Chapter 61: Are You Willing to Dance with Me?
Qing Ji is not a pervert, nor a sadistic type of talent; he wouldn’t be able to poke himself for fun like that, even if he wanted to.
The reason he could find out that this place, resembling a city ruin, did not contain true d*ath is that there is a reason.
From a certain perspective, someone told him.
…
Earlier.
After losing contact with Luxianbei, Qing Ji sat alone on the edge of a dilapidated rooftop, gazing at the entire city, lamenting the changes of the times, his eyes as deep as the glazed ceramics unearthed from ancient tombs, imbued with the weight of years.
While wandering through the ruins of this city and scouting the surrounding environment, he spotted a sign and confirmed that this might be a city many years into the future from his time.
Even if it wasn’t the real entity of the city, it was still a mirage generated based on the city.
The rusty, twisted sign read “← Mudan Street · Youth Road →.”
Although Qing Ji did not know what Youth Road was, he was very clear about Mudan Street; the house he built with his beloved wife Yan Zhi brick by brick was located on Mudan Street.
Time has changed; even though his current existence is merely a remnant of spirit energy, and his memories are incomplete, he still remembers that innocent and lovely girl who cooked particularly fragrant meals.
When she smiled, there were two shallow dimples on her face, which were nice to see.
Sitting at the edge of the rooftop.
As Qing Ji reminisced about Lu Yanzhi, he rubbed the rough, rusted sign in his hand and muttered to himself.
“Ah—! If I had known, I would have had a few more kids with Yan Zhi. With a second, third, and fourth, there would be no worries about the family line being cut off.”
After saying this, he fell silent.
In the tranquility, with only a gentle breeze stirring, the sky began to grow dark.
As if it were an illusion, it became increasingly dim.
Originally, in this city ruin, which stood outside the realm of the real world, there was no clear distinction between day and night, but at this moment, Qing Ji could distinctly feel that night was about to fall.
As the footsteps of night approached, an ominous aura slowly emerged from the dense clouds above.
It was as if the evil and specters hiding above the cloud layers had suddenly awakened.
The crimson eyes of the entities flared open, peering down at Qing Ji, the intruder who did not belong here, from the gaps in the dark clouds.
Countless vague, blurry shadows emerged from the collapsing buildings of the streets and alleys, running aimlessly, seemingly projections from another world.
Something is coming… Qing Ji thought to himself, looking up at the deepest-colored clouds in the sky.
Then.
The cloud suddenly fell towards the ground, as if torn apart by some force, and pouring down intense rain at once.
“Boom—!”
Thunder roared across the sky, tearing through eardrums, and Qing Ji’s pupils constricted as he gazed at the source of the rain.
Beneath the seemingly endless black clouds, where rain was falling heavily, a flicker of fire appeared.
The brilliant scarlet colors made it hard to distinguish whether it was bl**d or flame, or perhaps both.
Qing Ji watched as the firelight, like a falling meteor wrapped in fog, streaked across the horizon, getting closer, his expression growing graver, gripping the sword in his hand tightly.
“Buzz—!”
With a low buzzing sound, a glow surged from the sword blade, flowing like liquid, and even the air around the sword seemed to be influenced, swirling into a light golden mist.
From afar came the shriek of air being torn apart, and fierce flames roared.
The blazing firelight occupied Qing Ji’s view. Just as that massive fireball was about to crash down onto the dilapidated rooftop, he saw a figure within the fireball.
Thus, the long-prepared sword strike slashed upwards towards the sky.
At the same time, the girl in the firelight also gripped a kn*fe with both hands, bringing it down in a vertical strike.
In that instant, kn*fe and sword collided, with no sound; the entire city seemed to fall into a dead silence.
At the point where blade met blade, a chaotic swirl of unstable light erupted, blue as the wind, red as fire.
These two different flows of light quickly shattered, spun, and collided, causing the surroundings to transform into a hazy mist.
The surging mist, like an ever-expanding ring, swept through the concrete jungle, causing the towering buildings to be sliced and shattered apart.
For a moment, Qing Ji felt he had the upper hand, slightly suppressing the incoming presence.
But immediately after, the blurry figure of the girl seemed to evaporate, disappearing without a trace.
In the next moment, a muffled sound of flesh being torn came from behind Qing Ji; he looked down and saw the blazing kn*fe tearing through his back, exiting through his chest, bl**d slowly dripping from the blade.
“This is… Ling Tai Purification?! How could this happen?”
Seeing the long kn*fe clearly up close, Qing Ji was shocked beyond measure, struggling to turn his neck to see the face of the person behind him.
Just then, a hand suddenly pressed down on his head.
“Don’t look… there’s nothing to see.”
Someone said to him in a voice that seemed to be masked by some kind of power, devoid of any identifiable features.
In the next moment, his vision plunged into darkness.
“Bang—!”
Watching as Qing Ji collapsed onto the ground, his body gradually turning to ashes, the girl with fiery hair squatted down, wiping the bloodied kn*fe with her sleeve, murmuring to herself.
“This doesn’t count as betraying the master and exterminating the ancestor, right? Just a little extra reminder for the old ancestor, so he can give that guy a little extra help…”
“Boom—!”
Before the girl could finish her words, a thunderbolt as thick as a barrel descended from the sky, sweeping past her side.
“……”
The girl caught a glimpse of her hair floating due to the dissipating electricity and fell silent.
“This must not be me getting struck by lightning for betraying the master and exterminating the ancestor, uh, probably not.”
She had done enough things to warrant being struck by lightning; sometimes, even she couldn’t distinguish what exactly led to the lightning strike.
Finally, the girl looked at the last handful of ashes being blown away and couldn’t help but exclaim.
“The old ancestor is really strong… If it weren’t my territory, it wouldn’t be so easy to win!”
“Ah, if only we were born in the same era; then I could let him help me with lightning.”
Thus, the mysterious girl secretly helped recharge Luxianbei’s “big membership for punishment” without him realizing it.
————
When Qing Ji woke up again, the girl who had attacked him was already gone.
He sat up, one hand brushing over the spot on his chest that had just been pierced, deep in thought.
As someone who had been buried for many years, he knew very well what d*ath felt like, and just now, he had experienced it clearly again.
But…
“Not dead?” Qing Ji muttered with a dazed expression, and immediately, the scene of looking down at the kn*fe that had pierced his chest appeared in his mind.
He was sure that the kn*fe was another form of Ling Tai Purification.
“If the one wielding Ling Tai Purification is not a vicious criminal…”
It is said that Ling Tai clears away right and wrong, with the essence of nurturing the original yang energy; the so-called Ling Tai is the heart.
Purification is for good deeds, said to be kindness without killing, guarding one’s nature, and encouraging goodness.
Therefore, truly evil criminals cannot use a weapon with such symbolic significance as Ling Tai Purification; those of slightly weaker strength might even suffer backlash just by holding it.
“If she didn’t want to k*ll me, then she wanted to tell me something…”
Qing Ji muttered to himself, and a bold thought suddenly flashed through his mind. He then glanced at the ancient sword beside him, his eyes flashing with a hint of ruthlessness.
So, he picked up the sword and thrust it towards his chest.
Then.
He died once more.
After waking up again, touching his unscathed chest, Qing Ji couldn’t help but let out a cheerful exclamation.
“Wow! This is thrilling!”
Then, a cruel and fierce glimmer flashed in his eyes.
Now I know what that girl wanted to tell me…
————
By the one hundred forty-sixth time that Luxianbei was “killed” by Qing Ji, she could barely handle three moves with him.
Then.
After three moves, she experienced her hundred forty-seventh “d*ath.”
An average of once a minute.
At first, she picked up a steel rod, intending to imitate Qing Ji’s sword skills and exchange a few blows, but she soon discovered that the old man was like a monster, giving her no chance at all in swordplay.
But as d*ath continued, she gradually noticed that each place Qing Ji pierced her body was different, and those spots were the key points of strength.
Moreover, every time the sword energy entered her body, it would cause a small group of muscles to vibrate, allowing her to experience the changes in strength physically.
What is professionalism? This is professionalism!
But such a professional teaching method does seem a bit too crude…
Thus, after over a hundred attempts, Luxianbei gradually grasped some tricks, ditched the steel rod, and returned to her true self, focusing on her “survival flow” and adding points.
Of course, even so, mastering it completely was not a simple task.
She could only repeatedly attempt with the most straightforward and crude methods.
Dying.
Observing and learning through continuous dying, she captured the purpose and meaning of every action and detail of Qing Ji.
And now, after his recordings, he had identified eighty-one basic variations in Qing Ji’s movement technique.
As for using these eighty-one basic variations to freely combine two or more changes, that would require more time to practice.
————
Then, when Luxianbei woke from d*ath for the two hundred seventh time…
“Whoosh—Whoosh—!”
On the rooftop, two figures dashed swiftly, the wind whirling at their feet, creating swathes of mist, one chasing and the other fleeing.
“Stop right there!” Qing Ji shouted at Luxianbei’s back. “I’m helping you practice; how is running all the time helpful for practice?”
“I’m not!” Luxianbei firmly refused, “Am I supposed to stand still and wait for you to poke me? I’m not stupid!”
Even though she wouldn’t actually d*e, and infinite resurrection was like playing a game, it really did hurt.
If someday a gaming company were to develop a fully immersive game and set the pain sensation to this level, it would definitely not sell.
“Hmph, brat!” Qing Ji scoffed, “What’s the use of just being able to run? You won’t truly learn until you learn to counterattack, understand?”
“This is what you said!” Luxianbei replied, her footsteps slightly pausing as she silently recited a spell, suddenly turning, and with a lifted hand, pure white light burst forth from her fingertips.
“Four Beasts Bright Sky Cannon!”
Seeing that Qing Ji couldn’t catch up with her in a short time, Luxianbei felt confident.
Then…
“Poof—!”
She was pierced through the back by Qing Ji; as she turned in shock, she heard Qing Ji behind her say, “Very good, but this move suddenly reminds me; this is the spell I taught my son Yuebo, so unfortunately…”
It was proven that your ancestor is still your ancestor.
Luxianbei, “…” She had an MMP in her heart that she wanted to say but dared not.
…
A moment later.
Seeing Luxianbei awaken once more from d*ath, Qing Ji felt a bit soft-hearted and said, “Why don’t you take a break?”
“Take a break? I won’t actually d*e!” Luxianbei reached out to Qing Ji, her expression stubborn. “Come on, old ancestor, help me up; I can still attack!”
Qing Ji twitched a bit at the corner of his eye, walked over, and helped Luxianbei up. Once she steadied herself, he drew a sword with a swinging motion.
But in that moment, he saw Luxianbei swiftly retreating, dodging his sword, and her movements contained no variations from “Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustration.”
This meant she had actually made variations and innovations based on her understanding.
Although such variations and innovations were immature and shallow, they were already worth encouraging.
After a brief shock, Qing Ji felt elated and pursued her, striking with a sword while inadvertently adding some exquisite changes, raising his previously controlled level of around fifty percent to eighty percent, instantly enveloping the rooftop in mist.
“Poof—!”
Luxianbei was unable to dodge the second strike and was lifted into the air like a punctured balloon, bursting apart.
————
At six-thirty in the morning.
Luxianbei woke up to the sound of the alarm as if startled, struggling and writhing in bed with her hands desperately feeling around her body.
After confirming that her body was intact, she sighed in relief. Before she could fully compose herself, she heard Qing Ji’s voice from a guitar case beside her.
“Why isn’t there a resurrection? It wouldn’t really be…?”
“Ah! What should I do? What should I do?!”
Luxianbei stared at the direction of the guitar case, hesitating for a moment, then got up and unzipped it, saying to the inside, “Old ancestor, don’t worry; it’s just that dawn has arrived, and I’ve woken up to go out to take care of business.”
“…”
After Luxianbei’s words, the room was quiet for a few seconds before Qing Ji responded.
“That’s good, that’s good; getting up early to work is a good thing.”
Receiving Qing Ji’s response, Luxianbei finally left the rental house, diving into the weak electrical well beside the stairwell until the sun had fully risen before she emerged.
————
At exactly ten-thirty in the morning.
Luxianbei stood in front of the rental house door, meeting Jiang Li, who had disguised herself as Miaomiao Sauce and returned on schedule. After opening the door and seeing her outfit, Luxianbei was taken aback.
A Tiffany blue strapless gown adorned with a large white lace bow, a string of intricately crafted pearl necklace hung around her fair and slender neck, with sequined crystal high heels transitioning from black to silver, accentuating her tall and graceful figure.
Luxianbei looked at Jiang Li, then down at her own loose pajamas, a head full of question marks.
What on earth? Why is she wearing a dress?
As if understanding the confusion in Luxianbei’s eyes, Jiang Li calmly explained, “Did you not know? The welcome event is a ball attended by all homeowners, and of course, you have to dress a bit more formally for the ball.”
“Surely you weren’t planning to go in your pajamas?”
Luxianbei, “…”
Although Jiang Li said so, Luxianbei clearly read another meaning in Jiang Li’s eyes.
Jiang Li’s gaze seemed to say, “I thought you wouldn’t mind wearing a pretty little dress at all!”
What the hell! How could I not mind? I mind a lot! Luxianbei cursed inwardly.
“And…” Just as Luxianbei fell into silence, Jiang Li spoke again. “Why does your complexion look so bad? You look like a corpse.”
“Isn’t that like a corpse? I’ve died hundreds of times!” Luxianbei retorted.
Jiang Li was silent for a moment before earnestly reminding her, “Play the game moderately.”
“This…” Luxianbei waved her hand, “Forget it; you wouldn’t understand.”
After all, that kind of game brought nothing but endless torment, with no trace of joy.
Luxianbei grumbled and said to Jiang Li, “You wait here a moment; I’m going in to consider how to solve this clothing situation.”
After saying this, she turned and headed back to her bedroom, locking the door with a click.
Once the door was shut, Luxianbei rushed to the floor-to-ceiling mirror in the room, patted the sleeve of her coat, and said, “GKD, coat, think of a way to give me a set of clothing that isn’t so embarrassing but suitable for attending the ball, um, preferably not a dress!”
“That’s right, no dresses; that’s very important!”
“……”
The coat fell silent for a few seconds, digesting Luxianbei’s request, and then began to wriggle and transform according to its understanding.
————
Jiang Li sat on the sofa in the rental house, looking out the window in a daze, as if pondering something.
After a long while, the sound of the bedroom door opening caught her attention. She looked and was slightly stunned when she saw Luxianbei walk out of the room.
There she was, wearing a deep purple tailored tailcoat, paired with a brown leather jacket, the close-fitting cut revealing her figure, adding a touch of androgynous elegance.
Her long white hair was up, exposing her elegant neck, and above her lips, she sported two little mustaches that seemed to have come from nowhere.
“What on earth are you wearing?” Jiang Li said coldly.
Luxianbei touched the little mustaches at the corners of her lips, slightly leaned forward, and replied earnestly, “This is how I want to dress if I want to dance with you!”
“So, what do you think, beautiful lady? Are you willing to dance with me?”
Dressing Luxianbei in androgynous attire to play Jiang Li’s male partner was the solution the coat came up with.
“……”
After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Li, with a resigned expression, extended her hand and gently placed it in Luxianbei’s palm.
