Chapter 18 You guys... practiced dual cultivation? This was left behind by my master...
The red candle slowly melted in the night, dripping droplets of wax. Xiao Huaiyuan used scissors to remove the wick, and seeing the candlelight stabilize, he turned and asked.
"And you, what's your opinion of Fu Ming?"
"Um……"
Fu Ming rested his chin on his hand, while the index and middle fingers of his other hand tapped restlessly on the table.
To be honest, Xiao Huaiyuan's narration was surprisingly peaceful. He recounted most of his life, from his childhood when he joined the Tianyan Sect, to his early fame, his fall from grace as a young man, and his recent rise to become the Demon Lord.
Why do I have to ask him to give his thoughts after every two sentences?
This is far too bizarre.
“After Fu Ming fell to the demon, I followed his trail and found him behaving intimately with the Demon Lord. What do you think is the reason for this?” Seeing that he remained silent for a long time, Xiao Huaiyuan gave him another strong dose of medicine.
Fu Ming chuckled.
"How would I know? Didn't he kill the Demon Lord later? Maybe he had some reason for it."
"Then how do you explain his abandonment of his sect?"
...Don't give me that. There are only three people in their sect at most. Their master, that old man, went into seclusion fifty years ago. It's not even certain whether he knows about this.
Praising himself was wrong, but criticizing himself was also unpleasant. Just as Fu Ming was searching his mind for words that wouldn't reveal his identity, he suddenly realized that Xiao Huaiyuan was now within arm's reach of him.
The junior brother's eyes were extremely dark, like a pool of stagnant water that had been sitting for hundreds of years, making it difficult to discern any specific emotions from them.
Okay, he admitted that leaving back then was not a good thing for his junior brother.
But he couldn't just say it outright. What was the Demon Lord up to, infiltrating the Heavenly Evolution Sect as its head disciple? If he were to reveal the existence of the system, he'd probably be hung up and investigated.
Perhaps feeling guilty, Fu Ming suddenly stepped aside. But by sheer coincidence, a drop of bright red candle wax landed right on the back of his hand, burning him so much that he immediately sprang up from the couch.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Huaiyuan's hands with distinct knuckles grasped his, and a cool spiritual energy flowed slowly from the point where they met to Fu Ming's body, soothing the burning pain and bringing a sense of drowsiness.
The two sat facing each other on the couch, trimming candles and talking late into the night, unaware that the night had deepened. Fu Ming yawned repeatedly, his head gradually drooping, only one hand still clasped with Xiao Huaiyuan's, making the candle wax appear even redder and his skin even whiter.
His sleepy eyes peeked out from among his disheveled hair. Xiao Huaiyuan was just about to tidy him up when he heard this great Buddha finally speak.
"Master, are you trying to warn me against falling into demonic ways?"
Xiao Huaiyuan was speechless.
His obsession was always so easily dispelled, like punching cotton. Fu Ming, have you ever had me in your heart, or rather, do you really have a heart?
Fu Ming slept soundly through the night without any dreams. When he woke up, he found that he had been sleeping for half the night, leaning against Xiao Huaiyuan's lap.
Xiao Huaiyuan had probably been meditating all night, which made him ache all over. It was obvious that he couldn't have gotten out of that strange position on his own; Xiao Huaiyuan must have moved him there.
As expected, his spiritual connection with Xiao Huaiyuan remained unbroken, continuously nourishing his not-so-healthy body. Fu Ming examined himself internally and discovered that his clone's cultivation had reached the late-stage Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment realm. Seeing his cultivation level rise so rapidly in such a short time, he felt extremely pleased.
He decided to reward Xiao Huaiyuan, one of the heroes, well.
"Want to eat?"
The morning light pierced through the undrawn window, dazzling the eyes. Xiao Huaiyuan had just emerged from his meditative state when Fu Ming smiled and presented him with a piece of hawthorn cake shaped like a plum blossom.
“No need, I have been practicing abstinence from grains for many years,” Xiao Huaiyuan refused outright.
"In fact, cultivators do not necessarily need to completely abstain from grains. They only need to circulate their internal energy to refine and expel impurities. Moreover, this is spiritual food made from spiritual plants, which originally had no impurities."
Fu Ming specially picked out this hawthorn cake from the pile of gifts. Although it was a case of borrowing flowers to present to Buddha, he still carefully selected it for half an hour.
Because the cultivation method required practicing the "Boyhood Skill," Xiao Huaiyuan had already been fasting for some time when he was thrown into Fu Ming's hands. Later, Fu Ming took him to sneak down the mountain to explore and fed him some mortal food, only to find that the boy didn't dislike eating, but simply couldn't eat it.
He remembered that Xiao Huaiyuan especially loved the sour candied hawthorns sold in the market at the foot of the mountain, but unfortunately the proprietress was an ordinary person who had died of old age before he left Tianyan Sect.
Fu Ming also sat cross-legged on the futon, not meditating, but simply letting the soft and translucent hawthorn cake sway back and forth in front of Xiao Huaiyuan.
"Really don't want it? This is quite delicious, sweet and sour. I've already tried it for you."
Xiao Huaiyuan clearly regained consciousness but then closed his eyes again, his brows furrowed as if he were suppressing something.
It's strange. My junior brother's attitude had finally softened a bit recently, so why has he become unusually cold and hard today? But thinking about it, it makes sense. He suffered a serious injury at Mount Taixuan and was also busy with the interrogation. He must be very tired.
"I've placed the hawthorn cake on the table. Please help yourself if you'd like some, Master."
Fu Ming tiptoed and closed the door without making a sound, which was very thoughtful.
...
The moment the wooden door closed, Xiao Huaiyuan opened his eyes. This young sect leader, known for his seriousness and uprightness, now showed an unusual look of confusion.
What kind of answer does he want?
Xiao Huaiyuan picked up the pastry carved into the shape of a plum blossom and took a bite. It was sour and sweet, which suited his taste perfectly.
System: Congratulations, host, on reaching the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage! Clap clap! Actually, a portion of that is a reward from our side quests involving humble and aristocratic families.
After being questioned by Fu Ming once, the system has been doing its best to prove its value every day, as if it is afraid of being rejected by Fu Ming.
"Yes, the system is amazing. It's the most useful system in the Three Realms."
That being said, he couldn't really say whether the system, Xiao Huaiyuan, or the demonic energy he absorbed in Tai Xuan Mountain played a greater role.
While dealing with the sensitive skin system, Fu Ming was reviewing his mission map within his consciousness. Since he had completed three missions, different colored lines had appeared between them. After careful examination, he concluded that these were the markers for the three mission lines the system had initially mentioned: the poverty alleviation line, the environmental protection line, and the harmony line.
The missions of joining the Tianyan Sect and dealing with the Xuanluo Sect's beast tide have ended, but the third mission remains classified. The three blood-red question marks [? ? ?] make Fu Ming somewhat unable to suppress his anxiety.
The Demon Realm is better; when I'm unhappy, I can find someone to fight with.
Fu Ming's troubled thoughts were stuck in his mind. He picked up his sword and went to the sword-testing platform again. This time, his sword dance was much more fierce than before. It was as powerful as thunder and fury. The scattered sword light cut down bamboo leaves, and the sound of sword energy cutting through the air echoed around the cliffs of the sect leader's peak.
As he sheathed his sword, he looked up and saw that the terrace was empty; Xiao Huaiyuan was nowhere to be seen.
"You've actually reached the late-stage Foundation Establishment realm!"
A group of people walked over from behind the bamboo grove. Besides Senior Sister Lin Han, whom they had just met a few days ago, there were also several other members of the Surveillance Department team.
"I think Junior Brother Ming's momentum is no less than that of a Golden Core cultivator."
"Haha, I knew Junior Brother Ming was a promising talent."
Everyone chattered and laughed, creating a lively atmosphere. Fu Ming also put away his imposing manner and asked with a smile.
"Senior brothers and sisters, do you have any good news to share?"
"There is good news. We also want to thank you for standing up for us and helping to bring down the Chen family. Now the entire Refining Peak has been thoroughly cleansed, and mountains of rare and precious materials have been found."
"Elder Xu of Wanjian Peak was so happy that he asked us to send you a note for 15,000 spirit stones, which you can withdraw at the silver shop in Tianyan Sect."
We even made an extra five thousand spirit stones from that stingy Xu Yan, very good.
"However, Elder Chen of the former Weapon Refining Peak died mysteriously in prison, apparently... from poisoning. The Surveillance Department found some crucial evidence in his cave and is about to present it to the Sect Leader for review."
"Unfortunately, when we arrived, the barrier in front of the sect leader's cave had not yet been removed. I'm afraid we'll have to ask you, Junior Brother Ming, to help us get in."
"Of course, there's no problem."
Fu Ming readily agreed to the task. Although Xiao Huaiyuan was angry with him for some reason, he shouldn't be so out of his mind as to forget his official duties.
After receiving the package wrapped in layers of red silk and sealed with talismans, Fu Ming waved goodbye to the few Inspectorate disciples whose temperaments suited him well, displaying a cheerful and sunny demeanor.
Only Lin Han remained in the courtyard, hesitant to move forward, as if she had something to say to him.
Unlike the others' excitement, the meticulous Lin Han had some concerns. She had been frequently visiting the Sect Leader Peak these past few days and always saw the Sect Leader and Fu Ming inseparable. Sometimes she felt that their behavior was a little too intimate.
Now, seeing Fu Ming's cultivation suddenly leap two levels, a bold guess suddenly appeared in Lin Han's mind: Could it be that Junior Brother Ming's cultivation has increased so quickly because he has been cultivating with the sect leader?
She carefully considered her words several times before cautiously asking, "Why are there red marks on your body, Junior Brother Ming?"
Fu Ming looked around and indeed found some fingerprints on the back of his hands, neck, and cheeks, probably formed by Xiao Huaiyuan pinching him for a long time.
He replied casually, "This was left behind by my master. He was a bit rough with his movements. I'll ask him to be gentler next time."
"Are you alright?"
"It's alright, my master heals me with his spiritual power every day, and I'm recovering quite quickly."
The scene seemed particularly strange to Lin Han. She hesitated to speak, and all her words were condensed into a single sentence.
“We...usually do not live in the same room as our master, so please be careful in everything you do.”
Unfortunately, Fu Ming failed to grasp the profound meaning of Lin Han's admonition.
He felt that his junior apprentice had lacked a sense of security since childhood. His parents died early, he couldn't sleep at night, and he slept with him until he was twelve years old. It was normal for him to like to cuddle with his apprentice for a while.
When he returned, Xiao Huaiyuan had already composed himself and was engrossed in handling official business at his desk.
Fu Ming burst into the barrier and slammed the package onto his table.
"Since you're awake, why don't you let them in?"
"Waiting for you to come back."
This guy spoke so bluntly that Fu Ming was speechless for a moment.
He plopped down on Xiao Huaiyuan's desk like a spineless rag doll, casually picking up his seal to open the package.
An invitation to the Yongcheng Ghost Market, signed by Yun?
Yongcheng is located at the confluence of two rivers, and it is a place where refugees from all over the country gather, so there is plenty of food to eat.
More importantly, he had spent several years there.
“I am very familiar with Yongcheng. When I return from there, I will give you a big gift, Master.”
A note from the author:
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Sorry, I was a little slow.
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