The expressions of everyone around them shifted upon hearing her words.
While most had come to the Dao Companion Grand Ceremony with an attitude of simply watching the show, "watching the show" typically meant witnessing the women vying for Shen Muzhi's attention in an unsightly manner.
It certainly did not mean witnessing a conflict that could potentially shake the cultivation world.
The Leng family wielded significant influence in the cultivation world.
Though not the foremost among the great families, they maintained good relationships with other clans and sects. If their Leng family were to declare war on the Alchemy Sect, other sects and families would, by reason and sentiment, be obliged to offer some assistance.
However, the Alchemy Sect was on good terms with the Medicine Master Valley, and Shen Muzhi could not stand idly by. Therefore, if a war were to erupt, the consequences of its escalation were truly beyond what anyone dared to contemplate.
A silence fell over the crowd.
As the person directly involved, Liu Buli remained nonchalant.
Raising an eyebrow, Liu Buli was about to unleash a torrent of curses when Shen Muzhi patted his shoulder, shook his head, and signaled him to refrain from responding.
Then, Shen Muzhi stepped forward, placing himself between the two. He fixed his gaze on Leng Qingxue's eyes and said slowly, "Miss Leng, it seems you have misunderstood something from the very beginning. If you were merely joking when you said Si Qi should not seek my help, then so be it. But she is now the wife I have gloriously married and brought home. I am her husband. Why should I not concern myself with her affairs? Regardless of Liu Buli's relationship with me, now that she has crossed the threshold, she is a person of my Medicine Master Valley, a person of Shen Muzhi. If you wish to bully her, you need not direct your anger at others; come directly at me. I do not mind."
As his words fell, a chilling light gleamed in Shen Muzhi's eyes.
The surrounding spiritual energy abruptly intensified and deepened, a direct manifestation of someone with profound cultivation in a fit of rage.
While his cultivation might not have reached the monstrous levels of Liu Buli or Lu Wuming, Shen Muzhi was undeniably powerful when compared to ordinary cultivators.
Thus, when his spiritual energy erupted fully, cultivators with lower cultivation levels in his vicinity felt a sudden tightness in their chests, a metallic taste in their throats, and the distinct sensation of being on the verge of spitting blood.
Leng Qingxue, who was closest to him and bore the brunt of this spiritual pressure, coughed up a mouthful of blood the instant he unleashed his power. Clutching her chest, she looked up at Shen Muzhi's eyes with an expression of utter disbelief.
The healer's compassion.
As the Valley Master of the Medicine Master Valley, Shen Muzhi had always presented himself as gentle and refined, whether towards his disciples or outsiders.
From his days as the chief disciple of the Medicine Master Valley, his medical skills and reputation had spread throughout the cultivation world, as had his temperament, which seemed to rarely flare up in anger.
He harbored benevolence for the world and abhorred evil.
He appeared to have little personal sentiment or ambition regarding his own affairs. His mind was occupied solely with the heavens, the earth, and the common people. It was precisely for this reason that the female cultivators who harbored feelings for him had never dared to confess their affections.
After all, they were not foolish; they did not believe they could ever hold a place in Shen Muzhi's heart that surpassed all things in the world.
Perhaps, given Shen Muzhi's disposition, he would never find a deeply devoted and cherished partner in this lifetime. However, precisely because they understood this, those female cultivators could view Shen Muzhi's personal relationships with a detached air.
In their eyes, even if Shen Muzhi were to end up with someone one day, it would undoubtedly be because that person had desperately pursued him, and he would merely have gained a concubine to warm his bed.
It would never be considered a true partnership.
Let alone any genuine affection or love, which they believed would never exist.
Everyone held this belief, and they continued to adhere to it steadfastly. Therefore, when they heard that Shen Muzhi was holding a grand Dao Companion Grand Ceremony to marry his beloved, the female cultivators who had long admired him thought they had heard the world's most absurd joke.
That man, who cared for the world, who only understood good and evil, whose actions were solely dedicated to saving lives and vanquishing demons, and who showed no interest in anything else, actually possessed a beloved companion.
How was this possible?
There had to be something amiss!
Leng Qingxue, like everyone else, had attended the Dao Companion Grand Ceremony with such sentiments. Yet now, she witnessed Shen Muzhi's deep affection and fierce protectiveness towards that man.
Most importantly, the benevolent physician, who typically only healed the sick, had actually attacked her, a proper Dao cultivator, for that man's sake! What had she done wrong? She was hardly a demon that deserved to be eliminated.
Had Shen Muzhi completely lost his mind?
In Leng Qingxue's gaze towards Shen Muzhi, bewilderment was now mingled with an uncontrollable tension. The fear of death had transformed into an indelible shadow, engulfing her entirely.
Subconsciously taking a step back, Leng Qingxue shook her head. She parted her lips, and with great difficulty, managed to squeeze out a sentence, "Shen Muzhi, have you been cursed?"
Beyond this explanation, she truly could not fathom any other reason.
For someone to change so drastically, to the point where everyone found it peculiar, it must be the work of a curse; she had heard of such things.
The more she thought about it, the more plausible her conjecture seemed. Just as Leng Qingxue was about to ask further questions, she saw Shen Muzhi raise a hand, a red lotus burning and blooming in his palm. Even without direct contact, the scorching sensation was enough to cause unease.
In stark contrast to this heat, the coldness in Shen Muzhi's eyes intensified. He stared into Leng Qingxue's eyes, while with his other hand, he drew You Siqi into his embrace.
He let out a cold laugh and said, "If there truly exists a curse in this world that can make one person love another to the point of madness, then I would very much like to learn it and use it on my wife. After all, for us to have reached this point, it was I alone who desperately pursued and tried to keep her. Now that I have finally won her over, you tell me I am cursed? What dream are you having? If there were such a wonderful curse, you should teach it to me, so I wouldn't have to worry and fear that she might leave me."
Shen Muzhi's words left the surrounding crowd stunned once more.
It wasn't the man who had pursued Shen Muzhi?
The pride of heaven, the most promising genius in the cultivation world, had actively pursued someone, and it sounded like a difficult pursuit? Was this truly not a joke?
As everyone remained in a state of astonished silence, You Siqi tugged on Shen Muzhi's hand. He leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Don't get so agitated. I won't leave on my own. Absolutely not, I promise you."