UCTOOT CH14

The threads that connected them through the air snapped.

The hazy, sticky atmosphere suddenly became as clear as if it had been plunged into an ice cellar. Xie Wuchi’s eyes cleared in an instant. He abruptly took a step back, his figure moving away from Shi Shu, retreating into the center of the Zen room, resuming his calm, water-like, and dignified appearance.

“…I really was drunk.”

Shi Shu was struck by lightning, “You, you, you, you… Xie Wuchi, you actually pointed your gun at me? Are you gay or a pervert? Did you go crazy from being repressed after transmigrating!?”

Although Xie Wuchi had always spoken freely and had received a fairly open sex education, it didn’t mean Shi Shu could tolerate his intimate contact!

Damn it!

The Zen room was silent. Xie Wuchi’s face was hidden in the darkness, his eyelashes lowered, still panting.

A layer of cold sweat broke out on his back, flowing down the bones of his neck. His brow was furrowed, and his whole person seemed to be sinking into the deep sea.

Xie Wuchi: “Sorry.”

“You’re shameless.”

“Yes.”

Shi Shu: “Are you a pervert?”

Xie Wuchi: “Maybe.”

“…” Shi Shu couldn’t talk to him. He grabbed his pants and ran out in a huff, “I’m going out first. You hurry up and solve it!”

Xie Wuchi: “No need, come back. It’s not that bad. I’m already fine.”

“Let’s not talk about this.”

Xie Wuchi poured a brown medicinal soup from an earthenware jar on the square table, “Your Siwu Tang is ready. I waited for you for half a day, but you didn’t come back. It’s cold. I’ll heat it up for you again.”

“Leave it there and don’t move,” Shi Shu’s fair face had his eyes wide open. “You’re already like that, and I still dare to drink it? Don’t rush to bribe me.”

Under the moonlight, Shi Shu scrambled to the steps in the courtyard, keeping a distance from Xie Wuchi.

Shi Shu’s face was full of vigilance.

“Make it clear! Do you like men? How many relationships did you have before you transmigrated? Otherwise, I’m not coming in this door today.”

“…”

Xie Wuchi stood at the door with his hands in his sleeves and put the medicine bowl back.

The moonlight shone on the back of his slender hands, the blue veins winding, making these hands seem more powerful, with distinct knuckles, as if they could wield sharp blades and heavy armor, leading millions of elite soldiers.

Xie Wuchi lowered his head and looked at Shi Shu, who was illuminated by the moonlight at the bottom of the steps. His tall shadow fell into the mud pit, his eyes and brows layered with shadows.

Xie Wuchi: “Must you know?”

“I must.”

“I’ve never been in a relationship.”

“Huh?”

Xie Wuchi looked like a cold and noble person with a bunch of people kneeling at his feet, begging to be chosen. He had never been in a relationship?

Shi Shu: “I don’t believe you. You must be pretending to be innocent.”

Xie Wuchi: “Alright, I’m a sex addict. I have to have sex every day, fuck people until the bed collapses; otherwise, I feel uncomfortable all over. My phone is full of internet celebrities and starlets lining up for me to screw. Do you prefer me like this?”

“…………”

Shi Shu covered his ears, “—Really?”

“What do you think?”

As their gazes met in a silent confrontation.

Not far away, the door of the adjacent Zen room creaked open, and a bald head poked out, “Senior Brother, what’s all the noise?”

“…” Shi Shu was interrogating Xie Wuchi about his love life.

Xie Wuchi bowed to the monk, “Sorry for the disturbance.”

Looking back at Shi Shu, a chill under his eyelashes, “And you, running around all sweaty. Where were you tricked into going today? Make it clear.”

Shi Shu snorted, “I wasn’t tricked by anyone. I took Xiao Shu                                            to her relative’s house, a forty-li round trip.”

Xie Wuchi: “Your stamina is not bad, you can run quite a bit. I bought some food on the table.”

“…”

The monk next door didn’t leave either, “Senior Brothers, it’s late at night. Please don’t quarrel!”

Please do quarrel, so I can watch!

“…” The atmosphere was interrupted.

Blown by the night wind, Shi Shu felt cold all over. The hair-raising feeling of shock disappeared, replaced by the fatigue after a long journey.

Shi Shu didn’t know if he should continue to argue, his jaw clenched.

Before taking a step, he pointed at him, “Xie Wuchi, I’ll give you one last chance, understand?”

Xie Wuchi: “Thank you.”

“Next time you need to solve your physiological needs, tell me in advance. I can leave and give you your private space. Don’t be like this again. I almost thought you were gay. It’s really scary!”

Shi Shu was finally placated. He jumped up the steps and went back into the room. He drank two mouthfuls of water and couldn’t help but ask, “By the way, what’s a sex addict?”

Xie Wuchi’s eyes were dark and cold. He looked at his chewing cheeks and the two wisps of wet hair sticking up. He lowered his head and made the candlelight brighter.

He let out a low chuckle, “It’s better for you not to know.”

There was still hot water in the bathhouse. Shi Shu changed his clothes and took a bath first, then lay comfortably on the bed.

Helping others should also be within one’s ability. Even though his physical fitness was excellent, starting with tens of li at a time was not something an ordinary person could do.

A quilt was draped over his waist. The fatigue and dust disappeared. Shi Shu rested his face on one hand, closed his eyes, and fell into a deep sleep. His eyelashes cast a small shadow on his fair face.

In the flickering candlelight, Xie Wuchi looked at his sleeping face. After a moment, he put on his monk’s robe, pushed open the door, and left the courtyard. The dim light concealed his face and also closed the door.

Early in the morning, Shi Shu was awakened by a knock on the door.

Xie Wuchi was changing clothes behind the screen. After the wood and bone were folded, a section of his muscular back was illuminated by the morning sun, the wheat-colored muscles distinct, the bones strong. Shi Shu glanced at it and looked away.

He threw his clothes on the stool and draped them over it, “Time to go to the dining hall to eat.”

Shi Shu: “Hehe, we can’t go back.”

Xie Wuchi: “The crown prince is staying in the temple today. In the afternoon, a high monk will hold a lecture. I’m afraid I’ll be back late.”

Shi Shu: “We can’t go back.”

“…”

The sun was bright. Shi Shu ran past him, the young man hopping and skipping on the stone path, keeping a distance from Xie Wuchi, while turning back to point at him, “Don’t come over here, pervert.”

Xie Wuchi’s face was as calm as water, his lips pursed.

—Until Shi Shu bumped into a monk and broke the egg in the man’s hand.

“Senior Brother, you, you, you, you—”

Shi Shu: “…Sorry.” He stood there.

“Xie Wuchi, come here for a moment.”

Xie Wuchi stepped forward, placed a copper coin in the monk’s hand, and inexplicably curved his lips into an absurd smile.

Monk: ? Is it funny?

Under the sunlight, Xie Wuchi raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose. Looking at Shi Shu, who was embraced by the sunlight, he narrowed his eyes.

In the dining hall, he once again encountered the jealous young master monk from a few days ago and the charming young monk, the two who were so impatient that they could do it in the desolate courtyard with dry wood and raging fire.

They were head to head, whispering.

“I told you to put away those messy books long ago. If I hadn’t bribed the monk in the same room to take the blame for me, both of us would have been kicked out of the temple. Then my father would have broken my legs for sure.”

“Heh,” a laugh. “How much did you spend to have him take the fall for you? This is a lifetime meal ticket.”

“Five hundred taels for an ordination certificate, it’s so expensive.”

Shi Shu was about to leave. Seeing that Xie Wuchi seemed unconcerned but was actually listening, he had to stop.

“But why did they suddenly start checking the book catalog and caring about the monks’ conduct?”

“Isn’t it obvious? The crown prince comes to the temple every day, worried about the army’s provisions. I think they can’t squeeze any more oil out of it, so they want to turn their blades on the Buddha.”

“What audacity!”

“You and I shouldn’t see each other recently. Be careful.”

“You coward. We’ve been together for so long and no one has ever seen us. What are you afraid of? It’s been so many days, and you don’t miss me…”

A layer of goosebumps rose on Shi Shu’s back. He wiped the water stains from the corner of his mouth. Xie Wuchi was still holding the gourd ladle in the water bucket, water droplets flowing down his slender fingers.

“…Then tonight, the old place.”

The voice disappeared. Xie Wuchi put the water ladle back on the surface of the water, creating ripples that spread along the wall of the vat and dissipated after a long time.

“The Buddha takes the eight sufferings as his teacher. Lust is an impure act that confuses and leads one astray from the right path.”

“Those who suffer from stubbornness, foolishness, and absurdity will fall into the evil path after death.”

“Lust is the decline and disaster of the world. When ordinary people encounter it, there is no calamity that will not befall them.”

Xie Wuchi calmly recited this and said, “Let’s go.”

The Bodhi tree provided shade like a canopy, cool underneath.

A lecture on Buddhism was being given below the stage. Shi Shu listened until he was drowsy.

After moving all the stones on the ground, counting all the ants, and picking up all the leaves, Shi Shu yawned and left the Guanyin Hall.

I’m out of here. I’ll go see Yuan Guan’s family.

I’d rather run a marathon than let knowledge enter my brain.

The doors of the Northern Slave street were tightly closed. The dried blood had been washed away by water and flowed into the ditch, stinking to high heaven, with mosquitoes flying about. The other families were no longer afraid and came out to walk around. Some also talked to him.

Shi Shu asked, “Are there no yamen runners guarding the door today?”

“No. This family, they are so miserable!”

Shi Shu: “Are Yuan He and Yuan Guan both dead?”

“Who said they’re dead?” This neighbor clicked his tongue. “With Yuan He’s martial arts, it’s hard to die even if he wanted to.”

Shi Shu was confused, “Then whose blood is this?”

“Whose could it be? The yamen runners came last night, dragged Yuan Guan to the street, slapped him on both ears, and asked, ‘This whole street has no descendants, how do you have a daughter?'”

Shi Shu: “And then?”

“There were some rumors on this street, saying that men lived with men, and women with women. But wasn’t it all forced by those bastards? This yamen runner mocked him, ‘First cousins, do you still sleep together naked every night to have a daughter?'”

“You don’t know, Xiao Shu                                            was abandoned and they kindly adopted her, saving a life. When Yuan Guan heard this, he didn’t say anything, just smiled and said please let Yuan He and Xiao Shu                                            go, after all, he was the one who wrote those books, it had nothing to do with anyone else.”

“The yamen runner wouldn’t let him go. He reached out to tear his clothes, saying he wanted to see the bodies that had been screwed by men. Yuan He was already angry. Seeing Yuan Guan being humiliated made him even angrier. He broke free from the masters who were holding him, his strength like a bull. We all saw it. He pulled out the yamen runner’s sword, and with just a few strokes, he killed all of them!”

“So much blood, it was spraying everywhere. The sword stabbed into the chest, hacking until it was a bloody mess. So much hatred! After killing these people, Yuan He didn’t have time to wait for his daughter. He grabbed Yuan Guan and fled for their lives.”

Slaves who killed had to pay with their lives, there was absolutely no way out. According to the laws of the Great Jing, they would be publicly hanged at the marketplace.

Unless they fled, fled to the ends of the earth, to a place where there were no people. This also seemed to be the fate of the two lowly slaves.

“…”

The person speaking was vivid, his mouth flying with spittle.

Shi Shu was stunned. The remnants of blood were infinitely magnified in his pupils.

“…Is this really the result? How tragic.”

Shi Shu looked up and glanced at the tightly closed door again. Through the door, it seemed he could see two figures fleeing in panic. His heart was filled with mixed feelings. He couldn’t say what he was feeling.

Returning to Xiangnan Temple, that night, Xie Wuchi did not return.

Recently, he had been coming and going like a ghost. It was common for him to not come back occasionally. Sometimes, Shi Shu would be fast asleep when this person would push open the door and come in.

Shi Shu was half-asleep. In the middle of the night, he heard movements and chaotic footsteps outside the window. Many people were walking around, and many people were talking in the courtyard, so loud that Shi Shu had to get out of bed.

“Go, go, go!”

“Something big has happened. This is a big problem.”

“We can’t get out at all. Senior Brother, what should we do?”

“…Who’s making all that noise?”

Shi Shu didn’t know the time, but he could guess it was after midnight. He slipped on a pair of shoes, walked to the door, and opened it.

A tall figure swooped down from outside the door, about to enter the room, wrapped in the night wind. Because it was night, his hair was blown down, and shadows instantly filled his eyes.

Xie Wuchi was holding a book in one hand and happened to be coming in.

Shi Shu: “You’re back?”

“I’m back.” A faint smell of blood floated in the air. Xie Wuchi went to the table, took off his outer monk’s robe, and threw it on the stool.

Shi Shu: “What happened outside? It’s so noisy.”

“Oh,” Xie Wuchi took a sip of tea from the cup. “The crown prince was touring Xiangnan Temple at night and accidentally stumbled upon two monks engaging in illicit activities in the wild. First, the erotic books were popular, and now they are blaspheming the gods and Buddhas. The crown prince was furious and called for the officials from the three yamen. They are currently interrogating the two monks. At the same time, they have blocked the front and back doors, not allowing any monks to enter or leave.”

“Monks having sex in the wild,” Shi Shu’s heart skipped a beat. “It’s not them, is it?”

Xie Wuchi: “It is.”

Shi Shu: “They were caught by the crown prince?”

“Yes, it’s nothing if we see it. The crown prince has been angry recently and has nowhere to vent. He’s been praying to the Buddha for days, but the rebellion in the Great Jing has not subsided. He’s become a little paranoid.”

“…So, he would suspect that these monks’ hearts are not sincere, that they are committing lust, and that they have angered the Buddha?”

“Yes.”

Shi Shu looked at him, then looked again, always feeling that it wasn’t that simple. Outside the door, many monks had come out of their courtyards, not knowing what to do. The government yamen runners were in rows, holding up torches along the road, loudly shouting for silence and no resistance.

Shi Shu suddenly felt a sense of tension, “It’s like a teacher checking the dorms. Will they kill people?”

Xie Wuchi: “I don’t know.”

He was very calm from beginning to end. As if he were completely uninvolved, Shi Shu also felt that the affairs of the tens of thousands of people in the entire temple should not be something that Xie Wuchi alone could control.

“From the erotic books to the monks having sex in the wild, is this temple just unlucky?”

“First, this is something that has always happened in the temple. Second,” Xie Wuchi glanced at him, “when the higher-ups are short of money, everyone is unlucky.”

Shi Shu: “?”

Just as Shi Shu was about to ask for details, a group of people appeared from behind the rockery in front of him. They were wearing monk’s robes and holding the staffs of warrior monks. Some even held swords and other weapons. A large group had gathered, holding torches in the dark, and were gathering towards the main hall where the crown prince Chu Wei was staying.

“Why were all our ordination certificates confiscated?!”

“Others made mistakes, why should we innocent monks be implicated? If our ordination certificates are confiscated, how will we live the rest of our lives?”

“Damn it, it cost a full hundred taels to buy this ordination certificate, and now they’re taking it back just like that! On what grounds?”

“…”

Xie Wuchi raised his hand and closed the wooden door, looking at the rioting monks through the crack. His breath fell by Shi Shu’s ear, his eyes reflecting the jumping flames.

He smiled, “Good, this has blown up.”

The next moment, Shi Shu’s wrist was grabbed by him, instantly hot, “Come with me.”