After My Paranoid Act to Woo My Cold Master Failed - Chapter 14

Shen Shuheng lay on the grass, unable to move, allowing Fu Xueke’s cool lips to press against her slender neck. Their dark hair intertwined, scattering across the lush green grass. As a breeze blew, the stray strands rippled along with the verdant blades. The figures in white and azure were striking against the vivid green landscape.

When her Master’s lips first touched her neck, they were cool, but now they became intensely hot, as if searing into the very tip of her heart, making it pound uncontrollably. During the first time, Fu Xueke had struggled and hesitated, but now she allowed her desires to flow unchecked.

Shen Shuheng felt as if she had turned into a pool of water; a tingling, numbing sensation surged through her entire body, and her eyes grew misty.

“Master…” her voice was raspy, and her eyes shimmered with tears, like a swaying lake reflecting a sky full of stars.

Fu Xueke’s face moved away from her neck. Propping herself up with one hand on the grass, she reached out with the other to touch the corner of the girl’s eye with her fingertip. “Don’t cry. Be good.” As she leaned over, several locks of dark hair fell against Shen Shuheng’s snowy-white neck.

With every movement, her Master’s hair brushed against her skin, the cool, clear fragrance clinging to her. Shen Shuheng hadn’t actually intended to cry; it was simply the physical sensation that made the tears well up, and she was still holding them back. But hearing her Master’s comforting words, she could no longer restrain herself.

Crystal teardrops slid from the corners of her eyes, tracing paths down her face. The crimson hue in Fu Xueke’s pupils faded, slowly revealing eyes as dark as obsidian that had been dipped in ice and snow. She remained partially draped over Shen Shuheng.

Shen Shuheng stared intently at her Master. Now that her eyes had turned black, she had returned to her usual self—the ethereal mist atop a snowy peak that could only be gazed upon from afar. At this thought, Shen Shuheng felt a sudden, hollow ache in her heart, though she didn’t understand why.

“I…” Fu Xueke started to ask what she had done, but looking at the scene before her, she didn’t need to ask to guess. She hurriedly rose and pulled Shen Shuheng up with her.

The tears on Shen Shuheng’s face were not yet dry, and her clear eyes were still shimmering with moisture, making her look pitiable like a wronged little animal.

“Does what Master said to A-Heng that I am yours still count? Because Master is also A-Heng’s,” Shen Shuheng said, resting both her hands on her Master’s right arm. She blinked her round apricot eyes, a single teardrop glinting on her lashes.

Fu Xueke’s gaze shifted to Shen Shuheng’s neck. A dark red mark stood out starkly against the girl’s porcelain-white skin. A pale green light flickered at her fingertips as she reached out to brush away the mark.

Just as she was about to touch her, a hand blocked her. Shen Shuheng gave a smile, a flash of mischief in her eyes. “This was left for me by Master. After Master kissed A-Heng here, you said I was yours. So… Master belongs to A-Heng now.”

She touched the spot with her hand. “Master cannot treat others like this. You can only be like this with me!” Shen Shuheng looked up at her expectantly.

Fu Xueke paused before speaking. “I actually said such things… I will not treat you like this again next time.” Seeing her disciple’s face like a blooming peach blossom, her eyes rippled as she touched the dark red on her skin.

“Why not? A-Heng likes it when Master is like this.” Shen Shuheng reached out to catch her Master’s hand at her neck.

Fu Xueke’s lashes lowered, casting a shadow that hid her eyes. “We should not do such things.”

“If Master doesn’t kiss me, do you want to kiss someone else? Will you treat someone else the same way you treated A-Heng next time and tell them they are yours?”

Faced with this string of questions, Fu Xueke didn’t know how to respond. She focused her thoughts, trying to figure out how to explain things to her disciple.

“I won’t allow Master to be like this with anyone else. You can only be like this with me,” Shen Shuheng said, standing on her tiptoes to try and match her Master’s height, attempting to look more imposing.

Seeing her like this, Fu Xueke couldn’t help but curve her lips into a smile. She reached out and pressed her hand on the girl’s head to push her back down. She looked down at her disciple and decided to offer an explanation. “I won’t. Rest assured, A-Heng. I won’t say the things I said to you to anyone else. Do you understand?”

With her Master’s full attention focused on her, Shen Shuheng felt her mind go blank and she nodded submissively.

“Where is this? Where are the others?” Fu Xueke asked, noticing the lush green grass. They were the only two here; the other disciples were nowhere to be found.

“This is the Encyclopedia of Ancient Alchemical Methods I chose from the library. I discovered that there is an independent miniature realm inside the book. We are currently inside it,” Shen Shuheng explained.

“Have the demons who ambushed us left?”

“The moment Master appeared, they fled.”

Fu Xueke found it strange. Given the situation, the demons were fully capable of slaughtering them all, yet they chose to leave.

“Master, let’s go out,” Shen Shuheng said, taking her Master’s hand as they left the space.

The other disciples were leaning against trees, resting and recuperating. They hadn’t noticed the two of them vanishing and reappearing. Their tracks had been exposed to the demons, and whether the information about the attack on Nanxi City in five days was true or false, they had to go there regardless.

“After we rest, we will head to the nearest city and use the teleportation array,” Fu Xueke told the disciples. They couldn’t afford any more delays on the road.

An hour later, the group set off.

Elsewhere, several disciples were flying toward the Yuheng Sect on their swords the same ones who had insisted on turning back. “They’ll definitely regret it. They’re probably dead on the road by now. What’s the point of protecting mortals? A cultivator’s life is far more valuable.”

The man in black appeared before them like a ghost. They turned to flee, only to find their flying swords unresponsive and their bodies pinned by an invisible force.

“Don’t kill us! We’ll tell you anything you want to know about the Yuheng Sect! We can even give you a map of the sect! Just let us live! You can have everything we own, just don’t kill us!” they begged, trembling uncontrollably.

The man didn’t speak but eased the pressure. The disciples hurriedly handed over their valuables and the sect’s formation maps. The black-clad man accepted them with satisfaction. “Did you really think a demon would keep his word?”

In a flash, blood sprayed from their necks as their heads fell. “How foul,” the man said, wrinkling his nose and disgustedly wiping away the bloodstains. He remembered these few had seemingly realized the identity of a fellow demon hidden within the Yuheng Sect; he couldn’t let them return to ruin the plan.

As the thick darkness dispersed, the sky began to show a pale dawn. Shen Shuheng and the others looked with joy at the city appearing ahead. After traveling so long, they could finally use a teleportation array.

A golden plaque hung high on the city walls, bearing the name in small seal script. The city gates were carved from blood-red spiritual jade; even from a distance, they could feel the majestic spiritual energy radiating from them.

Shen Shuheng tried to push the gate, only to find it locked tight. By rights, the gates should have been open by now. Twilight broke through the clouds, revealing a fiery sun. A sliver of sunlight fell on Shen Shuheng’s face, carrying the fresh scent of morning.

“The gates won’t open,” she told the others.

“This is the territory of a Great Clan. If you don’t give them enough spirit stones, they won’t let anyone in,” Gu Mian said.

A man stood atop the city tower. “To enter the city, it’s one thousand high-grade spirit stones per person. Since there are many of you, I’ll give you a twenty percent discount.”

“One thousand high-grade spirit stones? That’s robbery!” Chu Qingshui cried out, clutching her chest and looking at her coin purse in agony. She was a poor sword cultivator.

“But if we go to another city, it will take much longer, and we don’t know if we’ll run into another demon ambush,” one disciple argued, deciding to pay the stones to enter.

Shen Shuheng paid for both herself and her Master. As she prepared to enter, she noticed several disciples still standing at the spot, holding only a few dim, dull spirit stones. They had one thing in common: they were all sword cultivators.

Ordinary disciples only received five hundred mid-grade spirit stones from the sect each month. Maintaining a spiritual sword cost a fortune; it was never enough. Sword cultivators weren’t like talisman or pill cultivators who could make a fortune by selling their wares. Shen Shuheng and her Master were the only exceptions; their peak only had two people, so the sect’s distribution didn’t have to be split among many others.

“I’ll pay for you,” Shen Shuheng said, pouring out a small mountain of spirit stones. They were all here to protect mortals from demons; she wouldn’t be stingy about this.

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist! If you ever need help in the future, just say the word!” Their eyes, previously as dim as the stones in their hands, lit up at the sight of the pile.

The man on the wall used spiritual energy to lift the stones. After confirming the count, he opened the gates with satisfaction. Inside, the city was incredibly lively, lined with shops and crowded with cultivators. Street vendors were everywhere, selling pills, talismans, and spiritual tools.

Shen Shuheng looked around curiously. She walked up to a small stall. “Fellow Daoist, where is the teleportation array located?”

“The far east side.”

The group headed east and finally found the array. “Five thousand high-grade spirit stones per person,” the guard said, reaching out his hand.

“Can you make it any cheaper?” Chu Qingshui asked.

“Take it or leave it. Another bunch of paupers,” the man said contemptuously.

Shen Shuheng’s spirit stones were nearly exhausted after paying the entrance fees. She couldn’t even afford the fee for herself and her Master, let alone the others.

“Master… what should we do?”