Sheng Xizhu asked, “Who is that person?”
Qu Qi hesitated.
If she told her cat-master about the Great Demon, she wasn’t sure if she would end up dragging her into the mess.
In the original book, the villain only appears halfway through the story, and upon her arrival, she quietly disguises herself as a disciple of the Wenjian Sect. By the time the female lead finally uncovers her identity, the Wenjian Sect has already suffered heavy casualties; hundreds of disciples’ remains are gone, and two elders have had their cultivation bases destroyed. Penglai Island falls because of this, utterly unable to fight back.
In the end, it was only when the female lead stepped forward and joined forces with her several “capture targets” that they managed to drive the Great Demon, Sheng Xizhu, off Penglai Island, narrowly avoiding a “total party wipe” ending at the very start.
When Qu Qi read the book, she couldn’t help but complain. As a member of the righteous path, the female lead had to gang up on her enemy to win, yet she still didn’t manage to get the upper hand against Sheng Xizhu; she only managed to wound her.
This showed just how freakishly powerful the Great Demon King was.
Compared to her, Qu Qi and her little kitty were probably just the level of an after-dinner dessert.
Qu Qi agonized for a moment before saying, “I’d better not say.”
She didn’t want the black cat to get involved in this muddy water. If they really were caught by Sheng Xizhu in the future, she would find a way to send the kitty away first.
Sheng Xizhu lowered her eyes, her gaze inscrutable.
She then heard Qu Qi say, “I’m only telling this to you, don’t tell anyone else.”
The girl looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, then leaned down close to her ear and said with great gravity, “That person wants to harm me because, because she lusts after my body.”
Of course, she meant “lust” in the literal, physical sense.
Sheng Xizhu: “?”
She looked up at Qu Qi, a rare trace of confusion appearing in her cold gaze.
A moment later, Sheng Xizhu seemed to realize something. A faint blush rose to her cheeks, and her gaze fell upon Qu Qi’s face before sliding further down.
The events of a few nights ago unseasonably popped into her mind: the girl’s vigorous heartbeat as she held her tightly, her hot breath, and that slender, warm body.
Qu Qi’s face suddenly flushed hot under her gaze, and she whispered an explanation: “No, no, I don’t mean that kind of eating! I mean actually eating me, swallowing me into her stomach.”
It was her fault for being so ambiguous that even her cat-master misunderstood. Was this something a little kitty should be hearing?
Sheng Xizhu’s throat moved as she hurriedly looked away.
The atmosphere suddenly turned awkward. Qu Qi scratched her head with a red face and proactively changed the subject: “Hahaha, this Daoist’s lecture is actually quite good, even if it’s a bit hard to understand.”
Most of the students in Songting Pavilion were inner disciples in the early to mid-stages of Foundation Building; they were at the stage where they needed to build their basics. The cultivator on stage was talking eloquently, teaching everyone how to control spiritual energy and create techniques.
Qu Qi tried to do as the cultivator said, injecting spiritual energy into her palm and using her divine sense to change its shape. A clump of pale green fluid appeared in her hand, turning into a fiery red maple leaf one moment and a bird about to take flight the next.
It seemed that as long as she could imagine it, she could combine it with the five elements and mold the spiritual energy into any shape.
Qu Qi held her breath: Is this the joy of opening Creative Mode?
She was currently in the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, so her divine sense was far more stable than the other disciples. While others were still busy trying to create the outlines of objects, Qu Qi had already started changing their colors.
The shimmering light of the circulating spiritual energy was reflected in Qu Qi’s eyes. She tilted the corners of her mouth into a bright, vivid smile.
She manifested a brilliantly blooming red flower and handed it to Sheng Xizhu: “Here, a fresh flower for a beauty.”
Sheng Xizhu paused, then reached out to take the stem.
However, the moment her fingers touched the stem, the petals rapidly withered and died, eventually crumbling into scattered dust and silently vanishing into the air.
Qu Qi was dumbfounded.
Are you some kind of human weed-killer?
Sheng Xizhu said, “Your spiritual energy is insufficient; the things you make have the form but lack the spirit.” She spread her palm and conjured a tiny butterfly made of pure gold.
The butterfly fluttered its almost transparent wings and landed gently on the tip of Qu Qi’s nose.
Qu Qi: “Wow!” So cute!
Watching the butterfly slowly wiggle its tiny antennae on her nose, Qu Qi unconsciously became cross-eyed.
Suddenly, a cloud of fine golden powder shook off the butterfly’s wings, drifting toward her like a torrential rain.
“!”
Qu Qi felt like something had gotten into her eyes, and they began to itch frantically.
She immediately covered her eyes: “You sneak-attacked me! You have no martial honor!”
Sheng Xizhu said indifferently, “I am merely teaching you how to use spiritual energy creations to defend against enemies.”
The butterfly flew back to her pale palm and instantly shattered into golden dust, shimmering with faint light.
Qu Qi took her hands away. The corners of her elegant fox-like eyes had been rubbed a vivid red, making her look like she was on the verge of tears.
She glared at Sheng Xizhu with red eyes, but she didn’t look threatening at all; instead, she looked even more alluring.
“I think you bullied me on purpose.”
After a moment, Sheng Xizhu looked away from the corners of her eyes and said, “It is because you were completely off-guard.” Being this weak, she would be too easy to bully in the future.
Qu Qi, eyes itching and stinging, was powerless to retort. She could only turn her body away from her. “I am unilaterally declaring a cold war with you for one hour.” She wasn’t going to spoil this bastard cat anymore; whoever wanted to spoil her could do it.
The girl turned sideways in a posture of resistance, burying her face in the crook of her arm and using the gap between the desks as a “boundary line,” seemingly truly unwilling to acknowledge her.
Sheng Xizhu: “”
She pondered for a moment, then spread her palm to manifest several cultivation manuals and placed them on Qu Qi’s desk.
Qu Qi peeked back quietly: “?”
Sheng Xizhu said patiently, “Practice diligently; these techniques will be beneficial to you.”
Qu Qi: “” I already said it’s impossible for me to cultivate!
Sheng Xizhu, Qu Qi didn’t react, she fell into deep thought: Does she not like them?
When she was young, she had loved these cultivation manuals the most; every time she got one, she treated it like a precious treasure.
Qu Qi, not hearing any movement, took a quick glance. Seeing Sheng Xizhu lost in silence, she turned back and propped up her chin gloomily: She doesn’t even know how to coax someone? What a waste of such a beautiful face!
The atmosphere was at a stalemate when the cultivator on stage suddenly said, “How is everyone’s progress? Let me check.”
With that, he looked around. Almost everyone was listening seriously, except for Qu Qi by the window, who was sitting slouched with a terrible expression, muttering something under her breath.
The cultivator couldn’t help but frown. Although Qu Qi’s talent wasn’t high, she used to be at least somewhat serious about her studies. Why was she getting distracted so frequently today?
The cultivator changed his tone and shouted loudly, “Qu Qi, you come and demonstrate.”
Hearing this, the disciples below immediately shifted their gaze over.
“Ooh, here comes the show!”
“Isn’t she only at the Qi Refinement stage? She probably can’t control spiritual energy at all, right?”
“To be honest, the Daoist is probably asking this good-for-nothing to demonstrate just to encourage the rest of us.”
Among the inner disciples, there was a shared sentiment: no matter how bad their own cultivation was, at least they had Qu Qi to be at the bottom.
Everyone discussed it fervently, with “schadenfreude” practically written on their faces. Some disciples from Mingyue Villa and Jiehai Tower were very confused and asked others about the situation; upon learning the reason, they also began to snicker.
In their eyes, a fellow disciple with such low cultivation and no accomplishments only deserved to be a laughingstock!
Listening to the contemptuous laughter around them, Sheng Xizhu glanced sideways and saw Qu Qi slowly stand up, her posture as straight as bamboo.
The cultivator came to her side and said in a heavy voice, “You were distracted down here just now, so I assume you are already very proficient in controlling spiritual energy. Why don’t you demonstrate your results for everyone?”
Someone shouted, “Teacher, don’t make it hard on her. It’ll be a miracle if she can even use spiritual energy!”
Laughter broke out below, and the classroom was filled with a merry atmosphere.
Suddenly, a soft female voice interrupted the laughing crowd: “Everyone, please stop talking. Let Senior Sister Qu perform her technique in peace.”
Surprisingly, the surroundings went completely quiet upon hearing this.
Ruan Tang sat to the side, her fists quietly clenched. Seeing Su Fuwan speak up to stop them, she let out a sigh of relief and echoed, “Junior Sister Su is right, everyone be quiet for a moment.”
Xia Zhiyao also agreed: “Everyone, please remain calm.”
As soon as the female lead spoke, the crowd immediately burst into praise: “Junior Sister Su is truly kind-hearted, being so considerate even toward this viper-hearted woman.”
“Then we’ll listen to Junior Sister Su and see what kind of tricks she can pull off.”
Everyone turned their eyes toward the expressionless Qu Qi.
Ji Ling, in the back row, swallowed nervously and gave a soft cheer: “Good luck, Little Senior Sister!”
Seeing Qu Qi standing motionless, Su Fuwan spoke up with a look of understanding: “Senior Sister Qu, it’s alright if you can’t do it.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a burst of flames suddenly erupted from Qu Qi’s palm, making the classroom as bright as day.
The fire bloomed brilliantly, clusters of it opening up like multi-colored fireworks in the air above the classroom. It was dazzling and magnificent, illuminating the girl’s features.
Her eyes sparkled, vivid and bright.
Sheng Xizhu stared at her blankly.
The gorgeous scene was imprinted on everyone’s retinas. The crowd was stunned; when they snapped out of it, they felt as if their faces were burning with shame.
These vibrant, splendid fireworks were far more exciting and vivid than their own unformed creations.
Su Fuwan was even more embarrassed. She had thought Qu Qi couldn’t do it and had intentionally spoken up for her, never expecting this “cannon fodder” to do so well.
She shut her mouth sullenly and let out a low “tsk.”
Qu Qi put away the fireworks and looked at the cultivator beside her, asking, “Is that enough?”
The cultivator came back to his senses, his eyes showing approval: “Very good, very impressive.” He was usually very strict and rarely praised students, which showed that Qu Qi had indeed done well this time.
Qu Qi smiled slightly: “You flatter me. My spiritual energy is meager; the things I make have the form but lack the spirit.”
Sheng Xizhu: “” Holding such a grudge; it seems she really is angry.
The cultivator said, “Young friend, you are too modest. For your age, you have completed this exceptionally well. However, why did you choose to manifest your spiritual energy as fireworks? Is there any special meaning?”
“It expresses my beautiful vision,” Qu Qi said, maintaining her smile. “A blessing for my senior brothers and sisters.”
The cultivator pondered: “A bright and brilliant future?”
Qu Qi: “Fleeting and transient.”
Everyone: “” Thanks, we got the insult.
The room was silent; no one dared to speak again.
The cultivator gave a dry laugh: “Hahaha! You certainly are humorous.”
Qu Qi sat down calmly and looked straight ahead. She could feel Sheng Xizhu looking at her frequently out of the corner of her eye, seemingly wanting to say something.
A moment later, the morning class ended. Everyone packed their things and began to trickle out.
Qu Qi stood up, and her finger was suddenly gently hooked.
She turned back to meet Sheng Xizhu’s clear eyes.
Sheng Xizhu asked in a low voice, “Still angry?”
Looking at that pure, flawless face, Qu Qi’s anger inexplicably vanished by half.
Her anger wasn’t entirely because of the black cat; those fellow disciples who kicked her while she was down were just as annoying. She was already in a bad mood, and those people kept jabbering away, practically walking into her line of fire.
Qu Qi turned her head and said nothing.
Sheng Xizhu lowered her head, and a flower as white as snow appeared between her index and middle fingers. She took Qu Qi’s hand and, mimicking Qu Qi’s earlier action, placed the flower in her palm. She said clumsily but earnestly, “Don’t be angry. This is for you.”
Qu Qi looked at the beautiful flower, then at the beauty who was even more delicate than the flower, and suddenly felt a bit soft-hearted.
Sigh, why was she, an adult, getting worked up with a little kitty? No matter how bad she was, she was the one who had spoiled her in the first place.
She opened her mouth, about to say something, when Ji Ling’s voice suddenly rang out: “Little Senior Sister.”