After delivering that slap, Shu Qing was actually a bit dazed and panicked inside. How dare he lay a hand on the Mountain God? That was probably enough to get him killed a thousand times over. But since he had already done it, his hand moved on its own, and there was nothing he could do about it.
The Mountain God was furious, and with a swift motion, he flung Shu Qing aside, drew his sword, and without another word, slashed straight at Shu Qing.
Bang—
Shu Qing’s strength was no match for the Mountain God. Seeing the sword coming at him, he wanted to dodge, but his body was stiff, and he could only instinctively close his eyes. However, the pain he feared didn’t come, and he didn’t even fall to the ground.
A familiar scent surrounded him, and Shu Qing quickly opened his eyes. It was the King of the Underworld who had appeared just in time, not only catching him before he fell but also deflecting the Mountain God’s sharp sword.
The King of the Underworld turned his head to look at him, his gaze sharp. Their eyes met. Shu Qing, feeling guilty, quickly averted his gaze. He didn’t know whether to feel relieved or more anxious. Striking the Mountain God was a great disrespect, and what was his status anyway? Just a little plaything in the King of the Underworld’s room. Even the King of the Underworld himself probably couldn’t treat the Mountain God like this.
Shu Qing thought he should be nervous. The King of the Underworld was unlikely to take his side. The Immortal Lord treated him with such care, handling matters impartially, never showing favoritism, let alone the King of the Underworld, who usually despised and enjoyed tormenting him.
But he couldn’t just give up and accept punishment. After steadying himself, Shu Qing quickly clung to the King of the Underworld’s arm, trying hard to squeeze out tears and appear very frightened. His heart was pounding. But when truly scared, he couldn’t squeeze out any tears, and even his words were incoherent.
Shu Qing weakly called out, “Your Highness…”
The King of the Underworld didn’t push his hands away, allowing him to cling to him like that. He looked him up and down, then suddenly let out a cold laugh, his face clearly saying: So you can be scared too? Wasn’t that slap quite bold?
“Fourth Brother, you came just in time. This wretch dared to lay hands on me! Let me kill him!”
Shu Qing quickly shrank behind the King of the Underworld. When it’s time to show weakness, show weakness. Begging the Mountain God for mercy was impossible; he could only cling tightly to the King of the Underworld. Only the King of the Underworld could save him now.
Shu Qing quickly thought of a plan, his mind racing, searching for a way to evoke the King of the Underworld’s sympathy and protection. But before he could do anything, he heard the King of the Underworld speak to the Mountain God: “You’re really crazy, daring to cause trouble here.”
Not only was the Mountain God stunned, but Shu Qing was even more so. This big pervert… was actually speaking up for him?
“Fourth Brother!”
“You still know I’m your Fourth Brother? Coming to my territory, waving swords around, and wanting to kill my people, aren’t you being too arrogant?”
Shu Qing listened silently. It seemed that when it came to twisting the truth, the King of the Underworld was far superior to him.
The Mountain God angrily said, “He hit me, didn’t you see?! You must have seen it!”
“This wretch dared to hit me. If I don’t take his life today, I can’t quell the anger in my heart!”
Shu Qing clutched the King of the Underworld’s clothes, listening to him continue in a calm tone: “How much could it hurt when he hit you? Just think of it as being scratched by a cat. You’re the dignified Mountain God, are you really going to hold a grudge against such a small thing?”
The act of disrespecting a superior was turned into the Mountain God making a fuss over a small matter with just a few words from the King of the Underworld. Shu Qing was so shocked he forgot to be nervous. So the King of the Underworld… had a protective nature?
“Fourth Brother! Are you really going to disregard our brotherly bond for such a small thing?”
The King of the Underworld remained silent, seemingly deep in thought. Shu Qing was still holding his arm, feeling very uncertain, afraid the King of the Underworld might be persuaded. When he felt the King of the Underworld retracting his sleeve, as if to pull his arm away, Shu Qing truly panicked for a moment.
Fortunately, at that moment, Shu Qing quickly reacted, immediately letting go of his hands, then pretending to be weak all over, collapsing to the ground. “Your Highness, I was forced to act! Please, Your Highness, stand up for me!”
Then he grabbed the hem of the King of the Underworld’s clothes. “Your Highness, I’m innocent! It was the Mountain God who humiliated me first!”
“Wretch, how dare you spout nonsense! I’ll kill you right now!”
But with the King of the Underworld in front, no matter how furious the Mountain God was, it was useless. Shu Qing was very safe. The King of the Underworld looked at Shu Qing, his tone low: “Stop spouting nonsense.”
Shu Qing quickly said, “Your Highness, every word I said is true! If there’s even a half-truth, may I be ground to dust immediately!”
“Your Highness, I’m innocent! Please, Your Highness, stand up for me!”
If swearing was useful, Shu Qing would have died a million times over by now.
“Don’t be so quick to claim innocence. Tell me what happened. If you really offended the Mountain God first, I won’t let you off easily.”
Their eyes met briefly again, and the King of the Underworld’s gaze seemed to say: Hurry up and make up a story, aren’t you usually good at that?
Shu Qing had already caught on, and excuses flowed from his mouth: “Your Highness, I was here admiring the flowers and painting when the Mountain God suddenly arrived. I don’t know him, so I was about to leave, but the Mountain God forcibly grabbed my wrist.”
Unfortunately, he couldn’t squeeze out a single tear.
“The Mountain God spoke frivolously, saying I was favored by the King of the Underworld and was skilled in managing the household!”
The King of the Underworld raised an eyebrow, looking at the Mountain God. The Mountain God was even more furious and embarrassed: “You, you liar!”
He never expected Shu Qing to boldly say such things. The Mountain God cursed angrily: “You wretch, have you no shame! How dare you say such things!”
Shu Qing retorted loudly: “The Mountain God spoke frivolously, disregarding the dignity of the immortals first! These words were said by the Mountain God. Clearly, it was the Mountain God who humiliated and bullied me. What do I have to fear saying it?”
Shu Qing looked at the King of the Underworld: “Your Highness, everyone here can testify. I didn’t provoke the Mountain God. It was the Mountain God who came over first! And when I was about to leave, it was the Mountain God who wouldn’t let me go!”
That was the truth. Even if no one wanted to testify, at least no one dared to offend Shu Qing by lying. The maid reacted the fastest: “Your Highness, I can testify. The little immortal didn’t provoke the Mountain God.”
The King of the Underworld looked at the maid: “Did the Mountain God really say those things?”
The maid hesitated: “The Mountain God pulled the little immortal away, too close to hear what they said clearly.”
Whether true or false, this answer, whether out of fear of offending the Mountain God or not, gave Shu Qing a lot of room to maneuver. It was good that no one heard clearly.
Shu Qing quickly interrupted: “The Mountain God insulting me is one thing. I’m insignificant, just a small thing… But the Mountain God also insulted the King of the Underworld. I was eager to defend the King of the Underworld’s honor, which is why I couldn’t hold back and acted!”
The King of the Underworld even laughed: “You were eager to defend me?”
Shu Qing himself wanted to laugh. But such a good opportunity had come, and he had to seize it.
“The Mountain God spoke disrespectfully, saying the King of the Underworld was ruthless, unpredictable, with a heart like a demon… That I would eventually meet a tragic end in his hands.”
“The Mountain God also said he would never be like that, that he was compassionate… and wanted me to… to be with him! I refused, and the Mountain God wouldn’t relent, which led to what happened next!”
“You liar! You’re slandering me! When did I ever say such things? I should kill you with one strike!”
“If the Mountain God dared to say it, why not admit it? Wanting to kill me so urgently, isn’t it to destroy the evidence?”
“—You!”
“Your Highness, save me!”
“Enough, both of you, shut up!”
Caught between the two, the King of the Underworld shouted angrily, stopping the noisy scene. He first looked at the Mountain God: “Causing such a ruckus outside, what does it look like? Come with me.”
Then he glanced at Shu Qing, instructing the servants beside him: “Take him back. Without my orders, he is not to come out again.”
Shu Qing’s nonsense had successfully muddied the waters, even cursing the King of the Underworld in the process. Who cared if the Mountain God said it or not? He had laid hands on Shu Qing and provoked him first. Now that Shu Qing said it, he was under suspicion.
The Mountain God could only follow the King of the Underworld away in frustration. Shu Qing was also taken back.
It wasn’t until nightfall that the King of the Underworld returned. Shu Qing, feeling guilty, hadn’t slept. He had changed clothes and was sitting by the bed, waiting for the King of the Underworld to come back.
When the King of the Underworld stepped into the room, he saw the little butterfly with long hair down, wearing only a pink inner garment. The dim light illuminated the little butterfly’s pale skin, and his eyes were dark and full of moisture, with slightly downturned corners, giving him an innocent and pitiful look no matter who he glanced at.
Who would have thought that beneath this fragile and aggrieved exterior lay such a sharp and cunning mind?
“Your Highness…”
Here we go again, here we go again. Lowering his voice, anyone who heard it would feel their heart soften and tremble.
The King of the Underworld looked at his slender body, his fair neck, and suddenly a fierce thought arose in his heart. He wanted to reach out and choke that neck, to see how much force it would take to snap it.
“You still have the face to wait for me here?”
“…”
“Do you really think I can’t see through your little tricks? You cursed me thoroughly, feeling satisfied inside?”
Shu Qing instinctively took two steps back. When he was cursing, he only cared about the thrill, as the opportunity was rare. Now facing the reckoning, he had to yield.
“How dare I curse Your Highness? Those were the Mountain God’s words… Even if Your Highness lent me ten guts, I wouldn’t dare curse Your Highness…”
But since he had already said it, Shu Qing had to stick to it, even in front of the King of the Underworld, he wouldn’t change his story.
“Do you really think I believe your nonsense?”
“It’s all true, I didn’t lie… But if Your Highness doesn’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do…”
Who knew how the King of the Underworld would deal with him? If he admitted it, what if the King of the Underworld used it against him?
Shu Qing had to be cautious. Facing the King of the Underworld, there were too few ways to protect himself and too many things to be wary of.
The King of the Underworld sneered: “You dared to hit the Mountain God, what else wouldn’t you dare to do?”
The King of the Underworld understood Shu Qing and also understood the Mountain God. Regardless of how much truth was in Shu Qing’s words, the Mountain God’s coveting of his beauty and his frivolous teasing were certainly true.
This little butterfly, always dressing up so flamboyantly, couldn’t hide it even if he wanted to. It was hard not to attract attention.
“Go back to your own place to sleep.”
The King of the Underworld felt inexplicably irritable, coldly saying: “You’re not allowed in the garden anymore. If it happens again, I’ll break your legs.”
[Author’s Note]
Little Butterfly: Fine, I’ll leave.