Edging or Glass-Wiping (Part 2)

"Yes."

After thinking for a second, Ling Bai decided to accept this candid talk. He did not want to witness Ma Xiaotao's painfully awkward seduction attempts again. A Ferrari body with a tractor steering wheel—no one could stand that.

"That night, you helped me suppress the evil fire, didn't you?"

"Yes."

Ling Bai admitted it, a flicker of understanding passing through his eyes. He roughly understood Ma Xiaotao's purpose in coming here. But judging by the Ma Xiaotao he remembered, she did not seem like the sort of woman willing to swallow her pride and actively seduce a man!

Ma Xiaotao twisted a strand of fiery-red hair around her palm, frantically composing her words in her mind. After a long pause, she slowly said:

"Ling Bai, thank you for helping me. For one year, I won't have to worry about the evil fire going out of control. But it originates from the source of my martial soul. After a year, it will emerge again and gradually erode my mind bit by bit.

"My teacher hopes that you and I can... date. In the future, we could use the Six-Winged Angel to purge the evil fire like last time. Considering our statuses, talents, appearances... we're actually quite well matched. I was persuaded a tiny bit. He urged me to develop feelings with you as soon as possible and, preferably, make it a done deal..."

By the end, Ma Xiaotao's voice had become so soft that practically only she herself could hear it. Ling Bai caught every word solely thanks to his exceptional hearing—and because he had turned into a giraffe and stretched out his neck.

Honestly speaking, Yan Shaozhe's plan was brilliant. It killed three birds with one stone: it solved the Phoenix Evil Fire that had plagued his beloved disciple Ma Xiaotao for years, found her an outstanding lifelong partner, and, best of all, Ma Xiaotao would inevitably inherit Yan Shaozhe's mantle and enter the Sea God Pavilion in the future. Their marriage would essentially bind Ling Bai, a possessor of a god-tier martial soul, firmly to Shrek Academy's chariot.

Yan Shaozhe truly was an old fox.

"Unfortunately, Teacher overlooked one thing. If I were good at attracting boys, would people have nicknamed me the Inner Courtyard Living Volcano? Phoenix Fairy would be more like it!"

Ma Xiaotao covered her steaming-hot face with one hand and viciously punched the wooden bed with the other. Ling Bai's heart clenched at the sight, afraid the innocent bed would suddenly gain a hole.

"Forget it. I won't count on you becoming my boyfriend anymore. Besides, you're only eleven, still so young. I'd be embarrassed to rob the cradle." Ma Xiaotao let out a long sigh.

"Six."

Ling Bai gave her a lone six, glancing at Ma Xiaotao's curvaceous, fiery figure and stunningly beautiful face. With this girl's looks and body, maybe a little horse pulling a big cart was worth considering too.

After such an awkward incident between them, Ma Xiaotao felt too ashamed to stay any longer. She said gloomily, "I'm going back to report to Teacher. Cultivate well."

"Take care."

Ling Bai rose politely to see her out. Ma Xiaotao reached the door, pushed open the golden wooden door, and a crack immediately appeared.

However, the instant she stepped outside, her gaze swept over two small figures approaching from afar, walking side by side toward the Golden Tree.

"Someone's coming!"

Ma Xiaotao reacted swiftly and instantly pulled herself back. If Ling Bai had not dodged quickly, his nose would have nearly collided with the back of her head.

Ling Bai took a step back and asked in confusion, "Who? One of the Sea God Pavilion elders?"

"The Eldest Senior Sister! And a young boy."

Ma Xiaotao's face immediately tightened. What she had done today was hardly honorable. If Zhang Lexuan saw her leaving Ling Bai's room dressed in black stockings, high heels, and a sexy short skirt, she would probably ascend to heaven on the spot—and Shrek Academy's students would gossip about it for the rest of their lives.

"A young boy?"

Ling Bai quietly opened a narrow crack in the door, pressed his eye to it, and secretly observed through the gap. He clearly saw the young man chatting and laughing with Zhang Lexuan.

Oh? Bei Bei!

That made sense!

"Let me take another look!"

A woman's innate gossiping instinct had flared up. Ma Xiaotao squeezed over beside Ling Bai, their faces nearly pressed together. The warm breath they exhaled brushed against each other's faces. The two couples, one inside the door and one outside, were equally steeped in ambiguity.

"Damn, I recognize that boy. I've seen him hanging around Xu Sanshi several times. He's somewhat famous among the Outer Courtyard students. He actually hooked up with the Eldest Senior Sister!"

Ma Xiaotao lowered her voice, but she could not suppress her excitement. Peeping into someone else's private life... especially the private life of someone as dignified and noble as Zhang Lexuan, the Eldest Senior Sister—the shock and guilty thrill practically made her boil!

"Ling Bai, look, look! The Eldest Senior Sister is smiling so gently! Hey, hey, hey, she reached out to him first! Damn, a girl took the initiative to hold his hand, yet that guy actually dared to play blind and act all high and mighty. Eldest Senior Sister, you're confused! After more than twenty years, you finally fell for someone and wanted a taste of young grass, but you picked a scumbag!"

Ling Bai suddenly felt an urge to touch his nose. The more he listened, the stranger it sounded. Ma Xiaotao seemed to be scolding the mulberry while pointing at the locust tree!

Moreover, he finally realized just how close he and Ma Xiaotao were right now. When he inadvertently lowered his head, Ling Bai caught sight of some fair, rounded, breathtakingly magnificent scenery.

"Come back. Stop looking."

Ling Bai hurriedly pulled Ma Xiaotao away, forcibly suppressing certain instinctive reactions. He raised his head and said solemnly:

"Since we've seen this secret, then for the sake of the Eldest Senior Sister's reputation, we must keep our mouths shut. We must not let a third person find out."

"Hmph, naturally. There aren't many students in the Inner Courtyard I think highly of, but Zhang Lexuan is one of them. I'm just curious what's so special about that little man that he managed to steal her soul."

Ma Xiaotao sat gracefully at the edge of the bed, playing with a lock of hair that had fallen before her shoulder and draped across her chest. She lightly stretched, displaying the charm of a young woman and making no effort to hide her exquisite figure. When Ling Bai deliberately averted his gaze, she could not help secretly laughing as she thought:

So I'm not completely unattractive after all. If I'd really lowered myself and seduced him just now, then maybe tonight... Pah, pah, pah!

A burst of evil fire suddenly surged up. This time, it was not the Phoenix Evil Fire, but actual "evil fire." Ma Xiaotao was so frightened that she hurriedly deleted all those messy thoughts from her mind and changed the subject.

"What do you think would happen if I rushed over and told her, 'Eldest Senior Sister, you wouldn't want anyone to find out about you and that young boy, would you?'"

Hearing that, Ling Bai's expression immediately turned strange. Now that she mentioned it, she really had a point!

He cleared his throat and said sincerely, "There are probably two outcomes: either you beat the Eldest Senior Sister to death, or the Eldest Senior Sister beats you to death."

Ma Xiaotao: ...Your insults are really sophisticated!

After freezing for half a second, Ma Xiaotao decisively changed the subject. "I'll stay in your room for a while. I'll leave after they separate."

"Fine." Ling Bai had been thinking the same thing.

One sat in a wooden chair while the other half-reclined on the bed. The atmosphere remained silent for a long while before Ma Xiaotao suddenly said in a quiet, ghostly voice:

"Ling Bai, the reason I ultimately agreed to Teacher's suggestion is because what he said truly made sense. You're ultimately a disciple of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. After graduation, you'll leave the academy and return to your sect. You may be able to treat me for a while, but not for a lifetime.

"I want to ask you something. Do you have a way to completely resolve the evil fire?"