Chapter 69: I’ll Shock You!

Chapter 69: I’ll Shock You!

Night, the hour of the Pig.

Huguai Garden, Ai Pavilion.

Zhao Yan lay on the bed, fully dressed, waiting for it to get a bit later before sneaking off to Diying Garden.

She had been placed in Ai Pavilion, not far from Ji Pavilion, but over the last few days, she hadn’t slept here a single night.

In this strange place filled with ‘Monkey Demons,’ she could only sleep soundly by her husband’s side.

Creak~

Hearing the sound, Zhao Yan turned her head and sat up with a kip-up.

At the door stood the young Daoist nun from today who could use lightning arts, holding a quilt and a pillow.

Ruan Ruan paced into the room, her gaze sweeping through the boudoir, then she raised her calf and kicked back with her toes, closing the double doors.

Zhao Yan rolled off the bed and stood with her back against the corner, fists raised in front of her chest, shouting both timidly and fiercely, “I’m not someone to be trifled with! If you push me, I’ll bite you!”

Ruan Ruan tossed the quilt and pillow onto the bed, turned calmly, and clicked the door bolt shut.

With her hands free, she formed a seal with her left hand and held her right hand out, shouting, “The Big Dipper descends upon the altar, the earth’s veins channel thunder! Lead!”

Crackle!

Purple light flashed exceptionally bright in the silent night.

Zhao Yan, who had originally struck a desperate pose, immediately crouched down, holding her head with her hands, face turned inward and her rear sticking out, yelling, “Don’t shock me, don’t shock me, don’t shock me! Can’t you just hit me a few times with your bare hands instead?”

Ruan Ruan held the floating purple light. “Are you still going to say I’m fierce?”

“Not fierce, not fierce. You’re not fierce at all.”

“Smart of you! From now on, I’m setting three rules for you.”

Zhao Yan looked back at Ruan Ruan through the gap in her arms and whispered, “What rules?”

“First, when you see me from now on, you must call me’sister.’ If you don’t, I’ll shock you!”

As she spoke, the purple light in her palm crackled and exploded right on cue.

This was a blatant threat!

“Ugh… I’ll call you that, okay?”

Zhao Yan decided that a wise demon doesn’t fight when the odds are against them.

“Second, from now on, you are not allowed to call Yuan Xi husband! If you do, I’ll shock you again!”

“If I don’t call him husband, what do I call him? He was given to me by the Mountain Ancestor Goddess.”

Crackle!

“Fine, I won’t call him that then.”

“Third, from now on, you are not allowed to constantly cling to Yuan Xi and delay his practice! Otherwise, I’ll shock you again.”

The next day.

Without the clingy Zhao Yan around, Ding Suian suddenly felt he had much more time. He took out the nameless Cultivation Technique Chen Yi had sent to study it.

He skipped the saber technique part for now and focused on the Qi Circulation method.

For a normal Chenggang Realm Martial Artist, the path to mobilize Protective Aura is: start from the Zhongji Acupoint, move up to Shenfeng, turn to Yunmen, then to the upper arm, through Qingling and Shaohai, to the Daling Acupoint at the base of the palm, and finally infuse the Protective Aura into the weapon.

This technique’s path was the same at the start, but at the upper arm, it turned toward Chize, Quchi, and Hegu.

These three spots were well-known Cold Acupoints on the body.

Ding Suian tried it, but since the three Cold Acupoints were not part of the traditional Qi Circulation path, the moment the Protective Aura entered Chize, he felt a sharp, intense pain as if his Qi had gone astray.

The manual said the sharp pain was normal.

It required repeated impacts; only once the three Cold Acupoints were cleared could the technique be used.

According to the book’s description, upon reaching Major Achievement in the saber technique, the strikes would be as dense as a torrential downpour. Every strike would carry Protective Aura with bone-chilling cold, not only cutting flesh and bone but also freezing blood and slowing the opponent’s movements.

It could even form a small-scale Cold Domain, making surrounding enemies feel freezing cold all over.

Ding Suian was very interested in the’slowing movements’ part.

Anything coming out of the palace surely wouldn’t be bad.

It was strange, though, that it didn’t even have a name.

Ding Suian rubbed his chin, thinking for a moment.

Since this technique involved ‘downpours’ and ‘coldness,’ he might as well call it…

Let’s call it the Specific Qi Circulation Path!

“Specific Qi Circulation Path!”

Ding Suian tried saying it in the accent of the province with the highest greening rate in the country.

Hmm, not bad, very spirited!

At the hour of the Dog, the sky was pitch black.

Ding Suian changed his clothes and left the manor.

Compared to the first lunar month, the pedestrians on the street were much sparser.

It wasn’t as lively as before.

The news of the Great Dynasty’s defeat by Southern Zhao was still fermenting. The commoners didn’t care if people in the imperial court were using the defeat to attack each other; they were all focused on finding news about the Xiaoyong Army.

Most of the Xiaoyong Army were sons of Lan Yang.

These days, countless families were in agonizing suspense.

Besides that reason, the occasional appearance of Daoists and State Religion followers wearing pointed green hats on the streets added to the oppressive atmosphere.

If the two sides happened to meet on the street, the looks they gave each other were not very friendly.

At a quarter past the hour of the Dog, Ding Suian stepped into Pinshu Pavilion.

“Oh, guest, you’ve finally arrived! Miss Ye Han has been chanting sutras and eating vegetarian meals every day, just hoping for your safe return!”

“Mhm, this is for you.”

Ding Suian gracefully tossed a silver nugget. The attendant caught it, beaming with joy.

Little Ding was getting more and more skilled at visiting these establishments.

Almost at the same moment he entered Pinshu Pavilion, inside the Ai Pavilion of Huguai Garden in the Prince’s Mansion, Ruan Ruan changed into a man’s Lanshan and returned to the boudoir, tossing another set of men’s clothing to Zhao Yan.

“Let’s go, sister is taking you out!”

Having been cooped up in the Prince’s Mansion for days, Zhao Yan had long been unable to contain herself. Hearing she could go out, she stripped off her clothes in no time.

Completely ignoring that Ruan Ruan was still right there.

“Ah! Why are you naked!”

Ruan Ruan cried out, covering her face with her hands, but peeking through her fingers to see Zhao Yan from top to bottom.

“Didn’t you tell me to change? How can I change without taking them off?” Zhao Yan said righteously.

Even though they were both girls… who would have thought this Southern Zhao girl wouldn’t even wear a Bellyband or Xieku!

‘Hmm, not as big as mine! Haha~’

‘Wait, why doesn’t she have any… there?’

A moment later, Zhao Yan finished changing into the clothes Ruan Ruan had given her.

Even if she didn’t understand fashion, Zhao Yan sensed something was wrong.

The Lanshan on Ruan Ruan looked smooth and shiny.

Her own outfit was loose and baggy, not quite green, not quite blue.

So ugly!

“Ruan Ruan, our…”

“What did you call me?”

“Ruan Ruan.”

“The Big Dipper descends upon the altar, the earth’s veins channel thunder! Lead!”

“Uh, sister!”

“Mhm, go ahead.”

“Why are our clothes different?” Zhao Yan tugged at the unsightly fabric on her body.

“I’m the Young Master, you’re the page boy! Of course they’re different!” Ruan Ruan fanned herself with a folding fan, taking it for granted.

“…”

So annoying!

Exactly the hour of the Dog.

Young Master Ruan swayed his folding fan and entered Shouzhen Lane with his attendant boy ‘A-Zhao.’

Whenever she reached a crowded place, Zhao Yan couldn’t help but shrink behind others.

She was a bit scared, yet curious, constantly poking her head out from behind Ruan Ruan to stare at the heavily made-up, brightly dressed young misses on the balconies on both sides.

She acted very furtively.

“Sister Ruan, what are those sisters on the balconies doing?”

Zhao Yan saw a woman by the second-floor railing deliberately stick out a pale leg from under her skirt and couldn’t help but ask in confusion.

“Hmph!”

Ruan Ruan said with disdain, “Seducing men, of course!”

“You can seduce men like that?”

“Yes, men like this kind of thing…”

“Then does husband—I mean, does Young Master Ding like this kind of thing too?”

“What are you saying!”

Ruan Ruan turned around, her already large eyes wide and round, saying seriously, “Don’t talk nonsense! Yuan Xi is clean-living and of high character; he’s not that kind of person!”

The attendants at Pinshu Pavilion were experienced and saw through Ruan Ruan and Zhao Yan’s cross-dressing at a glance.

Just as they were about to tease them, they heard the Young Master deliberately roughen his voice and say, “Please pass word to your Manager Ruan, say his son has come to see him.”

Hearing this, the attendant immediately wiped the grin off his face and respectfully led the two into a private room in the front hall.

“Young Master, please wait a moment.”

“Mhm.”

Young Master Ruan sat down in the private room, poured himself a cup of tea, and looked perfectly composed.

The page boy A-Zhao found everything novel. After a while, she leaned against the window, peeking through the gap into the main hall. On the high stage, a Young Miss was wiggling her hips, wearing light silk and Lingbo Socks, looking quite enchanting.

Below, the guests were watching with rapt attention.

Zhao Yan couldn’t help but remember Ruan Ruan’s words from earlier: ‘Men like this kind of thing.’

So, she involuntarily started mimicking the Young Miss’s movements, gently wiggling her hips.

Ruan Ruan, who was drinking tea, caught sight of this and frowned, scolding in a low voice, “What are you doing? Why are you learning from those vixens?”

“What’s wrong with vixens?” Zhao Yan was a bit defiant, sitting down opposite Ruan Ruan, wanting to argue with her.

“Vixens eat people, bewitch hearts, and bring chaos to the world!”

“Not all vixens eat people, right?”

“Anyway, not a single vixen is a good thing! My ambition in this life is to wield a three-foot blade and slay all the world’s evil spirits!”

The big-eyed cute girl’s words actually carried a bit of Killing Intent.

Then, immersed in her heroic dream, Ruan Ruan sighed with regret, “Unfortunately, the evil spirits are all hidden in the deep mountains. I’ve never met one, wasting the skills I’ve learned for so many years!”

Zhao Yan was so scared she shrunk her neck and squeezed her buttocks tight, for fear of letting out an ill-timed fart that would let Ruan Ruan smell her demon scent.

But Ruan Ruan suddenly seemed to have discovered something new, staring straight at Zhao Yan until the latter’s hair stood on end.

“Hey! Zhao Yan!” Ruan Ruan leaned closer and asked excitedly, “I heard Yuan Xi say you lived at the foot of Chongyin Mountain. Have you ever seen a demon?”

“N-no, I’ve never heard of any demons!” Zhao Yan shook her small head like a rattle.

“Haha, look at how scared you are! Don’t be afraid, with your sister here, even if we meet a demon, I can protect you!”