Back to the Valley

Two months had gone by since the mayhem at Floating Celestial Island. Mu Yu was the biggest winner of the riot. In addition, his name surged throughout the lands as the Golden Core Realm cultivator who sparked nine Primordial Infant Realm cultivators on his own before vanishing without a trace.

As per tradition, teahouses were the source of news and gossip. Rumours of Ageless Kumu taking Mu Yu since the latter pilfered his home spread. Despite Mu Yu's fame, information on him was scarce. Sects he managed to aggravate, such as Sword Purifying Sect, dispatched disciples to find him and Nameless Swordsman. Those who sought out Ageless Kumu for verification were shooed off. Ageless Kumu also deployed more potent poisons in his valley, ensuring not even Body Severing Realm adepts could enter. People were reluctant to get on his bad side because they knew he could flip the switch and kill them whenever he fancied.

Ximen Buxing and Lie Shang stealthily investigated Mu Yu's whereabouts. Lie Shang, in particular, was concerned about Mu Yu's special ability being exposed. Lie Shang had a hunch Mu Yu employed the wood spirit lord's power to overcome the odds at Floating Celestial Island. Owing to the instability of the power, he was also worried about Mu Yu losing control.

Zi Luo was searched high and low for Ximen Buxing after the latter dragged her into the woods and "humiliated" her once he managed to defeat her that day.

Mu Yu certainly wanted to leave the place he was imprisoned, but he was barely aware of where he was. Plus, his energy was so messy that Xiaoshuai was at a loss for what to do.

Xiaoshuai and the dragon vine went at it every day. Xiaoshuai was out of food, so the two resorted to name calling to kill time, albeit it being restricted to just "worm" and "rat". The dragon vine had recovered thanks to the two months of peace.

Though Kumu never cared for the two, he also forbade them from leaving. At certain times during the day, he was nowhere to be seen.

Mu Yu's berserk energy eventually calm down, allowing him to wake up. He recognised his surroundings, though he had no idea why he was back in Kumu's room. While opening the door didn't work, it wasn't even a challenge to exit via the tree.

"You're finally up. All right, time to go buy some chicken drumsticks," Xiaoshuai enthused with a dance.

"Are you all right?" asked the dragon vine, grateful Mu Yu rescued it.

"We need to escape as soon as possible. He's going to skin us for stealing from him," hastened Mu Yu, climbing on the dragon vine's neck.

"The rat and I have tried flying many times, but we couldn't."

"Try again. We'll use the celestial fiend tree to escape."

"N-n-none of y-you will escape!"

"You? Why are you here? Did Ageless Kumu bring you here? Let's go. I'll help you escape," cheerfully said Mu Yu.

Xiaoshuai tugged Mu Yu's shirt and whispered, "HeisAgeless Kumu."

"Say what? Haha, what a coincidence." Trying to play it off, Mu Yu remarked, "Hey, uh, the weather is clear today, huh…"

"Hmph. You. Stole. My. Stuff. You. Need. To pay."

"Gramps, can you not speak in incomplete sentences? I am barely able to make out what you say," griped Mu Yu, yawning. "I will give the goods back, and we will go our own ways, deal?"

"No."

"Why not?" inquired Mu Yu, scratching his head roughly.

"Shifu."

"Yeah, I am not your shifu," replied Mu Yu, waving his hand. "I am not qualified to teach."

"I am. Shifu. You're. Disciple," snapped Kumu.

"Your disciple? You want to be my disciple? I do not accept disciples, though, hehe."

"I want you to be my disciple, understand? Make fun of me again, and I'll hang you upside down."

"What happened to your stutter? You should have spoken that way from the beginning. I was tired just listening."

Kumu calmed his heavy breathing and stuttered, "Y-y-You are now m-my disciple."

"What is the deal with you and your stutter? How does it work?"

"Shut up! Mention my stutter again, and I'll emasculate you!"

Mu Yu flinched. "Relax."

Ageless Kumu was born with speech impairment, so he broke up sentences to cover his stutter. As a result of him taking too long to finish one sentence, people didn't ever listen to what he had to communicate. Consequently, he grew averse to speaking. He flipped out whenever someone mentioned his stutter. Funnily, he could articulate himself smoothly whenever he was annoyed. That said, he would sometimes walk off when he was angry. In a nutshell, his mood was hinged on whether he stuttered or not. It was something that took Mu Yu a long time to learn.

"I want you to be my disciple," angrily opined Kumu.