Chapter 137: Playing the Flute
Jiang Huai diligently prepared fish porridge in the kitchen.
Fish porridge wasn’t complicated. Jiang Huai had already filleted the Snow Spirit Fish, and he pan-fried the fish bones until golden to make fish broth. After straining out the bones, he used the broth to cook the porridge, then added the marinated fish slices, cooking them until tender and smooth. The porridge base was fragrant and soft, and with a sprinkle of chopped scallions, it looked exceptionally beautiful.
Beside the porridge were several small dishes containing fried peanuts, roasted soybeans, and some pickled vegetables.
“You won’t be able to finish this much, so give the leftovers to Wen Wanwan,” Chu Xianning surprisingly said, bringing up the matter herself. Jiang Huai was initially stunned, then nodded lightly. He then asked, as if casually, “Master, what do you think of Wanwan?”
“She’s more diligent than you,” Jiang Huai was speechless for a moment. Chu Xianning drank the last spoonful of porridge, then took out a Dragon Blood Spirit Pill that Jiang Huai had given her and consumed it.
After taking the Dragon Blood Spirit Pill, her body would experience a slight, indescribable heat. Jiang Huai first grabbed the food container and left the courtyard. Chu Xianning, meanwhile, went to the bathhouse. She removed her clothes and submerged her snow-white body into the cold pool, slightly relieving the heat.
She vaguely felt something strange about her body. It seemed the Dragon Blood Spirit Pill had also triggered the monthly drawbacks of her Flower Spirit Physique. She brought her fingertip to her lips and bit down lightly. The slight pain made her feel a little more clear-headed.
Soon, she emerged from the bathhouse and began practicing her sword in the courtyard. Jiang Huai returned a little later, having chatted with Wen Wanwan in the courtyard for a while. When he opened the door, he was cautious, wondering what if Master, due to the Dragon Blood Spirit Pill, was emotionally agitated and beat him up to vent her frustration using the reason that he entered the courtyard with his left foot first.
Fortunately, Chu Xianning wasn’t unreasonable. She was sitting by the stone table, brewing tea. Jiang Huai approached her. For some reason, the thought that Chu Xianning was slightly more likely to be angry than usual now made him feel a strange urge to be mischievous.
“Master…” Jiang Huai hesitated, wanting to say more but stopping himself.
“Speak.”
“I’ll be descending the mountain in a couple of days and will likely be back in about half a month. Master, would you like me to open two of the remaining four acupoints first?”
Chu Xianning turned her face away, contemplating for a moment. After a long thought, she looked back into Jiang Huai’s eyes. Jiang Huai’s gaze was both sincere and innocent. She hesitated again and asked, “Which two?”
“Waist ribs and lower abdomen? I just need to change into a dance skirt with a bustier. I’ve prepared one,” Jiang Huai asked tentatively. He clearly remembered that of the current four acupoints, the remaining ones were the waist ribs, tailbone, inner thighs, and lower abdomen. It was natural to proceed step by step; otherwise, Chu Xianning would probably try to kill him.
“I have a dance skirt,” Chu Xianning said, giving him a faint glance. She stood up and walked back to her room.
Jiang Huai scratched his head. He hadn’t seen Chu Xianning in a dance skirt for thirteen years, a full thirteen years.
…
When Chu Xianning changed into her dress and walked out of the room, Jiang Huai’s gaze was immediately fixed on her. Even though he tried his best to restrain the greed in his eyes, he couldn’t look away as soon as he saw her.
Chu Xianning was wearing a two-piece dance skirt. The upper part was a moon-white bustier that completely covered her chest, while the lower part was a hazy, snow-colored gauze skirt with a high slit. As she moved, her tender, snow-white thighs were vaguely visible. Jiang Huai’s voice became stammered, “Master, why do you have such a dance skirt?”
“The Luo Yueguan sent it to me before. This is the first time I’m wearing it.” Chu Xianning’s expression was calm and cold, showing no blush or shyness. She looked at Jiang Huai, raising her chin slightly, and her eyes showed a hint of displeasure. “You’re not allowed to stare at me.”
Jiang Huai quickly withdrew his gaze. Chu Xianning sat on the stone chair, and Jiang Huai had already placed the massage medicinal liquid on the table. Chu Xianning remained motionless like a statue, but the hand holding the porcelain bottle of medicinal liquid trembled violently.
Am I going to touch Master’s waist now? And her soft, smooth lower abdomen? Ugh, Master’s navel is so cute, I want to poke it. Jiang Huai’s mind was filled with strange thoughts at this moment, and the system in his ear started dinging. He couldn’t help but sneak a glance, then suddenly froze for a moment.
[Master Chu Xianning’s Flower Spirit Physique causes her body to possess more desires than ordinary women. She suppresses all excess desires with Daoist magic, resolving them in the secret chamber at the foot of Guanxue Mountain each month.]
[The dragon blood in the Dragon Blood Spirit Pill causes a person’s body to feel hot and their heart to be restless. Taking the Dragon Blood Spirit Pill these few days has made Chu Xianning’s Daoist magic slightly unstable, and the restraints she normally places on her own body have loosened slightly.]
[Detected wicked thoughts in the host’s heart. A mission has been issued: When performing needle insertion to open acupoints for Chu Xianning, say some sweet words to make the emotionally unstable Chu Xianning’s heart flutter. After her heart is moved, her Daoist magic will naturally shatter, causing the desires that should have erupted tomorrow due to her Flower Spirit Physique to erupt today. When you notice this, she will be extremely shy, and from then on, she will never be able to face you with the pure demeanor of a Master.]
[Reward: High-level Experience Scroll * 3.]
So, this was the drawback of the Flower Spirit Physique.
Jiang Huai’s small hands trembled even more. Damn it, why was his first thought about what sweet words to say, instead of ignoring these missions like he used to? Damn it, but how could he say sweet words? Besides… if he said something too excessive, Chu Xianning might just flip out on the spot…
Jiang Huai’s head was spinning, and he hesitated. Chu Xianning glanced at him sideways. “What’s wrong with your hand?”
“This… I don’t know why… today it seems… inexplicably… shaking badly…”
“Then we can open the acupoints next time?”
“No!” Jiang Huai immediately replied, “I’ll be descending the mountain in two days and will be gone for more than ten days. Master’s acupoints should be opened sooner rather than later. The sooner they are opened, the better it will be for the old injuries. So, today!”
“Oh,” Chu Xianning replied faintly, not arguing further. She just sat there quietly, the wind blowing strands of hair around her cheeks, her eyes as cold as ever.
“Master, wait for me to steady myself… I won’t be shaking in a moment…”
“No rush,” Chu Xianning replied indifferently.
Jiang Huai secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He shifted his gaze to Chu Xianning’s face, trying to find a trace of reassurance in her clear, cold eyes. But as he met her eyes, which were as clear and cold as a hidden spring, and then looked at the dance skirt she was wearing, which exuded a hint of seductiveness, and finally glanced at her slender, snow-white waist out of the corner of his eye, this subtle contrast made his small hands tremble even more. Useless, Jiang Huai!
“I didn’t know Master could dance before…” Jiang Huai tried to say something to shift his attention.
“During the time you were injured, how much did you peep through the small holes in the window lattice?” Chu Xianning turned her head and looked at him faintly. For some reason, he felt a faint smile on Chu Xianning’s lips, as if she found his current embarrassment amusing.
“Master, you knew?” Jiang Huai’s eyes widened.
“I just couldn’t be bothered to scold you anymore,” Chu Xianning replied coldly. In reality, Jiang Huai knew she knew. It was because during the time he was severely injured, Chu Xianning would practice a short dance after her sword practice late at night. After he recovered, Chu Xianning didn’t even practice sword late at night. But at the time, both of them tacitly understood. Today, however, Chu Xianning brought it up herself. Did this mean their relationship had grown a tiny bit closer? Jiang Huai’s mind wandered into some baseless fantasies again. A moment later, he tapped his head. “When I was at Qingxuan Sect some time ago, I heard Auntie Luo mention… there was a dance competition held by some fairy, and Master won first prize. It made Luo Yueguan so jealous. She said if you hadn’t participated, the first prize would have been hers, and that you generously gifted her the reward. The way she said it was sour, like vinegar that had been aged for decades…”
Chu Xianning was silent for a moment. “I just wanted to participate with her to increase the chances of getting that Nirvana Pill. I didn’t need that Nirvana Pill myself, so I didn’t want to take her things.”
“Of course, I know. Hehe, Luo Yueguan is such a stingy person.”
“Luo Yueguan is actually very good to her friends, but she’s been through too much in the past, so she sometimes appears sharp-tongued. Don’t think too badly of her.”
“No, no, I was just saying. Auntie Luo is quite good to me.” Thinking about this made Jiang Huai’s head hurt. It wasn’t just “quite good”; he was still trying to figure out how to lower Luo Yueguan’s 87 favorability points. He felt he hadn’t done anything to Luo Yueguan, yet her favorability kept soaring. If only he could see Chu Xianning’s favorability towards him, would it be 70? Or 75? Maybe even 80? But Jiang Huai felt that liking someone wasn’t something that could be measured by abstract numbers.
“So, do I have a chance to see Master dance again in this dance skirt?” Jiang Huai suddenly changed the subject.
Chu Xianning looked back at him. After two breaths, she replied, “No.”
Jiang Huai had no choice but to obediently shut his mouth. Of course, he wouldn’t blame Chu Xianning for being stingy. He was already overwhelmed that Chu Xianning would wear a dance skirt for him and allow him to open her acupoints. He was too used to Master’s cold shoulder; a little bit of a treat like this completely overwhelmed him. Too weak, Jian Xiaohuai.
“Speaking of which, besides dancing, what else does Master know?” Jiang Huai asked curiously. He truly didn’t understand Chu Xianning well because she rarely mentioned her past to him. Chu Xianning hesitated for a moment and replied indifferently, “Playing the flute.”
“Hmm? Master can play the flute?”
“I learned for a short while.”
“I want to listen.” Jiang Huai looked at Chu Xianning with full anticipation.
Chu Xianning was silent for a moment, then took out a bamboo flute from her purple talisman. The flute was exquisitely made from excellent materials. Chu Xianning brought the flute to her lips and began to play. Jiang Huai sat quietly on the side as the flute music quietly permeated the courtyard. Chu Xianning played a serene melody, its tune graceful and pleasant. The wind gently stirred her white dress, the white gauze hem faintly revealing her tender, slender calves. He gradually became entranced. The serene flute music seemed to dispel all the restless thoughts in his head. In front of him, there seemed to be only Chu Xianning’s clear, cold eyes.
