Chapter 71 - I Will Protect You

"Are you Ling Chuxi?" asked the proud-looking maiden who was blocking their way.

Ling Chuxi sized up the maiden standing before her and immediately recognized her—she was the young maiden she had seen riding down the street on horseback the other day. The one the people called a peerless genius. What was with her unfriendly tone?

"Yes, I am. Is there anything I can help you with?" replied Ling Chuxi calmly.

"I'd like to know how on earth you managed to get Teacher Mu to accept you as his disciple. I guess I'll find out during the upcoming training." Lan Xinyu spoke with glaring discourtesy. By now, she had recognized Ling Chuxi as the maiden in the window she had locked eyes with when she rode into town the other day. Ling Chuxi's sharp gaze and refined temperament had left an impression on her with a mere glance. Despite this, never did Lan Xinyu think she'd be someone Teacher Mu would take in as a disciple.

"I suppose you could ask Mu Liufeng—uh, master, yourself. I don't think he'd mind." Ling Chuxi wasn't used to addressing Mu Liufeng as "master" yet, but she corrected herself as she was sure he'd be unhappy if he found out she was addressing him using his full name and would call her a "wicked disciple" again. But, wait. Why did Lan Xinyu have such an infatuated look on her face? Don't tell me that the crazy, narcissistic jerk that is Mu Liufeng actually had an admirer? How illogical!

Upon hearing Ling Chuxi utter Mu Liufeng's full name as such, Lan Xinyu's expression changed. Her jealousy compelled her to move her hand subconsciously towards the golden whip hanging from her waist—her weapon of choice.

Ling Chuxi clocked Lan Xinyu's movements and raised an eyebrow. No more playing nice. "Tsk, tsk. What's up with you? You want to brawl right here at the academy?" asked Ling Chuxi tauntingly. She smirked. "Come on then, I'm not afraid of a little fight. I have a backer, so I won't be expelled."

The color of Lan Xinyu's face turned pig-liver red. She was so angry that her hands began to tremble slightly. That's right, she knew as well as anyone that in order to take action against another student, one had to gain approval from the teachers first. Once the purpose of a battle had been determined as mere sparring between students so each could learn and gain pointers from the combat methods of the other, only then would permission be granted. If students were to battle without gaining permission, it would merely be considered a fight and all parties involved would be expelled. The sting of Ling Chuxi's words was very clear—since her backer was Mu Liufeng, even if she had been caught fighting with Lan Xinyu, he would shield her from any consequences unlike the lack of protection Lan Xinyu would face! Ling Chuxi's words succeeded in rubbing salt into Lan Xinyu's wounds.

"I must bid you farewell. I have a very busy day ahead of me since I need to attend to the matter of eating the top-rated soybean pudding from Chengxi." Ling Chuxi smiled and flounced away after saying such angering-to-death-without-care-for-compensation words. She then called out to Ling Yichen who'd been waiting for her a short distance away and left together with him without paying Lan Xinyu any care. Rage bubbled up in Lan Xinyu to the point of causing her to go green in the face.

"What an indecent person this Ling Chuxi is! I will teach her a lesson once training starts! I'll make her kneel before me and beg. Teacher Mu will be able to see clearly who is more suited to be his disciple then!" Lan Xinyu gripped the golden whip against her waist tightly and forced her words out through gritted teeth.

…

Far off in the distance, Ling Chuxi sneezed. A frown appeared on Ling Yichen's handsome face as he looked at Ling Chuxi in concern. "Have you caught a cold?"

"No. It must be Lan Xinyu griping about me behind my back!" said Ling Chuxi with certainty. She cradled Little White tightly in her arms and added cheerfully, "I couldn't possibly catch a cold with Little White warming my bed every night."

"Still, it's better to be careful in every regard." Ling Yichen turned to look back at Lan Xinyu standing a long way behind them, unmoving from where they had originally left her. There was slight concern in his voice as he continued, "I think she will definitely find ways to cause trouble for you however and whenever she can. She has a monster beast with strong cultivation techniques so you should be careful."

Ling Chuxi's lips curled into a sneer. "Really? She should bring it on then. Let's see how peerless this peerless genius truly is."

Ling Yichen's expression softened as he began to speak his next words, "I will—" However, Ling Chuxi cut him off happily before he could finish what he was going to say.

"Yichen, look! Roasted chestnuts coated with sugar! Quick, let's try some. We can order two servings to start with. One and a half portions for me and a half portion for you," whispered Ling Chuxi gleefully as she looked at the cart selling roasted chestnuts.

Ling Yichen gave her a feeble smile and resignedly trudged off to buy the roasted chestnuts, swallowing the words he had meant to say: "I will protect you."