After Cutting Off Love And Emotions, I Was Pestered By The Demon Sect’s Enchantress - Chapter 2

A bone-piercing chill swept through her entire body, causing her meridians to become sluggish and stagnant. Zhu Shengxi trembled involuntarily, a layer of fine frost coating her brows and temples.

The cold energy crashed recklessly through her pathways. She knitted her brows in agony, and just when she could bear it no longer, a touch of warmth pressed against her body.

Groggy and disoriented, Zhu Shengxi acted like a drowning person seeking a piece of driftwood; she subconsciously clung tightly to that warmth, attempting to use it to drive away the chill within her meridians.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Shengxi gradually regained consciousness. When she finally saw her surroundings clearly, she froze in place.

The woman in black had her eyes closed, her delicate features inches away. Zhu Shengxi herself was circling the woman’s waist with her arms, the two of them pressed intimately close.

Recovering her senses, Zhu Shengxi hurriedly withdrew her hands and recoiled. However, they were currently atop a protruding stone bed; this sudden retreat caused her to tumble straight onto the ground.

The woman in black slowly opened her eyes. Propping her chin in her hand, she observed the person on the floor.

“I’ve saved you yet again, you know.”

Zhu Shengxi didn’t have the breath to correct her words, only looking down hurriedly at her own clothing.

Fortunately, their clothes were intact; nothing untoward had occurred.

Glimpsing her movements, the woman in black curled her lip. “You needn’t worry. Though you are beautiful, I would never take advantage of someone in peril.”

“Furthermore,” she paused, adding deliberately, “it was you, Fellow Daoist Zhu, who refused to let go of me.”

Zhu Shengxi looked at her with cold eyes. “Who are you?”

The woman in black stepped down from the stone bed and brushed off her sleeves. “A person of no renown. You may call me A-Xu.”

Expressionless, Zhu Shengxi rose to leave. “You harmed me, then saved me. We are even.”

A-Xu spoke up, “Fellow Daoist Zhu, please stay your steps.”

“You have suffered from this cold poison for many years, haven’t you? This time, the Frost Palm has exacerbated its toxicity. From here on, I’m afraid the flare-ups will only become more frequent.”

Zhu Shengxi halted and turned to face her.

A-Xu gave a smile that suggested everything was going as expected. She said leisurely, “I have a way to cure your cold poison, provided you take me out of Heaven’s Dry Realm.”

“What is your goal?” Zhu Shengxi asked.

She did not believe A-Xu’s rhetoric. When they had exchanged blows earlier, she had sensed that A-Xu’s strength was significant; she couldn’t be unable to leave the realm on her own.

“I told you, I want you to assist me in leaving this place,” A-Xu said with a light laugh, walking toward her step by step.

With the motion of her stride, the sash at her waist gradually loosened, revealing her snow-white inner garments.

Zhu Shengxi’s face stiffened. She swiftly turned her back and reminded her coldly, “Your sash is loose.”

“I know,” A-Xu stared at her, her smile deepening. “But, logically, it should be you who ties it for me, Fellow Daoist Zhu. My sash only came undone because of you.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” Zhu Shengxi could not help but snap.

A-Xu’s voice sounded innocent. “I’m not talking nonsense. It was clearly Fellow Daoist Zhu who held onto me so tightly that you rubbed my sash loose.”

Hearing this, Zhu Shengxi fell silent for several seconds.

Fine, that was indeed a possibility.

Seeing that she refused to turn around, A-Xu began tying the sash herself, saying languidly, “Fellow Daoist Zhu, we are both women. What is there that cannot be seen?”

Zhu Shengxi crossed her arms and said chillingly, “Lady A-Xu, please conduct yourself with dignity.”

At this, A-Xu looked at her back, straight as a green pine, and found the situation utterly dull.

Suddenly, her eyes darted around. Curving her lips, she asked again, “Oh, I see. Fellow Daoist Zhu likes women, is that it?”

Zhu Shengxi’s back was still turned, so A-Xu couldn’t see her expression, but she could glimpse the hand hanging at the woman’s side suddenly clenching tight.

After a moment, A-Xu said unhurriedly, “It’s tied.” The moment the words left her mouth, Zhu Shengxi spun around, drawing Chenque and resting the blade against A-Xu’s neck.

“If you speak such rubbish again, do not blame me for being heartless.”

A-Xu’s expression didn’t change; instead, she continued to provoke her. “What, did I strike a nerve? Is Fellow Daoist Zhu going to kill me to keep me silent?”

“You people who style yourselves as members of the righteous sects are truly boring.”

Zhu Shengxi withdrew her sword again, saying coldly, “I have no intention of killing you. I only wish to tell you not to speak wildly.”

A-Xu leaned closer to peer at her. “Are you like this with everyone? Pointing your sword at people at the drop of a hat?”

Zhu Shengxi did not answer the question, only stating, “I do not need your help to treat the cold poison. Also, do not follow me.”

Seeing her about to walk away, A-Xu rushed forward and grabbed the corner of her robe, her expression looking pitiful.

“But, I saved you twice. Not only did you not thank me, but you’re going to leave me all alone in such a dangerous place.”

How could someone use such an expression while saying such outrageous things?

Zhu Shengxi flicked her sleeve to shake off the hand and sneered, “Saved me twice? You were the one who used the knock-out incense, and you were the one who struck me with the Frost Palm.”

A-Xu lowered her head and murmured, “Well, you also hugged me. Men and women should not touch improperly, and the same goes for us. As compensation, you must take me out.”

Since the hugging had happened while she was unconscious, Zhu Shengxi opened her mouth but found it difficult to argue.

Seeing her speechless, A-Xu felt triumphant. Just as she was about to add fuel to the fire, she heard Zhu Shengxi let out a soft sigh.

“Very well. I will take you out.”

Hearing this, A-Xu beamed. “Good.”

As the sky grew dark, Zhu Shengxi briefly surveyed the cave. Nothing else seemed unusual, save for the protruding stone bed. It didn’t look like a natural formation of the cave; rather, it looked as though someone had forced the stone surface to rise into the shape of a bed.

As she was lost in thought, a voice interrupted her.

“Fellow Daoist Zhu, do you want to hear the method for curing the cold poison?”

Unsure of her intent, Zhu Shengxi looked at her.

A-Xu beckoned with her hand. “Come a little closer, and I’ll tell you.”

Zhu Shengxi knit her brows slightly. “Are you always this frivolous?”

A-Xu’s expression was quite innocent. “Frivolous? I want to help you dispel the cold poison. If you stay so far away, you won’t hear me clearly. How is that frivolous?”

Zhu Shengxi took a deep breath. She realized she couldn’t win an argument with this woman, so it was better to speak to her as little as possible.

She walked toward A-Xu, her eyes unintentionally catching sight of an object A-Xu was fiddling with in her hand.

It was a small, translucent piece of jade, glowing with an enchanting, seductive red under the faint moonlight.

Zhu Shengxi’s expression remained unchanged, but her heart jolted.

Wasn’t this the very jade fragment she had been searching for so desperately?

So, the person who had opened the other box was her… Zhu Shengxi looked at A-Xu, her gaze shifting.

A-Xu seemed completely oblivious, flicking the red jade one moment and tossing it into the air to catch it the next.

Even though Zhu Shengxi knew that profound jade was not easily broken, she couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat watching it.

A-Xu tossed the red jade into the air once more. This time, the jade veered off course in mid-air, looking as though she would fail to catch it.

Zhu Shengxi’s gaze sharpened. She stepped forward and caught the red jade perfectly in her palm.

A-Xu looked at her meaningfully and walked up to her. Then, Zhu Shengxi watched helplessly as A-Xu snatched the red jade back from her palm, adding a sweet, “Thank you, Fellow Daoist Zhu.”

A-Xu asked, “Do you like this jade very much, Fellow Daoist?”

Zhu Shengxi thought for a moment. “Yes.”

A-Xu frowned, looking very troubled. “But I like it very much too. You wouldn’t take what someone else loves, would you, Fellow Daoist?”

Zhu Shengxi said one word at a time, “Naturally, I will not.”

“You’re so kind.” A-Xu gazed at her, appearing profoundly sincere.

When she stared at someone, her obsidian eyes were always bright, filling themselves with the silhouette of the person before her.

As Zhu Shengxi met her gaze, a strange sensation flickered through her heart.

She felt instinctively that those eyes should not be pitch black; it seemed a blood-thirsty red would be more fitting.

The moment this thought surfaced, Zhu Shengxi was startled. But when she looked at A-Xu again, the feeling had vanished.

She looked like a human cultivator, no matter how one viewed her; could she have practiced some form of evil art?

Given the eerie white mist and the somber flute music, it was a possibility.

Some cultivators chose to practice evil arts to become stronger, but over time, it became difficult for them to maintain a clear heart, and they easily became dark, twisted, and prone to malice.

Once we leave Heaven’s Dry Realm, I must separate from her immediately, Zhu Shengxi silently resolved.

“How did you recognize me?” Zhu Shengxi asked coldly.

A-Xu thought for a moment, her voice dropping low. “Do you really… not remember me?”

Zhu Shengxi: “Have we met before?”

A-Xu sniffled. “Years ago, when I was about to die at the hands of the Demon Race, you suddenly appeared and saved me. You told me that if I wanted to become stronger, I could go to the Guyun Sect to become a disciple. I went with high hopes, but I was kicked out by the Guyun Sect apprentices. They wouldn’t let me in, and they even threw away the sachet you gave me.”

Zhu Shengxi was half-skeptical. “A sachet I gave you?”

A-Xu pouted. “Yes. You gave me a sachet, you bought me candied haws, you even…”

Before she could finish, several bursts of sword energy struck toward her. A-Xu’s eyes darkened as she stepped aside to dodge.

When she heard the earlier part, Zhu Shengxi had been half-convinced, even searching her memory. But by the last sentence, she knew this person was talking nonsense again.

She had never bought candied haws for anyone.

“Your cold poison has only just stabilized. I suggest you best not consume too much spiritual energy.” A-Xu’s expression turned serious. Her principled look made it hard to believe she had been joking around just a second ago.

Zhu Shengxi ignored this and said in a heavy voice, “If you speak nonsense again, I have ways to make sure you never open your mouth again.”

Unexpectedly, A-Xu was not afraid but laughed instead. “By killing me? Or by cutting out my tongue?”

Zhu Shengxi was stunned for a moment. She had been thinking of casting a Silence Spell, never imagining such cruel methods.

Seeing Zhu Shengxi remain silent, A-Xu assumed she had conceded to the description.

A-Xu withdrew the smile from her face and turned her back. Half of her face was hidden in darkness, and the other half was illuminated by the faint moonlight, adding a sense of ambiguity.

“I have never thought of such insidious methods,” Zhu Shengxi’s voice rose from behind her, seemingly as an explanation.

A-Xu did not turn around, only saying, “I know. You people from the righteous sects, even if you have dark thoughts, you’ll never admit them. You’re hypocritical to the core.”

Zhu Shengxi felt a surge of anger, her tone becoming even colder. “You people? Does Lady A-Xu believe she does not belong to the righteous sects?”

A-Xu slowly turned around to meet her gaze.

“Naturally not.”

“Everything I know is evil arts. I am one of those ‘corrupt’ cultivators you speak of. Fellow Daoist Zhu, dare you say that in your heart, you do not think of me that way?”