Seeing his little disciple hiding in room and bulling a duck, Mu Chen felt a little bit complicated and looked at him more unfathomably.
Covering deep desires in his eyes, Gu Yunjue ran to grab Mu Chen’s hands with a grinning face and called him ‘Master’ in an intimate tone.
When Mu Chen was going to teach him a lesson, Guan Shan had come close to them with a plate of sugar cakes in his hands and bowed his head to them, saying with a smile: “Young Palace Master, the sugar cakes you wanted.”
Mu Chen walked into the room and touched Gu Yunjue’s head, enquiring with a cold face: “Young Master?”
“Little Palace Master’ sounds horrible,” Gu Yunjue curled his lips, “like a little princess.”
TL: In Chinese, the three characters小宫主, namely Little Palace Master, sounds the same to小公主, meaning little Princess.
Mu Chen gave him a warning pat on the head, and asked back: “You are being treated as a little princess now, aren’t you?”
“Master,” Catching the hand on the head in both of his and kneading it slowly, Gu Yunjue couldn’t help coming closer to his Master because of the exquisite sense of touch, and with his face up he asked: “Then, you are the old princess since I am a little princess.”
“Old?” Mu Chen pulled a long face, struggling to suppress the impulse to pick this little one up and spank him.
He said I was old? Really? How did he see that? Those on the same level of power as me were all old men!
“No matter how old or unhandsome you are, I still love you the most,” said Gu Yunjue, studying his Master’s face. Gu Yunjue often took a delight in flirting with his master and seeing his look changing from coldness to delight or outrage because expressions changing on the excellent face increased some charm to it. After seeing Mu Chen’s face soften, Gu Yunjue added: “When I grow up, Master, I will keep you as a princess in a magnificent palace. You don’t need to do anything but only look at me.”
Mu Chen’s face returned to coldness again.
‘That’s a pig, not a princess.’ He opened his mouth, planning to correct Gu Yunjue. But thinking of little disciple’s sensitivity, Mu Chen couldn’t bring himself to do that. Besides, he had no idea how to put him right in only a few words without hurting him. As a result, Mu Chen stayed still suddenly and looked confused and agitated with a frown on his face.
Looking at his master’s reaction, Gu Yunjue felt rather amused. A swift smile crossing his dark eyes, Gu Yunjue complemented in a serious tone: “Master, you are looking lovely now.”
Hearing that, Black Egg, who was exerting the utmost strength to shrink itself from others’ notice, stretched out its wings to cover its face again.
Shame on him! How dare he flirt with his master! Mu Chen might not sense the implied meaning out though.
As expected, Mu Chen finally figured out how to make a response and then he corrected Gu Yunjue immediately: “A lot of words can also be used to praise others except ‘lovely’. Memorize 100 idioms tomorrow and I’ll test you at night.”
Gu Yunjue answered him, looking lovable: “I’ll remember it, Master.”
Noticing that there was a lot of ink still to flow, Mu Chen took up the pen to draw a herb as he took a seat, and then raised some questions about what Gu Yunjue had learned in recent days. Gu Yunjue answered the questions without any hitch, even not a single word about herbs’ function was mistaken.
Nodding with great satisfaction, Mu Chen praised: “Not bad. From tomorrow on, you can read books you like and books on cultivation at Book Collection Pavilion. You can borrow whatever you like as long as you have the plate I’ve given to you.”
It sounded like his own study when Mu Chen mentioned the Book Collection Pavilion. Only Mu Chen dared to say that.
Gu Yunjue said ‘okay’ with a wide smile. In his previous life, Gu Yunjue had had free access to Book Collection Pavilion by Mu Chen so that lots of good things were found out since Lofty Cloud Sect had a long history and an impressive cultivation background.
Finishing testing Gu Yunjue, Mu Chen had another look at Black Egg that was shrinking like a ball before he stood up to leave. And yet he couldn’t help but educate Gu Yunjue: “Black Egg...Black Egg is also a living thing. Never bully it.”
Black Egg froze speechlessly: “......”
Living? Thing?
Hearing that, Gu Yunjue snatched up Black Egg to knead it repeatedly at once, and then threw Black Egg up to sky and caught it up as it was falling. Holding Black Egg in his hands, Gu Yunjue laughed like a lively child, “Not bullying, I was playing around with it, Master.”
It was one of only a few times that Mu Chen saw his little disciple playing naughty like other children. A comfortable smile finally appeared on his face, “It’s good that you won’t overdo it.”
Mu Chen went away. After that, Gu Yunjue pursed his lips, picked up Black Egg lightly with two fingers pinching its shoulder blades, and looked into its hopeless eyes, saying gently: “Black Egg, the sugar cakes were cooked specially for you. You said you wouldn’t say no to anything, right? Here, eat it while it’s still warm.”
Looking at Gu Yunjue, Black Egg seemed bummed out. Black Egg followed Mu Chen back here because it wanted to grow up safe at this cozy place. And then when it was able to protect itself, Black Egg intended to wipe away fields in Demon World and name itself the Great Demonic Emperor, so no one dared to offend it all around the three worlds, even a phoenix had to respectfully call Black Egg father when meeting it. However, Dream was perfect but reality was cruel. Now, as a prisoner, it was even raised as a spiritual pet. Sugar cake? How could it eat it with such a flat mouth? The sugar cake would be stuck in its mouth! It wanted nothing but souls, the more evil the better!
At midnight, Gu Yunjue set an enchantment ward after Mu Chen entered meditation, and then he took Black Egg out of the coop. The very thought of he looking like an idiot when taking a hairy ball around inside the mountain, Gu Yunjue really wanted to crush it dead.
Sensing that, Black Egg shivered with fear like an abandoned quail in the cold wind.
Then, Guan Shan came up silently in the room, respectfully bent down to greet Gu Yunjue and lowered his voice: “Young Master, everything is ready.”
Gu Yunjue gave a slight nod then a wave of his hand, bringing out the Soul-protecting Bell that quietly enlarged. In an instant, the three of them disappeared.
Inside the Soul-Protecting Bell was a vast space which was divided into two halves, one presenting a scenery of noisy birds, beautiful flowers as well as a spiritual fountain, and the other half an endless gray zone, which was the incompleteness of the inner space caused by the missing Kun Bell. Only if the other half was found could the Qian Kun Soul-Protecting Bell (Qian represents Heaven, Kun Earth, together it means the universe in ancient Chinese philosophy) be complete. But for now, the Soul-Protecting Bell was still big enough for Gu Yunjue to do something concealing from his Master.
Gu Yunjue lifted the corners of his mouth, saying lightly: “Start.”
Guan Shan said yes and then started to cast a formation while Gu Yunjue was watching with an easy look and kneading Black Egg.
At the very moment, Ji Qingyuan got a sudden palpitation thousands of miles away. He stood up and felt that one piece of his own spiritual soul was being dragged out by someone before he could react. In a panic feeling of his own soul being pulled out of his body, Ji Qingyuan slumped over into skeletons surrounded by demonic air.
Ji Qingyuan’s power had been all taken back by Yu Tianyi, who, in light of their time together as fellow apprentices, only imprisoned him. So Ji Qingyuan was lucky to survive. Though his spiritual vein was destroyed, his spiritual soul remained, on the mere hope of which Ji Qingyuan lingered out a feeble existence. So-called good friends before all kept distance with him to steer clear of suspicion. How high he had ever been before, and how low he was now. No one would take a notice of the situation here because Ji Qingyuan lived alone in a secret room. Even if he was found dead, people might consider it as the haunting of demonic power that extinguished his soul. No clue was left.
Looking at the figure on the forming, Gu Yunjue shook Black Egg with it between fingers, smiling mildly: “Eat it and then you can advance. You’d better work hard. I don’t like a crap.”
Its red eyes gleaming at Ji Qingyuan’s soul on the forming, Black Egg flied to sky in the flipping of its wings and turned into a black crow with scarlet eyes, a golden mouth, and the three golden hairs on its head turning into burning flames. Its look at the moment was more beautiful than its usual look--Abyss Evil of Demon World, the young three-legged Golden Crow!
A little bit confused about the place he was at the beginning, Ji Qingyuan then realized it immediately when he saw Gu Yunjue clearly, “Your master is Mu Chen!”
Gu Yunjue waved his hand with a broad smile on his face. Black Egg rushed to rip Ji Qingyuan’s soul like a hungry wolf and it couldn’t wait already after a long-time hunger. Black Egg gripped his soul with its sharp mouth and tore it up brutally. Black Egg howled in a relaxed manner and then went at the soul more excitedly as Ji Qingyuan screamed out of helplessness.
Black Egg’s frantic biting made Ji Qingyuan yell in great pain. His panic and despair added more delicious taste to his soul and led to much crazier biting of the Evil Crow.
Thinking of Mu Chen’s fury and despaired look as seeing him being attacked by Ji Qingyuan, Gu Yunjue was delighted to see the man in front of him despairing. Little master was still too kind-hearted. An instant killing was a mercy for Ji Qingyuan.
Back to his own room delightfully and satisfactorily, Gu Yunjue found an empty scroll and smilingly spread it out on the desk. Rolling up his sleeve and dipping his brush into the ink, Gu Yunjue drew carefully a picture of a beauty bathing, a wonderful masterpiece indeed, even muscle texture and collarbone curves were remarkably true to life. Thus it could be seen how impressive the beauty was in Gu Yunjue’s brain.
The beauty was exactly Mu Chen.
That was why Mu Chen said Gu Yunjue would be better than himself. Not only was Gu Yunjue’s handwriting unrestrained and powerful, his skills were incomparable. Finishing the last draw, his eyes crinkled with smiles and Gu Yunjue waved his arms to dry the drawing with delight. And then, he tied the rolled-up scroll up with a red string and put it into a separate space ring. In the future, things about little master must be classified safely and stored alone so that they wouldn’t be smeared by other things.
Grabbing his own pillow, Gu Yunjue walked towards his master’s room.
Opening his eyes and noticing his little disciple walking in, Mu Chen in meditation opened his arms to hold the little one. He felt the beads of sweat forming on little one’s forehead, asking worriedly: “Nightmare?”
Gu Yunjue nodded with a frightened look.
Mu Chen lied down and pulled Gu Yunjue into his arms, comforting in a gentle voice: “Then I’ll hold you. Don’t worry.”
Gu Yunjue rushed to him with a wide smile and put his arms around master’s waist tightly. Mu Chen embraced him more tightly, consoling: “I’m here. Don’t worry.”
————
The next morning, Mu Chen was studying the prescription by the window when Jing Ming skipped in from outside with a rope in his hand, and asked excitedly: “Where is Black Egg? I find a new rope and a small bell for it!”
Hearing that noise in such an early morning, Mu Chen slightly knitted his eyebrows.
Gu Yunjue came over with a faint smile after noticing his Master’s frown: “Black Egg said it wanted to advance with no disturbing last night. So I let it go to the back mountain.” It was rather difficult to digest a soul on the demigod realm. It might take at least a month for Black Egg to completely take it in.
Jing Ming put the rope away with a disappointed look on his face. It had no use for now.
Mu Chen beckoned Jing Ming over by crooking his finger. And Jing Ming immediately ran to him and lowered his head, anticipating to be stroked.
Taking out a jade plate, Mu Chen ordered: “Jing Ming, you take Yun’er to the Book Collection Pavilion and let him pick some books. If anyone dares to grab his, hit them back.”
Gu Yunjue walked to Mu Chen and helped him put his clothes in order, asking with anticipation: “Aren't you coming with me, Master?”
“I have to practice alchemy. You still have Jing Ming’s accompany.”
And then, Gu Yunjue helped Mu Chen smooth his hair, asking again: “Then, master, let me have lunch with you, okay?”
Mu Chen nodded his head and replied absent-mindedly: “Okay, go then.”
With his eyes narrowed and dissatisfaction in his eyes concealed, Gu Yunjue came closer to Mu Chen, cupped his face in hands and kissed him on the cheek as he stared blankly.
Mu Chen froze: “......”