Chapter 64

Ning Shiting replied, “Rest for a while. It’s late. Please speak, Dianxia. How do you want to punish me?”

Gu Tingshuang stiffened for a moment without saying anything.

Ning Shiting leaned closer and asked, “Does Dianxia truly not want to eat it now? If you wait any longer, it’ll turn stale and won’t taste as good. Isn’t this the Nine Treasures Pastry that Dianxia was clamouring to eat?” 

“Where am I clamouring to eat?” Gu Tingshuang finally moved, lifting his eyelids to glance at him. He looked both impatient and not quite impatient, his voice low as he said, “A Jiaoren courting death, daring to speak to your young master like this.” 

“I’ve always been like this, Dianxia will get used to it soon enough. I’ll still be like this in the future,” Ning Shiting replied with a grin.

Seeing Gu Tingshuang leaning against the headboard, Ning Shiting walked over and placed the Nine Treasures Pastry down, gently opening the box lid for him. “Here, Dianxia can eat now.”

The fragrance seemed to burst forth instantly, the rich sweetness and fruity aroma wafting through the air, making it difficult to resist.

Gu Tingshuang glanced at it but quickly and awkwardly shifted his gaze away again. Without much expression, he said, “Just like this? Is this how you serve my father too? Nine Treasures Pastry is dry and sticks to the teeth.”

Ning Shiting still smiled and softly replied, “Then I’ll go brew tea for Dianxia. Would you like Golden Wind Jade Dew or Cloud Top Snow?”

Gu Tingshuang paused before muttering, “…Water.”

Ning Shiting turned to pour him water.

Gu Tingshuang was still a youth. Although the people of the Nine Immortal Continents had a deep fondness for tea, this child clearly didn’t share that sentiment. He always preferred things like fruit juice, Immortal Tree Dew, or simply water.

He poured him a cup of clear water, dropping a Condensed Dew Fragrance into it, and brought it over to him.

Gu Tingshuang leaned against the window. Ning Shiting, who was taller when he stood up, looked slightly down at him. Perhaps he had taken Gu Tingshuang’s earlier half-accusation seriously, or maybe it was his instinct as a servant—one that came naturally when serving Gu Feiyin—Ning Shiting placed the tea by his side and then stepped back slightly. He knelt halfway at the foot of the bed, looking up at him.

In this posture, with such an expression and even those shining eyes, Ning Shiting looked just like the little wolf Gu Tingshuang had seen earlier that day, peering up at him from the room.

It was the same reverence, obedience, and gentleness.

And it stirred an involuntary, ruinous desire within him, because this silent and soft demeanour was a declaration: he belongs to me.

With such a quiet, unassuming pose, he announced his surrender, as wolves did when choosing to join a pack. They would kneel at the feet of their alpha, lower their heads and flatten their ears, pleading for blessing and mercy, swearing to live and die for their chosen master.

Gu Tingshuang looked down at him, and for a moment, a chilling thrill surged through him, like a current of electricity spreading from his fingertips to his hair.

Dark and twisted cravings erupted within him. In that instant, he even had the impulse to reach out, grab Ning Shiting by the throat, pull him close, and cruelly torment him in his arms. This deep, malevolent desire had never come to him before, for Gu Tingshuang was Gu Tingshuang. He had always kept company with the clear wind and bright moon, and his only wish had been to retreat to the mountains and forests with his pack of wolves.

Yet Ning Shiting seemed as if he were ill. Gu Tingshuang stared at him for a few moments longer and quickly realised this too.

His fingertips twitched slightly. The urge to reach out his hand was forcibly suppressed because he didn’t know what would happen if that hand truly extended forward—

Gu Ting Shuang’s throat moved slightly as he swallowed, and then, with a hoarse voice, he asked Ning Shiting, “Are you sick? Your complexion looks terrible. The things you made for me wouldn’t be contaminated with illness, would they?”

Hearing this, Ning Shiting finally realised what was happening. He raised his hand and touched his forehead, indeed feeling a bit hot. He let out a low chuckle and said, “It seems one shouldn’t pretend to be sick. If you pretend, the gods will punish you and make you truly ill. I won’t do this next time. When I returned this afternoon, I felt a little dizzy and thought it was just from not resting well. But now it seems I’ve really fallen ill.”

“In that case, Dianxia should wait to eat. I’ll make another batch of Nine-Treasures Pastries for you next time.”

As he spoke, he reached for the food box on the table. However, Gu Tingshuang abruptly pressed down on his hand—or almost did. Just before touching him, he seemed to remember something and instead grabbed Ning Shiting’s sleeve, pulling him forcefully forward.

Caught off guard, Ning Shiting staggered slightly and ended up half-kneeling by the bed, looking up at Gu Tingshuang with a slightly puzzled expression.

Gu Tingshuang held his gaze, hardened his resolve, and said stiffly, “No need. It’s fine.”

Ning Shiting hesitated. “But…”

“I said it’s fine, so it’s fine. You Jiaoren are just naturally fragile, so it’s easy for you to pass on illness. But I’m not like you, Ning Shiting. I’ve never been sick a day in my life.”

Gu Tingshuang’s words were rather boastful, so much so that as soon as he finished speaking, he quickly added, “I mean… before the poison miasma. Honestly, aside from the sickness caused by that, I haven’t fallen ill in these past few years either. So your little illness isn’t a problem at all.”

Ning Shiting hesitated, as though wanting to say more, but before he could, he saw Gu Tingshuang had already picked up a piece of Nine-Treasures Pastry and put it in his mouth. He chewed expressionlessly for a while, then took a sip of water and looked at him.

The message was clear—he had already eaten it, and there was nothing wrong. Now, the ownership of this box of pastries belonged to Gu Tingshuang, and Ning Shiting no longer had the right to touch it.

Ning Shiting sighed, “You…”

Gu Tingshuang ignored him. After eating a few pieces, he suddenly grabbed another one and shoved it directly into Ning Shiting’s mouth.

The action was so abrupt that Ning Shiting hadn’t even reacted before Gu Tingshuang had already leaned forward, yanked his collar, and, using the silver pick, stuffed the pastry into his mouth.

Forced to swallow it, Ning Shiting heard Gu Tingshuang ask, “Is it sweet?”

Ning Shiting shook his head. “I can’t taste sweetness, Dianxia.”

Gu Tingshuang froze.

It was the first time he realised Ning Shiting couldn’t even taste sweetness. Instinctively, he asked, “Why is that?”

Despite being awkwardly pulled by the collar and kneeling by the bed in a strange posture, Ning Shiting calmly and gently answered, “I was poisoned when I was very young. Of the thousands of strange poisons, there’s one called Lingering Soul of the Mortal Realm. After ingesting it, food would forever taste strange. But it doesn’t affect my ability to sense fragrance.”

Gu Tingshuang was silent for a moment before muttering, “Oh.”

After a while, he asked again, “So with all the poisons you’ve endured, are you really immune to everything now?”

Ning Shiting replied, “Not quite. It’s just that I’ve experienced nearly every poison that has ever existed, whether ancient or still present today, so I’m not afraid of them. But there could be obscure, unheard-of poisons that can kill me, or the combination of toxins in my body might make me vulnerable to something new. So yes, it’s still possible to poison me.”

Gu Tingshuang frowned. “When will my father remove the poison in your body? I heard the physician say you’ll only live for another ten years.”

Ning Shiting froze for a moment.

When the physician examined him, he had been asleep and wasn’t aware of that conversation. Based on his previous life’s experience, his body would start breaking down completely in another five or six years, plagued by frequent blood vomiting or sudden deep sleep. Ten years was indeed a close estimate.

But would Gu Feiyin really be willing to sacrifice a poisonous Jiaoren just to cleanse him completely?

Ning Shiting murmured vaguely, “I don’t know. The Wangye… has never mentioned it.”

Gu Tingshuang caught onto something in his words. “Or is it that my father is unwilling for now? Is a poisonous Jiaoren more useful than my wolves? If he won’t do it, I’ll have the wolves steal you a Dust Repelling Pearl.”

Ning Shiting smiled. “It’s not that simple, Dianxia. But you truly need to keep a close watch over your wolves. With the spiritual energy fading in the Nine Provinces, spiritual beasts have lost much of their power. Only the White Wolves of Spirit Mountain remain unmatched, with no threat to them. If your father finds out that the Spirit Mountain’s White Wolves have acknowledged you as their master, what will happen next is anyone’s guess.”

When Gu Feiyin had first discovered this, it was so late that “beating his chest and stamping his feet” wouldn’t even describe his reaction accurately.

If he had known sooner that the son he’d always dismissed as useless was the only one recognized by the Spirit Mountain wolves, he would never have been so estranged from Gu Tingshuang and his mother.

Gu Feiyin was someone who coveted power above all else, a man whose eagerness to seize it overshadowed any semblance of genuine affection. He was an experienced liar—when he faked tenderness, it was deeper and more convincing than anyone else’s true feelings.

Ning Shiting withdrew his gaze and said softly, “It’s not urgent. Let’s talk about these things later.”

Then, as if something occurred to him, he looked up at Gu Tingshuang with mild helplessness. “So, Dianxia, can you let me get up now? My knees are starting to hurt.”

Only then did Gu Tingshuang realise he was still clutching Ning Shiting’s collar.

He looked slightly embarrassed but showed no sign of loosening his grip. Instead, he pulled Ning Shiting up onto the bed.

The sudden motion caught Ning Shiting off guard, and he ended up sprawled awkwardly across Gu Tingshuang. Looking down, he found himself face-to-face with Gu Tingshuang’s cold yet faintly mischievous expression.

“Ning Shiting, you dragged me into bed last night. I haven’t punished you for that yet.”

Ning Shiting no longer feared him. Knowing this little Shizi was all bark and no bite, he leisurely climbed fully into the bed and lay down quietly, gazing up at him.

Gu Tingshuang frowned. “…I haven’t said you could do that. What are you doing?”

Ning Shiting replied, “Rest for a while. It’s late. Please speak, Dianxia. How do you want to punish me?”

Gu Tingshuang: “…” 

Turning his face away, he muttered, “Just sleep here with me tonight.”

Ning Shiting smiled. “Sure.”

Gu Tingshuang thought about it, feeling as though Ning Shiting’s easy compliance wasn’t what he had expected. But he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what felt off.

He murmured softly, “Ning Shiting.” 

“I’m here, Dianxia.”

“Today, I saw my father,” Gu Tingshuang said as he turned over to face him. In a quiet voice, he asked, “I saw what he looks like too. Do you think I look like him?”

The resemblance was undeniable—so much so that it was like they were carved from the same mold. This bloodline connection surprised even Gu Tingshuang himself.

Ning Shiting also turned to face him, his soft eyes tinged with contemplation.

“No,” he said.

Gu Tingshuang replied, “Is it because you’re so in love with my father that you refuse to see him as resembling anyone else?”

Ning Shiting laughed and reached out to ruffle his hair. “No. It’s because Dianxia is unique. One day, You will… outshine everyone.”