I Won't Play with You, So Give Up on That!

Under Li Nannan's utterly disbelieving gaze, Ji Ruo slowly stir-fried the blood rice with Iron Sand Palm until it was cooked.

"Teacher, eat it while it's hot." Ji Ruo scooped up the blood rice and offered it to Li Nannan.

He was a little hungry too, and there was only this much blood rice left. But Ji Ruo knew exactly who should eat it to get the most out of it.

Getting a Qi Pulse Realm martial artist back to full strength was more important than anything else.

"Y-yes, thank you, Ji Ruo," Li Nannan said softly.

Come to think of it, she owed her escape this time entirely to Ji Ruo.

As a Patrol Examiner, she hadn't fulfilled her responsibilities. She had failed to protect the examinees in her patrol area, and she didn't even know where her patrol area was anymore.

She was ashamed.

But she still ate in great mouthfuls, swallowing every last grain of blood rice that Ji Ruo had cooked with Iron Sand Palm.

At that moment, the poison in Li Nannan's body hadn't yet cleared. Though she was hungry, she didn't have much of an appetite.

On top of that, the blood rice was unhulled and smeared with mud. It tasted awful.

But Li Nannan knew very well that if she wanted to protect these students, she had to eat her fill and recover as quickly as possible.

So she forced down her nausea and retching and ate all the blood rice.

A moment later, Li Nannan felt a faint warmth rise in her stomach. The familiar feeling of strength gradually returned, and her numb body quickly began to recover. She quietly let out a sigh of relief.

Once she had regained her strength, she would go hunting. She couldn't keep relying on the students to find food, could she?

She was the teacher, after all!

"Teacher, are you thirsty? Want me to get you some water?" Ji Ruo asked.

Li Nannan shook her head slightly. The blood rice in her stomach was being rapidly digested, and the flow of her qi and blood was gradually returning to normal. In a few more hours, she would be able to regain some of her fighting strength. Besides, Ji Ruo had given her all the blood rice they had left. How could she still ask them to take care of her?

"Thank you, Ji Ruo, but there's no need. I'll be fine after a little rest. The toxins in my body have also been diluted almost completely."

"All right, then get some rest, Teacher. I'll have a look around nearby."

"Be careful. Don't go too far."

Hearing that, Ji Ruo suddenly felt as if a parent had just told a child to go play nearby.

"Okay, Teacher."

Ji Ruo turned and left the hollow between the hills.

He wasn't planning to go far. In fact, he had only left to get some new "equipment." The Small Wooden Stick he'd picked up earlier had broken, so he was going to find another one.

Liang Shixian glanced at Liu Neng, then said to Li Nannan, "Teacher, I'll go check on Ji Ruo."

"Mm. Ten Thousand Beast Mountain isn't very peaceful right now, so be careful." Li Nannan had already begun circulating her qi and blood to speed up her recovery.

"Got it."

But before Liang Shixian could catch up with Ji Ruo, a startled cry suddenly came from outside the hollow.

"Whoa!"

Liang Shixian's expression changed. He hurriedly called out, "What's wrong, Ji Ruo? What happened?"

As he spoke, Liang Shixian prepared to rush outside.

Li Nannan also tensed, ready to spring into action.

But before she could move, Ji Ruo's excited voice rang out from beyond the hollow. "What a straight stick! I'm so lucky—I found another sword!"

Li Nannan: "???"

What stick? What sword?

Liang Shixian had just rushed out when he saw Ji Ruo holding a perfectly straight Small Wooden Stick in one hand and admiring it. From his expression, anyone who didn't know better would have thought Ji Ruo was holding some priceless treasure.

Liang Shixian stumbled and nearly fell. He couldn't help snapping, "Ji Ruo! Could you stop being so childish?"

"How is this childish?"

Ji Ruo happily brandished the two Small Wooden Sticks. "Look how straight they are! You don't see these every day! Hehe, behold my dual-wielding style!"

The young man swung the Small Wooden Sticks, imitating some dual-wielding moves he'd seen in his previous life, and tapped them against Liang Shixian.

Of course, he didn't use any real force. He was just fooling around.

Liang Shixian slapped the sticks aside and frowned. "Cut it out, Ji Ruo. I know you like to play, but can't you read the room?"

"Hey, you've got me all wrong, Monitor."

Ji Ruo put on a wounded look. "I found these Small Wooden Sticks for your sake, didn't I?"

"For me?" Liang Shixian froze. Then, as if he'd thought of something, his expression changed. "Ji Ruo! I'm not going to play stick-fighting with you. Give up on that!"

"Hey, that's not what I meant." Ji Ruo held out one of the sticks. "Monitor, didn't you want to learn the Arrow-Breaking Style? We have to wait for Teacher to circulate her qi and blood to heal, and there's nothing else to do. This is the perfect chance for me to teach you properly."

Liang Shixian stared at him, dumbfounded. "You're going to teach me now?"

Ji Ruo had already explained the basic theory of the Arrow-Breaking Style to Liang Shixian, but martial techniques couldn't be learned just by listening to theory.

You had to put them into practice.

"Of course." Ji Ruo grinned. "We have time, and there's no danger. Why not? Besides, Teacher's here too. If I teach you anything wrong, she can correct me!"

Li Nannan nodded. "Ji Ruo is right. We're safe for now, so I can give you some pointers on martial techniques."

In fact, she could do more than just offer pointers. If Ji Ruo asked, she could even teach him some martial techniques herself.

No matter their respective positions, a life-saving favor was a life-saving favor.

"But..." Liang Shixian looked at the Small Wooden Stick Ji Ruo was offering him, then glanced at Zhang Quan and Liu Neng sitting behind Li Nannan. He hesitated.

It wasn't that he didn't want to learn. The problem was that Ji Ruo had invented this technique himself. If he taught it here, Zhang Quan and Liu Neng might learn it too.

Liang Shixian wasn't stingy, but Liu Neng's earlier remarks had made him dislike the man.

As the saying went, hatred spilled over to those associated with the hated. He couldn't help disliking Zhang Quan too, since he went to the same school as Liu Neng.

Liang Shixian wanted to learn, but he didn't want Zhang Quan and Liu Neng to learn.

It bothered him.

But Ji Ruo didn't care in the slightest. He insisted on shoving a Small Wooden Stick into Liang Shixian's hand. "You're a grown man. Why are you being so fussy? Quit dragging your feet."

Of course he knew what Liang Shixian was worried about.

But he didn't care.

He disliked Liu Neng a little too, but it wasn't that Ji Ruo looked down on the two of them. They hadn't even mastered all the basic knowledge taught at school. So what if he taught the technique right in front of them?

Could they even learn it?

As if.

With that thought, Ji Ruo grinned. "Monitor, do you remember what I told you earlier? The Nine Swords of Dugu: Arrow Breaking Form is a sword technique specifically designed to counter 'projectiles'..."

Liang Shixian's mouth twitched. He'd already heard this once, but hearing Ji Ruo say the word "projectiles" again still left him speechless. Couldn't he just say "hidden weapons"? Why did he make it sound like a video game?

Ji Ruo continued, "This sword technique doesn't actually have any specific moves. Its key elements are 'Listen to the Wind and Discern Position' and 'prediction.'

"Your hearing shouldn't be a problem, Monitor. The main thing is prediction.

"In battle, you need to quickly assess the situation. Use 'Listen to the Wind and Discern Position' to figure out the order the 'projectiles' are coming in, then decide the order in which to strike.

"When that happens, your sword moves will develop a unique rhythm—or you could call it a cadence. Once you reach that point, you'll have mastered the technique."

Listening from the side, Li Nannan couldn't help frowning.