Chapter 69 Entanglement "It itches... Stop itching, be good."...

Ever since touching the spirit-reducing wood that triggered a relapse of her fever, Jiang Yuhuo hadn't made any rash moves, obediently soaking in water for several days. Seeing that her body seemed to be mostly recovered, she began to think about cultivation again. After seven years of diligent practice, the thought of spending her days idly recuperating made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

However, she could not improve her swordsmanship for the time being. She had barely learned the eighth sword of the Kunlun Nine Swords, and her spiritual power was no longer sufficient to cultivate beyond that. Therefore, breaking through her spiritual power became her most important cultivation task at present.

Jiang Yuhuo still remembered her battle with Mo Sheng, how he quickly gathered spiritual power using a spell. She had overheard some of it, though she neither understood nor remembered it, but it sounded remarkably similar to the chanting of the temple attendants in the temple that night. If everyone from high-ranking disciples like Mo Sheng to ordinary temple attendants in Luoyue City knew this spell, then it must be a common practice within Tianque.

If that's the case, then could she also find this passage and borrow it to practice?

However, she couldn't openly ask about such a thing as stealing someone's teachings, since she was still a disciple of Kunlun. So she thought she would go to the library of Tianque to see if she could find a few of Tianque's cultivation manuals.

Qingping was taken aback when she heard her request. Jiang Yuhuo assumed that Tianque's library had a rule against outsiders entering, and that such places were always important to sects, so she could understand. If they wouldn't let her in openly, then she would just have to find another way to get in.

To everyone's surprise, Qingping immediately agreed, "You can go in, of course you can go in. You have a thirst for knowledge, so you should spend more time in the library. The more you go, the more books you'll see."

Qingping smiled brightly, and Jiang Yuhuo felt something was off about her, but couldn't quite put her finger on it. However, since she had received the approval of the Tianque people, she had no reason not to go.

Thus, they entered the library naturally. Qingping led her to the entrance of the library, but she didn't go in, leaving Jiang Yuhuo inside to browse at her leisure, while she left first.

The tall, spacious building was filled with bookshelves, almost reaching the ceiling. The shelves were so numerous and similar that it was easy to get lost. They were densely packed with scrolls from all over the world, from parchment scrolls to bamboo slips and wooden tablets, to paper books. Some were so old that Jiang Yuhuo couldn't even understand the writing on them.

She looked through the books one by one; there was a lot of valuable content, but none of it was what she wanted. She flipped through many books, the sound of pages turning clearly audible in the quiet library, accompanied by a rustling sound each time a book was turned.

Jiang Yuhuo pretended to slowly turn a page of the scroll, deliberately drawing out the sound, and the sneaky rustling sound started moving along with it. She suddenly stopped, and the rustling sound, not having had time to stop, continued to twist forward a few times. By the time it realized that the sound of turning the page had stopped, it was too late to hide itself.

A tall, slender figure landed in front of it.

Jiang Yuhuo looked at the silver snake on the ground. It had been playing hide-and-seek with her for a long time, and she had no patience to play with it any longer. She warned it, "Don't follow me anymore."

The silver snake was dejected after being scolded, but it still didn't give up. As she moved forward, it swam forward; as she turned a bookshelf, it followed her. Whenever she stopped, it would stop a step away from her, looking at her pitifully. It seemed determined to stay by her side forever.

Helpless, Jiang Yuhuo squatted down and stared at the stubborn little snake.

When the silver snake saw her squat down, it immediately stretched its neck and flicked its tongue, greedily inhaling her scent in the air. However, fearing that it would disgust her, it kept its original distance and dared not get any closer.

"Where is your master? Why aren't you with him?"

The silver snake remained coiled up in place, staring longingly at the person in front of it, like a homeless puppy.

Jiang Yuhuo was a little soft-hearted. No matter how much grudge she had with Jiayue, it was innocent. Moreover, she felt a little guilty for venting her anger on it last time and being very fierce to it.

But since it was a spirit beast that had formed a bond with someone else, Jiang Yuhuo wanted to test its loyalty. "You also think he's annoying, right?"

The silver snake, being quite sensible, immediately nodded obsequiously, only tilting its head slightly behind the bookshelf.

Jiang Yuhuo was amused by its antics, and gently stroked its head with a finger, asking, "Do you have a name?"

The silver snake nuzzled her hand comfortably and shook its head.

"Then I'll give you a name." She thought for a moment, "How about Xiaoxi (Little Stream)?"

Since she met it by the stream, and its skin shimmered just like the water, Jiang Yuhuo immediately felt that the name couldn't be more fitting for it.

The silver snake nodded vigorously. From this moment on, it was the stream. It would answer whatever she called it.

Jiang Yuhuo stroked the silver snake's tail with satisfaction, and the thin tail immediately wrapped around her fingers. She simply stretched out her whole hand and said, "Come on up."

Upon hearing this, the silver snake immediately took command and swiftly coiled around her hand, circling tightly.

Tianque's robes were loose, and the cuffs were exceptionally wide. Overwhelmed with joy, the silver snake coiled around Jiang Yuhuo's wrist and climbed up, slipping into her sleeve and wrapping around her arm.

Her scent filled his sleeves, and the silver snake greedily extended its tongue to inhale it, utterly captivated by the aroma. This intense, incense-like fragrance was etched into its very being, becoming an instinct that compelled it to draw near and entwine itself around her at the mere smell.

The cool, slender body wrapped tightly around her arm. Jiang Yuhuo didn't mind the coolness, but she did mind the tightness. The little thing was very good at taking advantage of her, and if she wasn't fierce, it would become arrogant. Jiang Yuhuo lifted her collar and whispered, "Come out."

Although unwilling, it dared not disobey her. The silver snake slowly crawled out from her shoulder, and Jiang Yuhuo pointed at its head, "Don't run around, you know? If you move around again, I'll throw you down again."

As if realizing its insolence, the silver snake dared not move again. To avoid being thrown again, it could only obediently stay on her shoulder, occasionally daring to rub against her neck.

She was quite adept at reading people's expressions, a complete treacherous and sycophantic villain. However, since she didn't like this master, she reluctantly accepted this opportunist's betrayal.

Jiang Yuhu smiled knowingly, then ignored it and continued searching for books. She couldn't find any textbooks that directly explained the Heavenly Palace Spiritual Cultivation Techniques, only several that seemed related. She flipped through them casually; they all seemed to be about spiritual cultivation, but the explanations were vague and ethereal, leaving her completely confused.

Jiang Yuhuo looked through the books, but her brows grew increasingly furrowed, and she couldn't help but doubt whether Tianque had actually compiled their spiritual cultivation techniques into a book. Just as she was feeling frustrated, the silver snake on her shoulder seemed to understand what she wanted, and kept stretching its head to guide her to the innermost bookshelf.

She walked over with some skepticism. The bookshelf was rather secluded, but its space was more spacious than the others, and there was even a small table next to it with a half-finished cup of tea on it. She touched it; it was cold. She figured the person had left before she arrived. So she stayed there reassured.

Jiang Yuhuo's attention was completely drawn to the little snake, and she didn't notice that as she approached, a white figure swiftly passed through several bookshelves, hiding itself in a deeper corner, silently watching her from the shadows.

Jiang Yuhuo thought that since she was already here, regardless of whether Xiaoxi was lying to her or not, she had to find this bookshelf herself before she could give up.

But Xiaoxi might actually have some skill, because she actually found it here. The cultivation manual was lying quietly on the bottom shelf of the bookshelf, and she immediately began to read it with great eagerness.

Behind several bookshelves, the blue-eyed merman silently watched the female cultivator who kept encroaching on his space. From the moment someone entered, Jia Yue knew it was her; he recognized her even earlier than he did—the silver snake on his wrist had begun to stir restlessly even before she entered.

He thought that being abandoned once would teach it a lesson, and even if it didn't hate her, it should at least stay far away. But as soon as she appeared, it desperately tried to get close to her. It was the first time he realized that this little beast had such a shameless nature.

This time, Jia Yue didn't stop it, intending to see it suffer a setback.

As a result, it acted all obedient and ingratiating in front of that person, forgetting its real owner, and actually managed to secure a place for itself by that person's side.

Jia Yue despised it in his heart; its fawning manner made it seem unfamiliar to him, and it bore no resemblance whatsoever to the divine artifact, the Shadow Moon Serpent Bow.

She was also someone who couldn't stick to her principles. Since she disliked him so much, why didn't she treat his contracted beast with the same disdain? She was easily fooled by it, blinded by its coquettishness and flattery. She even smiled at it—what was so funny about this stupid thing?

She found a well-lit spot to sit down and quietly turned the pages of her book. The silver snake then came over and read with her, coiling around her shoulder, looking at the book, and then rubbing against her neck.

Today she wore a robe from the Heavenly Palace, the loose, soft fabric draped over her body, softening her originally cold and sharp temperament. Her hair was also styled in the Heavenly Palace style, her jet-black hair tied up, revealing her fair and slender neck. In the sunlight where fine dust danced, she seemed to be surrounded by a layer of shimmering light, untouched by blood and fire, making her appear serene and gentle.

His blue eyes, unknowingly fixed on her from behind the bookshelf, had been watching for a long time. He concealed his presence, so that even if he stared at her so blatantly, she wouldn't notice.

But she seemed too engrossed in her book to notice that the silver snake had coiled around her neck. The silver ribbon slowly wrapped around her fair and slender neck, with the remaining tail brushing against her collarbone and hanging down from her neckline. The silver ribbon shimmered in the sunlight, and the tail, like flowing water, slid into her collar.

The image of her snow-white shoulders, delicate collarbones, and the soft curve of her body that accidentally surfaced above the water that day involuntarily flashed into his mind...

As if burned, Jia Yue immediately looked away, her ears burning involuntarily.

The weather has been getting hotter lately, so the library has become stuffy and hot.

He regained his composure and turned his gaze back to the pages of the book in front of him, but a slight noise coming from the other side drew his attention again.

That stupid thing actually opened its mouth towards the back of her neck, and she didn't even notice.

He tried to warn it by tugging at the threads in his mind, but it was so engrossed in the man's presence that it lost all its senses and ignored his commands.

But it didn't dare to actually bite down; it just rubbed its teeth against the skin on the back of her neck and kept licking her skin with its tongue to get more breath.

She finally noticed and moved her neck.

He thought she would get angry and throw the annoying snake down, but she just looked up and laughed, "It itches... Stop itching, be good."

The smile under the sunlight was blinding.

The merman behind the bookshelf abruptly withdrew his gaze and stopped looking at her.

Until the man left, he didn't turn a single page of the ancient scroll in his hand.