EHRPS CH213

He was having auditory hallucinations again. But Ming Xiu was already very accustomed to such things, finding it not strange.

Recalling the past, he and hundreds of thousands of others on the battlefield were sacrificed to the cauldron. Their flesh and blood were refined, leaving only his soul bound and fused with the demonic cauldron. Afterwards, Ming Xiu gained access to fragments of the demonic cauldron’s memories. He learned that this ancient artifact was once the natal immortal weapon of a mighty figure, but after absorbing too much demonic qi, it was gradually corrupted into a demonic weapon. It was not the weapon’s fault.

At that time, a sliver of the artifact spirit’s consciousness still lingered within the demonic cauldron. Sensing the vast, surging spirit of resistance in Ming Xiu’s heart, along with the hundreds of thousands of people’s terror of death… It extracted a thread of power from the souls of those hundreds of thousands, repairing its own fragmented consciousness. Because of this, it gained the power to release the wronged souls within the cauldron, allowing them to reincarnate, while securing a resolute master for itself. That master was Ming Xiu.

However, the ancient demonic resentment within the cauldron had festered for tens of thousands of years without dissipating. It frequently transformed into inner demon voices, attempting to shake Ming Xiu’s will and drive him to slaughter. Fortunately, the artifact spirit’s consciousness, having made itself whole, could contend with it, sparing Ming Xiu from its harassment most of the time.

The reason it was ‘most of the time’ was because the ancient demonic resentment was exceedingly cunning. It always sensed when Ming Xiu’s emotions fluctuated and would jump out to say something unpleasant. For example, inciting Ming Xiu to unleash his true nature, to stop suppressing himself, whispering that a demonic cultivator should act without restraint, or asking if he hated this world and wanted to do something about it.

Ming Xiu suddenly realized that its words actually made some sense. He truly was dissatisfied with this man-eating world. Why not expend some effort to change it into a shape that pleased his eyes? If he couldn’t be an immortal who eradicated demons and defended the Dao, that was fine; he could be a demon who used evil to conquer evil.

Thus, Ming Xiu swept through the demonic path and founded the Heaven Slaughtering Sect. To prevent the demonic cultivators under him from fleeing, he decided to go all the way, adopting a permanent solution—

Ming Xiu refined the entire spatial domain where the Heaven Slaughtering Sect was located. It could be said that he himself was the ‘Heaven Slaughtering Sect,’ and no person, object, or matter within this space could escape his control.

It wasn’t without its drawbacks. After all, with his soul fused with the demonic cauldron, the stronger he grew, the stronger the demonic cauldron grew. Their relationship was not one where one’s gain was the other’s loss. But Ming Xiu accepted this easily. Wasn’t it just one more bizarre inner demon voice? What’s the big deal?

However, the things this bizarre inner demon said were sometimes incomprehensible to Ming Xiu. Utterly contextless phrases like ‘World under construction, scanning barrier integrity’ or ‘Automatic monitoring function activated’… Or like today’s sentence—

[Warning, the world main storyline has deviated by 10%.]

He turned a deaf ear to it, continuing to hold Nie Wuhui’s hand. His thumb unconsciously stroked the side of the other’s wrist, while the index finger he had just used to write sneakily scratched the man’s palm twice.

Whoosh. Nie Wuhui withdrew his hand expressionlessly.

Ming Xiu’s heart bloomed with joy, yet he desperately maintained his expression and demeanor, refusing to let himself laugh out loud. Terrified that the man might flick his sleeve and leave, he coughed twice and continued: “It wasn’t easy for this Venerable to establish a sect single-handedly, and the demonic cultivators under me are none of them easy to deal with…”

Ming Xiu blinked with utter sincerity, a smile playing on his lips. “I’ve heard the Guiqing Sect is the leader of the righteous path, and Fellow Daoist Wuhui is an elder there. You must have profound insights on sect governance, right?”

He placed a heavy emphasis on the words ‘Fellow Daoist,’ yet it carried no hint of distant politeness. Instead, it exuded a poorly concealed, intimate ambiguity that left much to the imagination.

Having said that, Ming Xiu grabbed the man’s sleeve again. “This Venerable would like to seek a pointer or two from Fellow Daoist Wuhui. I wonder if that is permissible?”

Nie Wuhui: “…” The black-clad man before him seemed to know exactly what he was thinking, every word leaving Nie Wuhui unable to refuse directly.

And so, with his sleeve tugged, Nie Wuhui was led into the bedroom.

Along the way, Nie Wuhui also offered a reminder, “Fellow Daoist Ming, I can walk on my own. You don’t need to be so…” Before he could finish, he heard Ming Xiu say with pleasant surprise: “Exactly! Tugging at a sleeve is somewhat ungraceful. It’s much more reliable if I hold your hand!”

Nie Wuhui was instantly rendered speechless. He wasn’t worried that the man would do anything to him. Although Ming Xiu was very powerful, he wasn’t weak himself. If they were to fight for real, the outcome would be uncertain. What filled Nie Wuhui’s heart more was helplessness toward this person’s erratic words and actions.

He possessed excellent looks and had lived a long time. Over the past millennium, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t encountered lecherous individuals who spoke frivolously and relentlessly flirted with him, but… But not a single one was like Ming Xiu.

Nie Wuhui didn’t feel insulted, nor was he repulsed. He even vaguely felt a thirst for knowledge, akin to meeting a kindred spirit. He was also a war orphan, fortunate enough to be picked up by the Guiqing Sect Leader, which saved his life. Later, as Nie Wuhui gained experience and saw the hardships and dangers of the world, he desired to contribute his meager strength for the common people.

He was not strictly bound by the rigid stances of the righteous and demonic paths. There were thousands of kinds of people in this world. There were righteous hypocrites who appeared noble and upright but were morally bankrupt behind closed doors, and there were also demonic cultivators who valued affection and righteousness. Human nature was inherently complex.

Therefore, upon seeing the state of the Heaven Slaughtering Sect with his own eyes and hearing Demon Lord Ming Xiu’s governance philosophy, Nie Wuhui couldn’t help but feel a favorable impression of him. It was just that he couldn’t say this out loud. …He feared the man would immediately blurt out, ‘You and I truly share the same mind and mutual affection. Why not pick a day to hold our Dao Companion ceremony?’

At the mere thought of this possibility, Nie Wuhui fell into silence.

Ming Xiu had no idea what he was thinking. If he knew, he would definitely exclaim, “Every word hits right at my heart! Isn’t this exactly what it means to have hearts linked and minds connected?!”

Oblivious, he pulled Nie Wuhui to the window sill of his bedroom. Before he could even present his treasure, he noticed that one of the two jade pots was empty. Ming Xiu looked closely— That short, dark, ugly mushroom had inexplicably planted itself into the neighboring pot, snuggling intimately with the other beautiful, ethereal mushroom, inseparable.

Ming Xiu: “?” His eyes flashed slightly, and he quickly drew a conclusion from the sparse traces of dirt on the windowsill: This mushroom actually grew legs and climbed over by itself!

Right at this moment. Ming Xiu heard the man beside him speak. His voice was warm and clear, tugging at the heartstrings, “…Flesh Ganoderma?”

Ming Xiu hastily reeled in his bloodthirsty sneer, deciding to let this scum of a mushroom live one more day. Picking an angle that made him look exceptionally handsome and heroic, he turned to look at the man, “Exactly. This Venerable brought you here to show you this pot of pure white Flesh Ganoderma. It is fresh and free from vulgarity. Looking at it brings great joy to the mind…” Ming Xiu paused, staring at the man with a smile, “Just like you.”

The smile on Nie Wuhui’s face did not waver an inch. He remained silent for a brief moment, deciding to ignore that highly suggestive remark, and said, “I actually think the other one looks lively, plump, and evokes tender affection.”

Whether it was Nie Wuhui’s imagination or not, he felt that after he finished speaking, the black mushroom seemed to stand a bit taller, its cap slightly raised.

Ming Xiu cursed inwardly, “Evokes tender affection my ass! What a scheming mushroom!”…He hasn’t even praised ME like that!

Perhaps Ming Xiu’s gaze was too burning. Nie Wuhui kept his eyes fixed on the jade pot, not looking at the man beside him. In a rare departure from conversational etiquette, he spoke mostly to himself: “I didn’t expect Fellow Daoist Ming to lead by example and put your ideals into practice. Wuhui is truly full of admiration.”

Outside the closed window, a small patch of dark clouds that had just gathered in the sky instantly dissipated, and the sun shone brightly once more.

Ming Xiu tugged at Nie Wuhui’s sleeve, his thumb rubbing the silver-threaded cloud pattern over and over again, itching to hook Nie Wuhui’s hand… Nie Wuhui sighed silently in his heart.

The next instant. Ming Xiu heard the man say, “When I return to the sect, I will report this to the Sect Leader, so that the other sects may also understand Fellow Daoist Ming’s painstaking efforts, lest unnecessary misunderstandings arise.”

Hearing this, Ming Xiu instantly grew anxious. He abandoned his roundabout probing, grabbing Nie Wuhui’s wrist tightly as he spoke at lightning speed, “We’ve barely exchanged a few words, why are you leaving so soon?” As he spoke, Ming Xiu took two steps forward, standing face-to-face with Nie Wuhui. Seeing Nie Wuhui take a step back, he advanced three more, until he cornered the man against the window.

Nie Wuhui had nowhere to retreat. The distance between them was incredibly close, barely enough room to fit a fist between their faces.

Nie Wuhui didn’t avert his gaze, meeting the man’s eyes with an open and candid expression, and said calmly, “Even if I don’t leave now, I must return to the Guiqing Sect sooner or later. Furthermore, Wuhui has no desire to seek a Dao Companion, and I do not want Fellow Daoist Ming to misunderstand…”

Ming Xiu asked, “Do you hate me?” Nie Wuhui: “…I don’t hate you.” Seeing the man open his mouth, he hastily added, “Not hating you doesn’t mean I harbor romantic feelings for you.”

Nie Wuhui originally thought he would be displeased, but unexpectedly, Ming Xiu simply nodded and said casually, “Oh, if you don’t, you don’t. As long as you don’t hate me, it’s fine.” With that, Ming Xiu even smiled at him, tilting his chin up with a touch of smugness, “This Venerable is a sensible and tactful person. If you hated me, how could I have the nerve to stick around you? Wouldn’t I just be making you unhappy for nothing?”

“I couldn’t bear to do that.”

Having said that, he reached his hand toward Nie Wuhui, his upper body leaning forward. Nie Wuhui subconsciously turned his head to dodge, only to hear a creak from behind him. …The man hadn’t done anything improper.

He simply pushed open the window behind Nie Wuhui, then pointed at the scenery outside, introducing it to Nie Wuhui piece by piece. Along the way, he even brought up amusing incidents or memorable scenes from his conquest to unify the demonic path.

A hint of shame flashed across Nie Wuhui’s heart. Ming Xiu’s eloquence was excellent, his words captivating. Nie Wuhui listened intently, a faint smile of mutual appreciation unconsciously gracing his face. Stripping away those flirtatious jokes, the two conversed very happily.

Ming Xiu spoke for a long while until his mouth was dry. Catching the curve of the man’s lips from the corner of his eye, he couldn’t help but pause, not realizing that his words had come to an abrupt halt…

Leaving the room in silence. A moment later. No one spoke.

It was Ming Xiu who broke the silence first. He turned his face, stared at Nie Wuhui’s lips, and suddenly asked, “You don’t like someone else, do you?”

Nie Wuhui: “…” How did we circle back to this again?

Looking out the window, he slowly shook his head.

Ming Xiu couldn’t hold back a laugh, prompting Nie Wuhui to add, “I didn’t say I… liked you either.”

Still grinning, Ming Xiu pressed, “Then when you said earlier that you ‘have no desire to seek a Dao Companion,’ is that really true? Or was it just an excuse to reject me?”

Nie Wuhui thought he finally understood his intent to refuse, immediately breathing a sigh of relief as he answered, “It is absolutely true.”

“—That’s wonderful!” Ming Xiu was overjoyed. Noticing the man’s slightly stunned expression, he coughed twice, reining in his demeanor, and spoke with a mix of reserve and bluntness: “In that case, I have a proposition for you…”

A gust of wind swept in through the window. The wind teased the black-clad man’s loose hair. The slightly curled ends, long enough to reach his waist, gently tickled the back of Nie Wuhui’s hand. An inexplicable itch.

At the same time, Nie Wuhui heard the man say, “If you ever want to find a Dao Companion in the future, I must be first in line. You are absolutely not allowed to skip over me! Do we have a deal?”

“…”

For the first time in his life. Nie Wuhui fled in a panic.