"What...?"
As these words escaped her lips, Shu Fu's mind went blank for a brief moment.
She could understand every single word that Liu Ruyi had said. However, when she strung those sentences together and tried to match them with the visual scene in front of her, it just didn't add up. It was as if there was a short - circuit in her brain, and she almost felt like her "CPU" was about to explode.
— Liu Ruyi?
— A man?
— And with a large... something?
— Did "large" refer to the chest?
Shu Fu instinctively glanced at Liu Ruyi's chest and then unconsciously patted her own firm chest.
Obviously, Liu Ruyi's chest was larger.
— Then how could he be a man? Were those two lumps on his chest well - toned pectoral muscles from years of exercise?
"..."
Qi Yuxuan and Qi Xinlei were also stunned. After all, they were young. If Shu Fu had never seen such a scene before, they surely hadn't either. At this moment, they stood there, petrified, with expressions of utter shock on their faces.
The only one who remained calm at the scene was Liu Ruyi himself.
Taking advantage of the moment when the Qi siblings were in a state of shock and distraction, "she" - he, tossed down some silver coins, picked up the jade hairpin, and grabbed Shu Fu's sleeve with one hand. Then, like a gust of wind, he dashed out of the shop, past the bustling streets, and soon left the shop far behind.
It wasn't until they had run about two li away and the Qi family members couldn't cause any more trouble that Liu Ruyi gently put down Shu Fu, who had been dragged along by him, and said in a gentle voice,
"Sorry. I spoke out of turn and scared you, miss."
His tone was soothing, and his voice was clear and melodious, still that unforgettable and pleasant voice.
"Um, Brother Liu..."
Shu Fu swallowed hard and asked cautiously, "You... are really...?"
"Really."
Liu Ruyi nodded seriously, with clear eyes and no trace of teasing or joking.
"Then, this... of yours..."
— What's up with the chest?
"Oh, this is a close - fitting soft armor I ordered from Tianyan Gate. If you like it, I'll get you one too later."
Liu Ruyi noticed her gaze and explained generously.
Then he reached up and patted his chest, saying, "It has good toughness and elasticity. Ordinary knives and guns can't hurt it. It's very practical."
Shu Fu: "..."
What on earth did Tianyan Gate usually research?! Even though it was a support - oriented sect, the scope of its support seemed too broad!!
Come to think of it, why on earth did Liu Ruyi order a fake chest?
Shu Fu was worried that asking directly might be impolite, but she couldn't hold back her curiosity. After carefully choosing her words for a long time, she finally stammered and asked, "Brother Liu, since you're a man, why do you..."
"Dress in women's clothing?"
Liu Ruyi kindly finished the question for her. Without getting angry, he smiled and answered his own question, "To be honest, my master and I are quite well - known among our peers, but our reputations aren't very good. Whenever we go out to handle affairs, we have to disguise ourselves."
Shu Fu suddenly realized, "I see. So you dress in women's clothing to cover your identity and avoid being recognized?"
"No."
Liu Ruyi shook his head and firmly corrected, "It's because women's clothing is beautiful."
Shu Fu: "..."
He made so much sense that she couldn't refute him.
Then she remembered another thing, "You said you're from Xuanyu Palace. Is that true?"
"That's true."
Liu Ruyi answered frankly, with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes. "The master of Xuanyu Palace has some connection with my family. I grew up under her care since I was a child. Although I never formally became her disciple, everyone in Xuanyu Palace is very friendly to me, and I'm indebted to them."
No wonder he was being so vague before, misleading Qi Xinlei into thinking that he was a female cultivator from Xuanyu Palace. It turned out that he was standing up for his benefactor.
After Shu Fu figured this out, her inner doubts were somewhat alleviated, but she still felt a bit overwhelmed. "Sorry, I need some quiet time to think about life."
For example, why does a man have softer skin than me and is better at makeup than me?
Liu Ruyi didn't think she was being rude. He apologized, "Miss Shu, I'm really sorry. I'm a playful person and have never been one for rules. I don't really care about gender differences. I just do things that please me. I didn't mean to deceive you. After this matter is settled, I'll definitely remove my makeup and apologize to you."
He paused for a moment and then added, "And of course, I'll also take off the fake chest."
Shu Fu: "..." Thank you, no need.
She had never heard such a sincere apology. Modern people always said "show your chest when apologizing", but she was seeing someone "remove their chest when apologizing" for the first time.
...
...
At sunset, on the outskirts of the southern city.
Cangmu Forest was surrounded by mountains on three sides and stretched for dozens of miles. There was only one narrow entrance, making it a dangerous and easily defensible terrain. The dense forest was dim and deep, with the shadows of trees swaying. Under the gradually fading twilight, it looked even more eerie and terrifying.
Jiang Xuesheng didn't wait for them at the entrance. Instead, he chose a high slope not far away, standing against the wind and quietly looking down at the undulating sea of trees.
His appearance was ordinary, but his back was as slender and elegant as a green bamboo. His wide - sleeved robe was fluttering in the mountain wind, and he looked as if he was about to ride the wind and leave, looking very much like an otherworldly immortal.
Looking at his back, Shu Fu suddenly understood what it meant by "standing aloof from the world and ascending to immortality".
"Back?"
Hearing the footsteps of the two, Jiang Xuesheng calmly turned around. Then he noticed that Shu Fu's face looked strange. "Fellow Daoist Shu, what's wrong? Did Ruyi offend you?"
Liu Ruyi was startled, "I didn't, I wouldn't! What kind of image do I have in your eyes?"
Jiang Xuesheng sighed with a tired look on his face and waved his hand, "I know you didn't. I'm just afraid that you treat others as sisters and forget to tell them the most important thing. Then when they find out you're a fake sister, they'll file a complaint with me, saying that you dressed as a woman to take advantage of them."
Liu Ruyi also sighed, "So unjust. What advantage could I take? I like to choose my own clothes and jewelry, and I also like to pick them for other girls. I just help them with their makeup and enjoy seeing them looking gorgeous. No one in Xuanyu Palace has ever minded this."
"Xuanyu Palace respects women, which is different from other places. In today's world, being a man, you've already got a huge advantage."
Jiang Xuesheng retorted casually. Then he turned to Shu Fu, bowed gracefully, and said, "Fellow Daoist, please don't laugh at us. Ruyi is from the bird clan and has a natural love for beauty. His aesthetic standards... are a bit special. He didn't mean to dress as a woman on purpose."
"Yes, the men's clothing on the market is so ugly. If I want to wear something nice, I have to draw the design myself and send it to Tianyan Gate."
Liu Ruyi continued confidently.
Shu Fu: "..." All right then.
She stared blankly into the distance and temporarily gave up thinking. Tianyan Gate was like the world's Doraemon or a prop store. She had completely understood that.
"Wait a minute. Something's wrong."
Suddenly, she came to her senses, "You're a bird?"
Liu Ruyi: "Yeah, I'm a bird. Back then, when I was still an egg, it was the Xuanyu Palace that hatched me."
Shu Fu: "...Alright."
Never in a million years did she expect that the beautiful sister who had caught her eye was not only a man but also a bird-man. In this fantasy world, perhaps this was the norm.
...Norm, my ass.
"Alright, let's get down to business," Jiang Xuesheng interrupted, still in his unhurried and calm manner, not minding their digression. "Ruyi, did you notice the entrance? This trip today might be a bit more troublesome."
"How so?"
Liu Ruyi raised his long eyebrows and took a step forward, looking down.
At the entrance of the usually quiet and deserted dense forest, more than a dozen young cultivators had gathered at some unknown time.
Shu Fu's cultivation was mediocre, and so was her eyesight. At a glance, she couldn't see clearly. She only thought their looks were a bit strange. They were all rubbing their hands and eager to try. The one leading them was gesturing and shouting something, in a very high - spirited mood.
"I overheard roughly that they are all the children of small local families. They heard that there was a Qiongqi roaming around here and came to test their skills," Jiang Xuesheng explained. "As long as we win, we can become famous overnight. Maybe we can even replace the Tong family and become one of the three great families in Qingcheng' - that's what they said."
Liu Ruyi frowned: "The Tong family isn't completely gone yet, and they're already so impatient?"
Jiang Xuesheng smiled amiably, looking gentle and kind, like a benevolent patriarch: "Young people are full of vigor and always like to court death."
...Wait.
Court death?
Shu Fu poked her ear, suspecting she had misheard.
Liu Ruyi seemed used to it and casually asked, "Save them or not?"
Jiang Xuesheng: "Save them, but not right away. Let them struggle until they're half - dead. Then they'll learn their lesson and know their limits in the future."
Looking at his kind gaze and worried expression, it was as if he was saying, "When their grades drop, they'll realize it's not good to play games all the time."
Then, after a moment of thought, this kind - looking patriarch changed his mind and said, "Forget it. Let's wait until they're seventy percent dead."
Shu Fu: ?????
What the hell was "seventy percent dead"? Did it mean the same as medium - rare? Was this elder brother a devil?
Jiang Xuesheng didn't notice her silent complaints, or maybe he did but didn't care. He flicked his sleeve, grabbed her and Liu Ruyi, and leaped down from the high slope. In an instant, they covered dozens of feet and landed gracefully in front of those young cultivators.
Shu Fu was suddenly dragged into showing off like this, and the experience was not pleasant. She felt like she was suffering from airsickness.
She looked up dizzily, took a deep breath of fresh air, and felt even worse.
Because, from her current angle, she could clearly see -
Among those high - spirited young cultivators, there was a young girl in white with an oval face and big eyes. At first glance, she was very sweet and delicate, like a fragile white flower that made people feel pity.
However, on the bright blade of Shu Fu's sword, there was a face that... didn't look human at all. It looked more like the face of an actor in an R - rated horror movie.
"……………………"
Shu Fu took several deep breaths in a row, biting her tongue until it went numb. With great difficulty, she managed to swallow the swear word "Damn it" back.
Just then, she heard a voice transmitting into her mind. It was Jiang Xuesheng calmly warning her:
[Fellow Daoist, stay away from that girl in white. She's been dead for seven or eight years. She has a strong yin energy. Getting too close to her is bad for your health.]
Shu Fu: [Damn it!!!]
Jiang Xuesheng: [Don't swear and don't be afraid. This girl died a tragic death. She was probably a victim of the Qiongqi disaster back then. The young people are so ignorant and disrespectful to the dead. She'll probably cause them some trouble along the way and won't harm us.]
Shu Fu: [Damn it... I've been doing good deeds day and night. She must not give me any trouble.]
Jiang Xuesheng: [Don't worry. As long as people don't court death, they won't die.]
Shu Fu: [...]
- So this was what "courting death" and "save or not" meant!!!
