Chapter 150: Bullying
Chapter 150: Bullying
Chen Mu was eager to test his strength against Elder Yu, as he had nothing to hide from Yu Jiujiang. However, Yu Jiujiang was already in his twilight years, barely maintaining the circulation of his five viscera. Every time he utilized his essence qi and true energy, he would lose an equivalent amount of qi and blood. It was indeed unsuitable for him to engage in combat, leaving Chen Mu with no choice but to reluctantly suppress his desire to demonstrate his abilities.
In summary, Chen Mu was no longer afraid of ordinary Five Viscera Realm cultivators. However, when it came to the true disciples of the various sects, there might still be some distance to reach their level. After all, these true disciples were carefully selected from among millions in several states, and they were truly exceptional individuals. They enjoyed the vast resources of their great sects, cultivating with various spiritual treasures and tempering their bodies to the limit of one or two realms, or even two or three realms. It was not uncommon for them to surpass ordinary cultivators who had barely entered the Five Viscera Realm.
Moreover, the insights and understandings these true disciples possessed were extraordinary.
Of course.
Once Chen Mu achieved the Jade Bone and entered the Five Viscera Realm, he would also undergo a qualitative transformation that would turn the world upside down.
Chen Mu slowly stood up from the Flame Jade Bed and walked a short distance away. He picked up the Li Huo Tu (Departure Fire Intention) that he had previously flung away, pondering for a moment before extinguishing the lamp and climbing the stairs back to the western chamber on the ground.
Since his clothes had been burned by the flames during his previous enlightenment of the second step of the Li Huo Yi Jing (Departure Fire Intention), Chen Mu returned to the ground floor and called out to the outside, "Ni'er, go and bring me a change of clothes."
However.
Just as he finished giving the instruction, the door was pushed open.
"Brother Mu, are you done with your practice...?"
Although she called him 'Brother Mu', the person at the door was not Wang Ni but a slightly taller girl. She peered into the room with some delight, but her entire body suddenly froze, her small face turning red as she slammed the door shut again. "Ah, yes, sorry, Brother Mu, I wasn't..."
This girl.
Mu wasn't angry; he just shook his head helplessly.
The one who reacted like this couldn't be Xu Hongyu, nor was it Xiao He. It wasn't Chen Yue either. The only person who could casually enter his courtyard besides Xu Hongyu and Chen Yue was Yu Ru.
Yu Ru was not only regarded as a sister by Xu Hongyu but also had a sisterly bond with Chen Yue. After Chen Mu moved to this side, Yu Ru often came to his courtyard with Chen Yue to play. However, most of the time, Chen Mu was practicing martial arts, and he would occasionally chat with Yu Ru.
Speaking of which.
It seemed that the engagement between Chen Mu and Xu Hongyu had no effect on Yu Ru. According to Chen Yue, when Yu Ru heard about the engagement between Chen Mu and Xu Hongyu, her first reaction was one of joy. Xu Hongyu was the sister she revered the most, and Chen Mu was the brother she admired. In her eyes, they were the most perfect match, and now they were becoming family.
Upon learning this, Chen Mu couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle. No wonder Xu Hongyu was so protective of Yu Ru, and no wonder Chen Yue got along so well with her. Yu Ru was like a pure white piece of paper, without any ulterior motives, and anyone would want to protect such an innocent sister.
Soon.
Wang Ni brought a change of clothes and served Chen Mu as he changed inside the room.
However, Yu Ru still seemed a bit flustered, standing by the door with a lingering blush on her small face. When she saw Chen Mu coming out, she couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye. She hesitated and said, "I... I was looking for Yue'er. She wasn't in her courtyard, so I thought she might be here..."
Chen Mu smiled gently and patted Yu Ru's head. "Yue'er isn't here? She probably went to buy medicinal ingredients and will be back soon. You can wait inside for a while."
"Mmm, mmm."
Yu Ru kept her head down, almost burying it in her chest, but she still followed Chen Mu into the main room with small steps.
Seeing the girl's behavior, like an ostrich, Chen Mu found it rather amusing. Xu Hongyu was extremely insensitive to shameful matters. Even if she saw him without clothes or even if they were completely open with each other, she would probably remain as calm and cold as ever.
Yu Ru, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Although it was normal for a girl to be shy, she was already a cultivator at the Muscle Training Realm. Despite this, she had no hint of the aura of a martial artist. Just looking at her timid and embarrassed demeanor, one would never guess that she wasn't a weak woman who couldn't even bind a chicken, but rather a Muscle Training Realm cultivator who could knock the brains out of those thugs and bullies outside with a single punch.
"It's been a while since I asked, how's your martial arts training going?" Chen Mu asked with a smile.
"I... I'm still working on my muscle training. My sword technique is always a bit lacking. I feel like I can almost grasp the sword's intent, but I just can't seem to get it right," Yu Ru replied softly.
"Mmm, sword intent is different from sword technique. It requires a moment of enlightenment, a flash of insight. Some people achieve it after thousands of repetitions, while others have sudden realizations during combat or at the brink of life and death, grasping a hint of profundity," Chen Mu nodded.
Speaking of which.
Chen Yue was also stuck at the same hurdle, unable to surpass the understanding of sword intent.
Despite having martial masters from the Yu Family Martial Arts Academy guiding her and receiving instructions from Chen Mu on multiple occasions, she was still lacking that crucial bit of insight, just like Yu Ru. This left Chen Mu feeling a bit helpless, as he didn't think understanding sword intent should be that difficult.
Just as Chen Mu was pondering this.
Suddenly, he heard Chen Yue's voice coming from the courtyard outside.
"Brother, did Xiao Ru come over?"
Chen Yue then appeared in the main room and immediately saw Chen Mu sitting there with Yu Ru. Her lively eyes swept over Yu Ru's face, noticing the lingering blush, and a hint of suspicion appeared on her face. Her gaze shifted back and forth between Chen Mu and Yu Ru.
Chen Mu noticed Chen Yue's peculiar expression but didn't pay it much mind. Without offering any explanation, he said, "Xiao Ru has probably been waiting for you for a while now."
Chen Yue tilted her head slightly, then walked over to Yu Ru's side. She suddenly blew a breath of warm air onto Yu Ru's neck, causing her to shrink back with a giggle. "Ah, it tickles..."
Yu Ru instinctively reached back to scratch Chen Yue's armpit.
Chen Yue giggled and retreated, asking, "What did you and Brother talk about in the room?"
Yu Ru's face reddened slightly, but she didn't reply. Instead, she got up and started chasing Chen Yue around the room. The two girls ran and played, eventually ending up in Chen Mu's bedroom, where Yu Ru hugged Chen Yue and pinned her to the bed. They started tickling each other, filling the room with peals of girlish laughter.
Watching the girls having fun, Chen Mu couldn't help but smile. He recalled the days when Chen Yue had squeezed into the two small rooms with him, a time that was warm and cozy, but not as joyful as the present. Sometimes, he exerted all his efforts in martial arts and cultivation, not just for himself but also to create a peaceful world for them.
As the girls played in the room, Chen Mu's ears suddenly perked up. He shook his head and chuckled, wondering why everyone had gathered today.
A figure entered the courtyard, wearing only a thin light green skirt despite the cold winter. Her slender, fair arms were exposed, but she didn't seem to feel the chill as she made her way to Chen Mu's room.
About a month ago, Xu Hongyu had successfully crossed the threshold of the Bone Forging Realm and entered the Minor Bone Forging stage. Since then, she had been coming to visit Chen Mu on her own initiative. Having reached this stage, she no longer needed to deliberately cultivate her qi and blood, and her marriage to Chen Mu was set for the following spring.
"Is Little Ru here?" Xu Hongyu asked, a little surprised, looking towards the inner room.
"Ah, Sister Hongyu!" Yu Ru exclaimed, interrupting her play with Chen Yue, who was also a bit disheveled. She quickly stopped their horseplay and straightened her clothes, feeling a bit embarrassed as she stepped out. "Sister Hongyu..."
Chen Yue suddenly hugged Yu Ru's neck from behind, blinking playfully. "Brother, Sister Hongyu, I'm going out to play with Little Ru."
She pulled Yu Ru along, and they left the room.
Yu Ru stole a lingering glance at Chen Mu, her face flushing with a hint of shyness. Then, as if remembering something, she turned away, her face reddening further. She allowed Chen Yue to lead her out of the room.
Xu Hongyu watched Chen Yue and Yu Ru leave, then turned to Chen Mu. In a gentle voice, she said, "Little Ru seems to like you very much."
Chen Mu smiled and suddenly reached out, pulling Xu Hongyu into his embrace and squeezing her beside him. Looking at the jade-like woman, he said, "Wasn't it you who had the idea of giving her to me in the first place?"
Xu Hongyu snuggled up to Chen Mu, blinking at him shyly. "I..."
She stopped mid-sentence, unable to finish her thought.
After a brief pause, she continued, "Little Ru lost her mother when she was very young, and she's not very scheming. I wanted to find someone who wouldn't bully her, someone better than a young and talented man."
Chen Mu looked at Xu Hongyu with curiosity. "Then why did you choose me?"
According to Xu Hongyu's logic, he should have been the latter option.
Xu Hongyu seemed a bit hesitant, but eventually, she turned her head and whispered, "I think you're both young and talented, and you're steady and not a playboy. With me protecting Little Ru, you probably wouldn't dare to bully her..."
"Oh, so that's your plan," Chen Mu said with a hint of amusement.
He found Xu Hongyu's reasoning a bit funny. As he noticed her turning her head away, seemingly reluctant to look at him, he leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "I won't bully Little Ru, but I might bully you instead."
A faint blush crept onto her translucent earlobes.
Chen Mu gently bit her earlobe, his fingers slowly tracing the curves of her body. She made no attempt to resist, allowing him to continue.
...
Half an hour later, Xu Hongyu's elegant eyes blinked innocently a few times.
Chen Mu looked at her with a mixture of amusement and understanding. As he had predicted, the jade-like woman's body was not entirely cold in nature; it was her body's 'coldness' that was the key. Despite her lack of resistance and even her shy attempts to accommodate his 'bullying,' there was still no reaction.
"Am I... a bit abnormal?" Xu Hongyu asked, a rare hint of timidity in her eyes as she looked at Chen Mu.
Chen Mu had never encountered such a truly pure and jade-like body type before. He didn't have many thoughts about it, knowing that only the women in this world would worry about whether they could bear children for their partners.
Noticing the slight timidity on Xu Hongyu's elegant face, Chen Mu's expression softened as he gently pinched her cheeks. "It's no big deal. Don't overthink it. At most, you'll recover as usual once you comprehend the Water Hexagram Intention."
Xu Hongyu cultivated the Water Hexagram Intention, and it seemed like fate had guided her. If she had been practicing the Heavenly Sword Sect's 'Heartless Sword Intention' or something similar, she might have truly become a 'Heartless Jade Sword.' In contrast, the Water Hexagram Intention was one of the Eight Trigrams that governed life, and even an Ice Jade Body could be transformed.
Seeing Chen Mu's gentle expression, Xu Hongyu's apprehension faded, replaced by a warm current flowing through her entire body. She looked into Chen Mu's elegant eyes, and waves seemed to ripple within them, as if they were about to overflow with tears. Suddenly, she leaned in closer.
"I saw some other things in those spring palace paintings..."
(End of Chapter)
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