Chapter 176: Qing Jiao Competition

　　From Chu Liuyue’s angle, she could clearly see him stick out his tongue and curl the leaf into his mouth.

　　His move was very flirtish, but his eyes looked pure and clean. It was as though he did not realize his previous action was so—

　　L-U-S-T-F-U-L!

　　Chu Liuyue’s face immediately burned up. He’s too overboard! It’s fine that he secretly crawls into my bed at night, yet he actually dares to seduce me openly now! It doesn’t matter if he seduces me, but there are still people around!

　　Chu Liuyue subconsciously turned around and realized that the few women who spoke previously could not see what Rong Xiu was doing. Maybe it was because they were positioned very far to the side.

　　For some reason, Chu Liuyue heaved a sigh of relief in her heart. However, something seemed to be stuck in her chest.

　　She pressed her lips against each other tightly, decisively retracted her gaze, and walked towards her lodging.

　　Bang!

　　She slammed the door tightly shut.

　　Rong Xiu looked at the scene, and his eyes suddenly gained a hint of a smile. Is she… angry?

　　…

　　Chu Liuyue returned to the room to find her things, but the earlier scene kept replaying in her head. Her heart was irritated for some reason, but she could not pinpoint why. She decisively went up to the second floor and tried to calm down.

　　However, she saw Rong Xiu when she pushed open the window.

　　Rong Xiu’s place and hers were not too far away, so she could directly see him from the second floor.

　　Chu Liuyue was even more annoyed, so she closed the window.

　　Rong Xiu’s arrival at Tian Lu Academy was too sudden and accidental. He had always claimed that he was sick and stayed in Prince Li Mansion, not even heading out. He even curtly rejected everybody’s invitations.

　　Everyone in the Imperial City knew how weak Prince Li was and that he could not withstand strong winds, let alone meet many people.

　　He clearly had his own reasons for acting like he previously did. But why did he come to the academy?

　　Isn’t this moving himself from a secret place and into the open? A guess appeared in Chu Liuyue’s mind, but she did not quite believe it. Did Rong Xiu do this because…

　　Her shoulder sank when a furry thing jumped on her.

　　Chu Liuyue glanced at it. “You’re awake?”

　　The little thing stretched his body and nodded in satisfaction.

　　Chu Liuyue smiled and pinched its ear. “You really can sleep for a long time.”

　　The blood ferret fell into a deep sleep for two days and two nights after coming back from Wan Ling Mountain.

　　Chu Liuyue picked it up and checked its body in detail. She was a little surprised. “You’ve recovered from your injuries?”

　　Even though the blood ferret wasn’t severely injured before, it did have a few wounds. However, those wounds completely disappeared in a mere two days.

　　Not only did the injuries not form scabs, but they had completely healed. It was as if the blood ferret had never gotten injured!

　　When one looked at the little fellow’s body now, nobody would believe that it had been attacked by a black flying python before.

　　The little fellow blinked.

　　“I remember that blood ferrets don’t have such strong recovery power…” Chu Liuyue muttered to herself.

　　In her previous life, she had seen some aristocratic daughters raise blood ferrets. But they only treated them as pets. This was because blood ferrets had weak combat skills and often had to be meticulously protected.

　　However, this one…

　　“Since you’ve followed me, I’ll have to give you a name. How about… Xiao Qiang[1]?”

　　The little fellow’s fur stood on end, and it bared its teeth as its tail crazily moved around. No! I still want to survive in society!

　　Chu Liuyue looked at it and seriously added, “Look! You’re so strong, so this name is the most appropriate one for you, right?”

　　No! The little fellow rolled its eyes up and directly pretended that it was dead.

　　Chu Liuyue shook it. “Since you don’t like it, I’ll change to another one. What about… Tuan Zi?”

　　The little fellow’s legs became even straighter as it directly closed its eyes. It refused to wake up and face this terrible world.

　　“Since you’ve silently agreed, then we’ll stick with this one!”

　　The little fellow immediately opened its eyes.

　　Chu Liuyue held its head. “It’s too late.”

　　Tuan Zi kept its mouth shut, filled with grievances. Forget it! What else can I ask for after following such an owner?

　　Chu Liuyue looked at it, and vague doubts emerged in her heart. Blood ferrets are just third-grade fiends. Logically speaking, their intelligence should be around the same as a one or two year-old’s. However, this one is clearly much smarter. It really has so many mysteries…

　　Knock, knock…

　　Knocking sounds could be heard from downstairs.

　　Chu Liuyue curiously went down to open the door and saw Si Yang—whom she had not seen in a long time. “Si Yang? Why are you here?”

　　When Si Yang saw her, he immediately went forward and scrutinized her. “Liuyue, you’re really okay! You’re so strong.”

　　Previously, he did not dare believe the news he heard. However, he was even more shocked when he personally saw her today.

　　Everybody clearly knew how dangerous Wan Ling Mountain was back then, yet Chu Liuyue had managed to survive on her own!

　　“Actually, I wanted to come over yesterday. However, something happened in my family, so I’m late.”

　　Chu Liuyue did not mind that and smiled. “I’m doing well.”

　　Si Yang saw Tuan Zi on her shoulders and was slightly shocked. “Isn’t this a blood ferret? Since when did you obtain it?”

　　“I… I coincidentally met it at Wan Ling Mountain. I thought that we were pretty fated, so I brought it back with me.”

　　“What? You kept it? Liuyue, even though this blood ferret is cute, its combat skills are very weak. It’s pretty troublesome for you to bring it along!”

　　Tuan Zi’s eyes widened halfway through Si Yang’s words.

　　Chu Liuyue originally thought that it would get angry, but Tuan Zi just coldly glared at Si Yang. Then, Tuan Zi closed its eyes and swept its tail as if it did not care about Si Yang at all.

　　Si Yang’s lips twitched. “W-was it despising me?”

　　Chu Liuyue nodded in acknowledgment. “Obviously.”

　　Si Yang immediately doubted how life worked. How dare a mere third-grade blood ferret look down on me?

　　“Do you have another reason for finding me today?” asked Chu Liuyue.

　　Si Yang angrily glanced at Tuan Zi before saying, “Yeah! You missed lessons two days ago, so Mr. Dongfang asked me to come and ask you if you’re participating in the Qing Jiao Competition half a month later.”

　　“Qing Jiao Competition?”

　　“Don’t you know? It’s an annual Xuan Master competition! During the competition, the neighboring Country Xing Luo and Country Huai Cang will send their youngest talents to compete with us. The Qing Jiao Competition is very grand, and they give out great rewards each year. Do you want to join the Xuan Master competition?”

　　[1] ‘Xiao Qiang’ in Chinese is another way of calling a cockroach, and ‘Qiang’ also means strong.