How to Raise a Crazy Beautiful Snake Demon - Chapter 27

The training hall was eerily silent, devoid of ghostly wails, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

 

 

Ji Qingwu, suspended mid-air, was firmly immobilized and unable to turn around. Meanwhile, Song Shirui on the ground couldn’t bear to watch. She immediately formed a hand seal and flew up, positioning herself near Ji Qingwu, ready to draw her sword and confront the strange woman.

 

 

But the woman, though semi-transparent like an ethereal spirit, seemed to possess immense power. With just a glance at Song Shirui’s face, she exuded an overwhelming pressure that made Song Shirui’s grip on her sword falter, nearly forcing her to retreat.

 

 

Trembling, Song Shirui shouted, “Senior Sister! Are you alright?”

 

 

The three of them—Song Shirui, the woman, and Ji Qingwu—formed a triangular standoff in mid-air. The woman merely glanced at Song Shirui before disdainfully turning her attention back to Ji Qingwu’s nape and profile.

 

 

To Song Shirui, the woman’s gaze seemed less like observation and more like… admiration.

 

 

The woman’s translucent fingers dug into Ji Qingwu’s neck with the possessive fondness of someone toying with a cherished object, her fingertips teasing Ji Qingwu’s chin and lips.

 

 

Up close, every movement sent chills down Song Shirui’s spine. Was this kind of behavior even allowed in the Jade Pure Sect? So… scandalous?

 

 

Summoning her courage, Song Shirui raised her sword. Maybe Senior Sister was just under control and needed her to play the hero!

 

 

“Don’t worry, Senior Sister! I’m coming!” she yelled, thrusting her sword toward the woman.

 

 

“Wait!”

 

 

Ji Qingwu’s voice overlapped with the metallic clang of the sword snapping in half, its spiritual energy dissipating as it clattered to the ground.

 

 

And the translucent woman hadn’t even raised a barrier or shield!

 

 

Fear flashed in Song Shirui’s eyes. Her sword…

 

 

“Don’t attack her. She’s… my weapon spirit!” Ji Qingwu finally spoke.

 

 

“Huh?”

 

 

“Mmm?”

 

 

Two voices echoed behind her—one from Song Shirui, the other from Zhu Jiuyin—both laced with disbelief.

 

 

Clearly, no one had expected her to say such a thing.

 

 

But this was Ji Qingwu’s carefully considered response. A weapon spirit was perfect—the Jade Pure Sect didn’t even allow spiritual pets, but several elders had weapon spirits. High-grade artifacts with sentience could naturally develop spirits; it wasn’t particularly rare and wouldn’t draw too much attention.

 

 

Besides, if this was a weapon spirit, everything else would be easier to explain.

 

 

Ji Qingwu cleared her throat. The hand around her neck loosened slightly in shock, allowing her to speak more smoothly.

 

 

“She’s the spirit of a new bracelet I crafted. During my confinement, she kept me company—eating together, living together, cultivating together. Our relationship has long been… inseparable.”

 

 

Yes, yes! Wasn’t it perfectly normal for a cultivator to be close with her weapon spirit? She’d successfully navigated this hurdle!

 

 

Ji Qingwu was quite pleased with her quick thinking and even nodded to herself in satisfaction.

 

 

“Tch… you…”

 

 

A soft, resigned chuckle sounded by her ear. If Zhu Jiuyin could laugh, she probably wasn’t too angry. This round had passed.

 

 

Now that her neck could move slightly, Ji Qingwu turned to look at Zhu Jiuyin’s face.

 

 

 

But before she could see anything, the support behind her suddenly vanished. The sensation on her neck disappeared, and the body that had been pressing against her was gone too, causing her to stagger mid-air and nearly fall.

 

 

The weight on her wrist returned—the serpent bracelet coiled back into its original form, as if it had never left. It was as though the figure clinging to Ji Qingwu’s back had been someone else entirely.

 

 

Ji Qingwu lowered her gaze to the bracelet, a wave of disappointment surging in her heart, her thoughts involuntarily spilling into her consciousness:

 

 

“So you can take human form… Why won’t you show me?”

 

 

The familiar, husky female voice didn’t answer, only lazily scoffed:

 

 

“A weapon spirit? You really know how to spin tales. I won’t play along…”

 

 

“A weapon spirit? How could… She didn’t seem like a good person…”

 

 

Meanwhile, Song Shirui was still muttering to herself in shock, her eyes widening when she realized the woman had vanished.

 

 

“How? She really is my weapon spirit. She was the one who killed the demonic cultivator just now, wasn’t she? Did you see it?”

 

 

Ji Qingwu hadn’t witnessed it herself and pinned her hopes on her junior sister.

 

 

“I saw, but not clearly. Senior Sister, your Ten Thousand Swords did turn that demonic cultivator into a sieve, but he wasn’t dead yet. He seemed to have a last move, lunging at your back—then… your weapon spirit crushed him with her bare hands. Senior Sister, are all weapon spirits… that brutal?”

 

 

Song Shirui stared at the scattered remains of the demonic cultivator, still shaken by the sight. The demonic cultivator’s body held no bl00d, only a thick, sludge-like black substance now splattered across the walls and floor—sticky, revolting. Those of the righteous path had rarely witnessed such a cruel method of execution.

 

 

Ji Qingwu glanced at the grotesque remnants—something resembling minced meat run through a blender—and fell silent.

 

 

The serpent bracelet’s tail slithered into her sleeve, scraping teasingly against her veins. The snake’s low, melodious voice carried amusement:

 

 

“My foolish little servant~ Couldn’t even handle a mere demonic cultivator. Had to rely on me, didn’t you? So fragile… yet all the more endearing~”

 

 

Ji Qingwu’s mind reeled, and she hastily retorted in her thoughts:

 

 

“Who said I couldn’t handle it?! I just needed reaction time! I had a plan and magic—of course I could’ve won! Besides, when I asked you earlier, you didn’t say you’d help!”

 

 

Zhu Jiuyin only laughed.

 

 

“I never imagined the so-called leader of the righteous path would be so… easy to tease~”

 

 

Ignoring the insinuation, Ji Qingwu realized something critical:

 

 

“Wait—you crushed that demonic cultivator with your hands. Did you… wash them after turning back into a snake?”

 

 

Zhu Jiuyin:

 

 

“……”

 

 

Ji Qingwu eyed the bracelet, suddenly convinced that beneath its silver scales lurked traces of black sludge. She blurted out urgently:

 

 

“Go wash up, now!”

 

 

Song Shirui blinked but instinctively followed her senior sister’s command, darting outside.

 

 

Zhu Jiuyin:

 

 

“Do you dare to look down on me?”!”

 

 

Indignant, she stretched her body, elongating herself to slither up Ji Qingwu’s sleeve, deliberately prodding the sensitive crook of her elbow. Ji Qingwu’s face twisted—ticklish, desperate not to laugh.

 

 

 

A massive scroll unfurled across the sky. Ji Qingwu glanced at it, reading about the origin of this training hall—how a senior cultivator had been captured by a demonic practitioner and refined into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner. After the Jade Pure Sect dispatched numerous disciples to hunt down this demonic cultivator and kill him, they simulated his techniques and artifacts to create this training hall as a warning to future generations.

 

 

So every ghost that had terrified her, every pile of scattered bones, had once been a living person. With this realization, her fear dissipated.

 

 

The two women and the snake left the training hall, walked through the trial corridor, and emerged into a lush garden. Outside the gate, Ji Qingwu turned to Song Shirui to bid farewell, only to find the younger woman gazing sorrowfully at the snake bracelet on her wrist.

 

 

“Eldest Senior Sister… you and your artifact spirit… are you really that… intimately close?”

 

 

Ji Qingwu replied, “Yes. By the way… please keep the matter between me and the artifact spirit strictly confidential.”

 

 

Song Shirui agreed, her eyes brimming with heartbreak.

 

 

“I just… I just thought… if Senior Sister had someone you liked, you could… you could tell me directly. I would adjust myself and return to my role as your junior sister…”

 

 

Ji Qingwu stared at her in surprise. Tears welled in Song Shirui’s eyes, her expression utterly shattered.

 

 

After a long pause, Ji Qingwu finally asked softly, “Could it be… you had those kinds of feelings for me? The kind that… violate sect rules?”

 

 

In truth, the sect rules did not forbid disciples from falling in love, so long as both were righteous cultivators. Only if the relationship hindered progress or led to enmity would it be considered a violation.

 

 

But Ji Qingwu, coming from the modern world, was unaware of this. She had naively assumed Song Shirui’s feelings were merely a youthful admiration, the kind of idolization and imitation young girls often harbored.

 

 

Song Shirui began to sob.

 

 

“I’ve always adored Senior Sister… but I thought you would never accept anyone, so I never confessed. But today… today… you and your artifact spirit are so… so unguarded, truly intimate… So Senior Sister can be close to someone, even a woman… Waaahhh—”

 

 

Her words dissolved into uncontrollable weeping. Wiping her tears, she staggered back, forming a hand seal as she cried out,

 

 

“Senior Sister… I wish you happiness… I won’t disturb you again…”

 

 

Before she could finish, she mounted her flying sword and sped away.

 

 

Ji Qingwu remained rooted in place, staring at the fading sword trail, utterly stunned.

 

 

So… Song Shirui had really been in love with the original owner?!

 

 

And she had misunderstood “intimately close” in that way?!

 

 

Wait, Junior Sister, don’t leave yet—it’s not what you think! She wasn’t involved with the artifact spirit like that!

 

 

“Oh? Really? So quick to deny your artifact spirit now?”

 

 

A magnetic, mocking voice echoed in her mind, as if someone had poured a bucket of… hot water over her head, making her flush furiously.

 

 

It was true… she had shared quite a few “intimately close” moments with this artifact spirit.

 

 

But that wasn’t what it meant! Besides, they had agreed to forget about that incident—why bring it up again?!

 

 

She retorted inwardly, “I told you to act like nothing happened—wasn’t that our agreement?”

 

 

Zhu Jiuyin responded with deliberate provocation, her tone sultry:

 

 

 

“Oh dear, my memory might be slipping in my old age. I don’t recall what I promised, only how you and I tumbled between the sheets, lost to the world…”

 

 

Ji Qingwu frantically tried to pinch the snake bracelet’s mouth shut:

 

 

“Shut up! Don’t mention that!”

 

 

But pinching the metal snake was futile—Zhu Jiuyin’s voice still echoed in her mind, chuckling with salacious delight:

 

 

“You were utterly delicious that night. Rather than calling it intimacy, it was more like you offered yourself to me—your skin like smooth jade, your eyes seductive as silk…”

 

 

Ji Qingwu covered her ears and screamed internally:

 

 

“AHHHHH!!! STOP TALKING!!!”

 

 

Where was the remote? She needed to mute this, turn it off!

 

 

–

 

Emerging from the garden, Ji Qingwu looked ashen, her steps unsteady.

 

 

A few junior sisters happened to pass by and bowed respectfully. One asked with concern:

 

 

“Senior Sister, did you face a difficult trial? You seem so exhausted.”

 

 

Ji Qingwu waved a hand weakly. “It’s nothing. I just returned from the Path of Ten Thousand Bones.”

 

 

The juniors gasped in unison—everyone knew the lethality of that trial. Their expressions shifted from worry to awe as they watched her walk away, whispering about someday forming a team to brave the Path and witness their senior sister’s prowess.

 

 

Mounting her flying sword, Ji Qingwu refused to engage with the presence in her mind, soaring through the clouds in silence.

 

 

The voice, still sated from teasing her earlier, rasped lazily:

 

 

“Where are you taking me next, little slave?”

 

 

Her mental reply was stone-cold:

 

 

“The minor vault.”

 

 

Zhu Jiuyin:

 

 

“Why not the grand vault? I’d love to see that famed Ten Thousand Demons Pagoda.”

 

 

Ji Qingwu:

 

 

“Go by yourself.”

 

 

Zhu Jiuyin:

 

 

“Oh? Angry, are we?”

 

 

Ji Qingwu stayed silent.

 

 

Zhu Jiuyin chuckled.

 

 

“Truly angry? My dear, intimate little fool, daring to sulk at her master—how shall I handle this?”

 

 

Still met with silence, Zhu Jiuyin eventually quieted, as if asleep, her serpentine tail coiling around Ji Qingwu’s forearm, her head resting on the wrist’s bony prominence.

 

 

Amid the swirling clouds, visibility blurred—prime conditions for wandering thoughts. Ji Qingwu’s mind drifted to the trial: the press of a body against her back, the tight bindings, the bruising grip on her neck… Heat prickled her skin, her mouth parched.

 

 

Then she recalled Song Shirui’s tearful words: “So you can be with a woman…”

 

 

Could she? Before it happened, she hadn’t even known herself.

 

 

That wretched snake. After all this time, she still wouldn’t drop it. So much for keeping promises.

 

 

Speaking of promises—she’d agreed to share a bed with Zhu Jiuyin tonight. She shoved the thought aside. Duty first.

 

 

She descended onto an isolated peak, where a plaza stretched before an immaculate white jade pavilion. Its plaque read “Gathering Violets”—the minor vault, dispensing resources, low-grade artifacts, medicines, and daily necessities to all disciples. Ji Qingwu alone held the privilege of unrestricted access.

 

 

“Senior Sister, you should have sent word. I’d have opened the vault for you.”

 

 

 

On duty at the Caiwei Repository today was a rare sight—an inner sect junior brother. He respectfully opened the storeroom door for Ji Qingwu but had no authority to follow her inside, merely saying from the doorway:

 

 

“Senior Sister, just call for me when you wish to leave.”

 

 

The storeroom was cool and dimly lit. Ji Qingwu moved with purpose, first heading to the medicinal section to collect several types of pills and medicinal pellets. She then retrieved some ancient prescriptions and had the attending medical cultivator sister prepare several doses of medicine.

 

 

While preparing the medicine, the junior sister gave her a peculiar look, hesitating as if wanting to say something. Ji Qingwu avoided her gaze, murmuring as if explaining to no one in particular:

 

 

“This is for my cultivation needs—nothing out of the ordinary.”

 

 

The junior sister didn’t ask further, simply wrapping the medicine and placing it on the counter. Ji Qingwu grabbed it and hurried out, only to hear the sister call after her:

 

 

“Senior Sister… please take care of your health!”

 

 

Zhu Jiuyin finally couldn’t hold back:

 

 

“What kind of medicine did you get? That girl was looking at you so strangely!”

 

 

Ji Qingwu:

 

 

“This medicine… concerns the two of us.”

 

 

Zhu Jiuyin fell silent for a long moment before suddenly exclaiming:

 

 

“Oh! Aphrodisiacs! No wonder she looked at you like you were some kind of lecher!”

 

 

Ji Qingwu:

 

 

“……”

 

 

Zhu Jiuyin chuckled softly, her voice dripping with seduction:

 

 

“So you’re looking forward to tonight as well~ Little servant, don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re thoroughly satisfied, granting you a wild and unforgettable night~”

 

 

Ji Qingwu:

 

 

“……”

 

 

If she couldn’t curse, she had nothing left to say. Silence was the only medicine in the storeroom tonight.