Forcing the Aloof Master to Madness - Chapter 8 

“You’re feeling wronged now? Is that real or fake?” Shen Lezhi asked curiously.

She still couldn’t quite believe a plant could speak, but a tender sobbing sound truly echoed in her ear.

How was it speaking? Where was the sound coming from?

And how could a plant understand human language?

Wait, how could she understand the language of this spiritual plant?

Everything in this foreign world truly was magical, Shen Lezhi lamented sincerely.

[Wuwuwu (Sobbing).]

The Weeping Soul Strand in front of her was still crying. Shen Lezhi watched its delicate sprouts slightly sway, resembling a human trembling while crying.

The crying grew louder and more piercing, like it was trying to cry a person’s soul out.

The Spiritual Plant Cultivation Handbook recorded that the Weeping Soul Strand emits a sharp, wailing sound when aggressive or frightened, causing abnormal hallucinations in people.

Shen Lezhi didn’t know if it was scared or aggressive, but she quickly spoke to stop it. “Stop, don’t cry.”

Perhaps because the Weeping Soul Strand was still in its sprouting stage, the crying didn’t have much of an effect. Shen Lezhi was only momentarily dazed at first, and after she snapped out of it, she was no longer significantly affected, though her ears struggled with the piercing sound.

However, the Weeping Soul Strand seemed to genuinely understand her words and slowly stopped. The sharp crying turned back into a soft whimpering.

After listening for a while, Shen Lezhi felt it sounded very similar to the kitten she had seen outside her house when she was little. That kitten, when carried by its mother by the scruff of its neck, made this same kind of wronged meowing sound.

“So, you can understand what I’m saying, right?” The Weeping Soul Strand had stopped crying at her words, so it definitely understood her. “What else can you say?”

Although communicating with a plant was somewhat strange, Shen Lezhi was enjoying it. She asked the question, curiously and patiently awaiting the Weeping Soul Strand’s reply.

[Mom.]

The Weeping Soul Strand spoke again.

Shen Lezhi twitched her mouth. She was happy that the spiritual plant in front of her could truly speak, but she was not happy to be suddenly called “Mom” by a plant.

“I saved you, I didn’t give birth to you. We are different species,” Shen Lezhi tried to explain.

[Wuwuwu (Sobbing).]

The Weeping Soul Strand started crying again.

Shen Lezhi initially thought the other party didn’t understand her meaning. After all, it was a pot of sprouts, and fully comprehending human language was too unbelievable.

But then she realized that this fellow knew the meaning of the word “Mom.”

It understood her words and knew the meaning of the characters.

And now it was using crying to reject Shen Lezhi’s explanation.

“Stop pretending. Do you understand everything?” Shen Lezhi’s face hardened, and she asked directly.

The Weeping Soul Strand’s crying stopped completely. Even its sprouts stopped swaying. “Master.”

Okay, now it was “Master.”

Shen Lezhi didn’t speak, staring fixedly at the Weeping Soul Strand.

Her silence made the Weeping Soul Strand uneasy. Although it had gained sentience, it was ultimately not human; it didn’t understand human schemes or tactics like playing hard to get.

It thought Shen Lezhi was displeased and quickly whimpered again. “Don’t call you Mom, don’t call you Master, what should I call you? Auntie Flower never told me before.”

Who was Auntie Flower?

Shen Lezhi was curious and asked the question instantly.

“It’s a very beautiful human, she wears flowers in her hair, and she told me to call her Auntie Flower.”

The Weeping Soul Strand couldn’t describe any more features of the person. Even if it had, Shen Lezhi probably wouldn’t recognize them. She only remembered a few key characters from the original work. When her colleagues told her about the plot, it was mostly with a sense of mockery, and the plot points were fragmented, so Shen Lezhi truly didn’t know much.

However, she roughly deduced that this was a female cultivator who could also communicate with the Weeping Soul Strand and had taught it human language.

“So, you can communicate with everyone?” Shen Lezhi asked.

The Weeping Soul Strand, however, shook its slender branch, as if denying it. “No, only you and Auntie Flower can hear me speak.”

“You and Auntie Flower have a feeling on you that I really like. You have more of it than Auntie Flower.”

“What kind of feeling?” Shen Lezhi was confused.

“Hmm… just a feeling of liking,” the Weeping Soul Strand struggled to articulate. Shen Lezhi didn’t expect to find an answer from a plant anyway.

Because she was certain the problem wasn’t with the Weeping Soul Strand. She had felt the same sensation with the Azure Cloud Branch.

Furthermore, based on her observations, the cultivators of the Medicinal Herb Peak did not possess this ability, and she had never seen any record of such an ability when she searched the library.

But the “Auntie Flower” mentioned by the Weeping Soul Strand did catch Shen Lezhi’s attention, indicating that this ability was not unique to her.

Shen Lezhi did not dwell on the question. All she wanted to do was farm and study the spiritual plants of this foreign world. Being able to hear the spiritual plants speak both astonished and delighted her, and she was exceptionally interested in it.

It was already her bedtime, but she insisted on chatting with the Weeping Soul Strand all night. It wasn’t until her eyelids couldn’t stay open anymore that Shen Lezhi vaguely went to bed.

She had slept for barely an hour when the Weeping Soul Strand’s voice rang out again. Shen Lezhi thought she was still dreaming, as she had been chatting with the Weeping Soul Strand about various spiritual plants in this foreign world in her dream.

“Master, the Great Demon is here, wake up quickly!” The Weeping Soul Strand’s tone was frantic, and this abnormality finally woke Shen Lezhi.

She wasn’t a very deep sleeper, and this place wasn’t one where she could feel completely safe. Noticing this anomaly, she immediately woke up.

She keenly sensed a cold aura outside the door. She didn’t even need to see; Shen Lezhi knew who had arrived.

“But why ‘The Great Demon’?” Shen Lezhi was very curious about the Weeping Soul Strand’s epithet for Wang Xi.

“She bit you! And you were especially scared!” The Weeping Soul Strand could feel Shen Lezhi’s emotions. That sense of fear when facing Wang Xi permeated the air.

Wait a minute.

Shen Lezhi suddenly felt a little distraught. She shot up, her fingers digging into the edge of the bed, and asked the constantly shaking Weeping Soul Strand on the table: “So, you can see me? You can see what’s around you?”

The Weeping Soul Strand didn’t understand what she meant, simply answering Shen Lezhi’s question: “Yes.”

Shen Lezhi gasped in despair, feeling like her heart had died.

So, when she was hugged and bitten by Wang Xi, and when her nude body was touched by Wang Xi, this plant saw everything?!

“Are you a male grass or a female grass?” Shen Lezhi truly cared!

“…I’m not grass!” The Weeping Soul Strand whimpered again, wronged. “I’m a spiritual plant! And I flower!”

True, how could a plant have a gender distinction?

Shen Lezhi reluctantly accepted this but decided that from now on, she would never engage in strange behavior in front of the Weeping Soul Strand.

“Shen Lezhi.” Wang Xi’s voice sounded outside the door. Shen Lezhi stopped idle chatting with the Weeping Soul Strand and quickly went out.

Pushing the door open, she saw Wang Xi standing straight two steps away from the door. Her expression was aloof, wearing an elegant bamboo-green long robe. Ink-black long hair was secured by a jade hairpin. Her slender fingers rested on the hilt of the long sword at her waist, and her profound eyes held a cold brilliance. As soon as Shen Lezhi appeared, her gaze shifted over, locking directly with Shen Lezhi’s eyes.

Even after seeing her many times, Shen Lezhi still marveled at Wang Xi. She truly made one feel ashamed of oneself. Even among the big stars she had seen on TV in the modern era, she had never seen a woman as stunningly beautiful as Wang Xi.

Perhaps because those on TV were just acting, but this person in front of her was a genuine immortal.

“Master.” Shen Lezhi quickly restrained her emotions after her moment of awe and stepped forward to bow.

In truth, she felt the etiquette here wasn’t that strict, at least she hadn’t felt it from Senior Sister Qi or Senior Sister Huanman whom she had met before. When those two mentioned Wang Xi, though respectful, there was no sense of deliberate hierarchy. Shen Lezhi guessed that the distinction of respect and status here was not what she had imagined.

However, she was afraid of Wang Xi, and bowing her head was a good way to avoid meeting her gaze.

“Today, I will teach you how to regulate your breath,” Wang Xi looked down at her, saying nothing more, her gaze below showing no hint of fluctuation.

Only then did Shen Lezhi realize the other party had come to teach her spells. She had been so focused on farming that she had completely forgotten about it.

But since the person was here to teach her, Shen Lezhi naturally had to learn well.

“You don’t remember things from the past, but the spiritual energy in your body remains. I will teach you how to regulate your breath to feel the spiritual energy again.” Wang Xi said as she took a step closer. Shen Lezhi felt the cold aura already encircling her, and Wang Xi’s face became clearer before her eyes.

“Close your eyes.” Wang Xi’s tone had a slight whisper of air, very faint, but Shen Lezhi’s entire attention was on her. After obediently closing her eyes, her ears sensitively caught that slight change.

The cold, stiff tone had become softer.

It didn’t seem intentional; this was probably Wang Xi’s speaking habit, reserved only for Shen Lezhi.

Just like the person herself: appearing cold and arrogant on the surface, yet revealing special emotions when facing Shen Lezhi.

Shen Lezhi knew the future and fate of Wang Xi and the original owner. The more she knew, the more she felt pity for the special attention Wang Xi showed now.

It wasn’t quite compassion, just that she felt this person was truly pathetic.

A respected Immortal Venerable of the Sect, with a bone-deep sense of immortality and transcending the mundane world, who was stunningly beautiful, eventually came to that tragic end because of the disciple she raised herself.

But Shen Lezhi had her eyes closed, so Wang Xi couldn’t see the emotion in her eyes. She simply taught Shen Lezhi how to regulate her breath with an emotionless face.

“Concentrate your mind. Focus your consciousness on your Dantian, and feel the flow of your meridians with every breath.”

Shen Lezhi desperately wanted to follow the instructions, but as a modern person, she truly couldn’t understand how to sense her Dantian, nor how to feel the meridians within her body.

She pressed her lips tightly, but her mind grew increasingly scattered and difficult to focus.

Wang Xi didn’t tell her to open her eyes. She didn’t want to give up, but the method Wang Xi described felt completely abstract and impossible for her to execute.

Wang Xi had already sensed her frustration. As Shen Lezhi became restless and unable to concentrate for a long time, Wang Xi stepped closer again, reaching out and gently touching Shen Lezhi’s cheek.

Her body was perpetually cold. Compared to a normal person’s body temperature, she was probably colder than a corpse. So, when her fingertip touched Shen Lezhi’s skin, it instantly sent a shiver through Shen Lezhi.

Wang Xi didn’t mind Shen Lezhi’s stiff body. Since the other party couldn’t concentrate, she would assist her physically. Wang Xi no longer had the patience she had when teaching the younger Shen Lezhi. Back then, she carefully guided the spiritual energy in the air, bit by bit, around the young Shen Lezhi, letting the child feel it slowly, over and over again.

Until she learned, happily looking to Wang Xi for praise.

Wang Xi mockingly pursed her lips. Her fingers slowly moved along Shen Lezhi’s meridians, gradually reaching the latter’s chest.

There lay her half of the Exquisite Heart. Wang Xi’s fingertip landed there, and spiritual energy surged in, aggressively attempting to guide Shen Lezhi’s consciousness to feel the meridians. But the other party’s chaotic consciousness was too elusive for even Wang Xi to grasp.

“Shen Lezhi, what are you thinking? Why can’t you concentrate?” Wang Xi grew somewhat impatient. She utterly detested Shen Lezhi’s heartbeat; the sound of it felt like a bloody mockery to her.

She wished she could stab her finger right into it and make that heart stop beating immediately.

“Master…” And Shen Lezhi finally couldn’t help but open her eyes. A layer of mist covered her eyes—not tears, but the haziness of shame.

Her fair cheeks flushed red, like a flower waiting to be plucked.

She glanced at Wang Xi’s deep, cold eyes, then lowered her gaze, then raised it slightly again, fluttering and restless.

She parted her lips and spoke softly: “Please stop touching me…”

After she spoke, she bit her lip, and her cheeks became even redder.

Shen Lezhi felt helpless in her heart. Why did this pair of Master and Disciple have to be so intimate even while practicing cultivation?