Chapter 385 Quarrelsome Lovers
Zhou Qin and Su Chan shared the same room, which was not far from Li Yundong"s. After arriving at their room door, Li Yundong knocked gently.
Over the past few days, Zhou Qin had been picking up some basic cultivation methods from Su Chan. She already had some Yuanqi in her body, which was much better than that of ordinary people. Therefore, Qi-control training came much more easily to her.
Although Zhou Qin hadn"t cultivated for many days, her five senses were much sharper than before, and her body had gotten lighter and stronger, so her energy was more abundant.
As soon as Li Yundong knocked, Zhou Qin was immediately awoken from her meditation. She asked in a low voice, "Who is it?"
Li Yundong answered in a whisper, "It"s me."
Although he didn"t say his name, Zhou Qin was so familiar with Li Yundong"s voice that she naturally knew it was him. She couldn"t fathom why Li Yundong was looking for her so late when she was all alone in her room.
Zhou Qin jumped up, feeling both surprised and suspicious. With a fluttering heart, she walked to the door and opened it gently. As expected, she saw Li Yundong standing at the door with his hands clasped behind his back and looking at her deeply.
"What, what is he doing here?" Zhou Qin thought, panicking and standing at the door in a daze.
Li Yundong looked at Zhou Qin dressed in white pajamas and standing gracefully at the door, looking like a water lily beginning to bloom, extremely delicate. She didn"t have her usual cold and reserved manner at that moment.
Li Yundong smiled and said, "Aren"t you going to invite me in?"
"Ah!" Zhou Qin felt as if she had just woken up from a dream. She blushed and stepped aside to make way for Li Yundong.
Li Yundong entered the room and glanced around. He saw two beds and two boudoirs, one pair of each set on each side of the girls" room and emitting a delicate fragrance. There was a desk between the beds. All kinds of Taoist cla.s.sics were neatly placed on it. One of them had been opened, and its paged were thoroughly covered with comments. Obviously, it was the notes Zhou Qin had made during her daily reading.
Li Yundong chuckled. He picked up a book and flipped through it. It was "Canon of the Yellow Thearch". Zhou Qin had added her own insightful commentary beside Li Yundong"s notes. Li Yundong secretly nodded and said to Zhou Qin, "Not bad, you"ve been diligent."
Zhou Qin didn"t know what Li Yundong wanted to do in her room at midnight. She was a little uneasy and said in a fl.u.s.ter, "Master, master, it"s so late. What"s going on?"
Li Yundong then realized that it was indeed inappropriate for him to have come to her room alone so late at night. He coughed awkwardly and said, "I do have something to do here. Close the door and I"ll tell you"
Zhou Qin"s heart was throbbing violently. A strange feeling that had been suppressed intensely within her was suddenly bursting out uncontrollably. This proud and beautiful girl"s face flushed. Her body trembled slightly as she closed the door. Her heartbeat quickened as she trilled. "Ma...ster, what"s the matter?"
Seeing Zhou Qin like this, Li Yundong felt a little regretful. He felt that he shouldn"t have come to her at such an hour and made her so panicky. However, thinking of Zhou Qin"s deep affection for him, he was so moved that he couldn"t bear it.
Li Yundong sighed lightly. He stretched out his hand, which was wrapped around the Renyuan Jindan, then spread his fingers and said to Zhou Qin, "Come on, eat this."
Zhou Qin saw a round pill rolling in Li Yundong"s palm. The pill was shining with golden light, gently illuminating the room. She suddenly widened her eyes. Although she felt a shimmer of doubt in her heart, she still picked up the Jindan from Li Yundong"s palm and swallowed it without any hesitation.
This Renyuan Jindan was around the size of a thumb and she swallowed it without water, making her cough and her face go red.
Li Yundong patted her back, feeling a mixture of amus.e.m.e.nt and anger. His finger tapped the Renying acupoint near Zhou Qin"s throat, relaxing the surrounding muscles all of a sudden, and the Jindan finally slid down into Zhou Qin"s stomach.
Although Zhou Qin had consumed the Jindan, she was still choked to tears and kept patting her own chest.
Li Yundong didn"t know whether to start crying or laughing at this point. "Are you taking medicine or committing suicide? You need to take water with a pill that big!"
Zhou Qin stood up and reluctantly smiled at Li Yundong, her eyes dimming. She whispered, "Master, did you come to me so late just to make me swallow that?"
Li Yundong saw that Zhou Qin did not know what she had eaten. He shook his head and said, "Don"t you know what that was? And you just swallowed it? What if it had been poison?"
Zhou Qin smiled slightly, her heart full of both bitterness and sweetness. "I"d willingly take poison if you gave it to me."
Hearing this, Li Yundong suddenly fell silent. He sighed gently, pulled out the chair in front of the desk and sat down. Then he patted her bed and said softly, "Zhou Qin, sit down. Listen to me."
Zhou Qin sat down softly and fixed her eyes on Li Yundong without saying a word, silently waiting for him to speak.
After thinking for a while, Li Yundong began to talk about how he had met Su Chan and how he had taken the Renyuan Jindan by mistake. He described all of the events that had led up to tonight, when they had s.n.a.t.c.hed Renyuan Jindan during the tangled battle of the Gezao Sect.
"It can be said that the reason why I, Li Yundong, turned from an ordinary person to a well-known cultivator now is all thanks to me having taken the Renyuan Jindan that you just consumed."
Only then did Zhou Qin realize how precious and magical the thing she had just swallowed was. She subconsciously touched her throat with her hand and said in a choked voice, "Why did you give it to me? Why didn"t you give it to Su Chan? Isn"t it supposed to be hers?"
"No, I talked about it with Su Chan," Li Yundong said softly. "We both think that you are the best person to take this Jindan. You have good apt.i.tude and are talented. After taking it, you will improve faster. Moreover..."
Zhou Qin suddenly said in a rough voice, "Besides, you think you owe me a lot, don"t you?"
Li Yundong fell silent again. After a while, he slowly nodded. "Yes, Zhou Qin, I really owe you too much. So, this is the only compensation I can give you. It also fulfills my promise to you that I will give you a new life and a new world. Renyuan Jindan has given me a new life and world. Now it"s time for you to come to this world."
Hearing this, Zhou Qin"s eyes suddenly twitched, and the tears in her eyes began to multiply. She stared at Li Yundong as her tears fell. This girl, who was known for having too much dignity, sobbed and said, "It"s not fair, it"s unfair! Why didn"t you ask me? You just made the decision for me!"
Li Yundong opened his mouth and said in a daze, "But it"s a treasure that every cultivator yearns for. You, you don"t want it?"
Zhou Qin suddenly threw herself into Li Yundong"s arms and hugged him tightly. She cried bitterly, "I"d rather not have taken it. I"d rather you owed me all your life. I didn"t want you to pay me back!"
Zhou Qin"s cry was like a hand ripping Li Yundong"s heart apart. His body suddenly froze, allowing Zhou Qin to hold him. His hands froze in mid-air, unsure whether to push the girl away or hold her tightly.
After a while, after Zhou Qin"s tears had soaked the material of Li Yundong"s top, she slowly calmed down. Zhou Qin wiped her tears away and withdrew from Li Yundong"s arms. She said bitterly, "Master, I"m sorry I made such a scene."
Li Yundong looked at the charming Zhou Qin, and his heart was heavy. He sighed softly and said, "Zhou Qin, you are a good..."
Zhou Qin didn"t wait for Li Yundong to finish his words. She immediately covered Li Yundong"s mouth with her hand as her tears began to fall again. "Stop, don"t give me a nice-girl speech!"
Before Li Yundong could finish his sentence, he heard what Zhou Qin said and couldn"t help but smile bitterly.
Zhou Qin looked at Li Yundong with tears in her eyes and said, "I have given you a nice-guy speech once before. You don"t have to give it back to me."
Li Yundong smiled bitterly and said, "I didn"t mean that."
Zhou Qin suddenly whispered, "Did you think I rejected you before, so..."
Li Yundong quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, absolutely not."
Zhou Qin was silent for a long time. Eventually, she murmured in a low voice, "We must have been quarrelsome lovers in our past lives, so we are quarrelsome lovers in this one too..."
Zhou Qin"s voice was extremely soft, like a mosquito"s chirp. Li Yundong didn"t hear her clearly and asked, "What?"
Zhou Qin bit her plump red lips with her pearly white teeth. Her eyes were overflowing with complicated emotions, full of love, aggrievance, anger, and obsession. She said word by word, "Quarrelsome lovers!"
Li Yundong seemed extremely embarra.s.sed. He looked away and didn"t say anything.
Zhou Qin stared at Li Yundong closely. Gradually, her sad expression disappeared, replaced by strength and stubbornness. She wiped her tears away with her palm and found a hair clip beside the bed. She used it to tie her hair up high, revealing her snow-white neck.
Zhou Qin took a slight breath and said calmly, "Master, I understand. I will make good use of this Jindan. I won"t let you down. What should I do next?"
Seeing that Zhou Qin was no longer angry at him, Li Yundong relieved in his heart. He said, "Meditate first, then I"ll teach you Qi control."
"Now?" Zhou Qin asked.
Li Yundong nodded and said, "That"s right. Even now, the Curative power of Renyuan Jindan is dissipating very quickly. Something will happen in just a while."
Without saying a word, Zhou Qin turned around and quickly tidied up the bed. She then sat cross-legged on it and faced Li Yundong, ready to use Qi control to meditate.
However, Li Yundong interjected. "No, you"re supposed to face the wall with your back to me. I"ll help you get Qi control later."
Zhou Qin immediately turned around, making her back face Li Yundong. She was about to sit down to use Qi control when she suddenly felt a wave of heat in her lower abdomen, as if there was a small mouse in there running back and forth.
Zhou Qin was stunned. She thought that she had become aroused because of her affection towards Li Yundong, so she subconsciously did not dare to say anything. But not long after, the Qi within her started getting stronger and stronger. Gradually, Zhou Qin felt as if her whole body had fallen into a big furnace, and all of her burning up.
At first, Zhou Qin gritted her teeth and struggled to hold on, but it wasn"t long before she finally couldn"t help moaning.
Li Yundong was shocked and quickly checked Zhou Qin"s pulse with his hand. He immediately found that the Qi in her body was running wild, just like an untamed horse out of control.
Li Yundong immediately sent his Zhenqi into Zhou Qin"s body to help her separate from the Qi in her body.
Li Yundong knew that when he had taken the Renyuan Jindan before, it had been time for him to sleep. At that time, the Renyuan Jindan had attacked his body, but he hadn"t felt pain or sadness because he didn"t have any other emotions or desires at that time, so he had been able to easily overcome the pain of the attack.
However, Zhou Qin was different. Firstly, her emotions were always on an up or down, and when she was conscious, she went through the difficulty of Jindan Fati. Then, when her Qi had begun to run wildly, she had not dared to tell Li Yundong because of her reservation. As a result, the Qi in her body was in total chaos now. She could not stand it anymore, and so Li Yundong had inevitably found out about it.
Fortunately, at this time, Li Yundong"s Zhenqi was far beyond the Curative power of Jindan"s Qi in Zhou Qin"s body, so he was able to control the Qi within her and make it return to their respective meridians. Therefore, the Qi would no longer run around and they could avoid the danger of Zouhuo Rumo.
As he controlled the Qi in Zhou Qin"s body, Li Yundong whispered, "That was a close call!"
Li Yundong thought to himself, "Why is it that there has been a rule that there must be a good master accompanying someone cultivating since ancient times? Why is a trusted training partner ranked third in the Five Elements of Cultivating Taosim? That"s the reason! If it weren"t for me being here just now, and if it wasn"t for the fact that my Zhenqi cultivation is stronger than the Curative power, Zhou Qin would have become disabled and I would have hurt her."
While Li Yundong was thinking about this alarming potential consequence brought about by the attack of Jindan Fati, he couldn"t help but feel a chill in his heart as it fluttered with fear. Thinking of this, he became more and more serious about protecting Zhou Qin"s cultivation.
Just like when Su Chan had guarded Li Yundong, Li Yundong, staying dressed and holding his palms against Zhou Qin"s back, stayed by Zhou Qin"s side without rest for two days and two nights!