Repaying Kindness with Enmity

The faint moonlight cast a silver net, spilling onto the ground, making it look like it was covered in silver frost.

His feet treading on silver frost, torch in hand, Xian Wu rushed towards Xiao Ning'er's location with urgency.

He figured she must have been attacked by a Demonic Beast to let out such a scream. As classmates, he had to save her.

"What's wrong, what's wrong, what happened, Ning..." Xian Wu stopped mid-sentence.

He saw Xiao Ning'er clutching her chest tightly, her face flushed, and sweat beading on her forehead.

Xian Wu swallowed hard, asking in confusion, "What's wrong? Say something."

Was she bullied by a pervert? Or spied on by a creep? It was hard for him to help if she wouldn't say a word.

Speaking of which, why was Xiao Ning'er barefoot? Wouldn't her feet freeze in the middle of the night?

To be honest, Xiao Ning'er's skin was truly delicate, like white jade, shimmering under the moonlight.

She looked like a holy angel who had fallen to Earth, a fallen angel indeed.

"Get lost..." After a long while, Xiao Ning'er's cherry lips slowly formed a single word.

Xian Wu didn't react immediately.

"What did you say?"

"I told you to get lost, do you hear me! Still staring? Stare again and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Sister Ning, as she was known, drew her Azure Moon Short Sword again, glaring at Xian Wu with fierce, yet feigned, ferocity, like a tigress in a rage.

"Don't do anything, I'm leaving, I'm leaving, alright?" Xian Wu raised his hands and turned to leave, feeling utterly bewildered.

Why was she yelling in the middle of the night? Was she crazy?

She wasn't a cat in heat.

"Wasted my good intentions, treating kindness like a donkey's lung..." Xian Wu grumbled as he walked away.

Could Xiao Ning'er be on her period? Hmm, she was around that age, it was likely.

But even if she had her period, why would she be clutching her chest?

Could it be... breast milk production?

As he thought about it, Xian Wu swallowed. Xiao Ning'er was quite well-developed, with curves in all the right places.

"I haven't had milk in a long time. I wonder if they sell it in the City of Brilliance?" Xian Wu babbled on his way back to his campsite.

Fastening her clothes, Xiao Ning'er tightly gripped the Azure Moon Short Sword and cautiously scanned the area around the campsite.

Only after ensuring Xian Wu wasn't lurking nearby with ill intentions did she sigh in relief.

Sitting on the still-warm blanket, Xiao Ning'er hugged her knees and gazed at the blazing campfire.

Ever since she obtained the sixth-ranked Soul Force cultivation technique of the Winged Dragon Family, she had been cultivating day and night.

She yearned to escape the fate of being married off to Shen Fei, a degenerate from the Sacred Family, through her own efforts.

But for some reason, as her Soul Force grew, her body began to experience abnormalities.

Every midnight, her entire body felt like it was plunged into an ice cave, while her feet burned as if on fire.

She endured the pain, wanting to continue cultivating Soul Force, but her body wouldn't cooperate; the more she cultivated, the worse she felt.

Furthermore, bruises inexplicably appeared on her insteps and under her ribs, the one under her ribs being particularly severe, starting to turn from blue to purple.

She had only tried to rub it to disperse the bruise, but the moment she applied pressure, a piercing pain tore through her like a knife.

It was for this reason that she couldn't help but scream.

Unexpectedly, it had attracted Xian Wu from nearby.

Although Xian Wu's intentions were good, fearing she was in danger, his unrestrained staring was simply too rude.

If he kept looking, Xiao Ning'er feared Xian Wu might lose control and harbor impure thoughts about her, so she drove him away preemptively.

She was grateful that Xian Wu had come to her rescue, but one could never be too careful.

Dawn gradually emerged from the night, and the bright moon disappeared, replaced by the dazzling morning star.

Xian Wu yawned, stopped his stance, and stumbled towards the exit of the Trial Grounds.

Passing by Xiao Ning'er's campsite, he noticed she had already left, but embers still glowed in the campfire.

Thinking of her ungrateful reaction last night, Xian Wu felt a surge of anger.

"Whether she leaves or not is none of my business. Get lost, stupid woman!"

"With no women in my heart, my sword will naturally be divine. From now on, even if she's surrounded by a hundred men... I won't lift a finger, hmph."

Muttering to himself, Xian Wu used his Left Hand to draw on a large nearby rock.

He first drew a dog, then wrote the characters "Lu Dongbin" to the right of the dog.

Clapping his hands, Xian Wu left with satisfaction.

If Hu Yan Lan Ruo were present, she would have dropped her dried fish in surprise; Xian Wu's drawing skills were a true testament to her teachings.

The dog looked more like a turtle than a dog.

To be fair, Xian Wu's handwriting was quite good; it was bold and powerful, like iron strokes and silver hooks.

Exiting the Trial Grounds through a side entrance, Xian Wu returned the signal flare to the guard.

"Hey, kid, did you get anything out of your busy night?" the armored guard asked with interest, taking back the signal flare.

Xian Wu waved his hand. "Didn't gain anything, just got yelled at for nothing."

Got yelled at? Since when did Demonic Beasts in the Trial Grounds start talking? The armored guard was confused.

Ignoring the guard, Xian Wu wiped his face with his left hand and headed for the mess hall.

Although the burn on his left hand still ached faintly, it had almost completely healed after a night of sterile recovery.

It was perfectly fine to use it to wash his face.

While serving food, Xian Wu yawned repeatedly, making several mistakes and scooping leftovers into the soup bowls.

"Are you blind, where are you putting that? Do I still want to drink soup?"

"Go drink piss, get lost, next!" Xian Wu retorted as usual, abandoning the resolve he had made last night.

He was groggy now and just wanted to sleep. He couldn't remember what he had thought, said, or done last night, and he couldn't be bothered to think about it.

Finishing his work in the mess hall, Xian Wu rushed to the classroom.

His running speed had increased significantly, but he didn't notice as he collapsed onto his desk to sleep.

Xian Wu was jolted awake from his sleep when Instructor Tie Kuang slapped the back of his head.

"What's wrong with you, class representative? Not awake yet! Who were you sneaking off to see last night?" Instructor Tie Kuang teased, causing the whole class to erupt in laughter.

Xiao Ning'er in the front row felt her heart race and her ears burn, lowering her head in embarrassment.

Zhang Ming and Zhu Jun Xiang were also very curious; Xian Wu hadn't returned all night yesterday, and they wondered what he had been doing.

Did he spend the night at some girl's house?

Sacred Orchid Academy was a boarding school. Only the privileged children from affluent families and Peak Families could attend as day students.

Wait... affluent families?

Could it be that Xian Wu went to find Hu Yan Lan Ruo last night!

Zhang Ming and Zhu Jun Xiang exchanged glances, thinking it was highly possible.

Xian Wu wasn't angered by the instructor's teasing. He patted his cheeks, shook his head, and straightened up.

Seeing that his class representative was awake, Instructor Tie Kuang cleared his throat, returned to the podium, and said to the entire class in a loud voice:

"Yesterday, we briefly discussed the profession of Warrior. Today, we will talk about Martial Skills."

"What are Martial Skills?"

"Martial Skills are the skills of a Warrior..."