Tempting The God - Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Buried Bones
Fu Xingren immediately shed her usual frivolous demeanor, sat up, and grabbed the wound ointment from the table with a quick motion.
Dipping her fingers into the ointment, she gently lifted Shen Jixue’s hand, meticulously applying the balm to the wound.
Finally, she softly blew on it, as if trying to soothe a feral beast about to break free.
“My esteemed and honorable Supreme Lord, does it still hurt?”
Shen Jixue glanced at the Hehuan Sect’s venerable ancestor, who was putting on a pitiful act before her.
Retracting her right hand, she said, “Don’t use the Hehuan Sect’s tricks on me.”
“Fine, fine,” Fu Xingren smoothed her stray locks by her temples, a hint of concealed excitement flickering in her eyes.
“I’m just curious—how does someone as cold-hearted as you plan to make Chang Yuan fall for you?”
“Want me to help you?”
As she spoke, her delicate fingers reached out again, gently tracing Shen Jixue’s collar.
Shen Jixue narrowed her eyes slightly.
Despite being the Demon Lord, she was momentarily distracted by the unparalleled beauty before her.
After a brief pause, she asked, “And how exactly would you help me?”
Fu Xingren leaned closer, a mischievous smile on her lips.
“Recently, I refined a new pill that can make any man channel all his emotions toward you alone, burning like a fiery blaze. I’ve named it—’Burning Love’.'”
“Care to give one to his reincarnation?”
Shen Jixue frowned, glancing at the red pill whose color matched its name.
“For cultivators, tribulations are tests imposed by the heavens. A tribulation of death must involve facing mortality, a tribulation of life demands enduring the suffering of existence, and a tribulation of love requires true sincerity.”
“True sincerity?”
Fu Xingren raised a brow, as though she had heard something laughably absurd.
“The men of this world have no hearts; where would you find true sincerity?”
“If you ask me, why put yourself through this pain?” She gestured toward Shen Jixue’s right hand.
“Everything in this world comes with a price. To obtain something, one must pay—be it with wealth, the body, or even the soul. Something always has to be sacrificed.”
Shen Jixue lowered her gaze, slowly closing her palm.
“It’s often said that true sincerity is hard to come by. You should know better than I do—if you wish to gain someone’s true sincerity, you must pay an even higher price. A mere superficial injury is hardly worth lamenting.”
Seeing Fu Xingren’s dissatisfaction, she waved her hand dismissively.
“Your way lies elsewhere. I won’t argue with you. Return to the Demon Realm. Without my summons, you are not to trespass into the human world.”
Fu Xingren pursed her lips and stood up lazily.
Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly asked, “Why not simply destroy Chang Yuan’s soul?”
She stood there for a moment, but when Shen Jixue offered no reply, she understood the impossibility of the matter.
Losing interest in the conversation, she waved her hand and left.
Shen Jixue sat quietly for a while.
She hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since midday, and now hunger gnawed at her.
Human bodies were truly fragile.
Injured and without a proper meal at night, she feared she might be forced to leave this body tomorrow.
Wrapping herself in a padded coat, she shuffled to the small kitchen, intending to cook some porridge.
She lit the stove and set water to boil, then sat by the counter, extending her hands toward the flames for warmth.
The winter night was desolate, accompanied only by faint winds.
Shen Jixue recalled Fu Xingren’s earlier question and became lost in thought.
The ways of heaven are unchanging.
Just as light and darkness, or gods and demons, exist in perpetual balance, one cannot erase them entirely.
If she were to destroy Chang Yuan’s soul, it would be like overturning the balance scale before the heavens.
The demons might invade the divine realm during the gods’ leaderless chaos, but such a victory would be fleeting.
Inevitably, the demons would decline alongside the gods.
And if Chang Yuan’s soul were extinguished, she would be the next to die.
Only when a new Divine Lord emerged would the Demon Realm gain its next ruler, capable of unifying all factions.
Thus, she wouldn’t kill Chang Yuan entirely.
She would instead use his tribulation to weaken his cultivation, perhaps even cause him to fail his trial and lose the chance to return to his divine position.
As for pushing him into reincarnation?
The gods weren’t fools.
They wouldn’t simply let their Divine Lord fail his tribulation.
They would surely interfere.
Even if she wished it, it would be nearly impossible to achieve.
“What are you thinking about? The water’s boiling.”
Shen Jixue snapped out of her reverie, pretending not to have heard the approaching footsteps.
Startled, she looked up sharply at the visitor.
Amid the rising steam, Lin Mozhi’s naturally elegant and refined features seemed imbued with an otherworldly grace.
The white silk covering his eyes added an ethereal quality, making him appear like an immortal descending into the dimly lit kitchen.
Shen Jixue froze for a moment, her face turning red as she hurriedly stood up.
“Big Brother, why are you here?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to walk around,” Lin Mozhi replied with a gentle smile.
“But what about you? Hungry again after eating? Well, that’s understandable. You’re still growing and need to eat more. What are you cooking?”
Pretending, are you? Don’t you already know?
Shen Jixue hesitated, hiding her injured right hand behind her back.
“I… I wanted to make some porridge.”
Since he was pretending not to know, she decided to play along.
Noticing her unease, Lin Mozhi chuckled, his smile showing traces of youthful warmth and approachability.
“How about I join you for a bowl?”
Shen Jixue was momentarily startled, then quickly smiled and agreed, “Sure!”
The two sat by the stove, each holding a bowl of plain porridge, chatting in soft voices.
Lin Manor and her injury seemed to fade into the background.
They looked just like a pair of siblings sharing a quiet moment, their bond intimate and natural.
“Big Brother, you should go back. I’ll take care of the dishes.”
Shen Jixue reached out to help him, but Lin Mozhi gently pushed her hand away.
“It’s fine. I walked here on my own, didn’t I? Once you’re done, rest early. Or you can leave it for the morning—don’t stay up too late.”
“Alright,” she nodded obediently.
“Take care, Big Brother.”
Lin Mozhi tapped his bamboo cane on the ground, opened the door, and slowly felt his way out.
When he reached the corner, a hand suddenly extended to support him.
“Still awake?”
“Master, I happened to see you entering the kitchen when I got up during the night, so I waited here,” Xu Chang replied, his tone direct and straightforward as always—one of the reasons Lin Mozhi valued him.
“That little girl sure can endure,” Lin Mozhi said with a faint smile.
“I pretended not to notice her injury, and she didn’t mention it to me either.”
Xu Chang was puzzled.
“What about the medicine?”
Lin Mozhi understood his implication.
“When I had Luyi deliver it, I instructed her not to say it was from me. Besides, Shen Weixue was asleep when she arrived, so how could she know it was from me?”
“If she asks about it later, Luyi can just take the credit.”
Xu Chang nodded, saying nothing more.
Lin Mozhi sighed softly to himself.
“A little girl, at such a naive age, still doesn’t realize she was sold into this manor by her parents to spend her life as a servant. She gets bullied yet holds back her tears. To have such patience and endurance…”
“Xu Chang, do you think that’s possible?”
Taking a breath of the icy cold air, he said meaningfully, “Unless, there’s something she’s after here—something she’s willing to use the ruse of self-injury to stay close to.”
“Starting tomorrow, you don’t need to follow her anymore.”
“Yes.”
Lin Mozhi’s thoughts were something Shen Jixue could more or less guess.
But she wasn’t in a rush.
Once her hand healed a bit, she carried a porcelain jar to collect plum blossom snowmelt water.
Now that Xu Chang, her shadow, was removed, she could implement her plan without worry.
Lin Mozhi still didn’t use the plum blossom snowmelt water she prepared.
However, ever since her hand injury, Luyi had shown her a bit more kindness.
“Good morning, Sister Luyi,” Shen Jixue greeted while lifting the pot lid, letting the rising steam escape.
“The water’s boiled, and it’s hot.”
Luyi gave a nonchalant “hmm,” glancing briefly at Shen Jixue’s injured hand holding the lid.
She snatched the lid from her and pushed her aside.
“No need for your help. Just watch the fire.”
Shen Jixue squinted her eyes and smiled.
“Thank you, Sister Luyi.”
Among the three people in Songhe Courtyard, Lin Mozhi appeared kind and approachable but was, in fact, deeply calculating.
Xu Chang, on the other hand, was straightforward and loyal but devoted solely to Lin Mozhi, showing little concern for others.
As for Lüuyi, though she seemed the fiercest, her bark was worse than her bite.
She was the only one who had softened her attitude toward Shen Jixue after her injury.
Holding a porcelain jar in her arms, Shen Jixue’s mind raced even as her steps remained steady.
Perhaps she could use Lin Moyu to gain Lin Mozhi’s trust.
Crossing through the corridor and walking past a grove of low pines, she arrived at a cluster of small plum blossom trees near the northwest corner of the Lin Manor’s walls.
This place was remote, rarely visited by anyone, and the plum blossom trees, left untended, grew wild and unruly.
“Crack—”
The faint sound of a twig snapping came from not far behind her.
Shen Jixue acted as though she hadn’t heard and continued shaking snowmelt water from the plum blossom tree branches into her jar.
Once it was full, she crouched down to place the jar on the ground.
She seemed to be waiting for something, not rising for a long while.
Suddenly, she grabbed a handful of snow mixed with sand and stones from the ground and flung it forcefully backward—
A cry of pain rang out, quickly muffled.
Blinded by the muddy snow, the person stumbled backward, unable to cry out loudly, and fumbled for a handkerchief to wipe their eyes.
It was someone she recognized.
Lin Moyu’s maidservant from the other day—Feicui.
Glancing at the dagger in Feicui’s hand, Shen Jixue seized the opportunity while her vision was impaired.
She delivered a fierce kick,
knocking her to the ground, then grabbed the porcelain jar and ran.
“Help! Murder! Someone’s trying to kill me!”
Feicui, wracked with pain, froze for a moment.
Hearing Shen Jixue shouting at the top of her lungs, she ignored her own suffering, scrambled to her feet, and chased after her with squinting eyes.
The second miss despised the eldest young master and harbored equal disdain for his loyal servants and maids.
This animosity stemmed from years ago when, upon marrying into the manor, the lady of the house had been the subject of vicious gossip throughout Feixue City.
People claimed she had colluded with the master to harm his first wife, paving her way into the household.
The second miss, naturally affected by the scandal, endured a period of infamy until her mother, through painstaking efforts, won over the people with her kindness and excellent management skills, eventually silencing the rumors.
Feeling indebted to the second miss, the master and lady lavished love on her.
Being their firstborn and possessing extraordinary talent, she was tested in childhood and found to have a heavenly-grade fire spiritual root.
This only fueled their indulgence, leading to her haughty and domineering demeanor.
Years ago, the second miss had secretly dealt with one of the eldest young master’s servants.
Though the eldest young master appeared unfazed, he retaliated privately, teaching her a harsh lesson that left her with grievances she couldn’t express.
After years of uneasy calm, who knew what had provoked her this time? Not satisfied with injuring Shen Jixue’s hand, she now sought to silence her for good.
Feicui was unwilling to go through with it, but she had no choice but to obey orders.
Seeing the figure ahead disappear into the pine grove, Feicui gritted her teeth, ignoring her pain, and quickened her pace.
If Shen Jixue managed to escape to a populated area, this chance would be lost, and her own life would be forfeit.
The dense pine grove, with its neatly trimmed round trees, made it difficult to locate someone hiding there.
Feicui slowed her steps, gripping the dagger tightly.
Just as she wondered why she could no longer hear Shen Jixue’s footsteps or cries, her eyes caught sight of the familiar porcelain jar under a tree not far away.
Found her!
Her steps grew more cautious as she approached, circling the tree.
Suddenly, a powerful force struck her from behind, knocking her to the ground once again.
Feicui felt a sharp pain in her wrist as her hand went limp, the dagger slipping from her grasp and falling into a calloused hand.
Before she could react, something heavy pressed against her back.
A low chuckle reached her ear, the words laced with mockery.
“Good morning. Do you like the burial site I picked for you?”
The dagger was already pressed against her neck.
