At Jiyun Peak of the Manyue Sect, a handsome man dressed in a moon-white brocade robe sat high upon the throne. He possessed a high nose, thin lips, and cold, distant eyes. His phoenix eyes especially those pitch-black pupils resembled a deep, freezing pool. A single glance from them was enough to make one feel utterly frozen in place.
This person was the current Lord of the Manyue Sect, Jun Wuye.
“Did you obtain the phoenix feather?”
“Replying to the Sovereign, this subordinate handled the matter poorly. Someone beat us to it. I beg the Sovereign for punishment,” a man kneeling below replied.
“Who was it?”
“This subordinate does not know. He wore a mask, and even after exerting all my strength, I could only withstand ten of his strikes.” If he had not run fast enough, his little life would have been forfeit.
Jun Wuye frowned. “Could you tell which sect his techniques belonged to?”
The man glanced at Jun Wuye apprehensively. “He used Xuan sect cultivation methods.”
Hearing the mention of the Xuan sect, Jun Wuye’s brow furrowed even deeper. To his knowledge, although there were countless cultivators of the Xuan sect in this world, there were very few who could overpower Qin Hao. Moreover, the Xuan sect was headed by the Si family of Qinghe City. He, no, to be precise, the original owner of this body even had an active marriage contract with Si Jue, the son of the Si family’s head.
How did this matter involve the Si family? All he wanted was to borrow that phoenix feather to reinforce the defenses of Jiyun Peak and weed out those who harbored treacherous designs against him.
“Since you failed your duty, go down and receive your punishment yourself.”
“Yes, this subordinate shall take his leave.”
As Qin Hao retreated from the main hall, he felt that the Sovereign’s aura was growing more and more formidable. Staying there for even a moment longer made his entire body feel cold. However, he had to quickly receive his punishment now and then go find Yue’er. He had accidentally lost his sect badge.
Jun Wuye massaged the space between his eyebrows. A few days ago, he was struck by lightning on his way home. When he woke up, his soul had been swapped into this new shell. Although this body’s martial arts were quite excellent, he had only recently ascended to his position, and there were plenty of people who coveted the seat beneath him. The original owner of the body had died of poisoning, so Jun Wuye had to eradicate this cancer as soon as possible.
Feeling his body beginning to grow stiff again, Jun Wuye immediately stood up and headed toward his quarters. The poison in this body had not yet been neutralized; he had merely used his internal energy to suppress it. However, this was not a permanent solution.
Inside Jun Wuye’s private chamber was a secret room containing a cold jade bed. As soon as he returned to his room, he entered the secret chamber and headed straight for the bed. He needed to meditate on this cold jade bed to suppress the spread of the poison.
Bai Mo stared at the food before him. He stretched out a severely trembling hand to pick up the chopsticks. What was going on? Why couldn’t he lift them again? Hadn’t he been fine this morning?
Heh, this young master refuses to believe in this nonsense. I absolutely must eat this meal. Keep going, victory is right before my eyes. Use more strength, push harder!
“Whew, It’s just a meal. There’s no need to make it feel like ascending to heaven. Even ascending to heaven wouldn’t be this tiring.”
Clack—
His hand dropped back to its original position.
Bai Mo’s heart was filled with despair. Having the food right in front of his eyes but being unable to eat it was enough to drive someone mad.
No, how could he let himself be defeated by such a minor setback? This life of his had only just begun. As a mature soul who had retained his memories, he was as rare as rare could be. He had to cherish this existence while it lasted.
Bai Mo stretched his hand out again. This time went a bit better than before, and he managed to touch the tips of the chopsticks.
“Very good, excellent, amazing! Rise.” Lift them, lift them. Hehe, that’s the way!
Clack—
One of the chopsticks dropped to the ground.
Bai Mo hung his head and sighed. “My world is completely dark. Just how much longer do I have to endure this?”
Looking at the Sichuan boiled fish he had ordered, he wondered if he could just grab it with his bare hands. If he had known, he would have ordered grilled fish instead; at least he could have used his hands for that.
“Mo Luo’an! Luo’an! Your young master wants to eat!” Bai Mo shouted at the top of his lungs.
“Mo Luo’an, you cold-hearted man! Your young master is about to starve to death! Come and save me, ah!”
Mo Luo’an heard the shouting from inside the room while he was still outside. The moment he pushed the door open, he saw Bai Mo looking at him as if he were looking at a delicious meal. Bai Mo’s eyes lit up instantly.
Mo Luo’an let out a soft laugh. “It was my lack of consideration.”
He walked over, picked up the fallen chopstick from the floor, and wiped it clean with a cloth that was kept nearby.
Bai Mo wanted to tell him to just change to a new pair of chopsticks, but seeing the man pick up a slice of fish and meticulously remove the bones for him, he decided to let it go. Forget it, I won’t trouble you further.
“Here,” Mo Luo’an said, feeding the deboned fish to Bai Mo.
“Does it taste good?”
Bai Mo nodded. “Mhm, quite good.”
Seeing that Bai Mo liked eating fish, Mo Luo’an picked up another slice and began to remove the bones. “Does your body feel any better today than yesterday?”
“It is a bit better. I can try to sit up by myself now.”
Mo Luo’an nodded. “That is good. Come, have a bite of rice.”
Now that Bai Mo had tasted the delicious food he craved, his previous irritation vanished instantly. He took the mouthful of rice Mo Luo’an fed him, his cheeks puffing out as he mumbled incoherently, “Thank you, I love you so much!” After swallowing the food, he looked at the fish slices in the bowl. “Fish.”
Mo Luo’an picked up the slice of fish and fed it to him.
Bai Mo felt that this atmosphere was actually quite pleasant. He offered a sincere compliment, “You really are a very good person.”
Mo Luo’an’s hand stiffened, and he frowned. A good person? Perhaps he was, considering he had saved many people before.
Only, this time, he was not helping Bai Mo for Bai Mo’s sake, but for him… Chu Yan.
Mo Luo’an closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Once his emotions calmed down, he looked at Bai Mo quietly and asked, “Do you want to drink some water?”
Bai Mo nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes, please.”
This boiled fish was a bit spicy, but eating it was incredibly satisfying.
Mo Luo’an poured a cup of water, stood up to support Bai Mo, and fed him the water.
Gulp, gulp.
“Drink slowly.”
“Hiccup—pfft! Cough, cough, cough. Cough, cough, cough!” When a person is down on his luck, he can choke even while drinking water. This saying was truly no lie.
Mo Luo’an gently patted Bai Mo on the back to help soothe his breathing. “Are you feeling better?”
“Cough, cough… Cough… Me being like this… Cough… What difference is there… Cough… between me and a vegetable… Cough, cough…” Just moments ago, Bai Mo had thoroughly enjoyed being served, but now he hated this body with a passion.
“Your description is quite fitting. When there is an opportunity, tell me about the place you came from,” Mo Luo’an said, sitting back down beside the bed once he saw that Bai Mo had recovered.
It took Bai Mo quite a while to catch his breath.
“Sure. In my previous world, things were much more advanced than they are here. There was an endless variety of delicious food. Also, you didn’t have to walk to go out. There were cars and airplanes. Let me tell you, airplanes are like giant birds flying in the sky that can carry people the kind that can carry hundreds of people. There are also yachts that can go out to sea, which are different from the merchant ships here. Oh, right, there are also cell phones, which compared to communication talismans.”
When speaking of his previous world, Bai Mo talked endlessly, but it did not take long before his expression suddenly changed.
“Uh…”
Seeing that Bai Mo’s expression seemed off, Mo Luo’an immediately became worried. “What is wrong?”
Bai Mo’s face looked terrible as he gripped the bedsheets tightly. How could he possibly ask someone to help with this kind of thing? Gosh… I can’t hold it in much longer! No, no, if I keep holding it in, something terrible is going to happen. I’ll just treat him as a hospital caregiver!
Bai Mo raised his head to look at Mo Luo’an. “I need to.”
If you feel unwell anywhere, speak to me directly. Do not hesitate,” Mo Luo’an said with some anxiety, fearing there might be other issues with his body.
Bai Mo looked down at his own legs, which were bound with wooden splints, and decided to just face the embarrassment head-on, like a dead pig that does not fear boiling water.
“I need to urinate.”