A Misunderstanding and a Nasty Trick

Having finished speaking, Murong Fan bowed slightly to Senior Sister Xiao Ru. However, from where I lay on the ground, I distinctly caught a faint trace of resentment in his eyes as he lowered his head.

Senior Sister Xiao Ru, seemingly oblivious, merely waved her hand. “Spare me such false sincerity, Murong boy,” she declared. “You’ve had your fight, and you’ve claimed your victory. Now, leave these junior brothers to me!”

Murong Fan offered another slight smile, pursing his lips, and replied deferentially, “Naturally. I’ll trouble Senior Sister to escort these injured classmates to the school hospital. Murong will respectfully take his leave now!”

Senior Sister Xiao Ru let out a soft hum. Finally, she clasped her fists slightly, a polite gesture that served as her acknowledgment of Murong Fan’s words.

Seeing this, Murong Fan turned gracefully. Over by the side, the girl named Yiyi had already rushed over, barraging him with questions, her face etched with deep concern.

I watched, somewhat dazed, still reeling from the danger I had just faced. My mind was a tangled mess, and amidst the chaos, I thought, ‘Thank goodness Yang Laoer has already fainted. Otherwise, seeing this, he’d probably throw another tantrum.’

****

As I drifted in a daze, a pair of slender, pale hands gently helped me to my feet. Then, I heard Senior Sister Xiao Ru’s soft voice. “Dongfang, are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you?”

I nodded blankly, then shook my head. Only when I saw the gentle smile on her face did my heart finally begin to settle.

“Since you’re fine, come with me and let’s get these three rascals to the school hospital first. Guo boy, you’re still okay, aren’t you?”

Seeing that I was unharmed, Senior Sister Xiao Ru seemed relieved. She then pouted, casting a helpless glance at the three brothers sprawled on the table. Linghu Ruoxu had been injured by Guo Hao’s Dragon-Subduing Palm and had already fainted, leaving only Guo Hao, who had a chopstick in his shoulder, still conscious.

Upon hearing her words, Guo Hao merely offered a bitter smile and shook his head.

Senior Sister Xiao Ru was slightly surprised. She immediately reached out, swiftly sealed the acupoints on his shoulder, and then took his pulse. Her brows furrowed. “So, that Murong boy’s ‘Star Shifting Skill’ has reached such a level! He actually split your palm force in two, knocking out Linghu boy with one half and returning the other half to you.”

Guo Hao again nodded with a bitter smile, seemingly extremely weak. Soon after, he, too, fell into a deep unconsciousness.

****

Given Senior Sister Xiao Ru’s considerable prestige within the Five Absolutes Academy, she immediately conscripted four strong men from the crowd of onlookers. She assigned them to pairs, instructing them to carry Yang Laoer and Linghu Ruoxu, respectively.

She, however, hoisted the most robust of them, Guo Hao, onto her own shoulder, carrying him as if he were a mountain boar. Leading the remaining seven people, including myself, we set off towards the school hospital. The spectators in the cafeteria, seeing the fight conclude, dispersed like a flock of birds.

****

When the group arrived at the school hospital lobby, Senior Sister Xiao Ru was about to instruct the few unfortunate laborers who hadn’t managed to escape to help queue for registration. It was then that, by chance, I ran into Associate Professor Wu’s assistant, whom I vaguely remembered being called Ping’er.

With this connection, and despite the fact that the three men’s injuries, while not critical, were certainly not light, Ping’er Sister readily facilitated things. She efficiently dispatched the three gentlemen to the appropriate departments for their respective injuries.

****

After finally completing all these tasks – the three men bandaged, medicated, and those requiring internal energy treatment wheeled into the therapy room and then back out – I was just about to catch my breath. At that moment, Senior Sister Xiao Ru, who had followed Yang Laoer’s stretcher back to the ward, sat down beside me with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

She leaned in and whispered, “Dongfang, be honest with your Senior Sister. What’s your relationship with these three stubborn boys? Which one of them is your ideal husband?”

Blindsided by her question, my face immediately flushed crimson. I stammered for a long time before finally stamping my foot. “Wh-what ideal husband! Senior Sister, you’re awful! Spreading such nonsense!”

“Then why are you so concerned about the three of them, even to the point of risking yourself to protect them? I remember, they even called you…” Senior Sister Xiao Ru teased with a smile. Annoyed, I was about to pinch her.

Unexpectedly, at that very moment, Linghu Ruoxu turned over in his bed and murmured in a daze, “Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother…”

Senior Sister Xiao Ru immediately let out a snicker, while my face grew even redder, burning like fire. Just as I was at a loss for how to retort, I suddenly remembered something and immediately asked her, “Wait, Senior Sister, from what you said earlier, do you recognize the three of them?”

Xiao Ru chuckled, turning her head to look at Guo Hao, who was sleeping in the adjacent bed. “The Xiao and Guo families both originate from the Northern Beggar branch of the Beggar’s Sect, and our relationship has always been quite good. I met this boy a few times in our childhood; he even followed me around with a runny nose, begging for candy. What’s more, this semester, I’m taking an elective course with him under Old Man Hong.”

“As for Linghu boy and Yang boy,” she continued, “they are both scions of prominent families at Tianwu University. We see each other constantly, and just by observing their martial arts moves, one can make a fairly accurate guess about their backgrounds!”

She then glanced at Linghu Ruoxu, who lay in another bed, and finally nudged her lips towards Yang Laoer, who was on the bed directly in front of us. “Look, Yang boy is from the Five Absolutes Academy, and he runs to the girls’ dormitory building every other day to tinker with who knows what. Among the girls here, who doesn’t know him? Who hasn’t heard of him!”

Recalling Yang Laoer’s past glorious deeds, I wholeheartedly agreed with Senior Sister Xiao Ru’s assessment, nodding very seriously.

Unexpectedly, at that very moment, Yang Laoer, perhaps caught in a dream, suddenly sat up with his eyes closed and embraced Senior Sister Xiao Ru, who was by the bed.

“Yiyi, don’t go, don’t leave me, Yiyi…” Yang Laoer mumbled incoherently, as if still dreaming.

Senior Sister Xiao Ru, however, was immediately flustered and blushing, completely at a loss when he embraced her. She repeatedly asked me, “Wh-what’s wrong with him, Dongfang? Make him let go!”

I watched, somewhat dumbfounded, as the esteemed “Dragon-Subduing Princess” was so easily embraced by Yang Laoer in his dream, completely failing to snap out of my stupor.

“Dongfang, you, you quickly help me! He, what is he doing? Ah…” Senior Sister Xiao Ru urged me anxiously, while also letting out a moan, as if Yang Laoer had touched her somewhere.

“Ah… Senior Sister… why… why don’t you just use your internal energy to shake him off?” I blurted out, somewhat desperately. Suddenly, I saw Yang Laoer, who had his head resting on Senior Sister Xiao Ru’s shoulder and was embracing her, abruptly open his eyes.

He struggled to wink at me, the meaning clear: he wanted me to stall Senior Sister Xiao Ru for a moment.

In my stunned state, I instantly understood. This scoundrel had been injured the earliest and woken up the fastest. He was now taking advantage of the situation, groping Senior Sister Xiao Ru!

“Th-that won’t do! He, he’s a patient, and he’s injured… Ah… not there, not there…” Senior Sister Xiao Ru, capable of subduing dragons and tigers, was as timid as a young girl when embraced by a boy. At this critical moment, she still had the presence of mind to worry about Yang Laoer, this utterly shameless fellow.

I watched, somewhat indignant, quite displeased with Yang Laoer’s opportunistic behavior of feigning illness to grope someone. I was about to expose him, but then I had a change of heart, fearing that if Senior Sister Xiao Ru discovered the truth, she might, in her furious embarrassment, inflict a secondary injury on Yang Laoer, leaving him severely wounded and unable to recover!

As I hesitated, my gaze suddenly fell upon the smelly socks stuffed inside the shoes by Guo Hao’s bedside. My eyes darted, and a plan formed in my mind.

“Senior Sister Xiao, seeing him like this, could it be that after his injury, as his internal energy circulated to heal itself, his true qi went awry, causing a malfunction?” I fabricated casually.

“Ah… his true qi went awry?” In her panic and overwhelming shyness, Senior Sister Xiao Ru had no time to discern whether my words were true or false. She merely repeated the phrase blankly.

“Mmm, I once heard my Master, the previous Dongfang Bubai, say that such a condition is extremely dangerous. A slight oversight could lead to qi deviation and madness.”

“Th-then what should I do?” Senior Sister Xiao Ru, disoriented by Yang Laoer’s embrace, blurted out the question.

“No worries. Fortunately, my Master left me a method specifically for dealing with such situations. Senior Sister Xiao Ru, hold him tight and don’t let him move. I’ll use this method to treat him right away! And whatever you do, don’t look back!” I said, seemingly full of confidence.

“Ah, th-this won’t do… It’s, it’s too embarrassing!” Senior Sister Xiao Ru was still hesitating.

“Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda!” I declared loudly. Senior Sister Xiao Ru, flustered, seemed to be subdued by my words. She immediately reached out and hugged Yang Laoer tightly.

Judging by Yang Laoer’s expression, he probably wanted to perform a kowtow ceremony to thank me for my great kindness.

I, however, eyed him with considerable disdain, knowing in my heart that in a little while, this fellow would probably be thanking my ancestors for eight generations…

So, under Yang Laoer’s grateful gaze, I stood up and, with a swift motion, pulled one of Guo Hao’s smelly socks from his shoe. Then, under Yang Laoer’s increasingly bewildered stare, I walked towards him with a radiant smile, dangling the sock in my hand.

When the two of us were barely half a foot apart, the scoundrel finally seemed to realize what I intended to do. He immediately began to struggle, all the while begging for mercy with his eyes.

Unfortunately, the one holding him was the renowned “Dragon-Subduing Princess.” With his abilities, breaking free from her embrace was a feat he could only dream of!

Finally, as I reached him and waved Guo Hao’s smelly sock in front of his face, the scoundrel proved to be sensible, immediately clamping his mouth shut.

‘No fear, I have a brilliant plan,’ I thought, chuckling. I reached out and pinched Yang Laoer’s nose…

(Prologue, The Maiden Dongfang’s First Transformation, End. To discover what happens next, please refer to “Transformed into Dongfang Bubai, I’m Not That Cute,” Volume 1: The Spirit Fox Inner Core.)