CH 3

Wen Jiu? What was he up to, sneaking around like that? Wen Jiu was Mo Ran’s number one lackey. When Gu Feng’s previous incarnation was imprisoned, Wen Jiu took the opportunity to hurt him whenever he had the chance.

“Liu shixiong, the new disciple induction ceremony is in ten days. Have you finished the preparations?” 

“Don’t worry. Let that guy know that I’ll disregard the bone-age requirement, but the rest is up to him.”

Listening to the voices from a distance, Gu Feng had an epiphany. His previous incarnation had always wondered how Mo Ran had managed to infiltrate Taixu Sect. It turns out he had gone so far as to bribe the person who measured bone age in order to sneak into the new disciple induction ceremony.

These days, influence on the continent was divided between the immortal and demonic factions. The immortal faction consisted of four main powers — Taixu Sect, Sword Pavilion, Hundred Flowers Palace, and the Wandering Cultivators Union. Among these, Taixu Sect was the leader. In contrast, the demonic faction was ruled over by a single sect named Devil’s Fortress.

The previous Mo Ran appeared on the surface to be a Taixu Sect disciple, but in reality he belonged to Devil’s Fortress. His true identity was the right hand of the guardian division. The Devil Emperor hadn’t been seen for many years, and it could be said that the entire Devil’s Fortress was currently under the control of the guardian division. 

The previous Gu Yunxi had been completely obsessed with Mo Ran. She had originally taken good care to not reveal herself, otherwise it would have been impossible to deceive Dan Qin. Afterwards, in order to gain Mo Ran’s favor and secure her good standing, Gu Yunxi had no qualms about deceiving the sect, and was directly responsible for the downfall of Taixu Sect. Gu Feng’s previous incarnation later heard about this from “Gu Feng.” If the sect hadn’t been overthrown, it would have been impossible for the other disciples to apprehend “Gu Feng” because he was the sect leader’s son.

In any case, he needed to prevent Mo Ran from bringing disaster to the sect. As for the person who measured bone-age, he only had a vague impression — his name was Liu Yi, and his cultivation level was in the middle of the foundation building period. Gu Feng knew he didn’t have the strength to confront him right now.

Liu Yi was an inner gate disciple, and was rather infamous in Taixu Sect. The reason he was well known was because of his lecherous deeds. It was said that this person had molested many respectable women.

Lecherous? Gu Feng suddenly recalled all the makeup in the storage ring. He gazed with profound significance at the lovely-as-a-flower Su Mujin standing beside him, as the perfect plan popped into his mind.

Su Mujin suddenly felt a cold breeze and wondered, where did that come from? Today is very sunny.

To enter the sect’s inner gate, you needed to pass by a pavilion set up for people to sit down and rest. At that moment, Su Mujin was sitting beneath as Gu Feng painted the boy’s face beyond all recognition. All the while, Gu Feng sported an eerie grin.

Gu Feng first applied a flawless layer of powder foundation, but was dissatisfied with the result. He decided that Su Mujin’s bare face was more beautiful than the foundation, and lifting up his sleeve, he scrubbed at Su Mujin’s face with rough and careless movements.

Su Mujin: “. . .” 

Had this person finally gone off his rocker?

As it turned out, Gu Feng was still all there. Though his manners were far from perfect, the result was exquisite.

“Okay, want to take a look?” Gu Feng appeared satisfied, condensing a water mirror as he spoke. Su Mujin peered in the mirror and was stunned.

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Ve Zeplc: “. . .”

How mortifying. Just let me die!

“Sigh, did you take the antidote? All you need to do is convince him to drink from this flask of wine. There shouldn’t be any problems, right?” Gu Feng spoke in a low tone to avoid being overheard.

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The sky was already completely dark when Liu Yi finally appeared. Nobody else was around.

He saw a woman who seemed to be in distress sitting in the middle of the pavilion, drinking cup after cup of wine. Her appearance was absolutely enchanting. Under the moonlight, she appeared like a succubus who could bewitch a person and leave them drowning in an ocean of desire.

Liu Yi leered — what a first rate beauty whose cultivation is still low. This is simply a heaven-sent opportunity.

“The moon is bright and the night is young, Jiaren. Why the frown? Why not share your troubles with me, and I’ll lend an ear.” Liu Yi put on a smile he thought would make him appear elegant and intelligent as he spoke in a sickeningly sweet tone. 

Just as he finished speaking, he saw the beauty grow more melancholy, and even more adorable! But in fact, Su Mujin wanted to vomit.

“The moon is bright and the night is young, but I can only drink alone, is that not vexing enough?” Su Mujin held back the vomit and spoke in a quiet and feminine voice. He had decided to get this over with as quickly as possible.

“Shimei, how about me?” Liu Yi thought his interest was reciprocated, and grew more shameless with his leering.

“Shixiong, wait a moment . . .” Su Mujin’s voice trailed off just as Liu Yi grabbed his hand that held the cup of wine, taking advantage of the occasion to caress it. 

“No other wine can compare to the wine in Shimei’s cup!” Liu Yi drank the cup in one gulp, but still felt unsatisfied, and stuck out his tongue to lick the last drops.

The veins in Su Mujin’s forehead popped. He had to work hard to keep from grimacing, and said: “Shixiong is a talented drinker.”

“Shimei is too kind . . .” as Liu Yi spoke, his vision had begun to fill with flashes of light, and then went completely black.

The deed done, Su Mujin flashed Gu Feng a relieved smile from behind the body of Liu Yi, and saw Gu Feng stare back at him as though struck by lightning. 

A little bewildered, Su Mujin was about to ask Gu Feng what was wrong when, out of nowhere, a deluge of cold water poured over his head and drenched him to the bone.

Su Mujin: “. . .” His face was expressionless as he looked in the direction of the culprit, Gu Feng.

“Cough, it wouldn’t be good if someone walked by and saw you like this, I’ll help you clean it off.”

Gu Feng spoke teasingly while he toweled Su Mujin dry and tied up the boy’s hair. This overly familiar behavior really made one bristle with rage. 

At this moment, Gu Feng’s heart was crumbling. Who could blame him? After a few hundred years of a pure and chaste existence, to suddenly have a reaction to a man, wasn’t that enough to frighten one out of their skin? Not to mention that man was his own previous incarnation.

He finally realized that his previous incarnation had never actually understood what it was to fall in love. His excessively pretty appearance had been to blame, which put even female cultivators’ looks to shame. But how could he be attracted to himself?

Fortunately, in this lifetime he had a handsome and intelligent shell, exactly the type that women find attractive. It shouldn’t be that difficult to find a wife this time, right? He looked at Su Mujin and gloated over the other’s misfortune. This lifetime, it will be that boy’s turn to not find a wife. Unable to help feeling pleased with himself, Gu Feng indeed was a god of prophecy.

False alarm. Gu Feng stuffed Liu Yi into the storage ring. He won’t die from being there for a bit. He gathered up Su Mujin, and hurried back to his small courtyard. 

Halfway there, Su Mujin suddenly called out a single word: “Shixiong!”

The tone of that cry was gentle and full of affection.

Gu Feng staggered and nearly lost his footing, He remained silent and looked at Su Mujin. That kid was too naughty!

Su Mujin revealed a crafty smile. Hmph, who let you take advantage of me . . . 

After returning, Gu Feng honored his promise, and made Su Mujin a giant table full of food. Su Mujin originally wanted to help out, but Gu Feng didn’t allow him. Teasing aside, he nevertheless was an honest and trustworthy young man; if he said he would do something, then he did it.

Anyway, Gu Feng’s culinary skills weren’t bad. There was an assortment of dishes, and every one of them smelled, looked, and tasted great! You can well imagine Su Mujin, as well as Gu Feng, were drooling.

At the beginning, Su Mujin was embarrassed to begin eating, but seeing Gu Feng dig in with relish, he relaxed bit by bit and tasted dish after dish . . .

Su Mujin: “???” 

This flavor was exactly the same as that of his own cooking. Is our meeting really coincidence, or is it destiny?

A second later, Su Mujin no longer had room for this thought, because Gu Feng lifted his sleeve to wipe the corners of Su Mujin’s mouth.

Su Mujin raised his head to see Gu Feng’s gentle expression. In a flash, his heart grew warm and he was nearly moved to tears. Is there anyone else who has shown such concern for me?

Caught in a trance, Su Mujin mused that this must be what it felt like to have a wife. In his life, moments of warmth were too few. Just a tiny bit of gentleness could cause his heart to begin cracking open. 

Despite that warmth, he had met that person before his eyes by chance, like patches of drifting duckweed. Su Mujin still didn’t even know his benefactor’s name. After having imposed on him so much already, he shouldn’t brazenly continue to stay. Suppressing his yearning, Su Mujin said: “The meal was delicious. The past couple days I’ve imposed on you, but my wounds have completely healed now. I’ll take my leave.”

“If you want to leave, go right ahead! I’ve already calculated what you owe me. The five sets of clothing and two meals — all these are no problem. But yesterday I saved your life; do you plan to run away from that debt?”

In order to convince the other person to stay, Gu Feng had racked his brain.

Su Mujin suddenly choked, was silent for a long time, then honestly said: “I have nothing of value,  just this life of mine.” 

Gu Feng looked at the other’s naive appearance, and suddenly felt like teasing him: “People say that when someone saves your life, you should repay that kindness by pledging your body, so I think you should pay with your body.”

“Then I’ll stay to do the washing and cook for you. Right now, I can only manage these things. If one day you no longer need me, then you can just tell me.” When that time comes, I’ll leave, but Su Mujin did not utter this final sentence. To be able to stay here temporarily, his heart was partly glad, but mostly uneasy.

First thing the next morning, Gu Feng went to the Manuscript Pavilion. Taixu Sect’s Manuscript Pavilion was said to be the most comprehensive collection of texts on the entire mainland. This was not merely empty talk; the tall shelves were tidily arranged by subject, and stretched out further than the eye could see. Gu Feng did not stay long. He borrowed a large pile of foundation-building cultivation manuals, and then returned home.

After Gu Feng returned home, he found that Su Mujin had already cooked a meal. Not only that, but Su Mujin had even cleaned the room and wiped down the door. Gu Feng let out a sigh. In the home of his previous incarnation’s foster parents, he had also performed those tasks, and that was the origin for his behavior. He had handled all the household duties himself in those days. Apparently, his self worth was reflected in his ability to do such things, and that little bit of worth brought him a sense of security. At this precise moment, Su Mujin was exactly the same . . . 

“Thoroughly read these manuals before you do anything else. After mastering them, then you can begin cultivating according to the methods they describe. For the next ten days, I’ll be in seclusion, so you’ll have to make your own meals. Don’t slack off.” Gu Feng spoke as he removed the pile of manuals from his storage ring and dumped them on the ground. The pile was as tall as the table beside it.

“Huh? You’re giving all these to me?” Su Mujin was startled. Although the other sect disciples didn’t outright say it, they obviously still looked down on him. Yet this person right in front of him had just commanded Su Mujin to cultivate as though it was a foregone conclusion.

Gu Feng: “Yeah, since your spirit roots aren’t bad to start with, cultivating them is both useful and necessary.” This sentence was his heartfelt truth.

Su Mujin’s expression was exceedingly complex, and he looked at the ground to hide his mood. Recovering, he lifted his gaze, his eyes expressing an eager light as he looked in the direction of those manuals. 

Cultivating day and night, ten days passed by in a flash. The big day of Taixu Sect’s new disciple examination had finally arrived.

Su Mujin sat in the courtyard, cultivating. He had already read all those manuals. Gu Feng gege had remained shut up in the room and Su Mujin was anxious for him to appear. Just as he had this thought in mind, the door swung open, but the person emerging from within was Liu Yi?