Chapter 42 Morax closed his eyes at dawn.
Liu Yun pulled Qiao Xi to his side for a careful examination. He confirmed that only her lips were a little red and the rest of her face was fine. Reassured, he rubbed Qiao Xi's face and said, "You silly girl, don't jump into every pit you see in the future. What if it's a trap set by the villagers and you get caught like a wild boar?"
Qiao Xi's face was being pressed and kneaded by Liu Yun, her flesh squeezing together. She nodded with difficulty and said, "I understand, Master."
Because Qiao Xi's face felt so good, Liu Yun couldn't help but rub it for a while longer. Morax stood to the side, frowning and tilting his head slightly, as if he was thinking about something.
Yi Xiao added, echoing Liu Yun's words, "Don't mess with wild boars too much. I heard from the Qianyan Army that you and Jin Lan have become the primary targets of the wild boar herd."
Liu Yun removed her hand from Qiao Xi's face and agreed with Yi Xiao's words: "You two are not ranked in any particular order."
Qiao Xi smiled and glanced at Morax, who then raised an eyebrow at her slightly.
Qiao Xi then looked at her two masters and asked, "Masters, is there something you need today? If it's for practicing, isn't Morax here?"
Yi Xiao said, "It's like this. In a couple of months, you'll have been here for almost a year. You're more than halfway through the finalization date we set for you. Liu Yun and I have come to check on your progress."
Yi Xiao said a lot of things, but to Qiao Xi, it all boiled down to four words: "midterm exams".
Everything else was fine, but the thought of the word "exam" made Qiao Xi feel uncomfortable all over.
She paused slightly and asked, "Um, Master, should I highlight the important points?"
Yi Xiao didn't understand, and even Morax looked at her with a puzzled expression.
Qiao Xi looked at the three people and asked, "Is there any required exam handbook or anything like that?"
Liu Yun came over and touched Qiao Xi's forehead: "Did you fall into the ditch and damage your brain?"
Qiao Xi was taken aback: "Masters, aren't we supposed to have an exam?"
Upon hearing the word "exam," Yi Xiao and Liu Yun exchanged glances and then smiled.
Yi Xiao said to Qiao Xi, "It's not that complicated."
Liu Yun said, "Immortals have their own methods. We only need to use our immortal power to investigate; there is no need for on-site inspection."
Hearing this, Qiao Xi breathed a sigh of relief, as long as she wasn't allowed to do math problems with a pen or time her with a stopwatch.
But then she thought about it again. Although Master Liuyun's method was simple, it could quickly reveal her true strength and weakness.
This made Qiao Xi a little nervous. She asked, "Shall we try it now?"
Yi Xiao: "Of course, it's not difficult."
Qiao Xi nodded: "Okay, but Master, you must promise me that if you find out I'm not practicing well, you won't get angry."
Yi Xiao smiled and said, "Don't be angry. If the difference is too great, I'll just throw you down the mountain."
Liu Yun said, "Why are you scaring Xiao Xi like that?"
Yi Xiao said cheerfully, "Just kidding, come on."
He reached out his hand to Qiao Xi.
Seeing that Qiao Xi was about to go over, Morax spoke up: "I'll do it."
Liu Yun was stunned after hearing this: "Your Majesty, there is no need to trouble you with such a small matter."
Yi Xiao: "Yes."
Qiao Xi still thought Morax was better; at least Morax didn't say he was going to throw her off the mountain. She looked at Morax longingly.
Morax gave her a nonchalant look, then said to Yixiao and Liuyun, "It's alright."
As he spoke, he reached out and touched Qiao Xi's forehead with his index and middle fingers.
Morax is much taller than Qiao Xi, so this movement looks extremely casual.
Accompanied by the faint light, Qiao Xi felt a warm current flow through her body. It came so suddenly that she was not even prepared before Morax had thoroughly explored her.
After a moment, Morax removed his hand and looked at Qiao Xi with a slight frown.
Qiao Xi looked at Morax nervously.
Yi Xiao and Liu Yun were also curious: "Your Majesty, what do you think?"
Morax looked into Qiao Xi's eyes, his voice tinged with emotion, and asked, "What have you been studying all this time?"
Liu Yun and Yi Xiao sighed, knowing that with Qiao Xi's aversion to studying, they could easily guess that the result would not be ideal.
It seems the Emperor always thought Qiao Xi was very serious, but now he has discovered the girl's true nature.
In fact, Morax is indeed a bit hard to accept.
When he rescued her, she was saying she wanted to go to school, and he thought she loved learning.
Qiao Xi didn't dare to look at Morax. She tried to move behind Yi Xiao to hide, but when she saw Yi Xiao's gloating look, she swallowed hard and changed her course to hide behind Liu Yun. But before she could leave, Morax grabbed her by the back of her collar as if he had anticipated her move and dragged her obediently to his side.
Qiao Xi tried to act pitiful, but Morax wasn't buying it at all.
Seeing Morax remain unmoved, Qiao Xi resumed her expression, which was no different from being alive or dead.
Yi Xiao asked Morax, "Your Majesty, how is Xiao Xi?"
Morax said, "It's unlikely that you can achieve a perfect form in advance, but with intensive practice, you can achieve it on time."
Yi Xiao said, "That's good. It seems that Xiao Xi has been studying hard during this time."
As soon as he said that, Morax frowned. He looked down at Qiao Xi with a questioning look in his eyes: Is this still the result of your hard work?
After Yi Xiao and Liu Yun left, only Qiao Xi and Morax remained in the courtyard.
A gust of wind blew by, and Qiao Xi scratched her nose, trying to change the subject: "Um, Morax, how about kissing?"
Morax: "Go and squat in a horse stance."
Qiao Xi: "Isn't there any room for negotiation?"
Morax: "What do you think?"
Qiao Xi muttered softly, "Why are you so angry?"
Morax frowned. Was this a sign of him getting angry?
But seeing Qiao Xi like this, he still wavered somewhat.
He walked over, reached out and pinched her face without letting go, lifted the girl's head, and then, imitating what Liu Yun had just done, squeezed her face together with both hands.
Qiao Xi frowned at Morax in confusion.
Seeing her like this, Morax couldn't help but laugh. His voice softened: "Time is running out. We need to hurry. I'll stay tonight and catch up on the basics you've been neglecting."
Qiao Xi didn't know how to make up for this foundation, but she guessed it might be similar to the way internal energy is transmitted in TV dramas.
But the problem now is that Morax wants to stay overnight.
She blinked, thinking about a lone man and woman in the wilderness, in the dark of night, where lovers are destined to be together. But could that foundation still be built with sincerity?
Qiao Xi blurted out almost immediately, "My bed is very small."
Morax lowered his hand, not understanding: "Why use a bed?"
Qiao Xi was shocked: "Then where do you plan to be?!"
Morax pondered: "Wall, table?"
Qiao Xi: "Is it really going to start like this? Isn't that too basic? I'm not rejecting you, but if you really can't control it well, how about we start with the basic mode first?"
Morax looked at her strangely; he really didn't understand.
As night fell, Qiao Xi finally understood what Morax meant by "laying the foundation."
She was overthinking everything – the idea of a lone man and woman, lovers, and sex.
Because Morax didn't directly transfer his inner strength or magic to her like in the TV series, and then the mission was accomplished, and the two began to focus on their love.
Instead, she was required to practice horse stance, learn elemental logic, and memorize sword techniques throughout the night.
There's really no need for a bed; walls and a table will suffice.
Qiao Xi leaned against the wall in a horse stance, speechless, while Morax sat at the table, explaining elemental knowledge, key points of swordsmanship, and reviewing the basic identification of plants from today's session.
This feeling is like running 800 meters in PE class while your English teacher follows behind you with a tape recorder playing audio recordings – it's as despairing.
Morax said, "Qiao Xi, you're spacing out again."
Qiao Xi looked at him, and he was in so much pain that he couldn't speak. This feeling of staying up all night was so familiar.
She said, "Morax, are we dating?"
Morax didn't even look up: "One thing at a time."
Qiao Xi: "......"
She couldn't help but sigh to herself: Is this what first love is like?
During this time, whenever she started to doze off, Morax would pinch her face and transfer some elemental energy to her to refresh her mind, which was more effective than coffee.
But even the most energizing person will eventually find it hard to stay alert.
Around four o'clock in the morning, Qiao Xi couldn't take it anymore. After finally memorizing everything through Morax's repeated questioning, she collapsed to the ground. Morax closed the book, sat in a chair, and leisurely looked down at her.
Qiao Xi rolled over and lay on the floor. She looked at the ceiling, clutched her chest, and said with an exaggerated expression, "Morax, I might have to go first. Take care of yourself. Ah, goodbye!"
She decisively closed her eyes.
Morax put the book on the table, stood up, walked over, straightened his back, knelt on one knee in front of her, and used his thumb and forefinger to pry open her eyelids, which were pretending to be dead.
Qiao Xi tried to turn her head away, but Morax grabbed her chin and turned her back.
Qiao Xi opened her eyes and looked at Morax with a look of utter despair: "If you make me learn again, I'll die."
Morax chuckled: "Go to sleep, I'll wake you up later."
Qiao Xi breathed a sigh of relief and stretched out her arm: "Pull me up."
Morax grabbed her hand and pulled her up as he stood up.
Qiao Xi collapsed into Morax's arms, burying her face in his chest. Her voice, muffled by his clothes, came out as she said, "Morax, do you want to kiss me?"
Morax ruffled her hair with a hint of exasperation: "Why do you always want to kiss me?"
Qiao Xi: "You're good-looking."
Morax laughed: "You still have energy? How about memorizing some more texts?"
Qiao Xi: "...You have such a cruel heart."
She lifted her head from Morax's embrace, tilted her head back and kissed his chin, then yawned, staggered towards the bed, buried her head in the pillow, slowly kicked off her shoes, pulled the blanket over herself, turned to face the wall, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.
Morax went over, arranged her shoes, then sat back down at the table, poured himself a cup of hot tea, and started reading.
The sound of pages turning mingled with the girl's soft breathing. The light of dawn grew clearer in the steam of the tea, and the birdsong of the morning sounded like dewdrops that had condensed overnight.
Morax closed the book, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.
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Author's note: See you tomorrow.
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