Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 5

Shen Lezhi  felt Wang Xi’s  fingertip rest on her eyelid and then slowly move to her brow bone. She wanted to open her eyes, her eyelashes trembling uncomfortably.

Then, the next moment, her mind suddenly turned chaotic. All her nerves felt like they were being dissected layer by layer, a truly bizarre sensation. It wasn’t pain, but rather a feeling of something invading her brain, something controlling her body.

Then, a bone-chilling cold swept over her entire body. Every part of her felt like it was being X-rayed.

Spiritual Sense Invasion.

Only then did Shen Lezhi realize what Wang Xi was doing to her. It was a term often mentioned in cultivation novels during dual cultivation, and Wang Xi was treating her like this.

Shen Lezhi loathed it—to have a stranger’s unfamiliar aura completely invade her brain. Shen Lezhi was frightened and repulsed. Her teeth chattered uncontrollably, and she could no longer tolerate it, resisting fiercely.

But she was utterly immobilized, unable to even lift a single finger.

In this moment, Shen Lezhi clearly realized the complete imbalance between her and Wang Xi, and how much this world operated on the law of the jungle.

Shen Lezhi didn’t know what Wang Xi would see in her mind, only feeling that all her senses were being marked with Wang Xi’s imprint, which left her panicked and helpless.

But in reality, Shen Lezhi didn’t know that Wang Xi was even more astonished than she was right now. Because Shen Lezhi couldn’t mobilize any spiritual power, Wang Xi’s invasion met with no resistance at all. Wang Xi was shocked that someone like Shen Lezhi would be so utterly unguarded towards her. If she hadn’t had the memories of her past life, she would have felt immense guilt for doubting Shen Lezhi at this moment.

How despicable, how repulsive.

Wang Xi pursed her lips, her gaze icy as she stared at Shen Lezhi, who had her eyes closed and was feigning complete trust. She longed to kill her immediately.

But Wang Xi knew that Shen Lezhi was merely a pawn of the person behind the scenes, pushed out to attract her attention. Killing Shen Lezhi now would only alert her enemy.

She had to wait.

Wang Xi withdrew her spiritual power. She had noticed the recent changes in Shen Lezhi. For a moment, she had suspected that this person, like herself, had also returned from the past. However, after checking, Shen Lezhi’s spiritual altar was calm and clear, with no other abnormal signs.

She lost her memory, but could her heart also become good?

Wang Xi lowered her eyelids, a frost-like coldness congealing on her lips, as if in mockery.

No, it couldn’t.

In the past life, she had been so kind to Shen Lezhi, treating her like her own flesh and blood, yet it hadn’t elicited an ounce of conscience from the girl. Shen Lezhi was heartless. She was a rat hiding in the shadows, coveting her life, a villain hiding behind a false face, waiting to strike a fatal blow.

Thinking this, Wang Xi somewhat lost control and grabbed Shen Lezhi’s neck, her fingertips pressing against the vulnerable throat bone. She stared at the spot, her fingers unconsciously tightening.

She hated Shen Lezhi. Compared to the person behind her, Wang Xi’s hatred for Shen Lezhi was deeper. But killing Shen Lezhi wouldn’t bring her the joy of a great revenge fulfilled. In her past life, Wang Xi had already killed the girl, but in that moment, Wang Xi still felt it wasn’t enough.

Torment her, inflict pain upon her, make her moan before her, make her beg for death but not find it.

Blood-colored threads of spiritual Qi wrapped around Wang Xi’s eyes, extremely fine, circling her eyeballs, spreading to the corners of her eyes, and continuously diffusing across her skin. It looked both seductive and terrifyingly eerie.

She herself couldn’t see it, and the closed-eyed Shen Lezhi couldn’t either.

Shen Lezhi only felt the cold around her intensify, as if she had stepped into the frigid depths of winter, as if she were naked on a vast snowy plain. The wind and snow lashed mercilessly. Her skin couldn’t withstand the cold, couldn’t withstand the bone-piercing chill.

“Master…” she murmured unconsciously, her whole body shaking uncontrollably. Affected by Wang Xi’s spiritual power, frost had already begun to form on Shen Lezhi’s long hair.

Wang Xi glanced at Shen Lezhi’s uncontrollably shaking hand, which softly and helplessly clung to her wrist, calling out to her in confusion. But the spiritual power Wang Xi had invaded with still met with no resistance.

“Have you forgotten how to even mobilize spiritual power?” Wang Xi finally let go of Shen Lezhi, suddenly realizing that Shen Lezhi might not even know how to resist her anymore.

Shen Lezhi heard Wang Xi’s question but couldn’t answer. She had never learned, so how could she use it?

A moment ago, she felt excruciating pain, but after Wang Xi released her, she suddenly realized that nothing seemed to have hurt. Wang Xi’s fingers that had squeezed her neck hadn’t used any real force; there wasn’t a single mark left on the skin of her neck. Only the coldness from Wang Xi’s fingertips lingered, refusing to dissipate.

Shen Lezhi suddenly realized something. Could this be their unique form of intimacy?!

Choking her, biting her neck, tormenting her, yet never truly causing her pain. Did they actually have that kind of interest?!

If Wang Xi really suspected her, she could have just killed her. Killing her would probably take nothing more than a single thought for Wang Xi. Moreover, the Master and disciple hadn’t even clarified the truth yet. Did Wang Xi really need to torment her like this?

The more Shen Lezhi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. She looked up at Wang Xi. The woman’s features were cold and remote, her expression calm and indifferent.

Shen Lezhi glanced at her fingers. They were long and slender, with distinct knuckles and skin as pale as jade, faintly radiating a chill. It was impossible to tell that those jade-like fingers had just throttled Shen Lezhi’s neck, with the fingertips pressing against her vulnerable throat bone.

Shen Lezhi subconsciously took a deep breath.

It felt a little… suggestive.

As soon as the thought flashed through her mind, she immediately shook her head. She wasn’t a masochist; she didn’t want to play that kind of game!

However, since the two were already in that kind of relationship, and Wang Xi had already done the choking, it wouldn’t be too much for her to make a request, right?

Shen Lezhi cleared her throat and boldly spoke, “I’ve forgotten everything. Can Master teach me again?”

Shen Lezhi watched Wang Xi. The latter’s expression didn’t change, and she spoke coldly: “You may.”

Shen Lezhi was overjoyed, becoming even more convinced that Wang Xi had just been playing that game with her. She immediately pressed her luck: “I want to learn to fly with the sword!” She desperately wanted to learn, so she wouldn’t have to climb the mountain to the Medicine Herb Peak every day for spiritual spring water.

“No.”

Shen Lezhi: “…”

Then what could she do?

“Start with breathing techniques. We begin tomorrow.” Wang Xi wanted to see what kind of face Shen Lezhi would show after losing her memory.

Shen Lezhi heard this and couldn’t argue, so she nodded. However, she still had the hoe on her mind. Although it was a bit embarrassing to bring up, since the person was right in front of her…

“Master, I want a hoe like Senior Sister Hua Man’s. Where can I find one?”

When Shen Lezhi said this, she saw Wang Xi’s focused gaze pause, carrying a strange implication. She was utterly embarrassed, but the words were out, and she genuinely wanted the item. She could only meet Wang Xi’s probing eyes and continue, “I found a spiritual field in the wasteland behind the mountain and want a hoe to clear the land. I planted Green Cloud Branches. Although they haven’t sprouted yet, but…”

She spoke in a rush, explaining everything she had done these past few days, looking expectantly at Wang Xi, hoping to get the answer she wanted. Her gaze was sincere, seeming without a trace of falsehood, looking at her with such clear, clean eyes. No matter how carefully Wang Xi scrutinized, she couldn’t discern the internal filth of Shen Lezhi.

What a master of disguise.

Wang Xi’s eyes lowered slightly. Shen Lezhi keenly sensed the sudden coldness radiating from her. She instinctively clenched her fingertips tightly, her body tensing up.

But Wang Xi’s coldness seemed to last only a moment, and it had already dissipated when she spoke again.

“Take this and go to the Artifact Forging Peak to find someone to forge one for you,” she said, handing Shen Lezhi a jade spiritual token.

“Thank you, Master.” Shen Lezhi breathed a sigh of relief, quickly accepted it, and immediately rushed out for fresh air after Wang Xi left. Staying with Wang Xi was truly too stressful. In modern times, she only interacted with people from the research institute and the simple farmers in the countryside. Shen Lezhi had never met a figure as transcendental as Wang Xi.

She calmed her nerves and decided to go check on the Green Cloud Branches in the wasteland first. Although her body hadn’t fully recovered, she was a person who couldn’t sit still. She took the gourd filled with spiritual spring water and left.

The Green Cloud Branches in the spiritual field still hadn’t sprouted. Shen Lezhi felt low-spirited as she sprinkled the spiritual spring water, then returned to her residence disappointed.

She dug up a small amount of soil and brought it back, putting the Nightside Bloom on her desk into a new container. The delicate green bud symbolized vigorous life, which made Shen Lezhi feel slightly better.

“Ayah…”

She was bored, fiddling with the tender leaf, when she suddenly heard a slight sound.

“Hmm?” Shen Lezhi instinctively sat up straight, looking around blankly, but couldn’t find the source of the sound.

“Ayah.”

There was another sound.

Shen Lezhi frowned slightly, inexplicably feeling that the short and unclear sound seemed to be wrapped with an emotion. It was bewildered, curious, and helpless. It was like… the instinctive gurgling of a baby, just a sound made unconsciously.

Shen Lezhi scanned the room, still unable to find any living creature.

“Ayah.”

Her gaze fell back to the object in front of her. In a daze, the tender leaf before her seemed to move slightly.

In an instant, Shen Lezhi’s entire body felt a tingling sensation. She spun her head to look at the window, which was wide open. A clear breeze was blowing, and it must be the wind that moved the green leaf.

Shen Lezhi exhaled in disappointment, but the sound still didn’t stop, continuously calling out, “Ayah, ayah.”

Shen Lezhi focused her gaze on the Nightside Bloom in front of her. The emotion, which seemed to come from nowhere, became even clearer.

Affection.

The emotion was expressing its affection for her.

Shen Lezhi subconsciously held her breath, reaching out a finger to touch the tender bud. The moment her fingertip touched the tip of the bud, the inexplicable emotion became clear and intense.

So much affection.

Wants to be touched.

Shen Lezhi watched the tender bud slightly sway again, a movement not caused by the wind. She had never imagined that she could one day feel a plant’s emotions. She was both shocked and delighted.

The rapid pounding of her heart expressed her joy. After making this discovery, Shen Lezhi immediately recalled having a similar experience in the wasteland before. Could it have been the Green Cloud Branches?

She couldn’t suppress the desire to verify it. She rushed out the door once again, regardless of her physical condition, and ran to the spiritual field where the Green Cloud Branches were planted. She didn’t even care to catch her breath, half-crouching over the spiritual field, pressing her fingers into the soil, concentrating, trying to sense the presence of the Green Cloud Branches beneath the earth.

The surroundings were too quiet, like an undisturbed pool, the stillness of death. Shen Lezhi’s breathing gradually stabilized. Sweat beads, brought on by the run, dripped from her forehead and soaked into the soil.

She waited for a response. She wanted to feel the emotions of the Green Cloud Branches beneath the soil. Her heart felt warm; it was her intense hope.

Then, she suddenly froze. Her entire body trembled.

She felt it: an overwhelming desire to grow. It was the Green Cloud Branch’s desperate yearning.

Right before Shen Lezhi’s eyes, a small sprout of the Green Cloud Branch broke through the soil.