The Aloof Master Is Secretly Kissed Every Night by the Paranoid Villain - Chapter 24

“There is no need for such formalities,” Wen Shiqing said with a cold demeanor.

The disciples around him, seeing him respond, grew excited: “Daoist Wen has actually come?”

Wen Shiqing dealt with them while simultaneously gathering information about the situation.

Xiao Heng had come because, after emerging from the secret realm with Shen Huan, they had coincidentally encountered Shen Huan’s fellow sect members. Those disciples had accepted a yellow-tier ghost-extermination mission in Donglai City, but upon finding the situation there suspicious and hesitating to enter, they had run into Shen Huan and Xiao Heng and hoped for their guidance. After all, among the immortal sects today, Xiao Heng, Shen Huan, and Wunian of the Wanfo Sect were recognized as the strongest of the younger generation, so the junior disciples naturally looked to them for leadership.

“Master, both Shen and I feel that the ghost energy in Donglai City far exceeds the standards of a yellow-tier mission. It could even reach the difficulty of a high-level profound-tier or even an earth-tier mission. Therefore, we were thinking of having the disciples of the Lanyin Sect report back to their elders, while the two of us go in first to investigate the situation,” Xiao Heng explained his reasoning to Wen Shiqing.

“Your approach is sound,” Wen Shiqing glanced at him, but shifted his gaze to Shen Huan. “However, since I happen to be in Donglai City on business today, and your fellow disciples happen to have accepted a ghost-extermination mission, it is sufficient to leave this matter to our Wentian Sect to handle.”

“Shen Huan, you may leave with your sect members now.”

Shen Huan was stunned. She found it strange that Wen Shiqing would suddenly want to chase them all away, but thinking that he must have his own reasons, she prepared to nod and agree.

Before she could speak, the handsome youth, who had been standing obediently by Wen Shiqing’s side, suddenly spoke up.

“Master, please bring Shen along.”

Xie Yuan’s voice was gentle and pleasant: “Donglai City falls under the territory of the Lanyin Sect, and Shen is more familiar with this place. She can provide us with guidance. Besides, it is not the first time Senior Brother Xiao and Shen have worked on a mission together. Letting them work in tacit cooperation will surely lead to a faster completion of this task.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Huan raised an eyebrow, a glint flashing in her eyes.

She had been wondering where she had seen this youth before. Once he spoke, she remembered. A while ago, while drinking tea at a small town tea house waiting for Xiao Heng, she had heard a storyteller disparage the second personal disciple Wen Shiqing had taken in. The storyteller claimed that not only did the youth have a filthy background, but he also had useless spiritual roots. Compared to Xiao Heng, he was like the bright moon in the sky versus the sludge at the bottom of a river. They said Wen Shiqing must have been blind to take such a youth as a disciple, bringing shame to himself and the entire Wentian Sect. They insisted that during the Immortal Sect Grand Competition, he would surely become the laughingstock of the entire cultivation world.

Shen Huan had been unable to listen anymore and wanted to intervene, but the youth had acted faster than her.

That day, Xie Yuan had not been wearing his personal disciple robes but was dressed in a black silk robe. Before Shen Huan could clearly see his movements, the storyteller had been pinned to the wall by several long, black needles, blood soaking his clothes. It was not a fatal injury, but because the needles were struck into acupuncture points, the man was screaming in agony.

Amidst the man’s screams, Xie Yuan said with a smile in that same voice, “Did no one tell you that trouble comes from the mouth?”

“Since you are so poor at speaking, perhaps you should never speak again.”

As his voice fell, the screaming stopped abruptly. After he left, Shen Huan checked on the storyteller and realized Xie Yuan had cast a silence spell on him. He would be unable to speak for at least three years.

Later, when Shen Huan met up with Xiao Heng and described what Xie Yuan had done, Xiao Heng insisted she must have seen it wrong. Xiao Heng claimed his junior brother was incredibly obedient, shy, and introverted, and would never attack anyone. He even expressed regret, saying if he had been there, he would have scolded the storyteller to vent for his junior brother and Master.

When she first saw Xie Yuan today, Shen Huan had thought Xiao Heng might have been right. This junior brother was truly obedient and handsome, appearing to be a completely different person from that day. But the moment he spoke, Shen Huan knew instantly: it was him.

His gentleness was permeated with threads of chill. He was a very dangerous person, but also a very interesting one.

Shen Huan curled her lips and took the initiative to reply, “Daoist Wen, I think what young cultivator Xie says also makes sense. Donglai City is not far from the Lanyin Sect. If something really happened and we remained ignorant of the situation, it would be inappropriate. So, I hope you will agree to let me accompany you.”

Xiao Heng scratched his head, looking back and forth between Xie Yuan and Shen Huan. Receiving Shen Huan’s signal, he immediately added, “Master, Shen is very capable. With my sword and her zither, even ordinary ghost creatures cannot handle us. Since she wants to come, shall we go together?”

“…”

Wen Shiqing really wanted to report this to the authorities. He did not understand how the reason he had finally managed to come up with to send Shen Huan away, to minimize the need to act out jealousy, could have been refuted by Xie Yuan of all people!

However, he could not think of any reason to refuse them at the moment, so he could only reply coldly, “Fine, follow along then.”

Having said that, he walked into the wide-open city gate first.

Just as Xiao Heng was about to follow, Shen Huan grabbed his arm, pulling him behind Wen Shiqing: “Your junior brother is with your Master, let us walk in the back.”

Xiao Heng paused, looking up to see that Xie Yuan was already walking by Wen Shiqing’s side, his steps light and appearing very happy.

“You are right. It is rare for my junior brother to come out with Master. He should be able to learn a lot from him. It would be wrong for me to go up and disturb them.”

Xie Yuan’s mood was indeed very good. Better than good.

Outside the city, the reason he had spoken those words was precisely to push Shen Huan and Xiao Heng together. That way, Xiao Heng would distance himself from Wen Shiqing, and then Wen Shiqing would finally be able to see only him.

“Master, the female cultivator I mentioned earlier who was with Senior Brother is Shen. You saw it today; they are a perfect match, and they truly look pleasing to the eye standing together.”

While Xie Yuan released his ghost energy and shadow snakes to investigate the city environment, he did not forget to sourly tease Wen Shiqing. His words were so filled with tea-like bitterness that even if Wen Shiqing were dense, he would have finally noticed it.

“00, why do I feel like Xie Yuan is intentionally making Xiao Heng and Shen Huan stay together just to anger me?”

“Host, I also feel that this is not just your imagination,” 00 replied with an odd tone. “But his behavior is truly off-track from the original character setting in the novel. In the novel, he should be very afraid of you feeling jealous over Xiao Heng because that would cause you to torture him even worse.”

“Could it be because I have not been torturing him that he has become like this?”

“That must be it,” 00 nodded. “This is proof that this is yet another butterfly effect caused by you gaming the system.”

“…”

Wen Shiqing sighed helplessly. Looking at the tea-like and manipulative Xie Yuan, he had no choice but to resign himself to playing along with the scene.

“Shut up!”

He suppressed his voice and coldly scolded Xie Yuan, the corners of his eyes slightly reddening due to the intense emotional fluctuation. “It is not for you to decide who is a good match for Xiao Heng. If you dare to say one more word, you can get out and return to the sect!”

On the bustling street, the man in white was as pure as snow. Despite possessing an elegant and handsome face, his expression was slightly distorted by extreme jealousy, yet the reddened corners of his eyes betrayed his disappointment and sadness over the current situation.

He looked as fragile as if he were about to shatter.

Xie Yuan was slightly stunned.

Immediately, a craving sufficient to drown him welled up in his heart. It drove him to reach out, grab Wen Shiqing’s wrist, and pull the man tightly into his embrace!