You don't just crave her body, you're clearly head over heels for her!
The two major sects of Nine Hehua Sect and Lingxiao City, the two great fiendish cultivators "Ghost Face" and "Demon Lord Ninglu", plus a shadowy child assassin whose identity remains a complete mystery.
Right here in the lands of Wei City, even before the grand drama has officially begun to unfold, such a tangled web of forces has already gathered, and the air is thick with the signs of impending upheaval.
At any rate, it is a confirmed fact that "Ghost Face" He Xiuwen has his eyes on the rare treasures at the Flower Festival Immortal Market, while Lingxiao City is plotting to seize the chance to annex Wei City.
As for why Demon Lord Ninglu has appeared here, and whether they have allied with one of the other parties, that is anyone's guess.
But setting all these complicated schemes aside, the top priority right now is to find the whereabouts of the missing children.
Judging by the burial-alive method used to kill the victims, the latest abduction of a young child happened less than half a day ago. If we can find clues in time, there is a good chance we might still save that child's life.
Only...
"This doesn't make sense. The Flower Children Temple in Wei City doesn't show any signs of abnormality at all. Could it be that Ling Fengqing kept coming in and out just for good luck?"
From the dazzling Confession Tree in front of the main hall to the entire gorgeous, exquisitely built temple, Shu Fu and Si Fei split up and searched every inch of the Flower Children Temple. Even Jiang Xuesheng and Wu Yao, who had taken the forms of a green snake and a white snake respectively, slithered into every nook and cranny to check. By the end, both of them had turned so dirty they looked like black snakes, but they had not found a single trace of anything suspicious.
Wei Tianjiao, whose cultivation level is profound, had also swept the entire place with her spiritual sense. The Flower Children Temple was indeed completely clean.
There was nothing out of the ordinary, no spiritual remnants, no hidden objects.
Or at least... at this very moment, there was nothing in the temple.
If one had to point out a strange thing, it was that the moment Shu Fu stepped into the main hall and came face to face with the exquisitely carved Flower Children statue, locking eyes with it, she suddenly felt an inexplicable chill run through her.
It was as if a pair of eyes hidden in the dark was staring at her unblinkingly.
"...Huh?"
But when she looked closely again, all she saw was the statue on the dais, holding a flower in a gentle smile, so vividly carved that it looked just like a handsome, clear-eyed young boy. There was nothing eerie about it at all.
The cold shiver that had just swept down her spine had vanished completely. It all seemed like nothing more than her own overactive imagination playing tricks on her.
"Little girl, what are you still standing around for?"
The group had finished searching the entire temple, and Wu Yao, who had an impatient personality, was frustrated that they had found nothing. He urged them to leave in a rush, "Since there's nothing wrong with this place, there's no point lingering. Let's head over to the site where the child went missing."
Jiang Xuesheng also chimed in, "Even though the cultivators of Wei City have already checked the area once, there might still be some clues they missed. Fu'er, what do you think?"
Shu Fu shook her head, still standing rooted to the spot. "Sir, Wu Yao, I want to stay here for one more night."
"One night?"
Jiang Xuesheng caught the implication behind her words, and repeated the phrase thoughtfully, "You mean you want to keep watch overnight in the Flower Children Temple?"
"Exactly." Shu Fu nodded, then looked up at the towering golden statue of the Flower Children, taking in every detail of the fine carvings and painted patterns. "There are so many pilgrims during the day. If there's anything strange going on here, it will only happen at night. If there really is nothing unusual after the watch, then we can go check other places."
"I don't know why, but I have this strange premonition... tonight, something is definitely going to change in the Flower Children Temple."
...
Now that they had decided to take turns keeping watch through the night, it was only natural to prepare for setting up makeshift resting spots right where they were.
Shu Fu had spent the past two years trekking through wind and rain, having gone through no end of days where the sky served as her quilt and the earth as her bed, so she could not care less about trivial formalities. After letting the Wei City cultivators know their plan, she pulled out a blanket to spread in the corner, set down a soft cushion, and that was a proper little bed for herself.
Wu Yao, who never liked to lose out on any comfort, immediately slid down from Si Fei's shoulder, coiled himself up comfortably on that blanket, shook his head from side to side and commented, "The texture's pretty nice. What material is this? Could it be... fur plucked from that rascal Liu Xiao?"
As he spoke those last words, his mung bean-sized eyes sparkled brightly.
Shu Fu said, "No, these are feathers that Big Yellow shed from its wings."
Wu Yao huffed, "Tch."
Not a single feather plucked for this? You people are such a disappointment to a snake.
Shu Fu paid no mind to his disappointment, and waved to call Si Fei over, "Senior brother, it's the late spring cold spell right now, the night wind is chilly, we'd better be careful. Come sit over here with us, these swan feathers are nice and warm."
"..."
Si Fei turned his head and stared at her for a long while, before slowly squeezing out a sentence, "I can't. Master said I'm a man, and you're a woman, we can't sleep together at night. If we do, I'll wake up the next morning with a child."
"I don't know why that's the case, but what Master says must be right."
"By the way, junior sister, do you know why I would have a child?"
Shu Fu: "..."
She turned to Jiang Xuesheng with a cold look on her face, only for the latter to shift his gaze away unhurriedly, acting like nothing was amiss.
"Mister."
Shu Fu reached out with two fingers, smiling sweetly as she pinched that snow-white snake head to force him to meet her eyes, "Third senior brother is such an innocent, pure-hearted good Fish Boy. Could you stop feeding him all kinds of weird nonsense? Doesn't your conscience hurt at all?"
Jiang Xuesheng did not redden in the face or skip a beat, and replied with unflappable composure, "How can this be 'weird nonsense'? Si Fei knows nothing of the ways of the world, I was afraid he might accidentally offend a lady, so I taught him this rule to be mindful. What's wrong with that? Besides, it's only the natural way of things that one can conceive after sharing a bed, this isn't lying to him at all."
Wait a minute, then why on earth is he the one who gives birth?!
You had me give birth in that illusion realm before, and now you're saying third senior brother will have a baby too?! Am I never going to get past this whole men having children thing?!
...Come to think of it, is that even physically possible?
"Could it be... that all of you non-human beings actually have cases of males giving birth?" A thought struck Shu Fu, and she asked carefully, weighing every word, "Now that I think about it, this question is so bizarre that I don't think I've ever bothered to ask before."
Jiang Xuesheng said, "Of course it exists. The Qiong Branch jade hares can reproduce regardless of gender, and many other demon clans have both male and female individuals that can bear offspring. As for divine beasts, some can even create life directly by infusing spiritual energy."
Shu Fu: ".................."
Strange new knowledge unlocked.jpg
Si Fei was a stubborn, thick-headed fellow who had already had his mind stuffed full of all that weird knowledge Jiang Xuesheng had told him, so Shu Fu stopped trying to convince him otherwise. She lay down on her own blanket, and handed another blanket made of rabbit fur over to Si Fei.
"Thank you, junior sister."
Si Fei bent his legs and sat sideways on that soft, snow-white blanket. His wavy, ink-black hair cascaded down, wrapping around half of his slender human form, and the pearls and jade ornaments tucked in his hair glowed with a gentle luster, making him look more and more like a mermaid princess.
Wu Yao had originally planned to camp out on the Hongfu blanket for the night, giddily daydreaming about plucking every last feather off that faithless goose Liu Ruyi. But after Jiang Xuesheng interrupted him, the whole snake suddenly felt a little out of sorts. "Fine, this Lord will go with that Fish Boy too, I won't take advantage of a little girl..." He said, slithering awkwardly off to the other side.
Yet he had barely gone a short distance when he noticed Jiang Xuesheng hadn't moved an inch, still coiled calmly and serenely by Shu Fu's leg. He could not help but burst out angrily, "Jiang Tan, have you no shame at all!"
"What have I done to be shameless?"
Jiang Xuesheng lifted his head lazily, his tone sounding almost genuinely surprised. "Wu Yao, don't talk nonsense without proof. My disciple is right here listening, you know."
Wu Yao's rage flared even higher. "Your disciple isn't just listening, she's fast asleep right next to you! You had the nerve to tell the Fish Boy to keep his distance for propriety, but then you shamelessly refuse to move yourself? Have you rooted yourself into the ground or something???"
Shu Fu: Oh wow, he's actually worrying about me.
She had always been free of unnecessary scruples, and slept in her clothes every night. Let alone having just a white snake beside her, even if there were a dozen burly men around, she wouldn't have cared in the slightest.
If anyone tried to make untoward moves, she was fully confident she could roll over, draw her sword, and send that rascal's head and arterial blood shooting straight for the sky before they even finished reaching out.
This was a rare chance. Shu Fu reached out and pinched the white snake at its "waist" — even though she couldn't really tell where a snake's waist was — then turned her face to smile at Wu Yao. "Don't trouble yourself over it, Wu Yao. Look at Master, he's so slender and soft. Even if he had the mind to... ahem, not only does he not have that kind of intention, he doesn't have the ability for it either."
"You stupid girl, you don't know a damn thing! And you're still teasing him!"
Wu Yao was so furious he nearly hopped with rage, then remembered he had no feet to hop with, so he could only slap his tail hard against the ground again and again. "If it were this Lord here, you really wouldn't have to worry! This Lord was wounded in my primordial spirit from the battle with Lingxiao City, so I can't maintain my partial transformation if I'm too far away. But Jiang Tan is different. If you don't believe me, go pinch him right at his seven-inch spot..."
Boom.
Shu Fu had barely heard those words and hadn't even decided whether she would try it or not, when everything blurred before her eyes. A wisp of faint, misty water seemed to drift out from the white snake's body.
The mist was almost tangible, carrying a familiar cool and gentle freshness. It first spread out, then gathered together, slowly condensing into a tall, elegant human form right in front of her.
Shu Fu: "......???"
Wait, that's actually a thing that can happen???
"Alas... I was meaning to save it as a nice surprise for her, but now that the cat's out of the bag, I suppose I have to show my true form a little earlier."
The figure was none other than Jiang Xuesheng himself, exactly life-sized, as handsome and ethereal as he always was. Even the length of his sideburns and the curve of his eyelashes were perfectly identical to the real thing.
He was wearing a dark brocade robe with silver trim that day, his hair pinned up with a silver hairpin. The hem of his robe was embroidered with snow-white epiphyllum patterns as usual, matching his looks perfectly, making him appear as fair as jade, refined and immaculate.
Just one glance from a distance at him felt like gazing at a cool night under a bright moon and gentle breeze.
The white snake that had been coiled beside Shu Fu had now turned into a human, lying in a reclining position that ended up right next to her. In this way, that godlike man was stretched out right before Shu Fu's eyes, face to face with her, propping his head up on one arm, raising his eyebrows and looking at her with a teasing half-smile.
"............"
Shu Fu could not help but recall the scene in the illusion three years ago, and silently felt relieved: Thank goodness, this time Jiang Xuesheng is wearing clothes.
If that illusion played out a second time, she really wasn't sure she'd be able to hold back.
For the record, even though there was still a bit of space between the two of them, from Wu Yao's vantage point, it looked almost as if their heads were touching and their faces were pressed together — truly the most unsightly sight under the heavens.
"Jiang Tan!"
That old flood dragon, the Lich King, had always carried a strong sense of responsibility as a senior of the cultivation world, terrified that the inexperienced young Shu Fu would be taken advantage of. "Get up right this instant! You're acting like a beast... no, wait, we are already demons, but even we must not behave like mindless brutes! She's your apprentice, and she's still a mere, wet-behind-the-ears kid!!"
Shu Fu: "..."
Thanks, I'm so touched. I even feel like shipping you off to the 21st century to get hit with anti-child grooming crackdowns.
She suddenly thought that with her soul belonging to a long-time seasoned "old cabbage", she was really letting the Lich King down with all his earnest, heartfelt concern for her.
Jiang Xuesheng propped his elbow on the blanket, lazily resting his cheek against his hand, and slowly lifted his upper body up. "She's already eighteen years old. In the mortal realm, it's perfectly common for people her age to get married. Don't go falsely accusing me. As for the master-apprentice bond..."
"Teacher, look out!"
Before Jiang Xuesheng could finish his sentence, Shu Fu lashed out a palm straight toward his waist, while her other hand curled into a fist and arced sharply toward his temple.
Jiang Xuesheng seemed to have seen this coming. He twisted his waist and tilted his neck, easily dodging both of Shu Fu's attacks. At the same time, he lifted a hand and gently caught her fist, which was powerful enough to crack gold and shatter stone.
He smiled softly. "Not bad. Your reaction time has improved this time."
Shu Fu frowned. "But I still didn't land a hit on you. I'm still far too weak compared to a real, top-tier great power."
"You've only been in cultivation for three years, and you're already trying to shoot straight to the heavens?" Jiang Xuesheng chuckled as he released his grip. Seeing that Shu Fu was still clenching her fist so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, he slowly and deliberately pried each of her fingers apart one by one, pressing gently on her pale knuckles. "As the saying goes, a rope can saw through wood, and water can pierce stone. But you have to know that too much of anything is bad. If you snap the rope from over-tension, or drain the water dry, there won't be any future left for you. You built your foundation in just three months, and formed your golden core in three years — you're a genius the likes of which the world rarely sees. Just relax a little."
"............"
Si Fei was used to the two of them suddenly starting to spar, but Wu Yao was staring at them, completely bewildered. "Wait a second, what are you two doing? Is this what master and apprentice do for fun these days??"
"Not at all."
Jiang Xuesheng, who had gotten his fill of teasing, finally turned to Wu Yao slowly and explained in a serious tone. "Most master-apprentice pairs in this world abide by strict rituals and etiquette, acting with complete solemnity, not daring to cross even the smallest line of propriety. But I'm different. The way we get along has always been like this."
Wu Yao was even more confused now. "Like this... like what exactly?"
Jiang Xuesheng said calmly, "I am not of human descent. I don't follow human rules, nor do I abide by human ethical codes. If I care for someone, I will naturally show closeness in my words and actions. And she doesn't need to stand on ceremony with me, either. If she thinks I'm being too forward, she can just scold me straight to my face, or even strike me down with full force."
Having said that, he sat up unhurriedly, resting one hand on his bent knee, and turned his face to look at Shu Fu with a gentle smile.
"Wu Yao, all those things you keep talking about — seniority, the master-apprentice hierarchy — mean nothing to me. I can do as I please, and get close to whoever I want. But there's only one rule: whether she is willing or not is the only thing that matters. As long as she doesn't want something, I will never do it, and I wouldn't even think of doing it. You can rest easy."
Shu Fu was already used to his demeanor, and without thinking much at the moment, she nodded and said, "Mister has never been one to watch his tone or actions. Whoever he takes a fancy to, he will show it openly through both his words and gestures. Back in the days, he still had a hint of reserve, but these past two years he's grown more and more unruly, so I simply have to step in and rein him in."
Shu Fu may be a straightforward soul, but she is no blockhead completely oblivious to romantic vibes.
Over the past two years, Jiang Xuesheng has been showering her with little intimate gestures every now and then, and there were even one or two occasions where she nearly had a heart palpitation, as if that little deer that had been dormant at the bottom of her heart for a decade was about to spring back to life.
If it had been anyone else, she would have already slammed a straight line at them: "Dammit, if you want to hit on me, just say so!"
But Jiang Xuesheng's sultry, unfiltered charm comes to him as naturally as breathing, so she instinctively never considered that possibility, writing all those lines off as his signature "Jiang's one-liners" that weren't meant to be taken seriously.
Sometimes when he got carried away with his teasing, she would just take the chance to spar with him, seeing it as a free personal training session.
Thinking of this, she smiled calmly and said, "Don't worry, Lich King. I know exactly what's going on, and I've got full control of my actions. I know Mister isn't being serious, so I won't take it to heart."
Wu Yao: "Oh, oh. That makes sense... Wait a second???"
...
...
That night, the four of them took turns keeping watch.
Once Shu Fu and Si Fei were fast asleep, Wu Yao crept over to Jiang Xuesheng's side, leaning in mysteriously and lowering his voice to a whisper.
"Jiang Tan... you're actually dead serious about her, aren't you?"
Jiang Xuesheng had been resting with his eyes closed, and at the question he lifted his eyelids just a crack. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb. That girl over there." Wu Yao said anxiously, "We've known each other for over a hundred years. I know your temper like the back of my hand. You never minded other people having crushes on you, but you never spared a second glance for any of them, always saying it all depends on whether you want them. But earlier today, you said it all depends on whether she wants you. That just proves you've already long since decided she's the one for you, doesn't it?"
"..."
Jiang Xuesheng said nothing, just stared at him, neither confirming nor denying, his pitch-black eyes glinting like cold stars in the night.
"Earlier when I saw you give her the Heart Guard Scale, I thought you were just looking out for a new little rookie... but now that I think about it, it was never that simple. A person only has two Heart Guard Scales on them at most. Normally, giving one away keeps the recipient's mind clear and wards off inner demons. But if you give both of them to your Dao companion, they're called United Hearts Scales instead, and even the Fate Bond Flower pales in comparison to them. I've given those out before, I know exactly how that works."
As Wu Yao spoke, he craned his neck to look at Shu Fu's neck.
She was never the type of girl who fussed over being dainty. The gifts Jiang Xuesheng had given her on behalf of his sect—she wore the robes every single day, and the necklace she'd just slung casually around her neck, where two scales, one big and one small, one white and one gray, glinted clearly. Other people might not notice anything out of the ordinary, but Wu Yao, who was from the Jiao clan, could tell that one of the scales wasn't even a mermaid's scale at all.
The more he thought about it now that the pieces clicked, the more certain he grew. "Jiang Tan, for all your elegant, unworldly facade, you're the greediest, most possessive person I know. If you want something, you have to have it by your side, hold it tight in your palms, and would even drill a hole in your own chest to stitch it right next to your heart. You love night-blooming cereus, so you embroider them on your robes, you put the character for it in your name, and even... well, you have to have cereus blossoms involved. You're way more of a dramatic perfectionist than I'll ever be."
Jiang Xuesheng did not give a clear reply, just smiled faintly. "Not bad. Keep going."
"You..."
Wu Yao hesitated for a moment, as if he felt a little shy discussing this sort of topic with someone. "Is this the first time you've ever liked a living being this much?"
"You hold her in your heart, and your instincts draw you close to her, but you're afraid you can't get the measure of how humans behave. That's why you made this set of rules with her, so she can remind you to watch your boundaries."
"You've developed feelings for her, but you think she doesn't feel the same way about you. You don't want to put her in an awkward spot, so you deliberately act this frivolous, making her think that's just your nature, that you treat everyone exactly the same."
Wu Yao lifted his head, his pair of narrow snake pupils glinting with sharp golden light, shining startlingly bright in the darkness.
"The little girl doesn't know your true character, but I do. For hundreds of years, you have never treated a second living being this well."
"..."
Another stretch of silence followed.
Jiang Xuesheng, very unusually, did not utter a sarcastic remark. He only lowered his eyes, gazing quietly at the sleeping face of Shu Fu off to the side.
His outstretched hand hung suspended in midair, his fingertips nearly brushing the girl's snow-white cheek, but in the end he drew it back, took the edge of the outer robe draped over her, and tucked it in snugly.
When Shu Fu was awake, his words and actions could be described as thoroughly flirtatious. The moment she fell asleep, however, he became almost impossibly solemn.
"Does it really matter whether I have these feelings, whether I'm serious or not?"
His voice was soft and faint, like the cool mist curling over a lake at dawn, or a summer night's breeze brushing past one's ear.
Beautiful and fleeting, gone in the blink of an eye, just like a night-blooming cereus.
"I've said it before. 'As long as she doesn't want it, nothing will ever happen between us.'"
"Oh~~~~"
Wu Yao drew out the sound in a dramatic, drawn-out tone as the realization hit him, fully leaning into his old, teasing, sardonic snake nature. "I get it now. Jiang Tan, I never thought that after being clever your whole life, you'd end up stuck in a one-way—"
Before he could finish his sentence, he felt his whole body lift off the ground, and the scenery around him blurred and rushed backward at breakneck speed—
Shit, that's not rushing backward!
It was none other than Jiang Xuesheng, who had grabbed his snake body in one hand, swung his arm, and hurled him straight out of the hall!
"Jiang—Tan—you—fucking—goddam—!!!"
