"Master, aren't you afraid that he'll escape and cause trouble for Taichu? And how are we going to explain why we've put the Wuwei Peak Master under house arrest?"
Shen Qingmang fell into deep thought. After a moment, she approached An Yanxiang again. "Brother, do you still remember why I locked you up here?"
An Yanxiang said without hesitation: "Of course, I..."
Before he could finish his words, he suddenly covered his head and groaned in pain.
Shen Qingmang was stunned for a moment, realizing that this was Li Shutong's trick. Since she had abandoned An Yanxiang as a chess piece, she naturally would not let him be used by others again.
"Forget it, Brother. If you can't remember, forget it." She lowered her voice, "Just remember that you did something wrong and almost harmed the entire Taichu Sect. I want to punish you, that's enough."
"Junior sister, are you still angry?" An Yanxiang said weakly, "Then what should I do to satisfy you?"
"Although Frost Sky Wall is extremely cold year-round, it is also a place with abundant water spirit energy." Shen Qingmang said, "Brother, you have a fire spirit root and are most intolerant to water spirit energy. However, if you can endure the invasion of water spirit energy, it will also benefit your cultivation. Would you like to cultivate here?"
"So Junior Sister is doing this for my own good." An Yanxiang's brows relaxed. "Then I'll practice hard. Once I can withstand this water spirit energy, I'll no longer have any weaknesses. Then I'll be able to better protect Junior Sister."
"Brother, just take care of yourself." Shen Qingmang's eyes were filled with pity. "For you, living is even harder than dying. You must... live well."
She and Gu Sui Han returned to Wuya Peak and asked the other to rest. Gu Sui Han shook his head and followed her to Qiongzhi Palace.
"Has Master softened his heart towards him?"
"Of course not." Shen Qingmang raised the corner of his mouth. "If I really had a soft spot for him, I should have let him die quickly. For him, death is a relief, and living is torture. Unless he forever indulges in false lies, when he wakes up and thinks back on the past, he will hate his own miserable existence even more."
Gu Suihan reached out and gently touched her cheek. "You don't have to smile when you don't want to. You don't have to pretend in front of me."
She stopped laughing. "I don't know if this is cruel. He's not completely evil, but even after reading the best parts of his memories and knowing his paranoia is related to his upbringing, I can't sympathize with him. Maybe it's because he's an adult... I'm always harder on adults than on children."
"So in your eyes, am I a child or an adult?"
Shen Qingmang actually laughed. "What do you think? Do you want me to treat you as a child or as an adult?"
"I want you to treat me as your man." Gu Sui Han looked at her.
She swallowed unconsciously. "Why, why suddenly..."
"What's wrong? Master, is there anything wrong with what I said?" He chuckled: "Master is so gentle to his enemies, he won't be cruel to me, right?"
"Then, then how do you want me to treat you..." Shen Qingmang stopped talking halfway and rolled his eyes at him.
"It's very simple." He put his forehead against hers and whispered, "Look at me more, have more pity on me, and pay less attention to those people who are waiting for you."
"What adult would want others to pity him?" She reached out and stroked his face. "He's clearly still a child vying for favor."
"Your Majesty, are there many people in the harem? Do you want me to compete for your favor?" He emphasized the last two words.
Shen Qingmang narrowed his eyes and was about to take practical action to comfort the "Queen" who was the only one favored by the emperor but didn't realize it, when suddenly there was a noise outside the palace.
"Master, Master! Are you guys back?!"
It was Si Rong's voice, and her tone sounded anxious. Shen Qingmang quickly let go of her hand and walked out of Qiongzhi Hall. "What's wrong, Ah Rong?"
Si Rong was seen holding a rabbit, with an expression on her face that looked like she was about to cry. "My Misty Rabbit is dead!"
Shen Qingmang looked at the stiff and shriveled rabbit corpse in her hands and asked uncertainly, "Is it... sun-dried? Why does it look like jerky? Is it still edible if the meat is so tough?"
Si Rong burst into tears. "Master! You're still thinking about eating rabbit meat!"
"Oh, sorry, I couldn't help it." Shen Qingmang held his forehead. "That rabbit litter you raised? Weren't they running around all over the mountains? Where was the body found?"
Rabbits have a very strong reproductive capacity. Si Rong initially raised only one Pushuo rabbit and one Mili rabbit. Later, they gave birth to litters after litters, making the Wuya Peak full of rabbits. Moreover, all of them were round and cute, and almost became the mascots of the Wuya Sect.
"Yes...it was outside Master Uncle's temple. Huanhuan is the first litter of rabbits I gave birth to. It's so smart and knows how to go home every night. Last night I discovered that one of the rabbits was missing from the yard. It was Huanhuan. I looked everywhere for it but couldn't find it. I only saw its body this morning. Could it be...did Master Uncle..."
She choked up and couldn't continue. Hao Xin added, "This rabbit is usually quite friendly. Many monks know it and some even feed it with spiritual herbs. It shouldn't have suffered such a misfortune. Aside from being a little greedy, it doesn't have any other shortcomings... Could it have eaten something it shouldn't have and been beaten to death by the master uncle?"
"Have you asked the eldest brother?"
"Master Uncle is not here. I don't know where he went."
Shen Qingmang went to examine the rabbit and discovered she had a familiar memory of it. This rabbit, named Huanhuan, was indeed quite experienced. When she was lecturing the children, it would hop onto the windowsill and listen, its little ears sometimes twitching as if it truly understood. At the time, she'd even thought that, given time, the rabbit might cultivate into a spirit.
"Well, I'll go ask the eldest brother and see if he knows what's going on. But it shouldn't be him who executed him. He doesn't like eating rabbit meat, and he wouldn't kill easily."
"I'll go with you, Master." Gu Sui Han followed her.
"No need." Shen Qingmang nodded at him. "Go comfort your fellow junior brothers and sisters."
"I'm fine." Hao Xin waved his hand. "But Senior Brother, why are you still calling Master 'you' and 'you'? What are you two doing... Ouch!"
Before he could finish his words, Si Rong stomped on him harshly. "It's already this late and you're still concerned about this!"
"That's right." Shen Qingmang continued, "Don't worry about me and your senior brother. I'll be back soon. You guys just wait here for news."
After saying that, she disappeared from the spot and went to Shi Mingli's residence first. Finding that there was indeed no one there, she used the communication jade pendant to contact the other party, and then stood outside the door waiting.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, Shi Mingli rushed back, looking a little confused. "Junior sister, what do you want from me? What happened to you at Qihuang Sect? Do you need my help in making a decision?"
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