Chapter 817 - 252: The Elder Sister Who Likes Handsome Men? (First Update)
"What the hell?" Mu Qingge’s eyes darkened, and her exquisite facial features turned icy.
She found it odd that in the Alchemy Institute, there existed such... well, peculiar entities!
The overpowering scent of makeup made Mu Qingge feel very uncomfortable. She maintained a cold expression, not bothering to deal with this flamboyant man. However, ignoring him didn’t mean he was willing to let her off.
"Hey, young gent, what’s your name?" A man dressed flamboyantly, with an exaggerated manner, reached out with his orchid fingers to block Mu Qingge’s path, waving a pink handkerchief towards her collar.
Mu Qingge frowned slightly and moved back to avoid the pink handkerchief.
"Don’t be so shy." The man twirled the handkerchief and teased with a laugh.
Seeing that Mu Qingge kept ignoring him, he even leaned back slightly and said to the four people around him, "Do you think Big Sister would like his face?"
"Like? Of course, like."
"Little Guan, you know Big Sister’s taste best. If you say she would like it, then she definitely will."
The man referred to as Little Guan twisted his waist coquettishly, pouted and stomped his foot, saying, "But he doesn’t want to talk to us. What do you guys think we should do?"
"Well..."
The four exchanged glances, looking at each other without a word.
Mu Qingge stood aside, listening coldly to their conversation, and had roughly guessed the situation. There must be a powerful figure behind this flamboyant man for him to act so brazenly in the Inner Courtyard of the Alchemy Institute. The four people accompanying him appeared submissive, speaking only in flattery and perfunctory praise, with an additional hint of helplessness in their expressions. It seemed they were also forced.
"Humph, a bunch of useless trash." Little Guan snapped with a coquettish tone, his playful eyes suddenly turning cold as he looked at Mu Qingge and said, "Since you don’t want to obediently follow me, I’ll have to take you by force. Once Big Sister sees you and she doesn’t fancy you, then she’ll let you go."
"You’re seeking death." Mu Qingge finally replied.
Little Guan’s eyes suddenly sharpened, and he raised his voice, "What did you say?"
The confrontation between them had already drawn the attention of many people. However, since this was the Shadow Wall, most people were engrossed in their comprehension of the Alchemy Dao. Only those who exited their contemplation or had just arrived would notice the situation in the corner.
Upon seeing Little Guan and his group, many people’s eyes revealed a playful look as if watching a show.
Just then, Zhu Ling returned with Mei Zizhong and saw what was happening here.
When her gaze fell on Little Guan, her face changed immediately, and she grabbed Mei Zizhong, saying, "Senior Brother Mei, stay here first, don’t go over."
The seriousness in her eyes made Mei Zizhong somewhat puzzled.
He also noticed the situation there, feeling that someone was giving Mu Qingge trouble, and shook his head, saying, "It seems Qingge is in trouble. How can I stay here?"
Zhu Ling bit her lip and said urgently, "If you go over there too, it might make things more complicated. I don’t have time to explain now. Let me help Qingge first, then I’ll explain to you."
With that, she gave Mei Zizhong a pleading look and hurried over to Mu Qingge.
She squeezed over and naturally linked her arms through Mu Qingge’s. "Yo, Little Guan, what brings you here?" she asked.
Zhu Ling’s actions caused Mu Qingge’s gaze to become somewhat surprised.
However, Zhu Ling subtly pinched her, allowing her to understand that she should cooperate in this little act.
Their intimacy caused Little Guan’s eyes to narrow slightly as he teased, "Oh, so it’s Zhu Ling! Between you two..."
Zhu Ling blushed shyly, tightening the grip on Mu Qingge’s arm, laughing charmingly, "Can’t you see it?" Then she sheepishly glanced up at Mu Qingge, smiling brightly, "I’ve waited for her for a long time, and now she finally has time to come to the Alchemy Institute to find me."
Her ambiguous words made Little Guan frown, his eyes showing disgust.
"So you already have someone." His tone turned cold, "Humph, Big Sister loves cleanliness. No matter how handsome a man touched by other women, she won’t want him."
That disdainful look and tone made it seem as if Mu Qingge were filthy.
After speaking, he turned his head arrogantly, flicked the pink handkerchief, and instructed the four people behind him, "Let’s go! This is really unlucky."
Then, he swaggered away with his group.
The crowd gradually dispersed after the show ended. Only then did Mei Zizhong stride quickly over.
This whole episode left Mu Qingge feeling perplexed.
Once Little Guan and his group were far away, Zhu Ling sighed in relief, letting go of Mu Qingge’s arm.
"What’s really going on?" Mei Zizhong asked Zhu Ling before Mu Qingge could speak.
Zhu Ling chuckled bitterly, intending to explain, but saw Zhao Nanxing and Shang Zisu walking hand in hand. Mu Qingge and Mei Zizhong naturally saw them too.
Under the gaze of the three, Shang Zisu lowered her eyes, feeling a bit shy.
However, her hand was tightly held by Zhao Nanxing, not allowing her to escape. Zhao Nanxing’s victorious expression made it easy for anyone to guess that he had finally gotten his wish.
"Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhao and Senior Sister Shang," Mu Qingge smiled sincerely.
Mei Zizhong’s calm eyes also showed a hint of joy as he spoke, "Congratulations."
Zhu Ling sighed, "You two have finally cleared things up, but Qingge’s troubles have come."
Her words made Mu Qingge raise an eyebrow. Zhao Nanxing also restrained the proud smile on his face and frowned, asking, "What happened?" Shang Zisu also couldn’t bother being shy and looked up at Mu Qingge in surprise.
Zhu Ling looked around and said to the group, "Let’s leave here first before we talk. I’m afraid Xiao Guan won’t give up and will come back for revenge."
"Xiao Guan?" Upon hearing this name, Zhao Nanxing’s expression furrowed even deeper.
His expression let Mu Qingge know that he was also familiar with this figure.
"Hmm, let’s leave first." Zhao Nanxing nodded, agreeing with Zhu Ling’s suggestion.
The group of five quickly left.
Not long after they left, Xiao Guan returned hastily with his men, unable to find any trace of Mu Qingge, making him stomp his foot repeatedly in anger.
His eyes flashed coldly as he raged, "Hmph, they ran so fast, must have deceived me!"
"Then... what should we do?" someone asked, stepping forward.
Xiao Guan’s eyes glinted coldly, and after a moment of silence, he gritted his teeth and said, "Let’s go back and find the big sister! Have her come forward personally!"
...
Zhao Nanxing led the group out of the Inner City and back to the Outer City. They found a restaurant and entered a private room. Judging by his ease with the boss, it seemed he was a regular here.
As soon as they sat down, Zhao Nanxing shook his head with a bitter smile, showing guilt as he said to Mu Qingge and Mei Zizhong, "This whole thing is my fault; I forgot about that female demon."
Mu Qingge tapped her finger lightly on the table and asked, "What’s going on exactly?"
Zhao Nanxing said, "In the Alchemy Institute, besides Yao Xinghai, there’s another person whom ordinary disciples dare not provoke. Her identity is very mysterious, and even the dean can’t restrain her too much. But she has a peculiar hobby; she likes handsome men. If you go along with her, it’s fine, as you could then walk freely in the Alchemy Institute. If you resist, you’ll either be injured or crippled and thrown out, or..."
Zhao Nanxing coldly smiled, "Xiao Guan is an example."
Mu Qingge raised an eyebrow, her eyes filled with curiosity.
Zhu Ling bit her lip and said, "Originally, Xiao Guan was a normal man, just happened to be good-looking. As soon as he entered the Inner Courtyard, he was targeted by the female demon. After several refusals, she actually... actually..."
"Castrated him." Zhao Nanxing picked up the words that Zhu Ling found hard to articulate.
Even those two words shook Mu Qingge and Mei Zizhong considerably.
It’s hard to imagine such things happening in the Alchemy Institute. Mei Zizhong’s face turned cold, and he said coldly, "Such reckless actions, doesn’t the Alchemy Institute manage this?"
Zhao Nanxing shook his head, "As long as the female demon doesn’t cause death, the Alchemy Institute turns a blind eye to her actions."
"So bizarre? What kind of identity does she have that makes the Alchemy Institute so wary?" Mu Qingge pondered softly.
"After Xiao Guan, he was silent for a period. Later, when he reappeared, he had this current appearance and became the female demon’s most loyal henchman, often wandering in the Inner Courtyard with others, picking handsome men for her. It’s rumored that when he targets a man, he uses all sorts of means to coerce them, as if trying to double what the female demon did to him onto these innocent people." Zhu Ling spoke with a serious expression.
She was somewhat worried about Mu Qingge, now being targeted by Xiao Guan, who knows what trouble might arise.
"If you are willing to reveal that you are a woman, maybe it could spare you from trouble." Zhu Ling suggested.
However, Mu Qingge shook her head in refusal.
Revealing her female identity was not impossible, but she absolutely wouldn’t do it out of being forced by the tyranny of a female demon.
"Brother Zhao, with your looks, you wouldn’t be spared, would you?" Mu Qingge teased.
Zhao Nanxing gave a bitter smile.
Zhu Ling, however, said ambiguously, "He stays by Zisu’s side every day. It seems that the female demon has a cleanliness obsession, initially coming to test once or twice, but later, probably guessing he has something with Zisu, she left it alone."
That’s the reason!
By now, Mu Qingge completely understood why Zhu Ling had deliberately made their relationship ambiguous in front of Xiao Guan.
"Alas." Zhu Ling sighed, "Hopefully, Xiao Guan believes the matter ends here. Qingge doesn’t have much time, and nothing must delay her cultivation."
Zhu Ling’s care made Mu Qingge smile slightly.
However, before she could contain her smile, hurried footsteps approached from outside.
Bang—!
The tightly closed door was slammed open, causing the five people in the room to stand up with somber expressions.
Entering was Xiao Guan, whose smile was wickedly effeminate, accompanied by plenty of thugs. The boss, who tried to stop them, was pushed aside, lying on the ground clutching his chest, groaning.
"So, you really are here!" Xiao Guan came in, immediately targeting Mu Qingge with his gaze. When he saw the refined Mei Zizhong, his eyes lit up again.