"Master?" Ji Yanzhi noticed Shen Fu's expression was off and was about to step forward to check on him, but Shen Fu raised a hand to stop him.
"Do you have a knife?" Shen Fu asked out of nowhere.
"What does Master need a knife for?"
"To kill myself."
Shen Fu pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling a splitting headache coming on.
He looked at Ji Yanzhi kneeling by the bed in disbelief, automatically picturing him in a set of Black Impermanence robes.
Sure enough, fate had opened a window for him only to lock every single door shut in his face.
The two of them remained frozen—one kneeling, one sitting—for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, until Shen Fu was the first to crack under the pressure.
"Stop kneeling. Get up first." Shen Fu looked at Ji Yanzhi, who had been kneeling for so long, his body covered in bloodstains and burn marks, and felt the Blood Trace on his wrist throbbing with a dull ache.
Back when he'd only dealt with a few minor characters unrelated to the plot, the Blood Trace had already been giving him trouble from time to time. Now that the plot had deviated this badly, wouldn't the Blood Trace just kill him outright?
Thinking this, Shen Fu cast a somewhat guilty glance at Ji Yanzhi kneeling beside him.
Ji Yanzhi was wearing a set of coarse cloth robes that looked like they'd been stripped off someone at random. The oversized garment hung loosely on him, making him look especially bulky.
Shen Fu distinctly remembered that when he'd left, Ji Yanzhi's clothes had already been burned away by the fire. And this outfit didn't look like something Xie Jiuzhang would have given him, so his reasonable guess was that the kid had stripped it off some corpse nearby.
"Master…" Ji Yanzhi didn't immediately stand up at the words. Instead, he looked at Shen Fu timidly, as if he had something to say but couldn't quite bring himself to say it.
"Um, don't call me Master for now." Shen Fu quickly waved his hand, because that title sounded more and more like a death sentence.
"Okay, Master. But I can't stand up." Ji Yanzhi said, his head slowly drooping as if he was hiding some unspeakable difficulty.
Shen Fu turned to look at Ji Yanzhi, thinking to himself—had he knelt so long his legs went numb?
Then he saw Ji Yanzhi tugging awkwardly at his clothes, a flush creeping across his soot-blackened face.
"I-I tore my clothes. Down there, there's… nothing underneath."
Ji Yanzhi grew more embarrassed as he spoke, until finally he buried his head in his chest from sheer shame.
Shen Fu glanced down at his lower half, then reached over and grabbed one of his own everyday robes from the head of the bed, tossing it over.
Ji Yanzhi initially reached out to catch it, but when he saw how dirty and blackened his hands were, while the robe Shen Fu had thrown over was pristine white and even carried a faint fragrance, his outstretched hand immediately withdrew.
The garment—radiant and shimmering, as thin as cicada wings—fluttered gently down onto the floor.
"Didn't you say yours was ruined? Put it on." Shen Fu reminded him kindly when he saw the boy hadn't moved.
"I'm dirty."
"…"
Shen Fu stared in disbelief at the roasted sweet potato in front of him for a few seconds, thinking to himself—was this really how Ji Yanzhi's personality was in the original novel?
Why did this Ji Yanzhi feel so out of character?
He fixed his gaze on Ji Yanzhi for a few moments, a troubling suspicion slowly forming in his mind.
Just as he was lost in thought, Ji Yanzhi looked up and met his eyes. Something seemed to flash through those amber-colored eyes.
At the thought of something, Shen Fu's heart suddenly beat a little faster.
"There's a hot spring in the small room next to the bedchamber. Go wash up." Shen Fu waved his hand dismissively.
"That's the hot spring reserved for Master's personal use, isn't it? How could I…"
Before he could finish, Shen Fu cut him off: "I'm giving you permission. Use it however you like. Go on."
Only then did Ji Yanzhi close his mouth. He carefully picked up the robe from the floor and shuffled out of the bedchamber, looking back every few steps.
The heavy wooden door closed, and the expression on Ji Yanzhi's face instantly turned cold.
He looked down at the robe in his hands and raised an eyebrow.
What Shen Fu had casually tossed him was actually a set of inner garments meant to be worn against the skin—and they carried the faint, unique fragrance of Shen Fu himself.
Ji Yanzhi walked a dozen or so paces away, and once he was out of Shen Fu's sight, he casually cast a cleansing spell, and all the filth on his body vanished in an instant.
He stripped off the dead man's clothes he'd been using to play pitiful and tossed them aside, then shook open the inner robe Shen Fu had given him and slipped it on.
The fresh scent of bamboo leaves, mingled with a subtle floral fragrance, immediately enveloped Ji Yanzhi. It felt like being held in Shen Fu's arms—warm and comfortable.
Ji Yanzhi ran his fingers slowly over the folds of the fabric. At the thought of something, a smile suddenly rose in his eyes.
Back on the other side, the moment Shen Fu had sent the boy away, his anxiety became visibly apparent.
He sat cross-legged on the bed and rolled up his sleeve, only to see that the Blood Trace on his wrist had deepened further. What had previously been confined to his forearm had now spread all the way up to the crook of his elbow.
Shen Fu tried to sense the remaining mana in his body, but there was no response at all.
That much was to be expected, but what troubled Shen Fu most right now was—he wasn't certain whether he was the only one who had been reborn.
Just now, when he locked eyes with Ji Yanzhi, he couldn't shake the feeling that Ji Yanzhi's gaze held some hidden secret, especially after the dream he'd had when transferring mana to him that day.
In his past life, he'd come within a hair's breadth of assassinating Ji Yanzhi. If Ji Yanzhi had also undergone rebirth and remembered everything just like him…
The more Shen Fu thought about it, the more unsettled he felt. He'd failed to protect Xuanji Mountain in his past life—there was no way he could let that tragedy repeat itself in this one. If Ji Yanzhi truly remembered everything, he might well be gunning for Shen Fu's life.
If that were the case, then he'd have no choice but to strike first—provided he could beat Ji Yanzhi within the constraints of the Blood Trace.
He waited restlessly for what felt like ages, but Ji Yanzhi still hadn't returned. Seeing that dawn was nearly breaking outside, Shen Fu began to feel a faint worry.
Since sleep was out of the question anyway, he threw on his clothes and went to look for him.
But the moment he stepped outside, he ran straight into Jiang Lin, who had been waiting at the door all along.
"Senior Uncle Shen." Jiang Lin bowed respectfully. "Master sent me to check if you were awake."
"Senior Brother Sect Master? Perfect timing—I need to see him too. But wait for me a moment, I need to take care of something inside first."
With that, Shen Fu hurried off through the snow and ducked into the hot spring house nearby. Jiang Lin watched his retreating figure, opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent and obediently waited by the door.
Once inside, Shen Fu didn't make much noise. Instead, he crept low behind the folding screen and carefully edged his way toward the hot spring.
Steam rose thickly around the spring, and from a distance, Shen Fu could make out a figure standing within it.
Ji Yanzhi was bare-skinned, having found strips of cloth from somewhere, and was wrapping them around his body.
His build was somewhere between youth and adulthood—muscles not overly pronounced but with clearly defined, powerful contours visible beneath the skin. The cloth strips bound tightly around his narrow waist didn't detract from his appearance at all; if anything, they accentuated his broad shoulders, slim waist, and long, well-proportioned frame.
Earlier, he'd been wearing coarse hemp clothes full of burn holes, his face blackened with soot—there was no way to tell anything about his figure or features. Who would have thought that once this black coal ball was cleaned up, he'd actually have some charm to him.
Beside the hot spring lay the set of clothes Shen Fu had casually tossed to Ji Yanzhi. The white inner robe was folded neatly and set aside, not a trace of moisture on it.
Shen Fu furrowed his brow, then turned to look at Ji Yanzhi again—only to find that the latter had suddenly turned his head.
The two locked eyes, caught completely off guard.
Ji Yanzhi's amber eyes blinked a couple of times, then a smile bloomed across his face. He seemed to want to call out "Master," but with something in his mouth, he couldn't speak for the moment.
Looking more closely, Shen Fu realized Ji Yanzhi was holding a jade-green hair ribbon with gold cloud patterns between his lips.
This hot spring was normally used only by Shen Fu himself, so if he guessed right, the ribbon in Ji Yanzhi's mouth was his.
Amidst the swirling white steam, that touch of jade green stood out brilliantly, drawing attention to the two crimson lips holding it.
Shen Fu's vision blurred for a moment, and he could have sworn Ji Yanzhi let out a short, soft laugh.
But soon enough, Ji Yanzhi took the ribbon down, grabbed his long hair, and tied it into a high ponytail.
"Master, did you come looking for me specifically?" Ji Yanzhi said as he stepped toward the shore.
Since his sneaking had been discovered, Shen Fu saw no point in hiding anymore. He walked out openly. "Came to see why you've been washing for so long."
That was what he said, but Shen Fu's gaze was fixed on the white cloth strips wrapped around Ji Yanzhi's body.
In just that short span of time, blood had already seeped through the cloth, and with Ji Yanzhi's movements, the stains seemed to be spreading.
Once Shen Fu had gotten a good look, he averted his eyes.
"Just some minor wounds on my body. I was afraid I wouldn't handle them properly and would dirty Master's clothes," Ji Yanzhi said, finally pulling Shen Fu's garments over himself.
Since Ji Yanzhi was completely naked at that moment, Shen Fu took in every detail of him.
Shen Fu practically scanned his entire body, as if he wished he could see straight through Ji Yanzhi's skin and into his heart, to determine once and for all whether Ji Yanzhi remembered anything from their past life.
"Is Master satisfied with what he sees?" Ji Yanzhi suddenly spoke, snapping Shen Fu back to reality.
Caught openly in the act of staring, Shen Fu quickly schooled his expression and said with feigned composure, "Not bad. Get dressed and come with me."
Ji Yanzhi curved his lips into a faint smile. This time his hands moved quickly—in no time at all, he was dressed and standing beside Shen Fu.
The inner robe was thin, and once dampened, it was nearly translucent, clinging to Ji Yanzhi's chest in a way that looked rather indecent.
Shen Fu thought for a moment, then took off his own outer robe and handed it over. "Wear this. The way you are now… it's not quite appropriate."
Ji Yanzhi glanced down at his own attire, seemingly seeing nothing wrong with it. "I've already taken so many of Master's things. I'm afraid it wouldn't be right to take this as well."
Shen Fu didn't really care about it, so he said casually, "It's fine, just wear it. I'll have Jiang Lin get me another one later."
Only after hearing this did Ji Yanzhi take the robe, still warm from Shen Fu's body, from his hands with great reverence.
"Master has treated me with such great kindness, this disciple has no way to repay it."
"I told you not to call me Master."
"Mm, alright, Master." Ji Yanzhi nodded, gazing at Shen Fu with fervent intensity, as if waiting for him to continue.
"…And don't look at me like that either." Shen Fu averted his gaze from those eyes that made his heart ache, his voice cold.
"Alright."
"And don't just say 'alright' to everything!"
"Yes, Master."
"…"
Shen Fu said nothing more and led Ji Yanzhi out of the hot spring room.
Jiang Lin, who had been waiting outside for quite some time, finally spotted them emerging. He was about to greet them when he noticed that Shen Fu's robes were now draped over Ji Yanzhi's shoulders.
And Ji Yanzhi followed meekly behind Shen Fu, a suspicious flush coloring his cheeks.
Jiang Lin's brows furrowed instantly. His expression grew grave as he stared at the two for a long while, only snapping back to his senses when Shen Fu walked up to him.
"Get me a robe, will you? I'm going to see Senior Brother Sect Master right away."
Hearing this, Jiang Lin looked up at Ji Yanzhi in disbelief.
Ji Yanzhi looked back at him, a hint of indescribable provocation in his eyes.
Jiang Lin found it strange but said nothing. He casually recited an Incantation, and a set of moon-white robes appeared in his hand.
Shen Fu took it and slipped it on, then headed straight for Xie Jiuzhang's Hall of Miraculous Prescriptions.
Ji Yanzhi and Jiang Lin both followed behind him, the two of them walking in silence.
It wasn't until they had walked several hundred meters that Jiang Lin finally couldn't hold back and spoke up: "Why are you wearing Senior Uncle Shen's clothes?"
"Why do you carry Master's clothes on you?" Ji Yanzhi countered instead of answering.
Jiang Lin was baffled by the question. "I asked first."
"I'm Master's furnace cauldron. Isn't it normal for him to reward me with some clothes after using me?"
The moment Jiang Lin heard this, his steps came to an abrupt halt.
He turned his head to look at Ji Yanzhi in utter disbelief, as if he'd just seen a ghost. "What do you mean, 'used' you?"
Ji Yanzhi crossed his arms, exasperated by such a foolish question. "How else would you use a furnace cauldron? Didn't they teach you at Xuanji Mountain?"
???!!! Jiang Lin's eyes went wide in an instant.
"You two… just now… in there…"
The word "dual cultivation" hung on Jiang Lin's lips, but he couldn't seem to get it out no matter how hard he tried.
By now, Shen Fu had walked quite a ways ahead before realizing the two weren't following. He turned back and called out.
Ji Yanzhi immediately broke into a smile and answered, then quickened his pace to catch up.
Jiang Lin watched his retreating figure, his expression growing increasingly somber.