Liu Buli refused to accept the fact that his disciple was becoming more and more degenerate, so he watched Lu Wuming and Shen Muzhi leave, then returned to his room in despair, and slept until dawn with his pillow.
When he opened his eyes again, it was already the next morning. After getting up and washing, he saw Lu Wuming sitting in the courtyard, playing with several exquisitely crafted jade ornaments in his hand, his eyes almost shining.
With just a glance at the items, Liu Buli's face instantly turned red.
He walked over to Lu Wuming and tapped his head, saying, "What are you doing in broad daylight? Keep playing with these things and I'll confiscate them again!"
Lu Wuming was startled and quickly put the items into his embrace. Then, looking at Liu Buli with some nervousness, he hesitated and asked, "Master, then... when will you try this with Wuming?"
Liu Buli's face turned even redder than before.
After all, these were small trinkets made by Lu Wuming himself. Although he felt a bit embarrassed, he did want to try them. However, saying such words directly was too shameful. So, clearing his throat, Liu Buli put on a stern face and gave a rather serious answer: "We'll discuss this later. Today is the day to register for the martial arts competition, so let's go register together first."
Just like in previous martial arts competitions, there were many people who came to watch and gain experience, but the number of participants was very small. Everyone understood the situation in the cultivation world, and cross-level abuse rarely happened. Therefore, after weighing their own cultivation level, they could roughly decide whether to participate.
Liu Buli was among the top existences in the cultivation world, and for the reputation of the Pill Sect, he naturally had to register. Yun Xiang was eager to participate after hearing the schedule, so Liu Buli indulged her and let her register as well.
Seeing this, Lu Wuming immediately raised his hand and said, "Master, then I want to register too."
Liu Buli's mouth twitched. He knew that Lu Wuming was unhappy that only Yun Xiang was participating. Logically, as the disciple with the highest cultivation in the Pill Sect, he should indeed have the qualification to compete.
So, after a moment of silence, Liu Buli reminded him, "If you promise me you'll only use spiritual arts during the competition, I'll agree to let you register."
Lu Wuming nodded vigorously.
Seeing him like this, Liu Buli couldn't refuse any further. He asked the other members of the Pill Sect, and they all said they would just watch and had no intention of actively participating. Liu Buli was relieved and directly submitted the names of the three people.
After completing the important task, Liu Buli did not return to his room. Instead, he took Lu Wuming to Shen Muzhi's residence again. This time, they were lucky, as he happened to be in the courtyard peeling grapes for You Siqi.
Watching Shen Muzhi peel a grape and feed it to You Siqi with such affection, Liu Buli's eyes began to shine again.
The moment You Siqi felt his gaze, he quickly pushed Shen Muzhi away a bit. Swallowing the grape in his mouth, he said to Liu Buli, "Just say what you need to say, don't stare at me and smile, I'm getting a psychological shadow."
Liu Buli blinked, his face full of innocence.
However, this time he didn't tease You Siqi anymore. He just smiled and said, "There's nothing else, it's about the ghost tribe's surprise attack during this martial arts competition. You should have mentioned it to Shen Muzhi already, right?"
As he asked, seeing no surprise on Shen Muzhi's face, he knew the answer was affirmative.
So, with a smile, Liu Buli openly pulled Lu Wuming to sit down and directly asked, "Do you have any ideas, or have you come up with any good strategies?"
Shen Muzhi smiled, his expression somewhat helpless.
Shaking his head, he said, "After hearing it from Siqi, I've indeed been thinking about this matter. However, I haven't come up with any meaningful conclusions. After all, according to Siqi, the ghost tribe is not something that can be easily reasoned with. Daoist Liu, you probably feel the same way, right?"
Liu Buli nodded in agreement. He said, "The ghost tribe eats people. Wuming is just a special existence. For other ghost tribes, humans are just food. Do you think it's a joke to negotiate with food?"
Shen Muzhi nodded, "Siqi said the same thing. However, since that's the case, I don't think there's any need to consider what to do. It's just a matter of meeting force with force, and water with a dam. In short, this battle is inevitable. The enemy is hidden, and we are exposed. We have no prior conditions. Since that's the case, there's no point in discussing strategies."
Liu Buli laughed, "Then it seems we have the same idea. I'm much more relieved."
"Not only that," Shen Muzhi shook his head and said, "I know what Daoist Liu wants to tell me, which is not to use the techniques learned in the secret realm unless absolutely necessary. Muzhi is not a fool, I understand this principle very well."
Hearing this, Liu Buli finally smiled with satisfaction.
Shen Muzhi poured him a cup of tea. The two looked at each other and then drank it down with satisfaction.
As they talked back and forth, Lu Wuming and You Siqi on the side were like decorations.
Lu Wuming tried very hard to join the conversation but could never find an opportunity to speak.
Instead, You Siqi calmly refilled his tea and seriously explained, "What do dogs and rabbits have to do with the schemes of foxes? Have a cup of tea. This flower tea made by Shen Muzhi himself is quite delicious."
Lu Wuming blinked.
He was quite happy to be called a fox by his master. After all, he had always felt that his master was like a fox spirit in a story, capable of captivating him with just a faint smile.
However, if his master were a fox, she would definitely be a beautiful white fox from the snowy mountains. Pure and immaculate, the most beautiful and perfect existence.
As for Shen Muzhi...
He was not an important existence anyway.
Lu Wuming thought about it and felt that he was not worthy of his master. The dissatisfaction he had felt earlier instantly disappeared.
Drinking the flower tea in his cup, Lu Wuming looked in Liu Buli's direction and said, "Master, we've said what we needed to say. There's no need for us to stay here, right? Let's go back to our residence quickly, we still need to prepare for the martial arts competition."
Liu Buli naturally knew that he said this simply because he didn't want him to continue interacting with Shen Muzhi.
So, with a smile, he indulgently nodded and got up, ready to leave.
As the two walked to the door, Shen Muzhi chuckled from behind and said, "I really hope I'm lucky enough not to be opponents with you in the martial arts competition. I'll be eternally grateful."