Master, don't tease me, you can't handle three of them.

"Master, may I have another kiss?"

Xiao Jingshu leaned forward slightly, looked at Jingran's bright red ear tips, and earnestly pleaded.

Before Jingran could answer, Xiao Jingshu was forcibly recalled by Jingshu.

When the Nascent Soul saw that Xiao Jingshu had returned, the jealousy in its eyes almost materialized.

"You! All you did was cry?! How could Master kiss you?!"

He was called a demon before, but he never received this treatment!

"Hehe..." Xiao Jingshu chuckled twice, showing no trace of his previous sobbing.

Master kissed him! Master must like him!

"Aran..." Jing Shu, having regained control of his body, looked at Jing Ran, who was pretending to be busy with her head down, and called out softly.

Upon hearing this, Jing Ran slowly raised her head. This tone belonged to Jing Shu.

The fox demon features on Jing Shu's body had disappeared, but because his body was slightly forward and his collar was open, Jing Ran could see everything clearly now.

Jing Ran's gaze seemed to be drawn in, uncontrollably fixed on Jing Shu's chest.

(................)

"Aran?" Jing Shu called Jing Ran again, finally bringing Jing Ran back to her senses.

"What is Aran thinking about?" Jing Shu asked, seemingly puzzled.

"N-nothing," Jing Ran suddenly raised her head and looked at Jing Shu's face.

"Jing Shu, you... you've changed back?" Jing Ran hesitated, carefully choosing her words before speaking.

"Hmm." Jing Shu nodded slightly and put his inner shirt back on.

If he continues to expose himself, not only will the effect be less effective, but Master might also discover that Xiao Jingshu did it on purpose.

“What I felt just now wasn’t my inner demon,” Jing Shu explained. “Six years ago, I went on a mission outside the sect for the first time. By chance, a fox demon placed her demon core into my body before she died. For some reason, the demon core wasn’t absorbed; instead, it remained in my body.”

"Not only that, a part of my divine consciousness entered the demon core, causing the demon core to give birth to another consciousness of mine. It is also me, but it is immature and childish."

Jingran nodded. This explained why Jingshu had said he wasn't a demon, yet he was so different from his usual self.

It turns out he was essentially Jing Shu in his childhood. But Jing Shu was such a crybaby back then...

Thinking of this, Jingran looked at Jingshu with a hint of a smile in her eyes, "Then, is he still crying now?"

"No." Jing Shu shook his head helplessly. Not only did he stop crying, but he also smiled in a way that made the Nascent Soul cultivator want to punch him.

“Ran, I didn’t cry as much as he did when I was little. Besides, Ran kissed him, how could he possibly cry anymore?” Jing Shu said with a hint of jealousy.

Xiao Jingshu not only stopped crying, but her mouth was practically stretched to her ears with a big smile!

Although he wasn't as furious as a Nascent Soul cultivator, he still got jealous. His master hadn't even kissed him yet...

"Um, there seems to be a group of people waiting for you outside. Since everything's alright now, why don't you get dressed and go find them?"

Jing Ran coughed lightly, avoiding the topic, and raised his hand to remove the barrier—he had set up the barrier as soon as he heard the noise outside, intending to continue sleeping, but who would have thought that these things would happen.

Fortunately, a barrier was set up; otherwise, if Jing Shu had made such a fuss, it would have probably attracted people over.

"Okay." Jing Shu couldn't bear to make things difficult for Jing Ran, so he got out of bed and put on his clothes as instructed. He also gave himself a cleaning spell while he was at it—Jing Shu's face was covered in tear stains from crying, and he couldn't show his face to anyone without washing.

After dressing properly, Jing Shu took out a brand-new set of Buddhist robes from his storage ring and placed it by the bedside.

“I know Aran dislikes that her clothes are dirty. Aran, wear these for now. When we get back, I will have someone make new robes for Aran.”

Jingran watched as Jing Shu put down the clothes and left the room. A warm feeling welled up in her heart. Although he had complained about the clothes being dirty yesterday, he hadn't shown it very obviously. Besides, after learning her true identity from Jing Shu, he had completely forgotten about it.

However, someone remembered this feeling for him, and it felt good...

When Jing Shu opened the door, the people sitting scattered in the courtyard all looked over.

"Is this the second disciple of Immortal Venerable Hanluo, the cultivator with the Light Spirit Root?"

"He was able to kill the Soul-Devouring Beast single-handedly; he was very strong!"

"Don't cultivators with the Light Spirit Root only practice healing spells? Could it be that they were taught by Immortal Venerable Hanluo?"

Jing Shu calmly accepted the curious gazes of the crowd, walked out, and closed the door behind him.

"Brother!" Jingyou waved to Jingshu, signaling him to come over.

But Jingyou's eyes burned with undisguised gossip; his brother was indeed in Hanluo Immortal Venerable's room! Why are his brother's eyes so red? Did he cry?

Jingyou looked at Jingshu's slightly red eyes with some worry. Could it be that Immortal Venerable Hanluo found out that his brother had been lying to him all along, and then scolded his brother until he cried?

He had never seen his brother cry before... Wait! His brother had cried, the youngest brother had cried!

His older brother has been in seclusion for over a year, and he's finally finally decided to come out?!

Jingyou's thoughts were completely elsewhere, and he didn't even notice that Jingshu had already walked up to him.

Jing Shu could tell at a glance what Jing You was thinking about again, so he simply and decisively gave him a whack on the head.

"Ah—" Jingyou screamed in agony, clutching his head.

Those outside the pavilion gasped in surprise, never expecting that someone who seemed so gentle and refined would be so ruthless when it came to beating his younger brother.

Xue Niang did notice that Jing Shu's eyes were slightly red, but she didn't know that the room Jing Shu came out of belonged to Jing Ran. She just assumed that Jing Shu hadn't rested well.

Jing Shu ignored Jing You's mournful gaze and spoke to Xue Niang and a stranger.

"What brings you here so early?"

"Fellow Daoist Jing has done my Lingxi Sect a great favor this time, and we have come to express our gratitude." The elder said, taking out a storage ring.

Jing Shu didn't accept it, but just looked at Xue Niang.

Xue Niang couldn't help but laugh, "I already told you, he just wants the wine I brewed, but he just wouldn't believe me! But Fellow Daoist Jing Shu, you should keep it. I will definitely brew the wine you want properly for you. Once the wine is ready, I will send someone directly to Yun Zang Sect. There will be enough for you."

Jing Shu then accepted the storage ring and said frankly to them, "No need to be polite, I also received some benefits."

Jing Shu didn't have any of the noble awareness that "protecting all living beings is the inescapable responsibility of righteous cultivators."

He does things solely based on his own willingness. If he is willing, he will do it; if he is not willing, he will not.

Upon hearing this, the elder chuckled and said, "Fellow Daoist Jing Shu is indeed very direct. No wonder you are the disciple of Immortal Venerable Han Luo."

"Soon, it will be the sect competition held by all the sects. This time, it's Lingxi Sect's turn to host it. If you come again then, I will definitely treat you well!" Xue Niang said generously.

"I still have a few jars of fine wine stored at the Lingxi Sect. Let's drink together then!"