In the great hall, when “Heavenly Thunder” was mentioned and he realized he was about to become the ultimate scapegoat, Gu Baiqing fainted on the spot, cleanly and decisively, not even hesitating, not caring if anyone caught him or not. Either way, he wasn’t about to give those people a chance to drain his spiritual power or steal his points.
As long as he didn’t use any spiritual energy, his body naturally appeared powerless so even the most skilled healer wouldn’t be able to tell he was faking. They would only assume something really went wrong.
So he stayed unconscious, refused to help, and was unapologetically petty. Hadn’t they all said that Mo Xuanli, after surviving the Demon-Dissolving Nails, might even break through? Fine, then let them face their heart demons, maybe they’ll break through that way too.
Honestly, with how scheming those people were, if he actually helped and the results weren’t what they wanted, they’d probably accuse him of not putting in enough effort, of playing tricks. So Gu Baiqing decided he might as well throw his hands up and let them deal with it themselves.
In this way, Gu Baiqing successfully avoided the responsibility they tried to shove on him. Though, it seemed he had frightened Mo Xuanli in the process but that was fine too. The more convincing Mo Xuanli’s reaction, the less anyone would doubt him. Best to just leave this foul place as soon as possible.
Gu Baiqing decided to keep pretending to be unconscious, but in his mind, he was already arguing with the system.
That skill he hadn’t used, he wanted a refund. Two hundred points!
But the system replied coldly that all sales were final. Since the crisis had passed, the skill was now invalid. Meaning even if a similar situation happened again, he couldn’t use it. What a scam! Total crooks!
Just as Gu Baiqing was fuming, Mo Xuanli had already placed him on the bed.
Snapping back to his senses, Gu Baiqing realized he was now safe and was about to open his eyes but then he felt someone touching his face.
After that last misunderstanding, being touched like this by his disciple again was… awkward, to say the least. Not exactly a good moment to open his eyes either.
Maybe… he should just keep pretending?
He was still thinking that when something pressed down on him, Mo Xuanli suddenly leaned over.
Gu Baiqing was startled, just about to move when he felt Mo Xuanli rest his head on his shoulder, trembling slightly as he called out in a hoarse voice, “Master…”
That fragile tone made Gu Baiqing’s heart soften. He didn’t know whether the boy was crying, and just as he was about to lift a hand to gently comfort him—
—he heard Mo Xuanli’s confession.
Hearing him say he was a half-blood, hearing his apologies and his choked “I’m not worthy”, Gu Baiqing froze completely.
Those were probably things Mo Xuanli could only say when he thought his master was unconscious. Should he keep pretending? Or should he wake up and tell him that he already knew about his heritage that it didn’t matter, that in his eyes, he was still a good child?
Just as Gu Baiqing hesitated over what would be better for the boy’s mental state—
—the system’s alert chimed in his mind.
[Demonization Value +1]
Wait.
+1… +1?!
Gu Baiqing panicked. Why is the demonization rising?! Just admitting he’s a half-blood has such a huge impact?!
What to do?! If he woke up now to stop him, would that make things even worse?!
No, this wouldn’t do, if it rose much more, it would pass 50!
As Gu Baiqing’s heart raced in step with the increasing demonization value, something suddenly brushed against his lips.
Gu Baiqing: ?!
The rapidly climbing value seemed to pause.
His mind went blank. His lips were pried open, and that invasive sensation made his heart seize in panic, followed immediately by a shocking, shamefully intense kiss.
Gu Baiqing was completely dumbstruck. What the h*ll is happening?!
Wasn’t that misunderstanding cleared up already? Why was Mo Xuanli still… still doing this?!
No, no, although it was cleared up, maybe Mo Xuanli still hadn’t sorted out his feelings yet. He must still be confused.
Because of his dependency, he’d misunderstood again. Plus, after what happened in the hall, and since Gu Baiqing had been overprotective, the kid must have relapsed!
But still! Didn’t this brat promise not to offend him again? Didn’t he say he’d seriously reflect and keep his distance? That sounded like a good start! Then what is this?! Did he just swallow his own words like a dog eats scraps?!
And the nerve of him! Even if that last time was a misunderstanding, Gu Baiqing was still his master! How dare he take advantage of him while he’s unconscious, doing… doing this! He’s completely gone astray. Bad dog!
Wait, no, he’s in a rising demonization state, so his mind isn’t normal right now… maybe it’s somewhat understandable—
Understandable, my *ss! Don’t get brainwashed, Gu Baiqing!
This isn’t right at all!
Wait, the demonization value stopped rising? What the h*ll?! Why did it spike earlier but stop the moment he started taking advantage of him?! That’s just bullying! Is this thing trying to encourage him to keep getting kissed?!
Isn’t this supposed to be a BG world?!
Mo Xuanli, you’re supposed to be straight! What’s gotten into you?!
What do I do now? Fry this ungrateful disciple with lightning? But if I wake up now, wouldn’t that be way too awkward? He’s already been kissing me this long, how am I supposed to stay the pure, dignified master after this?! So… maybe keep pretending? Until he stops on his own?
But he… he… they’re still kissing!
Mo Xuanli, you really are a walking disaster!
Just as Gu Baiqing was struggling like mad, the system readouts went haywire, his spiritual power value skyrocketed, but the demonization value actually started to drop?! Gu Baiqing was completely dumbfounded.
What the h*ll was this? A live “righteous man forced into sin” performance?!
Maybe… maybe he should just endure it a little? It wasn’t completely unbearable… He could be considerate, after all, Mo Xuanli had just gone through a fright and this was probably an aftershock, right?
But this kiss, it was way too… suggestive… Gu Baiqing couldn’t even tell if his face was red, but he was sure he was running out of oxygen.
Did this kid not know how to breathe when kissing?!
You d*mn little brat, since when did your kissing skills get this good: entangling, pulling, practically devouring—
Even with his eyes tightly shut, Gu Baiqing could feel a film of mist rising in them. His awareness was going hazy. The air that should have been filled with his own breath felt completely replaced, replaced by another person’s presence. And when he realized that presence belonged to the little Mo-pup, embarrassment and heat surged through him like wildfire. His body grew restless, his limbs stiffened and was that… a reaction?!
Gu Baiqing’s mind buzzed blankly. He’d actually been kissed awake by his disciple.
He knew it was just a normal physiological response for a man, but still his poor heart couldn’t take it. Luckily, Mo Xuanli was only half leaning over from the bedside to kiss him, or else he might have seen this humiliating situation.
Gu Baiqing wanted to cry but had no tears. He tried desperately to calm himself, but Mo Xuanli’s breathing above him was clearly unsteady now too and one of his hands had even brushed against his waist and paused there.
Gu Baiqing’s heartbeat sped up. His chest tightened. Surely this little beast wouldn’t lose control further right?
Heaven help me, I’ll really get struck by lightning for this!
Panic hit him hard. Maybe the heavens took pity, because finally, the kiss began to fade.
When those soft lips finally left his own, Gu Baiqing felt like a man who’d just spotted a spring in the middle of a sea of fire, saved at last.
Mo Xuanli, however, just stared blankly at Gu Baiqing’s reddened, swollen lips, completely dazed. His eyes were pure black, bottomless. When clarity suddenly returned to him, he jolted upright only to feel discomfort below. Flustered, he forced himself to still his mind and hastily adjusted his sitting posture.
“What was I doing? I…” Mo Xuanli murmured to himself, unable to believe what he’d just done.
How could he have dared to do something like that while his master was unconscious? His master clearly… didn’t like him that way. What he’d done was no different from defiling him. How could he have lost control like a man possessed? Sure enough, that demonic nature in him still couldn’t be suppressed.
He admired his master, respected him, how could he go against his will like that? His master had just risked everything to protect him in the great hall, shielding him from harm, and this was how he repaid him? It was utterly beastly.
Unable to stop the guilt, Mo Xuanli slapped himself hard across the face. The sound cracked through the quiet room.
Thank heavens his master was unconscious, otherwise, his master would surely be disappointed, disgusted even. They had already made everything clear; there was no reason for his master to tolerate such disobedience again.
Of course, Gu Baiqing heard every word, the self-reproach, even the slap. At first, he’d been furious, but now he only felt helpless. It had to be the demonization affecting him earlier. When calm, the boy was still disciplined, respectful, and aware of his mistakes.
Forget it. He’d just pretend none of this ever happened. After all, he was “unconscious.”
He had just finished that thought when something brushed his lips again, startling him so badly he almost opened his eyes. But he quickly realized, it wasn’t lips this time. It was fingers.
Gu Baiqing’s face burned with embarrassment. Oh. Mo Xuanli must have noticed the lingering traces of his “crime” and was now trying to erase the evidence.
With gentle touches, he slowly wiped the moisture away from Gu Baiqing’s lips. This time, Mo Xuanli behaved himself, not taking advantage, not overstepping. Once even the corners of the lips were clean, he immediately drew his hand back.
Gu Baiqing felt a headache coming on. This kid, when would he ever sort out his feelings properly? Right now, Mo Xuanli was like someone who’d taken the wrong path. Not that he’d turned, exactly, straight men don’t just “turn” so easily, but he definitely had a teacher complex, a full-blown case of mentor fixation.
Maybe when he grew older, more mature, and looked back someday, he’d realize how foolish and mortifying all of this was.
As Gu Baiqing fretted over his disciple’s emotional development, Mo Xuanli was still silently watching him.
He was thinking about what to do from now on.
Give up his feelings for his master? …Impossible.
Make his master truly fall for him? Could he… really do that?
His master was so good, so brilliant, and he, he was just a despised half-blood.
Mo Xuanli lowered his gaze to the God Nine Transformations mark on his wrist. As expected… he had to change his identity first before he could think of anything else. Otherwise, his mixed-blood nature would always bring danger, might even ruin both their futures, cost him his life.
It didn’t matter. They were master and disciple. There would be time: years, decades, centuries. He would devote his entire life to his master. Eventually, he would earn his affection. And even if he never did, he would still quietly stay by his side for life.
But for now… he would have to keep his distance.
The demon clan was targeting him. His secret could be exposed at any time. If he failed, it would drag his master down with him. He never wanted to experience what had happened today again.
And yet… as Mo Xuanli looked at the man lying on the bed, he couldn’t help but take Gu Baiqing’s hand in his.
Keep his distance? He’d tried. Between the last misunderstanding and the revelation of the Yinyuan Stone’s secret, there had been three or four whole hours, he’d tried to keep away. He knew exactly how hard that had been.
How could he possibly bear it?
Just as Mo Xuanli was drowning in self-reproach and sorrow for the path ahead—
—the door was suddenly kicked open.
Mo Xuanli instantly released Gu Baiqing’s hand, standing up in guilty panic to face the intruder. Meanwhile, Gu Baiqing could only continue pretending to be unconscious, after all, given his supposed “condition,” it wouldn’t make sense for him to wake up so soon.
He really had dug himself a pit… and fallen straight in.
Chu Fei rushed in, took one glance around, and frowned. “How is he?”
Mo Xuanli shook his head. “It’s nothing serious, the same as before.”
Chu Fei nodded, then suddenly turned to him with a sharp tone. “Your performance in the main hall today was very disappointing.”
Mo Xuanli froze, looking at Chu Fei in surprise.
Chu Fei said bluntly, “You’re his only disciple, and the genius of Zixiao Sect famed throughout the cultivation world. They treated you like that, and you just swallowed your anger in silence? You should’ve fought back hard, talked back, beaten them up, and driven them all out! Who do they think they are, to say they’ll ‘inspect’ you as they please? The first one who lays a hand on you, you should’ve punched him! Even if you couldn’t win, you should’ve fought! My senior brother has always been the laziest about meddling in other people’s business and wasting his breath, yet he still had to keep standing up for you. That’s because you, as his disciple, aren’t doing your part! As a disciple, you should be easing your master’s burdens, not making him worry for you!”
Mo Xuanli glanced at the unconscious Gu Baiqing, then nodded guiltily. “Little Martial Uncle, your reprimand is right. It’s my fault. I… was frightened by that scene.”
“I think you’re just afraid of causing trouble!” Chu Fei said disdainfully. “In that regard, you’re worse than Nan Zhi! Don’t imitate your Second Martial Uncle, overthinking everything and being so long-winded and hesitant. Learn from me and your master instead!”
Mo Xuanli smiled helplessly and nodded in agreement. He knew that the reason Chu Fei spoke that way was because he had never even considered the possibility that Mo Xuanli might be of mixed blood. But Chu Fei was right, he shouldn’t have been shackled by the psychological shadow of being a “hybrid.” In that situation, the better response would have been to act bold and defiant, to openly declare “I’m not!”
After scolding him thoroughly, Chu Fei saw that his part here was done and left. He too had been affected by the demonic aura and needed to rest and adjust.
Soon after, Ao Hang returned slowly with Three Bean. Three Bean, full of worry, jumped onto the bed to watch over Gu Baiqing.
“It’s all those bad people’s fault! Serves them right to have bad luck!” Three Bean grumbled, then rubbed against Mo Xuanli’s hand in comfort.
Leaning lazily against the wall, Ao Hang sneered. “They pretty much brought it upon themselves, several of them went seriously mad from qi deviation.”
Mo Xuanli didn’t care how those people ended up; he wasn’t one for holding grudges. What he worried about were his friends. Being invaded by demonic energy wasn’t minor, but not severe either, and he feared they might still suffer some lingering effects.
Not long after, Fu Zhiyi returned. The sect masters and elders who had succumbed to qi deviation were all taken back to their own floating islands to undergo inner-demon trials. The rest went home to recuperate. With the clan members gone, Taixu Hall was now run by other managing elders, but it was basically certain that Taixu Hall had completely lost its voice in the cultivation world. It was now nothing more than a venue for cultivators to gather.
At present, the direction of the cultivation world was led by Tianyuan Sect and Zixiao Sect, with the Hidden Gods Clan and Wuxiang Temple assisting from the side. They decided to reconvene the next day to discuss the issue of capturing people from the Demon Realm.
Fu Zhiyi, exhausted from running about, still came to visit Gu Baiqing and brought along Baili Jingcheng and Jingzhan.
As soon as the three entered the room, they saw Mo Xuanli rise from Gu Baiqing’s bedside and formally bow in greeting.
Fu Zhiyi and Jingcheng naturally went first to check on Gu Baiqing’s condition.
From behind them, Jingzhan stepped forward, looking slightly awkward. During the confrontation in the main hall, at first he had only thought that his brother was innocent and should clear his name openly to slap their accusers in the face but when he saw them use the Immortal-Trapping Formation and heard how they intended to “verify,” he’d been enraged. Yet when he’d tried to step in and help…
“Brother, I’m sorry,” Jingzhan said contritely, facing Mo Xuanli. “I didn’t stand up for you in time and let you suffer. Really… just hit me once.”
Mo Xuanli was stunned. He hadn’t paid much attention during the chaos, only vaguely remembering that Jingzhan had spoken up for him. He was about to reply when Jingcheng turned his head and said, “Don’t blame him. Later on, I used a spell to restrain him, to keep him from making trouble.”
Seeing Jingzhan’s serious expression, Mo Xuanli smiled faintly. “You’re overthinking it. I remember you speaking on my behalf, that already counts as supporting me. But you, after being invaded by demonic qi, are you all right now?”
Jingzhan, seeing that Mo Xuanli was genuinely concerned for him, instantly beamed. He slung an arm around his good brother’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, it’s all cleared out.” Then he couldn’t resist ranting about what had happened earlier, fuming at how the clan had slandered Mo Xuanli. “That guy really has some imagination, coming up with that kind of lie to smear you!”
Mo Xuanli let out a cold laugh. “Right? I didn’t expect it either.”
As they were talking, Jingcheng suddenly spoke up. “Mo Xuanli, I have a question for you.”
Mo Xuanli turned toward him. Jingcheng’s expression was nothing like his usual mild and friendly one, his smile didn’t reach his eyes, his face was serious and cold, his gaze sharp and taut like an arrow drawn to full tension, locked straight on Mo Xuanli.
That look, Mo Xuanli knew it all too well. It was unfriendly. Suspicious.
But Mo Xuanli’s heart had already steadied. Having faced such suspicion many times, he answered calmly, “Please ask, Senior.”
