The Aloof Master Is Secretly Kissed Every Night by the Paranoid Villain - Chapter 14

“Xie Yuan! Have you lost your mind?! Let go of Zhang Ping right now!” the nearby disciples shrieked. They drew their swords simultaneously and lunged at Xie Yuan, forcing the youth to release his grip.

Xie Yuan retreated two steps with a dexterous movement of his feet, raising his blade to parry the oncoming steel.

He sneered, “What? Are you resorting to bullying me with numbers because you cannot defeat me individually?”

“So you have been faking it this entire time!” The disciple facing Xie Yuan’s blade felt his palm go numb from the impact. Although he failed to recognize that Xie Yuan was utilizing ghost energy, a deep sense of wariness involuntarily bloomed in his heart. Gritting his teeth, he said, “All that talk about your spiritual roots being destroyed, could it be a lie you fabricated just to deceive Daoist Master Wen?!”

“You nearly choked Zhang Ping to death just now. Anyone can see from that vicious look of yours that you are up to no good! We will definitely teach you a lesson today, and then we will ask Daoist Master Wen to expel you from the sect!”

Xie Yuan swept his gaze over them and spoke in a freezing tone.

“The likes of you are not qualified to teach me a lesson.”

As he spoke, Xie Yuan pushed his sword styles to their absolute limit, engaging the four disciples in a fierce melee.

A brief moment later, Xie Yuan flicked his wrist and sent the sword flying out of the last disciple’s hand.

He raised his foot and slammed it heavily onto Zhang Ping’s face, right over his mouth.

He ground his heel down with sheer ruthlessness.

“A pack of self-righteous, foolish trash.”

“If I ever hear another word of insult directed at my mother from your mouths, I will certainly not hold back like I did today.”

Zhang Ping’s mouth was completely bloodied from the brutal grinding of the boot.

Losing every shred of his initial arrogance, he lay there as tears and saliva smeared across his face in agony.

The surrounding disciples clutched their chests, pointing trembling fingers at Xie Yuan. “Xie, Xie Yuan, you, you are far too arrogant! If Daoist Master Wen finds out, if the Sect Master finds out, they, they will definitely not tolerate your behavior!”

As the words left his mouth, a sharp whistling sound suddenly pierced the air from the distance.

The familiar, ferocious sword energy of the Jingfeng Sword caused the eyes of every disciple present to light up instantly.

They quickly turned to look at Wen Shiqing, who was flying toward them, and cried out in relief, “Daoist Master Wen, you are finally back!”

“Do you know what Xie Yuan just did”

Midway through the sentence, the speaker suddenly heard a heavy thud.

The previously vibrant and ferocious Xie Yuan had suddenly collapsed to the ground. The very moment his body hit the dirt, he coughed up a massive, pathetic spray of fresh blood.

Beneath his disheveled hair, his beautiful face appeared so deathly pale and fragile that it would make anyone’s heart ache with pity.

He also looked up toward Wen Shiqing, who had just landed outside the Spring Landscape Villa. With reddened, tear-brimming eyes, his voice trembled as he spoke, “Master, this is entirely the fault of this disciple. My performance was poor, and I annoyed my senior brothers, which prompted them to come to the Spring Landscape Villa to teach me a lesson. I have brought trouble upon Master, and I ask for Master’s punishment.”

The remaining disciples stood there in utter bewilderment.

These words were clearly meant to acknowledge a mistake, so why did they sound so incredibly twisted when spoken aloud?

Besides, Xie Yuan was absolutely not like this a moment ago.

Where was the terrifying Xie Yuan who had just choked someone by the neck, kicked another in the chest, and ground a person’s mouth into the dirt?

How did he suddenly spit up blood, collapse to the ground, and start weeping with such immense grievance?

On the other side of the yard, Wen Shiqing was staring fixedly at Xie Yuan’s face.

The look in his eyes was exceptionally complicated.

During his recent excursion to the Fiend Mountain Secret Realm, he had entered the Mirror of Prognostication in order to retrieve the Soul-Nurturing Grass. Within that mirror, he had witnessed all kinds of bizarre and unsettling images.

The reason they were unsettling was that the vision depicted him being chained to a bed by Xie Yuan.

That version of Xie Yuan was no longer a youth, but a fully grown man who stood half a head taller than him.

The incomparably handsome man had leaned close to him like a demon, whispering softly against his ear, “Master, stop loving Xiao Heng. Love me instead, alright”

Wen Shiqing had pondered over the vision throughout his entire journey home, entirely unable to comprehend the meaning behind that illusion.

He had finally decided to drop the matter, but the moment he arrived at the sect, he sensed an unusual disturbance at the Spring Landscape Villa.

He had rushed over immediately, and the instant his eyes locked onto Xie Yuan’s face, the memories that had just quieted down began to assault him all over again.

“Master”

Xie Yuan could not fathom Wen Shiqing’s unfathomable expression. He could only steel himself to continue playing the weakling, saying, “It is all my fault. If Master wishes to punish me, then punish me. This disciple will not utter a single word of complaint.”

Xie Yuan knew very well that the Wentian Sect possessed many resources that could assist him. For the time being, he absolutely had to pretend to be an obedient, pitiful disciple to remain here.

Wen Shiqing was snapped out of his thoughts by the youth’s voice.

His gaze swept over the heavily bruised and battered disciples before resting on the blood seeping from the corner of Xie Yuan’s lips.

For some inexplicable reason, he linked the present Xie Yuan with the man from the illusion.

That man was clearly powerful enough to bind him completely, yet he was also exceptionally skilled at showing weakness, using that lingering, gentle cadence to call him Master.

It was bound to shorten his lifespan.

“Since you know it is your fault, then crawl back into your villa and stop lying out here to make a fool of yourself!” Wen Shiqing holiday reprimanded him harshly. With a sharp flick of his sleeve, a violent gust of wind erupted, abruptly sending Xie Yuan flying backward.

The youth crashed through the doors of the villa with a loud bang, tumbling inside.

With another wave of Wen Shiqing’s hand, the courtyard doors slammed shut.

Outside the villa, only Wen Shiqing and the remaining disciples were left.

“Daoist Master Wen” The disciples never expected Wen Shiqing to take Xie Yuan’s words at face value and handle the boy so roughly.

There was absolutely no tenderness to speak of.

They should have felt delighted by this outcome, but upon witnessing Wen Shiqing’s icy, rigid expression, the smiles froze instantly on their faces.

Their voices trembled, and their words became entirely incoherent. “Daoist Master, actually, we, we are also at fault. We should not have come to the Spring Landscape Villa to disturb the peace here. However, you must not continue to be deceived by Xie Yuan. He, he is actually quite powerful, and he has been faking it the entire time”

“And so”

“Did you take it upon yourselves to teach him a lesson on my behalf”

“No, no! That is not what we meant at all!”

“Get out if it is not,” Wen Shiqing said in a freezing tone. “Xie Yuan is my disciple. Even if he has committed an error, it is my place to discipline him. It is not your place to meddle in affairs that do not concern you.”

The disciples were instantly struck dumb.

They apologized profusely and fled the scene in a hurried scramble.

Inside the villa, Xie Yuan stood by the crack of the door, taking in the entire sequence of events.

He lightly touched his chest where the violent gust of wind had struck him.

A faint ripple of emotion surfaced within his pitch-black eyes.

Wen Shiqing’s strike had appeared fiercely aggressive on the surface, but it had not caused him any actual injury. In fact, it was far less painful than the blow he had dealt himself earlier just to portray a victim.

If his hypothesis was correct, the man had intentionally used that harsh method of punishment to silence the other disciples, thereby protecting him.

Yes, protecting him.

Just as Wen Shiqing had protected Xiao Heng in front of the Grand Elder of the Qingfeng Sect, he had protected Xie Yuan this time as well.

An inexplicable warmth began to spread across his chest. Xie Yuan’s grip on the door bolt tightened unconsciously, pressing deep marks into his fingertips.

The gaze he directed toward Wen Shiqing carried a tremor of hesitation that he himself had failed to notice.