My Master is Actually My Late Wife
“Little White.”
Wan Cang heard himself call out
A gentle breeze rustled the ancient locust tree, casting shifting shadows while dense grass surrounded it.
Red, purple and yellow flowers bloomed vibrantly like clouds of brocade.
Wan Cang looked around and found himself in a small courtyard.
His shout received no response.
He raised his head and looked at the house ahead.
The house was built with rough mud bricks, its thatched roof swaying in the wind, and the wooden door was weathered and battered, barely hanging on.
Pushing the door open, he found only a shabby wooden bed and a table with a missing corner inside.
A sword without a sheath hung crookedly on the wall.
The sword was as white and translucent as jade, measuring two feet and one inch long, with intricate patterns.
The blade was extremely thin, and a dark green gem was embedded in the hilt.
It seemed out of place compared to the dim surroundings.
Wan Cang didn’t look at the sword again and walked straight to the bed, finally catching sight of the only bright color.
A small silver-white snake.
It lay coiled on the bed, tying itself into a knot, flicking its tongue and making a “hiss” sound.
“Little White, why are you so clumsy?”
Wan Cang murmured.
He laughed as he untangled the snake’s body then let it slither into his palm, allowing it to coil around his arm.
He glanced out the window at the low-hanging dark clouds and the leaves swaying in the wind.
“Boom!”
Lightning tore through the sky and rain poured down, splashing everywhere, turning the outside into a blur.
Truly terrible weather
Wan Cang looked down again, and the little snake on his arm suddenly disappeared, causing him to shout anxiously, “Little White!”
**
“Mmm, huh!?”
Wan Cang made some unintelligible sounds and suddenly woke up.
Was that just a dream?
Ever since Wan Cang became the Demon Lord, he had been plagued by insomnia and hadn’t dreamed in a long time.
He didn’t expect that fainting would lead him to dream of the small courtyard he used to stay in.
That was where he found Little White… no, it was the first place he met Guo Qingchen.
Tears rolled down Wan Cang’s cheeks before he had a chance to wipe them away.
As he felt his heartbeat gradually stabilize, he looked up and met a pair of cold, distant phoenix eyes.
“You’re awake”
Guo Qingchen tapped the edge of the bed with his fingers, his voice clear and cool, “Drink the medicine.”
Wait, what’s going on?!
Wan Cang jolted upright, suddenly realizing that he was now Zhu Hong, and seeing the Immortal Lord, he shouldn’t be so agitated.
His outstretched hand froze in mid-air.
Can someone tell me why, after almost dying again, the first person I see when I open my eyes is Guo Qingchen?
I wasn’t prepared to see him again, especially not this close!
“Peak Master Gan had something to attend to and asked me to take care of you”
Guo Qingchen seemed to know what Wan Cang was thinking and explained while forcibly placing the medicine bowl in his hand, “Your name is Zhu Hong?”
“Yes, Immortal Lord.”
Wan Cang licked his lips, responding dryly.
He tilted his head back and drank the thick medicinal juice in one gulp, immediately spitting out his tongue from the bitterness.
His body stiffened slightly.
Oh. The medicine was actually bitter.
Because he had a new body, free from the influence of the Scrying Mirror, his five senses were intact.
He had been able to smell the lotus fragrance on Guo Qingchen before he fainted and now he could taste the medicine.
Wait.
Wan Cang’s temples throbbed, his heart clenched.
Even if Gan Shouyin was in trouble, his disciples were still breathing, like the sharp-tongued and inflammatory senior brother… what was his name again?
Forget it, he couldn’t remember.
At worst, there were other peak masters and elders.
Why would the Demon Immortal personally take care of someone?
Although Wan Cang was suspicious, his actions were not hesitant.
He acted according to Zhu Hong’s original personality, handing the medicine bowl back to Guo Qingchen.
He pondered silently, not daring to act rashly.
There was a worst-case scenario.
Guo Qingchen had already discovered the matter of borrowing a body to return to life.
Wan Cang’s eyes flickered, his mind working at full speed.
His own experiences made him unable to trust anyone.
Just as he was at a loss, a low chuckle echoed in the air.
The laughter was fleeting.
So faint that Wan Cang almost thought he was imagining it but he caught a glimpse of the slight curve at the corner of Guo Qingchen’s lips.
My dear Immortal Lord, Master, Little White… it’s just returning a bowl, how did I manage to please you?
Countless cultivators and even demons have acknowledged that this Noble Individual, the unattainable Guo Qingchen, seems to have undergone some peculiar changes.
“Do you have a master?”
Alright, maybe not.
Look at this familiar question.
In his past life, he disguised himself flawlessly, yet when he joined, he was still thoroughly questioned.
Wan Cang blinked and sincerely replied, “Reporting to the Immortal Lord, this disciple has no master.”
This was the honest truth.
After retrieving his memories, Wan Cang learned that Zhu Hong was merely a registered disciple, and due to his awkward status, he never formally apprenticed.
But he was the youngest, handsome and when not acting foolish, he had a knack for making people happy which made him well-liked by Gan Shouyin and the other disciples.
Everyone at Star Seizing Peak called Zhu Hong ‘Little Junior Brother.’
Zhu Hong had delicate features, fair and refined.
If you looked closely, you’d find his face bore a slight resemblance to Wan Cang’s.
But Wan Cang had a mole on his nose bridge which Zhu Hong did not.
A good-looking face is an advantage and the Demon Lord would surely seize and make use of anything beneficial.
Wan Cang’s lips were pale and his eyes shimmered as he looked at Guo Qingchen, his whole being as fragile as glass, “Does the Immortal Lord intend to take me as a disciple?”
With this expression and those words, Guo Qingchen would surely soften.
Guo Qingchen didn’t answer and asked again, “Do you know that I once had two disciples?”
Yes, I know, I’m all too aware!
Wan Cang nodded, “The senior disciple was called Hua Changzhou.
The second disciple, Wan Cang—no, I can’t call that demon the second disciple… he’s the one who killed my parents!”
Good, very good.
Truly, when you go mad, you even stomp on yourself!
Wan Cang felt a bit of admiration for himself, waiting quietly for the next question, when he heard Guo Qingchen let out an “um” and then got up and left decisively.
“Rest for now.”
He didn’t say he would take on a disciple, nor did he say he wouldn’t.
He just asked a couple of questions and left.
What does this mean?
After ten years apart, his once clear-speaking master had become someone so vague.
Wan Cang stared blankly at Guo Qingchen’s departing figure, feeling like he’d been played.
His eyes darkened as he slowly sank into the soft cotton quilt, looking up at the golden silk canopy and the carved wooden ceiling, both unfamiliar and familiar, with the scent of lotus lingering at his nose.
It was as if that person hadn’t gone far.
This bed was, of course, Guo Qingchen’s.
Just like in his past life, when he fainted, he would be brought back and cared for alone.
Once again, Wan Cang had taken over the nest.
But he felt at ease.
Wan Cang sprawled out on the bed, kicked the quilt away then suddenly pulled it up to cover half his face, greedily inhaling the subtle lotus scent.
“Smells so good.”
No wonder he was once his Dao partner.
Wan Cang tossed and turned on the bed, accidentally bumping his head and letting out a low yelp.
After struggling for a long time, he finally felt drowsy.
“Bang!”
The door was slammed open.
Wan Cang was startled awake, immediately sitting up with a scowl.
The intruder wore dark robes, a jade pendant swaying lightly at his waist.
His black hair was tied with a silver crown and his long eyebrows slanted sharply into his temples, giving him an aggressive appearance.
Completely opposite to Wan Cang.
Hua Changzhou crossed his arms, looking at Wan Cang with a half-smile, “Well, if it isn’t my new little junior brother.”
Having heard about Zhu Hong’s parents, Hua Changzhou held back a bit in his words, but his inner thoughts were ruthless. How did a sickly person who can’t cultivate catch the master’s eye?
He couldn’t help but think of that demon lord from ten years ago.
Back then, Wan Cang, with his frail appearance, participated in the recruitment trials, coughing up blood in almost every match. Yet he crushed all his opponents and took first place.
In the end, he collapsed from exhaustion, fainting right into Guo Qingchen’s arms.
It was a perfectly timed faint, endearing to others.
“Tap, tap, tap”
Hua Changzhou’s steps were unhurried yet carried a strong sense of pressure.
As he approached and got a clear look at Wan Cang’s face, he was utterly astonished.
Why did it seem somewhat familiar
No way.
That person was personally slain by the master, leaving no remains!
Could it be that after taking him in, the master’s taste changed and he now prefers this sickly pretty boy look?
Seeing Wan Cang’s uncertain glance, Hua Changzhou’s eyes flickered. He made up his mind in an instant. As a disciple of the Immortal Lord and the nominal senior brother of Heaven Void Sect, he absolutely couldn’t let the same mistake of inviting trouble happen again.
Hua Changzhou spread his palm and an iron fan appeared out of thin air.
The fan opened, its edges turning into sharp blades, spinning wildly, carrying an unbeatable chill as it attacked Wan Cang.
“You bastard”
Wan Cang couldn’t help but curse at the sudden attack, rolling off the bed to narrowly avoid it, “Why do all of you have a problem with this face!”
The one who went mad tried to strangle him and now Hua Changzhou was targeting his face right away.
Did Zhu Hong know how popular he was when he was alive?!
The iron fan in Hua Changzhou’s hand was incredibly sharp, a quasi-immortal artifact gifted by Guo Qingchen.
He launched over a dozen strikes, each one grazing past Wan Cang’s nose and forehead.
Wan Cang dragged his heavy body, rolling and dodging on the floor like a puppy.
He tilted his head to avoid another strike, his breathing growing heavier, but he caught sight of a few strands of hair being sliced off by the sharp fan blades, his pupils contracting sharply as he flipped and leaped up.
Unbelievable
After becoming the Demon Lord, I’ve never been so utterly humiliated. Let alone beaten down like this!
“This is intolerable!”
Wan Cang gritted his teeth, his hands moving swiftly as he formed a not-too-complex spell.
“Boom”
In an instant, thunder cracked across the clear sky outside the window and the bamboo grove swayed.
The wind had picked up.
“Hmm?”
Guo Qingchen who had already reached the side hall, sensed something and paused, choosing to turn back immediately.
An iron fan sliced through the air, aiming straight for Wan Cang’s back.
Wan Cang burst through the door but was still injured by the domineering spiritual power contained within, suddenly spitting out a mouthful of crimson blood.
“Boom!”
Thunder roared continuously, lightning flashed down and the wind howled, causing their robes to flap wildly.
“Crack.”
Something quietly shattered.
Wan Cang’s face was as pale as paper.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes flashing with a cold, fierce light as he looked at the air rippling like water.
Suddenly, he let out a low laugh, “Come on.”
Aren’t you going to go crazy here, Hua Changzhou?
Fine
Then I’ll accompany you to the end!
A sudden surge of intense spiritual energy erupted from Wan Cang’s body.
He tore through the void, and with a deliberate motion of his distinct fingers, he drew out a sword!
The sword was long and thin, quivering slightly at the touch.
Under the sunlight, it gleamed with a chilling aura.
When Wan Cang held it, the gems on it shimmered brilliantly. The sword hummed continuously like a dragon’s roar.
This was the very sword that had appeared in Wan Cang’s dreams.
—The sword’s name was Resplendent.
“Author’s Note”
Dark Sugar: In the last chapter, Wan Cang was kneeling in the mud, and in this chapter, he’s rolling around on his master’s bed.
Guo Qingchen has a slight cleanliness obsession, so of course, he helped his little disciple change clothes~