Not good, he had said one word too many!
Wenren Sheng quickly covered his mouth.
That sentence didn’t count. Starting from the next one, he wouldn’t say a single sentence to He Mu that exceeded five words.
The distance between them also had to be kept at least five steps apart!
With that in mind, Wenren Sheng silently counted his steps and moved back a few more paces.
He Mu had no idea about Wenren Sheng’s complicated little thoughts. He watched as the kid puffed out his bun-like face and walked farther and farther away, all the way out of the earth temple until he was nearly at the riverbank outside.
He Mu stood in place. The Amber Gold Sword flew behind Wenren Sheng and gave him a push forward, preventing him from falling into the river a second time.
“Where are you going, Shengsheng?”
He Mu said helplessly.
“I know you’re still angry. Let’s go find the clan leader first, okay?”
Feeling a chill at his lower back, Wenren Sheng finally stopped and turned his head to look.
He was mere inches from the man-eating river water. It was Color Kill that had blocked him.
He really liked this sword and didn’t want to take out his anger at He Mu on someone else, so he didn’t stubbornly shake off Color Kill. Instead, he said softly, “Thank you.”
Color Kill seemed very happy to see him again. It shook its blade and even lay flat above the river water, as if inviting Wenren Sheng to step on it to cross.
Wenren Sheng waved his hand. “No need. Don’t do that…”
Color Kill could understand human speech. After hearing Wenren Sheng’s words, it straightened up and picked up a paper lantern from the riverbank, handing it to him.
Wenren Sheng saw that it was the Everbright Lamp he had dropped.
The wick had gone out, but fortunately, the fog ahead had dispersed quite a bit, gradually revealing a path leading to the other checkpoints.
“Shengsheng.”
He Mu had somehow already come to stand beside Wenren Sheng. He even lightly bumped him with the back of his hand.
“We’re heading to the Rebirth Platform now. You won’t recognize the road ahead. Let me lead the way, okay?”
Wenren Sheng jumped at the touch and dodged back several steps. The Amber Gold Sword flew right in front of him, forcefully separating the two.
“Aren’t we keeping our distance!”
He Mu glanced at the space between them. “This isn’t enough?”
Wenren Sheng’s tail flicked anxiously back and forth.
“Of course not. You should…”
He got halfway through before blushing and holding back the rest. His face showed both grievance and shy annoyance.
No, no. He couldn’t say that much to him. They were complete strangers now. Why bother with so much interaction?
Ignore him!
With that thought, Wenren Sheng shot He Mu a fierce glare. Then he swung Heavenly Heart around, stepped onto it to cross the river, and headed down the path without looking back.
“Hey!”
He Mu, ditched again, stood in place with his outstretched hand awkwardly frozen in midair.
He ran off again.
Wenren Sheng had been like this since he was little—not just sensitive, but prone to overthinking. Sudden bursts of anger were common for him.
Right now, he was in the middle of one, practically with little flames sprouting from his head. He could probably blame He Mu even if he bit his own tongue.
He Mu knew he couldn’t rush it. He had to be patient and coax him. But Wenren Sheng wouldn’t even give him a chance to get close. How was he supposed to…
While he was fretting, he suddenly spotted the silver face mask dropped on the ground. A spark of inspiration hit him.
He Mu quickly lifted his finger to retrieve the face mask and hurried after Wenren Sheng with Color Kill in tow.
Heavenly Heart flew very slowly, and Wenren Sheng felt bad about stepping on it for too long, so he soon got off.
He let out a wistful sigh, sheathed Heavenly Heart, and trudged depressed toward the Rebirth Platform.
Having obtained divine weapons and personally killed his kin-slaying enemy, Wenren Sheng should have been overjoyed. But now, he couldn’t muster any happiness.
During those two years in Cangzhou City, Wenren Sheng rarely thought about seeing He Mu again. But setting aside those romantic feelings, He Mu was his most important family member. He couldn’t help missing him.
Regardless of the emotion, he had never hated He Mu. He was just very angry at him and wanted to blame him for abandoning him.
Wenren Sheng walked along, pinching his fingers in random thoughts.
Before long, a cool breeze blew from behind. He Mu’s footsteps landed from Color Kill, and he came to Wenren Sheng’s side.
“Shengsheng?”
“…”
Wenren Sheng ignored him and quickened his pace.
He Mu hurried to catch up and gently grabbed his shoulder.
“Shengsheng,” he said hastily, “How about this? You don’t have to answer me. Just listen while I talk, and I’ll leave you alone after, okay?”
He spoke quickly, sounding genuinely anxious, with a pleading tone that made Wenren Sheng slow down involuntarily.
Just listen. Leave after he’s done.
Wenren Sheng thought.
Seeing him soften a bit, He Mu quickly donned the silver face mask. “If you don’t want to talk to He Mu, then pretend I’m Murong He, okay?”
The face mask had spells to alter voice and appearance. The moment He Mu spoke, his voice turned into that of Murong He, whom Wenren Sheng had only met twice.
For some reason, even knowing it was the same person, Wenren Sheng’s mood unexpectedly calmed. He no longer resisted He Mu’s proximity.
He stopped, quickly glanced at He Mu, then looked away. “And then?”
He Mu tentatively touched Wenren Sheng’s hand. “Shengsheng, you’re unhappy inside, but you also feel bad about blaming me, so you’re feeling stifled and upset, right?”
Wenren Sheng’s thoughts were spot on, and his fingers curled slightly.
He had always been a very obedient child, rarely getting angry and never showing displeasure to the clan leader or his master. The only one he ever lost his temper with was He Mu.
But He Mu never minded. He even said it was a good thing that Wenren Sheng could vent his emotions freely in front of him.
After two years apart, though, Wenren Sheng had gradually lost that sense of security. He didn’t want to hand over his emotions so freely to He Mu anymore.
Wenren Sheng sniffled and said sulkily, “I used to always save my bad temper for you. I’ve changed now. Isn’t that good enough?”
“Were you willing to change yourself, Shengsheng?” He Mu tentatively held Wenren Sheng’s hand, speaking with utmost gentleness. “What’s wrong with throwing a little tantrum at me? You’re still young. It’d be weird if you didn’t.”
Wenren Sheng glanced at him but still didn’t respond. He turned to run again.
Before he could take a step, He Mu grabbed his hand.
This time, He Mu held it very restrainedly, not forcing their fingers to interlock like before. Instead, he just enveloped it in his palm, like when they were kids.
“Once we get back, you can hate me, despise me, throw tantrums at me—it doesn’t matter. But for now, I want to help you fulfill your wish.”
He Mu gazed at him, his brows slightly furrowed.
“Shengsheng, for the clan leader’s sake… can we make up temporarily?”
Wenren Sheng stood obediently in place, his hand unconsciously gripping tighter.
Temporarily make up…
If it was to see the clan leader’s soul.
If it was to give him a proper send-off, setting aside those worries for now and getting along well with He Mu—it didn’t sound so hard to accept.
Besides, He Mu’s words were too gentle. It made Wenren Sheng’s nose tingle. If he didn’t agree soon, he’d embarrass himself by crying again.
He quietly sniffled, finally lowered his head, and responded in an almost inaudible voice:
“Is it really temporary?”
He Mu nodded quickly. “Yes, temporary. You can be mad at me however you want once we’re back.”
Wenren Sheng hesitated for a moment before slowly turning back to meet He Mu’s gaze.
“…Just temporary, okay.”
Temporary reconciliation. Once they returned to the mortal world, he would stick to his principle of ignoring He Mu.
The breath He Mu had been holding finally eased out.
A smile curved his lips. Unable to hold back, he pulled Wenren Sheng over and kissed his cheek.
One kiss wasn’t enough. He kissed Wenren Sheng’s ear too and whispered, “Thank you, Shengsheng.”
Wenren Sheng’s face turned bright red from the kisses. He quickly pushed He Mu away. “Temporary reconciliation doesn’t mean this!”
“Okay, okay, not this meaning,” He Mu said with a laugh, looking at him. “But at least we don’t need to keep our distance anymore, right?”
Wenren Sheng didn’t speak, twisting his fingers in his clothes.
After a moment of silence, he looked up at He Mu, then swiftly yanked off the silver face mask and tossed it aside.
“No need for this. You’re you. No need to pretend to be someone else.”
“And if you kiss me wearing this, you’ll end up saying something messy again, like me and some other man…”
“Hm?” He Mu asked, puzzled. “What other man?”
“N-Nothing!” Wenren Sheng shook his head, stammering. “Hurry up. If we dawdle more, the clan leader will reincarnate!”
“It won’t be that fast… Hey, Shengsheng!”
He Mu couldn’t call him back. Wenren Sheng ran off like a fleeing rabbit, vanishing several li away in the blink of an eye.
After chasing and running all the way, the two finally arrived, panting, at the archway of the Rebirth Platform.
The closer they got to the Land of Reincarnation, the fewer the malformed lonely ghosts and wild spirits there were. In their place were rows of healthy souls.
They held their respective numbers and lined up before the Bridge of Helplessness, waiting for reincarnation.
Two yin soldiers stood on the bridge. One held ghost money, the other cradled a copper mirror. They stopped every soul that came up.
Wenren Sheng and He Mu were at the end of the line.
He Mu leaned close to Wenren Sheng’s ear and whispered, “Ghost money is the toll. The copper mirror checks their merits and demerits from life to judge which reincarnation path they enter.”
Wenren Sheng nodded. “I’ve seen it in storybooks.”
He Mu said, “These people are queuing by arrival time. Let’s find out the year Clan Leader Wenren Jing passed.”
The line to the Rebirth Platform was very long—endless from the entrance. He Mu grabbed a nearby soul and asked the year, then roughly calculated. It would take at least seven days to reach Wenren Jing’s spot.
By then, the Soul Separation Technique would be nearly over. Time was too tight.
He Mu didn’t choose to queue. He untied the Yin-Yang Token from his waist and led Wenren Sheng into a nearby “Impermanence” inn.
There was no innkeeper. Just an empty red rope at the counter and an abacus on the table.
He Mu hung the Yin-Yang Token on the rope and explained, “This token is from the Heavenly Court. It can summon an Impermanence to ferry us over.”
Wenren Sheng watched as he fiddled with the abacus beads, seemingly setting it to the year Wenren Jing died.
After a couple adjustments, He Mu let go.
The abacus clicked on its own, resetting the beads it had just moved. With a few “clacks,” Wenren Sheng suddenly felt a chill behind him.
Turning around, he saw a long-tongued Impermanence in a white hat staring at him.
This image was famous even in the mortal world. Wenren Sheng recognized him as White Impermanence.
White Impermanence bowed to them with a smile. “Are you lords from the Heavenly Court?”
“We’re sent by Lord Siming,” He Mu lied with a straight face. “Seeking a demon’s soul. Could Impermanence take us there?”
White Impermanence’s eyes narrowed into slits. He bowed deeply. “Ah, Lord Siming! Right away! But this one—”
He drew out the word, glancing at Wenren Sheng.
“Is a demon too?”
Wenren Sheng’s tail twitched. He alertly gripped the Amber Gold Sword.
“Yes, a demon. Can’t demons pass?”
White Impermanence shook his head hurriedly, flashing a fawning smile. “Of course they can. Man or demon, you’re all upper realm lords. I’ll take you right now!”
With that, White Impermanence conjured a long, narrow palm leaf fan inscribed with the bold red characters “Wealth at First Sight.”
He laid the fan flat, enlarging it to carry three, then made a respectful “please” gesture.
He Mu smoothly wrapped an arm around Wenren Sheng’s waist and brought him aboard.
The motion was so natural that Wenren Sheng didn’t resist much and went along.
The palm leaf fan lifted slightly and began traversing the long road to rebirth.
He Mu stood a bit behind Wenren Sheng, holding his sword. His gaze unconsciously fell on Wenren Sheng’s waist.
…He had just touched it.
His figure was still like it was at sixteen. How much could it have changed? Wenren Sheng’s waist was very slim. Without clothes, He Mu could probably grip it with one hand from behind.
A little lower was where the tail was.
He only curled his tail upward during his heat period. Normally, it hung naturally behind him, the tip carrying a slight curve that made people want to touch it.
He Mu had touched it many times before. Although it wasn’t out of any lustful intent back then, he had stumbled upon many of Wenren Sheng’s sensitive spots.
Come to think of it… how had Wenren Sheng gotten through his heat periods during the two years he was away?
