“Xuanli, calm yourself.” Gu Baiqing tried to push his disciple off, clearly sensing the changes in his body.
All of it dragged Gu Baiqing back to memories of Ten Thousand Swords Island—embarrassment, discomfort. He wanted to stop this, but Mo Xuanli’s hand had already torn open his sash.
“Mo Xuanli, you’re under the succubus’s spell. Calm down… I am your master. Look clearly.”
“Master… Master…” Mo Xuanli’s voice was hoarse, low, the heat of it burning Gu Baiqing’s ears red. His body seemed to soften under his disciple’s weight against his will.
The heat rolling off Mo Xuanli left Gu Baiqing lightheaded. In truth, he himself had caught a trace of the pink smoke while saving Mo Xuanli. With his high cultivation it should not have affected him—but now, his body was betraying him.
Mo Xuanli’s kiss descended, forceful and unrelenting. Gu Baiqing turned his head aside, trying to resist, but when he saw Mo Xuanli’s body covered in wounds, he couldn’t bring himself to strike him. He pushed with all his might, but Mo Xuanli’s spell-fueled strength was overwhelming. He seized Gu Baiqing’s chin roughly, leaving him no escape, until Gu Baiqing was forced to endure a kiss like his disciple meant to devour him.
Gu Baiqing trembled, shame overwhelming him, and at last he shoved Mo Xuanli away violently.
The next moment Mo Xuanli seemed to snap awake. He slapped himself hard, then scrambled away in panic, putting distance between them. Both were gasping, the ruined space filled only with their ragged breaths.
Just as Gu Baiqing was about to steady himself, the sound of a sword leaving its sheath cut through the air. He turned his head—Mo Xuanli was about to cut his own throat.
Gu Baiqing was horrified and immediately struck the sword from Mo Xuanli’s hand. “You’re insane… It’s just… just a moment of offense. I know you didn’t mean it, as your master I—”
“It’s not that, Master!” Mo Xuanli suddenly let out a pained roar, his whole body curling up in agony.
“Master, that smoke just now didn’t only contain the succubus’s spell—it had gu insects from the Gu Demon as well. We’ve been afflicted with Hehuan Gu. If we don’t dual cultivate to nourish the insects, we’ll both die.”
Gu Baiqing was shaken to his core, ears ringing. What did his disciple just say? Dual cultivation? Between the two of them?
Unwilling to believe it, he immediately checked his body. “Impossible… I feel nothing. Let me examine you.”
“That’s because the mother gu is inside me. You carry the child gu—you can’t sense it.”
Gu Baiqing didn’t believe it, but insisted on checking. Mo Xuanli looked utterly despairing as he let him. Probing carefully, Gu Baiqing did indeed sense strange demonic energy lingering in his disciple’s body. He wasn’t familiar with demonic gu and didn’t know the exact details, but his disciple’s condition had definitely changed.
And Mo Xuanli had studied this subject extensively—he wouldn’t lie about something like this. More than that, how could his disciple deceive him with such horrifying news?
Gu Baiqing was left bewildered when Mo Xuanli suddenly dropped to his knees. “Master, for your immense grace, I will repay you in my next life. Please don’t worry—once I die, the child gu inside you will vanish. You’ll be safe. I will never drag Master down.”
He lifted his sword to end his life again, but Gu Baiqing stopped him once more. How could he let his disciple die while he clung to life? But… dual cultivation… they were master and disciple, and both men… Gu Baiqing’s hands trembled as he gripped Mo Xuanli’s wrist.
“Master, let me go. The gu is already taking effect. If we don’t dual cultivate, we’ll die. But if we do… how could I disgrace you like that? Let me die.”
“Is there no… no other way?”
“Master, if there were another way, how could I bear to leave you? This gu poison has no cure… unless we both transcend tribulation and ascend together. But that would take so long, and before then we’d need to… so often… how could I subject Master to such humiliation?”
Gu Baiqing had never imagined that his slight delay would doom them to this situation. It was his fault—for failing to save his disciple in time.
Mo Xuanli, seeing his master’s silence, tried again to end his life, but was once more stopped.
“Master…”
Gu Baiqing stared at him without a word, watching as Mo Xuanli’s eyes turned crimson, succubus spell and gu poison driving him out of control. He lunged again.
As his last shred of reason slipped, Mo Xuanli whispered, “Master, forgive me.”
Gu Baiqing clenched his teeth, stopped resisting, and let the act that defied all ethics take place.
In the ruins of the secret realm, the relationship of master and disciple began to warp.
Gu Baiqing blamed himself—for if not for his failure, it would never have come to this. He never realized that from the beginning to the end, Mo Xuanli had deceived him.
Afterwards, seeing his disciple shut himself away in guilty seclusion, Gu Baiqing only felt deeper remorse at being unable to save him. He scoured the texts, finding only descriptions matching Mo Xuanli’s words. Since he didn’t know how the child gu would manifest, he completely believed everything Mo Xuanli had said.
The next time they met, it was when Mo Xuanli supposedly collapsed from the gu poison during his seclusion. Gu Baiqing entered of his own will, and once again dual cultivated with him.
…
Movie Emperor Li’s acting and deception skills were simply top-tier.
If not for the “God’s-eye view,” even Gu Baiqing himself would have believed his own dubbed lines.
And now—the same scene was happening all over again.
Mo Xuanli’s eyes were devoid of reason, filled only with primal wildness as he pressed down with overwhelming dominance.
Just like in the text, Gu Baiqing felt the changes in his disciple’s body.
Gu Baiqing had only one thought: Holy sh*t!
His scalp went numb!
When Mo Xuanli reached for his sash, Gu Baiqing reacted as if slapped awake, reflexively punching his disciple hard in the gut.
With a muffled grunt, Mo Xuanli collapsed weakly, releasing his hold.
Gu Baiqing felt no pity at all—he only wanted to kick this lust-crazed brat away.
“Master?”
Gu Baiqing froze. He’s… lucid?
Just as he was about to scold him and push him away, he felt Mo Xuanli’s whole body trembling, taut with fear, as if he’d realized what had just happened. The boy was terrified. Fortunately—fortunately—this was his disciple, not the “original text’s” Mo Xuanli.
But the next second—
“Master… Master…” Mo Xuanli’s voice broke with sobs, spilling over and over. “Master, I feel awful… it hurts so much… What do I do? Master, save me, save me…”
His hot, ragged breaths brushed Gu Baiqing’s ear, making his mind blank for a moment.
Their master-disciple bond had lasted a year now. Mo Xuanli had always been obedient, respectful, speaking with calm restraint, humility—never, never had Gu Baiqing heard him cry like this, like a child seeking comfort.
In that moment, Gu Baiqing actually forgot that the one on top of him was a grown man. Against that pleading tone, he had no defenses at all.
For the first time, Mo Xuanli’s whole body felt like it was about to burst, blood surging chaotically. Lost and helpless, he instinctively rubbed against the person he trusted most, like a pup seeking help.
Mo Xuanli had no clear reason left. His master was the only one he trusted, yet wasn’t saving him. Desperate, he lifted his tear-washed eyes, fragile gaze fixed on Gu Baiqing below.
And Gu Baiqing—faced for the first time with such a Mo Xuanli—saw those dark, clear eyes filled with trust and entreaty. The depth of them struck straight into his heart, making it skip a beat.
The protagonist’s allure was terrifying!
Those usually tender eyes were now devastatingly moving. If they belonged to a woman, even Gu Baiqing wouldn’t be able to hold himself like a sage. But the undeniable reminder that the one above him was very much a man had him breaking into a cold sweat.
Who could endure such a trial?
“Master, what do we do? I…” Mo Xuanli was flustered, anxious and aggrieved, nearly crying from discomfort. Unable to help himself, he rubbed his forehead and nose against Gu Baiqing like a little puppy, seeking to please.
It felt as if he were only one step away from grasping something, about to break through. His hand, beyond his brain’s control, clutched at the lapel of Gu Baiqing’s robe.
But in that very instant, a crackling sound of electricity burst forth, followed by a roll of thunder.
Mo Xuanli was struck by lightning and sent flying, slamming into the stone wall at the side, falling unconscious.
Gu Baiqing sat up in a disheveled panic, his short, shallow breaths betraying his fright. D*mn it, infuriating!
In the original text, Mo Xuanli had offered himself up under the succubus’s influence yet still kept calm, spinning an enormous lie to trick his master. But his own little disciple? Completely lost his rationality at the first touch of the spell! Did he raise this child into uselessness?
If not, then the only explanation was more terrifying—that this child had secretly harbored designs on him all along.
Gu Baiqing felt a chill in his heart. He hoped desperately that it was just the boy being inexperienced and falling into the succubus’s trap. But the far more dreadful thought was…
Just now, he himself hadn’t resisted in time—and had nearly been moved.
No, no! It was only because Mo Xuanli’s pleading, whimpering tone had startled him. Besides, he had breathed in a little of that smoke too; surely, like the master in the original story, he was somewhat affected, which explained his delayed reaction.
Moved? That wasn’t his real will. It had to be the d*mned character setting of this “original master.” If it were his true body, the very moment a man tried to press him down, he’d have fought back with everything he had.
Yes—this was all external force, unnatural interference, completely against his true will. It was all a trap. There wasn’t a single chance in h*ll he’d bend!
Gu Baiqing frantically force-fed himself chicken soup for the soul, grinding the fleeting stir of emotion into dust.
Only then did he calm his mind and rise to check on Mo Xuanli.
The youth’s black hair had come loose, faintly curled from the lightning strike. His face was pale-blue, brows knitted tight, his whole body trembling in pain. Gu Baiqing couldn’t tell if it was from the lightning—or from holding something in.
Most likely the latter. His gaze had slipped, just for a moment, and he dared not look down again.
As a fellow man, Gu Baiqing sympathized deeply with Mo Xuanli’s current plight. From a certain angle, it might even be worse than death.
In the original, Mo Xuanli ended up with his master, so the text never explained how the succubus’s spell really worked. Could it be… an accident might happen here? This world was full of contrived traps. If the protagonist were to… suffer damage… would that count as a storyline accident?
Gu Baiqing couldn’t help but knock on the system to ask.
The black-hearted system responded: 【Plot variation detected. Target character is facing unprecedented peril. Would the host like to exchange for a strategy satchel to resolve the current crisis?】
Gu Baiqing: “Do I look like the kind of fool who gets tricked over and over?”
System: 【……】
A strategy satchel? Ha! Hadn’t last time taught him enough?
Hardening his heart, Gu Baiqing was about to dismiss it when he heard a pained groan. Mo Xuanli had awakened—curled up in unbearable torment, veins bulging at his neck.
They had lived together for a year. Gu Baiqing really did treat him like a disciple. Seeing him like this, his conscience… it really pricked.
…Fine. I am a fool. Just this once. The last time!
“System. Say it. How many points?”
If it was too much, then tough luck.
System: 【Given the difficulty, this pouch will cost only 5 points.】
Gu Baiqing checked. He had 55 points left.
…So cheap? If he didn’t spend on this, it’d feel like a waste.
“Alright, fine, redeem it. But it better work,” Gu Baiqing muttered weakly.
System: 【Congratulations, host. You have obtained one strategy pouch. Based on the current dilemma, it offers three possible solutions.】
“Hurry up, cut the nonsense.” Gu Baiqing’s heart thumped uneasily.
System: 【Option 1: Let him take you.】
Gu Baiqing sucked in a breath: …I really am an idiot. Falling for the exact same scam again! This was fraud. Pure fraud!
“Oh—wonderful. Very clever. What’s option two?” Gu Baiqing sneered. He wanted to see just how the system planned to scam him further.
System: 【Option 2: Take him.】
Gu Baiqing: !!!!!
Was this… seriously a valid option?
So the succubus’s spell—could it really only be broken by that?
No way. He was straight! There was no “top or bottom” in his worldview, okay? What kind of insane options were these?
Shuddering, Gu Baiqing demanded to hear the third. He had no hope left—but when the system answered, he nearly wanted to strangle it and wring his points back.
System: 【Option 3: He resolves it himself. Chance of physical damage: 50/50.】
Gu Baiqing: …Why the h*ll is this even an option? Isn’t this the obvious fallback? Doesn’t Mo Xuanli know how to handle it himself?
【Reminder: If host assists, the recovery rate will be much higher.】
Heh. Go to h*ll! If it breaks, it breaks. No way was he going to help with that. Asking him to manually relieve his disciple? Madness. Utterly depraved.
Impossible. Rather die than bend!
At worst, he’d ignore it. After all, it wasn’t fatal—the system hadn’t issued a mission-failure warning. If the boy got… crippled… then so be it. That was on him for not being strong enough. Gu Baiqing wasn’t responsible. And anyway, a half-demon’s body was far sturdier than a human’s. He’d survive. Even if not, this was a cultivation world. What immortal master had ever been rendered permanently useless? Once Mo Xuanli grew powerful enough, he’d be fine.
While comforting himself and fuming at the loss of 5 points, Gu Baiqing glanced at Mo Xuanli, who seemed oblivious to the outside world.
“Now that the demons have retreated and the beast tide is rampaging, I need to go deal with it. You… stay here for now. Come out once you’ve recovered.”
After speaking, he laid down a barrier around the ruins, ensuring that they wouldn’t collapse and that others wouldn’t easily discover Mo Xuanli, lest someone take advantage of him.
Having given his instructions, Gu Baiqing didn’t wait for Mo Xuanli to respond, and simply ran off.
It wasn’t until the whole ruined space grew quiet that Mo Xuanli slowly opened his eyes. In fact, he had woken up the moment he was struck and flung away by lightning. He had only kept them shut out of shock from what had just happened. He understood his current situation all too clearly—and he knew he had offended his master.
But… he felt terrible. Truly unbearable. It was a feeling he had never experienced before, instantly dragging his thoughts to the fantasy scene of the Jade Healing Pool.
That image had been like a life-saving elixir, and now here he was with only his master, his master who had just…
If he kept pretending to be unconscious, was there a chance that…?
Mo Xuanli didn’t dare think further. But instinctively, he yearned for the torment to be driven away, so he kept his eyes closed.
But this time, his master did nothing. Of course—his master had always been one who dared to imagine but never to act.
And he was the same. How could he waver like this? It was wrong.
Still, he decided not to open his eyes, to avoid the awkwardness of facing his master and recalling what had just happened.
But Gu Baiqing did nothing, only lowered his gaze on him. That gaze, so heavy it felt tangible, made every part of Mo Xuanli’s body feel as if it were about to erupt.
He couldn’t suppress the painful sounds he made. In the end, Master chose to leave—most likely unable to face the current situation. Mo Xuanli understood, yet when Master spoke, he hadn’t answered. It wasn’t that he meant to ignore him. It was just that the moment he heard his voice, the instant he saw his face, his body grew even more unbearable. He was far too ashamed to do anything filthy in front of his master. He could only suppress it, forcing himself to endure.
Now that the space held only himself, the strain on his body finally felt a little less suffocating.
He slowly shifted against the stone wall beside him. Awkward and resistant, he wanted to reach out—but in that instant, he noticed what his hand was clutching. For a moment, he was dazed. Then, unable to help himself, he lifted it to his nose. A faint plum fragrance wafted into him, making his tear-bright eyes glimmer with confusion.
The fantasy of the Jade Healing Pool became the only image circling in his chaotic mind. In the midst of unfamiliar, uneasy attempts, his suffering dragged on endlessly. Yet instead of easing, his heart grew even more distressed. Suddenly, he noticed what his other hand was tightly gripping, and a wicked thought stirred in the depths of his heart. After all… no one was watching…
That fine black cloud-brocade, steeped in a penetrating plum scent, wrapped around all his unease—and in turn provoked another, far more twisted satisfaction that pierced straight into his core.
“Mm… Master…”
