Chapter 1715 - 1024: Too Many Friends Can Be a Problem

Shi Qingxuan kept teasing again and again, and Shi Feixuan wasn’t a stuffy gourd either; her brows lifted lightly as she said, "Has the ever-discerning, clear-headed Shi Qingxuan started learning other people’s bad habits now, or is it that when you look at someone..."

"Bad or not, Feixuan, you like it anyway."

"You..."

Shi Feixuan’s eloquence had always amazed the world, yet on this sort of topic she was actually not as nimble as the well-traveled, free-spirited Shi Qingxuan. After all, the girls of Cihang Calming Studio all tended to hold themselves rather properly and wouldn’t say anything too out of line.

Clearly this kind of talk already made Shi Feixuan feel she was overstepping, and she was a bit guilty about it.

All of a sudden, she said, "Qingxuan, that person..."

The two of them turned together, looking at the woman walking along the water-stage bridge.

That woman wore a light robe the color of clear water, her steps leisurely and loose, a long sword hanging at her waist. Her hair was done up in a knot at the back with a Magnolia hairpin. This hairstyle was typically something only women whose temperament was strong enough, whose aura mature enough, could carry; and this woman showed a high, snow-white, beautifully elegant swan neck as she walked at an unhurried pace, leaving the two of them only a back view that felt vaguely familiar.

Along the way, every passerby stared without shifting their gaze.

To be precise, what Shi Feixuan and the other recognized was that sword.

So both were stunned.

How could it be her.

They exchanged a glance, stepped onto that bridge as well, and followed along.

Right at this moment, upon the water banquet stage, Sui Yi saw the mist had already condensed into whirling Snow Lotus blossoms, ice-clear and crystalline, mist thin and gauzy. That faintly-twinkling figure gradually grew distinct, yet no matter how distinct, it could not compare to the woman on the central lotus pedestal...

He finally saw her figure clearly.

When she twisted her waist and lifted the sacrificial bronze mirror up beside her forehead, long legs and slender waist, skin like congealed cream****, the lines of her brows and eyes, focused on her dance, shifted inexplicably between pure, transcendent elegance and wanton, peerlessly seductive charm—like a serpent, like a demon. The space around her seemed already to have begun moving with her dance, warping, until dragons and serpents writhed madly; those accompanying dancers were likewise turned into little demon-snakes...

The one in the center was naturally the Snake King.

The Snake King turned her body, ending the piece with a spinning pose frozen in place; only then did everyone finally see her face clearly.

Many people sucked in a breath of cold air.

When they came back to themselves, they realized the Snow Lotus blossoms had, who knew when, already turned into Golden Roses. So they had all been so entranced they hadn’t even noticed such a transformation?

Looking again at that woman’s features, they thought to themselves that no wonder they’d been dumbstruck.

Allow me to be dumbstruck one more time.

The whole venue held its breath in quiet.

Mei Ji’s gaze burned bright—beautiful, truly extremely beautiful. Even seeing her for the second time, she still made one feel they couldn’t help themselves.

This woman was too beautiful.

So beautiful that quite a few Chief Students on the Academy Faction side fell silently mute. People always said Qin Yu was exceedingly beautiful, yet cold and indifferent to human affairs; Du Zhi was exceedingly beautiful, yet so solitary and desolate he barely seemed human. None of them were beautiful in this soul-rending way, as if born solely to ensnare people’s hearts.

Such Peerless beauty.

"Boss, it’s her," Qin Mang had somehow appeared beside Greedy Wolf Star, but before he got the usual reply from Greedy Wolf Star and turned his head, he discovered that the lord Greedy Wolf Star—who’d always been unconcerned with women—was staring fixedly at Xiao Yao, to the point of not even hearing his words. And the way a man looked at a woman—Qin Mang knew it only too well.

Des~ire, the des~ire to possess her.

Even the Dragon Queen was briefly taken aback, staring at Xiao Yao with a touch of contemplation. Of course, in others’ eyes, this simply meant the Dragon Queen too was startled by this woman’s beauty.

"Ah, there are rumors that the Seductive Tower produces Peerless beauties—indeed it does," the Ape Queen’s red lips moved slightly, but her tone was rather lukewarm.

As if she didn’t like Xiao Yao.

And indeed, most women don’t like anyone more beautiful than themselves, especially someone beautiful in a way that scratches right at people’s hearts.

All the more so married women, who are even more wary of this sort of beauty.

The Ape Queen herself was one who could seduce, so if she saw a beauty even more enticing, and young enough to squeeze water from, in Empresses in the Palace she’d have her given a length of red silk and beaten to death, then sent to the Mass Burial Mound in minutes.

So most people were thinking along these lines. The Ice Venerable gave Li Qingyun a glance, then flicked her gaze over to the faint ripples in the Dragon Queen’s eyes. Her fingers tapped against her long legs.

These two were rather interesting.

But her gaze quickly hopped past the Twin Queens and slipped over to the Literati area...

Landing on a certain Teacher who had turned his head to speak to Wen Ji. Hm?

This woman really was different from others—she didn’t love beauty? (She isn’t human, isn’t human, isn’t human.)

No wonder she treated herself so indifferently.

The Ice Venerable’s brows had only just lifted when she heard the two of them talking.

Wen Ji: "So beautiful. I’ve seen her a few times and she’s always so beautiful. Hey, what do you think, Sui?"

Sui Yi: "Mm, she is very beautiful."

Wen Ji: "But why don’t you look at her at all? Are you afraid you’ll fall for Xiao Yao?"

Sui Yi: "Yes."

Yes—answered so crisply.

Wen Ji’s laughter tinkled, delicate; Sui Yi’s lips pressed, then curved lightly. They looked like they were having an excellent conversation.

The Ice Venerable could only chuckle dryly.

Teacher, Teacher, so unseemly for your age.

The Ice Venerable’s gaze lingered a moment longer, but no one really noticed, save for a certain Golden Emperor.

He tilted his head, his gaze skimming across Sui Yi’s face, fingers rolling his Buddha Beads. He seemed surprised, yet also faintly amused, but in truth his eyes were extremely calm.

Sui...Mr. Sui, is it?

"What is your name?" the Dragon Queen asked.

Xiao Yao dipped slightly in a small bow. "Xiao Yao."

By this time the Dancing Girl had stepped forward to explain Xiao Yao’s identity. In truth, the Dancing Girl herself was puzzled. It wasn’t that she hadn’t expected Xiao Yao to inspire people’s astonishment, but she hadn’t thought the Twin Queens would be interested. After all, the Twin Emperors weren’t present here, and as the Emperor and Empress, the best way to handle this would be to downplay Xiao Yao’s presence, not highlight her like this, thereby increasing her fame.

If judged purely by a woman’s perspective, the Twin Queens’ beauty was no less than Xiao Yao’s, and their aura surpassed hers. Was there really a need to focus so much attention on a pretty junior?

The Twin Queens were not that tier of woman.

So...there had to be something special.

The Dancing Girl carefully looked Xiao Yao over. This girl...

"Buyi Tribe...a tribe of beauties, what we see is no illusion."

Since even the Dragon Queen praised her thus, the others chimed in all the more.

Thus Xiao Yao instantly became the focal point. The Golden Roses, lush and dripping with desire, circled about her, yet at this moment Xiao Yao seemed somewhat taciturn and shy, entirely different from the wanton enchantress she’d been in her dance just now.

After thanking the Ape Queen for her praise and just as she was about to withdraw, Xiao Yao had only taken a single step back when suddenly...

The water below suddenly dimmed and began to bubble. These bubbles rising around Sui Yi were bizarre, and by the time the guards suspended in the sky noticed...

The bubbles burst one after another, releasing thick, intense greenish vapor, sticky and dense, instantly shrouding the waterside platform and the air above it in an airtight curtain.

"Enemy attack!"

"Protect the Dragon Queen and the Crown Prince!"

The guards and experts had just started to take flight when suddenly...

Their limbs went soft and powerless.

Not good, poison!

Panic ensued.

Greedy Wolf Star, Ice Venerable, and the Golden Emperor all sat there calmly.

Meanwhile, on the water platform, a Zither Master who had been playing suddenly drew a longsword from beneath the zither with his fingers...

And it wasn’t just one Zither Master.

One inconspicuous—or very conspicuous—figure after another suddenly moved, all with the same target—Ape Crown Prince Jing Sha!

The sheer number and strength of the assassins stunned Sui Yi, but she also noticed that Crown Prince Jing Sha actually had no powerful guards at his side, his Defense completely hollowed out, leaving only himself to face all these assassins. He erupted with strength of the Cloud Ascendant Realm’s Fourth Level, yet still got injured within a round or two.

He was about to be cut down right before their eyes.

Jing Sha sprang sideways in a sudden leap to dodge.

But the moment His Highness dodged, the Literati Group over here started cursing.

Damn it, is he nuts? Why is he running this way!

The pampered, delicate Literati were so terrified their faces turned green.

The Literati had always disdained the ostentatious act of bringing bodyguards, so when they saw Crown Prince Jing Sha, agile as a cat, fleeing straight toward them, while those assassins were even more monstrously agile—closing the distance in just a few moves—good grief, their hands rose and fell, the Cloud Ascendant Realm unfolded and locked on!

They directly enveloped a whole swath of Literati, as well as the Sect Master and nearby nobles, within their domain.

And then...

Kill!

Sui Yi looked up and saw those attacks coming....

But just then, her wrist was yanked by Wen Ji, pulling her aside to dodge. However, her right hand was seized by Zhi Wen, and with one tug from each side, she literally couldn’t move.

Awkward.

Well, turns out having too many friends isn’t always a blessing.

What made it even more of a pain was that Jing Sha, after striking back with one sword and dodging again, happened to land in the chaos right behind Sui Yi and the others.

Wonderful—those assassins immediately brought their attacks crashing down on Sui Yi, this female Literatus, from head to toe.

NO!

Wen Ji and Zhi Wen only knew they couldn’t abandon this "Granddaughter Rescuer" / "New Good Bro," but hadn’t realized they were dragging themselves into the mess as well.

So, uh, is it still too late to toss this unlucky soul aside?

A hair’s breadth from disaster.

Swish.....

Two streaks of flowing light shot out suddenly; one came from a masked guard standing behind the Ape Queen, rushing to shield Jing Sha. Yet someone else was even faster, despite being farther away, that streak of light shooting in like a meteor....

A spear thrust in a single flowing motion.

A spear’s radiance in a single streak.

It struck the Zither Master who had drawn his sword, then a trailing afterimage arced up in another stabbing sweep.

The spear moved like a dragon.

A dragon’s cry, clear and cold.

The Zither Master was hit, the right side of his chest blown hollow; he spat blood as he was flung into the air, and the instant he hit the ground he rolled over, staring toward the place that streak of light had shot from.

It was a...

Woman. No one knew when she had appeared. She held a long spear, purple tassels fluttering from the shaft. Her gaze was sharp and unyielding. She wasn’t wearing armor today, just a simple white everyday robe, ink-black hair and white garment, with the eyes beneath her mask as keen and cool as Xuan Ji, Agile and solemn.

But in order to cut off that sword light and fling the man away, she had already closed the distance.

Once she was close...

The Female Teacher, whose wrists were being pulled left and right and who was stuck in place with a slightly awkward expression, lifted her head and saw the female spearmaiden crouched low on the step directly in front of her.

Dragon Maiden Yin Lih.

So close they were almost touching.

She lowered her head and saw Sui Yi, taking in that slightly embarrassed yet plain face.

She froze for a moment.

Within a second, a scene flashed into her mind.

That Female Teacher, fresh from a bath, body wrapped only in a thin gauze, eyes breathtakingly beautiful... back then, her face had also been filled with awkwardness.

It felt like the scene was playing back in real time.

In her head, three big characters popped up.

—Shared Bath.

Then another three.

—You Again.

Sui Yi was not the sort of person who couldn’t read people; just from this woman’s gaze she could tell she’d been recognized, and that... well... the other party was clearly thinking about something she herself would rather not remember.

And... this was inexplicably a bit awkward.

In fact, Wen Ji and Zhi Wen were feeling extremely awkward as well.

Mainly because...

Well, Mr. Sui... Ice Venerable is here, you know.

—Why do you have so many people rushing to save you? Weren’t you supposed to have "plain, unremarkable looks that don’t attract anyone"?