Ji Ling ran up to the two of them. Seeing the woman behind Qu Qi, he said in surprise, “Fellow Daoist Zhang San, you’re here too.”
Sheng Xizhu gave him a slight nod.
Ji Ling cupped his hands to her, then looked at Qu Qi with eyes full of admiration: “Little Senior Sister, your fireworks today were so amazing.”
A few people were still lingering and chatting in the classroom. One of them showed a look of disdain and suddenly said loudly, “With her cultivation level, could she really make something like that?”
The mockery in his voice was so heavy that the surroundings went quiet for a moment.
Soon, someone else chimed in: “Yeah, how could someone at the Qi Refinement stage do so well? She probably used some sort of heterodox path, didn’t she?”
Ji Ling’s face suddenly flushed red, and he glared at them: “You need evidence when you speak! On what grounds are you framing my Senior Sister like this?”
“Junior Brother Ji, don’t always protect her. Think about it; she usually can’t even draw her own life-bound sword. How could she suddenly become so skilled?”
Qu Qi: “”
Does the entire Wangxi Peak know about me being unable to draw my sword? Great, another way to die of embarrassment unlocked.
Ji Ling was stunned for a moment, and his reply was clearly lacking confidence: “M, maybe my Senior Sister’s cultivation level has reached great completion?”
One man clutched his stomach and laughed loudly: “You’re the only one who’d believe that.”
He looked at Qu Qi, his smile becoming even more mocking. “I specifically tried to probe Junior Sister Qu’s cultivation just now, but I couldn’t sense her current realm at all. I reckon she’s probably using some pill to hide her cultivation or to temporarily boost it, right?”
Qu Qi toyed with the white flower in her hand and said nonchalantly, “Ah, yes, yes, yes. You really are a genius.”
Seeing Qu Qi agreeing with him, the man became even more arrogant: “See? A good-for-nothing loser; how could she even be compared to Junior Sister Su?”
“Hehe, Senior Brother, you’re wrong there. Junior Sister Qu is still quite good-looking.”
“Pfft, she only has a face worth looking at! She isn’t even fit to carry Junior Sister Su’s shoes!”
One insult after another was unbearable to hear. Sheng Xizhu’s gaze snapped away from Qu Qi’s face.
On the wall, the woman’s black shadow instantly twisted and elongated into an exceptionally grotesque and sharp shape. Like a ghost, it appeared beside the shadows of the three people, resembling a giant, deformed serpentine creature.
The giant snake coiled above the three people’s heads and slowly opened its bloody maw.
Ji Ling’s chest heaved with anger, his eyes full of rage: “Senior Sister, are you just going to let them slander you like this?”
Qu Qi sighed: “Since they’re already like this, let’s just go along with it.”
One man, looking at her calm gaze, felt that something wasn’t quite right: “Are you being sarcastic?”
Qu Qi smiled slightly: “Hehe, you’re so smart.”
She was a “salted fish,” not a punching bag. How could she just lie down while being insulted?
The man’s eyes widened, and he pointed a finger at her: “You!”
Qu Qi: “I know you’re anxious, but don’t be anxious just yet.”
The giant snake, about to swallow them, froze in mid-air.
Everyone: “? ? ?”
When did this woman become so sharp-tongued? Didn’t she used to just shout and curse directly?
“You’re the anxious one!”
Qu Qi: “You’re right, I am anxious. Who wouldn’t be anxious after being bitten by a dog?”
The man realized what she meant, his face turning bright red: “Who are you calling a dog?”
“There, there, don’t bark like a dog,” Qu Qi said sympathetically. “Getting this excited before spring has even arrived? You should go get neutered as soon as possible.”
“Pfft.” Someone couldn’t help but let out a laugh, then quickly covered their mouth under the man’s furious glare.
Seeing the man turning his eyes up in rage and failing to say a word for a long time, Qu Qi pulled on Sheng Xizhu’s sleeve and said, “This is so boring. Let’s go home.”
These people were much weaker than the “keyboard warriors” from her modern world; there was no challenge at all.
Sheng Xizhu lowered her eyes and complied.
The three men followed Qu Qi’s gaze and saw the woman in fine clothing behind her, a flash of amazement crossing their eyes.
Noticing their undisguised stares, Qu Qi frowned and stepped forward to block Sheng Xizhu.
One man gave Qu Qi a look of loathing and poked his head out to shout at Sheng Xizhu: “Fellow Daoist from Mingyue Villa, you heard what was said just now. This woman is so arrogant and unreasonable; she’s practically suffocating. You should break off your relationship with her as soon as possible!”
“Yeah, I see that you have an extraordinary appearance, Fellow Daoist. Why not come and make friends with us instead?”
Qu Qi: Seriously? Trying to steal someone right in front of me? Do you think I’m invisible?
She gripped Sheng Xizhu’s sleeve tightly, her usually gentle and harmless expression suddenly turning cold: “Go look in a mirror, you guys. Don’t you find yourselves disgusting?”
Everyone was stunned when they met her gaze.
The girl’s brilliant features now held a frighteningly aggressive edge. With her red lips and white teeth, she looked as charming as a demon, truly possessing the aura of someone who could “commit crimes with her beauty.”
Even Ji Ling couldn’t help but be dazed, thinking that the Senior Sister who loved to scold people had returned.
The woman beside them pointed at her and scolded in a trembling voice, “Y, you, how can you speak like that? You have no manners at all! Just wait until I report this to the elders.”
Qu Qi was dismissive: “Still reporting to the teacher? How old are you? Go home and suck your mother’s milk.”
The female disciple’s face turned shades of blue and red with anger. However, because she considered herself a high-quality inner disciple, she didn’t dare to curse like Qu Qi and could only glare at her hatefully.
Having thoroughly roasted the three of them into silence, Qu Qi felt immense relief. She grabbed Sheng Xizhu’s hand and, like a champion who had just won a tournament, marched toward the door with her head held high, only to remember something at the last second.
Sheng Xizhu said nothing, following closely behind her step for step.
Qu Qi turned to Ji Ling and said, “Let’s go.”
Ji Ling snapped back to reality and hurried after them.
Once they had all left the classroom, the male disciple who had first started the trouble kicked Qu Qi’s desk violently.
The desk crashed against the wall with a sharp, ear-splitting clatter.
“Not seeing her for a month, that woman is still as silver-tongued as ever.”
“I think she’s even more arrogant than before. Should we find a few people to teach her a proper lesson?”
“No, Elder Shouyi is currently on Wangxi Peak. She is extremely protective of her own and would definitely favor her disciple.” After saying this, he changed the subject. “However, that female disciple from Mingyue Villa beside her, have you two seen her before?”
The other two looked at each other and shook their heads. “Doesn’t seem like it. I didn’t see her auditing classes the past few days either.”
“Qu Qi was at the back of the mountain previously and only returned a few days ago. Perhaps she and that female disciple only met recently and aren’t that close,” the male disciple said thoughtfully. “We could actually win over that fellow Daoist and have her help us prank Qu Qi.”
The female disciple agreed, “Sowing discord? As expected of Senior Brother, what a great idea!”
The male disciple was smug. “Who told her to bully Junior Sister Su before? Junior Sister Su might forgive her, but we won’t. All of this is just that shrew getting what she deserves!”
Suddenly, someone screamed for no reason: “Ah!”
The female disciple trembled with fright and snapped at him, “What are you screaming for! You scared me to death!”
The man looked terrified. “On the ground, there seems to be something on the ground!”
The three of them looked down. A massive black snake lurking in the shadows slowly poked its head out, standing upright before them. Its height nearly reached the ceiling as it slightly lowered its head, staring at them with cold, icy eyes.
Under their terrified gazes, the giant snake flicked its slender tongue.
The female disciple shrieked and fainted. Before the remaining male disciple could react, the giant snake suddenly leaped forward like a bolt of lightning, opening its bloody maw and lunging at them.
“Ah!”
Walking out of Songting Pavilion, Qu Qi turned her head and asked, “Was someone just screaming?”
Ji Ling tilted his ear to listen, puzzled. “No, I didn’t hear anything.”
Sheng Xizhu added, “Me neither.”
The giant snake slithered rapidly through the shadows. Its slippery black scales wound past, leaving behind puddles of transparent liquid that quickly evaporated like steam.
In the next second, it silently merged back into the black shadow at Sheng Xizhu’s feet.
“Then I must have misheard.” Qu Qi turned back and pulled Sheng Xizhu toward home.
The midday sun was like fire. The three walked side by side on a mountain path dappled with shade.
Recalling what just happened, Ji Ling’s face was full of admiration. “Those people were truly excessive. Luckily, Senior Sister was majestic today and blocked them until they couldn’t speak.”
Qu Qi said, “When dealing with people like that, endurance doesn’t work. You have to make them realize you aren’t a pushover.” Resist school bullying; it starts with me!
She had faced school bullying in high school as well, though the target wasn’t Qu Qi herself, but her class monitor. Although she had tried her best to help back then, her power was meager and couldn’t change much.
The monitor had originally been a good student, but due to the bullying, her grades plummeted. She heard that the monitor eventually failed the college entrance exams and vanished without a trace, never contacting Qu Qi again.
Since then, she became increasingly unable to tolerate seeing such things happen.
Ji Ling nodded vigorously like a little fanboy. “Senior Sister is right!”
He then grew a bit worried. “But they were quite angry just now. Will they take the chance to retaliate against you later?”
“No, Master is here these few days, so they won’t dare to do anything major.” Qu Qi let out a yawn, returning to her lazy state. “As for the future, we’ll deal with it when it comes.”
With her current realm, those people wouldn’t win whether it was a verbal battle or a physical fight.
Qu Qi looked at the quiet Sheng Xizhu beside her and said, “Sister Zhang San, why aren’t you talking?”
The giant snake poked its head out from the shadows to eavesdrop, only to be pressed back down by a sharp claw.
Sheng Xizhu looked up at her.
The afternoon light filtered through the sparse leaves, dyeing her deep black hair with a layer of pale gold. Her pale cheeks had a bit more color, making her look less like a cold immortal and more like a human being.
She looked just like a delicate, soft, and beautiful young girl.
Qu Qi couldn’t help but reach out and stroke her head.
Sheng Xizhu was startled. True to her habits as a cat, she subconsciously tilted her head into the palm of Qu Qi’s hand.
From beside them came the sound of someone inhaling sharply: “Sss…”
The two turned their heads to see Ji Ling standing there, eyes wide, looking at them with a meaningful gaze.
Qu Qi: “…”
She immediately let go of Sheng Xizhu and defended herself: “It’s not what you think!” I just wanted to pet a cat’s head!
Ji Ling had a realization. “No wonder Little Senior Sister never found someone she liked. I thought you viewed your sword as your Dao companion, but I didn’t expect…”