Guard Against Fire, Theft, and Your Best Friend!

"Actually, I came to find you, Nannan... Believe me?"

Tang Ya glanced at Jiang Nannan guiltily and blinked, even pretending to cover her eyes.

"I really didn't see anything!"

Jiang Nannan had already activated Martial Soul Possession. A pair of pink rabbit ears stood upright on her head, twitching slightly, and her eyes had taken on a faint golden sheen. In the moonlight, they looked rather fierce.

Compared with her, Jiang Nannan was a top student in Shrek Outer Court. When it came to fighting, Tang Ya stood no chance against her.

"Shut up!"

Jiang Nannan glared at her.

"What happened tonight stays between us..."

After all that, the heat inside her had gradually begun to subside. Her voice carried a hint of inexplicable embarrassment and annoyance.

"Hehe, don't worry, Nannan! I'm famous for keeping my mouth shut."

Tang Ya immediately seized the opportunity, sprang to her feet, and grinned as she put an arm around Jiang Nannan's shoulders.

They were roommates, after all, and had been close friends for years.

"Keep your voice down."

Jiang Nannan rolled her eyes and hurriedly covered Tang Ya's mouth.

It was the middle of the night. Though the academy only forbade boys from entering the girls' dormitory, if someone caught the two of them here...

Wouldn't that ruin Jiang Yi's reputation?

"Got it."

Tang Ya blinked and gave Jiang Nannan a quiet nod, tiptoeing around and slipping into full-on sneaky-cat mode.

Jiang Nannan ignored her and lifted the quilt from the bed, hanging it from a few hooks on the ceiling to make a makeshift curtain.

Only after it covered Jiang Yi's naked body did she clap her hands in satisfaction.

She couldn't let Tang Ya take advantage of her little brother...

"Tsk, tsk—"

Tang Ya pursed her lips, her eyes full of disdain. As if he were some treasure to guard. This sect master had already had her hands on him, okay?

You two siblings are the weird ones!

When that girl talked about her little brother, she'd been so proud and pleased that Tang Ya had honestly thought they were blood siblings.

"Xiao Ya, how do you know Xiao Yi?"

Jiang Nannan suddenly turned around and looked at Tang Ya suspiciously.

They'd been best friends for three years, yet Tang Ya had gotten close to her little brother behind her back without saying a word—and even kept it from her?

There was definitely something going on!

"Isn't it obvious?"

Tang Ya looked at Jiang Nannan, then suddenly rolled her eyes and walked over to pour herself a glass of water with practiced ease.

"I'm his girlfriend. Didn't Jiang Yi tell you?"

Guard against fire, theft, and your best friend. Whether Nannan was a threat or not, better safe than sorry. She was determined to win Jiang Yi over!

"..."

Jiang Nannan knitted her brows and pressed her lips together.

Wasn't Tang Ya always spending time with Bei Bei? When had she gotten involved with Xiao Yi?

"Ugh...!"

She was about to press her for answers when a pained growl suddenly came from nearby.

"Jiang Yi!"

The two women looked up almost at the same time, hastily pulled back the curtain, and rushed to his side.

"Ughhh...!"

By then, heat was surging through Jiang Yi's body. Wisps of white steam rose from his skin, and the water in the tub had even started to boil.

His brows were tightly furrowed, the veins in his forehead bulging. His face twisted with pain as he let out one groan after another.

"Whale Rubber? This must be Ten-Thousand-Year Whale Glue... What a reckless thing to do!"

Tang Ya suddenly scolded him.

As the Tang Sect's sect master, her Martial Soul talent was only average, but she did have some experience with medicine.

Too much fire poison had built up in his body, and he couldn't refine it all at once. They had to help him expel it as soon as possible.

Otherwise, at worst, he'd explode. At best, his little brother would blow up, ruining her happiness for the rest of her life.

That simply wouldn't do!

"Nannan, look away for a bit!"

Tang Ya rolled up her sleeves and watched Jiang Yi in agony, practically itching to help.

This was a godsend!

With Nannan, his older sister, right there, Jiang Yi wouldn't be able to pull his pants back on afterward and pretend nothing had happened, would he?

Jiang Nannan stayed where she was, unmoved. She didn't stop Tang Ya, either—she just watched in silence.

"Fine..."

Tang Ya tilted her head and glanced at Jiang Nannan, still standing behind her. After a moment, she decided not to insist that she look away.

It was fine if she watched!

Then there'd be ironclad proof!

"Phew~"

Tang Ya drew a deep breath. Blushing, and trembling a little, she reached out with her small hand.

The searing heat felt like a burning coal. Was the Whale Glue really this potent?

She muttered to herself.

Last time, it had only been a little thicker than her forearm. Now it had nearly doubled in size. Its fearsome appearance was downright terrifying.

Jiang Nannan stood behind her, watching Tang Ya work.

For some reason, a pang of loss suddenly stirred inside her. In front of Xiao Ya, she felt as if she were the outsider.

She had known him first...

She was the one who knew Jiang Yi. She was the one who had grown up with him. She was the one who had cared for him like a little brother.

She bit her lip and quietly clenched her fingers inside her sleeve.

The room gradually fell quiet. Only the splashing water broke the eerie silence.

After a while,

Tang Ya stopped and shook out her sore arm, looking utterly helpless.

"Why isn't it working?"

Jiang Yi's face showed no sign of improvement. The blood surged even more fiercely through his body.

"I can only... use that move."

Tang Ya's eyes shifted. She lightly pressed her alluring red lips together, thinking of a little trick from one of the romance stories.

Lately, she'd been burying herself in books to win Jiang Yi over, becoming a proper research scholar in the process.

She slowly lowered her head.

But the next moment, an unyielding hand pressed against her shoulder and shoved her aside.

With a thud!

Tang Ya fell to the floor, bracing herself with both hands. Then she stared ahead, dumbfounded.

Wait, you're the one stealing the opportunity now?

The next morning.

Jiang Yi's breathing gradually steadied.

"Phew... That feels great~"

He let out a soft breath and stretched. His whole body felt refreshed, and his bones crackled faintly like popping beans.

After refining that lump of Whale Rubber, he had successfully opened three of the eight extraordinary meridians, and his Soul Power had risen by one level.

Level thirty!

Jiang Yi smiled, got up, took a set of clothes from his Soul Tool, and put them on. Only then did he glance around.

The room was a little messy, and there were still a few damp patches on the floor.

Jiang Nannan was sitting cross-legged on the bed, Soul Power surging around her. It looked like she was refining the Mystic Water Pill.

"Hmm?"

Jiang Yi's gaze stopped on a figure by the corner of the bed.

Tang Ya was sprawled on the edge of it, hugging his pillow with both arms and sleeping like a pig.

"You're awake."

Jiang Nannan opened her eyes.

She looked at Jiang Yi, her eyes flickering slightly, though she still wore the stern expression of an elder.

"What's going on between you and Tang Ya?"

She didn't believe Tang Ya's side of the story. That girl was full of schemes and would trick anyone she could for the sake of the Tang Sect.

"Senior Xiao Ya? Well, back in Star Dou Great Forest..."

Jiang Yi quietly explained how he had met Tang Ya, including her attempt to recruit him into the Tang Sect.

Of course, he left out a few little details.

"That's good—"

Jiang Nannan inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief, then casually kicked Tang Ya, who was still sleeping beside her.

That girl had indeed lied to her.

"..."

Jiang Yi blinked as he looked at Jiang Nannan. His older sister seemed a little... strange today.

"Big Sis, last night..."

Jiang Yi ventured to ask. It seemed someone had helped relieve the pressure last night.

It was probably Tang Ya, right?

With that enviable ability to sleep, and the little tongue hanging from her mouth, she looked as if she'd been exhausted.

"You still have the nerve to bring that up? If Xiao Ya hadn't come over last night, do you know what might have happened...?"

Jiang Nannan suddenly put on a stern face, raising her voice as she gave Jiang Yi a thorough scolding.

"Don't be so reckless next time, understood?"

"Understood."

Jiang Yi nodded, but his eyes stayed fixed on Jiang Nannan's face.

Under his gaze, Jiang Nannan's eyes began to dart away. Then she scooped up the sleeping Tang Ya and ran off.

"I-I'm going to class."

Watching her flustered retreat, Jiang Yi suspiciously rubbed his chin, then reached into the Master Ball and pulled out Tian Meng.

"Tian Meng, what happened last night?"