Chapter 146 Chapter 147 The Path of Diligent Cultivation for Women
The Five-Time Champion withdrew his appreciative gaze from Enlake and remarked, “It’s the first time I’ve mistaken a man for a woman. Well, I didn’t pay much attention anyway. Let’s go inside and sit.”
The three accepted the Five-Time Champion’s invitation and walked into his house.
Inside the house, there was a classical ornate clock ticking away. A golden mask adorned the wall, intricately engraved with strange symbols and decorated with colorful feathers, exuding an exotic flair.
Ji Ma immediately recognized that it must have been stolen from the lizardmen by some daring adventurer.
There were many such foreign decorations, well-displayed and arranged according to some principle, lacking the chaotic feel of a nouveau riche flaunting gold and jewels all at once.
Ji Ma and Enlake sat on the sofa, and the Five-Time Champion spoke up, “Haha, just thinking about teaching a man who was once a beauty contest champion—those vain, noisy women who fuss about trivial matters—must make them jump up in anger, losing their high heels.”
The discussion went pleasantly, and the Five-Time Champion expressed that he would make every effort over the next week to educate Enlake into a lady, which would be quite challenging because the judges had high standards. But the more challenging it was, the more motivated the Five-Time Champion became.
He kept gazing at Enlake with fervor, making Enlake shift uncomfortably on the sofa.
“People rely on their attire,” the Five-Time Champion said. “I initially thought Enlake was just a little girl incapable of dressing well; these clothes do not fit.”
Enlake whispered, “This is my mother’s dress.”
“Have you heard of Lady Mary Black? Her clothes have always been excellent. Even high elves in the Elven Embassy sought to have her customize garments but she stubbornly refused,” the Five-Time Champion said. “Sigh, during the war three years ago, many good people died, and it was then that she… If you could persuade her, it would be a breeze.”
“I know her.”
“That’s fantastic,” the Five-Time Champion said, looking at Enlake. “Now, start by removing that outfit…”
“Eh?”
Enlake instinctively clutched the neckline.
“What are you afraid of? Are you going to practice etiquette in that ill-fitting dress? Come upstairs with me.”
“Okay… okay.”
Ji Ma felt that Enlake was in a precarious situation, but this was just a small cost in pursuit of love, unrelated to her, as long as she could get her hands on a thousand gold coins.
“I’ll take my leave now. Enlake, let’s meet again at five in the evening. I’ll take you to Lady Mary’s shop.”
“Goodbye.”
After Ji Ma took her leave, she rode her travel horse and bought a salted bread to stave off hunger. She headed straight for the commercial district, spending nearly sixty gold coins on a heap of bizarre alchemical materials.
Such as spores from walking mushrooms in the dark regions, the horns of inferior horned beasts, and herbs cultivated in alchemical soil.
Many ordinary herbs, once grown in alchemical soil, immediately transformed from chickens into phoenixes, with prices skyrocketing by hundreds or even thousands of times. But you get what you pay for; these herbs possessed even greater magic, which Ji Ma had already seen.
While she was at it, she also bought various ingredients and materials, and after riding her horse and causing three brawls along the way, Ji Ma returned home with fresh vegetables that Lian Xi had bought from the village and prepared a bountiful lunch before diving into the alchemy room.
Ji Ma planned to explore and concoct a magic potion that could harness her extraordinary abilities. She glanced at her personal system, and the information section had not refreshed; her leveling endeavors were at a standstill.
It’s normal for such stagnation to last for months or even years. But Ji Ma couldn’t wait; she urgently needed power to retaliate against the one who had caused her old wounds to flare up and also to gain an advantage in the magic battles by knowing the precise location of her extraordinary substance.
Of course, engaging in magic battles also required money.
Ji Ma took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down. “Haste makes waste.” She had seen too many people rushing to become stronger only to end up failing and turning into terrifying monsters.
She quietly reminded herself to focus less on the information bar, opened her personal skill information, and found the description:
“…You can infuse your abilities into witch potions to create corresponding witch potions.”
The witch potion was the concoction Ji Ma aimed to challenge today.
She believed her understanding of alchemy was sufficient at this point. More importantly, she might be able to infuse the effect of her “extraordinary charm,” which attracted others, into the potion, passing it to Enlake to increase the success rate.
If successful, Enlake would have to pay for the potion, making him a paying human experimenter. Of course, Ji Ma had a conscience; she planned to test the potion’s safety first after making it.
She didn’t want to poison Enlake, lose her money, and leave in haste.
After some operations.
After boiling three terror wolf glands and using half a pound of mistletoe and burning seven or eight candles.
Finally, as the sky darkened.
Ji Ma squeezed a test tube filled with liquid from a pile of boiled meat; the liquid was light yellow and after shaking it, the cloudy substance stirred within.
In the liquid flowed rare white magic, which should be the legendary carrier.
She closed her eyes, her fingers gliding over the test tube wall, imagining herself seducing George, beckoning him with her finger, gently brushing his cheek with the tip of her tail, or extending her tongue to poke at his ear.
Opening her eyes, the flowing magic within the potion turned pink.
“It should have worked; I need to find someone to experiment on.”
Ji Ma’s first thought was to randomly select a lucky audience in the city, use her invisibility ability to sneak into their house, and pour the potion into their meal to observe their reaction.
Although it seemed quite wicked, Ji Ma thought again, this tube of potion, coupled with development costs, material costs, and labor costs, must start at fifty gold coins.
If she showed her face and played an alchemist prodigy character, it would likely be at least a hundred gold coins. Giving it away for free to a stranger was too generous.
“Conscience!” Ji Ma sighed. “At this point, a demon lord like me with a conscience is almost extinct.”
Having said that, she decided not to do a good deed and called out:
“Little Li, Little Li?”
After a while, the sound of small footsteps approached.
“Master, what is it?”
“Do you know where there are toads or frogs nearby?” Ji Ma asked. “Take me there, and by the way, put on gloves.”
“Yes!”
Fifteen minutes later, by the river.
A frog the size of half a palm was desperately kicking its hind legs, while Lian Xi used her index finger to prop open its mouth wide.
Ji Ma stuffed the test tube into the frog’s mouth and directly poured the contents in. The light yellow, murky liquid dripped onto the grass as the frog kicked its legs until the test tube was empty.
Ji Ma looked at the frog expectantly and asked, “Little Li, what do you think of the frog?”
While pinching the frog’s mouth, Lian Xi noted the bloated belly and replied, “It’s weird, ugly, and edible.”
“And now? Take another look.”
Lian Xi fixed her gaze on the frog’s eyes, and the frog stared back at her: “Still very ugly.”
The frog’s eyes rolled back, its legs kicked, and it died.
Lian Xi, wearing leather gloves, squeezed the frog, and when the potion dripped from the frog’s mouth, she said, “It seems like it died.”
“I thought it would turn into a princess or something.” Ji Ma said. “Indeed toxic. Dig a hole, bury the frog, and let’s go back.”
“Understood, Master.”
Lian Xi picked up a small shovel she always carried and dug a hole to bury the frog.
As the two left, Ji Ma soon mounted her travel horse with a long sword hanging from her waist—she was beginning to tire of giving opportunities to passersby who coveted her beauty for a hero’s rescue. Ji Ma rode straight towards Marin City.
Half an hour later, Ji Ma arrived at the garden district without incident; the guards did not stop her, but she was still late.
However, Enlake sitting in the carriage didn’t mind.
His eyes were vacant, leaning against the backrest, staring up at the cart’s ceiling, wearing his mother’s goose yellow dress, looking like a woman tragically mistreated by many.
Ji Ma cared about Enlake; she glanced at her personal system, which had a notepad titled “How to Persuade a Cross-dressing Guy to Persist for Love if He Gets OOXX,” and asked in a tone filled with seven parts concern and three parts pity:
“Enlake, are you alright?”
“I… I…” His eyes instantly welled up with tears, evoking sympathy.
“Be strong,” Ji Ma said. “A man should be able to endure and flex.”
“I can hardly hold on anymore.” Enlake wiped his eyes. “The etiquette teacher… he is just… too…”
Ji Ma’s expression changed; could the worst be happening?
She asked, “Too rough?”
Enlake replied, “Too terrifying.”
Ji Ma gasped, “Hiss~.”
The use of the word terrifying implied that it wasn’t just a simple matter of being rough.
“Endure for a moment of calm. Think of the one you love.”
Enlake gritted his teeth, shifted in his seat, and sat up straight, saying, “Mm! I will definitely hold on.”
Ji Ma glanced at Enlake’s posture, realizing she had been overthinking it earlier, and sighed in relief, saying, “What exactly happened?”
“The teacher said I have no talent for being a woman at all, being fidgety.” Enlake said, “I had to balance a book on my head for three hours…”
“Did he mention why?”
“He said I haven’t accepted my identity as a woman yet.” Enlake took a deep breath and said, “He gave me a feminine name; from now on, you can call me Xiya.”
“Alright, Miss Xiya.” Ji Ma nodded and asked, “Do you think it’s useful?”
Enlake was silent for a moment, with the sound of the cart wheels rolling over the cobblestones becoming the main melody.
He bitterly shook his head: “When I was young, I was given many feminine nicknames.”
Ji Ma clasped her hands, propped her chin in thought, and said, “So you have become accustomed to it. You need to break out of your comfort zone.”
What good methods were there?
At that moment, the cart came to a stop, arriving at Lady Mary’s clothing store.
A braided maid held out neatly folded men’s clothing to Enlake and said, “Master, it’s time for you to change into men’s clothes.”
“Mm.”
“Wait.” Ji Ma raised her hand and asked, “Enlake, do you wear men’s or women’s clothing at home?”
“Of course, men’s clothing.”
“Change into women’s clothing.”
The braided maid gasped, “Master, your father will surely be furious.”
“You can’t just wear women’s clothes home; you must wear women’s clothing and have dinner with your father,” Ji Ma insisted. “That’s the only way it’ll be effective; you’ll truly accept your identity as a woman.”
Enlake hesitated, “Is… is that really okay?”
The braided maid almost shouted, “Master, you’re not a woman.”
“If the people around you treat you as a woman, they will reshape you,” Ji Ma said with narrowed eyes, “That’s how you can accept your identity as a woman. You must take this step.”
Enlake continued to hesitate.
Ji Ma almost growled, “For love.”
Enlake clenched his fists and said, “Okay! For love.”
Ji Ma’s eyes turned red as she wiped away a tear and said, “What a pure love.”
Enlake thanked her earnestly, “Miss Qiao, thank you again.”
Ji Ma smiled joyfully.
Hehe, dragging a guy down with me to suffer the torment I once endured, how delightful.
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