Indeed, shortly after Elder Wen spoke to Yang Mu, Yushi An used a jade plaque to summon Yang Mu to the hall.
Since the last visit to the stone house, Yang Mu always felt uneasy seeing Yushi An. He feared that at any moment, Yushi An would bring up the “good deeds” done by Elder Yang in the past.
Due to the previous incident, Yushi An’s attitude towards Yang Mu had cooled somewhat, not as friendly as before. However, it wasn’t outright bad, considering Yang Mu was the strongest member in the Yuan Sect apart from Yushi An.
Waving Yang Mu to sit beside him, Yushi An calmly said, “I believe you are aware of the matter.”
Yang Mu nodded, feeling frustrated as to why he always got involved in such troublesome tasks within the sect. He just wanted to quietly cultivate in the sect until the day of Shi Dixuan’s revenge arrived, then leave to explore the wider world.
“Prepare well, take your disciple with you. If you encounter suitable beastmen, capture them. After it’s done, return to the sect and distribute some of the captured beastmen to other elders.”
Yush An’s arrangements were expected, but Yang Mu wanted to refuse directly. He didn’t want to get involved in this mess.
Seemingly sensing Yang Mu’s thoughts, Yushi An lightly tapped the table, “Unless there are special circumstances, you must go this time.”
Yang Mu silently swallowed the words of refusal.
Since he had decided to go, after listening to Yushi An’s instructions, Yang Mu went straight back to his small room.
Every time Yushi An summoned him, it never boded well—either for sect tasks or to remind him of Elder Yang’s past actions.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Efaegclcu ab tlr gbbw, Tjcu Ze obecv Vtl Glzejc jigfjvs kjlalcu atfgf.
Ggfrrfv lc j ugffc gbyf, vluclolfv jcv tjcvrbwf, Vtl Glzejc’r sbeatoei jegj tjv vlwlclrtfv klat tlr lcmgfjrfv tfluta.
However, contrasting this refined demeanor was a little yellow duck he held, raising its head and quacking, “Quack, quack, quack.”
Vfflcu atf ilaaif sfiibk vemx, Tjcu Ze’r fsfr ila eq lcrajcais. Qtfc tf rafqqfv lcab atf ujgvfc, Vtl Glzejc jirb aegcfv tlr tfjv.
Having a rough idea of Shi Dixuan’s purpose, Yang Mu remained nonchalant. “What’s the matter?” he asked casually.
At the moment when Shi Dixuan’s little yellow duck saw Yang Mu, its quacking sounds became even more cheerful. Shi Dixuan, with a headache expression, rubbed his forehead and lightly poked the duck’s beak with his fingertip, seemingly trying to make it quiet.
His actions were gentle, and his eyes carried a hint of indulgence. Yang Mu could tell that Shi Dixuan was genuinely fond of this little duck.
Shi Dixuan said, “Could you take care of this little duck for me?” He wanted to care for it personally, but once the duck was by his side, it quacked almost every day, making him feel like he was having auditory hallucinations.
Even if he didn’t bring the duck with him, he could still hear its “quack, quack, quack” in his ears.
Seeing the duck opening its mouth all day long without a break, Shi Dixuan understood that this young duck wanted to be with Yang Mu. Watching its behavior, Shi Dixuan couldn’t bear to let it continue quacking like this. After some contemplation, he decided to bring it to Yang Mu.
Even though Yang Mu wanted to answer with a cheerful ‘Sure!’ in his heart, he still showed an expression of ‘Why are you suddenly doing this?’
Shi Dixuan sighed, “It seems to dislike staying with me.” Considering Yang Mu’s usual interactions with the beastmen, Shi Dixuan decided to temporarily entrust the little duck to him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t hand over a beastman to a human no matter what.
“Okay.” Yang Mu blinked at the duck with its tiny eyes, reached out his hand, and said, “Give it to me.” Then, amidst Shi Dixuan’s reluctance, he took the little duck away.
As soon as the duck was in Yang Mu’s hands, it immediately quieted down. It lowered its head, nuzzled Yang Mu’s palm, and then nestled comfortably into a ball in Yang Mu’s hands, presenting its backside to Shi Dixuan.
Shi Dixuan: “…”
As a fellow beastman, did the duck really need to be so disdainful towards him?
Cradling the little duck, Yang Mu turned his head slightly and saw Shi Dixuan looking rather uncomfortable. Feeling a bit triumphant, Yang Mu realized that Shi Dixuan wouldn’t hold a grudge over such trivial matters, so he could revel in his success without worries.
In the 21st century, he had always been a conscientious animal lover, almost treating his own pets like treasures. Pets had always been his emotional support, and although he lost his ‘Wang Cai’ in this life, gaining a little yellow duck and a wolf wasn’t bad.
“Go practice, and in a few days, we’ll go out together.”
“?”
“There’s a large number of beastmen appearing in a forest somewhere.”
Upon hearing this, Shi Dixuan’s eyes instantly deepened.
Having informed Shi Dixuan of this matter, Yang Mu didn’t want to linger. He took a step to walk back into the house but was stopped by Shi Dixuan from behind.
“Why… don’t you want the essence of the beastmen?” Shi Dixuan’s gaze was firmly fixed on Yang Mu, seemingly trying to confirm the truth of what he was about to say.
When Yang Mu had just taken the little yellow duck, Shi Dixuan specifically observed his expression.
Although Yang Mu’s face was expressionless, his eyes didn’t seem as cold as his expression. When he gently took the little yellow duck, the genuine joy in his eyes didn’t seem fake.
So, he couldn’t help but ask Yang Mu this question.
This question from Shi Dixuan carried a high degree of shame, and Yang Mu almost wanted to facepalm. He couldn’t just say that because he wasn’t originally from this continent, he couldn’t accept the common practice of consuming beastmen’s essence and Elder Yang before refrained due to his physical condition, so he dared not ingest the essence?
After some consideration, Yang Mu decided to play it cool and said, “Beastmen are also living beings and deserve freedom. They shouldn’t be treated like this…” After saying this, he confidently returned to his room, closed the door with a “clink.”
Leaving Shi Dixuan standing alone outside his room.
Shi Dixuan seemed still immersed in Yang Mu’s words. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, as if he was internally debating the truthfulness of Yang Mu’s statement.
After a while, he stared deeply at Yang Mu’s closed door, a glint seeming to pass through his eyes, followed by a deep darkness.
For the first time, he heard a human say—beastmen shouldn’t be treated like this.
Thank you so much for the update!! The duck is so cuute 🥹
Nice play! But what to to with the nearing ride ><
Thank You for the new chapter ( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡)˚๐*˟ ♡
Ahhh Yang Mu is so cool!! I can see SDX getting obsessed soon lmao