Chapter 255: Morning Talk at Qingjiao Pavilion

The beginning of the Hai hour.

Ding Suian climbed over the wall into the Law Academy.

The door to Qingjiao Pavilion was tightly shut and bolted.

He simply leaped up from the ground, landing on the eaves extending from the second floor. He tried to push the window with his right hand while steadying himself by holding onto the flying rafter with his left.

But just as his right hand touched the window sash, his left hand suddenly felt an unusual, cold, and slippery sensation, followed immediately by a sharp, stinging pain.

He looked up and saw that the originally angular wooden flying rafter had somehow turned into a small, crimson snake, which quickly bit him on the back of his hand.

The entire row of flying rafters under the eaves seemed to be instantly awakened. Their front ends transformed into snake heads, rising in unison while their back ends remained attached to the rafter wood. They twisted their slender bodies in the night, hissing and flicking their tongues.

It was enough to make one’s scalp tingle.

Was this some kind of Formation to ward off intruders?

“Who’s there?”

A shout came from inside the room, and the window sash was pushed open from within, revealing Shu Yao’s vigilant face.

Ding Suian crouched on the eaves, and their eyes met.

“The moon is really round tonight~”

“Heh~ Duke of Chu County, it’s the end of the month, and we’re in the phase of a crescent moon. Where is this round moon you speak of?”

Shu Yao unceremoniously debunked Ding Suian’s awkward attempt at small talk and turned to walk back inside, though she didn’t close the window.

Ding Suian carefully dodged the red snakes hanging from the eaves and flipped into the room.

A wave of scorching heat rushed toward him, almost suffocating.

In the small boudoir, four or five burning charcoal braziers had been placed out on this sweltering summer night.

Yet, just a few steps away on the bed, it was a completely different scene. Xu Jiuxi sat cross-legged in the center of the bed, tightly wrapped in a thick quilt.

Fine frost clung to her eyebrows and temples, and a bone-chilling cold radiated from her body.

Within the room, heat waves and cold air clashed in this small space, creating large billowing clouds of white mist, resembling a fairyland.

“Shu Yao, what kind of twisted Cultivation Technique is Sect Leader Xu practicing?”

Two days ago, Ding Suian had seen a similar scene at the Patrol Inspection Office.

Upon hearing this, Shu Yao’s already unhappy face turned resentful. “Headmaster isn’t practicing any Cultivation Technique. She has been poisoned by a Gu, the Cold Marrow Gu!”

“Who poisoned her with the Gu?”

“You!”

“Me? Don’t go framing an innocent person; I don’t know how to do that stuff!”

“It was you! A few days ago, if Headmaster hadn’t helped you resolve the situation at the government office, she wouldn’t have violated the sacred rules of the State Religion and been forced to have the Cold Marrow Gu planted in her.”

According to Shu Yao, this Cold Marrow Gu was a disciplinary measure specifically used by the State Religion against its members, flaring up every twenty-four hours.

Although it didn’t damage one’s Cultivation Technique, it was extremely painful when it flared up~

Old Xu really is very loyal.

Ding Suian turned his head to look at Xu Jiuxi in the swirling mist. Her face was pale to the point of transparency, and her delicate brows were slightly furrowed as she seemed to be struggling with all her might against the heart-eating pain.

Frost particles hung on her long eyelashes.

“Shu Yao, could you go out for a moment?”

“Me go out? Shouldn’t it be the Duke of Chu County who goes out?”

“Don’t misunderstand, I’m going to help Headmaster Xu slightly alleviate the pain of the Cold Marrow Gu.”

“You have a way?”

“No way, but I have experience.”

The last time at the Patrol Inspection Office, Xu Jiuxi must have had a flare-up of the Gu cold, and Ding Suian had helped her once before.

Shu Yao was skeptical but decided to let him try. As she turned to leave, she suddenly remembered that he had just been injured by the Shadow-Sting Formation and hurriedly said, “You’ve been poisoned by the snakes of the Shadow-Sting Formation. Go downstairs and take the antidote first.”

Shadow-Sting Formation, that probably refers to the Formation where the flying rafters turn into snakes.

Ding Suian carefully sensed his condition and noticed that his Qi was flowing freely and there were no abnormalities. Recalling the previous night in the corridor, when he had remained unscathed in the face of the Bewitching Immortal Powder used by the thieves of Wangchuan Ferry, he felt fairly certain of his hypothesis.

“Shu Yao, does Headmaster Xu have the ability to make people immune to all poisons?”

Shu Yao was burning with anxiety over Headmaster’s condition, but upon hearing this, she couldn’t help but let a look of reflected pride flash across her face. She said with certainty, “That’s only natural! Headmaster is the progenitor of all poisons. Any person she promises to protect is completely unaffected by ordinary poisonous substances.”

“So that’s how it is~”

The next day.

The morning light slightly emerged, and the first ray of sunlight pierced through the window lattice.

Xu Jiuxi’s feathery eyelashes trembled slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Reflecting the rising sun, the sickly pallor on her face faded, faintly revealing some color, like a light touch of rouge blooming on white jade after the snow and ice have just begun to melt.

“.”

Her gaze slowly focused, meeting Ding Suian’s eyes, which were inches away and staring unblinkingly.

Xu Jiuxi was slightly startled and subconsciously pulled her head back, but Ding Suian pressed closer, bringing the distance between them to the point where their tongues could touch.

Seeing him being so aggressive, Xu Jiuxi stopped dodging. Her peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly, her red lips parted, and two sharp, petite snake fangs instantly emerged from her lips, almost touching the tip of Ding Suian’s nose.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll poison you to death?”

Xu Jiuxi whispered eerily, but Ding Suian raised his hand and gently touched the hollow, jade-like snake fang with his thumb, saying sincerely, “Old Xu, I’m sorry about the day before yesterday. As close brothers where you are in me and I am in you, I shouldn’t have thought the worst of you.”

“.”

Xu Jiuxi probably hadn’t expected Ding Suian to pull such a mushy stunt early in the morning. A faint, imperceptible flash of embarrassment crossed her eyes, but she said, “Pfft~ who is your brother?”

“Don’t I deserve to be Headmaster Xu’s good brother?”

“Of course you don’t! At most, you can be a Cauldron for This Seat to practice with.”

“A Cauldron is fine too, as long as you don’t drain me dry or kill me~”

“I must drain you dry and kill you!”

“Not even leaving a single breath?”

“Not even a single breath!”

“Alright then~”

After saying this, Ding Suian spread his arms and legs, lying on the bed in a spread-eagled position.

He had the look of someone willing to sacrifice his life to accompany the Headmaster.

Seeing his rogue-like appearance, Xu Jiuxi couldn’t keep her feigned gloomy expression, and a suppressed chuckle escaped her lips.

It was like a frozen spring suddenly breaking, clear and moving.

Seeing this, Ding Suian also laughed, “Old Xu, you keep talking about Dual Cultivation, but after so many times, I haven’t seen you improve? Are you really doing Dual Cultivation to become a Dragon, or just purely for comfort?”

“Pah! You underestimate me too much! Look~”

Before she finished speaking, her aura shifted slightly, and a glistening red light flowed through her ink-black hair as two small Dragon horns grew from her forehead.

Compared to the small buds from last time, they were significantly sturdier, already three or four inches long, and their form was becoming increasingly clear.

The upper ends had already split into two exquisite branches, resembling newly born crimson coral.

Ding Suian couldn’t help but reach out.

Xu Jiuxi gasped, her voice trembling slightly, “Don’t break them!”

“Uh, I’m just checking to see if they’re sturdy~”

“What does it have to do with you whether they’re sturdy or not?”

Of course it has to do with me!

People always say twin tails increase attack speed; with two Dragon horns growing on Old Xu’s head, that’s practically a steering wheel!

Driving later will be effortless, won’t it?

Xu Jiuxi’s eyes swept across him, seemingly catching a hint of Ding Suian’s thoughts, and she couldn’t help but say coldly, “What are you thinking about?”

“Uh, I’m thinking about how to help Sister Jiuxi become a Dragon and ride the wind, soaring through the Nine Heavens as soon as possible.”

“Really?”

“Naturally, it’s true. By the way, on the day Sister soars through the Nine Heavens, could you let me ride on you and fly a circle in the sky?”

“No! This Seat is not a donkey or a horse!”