Chapter 70: The Mute Wife

Wenren Sheng quickly understood what “poor sound insulation” meant.

In this room, he could even hear the faint footsteps coming from next door. If he focused a bit more, he might even hear breathing.

Wenren Sheng clutched the hem of his own clothes, tensed his insteps, and desperately held back to keep the Ankle Bell on his ankle from making a sound.

His face was full of shame and unease, his beautiful eyes brimming with the lingering flush from their intense entanglement.

Dependence, trust, and pleading surrender—these were probably innate gifts unique to demons. Immersed in this excessive pleasure, Wenren Sheng even had the illusion that he was about to drown. Instinctively, he wanted to seek salvation and depend on the only person here who made him feel safe.

So when He Mu’s hand touched his face, he pitifully rubbed his cheek against He Mu’s palm and gazed up at him obediently with teary eyes, like a cat that had long been used to being bullied.

He Mu loved seeing this expression on Wenren Sheng. He used his knuckle to wipe away the tear at the corner of Wenren Sheng’s eye, then ambiguously caressed the side of his face.

“How long has it been?” He Mu asked lowly.

Wenren Sheng didn’t know how long it had been.

Just earlier, He Mu had lifted his clothes and told him to hold them properly—no letting go until allowed.

Wenren Sheng had always been very obedient to He Mu. In the past, no matter what excessive demands He Mu made of him, Wenren Sheng did his best to satisfy them. This time was no exception.

But even so, Brother still didn’t let him off.

Wenren Sheng no longer knew what to do. He could only continue acting cute, proactively biting the hem of his clothes and cupping his hands together.

He knew He Mu would like this. If it made him happy, he’d let him go.

Seeing Wenren Sheng bullied to this extent yet still trying to act cute and beg for mercy, He Mu couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Shengsheng,” he said deliberately, “keep biting it. Don’t let it drop.”

Wenren Sheng looked dazed. He glanced down at himself, couldn’t help but draw his leg back a little, and the Ankle Bell on his ankle let out a ring.

This sound finally snapped a bit of reason back into him. The shame that had nearly been exhausted surged back in.

Help! To think he had to proactively do something like this…

So embarrassing, so humiliating—he hated the Mountain God more than anyone in the whole world!! Once he got out of bed, he’d pack his things and run away, get another room next door to sleep in. He absolutely wouldn’t share a bed with the Mountain God anymore. It was a total nightmare!

He Mu just watched as Wenren Sheng sobbed pitifully.

He figured Wenren Sheng was secretly cursing him in his heart right now as some bone-gnawing villain, scoundrel, and big bad egg—yet still shedding tears while trying his best to satisfy his wicked fetish. With Wenren Sheng’s thin-skinned personality, he had to be so ashamed he wanted to faint on the spot.

He Mu felt like he could remember this scene for the rest of his life.

Having lived over three hundred years, he knew the meaning of restraint. Before Wenren Sheng completely broke down, He Mu finally moved his hand away and shifted toward the headboard.

“Alright,” he kissed Wenren Sheng’s lips and said. “Your body’s all red now. So pitiful.”

Wenren Sheng let out a muffled whimper, stared at him dazedly, then proactively wrapped his arms around He Mu’s neck and responded to the kiss.

…

The next morning, Wenren Sheng sat in front of the copper mirror as the inn’s old lady did his hair and makeup for him.

After discussing with Ye Lan, the group decided that today, Wenren Sheng and He Mu would pretend to be an ordinary couple and scout out the Mountain Moon Clinic first.

Wenren Sheng’s voice still hadn’t recovered, so his role today was that of a mute wife who couldn’t speak.

At Wenren Sheng’s request, He Mu also changed out of his usual flashy attire into simple cloth clothes.

He casually touched Wenren Sheng’s earlobe and removed the earring from the side of his ear. As he put it away, he sighed. “Actually, there’s no need to dress quite this poor. There aren’t many poor people in Central Province, Shengsheng.”

Wenren Sheng finished applying his lipstick and looked up at him seriously. “No. This kind of outfit will make it easier to earn Shan Yue’s sympathy.”

Wenren Sheng had plenty of experience with this—he’d used the exact same trick back when the Mountain God took him in.

He Mu looked into his clear eyes, at a loss for words, and helplessly leaned against the nearby bed frame.

After applying a bit of powder, the old lady kindly gave him a few sets of her own clothes. Wenren Sheng was endlessly grateful and stuffed his money pouch straight into her arms.

In the end, Wenren Sheng started clumsily braiding his own hair.

His hair was very long. Braiding it properly took quite a while. After only a short time, Wenren Sheng started chatting with He Mu to relieve his boredom.

“Today, we have to stick strictly to the script we planned ahead of time. I’ve got it all figured out,” Wenren Sheng said. “Brother is the orphan of a fallen family from Central Province. As a child, to escape pursuit, he was secretly sent away by the family steward to be raised in another province for several years. There, he married and had children, becoming head of a small household.”

“And I’m Brother’s principal wife. We grew up together. Even though I can’t speak, Brother has always liked me, so once I came of age, we got married.”

Seeing how excited Wenren Sheng was, He Mu didn’t have the heart to interrupt and could only listen on with a wry smile.

Wenren Sheng continued. “We’re coming to the Mountain Moon Clinic this time because I came down with an illness. I only have three months left to live. The clinics back home can’t treat it, so we had no choice but to travel thousands of miles to Central Province in search of a divine doctor… Hiss… Ouch!”

Halfway through, Wenren Sheng accidentally yanked out a few strands of his hair. The braid wasn’t even half-formed and already looked like a total mess.

“Let me do it.”

He Mu took the comb, undid Wenren Sheng’s messy braid, and slowly combed through it again from the start.

Wenren Sheng sat up straight and gazed at his reflection in the copper mirror.

He swung his leg a little. “Actually, we’re not lying much. Getting married is just a matter of time anyway.”

He Mu set down the comb and parted his hair into two sections, draping one over Wenren Sheng’s shoulder.

“Mm,” he said. “Then call me ‘husband’ a few times now to get used to it. That way, you won’t slip up later.”

Wenren Sheng pouted resentfully. “You’re just saying that because you want to hear it.”

“So what if I do?” He Mu replied as if it were the most natural thing. “Whether it’s said early or late, you’re going to say it anyway. Besides, last night…”

“Stop! Stop, stop, stop!”

The mere mention of “last night” made Wenren Sheng break out in goosebumps. He hurriedly cut He Mu off.

“I’ll say it! Once you finish braiding my hair, I’ll call you. Just don’t bring up last night anymore, okay?”

He Mu smiled and fell silent as promised.

The little Ankle Bell he’d tied on Wenren Sheng yesterday was still hidden at the foot of the bed. It had rung vigorously for quite a while during the latter half of the night.

He Mu didn’t like the idea of outsiders hearing, so he’d set up a Barrier with Spiritual Power first thing in the morning to keep any sounds from the room from leaking out.

But he’d still lied to Wenren Sheng about the room having poor sound insulation—making him feel pleasure while drowning in shame, trembling nonstop from the humiliation. The expressions he showed then were especially cute… and especially erotic.

He Mu finished braiding two neat braids for Wenren Sheng and carefully draped them over his shoulders. He leaned down to check his reflection in the copper mirror.

“Like it?” He Mu teased. “You look just like a little village girl.”

“It has to be like this,” Wenren Sheng said, extremely satisfied with his self-styled image. “I’ll put on a great show today. No slip-ups!”

“Aren’t you supposed to be playing a mute?”

“It’s still hard!”

“Alright,” He Mu rubbed his cheek against Wenren Sheng’s. “Call ‘husband’ for me to hear.”

“…”

Wenren Sheng nervously pressed both hands to his knees and opened his mouth. “Hus… Husband.”

He Mu felt utterly delighted. He pulled Wenren Sheng’s shoulder close and chuckled into his neck. “I want to hear more. Call it two more times.”

“…Husband.”

“Say, ‘Brother He Mu is the person Wenren Sheng likes most.'”

“He Mu… Brother… is Wenren Sheng’s…”

Wenren Sheng pressed his cheek to He Mu’s, his body temperature steadily rising as his mind grew dizzy and muddled. He could only stammer and repeat He Mu’s words.

“…the person I like most.”

Only after saying it did Wenren Sheng belatedly realize something was off.

Wasn’t he supposed to be playing the role of a mute wife? Why was he calling out “husband” like that?

…He’d been tricked again!

Wenren Sheng wrapped his head in a plain scarf and wore a light apricot-colored thin shirt. He stuck closely behind He Mu, watching his knocking with excitement sparkling in his eyes.

As a child, he’d loved eavesdropping on opera performances. Even grown up, he was still passionate about role-playing as other people. He always found it fun.

Ye Lan concealed his figure nearby, waiting for their signal.

He Mu knocked twice on the door. Footsteps soon approached from inside, and Shan Yue—as usual—cracked the door open just a sliver, cautiously peeking out.

“Are you the Shan Yue Divine Doctor?” He Mu put on a friendly smile. “My wife has fallen a bit ill. I hope you’ll take a look at him. Remuneration—”

Halfway through, He Mu felt Wenren Sheng viciously pinch his waist. He shut his mouth at once and looked at Wenren Sheng in confusion.

【What’s wrong?】

Wenren Sheng mouthed back at him: 【I’m the seriously ill wife. Act better!】

He Mu cleared his throat lightly and stiffly rephrased. “Er… Doctor, I’ll be honest with you. My wife is a demon. Ever since he got this illness, he hasn’t been able to speak. You’re the only clinic around here that accepts demons. You’re our last hope.”

Shan Yue eyed He Mu suspiciously for a few moments, then leaned out further to look at Wenren Sheng standing behind him.

Wenren Sheng hurriedly covered his mouth and coughed softly twice, putting on a frail, sickly appearance.

Shan Yue asked softly, “The seriously ill one—is it him?”

He Mu nodded. “Yes, him.”

After that, Shan Yue asked no more questions. A long silence fell over the clinic’s entrance. Both Wenren Sheng and He Mu grew tense, fearing she would shut the door on them at any second.

Fortunately, after this silence, she slowly opened the door to the Mountain Moon Clinic.

“Come in, both of you.”

Wenren Sheng’s eyes lit up. He shot He Mu a delighted look and blinked at him.

See? His acting really was great!

The instant Shan Yue turned back to face them, Wenren Sheng swiftly switched back to his sickly act and softly leaned against He Mu.