With the imposter accusations finally put to rest, Xue Laohu strode purposefully back to his quarters, accompanied by Xue Tuzi and Li Zhameng. The tension from the confrontation still lingered in the air, but a sense of relief began to settle over them.
"I'm starving!" Xue Laohu exclaimed, stretching his arms high above his head, his voice echoing through the quiet corridor.
"Shizun is always the hungriest after a fight," Xue Tuzi remarked with a soft chuckle as he busied himself at the cooking station. He poured a steaming ladle of broth over a bowl of fresh dumplings, the hot, savory aroma wafting through the room and tickling their noses.
Li Zhameng glanced at Xue Laohu, his voice gentle but tinged with concern. "Elder Yanse took her unreciprocated feelings out on Shizun. Shizun, must be tired." His hands moved to Xue Laohu's shoulders, massaging them with firm but soothing pressure.
Xue Laohu tilted his head back slightly, letting out a sigh of contentment at the unexpected comfort. "I wasn't aware of Elder Yanse's feelings for Shizun. Why has Shizun kept this a secret from us?" Xue Tuzi asked, his tone sharp as his knife clacked rhythmically against the cutting board. The crisp sound of chopping green onions filled the room, growing louder with his obvious frustration.
"Eh…" Xue Laohu hesitated, his confident demeanor faltering for a moment. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, his lips pulling into a sheepish grin. The truth was, he had forgotten all about the rumors he'd overheard. He never thought there was any real substance to them.
Xue Tuzi let out a heavy sigh, placing the knife down with deliberate care. His hands moved swiftly as he garnished the bowl of dumplings, arranging it with precision. With an almost ceremonial air, he carried the bowl over to Xue Laohu and placed it neatly in front of him.
"Where's Shudu?" Xue Laohu asked suddenly, his voice tinged with unease. He hadn't had a chance to check the system for any updates on their relationship, and the lack of progress gnawed at him.
Xue Tuzi frowned deeply, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why does Shizun care so much about that wretched demon?" he snapped, his expression darkening.
Xue Laohu groaned, leaning forward and inhaling the rich aroma of the dumplings before digging in. As he chewed, he sighed inwardly, resigning himself to the fact that no progress had been made. Figures, he thought to himself. I guess I'll have to do it all myself.
His eyes darted toward Xue Tuzi, who was still scowling, his arms crossed tightly and his lips pressed into a pout. Xue Laohu swallowed a bite of dumpling and smirked. "So tell me…" he began, his tone teasing. "What's with the tongue piercing?"
Xue Tuzi's eyes widened in surprise, his hands instinctively flying to his mouth as though to shield it from view. His face flushed as red as the peppers in the broth. "That's right," Li Zhameng chimed in, pausing his massage. "A-Tuzi was using a face veil to hide his mouth because it was so swollen."
Xue Laohu, curiosity piqued, leaned toward Xue Tuzi with a mischievous glint in his eye. A dumpling still half-chewed in his mouth, he reached out and gently pried Xue Tuzi's hands away. To his surprise, Xue Tuzi didn't resist. As Xue Laohu cracked the man's mouth open, he spotted the source of the mystery—a tiny, teardrop-shaped red gem dangling from Xue Tuzi's tongue, glistening under the sheen of saliva.
Xue Tuzi extended his tongue slightly, allowing his Shizun a better view. Xue Laohu tilted his head, studying it with unabashed interest. "That's hot," he mumbled through a mouthful of dumpling, his voice low and distracted.
The comment hit Xue Tuzi like a thunderclap. His face burned a deeper shade of crimson, his gaze darting away as he tried to stammer out a response. Li Zhameng raised an eyebrow, a small frown tugging at the corner of his lips, while Xue Laohu leaned back in his chair, utterly amused.
Back in the modern world, Yi Ming had never actually met anyone with a tongue piercing. He'd only seen them in movies and on TV, where they were often associated with rebels and outcasts. Yet, seeing the tiny red gem glittering on Xue Tuzi's tongue, he couldn't help but find it… sensual. Unexpectedly so.
"I like it," he said, slurping down a mouthful of dumplings with relish. He lowered the bowl slightly, giving Xue Tuzi a mischievous smile. "It suits you."
The compliment sent a jolt of warmth straight to Xue Tuzi's cheeks. His face flushed as he turned away in embarrassment, letting his long, brown hair fall like a curtain to hide the growing redness. He fumbled with the empty dishes, clutching them tightly as though they were the only thing anchoring him to the ground.
Li Zhameng, standing nearby, scrunched his brows with a faint scowl, a flicker of jealousy sparking in his chest at the intimate exchange. His gaze darted between Xue Tuzi and his Shizun, his hands instinctively clutching together as if to restrain himself. His cheeks puffed into a subtle pout. "Shizun," he called out, his voice laced with urgency as he sought to redirect Xue Laohu's attention away from Xue Tuzi. "May this lowly disciple have a word with you?"
Xue Laohu's piercing gaze reluctantly shifted away from Xue Tuzi, who hurriedly picked up the bowls and retreated to the kitchen. The clang of dishes and the rush of water echoed faintly behind them. "Sure," Xue Laohu said, turning his attention fully to Li Zhameng. He folded his fan with a deliberate snap, his expression calm yet curious.
As Xue Tuzi busied himself with the dishes, Xue Laohu lingered by the doorway with Li Zhameng. The younger disciple's palms grew clammy, his nerves betraying him as he fidgeted with the hem of his robe. His lips parted slightly, but no words came out. The silence between them stretched thin, and Xue Laohu tilted his head, tapping his folded fan lightly against his lips, waiting for Li Zhameng to speak.
Finally, Xue Laohu's patience waned, and a thought crossed his mind. Perhaps he could use this opportunity to ask if Li Zhameng knew anything about Xue Tuzi and Shudu. Placing a firm hand on Li Zhameng's shoulder, Xue Laohu leaned in close, his lips curving into a smile as he whispered softly into his ear.
"Hey," Xue Laohu murmured, his voice smooth and warm, like a gentle breeze brushing past. The intimate tone sent a shiver down Li Zhameng's spine. His shoulder instinctively rose to shield his ear, but it did little to block the tickling sensation of his Shizun's breath. His face turned a vibrant shade of red, the heat creeping all the way to the tips of his ears. His heart pounded erratically, the proximity too much for him to bear.
Before he could stop himself, his mind wandered into a vivid fantasy. In his imagination, his Shizun's voice turned tender and affectionate. "Meng Meng, I like your tongue just the way it is," he would say, his arms pulling Li Zhameng close. Their lips would meet in a passionate kiss, and though Li Zhameng would pretend to resist, tears clinging to his wide, light eyes, his Shizun's persistence would win him over.
"You're the only one for me, Meng Meng," His Shizun would whisper, wiping away his tears with gentle lips that trailed down to his own. Another kiss, deeper this time, would seal the promise.
"Meng Meng!" The sharpness of Xue Laohu's real voice sliced through the fantasy like a blade, yanking Li Zhameng back to reality. He blinked rapidly, disoriented, only to find his Shizun's face staring at him with an exasperated expression.
"Has anything happened between Shudu and A-Tuzi?" Xue Laohu asked, his tone more pressing now, his eyes narrowing as he searched Li Zhameng's face for answers.
Li Zhameng stammered, his gaze falling to the floor. "No—why does Shizun ask?" he mumbled, his voice barely above a whisper. He could feel the ache of disappointment settling in his chest. His Shizun would never look at him the way he had just imagined. That tender gaze was reserved for someone else.
Xue Laohu sighed, snapping open his fan with a flick of his wrist and raising it to hide his face. "Oh, I was just wondering… I haven't seen him, so…" His voice trailed off, but before he could finish the thought, a figure appeared at the doorway.
Xue Tuzi stood there, his expression cold and unyielding. "Shizun mustn't worry about that vermin," he said flatly, his voice like ice, cutting through the lingering tension in the room.
Xue Laohu sighed nervously, his fingers fidgeting with the folds of his robes. "There's something I must do in my study," he said, his voice unusually hesitant. "Please continue with your training, and I shall meet you in the courtyard for your next assignment."
Both Xue Tuzi and Li Zhameng cupped their hands, bowing deeply in respect as their Shizun turned and departed toward his quarters. Li Zhameng lingered for a moment, still feeling the sting of his earlier exchange with his Shizun, his expression clouded with quiet gloom. By contrast, Xue Tuzi seemed to brim with anticipation, his spirits high. He recalled the long hours he and Li Zhameng had spent meticulously cleaning their Shizun's room just the day before. Surely, Xue Laohu would be delighted when he saw the spotless result of their hard work. Perhaps, Xue Tuzi thought, they would even receive some rare praise.
But no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a sharp, blood-curdling screech echoed down the hallway, reverberating off the walls like the cry of a wounded beast. Both disciples froze, their eyes widening in alarm. Slowly, they turned to each other, dread pooling in their stomachs.
"Shizun," they said in unison, their voices barely above whispers.
Without hesitation, they bolted down the hallway, their feet pounding against the wooden floors. As they reached the doorway to Xue Laohu's quarters, they were met with an unexpected and deeply unsettling sight: their Shizun, kneeling on the ground, his shoulders trembling as he sobbed openly.
"Shizun! What happened?" Li Zhameng gasped, dropping to his knees beside him in a panic. His voice was laced with worry as he placed a hesitant hand on Xue Laohu's arm.
Xue Tuzi, on the other hand, reacted with swift fury. He tore the ribbon from his hair, snapping it against the ground like a whip as he scanned the room for a potential attacker. His narrowed eyes gleamed with ferocity, ready to punish whoever had dared harm their Shizun.
But the room was empty, save for Xue Laohu and his two disciples. Slowly, Xue Laohu raised his tear-streaked face to look at them, his gaze darting around the room in wild disbelief. "My… my stuff…" he mumbled, his voice choked. "My papers… my clothes…" His eyes swept over the spotless room, unrecognizable in its newfound order. "Where… where is everything?" he croaked.
"Oh," Xue Tuzi said brightly, lowering the ribbon and straightening up. "Meng Meng and I cleaned Shizun's room yesterday. It was a pig's den."
The words hit Xue Laohu like a blow to the chest, sharp and merciless. He gasped audibly, his hands clutching at his hair as if to keep himself grounded. "A pig's den?!" he repeated, his voice rising in anguish. "But I knew where everything was! My clothes—my clean clothes and my dirty ones—I had a system! My documents, my… my sweets!" His voice broke as he lamented the loss of the secret stash of treats he had hidden so cleverly from Jiao Jiao, who was notorious for stealing them the moment his back was turned. Now, it was all gone—his meticulously chaotic sanctuary reduced to a soulless, orderly shell.
He groaned loudly, tugging at his hair in sheer despair, his wails echoing through the room as he wallowed in self-pity.
"Shizun," Xue Tuzi said sternly, crouching down to meet him at eye level. He placed a firm hand on Xue Laohu's shoulder, his expression unwavering. "We couldn't allow Shizun to live like that," he said, his tone gentle but resolute.
"But—" Xue Laohu tried to protest, only to be cut off.
"No buts," Xue Tuzi interjected, letting out a soft sigh. His hard expression softened into a rare, kind smile as he looked into his Shizun's tear-filled eyes. "It's better this way, Shizun. You deserve to live in comfort, not chaos."
Xue Laohu sniffled, glancing helplessly around his immaculate room. It still felt foreign to him, empty of the clutter and familiarity he'd grown so attached to.
Xue Tuzi and Li Zhameng guided their Shizun into his freshly cleaned room, their faces alight with pride. Xue Tuzi, always the more composed of the two, walked over to a set of drawers and slid one open with a flourish. Inside, stacks of neatly organized paperwork sat in perfect alignment, not a single sheet out of place.
"See, Shizun," Xue Tuzi said, his voice calm yet pleased, "we've sorted your documents. Everything is now arranged by date and importance."
Meanwhile, Li Zhameng eagerly led Xue Laohu toward the wardrobe, opening the doors to reveal an array of perfectly folded and meticulously organized robes hanging in color-coded harmony. "I also took the liberty of washing these for Shizun," he chimed in, gesturing to a pile of handkerchiefs stacked neatly on a shelf nearby. His tone was almost giddy as he pointed at them. "Has Shizun been working on a new fragrance?"
Xue Laohu stiffened at the question, his face falling as an overwhelming wave of embarrassment washed over him. His throat tightened as Li Zhameng continued, oblivious to the panic bubbling beneath his Shizun's composed facade.
"I sniffed every single one of these handkerchiefs," Li Zhameng admitted with a bright smile, "and they all had this sweet and salty scent. Like sweet cream with roasted nuts. It was delightful!"
Xue Laohu's face turned ashen, his heart plummeting to the pit of his stomach. Fragrance?! he thought, his mind reeling. The mortification was almost unbearable. As a nineteen-year-old trapped in the body of a grandmaster, his youthful, restless urges often found their outlet late at night—into those very handkerchiefs now lauded for their "fragrance." And Li Zhameng, with all the innocent enthusiasm of a devoted disciple, had taken it upon himself to sniff every single one.
Before Xue Laohu could compose himself, Xue Tuzi stepped forward, his voice soft and curious. "Shizun," he said, leaning slightly closer, "I'd also like to smell this fragrance you've been working on."
A bead of sweat slipped down the side of Xue Laohu's temple, his nervous smile faltering. His fan, usually a source of comfort, felt heavy in his hands. What fragrance? he thought frantically. His mind scrambled for something, anything to explain the situation. Seedlings? Golden Nut Crème? Last Night's Affair? Random, nonsensical names for perfumes flickered through his thoughts as he tried to maintain an air of composure.
Clearing his throat, Xue Laohu forced himself to speak. "I—uh—I can't quite remember," he stammered, his voice pitching slightly higher than usual. "Since both of you cleaned my room without consulting me, I'll need time to reacquaint myself with the things I was working on."
His tone grew firmer as he fanned himself, the gust of wind making his bangs bounce slightly. "I'll familiarize myself with my room again," he declared, masking his mortification with as much dignity as he could muster. "You may both take your leave."
Xue Tuzi and Li Zhameng exchanged a glance, their expressions softening with pride. "Thank you," Xue Laohu added as they turned to leave, his voice quieter but sincere, "I appreciate it. Good work."
Both disciples bowed deeply, cupping their hands in unison. As they stepped out of the room, their smiles widened, a shared sense of accomplishment lighting up their faces.
When the door closed behind them, Xue Laohu collapsed into the nearest chair, burying his face in his hands. Sweet cream with roasted nuts?! he thought, the words echoing mockingly in his mind. He groaned, half in despair and half in disbelief, before fanning himself furiously once more.
"Ugh!" Xue Laohu groaned, kicking his boots off with a dramatic flair, one flying across the room and thudding against the wall. "Why was Meng Meng sniffing my handkerchiefs?!" He threw himself onto the bed in a flurry of limbs, kicking the air in frustration like a petulant child caught in a shameful temper tantrum. His disheveled hair stuck to his damp forehead, and his cheeks burned with humiliation.
"I can't believe this," he muttered, pressing his palms into his face. After a long, deep breath, he lowered his hands and pointed dramatically at the ceiling, the pose resembling a magical girl mid-transformation. "Hey yo, system!" he called out, his voice sharp with desperation.
A dazzling flash of light burst into the room as the system's interface materialized before his eyes. Squinting against the glare, he shielded his face with one hand and peered through his fingers.
WELCOME, USER, TO
"Bound by Darkness, Yet Drawn by Love: The Demon's Eternal Curse and the Mortal's Unbreakable Heart in a World That Shouldn't Let Them Be Together but Somehow, Against All Odds, They Copulate."
VERSION 2.0
He was reminded by the system's jarring announcement—let out an incredulous groan. "What the fuck was my sister even reading?" he muttered under his breath, his lips curling in disdain. The title alone made his head spin with secondhand embarrassment. Who even writes this kind of cringe-inducing drivel?
Still, he couldn't ignore the sleek, revamped design of the system interface. His eyes roamed over the shiny new layout, with its smooth transitions and flashy animations. But change was always a nuisance. He hated having to get used to anything new, and this update felt like yet another obstacle in his cursed existence.
His gaze settled on the mission progress bar—a pathetic, unmoving 30%. "Fantastic," he mumbled sarcastically, tapping at the screen to pull up the character logs. The first entry he opened was Shudu's.
The familiar pink hearts glowed vibrantly beside Shudu's name, an indication of the character's unwavering romantic interest. But the new system features? Completely useless. A gallery of still images of Shudu appeared, along with short videos of him reciting cheesy lines like, "This venerable one shall grace you with my presence." Yi Ming groaned aloud, burying his face in his hands.
"Why does this system think I need glamour shots and catchphrases?!" he yelled at no one in particular. "Give me actual useful information about this world, not… this!" He swiped furiously to the next character profile: Li Zhameng.
A video auto-played. Yi Ming froze in horror as it showed Li Zhameng sniffing one of the infamous handkerchiefs, his face lighting up with delight.
"Oh, for the love of—NO!" Yi Ming shouted, his hand darting out to swipe away from the mortifying scene. His face burned as he slapped the screen like it had personally offended him. He hurried to the next profile: Xue Tuzi.
To his surprise, a single pink heart blinked faintly beside Xue Tuzi's name. It faded in and out like a wavering flame. Yi Ming frowned, his brow furrowing as he leaned closer. "What the hell does this mean?" he muttered, smacking the screen in frustration, hoping to stabilize the flickering heart. Was Xue Tuzi developing feelings for Shudu? Or was the system just glitching again?
Curious, he opened Xue Tuzi's photo gallery, but several of the pictures and videos were blurred beyond recognition. He tapped on one, only to be greeted by a frustrating message.
THE FOLLOWING IMAGES ARE EXPLICIT
IS USER 18+?
"Of course I'm over 18!" Yi Ming exclaimed, his voice tinged with exasperation as he leaned closer to the glowing screen. With a quick motion, he nearly clicked on the images, but his actions came to an abrupt halt. His brows furrowed, and a flicker of uncertainty crossed his features.
"Wait…" he muttered, hesitating as his finger hovered mid-air, trembling slightly above the screen. His voice dropped to a wary murmur, laced with suspicion. "Are these… naked pictures? Because if they are, I don't want to see them."
His hesitation hung in the air, his finger frozen in indecision. The dim light from the screen illuminated his face, painting his expression with equal parts curiosity and unease. Just as he seemed to muster the courage to proceed, the system interrupted the moment with a loud, exaggerated ahem, clearing their throat with dramatic flair.
Then, with an air of smug authority, the system announced:
NEW MISSION ALERT!
HELP SHOU MC BREAK SPIRITUAL SEAL
Yi Ming groaned, slumping back against his headboard. "Is there a time frame for this?" he asked, already dreading the answer.
NO TIME FRAME, the system replied cheerfully.
"Great," Yi Ming muttered, swiping the screen closed, he flopped back onto the bed, limbs splayed in exhaustion. "We'll start tomorrow," he mumbled to himself, closing his eyes, as he drifted off to sleep, the faint glow of the system's logo fading into the darkness of his room.
Blah Blah Blah:
Yi Ming just saved himself from seeing inappropriate pictures of Xue Tuzi fallating Shudu ha ha ha.