Chapter 29: Playing Deaf and Dumb

In the days that followed, Wenren Sheng always got up before dawn and rushed to Wenren Jing’s room.

Spring rabbits did not like to leave their burrows, and Wenren Sheng did not feel much like practicing sword today either, so he pestered Wenren Jing, chattering on about this and that.

After talking for a long time, the conversation circled back to his own romantic troubles.

The second dream had not been pleasant. When he woke up in the morning, Wenren Sheng discovered that he had cried and soaked his pillow wet.

But the emotions from the night were completely processed by daytime, leaving only a slight tangle at the bottom of his heart. Wenren Sheng’s mood was still fairly good.

He held the rabbit in his arms and sat down at the desk, saying, “Clan Leader, you’re already so old—have you never liked any other monsters?”

Wenren Jing was very short and stood on a stool behind Wenren Sheng, combing his hair for him.

“Of course I have!” he exclaimed dramatically. “When I was young, there were several times more clan members than now!”

Wenren Sheng stroked the rabbit fur and asked again, “Then would you tell her that you liked her?”

The clan leader answered, “Of course I did! I even prepared a whole cart of gifts for her and asked her to move her burrow to spend winter with me.”

Wenren Sheng’s eyes brightened a little as he pressed, “And then? Did she agree?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

It figured. The clan leader’s personality had been even more flamboyant when he was young, which definitely did not appeal to female rabbits.

Wenren Sheng was not worried about that point. The Mountain God definitely did not dislike his personality and often praised him for being pretty, so he probably liked his face too.

Wenren Sheng asked again, “So, to confess to someone, you have to prepare some gifts?”

Wenren Jing tied a hair ribbon on for him. “Yeah. At your young age, who are you confessing to?”

“Not your business.” Wenren Sheng huffed lightly. “In a few months, I’ll reach the golden core realm. What’s wrong with having someone I like?”

With that, he reached up to touch his hair ribbon. It was perfectly in place.

Wenren Sheng then carefully set the rabbit down on the grass pile and hurriedly ran toward the door.

“Alright, alright. The Mountain God isn’t going out today. I’m off to practice sword with him. Goodbye, Clan Leader!”

He did not even finish his words before he bolted out of Wenren Jing’s room like a streak of lightning, not leaving the little old man any chance to reply.

He rushed all the way to the Martial Practice Field and, sure enough, saw He Mu holding a sword and waiting for him.

He Mu asked, “You finished feeding the rabbits so early today?”

Wenren Sheng nodded and took his usual iron sword from the weapon rack.

“Take this!”

He Mu had not expected him to be so enthusiastic today. Before he could even open his mouth, Wenren Sheng had already swung his sword down at him.

He sidestepped to dodge, surprised. “So eager?”

Wenren Sheng let out a forceful “Hm!” as he bent his arm to retract the sword, then immediately switched directions and thrust at He Mu.

After thrusting several times in a row, he forced He Mu back several steps. He himself was left panting and out of breath from exhaustion.

“Such strong emotions.” He Mu clamped Wenren Sheng’s sword between two fingers and flung it to the side while saying, “Did you fight with the clan leader?”

“No fight.”

Wenren Sheng’s expression was very serious, and his answer was very firm, but the sword strikes in his hands grew fiercer and fiercer. By the end, they were completely disorganized, purely like venting frustration.

No fight—just a little angry.

Running into that strange fox spirit twice in a row, dreaming every night of He Mu doing overly intimate things with him, the heat period, those lies, the feelings he had not voiced…

All of it piled together until all that was left for Wenren Sheng was anger—anger burning in his belly, desperate to vent it harshly on someone!

And the source of this anger—

Wenren Sheng looked up at the smiling He Mu and grew even angrier.

“Where has the Mountain God been every night these past few days? What have you been doing?”

He Mu stepped on a sword on the ground and caught it in his hand. “Same as always: doing good deeds, accumulating merit, dealing with the Heavenly Court.”

Wenren Sheng let out two cold “Hmph hmph” snorts.

He Mu: “…”

Wenren Sheng offered no explanation. Seeing that He Mu had taken up a sword, he charged forward a few steps to clash with him. Their blades collided with a clang that made their eardrums ache.

He Mu usually only used twenty percent of his power against him, but today, no matter how they sparred, Wenren Sheng seemed off. He was like a little firecracker ready to explode at any moment—as if He Mu just needed to say a few words to light the fuse.

He Mu considered for a moment before cautiously saying, “How about we stop here for the morning?”

Wenren Sheng glanced at him but said nothing.

He Mu added, “Practice before bed. It’ll be more effective. I’ll keep you company tonight.”

Wenren Sheng unleashed a few more sword strikes. Taking advantage of the moment He Mu blocked, he muttered,

“I’m not sleeping with the Mountain God anymore from now on.”

He Mu: “…?”

He paused for three seconds before flinging the sword in his hand behind his back. In two steps, he grabbed Wenren Sheng, hoisted him up, and slung him over his shoulder.

Caught off guard, Wenren Sheng immediately flailed his limbs and shouted,

“—No! Don’t grab me—I’ll bite you!”

“Wenren Sheng.” He Mu smacked his butt. “You’re beating around the bush, aren’t you?”

Wenren Sheng struggled like a flopping fish for a couple moments but ultimately could not overcome Cangyu True Monarch’s innate divine strength. He was carried into a nearby room.

The moment they entered the room, Wenren Sheng flopped innocently onto the table and complained, “I didn’t do anything.”

“Is that so?” He Mu dragged a chair over with his foot, propped his leg up as he sat down, and said, “Spill it. What’s been going on with you lately?”

Wenren Sheng guiltily glanced at him before lowering his head to fiddle with the hem of his clothes. “Nothing. Same as always.”

He Mu propped his cheek as he gazed at Wenren Sheng and said faintly, “You talk in your sleep at night. You’re always calling my name.”

“What?!”

Wenren Sheng blurted out,

“Impossible. I clearly—”

He cut himself off midway.

It was entirely possible!

Never mind last night—the time before, when his tail had been stroked like that in the dream, even Wenren Sheng could not remember what he had shouted.

But Wenren Sheng still shook his head and stubbornly insisted, “That’s normal. I’m with you every day. It’s not weird to dream about you, right?”

“I just dreamed about… practicing sword together with you?”

He Mu narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

He badly wanted to tell him that Wenren Sheng had sounded just like a cat in heat, always arching his tail to rub against him until He Mu stroked him a couple times to calm him down.

But he figured that if he said it out loud, Wenren Sheng would ignore him for three months.

He Mu could not help rubbing his brow.

He knew that young monsters all had heat periods. Last time, when Wenren Sheng had huddled under the blanket acting all sneaky, he had vaguely guessed as much. The past few nights had provided ironclad proof.

He just had not expected himself to be the object of Wenren Sheng’s erotic dreams.

Why would that be? It was completely impossible.

He Mu reflected on his own behavior and realized it was entirely possible.

Wenren Sheng had been clingy ever since he was little. He Mu had not been used to it at first, but after a few years of being led along, he had started to enjoy hugging and kissing Wenren Sheng too.

Although after Wenren Sheng came out of seclusion, he had considered keeping some distance to avoid impropriety, he gave up on the idea after just a few days.

The moment he saw Wenren Sheng, he habitually wanted to pinch his cheeks, scoop him into his arms and rub him all over, and sneak a few strokes of his fluffy tail and ears while he slept at night.

Now that He Mu realized the problem with his own behavior, he had no grounds to refute Wenren Sheng anymore.

He could only ask, “You really don’t want to live together with me anymore?”

Wenren Sheng finally climbed up from the floor. He shuffled over to He Mu and whispered, “Are you mad?”

“Yeah.” He Mu pretended to wipe at his eyes. “Heavens, I’m so heartbroken.”

Wenren Sheng: “…”

So fake!

But he still could not bear to let the Mountain God feel too sad, so he stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and explained, “That’s not what I meant! It’s just that two people sleeping in one bed feels a bit cramped. Summer’s almost here too—I wake up covered in sweat every day.”

He Mu listened to his long, rambling explanation. It seemed Wenren Sheng was dead set on separate beds.

There was no way for him to force Wenren Sheng to sleep with him, so he gripped Wenren Sheng’s hand in return and said, “Then I’ll move back to my own room. If you regret it, you can come find me anytime, okay?”

Wenren Sheng nodded obediently. “I know.”

He had not planned to live apart from He Mu for too long anyway—at least not until the heat period passed.

Seeing how unhappy He Mu looked, Wenren Sheng proactively stepped forward for a hug and patted his shoulder by way of comfort.

“Don’t be too sad.” Wenren Sheng said thoughtfully, “I might regret it any minute now.”

“Um… right, does the Mountain God have anything he really wants?”

“Wants?”

Wenren Sheng gestured as he explained, “You know, something you really want but haven’t gotten yet.”

He Mu thought for a moment before shaking his head. “No.”

“If I had to say… lots of merit. That way, I wouldn’t have to listen to the Heavenly Court bossing me around.”

Wenren Sheng was very dissatisfied with this answer. He immediately scowled and let out a light huff.

What was the difference between that and saying “I want lots of money”? The Mountain God was so mundane.

Fortunately, Wenren Sheng already had a backup plan in mind for a confession gift.

He glanced at He Mu’s hand and could not resist pressing his own against it to compare their sizes.

“What’s wrong?”

He Mu curled his fingers to tickle Wenren Sheng’s palm.

The gesture made Wenren Sheng’s cheeks flush. He hastily pulled his hand back and hid it behind him.

“Nothing.”

He Mu raised a brow. “Nothing?”

Wenren Sheng guiltily scratched his cheek. “Yeah. Then I’ll go find Master first.”

With that, he turned to push open the door. He squeezed his body through the gap and slipped out.

He had just taken one step when he peeked back at He Mu mysteriously, said “Goodbye, Mountain God,” and then vanished like a nimble butterfly landing amid flowers.

“All his thoughts are written on his face.” He Mu gazed after him with a beaming smile and sighed, “Kids are kids, after all.”

He sat there without moving, quietly staring at the crack in the door.

Only after Wenren Sheng’s footsteps faded did He Mu slowly smooth out the smile on his lips.

He lowered his gaze to his own palm.

His mood felt strangely off.

It was as if Wenren Sheng had suddenly stepped out of the “kid” category in his heart and become a youth newly awakened to romance, one who harbored desires.

But aside from that, there was another indescribable feeling—like feathers endlessly tickling the tip of his heart.

This emotion was hazy and indistinct, as if imprisoned in a cage, forever beyond his reach.

He Mu’s head ached. He pinched his brow and murmured, “Once he grows up a bit more… he should understand, right?”

Although Wenren Sheng had dreamed of him, he did not believe it stemmed from any “feelings.”

At most, it was Wenren Sheng subconsciously selecting his closest companion and projecting his unspeakable desires onto him.

Such affection was too naive and immature. It would not last long before fading away.

And even stepping back ten thousand steps—if he harbored the same thoughts toward Wenren Sheng, he would not even be able to perceive it himself, much less voice it aloud to him.

Ascension via the Emotionless Dao—that was the Dao Heart he had chosen for himself. The path it pointed out for him would not be wrong.

And so, playing deaf and dumb was the best choice.

“……………”

But the moment this thought crossed his mind, He Mu felt a pain in his heart like a dull knife slicing through flesh.

A moment later, even the spiritual flow in his meridians began to churn chaotically. An intense sense of unease crashed over him, sending his qi and blood surging and throwing his mind into turmoil—as if his entire being was rejecting this conclusion.

He Mu’s breathing grew heavy. He frowned and gazed in bewilderment at the crack in the door through which Wenren Sheng had left.

…Could it be wrong?

Then why had he been unable to sleep day or night these past few days, tossing and turning in bed? Why had his state of mind teetered on the brink of qi deviation time and again?

He had even indulged in an unrealistic fantasy: if he returned to the Heavenly Court right now, stripped away his divine graven, and erased his name from the Emotionless Stele, would the way he looked at Wenren Sheng be any different?

Would his gaze carry emotions beyond those of family, even fiercer and more incurable than the boy’s?

He Mu had never so desperately wanted the answer to a question.