Chapter 17.2

Cannot be Compared to a Donkey (2)

“I don’t need the lower grade Immortal Spirit Pills. Your donkey ate them so let it be. It’s already late. Go back.” Qiao Shu smiled comfortingly at Ji Qingzhou. “And stay with your donkey for another three years.”

By Qiao Shu mentioning ‘for another three years’, it seemed that even he didn’t consider that Ji Qingzhou could reach the top three.

Ji Qingzhou sincerely thanked him and took Maomao away.

She took Maomao up to the Flywheel and under the moon, she crouched down.

Ji Qingzhou  touched Maomao’s head very slowly, and her fingers brushed over his eyes. The old donkey was really pitiful. He followed her to Xuanyun Sect, but before he could enjoy his blessings for a few more days, he was going to die.

But what could be done? He was old.

Maomao’s nostrils were still warm, and it sprayed on Ji Qingzhou’s cold palm.

While approaching the White Water Island, Ji Qingzhou hugged Maomao’s neck tightly as if she had made up her mind.

Since the Flywheel flew fast, Maomao’s hooves kept moving restlessly.

Ji Qingzhou hugged him and whispered in his long rabbit-like ears, her voice gentle, “Don’t be afraid.”

When she flew back to White Water Island, she didn’t notice anyone on the shore, but on the shallow beach under the moon, someone was standing with a sword.

Shen Rongyu watched her fly from the lake with Maomao. He saw her partly bent, hugging the donkey that was dying of old age with her plain clothes all over the place.

He heard her whisper, “Don’t be afraid.”

Shen Rongyu remained silent under the moon for a long time, and finally, he came to a simple and direct conclusion.

— He could not even be compared to a donkey.

Ji Qingzhou took Maomao back, and after he ate the lower grade Immortal Spirit Pill given by Qiao Shu, he was in good shape, munching and gnawing on carrots in the courtyard.

She lay back on the bed again.

The system asked, “Host, if you want to take the top three, my only advice is for you to try a little harder. But you still should not hold too much hope about getting to the top three.”

Ji Qingzhou pushed the small mirror hanging around her neck behind her back, clutched the quilt, and covered her head.

For a long time, in the silent room, she might have sounded soft and gentle, but her voice was clear: “I want to take the top three.”

The system thought, ‘All it took was Maomao. Although, if he dies, Ji Qingzhou won’t shed a single teardrop.’

Ji Qingzhou got up on time the next day. She pointed her toes on the ground with some hesitation.

Sometimes, when she went to the morning class from the White Water Island to another elder’s cave, she ran into Shen Rongyu outside the island.

He walked dashingly with his sword, while she drove her Flywheel and moved at a snail’s pace.

Ji Qingzhou was looking for Shen Rongyu today. She had something to ask him, so she waited for him on the shore of the lake for a long time.

The morning daylight shone, and gold leapt on the lake surface. Shen Rongyu came out of the forest with Burial Snow Sword hanging loosely around his waist, and when he saw Ji Qingzhou waiting there, his footsteps stopped.

Ji Qingzhou swallowed for a moment. She wanted to speak, but the words died before they could come out.

She swallowed again. Shen Rongyu observed her nervous and uneasy appearance, waiting for her to speak up.

She almost wasted her hard work before she stammered, “Xiao Yu-shixiong.”

“What?” Shen Rongyu responded almost instantly. He could not wait for Ji Qingzhou to grow a mouth.

“I … you … tonight …” Ji Qingzhou wanted to speak more but came to an abrupt halt.

Here was what she thought. The two courses that held her back the most were cultivation and magic. Her current cultivation was only the first level of Qi Condensation measured according to the standards of a cultivator. This was the result of Shen Rongyu’s help in absorbing spirit qi and forging her meridians. Her foundation in the cultivation course was poor, so her magic class was naturally greatly reduced. To improve her results on the two courses, she could only improve her cultivation first.

However, when Shen Rongyu helped her cultivate before, she was resistant, and it was usually Shen Rongyu who pulled her to absorb spirit qi. Only then did she drag on a little longer.

Now, to take the initiative to ask Shen Rongyu for a cultivation time extension, she was a bit unable to voice it out.

Of course, she did not know that Shen Rongyu wouldn’t reject her request to cultivate together because he had retrieved some of his lost vital energy just from merging with her breath.

Ji Qingzhou stammered for a long time and after taking a deep breath, she finally strung a full sentence in one breath. She never imagined, however, that because of nervousness, and the system’s influence previously, she uttered the wrong sentence.

“Xiao Yu-shixiong, can we dual cultivate for a longer time tonight? I’m really sorry for bothering you!” she said.

Shen Rongyu caught the key words in it. His eyes slightly condensed, and cracks seemingly appeared on the ice under his eyelashes.

“Dual cultivate?” he asked.