Chapter 57
The water marks on the ground was damp, as if it had been made not long ago.
Xue Danrong glanced down and then walked out of the room, standing in the corridor. The water marks had also come out from inside the room and extended all the way to the left side of the corridor, finally stopping in front of a room.
Along the path of the water marks, something had dropped. Xue Danrong looked at it for a while before picking it up to take a closer look.
What had fallen on the floor was a white inner garment.
He looked at the inner garment in his hand, then glanced at the room where the water marks disappeared. After much hesitation, he decided to take the inner garment and walked over.
Xue Danrong stopped in front of the door, raised his hand, and knocked twice. He was about to call out “Senior Brother,” but the door was gently pushed open with his light knock.
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“Fldksa Jasvbla! Fldksa Jasvbla!”
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Gp pssd yp bl rascle, Dwl Pydasdt qasodle. Wydt Ubysgbsw’p xlakekydp olal vawzu nbysvkn. Tl bye vs kdqwpl prkakvwyz rsola vs pwrralpp vbl ekpsaelazu ik okvbkd Wydt Ubysgbsw’p cseu.
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The pool water seemed to contain Crimson Lotus, a rare spiritual herb that benefited cultivators greatly but could be harmful to ordinary people. Xue Danrong wasn’t aware of the specific harms it caused, but he had seen Crimson Lotus before and knew a little about it.
As a cultivator, he had no interest in actively learning about things that could harm ordinary people.
Moreover, Crimson Lotus only grew in the cultivation world and relied on spiritual energy to thrive. It would never grow in places where ordinary people gathered.
After realizing that it was Crimson Lotus, Xue Danrong looked at Fang Chaozhou, who still had his eyes closed, and pressed his lips together before reaching out to hold him and leaping out of the water. He placed Fang Chaozhou on the ground next to the bath and once again held his wrist, channeling his spiritual power into him.
After channeling an unknown amount of spiritual power and suppressing for a while, Xue Danrong saw Fang Chaozhou open his eyes. As soon as he opened his eyes, Xue Danrong withdrew his hand, turned his face away, and said in a cold tone, “Senior Brother, you’re awake.”
His words echoed in the room, but there was no response. Xue Danrong paused for a moment, unable to resist looking at Fang Chaozhou again. However, at that moment, he was suddenly pushed down.
The youth pressing him down had disheveled hair against his snow-white neck, and his lips were as red as agate, making his eyes appear even darker.
“Senior Brother?” As Xue Danrong was being pressed down, his body tensed up. Looking into Fang Chaozhou’s eyes, he felt not only vigilance and rejection but even disgust.
But at that moment, the person pressing him down turned his head to look at the pool water, and his eyes noticeably brightened. He immediately tried to pass over Xue Danrong and reenter the water. Xue Danrong quickly grabbed the person, who still wanted to immerse himself in the water, saying, “Senior Brother, you can’t soak in the water anymore.”
He held onto the person’s robe, but as the robe was draped over the person, pulling it caused it to slip off, and Fang Chaozhou instantly dove into the water.
Xue Danrong looked at the robe in his hand and tried to use spiritual power to get the person out of the water, but he failed.
The reason the spell failed was because Fang Chaozhou was currently sealed by a puppet.
If the puppet resisted, it could resist spiritual power. The degree to which it resisted spiritual power depended on the strength of its master’s cultivation. If the master had a high cultivation level, the puppet would also have a high resistance to spiritual power. This to some extent could prevent harm from outsiders. After all, once someone was sealed by a puppet, they became someone without any cultivation.
Seeing the person being swallowed by the water, Xue Danrong furrowed his brow and immediately took out a voice transmission talisman. But just then, he heard the sound of thunder.
“Boom!”
That was the sound of heavenly thunder.
In order for a cultivator to break through the Nascent Soul stage, they must withstand the Heavenly Thunder. If they can’t withstand it, they may fail in their breakthrough or even have their soul scattered. Hearing the thunderous sound, Xue Danrong hesitated for a moment while holding the voice transmission talisman but ultimately decided to put it down.
Xue Danrong turned his gaze to the red pool water, pursed his lips, and had no choice but to enter the bath once again.
He immersed himself in the water and saw Fang Chaozhou lying at the bottom of the pool. He quickly swam towards him, grabbing his wrist, and attempting to pull him out of the water. However, Fang Chaozhou was extremely uncooperative and desperately tried to retract his hand.
But Xue Danrong, after all, was a cultivator, and the strength of the currently sealed Fang Chaozhou was no match for him.
Just as Xue Danrong was about to pull him out of the water, his brow suddenly twitched, and he looked at the person biting his wrist. His lips pressed even tighter.
After biting him hard, the person turned and moved away.
Xue Danrong’s long lashes trembled slightly, and after a moment, he submerged himself in the water again. This time, he grabbed Fang Chaozhou’s wrist with one hand and circled his waist with the other, not allowing any resistance. He forcefully brought him out of the water.
Splash!
The two emerged from the water.
Xue Danrong glanced at the edge of the pool, intending to use his spiritual power to retrieve the loose robe, but before he could cast the spell, the person he was holding tried to dive back into the water.
Naturally, Xue Danrong wouldn’t let go of him and received another bite.
At this point, Xue Danrong’s eyes were filled with helplessness. He allowed the person to bite while he tried to retrieve the robe. However, the person biting him seemed to show no response to any pain he caused. Their eyes flickered and suddenly they changed their biting location.
This bite landed on his ear.
Xue Danrong stiffened all over, his long lashes even trembling several times. After struggling to regain his composure, he used spiritual power to retrieve the robe and draped it over Fang Chaozhou. Once the robe was in place, he spoke coldly, “If you bite me again, I will… I will throw away all your snacks.”
As soon as these words were spoken, the weight on his ear disappeared instantly.
Xue Danrong immediately lifted the person in his arms and carried them out of the bath. This time he was cautious and didn’t leave them at the edge of the pool. He continued to hold them until he reached a clean room, where he placed the person next to a beautiful bed before finally releasing his hold.
But as soon as he let go of the person, Fang Chaozhou tried to escape from the bed. Xue Danrong first tried using spiritual power to immobilize him but it didn’t work. He then set up a barrier, but it was effortlessly bypassed by Fang Chaozhou as if he was completely immune to his spells.
Finally, Xue Danrong ran out of options and could only corner the person on the bed himself. He pressed his hand against the wall, trapping the person in the corner.
The person trapped by him first looked pitifully at the pool water, then glanced around. Seeing no way to escape, they finally lifted their head and looked at Xue Danrong with pleading eyes.
Having just emerged from the water, their hair was soaked, and the robe draped over their body couldn’t completely cover their skin. The exposed legs and wrists were unnaturally pale, especially the legs, which appeared as white as snow against the dark wooden bed.
The youth’s figure was naturally slender.
Their wrists and ankles were delicate as if they could snap with a twist.
Xue Danrong glanced once and quickly averted his gaze. But when he caught sight of Fang Chaozhou’s pitiful expression, he pursed his lips, turned his eyes away, and only after a moment, he spoke, “Senior brother, I didn’t mean to deceive you intentionally. It’s just that the pool water holds no benefits for you. I hope you can understand.”
As he finished speaking, he grabbed the person’s wrist and once again delved into his spiritual energy.
Fang Chaozhou, who had regained consciousness, was clearly much more uncooperative than when he was unconscious. He struggled incessantly and even kicked at Xue Danrong with his feet.
Xue Danrong endured a few kicks, his brows tightening further. In the end, he simply tore off his own hairband and used it to bind Fang Chaozhou’s ankle.
With the feet taken care of, only the hands remained. Xue Danrong held one of Fang Chaozhou’s hands with his own, finally managing to achieve a moment of relative peace.
Fang Chaozhou, whose hands and feet were rendered powerless, seemed tired as well. He breathed slightly, allowing Xue Danrong’s spiritual energy to suppress the chaotic qi within his body.
Time passed, and gradually, the unruly qi subsided. Fang Chaozhou’s expression grew increasingly fatigued until, at last, his head tilted to the side, leaning against Xue Danrong’s body.
The emotions in Xue Danrong’s eyes visibly changed. His thick lashes drooped like delicate butterfly wings. He stared at Fang Chaozhou, who was leaning against him, for a while before slowly attempting to move away. However, as soon as he shifted his body, Fang Chaozhou, who had been behaving calmly, began struggling again. His struggle reignited the previously settled qi.
Thus, Xue Danrong could only remain still, allowing Fang Chaozhou to lean against him until the latter fell asleep in his embrace. Only then did the restless qi finally quiet down.
Xue Danrong slowly withdrew his hand, lowered his gaze, and looked at Fang Chaozhou’s still-bound ankle. He reached out to untie the knot when suddenly, the door was forcefully kicked open.
His movements froze involuntarily, and he looked towards the doorway, where he heard a roar.
The transformed Tu Bai, now in the form of a white tiger, rushed in upon seeing the two people on the bed. Its eyes were filled with a murderous intent. Xue Danrong’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately summoned his Sword of Severed Water, using it to defend himself and fend off Tu Bai.
Tu Bai’s attack missed, and it quickly pounced again. It bared its teeth, extending its sharp claws, seeing Xue Danrong as its enemy.
They fought fiercely, accompanied by the constant sound of thunder outside. Unexpectedly, Fang Chaozhou slowly opened his eyes. He first looked around in a daze before turning his gaze towards the figure of Xue Danrong fighting against the white tiger.
The furnishings in the room were mostly shattered, even the folding screen was lying on the ground in disarray. Only the exquisite bed where Fang Chaozhou sat remained intact.
Fang Chaozhou was momentarily stunned, trying to grasp what had happened. Seeing Tu Bai’s ferocious appearance, relentlessly trying to harm Xue Danrong, while Xue Danrong evaded its attacks, Fang Chaozhou hurriedly shouted, “Tu Bai! Stop!”
Upon hearing Fang Chaozhou’s voice, Tu Bai glanced distractedly at him but quickly redirected its attention towards Xue Danrong and lunged once again.
Helplessly, Fang Chaozhou sighed and attempted to get off the bed to restrain Tu Bai. However, he first noticed his bound ankle.
The item used to bind his ankle was a hairband, and this hairband…
He raised his gaze and looked at Xue Danrong, whose hair was now loose.
Without much time to think, Fang Chaozhou tore off the hairband and immediately got off the bed. He hurriedly tried to intervene, but the ground was wet from the water, and being barefoot, he slipped and fell forward.
Xue Danrong heard the commotion behind him and turned to look. Seeing Fang Chaozhou about to fall, he instinctively reached out to catch him but ended up falling to the ground together.
They tumbled into a heap.
“Hiss—”
Fang Chaozhou’s chin hit Xue Danrong’s chest, causing him to gasp in pain. The former raised his hand to cover his chin, furrowing his brows as he tried to sit up. However, as soon as he sat up, an unmistakably angry voice reached their ears.
“What are you two doing?!”
Fang Chaozhou froze, momentarily stunned. His gaze shifted towards the person at the door. Seeing the person, he couldn’t help but panic and quickly tried to stand up. But as he stood, a sharp pain shot through his ankle, causing his body to sway, and he fell back down.
He inadvertently pressed Xue Danrong, who had just attempted to sit up, back down. This time, he ended up firmly sitting on the other person’s body, causing even Xue Danrong to grunt in response.
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What a mess 🥳🥳🍾🍾