Chapter 77 Then what am I?
"You're definitely not being honest."
Zhuang Jin's expression was unreadable, her eyes deep and unfathomable, veiled by something. Ling Shu, having given up her efforts, watched as her hand shrank back under the covers, revealing only her eyes. "I'm being honest..."
"Then what did you do to me at the tea table just now?" Her face was ashen, her eyes like those of a judge. She sat calmly to the side, like a detective waiting for the criminals to commit their crimes before bringing them all to justice.
"I'm sorry." Ling Shu thought she was interested in him and accepted his affection, but it turns out she was waiting for this all along.
Why bother washing your hands then? It only makes people overthink.
"Trying to get rid of me?"
"You didn't push me away just now, so if you're going to settle scores, why don't you include yourself in the score?"
Ling Shu sat up in anger, knowing she was also at fault. This wasn't the first time she had offended someone. If Zhuang Jin Fu hadn't tolerated her, would she have continued to offend him? With her skill, if she were angry, she would have already thrown her off the mountain. They were like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai, one willing to hit and the other willing to be hit.
Zhuang Jinfu: "Does my willingness count as your willingness to agree?"
Ling Shu turned her head away. Agreeing to be together was impossible. To sink together was tantamount to suicide. She couldn't bear the world's condemnation of Zhuang Jin Fu. What was the point of hoping for anything if there was no future? Their relationship was ambiguous, so be it.
Ling Shu coldly replied, "I'm unwilling."
Zhuang Jinfu pressed, "Then what am I?"
Oh, so you're here to ask for recognition.
"You are quite charming."
Her fair wrist was grabbed, and the hand on it suddenly turned icy cold. It was then pulled towards Zhuang Jinfu with force. Zhuang Jinfu coldly scoffed, "After I helped you finish cultivating your magic, we should no longer cross the line, but you crossed it tonight." Ling Shu twisted her wrist, trying to break free, "Let go first, you're too cold."
As soon as she struggled, Zhuang Jinfu softened and let go. "Tell me, what was the meaning behind your kiss tonight?"
Ling Shu rubbed her wrist, warming the skin where Ling Shu was gripping her wrist with her palm: "Are you satisfied now that I'm lustful?"
"Fine, fine, fine." Zhuang Jinfu smiled faintly, seemingly mocking himself, his expression sorrowful, his eyes lowered and his head bowed, his confidence gone. "So I was just a tool after all."
Seeing that her spirits had dropped, Ling Shu realized that she had spoken too harshly, so she leaned closer and said, "Hey, Zhuang Jinfu, don't be sad."
Zhuang Jinfu still didn't look up, looking completely listless. Ling Shu felt ashamed: "I didn't treat you like a tool. I... I couldn't help myself. I'm a bastard. I promise I'll never cross the line again." With that, she threw off the covers, grabbed her pillow, and tried to get out of bed. "I'm going back. I'm getting out of here right now."
Ling Shu sat on the edge of the bed, looking down to find her shoes and socks. Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her waist, and a soft laugh tickled her ear: "Just kidding. I said I'd let you be disrespectful. I'll never blame you. Good Shu'er, just sleep here."
Only Zhuang Jinfu knew that this was a joking question asking for her true feelings. The answer was not satisfactory, and if it continued, it would worsen their relationship. She sighed inwardly, "Why bother? Peaceful coexistence is hard-won."
Ling Shu breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back. "Hmph, you're the worst. You used my sympathy like this last time at Zhujin Mountain, making me feel sorry for you."
Zhuang Jinfu said gently, "My method worked because I believed that you were genuinely worried about me."
"You stinky Zhuang Jinfu, you just love seeing me worry about you, don't you?"
"You also enjoy watching me beg for a formal title from you, don't you?"
I won't tell you!
Zhuang Jinfu tickled her armpits, and Ling Shu giggled nonstop. As they laughed, the two of them inexplicably fell silent and stared at each other.
Once the girl crossed that psychological barrier, there was nothing she wouldn't dare to do. However, things were a little different now than before; there was a bit more respect involved. Her heart was pounding, and she was daydreaming, but all she wanted was a light kiss with the woman.
"Master, may I kiss you?"
"Can."
...
The next day, when Ling Shu woke up, Zhuang Jinfu was no longer by her side. Breakfast was laid out on the table, including her favorite crystal shrimp dumplings, which she kept warm with her magic. Then she went to wash up, and as before, everything she needed was laid out according to her preferences.
After finishing breakfast and washing up, I went to find Zhuang Jinfu. The servant said she was in the city lord's hall. Thinking that they were talking about something, I didn't want to disturb them. Besides, I was carrying a treasure, so it was better not to wander around. Therefore, I asked someone to pass on a message saying that she had come.
At noon, Zhuang Jinfu came back for lunch.
"Don't you immortals abstain from grains?" Ling Shu asked the question she had been wanting to ask. "We abstain from grains, but no one says immortals can't eat, right?" Perhaps because she had been spending more time with Ling Shu, Zhuang Jin Fu's speech had become more playful.
Zhuang Jinfu continued, "Hai Gu said it was no fun eating alone and asked me to keep her company. Since you came, let's eat together so that someone won't blame me for not caring about her."
"I've never blamed you."
Zhuang Jinfu just smiled.
After lunch, she was about to go out again when Ling Shu couldn't help but call out to her, "What are you busy with?"
"We discussed with the city lord and gathered people to arrange for the evacuation of the people from Nanxi City. We need manpower to prepare and coordinate all aspects such as food, medicine, vehicles, and horses. There will be a seismic event in Nanxi City around the Dragon Boat Festival. The intensity is unknown, but my calculation is not very accurate. Natural disasters are a matter of fate. My calculation is already going against the will of heaven. I don't know the specifics. I can only prepare for the worst. Now we will arrange for the people to evacuate and move away from the Yaping seismic zone to Huicheng, Jiacheng, and Shicheng."
Ling Shu was concerned about Zhuang Jinfu himself: "Heavenly secrets cannot be revealed. What price will you pay for going against the will of Heaven?"
"Reduction in lifespan, each calculation indicates a reduction of five years in lifespan."
Ling Shu frowned as she looked at her, feeling very sorry for her. It was a matter of life and death; if she were in her shoes, she would have made the same choice.
Zhuang Jinfu saw that her brows were furrowed together, so he gently smoothed them with his fingers: "Alright, I need to achieve immortality. Five years is nothing to me. Besides, the Heavenly Realm will distribute elixirs that can boost energy and prolong life. I'll be fine."
Five years is nothing to Zhuang Jinfu...
However, Ling Shu was only nineteen years old. The lifespan of a cultivator is at most three or four hundred years, which is nothing more than a fleeting moment for Zhuang Jinfu.
Ling Shu felt a tightness in her chest, but she didn't say anything, afraid of ruining their good mood.
It seems I still need to intensify my cultivation. Ascension is indeed difficult, but every bit of effort brings a greater chance of success. Who cares about all that? Just do it!
"Okay, that's good. Is there anything I can do to help you?"
Since Ling Shu brought it up, Zhuang Jinfu wouldn't refuse. "You can stay by my side and listen to what I have to say. The city lord's people will handle things; we don't need to get too involved."
Outside the city lord's mansion, Li Chang, carrying the half-dead Zhao Chi on her back, argued with the guards: "I really am a disciple of the Shangqing Sect, and so is she."
Two guards crossed their spears to block her way. One guard said, "You do not have the Shangqing Sect jade pendant. Without the jade pendant, no one can enter."
"I told you I forgot to take it with me when I went out. I ran into my fellow disciple who had collapsed on the road, and I was in a hurry to save her without going back to the sect to get the jade pendant. Why won't you believe me!"
"No jade pendant, no entry."
"Let me in to see the Immortal Venerable!"
With a clang, the spear slammed down, and just then, Zhao Chi slid off his back and fell to the ground. Zhao Chi was long-limbed, while Li Chang was short, making it very difficult for her to carry him. Li Chang was in a hurry to draw her sword and fight the guards, and lost her balance, causing Zhao Chi to fall. Her eyes were bloodshot, with heavy eye sockets, and her face was ashen. "Don't... worry about me..."
Li Chang quickly helped her stand up and let her lean on her: "You are my friend, I must take care of you, stand properly!" Then she argued with the guard: "If you won't let me see the Immortal Venerable, you can let me see the Immortal Venerable's disciple Ling Shu. Ling Shu is my friend, I beg you, please help me inform him and I will give you 10,000 spirit stones."
Two hundred spirit stones are worth one piece of gold. Miss Li has always been good to her friends. While others would spend a fortune for a beautiful woman, Miss Li seems to have no emotional attachment to that. Spending a fortune to save her friends is the only thing she would do.
"Giving more is useless. Go away, move aside. Eight out of ten people claim to be friends of the Immortal Venerable's disciple. Just because you say they're friends doesn't mean they're friends. What a joke."
Ignoring all pretense of dignity and whether anyone inside could hear her, Li Chang shouted loudly, "Ling Shu! Ling Shu, help me!"
Just then, Zhuang Jinfu and Ling Shu were led out by the city lord to check on the grain stored in the granary. Ling Shu heard Li Chang's voice from afar, and after exchanging a glance with Zhuang Jinfu, she knew what the other was thinking.
Zhuang Jinfu: "Go and take a look."
Ling Shu ran over quickly, and Li Chang waved wildly as if she had seen a savior: "Ling Shu!"
When Ling Shu arrived at the city lord's mansion, the guards who were stopping Li Chang treated her with utmost respect. The guards were just wondering how Ling Shu would scold this person who was trying to claim kinship with them, when they saw Ling Shu call out to the person she was stopping: "Li Chang? What are you doing here?"
The guard's face turned green.
Li Chang complained: "They stopped me from going in and even called me a joke!"
City Lord Zhang Qiu also hurried over: "What is it?"
Li Chang complained again, and the guard was trembling with fear, thinking that he was really doomed this time. But Li Chang added after she finished speaking: "She is also a good guard who sticks to her duty. She does not accept bribes and only obeys your orders. Sister City Lord, please do not punish her."
Zhang Qiu praised her for her kindness, but Ling Shu thought to herself, "It's a joke when people criticize you, yet you still say nice things about how you can get promoted. You're definitely the real Li Chang, the pushover."
Upon seeing Ling Shu, Zhao Chi dared not look directly at her and even put on a veil to cover her bloodless face. She pushed Li Chang away, trying to stand up herself, but the push caused her to collapse to the ground like a weak shrimp and faint.
“Zhao Chi!” Li Chang shouted.
Because of Zhao Chi's unexpected turn of events, the city lord postponed his inspection of the granary and summoned renowned physicians from within the city to provide treatment.
Zhuang Jinfu didn't make a move; he just stood by and watched. Ling Shu was curious why Zhuang Jinfu didn't use his magic to treat her, but she didn't think much of it and asked Li Chang what was wrong with her.
Li Chang sometimes speaks like a firecracker, once the fuse is lit, it crackles and pops: "When I first asked her, she wouldn't say anything, she just kept it to herself."
"I met her when I went down the mountain to play. In a small alley, a place that even stray cats don't want to go, she actually rented a small house to live in. I greeted her but she ignored me."
Ling Shu: "Let's get to the point."
Li Chang: "That's right, we're talking about it right now. There was a little stray that was freezing, so I was looking for a place to warm her up. It just so happened that Zhao Chi was staying here, so I asked her if I could stay for a day or two. She nodded and said yes, so I stayed."
"Then I found out she hadn't slept for three days. Sometimes she would ignore me when I spoke, as if she couldn't hear me. She even almost washed her face with her foot bath water, which terrified me. I thought she was possessed. Her area was dark, so I shone a night-shining pearl on it and found that her face was deathly pale, her eyes were bloodshot, and her eye circles were extremely dark."
“I told Zhao Chi to tell me the truth, did you exchange something with the master of the Tongxuan Secret Realm? When I asked her, she got really angry with me and told me to mind my own business.”
Zhao Chi stubbornly retorted, "It was you who was meddling in my business!"
Li Chang retorted, not to be outdone: "They don't appreciate kindness!"
Something was bulging in Li Chang's waist pouch, and a "meow~" sound came from it. A kitten's head peeked out from the gap in the pouch. Li Chang rubbed the kitten's head: "Don't be afraid, I'm not scolding you." The kitten came out, saw a circle of strangers, and then shrank back inside.
Ling Shu glanced at Zhao Chi, and Zhao Chi's stubborn anger instantly vanished, his eyes darting away.
Ling Shu's heart tightened. How could she not have thought that the token they wanted back then was so important? How could the Realm Lord give it to an outsider so easily?
The physician who examined her pulse also gave his diagnosis: "Young lady, this fainting is caused by severe sleep deprivation. I have already performed acupuncture on you to help you calm down temporarily. Do not get angry. After half an hour, the needles will be removed, and you can take a short rest. However..."
Li Chang: "But what?"
The physician said, "There is a replacement formation inside the young lady's body, and I am truly powerless to help."
Li Chang was almost speechless: "Zhao Chi, are you stupid?! You'd have to exchange sleep with the Lord of the Realm for at least a hundred days. Why would you be so foolish?"
Zhao Chi turned his head to the side, not looking at anyone, knowing he could no longer hide it: "I'm willing, it's none of anyone else's business."
Can a person endure going without sleep for a hundred days?
Ling Shu had never imagined that Zhao Chi was so deeply in love, and suddenly felt extremely troubled: "Could you... allow me to talk to her alone?"
Everyone left in silence. Zhuang Jinfu's face darkened, and she didn't want to leave. Ling Shu came over and pushed her back, thinking that Zhuang Jinfu was reluctant to leave because she was worried that she couldn't handle the situation well. So she told her not to worry: "Let's go, Master. I can handle it."
But Zhuang Jinfu said in a warning tone, "You are not allowed to compromise with her on anything."
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