Mu Daoying had a peculiar trait in his personality.
He was weak against the weak, strong against the strong.
If Liu Qiao’e had merely been Liu Qiao’e, he certainly would not have had the heart to treat her this way.
But now that Liu Qiao’e’s true form was the Immaculate Old Mother, and she had provoked him time and again, he no longer needed to show mercy to the weak.
Blood dripped from her lips. Amid her shock and fury, Liu Qiao’e felt a hidden pang of pain.
That faint stirring of maidenly affection and shyness turned, in this moment, into overwhelming rage like a river pouring backward.
She could only arm herself with anger—only anger could shield the unwillingness and agony in her heart.
“Do you really think I have no way to deal with you?” Staring fixedly into Mu Daoying’s eyes, Liu Qiao’e spat a mouthful of blood foam at his face and said, word by word.
Mu Daoying felt no pleasure. In truth, he only felt deep exhaustion. He leaned against the terrace railing and closed his eyes.
Let her bring out whatever tricks she had.
Liu Qiao’e said, “You brought this on yourself.”
She wiped her sleeve and turned to leave.
After a moment, Mu Daoying suddenly heard a man’s voice.
“I hear that Immortal Mu is a tough nut to crack. Old Mother sent us brothers to see if it’s true.”
Mu Daoying opened his eyes.
Outside the Warm Pavilion stood four men whose features were almost identical.
They were a group of quadruplet brothers.
Their appearances could be called handsome, but their smiles carried a lecherous air.
They surrounded Mu Daoying, commenting on him freely.
“Yo.” The second brother clicked his tongue. “He’s quite the beauty!”
The eldest brother laughed. “Today, we’re in luck, brothers!”
The third brother said, “We agreed before—this one, I get to go first.”
The fourth brother was unhappy. “Why is it always you guys first? I hear the Daoists of Jade Clarity Temple are all virgins untouched by women. Let me enjoy the taste of a young boy for once.”
Mu Daoying’s expression finally changed.
He had never imagined Liu Qiao’e would go mad to this extent.
Beneath his thin sleeve, his scarred fingertips slowly clenched into a fist.
Mu Daoying said nothing, rapidly assessing the gap in strength between them in his mind.
But in his current state, he was indeed covered in wounds, weak and depleted, with his spiritual power nearly exhausted.
If these four attacked together, he truly had no strength to resist.
These quadruplet brothers were surnamed Wang and had served the former palace lord. Strangely, all four had no interest in women and were known for their fondness for men.
Outside, they had no telling how many innocent men they had abducted and ravaged, earning them infamous notoriety.
After Liu Qiao’e took power, she naturally understood the principle of not overdoing it and did not truly exterminate the former palace lord’s old retainers.
As long as they promptly kowtowed and pledged loyalty, she spared their lives.
The Joyous Union Sect was neither the Demonic Sect nor righteous. The palace harbored all manner of filth, with bullying of the weak by the strong happening endlessly.
After Liu Qiao’e rose to power, though she had tidied up the sect’s conduct somewhat, she never intended to turn Joyous Union Palace into some harmonious paradise of truth, goodness, and beauty.
Mu Daoying had humiliated her so; for her to repay him in kind was not excessive.
The four brothers bantered and mocked in front of him—some to intimidate, some out of genuine lust for his looks.
After talking for a while, it was still the eldest brother who set the rules based on seniority.
He would be the first to taste this young virgin.
Mu Daoying closed his eyes. In a few instants, he had resolved himself to death.
He was currently as weak as a chicken now, mere meat on the chopping block. But if they truly tried to force him, even if it cost this battered body—he would fight for his chastity.
Wang Da had no intention of using force right away.
Unlike his second brother, who was rough and liked to leave people bloody everywhere, Wang Da preferred mutual consent, the joy of harmonious union.
Mu Daoying’s black hair hung disheveled, his jade-like face pale.
Wang Da felt delight in his heart. He proclaimed himself Wang Da, the eldest of the Wangs.
In a soft voice, he coaxed, “Be good. Old Mother gave you to us four brothers. As long as you’re obedient, I guarantee you won’t suffer a bit and can even enjoy the utmost pleasures of the world. Surely a Daoist like you hasn’t experienced such things yet?”
Mu Daoying’s stomach churned with nausea, nearly making him vomit. He suppressed the disgust, keeping his face impassive, and only said coolly, “Wang Da, is it? Come closer.”
His eyes were long and narrow, his features soft and refined. Due to his gentle yet aloof nature, he usually appeared as kind and benevolent as a bodhisattva.
But now, with his eyelids slightly lowered, shedding some of that approachable compassion, he gained a divine, overlooking majesty.
His jade-smooth, cool voice was like gentle spring rain, carrying a compelling magic that made one obey.
Enraptured, Wang Da could not endure it and reached out to touch Mu Daoying’s hand.
But the next second, pain exploded in his chest. He froze in place, unable to take another step!
Wang Da slowly looked down, only to see Mu Daoying’s fair fingers pressed to his chest, the fingertips piercing skin and flesh. A strand of extremely faint sword qi twisted at that moment, shredding his heart.
Mu Daoying’s voice was soft, but the contempt in his words was clear. “Even rats have skin, but you lack manners. A mere vermin like you dares to?”
The instant Wang Da fell, Wang Er and the others flew into rage!
“Big Brother!” “Bastard!” “You’re dead!”
Mu Daoying withdrew his hand. His white-jade fingertips were stained with a bit of red. He knew full well that he had no chance against these three together. He could only struggle desperately.
The Wang brothers were always in perfect sync. Now without their eldest, in their fury, their attacks came like a storm, each move aimed to maim.
Mu Daoying dared not be careless. His face set coldly, lips pressed tight. He forcibly circulated his true qi, enduring the tearing pain from his dantian. Under the trio’s assault, he dodged left and right, hard-pressed.
He was kind to others, but that did not mean he never killed. Trash like this—if he could take a few with him before dying, it would be ridding the world of harm.
After several exchanges, Mu Daoying’s sword finger severed Wang San’s arm, but he himself was stabbed in the left side.
His breathing grew more rapid, his vision darkening. Mu Daoying knew he could probably go no further; this was the limit of what he could do.
His unhealed knee throbbed unbearably. Mu Daoying staggered, making a misstep, and Wang Er seized the chance.
Wang Er’s face twisted savagely. He grabbed Mu Daoying’s collar and slammed him to the ground, bending down to tear at his Daoist robe.
“Pah! Shameless little whore.”
“Today, I’ll fuck you then kill you!!”
Mu Daoying coughed up a spurt of blood urgently, but his mind sank into cold calm.
Shedding this broken body would merely return a breath of righteousness to the void.
Just as he prepared to detonate his dantian and perish together with this man—
A gorgeous, bewitching blood snake streaked through the air!
It could not be denied that when Mu Daoying looked up and saw Liu Qiao’e again, though a faint hatred for her lingered, a sense of relief and survival truly emerged from that loathing.
Before the remaining three Wang brothers could react, they joined their eldest in death on the ground.
Liu Qiao’e withdrew the Blood Rakshasa and asked coldly, “Do you know your wrong now?”
Mu Daoying did not answer. He only looked at the four neatly arranged corpses on the ground, his eyelashes drooping. “These four brothers served Old Mother loyally, only to meet Old Mother’s fate of being discarded after use?”
Liu Qiao’e said in disgust, “Don’t provoke me. Served me? These four were dead men walking anyway. Today, I just made use of trash first.”
“I ask you, do you know your wrong? Do you know that with your looks, I wouldn’t even need to lift a finger—just toss you into Joyous Union Palace, and sooner or later you’d become a plaything for countless men and women in the palace.”
Mu Daoying fell silent.
At this point, how could he not understand his situation?
But did he truly have to submit? From then on, serve with his body? Forsake immortality? Forsake the sword path?
Liu Qiao’e was in no hurry, patiently waiting for Mu Daoying’s response.
She figured this little virgin must be scared silly. For a straight young virgin like him, being thrown to men to be defiled was undoubtedly a more effective threat than death.
Mu Daoying drew a deep breath in his heart.
Serving Liu Qiao’e was naturally far more acceptable than serving the men and women of Joyous Union Palace.
He did not want to die.
His master’s case remained unresolved.
If there was a way to live, he would never resolve to die as decisively as today.
After this ordeal, Mu Daoying had no doubt Liu Qiao’e’s character was capable of such things.
He raised his eyes to look at Liu Qiao’e.
Her face was expressionless, her cool eyes showing no extra fluctuations.
The youth before her had a slender waist, frail as if he could not bear clothes, with a soft, aloof icy serenity. But Liu Qiao’e knew Mu Daoying was soft yet firm; he always carried a vital force. He was one who, finding even a sliver of hope, would not lightly throw away his life.
Moreover, when Liu Qiao’e replaced the Wang brothers in front of Mu Daoying, he realized he was not as averse to intimate contact with her as he had imagined.
—At least not as disgusted as with the Wang brothers.
He was a smart man. After weighing the pros and cons, Mu Daoying finally stopped being stubborn. He admitted defeat but did not accept his fate.
The youth lowered his eyes—a rare sight—and bowed respectfully, softening his posture.
“Old Mother, Ying knows his wrong.”
Mu Daoying had no experience as a male favorite.
That night, after he agreed, Liu Qiao’e did not grow so impatient as to drag him straight to bed.
Even a cornered rabbit would bite.
She did not want, in the most pleasurable and vulnerable moment on the bed, for Mu Daoying to suddenly draw a short sword to her throat.
She believed this chaste little immortal was fully capable of such desperate acts under humiliation.
Thus, she only raised a brow. “Come here.”
Mu Daoying: “……”
Mu Daoying stiffened a little. Though he had steeled himself mentally, he truly had not expected it to happen so soon.
“What are you afraid of?” Liu Qiao’e laughed scornfully and beckoned him forward, touching his waist.
His waist was too slim.
She had coveted Mu Daoying’s waist for a long time.
Mu Daoying had refused a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. After her maidenly feelings faded quickly, it had all turned into contemptuous toying.
Through the loose Daoist robe, her fingertips tickled. Mu Daoying’s waist and abdomen tightened involuntarily.
Liu Qiao’e tugged her lips, mocking coldly without restraint. “Can’t even get it up? Scared soft by those men I called?”
Each touch made Mu Daoying’s muscles spasm and tighten in green inexperience, which amused her. She could not resist scratching his sensitive spots.
The woman’s fingertips trailed downward. Mu Daoying closed his eyes silently, slowly exhaling in his heart, suppressing the urge to grab her hand away.
…He endured.
This question was not easy to answer.
Unable to answer, it became tacit agreement.
Even with his good temper, he felt some anger at being belittled and silently recited the Serenity Scripture a few times.
He earnestly wanted to correct her.
It was not so.
He was not entirely ignorant; he had read secret arts of the bedchamber. Besides, a man’s body was wholly different from a woman’s.
A man could be aroused without feelings. After all, every morning, without doing anything or external stimulus, yang energy would rise on its own. Sometimes, an immortal on stage, an old elder chanting scriptures, heart pure toward the Dao without lustful thoughts, would inexplicably get excited below. Without reason, without warning, utterly unreasonable.
Liu Qiao’e pinched his waist, following the lines of his muscles up to the groove of his firm spine.
Mu Daoying closed his eyes and exhaled in his heart.
“The Great Dao is formless, birthing heaven and earth; the Great Dao is emotionless, running sun and moon…”
He continued to endure.
He told himself repeatedly in his heart that since he was feigning submission, this was necessary.
Being touched would not cost him flesh. As long as his Dao heart was firm and rounded, it was merely a spring breeze over his waist.
Joyous Union Sect was a great dye vat.
Unfortunately, after the earnest and upright Daoist Mu fell into this great dye vat of Joyous Union Sect, the first thing he learned was to adapt flexibly.
“Sages adapt to the times, responding to forms with suitability.” Mu Daoying could only console himself thus in his heart.
Liu Qiao’e did not go too far, tasting lightly and stopping while ahead. Women, unlike men, did not lose their heads to lust and rush to completion.
After Mu Daoying yielded, she did not settle him in Approaching Fragrance Hall but nearby in a side hall of Floating Flower Hall.
She also had Second Master Cheng Xun personally escort him to settle in.
And this was also the first time Mu Daoying faced this legendary male consort head-on—the one who enjoyed the greatest trust and favor from the Immaculate Old Mother.
The moment the two met, Mu Daoying thought of the rumors between him and Liu Qiao’e, then of his current status, and felt a subtle unease.
The Mu family was a great clan, and Mu Daoying had a few unreliable elders himself. An absurd notion bubbled up in his mind: he was like the auntie or little concubine some family elder had brought home, meeting the main wife for the first time.
Cheng Xun, however, curved his brows in a smile, carrying himself with the magnanimity and poise of a true principal wife. He smiled and said, “Daoist, you’ve just arrived at Floating Flower Hall and must find everything quite unfamiliar. Old Mother specially instructed me to come show you around and help you get familiar with the surroundings.”
Mu Daoying endured his shame and reservedly gave a slight nod. “You’ve troubled yourself.”