Chapter 58 Testing
After obtaining the Crimson Flame Phoenix, although the secret realm was not yet closed, there was no need to stay any longer.
So while the disciples were still inside the secret realm, Su Yunyu and Xiao Shuying had already come out and happened to see Zhu Fu, who was guarding the entrance and looking bored.
A pile of books lay beside her, all showing signs of being read. She was flipping through one of them when she heard a noise. Looking up, she saw the two of them emerge and quickly dropped the book, walking over.
"They're out so quickly!"
Then, remembering something, he kindly offered some words of comfort:
"It's alright. The Crimson Flame Phoenix is inherently difficult to tame. Who would have thought that it would require the Azure Phoenix—"
Su Yunyu interrupted her:
"Got it."
"Ah," Zhu Fu was a little taken aback and asked instinctively.
Seeing that she didn't understand, Su Yunyu decisively reached out to Xiao Shuying, then slowly unbuttoned his collar, revealing a small patch of fiery red tattoo.
The tattoo was a design of rebirth from the ashes, with phoenix tail feathers burning in the flames. Its red was a striking, almost golden red, which stunned Zhu Fu at first glance.
She was stunned for several seconds before she reacted. Completely disregarding her composure as a sect leader, she pointed at the tattoo, her lips slightly parted, utterly astonished:
"This...this..."
Zhu Fu was so excited she almost fell backward: "Could this be the pattern of the Crimson Flame Phoenix? It has recognized you as its master!"
Compared to Zhu Fu's great shock, Xiao Shuying merely nodded slightly. If it weren't for Su Yunyu's presence, he probably wouldn't have bothered to do any kung fu.
Zhu Fu was already incoherent. Although her sect had hundreds of beasts, she had never seen the splendor of a divine beast. Now that it was so close, how could she not be excited?
Compared to her excitement, Su Yunyu calmly buttoned up Xiao Shuying's collar again, but she noticed with her sharp eyes that the colors seemed to become more vibrant when she touched the tattoo.
"Huh?"
Just as he was about to stop and examine her closely to avoid getting blinded, Xiao Shuying had already quickly buttoned up her collar tightly, preventing anyone from seeing anything.
"..."
Is it just my imagination? That bright red tattoo really does look much more vibrant now.
Never mind, maybe it's just my eyes playing tricks on me. Just as Su Yunyu gently put it down, a surge of emotions welled up inside Xiao Shuying.
When Su Yunyu's fingertips touched his tattoo, an inexplicable palpitation made her blood boil, and the tattoo itself seemed to burn.
It seems the tattoo's color is adjusted according to the wearer's body temperature, but...
Why was he so unable to bear Su Yunyu's light touch?
It's not that I'm against it, but rather that I want more...
In the shadows where no one noticed, Xiao Shuying stood tall like a lurking beast, her dark eyes fixed on Su Yunyu, seemingly concealing some inexplicable impulse.
Zhu Fu, having recovered from the shock, hurriedly pleaded with Su Yunyu:
"Could you have your disciple release the Crimson Flame Phoenix so I can see it?"
As she spoke, she took Su Yunyu's arm and shook it, displaying a charming and coquettish manner. Before Su Yunyu could react, a hand with tremendous force suddenly slapped Zhu Fu's hand away.
Zhu Fu and Su Yunyu were both taken aback. Zhu Fu covered her bright red hand, glanced at it, then looked at Xiao Shuying. She was about to feign anger, but remembering that the Crimson Flame Phoenix was on him, she had no choice but to remain silent and instead teased him:
"If you dislike me touching your master so much, why do you like him?"
Before Xiao Shuying could react, Su Yunyu was caught off guard by the bluntness of the words and choked back a sob.
"Cough cough cough—"
Xiao Shuying, having momentarily lost focus upon hearing the word "like," quickly reached out to pat Su Yunyu's back to soothe him, her icy voice softening unconsciously.
"Master, are you alright?"
"It's nothing," Su Yunyu quickly regained his composure. He actually regretted choking on his own saliva. If he hadn't interrupted, he would have heard Xiao Shuying's reply.
Zhu Fu looked at the two thoughtfully. What had been a vague idea suddenly became incredibly clear. She even temporarily put the Crimson Flame Phoenix out of her mind and directly asked Su Yunyu:
"And you, you even gave up your disciple, the Crimson Flame Phoenix, so you wouldn't happen to like him too, would you? Are you two in love?"
"..."
Su Yunyu finally managed to catch her breath, but almost choked again.
Xiao Shuying paused in patting his back, her eyes dark and deep as she stared at Su Yunyu, as if wanting to hear a clear answer.
He also wanted to know why Su Yunyu was so good to him. Could it be that he really...
For some reason, even though she initially wanted to kill this person, now just thinking that his kindness to her was out of affection makes her heart surge with emotion, as if something is about to explode from her body.
Before Xiao Shuying could go any further, Su Yunyu calmly said:
"We are just teacher and student with a deep bond."
He then looked at Xiao Shuying and asked:
"Is it right"
Because of his ruthless character, he couldn't possibly admit to liking or disliking anything, so this answer was just a helpless response.
However, he could use this topic to subtly probe Long Aotian's reaction, so Su Yunyu started to keep an eye on Xiao Shuying.
"..."
When Xiao Shuying heard the answer "deep bond between master and disciple," it was somewhat expected, since all the other answers were too outrageous.
But when Su Yunyu actually asked her about it, Xiao Shuying suppressed her myriad emotions and simply pretended to agree.
"yes."
Seeing that Long Aotian acknowledged the deep bond between master and disciple without the slightest hesitation, Su Yunyu almost crushed her own palm.
He didn't want to end up just being a good mentor. Love is the most blinding emotion, so he had to make Long Aotian fall in love.
Her mind was in complete turmoil, and despite Zhu Fu's enthusiastic invitation, Su Yunyu simply refused.
"No, we have important matters to attend to."
Now, he believes he has given enough for Long Aotian, and even the most hard-hearted person would be moved.
In other words, things have now entered a new phase, and he needs to verify Long Aotian's feelings.
Whether it's the so-called master-disciple relationship or something else, there should be some signs by now. He's not a patient person, so completing the task as soon as possible is the most important thing.
So, after returning to the Tianxuan Sect, Su Yunyu locked herself in the Beiming Palace to ponder her next move, asking 111 in her sea of consciousness:
"How do you think I should test Long Aotian's feelings for me?"
111 was completely clueless about this, and upon hearing this, simply sifted through its vast database to find the most reliable result:
[I think you could find someone and pretend to be intimate with them, then see how Long Aotian reacts.]
Su Yunyu thought this method was very feasible, but just as she was accepting it, a question suddenly occurred to her:
"But this person seems hard to find. I need to coordinate with him beforehand, otherwise it might go out of character..."
111 is very generous:
[That's easy. I can transform into human form and act it out for you.]
"...!"
Su Yunyu was somewhat surprised upon hearing this:
"You can transform into human form."
111 was very proud: [Yes, I'm quite capable!]
As he was about to start boasting about 111, Su Yunyu quickly cut him off and got straight to the point:
"Then put on some makeup and let me see."
[OK]
As 111 finished speaking, a cloud of white mist rose before her eyes, and a shadowy figure appeared and disappeared. Su Yunyu eagerly awaited its arrival.
But when the white mist dissipated, a non-human creature shaped like a fish head appeared before her, startling Su Yunyu so much that she stumbled, unable to look directly at it, utterly bewildered.
"What kind of makeup did you put on?"
111, with a fish head on its head, hops around and jumps about.
[Mermaids, I've seen them in stories, they live in the deep sea and have the characteristics of both humans and fish...]
"Stop, stop, stop," Su Yunyu interrupted, her expression serious.
"Just give me a normal person makeover, stop with all this fancy stuff."
[Oh,] 111 was somewhat disappointed, but still obediently another wisp of white mist rose, the figure within shifting and changing, once again making Su Yunyu eagerly anticipate its arrival—
The white mist dissipated, leaving the area in front of her empty. Su Yunyu blinked, still puzzled, when a voice came from below:
I'm here.
So Su Yunyu looked down and saw a big-eyed boy standing in front of her, looking up at her.
"..."
Su Yunyu's face contorted for a moment before she questioned:
"What do you mean"
111's reasoning is very sound: [You're talking about normal people.]
Su Yunyu took a few deep breaths and realized that 111 was just as stupid as an AI. He calmly analyzed the situation with it:
"With you dressed like this, how am I supposed to explain to Long Aotian that I actually have a child with so-and-so?"
111 suddenly realized: [That seems to be the case. Wait a moment, I'll transform again.]
Fearing that 111 might cause some trouble again, Su Yunyu gave it very clear instructions this time:
"Remember, transform me into a handsome man or a beautiful woman; they can't be ugly or unconventional!"
[Understand! ]
After confidently accepting the offer, the white mist rose again. This time, Su Yunyu no longer looked on expectantly. She watched indifferently as the figure in the mist changed shape and finally settled.
After the white mist dissipated, 111 approached, looking every bit the dashing and debonair young man, even carrying a folding fan to appear cultured.
Although her appearance couldn't compare to Long Aotian's extraordinary beauty, her demeanor surpassed that of 90% of people, so Su Yunyu's eyes lit up:
"This is it!"
Now that the actors are in place, all that's left is to rehearse the script. So, Su Yunyu, drawing on the master-disciple novels she had crammed, explained them to 111 in detail:
"Wait a minute, you'll do this... and then that..."
"And then regarding body language," Su Yunyu pulled 111's hand, feeling a momentary unease, but still calmly placed it on her waist, and then said:
"You'll be this intimate with me then. Remember, it has to be you who initiates it, otherwise I'll go out of character..."
As they spoke, the man and the system were extremely close together. The 111 system even appeared taller than Su Yunyu, so Su Yunyu had to tilt her head slightly to talk to it closely.
111 listened and nodded, just as she was about to put on a dramatic performance, when she heard a creaking sound—the sound of the door being pushed open.
Su Yunyu and 111 subconsciously turned around and, while maintaining their intimate posture, saw Long Aotian leaning against the open door, his expression full of surprise.
"Master, you..."
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Author's Note: System: A chill ran down my spine. What's going on here? [doge emoji]
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