Chapter 25 My Beloved? No way!

After the beginning of spring, Wenrensheng officially began his spiritual practice.

He filled his daily practice schedule with activities, from early morning to late afternoon, leaving almost no time for rest.

During the day, he would first help the clan chief feed the rabbits, and then drag the clan chief to watch him practice swordsmanship until noon.

After eating and resting for half an hour, upon hearing voices, one should go to the Sutra Repository to listen to the God of Literature preach, meditate with her, and further cultivate the ability to understand and comprehend.

When the mountain god returns at night, he hears human voices and pesters him to fight as he returns home, in order to verify the results.

Throughout the day, Wenrensheng devoted himself entirely to cultivation, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, barely even turning the pages of the storybooks he and Muxin had bought.

But precisely because of this, his efforts were not in vain, and the results of his cultivation were quite remarkable.

Furthermore, after the complete Heavenly Spiritual Root was integrated into his body, Wen Rensheng's learning speed increased significantly.

His swordsmanship became faster and faster, and his swordsmanship became more and more stable. In less than three months, he was already able to defeat many martial arts masters.

"I can now withstand three moves from the mountain god! And I'm using an iron sword, while he's using a divine weapon, isn't that amazing?"

Inside the library, a voice heard someone had just finished school and was again pestering Yi Jinxiang to show off his recent learning achievements.

He made a very cool sword pose for Ichijin to see, while chattering on and on.

"The mountain god said that if I study for a few more months, I will be invincible in the martial world. After my birthday this year, I can start cultivating immortality. Hmm... I need to prepare to learn magic..."

Yi Jinxiang was so sleepy that she kept dozing off. She responded with a few "hmm" sounds while slowly waving a fan in her hand.

After the chattering had subsided, she slowly spoke, "Have you thought about what kind of 'path' you want to cultivate in the future?"

Upon hearing this question, Wenrensheng stopped what he was doing.

"What kind of 'Tao'?" Wenren tilted his head. "Is there even a difference?"

Yi Jinxiang chuckled and said, "Of course there will be. What's the difference between me and Cangyu?"

Hearing the voice, he nodded and pondered for a moment before saying, "Master is learned and knowledgeable, but the Mountain God is illiterate?"

Yi Jinxiang covered her smile with her fan and said, "That's true, but our Dao hearts are not aligned, so our divine status after ascension is different."

A voice asked, "What is the mountain god's Daoist heart?"

“It cannot be spoken of,” Yi Jinxiang said. “Only each person knows their own Dao heart, but you can guess what kind of Dao heart they cultivate.”

"Can we only guess?" Wen Rensheng guessed, "The mountain god is a martial god. He usually needs to ask the Heavenly Court for permission to kill someone. It's probably something like the 'Asura Path' or the 'Ruthless Path'."

Yi Jinxiang smiled and said, "I guessed so. So what do you want to do? As long as you focus your mind on one thing, you will also have your own Dao heart."

"ah--"

Hearing the voice drawl, a conflicted expression appeared on her face: "But I have so many things I want to do. I want to be a chivalrous knight to protect the people I love, I want to uphold justice, I want to be the best in the world... It's so hard to choose..."

“This isn’t something you can just choose,” Yi Jinxiang sighed softly. “You’ll understand when you grow up. Alright, it’s too cold here, I’m going back.”

"Ah? Then Master—"

Before Wenren could finish speaking, Yijinxiang, just like before, drifted out in front of him like smoke.

"……See."

Hearing the voice softly add the second word, he spread his hands and sighed, "Adults always talk in such a mysterious way."

However, after all that commotion with her, Wenrensheng was feeling sleepy.

"After waking up, you should challenge the mountain god, and then say goodnight to the clan leader and your master."

As he spoke, he yawned as he walked out of the library, intending to go back to his room for a nap.

As I walked under the corridor, a flash of blue light suddenly appeared in my peripheral vision.

Hearing the voices, he looked over and saw a blue-black striped butterfly fluttering its wings, hovering at eye level outside the corridor.

"……Butterfly?"

As soon as I finished speaking, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck, as if I had been pierced by a needle.

He squinted in pain, thinking he had been bitten by some insect, and raised his hand to touch the back of his neck.

"There's nothing there," the voice muttered to itself. "Could it be that the injury hasn't fully healed yet?"

As he spoke, he turned back to look at the blue butterfly, but it vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

"Huh?"

Hearing voices, he looked around and then spotted the blue butterfly not far away.

It flapped its wings and flew up and down in the same spot, seemingly gesturing for people to come and find it if they heard human voices.

He frowned upon hearing the voice, his hand instinctively reaching for the sword at his waist.

He has lived in Fangze Mountain for many years, and his hobby is catching butterflies on the mountain. He knows almost all the butterfly species in Fangze Mountain.

He had never seen this color before.

His pupils narrowed slightly as he cautiously followed Blue Butterfly.

The blue butterfly was indeed guiding Wen Rensheng. It flew through the corridor to the mountain gate and then disappeared into the path leading to the mountain spring.

He followed the voices, gripping his sword tightly, his heart filled with both curiosity and nervousness.

If this blue butterfly is a newly formed little demon, that's fine. But what if it's some kind of powerful demon? Wouldn't all the animals in Fangze Mountain be in danger?

He absolutely had to go and see.

Following closely behind the voices, they descended to the mountain spring. But as they parted the bamboo leaves and stepped inside, the blue butterfly seemed to evaporate, vanishing into the mist in an instant.

Then, hearing voices, they saw a person standing on the waterside pavilion in the center of the spring.

The person was dressed in all white, with several long, fiery red tails growing behind him, resembling a fox demon who had only partially transformed into human form.

There aren't many yokai in Fangze Mountain that can take human form, and even fewer with several tails, so this is clearly not a local yokai.

Hearing the voice, he frowned, drew his sword with a "whoosh," and pointed the blade at the person's back.

"Who are you?"

Hearing the human voice calling, the fox demon twitched its ears slightly and slowly turned around.

Only when a voice was heard did I realize that it was a white face without any features!

He immediately shuddered.

"No face...?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than another red-faced fox mask suddenly emerged from beneath his feet, startling him greatly.

"ah!"

He took several steps back, raised his sword to parry, and stared nervously at the red-faced fox.

"Where are you a monster from? Why have you come to Mount Yoshizawa!"

The fox's face spun upside down, then it squinted and leaned closer, as if sniffing out the scent of human voices.

"Don't come any closer!" Wen Rensheng's expression tightened as he shouted, "If you get any closer, I'll draw my sword!"

Unable to gauge the monster's strength, he could only shout out some imposing aura while secretly plotting an escape route.

The mountain god hasn't returned yet. The closest place to us is Master's room, so it's best to escape there for help.

Seeing that the red-faced fox was pondering the human voices so intently, it chuckled, its mouth stretching all the way to its ears.

"You've grown up!"

It circled around him again, came up from behind, pressed close to his ear, and chuckled softly.

"How is your beloved?"

The one I love?

Hearing the voice, he was startled and quickly changed direction to avoid the red-faced fox.

He swallowed hard and asked, "What do you mean?"

It curved its eyes and said, "Your beloved is the most powerful god here. Six years ago, he took you in, helped you find your Heavenly Spiritual Root, and also helped you cultivate and learn martial arts, isn't that right?"

Is this referring to... the mountain god?

It even knows about the Heavenly Spiritual Root!

“He’s not the one I love,” Wenrensheng said, pursing her lips. “We’re family. Don’t gossip. Tell me who you are.”

The red-faced fox remained silent, its eyes suddenly darting around like tambourines, as if it were deep in thought.

A moment later, the fox-faced creature's pupils suddenly fixed, staring intently at the human voice, and it chuckled softly as it said:

"Then, have you ever had physical intimacy with him?"

...skin-to-skin contact?

Hearing the voice, her face instantly turned bright red, and she quickly retorted, "Of course not, what nonsense are you talking about!"

"But I clearly saw you sleeping in the same bed with your mountain god brother every night, could it be that you two didn't—"

"Ah! I understand."

The red-faced fox paused abruptly, then, like a snake, it was pulled back to its face by the multi-tailed fox spirit.

"In that case, I will grant you a dream tonight."

The moment the red face was withdrawn, the voice suddenly seemed as distant as in a dream.

"If you have any doubts after you wake up, come and find me here..."

"Hey!" Hearing the voice, he rushed forward. "Don't go! You haven't told me what kind of monster you are!"

But the fox spirit left in a hurry, and after leaving behind these strange words, she disappeared into the thick fog.

"baffling……!"

Hearing the voice, his face darkened, and he shoved his sword back into its sheath.

To say he has a sweetheart, or that they have physical intimacy... that's utter nonsense!

How could he possibly have such feelings for the mountain god?

He simply admired the mountain god, loved being close to him, longed to be kissed and hugged by him, and wanted to curl up in his palm as a tiny bundle.

Does this mean the mountain god is his beloved?

Hearing voices, it impatiently kicked at pebbles and muttered to itself.

"So annoying, all they say is lies!"

Hearing the voice, he thought to himself that if he waited here, he might be able to see the fox demon return to the mountain spring.

After waiting for more than an hour, no one else came from the mountain spring. Hearing voices, he could only sigh and return disappointed.

He dragged his feet all the way to the door, and when he looked up, he found that He Mu was already standing there waiting for him.

Mu leaned against the doorframe and asked, "Where did you go to play?"

"ah……"

Hearing voices, she swallowed hard and told a little lie.

"That's right, I just wandered around and found a quiet place to practice my sword."

"Practicing swordsmanship?" He Mu looked at Wen Rensheng with a skeptical expression. "The direction you came from should only have mountain springs, right?"

Hearing the voice, he stammered, "I just practiced a little on the way to the mountain spring, and... I didn't practice for very long. By the way, why is the mountain god still outside so late?"

“There are still some things to take care of outside,” He Mu straightened up and continued, “I have to go out tonight and won’t be back until very late. You should go to sleep early.”

Hearing the voice, her expression clearly fell: "Going out again? I was hoping to show you my new moves."

He Mu bent down and rubbed Wen Rensheng's head, then smiled and said, "Then show it to me during tomorrow's practice, okay?"

He wasn't really angry when he heard the voices, and besides, after what had happened today, he really wanted to be alone and have some peace and quiet tonight.

He then put on a generous act, waved his hand, and said, "Okay, okay, I forgive you."

He Mu pinched his cheek and asked, "I'm leaving now, don't you want a kiss?"

Upon hearing this, Wenrensheng glanced at He Mu guiltily.

He certainly wanted to give He Mu a goodnight kiss as usual, but today he happened to run into that vixen and overheard her strange talk by accident.

His mind was filled with thoughts of his "beloved," and for a moment he didn't have the courage to kiss her.

Hearing someone's voice, she poked her hand and said, "Hmm... no more kissing, I'll make it up to you tomorrow when you get back, okay?"

He Mu was displeased. He gently pinched Wen Rensheng's little face and said with dissatisfaction, "Really not affectionate?"

Hearing someone's voice, she forced herself to say, "No kissing!"

He Mu snorted and muttered, "If you won't kiss me, I will," before grabbing Wen Rensheng's cheek and giving her a solid kiss.

"………………"

Hearing the voice, she froze, then belatedly blushed.

"You, you, you!"

He put his arm around Mu's and said matter-of-factly, "What's wrong with me?"

"...I'm going to sleep!"

Hearing someone's voice, he didn't want to talk to him anymore. He covered the half of his face that had been kissed, hurriedly ran into the house, and quickly closed the door.

To prevent himself from overthinking, he quickly crawled into bed as soon as he closed the door, wrapping himself up tightly.

He touched the cheek where he had been kissed and muttered, "What? He doesn't listen to me at all."

Forget it, it's just a kiss on the cheek. Hearing Voice Hero is already used to this kind of thing.

Hearing the voice, he quickly let go of his fear and silently recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra that Yi Jinxiang had taught him several times.

The calming mantra, combined with the inducing drowsiness, soon put the person to sleep soundly under the covers.

However, that night, Wen Rensheng had a strange dream.

In his dream, he returned to the mountain spring of Fangze Mountain.

This time, however, the mountain spring was different. The originally ethereal and thin mountain mist had become extremely damp and hazy, and a strange smell permeated the air, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

Not only that, but when I heard someone's voice, I felt a strong dryness in my throat, as if I had caught a cold, and even swallowing became painful.

He looked down and saw that he was only wearing a thin undergarment, and the clothes below his waist were soaked in water.

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Author's Note: Spring is here, and that thing should be arriving soon too.