Chapter 148: A Pesky Birdie
Lu Qing’er’s patience was wearing thin.
In the last few days, w.a.n.g Hejiu had come calling incessantly. The moment there was time to spare, he was on her front door, trying every possible method he could conceive of to create a reason to meet.
She had never met a more tiresome person.
This time was no different.
She had lingered after cultivation because she wanted to talk to Li Luo. She should have foreseen that w.a.n.g Hejiu would come after her yet again.
“Qing’er, I think we grew close during our battle. I was too heavy-handed during the Choosing. I couldn’t sleep for nights afterwards, so I kept coming to you to apologize.”
He said this with deep contrition. Deep down, he was checking her out. s.e.xy, lace thigh-highs under a short skirt, and a waist so slim he wished he could slip an arm around it. Best of all was her unblemished, alabaster skin, and those hands sheathed in the ice silk gloves that did nothing to hide their perfection.
He could not stay away from her.
“No need to apologize,” she replied, projecting as much disinterest as she could into her tone. “We were opponents during the Choosing. You did nothing wrong, so please stop using that as an excuse to find me.”
“Qing’er, must you be like that?” he asked plaintively. “I have no other intentions but to get to know you better. Please believe in my sincerity.”
She turned on her heel and walked away.
His jade fan reached out, a grin on his face as he prepared to stop her from leaving.
When he lifted his hand, a whistling sound made him pause. He whirled around, coating his fan with resonant power as he lifted it defensively.
Psh, psh!
A few water arrows melted away, dripping harmlessly to the ground.
“h.e.l.lo there. Your upbringing is horrible, friend. If hara.s.sment was all that was needed to chase girls, would there still be single men in this world?”
Lu Qing’er turned at the humorous and familiar voice. Li Luo pushed his way out of the crowd, walking over with a smile.
w.a.n.g Hejiu frowned when he saw Lu Qing’er’s face brighten up. “Are you Li Luo?” He c.o.c.ked his head.
“I might be a little arrogant about this, but it’s really hard not to recognize me, given how handsome I am,” Li Luo said.
w.a.n.g Hejiu’s eyebrows almost spasmed. He knew that Li Luo was trying to goad him, but the urge to beat him up was hard to hold down in the face of such shameless remarks.
His face smoothened. “Li Luo, don’t try to create trouble. We have no enmity. Why are you doing this?”
“Indeed, I often a.s.sume that everyone is good,” he replied, walking up to stand in front of Lu Qing’er. “But from the moment you injured her in the Choosing, you chose to sow the seeds of hostility between us.”
Lu Qing’er had stopped w.a.n.g Hejiu for him. Since w.a.n.g Hejiu had hurt her, Li Luo was obligated to stand up for her like a man.
The Choosing of the Mentors was a free-for-all. He had no problem with w.a.n.g Hejiu coming at him for a violet talisman. But to hara.s.s Lu Qing’er after the Choosing? That was going overboard.
Lu Qing’er was staring at Li Luo’s back with shining eyes.
The tension here was immediately noticed by others nearby. After all, this was Li Luo, the man who had just broken the resonant luminescence time record by a gigantic margin.
Versus w.a.n.g Hejiu, second in strength only to Qin Zhulu.
It was going to be epic.
w.a.n.g Hejiu looked at Li Luo with disinterest. “And what can you do about it?”
“I hope you can leave my friends alone. This sort of hara.s.sment is not only ineffective, you’re only going to make her hate you more.”
w.a.n.g Hejiu laughed derisively at him. “I have my ways. Who are you to teach me, Li Luo?”
“You stubborn little poison birdie.” Li Luo rolled his eyes.
“What did you say!?” w.a.n.g Hejiu snarled.
“I was speaking nicely to you, but you didn’t listen. Are insults the only thing that will get through?”
“You better go check. I, the young lord of House Luolan, have never lost a verbal battle before!”
w.a.n.g Hejiu’s fan glowed green, and he waved it, sending a wave of smoking, green energy forth.
Li Luo’s own resonant power answered. Bending two fingers, he slapped the jade fan aside.
Peng!
Both attacks were equally nullified.
“Oh? The Flowering Seed Tier already?” w.a.n.g Hejiu said, rea.s.sessing Li Luo. From his strength during their brief clash, he could tell.
“Seems like the resonant luminescence did you good.
“But.
“Do you think you’re the only one who gained something?”
w.a.n.g Hejiu clapped his fan shut, then he showed the full extent of his resonant power aura, resulting in gasps from those around.
“That resonant power…”
“w.a.n.g Hejiu’s broken through to the second tier of the Resonant Master Stage, the Pattern Genesis Tier!”
“Well, he was already at the Lower Flowering Tier. It wasn’t far, and he had the resonant luminescence too.”
“Amazing. No wonder he’s ranked second.”
w.a.n.g Hejiu calmly let his aura fade. “Let me teach you something else, kid. Never make contact lightly when you’re fighting a poison resonance user.”
He gestured at Li Luo’s finger. A green light still lingered on it, a poison that was eating away at his body.
Li Luo lifted his finger, inspecting the poison curiously. It was special indeed. Even the briefest contact had allowed it to spread.
However, he did not panic. He simply channeled his wood resonant power. The two shades of green collided at his finger.
In a trice, the poison was nullified.
Wood resonance had ant.i.toxin properties.
“That little bit of poison?” Li Luo yawned. “Couldn’t kill a chicken.”
“Impertinent!” w.a.n.g Hejiu’s eyes flashed with anger.
“w.a.n.g Hejiu!” A voice interrupted him. “I already said that I’ll deal with Li Luo.”
Li Luo looked toward the source of that voice. Duze Beixuan, already closing in on him.
Lu Qing’er looked around. Was he planning to fight?
She took a step forward, ready to stand by Li Luo’s side, but she was interrupted by flower vines suddenly twisting around her feet.
She reacted instantly, frost energy coming up to guard herself. Turning her head, she saw a girl with a ponytail grinning at her.
This was Qi Luozi, the teammate of w.a.n.g Hejiu and Duze Beixuan.
“Li Luo!” Duze Beixuan called. “I was careless at the Choosing. Let’s go again!”
He tensed, ready to spring at Li Luo.
But suddenly, a dark bolt of energy slammed into Duze Beixuan’s stomach.
He doubled over at the attack, punching out reflexively with a blast of energy that dispelled it.
He turned to see a figure clad entirely in black, standing in the shadows nearby.
“Xin Fu?” He noted coldly.
A phosph.o.r.escent light appeared above Lu Qing’er’s head, lowering itself on her. The vines holding her feet receded rapidly.
Lu Qing’er saw a small girl, sweet and adorable, giving her a bashful but friendly smile.
Bai Mengmeng.