Chapter 25
Chapter 25: Sharp Tongue
The box felt scorching in Jiang Li Sheng’s hands. She wanted to return it to Wei Qing Lan, but he’d said it clearly when he left: if she didn’t want it, throw it away.
Could she still bring it back to him now?
An Ru Xu looked at her with a complicated expression. “Junior Sister Jiang, you really struck gold.”
He truly believed Junior Sister Jiang had outrageous fortune. She’d arrived at Kun Lun Sect with nothing, and in the blink of an eye, she had everything. A single jia fruit could be sold for a priceless sum—and she had a whole box.
Senior Brother Wei really was willing to part with it.
If it were An Ru Xu, he wouldn’t be able to bear giving it away, much less an entire box.
Jiang Li Sheng stood there, speechless. “I said I didn’t want it, but he insisted…”
An Ru Xu stared at her. “Junior Sister Jiang, can you open it and let me take a look? I’ve never seen jia fruit from Bu Zhou Mountain. Only Senior Brother Wei would dare go to the Bu Zhou Divine Realm at the Golden Core Stage.”
He sighed. “So many at the Divine Transformation Stage went and never returned. They were left in Bu Zhou Mountain.”
Jiang Li Sheng nodded and opened the box. The fruits were arranged neatly, but one was missing now, leaving an obvious gap. Even so, the remaining jia fruit were plump and beautiful, tempting enough that they looked unreal.
An Ru Xu only glanced once before he snapped the lid shut. “Junior Sister Jiang—hurry and put it away!”
He swallowed hard and turned his face aside, as if afraid of what he might do if he looked again.
Jiang Li Sheng suddenly remembered: this was the man who’d eaten even a yuan hu. Without hesitation, she opened the box again, took out a jia fruit, and held it out to him. “Senior Brother An, I’ll give you one.”
Wei Qing Lan had forced the box into her hands. He clearly wasn’t going to take it back, and she couldn’t return it anyway.
An Ru Xu froze. Then he took a full step back, shaking his head hard and waving both hands. “No, no.”
He turned and bolted toward his courtyard, talking fast as he fled. “Junior Sister Jiang, this jia fruit isn’t just for stamina. It replenishes spirit and sharpens the mind. It fills you with energy, helps you forget sorrow, slows aging, and extends life. It’s the most helpful thing for you right now!”
By the time he finished, he’d already slipped into his courtyard and vanished.
Jiang Li Sheng held the jia fruit, stunned at how fast he’d dodged. If he’d dodged like this when that yuan hu escaped from Spirit Beast Peak, would he have been punished to the Discipline Hall and beaten by Instructor He every day?
She put the jia fruit back into the box and shut the lid.
These snacks were too expensive. She should store them away and not eat them casually.
“Junior Sister Jiang really has tricks,” a cold, venomous voice said from not far away. “You’ve only been at Kun Lun Sect a few days, and you’ve already hooked Senior Brother An’s soul. Now you’ve even made Senior Brother Wei hand over the entire box of jia fruit he risked his life to bring back from Bu Zhou Mountain.”
The speaker scoffed. “Qing Xu Sect doesn’t cultivate immortal arts—it cultivates devil arts that bewitch hearts, doesn’t it? No wonder all these years, with three thousand on the Feng Yun Rankings, you can’t even hang on at the bottom. Not a step of progress.”
Jiang Li Sheng turned and saw Zhao Ke Xin standing nearby. She must have come out while An Ru Xu was speaking with her.
Whenever An Ru Xu was involved, Zhao Ke Xin was like a cat that smelled blood—sharp ears, sharper instincts.
Jiang Li Sheng’s face chilled. Insult her all you wanted, but dragging Qing Xu Sect into it was too much.
She gave a cold laugh. “Senior Sister Zhao, go ask Kun Lun Sect’s Sect Master Qin. What kind of heart-bewitching devil art would let Qing Xu Sect stand as one of the three great sects in this world?”
She tilted her chin. “Or go ask your master, Martial Uncle Jin. Her disciples keep saying Qing Xu Sect cultivates devil arts—so what devil art is it, exactly? Why didn’t it bewitch a loudmouthed person like you to death?”
Zhao Ke Xin choked. “You—”
Jiang Li Sheng didn’t let her breathe. Her irritation sharpened into something mean. “If you’re ugly, stop trying so hard to get attention. Are you a dog? Always staring at me, always trying to bite. If you like Senior Brother An, then go like him in front of him. Why keep causing trouble for me? If you like some man, does that mean no one else is allowed to even speak to him?”
She sneered. “We’re fellow disciples. You’re not even anything to him. What are you being so possessive for? No wonder Senior Brother An keeps avoiding you. You’re like a tigress. As if he’d ever like you.”
Zhao Ke Xin’s face twisted. “You…”
“I already told you to put your effort into the man,” Jiang Li Sheng went on, “but you’re stubborn as a rock. You keep staring at me and biting like a mad dog.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Senior Sister Zhao, don’t you know? I’m not some sweet-tempered person. Stop provoking me. Otherwise, you’ll bear the consequences.”
“You’re someone who caused a huge disaster in Qing Xu Sect and got sent to Kun Lun Sect,” Zhao Ke Xin snapped. “What right do you have to be arrogant? Today I’ll show you what happens when you threaten me.”
She drew her sword and charged.
Jiang Li Sheng drew her own sword to block. In the blink of an eye, they traded several fierce blows.
Zhao Ke Xin was at mid Foundation Establishment. Jiang Li Sheng was only at early Foundation Establishment, a full realm lower. The pressure from the higher realm crashed down on her like a weight.
Jiang Li Sheng didn’t care.
Her swordwork was a mess—no form, no elegance. But precisely because it had no form, it was hard to read. She dodged when she needed to, struck when she could, and moved on instinct. For a moment, Zhao Ke Xin couldn’t gain the advantage.
An Ru Xu had returned to his courtyard at first. Hearing their barbed exchange, he hesitated—should he go out and stop it? In that brief hesitation, the fight erupted. By the time he realized, steel was already flashing.
His scalp went numb. He rushed out anyway.
“Senior Sister Zhao! Junior Sister Jiang!” An Ru Xu shouted, stepping between them. “Stop fighting!”
Zhao Ke Xin was striking with real murderous intent. She couldn’t pull her blade back in time, and it drove into An Ru Xu’s shoulder.
Jiang Li Sheng’s spiritual power had been depleted too badly. One jia fruit couldn’t restore her immediately—not with her strange, special spiritual power. She was a beat too slow, and An Ru Xu was directly in front of her.
He took the sword for her.
“Senior Brother An!” Zhao Ke Xin’s face drained white the moment she realized what she’d done.
Jiang Li Sheng didn’t speak. Looking at this disaster of a “peach blossom” who’d blocked a blade for her, she didn’t know what to say. She still felt wronged about how she’d gotten dragged into this mess in the first place.
An Ru Xu pressed a hand to the wound, jaw tight as he looked at Zhao Ke Xin. “Senior Sister Zhao. I really don’t like you. Stop looking for trouble with Junior Sister Jiang.”
Zhao Ke Xin’s eyes reddened. “Senior Brother An… do you like her? She’s a useless cultivator—everyone knows—how could you…”
“No,” An Ru Xu said immediately. “I’ve only known Junior Sister Jiang for a few days. I don’t like you, and that has nothing to do with her.”
He drew a slow breath, voice steady despite the pain. “Junior Sister Jiang is now also a disciple of Kun Lun Sect. As fellow disciples, I’ve always treated senior brothers and senior sisters with sincerity. I hope you put your heart into cultivation and stop sinking into childish romance.”
“I don’t believe you,” Zhao Ke Xin said, tears spilling over. “From the first day I entered, I’ve liked you. You’ve always treated everyone kindly. Among Kun Lun Sect’s disciples, you don’t treat anyone differently.”
Her voice trembled. “But you’re different with Jiang Li Sheng. The way you look at her…”
“Junior Sister Zhao.” An Ru Xu’s expression hardened. “Don’t speak nonsense. If you keep clinging to me and spewing rumors that ruin my cultivation, I will ask Martial Uncle Zhou of the Discipline Hall to uphold justice and hold you accountable under sect law.”
Zhao Ke Xin went silent. A moment later, she began to tremble all over.
“Fine,” she whispered. “Fine… Senior Brother An, you say I’m talking nonsense. Then I’ll watch you. I’ll watch you and her and see whether I’m the one ruining your cultivation—or whether you’re the one lying to yourself.”
She turned and ran back to her courtyard in tears.