Ming Zhu slept until evening. When he finally stirred, still lost in the haze of slumber, he murmured incoherently, "Na Lian..."
A hand reached out from beside him, gently helping him up and pressing half a cup of water to his lips. Only then did Ming Zhu’s mind begin to clear.
He opened his eyes in a daze and glanced around, realizing he was leaning against Zhou Fuxue’s shoulder, half-collapsed into the man’s embrace.
Ming Zhu froze. His first instinct wasn't to pull away, but to blink at Zhou Fuxue in confusion. "Zhou Fuxue?"
Zhou Fuxue maintained his usual cold demeanor. Once Ming Zhu was upright, he immediately withdrew, retreating without a word of greeting. Deprived of his support, Ming Zhu nearly toppled off the couch.
Once he steadied himself, Ming Zhu exhaled in lingering alarm. "You..."
"Na Lian is waiting for you in the study," Zhou Fuxue said. "He told me to send you there once you woke."
"Na Lian?" Ming Zhu rubbed his eyes and got up to wash. He then wrapped himself in a thick cloak before heading out.
Perhaps it was due to the medicine Na Lian had been giving him, but Ming Zhu’s spiritual power was recovering rapidly. He would likely be fully restored in a few days. He didn't bother with the wheelchair this time, walking slowly toward the study next door.
Na Lian was still studying the Soul-Suppressing Lamp. He held a cluster of green shadows in his hand—the soul of some cultivator, by the looks of it—and was thoughtfully attempting to stuff it into the lamp.
Ming Zhu walked over. "You were looking for me? Did you discover anything?"
Na Lian shook his head. "Are you certain this is how the Soul-Suppressing Lamp is used? I’ve tried it with several human souls over the past few days, and it’s been utterly useless."
Ming Zhu reached out with a nonchalant fingertip and lightly hooked one of the white threads writhing from the lamp. The thread did not attempt to snatch his soul; instead, it coiled around his finger in a fawning manner.
Ming Zhu clicked his tongue, sounding disappointed. "What was the cultivation level of those human souls?"
"Golden Core or Nascent Soul," Na Lian replied.
Ming Zhu smiled. "Then why don't you try it on someone at the Great Ascension stage and see if it works?"
"You suspect it’s related to cultivation level?"
"No," Ming Zhu said. "I’m just giving you something to do so you’ll stop bothering me."
Na Lian: "..."
Na Lian shot him a glance. "Speaking of which, about Rizhao Mountain..."
Ming Zhu looked up, his golden beast-like pupils darkening with a cold glare.
Na Lian shrugged. "I already told you I wouldn't touch the people of Rizhao Mountain. Why don't you believe me? I was going to say that Shen Di’an used the Linglong Jade a few days ago. His heart ailment is cured, and he’s even recovered eighty percent of his cultivation. I was wondering if I should invite him here to treat you. What do you think?"
Ming Zhu said tonelessly, "I think it’s unnecessary. I’m fine as I am. I don't need treatment."
Na Lian watched him idly play with the white threads of the Soul-Suppressing Lamp. After a long hesitation, he asked, "Every time you ask me to kill you... do you truly mean it?"
Ming Zhu’s hand paused. After a long silence, he whispered, "Yes."
"Even now that you’ve returned to the world? Even knowing how much your junior brothers treasure you, you still don't want to live?"
Ming Zhu said with a hint of impatience, "The one they treasure is the Ming Zhu from fifty years ago. They only treated me that way because I was pretending to be him. If I were to stand before any of them in this body—the body of the demon cultivator Buhui—they would likely want me dead, just like Ming Fuhua."
"But Zhou Fuxue is different," Na Lian countered.
Ming Zhu’s finger twitched. He suddenly gripped the coiling white threads and yanked with violent force. The threads of the Soul-Suppressing Lamp were crushed into powder by his bare hand. Seeing this, the other threads scrambled back into the lamp, terrified to emerge again.
"How many times must I tell you? I have nothing to do with Zhou Fuxue. No matter how well he treats me, it is purely out of love for the original Ming Zhu. It has nothing to do with me."
Na Lian watched Ming Zhu, who had flared up for some inexplicable reason, and said with a faint, knowing smile, "Do you know that he searched for you for fifty years?"
Ming Zhu was stunned. "What?"
Na Lian tossed a jade token from Wenfeng Tower toward him. "See for yourself. I also heard that Zhou Mingzhong once tried to bring him back to Jianglou to inherit the Zhou family, but he refused. He even had a falling out with Zhou Mingzhong over your matter, and he even dared to defy Gui Ning."
Ming Zhu caught the jade token in a daze. He scanned the contents rapidly, unable to regain his composure for a long time.
Seeing his stunned expression, Na Lian sighed softly. He didn't press the matter further, instead casually tucking a rusted hairpin into Ming Zhu’s hair. "Go back and rest," he said softly. "Don't forget your medicine. I know you don't wish to live, but since you’ve managed to survive all these years, why not try to live out the rest in peace? As long as you are alive, the road ahead may not always be covered in thorns."
It was unclear if Ming Zhu even heard him. He stood up blankly and walked out.
Zhou Fuxue was waiting outside. Seeing him emerge looking lost and soul-shaken, he was momentarily taken aback, but he didn't show it, merely watching him with a cool gaze.
Ming Zhu stared at him blankly. A moment later, realizing his gaze was too intense, he quickly looked away and said with forced casualness, "Why are you here?"
Zhou Fuxue countered, "Where else should I be?"
Ming Zhu was startled. He returned to his room with a sense of unease, only to find that Zhou Fuxue had uncharacteristically followed him inside. Furthermore, the man’s eyes remained fixed on him, never wavering.
Ming Zhu tested the waters. "Aren't you afraid I'll torment you again?"
Zhou Fuxue’s expression turned slightly odd, but he said nothing.
Now that he knew Buhui was Ming Zhu, the way the man had summoned him back and forth that night to perform trivial tasks suddenly seemed like nothing more than Ming Zhu throwing a small tantrum to keep him close. His resentment vanished instantly, replaced by a faint sense of amusement and joy.
Zhou Fuxue said, "I will keep watch for you tonight."
Ming Zhu was startled. He began to wonder if Zhou Fuxue had taken the wrong medicine. After a long pause, he said uncertainly, "But there is no side room here, and no extra bed."
Zhou Fuxue said calmly, "If Master Buhui does not mind, I can squeeze in."
Ming Zhu: "..."
Ming Zhu was so shocked he nearly lost his breath. He clutched his chest, gasping for air, his eyes wide. "You... you..."
Knowing it was somewhat inappropriate to say such a thing in his current capacity, Zhou Fuxue nonetheless couldn't resist teasing him, wanting to see him flustered and helpless.
*You love to pretend, don't you?* Zhou Fuxue thought. *Then I’ll play along. I’ll pretend with you.*
Ming Zhu stared at him for a long time before his pale face flushed with indignation. He spat out two words: "Vile!"
Zhou Fuxue: "..."
Zhou Fuxue looked at him expressionlessly, wondering how he was being vile. But seeing Ming Zhu clutching his chest, looking half-dead with rage, he didn't argue.
Seeing his silence as an admission, Ming Zhu grew even angrier. "Base!"
Zhou Fuxue: "..." *That’s a bit much.*
Zhou Fuxue swore he had no intention of doing anything to him. He was about to explain, but then he saw a flicker of grievance hidden within Ming Zhu’s furious glare. He froze.
Grievance?
Ming Zhu himself couldn't quite define what he was feeling. Ever since Na Lian had been whispering in his ear about how much Zhou Fuxue loved him and how well-matched they were, combined with the records on the Wenfeng Tower jade token about Zhou Fuxue’s relentless fifty-year search, his entire state of mind had been off. That was why he was so incensed when Zhou Fuxue suggested sharing a bed with "Buhui."
He fumed for a long time before realizing with a start... was he overreacting? Perhaps the man didn't mean it that way at all. Was he the one being "vile" for thinking it?
Zhou Fuxue watched him steadily. Once Ming Zhu’s breathing leveled out, he asked coldly, "Do you want me to keep watch or not?"
Ming Zhu glared at him and snapped, "Yes!"
Zhou Fuxue: "..."
With that furious expression, anyone else would have expected him to say "No."
Ming Zhu’s bed was large, more than enough for two people. Normally, Ming Zhu would have been too nervous to sleep, but perhaps because he was so angry, he simply clutched his blanket and turned his back to Zhou Fuxue. After sulking for a while, he drifted into a heavy sleep.
Ming Zhu had cursed Zhou Fuxue for being improper, but once he was truly asleep, the "vile and base" one turned out to be him. His body ran cold; even with a room full of charcoal braziers, he couldn't get warm. In his dazed sleep, he instinctively sought out warmth.
By the time Zhou Fuxue realized what was happening, Ming Zhu had already curled into his arms, as docile as could be.
Zhou Fuxue watched him for a long time before murmuring, "Just who is the vile and base one here?"
Ming Zhu, lost in the fog of sleep, actually responded to the voice. "It’s... you..."
Zhou Fuxue thought to himself, *I’m not the one curling into another man’s arms.* He reached out, gripped Ming Zhu’s shoulders, and with a slight exertion of strength, flipped him over and moved him further away.
Ming Zhu let out a dissatisfied mumble in his sleep. Then, with another roll, he simply tumbled directly onto Zhou Fuxue.
Zhou Fuxue’s body went rigid. He waited until Ming Zhu’s breathing was steady before trying to move him back, but Ming Zhu’s "ailment" seemed to flare up again. His hands pinned Zhou Fuxue’s wrists to prevent him from moving, and his legs straddled Zhou Fuxue’s waist, pinning him firmly beneath him.
Zhou Fuxue: "..."
The tips of Zhou Fuxue’s ears turned red. He found the position incredibly awkward, but before he could throw Ming Zhu off, he realized with even greater embarrassment that he was starting to have a physical reaction.
*What a disaster,* Zhou Fuxue thought. He took shallow breaths, trying to avoid actually becoming the "vile and base" person Ming Zhu accused him of being. To make matters worse, Ming Zhu began to murmur in his delirium, "Little Thirteen... Thirteen..."
Zhou Fuxue reached out with a hint of resentment, pressed the back of Ming Zhu’s head down, and covered his lips in a kiss.
The next morning, Ming Zhu woke up in a daze. He struggled to sit up and rubbed his eyes, only to realize after a long moment that he was sitting—rather strangely—on Zhou Fuxue’s waist.
Ming Zhu’s face was expressionless, but internally, he was stunned.
Zhou Fuxue had been awake for who knew how long—or perhaps he hadn't slept at all. He looked up at him coldly and said, "Vile."
Ming Zhu: "..."
Zhou Fuxue added, "Base!"
Ming Zhu: "??"
Ming Zhu was utterly bewildered, his eyes misty and confused. It took him a moment to realize Zhou Fuxue was insulting him. He arched an eyebrow, about to retort, when he felt a hot, hard object pressing against his lower back.
Not understanding what it was, Ming Zhu turned around and gave it a poke. He muttered, "What is this thing?"
Zhou Fuxue: "..."
Zhou Fuxue’s face turned bright red. He immediately shoved Ming Zhu aside, scrambled into his clothes, and bolted out of the room.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 镇灵灯 | Soul-Suppressing Lamp | A magical artifact mentioned in the text. |
| 日照山 | Rizhao Mountain | Literally "Sun-Drenched Mountain," a location/sect. |
| 沈娣安 | Shen Di'an | A character from Rizhao Mountain. |
| 玲珑玉 | Linglong Jade | A precious healing item. |
| 闻风楼 | Wenfeng Tower | An information-gathering organization. |
| 周明重 | Zhou Mingzhong | A member of the Zhou family. |
| 降娄 | Jianglou | The seat of the Zhou family. |
| 归宁 | Gui Ning | A senior figure, likely a master or elder. |
| 小十三 | Little Thirteen | Zhou Fuxue's disciple ranking/nickname used by Ming Zhu. |
Enjoying the story? Rate this novel:
Is Everyone Else's Eldest Disciple Like This? | Chapter 101 | Vile and Base | Novela.app | Novela.app
