The Eastern Window Incident

"Truly, comparing people to one another is enough to make one die of frustration..."

Zhou Yun sighed inwardly. If the other geniuses of Black Stone County, or even those in the main city, knew of Bai Qingzhi's talent, they would likely wake up in the middle of the night consumed by jealousy.

To know, which Transformation Force grandmaster did not require both innate bone structure and bitter cultivation, accumulated over long years of effort... not to mention the realms beyond Transformation Force.

To this day, Zhou Yun had not even heard what the levels beyond Transformation Force were called.

"Can I eat now?"

Bai Qingzhi pursed her lips, her eyes fixed on the stewed beef in the basin.

"You can."

Zhou Yun picked up the beef basin and grabbed his chopsticks to feed her again.

It must be said, the chef at the inner courtyard canteen truly made a masterpiece of stewed beef.

Although it was partly because there was no fresh treasure fish for sale in the evening, this stewed beef made Zhou Yun linger and forget to return every single time.

Bai Qingzhi ate quickly, and in a few moments, she had polished off all the beef in the basin.

"Hiccup..."

She let out a burp, her face instantly turning pale, and she lowered her head, remaining silent for a long time.

How truly shameful. To have been captured by this human martial artist and brought to his lair, only to reveal such a pathetic state after a single meal... Bai Qingzhi, are you still the Saintess of the Green Snake Tribe?

Bai Qingzhi could not help but question herself in her heart, secretly swearing that the next time she ate this beef, she would absolutely not hiccup.

"It's getting late today, just go to sleep after you've finished eating."

Zhou Yun yawned. Usually, he wouldn't feel this exhausted even if he practiced martial arts until midnight.

But tonight, having dodged several factions searching for the snake girl and spending half the day circling the city to observe the situation, he had expended quite a bit of mental energy.

Moreover, more than a dozen Snake-Person Race members at the Bright Force or even Dark Force levels had entered Black Stone County tonight, and they had managed to rescue their Saintess from the siege of numerous martial artists.

Although no one knew Bai Qingzhi was in Zhou Yun's hands, by tomorrow, Black Stone County would surely be stirred into quite a commotion.

Zhou Yun washed up briefly, reinforced the wooden door with a few extra planks, and went to sleep, not forgetting to gag Bai Qingzhi once more.

There was no help for it; long nights bring many dreams... who could guarantee this snake girl wouldn't crawl onto his bed in the middle of the night and take a bite out of him?

Bai Qingzhi's mouth was gagged again, though this time with a slightly softer piece of cotton cloth.

After eating that beef, she actually felt a hint of drowsiness.

Perhaps it was because she had been captured and tortured for so long without a proper rest; she fell into a deep sleep on the cold floor.

Until the next morning, when Zhou Yun opened his eyes once more.

[Daily Settlement: Reached the threshold of Dark Force, spear techniques have achieved success, martial foundation is solid.]
[Obtained Snake-Person Race Saintess, pure bloodline, infinite potential... Rating: Grade A-.]
[Obtained one Qi Transformation Pill... one Scale of Ten Thousand Snakes, can protect the heart meridian, grants the effect of Snake-Person reverence.]

"This Snake-Person Race Saintess actually earned a Grade A- rating?"

Zhou Yun was shocked. This was the first time he had received such a high rating, and he had not expected it to come from the Snake-Person Saintess.

Aside from the Qi Transformation Pill, whose effects he already knew, this Scale of Ten Thousand Snakes had come at exactly the right time.

The effect of protecting the heart meridian went without saying; it should be able to withstand some sharp objects or even internal force... but the effect of gaining the reverence of the snake people was the real key.

He had been worried about whether Senior Brother Chen's method would work, but this Scale of Ten Thousand Snakes had filled that gap perfectly.

"Gaining the reverence of the snake people? To what extent?"

Zhou Yun felt quite expectant. He got out of bed, put on his clothes, and saw Bai Qingzhi curled up into a ball on the floor.

"Hey, wake up."

Zhou Yun nudged Bai Qingzhi, feeling as if he were touching a piece of soft flesh—not only was it incredibly tender and smooth, but it was also quite resilient.

Even though the hempen clothes on Bai Qingzhi were somewhat tattered, not a single bloodstain remained; she must possess an extremely strong self-healing ability.

"Mmm? Awake..."

Bai Qingzhi felt as if she had enjoyed a good sleep; the fatigue in her body had been relieved, and the nerves that had been taut all night had almost completely relaxed.

But she quickly realized she was still tied up in someone else's home, and her green pupils instantly narrowed as she shook her head to clear her mind.

"Do you want to eat stewed beef again today?"

Zhou Yun tapped the beef basin, which still contained some of the broth left over from last night.

Bai Qingzhi nodded. She could feel that after eating that meat, the injuries in her body had almost fully recovered.

If she could continue eating it for a few more days, she might even be able to complete her molting ahead of schedule and reach the threshold of a Second-Order Demonic Beast.

"Good. Now, tell me about the martial arts of your Snake-Person Race, one by one."

Zhou Yun asked directly, having already pressed the Scale of Ten Thousand Snakes against his chest as he spoke.

Almost instantly, a strange scent enveloped his body, causing Bai Qingzhi's expression to flicker.

"How does this human martial artist have such a pleasant scent on him?"

Bai Qingzhi blinked; this familiar scent seemed to come from her own kind, yet there were subtle differences.

However, she did not dwell on it, wanting instead to eat that beef again, so she spoke slowly: "We Snake-Person Race have no martial arts, only innate talents."

"Innate talents? Then it seems to be related to the purity of your bloodline."

Zhou Yun gave up on the idea of obtaining martial arts from Bai Qingzhi, and for the moment, had nothing else to ask.

He put away the beef basin he needed to return to the head chef, preparing to go to the courtyard to practice martial arts and master the Dragon-Elephant Body Tempering Technique he had bought yesterday.

With the enhancement of the White Jade Ginseng King, he figured it shouldn't be difficult to learn this body-tempering technique in a day.

"Are you leaving?"

Seeing Zhou Yun about to depart, Bai Qingzhi couldn't help but speak up: "Can you send me back to the Black Profound Mountain Range? I will have my grand-grandmother send you plenty of gold and silver..."

"Send you back to the Black Profound Mountain Range? That is not impossible."

Zhou Yun's lips curled into a smile as he said: "As long as you tell me the method to form a blood pact with you when you shed your skin on the night of the full moon."

"What? Impossible!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Qingzhi instantly felt that this human martial artist was no different from those who had captured her.

Everyone wanted to form a blood pact with her, merely coveting her figure and potential...

But for the Snake-People, and indeed all demonic beasts, once a blood pact was signed, it was equivalent to handing one's own life over to the other party.

Not a shred of resistance could be mustered; one would only sink into eternal subjugation...

"Then wait until you have thought it through."

Zhou Yun was in no rush; he stuffed the cotton cloth back into Bai Qingzhi's mouth, turned, and left, closing the door behind him.

Bai Qingzhi's eyes widened, her heart filled with endless regret. Why had she not listened to her grand-grandmother and insisted on going to the edge of the Black Profound Mountain Range, only to end up in this plight?

If she could go back, she would be willing to be grounded and eat precious herbs and raw meat for a hundred years... oh no, it would be better if the meat were stewed until tender.

"Damn it, Bai Qingzhi, why are you still thinking about food..."

Bai Qingzhi was on the verge of tears, helpless as she lay on the ground, her two green pupils fixed on the ceiling.

Inner courtyard, canteen.

Zhou Yun did not start practicing immediately, choosing instead to fill his stomach first.

During his previous breakthroughs, he had suffered from not eating enough meat beforehand, which left him not only weak all over after the breakthrough but also extremely famished.

The large basin of beef he had brought back last night had been almost entirely consumed by Bai Qingzhi, leaving him with only a few small bites.

"Could it be that the Snake-Person Race also has the trait of hibernation? Otherwise, for her small frame, it is incredible that she could swallow so much meat at once."

Zhou Yun subconsciously speculated, finding it to be a very logical explanation.

He arrived at the second floor, where the decor was much more elegant than the first. From the serving area, one could see the kitchen where the chefs were busy at work.

"Junior Brother Zhou?"

Chen Jingping walked over from a nearby window, looking quite surprised: "Master Liang and I searched for you for a long time yesterday. I didn't expect you to have returned to the martial arts hall early."

"I apologize for making you worry, Senior Brother. Yesterday, I was entangled with a snake-tribe demon, and the demon ran outside the main hall... I was anxious and chased after it."

Zhou Yun coughed lightly and said: "I didn't expect to lose the trail in the end, so I had to return to the inner courtyard early."

"You did the right thing. Looking out for oneself is the foundation of a martial artist."

Chen Jingping said nothing more on the matter; everyone had their own choices to make.

If he hadn't been pinned down by two snake-tribe demons at the time, he might have also left that place of trouble early.

"By the way, Senior Brother, was that snake girl ever found?"

Zhou Yun asked deliberately as he took a plate of precious fish and a bowl of nourishing mutton soup from the chef.

"No, I suspect she ran back to the Black Profound Mountain Range."

Chen Jingping shook his head: "I received some news that the guards at the city gate were killed last night, and judging by the state of their bodies, it was indeed the work of the Snake-People."

"Is that so? What a pity..."

Zhou Yun pretended to sigh, then asked again: "However, I still have many doubts about this Snake-Person race."

"Oh? Feel free to speak, Junior Brother."

Chen Jingping carried some nourishing food and found a seat.

"What is the relationship between this demonic race and humanity? And what I am more worried about is, will those snake-tribe demons return to Black Stone County to seek revenge?"

Zhou Yun voiced his inner concerns. If those Snake-People found out that Bai Qingzhi hadn't returned, would they lead an army to flatten Black Stone County?

Yesterday, he heard Bai Qingzhi say that in their Luoqiu Slope alone, there were at least hundreds of thousands of Snake-People, and there were other demons within the Black Profound Mountain Range.

If nothing else, even if these Snake-People were born with thin bloodlines, they were at least equivalent to human Five-Orifice Martial Artists, capable of overpowering humans in raw strength.

If a tide of demons were truly organized to sweep through Black Stone County, it is unlikely that the martial artists of Black Stone County alone could withstand it.

"Junior Brother Zhou, there is no need to worry. Although our Human Race and the Demon-Human Race have been at odds since ancient times... once a large-scale demon tide occurs, both the surrounding counties and the main city will dispatch martial artists to provide support."

Chen Jingping explained, "The largest battle between the Human Race and the Demon-Human Race dates back ten years... That campaign was led by our Great Jing, uniting several forces along the border to jointly resist the demon tide, and it dealt the Demon-Human Race such a heavy blow that they dared not set foot in the Central Plains again."

"Furthermore, our Human Race has always been more united than the Demon-Human Race. Although there is friction between the major factions, everyone understands the principle that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold..."

Zhou Yun nodded upon hearing this, then immediately asked, "A battle ten years ago? I have heard very little about this; I wonder if Senior Brother could enlighten me."

"Naturally. Our Master Liang was a chiliarch in that very campaign. Unfortunately, he suffered hidden injuries that caused his cultivation realm to drop, which is why he came to Black Stone County to open a martial arts hall..."

Chen Jingping spoke at length and was about to say more when an inner-court disciple suddenly ran up to them.

"Senior Brothers, Master Liang has summoned all the disciples of the martial arts hall to gather at the Martial Arts Arena. Please make your way there immediately."

Chen Jingping frowned slightly and asked, "What urgent matter could cause Master Liang to do this?"

"I heard it concerns the Snake Tribe demoness. You two had better hurry over."

After saying this, the inner-court disciple hurried away, appearing to be in a great rush.

"Since that is the case, let us go to the Martial Arts Arena and see."

Chen Jingping also knew the gravity of the matter and did not delay any further.

"After you, Senior Brother."

Zhou Yun appeared calm on the surface, but his heart was somewhat uneasy.

The matter regarding the Snake-Person Race demoness? What else could it be but the disappearance of Bai Qingzhi?

It has finally come to light... Now it remains to be seen how the Snake-Person Race and the various factions of Black Stone County will respond.

Zhou Yun muttered to himself, quickening his pace toward the Martial Arts Hall.