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"You…"
Zhu Zhuqing took a deep breath, raising her gaze to meet Jiang Yunzhou's.
"Can you be a little more serious? Can you give me a few days to consider? Or wait until I've dealt with my own matters before I give you a definite answer?"
The fact that she could say this showed that her emotional defenses had indeed loosened.
She had already planned to find her fiancé and join a mid-level Spirit Master academy in Suo Tuo City with him to continue her studies and grow stronger.
If a Spirit Saint was willing to personally instruct her, it was truly hard to refuse.
Deep down, a hint of expectation had even subtly emerged.
If not for the heavy shackles of her family and the constraints of her engagement, she might have already nodded her head at this moment.
"Alright."
Jiang Yunzhou agreed readily, but then he held up three fingers, "I'll give you three days. If you still haven't made a decision after three days, then it proves we're not fated to be together."
"I'll leave then. Listen, I'm telling you, you only get one chance. You decide for yourself."
This was both a deadline and a form of invisible pressure.
"Thank you…"
Zhu Zhuqing said in a low voice.
She even felt that if she refused this opportunity, she would truly miss out on something crucially important.
This feeling made her anxious.
"Then, I'll go first…" She subconsciously wanted to escape the atmosphere that made her heart race.
"Go?"
Jiang Yunzhou suddenly interrupted her: "No need. Since staying with me makes you so uncomfortable, then I'll leave."
He feigned turning around, his movements swift and decisive, "Anyway, you paid for this room."
He walked past Zhu Zhuqing, heading straight for the door.
Just as he was about to brush past her, a slightly cool small hand suddenly grabbed his sleeve!
Joy instantly bloomed in Jiang Yunzhou's heart: The fish took the bait! Sure enough, playing hard to get always works!
Hmm? Wait, he suddenly felt as if he had self-taught himself and unlocked a new skill in the art of manipulation?
"No! Don't go!"
Zhu Zhuqing's voice was urgent. She tugged hard on his sleeve, "I didn't, I didn't mean to chase you away, really!"
Her mind was in a mess. Watching him turn away dejectedly just now had given her a strong sense of guilt, as if she had done something heinous.
Jiang Yunzhou stopped, turned his head, and looked intently at her hand clutching his sleeve.
"Hmm, I understand. So, are you still leaving?"
Zhu Zhuqing's heart pounded like a drum under his gaze, her cheeks flushed, and she stammered out a soft reply: "No, I'm not leaving."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she immediately felt uneasy again.
Was she inviting a wolf into her house?
Would this seemingly sunny and handsome but always slightly roguish young man reveal another terrifying face when she let her guard down?
She didn't even realize she was still tightly holding his hand.
"Alright then,"
Jiang Yunzhou immediately went along with it, not a trace of dejection left on his face, "Let's just make do for one night…"
Zhu Zhuqing: "…"
Looking at his matter-of-fact expression, she suddenly felt as if she had lifted a rock only to drop it squarely on her own foot!
This man's mood changed too quickly, didn't it?
Faintly, Zhu Zhuqing seemed to catch a subtle, elusive scent of tea.
Jiang Yunzhou insisted on her staying, naturally, he had his own plans, purely for the 'good show' that might unfold over the next two days.
As for doing anything to her? He hadn't even considered it.
Aside from the age difference, Jiang Yunzhou wasn't that despicable. How old was she, after all?
"Oh, right, you just recovered, hurry and rest."
He pointed to the bed, his tone unusually serious for a moment, "Don't worry, I'm not a bad person."
Zhu Zhuqing glanced at him, thinking to herself: Would a bad person write 'bad person' on his face?
However, he was indeed very tired.
She looked at the large bed, which Jiang Yunzhou had left in a mess, then silently turned and walked to the sofa in the living room, curling up and lying down.
Jiang Yunzhou said nothing more, turned, and went into the bathroom to shower.
When he came out, smelling of water vapor, he found that Zhu Zhuqing had already fallen asleep.
She was curled up tightly on the sofa like a startled kitten. Even in her sleep, her brows were slightly furrowed, showing a hint of wariness.
Looking at her like this, Jiang Yunzhou's heart inexplicably softened, a trace of pity rising within him.
He didn't want to give up this potential disciple, who possessed excellent talent and character.
He walked over lightly, carefully picked up Zhu Zhuqing, moved her to the more comfortable large bed, and meticulously covered her with the blanket.
He then returned to the sofa and lay down, falling into a deep sleep shortly after.
In the darkness, Zhu Qing's long eyelashes trembled slightly.
She had actually been awake the whole time, just feigning sleep with her eyes closed, not daring to truly fall asleep.
Feeling Yunzhou's careful movements, and then him retreating to the sofa, her tense nerves finally completely relaxed.
After confirming her safety, her heavy eyelids could no longer hold up, and her consciousness quickly sank into true slumber.
The next morning
Jiang Yunzhou woke up early, feeling refreshed and energetic.
He didn't disturb the still-sleeping Zhu Zhuqing, but instead sat by the window, engrossed in studying the "Martial Art Gift Package" bestowed by the system.
In terms of offense and defense, he possessed powerful Spirit Abilities derived from the Nine Leaf Sword Grass, which were no less potent than the sword techniques found in these Martial Arts.
Among these Martial Arts, the only ones he truly valued were the movement techniques!
The gift package contained a dazzling array of movement-type Martial Arts: "Ladder Cloud Ascent" excelled at leveraging air currents for multiple boosts and changes of direction, truly a pinnacle of lightness skill;
"Sky Net Steps" was skilled in dodging and maneuvering, moving freely within a small area;
"Lingbo Micro Step" was elegant and agile, with extremely low consumption;
"Eight Trigrams Roaming Body Steps" followed the directions of the Eight Trigrams, weaving and circling;
"Divine Travel and Hundred Transformations" was even a leader in long-distance assaults and short-burst movements… "Each has its own merits…"
Jiang Yunzhou's eyes sparkled. He directly chose "Ladder Cloud Ascent" for its emphasis on mobility and height, "Divine Travel and Hundred Transformations" for its focus on speed and explosiveness, and "Eight Trigrams Roaming Body Steps" for its focus on small-scale close combat and evasion.
After selecting these three movement techniques, he immediately began to comprehend them.
For him, it was simply a matter of spending more time and effort; after all, having many skills was never a burden!
There were also some internal cultivation methods in this grand gift package.
For example: Nine Yang Divine Skill, Nine Yin Manual were also prominently listed, truly worthy of being a grand gift package.
However, they were not urgently needed and could be learned later.
Perhaps in the future, he might even acquire profound techniques or immortal methods, which would at least be more advanced than these Martial Arts, right?
"I feel that the Nine Yin Manual is quite compatible with Zhu Zhuqing."
...Zhu Zhuqing seemed truly exhausted to the extreme. The sun outside had already risen high, yet she was still sleeping soundly, showing no signs of waking up.
Jiang Yunzhou didn't rush her, continuing to ponder the mysteries of the movement techniques.
Nearing noon
The ample sleep finally dispelled the fatigue from days of fleeing and severe injury.
Zhu Zhuqing slowly awoke. As soon as she opened her eyes and saw the dazzling sunlight outside the window, she let out a soft cry of annoyance: "Oh no! How could I sleep so late?"
She hurriedly sat up and immediately saw Jiang Yunzhou sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed in the living room. She didn't know how long he had been awake.
She quietly got out of bed, but the subtle sound still startled Jiang Yunzhou.
He opened his eyes and, with a mischievous smile, pointed out the window: "Oh, you're awake? The sun's almost scorching your backside, it's almost past noon."
He looked her up and down, teasing, "I didn't realize you could sleep so much, huh?"