The black bear that Shu Fu had pierced through the heart with her sword struggled in its death throes for a while before finally, unwillingly, rolled its eyes white and breathed its last.
Under Shu Fu's gaze, its corpse crumbled and disintegrated like sand, eventually transforming into a handful of "Jiangzhu" beads, crimson as blood, scattered quietly on the grass, emitting a faint red glow.
Shu Fu didn't stand on ceremony either, sweeping up all these Jiangzhu beads in one go. She then rinsed her Solitary Light sword briefly in the mountain stream and continued upstream without looking back.
Solitary Light: "..."
(Autistic jpg)
As for Qi Yuxuan, after her bloody, maniacal smile just now, he probably wouldn't be following to "look after" her for a while.
Thank heavens.
"..."
Qi Yuxuan was indeed greatly shocked.
He only knew that Jiang Ruoshui's temperament had changed drastically, no longer as gentle and meek as before, but he didn't know her progress was so rapid, not inferior to him, a genius of the sword path.
After a few months apart, compared to the battle in the lecture hall that day, her sword-holding hand was steadier, her swordplay more fierce and sharp, and a cold, chilling chill had already gathered on her blade.
However...
Why would she learn the sword?
As a potential straight-male-chauvinist cultivator, Qi Yuxuan believed women were inherently gentle by nature. Studying music, spells, or soft weapons suited their temperament better.
Being a sword cultivator? That wasn't appropriate.
As for why it wasn't appropriate, he couldn't quite explain.
Perhaps it was because sword cultivation was too bitter, too difficult, high risk, slow to show results, with extremely high demands on both "body forging" and "heart refining"—every step was a trench, everyone lived like beasts of burden. After mastering it, they all became thick-skinned and coarse, far removed from Qi Yuxuan's ideal type.
In his view, the fairy maiden in his mind should be like Fang Wanqing: gentle, graceful, bright, elegant, and dignified, her hands not holding a sword nor stained with blood, but perhaps holding a flower branch or a pure white silk ribbon, always standing behind him, trusting him wholeheartedly, supporting him, accepting his protection.
Not someone who stabs a bear straight through with a sword, then turns around and smiles at him with a face full of blood.
That wasn't a fairy maiden; that was a monster.
Just remembering Shu Fu's appearance made him feel he'd have nightmares tonight.
In a nutshell:
He panicked, he panicked, he panicked.
He got anxious, he got anxious, he got anxious.
He chickened out, he chickened out, he chickened out.
Chickened out so much that... No, thinking this, Qi Yuxuan forcefully suppressed the sour bile rising in his throat and forced a cheerful smile, "Wanqing, don't overthink it. My father thinks highly of Jiang Ruoshui. Even if I am polite to her, it's just to fulfill my filial duty. Look at her state, how could I possibly like her?"
Although he said this, deep down he understood it was no longer a question of whether he fancied Jiang Ruoshui, but that Jiang Ruoshui simply didn't fancy him.
No matter how much he deceived himself, pretended to be deaf and dumb, and tried to maintain his pitiful self-esteem and sense of superiority, it had all been shattered to pieces by Shu Fu's sword strike moments ago.
He knew Jiang Ruoshui had changed.
She was no longer that little girl who used to follow him around, pitifully calling him "Brother Xuan."
In front of her, his pride and arrogance would never be satisfied. Not only could he not intimidate her, but he was also often one-upped by her, and occasionally even ground into the dirt.
Even his father, Qi Feng, was greatly dissatisfied with his performance regarding Third Uncle Qi, instead praising Jiang Ruoshui highly.
Qi Yuxuan, having been the heaven's favored son and popular male god for so many years, always had girls revolving around him. When had he ever suffered such grievances?
As for Fang Wanqing, after hearing Qi Yuxuan's heartfelt confession, she remained frowning deeply, her face clouded with melancholy. "Yuxuan, it's not that I don't believe you. It's just... that Jiang Ruoshui... Whenever I see her, I feel flustered in my heart, as if one day she will surely snatch you away."
Qi Yuxuan thought, anyone would feel flustered seeing such a bloody, ferocious smile.
But he absolutely could not admit he was scared, so he just patiently soothed her, "It won't happen, Wanqing. We've known each other for years. You know my feelings well, why do you always mind others?"
"I just can't help minding. As long as she is around for a single day, I cannot feel at ease."
Fang Wanqing lowered her thick, fan-like eyelashes, concealing her obscure gaze.
Shu Fu didn't mind her minding.
To be precise, she didn't really mind any irrelevant char siu, as long as they didn't jump around in front of her.
If they dared to jump, she dared to roast them.
After parting ways with the lovebirds, she kept her head down and walked upstream, running into quite a few demons and monsters along the way. Any that actively attacked her were conveniently sliced up by her, treated as practice for Fruit Ninja.
In less than an hour, she had collected several hundred Jiangzhu beads piecemeal. Together, they were a brilliant, dazzling red, looking quite impressive. At this rate, passing the trial shouldn't be a problem.
However, after all this, half her clothes were soaked through with blood, clinging stickily to her body, which was really quite uncomfortable. Who knew what was special about that demon beast blood; cleansing spells didn't work on it, so she had to wash it off by the water herself.
Shu Fu thought according to the usual pattern: if I go into the water to bathe, a man will jump out from the bushes in the blink of an eye, and it is very likely to be Qi Yuxuan.
That is truly terrifying!
She vigorously shook her head, banishing this horror-movie-like imagination from her mind. Instead, she used a spell to draw a stream of water and began washing off the sticky bloodstains on her body.
But even with Shu Fu being so cautious, her adaptability still couldn't keep up with the unpredictable, ghostly plot.
Just as she stirred up the water, she heard an "Eh?" followed by a sharp question, "Who's there?!"
Shu Fu: "Wait a second, I'm—"
Splash!
Before she could even finish speaking, a huge ball of water came flying straight at her face, drenching her from head to toe and conveniently washing all the blood and grime off her face, which could be described as a thoroughly refreshing shower.
Shu Fu: "..."
Hold on, aren't I the female lead?
Why isn't it someone catching me bathing, but me catching someone else bathing?
There must be something wrong with my female lead script!
Right as she was caught between laughter and tears, a flash of white light suddenly appeared before her eyes, and the gleaming edge of a sword was already pressing against the tip of her nose. "You scoundrel! How dare you peek at a young lady... Eh? You're a woman?"
"..."
Shu Fu was speechless. Silently, she raised a hand, cupped one of her breasts, and gave it a little heft.
Though not as large as Liu Ruyi's fake ones, there was still something there, right?
"Can't you tell?"
Shu Fu asked, one hand over her heart, utterly drained of life.
"You... you really are a woman."
The person opposite seemed not to have processed it, responding dryly with wide, straight eyes. Without waiting for Shu Fu's reply, they thrust out their sword without hesitation again. "You scoundrel! You don't even spare someone of the same sex?!"
Shu Fu: "Wait a second—!"
Friend, just what have you been through?!
In the brief exchange, she could already see it was a youth of about seventeen or eighteen, dressed in simple, unkempt scholar's robes of blue. The young scholar's attire was plain, his sword also a dull, dark iron one without any superfluous adornment, only an incongruously luxurious folding fan hung at his waist.
This scholar was young, but his sword techniques were grand and sweeping, less perilous and isolated than Shu Fu's, but with an extra measure of magnanimity and uprightness. It was evident that his sword heart was clear, bright, upright, and righteous. For a moment, it actually reminded her of Qi Feng.
However, this is a bit too... upright.
"Hey, hey, hey, fellow cultivator, snap out of it!"
Shu Fu parried a few blows with her sword and, realizing the scholar had no intention of stopping, couldn't help but interrupt him, "I have no interest in women bathing. I like men."
"..."
Upon hearing this, the scholar abruptly withdrew, swiftly retreating a full zhang, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Don't get any ideas. I'm not that kind of casual man."
Shu Fu: "..."
He must have been through something.
"Brother, you've misunderstood."
She was at a loss with this single-minded, honest person and had no choice but to explain from the very beginning, step by step. "I was merely passing by, wanting to wash off the bloodstains on me..."
And so on and so forth.
After her earnest and painstaking explanation, the scholar finally believed her story.
Like all honest people, he didn't evade or shirk responsibility. He readily admitted his mistake and, facing Shu Fu, bowed deeply with a resounding thump.
"My apologies, fellow cultivator. I was mistaken."
The reason for the "thump" sound effect was that he performed a full, solid 180-degree bow, his head hitting the ground directly and leaving a dent in the hard yellow earth.
Shu Fu: "That... really wasn't necessary, brother."
"How could I not? One must apologize for wrongdoing. That's how my mother taught me."
The scholar raised his head, his gaze clear as water, a conspicuous red bump swelling on his forehead. "Fellow cultivator, were you injured earlier?"
"I'm fine, but your head took quite a knock..."
"Then all is well."
The scholar let out a long, relieved sigh and finally began to explain to Shu Fu, "Fellow cultivator, let me explain. My surname is Ye. Like you, I was passing by and inadvertently discovered a young lady was, ahem, bathing in the mountain stream. I dared not intrude, yet feared some libertine might disturb her, so I've been guarding here. Naturally, I absolutely did not peek!"
Shu Fu: "I believe you. But, if you've been guarding here the whole time, how will you collect the Crimson Dew?"
"To be perfectly honest,"
Scholar Ye puffed out his chest proudly, "For this trial, I have great confidence in myself. Even if delayed for an hour or two, I will certainly pass."
Oh, aren't you just amazing?
Shu Fu swallowed that retort and casually changed the subject. "Fellow cultivator, how long have you been guarding here?"
Ye Shusheng: "Ever since shortly after entering the gourd, I have remained here without leaving."
Shu Fu: "Oh... Huh?"
At least over an hour had passed since they entered the gourd.
Who bathes for that long?
Three hours? You could get a full-body spa treatment in that time! If you went to a northern bathhouse for a scrub, they could peel off two layers of your skin!
The moment Shu Fu sensed something amiss, her mind raced. She reached back, pulled out a voodoo-doll-like straw figure, and hurled it towards the ground.
That straw figure was one of the little trinkets Jiang Xuesheng gave her "to play with." It wasn't particularly powerful, merely capable of transforming upon landing into a life-sized dummy, fully dressed with complete facial features, almost indistinguishable from a real person.
Shu Fu gave the dummy a pat on the back, said "Go take a look," and without further explanation, leaped onto a towering ancient tree by the path. Finding the highest branch, she alighted upon the treetop as lightly as a bird in two or three moves.
Sheltered by the dense foliage, she held her breath, staring unblinkingly in the direction the dummy was heading.
"Fellow cultivator, what's happening?"
The scholar had followed her up the tree and leaned in curiously beside her.
Shu Fu raised a finger to her lips in a "shush" gesture.
They watched as the dummy walked steadily towards the water's edge, its posture natural, its movements no different from a real person's.
Just as Ye Shusheng had said, there was indeed a long-haired woman in the mountain stream, her silhouette slender and her curves graceful, leisurely bathing and cupping water in her hands.
Ye Shusheng's face flushed crimson in an instant, and he hurriedly raised his hands to cover his eyes. "Do not look upon impropriety, do not look upon impropriety!"
Because he closed his eyes, he didn't witness the subsequent scene as completely as the fully focused Shu Fu did.
The moment the dummy, following Shu Fu's command, stepped into the stream and approached the bathing woman, an unnatural ripple suddenly passed over the water's surface.
Immediately after, the water around the dummy's feet began to churn violently as if boiling, strings of bubbles frantically surfacing, water splashing, and then—
Splash!
The water flow, like living venomous snakes, coiled around the dummy's limbs and neck, dragging it underwater in one swift motion.
Although it was just a dummy casually made by Jiang Xuesheng, according to him, it possessed spiritual power equivalent to at least a Qi Refining stage cultivator, enough to block a few blows for Shu Fu.
Yet now, before this water flow, the dummy was as weak and helpless as a newborn baby, utterly defenseless.
"See that?"
Shu Fu, unsurprised, turned to the dumbfounded Ye Shusheng with a slight smile, her eyes curving like crescent moons. "That bathing 'young lady' is likely a demonic cultivator at least at the mid Foundation Establishment stage or higher, specifically lying in wait here to attract unwary prey. Thanks to your diligent guarding, she's been bathing for ages with no catch and is probably quite frustrated by now."
"I intend to confront the most powerful great demon in the Purple Jade Gourd. Before that, I must conserve my strength and cannot afford to expend spiritual power dealing with other powerful demonic cultivators. I'm leaving now. Do as you please."
However, just before Shu Fu could drift away, the water current, carrying the lifelike straw dummy, wave pushing wave, swept it right before the female figure in the water.
Then, Shu Fu and Ye Shusheng watched as the woman flung the wet hair from the side of her face, revealing a terrifying visage covered in shimmering scales, with a mouth slit open all the way to her ears. She stuck out a long, crimson tongue, opened her jaws wide, and bit down towards the dummy's neck—
"..."
"..."
"..."
After a brief silence.
The snake-woman woodenly raised her head, her serpentine face expressionless. She stiffly worked her jaws and uttered a single syllable from her slender, elegant throat:
"Shit."
From her slit-open mouth, fine fragments of straw from the dummy slipped out.
Shu Fu: "Shit, she's discovered it. I'm out of here. You do as you like."
Ye Shusheng: "Wait a moment!"
