After Becoming a High-Risk Master, I Flipped the Script Chapter 131

“Brother, I’m here.” Mo Xuan appeared at the door of Gu Bai’s apartment, dragging his suitcase.

Gu Bai blinked, remembering that he had once promised Mo Xuan he could stay temporarily until he found a job after graduation.

They had grown up together since childhood, so sharing a room—even a bed—felt natural. Gu Bai had agreed without much thought. But as the older brother, he wasn’t exactly a model caretaker—his lifestyle was pretty careless.

So when the boy barged in and saw the table piled with leftover takeout, he immediately frowned, thumped his chest, and declared, “Brother, from now on, I’ll handle your meals.”

“You can cook?” Gu Bai said in surprise.

Mo Xuan’s grin was as proud as a puppy wagging its tail. “I promise you’ll be hooked after one bite—once you’ve tasted my food, you’ll never want anyone else’s.”

And he wasn’t exaggerating. Once Gu Bai discovered Mo Xuan’s cooking skills, he could hardly wait to get home for every meal.

When work got busy, Mo Xuan would even pack him lunches. His coworkers teased him, saying he was keeping a hidden spouse who spoiled him like a devoted wife.

Life, once dull and uneventful, suddenly became warm and vibrant—like someone had barged in and filled it with color and closeness.

There were some inconveniences, though. The kid still clung to him like before—especially when sleeping.

As a child, he used to burrow into Gu Bai’s arms. Now, he wrapped himself around him completely, using him as a body pillow. No matter how neatly they started the night, Gu Bai would always wake up tightly held.

Sometimes that made for some very awkward mornings.

Especially after that one accidental encounter in the bathroom—after Gu Bai had seen what the boy was packing below—things felt even stranger. Maybe it was just his job affecting him; after all, lately he’d been doing more and more voice work for danmei scripts. Maybe his imagination was running wild.

That day, he got a new project—a master-disciple story. Seeing the familiar character names, Gu Bai frowned. What a coincidence. But the thought passed quickly; it seemed reasonable enough.

He took the script home and began reading intently, softly practicing a line: “Xuanli, what are you doing?”

Suddenly, a low, husky voice whispered beside his ear: “Master, I want to hold you.”

Gu Bai shuddered violently. Turning his head, he saw Mo Xuan leaning on his shoulder, staring straight at him—eyes burning with intensity that made Gu Bai’s heart skip.

After that, Gu Bai often felt that Mo Xuan’s gaze on him had changed. His tone grew more possessive, his touches more frequent—so many that, from initial discomfort, Gu Bai eventually got used to them.

One night, Gu Bai didn’t know if he’d lost his mind—why on earth had he let Mo Xuan rehearse lines with him on the bed?

As the lines from the original script grew more and more embarrassing, the air in the room gradually turned strange.

Until Mo Xuan said, “Brother, that line definitely doesn’t sound right. How could someone talk so smoothly while kissing? Have you ever kissed anyone before, Brother?”

Gu Bai choked, feeling indignant that this brat was questioning his professional skill. He glared at him. “No. What, have you? You talk like you’re so experienced.”

“I have,” Mo Xuan suddenly said.

Gu Bai’s heart stopped for a beat, a heavy weight pressing down on his chest.

“What? But—you never had a girlfriend, right?” He didn’t even know what he was feeling, only that he was… unsettled.

Mo Xuan smiled and leaned closer, until their faces were almost touching—his breath brushed across Gu Bai’s skin as he spoke.

“I kissed you while you were asleep.”

Gu Bai’s mind went blank. He stared at Mo Xuan in shock. “When—when we were kids?”

Mo Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly as he leaned in again. “Now.”

Before Gu Bai could react, Mo Xuan pressed a light kiss to his lips.

Gu Bai froze, then tried to push him away—but Mo Xuan pressed him down instead, like a stubborn puppy, deepening the kiss with greedy insistence.

Gu Bai’s instincts told him to resist, but his body didn’t seem to listen.

“Master… This is how your breath should sound when speaking.”

Gu Bai stared in shock at Mo Xuan pinning him down. Those eyes were filled with unrestrained affection, so deep it made his heart tremble. Mo Xuan brushed his nose against Gu Bai’s and whispered, “Master, I like you.”

Gu Bai’s expression changed abruptly.

And by the time he came to his senses, they were sitting face to face, kissing fervently, their hands busy below.

Gu Bai jolted awake, stopping abruptly and trying to push Mo Xuan away. “Stop. This isn’t right.”

But Mo Xuan didn’t listen. “Master, does it feel good? You like this, don’t you?”

Gu Bai’s head was spinning, his thoughts in chaos. All he could see was Mo Xuan’s smiling face, confident—like he was certain Gu Bai would enjoy it.

Then Gu Bai’s vision flashed white. In his ears, Mo Xuan’s voice was low and pleading, filled with longing.

“Master, do you want to be with me forever?”

“Master, we’re both men—what does it matter? As long as we’re happy together, isn’t that enough?”

“Master, do you like me? Tell me—do you like me?”

Gu Bai stared at Mo Xuan’s desperate questioning, his own heartbeat quickening. It felt like a single answer could send him to heaven—or straight to hell.

As Mo Xuan spoke, he leaned in lower and lower, pressing Gu Bai down completely. It felt like if Gu Bai didn’t stop him now, he’d truly keep going.

His words were tender, but his body’s dominance was overwhelming.

Just as Mo Xuan was about to continue, Gu Bai finally pushed him back. “Wait—this isn’t right, I…”

“Brother hates me? Thinks I’m disgusting?”

Gu Bai looked up and met those pitiful puppy eyes. His throat tightened. “No, I don’t think you’re disgusting, I just—”

Before he could finish, a sudden sharp pain shot through his neck—not from anything Mo Xuan did, but from somewhere else entirely. The pain jolted Gu Bai awake.

His eyes flickered, and he stared blankly at the person on top of him.

“Brother, I really do like you,” Mo Xuan said softly. “It’s fine if you can’t answer now. Let’s just keep living together like this. Time will give us the answer.” He leaned down again, ready to kiss him.

But Gu Bai suddenly reached up and touched Mo Xuan’s face.

Mo Xuan froze, motionless.

Gu Bai gave a small, awkward smile. “The one who calls me ‘Brother’ is waiting outside.”

The Mo Xuan before him stared blankly—completely stunned—as he looked at Gu Bai… no, Gu Baiqing.

Gu Baiqing gazed carefully at him. “It’s time to go.”

As his words fell, the scene before them began to dissolve, fading away.

Only fragments of conversation echoed faintly in his ears:

“How is it? Has a mermaid bead been produced yet?”

“How could it be that fast? These male merfolk are all trained cultivators—their willpower’s too strong. Every kind of illusion-type spirit beast has been tried, but none have shown signs of forming mermaid beads yet. It’ll take a while longer. And even once it’s produced, it still needs to grow. At least a month. Why are you asking so often today?”

“I’ve just never seen a male merfolk produce one before. I was wondering if it’s slower than with females. If it doesn’t work, just add a few more layers of illusion—and use merfolk incense balm. This time the patriarchs only managed to retrieve a small batch of beads, far less than we planned. And the Patriarch, the Manor Lord, and the elders were all injured—they’ll need the mermaid beads’ spiritual energy to heal.”

“Then use the ones from the female merfolk we caught earlier—some of them should be almost ready by now.”

“True. But say—since we finally caught male merfolk this time, do you think they’ll have one of the illusion beasts form a mermaid bead for the young mistress? She could never get her own before—without a male merfolk, she couldn’t eat a bead belonging to her, and so she couldn’t break through her talent ceiling. That’s why Young Manor Lord Yu Chun was always seen as the better heir. But now that we have male merfolk, things might change.”

“You don’t know? Apparently one of the male merfolk has already formed a blood contract with the young mistress. Maybe his bead’s already been extracted. A person can’t consume two mermaid beads anyway, so she doesn’t need these others to make more for her. Still, the female merfolk chosen by Young Master Yu Chun are almost ready too—their beads have been growing since before the succession ceremony was announced. It’s hard to say who’ll get the upper hand in the end. But since the young mistress already has a contract beast, her odds are better.”

“Ah… when will we ever get our own mermaid beads?”

“The Beast-Taming Manor’s endless flow of spiritual energy depends on these beads. The Master would never waste them on anyone else. Only those in power are qualified to enjoy that chance for breakthrough. The rest of us? We should just be grateful we’re allowed to cultivate here. Stop being greedy and do your job.”

The two seemed to be chatting as they worked.

But what Gu Baiqing overheard left him utterly stunned.

So the spiritual energy here was produced the same way as in the sacred land of the merfolk—by merfolk beads?

And those beads could be dug out and eaten?!

Could it be that the captured merfolk were mainly being used by Beast-Taming Manor to produce beads for them?

Wait a minute—how did he end up being caught here as a male merfolk? And before that, he’d been under an illusion? Did these people really want him to fall in love inside that illusion and then give birth to pearls? Give birth to h*ll!

Which d*mn beast did this?! If they wanted him to fall in love, fine—but why was his designated partner Mo Xuanli instead of some beautiful woman?! This must have nothing to do with his own heart, absolutely nothing—it had to be the beasts’ doing. After all, those two just said he wasn’t a custom-made one, so the illusion must’ve randomly picked someone most familiar to him—someone he’d had intimate contact with—to stimulate the creation of pearls.

After all, he had no experience, and the only person he’d ever crossed the line with was Mo Xuanli.

So when that d*mned illusion was cast, it was only natural he’d end up thinking of his little disciple.

Recalling all the ridiculous things he’d done inside that illusion—especially those indescribable acts—Gu Baiqing wanted to curl up and cry. How could he, just because Mo Xuanli had once touched him, have been so weak-willed as to crave that feeling again? In the illusion, he’d actually let his guard down and allowed the other to do those things! It was too humiliating.

No—no, it wasn’t that. It was just that the illusion’s Mo Xuanli was too good at seducing people!

When he thought back on it, every frown, every smile, every movement of that little Mo pup, even his gaze and tone of voice, the way he interacted—d*mn it all, how could the Mo Xuanli in that illusion be so good at flirting? He practically oozed male charm from every pore! Compared to the real Mo Xuanli, it was the difference between a little flirt and a clueless pup.

Thank heavens it hadn’t gone any further. Otherwise, Gu Baiqing might’ve started wondering if he’d actually been turned gay—just thinking about it was terrifying!

He was straight, definitely straight. It was just… just a momentary lapse in willpower, indulging in a bit of bodily pleasure, that’s all. He was a man—these things were understandable.

To convince himself, Gu Baiqing even went so far as to collectively insult all men.

But as he thought more about it, he suddenly remembered that moment before breaking the illusion. He’d looked closely at that Mo Xuanli.

It was… different. Illusions were always beautiful, after all. Maybe deep down, he truly hoped that no matter how miserable Mo Xuanli’s life started out, he could live brightly and happily—just like in the illusion—confident enough to be willful, to pout, to be domineering and bold, to flirt without restraint.

Those were things the real Mo Xuanli could never do—or dared not do.

Of course, it wasn’t that Gu Baiqing wanted Mo Xuanli to act that way toward him. He only hoped… that the boy’s eyes would no longer hide sadness and pain, that he wouldn’t always be so cautious, so careful. He just wanted Mo Xuanli to be, like in that dream, a boy shining bright to his very bones.

Thinking that, Gu Baiqing finally calmed down. He decided to sense Mo Xuanli’s condition through his spiritual power—but then realized, with a jolt, that his spiritual energy wasn’t responding.

Confused, he checked his system panel.

Mo Xuanli’s cultivation had already reached the late stage of Core Formation, nearly at perfection. That was completely unexpected progress.

His account points were still over eight hundred, his task still in progress, and his demonization level—d*mn! He’d heard the system chime during that last battle, but he hadn’t realized it had risen to thirty! This was bad, really bad!

He’d definitely have to give that brat a proper lecture later.

Still, his spiritual energy reserve was 650.

Whether he used that to recharge or exchanged points, it should’ve worked—so why couldn’t he use it?

Just as he was puzzling over it, something in his arms stirred. He cautiously opened his eyes and saw that the two people from before had just left.

“Master, wake up!” came Three Bean’s voice from below.

When Gu Baiqing opened his eyes, he found himself submerged in water, surrounded by rocky walls—it looked like some kind of underground cave.

He tried to move, but realized something was fastened around his neck. Looking down, he saw a collar, with an iron chain embedded into the wall. It was short—he couldn’t even stand up.

Because of his movements, Three Bean let out a cry of joy. “Master, you’re awake!”

Gu Baiqing looked down at him, about to speak—only to realize he couldn’t make a sound.

Cr*p. He remembered that merfolk had their vocal cords destroyed before being sold off.

Had they done the same to him?!

Maybe reading his expression, Three Bean quickly explained, “Don’t worry, Master—it’s fine! The collar around your neck is sealed—it’s blocking your power and your voice.”

Gu Baiqing exhaled in relief. Looking around carefully, he saw that he was lying in a large pool with many other male merfolk. The others had all shown their tails, meaning this pool was seawater. He didn’t have one, but since his soaked clothes clung tightly around his legs, no one seemed to notice the difference.

Every one of them wore the same collar, each engraved with sealing runes. Easy enough to undo—if only he could use his spiritual power.

D*mn that Beast-Taming Manor—they’d really thought of everything. Not only did they seal the merfolk’s magic, they’d also sealed their greatest weapon: their voices.

Without their voices, the merfolk couldn’t control beasts—and could only fall prey to the beasts’ illusions.

Looking around at all the male merfolk with peaceful, dreamlike expressions—it was horrifying in another sense.

Gu Baiqing truly hadn’t expected there to be so many hidden layers in this part of the story. His worldview was collapsing all over again.

But there was no time to dwell on that now. He silently mouthed three words: “Mo Xuanli?”

Thankfully, Three Bean understood, and quickly explained what had happened after he fainted.

He hadn’t seen Mo Xuanli himself, but said that the black dragon had taken him—so it should be fine.

Gu Baiqing’s eyes changed as he looked at Three Bean.

Three Bean giving orders to Ao Hang?

Three Bean calling him by name?

Then that means… San’er—the “fiancée”…

Gu Baiqing was so shocked he could only wave his hands frantically in disbelief. Three Bean’s small, usually steadfast face suddenly crumpled, and he clung to Gu Baiqing’s arm.

“Master, we have to find a way to escape—fast! Then we can find Xuanli and run back to the Zixiao Sect together. If we don’t, your contract beast will be lost for good! I lied to him—he doesn’t know I’m male! If he catches me and finds out the truth, I’m dead! But he seems unable to leave the sea, so we still have a chance to run.”

Gu Baiqing’s expression had long since gone beyond shock.

So in the original story, Three Bean died, and Ao Hang never knew his fiancée was actually male. He only discovered later that Mo Xuanli had some connection to Three Bean, which was why he came looking for Mo Xuanli—just like this time.

That must be why, after Three Bean’s death in the original timeline, Ao Hang’s attitude was completely different. The text described him as a cold, proud, noble dragon—utterly indifferent even toward his “master,” Mo Xuanli—only cooperating when necessary in battle.

But if he wasn’t drawn in by the protagonist’s aura… then why would he ever agree to become Mo Xuanli’s contract beast?

Wait—Three Bean just said Ao Hang couldn’t leave the sea. In the original, he only left after forming the contract with Mo Xuanli. Could that be a requirement?

Gu Baiqing’s mind was a mess of question marks.

“Master, do you understand what I’m saying? He’s a dragon! You can’t possibly beat him. If he eats me, you and Xuanli will both be in trouble!” Three Bean was practically panicking now.

Meanwhile, far away in the Dragon Palace beneath the sea, Ao Hang suddenly sneezed.

Mo Xuanli, who had been fully focused, looked over in confusion. A dragon… sneezing?

Ao Hang rubbed his nose with a frown. “Could it be that San’er’s thinking of me?”

Mo Xuanli didn’t answer. He thought silently, Three Bean’s been hiding from you—why would he be thinking of you?

And how was Master doing right now?

He quickly steadied his mind, channeling his spiritual power to protect the God Nine Transformations, urging it to absorb the second fragment of the God-Slaying Sword.