Regardless of what happened on Shen Muzhi's side, after Lu Wuming returned to their residence with Liu Buli, he closed the door and pushed Liu Buli against it.
Sensing the unconcealed pressure emanating from Lu Wuming, Liu Buli tugged at the corner of his mouth, revealing a somewhat awkward smile. He asked softly, "Wuming, what are you doing? Didn't you tacitly agree when Master was talking to You Siqi just now? I didn't even look at Shen Muzhi too much. You can't be throwing a tantrum with me again, can you?"
Liu Buli knew that Lu Wuming regarded Shen Muzhi as a rival for affection, so he had deliberately kept his distance from Shen Muzhi when they met today. But judging by Lu Wuming's current state, his efforts seemed to have had little effect.
Blinking, Liu Buli, seeing no response for a long time, tentatively called out again, "Wuming?"
"Master," Lu Wuming finally responded this time. He lowered his gaze to look at Liu Buli and asked, "Wuming knows that Master dislikes Shen Muzhi. So, whether you get close to him or stay away from him, I don't care. It's just that the books Master took out for him today, why have I never seen them before? You said they could easily affect your relationship, but you confiscated Wuming's red silk and wouldn't let Wuming see the new books. What are you trying to do?"
Every word hit the mark.
Liu Buli's mouth twitched violently. He explained earnestly, "Wuming, listen to me. Those books were indeed bought when I came down the mountain. I originally intended to learn from them, but I found the content unsuitable for study. If I threw them away, it would be a waste. Keeping them myself wouldn't do any good. So, after much thought, I did them a favor and gave them to Shen Muzhi."
He thought his explanation was perfectly adequate.
However, Lu Wuming's expression remained unchanged.
Even the light in his eyes indicated that he would absolutely not give up before seeing the books today.
Liu Buli scratched his hair, his expression extremely troubled.
He didn't want to either.
But he hadn't expected ancient times to be so open!
However, thinking of Shen Muzhi's various tactics with his dozen or so confidantes, Liu Buli felt he might have underestimated this world. But when he bought the books, he genuinely hadn't expected that in such a resource-scarce era, there would be so many magical items. Was this a joke?
He absolutely did not want those things to be used on him.
However, if they were used on You Siqi, he would be quite pleased to see it.
With this thought, Liu Buli's mind wandered again.
The consequence was that his lips were directly kissed, and the next second, his mouth hurt – Lu Wuming had bitten him.
He hadn't broken the skin, but the stinging sensation was enough to bring him back to his senses.
Seeing Liu Buli's wronged expression, Lu Wuming smiled and said, "Master, it seems the books really contain good things. Otherwise, how could you think of other things when Wuming is right beside you?"
Liu Buli blinked, swallowed, and then earnestly explained, "Wuming, listen to me, I..."
The rest of his words were not spoken, nor did they need to be.
Lu Wuming directly untied his belt, tied it around Liu Buli's mouth, then embraced him and walked towards the double bed in the room.
The night was long, and Liu Buli felt a terrible headache.
In the last second before his consciousness faded, he was still seriously pondering why his young disciple was so keen on bondage. He could confiscate the silks, but he couldn't even stop him from using a belt, could he?
This was something he had to discuss properly with Lu Wuming.
But that was assuming he could even wake up tomorrow...
As his consciousness sank, Liu Buli completely lost the ability to think.
When he vaguely opened his eyes the next afternoon, he found that Lu Wuming was not by his side. Instead, from the courtyard outside the room, came bursts of low conversation.
The voices were all familiar to him, so Liu Buli didn't pay much attention to his appearance.
Casually grabbing a jacket and throwing it on, he went out and saw Lu Wuming standing in the courtyard, with Shen Muzhi, whom he had met yesterday, in front of him.
The two seemed to be discussing something important, and Shen Muzhi solemnly placed a book in Lu Wuming's hand.
The moment he saw the book, Liu Buli's expression crumbled.
His eyes widened, and he said, "Physician Shen, these are things I gave to you. How can there be a reason to return them?"
"What is borrowed must be returned, and then it's easier to borrow again," Shen Muzhi smiled and said. "This is also Siqi's idea. He asked me to bring the items back to you. We can't let him try alone."
With that said, Shen Muzhi looked towards Lu Wuming again. He said, "The martial arts tournament will still be going on for some time. I've copied the contents of this book. I plan to make some of the necessary tools in the next few days. If you need anything, I can make a copy for you too. Then..."
"No," Lu Wuming interrupted. "If it's something Master needs, I'll go with you. You can teach me. I learn quickly. You don't need to do it for me."
Shen Muzhi immediately nodded with a smile. "That would be excellent. How about Brother Lu takes a look now, and we go and try it tonight? Siqi is in a bad mood now and won't let me into the room. Since there's nothing else to do, I thought we shouldn't delay. It would be too wasteful if it's too late to use it then."
Lu Wuming immediately nodded in agreement.
He quickly flipped through the book in his hand, his concentration even more intense than when he usually practiced cultivation.
Liu Buli watched from the side, dumbfounded.
He used to think he was shameless enough. But now he realized that if there were levels, he was merely a beginner.
What were these two doing?
In broad daylight, they were discussing how to arrange to make props together?
Were they truly shameless?
And the matters they would encounter in this martial arts tournament, even the existence of the tournament itself, were all no longer important?