Chapter 56: No Getting Frisky

When the two finished packing up their things and emerged from the bathhouse, the sky was just approaching dusk.

Normally at this time, Wenren Sheng would be in the study copying scriptures, but today He Mu was there, and no matter what, he was a guest. He should keep him company properly.

After thinking it over, Wenren Sheng decided to take him along to copy scriptures.

“Click.”

At the Xu Hour, he led He Mu and pushed open the door to the study.

The study in Splendid Palace was not much different from the Scripture Pavilion on Fragrant Ze Mountain. It just had a few more golden beast furnaces burning precious dragon brain incense. When Wenren Sheng had first moved into Cangzhou City, Yi Jinxiang had deliberately rearranged the layout here.

Wenren Sheng lit the lamps in the study and said, “Master wants me to copy five passages for her every day. Brother, why don’t you copy with me today?”

He Mu casually picked up a scripture, flipped through it, and said, “You called me here just to copy scriptures?”

Wenren Sheng asked in return, “Then what do you want to copy?”

He Mu didn’t answer. He shoved the boring scripture back onto the shelf and lit the remaining lamps as well.

The study brightened up considerably. The room was not small. Apart from the desk for copying scriptures, there were rows of sandalwood bookshelves stretching from the floor to the ceiling. Each one was stuffed full of scrolls and books, enough to give anyone a headache.

He Mu scanned the room and asked, “What books are kept here?”

Wenren Sheng sat at the desk, seriously grinding ink. His back was straight, a habit formed after plenty of scoldings from Wenqu Star.

“Most of them are books written by Master,” Wenren Sheng said. “There are also some rare secret volumes that Master collected during her travels.”

He Mu raised a brow. “You’ve read them all?”

Wenren Sheng shook his head and said, “Master’s books are too hard to understand. I prefer the leisure books she brought back. They tell all sorts of secrets from the Four Seas Eight Wastelands. They’re really fun.”

He Mu nodded thoughtfully, leaning against a bookshelf as he gazed toward Wenren Sheng.

The candle flames flickered gently, casting a hazy glow on Wenren Sheng’s face. Those four longevity braids had grown quite a bit, draping nicely over his shoulders.

Wenren Sheng sat obediently at the desk, copying scriptures, and didn’t press He Mu to join him anymore.

But every now and then, he would zone out, sneak a glance up at He Mu, and when he found He Mu staring right at him, he would hurriedly lower his head, his ears turning a shy red.

“Why are you so nervous?” Wenren Sheng secretly scolded himself. “Nothing’s going to happen…”

He Mu took in all his reactions and couldn’t help but smile.

This solemn place surrounded by books did have a magic that calmed the mind for reading and copying scriptures, but unfortunately, it had been two hundred years since He Mu had properly studied. To him, this place was no different from an open field.

To him, the only fun thing here was Wenren Sheng.

He didn’t look away and kept staring at Wenren Sheng’s face.

Wenren Sheng was already sensitive to gazes, let alone being stared at so directly. The characters under his brush started coming out crooked and uneven.

A moment later, he finally couldn’t take it anymore. He set down his brush, stood up, and marched over to He Mu aggressively.

“Bro,” he demanded, “what exactly do you want to say?”

He Mu looked down at him with a beaming smile. “I want to chat with you.”

Wenren Sheng puffed out his cheeks and glanced back at the scriptures on the desk.

He had only copied halfway through, and there was plenty of time left tonight. He could spare a moment to keep He Mu company.

He said reluctantly, “Fine. So what does Brother want to talk about?”

He Mu said, “Let’s talk about what you and I have been up to these past two years, how about that?”

This was something Wenren Sheng had wanted to ask about too.

They had been apart for two years. Though they didn’t seem any more distant now, there were still many things from back then that hadn’t been fully discussed. They really needed to talk it out.

Wenren Sheng thought for a moment and said, “Alright then… Let’s not get mad at each other. We can talk it out properly, okay, Brother?”

“Sure,” He Mu said. He straightened up and took a step closer to Wenren Sheng. “Shengsheng, you first. How did you leave Fragrant Ze Mountain?”

Wenren Sheng said solemnly, “I left Fragrant Ze Mountain after careful consideration. I used Color Kill to defeat that fox demon and buried the clan leader’s body on the mountain.”

“Mm, and then?”

“Then Master took me… uh… why are you getting so close?”

In just the time it took to say a few words, He Mu was almost pressed up against him.

He Mu shook his head innocently. “No, my hearing isn’t great. I can’t hear what you’re saying.”

Wenren Sheng didn’t buy it. He muttered “Liar” and raised his voice to continue, “Master brought me back to Cangzhou City, and I’ve been living here since.”

“The Rabbit Clan kin left behind by the clan leader were also taken in by Master, so these past two years—”

“Mm?”

“These past two years… we…”

Wenren Sheng was starting to feel short of breath. His back was against the bookshelf with nowhere to retreat, so he could only raise a hand to press against He Mu’s chest.

“Don’t squeeze any closer,” Wenren Sheng looked up at him, face flushed red. “What exactly are you trying to do?”

He Mu lowered his gaze and said honestly, “I want to kiss you.”

“Bro,” Wenren Sheng looked at him with some difficulty, “we’re not together. We really can’t keep doing this…”

“You say we’re not together, but you hug me and rub against me, and say you want to marry me. Are you just stringing me along for fun?” He Mu pinched his cheek and teased. “Wenren Sheng, how did you get so naughty?”

Wenren Sheng retorted, “I said that about marriage to make you stay. It didn’t mean anything like that!”

“Then why do you want me to stay?”

Wenren Sheng stammered, “Of course it’s to… cultivate together!”

“Oh, cultivate, huh.” He Mu chuckled. “Don’t you think this counts as a kind of cultivation too?”

Wenren Sheng said resentfully, “What kind of cultivation? You’re just lustful and want to take advantage of me.”

He Mu’s hand quietly wrapped around Wenren Sheng’s lower back, and he whispered, “Yeah, I’m lustful, so I want to resolve this lust. Will you help me?”

Wenren Sheng was hugged so tight that he rose up on his tiptoes, his tail flicking up straight.

“This…”

Wenren Sheng was already in a tight spot, and with this embrace, his head went dizzy, and he agreed.

“Just… just a quick kiss. I still need to finish copying the scriptures and go back to my room… mmph…”

Before he finished speaking, He Mu’s lips pressed down.

The second half of Wenren Sheng’s words turned into muffled whimpers from the kiss. He nervously closed his eyes, praying no one would barge into the study right now.

He was done for. He had really turned bad, daring to kiss the Mountain God in Master’s study.

If Master found out, she would definitely get so mad she’d revert to her original form!

Wenren Sheng felt guilty even as he clutched He Mu’s collar, carefully responding to the kiss.

Every time He Mu kissed him, it gave him the illusion of gentleness and restraint, starting with just light nibbles on his lips, not even venturing between his teeth.

But as soon as Wenren Sheng responded even a little, He Mu would gradually take liberties, biting and not letting go, the kiss growing deeper until he didn’t even give Wenren Sheng a chance to breathe.

The air was filled with shameful kissing sounds. Wenren Sheng was kissed until he was dizzy and breathless. He couldn’t help but push at He Mu, but the man didn’t stop. Instead, his hand slipped under Wenren Sheng’s clothes from the hem, touching his waist.

After a brief pause of a few seconds, it slid up a bit further.

Wenren Sheng noticed and pushed to separate them, a thin strand of silver trailing between their lips.

He was breathing raggedly, cheeks flushed, looking at He Mu with a hint of reproach.

“What are you doing?” he said. “I don’t have that…”

“It’s not like you don’t have it.”

He Mu curved his brows and kneaded him twice.

Wenren Sheng arched his neck involuntarily from the pressure, breathing in short gasps, his eyes going a little unfocused.

He Mu’s body temperature was a bit high at the moment, but Wenren Sheng felt something cool on his knuckles—a piece of jewelry pressing against his skin, sending a jolt through him.

It felt like jade, smooth and icy. When it ground against him, it even hurt a little, but mostly it was a dense tingling that didn’t make him cry out, though Wenren Sheng still let out soft hums he couldn’t hold back.

…It was the thumb ring he had given him.

To use the gift he gave him for something like this!

He Mu kneaded for a while longer before kissing him again. Wenren Sheng squeezed his eyes shut tight, enduring He Mu’s overly forceful kiss while trying to push his hand away through his clothes.

“Weren’t you… going to… chat?”

He Mu pressed to Wenren Sheng’s ear and whispered, “We can chat now, Shengsheng.”

This jerk always used stuff like this as a bargaining chip.

Wenren Sheng was annoyed in his heart, but his body betrayed him, instinctively responding to He Mu’s actions. He arched his waist, exposing his slender white neck right in front of He Mu, which was soon kissed again.

“When I returned to Fragrant Ze Mountain, you were already gone,” He Mu said, kissing him while starting the so-called “chat.” “You left my sword behind. Did it… not help you?”

Wenren Sheng’s clothes were rumpled, the buttons at his collar undone, the hem slightly lifted to reveal his lean waist.

He Mu held his lower back and lifted him up, forcing Wenren Sheng onto his tiptoes, heels off the ground.

“You already know,” Wenren Sheng answered with difficulty. “You even helped me cut off Qianxiang’s escape. Thanks… Brother.”

“No need to thank me.” He Mu lifted him a bit higher, making him step on the tops of his shoes. “After leaving Fragrant Ze Mountain, I suffered Qi Deviation and went to the Heavenly Court.”

Wenren Sheng’s hands gripped He Mu’s shoulders, barely steadying himself.

But now he had no hands free to push He Mu away and could only let him grope inside his clothes.

When it got too stimulating, he bit He Mu’s shoulder and whimpered softly.

He Mu thought the sound was just like a little dog being bullied. His hand slid to Wenren Sheng’s back, fingertips tracing the groove of his spine all the way to the base of his tail.

Wenren Sheng’s tail wagged and rubbed against the back of He Mu’s hand like it was begging for mercy.

He Mu hooked his tail with his fingers and kneaded it ambiguously a couple times, unable to hold back a laugh. “You really are…”

“What am I?!” Wenren Sheng guessed what he meant and interrupted in shy anger. “You’re not a demon, of course you don’t get it. It’s all instinct!”

“I didn’t say anything,” He Mu continued. “I went to the Heavenly Court to remove my name, so I wouldn’t cultivate the Emotionless Dao anymore. That’s why I can stand here now, expressing my feelings to you like this.”

“Your real name?” Wenren Sheng asked. “He Mu?”

He Mu glanced at him and said, “The name I carved on the Emotionless Stele was my real name before ascension: Murong He.”

“Ah!” Wenren Sheng loosened his embrace a little and met He Mu’s gaze. “Your real name really is Murong He?”

He Mu raised a brow. “What’s wrong? Don’t like it?”

Wenren Sheng puffed his cheeks. “I thought you made up that name on purpose, tricked me into falling for your new identity, then revealed the truth to scare me.”

He Mu was somewhat amused. “Why would I do that?”

Wenren Sheng said matter-of-factly, “That’s what I saw in that Underworld dream. You deliberately said I made a mistake and betrayed you, then…”

At that point, Wenren Sheng trailed off embarrassedly, cheeks turning red.

He Mu was a bit surprised. He thought for a moment and realized. “Oh—so that dream of yours was me catching you in the act of adultery?”

Wenren Sheng said anxiously, “What do you mean ‘catching in the act’? That’s so crude!”

“What did ‘I’ do to you?” He Mu asked with a smile. “Did I punish you properly?”

“…No!”

“Then how about I make up for it now?”

Wenren Sheng was about to explode with anger. He bit down hard on He Mu’s shoulder. “Make up for what? In your dreams!”

He Mu let out a regretful “oh” and couldn’t help glancing down.

Wenren Sheng was standing on the tops of his boots, barely on his tiptoes to nibble his shoulder.

If he flipped him over like last time to play with his fluffy tail, Wenren Sheng probably wouldn’t even touch the ground with his toes and would have to be held by the waist.

In that completely helpless position, he would definitely cry.

He really wanted to see that.

Thinking of this, He Mu couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty. He lowered his head and buried it into Wenren Sheng’s neck nest, whispering softly, “Demons’ heat periods really won’t be contagious, right?”

Wenren Sheng blinked. “What do you mean?”

He Mu leaned close to his ear and embellished the thoughts he’d just had before recounting them to Wenren Sheng.

The more Wenren Sheng listened, the redder his face got. The more he listened, the more indecent it seemed. In the end, he simply slipped out from under He Mu’s arm, grabbed a scripture, and flung it at He Mu in outrage.

“Murong He!!”

He looked like he was about to explode.

He Mu caught the scripture and hurried over to soothe him. “Okay, okay, Shengsheng. A thousand mistakes, ten thousand wrongs—it’s all my fault. Don’t be mad at me.”

“I thought you were bored and really wanted to talk to you!” Wenren Sheng fumed. “I only agreed to the kiss because you really wanted it, but you… you were actually thinking about stuff like that?!”

“My tail isn’t for that! You can’t keep doing this!”

He Mu pulled him into his arms and stroked along his fur, coaxing him softly. “Sorry, I was just talking nonsense. Without your permission, how could I ever do something like that?”

“Not even think about it!!”

“I won’t think about it. I absolutely won’t in the future,” He Mu kissed his hair and promised. “Wenren Sheng’s tail has to stay pretty and perfect. It can’t be rubbed bald.”

Seeing his sincere attitude, Wenren Sheng finally stopped huffing and puffing. He muttered a few “I hate you”s under his breath while his tail flicked back and forth in anger.