Chapter 195: Both the fool and the brat are harsh on themselves

Chu Hengkong had thought many times about how to ease relations with a certain centaur. Although the centaur was in the wrong, he had really lost his temper that night. Moreover, he had not yet repaid the centaur's life-saving grace, and they would have to fight together later. It was reasonable for him to resume communication with Qingxia.

But not in this form.

Not in this kind of situation.

The stream gurgled, the forest was peaceful, and Chu Hengkong, standing by the lake, had a blank expression on his face. He truly didn't know what expression to put on. His nerves had probably frozen in the sheer embarrassment, and his facial muscles were protesting loudly, ready to give up. But his heart was pounding like a drug addict after three days in a nightclub. The uncontrollable desire to run wild flowed through his blood, threatening to revolt on the spot if he didn't pounce.

The worst thing was that because of the previous blood infusion, he could feel Qingxia's heartbeat and emotions.

vice versa.

The red-haired girl avoided his gaze slightly, her cheeks flushed.

Chu Hengkong calmly grasped his neck with his prosthetic hand, forcing his muscles to turn around. He ran with all his might: "Sorry, I took the wrong path. Goodbye!"

Unfortunately, as he had proven many times in actual combat, his speed was no match for Miss Centaur. Chu Hengkong couldn't even run half a meter before he was caught by Qingxia, who had stormed ashore.

Qingxia put her arms around him and picked him up, shouting, "How dare you! Don't run away, you thief!"

"Let go first!" Chu Hengkong felt completely overwhelmed. There was no way he couldn't help it. The height and build disparity between them was too great. Qingxia's embrace had completely lifted his feet off the ground. He was buried deep within the snow-white peaks, her elastic, moist skin enveloping him like a sponge.

In front of the four-meter-tall Qingxia, he was just like a big rag doll. Qingxia could wrap him up with a light hug, and he could not fight back at her.

He struggled hard, but there was no way to get rid of him. The other party also had the upper hand in terms of strength. Qingxia's face became redder and redder. She lowered her head and whispered, "If you keep moving around, I will really get excited."

Chu Hengkong's entire body was frozen, and he wished he could stop breathing. He used his will to shake the air and say, "If you really care about me, let me go first."

"No!" Qingxia's attitude was particularly firm. "I read in a book that if a man accidentally sees you bathing, you will be cursed with nakedness by the Magpie Immortal. If you let that man escape, you will remain naked for the rest of your life. If you want to lift the curse, you must marry him!"

"Who is the one who modified the fairy tale of the Seven Fairies that you are reading? I will kill him." Chu Hengkong said.

"If I let you run away, I will have to marry you." Qingxia said nervously, "This is absolutely... um... um..."

Miss Centaur thought for a moment and let go readily.

"Go away!"

"Don't change your mind! Seriously, don't let me go! What are you thinking about?! I feel scared just guessing what's in your mind!" Chu Hengkong shouted at the top of his lungs.

Qing Xia gave a thumbs up: "It's a good deal if you can find a good man just by being naked for a few days."

"You are not allowed to be naked. Put on your clothes. And you are not allowed to bathe in the wilderness. Go bathe in your own house!"

Qingxia began to retreat: "(ノ)ノ should take advantage of this opportunity to sneak back and create a fait accompli for escaping..."

"Wait, stop right there you bastard!!"

Trying to restrain a centaur with words was pointless. Trying to stop it with clearly inferior arm strength was even more impractical. Qingxia happily returned to the waterfall to continue showering. Fearing a misunderstanding, Chu Hengkong sat by the lake with his back to the waterfall, motionless, his eyes looking as if he were dead.

It seems a naive man had come to the lake to cultivate his mind. While this current torment offered no benefit to his practice of the Zanshin mystic technique, it certainly strengthened his mind. It's said that while meditating beneath a tree, the Buddha remained unmoved by the allure of a beautiful female demon. Now, with his back to the vibrant demon, he experienced the Buddha's feelings for the first time.

Wasn't it the same with the Buddha back then? He wanted to concentrate on enlightenment, but there was always this psychotic female demon running around and chattering. No wonder the Buddha finally chose the path of enlightenment. Once this incident was over, he could almost consider following the Buddha's example and becoming a monk, detached from the world and living in seclusion.

A few drops of water hit the back of Chu Hengkong's neck, sending a chill through him. Qingxia quietly swam over, half of her body leaning out to lie on the shore, grinning at him. Her hair spread out in the water like blood-red seaweed.

"Want to join us?" she whispered.

The killer covered his forehead and sighed deeply.

"If I remember correctly, I was beating you up the last time we met."

"That incident is over now." Qingxia said, "I don't feel any anger in you."

If he could still maintain his old hatred and rage in this situation, then Chu Hengkong would probably give up the path of Dragon Country martial arts and turn to the even worse other world to join the Chosen One of Khorne. He combed his hair vigorously, deciding to put the past aside for the time being and start from the fundamental direction.

"Qingxia, I don't understand where your affection for me comes from. I haven't helped you in any way. I haven't even given you a flower. What reason do you have not to tear me apart in this situation?"

"Outside, do you have to think about someone bringing you benefits before you can like them?" Qingxia asked in confusion, "Then do you like the benefits or the person?"

Chu Hengkong became increasingly irritated: "Don't change the subject, let me tell you the reason——"

"Because we are the same kind." Qing Xia said as a matter of course, "It is natural for the same kind to be close to each other, isn't it?"

"Me? And you?" Chu Hengkong pointed at his own body and the horse's body in the lake. "Same kind?"

Qingxia's eyes rolled around and she suddenly started talking about irrelevant things.

"You are always cautious with your surroundings. You always touch objects with your fingertips when picking them up. When you drink tea, you never hold the teacup with your hands, but always hold the bottom of the cup with your hands. When you sit on a chair with a backrest, you never lean back, keeping a distance between your back and the chair."

Chu Hengkong was stunned when he heard this. Qingxia was talking about habits he had developed since childhood. He was very strong as a child, and he would always unconsciously break things in the orphanage. So he got used to keeping his distance from those around him, otherwise bottles and jars would always fall to the ground.

Qing Xia smiled slyly, "You always tend to hold your fists in the air because whenever you see someone powerful, you want to fight them. That strong fighting spirit disturbs those around you, so you keep clenching your fists to remind yourself to control yourself."

"Because of the metal on your back, you'll kill anything you see. You'll constantly be tempted to kill, even if it's your companions. At these times, you'll blink a little harder to silence the murderous intent welling up in your heart."

The enchantress poked him lightly with the tip of her nails: "And what else... you actually like Ji Huaisu very much, right? You want to get in touch with her more, but you are never willing to take the initiative to get close to her. Occasionally, when Ji Huaisu takes the initiative to get close to you, the muscles on your face will relax because you feel very happy at that time."

"I..." Chu Hengkong was stunned, "You..."

"You want to ask me how I know?" Qingxia lazily lay on the shore. "When we were in Jinye City, I was observing you the whole time! Back then, you weren't as strong as you are now, and you didn't realize I was hiding not far away. I hid in my eggshell, watching you being so quiet and keeping a distance from the people around you, never sharing your thoughts with others. It was obvious that just living every day was painful, but you pretended to be fine.

I thought to myself, this person's life is so tiring! It's like locking yourself in an invisible shell. I watch your every move, and it's like watching my past self.

"Are you serious?" Chu Hengkong couldn't believe it. He couldn't connect this person with the word "pain". He couldn't find another life as free and easy as this one in the whole world.

Qingxia smiled slightly and blinked.

Her eyes instantly changed, fierce and brutal, like a spear pinning him to the ground. An invisible aura surged behind her, like the gaping maw of a deformed, frenzied beast. In the beast's eyes, a fierce golden light danced, like gold dancing in fire. The flames were a burning desire, a savage manifestation of all sorts of desires. Appetite, lust, bloodlust, sadism... These raging desires, transformed into claws and fangs, threatened to tear Chu Hengkong to pieces.

Qingxia closed her eyes, and the invisible beast vanished, leaving only the naked girl in the lake. She smiled with a hint of worry, "If my heart starts racing, we'll all be in trouble, so let it go... Anyway, I've been trying to be patient."

This is not the real her. If her heart beats normally, it will shock most people in the settlement to death. Therefore, Qingxia is still in a state of suspended animation.

Chu Hengkong fell silent. He knew what he had felt before. Qingxia, the assassin of Wu Heshi, had been exactly like that, a beast keen on toying with its prey. The fear he felt was that of someone who had been Qingxia's enemy, but there was more to it than that...

"Do you also have murderous intentions towards ordinary people?"

"Is that so?" Qingxia said as a matter of course.

"appetite?"

"Very occasionally, very occasionally I want to eat it." Qingxia said embarrassedly.

Despite being in the humid jungle, Chu Hengkong felt cold all over. Qingxia continued to talk to herself, "When I see a weak creature, I want to play with it. When I see one that suits my taste, I get excited. But if I indulge my desires, I'll turn into a monster. That's why I'm always trying to restrain myself."

It is because I strive to restrain my desires every day that I am called the 'Knight of Discipline'."

wrong.

Absolutely not.

No living being can consider a self-torturing lifestyle as spiritual practice. A small number of humans are able to practice asceticism because material wealth and enjoyment are not essential for survival. But even an old monk in the mountains needs to drink water and eat vegetarian food; otherwise, it is not asceticism but suicide.

If Qingxia hadn't lied, she would be like a wild animal living in modern society. Humans were merely food, prey, and playthings to her. Her lifestyle was like a tiger that didn't hunt, a shark that didn't prey. While tolerable in the short term, it would inevitably lead to distortion over time. This psychological imbalance would lead to pathological madness, and before she completely collapsed, she would die from her own suffering. Not to mention the chronic habit of suppressing her heartbeat...

"Qingxia, listen to me carefully." Chu Hengkong held her shoulders. Even though their positions and likes and dislikes were different, there were some things he had to say.

"You may have made some mistakes. If you continue to live like this, you will definitely die—"

"Yeah, I understand. When I was little, I had a hard time just like you. I almost died several times..." Qingxia said with nostalgia, "Luckily, Grandpa helped me find the secret method that our clan must learn."

Qing Xia raised a finger and said happily, "That's the Zanxin Secret Technique!"

(End of this chapter)