Chapter 32

Spring Dreams

The incident at the bottom of the sea led to a shocking discovery: the merpeople knew nothing about the immortals of the upper realm. It was no wonder they were so bold when speaking to Divine Lord Yin Ze. With the waves crashing against the shore, a beautiful mermaid twisted her waist and came ashore. Her eyes were lazy and seductive, she had a mole on the corner of her mouth, and her breasts were as large as balls. Her revealing clothes were so shocking that I dared not look.

I nodded vigorously, and as soon as I stood up, I tried to hurry away from him, but something grabbed my clothes, preventing me from escaping. Looking down, I found that the ornament on his mermaid clothing had hooked onto my chest and had torn a long gash. At this moment, the moon was over the sea, washing the land for thousands of miles, the waves lapping against the shore, and the soft sand grinding against the stones, illuminating both of us in silver light.

Because of the backlight, I couldn’t see clearly, so I deliberately adjusted our positions so that I was facing the moonlight. Who would have thought that as soon as I did, I wanted to die: my clothes were made of light gauze, and after being soaked in seawater, they had lost all shape. They were wet and thin, clinging to my body, and the only difference between it and being naked was the slight difference in color between the clothes and my skin.

I heard my heart lurch and looked up at Yin Ze, only to find that he was as dumbfounded as I was by this situation.

Seeing me looking at him, he averted his gaze and ordered, “Untie it.”

I felt my ears burn instantly, and I quickly reached out to untie the ornament, but I didn’t expect my fingers to be so cold that they couldn’t move normally, and they trembled all the time. With a “sizzling” sound, the original tear was pulled even wider.

Seeing a large expanse of white skin exposed to the moonlight, I felt like my face was whiter than the moon.

“…What are you doing?”

Yin Ze pushed my hand away and untied the ornament himself. This short period of time felt incredibly long. He was very careful not to touch my skin, but I could hear his breathing heavier than usual. At this moment, even the slightest movement of the clothes made my whole body extremely sensitive.

If it were any other time, if other men looked at me a few more times, I would feel deeply offended and want to punch them hard. But at this moment, with Master so close to me, I didn’t feel the slightest bit displeased.

On the contrary, deep down, there was a kind of expectation, a hope that he would do something more. As for what, I dared not think about it.

Just having such a thought made me feel guilty and uncomfortable for a long time.

“Alright.”

His voice was hoarse, as if the words were coming straight from his throat. After he finished speaking, his Adam’s apple bobbed, but the movement was not very obvious. However, my heart was about to explode... No, even if you gave me ten more hearts, I couldn’t take it.

He threw my previous clothes to me, “Put this on.”

Finally, he let go of me and turned around, as if looking at me any longer would shorten his life. I took the clothes and hid behind a rock. Changing clothes and washing was a daily routine, but when I took off that layer of gauze, knelt on the beach, and washed the sand off my body with seawater, I felt stiff all over and my head was buzzing, as if the person changing clothes was not me.

At this moment, the sea was as dark as night, and the blue waves stretched for thousands of miles. I dared not look at Master’s back for a moment.

I thought that the situation couldn’t be more embarrassing. Unexpectedly, in the dead of night, a young lady laughed and said, “What an unromantic man, the little girl’s face is so red, even I can’t help but feel lustful, and you’re still sitting there like a piece of wood?”

“I meant you, handsome young master,” the woman said, crossing her arms. “Are you deaf or just pretending?”

The sea was filled with swirling snow, and the cold moon shone like frost. Yin Ze didn’t turn around, but simply turned his head slowly. “Are you the Flower Sunflower chef?”

His voice was exceptionally calm, yet cold and distant, with an aura of authority that completely crushed the Flower Sunflower chef’s momentum. Her mermaid tail retreated a few inches. Clearing her throat, she said, “So what if I am?”

Yin Ze handed her the nine-colored clams he had taken earlier. “Prepare these cold. I’ll come back in an hour to get them.”

“Cold nine-colored clams? Do you know how much my dish costs? You just ask me to make it? How dare you...” She was about to throw a tantrum, but when she met Yin Ze’s casual glance, she immediately weakened. “Fine, but I always pair my nine-colored clams with fine wine. If there’s no good wine, don’t even think about taking them.”

“I was just going to get some wine. Wei’er, wait for me here.” After saying that, Yin Ze walked over and whispered in my ear, “Don’t tell her too much.”

With those words, a fog rose, and his figure had traveled thousands of miles away, under the moonlight.

The Flower Sunflower chef said, “Tsk tsk, what kind of background does this guy have? His skills are pretty good. He’s also quite handsome, but his personality is a bit lacking. Little girl, your taste is quite unique.”

I had just changed my clothes and quickly waved my hand, laughing, “No, no, you’ve got the wrong idea. He’s my master.”

She tossed the nine-colored clams and slowly approached the stove, originally graceful, but once she lit the fire, she became as agile as a tiger in the wind.

She used magic to draw in seawater, threw a nine-colored clam into the water with one hand, and spun a kitchen knife with the other. She said smoothly, “So that’s how it is. Master-disciple love, it’s indeed a different flavor.”

How did this chef misunderstand? Now I was shaking my head. “No, no, he and I are really not what you think...”

“Alright, alright, little girl, do you really think I’m that stupid? To be honest, your master is really to my liking. I like cold and arrogant men the most, and besides, his butt is really翘 (翘, qiao, meaning perky or upturned). You can tell just by looking that it’s very elastic. This kind of man has many advantages.” When she said “long,” for some reason, she also dragged out the sound.

I suddenly felt neither cold nor hot, and then I felt like my whole body had turned into ice. Oh my god, what was she saying? How dare she speak so disrespectfully to the Divine Lord. But after struggling for a long time, all I could do was dryly laugh, “Chef, you, you... ha, haha...”

She looked at me with a mocking smile, and the mole at the corner of her mouth twitched. “Look how scared you are, your face is red again. The little girl is too innocent. If I hadn’t known that he cared so deeply for you, I would have really tried harder.”

At that moment, my heart skipped a beat. “He cares about me? Where did you get that conclusion?”

She twirled the knife, scooping out the clam meat piece by piece. “I’ve traveled all over the East Sea, and I’ve seen all kinds of men. A man like him, you can tell at a glance that he has many women. But since you were so naked and he still didn’t make a move, it shows that his feelings are deep.”

I helplessly said, “Chef, you’re really thinking too much. He didn’t make a move because he really treats me as his disciple.”

She turned her head and looked at me, raised her sharp knife, and shook it slightly. “Okay, you’re right.”

After that, the Flower Sunflower chef focused on cooking and didn’t talk to me anymore. When Yin Ze returned, she had already prepared a plate of cold nine-colored clams. Taking the wine that Yin Ze brought, I said, “Master, I can handle the rest. It’s getting late, you should go back and rest.”

“Leaving you alone in this barren sea, are you bored of your life?” He took the wine back and handed it to the Flower Sunflower chef. “How is this wine?”

The Flower Sunflower chef knelt down with a thud and offered the cold nine-colored clams with both hands, “I am ignorant and didn’t recognize the true identity of the divine being. Please forgive me, my lord. Please don’t mind the disrespectful words I said earlier, little fairy. If I had known that your master was a god, I would never have said such frivolous nonsense.”

Yin Ze didn’t say much to her and turned to leave with me. After hearing the Flower Sunflower chef’s last words, I was quite shocked. First, her attitude changed so drastically, from “old lady” to “slave”; second, she hoped that I wouldn’t mind what she said. Thinking about it, knowing Master’s true identity, she was probably as hesitant as I was, not daring to approach him. For some reason, thinking about this, I felt inexplicably negative...

We took the cold nine-colored clams and the Flowing Cloud Fine Wine to the snow serpent. The snow serpent spat out its tongue excitedly, acting like an old sage, drinking, eating meat, and sighing at the moon, saying a bunch of nonsense, “Being a snake is enough. If I could have Miss Luo Wei lay eggs for me, I wouldn’t mind dying...”

After settling this matter, we rode the wind and moon and returned to Tian Shi City. When I returned to Cangying Mansion, I was exhausted and wanted to go back to my room to rest early, but I saw a black shadow darting through the garden. Subconsciously knowing that something was wrong, I couldn’t react as fast as the shadow.

A silver light flashed, and a powerful sword qi shot towards me! Just as I was about to cast a spell to resist the attack, a thin, transparent ice shield appeared in front of me! It was Yin Ze’s spell! I turned my head and saw him standing in front of me, facing Fu Chenzi, who was pointing his sword at us!

“Brother?!” I exclaimed in shock, “Why is this happening—”

In that moment, Fu Chenzi’s eyes glowed red, and half of his body was shrouded in darkness. His breath turned into cold white mist, his chest heaved up and down, and his panting was inhuman, more like a bloodthirsty beast on the verge of madness. He opened his mouth and let out a long, hoarse cry, his hands waving several white sword flowers with such force that they tore through the sky, looking as if he had gone mad. However, his swordsmanship was still as skilled as ever, inheriting his master’s sharpness and speed.

“Get back.”

Yin Ze pulled me back, turned sideways to face Fu Chenzi, and extended his right hand, palm facing Fu Chenzi. A magic circle descended from the sky, encasing Fu Chenzi within. Fu Chenzi struggled violently, roaring wildly, but was eventually pressed to his knees. Yin Ze retracted his arm and waved his sleeve forward, and the green jade ring flashed with a soft light.

Fu Chenzi’s red eyes widened suddenly, then the blood color faded and he returned to his normal appearance. His body swayed and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

I quickly ran over to support him, anxiously asking, “Master, what’s wrong with my brother?”

Yin Ze said, “He has been practicing too hard and encountered a demon, and I have just dispelled the evil energy from his body. He’s fine now. You can help him back to his room to rest.”

Just because he practiced too hard and fought with a demon, he would become like this? Cultivation is indeed a dangerous practice. Thankfully, Master was there, otherwise, I might have been cut in half by my brother. It was like a toad jumping onto my foot, scaring me to death. After sending my brother back to his room, I returned to my own room.

I hadn’t been back for several days, and seeing my little warm bed and the enthusiastic Xuan Yue, I felt a bit nostalgic. I quickly fell asleep on the bed and had a dreamless night.

However, the next morning was the same as usual. I had to go to Bai Di Mountain for cultivation after the rooster crowed. When my fellow disciples saw me return, they were very caring and asked me many questions. I hadn’t had enough rest the night before, and after practicing spells shakily for a morning, I found a grassy spot to rest at noon.

Thinking about everything that had happened in the past few days, my mood was still very complicated, and I fell into a half-awake state in a daze.

Unconsciously, something cold wrapped around my feet. It was both itchy and creepy. I couldn’t help but open my sleepy eyes. There was smoke and incense everywhere, and the mountain scenery was hazy. The cold sensation didn’t retreat, but instead wrapped around my legs and up to my waist.

I wanted to get up and see what was happening, but I couldn’t move my body no matter what. Then, I heard a hissing sound. When the thing wrapped around my chest, shoulders, and neck and finally revealed its face, I was so scared that my hands and feet went limp and I broke out in a cold sweat—it was a thick white snake!

“Miss Luo Wei, long time no see, have you missed me?” The one who spoke was the snow serpent.

“It’s you.” I breathed a sigh of relief and sighed, “You actually followed me to Tian Shi City. What do you want?”

The snow serpent flicked its tongue, “Naturally, I’m here to make eggs with Miss Luo Wei.”

I should have expected it. The meaning of his life was to lay eggs. Seeing the snow serpent leaning down, I pushed it away, “If you want to lay eggs, at least change back into human form.” Wait, what did I just say? Could it be that after seeing my brother possessed, I was possessed too?

“Alright.”

The snow serpent loosened its grip on me and slithered to the side. Then, in a puff of smoke, he transformed into a handsome young man in white robes. He turned back and smiled at me. I propped myself up and sat up, but when I looked down, I found that my clothes had been replaced with the mermaid dress, and it was wet, just like the one on the East Sea coast, with a tear.

I looked at all this in confusion, but I saw the snow serpent sitting by the bed, looking at me with a smile, and gently pinching the cloth with his fingers. “Miss Luo Wei, I’m going to take it off, okay?”

I hesitated, “No.”

But the smoke drifted over, covering his face, and his voice became as cold as ice, “Then I will.”

“...Master?”

The smoke dissipated, and the person sitting beside me turned out to be Yin Ze. I was so shocked that I couldn’t speak. But I saw him grab my wrist, put his fingers to his lips, and kissed each finger gently.

Then, he confined me in his arms, lightly bit my earlobe, and his voice, muffled by my ear, was unprecedentedly gentle, “Wei’er, do you want me?”

I was already dazed and confused, “Want... what do you mean...”

I couldn’t finish my sentence. Because after he kissed my earlobe a few times, I had completely lost my defenses, my hands trembled, and I hugged his neck, wanting to be closer to him...

This most terrifying nightmare ended with the crowing of the golden pheasant. The winter sun was bright at noon, and the weather was very cold. I looked at my reflection in the stream and found that my dark circles and blush were as bright as the sun.

I squatted on the shore, so depressed that I wanted to drown myself in the water. In fact, if I had only dreamed of being wrapped around by the snow serpent, I would have just felt uncomfortable, but the latter half, being replaced by Master... even if it was just a dream, it still made me feel self-loathing.

People say that what you think about during the day, you dream about at night, but I only have respect for Master, and no matter how others misunderstand, I dare not go beyond that. Why would I have such a dream? Could it be that after being a demon for a few days, my thoughts have also become demonic? Or was it because of the little incident on the East Sea island that bothered me so much?

I stood on Bai Di Mountain, looking at Master’s Cangying Mansion, and sighed. Then I knelt in the deep grass and kowtowed several times in that direction.

Master, even though you don’t know, I have done something wrong to you, please forgive me—I silently repeated this several times in my heart, then I patted my pants and stood up.

It’s just that my cheeks were still as red as if they had been boiled in fire. I knelt by the stream and washed my face, but I couldn’t cool down. I went back to chat with my fellow disciples. The dream just now was so real that I was distracted for a while. Suddenly, I heard someone call, “Divine Lord Yin Ze!”

Like the other disciples, I turned to look. But looking around, there was no one else except Rou Li, who looked puzzled. What was Rou Li up to...

After a day of cultivation, we returned to Cangying Gate and prepared for dinner. I was ordered by my uncle-master to find a book in the inner room of the library, but as soon as I stepped in, Rou Li followed.

She quietly closed the door and gave me a meaningful smile. “Luo Wei, you’re really good at hiding your emotions. If I hadn’t observed carefully, I might never have known that you weren’t my rival at all. The person you like isn’t Third Senior Brother.”

I smiled, “Sister, you’ve misunderstood me for so long. I’ve never been your rival.”

Rou Li laughed triumphantly, “Of course, that’s because the person you like is Divine Lord Yin Ze.”

I was stunned. “What?”

She opened her mouth and said lightly, “You like Divine Lord Yin Ze.”

Hearing that name, I felt like I had been struck by lightning. “Are you crazy? That’s Master, how could that be possible?”

“Others might think it’s impossible, but I didn’t miss it. When you were sleeping in the grass, you kept calling ‘Master’ in that lustful voice. Later, when I called ‘Divine Lord Yin Ze,’ everyone looked back with fear, but only you had a look of anticipation and excitement on your face. Hehe, I’ve heard all about your affairs. You escaped from the Immortal Realm because you were jealous of Qingwu Divine Maiden and forced the Divine Lord to find you. But seeing you return to Tian Shi City, you’ve been sighing and frowning, it must be because you failed to seduce the Divine Lord, right? Sister Luo Wei, if this gets out, your punishment will probably be more than just being expelled from the sect, don’t you think?”

At this moment, my palms were sweating. She was clearly talking nonsense, but why did I feel so guilty? However, I still put on a smile and said, “Sister, this story you made up is so exciting, keep going, I love to hear it.”

Rou Li blushed and said angrily, “You just like Divine Lord Yin Ze, don’t deny it! Luo Wei, if you’re smart, you’ll stay away from Fu Chenzi, otherwise, I’ll let everyone in Tian Shi City know that you like your master!”

I said indifferently, “Well, although spreading rumors is detrimental to your sister’s image, if it can make my sister feel better, go ahead.”

Dealing with someone like Rou Li never required much effort. She was quickly driven away by me. But after she left, I felt inexplicably down. My emotions had been up and down recently, which was not a good sign. More and more people misunderstood us, and if this continued, it would probably cause a lot of trouble for Master. I don’t know how long I can stay by his side if this continues.

I sighed and pushed open the door to the inner room of the library, only to find someone inside: Yin Ze was sitting by the window, holding a brush, looking up at me calmly.

I didn’t think about it and turned around to leave, closing the door. But after standing outside for a moment, I felt like I would look guilty if I ran away. I, Luo Wei, was a loyal disciple, why should I be afraid of being slandered by others?

Thinking about this, I relaxed and pushed the door open again. “Disciple greets Master! Master is as refreshed and radiant as ever!”

I looked at his ink and quickly ran over to help grind the ink. He picked up the brush again, dipped it in the ink, and called, “Wei’er.”

“Disciple is here! Master, what are your orders?”

“I heard everything.”

The spinning water stopped, and I froze. “Is... is that so? Anyway, my sister is just bored and likes to make things up. She just likes my brother and wants to take him away from me, so she makes up stories. You don’t have to listen to her.”

He didn’t respond, just continued writing. I was anxious and said, “I’m completely loyal to you. I’ve never tried to hide anything. How can you believe others’ words and deny everything I’ve done?”

With a “snap,” he threw the brush on the desk. The brush rolled to the ground and broke in two. I was so scared that I almost peed myself. I quickly knelt down, “Disciple was wrong!”

He coldly said, “What did you do wrong?”

I was anxious, “I... I don’t know, I just know that Master is unhappy, and if Master is unhappy, it must be because I did something wrong. Maybe the way I talked to Rou Li just now was inappropriate, but Master, you must believe me, I admire and respect you, but I really have no other thoughts about you.”

Yin Ze seemed to be pondering the meaning of my words and nodded with a smile. “Well said, continue.”

I trembled and said, “I’m very well-behaved. I’ve always hoped to return to my hometown and marry a man from Su Zhao and live a peaceful life.”

“Very good, continue.”

“Master is so noble and a perfect match for Qingwu Divine Maiden. Even if I had such thoughts, I would never dare to separate you...” In the end, I shrank into a ball and kowtowed deeply to him.

The cold wind was biting, and the inkstone was covered in ice. Yin Ze didn’t appreciate it, but just smiled again. “Finished?”

“Yes... yes.”

Without saying anything else, he turned and left.

Hearing his footsteps gradually fade away, I relaxed and sat on the ground, wiping my sweat. I couldn’t move for a long time.

Actually, while saying those words, I still felt guilty. It was all my fault for having that dream. It was really unforgivable.

No matter how I tried to hide it, Master was always observant and must have noticed something. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so inexplicably unhappy and wouldn’t have shown that kind of smile. I don’t know what to do. I couldn’t face him.