Three days later, in the courtyard of the Dan Sect's sect leader.
Lu Wuming faced the two people before him with a grim expression, his killing intent radiating outwards. He was on the verge of losing control.
You Siqi was terrified by him, tears welling up in his eyes. Shen Muzhi, however, remained calm. He reached out and put an arm around You Siqi's shoulders, smiling as he said, "Siqi, don't be afraid. I'll protect you."
"You stay away from me too!" You Siqi was about to go mad.
Shen Muzhi chuckled and shook his head, showing no intention of changing his posture.
He enjoyed seeing You Siqi at his wit's end with fear, yet unable to refuse him. Although he had seen it many times over the past few days, upon reflection, he still felt it wasn't quite enough.
So, he was actually such a wicked person?
Shen Muzhi smiled. He found it rather good.
Liu Buli glanced at the state of the two, pursed his lips, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. Then, he patted Lu Wuming beside him and said, "Physician Shen is here to deliver the medicinal formulas to me. He promised them to me, and they are indeed good things. So, don't be so hostile towards him; it's not good to scare them."
Lu Wuming pouted and turned his head away from the two.
Shen Muzhi's lips curved again. He took out a stack of papers from his Qiankun bag and placed them on the table before Liu Buli.
This was something they had agreed upon earlier, and Liu Buli naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony with him. He picked up the stack of papers and, after flipping through them for a while, his eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"We agreed that you would only give me the formula for 'Withered Bones Rejuvenated.' Physician Shen, what you've given me here seems to be all the formulas from the Medicine Master Valley, isn't it?" Liu Buli asked.
Shen Muzhi maintained his smiling demeanor and nodded. He said, "It's not that exaggerated. I assumed Daoist Liu would know some of the simpler formulas himself, so I didn't bother with the obvious. The rest are the essences learned by the past valley masters. I felt that Daoist Liu has helped us so much that just one formula for 'Withered Bones Rejuvenated' was insufficient to express my gratitude. So, I brought them all. Please, Daoist Liu, don't be polite."
Liu Buli certainly wouldn't be polite.
These were indeed good things. Since Shen Muzhi was generous enough to give them all to him, he would naturally accept them with pleasure.
He neatly put all the formulas into his embrace. Liu Buli's eyes darted around, and then he smiled. He said, "Besides giving me these, you must have other matters to discuss with me, right? We're old acquaintances, so don't be so reserved."
Shen Muzhi shook his head.
It was You Siqi who spoke up instead, "Um... I just wanted to ask, if I wanted to stay in the Dan Sect for a while longer..."
Before he could finish, Lu Wuming, who had just looked away, immediately turned back.
Fierceness blazed in his eyes.
He was like a lion guarding its territory.
You Siqi trembled all over and immediately changed his tune, "Pretend I said nothing. Don't look at me like that, please."
Lu Wuming snorted and remained silent.
Shen Muzhi, however, smiled even more happily.
He reached out and put his arm around You Siqi's shoulders, saying, "Siqi, I told you it would be even more dangerous for you to stay here, didn't I? Now you know, right?"
You Siqi was too distressed to even reply.
Liu Buli narrowed his eyes, as if he had grasped something crucial. He said, "Your relationship seems to be different from before."
"Isn't that because you infected us?" You Siqi's anger flared up at the mention of it. He said, "Shen Muzhi was such a straight kid! It's all because you talk too much, now he's not so straight anymore!"
Liu Buli immediately raised an eyebrow and drew out his "Oh." The flames of gossip in his eyes burned even brighter. He asked excitedly, "How far have you gotten? Tell me quickly, I'm so curious!"
Shen Muzhi smiled helplessly. "That might disappoint you. I only kissed him once, and he was so scared he didn't want to stay in the Medicine Master Valley anymore."
As he said this, he unconsciously touched his lips.
The sensation from that moment still seemed to linger, and the soft feeling was far better than he had imagined. It was like poison; a moment of recollection made him want to try again.
The light in Shen Muzhi's eyes grew darker.
He felt as if he was on the verge of grasping the things he envied and was jealous of in Liu Buli.
But he hadn't expected that his emotions would be the most terrifying thing for You Siqi. You Siqi was so scared that he shifted away. He was now seriously considering whether he should find a new partner.
Seeing them like this, Liu Buli couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head. He said, "You Siqi, do you find Shen Muzhi very annoying?"
"Of course not," You Siqi replied quickly.
Liu Buli continued, "Then does him kissing you make you feel disgusted?"
You Siqi paused. This time, he thought for a moment and shook his head again. "...Not really."
Liu Buli said, "Since that's the case, why don't you give it a try with him? You're going home anyway. Once you leave this world, no one will know you were ever with a man. When you get there, you can continue to marry and have children. Perhaps this experience could even be good material for your novels later on?"
You Siqi's eyes widened, and he immediately retorted, "You're too much of a scumbag!"
"But I'm not the scumbag," Liu Buli laughed. "After all, I'm not going back; you are. You have no friends or family here. If you don't stay by Shen Muzhi's side, you'll be in danger yourself. So, just go along with him. Isn't it good to consider it as payment for him? Anyway, as long as Shen Muzhi agrees, isn't this kind of thing simple?"