With Mu Dong climbing on his back, Mu Chen"s face suddenly turned cold. "Get down!" said Mu Chen aloofly.
"Daddy!" The kid clutched onto Mu Chen like a bear that wouldn"t release its paws, willfully calling Mu Chen "daddy". Mu Chen"s mouth twitched as he grabbed the kid, throwing him off the roof. Mu Chen stood aside distantly, without a trace of intention to catch him.
As Mu Chen expected, when Mu Dong was about to touch the ground a blue light appeared on his body forming a cover to prevent Mu Dong from falling, floating upwards gently from below.
Mu Dong pouted his mouth and glared inconsolably at Mu Chen, accusing. "I"m going back to tell Grandpa! You"re bullying me!!"
Mu Chen sneered and said plainly, "Go ahead. Now." He then turned away and left without another glance at Mu Dong.
Mu Dong didn"t expect that Mu Chen would do this to him. He pursed his mouth and paused a while before he began to "boohoo".
Mu Chen"s footsteps paused, distracted by the cry; then he lifted his foot and walked on, hearing the crying getting even louder. His countenance became gloomier and finally he couldn"t help but wave his hands backwards, conjuring a spiritual air to hold Mu Dong in the air and pull him back. Meanwhile, Mu Chen cast a Silence Spell.
The little one had a mouth alright and it was up to him to boohoo. Mu Chen wouldn"t silence him, but instead Mu Chen chose not to listen.
Mu Dong had been crying for some time; then, dismally, he stopped for he could tell that there was no compromise intended from Mu Chen at all. He felt rather tired of acting like a spoiled child in front of Mu Chen because whatever he did Mu Chen ignored them all. As a brother, this guy was not even remotely similar to Mu Qing.
Mu Chen carried Mu Dong, directly sending the noisy brat back to Chen Mo and then off he went. "How horrendously silly you are that you could not even take care of and coax a kid," Mu Chen said in disdain.
Horrendously silly…horrendously silly…horrendously silly.
Chen Mo covered his forehead with his hand. "Mu Chen wasn"t like this before."
Mu Chen was a little awkward towards his own buddies. He was rather introverted and didn"t feel like opening his mind to others, but was much more direct with other strangers—In other words, aloof. Mu Chen never cared for small talk but preferred stating facts boldly.
In the old days, it was Chen Mo who teased Mu Chen. Even though Mu Chen wasn"t happy about it, he would just avoid it and have a fit of the sulks. But what now? This fellow actually called Chen Mo, "horrendously silly". Mu Chen"s vocabulary was expanded, in a bad way. Thinking about the difference of the old and the new Mu Chen, Chen Mo shook his head but felt positive about this. At least Mu Chen possessed more facial expressions including angery and laughing.
Mu Chen finally got rid of this clinging vine and as he just got back he saw a servant coming over who said humbly, "Palace Master, Pavilion Master invites you to go to the lounge now. There are some old acquaintances visiting."
"Old acquaintances?" Mu Chen thought for a while in confusion. What kind of old acquaintances could he have in the Devil Realm?
The servant explained immediately. "They come from the Demon Realm."
"When did they come?" asked Mu Chen.
"On this morning," said the servant cautiously as he lowered his head further.
Mu Chen frowned and went to the guest lounge without saying another word. Right inside the lounge, a man in white wore his silver-white hair down naturally, without any accessory, but slightly aggressive. He was looking at Gu Yunjue opposite with his ink blue eyes, as if he were a predator staring at his prey, making the others shudder with fear.
The present Jing Ting was no longer the naive teen who was wet behind the ears several decades ago. Having been through life and death so many times, he had been transformed into a real king, bearing a majestic vibe as a leader.
Gu Yunjue"s mouth curved slightly with a hint of arrogance and laziness, who seemed not to realize Jing Ting"s domineering manner, but looked at him in a playful way; and no one could see through the true feelings behind Gu Yunjue"s gaze.
Jing Ming spontaneously decided to sit some distance away from two frightening "senior martial brothers" and moved the seat even further down two rows as he saw this scene. He unconsciously rubbed his arms feeling goose b.u.mps crawl over his whole body and he hadn"t the faintest idea what those two were checking out in one another.
Hearing the noise of clothing dashing across the air, the three of them turned to look at the gate at the same time. Mu Chen saw three pairs of eager eyes staring at him just as he stepped inside the gate. He paused a short while turning his eyes to Jing Ting and a faint smile flickered across his lips with some elation shining in his eyes.
"Master!" Jing Ming was about to throw himself onto Mu Chen, trying to complain that he was once more mentally abused when Gu Yunjue grabbed him by his neck and simply tossed him aside. Jing Ming looked at Gu Yunjue resentfully, not daring to resist.
Mu Chen petted Jing Ming"s head to console him for a while and cast a glance at Gu Yunjue, suggesting that he would deal with this evil disciple later. This untaught disciple had known that Mu Chen was waiting there but he meant to hide Jing Ting and Jing Ming away wickedly.
Mu Chen"s gaze fell on Jing Ting who stood not far away and nodded, sighing. "You"ve grown up."
Jing Ting was inclined to say something. The coldness in his ink blue eyes began to thaw but his gaze became profound beyond words. He looked down, hiding his mood, and didn"t reveal the thoughts that were deep in his heart. He lifted up the fringe of his clothes and knelt down. "This disciple Jing Ting pays respects to Master."
Mu Chen walked to his disciple and pulled his arms to help him up. "Get up. Don"t mind that empty courtesy. Just be what you used to be."
Gu Yunjue looked at Mu Chen"s hand, squinting his eyes, which scared Jing Ming who was standing by the side into withdrawing again and hiding behind Jing Ting.
Jing Ting stood up, looking at the way Mu Chen appeared now, and couldn"t help clenching his fists; then he asked gently, "How have you been these recent years, Master?"
"Very well." Mu Chen looked at Gu Yunjue subconsciously. Through all these years, his life was fulfilling having Gu Yunjue at his side.
As Jing Ting saw Mu Chen"s eyes go to Gu Yunjue, the former"s gaze became a bit dull. "That"s fine then."
Jing Ming finally got himself near Mu Chen and looked at Gu Yunjue, asking cautiously, "Master, are you going to marry Eldest Senior Martial Brother? Are you happy with this or are you forced to?" Since he had once been transformed into a wolf, Jing Ming was traumatized by the "ferocious" nature of Gu Yunjue, and he suspected that his warm-hearted master was coerced and cajoled by the eldest senior martial brother. "Just like what are written in graphic novels, Gu Yunjue may tend to threaten Master under the false pretenses of pregnancy—if Master doesn"t marry him, they will both die and blah blah. Right, that"s the so-called forced marriage."
Mu Chen smacked Jing Ting. "Pinhead!"
Just in time Gu Yunjue held Mu Chen"s waist, kissed him on the ear and said contently, "Of course Master is happy with it and rather excited."
Mu Chen pinched Gu Yunjue on his cheek and his earlobe turned pinkish at once. This untaught disciple, daring to behave so boldly in front of the younger generations, deserved a good kicking.
Jing Ting wore a slight frown, glancing at Gu Yuejue, but the latter didn"t seem to notice him at all. His lips moved but he failed to make a sound. Jing Ming took a confused glance at his elder brother, sensing Jing Ting was not in a good mood. He poked Jing Ting"s back and whispered, "Brother?"
Jing Ting hummed and loosened his frowning. There was no noticeable emotion left in his face. Jing Ting said in a tender tone to Mu Chen, "Master, congratulations."
"I"ve asked them to tidy up your previous accommodations which are still preserved in Yanyang Palace. You may live there now and it"s handy for us to chat together." Gu Yunjue waved to the servant outside who nodded knowingly and hurried to arrange people to deliver refreshments in advance.
"No need, if we live here, we are…" Before Jing Ting finished, Jing Ming had run along with the servant just meters away. "Wow, great! It is the same as Lofty Cloudy Sect here!"
Jing Ting"s words were squashed halfway through. He stood there with his face becoming even colder.
*
"Your majesty, the new emperor of Howling Moon has moved into Yanyang Palace. We didn"t get a chance to see him." Diyuan stood gravely behind Gu Yunjin and seriously wondered why Gu Yunjin had been constantly paying great attention to his ring recently.
Gu Yunjin hooked his finger and said carelessly, "We just wait quietly. No matter who comes and what power visits, we don"t have to meet them."
After a moment of silence, Gu Yunjin got to his feet. "You may leave now. Watch outside and don"t allow anyone to come near."
When Diyuan went out, Gu Yunji"s ring flashed with a mysterious light as right away he took out a milky white ball of light. After the ring finished absorbing the luminous ball, he said in a gentle voice, "Please bear with it a little longer. You"ve gone through all those years and there"s only a short time left."
The mysterious light became mellow and seemed to calm down. Waiting for a while, Gu Yunjin listened with his head tilted and said again, "I know he"s taking advantage of me but I can"t refuse. If he wins, I win. If he loses, it won"t impact on me for now."
…
There was half a month to go before the wedding ceremony and there were not many guests present in Mount Ronggu. Mu Chen just wanted everything to be simple; and Gu Yunjue knew he didn"t like grandeur, so he only invited those who should be invited.
Gu Yunjue thought that the Immortal Realm would avoid them and not want any interaction with Mu Chen in order not to arouse any suspicion; but who antic.i.p.ated that Yue Mingze had already sent presents to them after hearing that Gazing Chen Pavilion was founded by Gu Yunjue?
Pill City sent their present to Gazing Chen Pavilion as well. Obviously Bo Yuntian had also found out who was the master of Gazing Chen Pavilion and had sent numerous precious herbal medicines that no pill alchemist would refuse.
When all the stuff had been sent to the Devil Realm, Mu Chen checked each item with a relaxed countenance. He thought for a while and prepared a present in return personally, asking someone to send it to Bo Yuntian, and due to the birthday of the other, he added in another birthday present.
One day before the wedding ceremony, Gu Yunjue took out the wedding gowns which had already been prepared a long time ago and put them on the bed. He looked at Mu Chen"s eyes and sighed. "This day has come at last."
Mu Chen glanced at the bright-red wedding gown, running his finger over its exquisite patterns. His magic robe was mostly white and blue, and he had never worn any clothing with such bright colors. He had thought that such colors were tacky before, but now he was warmed by it. The warmth extended to his eyebrows and made the whole of him feel mellow.
"I don"t feel at ease." Mu Chen offered his hands to Gu Yunjue, looking at the Heart Bond Ring on his finger which was the same as Gu"s. Mu Chen then sighed from the bottom of his heart, "I feel somehow stressed, like it is the night before a storm."
Gu Yunjue held Mu Chen"s hands tight and put his arm around Mu Chen"s shoulder. The couple were leaning on each other and Gu Yunjue consoled him. "Don"t worry. I"m here."
"Don"t lose it tomorrow." Mu Chen embraced the one beside him, closing his eyes, and gave him a warning. Even if the other sometimes didn"t show his feelings, he would still more or less sense it.
Gu Yunjue smiled and said yes. "Of course, I"m not allowed to lose it with you by my side. After we solve this matter, I"ll tell you a secret."
"Huh?" Mu Chen opened his eyes, bewildered.
Gu Yunjue urged, "Master, don"t forget to take Mu Dong with you. Watch him closely and don"t let him run around."
Mu Chen"s face became grave. "You also…"
"Shh!" Gu Yunjue pressed on his lips, smiling, "He"s a little child. I"m worried that he might run into some danger."
Mu Chen gazed at him with a knowing nod, "I see, don"t worry. Just do what you should do."