When Xiang Han came out of seclusion, a year had passed. Learning that Chu Ming had already left, he felt both joy and guilt at the same time.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't expect to make you unable to leave." His gaze wavered and his tone was a little down.
When Chen Shu Ze heard this, he felt extremely annoyed. He recalled his own uncertain tone and wavering gaze when he first started developing feelings for Xiang Han.
Seeing that Xiang Han was the same at this time, he couldn't help thinking: Could it be that his Shizun also had feelings for Lin Shuxue, and like him, still hadn't noticed it?
Thinking of this possibility, his eyes dimmed and his mood turned a little chaotic.
Although he had asked Xiang Han before and Xiang Han denied having any feelings for Lin Shuxue, it was after all, when he had just been trapped in the secret realm. It had been more than ten years now, who knew if the other party's thinking had changed?
Over the years, he had gone into seclusion three times and each time, it lasted between one to two years. The cumulative time he really spent with Xiang Han was only about four or five years. Every time he came out, he felt that the relationship between Xiang Han and Lin Shuxue seemed to have grown closer. And now, the relationship between the two was even more incomparable.
Chen Shu Ze thought to himself a little sadly, perhaps when he was in seclusion, Xiang Han got bored alone which resulted in his frequent contact with Lin Shuxue. In turn, this led to the development of such feelings…
Lin Shuxue never expected that in a blink of an eye, she had been regarded as a rival in love. In fact, she and Xiang Han really had nothing going on. The reason for their interactions was that she found out Chu Ming and Xiao Yue were a couple, and felt that it was not good to stay and disturb the young couple.
There were only a few of them in the secret realm. Since she was not familiar with Chen Shu Ze and was in the same generation as Xiang Han, adding onto the favour she owed him, she naturally interacted more with him.
She didn't notice the change in Chen Shu Ze's mood at this time. Seeing Xiang Han apologising to her, she simply smiled and said, "It's okay, there is abundant spiritual energy here, it's not a problem to stay for another ten years."
Xiang Han breathed a sigh of relief, then extended an invite. "Since Chu Ming and Su Yue have left, you might as well come and settle here with us. It's safer with more people and it's less boring with one more person."
Lin Shuxue readily agreed upon hearing his words. She quickly arrived on the cliff to choose a suitable location for building a cave.
Chen Shu Ze's expression darkened after hearing Xiang Han's words. Although he understood that this was logical and frankly not a big deal, when he thought that Xiang Han might have feelings for Lin Shuxue, he didn't know why but he felt a dull ache in his heart as well as a sense of crisis.
Xiang Han had long noticed his strange expression. After parting with Lin Shuxue, he called out and calmly asked, "What are you thinking about?"
He felt bad when he saw Chen Shu Ze's face getting darker and darker. Based on experience, he knew that the other person must be overthinking and it was not anything good.
Chen Shu Ze glanced at him, then lowered his eyes and asked sadly, "Master, do you really have nothing going on with Senior Lin…?"
Xiang Han was suddenly speechless. After so many years, why was he still struggling with this matter?
"None." He replied decisively, then added, "Let's not think about non-existent things in the future. I'm alright, but Elder Lin is different. She is a woman and your senior, you should respect her more."
Chen Shu Ze pursed his lips, his face becoming more and more tense. After a while, he asked, "Don't you think that you are very protective of Elder Lin? Maybe you haven't realised it yourself, you treat her… mphh."
Hearing this, Xiang Han suddenly reached out a hand to cover his mouth and said with a dark face, "What are you trying to say? Will you only be satisfied if I admit to it?"
Chen Shu Ze lowered his eyes and said nothing, his expression turning gloomy.
Xiang Han only felt helpless when he saw it. He let go of his hand and said, "I told you a long time ago, don't let your imagination run wild. Does it feel good to torture yourself? If you are really bored, you can go cultivate. Once you've formed your golden core, you'll see if your master is lying to you."
Chen Shu Ze then looked up at him. His gaze passed through Xiang Han as he looked in a certain direction for some time before he muttered: "But in recent years, Master has never taken the initiative to kiss me. Are you really not… tired of me?"
Xiang Han almost cried when he heard this. Why didn't he take the initiative? Isn't it because once the disciple learns, the master suffers? Since he demonstrated once, this kid was like a hungry wolf. No, he IS a hungry wolf who will go against his master once he gets the chance.
In terms of skills, he had made rapid progress so it didn't take long for him to be better than the one who taught him.
Xiang Han's scalp grew numb every time he was kissed. In order to maintain his arrogance and coldness, he had to forcibly hold back and try his best to put on a nonchalant look. God knows how uncomfortable it was for him to endure.
Noticing that his expression was becoming increasingly strange, Chen Shu Ze couldn't help but ask sadly, "Sure enough, Shizun is sick of me?"
"Ahem, you're thinking too much." Xiang Han felt awkward. How could he be sick of it already when nothing has started?
Chen Shu Ze's gaze passed through him again, looking at something in the distance as he continued sadly, "Then why doesn't Shizun kiss me anymore?"
Xiang Han had a headache, but seeing Chen Shu Ze's acting "aggrieved" like a big dog, he couldn't help but touch his head to comfort him.
"Shizun always tells me not to overthink about it but always brushes me off with a few words and never proves anything with actions. How can this disciple not overthink? Does Shizun not care about this disciple's feelings at all?" Chen Shu Ze made a persistent effort and continued to act aggrieved.
Xiang Han thought about it carefully and found that it seemed to be the case. But he didn't expect Chen Shu Ze to feel so insecure and couldn't help sighing. He leaned over and kissed the other person on the lips, then said, "Is this all right?"
The corners of Chen Shu Ze's lips instantly rose and all his previous 'grievances' were swept away in a second, leaving behind a fox-like smile on a man who had succeeded in his plan.
He quickly leaned over and kissed Xiang Han. He said with a smile, "This is alright."
After he finished speaking, his gaze passed through Xiang Han again, as if in a declaration of sovereignty.
Xiang Han finally felt that something was wrong. He turned around and froze for a moment.
He didn't know when Lin Shuxue had returned. She stood in the distance, looking at them in surprise.
Xiang Han finally understood that Chen Shu Ze had done it on purpose. He had long discovered that Lin Shuxue was back.
He never thought that this seemingly pure and honest boy was actually full of evil intentions.
Xiang Han turned back to glare at him, then left.
Lin Shuxue was quite shocked but when she saw Xiang Han walking towards her, she was momentarily at a loss and didn't know what to say.
Although cultivators don't pay as much attention to customs as ordinary people, relationships between master and disciples… were still very rare, especially when both of them were male.
Lin Shuxue originally found it too awkward to stay with the young couple so she often came over to hang with Xiang Han. She never imagined that the master and disciple were also a couple. Five people were trapped; four of them were couples. After feeling embarrassed, she was depressed once again.
Xiang Han was also very embarrassed. He hesitated for a while before saying, "Shuxue, this matter… I hope you can keep it a secret."
In fact, even if he didn't mention it, Lin Shuxue wouldn't say it. The only reason for doing so was to make a show of admitting to it.
Lin Shuxue nodded then struggled to reply, "I'm going to… catch some fish."
After walking away, she glanced at her cave dwelling that had just been dug out and frowned. It seems that it is a bit close to the couple's cave, should she look for a new place?
After watching her leave, Xiang Han glared at Chen Shu Ze again and asked in a low voice, "Are you satisfied now?"
Chen Shu Ze was, of course, satisfied. He became much more diligent than before when it came to cultivating. The only dissatisfaction he had was that when Lin Shuxue was around, he couldn't get too close to Xiang Han.
Chu Ming wandered around the middle realm for ten years. When he returned, he was already in the golden core formation stage.
Xiang Han shook his head and sighed. As the male protagonist, his luck was surely better than ordinary people. Chen Shu Ze's aptitude was stronger and his cultivation speed wasn't bad, but he was only in the late stage of foundation building rank.
When the secret realm opened once more, Chen Shu Ze was still cultivating in seclusion and Lin Shuxue didn't want to disturb them any further, so she left ahead of time. But she came back soon after with a frown and said to Xiang Han, "Han Zhou, this secret realm is a bit strange. The world outside is very different from where we came from."
"Of course it's different." At this time, Chu Ming appeared. He explained the matter of the human world splitting into three different realms with a somewhat arrogant tone.
Lin Shuxue said nothing. She turned around and went out to investigate again then rushed back before the entrance to the secret realm closed.
When she came back this time, she had clearly figured out everything. She complained, feeling a little unjust, "Back then, those people were too much. Spiritual veins and resources are shared by all living beings. Why did they have to set up a barrier and take it for themselves?"
The human world was divided mainly because hundreds of thousands of years ago, the number of cultivators spiked, resulting in the rapid consumption of cultivation resources. The big shots were worried that the cultivation world would gradually decline, so they simply chose some places with abundant spiritual energy and rich resources. Then, they set up enchantments to isolate them from the rest of the world.
The other cultivators were dumbfounded. Some of the powerful ones simply followed suit and they also claimed their own land, thus dividing the human world into three realms.
After listening to Lin Shuxue, Chu Ming hurriedly echoed: "Yes, those people are really too much. Once I become powerful, I will destroy these enchantments and bring justice to the world."
Xiang Han didn't say a word. Although it was a fact that he didn't like Chu Ming, in this matter, the other person was not wrong.
What happened back then was caused by the cultivators' greed. Those people wanted to enjoy the benefits it brought but were unwilling to bear the costs. Seeing that the resources had been exhausted, they simply plundered the remaining ones and left the consequences for other cultivators to share.
However, in the original book, it was indeed Chu Ming who destroyed the barrier. But now, there were only two artifacts in the world that could destroy the barrier; one was in Chen Shu Ze's body, and the other had not yet appeared in the world, so the plot was probably going to change.
Chu Ming was indeed in a hurry to return to the secret realm for the divine weapon, so he went to join Xiang Han and the others whenever he could. However, Xiao Yue thought he was here to seduce Lin Shuxue and would often argue with him.
Chu Ming was extremely annoyed by this. He couldn't understand why Xiao Yue was so virtuous and generous in the book, but so picky and jealous at every turn in reality?
Xiang Han was so frustrated by them that he simply went into seclusion to cultivate and reached the Nascent Soul stage. This retreat lasted for ten years. When he came out again, Chen Shu Ze had already entered the golden core formation stage.
Chen Shu Ze had been guarding Xiang Han's cave since he formed his golden core and almost danced with joy when he saw Xiang Han come out of seclusion.
Coincidentally, Lin Shuxue wasn't there, so he grabbed Xiang Han's hand and boldly asked, "Shizun, this disciple has already formed his golden core, can we dual cultivate now?"
Xiang Han: "…" When did I agree to dual cultivation with you?!