The Demon Lord and I: Frenemies - Chapter 5

Fei Wanghuai noticed her distraction. He simply raised his teacup, gave her a slight cupped-hand salute, and smiled meaningfully, hinting, “Shouldn’t you show some appreciation?”

“Oh-” Chu Zaishuang finally came to her senses. She reached for her teacup. “Sorry, I understand now.”

He nodded with a smile, waiting for her to perform the Rippling Water Technique, then reveal her Primordial Spirit Flower.

She raised her teacup, returned the salute, and drank it all in one go, then clasped her fist boldly, “I finished mine, you drink as you please!”

“???”

Fei Wanghuai’s smile froze. “Is that what I meant?”

“Isn’t this a toast?”

He pressed his lips together. “Ab-so-lutely not.”

Chu Zaishuang saw he was still holding his cup. After a moment’s hesitation, she said awkwardly, “Uh… but we’re not suited for that kind of cross-cup drinking, are we?”

“…”

Fei Wanghuai took a deep breath, slowly set down his teacup, refilled her water, and said directly, “Now follow my technique. I do a step, you do a step.”

He couldn’t afford to be subtle with her; she always found a way to play dumb.

“Eek-”

“Screaming won’t help.”

Fei Wanghuai pressed two fingers together and pointed at the cup, enunciating each word: “Spring unites the six directions, all things find their place, myriad phenomena are empty, one spirit alone manifests!”

The water’s surface trembled lightly, and the clear liquid responded, gathering into a Primordial Spirit Flower!

A thousand pure white, soft petals, green leaves and slender thorns, a touch of pale gold hidden within, the Rosa Multiflora pressed down with a delicate fragrance. The flower seemed kneaded by frost and snow, as if bathed in moonlight, endlessly elegant.

White Vine Gentleman, Buddha’s Smile-those who see this flower, evil is dispelled. She had read of this flower in stories, but this was her first time seeing it in reality.

His Primordial Spirit Flower was actually the Rosa Multiflora, the very peak of youthful beauty.

“Amazing.” Chu Zaishuang wanted to reach out and touch it, but feared damaging the delicate petals and shattering that cluster of fragrance.

The white flower formed from his spiritual energy was indistinguishable from a real one, even more dazzling, with every golden stamen clearly visible.

Fei Wanghuai pointed at the teacup. “Your turn.”

Hearing his firm tone, she could only take the cup and reluctantly perform the technique.

Just then, Li Jingjie, who was nearby, saw the Rosa Multiflora bloom. He stared in shock and blurted out, “You succeeded so quickly!?”

The disciples in front turned at the sound. “Hey, really, didn’t we just start practicing?”

“Looks on par with Senior Brother Chu!”

A single stone stirred a thousand waves; the disciples all came to watch, full of admiration.

Chu Bingxiao was busy guiding each person. Hearing the commotion, he turned to look. “Wanghuai, come help me instruct the others.”

Fei Wanghuai’s brows twitched slightly. “Alright, I’ll finish guiding her first…”

“No worries, you come to me, I’ll go over there.” Chu Bingxiao said.

“…”

Just one crucial step away, and now he had to leave?

Fei Wanghuai glanced at the loud Li Jingjie, seriously suspecting he was Chu Zaishuang’s accomplice. Otherwise, why would he speak up right before she performed the technique, causing Chu Bingxiao to send him away with a single sentence?

Li Jingjie, unaware he was being marked, looked at Fei Wanghuai with delight and said, “Senior Brother Chu asked you to instruct us, that’s a real vote of confidence in your skills!”

Thanks, but he didn’t want that kind of recognition.

He’d met one useless nemesis in Lotus Flower Sect, why did he have to instruct another group of useless disciples?

Fei Wanghuai’s mind was in turmoil, but his face remained calm and indifferent. He ignored Li Jingjie and instead said to Chu Zaishuang, “I’ll be back soon, I’ll teach you more later.”

“Alright, alright, you go ahead.” She nodded rapidly, eager for him to leave.

As soon as Fei Wanghuai left, Chu Zaishuang’s eyes darted around. She immediately pulled out a chess manual from her sleeve and began reading with relish.

Li Jingjie, thoroughly ignored, rubbed his nose and muttered, “You two have such a good relationship. I’ve never seen him care so much about anyone, even teaching you the Rippling Water Technique personally.”

“If you ask him, he’ll teach you too.”

“It’s not the same.”

Li Jingjie saw she didn’t care at all. He wanted to say Fei Wanghuai wasn’t proactive, but the words turned in his mouth and he swallowed them.

It had to be said, Fei Wanghuai was born with a noble air. Clearly just an ordinary disciple with no background, his occasional pride far surpassed Lu Hewei and the others. Even though he often smiled politely, it seemed more out of courtesy, never truly letting anyone in.

But he treated Chu Zaishuang far too specially-only the person herself failed to notice.

Thinking of this, Li Jingjie clapped his hands and sighed, “Truly a meeting of kindred spirits, a friendship at first sight-no wonder they’re the Bo Ya and Zhong Ziqi of Lotus Flower Sect!”

“?”

Faced with Li Jingjie’s cryptic words, Chu Zaishuang simply buried her head in her book, racing to read the chess manual. In life, the greatest pleasure was stealing leisure amidst busyness. She usually spent plenty of time reading miscellaneous books, but for some reason, ever since her new desk mate forced her to cultivate, the time she snuck to read during class felt even sweeter.

A figure in moon-white stopped at her desk.

Chu Zaishuang caught sight of the Cloud Water Robe out of the corner of her eye, mistaking it for Fei Wanghuai’s return. Startled, she looked up, “Back so soon…”

Her words cut off abruptly.

It wasn’t Fei Wanghuai before her, but someone with sword-like brows and starry eyes, a high nose bridge, and a cold, stern expression-like silent stone, quietly watching her.

She was taken aback and changed her tone, “Brother.”

Chu Bingxiao’s appearance was not like the morning sun, but rather like a sword reflected in a mirror, a foot of cold light able to cut through clouds.

Anyone else stared down by Senior Brother Chu would be scared out of their wits, but Chu Zaishuang knew her brother wasn’t strict. He’d always been quiet and reserved since childhood, with few facial expressions, which made him seem stern and cold, but in reality, his heart was softer than anyone’s.

They’d grown up together since childhood. Their parents were always busy, so he was the one who looked after her-they were inseparable. Picking lotus seeds, gathering locust flowers, catching spirit beasts-the siblings ran wild on Lotus Peak Mountain, years passing in a flash, until Chu Bingxiao joined the sect.
“These are freshly dried osmanthus flowers.”

Chu Bingxiao placed a small cloth pouch on the table. He was always a man of few words and many deeds, never forgetting his sister’s preferences, and dried osmanthus flowers every year.

Chu Zaishuang glanced around, busy scanning the surroundings. Seeing that no one was paying attention, she muttered, “Aren’t you supposed to be teaching? This isn’t really appropriate.”

Only disciples would give gifts to their teaching senior, never the other way around-it was truly odd.

“It’s fine. Besides, everyone knows our relationship; there’s no need to put on a show.” Chu Bingxiao paused for a few seconds, then glanced at the empty seat beside her. “I didn’t expect him to actually persuade you to come.”

Fei Wanghuai had managed to bring her to the Lecture Hall, which genuinely surprised Chu Bingxiao.

Chu Zaishuang’s gaze flickered. “Isn’t it possible that he didn’t persuade me at all?”-but rather, dragged her here.

Chu Bingxiao replied, “If not for what happened back then, if you hadn’t been affected by Soul Separation Syndrome, maybe you would’ve come to the Lecture Hall long ago…”

When Chu Zaishuang was young, she only cultivated slowly, but hadn’t yet contracted Soul Separation Syndrome. If he hadn’t tried to force her progress by injecting spiritual energy into her sea of consciousness, accidentally causing her soul to separate, perhaps she would be like any other cultivator now.

This was Chu Bingxiao’s lifelong regret. Ever since then, he never forced her to cultivate again.

Seeing her brother’s gloom, Chu Zaishuang broke into a bright smile. “Let the past stay in the past. There’s no ‘if’ in this world-as long as the outcome is good, that’s enough.”

“Is the outcome good now?”

“Why not? I do have Soul Separation Syndrome, and it’s harder for me to cultivate than others. But I’m our parents’ daughter, your sister-how many people would envy that?” Her eyes shone. “There are so many people in Mortal Dust Marsh who can never cultivate in their lifetime. I’m just having a harder time than other cultivators. Compared to ordinary people, aren’t I much luckier? So this is a good outcome.”

Chu Bingxiao pressed his lips tightly. “No, it was my negligence.”

“It’s not your fault, brother. Besides, even without Soul Separation Syndrome, I wouldn’t want to cultivate.” She lifted her chin, especially proud. “You all got one thing wrong-it’s not that I can’t cultivate, it’s that I don’t want to cultivate. I fully intend to be a good-for-nothing!”

Hearing her childish words, Chu Bingxiao’s tense face relaxed, as if amused by her. “Why?”

“That’s a secret.”

Since he was still teaching, Chu Bingxiao couldn’t chat for long. After a brief exchange with his sister, he returned to instructing the other disciples.

Not long after, someone came to notify them to collect pills and wooden swords. Chu Bingxiao let the others practice freely, calling only Fei Wanghuai to go with him and collect the items.

With the two strongest in the Lecture Hall gone, the atmosphere in the room instantly lightened. Li Jingjie stretched his arms and got up to chat with his friends.

Chu Zaishuang, bored, flipped through a book, occasionally glancing at the female cultivator diagonally in front of her, staring at the woman’s crystal stone hair chain. The hair chain looked like a string of red currants, half-hidden in her thick black hair, and was quite unique.

Aunt Sun had said that crystal stone hair braiding was all the rage in Mortal Dust Marsh lately. If she weren’t older, and always busy with the smoky roast duck, she would have learned to braid her hair too.

Chu Zaishuang and Aunt Sun had met by chance.

At that time, Chu Bingxiao had just joined the sect and had no time to take her wandering. So she went to Mortal Dust Marsh on her own. On snowy days, even the bustling streets grew quiet. Dressed in plain clothes, she wandered for days, and Aunt Sun mistook her for a homeless waif.

With snow falling and everything withering, Aunt Sun watched her for several days before taking her in at the roast duck shop.

“It’s freezing out there, and you’re wearing so little. You’ll starve to death sooner or later. Why not find a job at my shop instead of drifting on the streets?”

“But what would I do here?”

“Learn to roast duck with me. It’s a skill, and if you ever roast the best duck in Mortal Dust Marsh, maybe you can open your own shop!”

So Chu Zaishuang stayed, never mentioning she was a cultivator, nor that she didn’t fear cold or hunger. She truly disliked cultivation, but was quick to learn anything else, and soon her roast duck was quite presentable.

Aunt Sun had been widowed for years and had no children of her own. She praised Chu Zaishuang to everyone, swearing that one day she’d let her take over the roast duck shop, and that business would keep booming.

Her identity was exposed one noisy night when a gang of thugs burst into the shop, smashing things and trying to extort protection money, relying on their influence in the market. Chu Zaishuang didn’t exactly leap up and beat them all; in fact, when she was shoved, the Tracking Butterfly in her arms was triggered.

The green butterfly’s spiritual energy drove off the thugs, and Chu Bingxiao arrived as well, bringing countless Lotus Flower Sect disciples to surround the roast duck shop. White-robed cultivators blocked the street so tightly that, if sword-flying were allowed in Mortal Dust Marsh, the sky would have been full of people!

After that, not only were those thugs wiped out, but even the criminal gangs in the market were swept away by the Lotus Flower Sect.

Unfortunately, from then on, Aunt Sun never mentioned roast duck again, and tried every way to persuade Chu Zaishuang to return to Lotus Peak Mountain, saying that with her talent for cultivation, she shouldn’t waste it mixing with mortals.

They had agreed to roast the best duck in Mortal Dust Marsh together, but in the end, she went back on her word-a liar.

Staring at the crystal stone hair chain, Chu Zaishuang suddenly missed the Osmanthus Bun.

Lost in thought, noise disrupted the sweet scent in her memory.

“Heh, a good-for-nothing is a good-for-nothing. Slipped into the Lotus Flower Sect, but can’t even master the Rippling Water Technique.”

Chu Zaishuang was startled. She saw the female cultivator surrounded and thought, “Wow, I thought they were talking about me.”

Xiao Shi comforted her kindly: [Be confident. Maybe she really is talking about you.]

“?”