Seeing that Senior Brother Gu had nothing to eat, Ning Ying shared one of her skewers with him. Gu Qi immediately beamed: “Junior Sister is so good to me.”
“There was no need to fight over it,” Mu Bie said, lowering his head to take a bite of his skewer, then lifting his eyes slightly. “Just grill a few more skewers, wouldn’t that be fine?”
Gu Qi: “…If Uncle-Master Mu hadn’t snatched it just now, those words might have been somewhat believable.”
Mu Bie coughed lightly, embarrassed. “You all know who I am now?”
“The tombstone at the grave has Uncle Master’s name on it. It’s hard not to know.” Gu Qi smiled lazily. “Right, Ghost Lord of Senluo Temple?”
Mu Bie: “…”
“This barbecue is pretty good. I’ll grill some more for you all.” He tried to change the subject.
“Tsk tsk, who would have thought the dignified Ghost Lord would indulge in worldly desires? First time I’ve seen a ghost eat…” Gu Qi wouldn’t let the opportunity to mock his enemy pass. Back when he was the Demon Lord, he and the then-undisclosed Ghost Lord had attacked the righteous path together, destroying several small sects. But when they reached Yaoyue Sect, the Ghost Lord had backstabbed him. If not for that, why would he have lost so badly in the immortal-demon war!
Now the Demon Lord finally knew the reason—this Ghost Lord had been in cahoots with Yaoyue Sect all along!
“Right, Uncle-Master Mu, didn’t you just say ghosts don’t eat?” Ning Ying was also curious.
Mu Bie coughed awkwardly, feeling this conversation couldn’t continue, and retreated to the corner by the fire to grill skewers.
Ning Ying and her senior siblings exchanged glances and smiled at each other.
Ning Ying: ‘Uncle-Master is so cute.’
Sang Jinse: ‘Indeed.’
Gu Qi: ‘Hmph.’
Gu Qi found this Ghost Lord extremely disagreeable and commented quite aggressively: “Say, when Uncle-Master Mu burns paper money for himself, does he actually receive it over there?”
Ning Ying: “…”
Sang Jinse: “…”
Mu Bie, who was grilling skewers, lifted his long eyelashes faintly. “Nephew Gu, I can hear you.”
Ning Ying: “Oh ho.”
Sang Jinse: “Oh ho.”
Gu Qi certainly wouldn’t admit that he had deliberately let Mu Bie hear him.
“I’ll go grill some skewers too.” Gu Qi went over to stand next to Mu Bie, determined to defeat him with his culinary skills!
Mu Bie, however, didn’t recognize that this Nephew Gu was actually the former demon lord. In order to conceal his identity while going undercover at Yaoyue Sect, Gu Qi had disguised himself very well. Not only had he changed his face and hair color, but he had also used bone-shrinking techniques to make himself slightly shorter.
One must understand that back in the day, he too had been a six-foot-tall handsome demon tribe heartthrob!
Throughout the entire demon realm, which young woman of age didn’t want to marry the demon lord? Hmph, although this changed face was somewhat handsome, it ultimately couldn’t compare to his original appearance.
While the demon lord was lost in narcissistic memories, Ning Ying poked him from behind. “Senior Brother Gu, your meat is about to burn.”
Gu Qi: “…”
He quickly removed the burnt skewers from the fire and handed them to Ning Ying. “I just finished grilling these few. Senior Brother can’t bear to eat them—you have them, Junior Sister.”
Ning Ying: “???”
Overall, tonight’s outdoor barbecue was quite enjoyable.
Looking at the leftover barbecue, Gu Qi suggested: “Should we pack some to take back for Master?”
Ning Ying blinked. “Would Master eat it?”
“Hard to say,” Sang Jinse whispered in Ning Ying’s ear. “But if Junior Sister delivers it to Master, not only might you avoid punishment for coming home late, but maybe… Master might even be happy.”
“Really?” Ning Ying fell into thought. “Master doesn’t eat mortal food. I rarely see him eat anything.”
Gu Qi patted Ning Ying’s shoulder, speaking with great significance: “Right, Junior Sister Ning. If we go back this late and don’t want Master to scold us, it all depends on you.”
Ning Ying: “…Master doesn’t scold people. At most, he punishes us by making us practice swords.”
Sang Jinse looked like she was about to cry. “Junior Sister, it’s this late. Do you really want to practice swords?”
Ning Ying thought about it and decided she did not want to practice swords.
“Alright,” she accepted the packed barbecue from Gu Qi’s hands. “I’ll deliver it to Master.”
The moment her words fell, Gu Qi and Sang Jinse grabbed the grill, pots, and pans and fled. Their speed was unprecedented.
Ning Ying: “???”
Left behind were only her and Uncle-Master Mu—one person, one ghost.
Ning Ying looked up at Mu Bie. “Uncle-Master Mu, why don’t you take this barbecue back to eat?”
Mu Bie shook his head reservedly. “Since it’s meant for Senior Brother Yun, how could I take it back?”
“Then I’ll take my leave—” Before Ning Ying could finish, she saw the ghost uncle-master extend a hand toward her.
Ning Ying: “?”
“Take me to see your master,” Mu Bie said. “He might not yet know my identity… Since you three have seen through me, it’s only a matter of time before Senior Brother Yun finds out. I might as well turn myself in proactively.”
The word “turn myself in” amused Ning Ying. She nodded. “Then come with me, Uncle-Master.”
Ning Ying was just about to summon her sword when her hand was suddenly taken by Uncle Master Mu. Their figures swiftly wove through the midnight shadows and soon arrived at Duijing Peak, faster than even sword flight.
Ning Ying was about to exclaim, “Uncle Master sure knows how to make a quick getaway,” when she suddenly met a pair of clear, lonely eyes. The bright moon’s pure radiance flowed within those silver pupils, like the shimmering surface of a lake. The white-robed Immortal Lord, as elegant as the clear breeze and bright moon, stood under the moonlight, quietly gazing at her.
“M-Master…”
Before Ning Ying could greet him, she saw her master appear beside her in a flash, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her protectively behind him, his eyes sharp as he looked at the unknown Ghost Lord.
“Ghost Lord, what do you mean by abducting my disciple late at night?” Yun Qingyuan’s beautiful features were covered with a layer of cold frost.
Mu Bie looked helpless, darkly pulling back his hood to reveal his original face.
“Senior Brother Yun, do you still remember me?”
“My late Junior Brother Mu would not molest my disciple. Moreover, appearances can be faked.”
Yun Qingyuan’s cool, slender fingers pressed against the long sword at his waist, clearly bothered by the Ghost Lord having held Ning Ying’s hand earlier.
Mu Bie let out an awkward cough, trying to explain himself. “Senior Brother Yun, I know the reason you’ve been single for so many years. It’s because you once cast a divination for yourself and learned that this year you would encounter your fated love tribulation, and would even… It seems Senior Brother has already met her. Congratulations, Senior Brother.”
“Let’s talk privately later.”
Yun Qingyuan interrupted Mu Bie, his expression calm.
Clearly, he now believed this was indeed his long-dead Junior Brother Mu.
Ning Ying, however, perked up her gossip-hungry ears.
Great! Finally, she might get a master’s wife!
“Don’t listen to your uncle-master’s nonsense,” Yun Qingyuan sighed softly. “Aying, come back with me.”
Ning Ying obediently followed her master up the mountain, waving goodbye to Uncle-Master Mu.
With only her and her master left, Ning Ying felt less restrained and handed the barbecue skewer in her hand to Yun Qingyuan. “Master, this is something I—something we—specially saved for you… no, specially prepared as an offering to you.”
Yun Qingyuan raised an eyebrow slightly, but ultimately didn’t expose her. He took the barbecue and said calmly, “How thoughtful.”
Seeing Master seemed in a good mood, Ning Ying took the opportunity to gossip. “Great, Master finally shows signs of falling in love. Let me guess, what will my future master’s wife be like…”
Moonlight spilled onto the quiet mountain path. Yun Qingyuan’s expression cooled slightly, his snow-white lashes seemingly covered with frost.
“You want a master’s wife that badly?”