Chapter 24: Setting Off – One Day as Master, Lifetime as Mother? Part 4

Shen Yanting secretly circulated her spiritual qi, and azure mist overflowed from her lips. The blood dripping from her lips stopped instantly, and the wound vanished.

Such a minor injury wouldn’t cause any real harm anyway.

If Bo Xuenong hadn’t been staring at her, she would have ignored it altogether.

With the wound gone, Bo Xuenong still held the pill without putting it down. She eagerly brought it even closer to Shen Yanting’s lips, pinching her voice as she said, “Master, please eat it.”

Bo Xuenong’s eyes reddened slightly, with a shimmer of tears at the bottom.

She wasn’t aggrieved by the refusal; it was only worry for Shen Yanting.

Even though no trace of the wound remained on her lips, Bo Xuenong couldn’t shift her gaze away. The moist sheen on those lips couldn’t disrupt her thoughts. She couldn’t forget the bite mark that had appeared there or the drop of blood that had fallen before her eyes. The guilt of failing to protect Shen Yanting reached its peak, and she couldn’t help but mimic Shen Yanting by biting her own lip.

Just as her teeth touched her lip, Shen Yanting noticed.

Her brow twitched. She pressed her fingertip to Bo Xuenong’s lips and forcefully separated them with a rub. “Don’t bite.”

Bo Xuenong nodded dazedly and opened her mouth as wide as possible, desperately proving to Shen Yanting that she was extremely obedient and that her teeth wouldn’t touch her lips at all. She spoke while holding this pose, making her voice sound strange. Shen Yanting listened carefully for a while before understanding what Bo Xuenong was saying. “Master, will you take the medicine, please?”

Shen Yanting inexplicably felt like Bo Xuenong was treating her like a three-year-old child and coaxing her.

Her throat tightened slightly. She realized her earlier speculation had been too far-fetched.

Bo Xuenong harbored no falsehood toward her as her master—only genuine affection.

With a cold expression, she gently pushed Bo Xuenong’s chin. Bo Xuenong obediently closed her mouth but still insistently held the pill out to her.

Looking at the unusually persistent Bo Xuenong, the words on the tip of Shen Yanting’s tongue turned into a sigh. She finally lowered her lips and bit the healing pill.

Her soft lips brushed lightly over the skin of Bo Xuenong’s palm, stirring a wave of heat in her hand.

Bo Xuenong panicked and swallowed. She abruptly pulled her hand back.

She pressed her palm against her sleeve, gripping it tightly to suppress the sudden flutter in her heart.

Shen Yanting didn’t notice this. After swallowing the healing pill, she spoke to Bo Xuenong. “Are you relieved now?”

“Not relieved.” Bo Xuenong’s eyes reddened even more. “Master, are you unhappy? Did I do something wrong? Or did the Sect Master and the others do something wrong?”

“Hm?” Fu Aoqing, who had been secretly observing the master-disciple pair without saying a word, suddenly got blamed. She widened her eyes. “I didn’t say anything.”

Bo Xuenong knew she hadn’t said anything, but she couldn’t worry about that.

Ignoring Fu Aoqing, she continued pressing Shen Yanting. “Not the Sect Master? Then Feng Jin? Or Shishu Feng?”

“I knew it wouldn’t be that easy.”

Feng Jin’s wail came from outside the carriage. Bo Xuenong didn’t even glance her way.

Bo Xuenong had completely forgotten how she had just mentally added Feng Jin and the others to the ‘not-to-kill’ list. As long as Shen Yanting named anyone, she would send them to their deaths—whether openly or secretly.

Of course, if Shen Yanting named her, she wouldn’t hold back either.

No one could hurt Shen Yanting.

Not even herself!

The Suspended Ink Sword at her waist drew close to her hand again. Shen Yanting gripped her wrist forcefully, separating her hand from the Suspended Ink Sword. Her gaze swept absently over the sword as she replied offhandedly, “No, I just thought of something from the past.”

“The past? Does Master have enemies? Who are they?”

Shen Yanting held down the restless Bo Xuenong and pursed her lips slightly. “They’re all in the ground already.”

Shen Yanting knew exactly what Bo Xuenong reaching for her sword meant. She didn’t want Bo Xuenong to hold grudges because of her, so she lied about this.

Bo Xuenong knew Shen Yanting was lying because the book described how they encountered Shen Yanting’s enemies in a secret realm, leading to their separation and giving the male lead a chance to rescue her. Of course, she wouldn’t expose it. Instead, she secretly resolved to cultivate diligently and, at the right moment, truly put them all in the ground.

Those people were one of the reasons for her and Shen Yanting’s deaths in the book.

Killing them would be too merciful; live burial was just right.

Bo Xuenong lifted the carriage curtain and glanced outside. Seeing no one, she immediately circulated her spiritual power to cultivate. Shen Yanting remained deep in thought. Fu Aoqing felt a bit depressed that Bo Xuenong had guessed she had upset Shen Yanting. Xiang Yu stayed very quiet. Feng Jin had reignited her fear. Only Feng Yingbo had a big heart; she found nothing strange about Shen Yanting’s earlier behavior and didn’t mind Bo Xuenong’s wild guesses.

Though she had moved outside, she hadn’t snatched back the reins from Feng Jin. With nothing to do, she simply turned back to chat with Bo Xuenong. “Xuenong, you just said you thought of your mom. You were only four when you entered the Imperial Serenity Sect. Do you still remember what your mom looked like?”

Bo Xuenong opened her eyes, a faint spiritual light trembling in their depths. “Shishu Feng, I wasn’t thinking of my mom. I have no impression of her at all. I was…”

Bo Xuenong stopped midway, suddenly remembering she couldn’t reveal that she could hear Feng Jin’s thoughts. “I… I just thought you and Sixth Junior Sister look a lot like mother and daughter.”

Feng Jin turned back in slight horror to look at Bo Xuenong. Feng Yingbo, however, seemed quite pleased. She threw an arm around Feng Jin’s shoulder. “One day as master, lifetime as mother. I’m not just like her; I am her… Mmph!”

Feng Yingbo’s words cut off as Feng Jin covered her mouth. She struggled in dissatisfaction, but Feng Jin wouldn’t let go.

Feng Jin’s smile stiffened slightly. “She’s mute. She didn’t say anything.”

Fu Aoqing looked at Feng Jin oddly. “Junior Sister Feng didn’t say anything wrong. It really is ‘one day as master, lifetime as mother.’ Not just you and Junior Sister Feng like mother and daughter—Senior Sister Shen and Xuenong too…”

“I and Xuenong don’t.” Shen Yanting interrupted Fu Aoqing.

In the past, Shen Yanting might have agreed with Fu Aoqing, but Bo Xuenong’s single sentence had stirred up her memories.

She could be Bo Xuenong’s master, but never her mother.

Because Bo Xuenong’s mother had died by their hands.

A berserk ferocious beast wouldn’t protect its own child. Shen Yanting didn’t even know which of the dead were Bo Xuenong’s parents, but she knew everyone she killed was Bo Xuenong’s blood kin. Even though they had been cruel and bloodthirsty, no longer human-like, she couldn’t kill them and then take their place.

Not just as a mother—any elder role, Shen Yanting couldn’t claim.

Fu Aoqing felt that everyone had changed after leaving the Imperial Serenity Sect. Feng Jin and Bo Xuenong weren’t quite the same as before, and even Shen Yanting seemed strange. Only Feng Yingbo remained unchanged.

At this moment, Feng Yingbo broke free from Feng Jin’s restraint and glared at her huffily for not letting her speak. “You’re the mute! I am your mom!”

Feng Jin unusually lowered her head, not daring to make a sound.

Shen Yanting had resolved the day before to follow Feng Yingbo’s example and learn to be a good master. But in just half a day, she realized there was very little she could learn from how Feng Yingbo treated Feng Jin.

Shen Yanting’s thoughts grew chaotic. She unconsciously clenched her fist. “Xuenong, I’ll treat you well, but you can’t treat me like a mom!”

“Okay!” Bo Xuenong always agreed readily to whatever Shen Yanting said, without hesitation.

Bo Xuenong’s gaze lingered on Shen Yanting. She cautiously extended a finger and poked the back of Shen Yanting’s hand. “Master, you’re pinching yourself too hard.”

Shen Yanting followed her gaze and released her hand. Only then did Bo Xuenong breathe a sigh of relief.

Bo Xuenong’s careful exhale moved Shen Yanting slightly. Bo Xuenong had never cherished herself this much. Shen Yanting raised her hand a little. Before it reached, Bo Xuenong leaned in cooperatively, pressing the top of her head into Shen Yanting’s palm and smiling at her.

She had always worried about her bloodline before. After trying to close the distance between them, she discovered Bo Xuenong was actually very easy to coax.

She truly was as she had said.

Very obedient.

Gentleness gradually filled Shen Yanting’s eyes. She gently stroked Bo Xuenong’s head. “Xuenong.”

Pretending to be cold wouldn’t harden her heart or help Bo Xuenong overcome her bloodline, but care and love just might. It might be difficult, but she would still try to learn from Feng Yingbo how to be a good master.

Shen Yanting’s thoughts were good ones. She just hadn’t considered that constantly drawing closer, growing more intimate without becoming like mother and daughter, would steer their master-disciple relationship in what direction.