Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Waves, crowds, blazing firelight.

Lu Shitu gazed at Rong Yu in the firelight. The man's profile, smooth as jade in the dark, still seemed to hold a hint of coolness beneath the warm glow.

Overcome by a sudden rush of desire, Lu Shitu couldn't resist reaching out to Rong Yu. He knew his Master would yield to his touch, just as he had countless times before, and then they would...

But this time, the man froze for a moment, then looked over with a mixture of shock and anger.

This wasn't how it should be. That person should have gently accepted his kiss, then returned it passionately, and they should have continued, again and again... until the bonfire died out, until the first light of dawn touched the sea.

Just like last night.

Last night...

Lu Shitu jolted awake, his entire body turning ice-cold, almost trembling uncontrollably.

That was his dream from last night. After hearing about the customs of the Matchmaking Festival during the day, he had pressed his Master down beside that bonfire, under the open sky, taking him again and again. Last night had been too excessive, the dream too wild—he hadn't fully woken from it.

And so now, he had truly done this to his Master...

Lu Shitu felt as if he had plunged into an ice cave, as though a handful of snow had poured from head to toe into his body, freezing him stiff on the spot, unable to muster any expression or movement.

Rong Yu's mind echoed with Lu Shitu's recent words: "Master..." He looked at Lu Shitu in disbelief, his face clearly asking, "Did I hear that right?" Before he could process it, someone nearby suddenly shrieked, "Don't let them escape!"

It turned out that in that brief moment, Liang Qunyu had already been taken away, while Feng Yue, who had been lying in wait, rushed out, trying to rescue Liang Qunyu.

Rong Yu hurried toward the commotion, with Lu Shitu close behind.

Feng Yue and Liang Qunyu stood on a sword. Feng Yue had just learned sword flight and seemed very inexperienced; her face was tense, one hand firmly protecting Liang Qunyu behind her, the other forming a seal, faint sweat beading on her forehead.

Liang Qunyu looked down at the crowd, seemingly anxious, murmuring to Feng Yue, "A-Yue, it's fine, I'm okay. What are you doing? If it doesn't work out, just go first. They've wanted to capture you for a long time. I'll be fine."

Watching this scene, Rong Yu suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of absurdity. After pondering for a moment, he realized that what was happening couldn't have truly occurred before—because he and Lu Shitu were unexpected interlopers who had taught Feng Yue sword flight. Many other events that had happened felt very real, making this scene feel out of place.

In other words, many earlier events were likely real experiences of Feng Yue and Liang Qunyu, while the current development was a fabrication by the illusion’s creator.

But since realizing this was an illusion, Rong Yu had been pondering how to wake them, yet he still had no clue.

Seeing the two sinking deeper into the illusion, he didn't hesitate to shout, "Wake up! This is all fake! It's an illusion!"

Feng Yue glanced at them from afar and called back, "Thank you, Immortal Master! Take care of yourselves!" Clearly not believing a word.

At that moment, Lu Shitu suddenly brought over a small white seabird and said, "Master, it seems to have something to say."

It was "Yao Yao," the bird Liang Qunyu had fed earlier. Yao Yao chirped frantically, and seeing that the humans couldn't understand, flapped its wings wildly before suddenly landing on Rong Yu's arm and pecking vigorously at the inside of his wrist.

A flash of insight struck Rong Yu, and he shouted to Feng Yue, "First check the inside of Liang Qunyu's right wrist! There's something there!"

Feng Yue instinctively followed Rong Yu's words, feeling along the wrist she held. Her fingers touched a raised mark. She looked down and saw a dark red, crescent-shaped birthmark.

A scene abruptly reappeared in her mind:

Liang Qunyu was being dragged away. Feng Yue gripped her wrist tightly but couldn't hold on.

Her voice hoarse, she cried, "Don't go! They have evil intentions. Don't go with them..."

Liang Qunyu shook her head, tears falling. "I can't bear to leave you either, A-Yue, but I have to go. Let go. If you don’t, you’ll become an outcast. Please let me go."

No matter how hard Feng Yue tried, Liang Qunyu was pulled away. Feng Yue's nails dug into her wrist, hard enough to break the skin, leaving a crescent-shaped wound.

Feng Yue sat in despair by the bonfire, surrounded by laughing, singing, and dancing people, her face pale and motionless.

A while later, the clan leader brought some tribe members to offer the young people food for the banquet—also an offering from the deities.

A bowl of fragrant meat soup was placed before Feng Yue. She faintly caught a familiar scent and looked down dazedly.

Vivid red meat pieces swirled in the bowl, and in her dazed vision, one piece seemed to bear a crescent-shaped wound...

"Aaaaaah!" she screamed in agony, clutching her head.

At the same moment, standing beside the seabird, Rong Yu seemed to faintly hear a few indistinct words, like Liang Qunyu's voice: "If you could become human, would you come back to repay me?... Just kidding, don’t become human. Being human is too hard; it’s better to be a bird and be happy."

The illusion before them began to crumble. In the chaos, faint sounds came from Feng Yue's direction—she seemed to be answering someone.

Rong Yu didn’t know what would happen to him and Lu Shitu if someone else’s illusion collapsed. As he frowned, thinking of a solution, the jade circlet on his forehead began to warm slightly again.

In a flash, Rong Yu remembered something. Before entering the illusion, he had also touched the jade circlet and channeled some spiritual energy into it.

Could it be...?

Rong Yu grabbed Lu Shitu with one hand and, following the same method, pressed his other hand to the jade circlet on his forehead, channeling spiritual energy.

The next moment, the world spun wildly. The island, bonfire, crowd, and girls—all vanished.

Rong Yu sat up on the bed, his head throbbing painfully.

Lu Shitu stood at the door, lightly knocking twice. "Master, are you better?"

Rong Yu took a moment to collect himself before replying, "I'm fine, come in." As he spoke, he realized his voice was hoarse and unpleasant, like someone recovering from a serious illness.

Lu Shitu immediately entered, a look of concern on his face. "Master, have some tea to soothe your throat."

Rong Yu also felt very thirsty. He took the small teacup and drank it in one gulp before asking, "What happened to me?"

"Master doesn’t remember?" Lu Shitu furrowed his brow, stepping forward to gently feel Rong Yu’s forehead. "A few days ago, Master descended to resolve the demonic energy, overexerted yourself, and came down with a fever upon returning. It took many days to recover."

Rong Yu nodded, realizing his mind was muddled. Memories of the past few days jumbled in his head, making it hard to sort out what had happened.

He looked around. This was his bedroom, his dutiful disciple was by his side, and even the temperature of the tea in his hand felt familiar.

It was just a typical morning on Broken Peak.

Lu Shitu gently massaged his Master’s temples, crown, and the back of his head with warm fingers, saying softly, "Master doesn’t need to overthink it. Just rest well. The Medical Cultivator from Clear Void Peak said earlier that overexertion can have some aftereffects, but you’ll recover gradually."

It seemed... there was such a thing.

Rong Yu decided not to dwell on it for now. Thinking further back, he remembered that Lu Shitu had just won the Sect Tournament and felt a surge of pride again. He asked, "Now that you’ve won the Sect Tournament, what are your plans?"

Rong Yu vaguely recalled that Lu Shitu had wanted to go to Kaiyang Realm before, and there was also You Weiwan, whom he liked...

Lu Shitu continued massaging Rong Yu’s acupoints with just the right pressure, so thorough that Rong Yu began to feel drowsy. As he worked, Lu Shitu said, "This disciple has no plans. I only wish to stay by Master’s side, continue cultivating, and look after you."

Rong Yu chuckled softly amid his growing drowsiness. "What silly talk..."

He wanted to say that his Master was perfectly capable and didn’t need to be taken care of. He also wanted to say that Lu Shitu had reached the Nascent Soul Stage and could leave the mountain to seek his own path—to plan for a good future instead of staying on Broken Peak forever.

He had other thoughts too, as if he instinctively wanted to say that he would leave sooner or later. But upon reflection, he couldn’t trace the origin of this thought.

Ultimately, for some reason, he didn’t manage to say any of it. Instead, he let out a low chuckle amid his drowsiness and lazily tilted his head back, making it easier for Lu Shitu's ministrations.

With his eyes closed, fragments of something startlingly vivid flashed through his mind—as though his little disciple had lost his mind, kissing him, trying to undo his sash, calling "Shizun" in a tender, clinging tone.

Rong Yu paused, then laughed softly again, thinking how utterly absurd it was. Thankfully, it was just a dream—it had to be a dream. Even his dreams could get this outrageous; he really was something. Just look at Lu Shitu—there was no disciple in the world more considerate or devoted than him.

Lu Shitu continued massaging the back of Rong Yu’s head at a leisurely pace. Seeing Rong Yu smile, he seemed to cheer up too and asked softly, with a hint of laughter in his voice, “What is Shizun smiling about?”

Rong Yu couldn’t even be bothered to recount his absurd dream. He simply waved his hand vaguely and drifted back to sleep.

Since coming to this world, he had never experienced such peace and tranquility. It was as if he had let go of everything—no longer needing to worry about restoring Lu Shitu’s spiritual root or wonder what Jiang Ziliu and the sect leader were plotting. It seemed he had already accomplished all he needed to do; what remained no longer weighed on his mind.

In the days to come, staying on this little Broken Peak and living like this with the little disciple he'd taken in didn’t seem so bad after all.

Author’s Note: