Chapter 25 Will you always be loyal to me and never betray me?
With the mind of a ten-year-old, how could they know what love is? Their actions are merely following their bodily instincts.
Zhuang Jinfu turned her foot away, away from Ling Shu's reckless toes, but she still couldn't escape.
Ling Shu hugged her waist tightly.
"Master, can I hug you?"
"not good."
Ling Shu still wouldn't let go.
"Your demonic power is a bit restless, Ling Shu, let me go first."
Zhuang Jinfu used his magic to pull her hand away, and it took some effort to get her hand to let go.
Zhuang Jinfu turned around and saw a pitiful face. Ling Shu glanced at her, then lowered her head and wiped away her tears. Her sobs were soft and heartbreaking.
Zhuang Jinfu took her hand to check her pulse, his tone softening: "You're fine, why are you crying?"
"Master," the voice was low, like a whisper, "Do you hate me? I just want to be closer to you, Master, and hug you. When Mother was alive, she would often let Lingbao hug her. Now that Mother is gone, you are the closest person to me. I feel hot and uncomfortable. I just want to hug you. It feels so good to hug you."
Zhuang Jinfu touched her wet hair, made a hand gesture, and dried the water off her hair. Her hair was smooth and black, and felt very soft to the touch. Her fox ears popped out again, and Zhuang Jinfu couldn't resist touching them.
"Master will not dislike Ling Shu."
Ling Shu persisted, asking, "Then why did you shake off Ling Bao?"
"Does Master want to check how powerful your demonic abilities are?"
Zhuang Jinfu took her pulse and found that the demonic power in her body was running rampant. She had been using her immortal power to suppress the domineering demonic power. Her Foundation Establishment stage cultivation was not enough to properly internalize the thousand-year-old demonic power left to her by Wen Ji. At least a Mahayana stage cultivation would be needed to fully control the thousand-year-old demonic power. The fact that the spiritual energy was running rampant in her body now was probably because she had used a lot of demonic power in a short period of time: "A few days ago, did you fight with those three cultivators?"
Ling Shu looked like she was afraid of being criticized: "Well... they bullied me and my friends, so... I taught them a lesson."
Zhuang Jinfu rubbed the fox's ears and said, "Well done."
Ling Shu's eyes lit up: "Really?"
Zhuang Jinfu laughed and said, "If you're bullied, you have to learn to fight back. You learned Ling Shu without being taught. You're very smart."
Ling Shu lunged forward, about to hug her, but Zhuang Jinfu pressed her head down, stopping her: "Can Ling Bao get some rewards?"
What do you want?
"I want a hug from Master."
Zhuang Jinfu released his hand and agreed: "Okay."
With a loud splash, Ling Shu threw herself into her arms, resting her head on her softness. Zhuang Jin Fu's hand, which had been suspended in mid-air, wrapped around Ling Shu's back, and a cool magical energy flowed from her palm into Ling Shu's body. Ling Shu shivered, and her ears twitched a few times, which was quite adorable. Zhuang Jin Fu couldn't help but chuckle.
Ling Shu looked up at her: "Master, you're making fun of me."
Her peach blossom eyes blinked, her ears and neck were porcelain white, and her cheeks were rosy, perhaps because the hot spring water was too hot.
"No, it's all because Master's immortal power is too cold," Zhuang Jinfu said gently.
"Yes, yes, it's all Master's fault," Ling Shu nodded.
Zhuang Jinfu chuckled softly, wishing he could always be this obedient.
"So, Master, I'm going to punish you." Ling Shu's eyes held a hint of malice.
"Oh? Your disciple intends to punish his master? How audacious!"
Zhuang Jinfu pondered what she would do: splash water on her face, or kick her out so he could enjoy the hot spring all to himself? He thought of many things but hadn't considered this.
Ling Shu's feelings for her were impure; even though he had lost his memory, his deepest desires remained unchanged.
The towel she had casually wrapped around her body was ripped open with force, and those burning lips landed on her soft skin. Ling Shu even mischievously stuck out her tongue and licked her damp skin. Her innocent peach blossom eyes changed, and her gaze became aggressive and full of possessive emotions.
Zhuang Jinfu pushed her away in shame and anger, and grabbed a bath towel to wrap himself up.
The force with which she pushed Ling Shu away was considerable. They were standing in the deep water area in the middle of the hot spring, and with her push, Ling Shu was pushed backward and fell into the water.
Two or three bubbles rose to the surface of the water, and then, just like before, the lingzhu (a type of herb) remained submerged.
"Come out, I won't fall for it again," Zhuang Jinfu said coldly.
There was no response.
Another three or four seconds passed.
Still no sign of the lingshu (a type of medicinal herb).
Zhuang Jinfu panicked and hurriedly dived into the water, where he saw Ling Shu floating with her eyes closed.
They carried her ashore, but Ling Shu remained motionless, as if she were drowning. Zhuang Jinfu performed a series of first aid measures for drowning and gave her airway. After a while, Ling Shu started breathing again.
Zhuang Jinfu knelt down beside her, feeling extremely guilty: "I'm sorry, I... I didn't control my strength."
Ling Shu sat up from the ground, and Zhuang Jinfu immediately pulled her into his arms: "I almost lost you."
Are you afraid I'll die?
Zhuang Jinfu was uneasy. Ling Shu only had some desire for her and her behavior was a bit out of line, but she was not a wicked person. How could she, an ascended immortal, casually lay a hand on a little fox in the Foundation Establishment stage? She was so small, how could she resist her palm strike?
The more she thought about it, the more guilty she felt.
"I'm scared," she said.
"Sun Wang said, 'Demons are born base. So many people want me dead, why is it only you who wants me to live?'"
"You...remembered?" Ling Shu's words were more mature than before, unlike what a ten-year-old child could say, which made her curious, so she asked.
She received an affirmative answer: "I do remember some things. I was drowning just now, and everything went black. Many things flashed before my eyes, but I can't remember the specifics. I only remember that when I arrived at Shangqing Mountain, that person didn't want to see me, and then I repeatedly saw the flashing of swords and felt the despair of being on the verge of death."
"Was I struck by lightning, Master? That lightning hurt so much. The person who controlled the lightning had a gloomy and vicious face. I don't like her. Who is she?" Ling Shu rested her head on her shoulder, relying on the embrace she was given.
“An unimportant person,” Zhuang Jinfu said coldly.
“That’s good,” Ling Shu said again. “If she were a very important person in my life, I would break down.”
Zhuang Jinfu gently patted her back: "If you can't remember her, then don't think about her."
Zhuang Jinfu was not one to feel compassion. But after Ling Shu appeared, the barren garden of emotions in her heart began to grow lush green grass. For ordinary cultivators, awakening dormant emotions might be a big step towards true compassion, but she was different. She cultivated the path of ruthlessness, walking a path of cold-heartedness and indifference. But from the moment she helped Ling Shu, many things changed, and Zhuang Jinfu felt afraid.
Yet she couldn't help but tilt the scales in Ling Shu's favor; she felt sorry for her, she pitied her, she sympathized with her.
Ling Shu couldn't recall Wang Lifu, but she always remembered him. In her heart, she still longed for her mother's love.
"And you? Why are you afraid I'll die?" Ling Shu continued to press, her expression as she turned away from Zhuang Jinfu was nothing like that of a ten-year-old child. The look in her peach blossom eyes was shrewd, calculating, sharp, and determined to hit the bullseye.
“I don’t know,” Zhuang Jinfu paused, then added, “I don’t want you to die.”
“There has to be a reason.” Ling Shu didn’t miss this opportunity to press her for an explanation.
"Whether it's for personal gain, a motive, or simply for some kind of amusement, a person doesn't become nice to another person for no reason; there's always a reason."
What Ling Shu said represents the uglier aspects of human nature. However, human nature has many facets, yet she only sees the evil, indicating a deep-seated distrust of people within her. Ling Shu's experiences have been too arduous, making it much harder for her to believe in the inherent goodness of human nature than to believe in its inherent evil.
Zhuang Jinfu immediately understood these thoughts from her words, and then said gently, "What if I said that none of these things exist? I'm only nice to you because I want to be nice to you."
"That's pitiful."
Zhuang Jinfu had no words to refute him.
Ling Shu's stubborn voice came from beside her ear: "I don't want your pity." But her hands were tightly wrapped around her.
No, Ling Shu wanted it, and needed it. Zhuang Jinfu didn't expose it, because exposing someone's unspoken desire would be embarrassing, so she said, "No matter what you think, I just want to be good to you. I want you to live. I won't distance myself from you or stay away from you because you are a demon. You are a vibrant life existing independently in this world. No one has the right to take your life away, and no one can bend you or mold you into the way others want you to be. I'm just doing my best to teach you to be a kind person, and then let you live in this world as you want to be."
Ling Shu's eyes were misty. She was awkward and didn't believe that anyone in this world would be kind to her for no reason. So she called Li Chang stupid and repeatedly questioned Zhuang Jinfu about why he took her as his disciple and why he didn't want her to die. In her eyes, people like Wang Lifu were normal. People have baseness, but she didn't believe that people could also be kind and compassionate.
"Zhuang Jinfu".
"You're not calling me Master anymore?"
“Master,” Ling Shu leaned against her shoulder and said lazily, “Will you always be good to me? Will you never betray me?”
Yes, it will.
"Don't give me light only to extinguish it yourself, Zhuang Jinfu." Ling Shu reached out and played with her equally wet hair, squeezing out the water, and then pinching off a section of hair. "The light you extinguished yourself is more cruel than the harsh words you uttered to me from the beginning. Ling Bao won't be able to bear it."
"Won't."
Ling Shu shook her hair, shivered, and then sneezed. Zhuang Jinfu began to blame herself again: "I'm sorry, you caught a cold." She made a hand seal and dried the clothes on the two of them.
"Master—"
Zhuang Jinfu laughed and said, "You're calling me Master again?"
"Will you still punish me by making me kneel in the snow?" Ling asked softly, as if she were pleading.
"Go kneel in the snow, will you know you were wrong and not do it again next time?" Zhuang Jinfu told her to let go, but she wouldn't. So he used magic to summon a piece of clothing and covered Ling Shu with it.
"I know I was wrong, Master—" Ling Shu continued to whine.
Zhuang Jin pulled her clothes up tighter and asked her in a gentle tone, "Are you cold kneeling in the snow?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
