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Zhou Xuanlan lowered his long eyelashes, making it hard to discern his expression. He poured a cup of tea and handed it over, saying, “Master, have some tea.”
Shen Liuxiang drank the tea in one go and coughed lightly as he swallowed the liquid that went down the wrong way. He held the teacup with his slender white fingers and noticed the gazes of everyone around, especially Ling Ye, who seemed hesitant to speak, and Ye Bingran, who looked surprised and cold.
He caressed the rim of the cup with his fingertip and then stood up, walking towards the bed. It seemed like he wanted to provoke Ling Ye and simultaneously create enmity between him and Ye Bingran.
The person on the bed was still murmuring and softly calling his name.
“Don’t call my name anymore,” Shen Liuxiang leaned close to Su Baiche’s ear and chuckled softly. “I don’t want to hold you at all because you look a bit ugly, and your whole body smells bad. I don’t like it.”
The murmurs on the bed stopped abruptly, and there was silence.
Ye Bingran’s fingers curled up as he struggled to contain his anger. He managed to refrain from pushing Shen Liuxiang away. Ling Ye was slightly stunned but couldn’t help but smile.
The word “ugly” had nothing to do with Su Baiche, and besides, he didn’t smell bad; he even emitted a faint and enchanting fragrance.
“He’s not ugly, nor does he smell bad,” Ye Bingran explained coldly.
Shen Liuxiang replied, “Although they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder…  but with this kind of scent…”
Suddenly, Su Baiche coughed up blood, and in the blink of an eye, his fair chin was stained with blood. Ye Bingran tightly held his hand and turned to Lan Xiaosheng, “Master, can you check him again? Maybe there are other injuries.”
Lan Xiaosheng frowned deeply and sighed.
He had never seen Ye Bingran so concerned before, and it seemed that he wouldn’t be able to change his mind.
Shen Liuxiang, along with the others, left the room.
The door closed gently, and Ling Ye looked at Shen Liuxiang with a murky gaze. “Come with me.”
Shen Liuxiang’s heart skipped a beat.
Could it be that Ling Ye really considered him a rival in love? He tried to explain, “Senior Brother, I and Su Baiche…”
“Others are fine,” Ling Ye interrupted.
The light wind carried fallen leaves, swirling around him. “But not Su Baiche.”
Shen Liuxiang’s mouth opened slightly, wanting to ask why.
Was Su Baiche so special?
But the words got stuck in his throat, and he swallowed them back. After all, Ling Ye was not his real Senior Brother, and their relationship with the original host was not that close, so he had no right to interfere.
Ling Ye turned around and saw Shen Liuxiang frowning. He raised his hand and plucked a dry leaf from his dark hair.
“I’m not blaming you; it’s just following fate,” Ling Ye said.
Shen Liuxiang didn’t quite understand.
In the evening, Shen Bubu was lying on the windowsill, happily playing with a potted plant, holding an apple in his hands and taking bites.
When he heard movement at the door, he grinned and was about to jump up, but suddenly wrinkled his nose, “Daddy, you have a stinky smell.”
Shen Liuxiang guessed that it must have come from Su Baiche. Others seemed unable to smell it.
Shen Bubu almost suffocated from the scent, so he picked a golden leaf from his head and stepped on the desk, waving the leaf around Shen Liuxiang.
After finishing, he gasped for breath and put the golden leaf back in place.
Shen Liuxiang reached out to flick it. “What’s the use of this leaf?”
“Daddy, don’t move it; it’ll make me itch,” Shen Bubu’s cheeks turned slightly red as he covered the golden leaf on his head with both hands. “It will be useful when it bears fruit.”
Shen Liuxiang found it strange, “When will it bear fruit?”
Shen Bubu tilted his head, pondering seriously for a moment, “Probably when it accumulates ten leaves.”
Shen Liuxiang nodded as he yawned, feeling a bit tired, and went to bed early.
…
In another room, Su Baiche quietly opened his eyes and touched his forehead with his fingertips while chanting a spell.
In an instant, a dark figure knelt on the ground, with scarlet eyes that seemed empty and lost, like a puppet.
“What are your orders, Master?”
Tong Xi said, “The Nightmare Beast doesn’t suit you. Listen to me; the White Phoenix is more fitting for your image.”
Moonlight shone into the room as Su Baiche sat cross-legged on the bed, saying, “I only care if it’s useful.”
The Nightmare Beast was one of the three most vicious beasts in the Demon Realm. He risked his life to subdue it, which also resulted in him being hunted by other beasts for several days.
“What’s the use,” Tong Xi complained, “If I hadn’t helped you conceal the foul smell of the Dream Mark, others would have been scared away if they knew it was on you. How could you bewitch anyone then?”
Su Baiche coldly sneered, but he consoled, “Don’t worry, I’ll deal with Shen Liuxiang, and then I’ll do as you say.”
He formed a seal with his fingers and commanded the Nightmare Beast, “Aren’t you curious? Everything you were so certain about, whether it’s him breaking through to the Harmonization realm or taming the Heavenly Dog… all have deviated from your expectations.”
Tong Xi loyally replied, “I only assist you and don’t care about others.”
“I mean there’s something wrong with him,” Su Baiche said coldly, “Something must have happened to him before or after entering the Four-Direction Blood Pool. I won’t feel at ease until I find out.”
Tong Xi thought it was an overreaction, “No need to worry; he’s just a minor stumbling block and can’t threaten you.”
Su Baiche was too lazy to argue further and turned to look at the Nightmare Beast, “Go and probe his memories.”
Shen Bubu was awakened by a foul smell. His small hand came out from under the blanket, rubbing his eyes. He leaned close to Shen Liuxiang, who was sleeping, and sniffed, frowning.
Zhou Xuanlan, who hadn’t rested yet, heard the urgent call from the adjacent room. His face changed, and he quickly went next door.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
Shen Liuxiang lay on the bed, his soft black hair scattered on the pillow, and his thick, dark eyelashes gently drooped. His breathing was steady and even.
If not for Shen Bubu continuously pushing him with force, he would have seemingly slept soundly, and others would have thought he was sound asleep.
Zhou Xuanlan’s finger rested on Shen Liuxiang’s wrist, probing his condition but didn’t find anything abnormal.
His brows furrowed, he uncovered the thin quilt and picked up a robe, wrapping it around Shen Liuxiang. He then lifted him from the bed and quickly left the room.
Su Baiche heard the commotion and wondered if he had been discovered so soon.
After hesitating for a moment, he followed.
When he arrived, Lan Xiaosheng was standing by the bed, his palm resting on Shen Liuxiang’s forehead, checking on him. Ling Ye, Ning Runxin, Zhao Lin, Zhou Xuanlan, and Shen Bubu were also present. Zhou Xuanlan and Shen Bubu were the first to notice something wrong.
Shen Bubu tiptoed and stretched his neck, looking through the gap between the people towards the bed.
Zhou Xuanlan picked him up and was about to place him on the table, but Shen Bubu wrinkled his nose and looked towards the door, “Why do you also smell bad?”
Su Baiche’s heart skipped a beat, “Why can he smell it?!”
“It doesn’t matter,” Tong Xi stammered, “Those people you want to conquer can’t smell it.”
Su Baiche almost laughed out loud.
Shen Bubu ran over and lifted his fair foot, kicking, “It must be you who’s harming Daddy!”
Su Baiche widened his eyes, realizing that Shen Bubu was surprisingly strong as he felt the pain from the kick.
All eyes in the room turned towards them. Su Baiche forced a smile and glanced at the gold leaf on Shen Bubu’s head. He reached out his hand to explain, “You must have misunderstood something.”
Shen Bubu immediately took a step back, looked around the room, and ran back to Zhou Xuanlan’s side with a grievous expression, “He smells bad, just like Daddy.”
Lan Xiaosheng turned back, “Is it a mud-like smell?”
Shen Bubu touched the gold leaf on his head, “I don’t know, but it makes me want to vomit.”
“When the Nightmare Beast is present, there’s a foul smell that reeks of mud.” Lan Xiaosheng said meaningfully, glancing at Su Baiche, “I’m curious about why you were targeted by other beasts.”
The person at the door turned pale and tried to explain, but before he could say anything, he couldn’t help but cover his mouth and cough violently.
Bright red blood flowed through his fingers, and his frail figure wavered.
“I… cough… cough…”
Ye Bingran arrived just in time and supported the person, saying incredulously, “Master, why do you suspect Baiche? He’s not that kind of person.”
“We’ll discuss this later,” Ling Ye’s brows furrowed slightly, “Let’s save our junior brother first.”
The power of the Nightmare Beast lies in its ability to intrude into a cultivator’s sea of consciousness, creating illusions that make the person believe they are real. If someone couldn’t detect the presence of the Nightmare Beast, they would be trapped in the illusion forever, unable to wake up.
Lan Xiaosheng pondered for a moment and looked at Ling Ye, “I have a method that can help someone enter his sea of consciousness.”
“To pull our junior brother out of the illusion,” Ling Ye understood his meaning but frowned, “But he must be willing to go with that person.”
Lan Xiaosheng nodded, “That person must be someone he deeply trusts and must also be clear-headed. The Nightmare in his sea of consciousness might use Shen Liuxiang’s memories to trap the intruder inside.”
The room fell silent.
Ning Runxin cleared his throat and broke the silence, “In that case, it has to be me. Shen Liuxiang and I have a deep bond. To him, I am someone he can trust wholeheartedly. Although it may not be apparent, he trusts me more than anyone else present here.”
“But he is my junior brother,” Ling Ye said, hands folded behind his back, his gaze falling on Shen Liuxiang’s peaceful sleeping face. He smiled faintly, “He may have many people he can trust, but as his senior brother, I am the only one.”
Ning Runxin’s face darkened.
“Though you are the only senior brother, you are still just a Senior Brother,” Lan Xiaosheng pointed to the door, “The person he has been chasing for ten years is there. If Bingran enters his sea of consciousness, I don’t think Liuxiang will refuse him.”
Ye Bingran was taken aback and nodded slightly.
He had complicated feelings towards Shen Liuxiang. The latter had pursued him relentlessly for many years but finally stopped bothering him when he fell in love with someone else. It left a somewhat unpleasant taste in his heart.
However, as fellow cultivators, he couldn’t do something like standing by and doing nothing.
“This disciple can give it a try.”
Zhao Lin, realizing he was perhaps the weakest link among them, remained silent out of rationality but couldn’t help muttering in a somewhat unwilling voice.
“Maybe, Brother Shen Xiang will choose me.”
“Daddy loves me the most,” Shen Bubu rolled his eyes and spoke nonsense, “We are connected by blood. I will definitely lead Daddy out of the sea of consciousness illusion.”
Everyone ignored him directly and turned their gaze to the young man who had been silent all this time.
“I have peered into Master’s sea of consciousness,” Zhou Xuanlan said indifferently, casually dropping a bomb, “Inside the Bone-Washing Spring, Master allowed me to enter. Our consciousness blended, and the implications should be clear to all of you.”
“Just a moment of indulgence,” Lan Xiaosheng’s face turned dark, “It’s still better for Bingran to go.”
Ning Runxin’s face was grim, “I’ll say it again. The person who can make him lower his guard and leave with them must be me.”
“Do the people from your Sword Sect misunderstand something?” Ling Ye’s smile faded from his face, “He is Qingling’s Immortal Shen, my junior brother. In the end, you all are outsiders.”
Shen Bubu covered his head, furrowing his little brows, feeling overwhelmed by the conversation.
T/N: Who are you all rooting for? Personally, I’m rooting for Immortal Shen’s best love interest…. Su Baiche lololol