Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 309: The Renewed Vermillion Bird

Vermillion Bird pursed her lips.

See these pursed lips? Do you see these lips clearly? Who’s the old woman?!

These are the luscious lips that made you picture Vermillion Bird as someone extremely beautiful!

How dare you call me an old woman! Hmph! You said I was pretty, called me big sister, clinked drinks with me, and now you’re jumping into bed with my disciple?!

Chichi thinks she’s being wronged? Well, I feel like I’m being wronged even more! Chichi knows nothing! The aphrodisiac she’s been afflicted with won’t be resolved just by having intercourse with a man! If she does sleep with you, then she’ll be placed under your control! That’s one of the ways that Tarantula places people under her control. Of course, she might think it’s fine to be controlled by you, but there’s no way in hell I can accept that! How can a dignified saintess, a candidate to become the leader of the cult, become a sex slave?!

Damn it!

Unfortunately, Zhao Changhe could not understand her hints from her pursed lips. In the end, she decided to simply speak coldly, “Zhao Changhe, do you really think that I don’t dare to kill you?”

Zhao Changhe jumped up. “I gave you the Black Tortoise Gemstone from the Black Tortoise Secret Realm, and I even helped Black Tortoise with the Azure Dragon’s coffin. I’ve been regarding your Four Idols Cult as family because of Chichi, yet all you know is kill, kill, kill!”

Xia Chichi was so scared her face turned pale. She tugged at Zhao Changhe’s sleeve and tried to prevent him from going too far, “Hey, hey...”

Vermillion Bird knew she was in the wrong, but she forced herself to say, “So what? Do you have some misunderstanding about demonic cults?”

Zhao Changhe crossed his arms and said coldly, “Do I? I’m pretty sure that you don’t dare to kill me at all.”

Vermillion Bird replied coldly, “Hah... We’ve already confirmed that your star chart has nothing to do with the Night Emperor, so why wouldn’t I dare to kill you?”

“Because killing me could ruin all your arrangements at Yanmen. If you kill me, then good luck achieving any kind of long-term cooperation between Lady Three and Batu. The consequences of me dying at the hands of your Four Idols Cult are simply not something you can afford nor predict,” Zhao Changhe said calmly. “Venerable Vermillion Bird, I’m no longer someone who you can control at will. I have the power to negotiate terms with the Four Idols Cult.”

Vermillion Bird remained silent with a stern face.

She knew that he was speaking the truth. She really did not dare to kill him. Furthermore, there were even more reasons why she could not just kill him. If she really did kill him, Chichi would be estranged from the cult, and even Lady Three might have some strong opinions. And even if she did not consider others’ reactions to his murder... her own sentiments for him were already preventing her from killing him.

Without realizing it, Zhao Changhe had become a pivotal figure within and outside the Four Idols Cult.

But the truth was, she never really intended to kill him!

Since you were rude to me and called me an old woman, can’t I just threaten you a little bit?! Just back down and let it go. Why do you have to make things so difficult for me? Don’t I, Vermillion Bird, deserve some respect?!

You want Chichi? Not happening!

Vermillion Bird took a deep breath and decided not to argue about whether she dared to kill him or not any longer. Instead, she slowly said, “Chichi is at a crucial point in unlocking the door to the Profound Mysteries. She came to the western frontier for her final training before breaking through. The assassination of the traitor is just a part of her training. She did not come here just to complete a mission.

“In the situation earlier, she was not at a dead end, and her potential was yet to be fully stimulated. I was secretly protecting her, so why do you think I neither intervened nor let her know I was there? It was all to ensure that she would be pushed to her limits and have a better chance at gaining insights and breaking through. After all those preparations, all that time and effort, you just come out of nowhere and clear her path for her. Now, do you think you were really helping her?”

Zhao Changhe did not expect her to bring this up, and she had a valid point. For a moment, he found it hard to argue.

Although Xia Chichi and Vermillion Bird did not have the title of master and disciple, in practice, they were just that. Ever since she joined the cult, Xia Chichi had been learning under Vermillion Bird. When a master was training their disciple, they had their own plans, and blindly interrupting their plans could result in some very major consequences.

If there really was danger, a Ranking of Earth expert such as Vermillion Bird would have easily been able to save Chichi. There really had been no need for him to interfere.

But how could he just stay back and watch? He had no idea that she was there, and he had only done what was natural for him to do.

Seeing his expression, Vermillion Bird slowly said, “I’ve heard about you and Yue Hongling riding side by side, sweeping through Saibei, invincible against thousands. Why didn’t the two of you stay together?”

Zhao Changhe was speechless.

The reason he and Yue Hongling separated was that he wanted to hone himself as well. He had previously thought that being by her side would easily make him become dependent on her, and that would have been detrimental to his progress in martial arts.

Seeing him hang his head in silence, Vermillion Bird felt a surge of satisfaction. She leisurely crossed her legs and began swinging her lower leg. “A saintess must remain pure to serve the gods, that’s one; a candidate for the cult leader must be disciplined and not act recklessly, that’s two; pursuing breakthroughs in martial arts requires one to not be too obsessed with emotions, that’s three; preserving one’s virginity is incredibly important to smoother breakthroughs in innate martial arts, that’s four. Don’t you dare say that I’ve just been breaking up two lovers. If that were the case, then you two would never have had any chance to mess around.”

Are you the principal enacting your school’s rules on disallowing puppy love? You’ve really got a whole set of reasons.

Zhao Changhe was racking his brain for a response when Xia Chichi, who had been silently meditating to detoxify herself after taking the medicine, suddenly raised her hand with a blushing face. “Venerable...”

“Hm?” Vermillion Bird, in a good mood, looked at Xia Chichi. “What is it?”

Xia Chichi said, “The medicine you gave me isn’t able to completely remove the poison.”

Vermillion Bird paused.

Zhao Changhe turned his head away and suppressed his laughter.

You had all those arguments and reasons, but it turns out your medicine can’t even deal with the immediate problem at hand. Pfft.

Vermillion Bird was in disbelief. “How is that possible? How could our cult’s medicine fail to neutralize Tarantula’s poison?! You’ve even practiced the Azure Dragon’s cultivation technique, so your poison resistance should be far superior to ordinary people! Stretch out your hand; let me examine you!”

Xia Chichi extended her hand with her face still flushed. Her body squirmed around involuntarily.

Vermillion Bird checked her pulse for a while and her brow furrowed tightly beneath her mask.

It was true: the poison had really not been fully neutralized.

The reason for this was simple: the poison had been lurking inside her for a while and had already somewhat taken root in her body.

The Four Idols Cult had inherited various arts and information related to vitality, so they could naturally produce potent medicine, but without having fully mastered the Rejuvenation Art, they still had a long way to go in this regard. They were far from reaching the peak. Tarantula, who was famous for her poison, often used poison to fight above her level, and she was definitely not some pushover. Even if their strengths canceled each other out, the deeply-rooted residual poison could not be eradicated just like that. Xia Chichi would need to continue taking medicine and resting in seclusion for a period of time to slowly and completely remove the poison.

However, Xia Chichi had many tasks to complete. She could not afford to go into seclusion right now. Why would she have come to Kunlun in the first place if she had the leisure to go into seclusion?

As Vermillion Bird pondered on what to do while checking her pulse, Zhao Changhe stealthily grabbed hold of Chichi’s other hand and examined her. Finally, he sighed and said, “Venerable, there’s something I don’t know if I should say...”

Vermillion Bird said casually, “Speak.”

“I actually have a way to quickly cure Chichi... Hey, don’t give me that glare, it’s not like that.”

Vermillion Bird retorted, “Aside from dual cultivation, what else can you do to cure her from the poison?”

“Did Lady Three not get a chance to tell you? I really can cure her,” said Zhao Changhe. “Come on, we can’t just sit here and do nothing. With the residual poison lingering in her body, even if you aren’t worried for Chichi, I am. What if it causes long-term damage by sitting in her body too long?”

Vermillion Bird was silent for a moment, and then she said, “Then go ahead.”

“Now?”

“Now.”

“Well, you said it.”

Zhao Changhe suddenly pulled Xia Chichi into his arms and kissed her.

Xia Chichi stole a glance at Vermillion Bird. Then, with a hint of defiance in her eyes, she reciprocated the kiss.

Vermillion Bird’s eyes widened, her legs uncrossing as she abruptly stood up. “This is your treatment?!”

She was so furious that she grabbed Xia Chichi’s wrist and tried to pull them apart. However, as she touched Xia Chichi’s wrist, she felt a surge of vigorous vitality flourishing within her, gradually crushing the residual poison at its root.

He’s really curing her?! What the hell?!

Strange... This isn’t a dual cultivation technique; dual cultivation techniques don’t have such strong effects. What technique is this? Why does it align so well with the principles of the four idols? Just which one of us here is really from the Four Idols Cult?!

Vermillion Bird found herself immersed in the new sensation of vigorous vitality that she momentarily forgot that she had just come forward to interrupt the passionate kiss between the young couple.

The shameless pair kissed noisily right in front of the “school principal.”

Xia Chichi even let out a deliberate moan, clearly enjoying herself.

Vermillion Bird could not be any more flabbergasted.

Something about this feels awfully wrong... Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing...

When Vermillion Bird came to her senses, the residual poison within Xia Chichi had truly been eliminated. At this moment, however, Vermillion Bird felt like her lungs were about to explode with rage.

Zhao Changhe, you did this on purpose, didn’t you? With the technique you used, you could have achieved the same effect with just hand-to-hand contact. There was no need for you to administer it mouth-to-mouth!

Doing this right in front of me, deliberately trampling on my dignity! You licentious pair! Mark my words, Zhao Changhe! You’ve got no chance with the Fire Serpent of Yi!