Chapter 21 The cotton ball bit the mole on his Adam's apple. ...
The new task assigned by the system is relatively simple.
Task: [Meet Tang Yifeng in the library and accept his invitation] (Incomplete)
Time limit: six hours
"In which chapter does Tang Yifeng appear again?" Hua Deng asked.
"This character appears in chapter 223 and disappears in chapter 286," the system replied.
Upon opening the book, Hua Deng's disdain surged like a raging flood.
According to the text, he was born impotent and could only act like a normal man in front of the female protagonist. The female protagonist, a healer, with a kind heart to heal and save lives, treated him multiple times by using her own body as medicine.
Unexpectedly, Tang Yifeng spread the news, and a large number of self-proclaimed impotent cultivators knocked on the female lead's door in the middle of the night, prompting her medical skills to improve by leaps and bounds.
Hua Deng's comment on this was: "It's very well written, but I'm in bed."
Two hours had passed since the mission was issued, so Hua Deng had no choice but to bid farewell to Chen Zhou, who was cultivating, and head towards the library alone.
As I was leaving, I paused for a moment, and for some reason, I couldn't quite remember how I got back.
She quickly put this doubt behind her and hurried on her way while flipping through the plot.
After walking a distance, the system suddenly spoke: "Host, Shen Zhou used puppetry on you this morning."
The system almost never appears on its own. Hua Deng was taken aback, but her attention was elsewhere: "I used it this morning, why did you only mention it at noon?"
"I'm too scared to come out," the system said, sounding aggrieved. "He's too terrifying."
Hua Deng was silent for a moment: "Then you recorded it, right? Let me see it."
The system started playing the complete video recording, beginning with her and Shen Zhou in the pool...
Hua Deng suddenly shouted, "Skip this part!"
The system quickly moved the progress bar forward.
The scenes flashed by, showing her rubbing against Shen Zhou's waist and abdomen, biting Shen Zhou's shoulder and refusing to let go, and Shen Zhou pressing her waist to make her sit in his arms, finally leading them to the outside of the secret room.
Hua Deng's face flushed red and then turned pale, and her heartbeat quickened and slowed until the scene gradually subsided.
She patted her chest to calm herself down and watched the system recording as calmly as possible.
It showed everything that happened this morning, including how she and Shen Zhou were ambushed and how she was forced to erase her memories.
Looking at the lanterns from beginning to end, he asked with a puzzled expression, "That's it?"
She couldn't understand what Shen Zhou was thinking; she thought there would be even more exciting developments.
What's there to erase? Are you afraid of discovering his identity?
But he was like a mystery; she could never guess him, no matter how hard she tried.
"Forget it, never mind," Hua Deng said. "Since he didn't intend to harm me, I'll just pretend I don't know anything."
In any case, it feels great to have a secret weapon. You didn't expect that, did you, Shen Zhou? She also has a system as her backer!
Hua Deng arrived at the entrance of the library in a cheerful mood.
She showed her token, passed through the monitoring device, entered the gate, and strolled leisurely among the bookshelves.
If the plot is correct, Tang Yifeng will take the initiative to find her soon.
But before the target of the mission could appear, Hua Deng ran into another acquaintance.
In the window seat, Su Yiqing was fast asleep, her head resting on her arm. Opposite her sat an extremely handsome young man, who must be the male protagonist of the novel she had mentioned.
The boy secretly gazed at the girl through the book in his hand, while the girl, oblivious, was lost in her own beautiful dream.
After watching her for a while, the boy shyly leaned closer to her and whispered, "Your eyelashes are so long."
What a beautiful youthful romance! The streetlights cast envious glances.
Su Yi frowned slightly.
She muttered impatiently, "Shut up, I have an even longer one, want me to take it out and show it to you?"
The boy obediently retreated, buried himself in his book, and didn't utter a word.
The streetlights silently turned away, moving away from their positions.
She had been absentmindedly glancing around the bookshelf when suddenly her gaze sharpened, as if she had discovered something.
With the eyesight of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, she could easily see a book several feet away, titled "A Very Powerful Sword Technique".
The name was already shocking enough, but the small print below made Hua Deng question his life choices.
—"A masterpiece by swordsman Shen Ye".
No, no, no, she must be overthinking it. The name Shen Ye isn't that rare, and even the six characters in the book title are very similar to Shen Zhou's handwriting, which can be easily explained...
That's a joke.
Hua Deng stood there, staring blankly.
The area in front is off-limits to non-inner disciples. She wanted to borrow the book to read and review it, but unfortunately, she was powerless to do so.
Just as she was sighing inwardly, a gentle, clear male voice sounded in her ear: "Fellow Daoist, do you wish to borrow a book? I can fetch it for you."
Turning his head to the side, he saw a handsome man with smiling eyes. Upon closer inspection, one could see the excitement and madness hidden beneath the smile.
She asked calmly, "Fellow Daoist, are you an inner disciple of the Qingyang Sect?"
The man cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, I am Tang Yifeng, a disciple of the Third Elder."
It was indeed him. Hua Deng smiled and said, "These are all sword manuals. I am a healer and have nothing to borrow. Thank you, fellow Daoist."
After saying that, he turned and left.
She couldn't stand it anymore; her gaze kept drifting towards people's lower bodies—it was too obvious.
Tang Yifeng chased after him, calling out urgently, "May I ask your name, fellow Daoist?"
"Bright lights."
"Did you write a sword manual called 'A Very Powerful Sword Technique'?"
Hua Deng leaned on the table with both hands, questioning Chen Zhou as if he were interrogating a criminal.
The person being interrogated was sharpening his sword when he heard this and recalled for a moment: "Probably, I just wrote it casually to make money."
The cultivation technique, which was treasured by other sects and only lent to inner disciples, turned out to be just a casual writing.
Hua Deng was momentarily at a loss for words.
She pressed further, "Have you written anything else?"
Shen Zhou said, "I have written it."
Hua Deng: "How many have you written?"
Shen Zhou: "Seventy or eighty books, I guess."
As he said this, he also fed his precious sword a few spirit stones.
Hua Deng: You sword cultivators are really something, you can't be poor in anything but your children, I'm going to cry my eyes out.
She sat down to the side without saying a word, and just watched Chen Zhou forge the sword with her head propped up.
He had a special tenderness towards his twelve swords, and Hua Deng always suspected that he only used the 107 swords in his daily life because he couldn't bear to let his natal immortal sword suffer.
Just before sunset, Tang Yifeng's "invitation" arrived belatedly, which was the other half of the mission.
Looking at the exquisite letter in her hand, Hua Deng smiled slightly and took out another letter from her storage ring.
When she returned home this morning, she was surprised to find an unfamiliar letter on her desk, signed by her junior brother.
He didn't die, and was rescued just like in the story. However, for some reason, he believed that Hua Deng was the one who truly saved him, and asked to meet with Hua Deng in order to "repay" her.
Hua Deng sat at the table, leisurely picking up his pen to reply to the letter.
"Meet me at midnight tonight under the ginkgo tree on the back hill. Please come with your face covered and do not let others discover you."
She sent out two identical letters from the puppet bird, then leisurely put away her pen and paper, completely satisfied.
Shen Zhou, sitting opposite him, lowered his last sword, his gaze sweeping over the puppet bird that had flown away, his expression calm and undisturbed.
Hua Deng noticed and deliberately asked him, "Aren't you curious about what happened?"
Shen Zhou: "Not curious."
The same answer as last time, but this time Hua Deng said, "I think you're just being insincere."
Shen Zhou raised his eyes, a fleeting smile appearing on his face: "Yes, I'm just saying one thing and meaning another."
Hua Deng immediately smiled, walked around to sit next to him, and started talking non-stop.
She described in vivid detail and with great emotion what Tang Yifeng wanted to borrow a book for her and what her junior brother secretly delivered to her.
After listening, Shen Zhou seemed to be pondering something: "They all know about your constitution?"
"I don't know," Hua Deng said, her mouth dry. She picked up her teacup and gulped down her tea. "But I've always been popular, it has nothing to do with my constitution."
Shen Zhou raised an eyebrow, as if sizing her up: "Very popular?"
This tone made the streetlights go off. She put down her teacup and glared at him: "Think it over. If you say anything I don't like to hear again, I'll deduct your salary!"
Shen Zhou said slowly, "I dare not, I am just very surprised that even cultivators can be confused by external things."
Hua Deng grumbled, "What's wrong? Is it my fault that I'm good-looking? Besides, I have so many good points, unlike you, who is annoying except for your face."
“Oh.” Shen Zhou said calmly, “It’s a pity that your Daoist partner is me, whom you dislike, instead of Tang Yifeng or anyone else.”
It was clearly Hua Deng who had taken the initiative to propose becoming Daoist partners, but this time, for some reason, her ears burned when she looked into Chen Zhou's eyes. After hesitating for a long time, she whispered, "...It's just in name only!"
"Hmm," Shen Zhou said, "Do you want to become actually with someone?"
"!" Hua Deng suddenly stood up, the chair dragging behind her legs with a sharp sound.
"You're so annoying! I'm going to go play with Su Yiqing!"
She almost knocked over the teapot with her large movements as she left. She didn't help it up, but quickly ran to the door and slammed it shut, leaving Chen Zhou with only a gust of cold wind.
...
She ran quite a distance, and the streetlights still felt hot against her face. She felt like she was going crazy, getting flustered over such a trivial question from the other person.
What she found even harder to accept was that, upon hearing the question, she almost blurted out, "I only want you!"
As long as what.
She is in her prime and has immense wealth, so of course she will have to support 107 Daoist partners in the future!
“…”
No, why exactly is it number 107? She really was infected by a virus called Shen Zhou!
She took a deep breath and walked forward with her head down, not caring which direction she was going.
After walking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she suddenly realized that she had returned to the entrance of the library.
When she mentioned wanting to see Su Yiqing before, it was just a casual remark. Even if she went, she would only be an observer of other people's relationships.
Hua Deng sighed, dragged his legs, and went back into the library, finding a corner by the window to sit down.
She had no interest in studying the cultivation techniques, so she could only pull out the storybook she had only half-read last time from her storage ring and try to calm herself down.
The book tells a poignant love story between the male and female protagonists, whose relationship faces opposition from both sets of parents. On the night they decide to elope, the female protagonist throws herself into the male protagonist's arms, her eyes filled with tears as she tenderly says, "They're all wrong, I only want you..."
Snap!
The streetlights covered the book again.
A round lark, resembling a marshmallow, was tilting its head and looking at her on the windowsill, as if it didn't understand why her mood had suddenly changed.
Hua Deng reached out and pulled it in, ruffled the cotton candy's head, and sighed wistfully.
The lark lowered its head and pecked at her palm: "Chirp?"
“You don’t understand,” Hua Deng said, looking at it. “Men are all dogs.”
The lark's round eyes, like black gemstones, actually nodded upon hearing this, flapping its wings and making a sound of agreement.
Hua Deng couldn't help but chuckle, and patted its head, saying, "Small animals are indeed much cuter than men."
Lark: "Chirp!"
It flapped its wings and flew away.
Hua Deng lay on the table, watching the sky grow completely dark, his eyes showing dissatisfaction.
Why hasn't Shen Zhou come to find her yet?
Suppressing the urge to message Shen Zhou, she continued reading a different storybook.
I looked at it for a long time but didn't turn the page.
The moon gradually rose outside the window; it was past midnight.
Hua Deng couldn't sit still any longer. She pulled out her communication device and started typing furiously: "Where are you? Do you know what time it is?"
There was no response, and she was so angry that she wanted to throw the message disc out the window.
Are you leaving?
A deep male voice suddenly came from behind. Hua Deng didn't turn around, but asked with a stern face, "You've always known I was here?"
Shen Zhou did not deny it: "Yes."
Hua Deng's fingers tightened suddenly as she gripped the storybook.
Knowing this, yet still not coming to find her, this person is simply heartless!
Shen Zhou asked again, "Shall we go?"
Hua Deng: "Hmph."
Shen Zhou walked up to her and lowered his eyes: "Where do you want to go?"
Hua Deng: "Hmph."
Shen Zhou raised his eyes slightly: "Is this a new martial art you've learned? Toad Style?"
Hua Deng: "...Why are you so annoying? Leave me alone!"
Shen Zhou: "Hmm."
"What are you 'uh'ing about?" Hua Deng suddenly stood up and glared at him. "If I hadn't sent you a message today, were you planning to come looking for me after midnight?"
oh.
Shen Zhou finally understood what she was concerned about.
He wore a thoughtful expression, as if he was genuinely hesitant about the question. It wasn't until Hua Deng's eyes widened and his expression grew increasingly annoyed that he raised his chin and said slowly, "My divine sense is sufficient to cover the entire Qingyang Sect."
Hua Deng: "?"
You're still trying to act tough with me at a time like this? I'm really getting angry!
Shen Zhou continued, unhurriedly: "Sometimes, for convenience, I possess other things."
Something suddenly flashed through Hua Deng's mind, but she didn't grasp it, staring intently at Chen Zhou.
As Chen Zhou looked out the window, a white ball of fluff flapped its wings vigorously, flew to the window, and hopped twice.
“Like this,” he said.
Hua Deng's expression remained blank for a long time.
Her heart, racing with anger, didn't stop; instead, it pounded against her chest even more violently.
One moment, one moment.
She turned around abruptly, almost helplessly lifting the lark, her head bowed low as she stroked its soft feathers, rambling, "Aren't you bored? Why didn't you just come to see me yourself?"
Shen Zhou walked to her side, tugged at Yun Que's tail, and said, "I thought you didn't want to see me for the time being."
"No, not at all."
Hua Deng let the lark fly away, letting it linger in the night breeze for a while before quickly glancing at him.
"Well... let's go," she said, trying to keep her tone gentle. "It's almost time."
Shen Zhou's expression remained calm as he said, "Not practicing Toad Kung Fu anymore?"
Hua Deng closed her eyes: "Do you have to ruin the atmosphere at this time?!"
Shen Zhou chuckled softly, his voice so light it was almost an illusion. He grabbed Hua Deng's wrist and pulled her away, making her disappear from the spot.
The streetlights fell back into the familiar icy water.
She solemnly assured him, "Don't worry, I'm prepared tonight and I'll definitely be able to control myself."
Shen Zhou glanced at her, a half-smile on his face: "You'd better be."
Fifteen minutes later.
Hua Deng was trapped in his arms, kicking his legs hard and banging her head against his chest.
"I'm in pain, let me go! I'm in pain..."
"Do you remember what you just said?" Shen Zhou pressed her head down.
I didn't say anything.
The streetlights cast a hazy glow as I looked up.
She saw Shen Zhou sneer, his expression like he wanted to kill, but he adjusted his hand, supporting her waist and lifting her up to make her feel less uncomfortable.
But she still felt unwell, similar to when she had a heart attack in her past life. Her mind was a blur, her vision flickered, and she struggled to open her eyes, trying to see something clearly.
"Can you hear me?" the voice above asked.
Hua Deng gave a nasal "hmm," her gaze gradually focusing on a small black dot, just out of her sight with her eyes lowered, which trembled slightly as the man spoke.
She remembered; he had a mole here that she had always wanted to touch.
As if bewitched, she slowly lowered her head and opened her teeth.
— She bit the mole on his Adam's apple.
The hand that was pressing on her waist suddenly tightened.
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