Chapter 23: Delicate and Fair, Skin Like Congealed Fat

Luo Zhou looked back!

He saw a young girl standing behind him, her head tilted as she watched him!

She was not old, possessing a beautiful and elegant countenance. Her skin was exquisite and fair, as smooth as congealed fat. Her beautiful eyes shifted with every glance, shimmering like autumn ripples. She possessed an extraordinary grace, looking delicate and moving!

Luo Zhou let out a long breath. He pointed at her, wanting to say something, but the words wouldn't come; he could only manage an awkward laugh.

"Hey, what's wrong with you? Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?" the girl asked arrogantly!

Panting heavily, Luo Zhou replied, "You scared me to death. A few days ago, I asked a dead man the exact same thing. When you asked me that, I thought a ghost had crawled out of hell to seek revenge!"

"You look so clean and pure, how can you be so mean-spirited with your insults?"

Luo Zhou hurriedly said, "No, no, I'm telling the truth! I swear to heaven!"

In his heart, however, he was filled with trepidation!

He recognized this girl. From Li Haitian's memories, she was none other than Fang Ningshuang, the daughter of the City Lord.

That demonic Blood Parrot was her pet.

He had truly messed up this time!

Following Li Haitian's ideas, he had found this unmonitored place to fish for the Blood Parrot. But he had forgotten one core point: the Blood Parrot had a master!

The Blood Parrot had been eating well these past few days, but it was a demon. As a demonic pet, how could it not have a contract with Fang Ningshuang?

Since the Blood Parrot was well-fed, Fang Ningshuang naturally knew someone was feeding it. How could she not come to investigate?

He had been cornered by the victim!

All of this was caused by Li Haitian. Li Haitian had never taken the Blood Parrot seriously; he viewed it merely as a beast, a mindless, low-skill pest. He had never respected them from the bottom of his heart.

Unknowingly, this mindset had influenced Luo Zhou, causing the plan to be fundamentally flawed.

Just by seeing Fang Ningshuang, Luo Zhou knew his life was in her hands!

Fang Ningshuang's strength was terrifyingly immense. Even though she was clearly only in the Qi Refining stage, she was the most fearsome person Luo Zhou had ever encountered.

She could kill the Old Crocodile Dragon!

It was an intuition. Luo Zhou's soul, his divine sense, and even every cell in his body were warning him!

Move, and you die!

Fang Ningshuang looked at Luo Zhou, tilting her head thoughtfully.

"Are you the trialist from the Sect that everyone is talking about?"

Luo Zhou froze. What trialist from the Sect? He shook his head to indicate he didn't know.

Suddenly, Fang Ningshuang reached out, and the staff strapped to Luo Zhou's back flew into her hand.

Luo Zhou had no reaction at all—he didn't even have time to react!

With a forceful squeeze from Fang Ningshuang, the staff shattered, revealing the Dragon-Slaying Thorn inside.

She touched it lightly and said, "Still saying you aren't? Isn't this the Dragon-Slaying Thorn from the fallen sword of your Sect?"

Luo Zhou couldn't help but look surprised. "Huh?"

So he wasn't the only one who possessed a Dragon-Slaying Thorn? Did the fallen sword of his Sect mean others held them too?

The Sect? Which Sect? The Heaven and Earth Dao Sect?

"So what if it's a trial? Anyone with half a brain knows that a trialist with a Dragon-Slaying Thorn in their head must be from the fallen sword. How many demonic cultivators have you killed? How many more do you need for the trial?"

Luo Zhou truly didn't know how to answer and could only repeat, "Huh?"

"Looking down on people? Playing dumb? Don't think that just because you're from the Sect, you can act willfully and do whatever you want!"

Fang Ningshuang pouted, looking quite angry.

The expression on the delicate girl's face was incredibly cute, making it hard for anyone to look away.

But Luo Zhou felt like his head was about to explode!

Because through his "Reward Good and Punish Evil" ability, he could sense Fang Ningshuang's true thoughts

*"Kill him, kill him, kill him..."*

This thought was just like Zuo Sanguang's telepathy. However, while Zuo Sanguang's was like a single person's soft plea for help, Fang Ningshuang's telepathy was like the roar of ten thousand people!

It was an incredibly frantic wail, not even sounding human!

The cute girl before him was actually a mad demon!

A true mad demon. Compared to her, his killing of those pests was perfectly normal!

She was desperately searching for an opportunity, looking for his mistake so she could use it to kill him.

Luo Zhou smiled and said, "Friend, the Dragon-Slaying Thorn wasn't easy to forge. After you're done looking, please return it to me!"

Having said that, he looked at Fang Ningshuang with a smile, neither humble nor arrogant.

In this way, if he were to die, he might at least die with dignity!

Fang Ningshuang looked at Luo Zhou, and that frantic mental telepathy suddenly dissipated.

*"This kid is actually quite handsome. Tall and thin, like a green pine..."*

The endless killing intent had vanished in an instant!

At this moment, Luo Zhou became even more afraid.

No normal person acts like this!

She was truly deranged, truly insane!

In this moment, Luo Zhou felt immensely grateful to his teacher.

The "Pine-like Strength" and "Bamboo-like Slenderness" made him good-looking, which gave him an advantage with girls. She no longer wanted to kill him...

"What are you thinking about?"

Luo Zhou cupped his hands and said, "Luo Zhou of the Third Class of the Heaven and Earth Dao Academy, greetings, Princess. I am just fishing for birds!"

Fang Ningshuang said nothing, merely staring at him.

"Why... why can't I see what you are thinking?"

With his "Pine-like Strength" and "Bamboo-like Slenderness," he was like a pine tree—resilient and unyielding. Most heart-peering or sensory-type magical abilities were resisted by Luo Zhou.

Luo Zhou smiled but did not answer!

"Why do I want to get close to you, stay by your side, and not kill you anymore?"

Was this... the "talented bird choosing the right tree to perch on"? Because he was like a great pine tree, did all avian creatures naturally love him? Her spirit pet, the Blood Parrot, was an avian creature after all—was it affecting her in reverse?

But he had to answer this one!

Luo Zhou smiled and said, "Because I am kind!"

One could not have a normal conversation with a lunatic like this!

Upon hearing this, Fang Ningshuang actually nodded in agreement.

"You are a very strange boy. I can't see through you, yet I like you... and most importantly, you aren't afraid of me?"

Suddenly, an endless fury erupted in Fang Ningshuang's heart again, like the roar of ten thousand people.

*"Why aren't you afraid? Why aren't you afraid of me! They are all afraid of me! My brother, my sister, my younger brother, my father, my master—they are all afraid of me! Why aren't you afraid of me!"*

*"Kill him, kill him, kill him..."*

She was having another episode!

He absolutely could not let her continue thinking like that.

Luo Zhou pointed at the sky and said, "Look at that cloud. Doesn't it look a bit like a horse?"

He was talking nonsense just to interrupt her!

All of Fang Ningshuang's thoughts suddenly vanished as she looked at the cloud.

"That is a cloud. A cloud is a cloud. How could it look like a horse?"

"If you look at it this way, isn't that a horse's leg? And over there is the head? Your angle is wrong..."

Her angle was wrong? She actually lay down on the ground abruptly, looking up at the sky and the clouds.

Luo Zhou shook his head. Ignoring the dirt on the ground, he lay down beside her and said, "Look closely. Isn't that a horse?"

Pointing at a cloud and calling it a horse!

"No, what horse? Isn't that a steamed bun?"

"A steamed bun? To me, it feels more like a high mountain."

"Are you blind? That's clearly a steamed bun..."

The two of them sat there, chatting aimlessly.

During this time, Fang Ningshuang had two more episodes where she wanted to kill him, but Luo Zhou managed to divert her with new topics.

Crucially, his "Pine-like Strength" resisted her probing, his "Bamboo-like Slenderness" attracted her, his good looks helped, and his "Reward Good and Punish Evil" allowed him to hear her inner thoughts, which allowed him to avert danger every time.

However, for some reason, Luo Zhou felt a strange sense of familiarity toward Fang Ningshuang.

A natural, innate feeling, as if he understood her deeply—like a childhood best friend or a long-time companion.

Because of this, he was able to resolve every crisis in time.

As time passed, Luo Zhou suddenly stood up and said, "It's late. I have to go home. If I'm late, I'll get scolded!"

Fang Ningshuang asked pitifully, "Will you come back tomorrow?"

Luo Zhou listened to her inner voice; she was having another episode. If he said he wouldn't come, she would kill him!

"I'll come! I must come!"

Having said that, he snatched his Dragon-Slaying Thorn back. This was a treasure forged from nine years of True Qi.

"I'm leaving. See you tomorrow!"

With that, he left without looking back.

As Fang Ningshuang watched him leave, a new explosion of emotion erupted in her heart

*"He actually ignored me and ran away!"*

*"Kill him, kill him, kill him..."*

Luo Zhou did not look back and continued walking, pretending he hadn't heard anything.

If she had intended to strike, she would have done it long ago. He was just trying to save his life!

In reality, his inner clothes were already soaked with cold sweat.

As Fang Ningshuang's figure faded in the distance, Luo Zhou vaguely heard the "kill him" change.

*"Kill me..."*

In a trance, a figure flashed. The delicate, fair girl, with skin like congealed fat and beautiful eyes, quietly shed tears.