Chapter 20

Seeing that Shi Anxu was suspicious, Mu Qingzhou immediately replied, "It's nothing."

Shi Anxu still didn't believe it and continued, "If you're okay, why is your voice so hoarse?"

Mu Qingzhou picked up the teapot on the table, filled his cup, and drank it all in one gulp. "It's just a hoarse voice from not having drunk water for a long time. A sip of tea will do the trick."

Hearing that Mu Qingzhou's voice had indeed returned to normal, Shi Anxu continued to discuss the matter of earning resources with Mu Qingzhou.

"I don't see anything that needs to be added, so let's just stick with this rule."

"Can."

"Building the reading area isn't urgent for now. I think it's better to reinforce the protective barrier as soon as possible, lest we forget about it and the Fuyuan Grass has already withered, which would be a loss."

"Make preparations today, and we'll reinforce the barrier tomorrow."

"What do I need to prepare?" Shi Anxu asked.

"Try not to use spiritual power today, as it will consume a lot of energy when drawing power from the Fuyuan Grass. You can also prepare some pills," Mu Qingzhou replied.

"That's all? Nothing else to prepare?" Shi Anxu asked in shock.

“That’s all, I’ll prepare the rest,” Mu Qingzhou replied, looking at Shi Anxu.

"You're not going to take all the credit for yourself and just give me the easy stuff?" Shi Anxu asked with some skepticism.

"No, I'm just talking about what each person needs to prepare themselves, there's not much difference," Mu Qingzhou explained earnestly to Shi Anxu.

"Are you sure? No, tell me what you need to prepare, otherwise I won't believe you." The more Mu Qingzhou said this, the more Shi Anxu felt that the truth was not like this.

“Okay, I need to set up the protective formation beforehand when I draw power, and then, like my senior brother, I will try not to use spiritual power.” Mu Qingzhou patiently explained to Shi Anxu what he needed to prepare.

Upon hearing that the amount was similar to his own, Shi Anxu sighed and said, "Then let's leave it at that for now. Tomorrow we'll reinforce the protective barrier, and the day after tomorrow we'll begin constructing the reading area. Junior brother, are you sure your injury is completely healed?"

"After today's meditation, you're almost fully recovered, Senior Brother, there's no need to worry," Mu Qingzhou reassured Shi Anxu.

"It's getting late, let's hurry up and get ready so we can rest early." Shi Anxu nodded, patted Mu Qingzhou on the shoulder, and went to prepare the pills they would need for tomorrow.

After Shi Anxu walked away, Mu Qingzhou loosened his grip on Shi Anxu's hand, which he had been holding tightly to dispel Shi Anxu's doubts, revealing a blood-red palm.

Senior brother, sometimes I really don't want to hold back anymore. But I can't now. I'm not strong enough to protect you, and I don't have the strength to compete with other people who like you. Even if I can't stand it, I have to.

Mu Qingzhou made a hand seal to make the wound on his palm disappear, and then flashed outside the warehouse.

Inside, Shi Anxu was carefully examining the effects of the pills from the medicine bottle, storing the ones he needed directly into his storage ring.

Standing outside, Mu Qingzhou couldn't help but smile. His senior brother had finally remembered he had a storage ring. He was carrying so many pills all by himself today; he wondered if he had truly forgotten, or if he simply wanted to handle things personally.

Shi Anxu quickly took the necessary pills and came out of the storeroom. Upon seeing this, Mu Qingzhou slipped back to the Spirit Residence.

Shi Anxu rubbed his eyes as he stepped out of the storeroom, then looked back at the window and muttered to himself, "Strange, why did I just see my junior brother standing by the window? Was he too tired today?"

Thinking about how much work he had done beyond his capacity that day, Shi Anxu felt more and more that it was possible.

He quickened his pace to hurry back. All the exhaustion from finishing his work overwhelmed him, and he felt weak and listless. He needed to rest.

When he returned to the spirit residence, Mu Qingzhou had already set up the formation and was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, regulating his breathing.

Upon hearing Shi Anxu's voice return, Mu Qingzhou remained seated and continued to regulate his breathing.

"Junior brother, is everything ready here?" Shi Anxu asked as soon as he entered the room.

“Ready,” Mu Qingzhou replied with his eyes closed.

"Alright, take your time to regulate your breathing. I'm a little tired, so I'll rest first." Shi Anxu yawned and walked around Mu Qingzhou to lie down on the inside of the bed.

"Yes, Senior Brother, you should rest." Mu Qingzhou felt the bed vibrate and silently straightened up a bit.

"Mmm," Shi Anxu murmured softly.

Before long, the sound of light breathing reached Mu Qingzhou's ears, making it impossible for him to calm down and regulate his breathing.

Finally, he had no choice but to stop and carefully turn around to look at Shi Anxu's peaceful sleeping face.

When Shi Anxu was asleep, he had an ethereal quality that he possessed when he was awake, as if he didn't belong to this world and could leave at any moment in his sleep.

Mu Qingzhou raised his hand and covered Shi Anxu's cheek, gently and slowly tracing the soft skin of Shi Anxu's face, then to his nose, and finally stopping at Shi Anxu's moist lips.

He gently traced the shape of Shi Anxu's lips with his finger, then withdrew his hand and touched his own lips.

Then, as if he had thought of something, he slowly leaned down and approached Shi Anxu little by little until their lips were only a millimeter apart.

Their warm breaths mingled, intertwined, and entwined.

With her soft, fragrant body right before him, Mu Qingzhou broke through the final barrier, bringing their lips together for a fleeting, brief touch.

After stealing a kiss, Mu Qingzhou touched her lips and stared blankly at Shi Anxu, her expression becoming increasingly gentle.

If Su Qinyi were still alive, seeing this scene, he would surely be shocked and say, "Is this still my cold-hearted disciple?"

Shi Anxu was still deeply immersed in his sleep, completely unaware of what was happening.

She even seemed to dream of delicious food, her mouth moving slightly as she smacked her lips up and down.

Seeing this, Mu Qingzhou couldn't help but gently pinch Shi Anxu's face again, feeling a wave of tenderness in his heart.

Later, he simply lay down next to Shi Anxu, turned to his side, held Shi Anxu in his arms, and slowly closed his eyes.

When Shi Anxu woke up the next day, a hand was pressing down on his chest, making it hard for him to breathe.

He tried to move that hand away from his chest, but after two attempts, he couldn't move it. Instead, Mu Qingzhou hugged him even tighter.

Mu Qingzhou murmured, "Don't move, sleep a little longer."

Shi Anxu snapped back to reality and turned her head sharply, immediately seeing Mu Qingzhou's handsome face.

Shi Anxu's entire body immediately stiffened, and his mind went blank.

Why has his sleeping posture suddenly become so bad? He even rolled into Mu Qingzhou's arms by himself. He doesn't remember ever doing that before.

Fortunately, Mu Qingzhou wasn't woken up by him, otherwise he felt he would never be able to face Mu Qingzhou again.

Shi Anxu slowly moved her body down, and it took her quite a while to finally get out of Mu Qingzhou's arms.

After coming out, he didn't care whether he was tired or not, and directly grabbed the clothes he had taken off yesterday and walked out of the spirit house.

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he sensed someone outside the barrier. He summoned his Falling Petal Fan and flew to the person's location.

Using a fan is slightly more stable than using a sword. Shi Anxu saw the figure standing in front of the barrier from afar in the air and controlled the falling petals to land steadily in front of him.

"Who are you? What brings you to my Qin Nian Peak?" Shi Anxu held a fallen petal in front of his chest, controlling his tone to lower and make himself appear more imposing.

"Senior Brother Shi, I am Yueqing, the seventeenth disciple under the sect leader. I have come to deliver a message from the sect leader," Yueqing replied in a businesslike manner.

"Please speak, what message does the sect leader have to convey?" Shi Anxu asked, putting away the fallen petals.

"The sect leader said he discovered that Zhang Xuexin was expelled from the Qingyun Sect a month ago by Immortal Venerable Yunyang for stealing a treasure. At that time, Immortal Venerable Yunyang suspected her of being a spy, but he didn't suspect her. According to Immortal Venerable Yunyang, Zhang Xuexin's cultivation level isn't high; her only strength lies in her ultimate move, the Heaven-Splitting Fireball. Therefore, the sect leader wants to assign the two of you to be fully responsible for this matter, secretly gathering evidence to eradicate Lanxi Pavilion completely and eliminate this threat," Yue Qing replied.

"Yes, please go back and tell the sect leader that my junior brother and I will definitely complete this mission well." Shi Anxu clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yue Qing.

"I said so. I will tell the sect leader when I get back. Farewell." Yueqing returned the greeting and left.

Mu Qingzhou slowly woke up and reached out to continue embracing Shi Anxu, only to find that there was no one beside him and the bed had been cold for a long time.

He touched the cold bed, feeling a sense of loss.

His senior brother just didn't want to be with him, and immediately ran away as soon as he woke up.

It seems he hasn't spent enough time with his senior brother, and he hasn't shown him enough care. It's always been his senior brother who's taking care of him; he's never taken care of his senior brother at all.

Perhaps I should buy some more storybooks I've read in the human world and study them, to see how the characters in those stories take care of their loved ones.

It seems I'll have to go back to the mortal realm again to ask Wen Xingyun where she bought the storybooks, or if she has any others she can borrow to read.

Little did he know that his plan would ultimately never have a chance to be implemented.

Shi Anxu knocked on the door of the spirit house at that moment, "Junior brother, are you up?"

Mu Qingzhou replied, "I'm up, come in."

Shi Anxu pushed open the door and came in, picked up the teapot on the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it all in one gulp.

“Just now, another disciple of the sect leader came to inform us that the investigation into Zhang Xuexin’s matter has been handed over to us. I don’t understand why the sect leader said he would send someone to handle it the day before yesterday. It didn’t seem like he would send us to investigate. What made the sect leader change his mind?” Shi Anxu slammed his teacup on the table, his brows furrowed.

“It must have been when the sect leader summoned the elders and immortals to discuss this matter yesterday that someone deliberately suggested that we investigate.” Mu Qingzhou’s expression was also unpleasant, his brows furrowed so tightly they were almost touching.

“Ever since Master left, someone has been targeting us. First, the sect reduced the resources it provided to us by two-thirds. Then, now, knowing that Lanxi Pavilion is hunting you down, they still specifically asked us to investigate this matter. Their intentions are obvious. I really don’t understand why they are targeting us like this. We haven’t offended anyone, and it’s even less likely that our Master would do so.” Shi Anxu’s face was full of distress, completely baffled.

"If you want to know the reason, just find out who is targeting us and ask them," Mu Qingzhou said.

Shi Anxu shook his head, disagreeing with Mu Qingzhou's statement. "This is probably not easy to uncover. Someone who can do this must hold a high position in the sect. With our current strength, confronting him would be like hitting a rock with a soft one. This matter needs to be considered carefully. Our current problem is how to investigate Zhang Xuexin's case."

Mu Qingzhou's principle in handling matters is "speed". Shi Anxu's words made him suddenly realize that speed is not enough. Therefore, he tried his best to come up with a comprehensive solution to Shi Anxu's problems.