The Beloved Master's Mad Dog Disciple - Chapter 13

Master is always right.

Bo Xuenong felt utterly flustered. Through the wooden doll’s eyes, she had witnessed everything happening in the room. She had hoped the doll could hold out longer, but Shen Yanting discovered it far too quickly. On her frantic return, she had rehearsed dozens of excuses, but now that she faced Shen Yanting, not a single word would come out.

She dreaded Shen Yanting’s rejection, even more than being expelled from the sect.

“You…” With the Breath Exchange Technique exposed, Bo Xuenong naturally reverted to her true form.

She had strained herself to cast the Breath Exchange Technique, maintaining a shared consciousness with the wooden doll. She had even recklessly plunged the Suspended Ink Sword into the doll’s chest and forcibly used the forbidden Soul-Searching Technique. While in the doll’s wooden body, the strain had been manageable, but now that she was back in her human form, the chest pain consumed her nerves. The backlash from using the forbidden art caused her to cough up several mouthfuls of bl00d, leaving her pale and utterly weakened.

Seeing her condition, Shen Yanting suddenly sensed something was wrong. She stopped speaking and strode forward, grasping Bo Xuenong’s wrist.

Shen Yanting’s fingertip brushed against Bo Xuenong’s jade bracelet, a wisp of Divine Sense slipping inside. Normally, once a spiritual object recognizes its master, no one else can touch it. But this bracelet had been given to Bo Xuenong by Shen Yanting herself, allowing her to silently monitor its contents and replenish medicinal pills as needed. It also helped her check if Bo Xuenong had come into contact with anything that might trigger her Bloodline.

For five centuries, Bo Xuenong’s bracelet had contained nothing Shen Yanting didn’t already know. Yet today, three new items had appeared: an ancient book, a Jade Soul Pearl, and… a Spirit Endowment Banner.

Shen Yanting instantly breathed a sigh of relief. She knew exactly where these items came from. The Jade Soul Pearl could suppress cultivation and alter one’s aura, while the Spirit Endowment Banner was a technique of the Joyous Union Sect. Their simultaneous appearance meant someone had slaughtered over a hundred Joyous Union Sect disciples, suppressed their cultivation, and infiltrated the Imperial Tranquility Sect disguised as a new disciple.

Shen Yanting didn’t harbor ill will toward every member of the Joyous Union Sect, but their Spirit Endowment Banners were unique. Bound to the bl00d and breath of their creator, the banners would lose all power within twelve hours of the creator’s death. Since this banner still retained its power, it meant Bo Xuenong had killed its master very recently.

Bo Xuenong hadn’t been killing indiscriminately!

Shen Yanting’s eyes couldn’t hide her relief, but worry quickly resurfaced. The Joyous Union Sect… those people were indiscriminate in their desires. For Bo Xuenong to return in such a disheveled state, Shen Yanting couldn’t help but fear she had been taken advantage of.

Shen Yanting grabbed Bo Xuenong’s wrist and lifted her sleeve to examine her arm more closely.

Lost in her sorrow over the shattering of her obedient disciple’s facade, Bo Xuenong blinked in confusion as Shen Yanting lifted her sleeve. “Master?”

“I sensed the aura of a Joyous Union Sect cultivator nearby and came to check on you. Did you encounter trouble, given your disheveled state?” Shen Yanting couldn’t reveal she knew Bo Xuenong had killed someone, so she skirted the issue of the wooden doll and fabricated a reason for her presence. She couldn’t let Bo Xuenong know she was monitoring her.

Unbeknownst to Shen Yanting, Bo Xuenong had long been aware of her surveillance. Far from minding, she was actually worried about her master tiring herself out.

“Master, I… I did encounter trouble,” Bo Xuenong replied. Despite having Guan Caimei’s memories, she still deeply trusted Shen Yanting’s words. She immediately followed her master’s lead, but then regretted her carelessness. How had Shen Yanting discovered her so easily? No wonder she had never managed to out-act the Male Lead in the novel.

The thought that Shen Yanting might believe she had driven her benefactor to suicide because of that beast’s convincing act filled Bo Xuenong with such intense hatred that she wished she could drag him out and flay him alive.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, her teeth grinding together so hard she nearly cracked them.

Shen Yanting, accustomed to Bo Xuenong’s gentle, practiced smiles, had never seen her face puff up with such fury before. This only deepened her conviction that Bo Xuenong had been wronged.

Shen Yanting’s brow furrowed slightly as she reached out and pushed Bo Xuenong’s sleeve up a little higher.

Bo Xuenong was pleased by Shen Yanting’s concern but puzzled by her insistence on only tugging at her sleeve. She tugged at her collar. “Master, even if a Joyous Union Sect disciple forced me into Dual Cultivation, they wouldn’t leave all the Bl00d Lotus Marks on my wrist, would they? If you want to see if I’ve been wronged, you should look here!”

Despite her tugging, her tightly fastened robes only gaped open slightly at the collar.

Dissatisfied, Bo Xuenong’s hand moved down to her waistband.

Just as her fingers touched the sash, Shen Yanting urgently pressed her hand down. “Just answer my question. Why are you undressing?”

“Yes, Master!” Bo Xuenong immediately abandoned her attempt to loosen her robes. She replied loudly and respectfully, “Reporting to Master, Nong’er was not wronged! Nong’er has already killed her.”

After confessing, Bo Xuenong felt a pang of anxiety, fearing Shen Yanting would banish her for having bl00d on her hands. Her eyes remained fixed on Shen Yanting, afraid to miss even a flicker of anger. To her surprise, Shen Yanting showed no interest in arguing about the killing, simply replying, “As long as you weren’t harmed, that’s all that matters.”

Shen Yanting turned to leave, but after taking only two steps, she paused and turned back.

The Bl00d Lotus Mark on Bo Xuenong’s wrist would turn crimson whenever she consumed human flesh or bl00d. The fact that it hadn’t changed earlier proved she hadn’t done so, yet Shen Yanting remained uneasy.

She reached out and gently tapped Bo Xuenong’s jaw twice with her fingertip. Bo Xuenong instinctively opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue. A wisp of golden light drifted from Shen Yanting’s fingertip into Bo Xuenong’s mouth. The absence of any metallic taste reassured Shen Yanting, completely relaxing her tense nerves.

“Nong’er, I…” Shen Yanting began, trying to concoct a plausible explanation for her actions, but Bo Xuenong’s attention was entirely focused on Shen Yanting’s hand resting on her jaw, oblivious to the golden light and her own unusual behavior. After staring intently for a long moment, she boldly stretched her neck forward, pressing her jaw into Shen Yanting’s palm, letting the weight of her head rest in her teacher’s hand.

Bo Xuenong seemed to find this immensely amusing. When Shen Yanting didn’t pull her hand away, she lightly tapped her chin against Shen Yanting’s palm, tilting her head forward and narrowing her eyes into crescent-shaped slits with laughter.

As Shen Yanting tried to withdraw her hand, Bo Xuenong leaned closer. A faint frown creased her brow, perhaps displeased by the attempt to distance herself.

Shen Yanting hadn’t seen Bo Xuenong act so childishly in years. She decided to remain still, letting Bo Xuenong nuzzle her palm.

Bo Xuenong clung to her hand, reminding Shen Yanting of the little dog Feng Jin had once kept. Shen Yanting’s brow arched slightly, a faint smile flickering in her eyes. “Nong’er, do you know what you look like right now?”

Master and disciple, one feigning coldness and severity, the other feigning gentleness and maturity, hadn’t been this close in years. Bo Xuenong was reluctant to break the intimacy. She nestled obediently against Shen Yanting’s palm, inhaling the cool, distinctive scent that belonged only to her Master, and replied without missing a beat, “Master’s Demon Pet!”

Bo Xuenong deliberately positioned herself as inferior, for her Master was a celestial being, high above in the heavens. Even demon pets held themselves with a certain dignity; she should have said “little dog.”

Feng Jin had kept a dog many years ago, and Shen Yanting had often seen the puppy beg for attention in just this way.

Shen Yanting had been about to say that Bo Xuenong was like a little dog, but when Bo Xuenong declared herself a “Demon Pet,” her expression immediately changed. She suddenly realized how terrible her unsaid joke would have been.

She withdrew her hand and said earnestly, “Nong’er, you must remember you are not a Demon Pet. You are human.”

And certainly not a feral beast that devours people.

As the lingering fragrance faded, Bo Xuenong’s consciousness returned. Seeing Shen Yanting’s stern expression, she instinctively nodded. “Master, of course I’m human.”

She already knew she possessed the Bloodline of a feral beast, but what did that matter? Whatever Shen Yanting said she was, that’s what she was.

The books were wrong, Guan Caimei’s insults were wrong—only Master’s words were true!

Shen Yanting felt somewhat relieved. As she prepared to leave, Bo Xuenong called out, “Master, aren’t you angry that I killed someone?”

“I taught you not to harm or kill people, but the Joyous Union Sect members might as well be beasts,” Shen Yanting paused, then added, remembering the upcoming trials, “Nong’er, the Cultivation World is a place where the strong prey on the weak. As long as you don’t kill good people, Master won’t blame you.”

Noticing that Bo Xuenong had faked far fewer smiles today, Shen Yanting turned back and coaxed her again, “Nong’er, you’ve always been so obedient and clever. I’m sure you can tell the difference between good and evil.”