “You really liked spending time with that person?”

At those words, Wenren Sheng gave him a strange look.

“Don’t pry into other people’s private affairs.”

Besides, when had he ever liked spending time with the Mountain God? In the past two years, he hadn’t even had the thought of going out to find the Mountain God once.

Once Wenren Sheng made up his mind about something, it was very hard to change. Even if he had liked and revered the Mountain God a lot before and still occasionally thought of him now, once he decided not to meet anymore, he wouldn’t go back on it.

He Mu looked a little disappointed and awkwardly took a sip of tea with his head lowered.

Seeing that he didn’t ask any more, Wenren Sheng didn’t grow suspicious. He just waved at him and said, “You brought the thing you promised today, right? How much did you bring?”

He Mu glanced at him, then set down his teacup. He took an item out from inside his collar and pushed it in front of Wenren Sheng.

At a glance, it was a tightly wrapped oil paper package. Inside was probably the “rebirth incense” he wanted.

Wenren Sheng immediately sat up straight, his wolf ears perking up.

“Only one package?” he asked. “What if I don’t use it right?”

He Mu smiled and reassured him, “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you.”

It sounded pretty reliable.

Wenren Sheng nodded trustingly and reached out to take the item back.

But just as his fingertips touched the oil paper, the person sitting across from him suddenly covered the back of his hand, as if not letting him take it.

For some reason, the moment his finger pad touched him, Wenren Sheng felt a current sweep over his spine, a tingling numbness at his fingertips.

His wolf ears twitched sharply in sensitivity, and he yanked his hand back before abruptly standing up.

“What are you doing?!”

“Wait a second,” He Mu said, looking at him. “There are rules on the path. You have to tell me what you want the rebirth incense for before I can sell it to you.”

“That’s not what I meant!” Wenren Sheng’s face was a bit red. “Why did you touch my hand?”

“…………”

He Mu was silent for a moment before saying,

“Because… it was an accident?”

This kid had always been sensitive since he was little and didn’t like being touched casually by unfamiliar people—something He Mu knew full well.

But he wasn’t some stranger. Before, he could touch however he wanted, and Wenren Sheng had been willing no matter where. Even in his sleep, he would actively lift his tail to rub against him and ask him to rub it.

This sudden rejection gave He Mu a huge sense of loss.

Wenren Sheng was still angry beside him. “Are you really a demon? How can you have no sense of boundaries!”

He Mu sighed sorrowfully and helplessly said, “Alright, I won’t touch you now. But if you want to use the rebirth incense to go to the Underworld, you still have to accept this reality.”

Wenren Sheng hesitated. “What reality?”

He Mu pointed at the oil paper package on the table. “The rebirth incense. If you want to use it to leave your body, you need someone by your side to act as the mediator and dual cultivate with you, so your soul doesn’t get lost in the Underworld—”

“Stop!”

Wenren Sheng shouted loudly and hurriedly covered his ears.

What was this guy saying?

Dual dual dual… dual cultivation?!

Wenren Sheng knew that demons could also dual cultivate, but before he came of age, he had no idea what “dual cultivation” specifically entailed.

Later, one time he flipped through a miscellany book in a bookstore in the city, which recorded many methods of dual cultivation between demons. He took one look and closed it with a flushed face.

Absolutely, absolutely not!!

Wenren Sheng’s ear tips suddenly turned bright red. He hurriedly squatted on the ground, turning his back to He Mu entirely, his tail sweeping back and forth on the floor.

“Why does a stupid incense have to be so complicated to use!” Wenren Sheng snapped in embarrassed fury. “Are you lying to me?”

He Mu’s gaze fell on Wenren Sheng’s fluffy tail, and he answered somewhat absentmindedly, “Little hero, this is our first time meeting. Why would I lie to you?”

Even though he was indeed lying to Wenren Sheng.

The “rebirth incense” did exist, but using it didn’t require dual cultivation at all.

The Underworld only accepted souls in “pairs,” so two people had to enter together. The method was simple: light the rebirth incense at midnight on the zi hour, clasp hands tightly, and you could enter the Underworld.

The talk of dual cultivation was purely to tease Wenren Sheng and see his reaction. Of course, if Wenren Sheng was willing…

At that thought, He Mu slightly furrowed his brows.

No, that wouldn’t do.

His current identity was “Murong He.” If Wenren Sheng agreed to dual cultivate with him, what would that count as?

Though He Mu knew Wenren Sheng’s personality made it almost impossible for him to agree, just thinking of the possibility made him want to test it.

He Mu thus shifted closer to Wenren Sheng, leaned down, and asked, “Have you thought it over? Do you have a suitable dual cultivation partner?”

Wenren Sheng covered his face and yelled, “None of your business! Who told you to ask!”

“I want to go to the Underworld too. We can team up.”

“You? You…”

Wenren Sheng felt both embarrassed and annoyed, and also a bit wronged. The words stuck in his throat, and he didn’t know what to say to refute this arrogant guy.

Why did it have to be dual cultivation?

He had never been willing to get physically close to others casually since he was little. Even with the most intimate Mountain God back then, he hadn’t let him touch his tail. Why should he dual cultivate with some inexplicable stranger now?

Wenren Sheng stopped covering his ears. He hugged his legs and stared shamefully at the ground.

But… he really did want to go to the Underworld.

Ever since the clan leader died, Wenren Sheng hadn’t been able to sleep well every day. He even regretted burying the clan leader on Fragrant Ze Mountain instead of bringing him back to Cang Province, leaving him without even a chance to visit now.

He had heard that demons wouldn’t enter reincarnation within three years of death. If he could go to the Underworld now, he might still be able to catch a glimpse of the clan leader and secretly ask about his reincarnation time.

But this hurdle had him stumped.

“I…” Wenren Sheng’s wolf ears drooped as he mumbled, “I… don’t want to…”

He only wanted to dual cultivate with one person, and that was the He Mu from before. Other than that, Wenren Sheng didn’t want anyone else touching his body.

Hearing his answer, He Mu immediately let out a breath of relief and took a sip of tea.

Just now, his throat had felt tight, afraid Wenren Sheng would say something like “Alright then” or “I agree.” He really wouldn’t know how to react.

“It’s fine. This method is just something I heard. Not sure if it’s even true,” He Mu said as he set down the teacup. “Let’s try some other methods first. If they don’t work, we’ll think of something else.”

Hearing there were other methods, Wenren Sheng’s drooped ears finally perked back up.

He turned to look at He Mu seated there and asked, “…Really?”

He Mu curved his eyes. “We’ll try a few more over the next couple days. Can’t go wrong.”

“Great!”

Wenren Sheng immediately cheered up, jumped to his feet, and hopped to He Mu’s side. He swung a leg over and sat on the same bench with him.

After such an emotional rollercoaster, Wenren Sheng unexpectedly felt a bit of fondness toward this “Murong He.”

Especially knowing he also wanted to make a trip to the Underworld, a sense of shared sympathy welled up in his heart.

Propping himself on the bench, he tilted his head and asked, “Are you going to the Underworld to find your family too?”

He Mu pondered for a moment before saying, “Mm… sort of. Mostly to help my family check on the person he misses.”

He phrased it a bit awkwardly, and Wenren Sheng only half-understood as he drawled, “Oh—so you have someone from the past you want to see too, right?”

He Mu nodded. “Yeah, I don’t want to see my family sad anymore.”

Then he was the same as himself.

Wenren Sheng was very empathetic, especially toward those with similar experiences. He couldn’t help feeling regretful and sad for them, developing a sense of pity.

In the first hour after entering the private room, Wenren Sheng finally took the initiative to pick up a pastry from the table. He took a careful little bite and then softly asked,

“Can I call you Brother?”

He Mu’s tea-drinking paused.

He sneaked a glance at Wenren Sheng. The kid held the pastry in both hands like a squirrel eating acorns. From He Mu’s angle, he could only see Wenren Sheng’s fluffy head.

“Sure,” He Mu said with smiling eyes. “I’m a bit older than you anyway.”

Wenren Sheng felt a little shy and slowly finished nibbling the pastry in his hands before continuing, “So, once we have the rebirth incense, when do we use it to go check out the Underworld?”

He Mu propped his chin thoughtfully. “To go to the Underworld, we’ll also need to prepare some Everbright Fire for guidance, a Yin-Yang Token to fool the yin soldiers, and Paper Money to pass the checkpoints.”

Wenren Sheng asked, “Can we buy those on the black market?”

“We can. Don’t worry, I can get them all ready by tomorrow,” He Mu said. “The issue is, going to the Underworld will take at least half a month. You have curfew—can you get away?”

Wenren Sheng thought for a moment and said, “Brother, what kind of demon are you?”

“Uh…” He Mu considered and made up, “Snake?”

“Snake demon?” Wenren Sheng’s face lit up with delight. “That’s even better.”

He Mu spread his hands. “Better how?”

Wenren Sheng hurriedly explained, “My master is a snake demon too. She’s the city lord here and lives in the Splendid Palace outside the city. I can’t go out, but you can come in. You can turn into a little snake, and I’ll sneak you inside.”

“Then, I’ll tell Master I’m going into secluded cultivation. You hide in my room, and we can use the rebirth incense to go to the Underworld!”

“Ah…”

He Mu feigned sudden realization while secretly drawing in a cold breath, pressing two fingers to his brow.

A snake, of all things…! He could’ve said loach and it would’ve been fine!

Meanwhile, Wenren Sheng thought his plan was foolproof and excitedly leaned closer to He Mu. “How about it? How about it?”

He Mu mumbled a couple “mm”s and forced a smile. “That’s brilliant. I never would’ve thought of it.”

Wenren Sheng got embarrassed from the praise, lowered his head, and pinched his cheek flesh, trying hard to flatten his almost-grinning mouth.