Ch92 - Undercurrents

Xie Zhiwei’s heart sank.

His thoughts had been flying around the entire day.

While the hero was unconscious, he had slipped away and even helped his “arch-nemesis” Chu Zhishi escape. How could the hero just release them and even help out by the end? Leaving that aside, the youngster was in such serious condition but still manifested two boundary fields out of thin air in one day…he really gave it his all.

Now that Mu He had come alone without reinforcements, was he hiding an even bigger move?

Xie Zhiwei half-believed, half-doubted his speculations. He wanted to find some hints from Mu He’s expression, but the boy was standing so deep in the woods that shadows obscured his features completely. He could only see the solitary figure with lonely white robes fluttering in the breeze.

Unable to bear it, Xie Zhiwei spoke up. “Since you’re here, why not meet me in the open?”

Mu He didn’t move beyond staying still.

Xie Zhiwei’s voice remained calm. “Are you blaming Master for leaving without saying goodbye?”

Mu He shook his head then and finally opened his mouth. “Disciple doesn’t dare. Disciple thought that shizun wouldn’t want to see disciple right now.”

“What makes you say that?”

In the dark, Mu He bowed his head. “Disciple never expected youngest martial uncle to be so injured. Disciple only thought he’d harbor bad intentions towards Royal Father if he charged into the residence…if I knew Royal Father would torture him, I would have never taken action in the first place.”

Xie Zhiwei’s temper dissipated at these words. Cheese was such a heroic character, but he’d been crippled in one arm and locked up to be tormented in prison…er, actually it doesn’t seem like anything else was hurt besides his arm? He could still eat, drink, and sleep as he pleased as well as curse the hero with full justification.

Xie Zhiwei cleared his throat. “Your youngest martial uncle has indeed suffered.”

Mu He’s head sank even lower. “It’s all the disciple’s fault. May shizun mete punishment.” He always stood straight, but now his back was hunched and his voice cautious, like a child waiting to be reprimanded for a bad deed.

Xie Zhiwei suddenly didn’t know what to say. Actually, this matter wasn’t directly related to the hero, right? Of course, Cheese had broken the protagonist’s fingers first, but it was to preserve his corpse as Xie Zhiwei. Even if the hero suffered through that for nothing, it was still abnormal for him to leave it untreated for four years.

Yet Cheese had his arm and hand broken by the King of Nine Provinces. At that time, the hero was still lying delirious on the bed, completely clueless to it all. Moreover, the hero was justified in subduing Cheese in the first place to prevent him from doing anything bad to the King of Nine Provinces. There was no fault in this logic; after all, anyone would take defensive measures against a home invader, to say nothing of one who barged into the king’s manor.

After a while, Xie Zhiwei sighed again. “I won’t punish you, nor should you feel guilty. This matter isn’t your fault.”

Mu He looked up, revealing a shadowed half-face. “Shizun really doesn’t blame this disciple?”

Although Xie Zhiwei couldn’t see his features clearly, those eyes were bright and shimmering with moisture like the twinkling of moon and stars. He replied, “Mhm, I don’t blame you.” Look at how sorry he is. Outsiders might think I robbed him on the road, and all because of his looks too…

Still, he couldn’t show him a good expression even if Mu He looked wronged. Even if my heart softens…I can’t let him know. Xie Zhiwei felt that he had cared too much about the hero in the past, so this teenager who had never experienced the female sex beyond Cheng Daoxiu started hating them in favor of males. Now he thought men were his true love.

If Xie Zhiwei cooled him off a bit, perhaps his feelings would fade, too.

Mu He’s lips quirked up briefly, but his voice grew lower. “But shizun is still so cold to this disciple… Forget it, disciple just wanted to see shizun was okay. Now I’m relieved.”

Huh? Xie Zhiwei was taken aback. Ever since the hero arrived, Xie Zhiwei was prepared to fight him. He never expected the protagonist to say such magnamious words. No, this goes beyond magnanimous. It just makes him easy to bully, ah.

This this this—is he still the domineering stallion novel protagonist I know?

…no, ever since he bent, he’s turned his back on his canon counterpart.

“You…” Xie Zhiwei blurted out.

Mu He suddenly waved a hand before a stream of jade light appeared by Xie Zhiwei’s side. When it touched his fingertips, the glow intensified.

This was Qingping Sword.

Xie Zhiwei scrunched his brows, but the sword had already contacted his divine sense before he reacted. A moment later, the sword and Xie Zhiwei’s spiritual energy melded with each other as if meeting a long-lost friend.

The Qingping Sword had recognized its original owner. However, there was also an extra, foreign spiritual energy within it that came from Mu He. As an ancient divine relic, it possessed many extraordinary elements. One was its ability to remember all of its previous owners, which was why it hadn’t rejected Xie Zhiwei beforehand.

He sighed. “What is this for?”

Mu He’s voice was soft. “No one will stop shizun from going to the daoist sect anymore. Disciple has kept this Qingping Sword for many years and now I return it to shizun. Disciple only asks that shizun…remembers disciple occasionally when gazing upon it. Just think of it as taking disciple’s place to protect shizun.”

Hearing him sound so pathetic reminded Xie Zhiwei of the original novel where the hero had a beauty in each arm and countless members in his harem. He had ever gained the favor of others and never begged for his own. Such a contrast…really made him pitiful.

After a moment of silence, Xie Zhiwei replied, “Are you planning to talk to Master like this the entire time?”

The winds were gusting, the skies black, and the moon high in the sky. Deep in the forest, the two men spoke across a distance without being able to see each other’s faces. It was a weird experience.

Mu He’s eyelashes quavered. He began to speak, but suddenly swayed. The glow of Qingping Sword illuminated his body as he staggered, revealing a pale, bloodless face. Even his lips were nearly white, as if all the spiritual energy Xie Zhiwei had channeled him had gone to naught.

Xie Zhiwei subconsciously took a step forward. “How could this be?” A second step soon followed.

But Mu He seemed afraid of him getting too close and quickly turned around. “It’s nothing, shizun doesn’t need to…cough, cough.” He bent over to clutch his chest as he hacked, voice hoarse.

Xie Zhiwei started walking over in earnest, his voice deep. “Let Master have a look.”

But Mu He only replied, “Shizun…take care.”

Red lotus light bloomed around him, but it was much dimmer than usual. The petals opened and closed before a twisted crack emerged in the air, letting Mu He duck in without a word to disappear from sight.

In the blink of an eye, the forests were empty once more.

Xie Zhiwei’s footsteps paused as his eyes widened. He felt incredulous, though he no longer knew why.

“Benefactor,” a voice called from beyond the woods. “So you were in the forest. Did something happen?”

Xie Zhiwei looked around in a daze and discovered he had stepped deep into the woods. He was only ten steps away from the spot beneath the maple tree. Turning back, he saw Tantai Meng dressed in white robes, gazing curiously at him from the carriage. He couldn’t help curling up his fingers as he smiled.

“Nothing. A white-eyed wolf showed up in the forest just then, but I’ve already chased him off.”

—

“Your Royal Majesty, this subordinate’s words are the truth. I dare not make the slightest false report.”

The King of Nine Provinces tapped his fingertips against the table, his expression unchanged. “You’re certain Chu Zhishi called that man ‘second senior brother?'”

“Yes, Your Royal Majesty. This subordinate has heard of the hierarchy in Yujing Sect. Chu Zhishi has a total of three senior brothers, and the second-ranked one is none other than…” Faceless trailed off meaningfully.

The fingers stopped tapping the table. Word by word, the king enunciated, “So, my Royal Son disobeyed me for his sake?”

Faceless didn’t dare continue and bowed his head even lower. A thread of sandalwood incense rose from the incense holder, the only source of movement in the room. At this point, Faceless didn’t even dare to breathe.

Abruptly, the man sitting at the table let out a low laugh. Faceless heard the King of Nine Provinces say, “Good, very good.”

The remnants of the incense stick were suddenly disturbed by a ripple in the air, hanging in the air before landing on Faceless’s shoulders. Faceless instantly plastered his entire body against the floor. “May Your Royal Majesty curb your anger.”

It had been a long time since Faceless witnessed such a reaction. The king had been an idle cloud and wild crane for years, not caring about a thing. Even since the Shizi returned, he had relaxed even further and rarely frowned. Faceless had almost forgotten that his master had stepped on countless corpses and bones in his battle for power. Even if a tiger temporarily retracted its claws, violence was still in its bones. How could that be worn away? Now his master was even angry enough to use a trace of spiritual power, which was proof of how much Shizi had disappointed him.

Faceless couldn’t begin to imagine what would happen next.

A long time later, the king finally opened his mouth. “Do you think this king is angry?”

Faceless looked alarmed before saying hastily, “This subordinate misspoke. This subordinate shouldn’t have made assumptions about the master.”

“You’re wrong, Faceless,” the king took a deep breath. “This king has no time to pay attention to absurd and unbelievable rumors. The Royal Son has always been docile and obedient, so he would never defy this king for an unrelated stranger.”

“Yes,” Faceless responded, but his heart felt deeply surprised. The king was actually unwilling to probe any deeper. Was it possible that the tiger’s hostile nature had really disappeared? Or was the king unwilling to cause difficulties for Shizi?

“Rise, you did a good job.” The King of Nine Provinces’ expression eased. “Recently, Royal Son has been feeling unwell. This king can’t help worrying about him. I heard someone moved into his compound recently and that Royal Son takes an especial fancy to them.”

Faceless was careful to ask, “Your Royal Majesty means to say…”

The King of Nine Provinces pressed a finger lightly against his forehead, sounding slightly exhausted. “This king only has one son, so I should look after him more. But it’s no good to ask after every little thing…do you understand?”

Faceless bowed. “This subordinate understands. This subordinate will definitely do my best to investigate this person for Your Royal Majesty without alerting the Shizi.”

—

Translator’s Note: Quick Xie Zhiwei, move back into the house so Faceless actually has someone to investigate, lol!