Feng Shui Chapter 134: No Refusal

After escaping, Tang Ru finally relaxed a little, but her brows remained tightly furrowed. She whispered, “Enough with the act, right? Can you let go now?”

Despite being saved by this man who was clearly no good, she couldn’t bring herself to like him. Her guard stayed up. What bothered her most was having to accept him, at least in name, as her “father.” They had to convincingly pretend a close father-daughter bond to leave safely, otherwise, if the cat beast sensed she didn’t accept him, it might just snatch her back.

Li Muye didn’t move his lips but transmitted his voice directly to Tang Ru’s mind: “That big cat is still watching your back reluctantly. If you don’t want it to follow us out of the mountains, you’d better not make any unnecessary moves.”

Tang Ru’s spine stiffened, and her small hand could only stay in his grasp.

Li Muye seemed amused. He curved a faint smile and again transmitted: “Short-statured people have a natural advantage over cat beasts. Want to learn my beast-taming techniques? No need to formally apprentice, just pick up the basics, and I guarantee you’ll get yourself a cat beast as a companion.”

Tang Ru whirled around, glaring at him with eyes full of shock and anger, her voice barely escaping her clenched teeth: “You talk about how treacherous the people from the Central Region are, but you’re no better. This isn’t taming a beast at all, it’s just abusing the cat beast’s natural instincts.”

Li Muye raised an eyebrow, as if silently saying, “I didn’t expect you to be this smart.” Tang Ru turned her head away, feeling only disgust. She whispered, “Cat beasts live wild and free in the mountains. Using their instincts, things they can’t control or stop, to control and enslave them, don’t you find that shameful?”

Li Muye smiled coldly and said cruelly, “Everything in time and nature has its reason. This is the cat beast’s nature, and also its flaw. When a small-statured person who looks like a child drives the cat beast, it can always enjoy being able to care for its young. You’re not a cat beast, how do you know it’s unhappy?”

Tang Ru snorted coldly. “Same goes for you. You’re not a cat beast either, how do you know it’s happy? Cat beasts aren’t fools. They’ll find out the truth sooner or later, and when that day comes, they will definitely turn on you.”

Li Muye’s eyes, a piercing blue, glinted colder in the sunlight. “That’s why you need to truly learn how to tame beasts. Genuine mastery is the safest way. Whether the cat beast likes it or not is not my concern. If the cat beast really resents being caught by exploiting its nature, it will learn from the loss and change this behavior. That’s how it aligns with the natural order.”

Tang Ru felt they were not of the same mind at all. Walking alongside someone like this made her feel ashamed just for sharing his thoughts.

Passing through the White Spirit Fruit Forest and nearing Chen Xiao’s camp, the air between them was cold and silent. Tang Ru kept her mouth shut, refusing to speak another word to him.

“Arou!” Tong Nuonuo’s sharp eyes spotted her first. He immediately ran over, looking her up and down, noticing how thinly she was dressed and quickly pulled off a piece of clothing to drape over her shoulders. “Your storage pouch is with Chen Xiao. Put on mine first, then swap later.”

Tang Ru smiled gratefully at him. “Nuonuo, thank you both for rescuing me.”

Li Muye snorted from the side. Tong Nuonuo immediately bristled like an animal facing its natural enemy. He glared at Li Muye fiercely and said sharply, “Master Li, you saved Arou, and I acknowledge that favor. This time I’ll let you go. But for all the companions you killed on the training team, I swear I will kill you to avenge them! Remember this, your head will be taken by my own hand one day.”

Tong Nuonuo spoke with such seriousness that he didn’t even consider how inappropriate it was for a Foundation Establishment-level Mechanist to threaten a perfect Golden Core Beast Tamer like Li Muye. But he would grow stronger, become a Mechanist Master, even a Mechanist Grandmaster. By then, Li Muye wouldn’t stand a chance.

Li Muye was unfazed by the challenge thrown right in his face. Instead, he found it amusing and glanced at Tong Nuonuo with playful intent. “Alright, I’ll be waiting.” When you commit to something, you can’t be afraid of your enemies coming after you. He still remembered the odd stories about Tong Nuonuo in the team, he couldn’t even find his way back when he got up at night. He was curious how Tong Nuonuo would try to take revenge in the future.

Just then Chen Xiao and Xi Yunqing arrived. Li Muye nodded to Xi Yunqing. “Remember our exchange. I believe your integrity will guarantee you keep your end of the deal.”

Xi Yunqing replied coldly, “Naturally.”

Li Muye sensed the cold reception from everyone present but didn’t care. He said, “Farewell." and disappeared quietly into the woods.

After Tang Ru returned, Shen Yongqing immediately ordered the camp to be broken. The group dared not linger on the cat beast’s territory and pressed on for a full day’s march before stopping to rest.

Chen Xiao boiled a large pot of hot water on Tong Nuonuo’s stove so Tang Ru could wash up and change into clean clothes. After eating a hearty warm meal, Tang Ru found a quiet spot to meditate and recover. Her foundation had been injured, and restoring her true energy was slow. Her dantian also needed time to heal.

The road wasn’t good for healing, so Tong Nuonuo handed the mechanical box to Chen Xiao to carry, and himself took Tang Ru on his back. The group moved quickly, eager to get out of the mountains.

Thankfully, the weather cooperated. Though the snow was deep and the roads rough, no more snowfall came. They made smooth progress out of the mountains and back to Jin City.

Shen Yongqing held the pressure on the evil cultivators until they all gathered. After a brief stop in Jin City to regroup, he immediately led the team back to the capital. This time, they nearly wiped out the entire group of evil cultivators and rescued seventy or eighty children. For the new regime, it was an extremely positive event with a huge impact. The royal court was eagerly awaiting their return to carry out a public trial and establish their authority.

Chen Xiao and the others returned exhausted to the rented mansion, where Shen Yanxing surprisingly came out to greet them. Although Chen Xiao hadn’t formally accepted him as a disciple, their master-disciple relationship was undeniable. In this world, such ties were sometimes even stronger than those of blood relatives. Within the mansion, Shen Yanxing was treated almost like the young master. After the reinforcements from the capital arrived, Shen Yanxing didn’t go anywhere but stayed here. He turned down invitations from Hu Qingyun, the new city lord, and other prominent families in Jin City, choosing instead to focus on his studies, patiently waiting for Chen Xiao’s return.

“Master." Shen Yanxing greeted Chen Xiao with joy, performing a formal disciple’s bow. “I am very happy for your safe return. Your senior brothers have prepared food and hot baths, after you eat and wash up, you can rest immediately.”

Chen Xiao smiled. “Luckily you were here. You saved me a lot of trouble.”

Shen Yanxing bowed modestly. “I’m happy to serve whenever needed. I don’t dare take credit.”

Unlike Chen Xiao’s previous disciples, who were more formal than sincere, Shen Yanxing genuinely respected and cared for him as a senior. Because of him, the mansion ran smoothly and everything was ready to welcome the weary travelers.

The four of them ate and bathed comfortably, then rested in their own rooms.

The next morning, the weather was good. Chen Xiao got up, ignoring the cold outside, and dressed lightly in his thin training clothes before heading to the nearest training ground.

After warming up and stretching, he began his footwork exercises in an orderly fashion. During this recent crisis, his movement skills had improved, and Chen Xiao wanted to seize this opportunity to raise his external combat abilities.

He followed the steps taught by Xi Yunqing: graceful, elusive movements with unpredictable trajectories. This style demanded a lot from the waist and legs, with rapid changes in speed and direction. It was only because Xi Yunqing had laid a solid foundation that Chen Xiao avoided injuring himself from improper moves.

Because Chen Xiao relied on talismans and needed considerable distance to release his energy attacks, Xi Yunqing’s lessons focused on evasive maneuvers. This way, Chen Xiao could dodge more easily in combat, avoid injury, and find chances to keep enemies at bay.

However, after being chased by a venomous snake, Chen Xiao realized that simply dodging wasn’t enough, he also needed to practice close combat.

After an hour of footwork training, Chen Xiao felt he had barely met his goal. But without a teacher’s guidance, progress was slow.

Finishing his practice, Chen Xiao returned to his room, showered, and changed into casual clothes. He then walked along a garden path through the courtyard to the main house on the east side.

The large courtyard gate stood wide open, with a servant sweeping near the entrance. When Chen Xiao appeared, the servant quickly bowed. Chen Xiao stopped him, thinking it was too harsh to make someone kneel on the cold ground. Still, in this world, strict social hierarchies and etiquette were deeply ingrained. Chen Xiao couldn’t change that, so the best he could do was politely say “No need to bow” before the servant began.

“Have you seen my brother go out?” Chen Xiao asked.

The servant kept his head lowered. “I’ve been cleaning here all morning. I haven’t seen the master leave.”

Like Xi Yunqing, Brother Chen Xiaosliked having servants constantly around. Both men kept only one person for cleaning and chores. Since the servant hadn’t seen him leave, that meant Xi Yunqing had not gone out.

Chen Xiao found this odd. Normally, Xi Yunqing would finish his morning training and come find him for breakfast. Since he wasn’t here at the usual time, Chen Xiao thought he might have gone out on other business.

Chen Xiao entered without announcing himself and knocked on the door. “Brother, may I come in?”

After a moment, Xi Yunqing replied, “Come in, Xiao.”

Chen Xiao opened the door and saw Xi Yunqing step out. He looked surprised. “Were you meditating just now? Did I disturb you?”

Xi Yunqing replied calmly, “Nothing important.”

Though he said it was nothing, a slight frown appeared between his brows. Chen Xiao noticed the faint trace of sadness. Seeing such a clear emotion on Xi Yunqing’s face surprised him. But when it came to things Xi Yunqing didn’t want to talk about, even if Chen Xiao asked, there was no way to find out. So, for now, he made a mental note to quietly keep an eye on him.

Chen Xiao smiled. “Usually you come find me, so today I’ll take the initiative. How about just the two of us go get breakfast in town? No Nuonuo or Arou this time. Just us. What do you say?”

At this, Xi Yunqing’s gaze softened, and the faint sorrow in his eyes faded. He nodded gently. “Xiao, when you invite, I can never say no.”