Translator: Pika
Even when they were already inside the dungeon, Zu An was still unable to snap out of it. He continued staring at Ji Xiaoxi in bewilderment, trying to process what had just happened.
Ji Xiaoxi felt a little flustered under his intense stare. “Teacher Zu, what are you looking at?”
“You’re being too distant, addressing me as a teacher.”
“Big... brother Zu.”
“Call me Ah Zu.”
“Ah Zu?”
Zu An circled around Ji Xiaoxi as he assessed her intently. He found it hard to connect this adorable little lady before him to the cold, domineering Jiang Luofu. Unable to take the intrigue anymore, he finally asked, “Is Principal Jiang your mother?”
Ji Xiaoxi hurriedly shook her head. “That’s not it. She’s my little aunt.”
“Little aunt?” For some reason, Zu An heaved a deep sigh of relief upon hearing that Principal Jiang wasn’t her mother. Indeed, how could ordinary men be worthy of Principal Jiang? Only someone as suave as me can barely qualify!
At the same time, he finally understood how Jiang Luofu came to know about the sealing of ‘little Zu An’. He was still worried that those of a certain cultivation rank could see through his condition, but fortunately, that wasn’t the case. He wouldn’t dare to walk onto the street anymore if the whole world were to learn of his impotence.
But speaking of which, while they were relatives, wasn’t it extremely unprofessional of Ji Dengtu to share his condition with Jiang Luofu? Wasn’t patient confidentiality the number one value all physicians had to uphold?
This also explained why Ji Dengtu, despite ogling at all of the women around, chose to turn a blind eye to the most beautiful Jiang Luofu. It turned out that he wasn’t in a good position to make a move at all.
Eh, that doesn’t make sense either. Ji Dengtu isn’t blood-related with Jiang Luofu at all. Given his perverted nature, it’s odd that he bears no lustful thoughts toward her at all!
“What’s wrong, Ah Zu?” Ji Xiaoxi noticed that the furrow on Zu An’s forehead was tightening and loosening every now and then, so she asked out of concern.
“Ah? It’s nothing at all. Oh right, where’s your mother? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you mention her before.” Zu An tried to probe a little deeper.
Ji Xiaoxi lowered her face. “She was already gone while I was still an infant. I have no recollections of her at all.”
As she spoke, her long eyelashes began quivering slightly as tears glistened in her eyes. Seeing that she was on the verge of tears, Zu An immediately panicked. “I shouldn’t have asked about that. Sorry, please don’t cry!”
Ji Xiaoxi sniffled a little as she wiped off her tears. She forced on a smile and said, “I’m fine. I’m already used to it.”
With this, Zu An dared not to continue probing anymore. He would just have to find another chance in the near future to enquire about it.
Following that, he began to assess their surroundings. They were on a plain filled with yellowish blades of grass at the moment. It seemed to be autumn here right now. There were a few smaller forests scattered here and there on the plains, as well as a few short hills.
He could spot bits of black and yellow by the horizon, which appeared to be a mountain range or something. It was just too far away that he wasn’t able to confirm it.
This dungeon looks more normal than I thought.
Zu An heaved a sigh of relief. He had expected to be teleported into a world where dinosaurs and all sorts of monsters ran rampant, but it turned out to be not much different from the world outside.
The crowd who were still excited from entering the dungeon also gradually calmed down too.
“Mianman, let’s go.” Chu Chuyan saw that Zu An was having fun chatting away with Ji Xiaoxi, but her expression remained impassively cold as per normal, making it hard to discern her thoughts. Her dress fluttered with a tap of her feet, and within moments, she was already nothing more than a disappearing dot in the distance.
“As expected of the number one prodigy of the academy. Her movement skill is truly amazing.”
“As if it was her movement skill really caught your eye. You’re making it so obvious that I feel bad trying to expose you.”
“Wipe your mouth. You’re drooling.”
...
“Protect yourself well. Don’t let yourself get killed~” Pei Mianman shot a seductive look in Zu An’s direction as she relayed her voice to him via ki. Leaving behind peals of tinkling laughter in the air, she also headed off in the direction where Chu Chuyan had departed toward.
It would appear that they were planning on exploring the area together for now, but considering the massive size of the dungeon, it was likely that they would part ways eventually.
“Woah, that laughter. I feel like my soul almost got sucked out of my body.”
“Ahhh, I feel like my body is going to melt just by listening to it.”
“Nah, your body is just weak.”
...
Hearing the discussions around him, Zu An shook his head scornfully. Look at how useless all of you are! I had my body pressed right next to hers on the floor before, but I don’t even bother to boast about it. Yet, all of you are getting so happy just because you got to listen to her laughter... Haaa, it’s no wonder why you all are just students whereas I’m a teacher!
Shi Kun looked at the silhouettes of the two women and fell into deep thoughts. I haven’t paid much attention to it in the past, but Pei Mianman is truly alluring. From the way she looks to the way she acts, she emits an irresistible seductive charm that men are fallible too. Those like Chu Chuyan are suited to be wives, but Pei Mianman’s type would make perfect lovers.
If I recall correctly, she’s not a member of the main lineage in the Pei clan. I might just have a chance to make her mine.
In order to avoid suspicion later on, Shi Kun made sure to not come into contact with Zu An or even look at him. No one would be able to pin the blame on him this way.
“Good luck, everyone. I’ll be making a move first,” Shi Kun clasped his fist at the crowd as he spoke. Other than Zu An and a few others who knew of the devious plan he had concocted, his etiquette was perfect. Paired with his good looks, it was likely that this gesture would win him quite a bit of goodwill from the crowd.
The other fifth rank cultivators also began departing too.
“Those in my group, make sure to follow me closely so that you don’t get lost.” Lu De beckoned to the students under him and led them off too. He wasn’t particularly fond of Zu An, so he didn’t bother bidding the latter goodbye.
Bai Susu, on the other hand, sashayed over and said, “Teacher Zu, would you like to come with us?”
Zu An replied with a smile, “Teacher Bai, I appreciate your goodwill, but we’re intending to explore on our own.”
You must be kidding! In all of the novels I’ve read, when has the protagonist ever gone along with the group before? He would always move all alone so that fortuitous encounters can fall on him and him alone.
My luck will be sullied if I follow you all!
“Alright then. You must make sure to take care of Xiaoxi, alright? There are many in the academy who are fond of her, including me. If anything happens to her... we won’t let you off,” said Bai Susu with a coy laugh.
“Teacher Bai, I can take care of myself!” Ji Xiaoxi’s face reddened. She didn’t want to bring trouble to Zu An.
“You’re truly a kind person, Xiaoxi. Here, take this. If you ever find yourself in a dangerous position, open it. I’ll rush over right away to save you if I’m in the vicinity.” Bai Susu passed over an item that looked a little like a signaling stick over to Ji Xiaoxi.
“Thanks, Teacher Bai.” Ji Xiaoxi accepted Bai Susu’s goodwill.
Even after Bai Susu left, there were still quite a few people who came over, hoping to change Ji Xiaoxi’s mind. Seeing that her mind was made up, they eventually settled with giving her medicine, weapons, or defensive artifacts.
Zu An was amazed. “Xiaoxi, I didn’t know you are so popular in the academy. It’s almost as if you’re the academy’s pet!”
“Ah~ Aren’t you making fun of me by saying that I’m a pet?” Ji Xiaoxi pouted in dissatisfaction.
“I’m saying that you’re adorable.” Zu An couldn’t help but think that even a pouting Ji Xiaoxi looked incredibly adorable. He instinctively wanted to pet her head, but recalling how his hands became hopelessly swollen the last time he did so, he could only hesitantly retract his hand.
It’s almost like Ji Dengtu is projecting himself on the rest of the world. He thinks that all men are as perverted as he is, so he goes to such an extent to protect Ji Xiaoxi, not leaving any gaps at all.
His explanation placated Ji Xiaoxi, and she broke out in a smile. “Here, I can’t use all of it myself. I’ll give some to you too.”
She stuffed some of the bottles of medicine and hidden weapons into Zu An’s hands, which conveniently brought him a huge inflow of Rage points too. He quickly took a look around him, only to see many of the male students glaring daggers at him.
He was initially intending to attempt to reject the gifts out of politeness, but the reactions of those around him changed his mind. He accepted everything Ji Xiaoxi gave him heartily and said, “Thanks, Xiaoxi! Hahaha!”
It was yet another flood of Rage points.
Tsk tsk tsk. As your teacher, let me give you all a life lesson here: Bootlickers have no future at all! You can fawn on women all you want, but it’ll never get you anywhere!
“Cough cough. It looks like Brother Zu is always in the limelight no matter where you go.” Xie Xiu walked over with a smile, feeling deeply impressed with Zu An. He couldn’t fathom how Zu An was able to survive to this day with how he was constantly attracting aggression from those around him.
Zu An straightened his back and cleared his throat before saying, “Please call me Teacher Zu instead.”
“...” Xie Xiu.
What the hell? How am I supposed to follow up with that?
However, Zu An quickly changed his tune and said, “But in view of our relationship, I’ll allow you to just call me Ah Zu!”
“Ah... Alright, Ah Zu.” Due to Zu An’s disruption, Xie Xiu nearly lost his train of thought. “The dungeon only opens once every few decades. If something happens here it’ll be nigh impossible to investigate the matter. Due to that, it has always been an ideal place to kill and plunder. You must make sure to tread carefully over the next ten days.”
“Hahaha, I didn’t expect you to be so concerned about me. Alright, I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to make a friend out of you!” It was at this point that Zu An abruptly changed the topic. “Speaking of which, that beautiful woman sitting next to you during the previous Clans Tournament is your older sister, right? Why didn’t she enter the dungeon too? Can you introduce her to me?”
Xie Xiu was rendered speechless. Are you just trying to get close to me in order to flirt with my big sister?
“My big sister isn’t interested in dungeons and that sort of stuff...” Xie Xiu laughed awkwardly before swiftly fleeing the area. It felt rather uncomfortable for him to be trying to get close to a man.
Before long, the only ones left at the starting point were Ji Xiaoxi and Zu An. Ji Xiaoxi couldn’t help but remark, “Ah Zu, you’re a bad person.”
“How am I a bad person?” asked Zu An.
“You’re still trying to flirt around even though you’re already... already...” Ji Xiaoxi shot a glance at Zu An’s crotch, but her shyness made her eyes flicker around awkwardly. “... like that down there.”
“What do you know? This is called preparing for the future! I’ll be up and going by the end of this dungeon anyway!” replied Zu An. “Only fools would prepare for what that is right ahead of them. Those who are truly wise like me are constantly thinking multiple steps ahead!”
Ji Xiaoxi blinked her eyes in surprise. She didn’t expect him to be so optimistic. After all, finding the Evanescent Lotus in this massive dungeon was like searching for a needle amidst the boundless ocean.
She felt that Zu An’s optimism was unfounded, but she couldn’t bear to point it out and dampen his morale.
“Where should we head to?”
“We’ll head west! West all the way!”
...
The two of them chatted merrily while heading westward, but all of a sudden, Zu An heard the sharp rustle of the wind. He immediately grabbed Ji Xiaoxi’s arm and pulled her to the side.
Several yellowish thorns had pierced into the very spot they were standing on earlier. Had they not moved away earlier, the thorns would have penetrated their body, dealing severe damage to them.
“What’s going on?”
Zu An noticed a rat clicking its teeth in their direction. While it did resemble a rat in terms of appearance, it was massive in size, comparable to a warthog!
However, what was more important at the moment was the numbing pain assaulting Zu An’s arm. He turned to Ji Xiaoxi with an exasperated look as he said, “Xiaoxi, the antidote~”
😉