“Why hasn’t the hatred meter gone up at all?!”
The tree shade fell across the young man’s face, dappling his expression.
Xiao Yu also shook its head in confusion: “Yeah, why isn’t it going up?”
The afternoon was free-practice time for the disciples, and Li Jingsheng had found an empty spot to slack off.
After his outburst, he sat down to analyze the situation: “I was so fierce at noon, not only knocking over his lunch, but also humiliating him publicly. How could his hatred not go up at all?”
Xiao Yu shook its feathered tail again: “I don’t know.”
Li Jingsheng was already annoyed, and hearing Xiao Yu’s answer made him feel like it was hopeless. He poked Xiao Yu: “What on earth do you know? You draw a blank no matter what I ask. Why are you so useless?!”
Xiao Yu wasn’t upset by the poking; instead, it rubbed against his hand again and answered loudly: “I know how to sleep!”
Well, point taken. Sleeping clearly makes you proud.
For the 10,086th time, Li Jingsheng wondered: How did he manage to get paired with such an absolute airhead after transmigrating into a novel?
＊
When returning in the evening, they still took the crane.
Given his morning experience, Li Jingsheng was thoroughly mentally prepared this time.
As it turned out, theory and practice were two entirely different things.
When they reached Qize Mountain, Li Jingsheng couldn’t hold it in anymore and found a secluded spot to vomit.
Uncomfortable as he was, he remained dedicated. His villain persona could not collapse.
Dragging his exhausted footsteps weakly back to his room, he rinsed his mouth with a couple of sips of tea and collapsed straight onto the bed like a salted fish.
Oh, mother dearest, how is anyone supposed to survive this?!
Twice a day, he felt like he was going to throw up his entire stomach.
Dusk fell, shrouding Qize Mountain in the night.
Li Jingsheng lay there until nightfall. Xiao Yu tried to help rub his stomach at one point, but its claws were so light they just tickled him into rolling around in fits of giggles.
After lying down for so long, he felt much better, but since he had thrown up everything he ate in the afternoon, his stomach was now rather empty.
There were plenty of snacks in the room, but what he wanted most right now was a bowl of warm, soothing porridge.
He couldn’t even begin to imagine how happy a little boy he would be if he could just get a bowl of warm porridge!
He fantasized in his heart: if someone could bring him a bowl of porridge right now, he would be willing to do anything.
Suddenly, the door was knocked on.
Mo Yu’s low voice came from outside.
“Senior Brother, I made some porridge. Would you like a little?”
What a coincidence?!
The moment Li Jingsheng heard the word “porridge,” his eyes lit up.
Unable to care about anything else, he called out, “The door isn’t locked, come in.”
The door was pushed open.
He looked toward the entrance. The young man stood outside holding a bowl of porridge. Moonlight poured down, the surroundings were completely silent, and the young man seemed to blend into the night.
Mo Yu walked in carrying the porridge. Li Jingsheng glanced at it. It was millet and pumpkin porridge! His absolute favorite!
As soon as Mo Yu entered, he saw Li Jingsheng slumped weakly over the table.
The young man completely lacked his arrogant and despotic aura from the afternoon. He was draped limply over the table, his dark hair cascading down, his complexion pale, but his bright eyes were fixed unblinkingly on that bowl of millet and pumpkin porridge.
Mo Yu suddenly thought of the little cat he used to raise in the mortal realm before coming to Qize Mountain.
When the cat was hungry, it would also curl up limply in his arms like this, staring with bright eyes at the food in his hands.
He was startled by his own thought.
Perhaps seeing that he didn’t speak for a long time, Li Jingsheng looked up at him, a trace of confusion in his eyes.
Mo Yu met those eyes.
Even more alike.
Seeing that Mo Yu was spacing out and staying silent, Li Jingsheng had to break the silence himself: “Have you eaten?”
Mo Yu snapped out of it, placed the porridge in front of him, and replied, “I’ve eaten. This was specially made for Senior Brother.”
Hearing this, Li Jingsheng sat right up and unceremoniously pulled the bowl toward himself: “Then I won’t hold back!” Before finishing, he didn’t forget to add: “Stop standing there, sit down.”
Mo Yu cupped his hands in a salute to him: “Thank you, Senior Brother.”
Li Jingsheng could no longer care about maintaining his persona. He picked up the white jade porcelain spoon, scooped a spoonful of porridge, and put it into his mouth.
The rich fragrance of millet and the sweet freshness of pumpkin; the porridge had been boiled until soft and tender, melting instantly on the tongue.
He couldn’t put it down. Halfway through eating, he suddenly remembered what he had done earlier.
Eating someone’s food makes you soft-spoken. He mumbled vaguely, “About earlier, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.”
I was forced to mean it.
Resting his chin on his knuckle-defined hand, Mo Yu looked at him and smiled good-naturedly: “It’s fine. I knew Senior Brother was just a bit angry earlier and certainly didn’t mean it.”
Oh crap, now I feel even more guilty.
After drinking some porridge, his stomach indeed felt much more comfortable, and he wasn’t as weak as before.
Stirring the porridge slowly, Li Jingsheng suddenly felt as though he were sitting on pins and needles.
Mostly because the gaze coming from across the table was simply too intense!
From the moment he started drinking the porridge, Mo Yu had been staring straight at him.
It’s just a bowl of your porridge, not like I owe you millions. Why keep staring at me?
Is there something on my face?
He touched his face. Nope, nothing there.
After about a quarter of an hour, Li Jingsheng looked up again and met Mo Yu’s gaze.
The dim candlelight cast a warm glow over the young man, softening his features and inexplicably giving Li Jingsheng the illusion that the person across from him was very gentle.
What are you thinking?
He shook his head and met his gaze.
“Does Junior Brother plan to stay here tonight?”
Mo Yu hesitated for a fraction of a second and looked away: “Zigui wouldn’t dare.”
Having eaten and drunk his fill, Li Jingsheng pushed the bowl aside, stood up, and walked behind the folding screen: “Then Junior Brother may leave. I’m going to rest.”
Though he felt a bit like a heartless scumbag in a TV drama who pulls away and leaves.
Mo Yu paused for a second before answering: “Yes, Senior Brother.”
With that, he stood up and walked out carrying the bowl.
Watching Mo Yu’s uncomplaining retreating back, Li Jingsheng suddenly felt that the protagonist had been bullied by him to the point of losing all his temper. Whatever was said or done, he neither talked back nor glared anymore.
I suppose that counts as progress, right?
＊
Around Qingming, Jin Yunhao finally returned from his experiential training.
As soon as he got back, he heard about the stunt Li Jingsheng had pulled and made a special trip to Qize Mountain.
The moment Li Jingsheng saw him, he guessed his identity.
Because he matched the description in the original novel to the letter.
Dressed in a light yellow long robe with golden silk embroidered along the hem of the clouds, standing beneath the fiery red phoenix tree, he truly looked like a jade tree facing the wind, dashing and debonair.
When that person turned around, Li Jingsheng became even more certain of his own thoughts.
He saw that the man’s hair was secured with a jade crown, his brows and eyes held a smile, and his scholarly temperament was fully on display.
At a glance, he was clearly a nice guy.
He smiled like a spring breeze, and the benevolent saintly glow behind him was almost enough to blind Li Jingsheng’s eyes.
In the original novel, this Senior Brother’s persona could be said to be an absolute paragon of goodness. Like Mencius, he believed that human nature is inherently good, so no matter how terrible the villain’s actions were in the original text, he would only ever resort to verbal lectures.
He also stubbornly believed that the villain would definitely reform.
Even so, the villain always stayed rotten to the core.
Thinking this, Li Jingsheng suddenly felt that the Eldest Senior Brother was a bit like Master Tang from Journey to the West.
He walked over and cupped his hands in a salute to Jin Yunhao: “Eldest Senior Brother.”
Jin Yunhao looked like he had been thoroughly tormented by his experiential training. The dark circles under his eyes could rival a giant panda’s.
As expected, work makes one haggard.
The moment Jin Yunhao opened his mouth, he spoke in the tone of a headmaster: “Jingsheng, I’ve come for only one reason this time.” He paused before continuing: “As a Senior Brother, it’s fine to discipline your Junior Brother, but you need to control the method and the intensity.”
As expected of a goody-two-shoes, even lecturing someone was phrased so politely.
Given the villain’s actions, a full-on beating with a belt would have been completely justified!
Of course, assuming it was the villain from the original book.
No matter what, Li Jingsheng had five years of experience as a head teacher, plus over a decade of schooling, and deeply understood how to handle headmasters. Cough, people of this type.
Listening to Jin Yunhao’s lecture, he nodded repeatedly and chimed in: “Yes, Senior Brother, I’ve remembered it. Actually, I regretted it terribly right after I hit him. How could a Senior Brother treat a Junior Brother like that?”
“Even if Junior Brother truly made a mistake, I should have focused on guidance rather than resorting directly to physical punishment. Doing so not only caused him harm but also distanced our relationship.”
“And how could I possibly let Junior Brother go hungry? Junior Brother is still growing. What if his health was ruined because of this? That would simply be my crime. I was truly too awful for doing that!”
“Senior Brother, I will definitely mend my ways and live in harmony with Junior Brother from now on.”
Taking the initiative to admit his mistakes, Li Jingsheng rattled off every single thing Jin Yunhao wanted to say.
Walking down someone else’s path and leaving them with nowhere to walk was truly brought to life at this moment.
Jin Yunhao looked in pleasant surprise at the Junior Brother before him who showed such a good attitude toward admitting his mistakes.
He smiled and patted Li Jingsheng’s shoulder, saying: “Junior Brother has grown sensible. Senior Brother is very gratified.”
Li Jingsheng: I haven’t grown sensible; I’ve just been replaced.
He also put on a professional fake smile to look at Jin Yunhao, the two of them putting on a scene of brotherly harmony.
Just as Li Jingsheng’s face was about to freeze from smiling, Mo Yu walked over.
He was practically moved to tears. This guy could talk forever, even more than his fifty-year-old head teacher.
At first, Li Jingsheng could still chime in, but eventually, he couldn’t keep up the conversation.
At that moment, he looked at Mo Yu as if looking at his savior.
Sensing Li Jingsheng’s gaze, the image of the little kitten surfaced in Mo Yu’s mind once more.
Recovering in time, he cupped his hands in a salute to Jin Yunhao: “Eldest Senior Brother.”
Seeing Mo Yu approach, Jin Yunhao stopped his nagging, nodded at him, and asked affectionately: “Zigui, how is the injury on your back?”
Mo Yu answered honestly: “Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother, it’s much better.”
Jin Yunhao patted his shoulder and said: “That’s good. I’ve already spoken with Jingsheng, and he has realized his mistake. It was indeed Jingsheng’s fault this time, so I apologize to you on his behalf.”
Mo Yu immediately declined: “Senior Brother already apologized last night.”
Jin Yunhao looked at Li Jingsheng in surprise, given that his proud and haughty junior brother in the past had never been willing to lower his head and seek reconciliation on his own.
Getting him to lower his head was harder than reaching the heavens.
As Mo Yu spoke, he looked at Li Jingsheng, only to see the young man’s earlobes flushed red, lowering his head as if feeling rather embarrassed.
Li Jingsheng felt so awkward under their gaze that his social anxiety was hitting maximum levels.
He could practically claw out an entire fantasy castle with his toes.
It’s just an apology. Why are they looking at him like a toddler speaking its first words?
Jin Yunhao looked at Li Jingsheng with gratification and reached out to pat the other’s head: “Junior Brother really has grown sensible.”
Li Jingsheng: Thanks, you’re very sensible yourself.
“Zigui must thank Eldest Senior Brother for the hemostatic dew and jade frost ointment as well, otherwise it wouldn’t have healed so quickly.”
Hearing this, Jin Yunhao withdrew his hand, looking somewhat puzzled: “I’ve never sent any hemostatic dew or jade frost ointment?”
Glancing at the nervous Li Jingsheng beside him, Mo Yu confirmed the thought in his mind.
He changed his tune and said: “Then perhaps I remembered wrong.”
Hearing this, Jin Yunhao said: “If Junior Brother needs any, I’ll bring you a few bottles next time.”
Mo Yu: “Thank you for the kind offer, Senior Brother, but Zigui already has some and doesn’t need it for now.”
Jin Yunhao still seemed somewhat regretful: “Alright, if you need any in the future, be sure to tell me.”
Mo Yu glanced at Li Jingsheng and thanked Jin Yunhao: “Then Zigui thanks Senior Brother in advance.”
Jin Yunhao reverted to his nice-guy persona: “There’s no need to be so formal between us fellow apprentices. Just use a message talisman to send word if you need anything.”
He glanced at Li Jingsheng again: “Or you can tell your Senior Brother Jingsheng. Both of us will help you.”
With that, he patted Li Jingsheng’s shoulder once more.
Bound to the moral high ground, Li Jingsheng was forced to nod with a professional fake smile: “Yes, I will help you too.”
Mo Yu looked at Li Jingsheng with an obscure and hard-to-read gaze, smiling as he looked back at him: “Of course I trust Senior Brother.”
A cool breeze rustled through the phoenix tree branches, causing the leaves to sway slightly.
Li Jingsheng: Why does that smile feel so chilly?