Seduction Arts

Night.

Yan Jue returned to the dormitory and lay down on her bed.

Two straight days of intense activity had left her feeling as if her legs were about to give out. Yan Jue lifted her trouser leg and saw that the fair skin underneath had been rubbed raw into a bright red patch.

She hurried to her Qiankun bag and took out the ointment Qi Xianqing had given her, then slowly applied it to the chafed skin.

A cool, refreshing sensation spread from her skin through her entire body.

The air was faintly scented with mint.

Yan Jue froze.

The wound that had hurt as if it were tearing her apart no longer hurt at all; in its place was a deeply soothing sensation.

Yan Jue felt that the medicine Qi Xianqing had given her must be extremely rare.

She would have to return it tomorrow.

“...”

Yan Jue put away Qi Xianqing’s ointment, then picked up her things and went out.

In the forest leading to Qiwu Peak, she saw those ghostfire fireflies she had once seen that day.

The dim ghostly flames flared a little greener as soon as they spotted Yan Jue, then swarmed toward her.

Crackling sounds rang through the air, as if electricity were bursting.

But this time, Yan Jue wasn’t afraid.

She took a small round box from her chest, opened the lid, and saw viscous liquid rippling inside.

Yan Jue carefully held out the flower honey she had prepared with both hands.

Flower honey was not easy to get.

She had even gone to Five Dragons Market specially to ask around; after spending several Spirit Stones, she finally managed to buy this.

The golden honey slowly undulated, and a sweet fragrance filled the air.

The ghostfire drifting in the air paused for a moment when they saw the honey in Yan Jue’s hands.

In an instant, that eerie green glow gradually turned into a beautiful sapphire blue!

Yan Jue’s pupils contracted sharply.

So they really weren’t ghostfire; they were fireflies.

The leader of the ghostfire fireflies chirped a few times, its thin antennae trembling in the air. Thousands upon thousands of fireflies gathered into a river of light and rushed greedily toward the honey to drink their fill.

Yan Jue smiled at them.

The thousands of fireflies surged over, sapphire light drifting through the air like stars in the deep night sky.

The honey in the bowl was disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In that instant, the smile on Yan Jue’s face vanished, and a small glazed bottle shot out from her sleeve!

The glazed bottle glimmered faintly in the dark air; spiritual power flickered around it.

The tiny ghostfire fireflies let out shrill cries and were all sucked into the bottle.

The air turned black again, leaving only five or six stragglers drifting around the edges.

Yan Jue took the glazed bottle back and rolled it between her fingers, watching it gradually turn a fluorescent green.

Ghostfire fireflies were very weak spirits. Like all spirit-creatures, they needed to be raised in a glazed bottle.

Of course, a glazed bottle was not the only thing in the world that could be used to raise spirit-creatures.

It was just that Yan Jue was poor and could only use the most basic kind.

Raising spirit-creatures was much simpler than raising spirit beasts. Compared to picky spirit beasts, spirit-creatures only needed to be fed specific food on a regular basis, and then they could be used by people.

Yan Jue put the remaining fireflies into the glazed bottle as well and let out a satisfied breath.

From now on, she had one more thing to use for self-defense.

-

After catching the ghostfire fireflies, Yan Jue no longer wanted to stay in the dormitory.

This forest was very close to the Cold Pool, so Yan Jue thought she might as well go soak there.

The raw skin on the soles of her feet was still aching faintly.

The demon race’s self-healing ability was already excellent. She had just applied Qi Xianqing’s medicine, and if she went to soak in the Cold Pool now, the wound should heal almost completely.

Tomorrow, Yan Jue did not want to go climbing with any wounds at all.

When Yan Jue arrived at the Cold Pool, she subconsciously looked around.

She didn’t see Qi Xianqing.

Although as a human, Yan Jue did not dare to have too much intimate contact with Qi Xianqing.

But she had to admit that, as a fox, she really liked being with Qi Xianqing.

Qi Xianqing was unusually gentle with small animals.

The little fox had to admit that she liked her very much.

But it was also normal that Qi Xianqing did not come.

Thunderflame Sect had plenty of things to do, and Qi Xianqing couldn’t possibly have time to come to the Cold Pool every night.

...

The water of the Cold Pool was very icy.

Yan Jue soaked in it; at first it really was cold enough to cut to the bone, but later her body gradually began to warm up.

Yan Jue narrowed her eyes, feeling as if her entire fox-self had improved by a great deal. Her body also gradually relaxed, and she stretched out in the pool.

She even floated up.

Just as Yan Jue had her eyes closed, floating in the Cold Pool like a balloon, she suddenly heard a familiar set of footsteps behind her.

Yes, familiar footsteps.

Maybe because she had become a fox, Yan Jue had acquired some canine instincts; she was actually able to tell different people apart by their footsteps now.

For example, Qi Xianqing’s footsteps were heavy and unhurried.

...

Qi Xianqing came to the lakeside carrying her black sword and was suddenly met with the sight of a little red fox bathing in the water. The fox turned its head and looked at her with clear amber, narrow phoenix eyes, gazing at her through the moonlight for a long moment.

The little fox blinked lightly; faintly visible whiskers trembled, with a few crystal drops of lake water clinging to them.

Incredibly adorable.

Qi Xianqing’s eyes curved, and her tone was gentle. “You’re here so early.”

Yan Jue had already long since gotten used to the enormous difference between how Qi Xianqing treated her and how she treated the little fox. She immediately paddled over and looked at her with wide eyes.

It was a little hungry now and wanted something to eat.

Qi Xianqing looked at her, then took out a paper bag from her chest.

At once, a rich fragrance spread across the entire lakeshore.

Qi Xianqing shook the paper bag and still spoke gently. “Sit.”

Yan Jue: “...”

For some reason, she felt that the way Qi Xianqing was speaking to her was a little like the way she had spoken today to that long-haired dog, Xiaowang, outside the Thunderflame Sect dormitory.

Yan Jue: Hmph.

Yan Jue simply refused to sit. She stood there with a sulky little grunt.

Qi Xianqing murmured, “Do you not understand?”

When Qi Xianqing had said “sit” to the little fox just now, she had indeed been thinking of Xiaowang, the one Zhou Leng had brought over today.

But looking at it now, it seemed the baby fox did not understand what she was saying.

Did she still need to send it to the Beast Taming Pavilion for training?

Qi Xianqing took Yan Jue’s hand. “Shake.”

Yan Jue’s hand was lifted up, and then half a fragrant beef tendon meatball was stuffed into her mouth.

“Shake.”

Qi Xianqing crouched by the shore, patiently teaching her what a handshake was. She first lifted the fox’s paw, repeated the words “shake hands” again and again, and then fed her a meatball.

No one knew how long had passed.

In the end, Yan Jue could no longer bear it and finally lifted a paw to shake with her.

Qi Xianqing smiled. “Smart; you learned it after only sixteen times.”

She rubbed the fox’s fluffy face. “You’re a Nine-tailed Spirit Fox, so of course you have to be smarter.”

Yan Jue stared at her and couldn’t help rolling her eyes.

Look at this—was this the same person as the devil on Qiwu Peak yesterday?

Qi Xianqing then picked up her paw and looked at it closely.

“I noticed it just now,” Qi Xianqing said. “Your paw is injured. What happened?”

Yan Jue pulled her paw out of Qi Xianqing’s hand, pretending to be a little fox who understood nothing. She flicked her two big tails and looked at her blankly.

After all, foxes lived in the mountains and forests, so they were not as safe as humans. It was normal for accidents to happen from time to time, and getting injured was nothing strange.

Qi Xianqing held Yan Jue’s paw and took something out of her Qiankun bag.

Yan Jue looked; it was a dark reddish-brown wooden box.

Qi Xianqing opened it, and inside was a faintly glowing white ointment.

A faint, lingering fragrance filled the air.

Qi Xianqing: “I gave my medicine to a junior sister, so you can only use this for now.”

At the same time, Qi Xianqing understood why the little fox had been soaking alone in the Cold Pool when she arrived earlier.

Its paw was injured.

As expected, spirit foxes were very intelligent creatures; they knew that soaking in the Cold Pool after being injured would help them heal faster.

Qi Xianqing took out a cotton swab and carefully finished applying the medicine for the little fox. She pressed the soft little paw, and after confirming that it was nothing serious, she said softly, “Go walk around.”

The two of them walked along the lakeside.

Moonlight lay across the water like a sheet.

The fox’s waist was slender, its body light and graceful; its two fluffy tails swayed back and forth in the air, looking just like burning flames.

A huge flower butterfly suddenly flew out of the grass nearby. Yan Jue held back and held back, but in the end still couldn’t help herself; she hopped after it and reached out her fire-red paw to chase it.

Qi Xianqing followed behind with her hands behind her back, the corners of her lips lifting. Suddenly she crouched down and caught the little fox around the waist.

Yan Jue was startled; her whole body instinctively stiffened. She turned back and met those stunning peach blossom eyes.

Qi Xianqing: “Look over there.”

The little fox, only half understanding, followed Qi Xianqing’s gaze and looked that way, only to see mist rising above the Cold Pool, making it seem like a fairyland on earth.

“In the past, there used to be a lot of fireflies on the lake in late autumn.”

“They were like stars; very beautiful.” Qi Xianqing lowered her head, rubbing her chin against the fox’s clean, fluffy head. As if worried it might not understand, she gestured as she spoke:

“I especially liked it then; every time I would sit by the lake and watch all night.”

“But for some reason, I haven’t been able to see them in recent years.”

“It would be nice if I could still see them now.”

...

Qi Xianqing led Yan Jue onto the mountain path.

Yan Jue felt that Qi Xianqing must really like taking evening walks, and the routes she chose all had beautiful scenery.

The evening breeze brushed over her face; the soil was soft, taking good care of the little fox’s paws, and walking was very comfortable.

The mountain began to slope downward. After crossing a long, steep descent, Yan Jue stopped and sniffed the air, catching a refreshing floral scent.

She lifted her eyes slightly and couldn’t help freezing.

On the hillside in the distance, flowers of different colors were quietly blooming in the valley.

The blossoms swayed in the wind like a brilliant rainbow after rain.

“Here is the Valley of a Hundred Flowers,” Qi Xianqing said.

Yan Jue had once read about the Valley of a Hundred Flowers on Five Dragons Mountain when reading the novel.

After Qi Xianqing got together with the male lead, the two had once pledged themselves to one another in the Valley of a Hundred Flowers, and they had also slept together there in the open.

The Valley of a Hundred Flowers was extremely romantic, gathering all the spirit flowers under heaven and staying like spring all year round.

But in the novel, it also had a suggestive setting.

The surroundings suddenly became a little quiet.

Qi Xianqing took a water gourd from her Qiankun bag, poured some water for Yan Jue, and said hoarsely, “Recently I’ve been teaching a junior sister lightness skill.”

Yan Jue slowly licked the water. Hearing something related to herself, her ears couldn’t help perking up again.

Qi Xianqing usually did not talk much with other people.

But perhaps because the little fox could not speak, and maybe also because it seemed not to understand what she said, Qi Xianqing felt that talking to the little fox was very safe; she always found herself unable to stop confiding in it.

“But really, I haven’t taught her much; at first it was only the basics.”

“When I first started learning the basics, my master gave me two waterskins and told me to carry water up the mountain.”

“At that time my feet were blistered, and my legs felt like they were going to break, but every day I still forced myself to go before dawn.”

The little fox stared at her, blankly tilting its head, its ears twitching.

Qi Xianqing: “Only hardship can make you stronger. On the path of cultivation, there is no easy road.”

Qi Xianqing had an extraordinary persistence when it came to cultivation.

Cultivation is very important to me...

Yan Jue’s mind suddenly flashed with this sentence.

This was what Qi Xianqing had said to her that day in the illusion.

Yan Jue suddenly remembered that day by the Cold Pool, when Qi Xianqing came under a fierce attack from the black snake. At that time, she was close to breaking through a major barrier; in such an urgent situation, Qi Xianqing still refused to miss such a rare opportunity to advance, and even at the risk of being shattered by the black snake, she had insisted on dispersing the spiritual power inside her body.

Cultivation was very important to Qi Xianqing.

Was it because only by becoming stronger could she protect herself?

After saying that, Qi Xianqing fell silent.

Yan Jue, as a fox, wrinkled her nose and worked hard to recall the plot of the novel.

Yet she could not remember anything about Qi Xianqing’s childhood no matter how hard she tried.

She only remembered that Qi Xianqing had gone up Five Dragons Mountain when she was very small, and should not have had much family at all.

Qi Xianqing sat before the flowers and looked deeply at the star-filled night sky above her head. “That junior sister is very much like I was back then.”

“Even though she’s already very tired, she still made it through.”

“If she can keep going... that would be good.”

-

After Yan Jue returned from the Valley of a Hundred Flowers, she walked alone through the forest, quietly mulling over Qi Xianqing’s words.

She had originally wanted to slack off tomorrow, but after hearing Qi Xianqing say that, she no longer felt like it.

Qi Xianqing was right.

There was no easy road on the path of cultivation; if she wanted to become stronger, she had to be even harsher on herself.

-

Chu Fu waited outside Yan Jue’s dormitory for a long time.

He had originally thought that, given the hour, Yan Jue would definitely be in her room.

But the lights in the distant dormitory had never come on.

Chu Fu looked at the pitch-black window and couldn’t help frowning slightly.

It’s so late. What did Yan Jue go out for?

Could she have found someone new?

The only person who could have Yan Jue was him; the others shouldn’t even dream of it...

Suddenly, Chu Fu heard footsteps behind him.

Someone was coming.

He whirled around sharply, only to find that the person arriving was not Yan Jue, but a girl with a slightly baby-faced appearance!

Du Ying was a member of Kongqing Prefecture. She had once published gossip related to Chu Fu, the Watercloud Sect’s prospective disciple, in The Five Dragons Encyclopedia, so she was naturally no stranger to his face.

Looking at Chu Fu, she frowned. “Why are you here again? Didn’t Yan Jue say a long time ago that she wasn’t receiving visitors?”

Although she had often written all sorts of gossip about Chu Fu and Yan Jue before, Yan Jue was still her neighbor now. Du Ying thought Yan Jue was pretty nice, so naturally she sided with her.

Du Ying knew that Yan Jue did not actually like this Chu junior brother who had once been linked to her in scandal.

Chu Fu looked at Du Ying and gave an apologetic smile. “Greetings, senior sister. I didn’t really want to come either, it’s just that Senior Sister Yan invited me...”

As he spoke, a deeply warm peach-pink glimmer suddenly lit up in the depths of his pupils!

Du Ying stared blankly into Chu Fu’s gentle eyes; it felt as if her whole being were being drawn in by him, and for a moment she lost the ability to think. She nodded. “Oh, so Yan Jue called you.”

Chu Fu: “May I ask Senior Sister to pass the message along for me...”

For some reason, the faint irritation Du Ying had felt when she saw Chu Fu disappeared completely.

Du Ying stared at Chu Fu’s eyes; her face felt strangely warm, and she pressed her lips together before saying shyly, “Alright, I’ll pass it on for you later. Is it okay for you to stand here? The wind is strong at night; why don’t you come sit in my room?”

Chu Fu observed Du Ying’s expression, overjoyed.

The seduction arts he had been practicing recently had actually worked!

A few days ago, the Demon Lord had told him to learn seduction arts in order to bewitch Yan Jue, and Chu Fu had still been somewhat dismissive of the idea.

But after thinking it over, Yan Jue had no idea what had gotten into her, and her attitude toward him had become so bad.

Other than learning seduction arts to trick Yan Jue into bed, there really was no better way!

Chu Fu had always been very confident in his own talent; now, seeing this neighbor of Yan Jue’s reaction, his seduction arts were clearly already at a small level of mastery!

Chu Fu was delighted and hurriedly said, “No need. I’ll wait for her right here.”

Junior Brother Chu... is really very much in love with Yan Jue.

Du Ying licked her dry lips and, for some reason, very much hoped his wish would come true. “Work hard, junior brother. I wish you get Senior Sister Yan as soon as possible~”

Chu Fu: “Thank you, senior sister. I’ll definitely keep trying.”

Waiting for someone in the cold wind was already a point in his favor, and with his seduction arts added on top...

Maybe Yan Jue would be moved by him later.