Chapter 70 A force gripped her waist
Hai Gu: It's not that it's not okay to do it in the study, but Miss Ling is young and doesn't know any better, and you're just as immature.
Zhuang Jinfu seemed to be holding back his temper, gritting his teeth as he spoke: "How am I being unreasonable?"
Hai Gu said, "You still have the nerve to ask? You need to bathe before and after, and wash your hands, mouth, and body. The young lady's body is more delicate, but you only ask for water. In my opinion, you don't know how to cherish Miss Ling." As she spoke, she walked towards Zhuang Jinfu.
Ling Shu's face was burning hot, like boiling water.
Zhuang Jinfu rubbed her Jingming acupoint, her head throbbing, and sent a questioning reply from the Immortal Venerable: "Am I not a girl? How could I not cherish you... No, we didn't even..."
"Oh, I forgot you were downstairs."
Zhuang Jinfu: "...Read fewer storybooks."
As soon as Haigu entered, she saw Lingshu hiding to the side with her back turned. She was small, and the book she was holding was bigger than her face. She looked shy and embarrassed, as if she had been bullied and was too ashamed to let anyone know, so she was hiding.
Looking at Zhuang Jinfu again, he sat upright and composed, without blushing or skipping a beat, much like the kind of scoundrel in storybooks who bullies women by abusing his power.
Hai Gu imagined a dramatic scene unfolding in her mind: the Immortal Venerable, relying on his cultivation and status, forced Ling Gu to do *that*. Ling Gu, tears streaming down her face, pleaded, "I'm so tired, I can't take it anymore." The Immortal Venerable, with a cold face, forced her to continue, slapping Ling Gu's face with his claws and questioning her, "Is this all you've got? Where did all your food go?!" She was instantly enraged.
He strode over to her side, snatched the white shirt from her arms, and caught Zhuang Jinfu off guard, her face full of confusion and surprise. The shirt, stained with tears and crumpled, was displayed in front of her, further confirming Hai Gu's guess. She saw it and righteously cursed, "You scumbag, making that girl shed so many tears in your arms."
She couldn't refute that statement.
Hai Gu put her hands on her hips and said, "What are you all standing there for? Take everyone to Shuiyue Hot Spring!"
Ling Shu realized that she had misunderstood. She wanted to explain, but she also remembered that she was not presentable in this state. She was in an awkward situation. While she was hesitating, an outer robe was draped over her shoulders, and Hai Gu's gentle arms were already around her.
"Don't be afraid, Hai Gu will take care of you."
Ling Shu was turned around by her, her face, like a cat's, not daring to look up. Hai Gu saw her clearly, and then heard a sharp voice: "Immortal Venerable! Do something human!"
"I...I didn't," Zhuang Jinfu said, unable to defend himself.
Ever since learning about Ling Shu's pitiful background, Hai Gu has felt especially sorry for her, even to the point of being extremely biased. Whenever anyone treats Ling Shu badly, she would want to draw her sword and kill that person.
Wang Lifu, the sect leader, and she, the immortal venerable one, were the two people with the highest status in Shangqing Mountain. They were both scolded by her, but they couldn't refute her because they couldn't lose the tradition of respecting elders. Moreover, they had received a lot of care from her when they were young.
Back then, Wang Lifu single-handedly supported the Wang family and suffered at the hands of many fellow cultivators. Later, when the conflict between humans and demons became irreconcilable, her love affair with Wen Ji was exposed, which led to the failure of the first Immortal Sect Examination. She was scorned by thousands and cursed by tens of thousands until her reputation was completely ruined.
Speaking of Zhuang Jinfu, her home was destroyed when she was young. When she first entered the world of cultivation, she sought peace between humans and demons with a pure heart. She protected demons and poor cultivators but was not understood. She was hunted down to the point of almost losing her life. Everyone saw her as a rat that everyone wanted to kill.
A master and apprentice, even if they're rotten together, they still struggle to survive. Their reputations are as foul as rocks in a cesspool, everyone avoids them like the plague, and killing them wouldn't be enough to satisfy their hatred. Only Hai Gu has never left them.
Hai Gu helped Ling Shu walk towards Shuiyue Hot Spring, while Zhuang Jinfu put on the white shirt to cover his disheveled clothes and followed behind the two.
Ling Shu was afraid that she would misunderstand more and more. Anyway, she had already seen the cat-like face, so she didn't care anymore: "Hai Gu, it's not what you think. I just miss home. Master is comforting me."
"I see." Hai Gu sighed as she walked. "Immortal Venerable, I was a bit harsh. I know Miss Ling also has feelings for you, but I just..."
"Master really didn't bully me."
Hai Gu patted her head and said with pity, "It's good that you're alright." Then she sighed and turned to Zhuang Jinfu, saying, "Ah, seeing Miss Ling like this reminds me of you and Li Fu back then."
"They were both just girls, with such small shoulders, yet they had to carry such heavy things. How tiring! Sigh... It's fate that the two of them met. Fortunately, the hard times are over."
"Now there is only Miss Ling. Immortal Venerable, you must protect her well. If she is gone, you will never find such a sincere person again."
"Um."
Ling Shu looked up at Hai Gu. Hai Gu was such a gentle woman, like a mother. When Hai Gu saw her looking at her, she said, "Don't be like Li Chang, it's terrifying."
She patted Ling Shu's hand: "Girl, even the worst days can pass if you just persevere."
Ling Shu nodded silently.
Zhuang Jinfu glanced at Ling Shu from behind, hoping she would really listen, because—Ling Shu was a person with self-destructive tendencies.
Zhuang Jinfu had seen through her from the moment she first went up the mountain to ask to see her mother, but her mother refused to see her, and she turned around and went down the mountain despite the dangers below.
What danger is there for someone who doesn't want to live?
So Zhuang Jinfu chased after him down the mountain.
Ling Shu was unruly and never afraid of causing trouble. When Bi Tan Mountain nearly trapped and killed twenty-three people, she chased Yi Yun to the depths of the forest. Without saying a word, she followed. She entered the Nei Pit, a place where the most Yin things in the world gathered, without hesitation. She was half a demon and half a human. Even if Bi Tan Mountain's Wilderness Calamity Formation couldn't handle her in time, it could have killed her. She went without regret. Others praised her for her righteousness, but only Zhuang Jinfu knew the truth.
She was trying to find a plausible reason for her death.
Didn't she think about her mother's fate?
It was precisely because she could never let go of Wen Ji's death that she felt this way. Living was truly unbearable, yet because her life still carried Wen Ji's life, she could not give up on herself; she had to keep living.
If love can give her some hope for the beauty of this world, then let her continue to love him.
At Shuiyue Hot Spring, Ling Shu couldn't resist Hai Gu's insistence and took off her clothes to get into the water. Zhuang Jin Fu went to sit in a small cubicle, leaving her to soak alone. Hai Gu stood guard at the door and, before leaving, instructed Zhuang Jin Fu to use spiritual energy to nourish Ling Shu's meridians. She said that even if she didn't say it, she would have done it; it's just that older people like to give instructions.
Shuiyue Hot Spring is the best place for recuperation.
Ling Shu meditated underwater, circulating her qi and guiding it into her body. Soon, a supportive magical power flowed from the small compartment.
The two worked together seamlessly from a distance.
The Desolate Calamity Array absorbed half of his cultivation, but his realm remained unchanged. He then meditated and cultivated again, using spiritual energy to nourish himself and slowly replenish the lost cultivation bit by bit.
After the verdict in Dai Dan's case, Dai Dan was sentenced to beheading. Fifteen days have passed since the execution, and it is now March 11th. Ling Shu meditates and cultivates diligently every day, with Zhuang Jinfu assisting him. His cultivation has recovered by 20%. The cultivation level of the early stage of the Golden Core realm is still quite high. He needs at least a year to cultivate, and he must cultivate intensively every day.
Too slow; it won't be able to keep up with the natural disaster three months from now.
The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, which, according to the Shangqing calendar, is on the twenty-eighth day of the sixth lunar month.
She was anxious, her spiritual energy rapidly coursing through her meridians, her body growing hotter and hotter. Suddenly, the control over her magic power snapped, and the spiritual energy stopped flowing. Immediately afterward, she heard an urgent question from the other side of the small cubicle: "What's wrong?"
"It's nothing." Ling Shu mobilized her spiritual energy to try and refill the hot spring water. The more anxious she became, the less she could refill it. Her body temperature rose, her consciousness became confused, and a wave of spiritual energy rippled out from her body, creating circles of ripples on the surface of the hot spring.
"Ling Shu?"
The sound echoed in my ears, I couldn't open my eyelids, I couldn't speak, the hot spring was hot, my body was hot, everything was hot.
There was no response.
A cool, celestial energy pressed against her back, quickly regulating her out-of-control magical power. She was saved again, and after about half a quarter of an hour, her body temperature completely dropped, and she opened her eyes.
A familiar presence was behind her, but she didn't turn around.
"Thank you, Master."
"You've gone mad with demonic possession."
"It won't happen again next time."
"Why are you in such a hurry?"
"I don't want to let you down."
The person behind her didn't answer for a long time. Ling Shu covered her body with her hands, and said shyly, "Get out."
It's that same sentence again.
They want to send her away again.
The immortal, his expression unchanged, stared at the smooth, delicate back of the person before him.
The sound of water was soft, perhaps indicating that it was preparing to leave. Ling Shu waited silently for the scent to dissipate.
Suddenly, a cool sensation on her back sent a shiver down her spine.
It floated by as lightly as a feather.
Butterfly bones, lower back dimples, and lines that follow the curve of the spine.
"Master, what are you doing...?"
A force gripped her waist.
The sound of rushing water filled the air, and her back was pressed against damp clothes. The chilling temperature was unabated, as if trying to freeze her awake so she would know who was holding her.
The man's tone was tender, and she could feel him bowing his head. A soft touch brushed against her earlobe, and his breath was sweet as orchids: "If you want to cultivate faster, I have other ways."
Ling Shu immediately knew what she was talking about.
She turned her head away from the suggestive whisper in her ear, her voice soft as a cloud: "I've been soaking for too long, and the heat of the hot spring is making me uncomfortable."
The hand at her waist loosened as she had expected.
Zhuang Jinfu was dejected and disappointed. This meant that Ling Shu, who had deliberately seduced her, gotten close to her, and said he would love her forever, would also reject her.
Ling Shu clutched her chest, ignoring the gaze that seemed to see right through her, turned her back, and slowly made her way ashore on the stone steps.
Zhuang Jinfu unconsciously followed her movements, thinking that she would call him out first before going ashore, but to his surprise, she went ashore calmly.
All she could see was white, yet she moved slowly. Once ashore, her footsteps echoed softly across the stone slabs beside her, each step a gentle murmur in the water, a sound that stirred her restrained heart.
She dared not look anymore.
Out of the corner of his eye, Zhuang Jinfu caught a glimpse of Ling Shu's graceful figure. He heard rustling sounds as she first wiped herself down, then put on her clothes, one piece at a time, her movements unhurried and deliberate. Zhuang Jinfu closed his eyes and silently recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra.
"Master."
The sound was extremely close.
Aren't you coming up?
"Are you dressed?"
"You're dressed."
Zhuang Jinfu then dared to open his eyes and slowly came ashore. He couldn't see the person's face, but he could see a figure twisting his hair and heading towards a small cubicle.
She wondered to herself, "Has she not learned the drying technique yet?"
After changing my clothes, I followed them.
Ling Shu indeed sat in front of the dressing mirror and wrung out her hair. Upon seeing her, she smiled sweetly and called out, "Master." There were no other words.
"Let me help you." She took the towel from the hair dryer and gently dried it.
No one mentioned the drying technique.
Ling Shu, having a moment of leisure, raised her eyebrows in front of the mirror, seemingly not intending to speak to her. How strange.
What's your decision?
Ling Shu then said something else: "I haven't put on my shoes yet."
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