67 Chapter 66: Cold Shoulder (1/2)

”Senior Hu!”

”Senior Hu!”

The Nine-Tailed Fox Sect disciples all yelled in unison as they rushed over to help their beloved senior, flustered.

Elder Zhao could only bury his face in his palm, shaking his head in exasperation. He knew that the ice wasn't life-threatening. It would only give Hu Mei Er a chill, but nothing more than that. There was no need to overreact like his flustered disciples did.

”Aren't you glad?” Lian Rou giggled as she whispered to Tang Qi Hong. ”Your Fei Wu is so faithful that he even gave that Senior Hu the cold shoulder.”

Tang Qi Hong reddened. ”M…my Fei Wu? He's not mine, and what do you mean by faithful? It's not as if we're going out or anything.”

”Sure, sure. Whatever you say.”

They weren't the only ones watching from a distance. Liang Shao Yang, Yin Jing Jing and Tong Xue, as well as the rest of the examinees, all spun around to watch the commotion when they heard poor Hu Mei Er's screams.

Hu Mei Er's beautiful face no longer displayed that seductive smile of hers. Instead, her expression was scrunched up in panic as she hastily brushed away the ice that spread across her blacksmith robes.

”Get the ice off me!” she shrieked, her eyes bulging in horror.

”…it's just ice,” I muttered with a shake of my head. The yin qi unleashed from the Arctic Wolf's monster core wasn't that much. Yeah, perhaps a bit of my pure qi had been mixed in, producing a volatile reaction, but it wasn't to a destructive amount.

Unfortunately, Hu Mei Er was too panicky to realize that. Her mind clouded by horror, she executed a Nine-Tailed Fire Fox technique, igniting a blast of flames that vaporized the ice into steam. Her thin blacksmith robes, which was loose and thin, shattered immediately from the sudden rise in temperature.

Apparently, the ice had frozen them over and rendered the blacksmith robes extremely brittle. The blacksmith robes were originally designed to withstand intense heat and high temperatures, especially since the wearers tended to spend all their time in front of a fiery furnace smelting minerals and metals to forge armaments. From another perspective, that meant that the blacksmith robes offered no protection against ice.

Thanks to that, the robes got frozen into icy crystals, which broke instantly when Hu Mei Er hastily melted the frost with her fiery techniques.

Unknown to me, Hu Mei Er had customized her blacksmith robes to be loose on the outside while tailoring the inside with a tight-fitting silk dress that emphasized her curves. Unfortunately for her, the frost from the Arctic Wolf's monster core had spread to that silk dress and froze the thin fabric as well so when she executed her fiery techniques, the damaged fabric also broke apart.

Thanks to that, her snowy flesh was exposed to the open as the fabric around her waist disintegrated from the sudden burst of flames.

”UUWAAAAAAH!”

I winced as Hu Mei Er's bloodcurdling shriek pierced my ears. Hey, at least your clothes were still largely intact. It wasn't as if all of her clothing was destroyed in that sudden surge of flames, so she wasn't fully naked. The only thing that was exposed was her waist and abdomen, where the icy sparks of frost landed earlier. Otherwise her lower hips and chest were still covered. Not very modestly, but then she was never dressed modestly to begin with.

Not that I cared.

”Are you all right?” I asked, feigning concern.

”This is your fault!” Hu Mei Er screamed at me. Well, she had a point. While I didn't actually intended to destroy her clothes, I did deliberately fling some icy sparks at her. But I had expected her to dodge them, like any sensible person would. I never thought that she would be so focused on teasing me that she didn't see the sparks coming.

Was that my fault or hers? Well, it didn't matter. A mature guy would lower his head and avoid conflict. It didn't matter if I wasn't the one at fault, or Hu Mei Er deserved it for being mischievous. I wasn't petty enough to protest against that.

”Uh, sorry?” I could only shrug and apologize helplessly. Hu Mei Er rounded on me, her fiery qi exploding powerfully from her lithe, seductive body.

”You'll pay for this! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you!”

”Uh, I don't think you want to do that…”

My warning came too late, or perhaps Hu Mei Er refused to listen to anything I say. If that was the case, then her loss.

Boom!

As flames erupted from her body, the thin fabric of her clothes – still weak from the icy sparks scattered over them earlier – disintegrated, leaving her completely naked and exposed in front of over a hundred candidates.

”Gaaaah!”

”Whoa!”

”Oh my goodness!”

Needless to say, there were several comical moments when a few of the candidates fell back, blood spurting from their noses, while a few of the more sensible ones, such as Liang Shao Yang and Tong Xue, prudently avoided their gazes. Learning from their example, I turned away from the naked Hu Mei Er and focused completely on inscribing the Spirit Engraving on my almost completed ice rifle.

Seeing that I was plainly ignoring her, Hu Mei Er blew up in rage.

”Are you ignoring me? You fucking bastard!”

I raised a hand to stop her. As her flames threatened to wash over me, they struck an invisible barrier and immediately turned into ice. Hu Mei Er's eyes widened when she realized that my martial arts cultivation was at least on par with hers.

”Y…you…!”

Pushing my glasses up, I continued to fix my gaze upon my rifle. But I wasn't cruel enough to stay silent, so I muttered something under my breath.

”You should take care of your appearance first.”

”Huh?! What are you talking about…EH?!”

Another scream when Hu Mei Er finally realized what I was referring to. She dropped down to the ground, shielding her chest and groin with both hands, curling into a fetal position. Tears began leaking out of her eyes as she glared at me, her snowy skin tinged a furious red from head to toe. Fortunately, her pink hair was long enough to cover a good portion of her back and waist.

”I will never forgive you!”

Sighing, I took off my uniform jacket and tossed it to her before returning my attention to my forging project. Unable to do anything but grab my jacket and drape it all over her, Hu Mei Er continued to glare at me resentfully.

Glancing at my token, she snarled.

”Number two hundred and forty-four! I'll make sure to remember this! I'll make you pay for this humiliation that you did to me!”

”Uh, I don't mean to sound rude, but isn't this your fault for trying to get in my way?” I retorted without even glancing at her.

”You fucking brat!”

Hu Mei Er, after buttoning my jacket, rose to her feet like a tigress. Flames burst into life in her hands as she got ready to hurl them at me. Seven other fireballs materialized behind her, hovering dangerously in midair as they rotated in a circle.

”I'll never forgive you! Get out of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect this instant!” she hollered in fury, tears brimming in her eyes. ”And never come back ever again! Don't even think that you can take one step inside Tushan City again!”

I finally deigned to cast a sidelong glance at her. To be honest, I couldn't care less. While I did want to get back at Liang Shao Yang, I was beginning to think this whole farce wasn't worth it. It wasn't as if I wanted to join the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect in the first place. If Senior Hu wanted me to leave, I was perfectly fine with it.

”Ha ha ha ha ha!”

Instead, it was Elder Zhao who laughed.

”Mei Er.” He gave her a disapproving look. ”You know you had this coming, since you were being overly mischievous. Don't blame others for your downfall.”

”Elder Zhao!”

Hu Mei Er practically screeched at him.

”He's the one who clearly bullied and humiliated me! Please avenge me!”

The fuck was with her logic? Well, fine…

However, Elder Zhao had other plans. Before I could assent and abandon my furnace, he turned to gaze firmly at Hu Mei Er, his eyes full of reproach.

”Mei Er,” he reprimanded her. ”Let's just leave the matter as it is. Let him apologize and let him go. Stop being so stubborn.”

”But…”

”Today is the entrance examination for the outer sect disciples. You're here to find an assistant, aren't you?” Elder Zhao stared her down, and Hu Mei Er was faltering. Her flames were dissipating as she felt a tiny thread of fear. ”You're not supposed to create mischief and do whatever you want. We already gave you a huge measure of free reign, but if you begin to attack the examination candidates, then I'm afraid I'll have to punish you.”

”Besides, you have no right to kick anyone out of the sect.”

Tang Qi Hong had finally convinced Lian Rou that she wasn't going to resort to violent methods and hopped to my area to firmly place herself between me and Hu Mei Er. Folding her arms, she glared at Hu Mei Er.

”What do you think you're trying to do to Fei Wu, anyway? Using that vulgar body of yours to seduce him?”

”T…that's…!”

Hu Mei Er was blushing furiously, but she was unable to rebut those accusations. Turning around, she caught sight of all the male candidates all staring at her, especially her bare legs. The hem of my jacket was barely covering her nether regions, after all.

And underneath my jacket, she was buck naked, given how her dress and robes were completely incinerated when she recklessly used her fire techniques earlier.

Her face reddened further, if possible, and it was as if she had erupted like a volcano. With a nearly inhuman screech of embarrassment, Hu Mei Er immediately fled the cavern as if she was being chased by a hundred ghosts.

”Hmph! Serves her right.”

Tang Qi Hong seemed vindicated in her decision to chase Hu Mei Er away. Then she turned around and pulled my ear.

”You too…you're not off the hook. What's the idea with burning off her clothes?”

”Ow, ow, ow! I swear, that was never my intention! I only meant to chase her away! I didn't think she wouldn't be able to avoid that!”

”…well, that's true. She got what she deserved, that Senior Hu.” Tang Qi Hong seemed a little pleased.

”Ahem.” Elder Zhao cleared his throat. ”Qi Hong, remember that they're still in an exam. Try not to disturb the examinees.”