The Villain Fox's Sickly Beauty Master - Chapter 27

Chapter 27: Held Tight.

“Okay.”

Perhaps due to a sense of shared misfortune, Fu Yi quickly agreed. The moment her voice fell, Fu Yi saw Feng Qi transfer another stream of golden light into her forehead. Before losing consciousness, she seemed to hear the woman say:

“Before receiving my clan’s inheritance, you must first endure the suffering of being burned alive. I cannot avoid this suffering, but I see that you can absorb fire-attribute spiritual energy. This is a set of Heaven-rank fire-attribute cultivation techniques. I believe this technique can help you accelerate the refinement of this cluster of Phoenix Fire and advance your cultivation further.”

…

On the other side, facing Sword Venerable Dao Ming’s skepticism, Jiang Jinheng showed no fear and replied unhurriedly: “As for the reason, Luan Qiu is also unaware.”

Knowing that Fu Yi had fallen into the bloodline inheritance of another clan rather than a spiritual fire inheritance, she was actually relieved.

Although Jiang Jinheng herself hadn’t figured out why Fu Yi would enter the Fire Phoenix clan’s bloodline inheritance, Fu Yi wouldn’t be able to leave the inheritance for a while, and the Sword Venerable wouldn’t have the chance to see her disciple. Even if the Sword Sect had always been at odds with the Demon Race, and he had suspicions that Fu Yi was somehow connected to them, he couldn’t do anything about it.

Jiang Jinheng had always felt that something on Fu Yi was sealing her demonic aura; otherwise, she wouldn’t have passed the spiritual root test safely. If not for the system, she wouldn’t have known her true identity, which was why she felt reassured taking her down to the inheritance.

Even if it came down to it, if the remnant soul of Sword Venerable Dao Ming was still present when Fu Yi left the inheritance and genuinely intended to take action, Jiang Jinheng was confident she could protect her.

Only one thing…

“Since Sword Venerable knew there was no spiritual fire here, why were you willing to be threatened by this junior?”

Perhaps her question was too direct, and Sword Venerable Dao Ming couldn’t help but smile: “I see how fiercely protective you are of your own. You are young, already at the Mid-Body Integration stage, and I am unaware of your character and the current relationship between the sects. If I don’t explain myself clearly, even if Dao Qing and the others are not in danger in the Secret Realm later, it’s hard to guarantee you won’t forge an enmity. But rest assured, young friend, even if your disciple truly belongs to the Feng Qi clan and can accept this inheritance, I am deeply relieved. After all, if not for her sacrifice, both the Human and Demon realms today would likely have suffered the Demon Race’s venomous hand.”

Jiang Jinheng wasn’t annoyed at being perceived this way. Instead, she self-consciously tapped her nose with her fingertip. She had to admit at least half of his words were true. From this perspective, she had acted with petty intentions.

While she pondered with her head bowed, Dao Ming’s soul entity swept his sleeve, and the cave illusion gradually collapsed. Jiang Jinheng watched his soul entity slowly dissipate, knowing he was retracting the soul entity that had been separated to her location, thereby dispelling the illusion that had trapped her.

“Thank you, Senior.”

“No need for thanks. Should you encounter a disciple of my sect in danger in the future, I hope you will remember today’s sentiment and lend a helping hand.”

“Naturally.”

The surrounding scene quickly changed. Jiang Jinheng found herself back on the narrow path and summoned a flame to check the surroundings. As expected, she found the three figures lying down.

She couldn’t attend to the other two for the moment and quickly helped Fu Yi up. The moment she saw her clearly, she noticed that her face was seemingly flushed and burning hot, and she was sweating profusely, with even her sweat evaporating into the air. Jiang Jinheng only touched her once before retracting her hand, her brows tightly knitted.

Jiang Jinheng felt an abnormally intense fire-attribute spiritual energy within Fu Yi’s body. Finding it strange, she repeatedly sent several streams of her own spiritual energy into her body, but she couldn’t disperse the heat, nor could she determine the source of the spiritual energy.

It would be fine if it had no ill effects, but after checking, Jiang Jinheng discovered that Fu Yi’s skin seemed to be scorched, with some areas even cracked open and bleeding. If not for her dark black clothes making the bloodstains difficult to notice, Jiang Jinheng would have noticed the anomaly the moment she found her.

In her urgency, she had no choice but to ask 007. 007 scanned her several times with the Administration Bureau’s scanner. The final result was that the fire-attribute spiritual energy seemed to permeate her entire body, flowing within her bl00d.

Helplessly, Jiang Jinheng could only scoop her up horizontally. She found a new spot to sit down, cast a barrier, and took off Fu Yi’s outer clothing.

007 finally sensed that something was wrong. In its memory, taking off clothes was the most common thing for Romance-arc Mission Takers to do.

“Host, you’re not…”

As it spoke, Jiang Jinheng had already removed both her and Fu Yi’s outer robes. Seeing that the white undergarments were basically stained completely red, with some areas sticking to the wounds with sweat, a trace of distress flashed in her eyes.

Soon, Jiang Jinheng sat cross-legged, spread her spiritual energy throughout her body, and slowly forced it out. Instantly, the entire barrier became chillingly cold. While releasing spiritual energy, Jiang Jinheng embraced Fu Yi face-to-face, letting her arms rest on her shoulders and her legs wrap around her waist. Only then did 007 realize what was happening.

The cold air covered Jiang Jinheng’s face with a layer of frost. Even her eyelashes seemed to have tiny ice crystals on them. She hadn’t clearly heard what 007 said just now. Only after she was done and had a moment to spare did she have time to ask: “What did you say?”

007 felt that it must have been reading too many romance novels lately, as its mind immediately became impure whenever it saw a scene involving undressing. Its own Host was a quintessential Career-arc Mission Taker. Although the master-disciple relationship was very shippable, it wasn’t a reason for its assumptions.

Since Jiang Jinheng’s mind must be preoccupied with Fu Yi, she wouldn’t press the matter like she usually did. 007 quickly fabricated a few excuses and moved past the topic.

Although she possessed an ice spiritual root, after a long time, her spiritual energy reserves were dwindling, and she couldn’t actively resist the cold. Jiang Jinheng rarely experienced the feeling of cold again.

The two bodies, one cold and one hot, were simultaneously cooling down the other person and providing warmth. The cold air she exhaled increased, and Jiang Jinheng couldn’t help but hold the person in her arms even tighter. However, Fu Yi’s body temperature seemed to have dropped significantly, which made her slightly relieved.

…

Ever since Feng Qi gave her the cultivation technique, Fu Yi felt like she was in a sea of fire. Even the Phoenix Fire, which had seemed so obedient in front of her just now, surged from her Dantian to her limbs for some unknown reason, making her bl00d feel as if it were boiling. Her entire body was being gnawed by flames.

Instinct drove her to circulate the technique, forcing the surging fire back to the Dantian. But as soon as she focused on one side, the other side ran wild. She failed to succeed even as her spiritual energy was nearly exhausted.

For a moment, Fu Yi couldn’t even remember what she was doing or that she was still in the inheritance. She only felt that she was about to die here.

If only my cultivation level were higher, and my spiritual energy reserves were greater. I wouldn’t be chased and burned by this fire.

Just as a thought of despair arose in her heart, the heat in her mind seemed to dissipate instantly. Even the flames scorching every inch of her skin seemed to be subdued. She was about to drown in this gentle and soothing atmosphere when a voice suddenly reached her ear.

“Since someone is helping you, why aren’t you circulating the technique quickly? Do you want to be trapped here forever?”

It was Feng Qi.

Her words snapped Fu Yi back to her senses. Taking advantage of the fact that the Phoenix Fire in her body was somehow slightly timid, she used the last bit of spiritual energy in her body to force it back. She also merged her own spiritual energy into the flame’s spiritual energy to control it and suppress it.

This step went smoothly for Fu Yi. After an unknown amount of time, she had forced all the scattered Phoenix Fire back into her body. The cluster of fire grew larger but was no longer as reckless as before. Instead, it was as obedient as when they first met.

She reopened her eyes and faced the soul entity that was still somewhat golden, except that it looked more transparent, almost blending into the surroundings.

“I hadn’t expected to see you this last time, but someone outside helped you, which drastically shortened the time limit of this burning.”

Fu Yi didn’t even stop to think about what Feng Qi meant by “someone outside helped.” She only felt like she had narrowly escaped death. Now that she was awake, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Those who know would say it’s a tradition of your clan. Those who don’t would think you wanted to keep me here to accompany you.”

Hearing this, Feng Qi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“I almost forgot that you foxes are most afraid of fire. Moreover, your cultivation is still low. I was a little worried that you wouldn’t be able to endure it after it started. It seems I underestimated you.”

Afterward, as if afraid that Fu Yi would think she was deliberate, she added: “You must know that quite a few members of my clan have died in the bloodline inheritance. Otherwise, our bloodline wouldn’t be so rare.”

Listening to Feng Qi’s playful tone, Fu Yi was genuinely curious. She wondered why her nature was so optimistic. Whether she spoke about her own experiences or the fate of her clan, she seemed reluctant to bring too much heavy emotion to others.

She was clearly in pain herself, yet she was afraid of hurting others.

Seeing that Fu Yi seemed to be lost in thought, looking pensive, Feng Qi still wanted to offer her one last piece of advice.

“Don’t be too fixated on things. In this world, some things are destined from the start, but if the process deviates even slightly, the results will be entirely different. Although I don’t know what you are troubled by, it won’t stray outside this logic.”

Hearing this, Fu Yi slowly looked up, but saw that the person speaking seemed to have completely vanished, and the surrounding scenery gradually collapsed.

In a daze, Fu Yi only felt herself being tightly embraced. Her long-sleeping body finally opened its eyes again, and the first thing she saw was a face covered in frost.

Master…

Fu Yi felt somewhat spaced out, but the chill from the person opposite her instantly made her shiver. Only then did she notice their unusual posture.

Even though both of them were fully covered by their undergarments, her clothes had many holes that looked like they had been burned through, while Jiang Jinheng’s clothes looked like they had been drenched in bl00d and sweat and then frozen dry. Pressed so closely, Fu Yi could easily smell the lingering scent of bl00d on both of them.

Feeling the coldness within the barrier and Jiang Jinheng’s seemingly frozen arms, Fu Yi suddenly remembered something and was greatly startled.

When I was enduring the suffering of being burned alive, was it she who helped me escape? But how could her body withstand this?

Fu Yi seemed to know what method she had used. She cursed her internally while enduring the severe pain to painstakingly move her arms, which were resting on Jiang Jinheng’s shoulders, down. She rubbed her hands to warm them up a bit and then placed them on Jiang Jinheng’s face.

After waking up, Fu Yi realized that there seemed to be no uninjured spot on her body. Moving even slightly would cause some skin stuck to her clothes to tear away from her flesh, creating countless open wounds. Yet, she did it willingly, repeating the action.

Fu Yi didn’t know why she was doing this. Jiang Jinheng’s cultivation was so high, and she was an ice spiritual root cultivator. A bit of cold shouldn’t be anything serious. She certainly wouldn’t die here.

But she did it instinctively, only stopping when she met those eyes again and heard the person gently call out.

“You’re awake.”

Suddenly, Fu Yi remembered Feng Qi’s last words, and a unique feeling surged in her heart for the first time.

If my rebirth is that slight deviation—

Will the outcome between me and Master be different?

Jiang Jinheng was finally awakened by 007 in her mind. This body hadn’t been tempered for too long, and it had been somewhat overdrawn from the previous battle with Fentian. Now, with her spiritual energy exhausted and being frozen, she would undoubtedly fall seriously ill upon returning.

But seeing that Fu Yi seemed unharmed when she opened her eyes, she felt a little relieved.

The two of them leaned against each other for a while. After a long time, Fu Yi finally realized their posture and tried to get up, only to fall back due to the pain.

This movement by Fu Yi made both of them groan in pain, and they dared not move again.

Before long, a pill seemed to be pressed against her lips. She could smell the faint fragrance of snow lotus. Fu Yi heard the woman cough twice, and then she spoke softly.

“Take one first. My body is now clogged with cold energy, and I can’t circulate my spiritual power to heal you. This pill can help your wounds heal and recover some strength.”

For some reason, when Fu Yi heard the latter part of the sentence, she recalled her previous actions and felt a little blush, but she still obediently swallowed the pill. Only after she gained a little strength did she move her body off Jiang Jinheng.

The barrier surrounding them had disappeared at some point. Not long after Fu Yi moved off Jiang Jinheng, she heard a clear female voice from not far away.

“Immortal Venerable, Fu Yi, where are you?”

It was Li Jingzhu.

Fu Yi recognized the voice but pressed her lips together, reluctant to answer. However, considering Jiang Jinheng’s physical condition, she called the person over.

Li Jingzhu arrived upon hearing the call. Fu Yi’s sharp eyes noticed the sword with a black fire rock scabbard hanging at her waist. It looked very familiar, and she knew her previous guess was correct.

Jiang Jinheng also withdrew her focus from her mind when she heard the noise outside. She exchanged one hundred Aura of Destiny points with 007 for a unique Immunity Pill from the System Store, ensuring that her body would not fail her or unexpectedly collapse during the remaining ten days or so in the Secret Realm.

When she opened her eyes, she saw Li Jingzhu kneeling in front of her, seemingly very worried, and even tried to touch her face, but was pushed away by Dao Qing, who was watching over her, with a palm strike.

“Don’t you know your own body? Such intense cold energy, yet you still crowd forward.”

Faced with her respected master who was now blowing his beard and glaring, Li Jingzhu felt inexplicable guilt, especially when she met Jiang Jinheng’s smiling eyes in the next second.

“Jing… Jingzhu was just worried and didn’t mean to offend Immortal Venerable.”

“It’s alright.”

Ignoring Dao Qing’s reprimand and apologizing to her instead, Jiang Jinheng suddenly felt that the novel 007 gave her was too inaccurate. How was this the cold and detached Sword Head? She was clearly a very sweet girl.

007 could only silently endure such an accusation. After all, the compensation for the last deviation from the main plot hadn’t been credited yet. To avoid being criticized again, it was better to report it two more times now.

Fu Yi noticed that Jiang Jinheng’s attitude towards Li Jingzhu seemed to have softened, and a strange, bloated discomfort inexplicably surged in her heart. She deliberately averted her gaze and asked Dao Qing.

Fu Yi still remembered that Li Jingzhu’s family had a secret pill that could suppress the cold poison in her body. Li Jingzhu relied on this pill every day before she obtained the Dragon Roar. Since this pill was effective for her constitution, it should also have a dispelling effect on the cold energy in her Master’s body.

Although she now had the Phoenix Fire in her body and should also be able to dispel the cold, firstly, she couldn’t easily display it in front of these people, and secondly, her control over the flame was unfamiliar, and she was afraid of hurting someone.

However, Fu Yi couldn’t directly ask Li Jingzhu for it. Otherwise, even if Li Jingzhu didn’t mind, Dao Qing would definitely question her about how she knew such a secret.

“Master was invaded by cold energy to save me. If Senior has a good remedy that can help Master recover quickly, Fu Yi will be deeply grateful.”

As Fu Yi expected, the moment she asked the question, Li Jingzhu, whose hands were still awkwardly clasped together, instantly brightened. She produced a small white bottle from somewhere and handed it to Jiang Jinheng.

“Immortal Venerable can try this pill. Jingzhu has a special constitution. Since she came of age, she suffers from cold poison every fifteenth of the month. This helps her feel much better.”

Jiang Jinheng already knew about her constitution. Seeing the medicine bottle handed to her, her heart warmed, but she still asked: “If you give the medicine to me, do you have enough left for yourself?”

Hearing this, Li Jingzhu was slightly stunned, but quickly smiled shyly and said:

“Immortal Venerable need not worry. Jingzhu has prepared a lot in her storage ring. It is enough for several years.”

Since she said so, Jiang Jinheng gladly accepted it. But when she opened the bottle, she unintentionally mentioned: “When you are free, you can come to the Immortal Sect for a stay. Luan Qiu might have a way to resolve your constitution.”

Jiang Jinheng said this casually, but she didn’t expect that after she finished speaking, she was met with Dao Qing’s scrutinizing and confused gaze.

“I imagine you are not completely unfamiliar with the hereditary cold poison constitution of the Li family’s direct lineage from the Celestial Gate. After all, a few years ago, you once stopped an outbreak of cold poison that injured people. But I vaguely remember that although you possess a spiritual fire, you have an aberrant spiritual root of the water attribute. Logically, my disciple’s illness can only be cured by a cultivator with a high-purity fire-attribute spiritual root.”

As he spoke, Jiang Jinheng swallowed two pills. As expected, the chill in her body quickly subsided, and she could start absorbing spiritual energy again. With spiritual energy, she could naturally mobilize the Cold Star Flame in her body to absorb all the cold energy.

While doing all this, Jiang Jinheng heard Dao Qing’s words and smiled even more. Facing Li Jingzhu, who was blushing for some unknown reason, she pointed to Fu Yi beside her and said:

“It just so happens that my newly accepted disciple has an aberrant spiritual root of the twelfth-grade fire attribute. Since you have a solution, you can let her try.”

“Jingzhu is unwilling!”

The moment these words were spoken, silence fell. Jiang Jinheng watched Li Jingzhu’s small face turn from red to white and noticed Fu Yi pursing her lips, looking displeased. Dao Qing’s face also held an indescribably strange expression. She quickly realized that she seemed to have said something wrong.

But she was utterly confused about why it was wrong.

“Ahem… Host, did you forget? The method he mentioned is dual cultivation.”

Now it was Jiang Jinheng’s turn to be stunned. She felt that the cold energy must have frozen her brain. She knew this, yet she suddenly couldn’t recall it.

The awkwardness prevented her from thinking about why Fu Yi would react to this matter. She quickly cleared her throat twice and continued smoothly: “It’s alright. Your own will is naturally the most important. However, Luan Qiu usually enjoys studying medicine and pharmacology. When encountering a rare constitution, I truly want to observe it closely. If you are willing to accept the previous suggestion to stay in the Immortal Sect for a while, Luan Qiu will also try to find other ways to alleviate your suffering.”

She asked Li Jingzhu this, but Jiang Jinheng looked at Dao Qing when she spoke. According to custom, she had to ask for his opinion on such matters.

And so, the three gazes simultaneously turned to Dao Qing. Although he didn’t understand why the little girl surnamed Fu had such a terrible expression, since Jiang Jinheng had spoken to this extent, he naturally couldn’t refuse. Moreover, seeing his disciple’s eager attitude, if he said no, she would be the first to jump out and object.

“That’s good. I will have to trouble you then.”

The two sides exchanged pleasantries for a while, and Dao Ming led his people away first. As the two left, Fu Yi noticed Li Jingzhu looking back every three steps, seemingly reluctant, and her expression immediately worsened.

Jiang Jinheng, who had her eyes closed, suddenly heard a cold snort from beside her. She opened her eyes in confusion and turned her gaze, only to find Fu Yi sitting cross-legged in meditation with her eyes closed.

Did I mishear?

007 really wanted to reply that she hadn’t misheard, but it also felt that this child, Fu Yi, seemed strange and very deep in thought. It decided to observe her for a while before speaking.

It had already found it strange when she had a somewhat bestial expression the last time and had reported the matter along with the other anomalies, but it hadn’t received any response yet.

The return to a quiet space was very suitable for recuperation. Jiang Jinheng stopped thinking and only wanted to quickly dispel the cold energy from her body. She couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

Counting the days, they had already spent nearly four days in this Secret Realm. Besides that one cauldron, they hadn’t found anything else. They couldn’t delay any longer in the remaining days.

Jiang Jinheng had absolutely no idea that Fu Yi’s injuries were the price of obtaining the Phoenix Fire. After all, in her view, the distinctions between demon beast races were similar to the definitions of human races, perhaps even more clearly defined.

She even suspected that Fu Yi was punished this severely for mistakenly entering the inheritance and never considered that Feng Qi would entrust the Fire Phoenix clan’s inheritance fire to someone from another clan.

The two sat together, their actions and demeanor very similar, except one was dispelling the cold, and the other was healing her wounds.

After enduring the suffering of being burned alive by the Phoenix Fire, Fu Yi’s skin all over her body was largely peeled off, and even her face was not spared. Fortunately, she had experienced many injuries during her outdoor training in the previous life. Once she had recovered enough strength, although she felt pain, she still found a spot, removed her clothes, applied medicine to the wounds, and wrapped almost all the exposed parts with gauze. She then changed into new clothes. If one were to see her, she would look quite ridiculous.

After doing all this, Fu Yi dragged her body back to Jiang Jinheng’s side and couldn’t help but raise her hand to touch her forehead, but her finger stopped just a hair’s breadth away.

However, Fu Yi could still feel that Jiang Jinheng was not as cold as before, and the cold energy surrounding her was also thinner. She suddenly remembered the scorching heat she felt when she first arrived here. That feeling was completely gone now.

It must be because Feng Qi has left.

Suddenly, Fu Yi felt a bit melancholic. Although Feng Qi spoke as if she was casually discussing being deceived, seeming carefree, to her, who had a similar experience, she felt that Feng Qi might have been bothered by it until her death.

Thinking this, Fu Yi’s dark, bright eyes met Jiang Jinheng’s slightly pale face once again, and she couldn’t help but mock herself. I must have been so much in pain that I lost consciousness and forgot the hardship of the water prison, causing such ridiculous thoughts to arise in my mind.

However, regardless of whether she changed or not, diligently improving her cultivation was the most important thing to do. Only by being strong enough could she protect herself when facing adversity, and then strike back, instead of being heartbroken and regretting futilely.

Through these few incidents, Fu Yi’s mindset gradually changed, and she also began to recognize her own flaws. In the previous life, she had her spiritual root destroyed and her vital organs ripped out, but even after decades of hardship, she still lacked shrewdness when she was reborn this time. Her temper was impatient, and many of her thoughts were written on her face, adding many unnecessary complications.

In fact, she didn’t need to be so wary of the person in front of her. After all, in the previous life, the truth was something she voluntarily confessed.

And now, she was willing to give her the Dan Cauldron and even hurt herself to save her from danger. She must have many more benefits to gain in the future.