Seeing that Wenren Sheng was not only not happy but visibly disappointed, a doubt rose in He Mu’s mind.
Suddenly unhappy?
Why?
At that moment, he even felt a trace of the helplessness of a new father.
He had originally wanted to ask more about the matter of the spirit root, but this child wanted to cultivate immortality so badly. If he told him now that his spirit root was damaged and he was destined to have no affinity with the immortal path…
He would probably bury his face in someone’s arms and sob until he hiccupped, right?
He Mu furrowed his brows and shook his head.
No.
It was better to force the whereabouts of the spirit root directly from the Sword Sect, skipping the step that would hurt Wenren Sheng.
With that thought, He Mu slammed Color Kill onto the table and immediately wanted to stand up, heading straight back to kill his way into the Sword Sect.
But at that moment, the sullen Wenren Sheng suddenly spoke up:
“Are you wondering where my spirit root went?”
After saying that, Wenren Sheng reached up to touch the back of his neck, a shy expression on his face.
He didn’t even need He Mu to say it; he had vaguely guessed some of it.
After escaping from Chen Lian’s grasp three years ago, Wenren Sheng had felt that mobilizing the spiritual power in his body became very difficult. Even the simplest transformation technique often failed, and his wolf ears and tail wouldn’t stay hidden.
If his spirit root was damaged and he couldn’t become a towering hero, then no one would want to be his family.
Though he wasn’t very old, he had more or less realized something. For several days back then, he had shut himself in his den and cried secretly.
Thinking of the sad part, Wenren Sheng’s mouth turned down at the corners.
“It seems like Chen Lian took away the other half of my spirit root,” he continued, “but I can always feel that the spiritual power in my body hasn’t completely disappeared.”
He lowered his head and fiddled with his fingers. A thin blush spread across his cheeks, and his voice was muffled, as if he were talking to himself.
“So as long as I work hard, there’s still hope to become a hero.”
After saying that, Wenren Sheng kept his head down but carefully lifted his eyes to look at He Mu, his brows slightly furrowing.
Just like with the transformation technique—even after losing his spirit root, he had worked hard to relearn it properly. Now, he could go a whole day without exposing his true form.
So…
“The spirit root isn’t that important, right?”
With that thought, Wenren Sheng’s voice trembled unconsciously.
He looked at He Mu, the expectation in his eyes nearly turning into tears. A layer of moisture welled up at the edges of his blue-green pupils, swirling pitifully. A little more setback, and they would fall in clusters.
He Mu met his gaze and silently took a deep breath.
How was he supposed to answer that?
If they could recover the spirit root, it would be fine, but if the one Chen Lian took had already been refined into some other treasure, then even with his profound dao arts, he would be powerless.
But looking at those pitiable eyes, even if He Mu dug white marks into his fingertips or ground his teeth to bits, he couldn’t say the words “no hope.”
He was silent for a moment, then pressed down on the table and abruptly stood up.
Wenren Sheng was startled and instinctively shrank back a little.
“W-What’s wrong?”
He Mu stared fixedly at Wenren Sheng for a while, then finally tugged up the corner of his mouth in a smile and stepped forward to grab his hand.
“Don’t say discouraging things. As long as I’m here, there’s hope.”
It was the first time Wenren Sheng had seen such a serious expression on He Mu. The scorching warmth slowly transferred from He Mu’s hand to the back of his own, soothing the trembling uncertainty he had just felt.
Though He Mu didn’t seem very reliable usually, Wenren Sheng was willing to believe him.
“Mm,” he nodded solemnly and said, “I believe you, Mountain God.”
He Mu sensed that the aura of fear on Wenren Sheng had dissipated somewhat, and his own expression relaxed accordingly.
He ruffled Wenren Sheng’s hair and smiled. “Then, are you willing to give me a chance to help you get justice?”
Wenren Sheng asked, “Is it also to do good deeds and build merit for you?”
He Mu nodded and added, “Not just that. I’m pretty pissed at a certain someone right now.”
Wenren Sheng didn’t probe who that “certain someone” was. He thought seriously for a moment, then nodded.
“I’m willing.”
He wasn’t that petty. Even if the mountain refused his request for adoption later, he was still willing to help the Mountain God.
Besides, maybe this way, the Mountain God would be moved by his sincerity and agree to adopt him?
At that thought, all the dark clouds in Wenren Sheng’s mind about the spirit root and cultivation cleared up in an instant.
His face flushed red as he stared tightly at the tea in his cup, his thoughts leaping with excitement.
While he was lost in thought, He Mu called the waiter over for a few fresh tea pastries.
He hadn’t come to Xiang City much in recent years and wasn’t familiar with mortal realm food, so he could only pick a few pastries that looked like they might appeal to a child.
Fortunately, Wenren Sheng wasn’t picky. He ate through the entire table of dishes as if he’d never seen food before.
He Mu propped his cheek and watched Wenren Sheng thoughtfully as he ate.
When he was almost done, He Mu finally spoke. “Now, can you tell me about your past?”
“Mm… Okay!”
Wenren Sheng’s cheeks bulged as he answered with difficulty.
“Ask away!”
He Mu didn’t stand on ceremony. He leaned forward, getting closer to Wenren Sheng, his face full of curiosity. “What grudge did you have with those sword cultivators before? Why did they want to harm you like that?”
If he could learn the causes and effects, maybe he could find some clues to recovering the spirit root.
Wenren Sheng finally stopped grabbing at the pastries. He picked up his half-cooled tea and took a big gulp, barely swallowing the food.
“Whew…” Wenren Sheng exhaled. “You mean Chen Lian?”
He wiped his mouth clean with a cloth, then leaned forward like He Mu.
“Are you asking this to ‘do good deeds’ too?”
He Mu’s eyes darted around. “Not just that. Mainly because I’m curious.”
“Curious?” Wenren Sheng blinked and repeated.
He Mu said gravely, “I think you have the air of a great hero about you. I want to hear your legendary tale.”
Great hero?
Wenren Sheng’s mouth fell open.
Legendary tale?!
The innocent Wenren Sheng believed it immediately. Stars lit up in his eyes as he grabbed one of He Mu’s hands.
“Really? Have you heard of me? Am I famous?”
Wenren Sheng was a bit excited, his small hand kneading He Mu’s palm like two cat paws.
He Mu couldn’t help but tighten his grip, holding Wenren Sheng’s hand still.
“Not famous,” He Mu said, “but I’ve seen you many times. I just didn’t know your name.”
Seen him many times!
Wenren Sheng’s eyes shone even brighter.
Did that mean the Mountain God had been secretly watching him from behind, just like he had?
Wenren Sheng didn’t think carefully about the full-of-holes statement. He let out a long “oh” and nodded solemnly.
“Got it. I’ll tell you everything.”
He Mu had no idea what exactly he had gotten.
But for now, it looked like the kid was successfully coaxed.
He Mu hummed and said, “Then I’ll start asking. Just say what you want to say.”
Wenren Sheng obediently agreed.
He Mu then asked, “Why did Chen Lian capture you?”
“This…” A flicker of hesitation crossed Wenren Sheng’s face. “His master seemed to say that his aptitude wasn’t good enough for cultivation, so he needed someone else’s superior spiritual root to cleanse his own.”
He Mu asked, “Why did he pick you out of the blue? If it was to seize a spirit root to advance his realm, shouldn’t he start with people from the immortal sects?”
The guilt in Wenren Sheng’s eyes became even more obvious. He answered hurriedly, “Of c-course because my talent is really high!”
After saying that, he couldn’t help but sneak a glance at He Mu.
Crap, he lied on the first question and almost gave himself away.
Wenren Sheng had hidden one thing.
Chen Lian had targeted him mainly because he was a lone demon.
Demons’ spirit roots were innately better than mortals’, and refining them into pills was even more nourishing for the body than heavenly treasures.
When Chen Lian caught him back then, he had intended to kill him and refine him into a pill, with no plan to spare his life.
But Wenren Sheng couldn’t tell He Mu that. Things were already shaky with the adoption; if he found out he was a demon, he’d definitely despise him.
Wenren Sheng averted his gaze, his fingers twisting unnaturally at the hem of his clothes.
“Th-that’s it! He wanted my spirit root. He took half, and I ran away.”
He Mu gave Wenren Sheng a half-believing look.
“Nothing else?”
“Mm,” Wenren Sheng said. “That’s it.”
He Mu pressed, “Besides Chen Lian, who else knew about this and was involved?”
Wenren Sheng shook his head. “I don’t remember. There were other voices, but my body hurt so much I couldn’t see clearly.”
He wasn’t lying about that. When Chen Lian took his spirit root, Wenren Sheng had nearly cried his heart out.
If he hadn’t bitten through the chains binding him at the last moment, he’d probably be reincarnated by now, not sitting here eating pastries.
Hearing this, He Mu felt a bit reluctant to keep asking.
He picked up a half-eaten pastry from Wenren Sheng and popped it into his mouth, pondering how to continue the questioning.
But Wenren Sheng didn’t leave it to him. He continued on his own. “I used to come down the mountain to play a lot. The first time I met Chen Lian, he tricked me by saying he wanted to be good friends with me.”
A clumsy and shameless deception.
He Mu suppressed his displeasure and asked, “And you believed him?”
Wenren Sheng thought He Mu was looking down on him for being stupid and shrank his neck, his voice as soft as a mosquito’s.
“Mm… I thought he was a good person.”
After answering, he hurriedly added, “B-but later I wasn’t fooled anymore! After escaping from Chen Lian, I never came down the mountain again.”
Fragrant Ze Mountain was protected by the Mountain God’s power, so other cultivators couldn’t use spells there. Hiding in the mountains was relatively safe for Wenren Sheng.
He Mu silently sipped his tea, his fingertip slowly rubbing along Color Kill’s hilt.
Wenren Sheng calmed his agitated emotions and continued. “Although the mountain was safe, Chen Lian still came up every few days to harass me. Without spells, he’d grab at me with his bare hands and scare off the other demons… oh, no, the other people. They didn’t dare play with me anymore.”
After hearing this explanation, He Mu had a general idea.
He had planned to give the lower realm sects a beating, but now it seemed Return to One Sword Sect had plenty of shady dealings.
Chen Lian was only fifteen or sixteen. If Return to One Sword Sect was truly an upright sect, how could it produce such a vicious disciple?
It was probably rotten to the core.
He Mu tsked darkly and said, “Alright, I get it.”
Seeing that He Mu hadn’t noticed anything amiss, Wenren Sheng quietly let out a breath of relief and excitedly asked, “So when do we start ‘doing good deeds’?”
He Mu glanced at the view outside the window. The sky was nearing dusk, twilight gathering, and Return to One Sword Sect in the distance was gradually sinking into the night.
The cultivators at the sect gate were still frozen in the poses they had been in when they left.
“The binding spell is about to wear off,” He Mu said. “Let’s head to the Sword Sect now and look for your missing half spirit root.”
“Ah?” Wenren Sheng said in surprise. “C-can we still find it?”
He Mu smiled at him. “We have to try, right?”
If they couldn’t find it, he could always carve out Chen Lian’s spirit root and give it to Wenren Sheng. That wasn’t hard for He Mu.
Chen Lian had done something wicked; He Mu would be acting on heaven’s behalf, so he wouldn’t lose any merit. The Heavenly Court’s rules were just that unreasonable.
With the plan set, He Mu felt much more relaxed. He pushed back his chair and stood, casually brushing off his robes.
“No time like the present, great hero. Time to move out.”
Great hero!
Hearing those words, Wenren Sheng’s eyes widened involuntarily, and even his heartbeat seemed to quicken.
His cheeks flushed bright red as he sprang to his feet. “O-okay! Mountain God—”
He Mu waved him off, interrupting. “Don’t call me Mountain God out there. We need to stay mysterious.”
With that, he strode forward and lifted the curtain to leave the private room.
But after just one step, he felt a faint tug on his clothes.
Looking back, he saw Wenren Sheng clutching his hem.
He Mu raised a brow. “What is it?”
Wenren Sheng’s face was flushed pink. He didn’t dare look up directly at He Mu and instead fidgeted, shuffling his feet on the ground as if trying to hide it.
Moments later, he quietly took a deep breath before mustering the courage to speak.
“I’ve told you my most important secret.”
He spoke in a somewhat coquettish tone, softly,
“In exchange, could you… promise me one thing?”
