"Master, did they do something to you?"
Wen Jiu noticed the change in him and worriedly asked as he held Yu Sheng's hand.
Yu Sheng didn't respond. In reality, he wasn't sure how to answer such a question. However, in the few moments of hesitation, Wen Jiu's gaze darkened, as if he had already found the answer he was looking for on Yu Sheng’s face.
"You… don't want to meet them right now, do you?" Contrary to the dark and deep look in Wen Jiu's eyes, his tone became softer and gentler. Even the way his fingers held Yu Sheng’s hand softened, his actions and posture restrained and polite, with not the slightest trace of aggression.
He seemed afraid of startling the other, hiding all his sharpness and intentions. It was like when someone approached a highly alert young beast, they would squat down, relax their muscles, lower their gaze, and gently offer a tempting morsel of food, hoping to coax it.
And Wen Jiu, having dealt with all kinds of spirits and spirit pets for years, was well-versed in this method.
"Master, it's completely fine if you can't meet the two senior brothers for now," Wen Jiu whispered, carefully soothing each word into Master’s ears. "You just need to wait until you’re ready and both sides have calmed down. Only then can we avoid more misunderstandings and conflicts..."
The three long-missed spirit pets, unsure of where they had appeared from, suddenly hopped over from a corner.
Wen Jiu didn't hurry him, nor did he touch any part of his hand except his fingers. Instead, the three most harmless and heart-melting spirit pets gathered around Yu Sheng's feet, gently nudging and pushing with their soft, warm heads, coaxing him with affectionate gestures, guiding his steps.
Once the first step was taken, everything else would fall into place.
"Let your disciple lead you to rest," Wen Jiu said, holding his hand, carefully choosing his words, every phrase perfectly timed.
It was not that he didn’t want to meet them, not that he was rejecting them, but that he needed to calm down, not because he was afraid, but because he wasn’t ready yet. It wasn’t pretending to be deaf and mute, it was about going to rest and waiting for a better time, not fleeing in panic.
No one could remain completely unmoved or unshaken under such reasoning, especially when accompanied by a pair of heavenly eyes, constantly observing the effect of every word on emotions, adjusting the force of each detail.
With this foundation, there was even a hint of drunkenness, adding fuel to the wind.
Yu Sheng turned back uncertainly. The magical artifact was shattered at his feet, not far from him, the Linglong Snail had fallen. There should still be Zhan Xiaotian inside. He wasn't sure where Yin Wangzhi had gone, but they would surely return soon.
No one could trap the true protagonist, not even themselves.
He took a few hesitant steps forward, slowly and uncertainly, as though his body couldn't keep up with his thoughts. The vast yellow sand blew everything into a blur.
However, although the steps were slow, with the help of a technique that shortened the distance, in the blink of an eye, the two figures had already moved quite far.
Wen Jiu noticed his gaze, seemed to think of something, and added, “Master, do you want to go back to the Three Realms Cliff to have a look?”
Yu Sheng blinked and looked at him, not speaking, but there was a slight gleam in his eyes.
Wen Jiu showed a smile, as if he truly had no ulterior motives, and everything seemed to be without purpose, even if they didn’t go to the Spirit Realm, it wouldn’t matter.
“Three Realms Cliff…” Yu Sheng’s tone carried a hint of uncertainty, but his eyes still shone brightly. “Not going to the Spirit Realm?”
“Mm.”
Yu Sheng nodded and, as he walked forward again, his steps became much more firm and slightly quicker than before.
In the direction where Yu Sheng couldn’t see, Wen Jiu silently closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
By the time Yin Wangzhi and Zhan Xiaotian arrived, Wen Jiu had already taken the master away, leaving only the remnants of the technique in the air, and the two human-like shadows disappeared without a trace.
Three Realms Cliff.
Once the most familiar home, the cave dwelling, the fields, the well, the bamboo forest… all had disappeared. The place where he had lived for over a hundred years now only remained as a hemispherical deep pit, surrounded by three fan-shaped areas evenly cut from this center.
It was as if the three realms each extended a corner, converging here.
Perhaps, after some time, this place would return to its former appearance, with the different auras mixing together, once again becoming the terrifying cliff known as the "Dead Zone" by outsiders. But for now, it still retained the traces of the formation from a few days ago, a unique landscape caused by the rivalry among the protagonists of the three realms.
Yu Sheng looked at everything in front of him and sighed lightly.
He didn’t dislike this place, nor did he find the reckless behavior of his three disciples particularly irritating. He simply sighed, regretting that he hadn’t anticipated the current situation back then.
After all, if even the original story, the system, and it couldn’t predict what had happened, how could an ordinary person like him foresee anything?
Wen Jiu stood diagonally behind him, waiting for Yu Sheng to be silent for a moment before suggesting, “Master, let me set up a formation around the area.”
Yu Sheng seemed not to have reacted, or perhaps didn’t listen carefully to his words, but he nodded absent-mindedly.
After a moment, once Wen Jiu had started his work, Yu Sheng quietly shifted his gaze, focusing on Wen Jiu’s back.
That was the disciple he had always found the most reassuring, and the one with the most considerate nature—Wen Jiu, the one with the best temper.
But now, Yu Sheng was a little uncertain, or perhaps more accurately, he no longer dared to be certain about this.
If Wen Jiu had no real issues and was only slightly influenced by external factors, there was no way he could have changed so drastically from the Wen Jiu in the original story.
Yu Sheng walked forward a few steps, arriving at the bottom of the deep pit, standing at the very center. This position used to be where his cave dwelling stood, built in a spot among the rocks, providing a comfortable place with warmth in winter and coolness in summer. Wen Jiu saw him moving, simply glanced over in concern. Seeing that Master was only looking down at the land beneath his feet, still lost in thought, he continued setting up the formation without interrupting.
If it were just one person, Yu Sheng felt that he would really be shocked by the intentions of his two disciples for a long time, unable to recover his senses, unable to think, his mind in chaos, and he would just want to hide alone, with his judgment of everything decreasing.
However, up until now, he had been continuously venting towards the system in his mind, spamming it for a long time.
Emojis, disordered words, and meaningless phrases like “ah ah ah ah” strung together instantly flooded the system’s ellipsis, reaching a 99+.
Having a way to vent, combined with the system’s forced intervention because it couldn’t take it anymore, Yu Sheng broke records by recovering his clarity in a very short amount of time.
Then, he calmly checked the corruption levels of the other two disciples and found that they were both around 50%.
His acting wasn’t good, and he wasn’t skilled at lying. The only time he tried a fake identity, it was quickly exposed by the three disciples. The only time his acting would come naturally was when he was acting dumb or dazed.
After all, in his previous life, he had used this innocent and confused face to resolve many issues.
Wen Jiu believed it.
For Wen Jiu, coming to the Three Realms Cliff was a temporary measure, a good way to comfort his Master. Returning to this old place would make it easier for the Master to let down his guard and find security again.
He hoped his Master’s security could be tied to him.
For Yu Sheng, returning to the Three Realms Cliff first would buy him more time. Once Zhan Xiaotian and Yin Wangzhi discovered he had been taken by Wen Jiu, their first reaction would definitely be to cause a stir in the Spirit Realm, because if it were them, they would unconditionally take the Master back to the Human Realm or Ghost Realm.
With more time, he could finish his main task without interference.
The Three Realms Cliff was also the best place to use that magic artifact. Only here would the success rate of temporarily splitting himself into three be the highest.
Wen Jiu was already setting up a formation for him, one that could hide their aura and make it difficult for outsiders to enter. In this area, his talent was truly high, just like Yin Wangzhi was good at killing and Zhan Xiaotian was good at leading his subordinates.
But leaving everything to Wen Jiu, relying on his formation, was obviously not stable enough.
Yu Sheng searched through his robes, took out a blanket, and spread it on the ground, sitting on the floor. His gaze went blank, and he returned to the appearance of someone who seemed utterly confused.
“Xiaotian said I’ve forgotten some things.”
He seemed to be talking to himself, as if trying to express his emotions, which were a result of the shock he had suffered, seeking an outlet for his confusion.
Wen Jiu’s actions paused, then he said nothing.
Yu Sheng: “Yin Wangzhi said the same, but I... don’t understand.”
Wen Jiu looked at him and saw that his Master had his head lowered, looking troubled and lost, which was heart-wrenching.
His brows slightly furrowed, he opened his mouth, wanting to say some comforting words, but hesitated and fell silent.
Not receiving a response from his probing, Yu Sheng was not in a hurry. He rubbed his fingertips, lowered his head in thought for a moment, then raised his head and smiled.
"It’s really strange. My memory clearly doesn’t have any gaps, so how could there be things I’ve forgotten? They must have made a mistake."
He then looked at Wen Jiu, "When we meet next time, I’ll make everything clear. After that... you won’t have to argue over my stay or departure anymore."
Wen Jiu almost didn’t hold onto the things in his hands.
“Has Master already decided which side of the Three Realms to go to?”
Yu Sheng smiled, "I decided today."
In an instant, he saw a scorching warmth burst out of Wen Jiu’s blue eyes, like a dead stone that turned into a transparent jade in an instant.
His Wen Jiu seemed to have made suppression a habit, even now, subconsciously hiding the light in his eyes.
Yu Sheng continued, "I want to rest for a while. When they come looking for me... call me then."
Wen Jiu nodded. Yu Sheng then waved his whisk, drawing a circle around his body and throwing it into the air. The white silk of the whisk scattered, continuously extending, forming a birdcage shape that hovered above Yu Sheng's head.
On the handle of the whisk, there was a small piece of white jade, almost imperceptible, embedded with abundant spiritual energy.
The whisk was the core that supported the barrier, and the jade replaced Yu Sheng, supplying spiritual energy to the whisk. This way, even if something went wrong and Yu Sheng could no longer use his magic, the barrier would remain stable.
Yu Sheng sat cross-legged inside this white light, confirming that Wen Jiu could no longer see him, before taking out the umbrella-shaped magic tool and planting it into the ground.
He then swallowed three pills with wine.
After a deep breath, the umbrella handle suddenly emitted golden fluorescence and split into three.
The huge "umbrella" above his head also began to rotate silently.
Outside the small barrier, Wen Jiu’s formation was just one step away from completion, but the magic tool serving as the "pen" suddenly cracked.
Above them, the sky had unknowingly become covered in dark clouds, swirling like a huge lid, falling above the Three Realms Cliff. A great storm was brewing.
Golden beams of light pierced through the cracks of the barrier Yu Sheng had set with his magic tool, leaving Wen Jiu stunned in place.