"Lecher!" Somehow, Jin Bihan found the strength to bite down hard, then bent her knee and slammed it into him in a fit of shame and fury.
Chu Yun was struck from both ends.
His tongue was bitten, and he was hit between the legs.
There was no word for the pain!
Since his rebirth, he had never suffered such a grievous blow. His whole body felt as if it had been struck by lightning. His back arched like a giant lobster. He staggered back two steps, then finally collapsed, sitting down on the ground.
The people around them stared for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Jin Bihan sat up anxiously. After the violent movement, she coughed hard and spat out some of the pills in her mouth. Her gaze froze. She was clever as could be, and now she understood how badly she had misunderstood him.
Oh no! He was trying to feed me the antidote. She immediately looked at Chu Yun, only to find him glaring at her with cold, furious eyes.
Chu Yun felt terribly wronged. What was wrong with this person? Why had she overreacted so much? He was already disgusted by that same-sex kiss. And she had not only mistaken his good intentions, but treated him like this!
Originally, he had seen the White-Browed Alchemist's moved expression and urgent demeanor, and realized the man had some standing. He had also thought a good man should be able to set aside his pride, so he had agreed. If only he had known, he would have refused outright.
"All right, everyone, move along. Young man, I am a teacher at Heavenly Song Academy, known as the White-Browed Alchemist. Come with me. I have something to ask you."
The White-Browed Alchemist's solemn expression immediately quieted the laughing crowd. His distinctive bearing always inspired an instinctive fear in the young men. Daring not disobey, they all dispersed, still casting curious, puzzled glances.
Chu Yun could only blame his bad luck. Gritting his teeth, he stood up.
He watched the mysterious youth put away the Gem Dolphin and leave with the White-Browed Alchemist. Something told Chu Yun that the youth's background was no simple matter—he might even have powerful connections.
But now was not the time to pursue it. He would just have to consider himself bitten by a dog. Picking up his fishing rod again, Chu Yun sat down and resumed fishing.
The Fragrance-Attracting Pill was truly effective. The Demon Beasts it lured were all Lesser Demons, with low cultivation.
Before long, it had drawn two Martial Dao Crabs and one Bagua Turtle. Their cultivation averaged around twenty-two years, just right for Chu Yun's Heavenly Fox to train on.
After killing them and absorbing their three Demon Crystals, the Heavenly Fox's cultivation rose to twenty-four years. Chu Yun was continuing to fish when a young man approached.
It was Jin Bihan.
After speaking with the White-Browed Alchemist, Jin Bihan had learned that Chu Yun had saved her. Though she was still angry that he had treated her so familiarly, there had been a reason for it. Jin Bihan was no spoiled princess; she was reasonable, and so she decided to apologize.
"I am Shi Jiaming"—a false name—"and I truly apologize for offending you just now." Standing beside Chu Yun, Jin Bihan clasped her fists.
To her surprise, Chu Yun ignored her completely, as if he had not heard a thing.
After waiting a moment without a response, Jin Bihan took a deep breath and repeated herself. Only then did Chu Yun turn toward her. He stared at her handsome face and asked bluntly, "Shi Jiaming, I saved your life. How are you going to repay me?"
Jin Bihan was furious. A princess naturally had her pride, and apologizing to Chu Yun had already meant swallowing it. Besides, she had yet to settle accounts with him for stealing her first kiss.
She rolled her eyes and said irritably, "It was the alchemist's precious pills that saved me. You only played a small part, didn't you, Chu Yun?"
She had already learned Chu Yun's name from the White-Browed Alchemist. She immediately carved it deep into her memory.
"Even if I only played a small part, I still saved your life. Are you going to deny that?" Chu Yun raised an eyebrow, displeased with her attitude.
"You..." Jin Bihan was furious. She remembered asking the White-Browed Alchemist why he had not called over a female student to feed her the pills.
The White-Browed Alchemist had answered at once, "You're disguised as a man. Wouldn't it be strange to order a female student to feed you the pills? You're carrying an important responsibility, so you must learn to endure. If you can't even put up with this, how will you inherit the throne?"
Jin Bihan was clever as could be and had, in fact, already thought of this herself. But she was still a girl, and having her first kiss stolen naturally rankled.
Now that she was facing the person involved, he was acting as though he were the one who had suffered and even asking her to repay him. She suddenly understood: It seems this debt has turned into a muddled mess. There's no way to settle it now!
For a moment, she felt both indignant and desolate.
Taking a deep breath, Jin Bihan finally said, "Then what do you want?"
Chu Yun looked at her and suddenly lost interest. What was the point of arguing with a kid like this?
"Forget it. Just consider yourself indebted to me." Chu Yun shook his head and sighed, answering casually.
"Fine, fine." Jin Bihan bared her pearly teeth and bit her lower lip. "I'll remember that I owe you!" With that, she stormed off.
Chu Yun found it strange. She was the one who owed him a favor, so why did she act as if she had suffered a tremendous loss?
"Kids these days..." He sighed, even more certain that she came from a powerful background. Her pride was mixed with an air of haughty independence; clearly, she had been spoiled. She was the sort who had been born with a golden spoon in her mouth, a heaven-blessed darling.
Shaking his head, he had already put the matter out of his mind. It was no more than a little episode along the way. His true goal still lay at Heavenly Song Academy.
Heavenly Song Academy was unquestionably the foremost institution of learning in the All-Star Archipelago. Nearly every heir to an island lord had studied there for a time.
Heavenly Song Academy was strictly aligned with the neutral faction and never took part in the conflicts of the All-Star Archipelago. At the same time, it possessed many resources beyond the reach of the archipelago. Every year, it supplied the islands with large numbers of talented people. Even rulers of other countries beyond the archipelago came to the academy regularly to select useful talent.
"My trip to Heavenly Song Academy isn't just to make use of its resources to cultivate the Heavenly Fox. I also need to use its influence and seize the opportunity presented by the Biluohai Belt's epidemic to open up the sea-salt market for Shu Family Island. And I need to recruit talent. From what I remember, two of the most accomplished people to emerge from the most recent classes were..."
"One was Yan Que, known as 'Flawless Schemer,' a strategist skilled in civil affairs. The other was Hua Ying, known as 'Hundred Ingenious Schemes,' also a strategist, adept at devising plans on the battlefield."
Shu Family Island had never lacked brave warriors, but it lacked wise minds. With a few more clever people to assist his father, Shu Tianhao, they would not have had to sacrifice their own interests and rely on the Ning Family's power.
"Of those two, however, Hua Ying is the heir to Hua Family Island. There's no way he'll join Shu Family Island. The real target is Yan Que."
(P.S. Last night, before I knew it, I'd blasted through another chrysanthemum. Only six stand between us and our goal! We're fierce as dragons and tigers, advancing with unstoppable momentum, spears raised as we charge! Brothers, you can all join the Myriad Demon Sovereign QQ reader group—we're all comrades in the chrysanthemum-bursting battle. Charge! Charge into the top twelve!)