Chapter 37: Abstain from Lust and Desire
Amid a shower of falling blossoms, Scar-Eye suddenly widened his right eye, darted backward, and raised his long blade to block Mu Bai’s sword tip.
“Clang!” The weapons collided violently, nearly sparking fire.
Mu Bai’s martial arts style did not rely on brute force; still physically weak, he was pushed back half a step by the impact with Scar-Eye, whose internal energy ran deep. With a flick of his wrist, Mu Bai swung his sword behind his back.
The long blade slashed forward with a gust of fierce wind; Mu Bai swayed backward, retreating three swift steps.
The crowd gathered against the wall had witnessed the falling petals, yet hardly anyone truly believed the young hero in white had stepped upon snow; at this moment, they all held their breath for him.
Throughout the entire first floor of the relay station, only Su Mo remained utterly still, sitting alone in the center of the empty hall, continuing his meal without so much as lifting his eyes.
Scar-Eye was formidable, yet not significantly stronger than the Yellow-Browed Monster from before. Mu Bai, endowed with extraordinary talent and never negligent in cultivation, had once narrowly defeated Luo Wangchuan through sheer skill while at Jialan. Even now, poisoned though he was, there was no chance he would fall to such a villain; thus, Su Mo felt no worry.
Mu Bai retreated steadily to the corner of the relay station, took two steps along the wall, leaped onto the roof beam, then spun gracefully and flipped down.
He touched the tip of his foot to the back of the pursuing broadsword, pressed down lightly, and used the momentum to leap backward, landing behind his opponent.
His snow-white sleeves fluttered upward as he turned; when they settled, the Tianyu Liufang Sword was already pressed against the scarred man’s nape.
The blade’s edge sliced through skin, drawing blood.
“…”
Scar-Eye’s arm twitched, driving the blade at his throat deeper by a fraction; he gasped sharply from the pain.
“Don’t move. My sword has no eyes,” Mu Bai said softly.
With that, he raised his hand to brush a fallen petal from his shoulder.
“What exactly do you want?”
“Your seniority struck first against my friend, yet you ask what I intend to do.” Mu Bai glanced at the scattered wooden debris strewn across the relay station and stated calmly, “We merely stopped here to rest and eat, with no intention of causing further trouble. If you compensate the innkeeper for the broken tables and chairs and treat my three companions to a full meal, then this matter shall be considered settled. How does that sound?”
Scar-Eye clenched his teeth, still unwilling to yield, yet the slightest movement caused the sword’s edge to bite into his skin, nearly slicing through the fragile vessels in his neck.
After two breaths of silence, he exhaled heavily and said, “Very well.”
With that, he pulled out a money pouch and slammed it onto the counter with a dull thud.
Kong Yan had already dragged his two junior brothers to the doorway; seeing this scene, they froze for a moment, unable to react.
Catching them in his peripheral vision, Scar-Eye barked angrily, “You three bald donkeys! What are you standing around for? Take our order.”
“Oh… oh.”
The three monks dragged the innkeeper out from under the table.
Mu Bai said, “Innkeeper, calculate the cost of the damaged tables and chairs, and deduct it along with the meal charges from this.”
“Y-yes, yes.” The innkeeper cautiously glanced at Scar-Eye; one glare from him made the innkeeper’s hands tremble so violently that the money pouch fell to the ground. “H-honorable hero… I truly dare not take this money.”
“Take it; it’s fine.” Mu Bai turned to Scar-Eye and said coldly, “Your name is on the wanted poster issued by Yushu Manor; you should know that. I do not wish to cause trouble at this relay station, but if you ever dare to trouble them again, I will take your head to claim the reward.”
Scar-Eye shuddered all over. Having roamed the jianghu for many years, he had amassed numerous enemies; yet those who wished him dead either could not afford the price or were unwilling to pay too high a bounty.
Since the reward bore no proportion to the risk, naturally no one was willing to take up the contract to kill him; without the requisite skill, accepting it would be tantamount to courting death.
Yet, by his limited understanding, Ta Xue seemed indifferent to the size of the bounty, targeting only evildoers.
The young hero in white had employed no flashy sword techniques moments ago, yet during their exchange, Scar-Eye had already ascertained that this person’s martial prowess surpassed his own. His claim to be Ta Xue was likely no lie.
Scar-Eye had no choice but to swallow his anger and yield, saying, “I won’t trouble them again.”
The shopkeeper tremblingly opened the money pouch, yet his eyes kept darting over.
Annoyed by his staring, Scar-Eye stiffened his neck and said, “Ask around the jianghu; I, Scar-Eye, may not be a good man, but I’ve never gone back on my word.”
Only after the shopkeeper finished counting the amount and returned the money pouch did Mu Bai move her sword away.
He took out a handkerchief, gently wiped the bloodstains from the blade, and sheathed his sword.
The waiter came to clear the mess. The guests in the post station, wary of Scar-Eye, dared not cheer loudly; they only whispered among themselves in hushed tones.
Scar-Eye, feeling humiliated, tucked his deflated money pouch into his robe. As he passed Kong Yan, he shot him a vicious glare, but that was all.
Mu Bai blocked out the surrounding gazes, returned to sit beside Su Mo, picked up his bowl, and continued eating.
Su Mo poured a bowl of tea and placed it before him, saying with a gentle smile, “Hero Taxue, you’ve worked hard.”
Mu Bai ignored all the surrounding whispers, yet Su Mo’s words alone made him feel embarrassed; he took a sip of tea and murmured softly, “Dear brother, please stop teasing me.”
Before long, the waiter swept away the food scraps and wood shards, then brought out a spare new table and set it in place.
When the dishes ordered by the monks were served, Mu Bai and Su Mo had already eaten their fill, so they moved the remaining half of the roasted suckling pig to the neighboring table.
Kong Yan gazed at the table laden with delicacies, feeling deeply sinful; he cleared his throat, pressed his palms together, and recited, “Amitabha—”
Kong Yuan had already extended his chopsticks toward the roasted suckling pig, saying as he did, “Senior Brother, stop repenting. Wine and meat pass through the intestines, but Buddha remains in the heart. Eat quickly.”
“Thank you, Hero Taxue, for your righteous assistance in securing justice for us. Since this meal was compensated by that villain, this humble monk cannot waste your generous intent. Today, I shall make an exception and break my vegetarian vow.”
Kong Yan extended his chopsticks to pick up a piece of crispy skin from the roasted suckling pig, placed it in his mouth, chewed thoughtfully, then nodded and said, “Truly delicious.”
Mu Bai replied, “Then you two eat more; I’ll head upstairs first.”
“Very well, Young Hero Ta Xue, please rest well.”
Mu Bai and Su Mo had booked a single room together.
After going upstairs and returning to the room, Mu Bai closed the door and said with a light smile, “You claim you don’t want to break your vegetarian vows, yet not a single dish you ordered is meatless. Being a monk truly isn’t easy.”
Su Mo took off his outer robe and remarked, “Back then, you even wanted me to become a disciple at Konggu Temple.”
“Did I?” Mu Bai paused in confusion for a moment before recalling, “Oh—was that back at the Prime Minister’s residence? It was because your hair was so thick; it made my whole body itch.”
Su Mo smiled and asked, “So, did you want me to join Konggu Temple and shave my head like them?”
Mu Bai looked at him, imagined it in her mind for a moment, and immediately shook her head. “No.”
With Su Mo’s features, even a shaved head would look good, but it certainly wouldn’t complement his demeanor as well as long hair does.
Su Mo continued, “Konggu Temple also requires abstaining from lust and desire…”
Without a second thought, Mu Bai replied, “Then that’s even more out of the question.”
“What’s wrong?” Su Mo raised his hand to sweep his raven hair behind his ear, then tilted his head to look over.
Once he had removed his outer robe, the thin black garment beneath never remained properly fastened at the collar; it always gaped slightly to reveal hints of his physique, inviting speculation.
Mu Bai looked away, shook his head, and removed his outer robe as well.
He climbed onto the bed and lay face down, utterly limp, unwilling to move even a muscle.
After yesterday’s clash with the woman in red, Mu Bai’s lower back had already been aching; he had forced himself to endure the pain without letting his opponent detect any weakness, only to be poisoned afterward.
Although he had neutralized the poison using the qi-circulation techniques and pharmacological knowledge he learned in Qinglian Valley, his body remained weak and required careful recuperation.
I had planned to rest properly once I returned, but after stopping briefly at the Baihe Relay Station along the way, another fight broke out.
He glanced at Su Mo, then lowered his eyes: “Dear brother, my waist hurts.”
“…Your waist hurts?” Su Mo also climbed onto the bed, sat beside him, lifted the garment covering his lower back, and pressed gently. “Here?”
“Mm.” Mu Bai reached behind himself, pressing randomly along his waist. “And here, and here… It hurts everywhere.”
Su Mo looked at him and chuckled, “Your fighting moves are quite sharp; I almost thought you were fine.”
“How could that be? I’m not made of iron.”
“Then why did you show off?”
“Didn’t you see Kong Yan and the others being bullied?” Mu Bai pulled a pillow to prop up his chin as he spoke. “My dear brother always stays aloof from matters that don’t concern him. If I don’t step forward, who will?”
Su Mo fell silent.
Unless Mu Bai asked, he indeed would not intervene in such situations.
Mu Bai turned his head slightly: “I was just saying it; I’m not blaming you.”
“I know.” Su Mo placed his hand on Mu Bai’s lower back. “Let me rub it for you.”
A martial artist’s waist bears not a trace of excess flesh; when his thumb brushed over the slight depression at its center, he could faintly feel the lean bones beneath the skin. Moreover, the Qinglian Valley was renowned for its unique methods of self-care. When Mu Bai appeared in women’s attire, describing her beauty as exquisite and delicate would be no exaggeration. Even her skin was fair and thin, as though the slightest pressure might leave behind faint reddish marks from one’s fingers.
Su Mo lowered his gaze and pressed down, eliciting a soft moan from Mu Bai: “Good brother, please be gentler.”
His eyes darkened slightly. Remembering that Mu Bai’s body was still weak at present, he closed his eyes and eased his touch to an extremely light pressure.
Before long, Mu Bai spoke again: “Good brother, press harder.”
Perhaps lying down while someone massaged his waist was so comforting that his voice turned unusually soft, almost like a purr.
Su Mo said helplessly, “Xiao Bai, stop calling out.”
Mu Bai turned to look at him. “What’s wrong?”
Su Mo didn’t answer; he simply let go, got off the bed, and fetched a scroll of books.
Holding a book in one hand while massaging Mu Bai’s lower back with the other, he found that although the printed words failed to register, the book at least served to divert his attention.
Mu Bai noticed the person behind him starting to press buttons randomly, so he pushed his hand away: “You’d better focus on reading your book.”
Su Mo glanced at him and asked softly, “Do you want to take a bath? I’ll have someone bring up hot water.”
“Good.”
When the waiter delivered the hot water, Mu Bai was still lying on the bed unwilling to move, so Su Mo washed first, then carried him over and placed him into the bathtub.
Curling steam rose from behind the screen, warming up the entire bedroom.
Su Mo changed into clean clothes and sat on the edge of the bed, picking up a scroll to read. He didn’t even raise his eyes at the rustling sounds of someone dressing behind the screen.
Yet, from the corner of his eye, he could see Mu Bai, clad only in a thin white robe that revealed slender, straight legs, walking over to the bedside.
The fragrance of bath petals drifted toward him.
Su Mo set down the book, steadying the person who straddled him, his voice hoarse: “Xiao Bai.”
“What are you…” His gaze darkened as he looked at the person before him, smiling. “What do you intend to do?”
Mu Bai pondered for a moment, then suddenly his eyes lit up. “To neutralize the poison. Didn’t you say there was Hehuan toxin in your blood?”