Chapter 20: It’s Basically the Same
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
After White Crane left, Lou Bugui finally lifted his gaze from the poisonous grass and said, “Third Senior Brother is mighty.”
Xi Guxing glanced at him. “Forget everything I just said. Don’t remember a word of it.”
Lou Bugui asked, “Why?”
Xi Guxing, annoyed and ashamed, snapped, “Just forget it! If I find out you’ve told anyone, beware of your medicinal garden!”
Lou Bugui was taken aback, hastily stuttering, “Y-yes! I’ll forget right away! Senior Brother didn’t disobey our master, didn’t plan to betray the sect, didn’t say ‘I, Xi Guxing, am the leader of Liren Peak’…”
Xi Guxing remained silent, rubbing his temples in agony, feeling like no sect leader in the entire Three Realms was more troublesome than him. He stood up, wanting to leave, out of sight, out of mind.
Lou Bugui was desperately trying to forget Xi Guxing’s treasonous words when he was stopped amidst his haste. “Senior Brother, what about Shiyi? Are you going to bring him back?”
Xi Guxing lightly tapped the hilt of his sword hanging at his waist with his fingers, impatiently saying, “Although Li Suo is useless, he’s at least in the Golden Core stage. Besides, Shen Shiyi has the protection barrier of our Master on him. Going down the mountain won’t pose any major risks.”
He paused, then lowered his voice as if afraid of disturbing something, “You and I both know that the existence of the artifact mentioned by the Beast King and our Master is uncertain at best. Shen Shiyi is unfairly implicated, and until now, he doesn’t even know who’s framing him. Stuck in the Liren Peak all these years, every time he goes out, he can only use his divine puppet. Tell me, which cultivator in the world suffers like him? Since he mistakenly came down the mountain today, let him go, I’ll take responsibility for everything.”
Lou Bugui tilted his head, “But he can’t use his spiritual power right now. If he encounters danger…”
Xi Guxing responded curtly, “He won’t die. If anything happens, I’ll take full responsibility.”
Lou Bugui called out to him, “But, what if something unexpected happens, Senior Brother?”
Exasperated by Lou Bugui’s persistence, Xi Guxing, trying to maintain his patience, replied, “A few days ago, Sanshui, along with Zhuxie, was tracking a water demon that escaped from Dongting. They should be arriving at Fuxian City in Jingzhou today.”
“Sanshui?” Lou Bugui tried to recall, “Ah, Shiyi’s senior disciple. He’s back?”
“Hmm, he has been leading Zhuxie for many years, with a calm temperament. With his disciple’s help, it should be easy to locate his master,” Xi Guxing said. “Given his current cultivation level, protecting someone like Shen Shiyi shouldn’t be a problem.”
Lou Bugui finally felt relieved.
Meanwhile, Shen Gurong was completely unaware that his senior brother had almost declared war on the Yao Clan because of him. He was currently nestled on Mu Zhe’s head, watching the bustling crowd with curiosity.
In Fuxian City, Jingzhou, the atmosphere was lively and bustling. A river flowed alongside the wide official road, spreading throughout the entire city. On both sides of the river, there were willows, picturesque bridges, and blooming flowers amidst green tiles and red walls.
During the Flower Festival, the entire city’s populace went out to enjoy the blossoms, pray for blessings, and welcome the Flower Deities.
Every year during the Flower Festival in Huitang City, Shen Gurong would always go out for an outing with his older brother. Because Shen Gurong had a penchant for drawing portraits of women, his strict older brother always kept a close eye on him. When they arrived at the destination, Shen Gurong would be dragged into a group of men, forced to listen to the tedious discussions of literati, which annoyed him to no end.
Upon closer reflection, this was the first time Shen Gurong had enjoyed such freedom during the Flower Festival.
Initially, he had been filled with despair at not being able to see Xi Guxing and revert to his human form. However, as soon as they entered the bustling city of Fuxian, Shen Gurong immediately pushed Xi Guxing to the back of his mind.
―― His only focus now was to admire the beauty around him and perhaps paint a picture.
Unfortunately, his small claws couldn’t even hold a brush properly, so he could only anxiously scratch around on top of Mu Zhe’s head.
Mu Zhe felt his scalp tingling and furrowed his brows, lifting him up gently. “Are you hungry?”
Shen Gurong stood in Mu Zhe’s palm, his claws still scratching away, emitting a few chirps that Mu Zhe couldn’t understand at all.
Watching from the side, Yu Xinghe felt a pang of jealousy, almost tearing up. He murmured softly, “I want to have a spirit beast like this too.”
Just as Li Suo had bought two candy figurines, he smiled and said, “Do you want these candy figurines?”
Yu Xinghe immediately took a look, seeing that one of them was shaped like a small phoenix, round and plump. He happily took it, saying, “Thank you, senior brother! Xinghe loves it!”
Li Suo then handed the other phoenix-shaped candy to Mu Zhe. Mu Zhe lowered his head and softly thanked him, then held the candy stick out to Shen Gurong.
Shen Gurong caught the scent of the candy and quickly hopped over, pecking at the candy figurine a couple of times, and then proceeded to peck a hole right through the small phoenix candy.
Tasting it, Shen Gurong made a face, not finding the candy appealing at all. He spat out the candy residue with a “Ptooey.”
“Chirp.”
[Not tasty.]
Liso took the two of them to the inn and booked two rooms. Meanwhile, Mu Zhe was licking the candy figurine that Shen Gurong refused to eat. Seeing this, he tugged on Li Suo’s sleeve and whispered, “Senior Brother, are we not going back tonight?”
Li Suo replied, “There will be lanterns lit for the Flower Festival tonight. Let’s watch them before heading back.”
Meanwhile, Yu Xinghe had finished chewing his candy figurine, with sugar residue on his lips, and cheerfully exclaimed, “Great! Let’s go watch the lanterns!”
The three spent half a day from descending the mountain to settling into the inn. After lunch, Li Suo took the two on a boat ride along the Snow Night River in the city of Fuxian.
The Snow Night River was filled with vibrant red flower petals, and the boat broke through layers of water waves, slowly passing under the stone bridges of the city.
Shen Gurong hopped off from Mu Zhe’s head and stood on the edge of the boat, looking at the colorful scenery on the shore, chirping incessantly.
Li Suo, enjoying the spring scenery, turned his head upon hearing the noise and glanced back, asking, “What’s wrong with him?”
Mu Zhe carefully observed for a moment and replied, “I think he’s… happy?”
Shen Gurong was indeed happy, and if he were in human form right now, he would probably be even happier.
When he was born, his father chose the name “Gurong” for him, hoping that he would grow up to be a tolerant and forgiving person. However, little did he know, Shen Gurong had always been fond of his own appearance, turning the intended meaning of “Gurong” into “self-admiration” instead.
Note: just word play in Chinese.
Shen Gurong always carried a round mirror with him and would often admire himself in it, believing that everyone else in the world, except for himself, was ugly. His self-love knew no bounds.
This temperament led him to paint his first portrait, which depicted the handsome gentleman who taught him calligraphy. It ended with his father dragging him by the ear to apologize to the gentleman.
Since then, he began to paint portraits of women, even though his painting was purely for the appreciation of beauty, with no hint of lewdness. However, he would always be punished whenever he was caught, which only made him more rebellious, indirectly leading to a rapid improvement in his painting skills in just a few years.
Shen Gurong bounced around, gazing towards the shore, his mind sketching out portraits of beautiful women in ink and wash. His claws traced along the edge of the boat, showing great excitement.
Shen Gurong, taking advantage of no one knowing he was Shen Fengxue, had long ago let go of any inhibitions. Before, even a chirp would leave him embarrassed for half a day, but now he had no qualms. If he wanted to chirp, he chirped; if he wanted to act cute, he acted cute.
The boat floated along the river, and because it was Flower Festival, many decorated boats floated past, creating a lively scene.
The floral blanket on the water was torn open, revealing the clear surface below.
Along the way, Shen Gurong inadvertently glanced down into the water, and suddenly froze, tilting his head and chirping in surprise.
Why did his reflection in the water look strange?
Shen Gurong tried walking to the side, but his reflection in the water lagged behind for a moment before sluggishly moving aside.
Shen Gurong: “???”
Shen Gurong stared at the water in disbelief, suddenly doubting if he was seeing things.
In the next moment, the reflection on the water surface distorted slightly, and a red figure rippled out.
Then, a man with a strange expression appeared on the water’s surface, his face contorted like seaweed as he floated in the water, his eyes staring at Shen Gurong menacingly.
The man’s eyes turned white, and he spoke softly, [Who are you?]
Shen Gurong: “…”
AHHHHH!
Shen Gurong let out a sharp “chirp”, his fur bristling all over his body. He desperately tugged on the sleeve of Mu Zhe, who was hanging beside him, and exclaimed, “Chirp chirp!”
[Look in the water!]
Mu Zhe looked at him puzzled, probably guessing his meaning, and glanced down at the water’s surface.
Other than the flower petals, there were only vague reflections.
There was nothing strange about it.
Shen Gurong widened his eyes in horror, staring at the man on the water’s surface who was still glaring at him with a sinister gaze.
The man spoke coldly, [Why does a phoenix have a human soul? Are you capable of soul transference]
Shen Gurong screamed again, flapping his wings frantically as he dove into Mu Zhe’s arms.
Mu Zhe was taken aback.
Shen Gurong trembled in fear, continuing to chirp loudly, “Chirp! Chirp chirp!”
[There’s a ghost! A ghost!]
His screams were so piercing that even Yu Xinghe, who was playing with water, curiously turned his head.
Shen Gurong continued to scream as he burrowed into Mu Zhe’s clothing, finding a sense of safety only after running inside the garment. His small body still trembled with fear.
Mu Zhe thought he might be afraid of the water, so he gently patted him through the clothes, while Li Suo quickly instructed the boatman to dock.
Even after Mu Zhe got off the boat, Shen Gurong remained in shock, chirping listlessly, completely stunned by the scare.
Seeing Shen Gurong so frightened, Mu Zhe was drained of energy. Li Suo took him back to the inn first and then continued to go out with Yu Xinghe to have fun.
In the room, Mu Zhe placed Shen Gurong on the bed and gave him a cup of water to drink.
Shen Gurong took a few sips lethargically and then buried himself under the quilt, still shaken from the experience.
Fortunately, now that he was in his phoenix form, if he reacted like this to ghosts even in human form, Shen Fengxue would surely be embarrassed.
Shen Gurong lay buried under the quilt for a while, then suddenly heard someone knocking on the door.
Mu Zhe, who was reading nearby, went to open the door, and Yu Xinghe bounced in, looking extremely happy.
“Mu Zhe, Mu Zhe!” Yu Xinghe exclaimed excitedly, holding a small cage covered with a red cloth as if presenting a treasure. His face was filled with excitement. “Guess what I bought?!”
Mu Zhe, although not as enthusiastic, played along, asking, “What did you buy?”
Yu Xinghe pulled back the red cloth eagerly, exclaiming, “Ta-da! Look!”
Mu Zhe lazily glanced over, then suddenly froze.
In the silver cage, there was a chubby little bird with fiery red feathers, its body round and adorable.
Mu Zhe stood up oddly, asking, “Where did you buy this?”
“At the Flower and Bird Pavilion!” Yu Xinghe’s face was flushed with happiness. “I got it for only five hundred spirit stones!”
Mu Zhe: “…”
Even Mu Zhe, who was usually indifferent, was stunned by the price of five hundred spirit stones. “Five hundred spirit stones?”
In the mortal world, an average household’s annual expenses amounted to about ten spirit stones. Was Yu Xinghe being deceived?!
“Yeah! Yeah!” Yu Xinghe was blissfully unaware, still happily bouncing around. “Where’s your spirit beast? Let it come out!”
Mu Zhe looked at Yu Xinghe with an odd expression, as if he were looking at a rich fool.
Having known Yu Xinghe for over a year, Mu Zhe was aware of his wealthy background. Yu Xinghe’s lifestyle, with its extravagance in every aspect, was something Mu Zhe had never seen before. However, Mu Zhe wondered why such a young master would leave his hometown and come to Liren Peak for cultivation.
Inside the blanket, Shen Gurong heard Yu Xinghe’s voice and timidly peeked out. His gaze fell upon the chubby little bird in the cage on the table. Shen Gurong’s pupils dilated in shock.
That’s…
Yu Xinghe opened the cage door, and the chubby little bird looked bewildered as it hesitantly hopped out, tilting its head to look at the two people in front of it, as if trying to distinguish friend from foe.
This bird bore a resemblance to Shen Gurong, but it had a tuft of white fluff at the center of its brow, and its eyes were lifeless, giving it a somewhat vacant expression.
Mu Zhe made a mental comparison and still felt that his spirit beast was livelier and cuter.
Just as Yu Xinghe was proudly showing off his spirit beast bought with five hundred spirit stones, a red light suddenly flashed before their eyes. Then, there were two chirps and squawks from the table. When they looked down, they saw two chubby little birds entangled in a scuffle.
Yu Xinghe: “…”
Mu Zhe: “…”
Shen Gurong was furious. He viciously pinned the chubby little bird beneath him and extended his claws to pluck at the fluff on its head.
“Chirp, chirp!”
The chubby little bird looked bewildered, completely defenseless under Shen Gurong’s relentless plucking. It couldn’t fight back at all.
Almost in tears, it let out two choked chirps.
[Xue Manzhuang!]
Shen Gurong cursed and scolded, his chirps fluctuating in pitch and tone as he plucked at Xue Manzhuang’s feathers, nearly leaving him bald. Red fluff floated in the air.
[You damn Xue Manzhuang!]
[Give up! Surrender, now!]
If you love what Ciacia is doing, then consider showing your support by supporting a cup of tea for her at Kofi. If you can’t wait for the next release chapter, subscribe to advanced chapters membership on her Kofi to get access to up to 10 chapters!
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
