He Mu pinched a hand seal and slightly widened Color Kill to the point where it could accommodate one person.
Even though Color Kill flew very steadily, Wenren Sheng still kept his body tense. On one hand, he worried about falling off, and on the other, he feared accidentally pushing He Mu down. His situation was quite precarious.
Compared to him, He Mu was much more relaxed. He squeezed in front of Wenren Sheng and lowered his head, wanting to kiss him.
Seeing this, Wenren Sheng quickly turned his head away, and He Mu’s kiss landed on the side of his neck instead.
“People will see us,” Wenren Sheng said, a bit aggrieved. “I’ve already promised to keep you company once we’re back. Why do you have to do this now?”
He Mu kissed Wenren Sheng’s earlobe and teased, “You don’t trust me this much? Do you think anyone else’s sword can be faster than Color Kill?”
Only after hearing this did Wenren Sheng reluctantly turn his face back.
“Then what do you want to do?”
He Mu said very restrainedly, “I just want to kiss you a few times.”
“Just kissing?” Wenren Sheng looked at him half-believingly. “Nothing else?”
He Mu laughed. “If you want to do something, that’s fine too. But I’m afraid you’ll catch a chill. Didn’t you come down with a cold?”
“Acting all considerate,” Wenren Sheng pursed his lips. “It’s not like you don’t trick me every time, so of course I don’t believe you.”
Even as he said this, after staring at He Mu for a moment, Wenren Sheng still borrowed some strength to rise and sat in his embrace, hooking his legs around He Mu’s waist.
“You can kiss now, Brother.” He obediently tilted his head up.
As instructed, He Mu pecked Wenren Sheng’s lips once but didn’t go deeper. Instead, he reached out to rub the small of Wenren Sheng’s back and asked, “Shengsheng, after seeing those demons in Cangzhou City today, did you have any thoughts?”
“You mean the people in the teahouse?” Wenren Sheng played with the tassel on He Mu’s clothes and said, “Nothing special. I just think they’re being really irrational.”
At this point, Wenren Sheng couldn’t help sighing, fidgeting restlessly with the tassel. “Although Brother and Master both said the situation in Cangzhou City has been tense lately, and it’s understandable for them to act this way, I still find it strange… They’ve clearly lived together as the same kind for decades or even centuries. Why would they become so at daggers drawn just because of one Siming?”
He Mu nodded and replied, “That’s why I suspect this is the purpose behind Siming leaving those red lotuses.”
“Red lotus?” Wenren Sheng tilted his head. “What do you mean?”
He Mu explained, “Your master studied this kind of lotus flower before. It does contain a certain toxicity. If ingested in too much quantity, it will drive people mad. Duoxiren biting the teahouse owner was probably due to this reason.”
“If they’re exposed to this flower for too long, the other demons in Cangzhou City will gradually start going mad too. At this rate, before the five-year deadline even arrives, chaos will erupt inside the city, and it’ll collapse from within without any attack. That’s the situation Siming wants.”
Wenren Sheng furrowed his brow, trying hard to understand He Mu’s words.
Seeing his little face scrunched up in distress, He Mu couldn’t help laughing. “In short, what Siming wants isn’t simply slaughtering all the demons outright, but thoroughly dismantling the group from the inside.”
“She wants to prove to Wenqu Star that she’s the omnipotent leader of the Immortal Registry.”
Wenren Sheng asked, puzzled, “Then why does she care so much about my master’s opinion?”
He Mu thought for a moment and smiled. “Probably… just like that Chen Lian who bullied you when you were little. The longer the grudge festers, the more you can’t help but care?”
Wenren Sheng fell silent for a moment, then suddenly straightened his back and hugged He Mu.
“Let’s not be like that,” he said. “There shouldn’t be any hatred or grudges between me and Brother. Just liking each other.”
Seeing how serious he was, He Mu restrained his smile a bit and stroked Wenren Sheng’s back.
“Of course there won’t be between us. If you want, I can even give you my life.”
“What nonsense!” Wenren Sheng released the hug and punched his shoulder with a fist. “You have to put your Dao heart first. Otherwise, how will you ascend? I still want to go to the Heavenly Court with you.”
“And Brother’s being too extreme. I would never want your life. You have to stay alive properly—urgh, why are you kissing me again!”
Hearing him mutter such tsundere sweet nothings, He Mu couldn’t hold back and pressed down to kiss Wenren Sheng.
Such an obedient and compliant little demon had him almost reluctant to bully him.
He pecked the corner of Wenren Sheng’s eye and his beauty mark, then covered his lips again, gently prying open his teeth to plunder Wenren Sheng’s breath.
Color Kill flew up to the height of the clouds, and the two hid within the pure white mist.
People on the ground couldn’t see them, nor could they see anything around them clearly. There were only drifting wisps of thin clouds everywhere.
Perfect for doing something.
He Mu widened Color Kill a bit more and split off half his spiritual power to it, instructing it to fly steadily and not disturb his good deed.
After that, he pushed Wenren Sheng down and leaned over to kiss his collarbone. His hand slipped through the complicated layers of clothing and directly touched Wenren Sheng’s skin.
There was still a plaster on his waist from last night. The old injury hadn’t healed, and now he’d caught a cold too. It seemed he couldn’t go too far today.
After being rubbed a couple times, Wenren Sheng let out a few low moans and looked at He Mu with some panic.
“Not here, Brother. Color Kill is still watching…”
“What can it see?” He Mu ignored him and pried open Wenren Sheng’s clenched knees. “Relax a little. Don’t be so tense.”
How could he not be tense?
He Mu was about to eat him up!
Wenren Sheng didn’t want to be eaten. He tried hard to pull down the hem of his clothes while pushing desperately at He Mu’s head with one hand, not wanting him to get closer.
Unfortunately, his resistance had never worked. He Mu just moved his fingers slightly, and a strand of spiritual power shot out from his fingertip, binding Wenren Sheng’s wrists.
“Don’t be scared, Shengsheng,” He Mu said. “There’s no one for a hundred li around here. You can cry out if you want later.”
Wenren Sheng said incredulously, “Cry out what?”
He Mu didn’t answer. He directly gripped Wenren Sheng’s calf and pressed it forward before lowering his head without another word and taking him in.
!
In an instant, Wenren Sheng instinctively clamped his knees together, his waist arching up slightly.
“Urgh…” He gasped uncomfortably and anxiously said, “W-Wait, Brother, don’t, mmph…”
He didn’t even finish half the sentence before he couldn’t help tensing his feet, his hand clenching He Mu’s hair tight.
…
A few moments later.
Wenren Sheng panted urgently a couple times. His hair was disheveled, half fallen loose, with a few gray hairs poking out from the top of his head. His cheeks were flushed red.
His expression was a bit dazed as he stared blankly at He Mu, who was between his legs.
The man slowly straightened up, his Adam’s apple bobbing obviously. He even wiped the corner of his lips.
He’d been eaten clean.
Realizing this, Wenren Sheng’s ears turned red enough to drip blood. He broke free of the spiritual power binding his wrists and hastily tried to pull up his pants.
Seeing him flailing around, He Mu stepped forward to help, but Wenren Sheng angrily shook him off.
“Thanks, Brother,” he said, eyes wet and red, glaring at He Mu with shame and anger. “But… don’t do this next time!”
At least not in this situation!
It was way too humiliating. How could they do something like this during sword flight?
Now he wasn’t afraid of heights anymore, but with this embarrassing memory, Wenren Sheng even less wanted to fly on a sword in the future!
Day turned to night in a cycle, and a day’s time passed quickly.
Wenren Sheng and the others arrived one after another at the city gates before Central Province. Duoxiren had been unconscious for a day and a night, with no sign of his body turning human, so Ye Lan had no choice but to keep carrying the load.
Central Province was located in the south of Fragrant Ze Mountain, bordering many provinces and prefectures. It was a prosperous land.
The moment Wenren Sheng set foot on Central Province soil, he felt the aura of wealth hitting him in the face.
They arrived as the morning bells first rang. The stone-carved auspicious beasts at the city gate opened their jade-green eyes as if just awakening.
These auspicious beasts were likely incarnations of certain demons. Sensing Wenren Sheng and the group’s arrival, they both spewed white mist from between their teeth, and the city gates rumbled open.
Wenren Sheng tiptoed to peer inside, unable to stop his eyes from widening.
The shops of Central Province lined the riverbank one after another. A grand bridge spanning the street could fit three carriages abreast. On the left bank were flower-filled pleasure quarters alive with warbling birds and voices. On the right were misty markets and vendors, with banners fluttering in the wind. This scene was incomparable to Fragrant Ze Mountain or Cangzhou City.
Wenren Sheng had never seen Central Province this close up before. He instantly felt like a country bumpkin coming to the city.
“Brother,” Wenren Sheng couldn’t help tugging He Mu’s sleeve and whispered, “Have you been here before?”
If even He Mu hadn’t, then he wasn’t a bumpkin alone—they’d be a pair of bumpkins.
But He Mu answered honestly, “Mm, about a hundred-plus years ago. I stayed here for a while back then. Central Province wasn’t as prosperous as this; it was still a backward little village town.”
As for the current Central Province, he was unfazed. The Heavenly Court was even more extravagant than the mortal world. Most immortals loved building beautiful palaces, and they built rows of them. When He Mu had first ascended, he often got lost in the Heavenly Court.
Wenren Sheng let out a disappointed “ah.” “Okay, I haven’t been here. I’ve only seen it from afar.”
He puffed his cheeks, a bit unhappy, and said sarcastically, “Then I’m the bumpkin, and Brother isn’t.”
He Mu hadn’t expected Wenren Sheng to throw a tantrum over this and laughed. “With your face puffed up like that, you look like a little bun.”
Wenren Sheng huffed shortly.
The Mountain God didn’t understand his feelings at all.
Ye Lan, who was carrying the load nearby, came up at the right moment. He’d already tied Duoxiren up tight and stuffed him into a huge sack, hoisting it over his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, Young Master,” Ye Lan comforted him earnestly. “I haven’t been to Central Province either. I’m just as much a bumpkin as you!”
Wenren Sheng looked at Ye Lan with some concern. “Night Dharma Protector… If you really can’t carry h—uh, him, how about putting him on the ground and dragging him?”
“No need,” Ye Lan shook his head and said. “Don’t worry, Young Master. With me by your side, others will just think I’m the bumpkin one. They won’t say anything about you.”
He wasn’t wrong. With such a huge load on his back, Ye Lan looked just like someone coming to the city to sell vegetables at a stall.
Even though Ye Lan insisted, Wenren Sheng couldn’t bear to let him suffer too much. He looked around and soon found a cart. He directed Ye Lan to throw Duoxiren onto it.
Ye Lan did as told, grabbing the sack by the mouth and flinging it onto the cart with a clang.
After that, he took hold of the cart handles himself and happily turned back to look at Wenren Sheng.
“As expected of the Young Master. This is much more elegant now!”
Wenren Sheng held his forehead and sighed lightly.
No… this made him look even more like someone selling vegetables in the city.
If he’d known, he would’ve wrapped a headscarf this morning and had the Mountain God braid a big plait for him. Then he could tell people he was the little wife who married into the city with the Mountain God… Pfft, what the hell!
Wenren Sheng inexplicably blushed at his own random thought. He quickly covered his cheeks and shyly hid behind He Mu.
