Chapter 252- The Black-Bellied Demon Cultivator’s Senior Brother VS The Righteous Young Junior Brother (17)
When Ning Yizhou returned to his courtyard, he saw the scene before him: the little guy he had promised fruit to was indeed using spiritual energy to nurture fruit trees. Seeing this, his mood, which had been soured by his encounter with Hu Qi, seemed to brighten instantly.
Indeed, this little fellow was something special. Just seeing Mu Jin made Ning Yizhou’s mood naturally improve. Perhaps Mu Jin himself had a magical charm.
A few days later, the fruit had quickly matured. As promised, Mu Jin had grown a variety of fruits, but he only selected two high-yield, common types to give to the senior brothers and sisters of Chuanyun Peak, each receiving one.
His own master received two of each type. Due to his thick-skinned nature, Mao Kun managed to get another rare type from Mu Jin. After choosing the citrus fruit for Uncle Li, Mu Jin naturally gave the rest of the fruit to Ning Yizhou.
Mao Kun looked at the several baskets of fruit in front of Ning Yizhou and the pitiful three spirit fruits in his own hands. He gazed longingly at Ning Yizhou, hoping to get a share.
To Mao Kun’s surprise, Ning Yizhou, in an act of ruthless generosity, swept all the fruit into his own Qiankun Bag right in front of Mao Kun. He then affectionately patted Mu Jin’s head, expressing his great pleasure. It was evident that seeing the little fellow’s happy, bright eyes made him very content.
Thus, Ning Yizhou happily accepted all the remaining fruit, completely ignoring Mao Kun’s envious, resentful gaze.
Of course, he didn’t keep all the fruit for himself. Whenever Mu Jin was around, he would share the fruit with him. They would each enjoy their share, continuing to inadvertently give Mao Kun a taste of their “dog food1“ as he suffered through their unintentional displays of affection.
The next day, Mu Jin took the portion of fruit meant for Uncle Li, said goodbye to Ning Yizhou, and left. On his way down the mountain, he happened to run into the male lead, Mu Shaoyuan.
Mu Jin wasn’t worried about Mu Shaoyuan, even though he didn’t know what task he had been sent on from his main peak, as the other seemed to be in good condition.
Over the past year, Mu Jin and the male lead had not been completely out of touch. Although they may not have been cultivating in the same place, they had developed a friendship. Especially after several interactions, the male lead found Mu Jin to be a righteous and trustworthy person.
Mu Shaoyuan appreciated Mu Jin’s straightforwardness. While some might find it too blunt, he found such interactions relaxing and enjoyable. Mu Jin’s directness was not without regard for others’ feelings; he would choose silence or clumsily comfort someone when he couldn’t express himself directly. This made Mu Shaoyuan see Mu Jin as pure and kind.
After a brief chat, Mu Jin took out two oranges from the basket of fruit for Uncle Li and handed them to Mu Shaoyuan before turning to leave.
As Mu Shaoyuan watched Mu Jin’s retreating figure, he recalled that Mu Jin had also given him oranges the first time they met and couldn’t help but smile.
Thinking about Ning Yizhou, who was so admired and revered by Mu Jin, Mu Shaoyuan suddenly felt envious. He wondered what luck Ning Yizhou must have had to win Mu Jin’s favor.
After giving the oranges to Uncle Li, Mu Jin went into the forest as usual. Although System 003 often malfunctioned, he still relied on his immense spiritual sense to discreetly keep track of his partner’s movements after leaving.
As expected, Ning Yizhou had secretly followed him. This was likely related to Mu Jin’s mention of wanting to visit some old friends before leaving.
Ning Yizhou was now somewhat confused about his own feelings. Although it might seem to others that Mu Jin was very admiring of him and followed him at every opportunity, Ning Yizhou himself knew that he was the one who enjoyed having Mu Jin’s company the most.
Whenever he couldn’t see Mu Jin, Ning Yizhou felt as though something was missing from his surroundings. He even found himself restless all day, as he had clearly grown accustomed to having Mu Jin by his side.
Especially today, when Mu Jin mentioned going to see a friend and the sparkle in his eyes made Ning Yizhou feel a pang of discomfort. He was annoyed, wondering who Mu Jin was going to see. He couldn’t bring himself to ask, so he subconsciously followed Mu Jin out of the sect.
At first, when he saw Mu Shaoyuan, Ning Yizhou thought he might be meeting Mu Jin. This made him quite anxious. Fortunately, they only exchanged a few pleasantries before parting ways.
When he saw Mu Jin heading towards the forest after delivering the big oranges, Ning Yizhou’s eyes flashed and his heartbeat quickened uncontrollably. He wondered if his little junior brother was planning to visit him.
Secretly observing Mu Jin’s direction, Ning Yizhou realized that he was heading towards the cave where he used to bask in the sun in his true form. This made him feel quite pleased.
Hurrying ahead of Mu Jin, he transformed into his true form and lay lazily in front of the stone bench, pretending to bask in the sun. Only the swishing of his tail betrayed his inner excitement.
When Mu Jin arrived at the cave, seeing Ning Yizhou’s delighted expression and the freshly hunted prey in his hands confirmed Ning Yizhou’s suspicions, making him even more pleased.
Now that Mu Jin had reached Foundation Establishment, even a spiritually awakened beast like Ning Yizhou was relatively easy to subdue. Other cultivators wouldn’t be particularly afraid of an ordinary tiger, even one of a considerable size.
However, those who were perceptive would recognize the natural pressure emanating from this tiger, indicating that it was not an easy opponent.
Mu Jin, holding a freshly hunted sheep, cheerfully waved at the white tiger and proceeded, as usual, to the water’s edge to process the sheep. He then set up a fire and started grilling it.
Seeing this, the white tiger also stood up and, in a leisurely manner, walked to Mu Jin’s side and lay down next to the fire, patiently waiting for the special meal being prepared just for him.
While grilling the sheep, Mu Jin chatted with the white tiger, expressing his gratitude for the fruit given to him earlier. He now recognized that the fruit was a medium-grade spiritual fruit.
When Mu Jin visited this time, he also selected some rare fruits he had previously saved and placed them in front of the white tiger, saying, “Brother White Tiger, these fruits were cultivated by me using spiritual energy. Give them a try. The quantity is limited, so I can only give you these. The rest I need to save for Senior Brother Ning.”
The white tiger, upon hearing Mu Jin’s words, displayed a hint of a smile and did not hesitate to devour all the fruits Mu Jin had offered. While munching contentedly, he listened to Mu Jin talk.
As Mu Jin’s conversation mostly revolved around Ning Yizhou, Ning Yizhou felt an indescribable mix of emotions.
Lost in thought, he felt a pat on his shoulder and turned to see Mu Jin looking at him with anticipation, asking, “Brother White Tiger, do you think I will ever catch up to Senior Brother Ning in the future? I don’t seek to stand side by side with him; I just hope to always have the chance to stand by his side.”
Seeing the determination in Mu Jin’s eyes, Ning Yizhou felt his heart skip a beat. However, as he was just a mountain spirit beast, he could not offer any response and could only stare blankly.
It was clear that Mu Jin did not really expect an answer from him; he simply needed someone to confide in. After sharing many thoughts and enjoying the delicious roasted whole lamb together, Mu Jin left.
Before leaving, the white tiger was surprised when the little fellow boldly came over and gave him a hug.
The white tiger’s true form was enormous, and when standing upright, its height surpassed Mu Jin’s chin. Thus, when Mu Jin hugged the tiger, he could feel his face buried in the long fur on the tiger’s neck.
Note :
- “Dog food” is a slang term used to describe public displays of affection (PDA) between couples that can make others feel envious or annoyed. ↩︎