Is it still sweet?
Chu Xianning’s expression was a bit complicated.
“So, why did you hide the fact that you cultivated the Immaculate Golden Body from me?”
Jiang Huai looked wronged at this moment. “It was never me hiding it from Master, it was Master who ignored my cultivation from the time I was fifteen.”
Chu Xianning was stunned, but upon thinking about it, the facts seemed to be just that.
Chu Xianning had nothing more to teach Jiang Huai, so naturally, she stopped asking about his cultivation. She had always adopted a hands-off approach to educating Jiang Huai, too lazy to bother with whatever he got up to, only intervening when he caused significant trouble. For instance, during the conflict with Medicine Refining Mountain, Chu Xianning’s role was to stand calmly behind Jiang Huai, fulfilling her duty as his Master.
“Oh.” Chu Xianning knew she was in the wrong, so she turned her face away and replied indifferently.
“I will win first place in this Sect Grand Competition, and I will find ways to win the Eastern Region Grand Competition at the end of the year,” Jiang Huai promised Chu Xianning softly.
But Chu Xianning merely glanced at him indifferently, “Why are you so insistent on this?”
“I promised Master,” Jiang Huai blinked at her.
But Chu Xianning looked at him peacefully, “I never needed you to be famous throughout the Eastern Region. I know you don’t strive for advancement, as long as your own cultivation is peaceful, that’s enough.”
Jiang Huai nodded gently, “Master, don’t worry, I know my limits.”
As he spoke, he stretched, unable to resist a soft sigh, “If Luo Qingyu’s mother was Master, then Luo Qingyu wouldn’t be as fragile as she was before.”
“Fortunately, I have a good mother.”
Chu Xianning’s body trembled slightly.
She couldn’t explain why. When Jiang Huai called her “Mother” as a child, she didn’t feel repulsed at all. Instead, a faint warmth inexplicably bloomed in her heart. Little Jiang Huai was so well-behaved and obedient, never bothering her, and always trying to find ways to make her happy. But when Jiang Huai grew up, until he was fifteen, he suddenly changed from calling her “Mother” to “Older Sister.” Chu Xianning suddenly felt like beating him to death.
Later, Jiang Huai was beaten into obediently changing his address to “Master” and never called her “Mother” again. Now, with him suddenly calling her that again, Chu Xianning felt an inexplicable awkwardness.
“What’s wrong, Master?” Jiang Huai seemed to sense Chu Xianning’s abnormality and immediately asked with concern.
“Nothing,” Chu Xianning replied indifferently, “I am your Master. You are not allowed to call me that anymore.”
“Then why was it okay to call you that when I was little?” Jiang Huai looked at Chu Xianning with a wronged expression. “Does Mother dislike me now that I’ve grown up?”
“I’ll count to three,” Chu Xianning said sternly.
In an instant, Jiang Huai shed his wronged and pitiful appearance, immediately resuming a serious expression, and then lowered his head, “I was wrong.”
This way, he would avoid a beating.
When he was young, this “poor baby” mode was incredibly effective on Chu Xianning. But as he grew older and used it too often, Chu Xianning became immune, and he would get beaten if he continued to be so cheap.
Alas, Jiang Huai missed his childhood dearly. Back then, when he was tired from sword practice, they would sit in the courtyard. Even if Jiang Huai slept with his head on Chu Xianning’s lap, she wouldn’t get angry.
Now, if he dared to say he wanted to sleep with his head on Chu Xianning’s lap, he probably wouldn’t see tomorrow’s sun.
“How is Master’s injury these days?” Jiang Huai asked softly.
Chu Xianning’s hidden injuries had been present all these years. When she was young, Jiang Huai would gently knead her shoulders and massage her head when her hidden injuries acted up. Although it was a drop in the bucket for relieving pain, it was better than nothing. But after growing up, Chu Xianning no longer allowed him to do so.
“Much better.”
“Lately, I’ve been helping Qingyu with her body, soothing her meridians, and I feel my technique has improved. Would Master like to try?” Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment, then cautiously looked at Chu Xianning.
He had already prepared himself for Chu Xianning’s immediate refusal, but she didn’t refuse within two seconds. Thus, Jiang Huai sensed hope and continued softly, “Just a shoulder massage.”
Chu Xianning seemed to nod almost imperceptibly.
So Jiang Huai stood up and went behind her.
Master’s hair was tied up. In the past, Chu Xianning didn’t pay much attention to her appearance because she was already extremely beautiful. Even in a simple white Daoist robe, she could captivate anyone who saw her. Over the years, under Jiang Huai’s coaxing, she had learned a few methods for braiding her hair and occasionally wore beautiful dresses.
Jiang Huai’s hands gently rested on Chu Xianning.
Chu Xianning had always disliked others touching her body because her body seemed more sensitive than ordinary people’s. The moment Jiang Huai’s hand touched her, her body tensed up. Jiang Huai’s fingertips, through the fabric, lightly grasped Chu Xianning’s smooth, snow-white shoulders and said softly, “Master, relax.”
Chu Xianning remained silent, and Jiang Huai continued to gently massage her.
Jiang Huai’s massage technique was something he exchanged from the System; it wasn’t some random, underhanded method to take advantage. It used weak spiritual qi to stimulate the meridians, with the effect of calming the mind and relieving fatigue. Chu Xianning’s shoulders were still too slender. When Jiang Huai’s hand moved to Chu Xianning’s snowy white, slender neck, Chu Xianning’s body trembled slightly again.
Indeed, she still wasn’t used to it.
It was very awkward.
Chu Xianning knew Jiang Huai meant well, so she bit her lip lightly and didn’t say anything to resist, letting Jiang Huai massage her shoulders and neck. Jiang Huai’s hands soon moved to her arms. Chu Xianning sat there quietly, not making a sound.
But Jiang Huai felt as if her tensed expression was like he was torturing her, and she was enduring it with great difficulty.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Chu Xianning said indifferently, “It’s done.”
So Jiang Huai obediently withdrew his hands, sat back opposite Chu Xianning, and took a sip of the remaining tea on the table.
“Master, I have a strange question.”
“Speak.”
“I read in ancient scrolls that the secretions of someone with the Flower Spirit Physique are all sweet. So, when you drink tea and get your own saliva in it, is it also sweet?” Jiang Huai blinked at Chu Xianning, assuring her that his eyes held only a thirst for knowledge.
Chu Xianning was silent for a moment.
This question’s angle was a bit tricky, and she didn’t know how to answer.
“I don’t know,” she said.
“I think this question is very interesting. If Master has been drinking sweet water since childhood, then Master certainly wouldn’t know the original taste of water, right?”
“Logically, that’s the case,” Chu Xianning replied indifferently.
“So what exactly does it taste like? Is it slightly sweet? Or very sweet? Or as clear and sweet as flower dew? Or… I remember when Master sealed her cultivation and taught me sword techniques as a child, the slight beads of sweat on her forehead were so white and tender, and smelled so good. It was a slightly sweet floral scent.” Before Jiang Huai could finish speaking, Chu Xianning had already silently picked up the teacup on the table and expressionlessly poured all the tea onto his face.
Yes, Master Chu Xianning was actually quite impolite.
“Is it still sweet?” Chu Xianning glanced at him askance.
“Not anymore,” Jiang Huai silently picked up a handkerchief to wipe his face.
“Master, you know me. I was just curious. Ancient scrolls also say that the bodily fluids secreted by women with the Flower Spirit Physique have a healing effect similar to fox saliva. Is that true too?”
“I don’t know.”
“I think we can look at issues dialectically. For example, when Master was injured before, did you feel that swallowing more saliva healed the wound faster?”
“You are so annoying.” Chu Xianning killed Jiang Huai’s curiosity.
“Fine, I won’t ask anymore,” Jiang Huai lowered his head silently.
…Actually, he was just curious. For the past three months, he had been bedridden every month. The medicinal soup he drank to recuperate always had a hint of a sweet aftertaste like nectar, amidst the bitterness. Was it just his imagination?
…But he definitely didn’t dare to ask. If he did, it would mean he hadn’t been hung on a tree and beaten in a long time, that his skin was itchy.
Ding————
[You have been curious about Chu Xianning’s Flower Spirit Physique for a long time. Master Chu Xianning’s personality changes dramatically whenever she gets drunk. Tonight, take out the peach blossom wine you’ve been saving since last year, get Master drunk, and when Master is in a hazy state, quietly pry open her lips and taste whether the flower nectar is as clear and sweet as the fragrance on her body.]
[Reward: Low-grade Experience Scroll x10, Evil Ward Black Lace Leg Ring x1.]
Jiang Huai silently dragged the newly released mission to his to-do list.
Chu Xianning did become hazy when drunk, but she didn’t completely lose consciousness. She might not pursue it while drunk, but if she recalled this incident after waking up tomorrow, he could bid farewell to this world.
However, the curiosity in Jiang Huai’s heart was like a kitten scratching.
As the saying goes, lust is the root of all evil, and evil breeds in the heart. Jiang Huai began to consider whether to take out the jar of peach blossom wine he had treasured for a year, get drunk with Master tonight, observe how drunk she got, and whether to practice with a spirit of verification. However, Chu Xianning had already stood up. “I’m going to sleep.”
Jiang Huai was startled, then softly replied, “Good night, Master.”
Chu Xianning stood up, while Jiang Huai began to tidy up the teacups on the table. He watched Chu Xianning’s slender back disappear from view. As the door closed, their eyes seemed to meet for a brief moment.
Her eyes were always so cold and aloof, like the lonely moon in the sky.
But looking at those cold eyes, the strange desire in Jiang Huai’s heart quietly melted away.
No matter what, Master Chu Xianning had treated him exceptionally well since he was a child. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say she treated him as her own. Yet, his mind was filled with thoughts of disrespecting his Master every day. He was truly a scoundrel.
Thinking this, Jiang Huai silently slapped his own face. After tidying the tea set, he also stood up and went to Luo Qingyu’s room to check if the girl had gone to sleep obediently.
He quietly opened the door, but the moment he opened it, he heard a faint gasp from the room. Jiang Huai realized he had come at the wrong time and was about to close the door again. However, Luo Qingyu heard the slight sound of the door opening. Her voice was a little hurried, with a hint of sharpness, “Who?”
“I… want to see if you’ve gone to sleep obediently.”
“Qingyu… is not asleep yet.”
“Then go to sleep obediently early?”
“I want… to pinch my little feet.” Luo Qingyu spoke softly again, acting spoiled.
