Chapter 20 The Scheming Disciple and the Charming Master 20

Chapter 20: The Scheming Disciple and the Seductive Master 20

Pushing open the door, a surge of steam rolled out. Behind the folding screen, the fast-asleep Lin Huaiqing lay naked in a massive wooden tub.

The tub was filled to the brim with herbal medicinal broth, a bitter, astringent aroma lingering at the tip of one's nose, making it hard to breathe.

"Elder Qiuyue, my master, he's..."

"Don't worry, I only used some calming herbs to put him into a deep sleep, so as to alleviate the symptoms of his poisoning."

"Poisoning?"

"A love potion mixed with poison does great harm to the body. That's also why I called you both in here."

"Little Martial Uncle, I understand the logic, but calling the both of us in together—that's a bit unusual."

Mu Yunting also nodded along, not fully understanding.

Shen Qiuyue glanced at Qin Du, looking confused, and frowned as she asked, "Wasn't it the two of you who nearly came to blows over this? What else was I supposed to do but call you both in?"

Qin Du pursed his lips, his cheeks flushed red. All traces of his earlier arrogance were gone, and his voice had even gotten a bit hoarse.

"How can we do this together?"

Shen Qiuyue shook her head, totally confused by what Qin Du was saying.

She simply got up and grabbed two small bowls from the shelf.

"Come on, you two, one bowl of blood each."

"Blood!?"

"That's right! You're both still virgins, right? I only need virgin blood."

Neither of them dared to say a word, just nodding obediently.

"See? One bowl each, fair and square! No more fighting!"

This time, it was Mu Yunting's turn to be shocked, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

"Martial Uncle, when you said we'd help Master detoxify, you just meant a bowl of blood?"

"Yeah! What else did you think?" Shen Qiuyue tilted her head.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the awkwardness on each other's faces.

It seemed they'd both misunderstood—and ironically, in the exact same way.

If it was just a bowl of blood, why were they fighting tooth and nail over it?

With the virgin blood as the key ingredient, all the ingredients were now gathered. All that was left was the tedious process of brewing the medicine.

To keep her Anxiang Waterside Pavilion from being demolished on the spot by her senior martial brother's two "hot-headed" disciples, Shen Qiuyue promptly shooed them both out, telling them to go back to Lingxiao Peak and wait for news.

By the time Lin Huaiqing slowly woke up, it was already the hour of Hai. It was pitch black outside the window. He had no idea how long he'd been out.

But the moment he woke, that strange heat inside him seemed to surge up again.

It left him parched and restless, making him want to get up for a sip of tea.

But he'd only taken two steps when a strange sensation stirred, his legs giving out—he nearly fell to his knees.

This medicine is seriously a pain in the ass!

When he found that black-clad cultivator, he'd flay him over and over to vent the hatred burning in his heart.

"Senior Martial Brother, you should've called me when you woke up! Why'd you get out of bed yourself?" Shen Qiuyue, who'd been in the side hall, hurried over when she heard the noise and helped him back into bed.

Lin Huaiqing's face went pale, then red. In front of his junior martial sister, he quickly pulled the blanket over his legs.

"Here, Senior Martial Brother, drink this. You'll be better in no time."

"Alright!"

And so, Lin Huaiqing gulped down the huge bowl of medicinal broth in several big swallows, enduring the bitterest taste until every last drop was gone.

The medicine worked wonders. Barely half an incense stick's worth of time had passed before Lin Huaiqing felt much better. His steps no longer wavered, and that strange feeling had subsided too.

"Junior Martial Sister, this is truly miraculous medicine!"

Shen Qiuyue let out a light chuckle and told Lin Huaiqing about Qin Du and Mu Yunting's fight that afternoon.

"You should've seen your two disciples—they nearly killed me with laughter! They were willing to sacrifice themselves to save you! Senior Martial Brother, you really have raised two fine, devoted disciples!"

Whether Shen Qiuyue was teasing him or not, Lin Huaiqing couldn't shake the feeling that her smile was both cryptic and suggestive.

As if she'd uncovered some huge secret.

"Senior Martial Brother, tell me the truth—which of your disciples do you value most?" Shen Qiuyue leaned in close, asking with an air of mystery.

As a master, Lin Huaiqing naturally treated all his disciples the same.

"Naturally, I treat them all equally."

That answer clearly didn't satisfy Shen Qiuyue's gossip-hungry heart. "Tsk... fine, keep your secrets then."

Glancing at the night outside, Lin Huaiqing decided it was time to head back.

After all, this was a special period—he didn't dare stay at his junior martial sister's Anxiang Waterside Pavilion. If he lost control in the middle of the night and hurt someone, he'd never forgive himself for the rest of his life.

Seeing that she couldn't persuade Lin Huaiqing to stay, Shen Qiuyue didn't press further. She only told him that she would send someone to deliver his medicine over the coming days.

The cold wind against his face helped Lin Huaiqing feel considerably more at ease, and he relaxed.

What truly weighed on his mind were his two disciples.

Learning from his junior martial sister that both Qin Du and Mu Yunting had been willing to sacrifice themselves to cure his poisoning, his first reaction was one of deep gratitude.

Especially the little male lead—he had only been his disciple for such a short time, yet he was willing to make such a sacrifice.

Truly worthy of being the great protagonist who would save all living beings and deliver the world.

As for Qin Du, Lin Huaiqing was equally surprised.

It seemed his plan to thoroughly reform the Little Villain was proving quite effective.

But upon further reflection, was this really reasonable?

His two disciples were originally set to be as straight as an arrow, especially the male lead, who later even built up quite a harem.

Yu'er, encountered in that secret realm, was the male lead's unattainable love, separated by life and death—the white moonlight of his life.

Both of them fighting to help him detoxify—this was practically the treatment of a Mary Sue female lead.

Back at Qingming Hall, Lin Huaiqing noticed the lights in the two side halls were still on. Just as he was about to enter, both of them came rushing out of their rooms in a hurry.

Mu Yunting's face was flushed, but luckily, under the hazy moonlight, no one noticed his embarrassment. He respectfully bowed to Lin Huaiqing.

"Disciple pays respects to Master."

Meanwhile, Qin Du, on the other side, threw himself right next to his master, cooing, "Master, are you alright? You scared your disciple half to death!"

Mu Yunting, standing nearby, wished he could stab that calamitous "Qin Daji" with his eyes a hundred times to let off steam.

The moment he saw the master, that flirtatious act of his flared up again. Who knows who he's trying to seduce with all that showing off?

Why hadn't he noticed in his past life how despicable Qin Du was?

"I'm fine. It's late—why haven't you two gone to bed yet?"

"Disciple couldn't sleep without Master coming back. Let me help you back to your room. I'll also need to apologize to you later..."

As Qin Du spoke, he didn't forget to shoot a provocative glance and wink at Mu Yunting.

Lin Huaiqing didn't notice their little games and simply instructed, "Mm... Yunting, you should rest early too. Tomorrow morning, we need to return to Xianyue Sect."

"Yes, Master."

While the master and his two disciples were away, Xianyue Sect had fallen into chaos.

Ever since Yu'er reported to Yin Shuangyue that cultivators above the Golden Core stage had infiltrated the secret realm, killing and stealing treasures, the secret realm trial was immediately halted.

All trial participants who emerged from the secret realm were gathered together for a unified investigation.

But those five black-clad figures seemed to have vanished into thin air, disappearing without a trace.

What was certain was that the four disciples of that black-clad male cultivator were definitely mixed among these trial participants.

However, they were all at the Foundation Establishment Stage, making it impossible to identify them.

As for that Golden Core stage expert, he had long since fled with the stolen treasures.

The ranking results of this secret realm trial were also directly invalidated. What was supposed to be a grand trial ended in a sorry mess.