Chapter 112 - A Mission of Blood
The beautiful girl looked at Shi Mu in astonishment, her eyes wide open, and as she had just bathed, the moisture on her skin only added an unusual appeal to her gracefulness. In Shi Mu’s eyes, she was just like a lotus flower appearing above the water, so clean and charming that his chest stung.
Suddenly, coming to himself, Shi Mu found it imperative to give a decent explanation. He blushed and stammered a little, speaking in a great haste, “Sister Ke. it’s… it’s not what you are thinking… Oh I didn’t presume to mean that I know what you are thinking...it’s just that...I wasn’t peeping. Please believe me, I was just passing by when I heard something so I thought I’d better have a look...”
“It’s ok brother Shi. Of course I believe in you. I’ve been hiding in the mine for days, waiting for my next mission, so I thought why not have a bath here when the sun still hasn’t risen.” Ke Er replied, her face also blushing. Then she waved her hand, and the black vine branch soon disappeared into the earth.
Shi Mu had a quick, last glance of the branch, his eyes thoughtful. The two of them exchanged an embarrassed look wordlessly, feeling the air around them grow dense.
“Huh, the day’s breaking, let’s hurry back .” Giving a dry cough, Shi Mu sheathed his blade, trying to break the ice.
Ke Er blushed a little but said nothing. She casually straightened out her hair and followed Shi Mu toward the way back to their stronghold.
So the two of them walked silently through the trees, soft morning rays piercing through the foliage. Except for the chirping of birds, the world seemed to have been enveloped in total quietness. Shi Mu slowed down his pace while the Ke Er followed, with a short distance between them. Both were enjoying bathing in the light without saying anything. Seen from afar, this constituted a perfectly romantic picture, with the youth tall and stalwart, his arms waving like wind, and the girl small and delicate, looking rather timid and endearing. [HJ: As a feminist I’d rather not translate this sentence...But I am a loyal TL, you know.]
[EC: I feel our TL is going to have a lot of issues with this, considering the fact that the author is definitely NOT a feminist.]
“Brother Shi was out at this time of the day, so were you practicing all night?” Ke Er’s beautiful eyes blinked innocently as she sped up to catch up with Shi Mu.
“Yeah, it is quiet outside. Which is good for practicing alone.” Shi Mu nodded as he replied.
“Brother Shi is so hard-working, no wonder you are such a strong warrior and also a talented Adept at the same time! I could never match you in practice at all. As I far as I know, there’s no one in the young generation of our Ethereal Phoenix Sect that can compare with brother Shi.” Ke Er’s gaze turned soft as she spoke gently.
“Sister Ke flatters me. You are also very brilliant in the magic of wood. The vine branch you controlled just now should be something quite unusual, right?” Shi Mu asked in a casual tone.
“It was just an ordinary wood spell. How can it compare with Brother Shi’s magic? Oh, speaking of your magic, I’m running out of charms, could brother Shi help me make some Fire Ball charms? Or would that take too much of your time?” Ke Er suddenly changed the topic and asked him in a sweet voice.
“If Sister Ke offers the materials, it should be no problem.” Shi Mu answered quickly.
The atmosphere between them became quite cordial as they chatted all the way. Soon they had come near to the stronghold’s entrance where the huge tree stood. Suddenly, the leaves of the tree rustled violently and out came a dashing man.
Ke Er was taken aback at first, but when she made out that it was White Jade she lowered her guard with a soft sigh. But Shi Mu frowned, for an ominous feeling arose in his heart.
“You two ….” Staring at them, White Jade could not help but feel a fit of indignation turning his insides upside down. His face stern, he snapped a fierce look at Shi Mu, which the latter had already expected. Resting his eyes on Ke Er and himself in turn, even Shi Mu began to feel an involuntary sympathy toward White Jade: Ke Er’s hair was still wet, which suggested a recent bath. As for himself, dew had wet his clothes, due to him staying up all night on the grass - a sight that resembled a post-bath scene. Therefore, what else could White jade think of before two such wet people?
By now, Ke Er had also realized this, recalling herself naked before Shi Mu, her face reddened even more. Her rosy cheeks and quasi-acquiescence of the bath ignited the jealousy that had already been simmering in White Jade’s chest.
“Does brother White have any business with me? If not, please excuse me. “ Shi Mu broke the silence in an indifferent tone, then strode away before White Jade could say anything. He was well aware that if he tried to make any explanations it would only make the situation worse. Ke Er saluted White Jade perfunctorily then also walked away, bypassing him to follow Shi Mu. Gazing painfully at the two receding figures, White Jade’s eyes were full of malice that even he himself could not contain.
After returning to his room, Shi Mu sat thinking deeply. White Jade had always been hostile to him, and would cause him trouble now and then in recent months, but had still dared not go too far, considering Shi Mu’s Adept identity. But that was before today. Now that this embarrassing event had happened, the two of them had officially fallen out, as it is. So he had every reason, from now on, to be wary of White Jade. However, since Shi Mu was accustomed to concealing his actual strength before the other disciples in this stronghold, all had always considered him an average warrior. Plus, the many charms he had with him, as well as many secret techniques and gadgets as his trump cards, he was confident to survive any of White Jade’s plots. Also, he would not just bite the bullet without striking back if White Jade ever resorted to indecent means.
For the following period of time, Shi Mu sat with his legs crossed, and fumbled in his shirt for some time before he took out a black bone slip on which was recorded the Art of the Stong Ape. A cloud of deep regret covered his eyes as he held the slip in his hand, studying it once again - he still could not practice this art. After he had reached the fourth level of the Art of the Heavenly Elephant, Shi Mu had exchanged for a bottle of Demon’s Qi and some blood of the heavenly apes with his feat points at a stronghold of the union’s. With this stuff, he tried to practice the Art of Strong Ape, but his accumulated real qi was still far too weak before the Demon’s Qi, which subject him to the danger of being infected by the Demon’s spirit. Judging from the current conditions, he might as well try it later when he had reached the fifth level of the Art of Heavenly Elephant.
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