Demanding His Return

“By all accounts, the task Ning Wanzhuang assigned to Young Master Gu should be concluded by now, and it’s time to settle his compensation and release him.”

Having completed the mission, Ning Wanzhuang’s demeanor towards Gu Bei softened considerably, becoming far more courteous.

She spoke in a gentle voice, simultaneously pouring tea for Gu Bei and subtly pushing the cup towards him.

“However, this demonic woman insists on stirring up trouble…”

Ning Wanzhuang offered Gu Bei a smile tinged with both apology and helplessness.

“No worries, no worries—did Immortal Ning just mention compensation?”

Gu Bei’s eyes immediately lit up, gleaming with sudden interest.

He cared not a whit for the relationship between the Demonic Maiden Yu and Immortal Ning.

His sole concern was the tangible gleam of cold, hard silver.

“Indeed,” Ning Wanzhuang replied with a faint smile, “I haven’t yet asked Young Master Gu what compensation he desires.”

“Well…” Gu Bei hesitated, truthfully a little afraid to speak his mind.

“Whatever Immortal Ning deems appropriate will suffice.”

“The pursuits of cultivators are invariably limited to a few things; Changxi, can’t you just decide what to give him?”

Yu Qiuqiao remarked with a light chuckle, propping her chin on one hand while idly toying with her teacup.

“Actually, it would be enough if Immortal Ning could forgive my master; as for myself…”

Gu Bei instinctively glanced at Yu Qiuqiao before offering Ning Wanzhuang an embarrassed smile.

“Young Master Gu, what is your courtesy name?” Yu Qiuqiao suddenly inquired.

“To answer Immortal, my courtesy name is Buqi (TL Note: Meaning ‘not a tool’ or ‘not limited to a specific function’), taken by my master from the saying ‘A true gentleman is not a tool’,” Gu Bei replied instantly, though he didn’t quite understand the reason for her question.

“Oh… Gu Buqi… ‘A true gentleman is not a tool,’ a rather pleasant name indeed,” Yu Qiuqiao commented with a slight, downward-gazing smile, before taking a delicate sip of her tea.

Gu Bei felt a peculiar unease.

He couldn’t shake the feeling that the demonic woman’s expression, as she savored her tea, was simultaneously evaluating his name and his courtesy name.

It felt somewhat offensive.

If their genders were swapped, it would be rather off-putting.

“Young Master Gu, you overthink things,” Yu Qiuqiao said, gently setting down her teacup with a smile.

“Rest assured, even if Ning Wanzhuang, Ning Changxi, were willing to give you compensation, this humble maiden would not allow it.

Qiuqiao wouldn’t even feel the slightest bit of embarrassment, you see.”

“Haha, this…” Gu Bei found himself speechless, caught in an awkward silence.

Having his inner thoughts exposed so bluntly, coupled with such impolite and direct offense, left even him at a loss for how to gracefully exit the situation.

Ning Wanzhuang sighed softly, then took over the conversation.

“Wanzhuang never truly held any strong opinions about your master; it was never serious enough to cause genuine anger, merely minor friction.

Everyone knows what kind of person Mu Qingsi is.”

“Immortal Ning may possess a tolerant spirit, but I do not,” Yu Qiuqiao stated blandly.

“To release Mu Qingsi’s disciple completely unharmed and intact already counts as me upholding my promise.”

At that very moment, a flurry of hurried footsteps approached from outside the door, growing steadily louder.

Then, with a resounding crash, the main hall doors were cleaved open by a sword.

“Where is my disciple?!”

Mu Qingsi, having finally arrived, glared at the three people inside the hall and demanded coldly.

Yu Qiuqiao’s expression instantly darkened, while Ning Wanzhuang subtly furrowed her brow.

Gu Bei instinctively rose and bowed in greeting.

“Master…”

Upon seeing Gu Bei completely unharmed, Mu Qingsi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

She took a few quick strides forward, grasped Gu Bei’s hand, and turned to leave.

“Come, let’s go home with your master.”

Gu Bei instinctively glanced back at the two women, each with a different expression.

He licked his lips, yet found himself at a loss for words.

Pulled into a stumble by Mu Qingsi, he followed closely behind his master’s flowing white robes, unable to prevent himself from flashing an ingratiating, apologetic smile at the two women behind him.

Mu Qingsi’s act of directly arriving to take her disciple back, completely disregarding the other two, was undeniably a blatant affront to Yu Qiuqiao’s and Ning Wanzhuang’s dignity, akin to grinding their faces into the dirt.

She hadn’t even offered a single greeting.

“You think you can just come and go as you please? What kind of place do you take Immortal Ning’s residence for?” Yu Qiuqiao’s chilling voice echoed from behind.

Ning Wanzhuang first frowned, casting a quick glance at Yu Qiuqiao, then spoke in a cold tone.

“Not even a single greeting?”

Mu Qingsi paid them no mind, simply pulling Gu Bei along and continuing to walk.

Gu Bei, however, couldn’t persuade his master.

Typically, when nothing significant was amiss, his master would largely defer to his words, but once she adopted her stubborn donkey temperament, there was truly nothing that could be done.

Such was the case now.

Yu Qiuqiao, maintaining a composed, almost divine air, spoke blandly.

“Aren’t you curious what your Gu Buqi has been doing here in Sanchuan?”

Mu Qingsi indeed halted, turning her head slightly to cast a cold glance back.

“I will ask him myself once we return.”

“And what if he refuses to tell you? Just like—that matter you refused to tell him about,” Yu Qiuqiao sneered.

Mu Qingsi froze.

She glanced at Gu Bei, who wore a helpless expression, feeling a sudden surge of awkwardness.

Gu Bei was actually quite used to it.

Since Yu Qiuqiao had also stated it wasn’t a major issue, then it wasn’t a major issue.

It was nothing more than a matter of his origins.

What Gu Bei truly cared about was not his master’s family background or origins.

His concern merely stemmed from the idea that ‘Master is hiding something from me.’

Mu Qingsi’s panic lasted only a fleeting moment.

She pressed her thin lips together, then, with a serious expression, placed both hands on Gu Bei’s shoulders.

“Will you tell your master?”

Gu Bei nodded with a helpless smile.

Mu Qingsi appeared satisfied.

“Oh, in case you weren’t aware, Young Master Gu… if he were to remain in Sanchuan, he would either sleep with Ning Changxi or with me—are you truly not curious?” Yu Qiuqiao’s words caused Ning Wanzhuang’s face to instantly darken.

Mu Qingsi looked at her with a strange expression, puzzled.

“Sleep?”

“How would he sleep? Like when he was a child?”

“Now that he’s grown, he’s unwilling to sleep with me, so are you suggesting he’d be willing to sleep with you?”

Mu Qingsi instinctively reached out to touch Gu Bei’s hair, but finding him a little too tall, she subtly stood on tiptoe.

Yu Qiuqiao was completely flummoxed, the composed expression on her face freezing into a stunned rigidity.

Gu Bei, with a touch of helplessness, slightly lowered his head to make it easier for his master to reach.

This slight bow of his head made Mu Qingsi appear less awkward—at least she didn’t have to stand on tiptoe.

Though she didn’t particularly care whether she had to stand on tiptoe, Mu Qingsi was immensely pleased with her disciple’s current obedience, feeling a great sense of pride.

Even though her facial features maintained their usual cool aloofness, the satisfaction brimming in her eyes was almost overflowing.

“As his master, you have caused your disciple a great deal of unnecessary trouble,” Ning Wanzhuang stated flatly.

“His presence in Sanchuan today is entirely because of you.”

Mu Qingsi frowned.

A hint of bewilderment flickered in her clear, cool eyes as she looked at Gu Bei.

“Is that true?”

“No, she’s talking nonsense,” Gu Bei coaxed his master with a hundred percent certainty in his tone.

Mu Qingsi nodded briefly, then immediately pulled him along and continued to leave.

She had no interest in lingering there any longer.

As he was being pulled away, Gu Bei looked at Ning Wanzhuang with a pleading expression, hoping she would give his master a pass and say no more.

He had also discerned the dynamic among the three: Immortal Ning could precisely dismantle his master’s defenses, his master, in turn, could render Young Lady Yu speechless, and Young Lady Yu possessed the ability to infuriate Immortal Ning half to death.

It was a perfect cycle of mutual restraint and generation.

Ning Wanzhuang, her face shadowed, nodded slightly, grudgingly granting Master Gu some face.

But Yu Qiuqiao was not appeased; Mu Qingsi’s reaction left her deeply frustrated.

She flashed beside Mu Qingsi, her voice sweetly venomous as she gritted her teeth and smiled.

“Your dear disciple’s gaze towards you is far from ordinary; it’s not the usual look a disciple gives their master.

That is love, an emotion entirely different from master-disciple affection, one that goes against all ethical principles!”

Mu Qingsi subtly furrowed her brow, casting a puzzled glance at Yu Qiuqiao before calmly replying.

“The bond between Buqi and me is indeed beyond what ordinary master-disciple relationships can compare to.

Besides—Buqi, do you know that your master loves you?”

Gu Bei opened his mouth, then nodded, both embarrassed and awkward.

“Then, do you love your master?”

Gu Bei could only nod again.

He felt that the ‘love’ Mu Qingsi spoke of was not the same as the ‘love’ Yu Qiuqiao referred to.

However, he did harbor a slight impropriety of thought towards his master, and being asked this question while already feeling guilty only amplified his unease.

Watching the exchange between the master and disciple, Yu Qiuqiao inexplicably felt a sense of satiety.

Gu Bei’s response caused a subtle, satisfied upturn at the corners of Mu Qingsi’s lips, and her slender hand gently stroked Gu Bei’s hair.

Her cool, clear eyes flickered towards Yu Qiuqiao.

Four words were clearly written in her gaze.

—‘Utterly inexplicable.’

Then, disregarding Yu Qiuqiao entirely, she soared into the sky and departed directly.

Leaving behind Young Lady Yu, who was so enraged she felt she might explode.

The magnificent swells of Young Lady Yu’s chest heaved for a long time, and it was quite a while before she finally recovered her composure.

“Immortal Ning, is there nothing to be done?”

Ning Wanzhuang, who had slowly emerged from the hall, replied indifferently.

“Nothing.

It’s not my reputation at stake, after all.”

“Heh, how about we make a wager?”

“A wager on what?”

“Let’s bet on whether Gu Buqi will seek you out first, or me, when he returns.”

“Why would he come looking for either of us?”

“Because a gentleman is not a tool, and something that is not a tool invariably comes with a price,” Yu Qiuqiao said meaningfully.

“Young Lady Yu’s skill at building suspense is rather poor,” Ning Wanzhuang said, shaking her head slightly.

Her exquisite and ornate hair ornament jingled with a delicate, clear sound.

Having spoken, she turned and walked back inside.

“In any case, will you take the bet or not? If he comes to me first, I win; if he seeks Immortal Ning first, then Immortal Ning wins,” Yu Qiuqiao said, offering no further explanation, merely smiling as she gazed at Ning Wanzhuang’s retreating back.

“Very well.

And the stakes?”

“Long ago, Qiuqiao took a liking to Immortal Ning’s Jade Phoenix Emerald Pin.

If Qiuqiao wins, will Immortal Ning part with it and give it to me?”

“Very well.

And if Young Lady Yu loses?”

“What does Immortal Ning desire?”

“Then, if Young Lady Yu would be so kind as to keep Young Master Gu company for a night, as you yourself suggested?”

A hint of mockery appeared on Ning Wanzhuang’s indolent, noble, and devastatingly beautiful face.

Yu Qiuqiao’s beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, and she nodded, speaking clearly.

“Very well, but I fear he might not have the courage.”

“That is not Wanzhuang’s concern,” Ning Wanzhuang said, seeing that the Demonic Maiden Yu was still so easily provoked.

“Young Lady Yu need only attempt to seduce him; if it proves unsuccessful… it would still make for a delightful jest.”

She smiled, then slowly walked back into the room.

“The outcome is not yet decided, so why does Immortal Ning seem to think it’s a foregone conclusion?” Yu Qiuqiao knew full well she had been provoked, but she was not without confidence.

“Young Lady Yu speaks truly; then let us wait and see,” a somewhat languid voice drifted back from Ning Wanzhuang’s receding figure.

“Heh heh, we shall see,” Yu Qiuqiao chuckled softly, then turned and departed.