Ch26 - Query

The figures in front of the cave fell silent. Xie Zhiwei was about to break down.

This has to be fake. How could a stallion novel have random scenes like this?!

His first thought was of Gallant Outlaw. No wonder the man had kept this secret, previcated endlessly, and brushed past the details. A Loyal Dog Chasing its Master X Cold Sect Leader pairup—that would definitely get reported!!!

Not just that, what are we two soy sauce characters with the hero doing watching two other soy sauce characters get gay? It didn’t matter to him because he’d lived long enough in his own world to see all sorts of things. But the hero is a completely straight man. Won’t this gross him out?!

No wonder Nie Ting was gnashing his teeth when he spoke just then. Who wouldn’t after meeting their death at the hands of two mushy lovebirds?!

Xie Zhiwei recovered the pieces of his shattered three views with difficulty before adjusting his expression to look at Mu He again. Then he almost fell apart, because the teen was staring intently at the gazebo—if not with interest, then at least without resistance.

And even with consideration.

Dammit, hero, do you still remember you’re a stallion protag? You’re supposed to reject scenes like this, hey! I can’t believe you’re studying them—haha, don’t tell me you’re actually pondering life.

Xie Zhiwei was tired. He sternly covered Mu He’s eyes and pulled the boy behind him. “Little children shouldn’t peek,” he murmured.

Mu He’s face reddened beneath his palms even as his heart beat faster. “Disciple obeys,” he replied timidly.

There really isn’t much to see. Not when compared to shizun in the bath last night…

I wonder if I’ll have a chance to see it again.

Mu He subconsciously clenched his palms. Of course I will!

Xie Zhiwei looked at the couple in the gazebo again with some embarrassment. Tonight he came on a mission of righteousness to steal the scene and save his peers. But no matter how justified he felt, it just looked like they were capturing a pair of adulterers in the act.

“Those two brutes!” Nie Ting finally blew up. Although he was sealed within Black Lotus and sounded smaller than a mosquito, the stillness of the air still carried his jarring voice. The two figures in the gazebo had adequate cultivation levels to hear him.

Shen You was surprisingly calm and didn’t even blink. But Ming Kong was completely shaken.

“Who’s there?!” he exclaimed. It was obvious he had a frightened speculation about the source of the sound.

Look at how scared he is. I bet Nie Ting used to intimidate him a lot. In contrast, Shen You was much calmer than his junior brother despite being the main murderer and the one who was pressed down. It was hard to tell whether he was mentally tough or just thick-skinned. Xie Zhiwei felt unloved. He had readied himself to make a grand entrance but now just wanted to hide his head in a hole. This freakin’ plot is killing me.

In the original novel Nie Ting was an upright pillar of the Heavens, a simple bachelor with clear likes and dislikes. Xie Zhiwei didn’t want to distort his image, but this really felt like some dogblooded plot between a meeting of two love rivals who saw red.

—

Ming Kong sprang up from his seat, even forgetting Shen You until the man fell out of his arms.

It’s over, Xie Zhiwei thought, Shen You’s so fussy about his image, he’ll definitely box Ming Kong’s ears for this.

Unexpectedly, Shen You simply rolled straight onto the ground like a boneless scarecrow. Or rather, a dead man.

Ming Kong hastily recovered and beckoned to Shen You with a finger. Only then did the other react by slowly crawling upright and straightening out his torn robes in silence. He stood quietly behind Ming Kong to hide the marks on his neck, his posture and expression no different from when he killed the disciples, or showed up at the banquet. Besides the few minor expressions he showed Ming Kong in the past, everything else was exactly the same.

At last, Xie Zhiwei noticed the anomaly. If a person was always stuck wearing one expression, you could say he had facial paralysis. But to have no flicker in the eyes or even a focused gaze was a bit chilling.

“Sect Leader Nie, there’s something wrong with this Junior Brother Shen of yours.”

“You just noticed?” Nie Ting said bad-humoredly.

“This surnamed Xie is a fool,” Xie Zhiwei admitted. I mean, don’t people pretend to be expressionless all the time when they’re going for the cold and aloof look?! If Ashen Cloud Sword Sect disciples can’t even tell something’s wrong with Shen You, how is an outsider like me supposed to guess?

Mu He peeked through the cracks in Xie Zhiwei’s fingers and concluded, “Senior, it seems he’s been like this for awhile.”

That made sense. Shen You and Ming Kong were normal in front of others, but it was Ming Kong pressing Shen You down behind the scenes. Yet the two of them still interacted naturally, indicating practice from long interactions together.

Xie Zhiwei was about to agree when he suddenly rebuked, “Didn’t I tell you not to look?”

Mu He felt wronged. “Shizun didn’t cover up all the gaps, so this disciple accidentally…”

Xie Zhiwei glanced at his hands and saw that they’d slid down Mu He’s face while he was worrying about the gazebo. It almost looked like he was molesting the hero instead.

Ah geez hero, you don’t have to go along with it. And why are you blushing?! Xie Zhiwei was astonished. Is the hero finally coming out of abstinence? Did the sight of two guys doing it make him react?

“Who dares to trespass upon Peihua Manor!” Ming Kong shouted while emerging from the gazebo. Behind him, Shen You was left standing in the dark like a tattered piece of confetti.

Xie Zhiwei murmured, “Sect Leader Nie, what say you…”

“Step forward,” Nie Ting made a snap decision.

“Me?” Xie Zhiwei was startled. He’d rather not. After all, it was Nie Ting who had “caught the adulterers,” so why did he have to shoulder the blame? What a joke it’d be to have the upright Bixu zhenren Xie Zhiwei eavesdropping on others’ private affairs!

Nie Ting grew impatient. “We waited a shichen on purpose just so you could recover your spiritual powers. Don’t tell me you can’t beat them in a fight.”

Hahah? Laozi can beat 10 of them? No, 100!

“Since that’s the case…” Xie Zhiwei looked helpless and instructed Mu He, “Hide first, don’t show yourself.”

Xie Zhiwei stalked out of the cave and stood before the field of orchids, his crow gray daoist robes all but melting into the night.

As Heaven is my witness, I really didn’t steal the show on purpose this time.

When Ming Kong identified him, he was unsurprised, if still displeased. “I never expected Xie zhenren’s cultivation to be so profound. My drug was only enough to affect you for one shichen.”

Xie Zhiwei remained modest. “You praise overmuch.” However, he wasn’t sure where to look. Ming Kong was shameless enough to stand around with his collar wide open, as if to emphasize he had just been making love. Shen You was even worse. Although he stood like a block of wood in the gazebo, Xie Zhiwei’s exceptional eyesight could see his swollen lips and torn clothing. He looked rather wretched overall.

If it wasn’t for “Peihua Manor” emblazoned on the headboard behind the pavilion, Xie Zhiwei might have thought this was a host club instead. For the sake of preserving his dignity, he could only stare at his toes.

Ming Kong had enough clues from his behaviors to mock, “If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d never believe that Xie zhenren was so voyeuristic.”

Voyeur your grandpa! Laozi is only interested in the hero and Tantai Meng’s love story, narcissist! And what was up with Shen You anyways? Why wasn’t he reacting? Did Ming Kong screw his brains out?

Xie Zhiwei remained calm while drawing a square-shaped object from his sleeve. At the sight, Ming Kong asked, “What is this?”

Xie Zhiwei said modestly, “This surnamed Xie was hoping to find Sect Leader Shen for pointers in calligraphy, which is how I accidentally stumbled here…this is my proof.”

Using spiritual energy, he sent the square of paper over to Ming Kong’s hands. It was exactly the calligraphy that Xie Zhiwei had been writing earlier. He had only been passing the time, but thought it might be useful to approach Shen You and his alleged love of composition and verse. He never thought he’d be showing it off in this situation.

Ming Kong had no visible reaction as he stared at the words, but a vein began to pop out in his temple.

Seeing this, Xie Zhiwei told Shen You, “This poor daoist has no right to judge the private affairs of your sect. But it’s rare to see Sect Leader Shen, so this surnamed Xie didn’t want to leave any regrets behind.”

Not surprisingly, Shen You remained indifferent.

“What does zhenren want?” Ming Kong asked.

“I heard that Sect Leader Shen is skilled in both civil and martial matters and extraordinarily learned in the arts,” Xie Zhiwei nodded at Shen You. “Although I had no chance to listen to Sect Leader Shen’s music today, perhaps I could ask him for a work of ink to study?”

Ming Kong narrowed his eyes. “You want him to write like this?”

Xie Zhiwei seemingly panicked from his slip of the tongue. “I was impulsive. Then…this surnamed Xie can wait until Sect Leader Shen is washed and bathed.”

“I really am grateful that Xie zhenren would spend so much effort covering up for me,” Ming Kong suddenly laughed and pointed at Shen You. “I refuse to believe you can’t see his abnormalities at this point.”

Xie Zhiwei hesitated, then sighed. “Sect Leader Shen does not speak, play, or write. Rather than unwilling, it’s because he’s unable to?”

“Exactly,” Ming Kong maintained a grin.

“Why?”

“Because of me,” Ming Kong said fervently.

Xie Zhiwei reeled. What the hell is this answer? You really screwed his brains out?

“It’s already been three years,” Ming Kong said with a flourish. “and it’s all because of me that he’s like this. Does he look good? He wasn’t like this in the past. Of course, he wouldn’t appear like this in front of others normally. It’s through me that zhenren had this chance.”

“Is…is that so,” Xie Zhiwei said.

What the hell. Yeah he’s good looking, even a straight bro like me can admit that. Despite being a delicate pretty boy, Shen You’s movements were ethereal and noble, looking very elegant…exactly like the demeanor of a high-quality man.

But he’s been tossed about so wretchedly. Is that still any good?

Xie Zhiwei stared at Shen You for a bit before he suddenly asked Ming Kong, “Has Sect Leader Shen ever said whether he likes himself now?”

Ming Kong’s hand wavered before pinching a hole in the paper in his hands.

Another voice rose in the darkness. “Sect Leader Nie just happened to die three years ago. Can we assume that his death caused Shen You’s change?”

The voice sounded nearby, but there was no telling where it came from. It seemed to sound from all places at once, making it impossible to pinpoint its location. Ming Kong looked up in alarm to search for the source. Faint movements came from the orchid field before the fallen flowers slowly rose to float in the air.

In the next instant, Mu He was standing next to Xie Zhiwei.