Chapter 106

When news spread that the demonic sect had been wiped out by the Taoist Association, the Taoist masters were already lying on the king-sized beds of the luxury hotel arranged by Assistant Liu, slowly drifting into dreamland.

Before falling asleep, the Taoist masters remained cautious, carefully inspecting their surroundings, afraid of being ambushed again like a few days ago, right after they'd just fallen asleep. Some of the more prudent ones didn’t even take off their clothes, fearing another misunderstanding involving some kind of “play.”

Fortunately, it seemed that even monsters could get tired. That night passed dreamlessly, without any of the unexpected events they had feared.

Xiao Ling still had other work to attend to. With a dazed and emotionally overwhelmed state, he had already taken his leave.

Meanwhile, in the presidential suite on the top floor—

Ke Xingzhou had just come out of the bathroom, weak in both arms and legs, slumped drowsily in Nie Chen’s arms.

Nie Chen was much stronger than he had been three years ago, seemingly even taller. Even while holding Ke Xingzhou, he walked with a steady, effortless gait.

Maintaining that posture, he sat down on the sofa, pulled the limp Ke Xingzhou upright, cupped his face, tilted it up, and gently pecked his lips, coaxing in a low voice, “Blow dry your hair before sleeping.”

Ke Xingzhou gave a muffled response, eyes closed, already starting to slump again.

They’d been going nonstop for the past two days, and he was truly exhausted—so much so that Nie Chen had to bathe him. Of course, during that process, some physically draining things inevitably happened, which made Ke Xingzhou even more worn out, barely able to keep his eyes open.

Fortunately, Nie Chen was watching his movements carefully. With one swift motion, he caught Ke Xingzhou and pulled him back into his embrace.

Ke Xingzhou leaned his head forward and nestled his face into Nie Chen’s neck.

Both of them were wearing the hotel-provided bathrobes. These bathrobes weren’t form-fitting to begin with, and to cut costs, the hotel only offered one-size-fits-all robes. The fact that even someone with Nie Chen’s build could wear it meant it would be extremely loose on Ke Xingzhou.

As they shifted, the belt that had been loosely tied around Ke Xingzhou’s waist instantly came undone, and their legs pressed together, muscles brushing.

Nie Chen’s voice immediately turned husky: “Don’t move.”

Ke Xingzhou had a rebellious streak in him—especially when he was so tired his mind wasn’t quite clear. Not only did he not obey, he even snuggled deeper into Nie Chen’s arms.

His eyes were closed the whole time—he probably had no idea what he was doing.

Nie Chen couldn’t help but take a sharp breath.

Bathing Ke Xingzhou had already been a strain on his nerves. His body temperature hadn’t cooled down since then. He had planned to blow-dry Ke Xingzhou’s hair, watch him fall asleep, and then take care of his own “problem.”

But now, stirred up like this, heat surged through him again, and his eyes darkened.

Only the night light was on in the room. In the dim light, he studied Ke Xingzhou closely. Over the past three years, this man’s face hadn’t changed at all. And now, half-asleep as he was, even the cold indifference he usually wore—as if detached from the world—was gone.

Nie Chen’s gaze traveled slowly from head to toe, finally pausing at the dark shadows beneath Ke Xingzhou’s eyes, his expression growing deeper and deeper.He let out an almost imperceptible sigh and gently put some distance between himself and Ke Xingzhou. Picking up the dry towel that had been tossed aside, he carefully dried Ke Xingzhou’s hair, then turned on the hairdryer.

The buzzing sound of the dryer started up, and Ke Xingzhou, who was nearly asleep, stirred slightly. One of his ears was immediately cupped by a large warm hand.

Nie Chen pressed his cheek against Ke Xingzhou’s other ear, suppressing his breath and coaxing patiently, “Once your hair’s dry, you can sleep.”

Only then did Ke Xingzhou’s struggling ease a little.

But he was a restless sleeper, unable to stay still for long before shifting positions again. Just trying to get him to behave took a lot of effort from Nie Chen, enough to break a light sweat on his forehead.

By the time he finally finished drying Ke Xingzhou’s hair, he himself was a bit drowsy from exhaustion. As he wrapped his arms around Ke Xingzhou, about to lift him up, Ke Xingzhou unexpectedly started struggling again.

Nie Chen picked him up by force, and Ke Xingzhou leaned his head sideways and bit down on his collarbone.

“……”

Nie Chen froze mid-motion. Looking down at Ke Xingzhou, a flicker of fire sparked in his eyes.

It wasn’t a fierce blaze, but it was an irritating kind of heat.

He paused for a moment. Just when Ke Xingzhou thought he could finally relax and sleep, loosening his limbs and sinking back into slumber, Nie Chen straightened up and carried him off the sofa in one smooth motion.

Compared to earlier—just after their bath—his steps toward the bed were noticeably more hurried, even urgent.

Ke Xingzhou frowned from the jostling, opened his mouth to bite again, but his head was pushed down by a firm hand. Then his lips were pried open and bitten a few times as if in punishment, the air in his mouth completely stolen away.

He instinctively struggled, and even his tightly shut eyes opened. Feeling the startling heat of the palm on his waist, he couldn’t help but flinch.

The next second, wet kisses brushed past his lips, glided over his cheek, then drifted down to his ear and neck.

Ke Xingzhou murmured in a daze, “Nie Chen?”

Nie Chen responded vaguely. For some reason, the kisses slowly turned into nips. He bit down hard on Ke Xingzhou’s collarbone, then quickly eased the pressure, soothing the bite with gentle licks.

When Ke Xingzhou tried to push him away, Nie Chen tilted his head up and lightly bit his chin. “And now Master wants to resist? Isn’t it a bit too late? Did you forget what you just did to me?”

“……” Ke Xingzhou froze.

He was only half-awake and really had no idea what he’d done.

And whenever Nie Chen called him “Master,” there was always a certain unidentifiable tone in his voice. No matter how many times he heard it, Ke Xingzhou just couldn’t get used to it.

A shiver ran down the back of his neck. Although he felt sure he hadn’t done anything too outrageous while asleep, the certainty in Nie Chen’s expression made him hesitate.

“I…”

“Trying to deny it, Master?” Nie Chen lifted his eyelids slightly, then hooked a finger under the collar of his bathrobe, revealing a row of teeth marks on his collarbone. “The evidence is right here.”

Ke Xingzhou: “……”

Maybe the heating in the room was turned up too high, but Ke Xingzhou felt stifled. Nie Chen’s body heat made his mouth dry, and even breathing started to feel difficult.

He was just about to say something when a sudden light lit up the dim room.

The screen of the phone placed by the bedside lit up, casting a glow on both their profiles. Under Nie Chen’s deep and unreadable gaze, Ke Xingzhou’s heart skipped a beat. Snapping out of the ambiguous atmosphere, he turned to grab the phone.A call came in—it was from an unfamiliar number.

Ke Xingzhou squinted against the overly bright screen, barely managing to make out the answer button before pressing it.

The next moment, a familiar voice came through the receiver: “Ke Xingzhou! You little brat, I see you’ve grown bold. You said you’d come home but didn’t—fine, I could overlook that—but not only are you staying out all night, you even dared to sneak off to the southwest!”

Ke Xingzhou pulled the phone away to check the number more closely, still not recognizing it.

After a moment of muddled thought, he realized it must be Ke Zhengye—who had been blocked—calling from a different number.

Nie Chen’s body heat still clung to his side, making Ke Xingzhou flinch. Already unsteady, his breath grew noticeably heavier.

On the other end, Ke Zhengye hadn’t gotten a response for a while, but hearing that sharp breath made him explode with rage: “You little punk! What are you doing in the middle of the night? Is someone with you? Who is it? Is it that rude disciple of yours, or that kid from the Xie family?!”

Ke Xingzhou locked eyes with Nie Chen. His silhouette was reflected clearly in those grey-green irises, and a strange heat stirred in Ke Xingzhou’s chest, making him swallow hard. The gulp echoed loudly in the quiet room.

Ke Zhengye, likely imagining all sorts of scenarios, roared furiously, his voice cracking: “Say something!! Are you mute?!”

“……”

The mood was completely ruined by the interruption.

Ke Xingzhou broke eye contact with Nie Chen and rubbed at his throbbing temple. “How did you know I was in the southwest?”

“I’m your father! What don’t I know?” Ke Zhengye snorted. “Besides, your photos are all over the internet now. Do you think I’m blind and can’t even see that?”

Ke Xingzhou fell silent for a moment. Then Jiang Wanru’s exasperated voice came through from the other end: “What do you mean you saw it? I was scrolling through Weibo and mentioned Xingzhou to my friend, and you just happened to overhear. That’s how you found out he was in the southwest…”

She paused, then added, “Are you done yet? If you are, let me talk to Xingzhou for a bit. The neighbors are going to want their phone back soon.”

Ke Zhengye went quiet for a moment—probably out of embarrassment—then handed the phone over to Jiang Wanru.

Ke Xingzhou asked curiously, “Whose phone is this?”

“The neighbors’,” Jiang Wanru’s voice grew clearer as the background noise quieted down. There was a faint knocking sound and Ke Zhengye mumbling something about why she closed the door. “Didn’t you block both our numbers because you were annoyed at your dad? It just so happened we had the neighbors over for dinner tonight, so we borrowed their phone to call you.”

Ke Xingzhou went silent.

He looked down at the screen and hesitated. “At one in the morning?”

Jiang Wanru, completely unbothered by the time, explained, “They’re always busy. Every time we try to invite them, they say they don’t have time. This was the only time they were free. They’re actually very nice people! Your dad said you were involved in that southwest demonic sect cleanup, and they immediately agreed to come over. They even brought a bunch of gifts and said we should keep in touch more!”

From outside the room, Ke Zhengye yelled angrily, “Why are you telling him that? That unfilial brat just keeps running off! I only mentioned him in passing!”

Normally indifferent to her husband’s temper, Jiang Wanru suddenly snapped: “Shut up! I can’t hear what Xingzhou is saying!!”

Ke Zhengye: “…………”

Whether from shock or something else, he actually shut up.

Ke Xingzhou fell into silence again. After a moment, he changed the subject. “...What did you call me for?”

Only then did Jiang Wanru remember the main reason for the call. Her voice tightened with concern: “Xingzhou, I saw on the news that a lot of people involved in the cleanup operation got hurt. Are you okay?”Ke Xingzhou paused for a moment, his voice muffled: “I’m fine.”

After a brief silence, he added, “The ones who were injured were the Taoists who got ambushed by demonic cultivators earlier. Not many of the ones who participated in the latest sweep operation got hurt.”

Jiang Wanru let out a breath of relief: “That’s good to hear. Those Taoists seemed pretty reliable, and their strength really shows. But you can’t just run off like that next time without saying a word. You trouble others, and it worries the family…”

Ke Xingzhou wanted to say that his own sect, Xiaoyao Sect, contributed the most in this operation, but for some reason, he held back and just gave a soft “mm.”

If the Taoists heard this conversation, they’d probably burst into tears.

They really didn’t get hurt much—most of their wounds were from being ambushed by ghost soldiers the night before.

But that’s because they didn’t even do anything!

It seemed Jiang Wanru had taken the phone just to say these things. Ke Xingzhou had no experience chatting with family and didn’t know how to keep the conversation going, so the two of them fell silent.

Until Ke Zhengye started yelling again from the other end: “Why are you two so quiet? What are you saying behind my back? Open the door!”

Jiang Wanru sounded exasperated and sighed. But her relationship with her son wasn’t exactly close, so she simply said goodbye: “Your dad’s acting crazy again. One of these days I’ll take him to the psych ward to get his brain checked… It’s late, get some sleep.”

Ke Zhengye roared, “Sleep? What sleep? He hasn’t even explained who he’s with yet! Don’t hang up—give me the phone!”

Jiang Wanru: “Ignore him. Goodnight, darling. Come home soon.”

Ke Zhengye: “Wanru!!”

And then the call was abruptly cut off.

Ke Xingzhou stared at the ended call screen. His long lashes lowered, hiding whatever expression lay in his eyes. He looked dazed, lost in thought.

He didn’t move, and Nie Chen remained silent as well, simply watching him intently, motionless.

It wasn’t until the heat against the inside of Ke Xingzhou’s leg became too intense to ignore that he came back to himself. Their eyes met, and their breathing grew involuntarily rapid.

“Shifu?” Nie Chen asked, seeking his consent.

Ke Xingzhou hesitated for a moment. Whether it was because the earlier mood had been too tender or because his emotions were still in turmoil and he needed comfort, he slowly lowered his head as if pulled by an invisible force.

Their lips met—and quickly turned to biting and taking.

Ke Xingzhou felt his body lift, the world spinning around him. He instinctively wrapped his arms around Nie Chen’s neck. In the next moment, a pure white bathrobe was tugged off and crumpled weakly to the floor with a soft rustle.

His—and Nie Chen’s.

--

The next day, when Ke Xingzhou showed up yawning in front of everyone, they all paused in surprise.

Zhu Chu had once again been left in a room alone, though this time it was an executive suite—much larger than the standard business room before, practically an apartment.

Even so, he still felt jealous that his junior could sleep with their master. Seeing the dark circles under his master’s eyes, which had worsened rather than improved, he couldn’t help but speak up indignantly: “Shifu, did you not sleep well last night? Did junior brother keep you up?”

Ke Xingzhou paused, the tips of his ears reddening for some reason. He instinctively licked his lips and said, “No. I just couldn’t fall asleep.”

Zhu Chu noticed the redness at the corners of his master’s eyes and froze for a moment, puzzled.He thought to himself that when Shifu was rubbing his eyes from sleepiness earlier, they didn’t seem that red—clearly, junior brother had shamelessly clung to Shifu again last night and brainwashed him into doting on him even more.

But now Shifu was clearly bewitched by junior brother—always siding with him when speaking, not even getting enough sleep himself, and still covering for him.

He could only redirect his anger at junior brother: “Junior brother, how could you disturb Shifu’s rest? No matter what, you can’t take up Shifu’s rest time just to get taught!”

Junior brother didn’t respond right away. Upon hearing this, he fell silent. The usually cold glint in his eyes, for some reason, now carried a trace of something complex.

Zhu Chu: “?”

Nie Chen emotionlessly brushed his hand off his face: “Not your business. Go play somewhere.”

Zhu Chu: “??”

He was furious.

Junior brother was usually disrespectful and always bullied him, the senior brother—that he could endure. But to fight for affection at the cost of Shifu’s time and still show no remorse? This couldn't be allowed to go on!

He felt it was time, as senior brother, to stand up and clean up the sect's atmosphere. But just as he rolled up his sleeves, Assistant Liu pulled him aside.

Assistant Liu: “Mr. Zhu, the local Taoist Association received Xiaoyao Sect’s temple land application, but it looks like a few required documents are missing. I don’t really understand this stuff—could you take a look for me?”

Zhu Chu’s attention was immediately diverted.

After carefully reviewing the materials sent by the Taoist Association in Shancheng, Zhu Chu couldn’t help but sigh that the sect really couldn’t function without him. Unlike junior brother—

Using looks to serve others—how long could that really last!

Nie Chen: “…”

--

The Nine-Headed Dragon’s influence ran deep in the Southwest. No matter how hard the local Taoist Association cracked down, they couldn’t eliminate it. Now that they had suddenly been wiped out in one move by the Taoists from Jiangcheng, the local association was still trying to process it.

Once the local Taoist masters more or less came to their senses, Ke Xingzhou and the others, along with the Taoists from Jiangcheng, were invited to the Shancheng Taoist Association.

The president of the Shancheng Association was surnamed Feng. As soon as he saw the Taoists from Jiangcheng, he was moved to tears: “The trouble in the Southwest this time—it's all thanks to your support. Otherwise, the hundreds of lives in our Taoist Association here would’ve been lost to those demonic cultists.”

The Taoists from Jiangcheng felt ashamed hearing such heartfelt thanks.

The old Taoist with the goatee quickly explained, “It was all thanks to Daoist Ke and his people. We hardly did anything. We dare not take the credit.”

The local Taoists had already heard the full story from the Jiangcheng group, and now, hearing this again, looked toward the members of Xiaoyao Sect with complicated expressions.

Under normal circumstances, seeing such young and good-looking individuals, they would never have associated them with being Taoists.

But according to the Jiangcheng Taoists, it was indeed these seemingly inexperienced young Taoists from Xiaoyao Sect who contributed the most to saving them. President Feng immediately led everyone in expressing their deep gratitude once again.

Ke Xingzhou calmly accepted the thanks, staring intently at President Feng the entire time. When Feng turned to leave after the speech, Ke Xingzhou looked a little confused.

Where was his red envelope?

In the past, when followers received help and gave such heartfelt thanks, they always slipped him a red envelope afterward.Although Ke Xingzhou used to always refuse them, that was only because back then his merit points weren’t enough to bear such hefty red envelopes.

Now his merit was no longer low!

Daoist Feng felt uneasy under his quiet stare, breaking into a cold sweat. He didn’t understand how he might have offended this Daoist Ke—why did his gaze feel like he owed him millions?

After the awkwardness passed, he quickly returned to business, speaking with authority: “The reason we called everyone over, aside from expressing our gratitude for your help, is also to discuss something urgent. Although the Nine-Headed Dragon incident has been resolved, according to your accounts, there are still demonic clans roaming free. Back in the great war of gods and demons, it took the combined efforts of humans, ghosts, gods, and spirits to repel and seal them away. Now that they’re making a comeback, I fear they won’t spare any of the four races.”

“Among the human world, aside from the god clan—which is now in decline and unreachable—I’ve already notified all the other groups. Only the ghost clan remains… The realms of yin and yang have always stayed out of each other’s business. Recently, however, paranormal incidents have increased, and for some unknown reason, the underworld has gone into lockdown. All communications are cut off. Even the Qingyun Temple in the capital can’t get in touch with the usual emissaries from the underworld.”

The Daoists from Jiangcheng were startled and all turned to look at Ke Xingzhou.

If anyone had good relations with the underworld, it would be no one else but Xiaoyao Sect.

They had even personally seen Ke Xingzhou summon a temporary judge of the underworld—so how could it now be on lockdown?

Too many things had happened during the operation to wipe out the demonic cult. The Daoists from Jiangcheng hadn’t even finished their full report, and the Taoists in Shancheng only had a rough idea of what had happened. Now, seeing everyone looking at Ke Xingzhou, they shook their heads.

Daoist Feng said, “It must be a recent development. The two realms rarely communicate—Daoist Ke likely doesn’t know what’s going on either.”

But the moment he said this, the expressions of the Jiangcheng Daoists all turned odd, glancing repeatedly at Ke Xingzhou as if they wanted to speak but didn’t dare.

Daoist Feng found it all very strange. Didn’t these same Daoists previously claim that they had relied on Ke Xingzhou to eliminate the demonic sect? Why did it now seem like there was some rift between them?

He didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just some rivalry caused by information gaps between temples.

The matter of the demonic clan wasn’t something that could be resolved overnight, so he changed the subject: “By the way, Daoist Ke, I believe you also submitted an application to use the ancient architectural site previously occupied by Jiulong Temple?”

That site wasn’t originally a temple—it was a cluster of ancient buildings that the local tourism bureau had intended to restore for developing tourism.

But just as the mushroom season approached, they were worried that tourists might eat raw mushrooms and get poisoned, so the bureau diverted their attention to training local shop owners on food safety. When they looked back, they found the restored site had suddenly become Jiulong Temple’s territory, with devotees fiercely defending it and refusing to let the tourism bureau ‘seize public property.’

It infuriated the tourism bureau.

So this time, when Xiaoyao Sect applied to use the site to establish a branch, and the bureau heard it was the sect that had wiped out the demonic cult, they readily agreed.

However, the Taoist Association still required some formal procedures.

Daoist Feng said, “Here’s the thing. We received your business license, but why does it list the business scope as selling cultural tourism goods? Was that submitted by mistake? What we need is either a religious site management agency registration or a proper license, along with a certificate of Taoist organization registration. Since you're all here, why not submit it in person? That way I can have someone process it for you more quickly.”

Ke Xingzhou: “…”

Zhu Chu: “…”

Seeing their silence, Daoist Feng helpfully added, “If you don’t have those, other supporting documents are also acceptable. For example, the stamped registration application form for religious sites you used when opening your temple in the capital.”

Ke Xingzhou again: “…”

Zhu Chu: “…”

Daoists from Jiangcheng: “…………”

When Daoist Feng got no response after finishing his explanation, he looked up in confusion. Faced with the group’s silence, he suddenly felt uneasy.

Wait… why did the atmosphere suddenly get so weird again?Did he say something wrong?