Yi Jinxiang’s vision went black, and she staggered two steps for a moment, nearly losing her balance.
Ye Lan, at her side, hurried forward to support her and said in a low voice, “Mistress, are you alright?”
“Get lost,” Yi Jinxiang pushed him away, her eyes fixed straight on Wenren Sheng. “Wenren Sheng… you!”
Wenren Sheng pulled He Mu’s hand a bit fearfully and hid behind him, sneaking peeks at Yi Jinxiang.
“Don’t be angry, Master,” he said softly with furrowed brows. “If you don’t want Brother to stay here, I can move out with him.”
“Is that what I’m angry about?” Yi Jinxiang raised her voice. “Half a month ago, you told me clearly that you didn’t like He Mu and never wanted to see him again. Am I, Wenqu Star, so deaf that I didn’t hear a single word?!”
Wenren Sheng listened to her deafening voice, his mind filled with “I’m done for,” and he buried his head in He Mu’s shoulder like he was avoiding it, not daring to look into Yi Jinxiang’s eyes anymore.
Although he knew that his matter with He Mu would be exposed sooner or later, he never imagined it would happen in such an awkward way!
Just a few minutes ago, he had been kissing He Mu, and the lingering warmth from his heat period hadn’t faded from his body yet. His master was also a demon and couldn’t possibly fail to smell these scents.
So embarrassing… he wanted to die…
He Mu’s thoughts, however, were completely elsewhere. He covered the back of Wenren Sheng’s hand and said with a beaming smile, “You really want to marry me?”
“It’s not true!” Wenren Sheng said angrily in a low voice. “What time is it, and Brother is still thinking about that!”
As soon as He Mu heard this, he knew it was just words spoken in anger, and the smile on his face deepened.
It seemed there was still a chance after all.
With that thought, he looked up and saw that Yi Jinxiang’s face was utterly grim.
He Mu ignored her and deliberately raised their clasped hands like he was showing off.
“Now do you believe it?” he said. “We truly love each other.”
Yi Jinxiang gripped the fan in her hand until her knuckles turned white, her gaze practically vivisecting He Mu.
After glaring for a moment, she gnashed her teeth and said, “Ye Lan.”
Ye Lan hurried forward and bowed. “Mistress.”
Yi Jinxiang pointed at He Mu, enunciating each word. “Kill him for me and throw him out.”
Ye Lan’s expression changed drastically upon hearing this. He looked at He Mu, who radiated “overpowered” from head to toe, with trepidation.
He hesitated. “I… am I the one to kill him?”
Yi Jinxiang shot him a glare. “Do you have any objections?”
Ye Lan didn’t dare offend his superior and nodded at once. His hand went straight to the hilt at his waist, he pursed his lips, and prepared to charge at He Mu for a desperate fight.
But before the blade could leave its sheath, He Mu flicked his wrist and produced a copper coin, which he sent flying to knock Ye Lan’s hand away.
Ye Lan grunted, his muscles and bones instantly going numb. He clutched his wrist on instinct.
In that move, he recognized He Mu’s identity almost instantly.
“It’s you?” Ye Lan’s face filled with shock. “The one who followed behind the young master that day and concealed his presence…”
He Mu raised a brow. “Our cultivation levels are clear at a glance. Do we still need to fight?”
“That day?” Yi Jinxiang shot a glance at Ye Lan. “Which day?”
Ye Lan bowed at once and answered, “Mistress, the day before the young master was confined. He brought back an unintelligent snake, saying it was a friend. That day, I sensed behind him… a human presence, which seemed to be exactly—”
He trailed off halfway, his gaze falling on He Mu.
Wenren Sheng couldn’t stay submerged any longer. He pulled his legs out of the pool water, curled up completely behind He Mu, and hid away.
He only felt awkward and anxious. The kiss marks all over his body burned—from his shoulders, to his collarbone, to the roots of his thighs. Every place He Mu had kissed tingled inappropriately with resurfacing memories.
If his master found out about these things, would she think he was very disobedient?
Before the confinement, she had come to his room out of worry for a long heart-to-heart talk, warning him not to have too much contact with outsiders.
But at that time, there had even been someone hiding in his bedding, and he hadn’t listened properly at all.
With that thought, Wenren Sheng buried his head in annoyance. His wolf ears drooped, gray and limp against his hair.
It was over. He really was so undisciplined.
Ye Lan briefly described the scene from that day, and Yi Jinxiang quickly realized that He Mu had sneaked into Splendid Palace many days ago and shared a bed with Wenren Sheng, yet she had only discovered it today.
She took a deep breath and barely steadied her tone. “So he stayed in your room for a full ten days and nights, is that right, Wenren Sheng?”
Wenren Sheng cautiously lifted his eyes, mist pooling in them, and said aggrievedly, “I’m sorry, Master.”
Yi Jinxiang didn’t even want to imagine what had happened in those ten days.
She finally couldn’t stand steady and grabbed the chair behind her for support, which brought down a whole row of screens in the bathhouse with a crash.
Wenren Sheng looked at her with concern.
“Master, don’t be angry anymore,” he said softly. “I’m already eighteen. Ordinary men can marry at fifteen. You don’t need to worry about me like this…”
“You could be twenty-eight, and she’d react the same way if she knew,” He Mu stroked Wenren Sheng’s wolf ears back against his hair to soothe him. “Don’t worry. It’s not your fault. She’s not blaming you.”
Wenren Sheng let out an “oh” and slowly hid behind He Mu again.
“It’s all Brother’s fault.” He lightly swatted He Mu.
He Mu didn’t refute this time and just nodded. “This matter is indeed my fault. Sorry for letting you take the blame, Shengsheng.”
Wenren Sheng sighed lightly and shook his head.
Deep down, he didn’t want to blame anyone.
The words he had said to Yi Jinxiang earlier, though exaggerated, were true to his heart—he really wanted He Mu to stay.
When he told He Mu that he had been happy in Cangzhou City for the past two years and didn’t want to leave, it was all a lie. He wasn’t happy at all.
The place suited his life, but without the clan leader or the mountain god, even though his master had always taken care of him, she kept him locked up and wouldn’t let him leave the city by half a step. The world seemed to shrink suddenly into this tiny corner of Cangzhou, with no adventurous future worth pursuing.
He had lived in a daze for two years, his Dao Heart unclear, no motivation to practice the sword or cultivate, and no idea about his future direction.
When He Mu told him his true identity, Wenren Sheng even felt a momentary impulse—he wanted He Mu to take him and run away.
He knew the world outside the city was full of undercurrents and endless peril, with countless eyes fixed on his life and his Heavenly Spiritual Root. But now, Wenren Sheng wanted to face those people head-on and win once with his own power.
The reason he had spoken to Yi Jinxiang like that today was mostly driven by this “rebellious” impulse.
He didn’t want to live so restricted anymore.
Wenren Sheng thought for a moment, then dispelled the Transformation Technique. He shifted back to his original form and pawed at He Mu’s leg, wagging his tail to signal him to pick him up.
How could He Mu miss this chance? He quickly tucked the little ball of gray fur into his arms.
“So shy?” He Mu laughed. “It’s fine. She’s so concerned about you, probably not entirely because of your romantic affairs.”
Wenren Sheng curled his tail around himself, balled up, and nestled in He Mu’s arms.
“Then what else?” he asked.
He Mu said, “Heavenly Court is coveting your Heavenly Spiritual Root. She wants to protect you and keep you out of the conflict between me and Heavenly Court, so she’s being so cautious.”
“But that’s my business, my choice,” Wenren Sheng said glumly. “Master can’t dictate my decisions.”
“I know, Shengsheng,” He Mu combed through Wenren Sheng’s fur. “I support all your decisions and will go with you anywhere.”
Wenren Sheng had grown to an age where he no longer needed guidance. He had his own ideas, and all He Mu needed to do was support and accompany him in every choice.
Hearing this, Wenren Sheng’s tail wagged, and he fell silent.
A moment later, he took the initiative to rub his head against He Mu’s palm and let out two little purrs.
“Thank you,” he said softly. “Sorry for saying harsh words to you today. I… I don’t hate Fragrant Ze Mountain. I’ve always missed it there, and…”
Wenren Sheng paused, rolled over, tucked in his paws, and voluntarily exposed his belly to He Mu. The tips of his ears flushed red.
“I’ve missed you too, Mountain God Brother.”
“…………”
He Mu drew in a silent breath.
This “Brother” hit him right in the heart. If there weren’t outsiders present, he really would have wanted to grab Wenren Sheng’s face and bite it fiercely.
So obedient, so cute, he wanted to kiss him so bad.
He couldn’t help but press his palm against Wenren Sheng’s fluffy belly and scratch a couple times. Wenren Sheng immediately burst into giggles, twisting and turning in He Mu’s arms like a little fish thrown ashore.
“Stop scratching! Ha… I’m gonna bite! You you you…”
“Call me Mountain God Brother again,” He Mu grabbed his little paws and teased. “Call me He Mu Brother, Murong Brother—say them all, and I’ll let you go?”
“No!”
“Will you or not?”
“No—stop scratching there! Alright, alright, I got it! He Mu…”
“You two treating me like air?”
Before that “Brother” could come out, Yi Jinxiang interrupted coldly from not far away.
Wenren Sheng flipped over at once, tucked his paws, and lay on He Mu’s lap with drooping ears and a guilty expression.
“Master…” Seeing that Yi Jinxiang’s complexion had improved a lot, he cautiously probed. “You’re not angry anymore?”
Yi Jinxiang fanned herself and let out a light hum. “Does your master seem that petty?”
Wenren Sheng’s ears perked up at once, and his body straightened a bit.
“Then, Master agrees—”
“Fine, stay if you want to stay,” Yi Jinxiang rubbed her forehead and waved her hand. “After all, Fragrant Ze Mountain kept me for five or six years. Consider this settling the debt.”
Wenren Sheng was overjoyed. He stepped his paws on He Mu excitedly and looked back at him.
“Master says the Mountain God can stay!”
He Mu showed no particular surprise. He narrowed his eyes and smiled at Wenren Sheng. “Thanks to your silver tongue. Your master has a merciful heart.”
Wenren Sheng jumped down, shook his ears, and shifted back to human form. He pounced joyfully and hugged He Mu’s neck.
“We don’t have to separate anymore,” he buried himself tightly in He Mu’s neck, his voice choked with emotion. “Like before, we don’t have to separate.”
He Mu hummed in agreement and hugged him tightly. He glanced up at Yi Jinxiang.
She truly showed no more anger. Besides helplessness on her face, one could even discern a hint of relief.
He Mu had known from the start that she wasn’t truly angry.
She was just dissatisfied that he had barged in, disrupting her plans and protection for Wenren Sheng, and even got cocky with her—that was why she lost her temper.
But in the end, they both wanted Wenren Sheng to be happy.
And this happiness was proven sufficiently by Wenren Sheng’s current smile.
He Mu gave her a look and mouthed: I’ll coax him. You go.
Yi Jinxiang rolled her eyes. “…How did he fall for you.”
He Mu finally spoke. “He’s dumb.”
What kind of reason was that?
Yi Jinxiang tsked quietly to herself, too lazy to ask more. She beckoned to Ye Lan. “Not worth talking to you. Let’s go. I’m tired. We’ll talk about the rest tomorrow.”
With that, a whoosh sounded, and the two turned into white mist, vanishing from the bathhouse.
As soon as Wenren Sheng heard He Mu call him dumb, he got upset at once and let go of the hug to glare at him sulkily.
“Why do you always call me dumb?” Wenren Sheng said discontentedly. “You say it every time, and now everyone will think so.”
“What do you want me to say then?” He Mu teased him. “That I’m good in bed, made you feel like you were floating on clouds, so that’s why you fell for me?”
“…………”
“Of course not! You rogue!”
