Inside the residence of the side courtyard, Yun Mu had already sat up from the bed.
Not long after Qin Luoyi had left the room, the sense of restraint binding him dissolved.
He noticed the white bandages wrapped in three layers inside and out around his arms and instinctively shook his hands that had just been restrained, feeling no obvious pain.
“The aura on these bandages is exactly the same as that princess from before. It seems she was the one who healed my arm. I’d heard earlier… she’s the student of that immortal doctor Lu… truly well deserved her reputation…”
Muttering to himself, he closed his eyes once more to feel his body.
A richer, vibrant Green Starforce pulsed through every inch of his meridians.
“These little green orbs as well. Though they’re slowly seeping away, I can definitely sense a very close connection between them and that princess.”
He raised his right hand, positioning his fingertips downward, then opened his eyes and furrowed his brow before flipping his palm upward.
“Strange. Although my body is now filled with power, I can’t seem to control this energy. Could it be… because these orbs belong to someone else?”
His black eyes fixed tightly on the spot his finger pointed at, the green aura flowing outward from his fingertip.
Whether his palm faced up or down, the energy slipped away like flowing sand, impossible to grasp.
“How interesting…”
He whispered, a thousand wild guesses flooding his mind as a faint smile curled on his lips.
This was an unprecedented situation for Yun Mu, but rather than fear the unknown, his dominant feeling was curiosity.
Unfortunately, before he could continue his investigation, the blue brick floor bathed in moonlight was abruptly occupied by a shadow.
Looking up, he saw a youth in brocade standing at the door, face twisted in a grimace.
Shangguan Ce?
I remember his head was injured, wasn’t it?
But judging by that expression…
His face darkened involuntarily.
His right hand instinctively reached toward his waistband, intending to retrieve the Killing Pig Knife from before, but grasped nothing.
His knife had long since been lost somewhere unknown.
“Hey, you little bastard, why do you look like you’re about to die?”
Shangguan Ce stepped forward, hands hanging at his sides, veins bulging on his right hand.
“Are you thinking… about how I suddenly recovered, huh?”
“I don’t care about that. Shangguan Ce, if you have business, speak. If not, then please leave.”
“Haha, of course I have business with you. Otherwise, why would I waste my time looking for a disrespectful bastard like you?”
He strode forward leisurely, but inside he was filled with rage.
In his eyes, a lowly servant like Yun Mu should at least be kneeling when speaking to him, let alone sitting on a bed as if equals.
Moreover, now that his mind was clear again, he hadn’t forgotten anything he did during his dazed state these past few days.
He clearly remembered everyone around him and had the deepest impression of Yun Mu’s existence.
If it weren’t for the family head’s orders, I would have already broken your legs, skinned you alive, and cut you into pieces.
Who cares if you bark here?
Reaching the edge of the bed, Shangguan Ce put on a seemingly amiable smile, though inside he cursed harshly.
“Little bastard, I’m asking you—when you went to West Street Study Lodge a few days ago, did you notice what I did?”
He intended to test whether he could recover memories of that day.
In his eyes, this had to be related to Yun Mu, though his reason was baseless—he simply hated him.
“What you do has nothing to do with me. Shangguan Ce, though I am a servant, I have no obligation to stick to you like your guard.”
“Hah? Guard? What a joke. With your status, you think you deserve to be my guard?”
That sentence instantly ignited the fury Shangguan Ce had been holding in.
“You talk to me with that attitude? I’m just trying to be civil, but do you really think you’re somebody?”
He raised his hand and grabbed the youth’s neck, Starforce surging uncontrollably on his body.
“You bastard, I’ll ask you one more time—do you remember what happened that day?”
He ground his teeth, eyes filled with scrutiny and killing intent.
“Answer me quickly. This is an order, not a question. Don’t you understand?”
A suffocating pressure gripped Yun Mu’s neck.
Seeing the furious face before him, the fear that should have naturally arisen failed to appear.
Instead, he felt a strange, even manic excitement.
He raised his hand and grabbed the arms choking his neck.
The green Starforce that originally belonged to Qin Luoyi instantly condensed in his palm.
“Hmph, a mantis trying to stop a chariot, overestimating yourself.”
Just as Shangguan Ce prepared to sneer with lowered eyes, he met those deep, faintly glowing green eyes.
Terror surged in his heart, and his strength vanished instantly.
A crisp “click” was heard, followed by a series of sickening bone-cracking sounds.
The once dominant Shangguan Ce’s face twisted in shock.
His proud hands now looked fragile in the weak youth’s grasp, snapped off like twisted dough.
“Let go! I said let go!”
He screamed in panic, trying to break free, but it was useless.
The green aura wrapped around his body like a living thing, seeping through his skin.
“Stop… or… when I… recover… I will definitely… kill that pair of… virgins… you don’t want… ugh!!!”
He still tried to threaten with words, to maintain his dignity as the superior. He even attempted to use the youth’s boundaries to intimidate him, but all he received was intensified pain and a mockingly ironic smile.
At this moment, Yun Mu’s mind had been completely invaded by Qin Luoyi’s Starforce.
He felt as if only one thought remained in his mind—kill.
“Shangguan Ce, you call me bastard every day, but aren’t you the real bastard? Born from an affair between your father and a servant woman, your status in the family is probably as low as a dog’s, right?”
This information was told to him by Shangguan Xunyi herself, who said, “A bastard who despises his own mother’s low birth will always be a bastard.”
“Shut… shut up!”
“Oh? The reason you say that is because of that pathetic pride of yours, the so-called superior’s pride, isn’t it?”
Before he could respond, Yun Mu flung him hard against the wall with a loud “bang.”
The Shangguan Ce who was still in his grasp collapsed weakly onto the floor, even sinking slightly into the cracked blue bricks.
“Shangguan Ce, you really think that just because you became some sort of cultivator with a bit of strength, you can stand in the Shangguan family? Your talent, compared to Qiuyue and Sister Xunyi, seems to be the lowest, right?”
He said this after judging carefully with his Starforce Concentration Eyes.
He clearly knew Shangguan Ce’s talent was the worst among the three.
Finishing, he stood up, the Green Starforce on his body still slowly dissipating, but his eyes, mixed with excitement and contempt, looked increasingly mad.
He jumped off the bed and stepped on the other’s head.
Just as he was about to continue taunting, he noticed the trembling lips and bent down to listen.
“Yun… Yun Mu… I… I was wrong… forgive… forgive me…”
The broken pleas stirred a chuckle from Yun Mu.
“Wrong? Hah… When were you ever wrong? How could someone like you, a superior, be wrong? You just…”
“Only know that you’re about to die.”
He suddenly lowered his head and whispered, then violently smashed a fist laden with killing intent into Shangguan Ce’s chest.
“Die.”
His voice was calm but ruthless, merciless to the point of discarding reason.
This time, no one interfered.
This time, Shangguan Ce truly died.
The youth clearly heard the cracking of ribs beneath him and felt the crushing of the living heart beneath his left hand.
He withdrew his hand, blood flooding his sight.
He vomited, the taste and sight disgusting, but a strange sense of relief rose within him.
The Starforce in his body rapidly dissipated, and his rationality gradually returned.
He knew exactly whose familiar power this was and knew he would surely feel nauseous because of it, but he did not resist.
He had no regrets about killing him.
In his eyes, Shangguan Ce regaining reason was like a beast becoming human.
A bloodthirsty fiend was a disaster to everyone in this world, let alone someone who wished to kill those close to him.
Yun Mu wiped the vomit from the corner of his mouth, trembling as he stood up, but the next moment, he collapsed from overexertion.
However, he did not fall to the ground but felt darkness and then landed in something soft.
“Oh my, you little one, you’re really bold, daring to attack this princess. I didn’t expect that at all.”
She gently lifted him up, lowering her eyes to meet his, her face bright with joy.
“But the way you acted just now was wonderful. I thought you’d hesitate, but you killed him right away. That was just perfect!”
“Eh, no, I know it might be rude to say this, but I’m really liking you more and more. I originally planned to imprison you as my pet, but you suddenly did this. That’s just cheating! How about we just become spouses directly?”
At that, she paused for a moment, suddenly shifting from excitement to shyness, her tone becoming coy.
“Eh, don’t look at me like this… Actually, I haven’t been in love before. Those forward words just now were the first I’ve ever said to someone. You’re also the first person I like, so I thought maybe we could start as friends…”
“But ‘friends’ sounds so distant. I don’t want to feel distant from you, but jumping straight to being partners seems too fast. Wouldn’t that make me seem improper? Although we just met, I really like you—your body and personality…”
“Loyal like a puppy, but wild and delicious when crazy, that contrast… ah! Seriously! It’s all your fault for making me say things like this!”
***
Qin Luoyi remained lost in her own world, talking to herself, while Yun Mu had no energy to respond or even complain.
He just watched the girl, recalling his earlier behavior, roughly understanding why his personality suddenly twisted like that.
After all, the personality of the master who was the source of his power seemed far from normal right now, even… somewhat insane.
Thinking this way, he felt a lot more at ease.
Because in his original view, the reason he turned out this way was because he himself was a twisted person at heart, but now he had reason to blame this foreign power.
Though it didn’t sound very moral, it was quite effective for self-comfort.
“Oh right, Yun Mu, you must be pretty confused hearing me say so much, right? After all, in two days you’re going to be used as a Medicine Guide, and here I am telling you to come with me. That sounds off, doesn’t it?”
The girl suddenly asked, pulling Yun Mu out of his reverie.
Confused?
He didn’t feel confused, because Qin Luoyi herself was strange in his eyes, so… this felt completely normal.
Seeing him silent, she explained herself.
“Actually, it’s not strange at all. It’s not baseless either. Lu Qi and I will definitely keep you alive. When that time comes… you’ll come with me, alright?”
“Hm?”
Yun Mu was baffled; he didn’t understand what she meant.
It was something entirely unknown to him.
But Qin Luoyi didn’t mind.
She covered his mouth and nose with her hand and laughed softly.
“It’s okay not to understand. You’ll know what I mean when the time comes. For now, just sleep.”
As soon as she finished, a strange fragrance seeped from her palm into his nose.
Yun Mu felt his head grow heavy and drifted back into sleep.
Only this time, he slept with a sense of peace.