Then he left side-by-side with Zhou Zishu, who had hold of Zhang Chengling. The qinggong of both men were unrivaled; at full strength, it was impossible for anyone to catch up with them, and there was no trace of them in the blink of an eye.

The three of them fled and stopped only when they were far away. Setting Zhang Chengling down, Zhou Zishu tore off his human skin mask and straightened his robes. Lowering his head, he saw Zhang Chengling gazing back at him with a pair of shiny eyes like a tiny critter begging for praise, and the movement of his hand paused. The tradition he adhered to in the past was that his shidi must be punished for any mistake made, otherwise he would not remember the lesson; if his shidi did well, to prevent him from being full of himself, he could not be praised. However, as he looked at the child’s expectant manner before him, his heart softened of its own accord. He thought about it, and said, “Your qinggong is passable.”

Zhang Chengling was overjoyed, but Zhou Zishu’s expression darkened immediately as he reprimanded, “What are you so proud of? Look at your lack of courage--you only know how to howl for help once you run into the smallest problem, how disgraceful.”

Zhang Chengling went back to hanging his head in dejection, but a warm hand suddenly covered the back of his skull. Chuckling, Wen Kexing told him, “Don’t listen to what he says, that bit of skin of his is as thin as paper. He gets shy more easily when he takes his mask off…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhou Zishu had turned around with a fake smile on his face, and asked in a low voice, “Lao Wen, what are you saying?”

Instantly changing his tune, Wen Kexing corrected himself, “I said that you’re calm even in the face of disaster, and utterly unshakable when confronted with danger. Your skin isn’t thin at all, you don’t know the meaning of shame, and not even a stake can penetrate your skin.”

Out of the blue, Zhou Zishu reached out to cradle his face. Wen Kexing froze, stunned, and Zhou Zishu did not speak either. He merely leaned in very close, his eyes staring intensely at Wen Kexing, unblinking.

Zhang Chengling peered at one, before looking at the other, but could not figure out what they were doing at all. An incense stick would have burnt down wholly before Zhou Zishu finally let go of Wen Kexing with the hint of a smile, and flicked his earlobe, laughing, “You’re finally blushing, now.”

Wen Kexing took a dazed step forward--his arm and leg along one side of his body swung at the same time.

Zhou Zishu laughed heartily.