***
Little Yue’s hair was soft and fluffy. Whenever she nestled against him like this, those silky strands would brush against his chest, letting a faint itch seep into his heart and burrow all the way to the tips of his nerves—an itch that could never be relieved by scratching.
At times like this, she always reminded him of some adorable little animal with a thick, velvety coat.
Little Yue… In Wenren Ying’s heart, she really was like an exceptionally cute little animal. Perhaps that had been his first impression of her when they met.
…Though what sort of little animal enjoyed throwing fertilizer everywhere?
Wenren Ying: “…………”
Forget it. He would try not to think about the fertilizer incident ever again.
In any case, Little Yue was wonderful in every way. Wenren Ying cherished and adored her. The moment he thought of someone trying to scheme against her, his heart turned cold and ruthless.
Whoever wanted to use Little Yue, and whatever they intended to make her do—he would never let them succeed. He would never let them hurt her.
So… there were some things he still needed to ask her about.
For example…
“Little Yue, where did you put the Blood Demon Ancestor and the Marvelous Gentleman?”
Since Little Yue’s soul could actually travel back and forth between two worlds, could the Blood Demon Ancestor and the Marvelous Gentleman be trapped in the gap between those worlds?
Wu Guanyue thought for a moment before replying, “I locked them in a room. If they can’t do what I want, they’ll never be able to leave! Don’t worry, Brother Ying. The Blood Demon Ancestor is never getting out again. It’ll be even worse than death for him.”
So that was it…
The mighty really could accomplish such things—tearing open a rift in space and time, then turning that rift into a prison for their captives.
Soulfire really was a useful thing. Even someone who had never cultivated could use it to command the wind and rain and accomplish feats that normally required an Earthly Immortal. No wonder the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord had been so terrifying that Sword Lord Taibai had needed to sacrifice himself to suppress him. No wonder the immortal sects of later generations had classified soulfire as a forbidden technique of evil cultivation, banning its practice throughout the Nine Provinces and Eighteen Lands.
The soulfire within Little Yue… had been formed from the resentful souls of Donghua City.
It was difficult to describe Wenren Ying’s feelings at that moment. He let out a deep sigh.
Three hundred years had passed since the Donghua Blood Moon. During those three centuries, Wenren Ying had done… perhaps enough for Donghua City. And three hundred years truly was a long time—long enough that, when he thought of his homeland now, he felt only wistful. The pain was no longer searing.
The soulfire within Little Yue… was linked in countless ways to the deceased Wu Guizhen. Naturally, he would investigate everything and uncover the truth. But first, he had to find out what had really happened.
And when it came to investigating the soulfire, he could think of only two leads—the Blood Demon Ancestor and the Marvelous Gentleman.
The Marvelous Gentleman was obvious enough. He had once known Wu Guizhen. They did not seem particularly close, but that did not matter. After being beaten up a few more times, he was bound to remember something useful.
As for the Blood Demon Ancestor… Wenren Ying had always felt that there was something wrong with his return to Meishan City.
Wenren Ying and the Blood Demon Ancestor could be considered old acquaintances. Although the man’s title was impressive, he was not particularly brave. Two hundred years ago, Wenren Ying had destroyed his physical body. Later, when they met again in Meishan City, Wenren Ying had been hiding in the shadows while the Blood Demon Ancestor had been out in the open. It was hard to imagine that the demon had actually endured for ten years without making a move…
This time, even after his primordial spirit had been beaten down until barely one-tenth remained, he had not fled. Instead, he had dared to launch a sneak attack in retaliation. That was completely unlike his former cowardly self.
When something abnormal happened, there was bound to be something strange behind it… Surely it was not simply because the Blood Demon Ancestor found the Marvelous Gentleman pleasing to the eye and had come all this way just to lend him a hand?
There had to be a reason… Wenren Ying’s instincts told him that the reason might be connected to the secret hidden within Little Yue.
With that in mind, Wenren Ying immediately asked, “What sort of restriction did you place on the two of them? What do they have to do to get out of that room?”
The question was perfectly serious, and Wenren Ying’s expression was equally solemn. Yet the moment Wu Guanyue heard it, her face suddenly flushed bright red, as though steam of embarrassment were about to rise from the top of her head.
“Honestly… why are you suddenly asking about that, Brother Ying…”
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz. She buried her face against Wenren Ying’s chest and vowed to become a reed-flower chicken with its head tucked beneath its wing. She absolutely refused to come out.
Wenren Ying: “…………”
Wenren Ying: “…………?”
A question mark slowly appeared above Wenren Ying’s head.
With a slightly amused smile, Wenren Ying stroked her head and said gently, “Come on, Little Yue. Tell me, won’t you? There are still secrets hidden in those two. We need to get them to talk.”
Wu Guanyue’s voice remained tiny, even softer than a mosquito’s: “Um… it’s just… they can’t come out unless they do that thing…”
Wenren Ying: “…What?”
Wu Guanyue squeezed her eyes shut and shouted, “They can’t leave unless they do what people do after taking an aphrodisiac!”
Wenren Ying: “…………”
Wenren Ying: “………………”
Wenren Ying was utterly stunned!
What kind of bizarre person could come up with a condition like that?!
No… perhaps he should say, it was exactly what one would expect from Little Yue—the sort of woman who could scatter fertilizer across the heavens.
…Why on earth had she done this?
Wenren Ying fell silent.
Wu Guanyue grew anxious. Still buried against Wenren Ying’s chest, she began mumbling an explanation. In essence, she was saying that she was not a pervert, but that it was the only thing she had available, so she had no choice but to use it.
Wenren Ying: “So what were you planning to use this room for in the first place…?”
Wu Guanyue’s voice abruptly caught in her throat.
Perhaps she had thought of something. Her face began burning again, and even her toes, hidden beneath the blanket, curled up involuntarily.
For a long while, neither of them said a word. In the small, simple room, there was only the sound of their breathing… Strangely, although it was nothing more than the ordinary breathing of a man and a woman, at that moment it carried an indescribable… sensuality.
After quite some time, Wu Guanyue’s head moved a fraction. Like a little rabbit cautiously peeking out from its burrow, she tentatively raised her head.
…Only to meet Wenren Ying’s smiling eyes.
He was holding her, the corners of his lips curved in a smile, his eyes smiling as well. He had no idea how long he had been watching her, simply waiting for her to look up.
Wu Guanyue: O-O
Wu Guanyue’s eyes widened.
But Wenren Ying’s kiss had already descended upon her. Wasn’t this exactly what happened between lovers after their first intimate encounter? Once they had tasted the sweetness of it, they could hardly wait to remain glued to their beloved forever.
Wu Guanyue: o(*////▽////*)q
Her face flushed red, and she revealed a shy, blissful smile.
Kissing and cuddling…
Once they had finished kissing, they continued thinking…
Wenren Ying had a hard time reining himself in. He had an even harder time silently reciting the Heart-Calming Formula, reminding himself that it was daytime, and that unless there were special circumstances, it was probably best not to indulge in such things in broad daylight…
So, trying to question Miao Langjun and the Blood Demon Ancestor was probably an impossible task.
Never mind whether the two of them could accurately understand what “circles and crosses” meant. Even if they could—and even if they were willing to throw caution to the wind—the Blood Demon Ancestor was now nothing more than a mass of mist. He had the desire, but not the means.
Thus, the two of them had truly been exiled forever to a room from which escape was impossible. Unless they could no longer endure their confinement and chose to end their own lives, they would remain imprisoned there for eternity.
For two villains like them, it was a fitting end, Wenren Ying thought with a sneer.
The only problem was that this meant he had no way to obtain anything useful from them.
Wu Guizhen… Wu Guizhen…
Soul fire… soul fire…
As for Wu Guizhen, he could ask around about him. He had stayed in Meishan City for ten years; no matter what, he ought to have left behind some trace of himself.
With that thought, Wenren Ying immediately took action. He had Wu Guanyue pretend to make casual conversation while asking the nearby neighbors about him, while he himself… went to see Master Chongxu.
—Master Chongxu’s spiritual palace had been shattered, and he had since withdrawn from the inner circle of Jade Cloud Grotto-Heaven, living in seclusion and rarely venturing out.
Wu Guizhen had some connection with Master Chongxu. Back when Chongxu learned that Wu Guanyue was the granddaughter of the person who had saved his life, he had already begun investigating Wu Guizhen’s affairs. But the Nine Provinces were vast beyond measure. Wu Guizhen was a cautious old man, and the layers of mystery surrounding him were hardly something that could be cleared away in a day or two.
Still, Master Chongxu’s status remained intact. When it came to investigating matters, he still had a few channels at his disposal.
And by the time Wenren Ying went to see him, he had actually… managed to uncover something.
“Wu Guizhen… He was a wandering rogue cultivator who traveled throughout the world and was skilled in the art of divination. However, he preferred peace and quiet, and spent most of his time living in seclusion in the mountains. Since he had neither a sect nor a prestigious clan to make his name known, he was not very famous.”
Wenren Ying sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, arms folded across his chest and brows slightly furrowed.
“A master diviner who prefers a quiet life actually came to Meishan City to open an inn. Don’t you find that strange?”
Master Chongxu sat upright on his knees before him. A layer of plain gauze covered his eyes, making his expression seem exceptionally serene—and making him look even more like a beautiful, fragile jade carving.
Master Chongxu said, “It is indeed strange… He disappeared from public view more than a decade ago. It seems no one knew that he had appeared in Meishan.”
“You don’t know why he came here either.”
Wenren Ying said this plainly.
Master Chongxu’s expression did not change in the slightest. He continued calmly, “I don’t know why he came here either.”
Wenren Ying stood up decisively and said lazily, “All right, I’m leaving. Let me know if you find out anything.”
With that, he resolutely prepared to leave. Every moment he was away from Little Yue made him miss her terribly.
But Master Chongxu’s next words made him stop in his tracks.
“I discovered that this Old Master Wu seems to have once been friends with Perfected Renhua of the Profound Heaven Sect.”
Perfected Renhua…
…His master.
Wenren Ying had never expected that Wu Guizhen and his master would be old acquaintances.
Wenren Ying was not the kind of man with supernatural insight. He was clever, but not so clever that the moment he heard the names Perfected Renhua and Wu Guizhen mentioned together, he would immediately guess that Perfected Renhua had some connection to Little Yue.
Of course, it was also possible that… he still had feelings for his master.
Regardless, it had been his master who saved him when the blood poison flared up. Otherwise, he might not have survived at all. And regardless, it had also been his stubborn insistence on taking revenge—his near-determined act of destroying his own spiritual palace—that had enraged his master and caused him to be expelled from the sect, left to fend for himself.
Wenren Ying still respected his master, of course.
Once a teacher, a father for life. He had never forgotten those words.
