But today…
She had merely given him a cold glance, and after laughing with schadenfreude, she left without even looking back?
She hadn’t even left behind a single extra look?
A trace of doubt welled up in his heart?
And also a trace of—not quite used to it, or perhaps even—a deep discomfort.
It was like an object he had always held in his hand suddenly flying out of his grasp, catching him off guard.
However…
He quickly let it go, and the corner of his mouth even curved into a faint, barely perceptible arc, carrying a hint of amusement and a hint of confidence.
With Lin Qianqian’s persistent, even clingy nature, he estimated that even if she had made a vow, she wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.
Her self-control—he knew it all too well.
No more than three days at most.
She would once again be unable to resist, thinking of every possible way, trying every trick in the book to climb into his bed.
Only, when that time came, should he give her a chance?
A chance—to make up for this sudden emptiness in his heart?
A chance—to take advantage of the situation and favor her??
Murong Mo’s deep eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze like a sword, stabbing straight at his second disciple, Sun Yanran.
This female disciple whom he had carefully mentored for many years now made him feel a wave of unfamiliarity and chill in his heart.
Just moments ago…
She had been like a madwoman, cursing him viciously, her words full of malice and resentment, that ferocious face of hers making him hardly able to believe his own eyes.
Yet…
Now, seeing that Murong Mo had remained silent all this time?
She instantly changed her expression, the shrewish fierceness from before vanishing without a trace!
Replaced by tears glistening in her eyes as she aggrievedly tried to throw herself into his arms, as if seeking his warm protection and comfort?
This sudden transformation, like a bolt from the blue, truly startled even Murong Mo, who had weathered many storms.
He instinctively stepped back, stumbled underfoot, and nearly lost his balance, almost falling to the ground in embarrassment.
After steadying himself, a complex wave of emotions surged in his heart—anger at being betrayed, disappointment at his disciple’s degradation, and an indescribable chill.
He forcibly suppressed the churning thoughts in his mind, and with a single thought, his broad sleeve gave a gentle wave—seemingly soft, yet concealing hidden force.
A breeze swept past, carrying a trace of irresistible authority…
Sun Yanran was like a kite with its string cut, involuntarily swept several meters away, landing awkwardly on the ground with a soft grunt.
“Yanran…”
Murong Mo’s voice was low and hoarse, carrying a barely perceptible tremble.
He forcibly suppressed the complex emotions in his heart and questioned in a deep voice:
“As my Direct Disciple, I believe I have always treated you well.
Yet at merely nineteen years of age, how can you be so impatient, so loose in behavior?
So lacking in propriety, not knowing how to cherish yourself?
Do you still remember the vow you made before your master?
Saying you were willing to be one heart, one pair with your master for a lifetime, and to keep yourself pure as jade for your master?”
Sun Yanran sat on the ground, her clothes covered in dust, her originally carefully applied and somewhat delicate makeup now somewhat disheveled, but the stubbornness in her eyes had not diminished in the slightest.
She had originally wanted to put up a stubborn resistance, open her mouth to deny it, and fob him off with a few words of explanation:
“No, Master, I was talking nonsense, it was all just random talk, please don’t take it seriously!
How could I do something so immoral and betray you?”
However, just as the words reached her lips, under Murong Mo’s sharp gaze…
She couldn’t help but blurt out the truth loudly again, simply losing control and throwing caution to the wind:
“Of course it’s true!
This world has always had more men than women, women have always been allowed to have multiple husbands!
What’s wrong with that?
Besides, I’m so stunningly beautiful, devastatingly gorgeous, like a lotus emerging from water, a beauty that makes fish sink and geese fall, I’m practically bubbling with beauty!
Yet you and Senior Brother put on that cold, aloof act every day, looking like you’ve transcended worldly desires.
Clearly you like me to death in your hearts, but on the surface you act like righteous gentlemen, not even touching me?”
“What do you call that?
That’s called being pretentious!
That’s called being fake!
I’m a normal woman too, you know?
I have seven emotions and six desires, I have needs too.
Why can’t I find a few more husbands to keep me company every day, pamper me, love me, hold me in the palm of their hands?”
“Why should I stay chaste and pure for a clueless block of wood like you, for a hypocrite who prides himself on being above it all?
I won’t!
I want to show you that even without you and Senior Brother favoring me, I can still live a wonderful, carefree life every day!”
Murong Mo was so angry his face turned green and white in turns, like a palette knocked over, a spectacular display of colors.
He took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, struggling to calm the anger in his heart.
Then he instructed Zhou Jin, who stood in the distance, equally stunned and dumbfounded:
“Zhou Jin, take more disciples with you and go to your Second Junior Sister’s courtyard and bedchamber. Find those eight men who have been illicitly living with her without proper matchmaking for me.
Don’t miss a single one. Send them all to me. I want to interrogate them personally.”