Roaring Dragon-Chapter 127: Damn Demoness, You’ve Ruined Me Good

The riverfront terrace was dimly lit in amber hues. A man and a woman sat side by side at the small table.

As time passed, Nangong Ye’s body temperature continued to rise. Beads of sweat rolled down her cheeks, her white dress grew misty from within, soaked completely through.

Xie Jinhuan, operating at high load for too long, was beginning to overheat himself. Seeing that Nangong Ye was draining him without restraint, he could only ask:

“I’m not made of iron. Do you have any trusted friends I can call?”

“Huff...”

Nangong Ye’s limbs trembled slightly. She had all but sealed off her divine sense, focusing entirely on resisting the venom raging in her lungs.

At that moment, Ye Hongshang appeared again, sitting across the table:

“Looks like she let her guard down just now, and the yang poison reached her heart. You won’t be able to hold it down. Go find Lin Wanyi—she might have a temporary method to suppress it.”

Xie Jinhuan figured only Missing Moon Manor could handle this level of poison. Without hesitation, he reached out to try and scoop the sweat-soaked black-robed heroine into his arms.

But to his surprise, the moment the iron lady sensed his movement, she flipped her hand, grabbed his collar, and slammed him onto the floor, pinning him down and forcefully continuing the extraction.

“Hey? Miss Mu—”

Zzzzzap—!

A jolt of electricity hit him, making him twitch violently. But what could he do? Face pressed to the floor, he could only mutter:

“Easy now. I’m just trying to take you to a healer... someone who can help suppress the poison...”

But unfortunately, the woman atop him wasn’t responding at all. Like some kind of cultivation robot, her unconscious instincts were executing the optimal solution—extract Qi, seal meridians, prevent poison spread...

Xie Jinhuan felt his Qi Sea reaching its limit and tried to push her off.

But their cultivation gap wasn’t small. Feeling her ‘radiator’ stirring restlessly, Nangong Ye’s hands sparked with arcs of lightning to keep him pinned.

“Ugh!”

Xie Jinhuan had no immunity to lightning and couldn’t do a damn thing. He looked toward the ghost for help.

Ye Hongshang shrugged lightly: “She’s wearing a protective talisman. I can’t interfere, and you can’t remove it either. But this girl’s Dao heart is solid. Even with her mind clouded by poison, she’s still instinctively purging it the best way possible. She might just pull through.”

“What if I don’t pull through?!”

“Then fate has spoken! You can’t run anyway—what else can you do?”

“...”

Xie Jinhuan had nothing more to say. He lay on the floor and let the metaphorical steamroller flatten him. After operating his Qi at full throttle for so long, his body was burning up, and the flow was starting to falter.

Luckily, the steamroller wasn’t completely without compassion.

Perhaps sensing her radiator was on the verge of exploding, Nangong Ye suddenly sprang up. Her fierce eyes opened, sweat dripping from her chin. She looked down at Xie Jinhuan, her expression clearly pained but lucid:

“You... can’t hold on... leave...”

Suddenly released, Xie Jinhuan flipped up and resumed channeling cold Qi:

“I can hold on a bit longer. Should I carry you to a doctor?”

Whoosh—

Before he finished the sentence, Nangong Ye flicked her sleeve, sending him sliding across the floor and out onto the terrace.

Clatter—

Xie Jinhuan was gently swept out by a gust of wind. Surprised, he looked up...

Just in time to see the white-clad heroine stumble toward the adjacent room—and strip off her dress.

Rrrrip—

Instantly, the room got noticeably brighter...

“Hhhss—?!”

Xie Jinhuan’s pupils shrank. He raised a hand, about to say ‘please maintain your dignity’, but before the words could leave his mouth, the now-bare heroine dove headfirst into the wooden bath.

Splash—

Crack crack... splash...

The sound of water mingled with the shattering of ice crystals...

(⊙_⊙)?!

It was the first time Xie Jinhuan had met a woman this unreserved. His heart pounded like a drum. He scratched his head, planning to sneak away before she beat the crap out of him.

But the Jiazi Lotus was still in limbo. Even if he took a beating, he had to get a result tonight!

What if she really died in there?

After a moment of hesitation, he crept to the room’s entrance and cautiously called out:

“Miss Mu?”

Huff huff...

In the center of the room sat a redwood bath, flanked by screens, wardrobes, and clothing racks. Hanging there: a black skirt and underthings...

The woman was fully submerged. Only the melting ice crystals on the water’s surface hinted at her presence. Clearly, she couldn’t hear him.

Xie Jinhuan didn’t dare barge in. He turned to ask:

“Will this help suppress the poison?”

Ye Hongshang stood at his side, analyzing:

“Barely. If you keep infusing her with Qi, the two together might work.”

“What if she hits me when I go in?”

“If she dies, there goes your Jiazi Lotus.”

“...”

Xie Jinhuan hesitated briefly. To avoid getting killed, he bent down, picked up a strip of discarded white cloth, and tied it over his eyes. Then, following memory, he approached the tub, reached into the icy water, and resumed Qi infusion.

Splash—

Like a bloodhound catching a scent, the woman instantly latched onto his hand and resumed her high-pressure extraction routine...

“Hhhss~...”

Xie ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Jinhuan was starting to get used to it. Holding her smooth, soft hand, he quietly resumed channeling his internal art...

Huff... huff...

Two quarter-hours passed.

Qi flowed through the room. A soft white mist floated above the water.

Nangong Ye, fully submerged, had finally weathered the violent surge of yang poison. With the dual effects of the ice bath and cold Qi, her lungs settled down, and her consciousness gradually returned.

She’d made it through.

Xie Jinhuan... surely he hadn’t stuck around all this time, had he?

Wait. What was she holding?!

Her phoenix eyes opened underwater—and saw a large man’s hand grasped in her own.

Xie Jinhuan, blindfolded, was still seated calmly, infusing Qi. Suddenly, a splash hit him in the face.

Splash—

Then an arm snaked behind his neck, locking him against the bath’s edge. A wave of killing intent surged behind him.

“Wait, wait! Miss Mu, slow down!”

Nangong Ye emerged from the water, right hand covering her chest, left arm wrapped tightly around Xie Jinhuan in a chokehold. Her eyes radiated pure frost.

“Who let you in?!”

Xie Jinhuan patted the slender arm wrapped around his neck and said helplessly:

“I’m blindfolded! I was just transferring Qi. Didn’t see anything...”

“I told you to leave—didn’t you hear?!”

“I did, but how was I supposed to know what condition you were in? If I left and you died in here, what then?”

“...”

A tempest roared in Nangong Ye’s heart. She struggled to calm her breath, afraid of triggering the poison again.

She noticed Xie Jinhuan still had the blindfold on, and his body temperature had exceeded hers—clear signs he’d been overexerting himself. Though her eyes were as sharp as blades, the killing intent eased slightly. She asked coldly:

“Did you peek before you came in?”

Xie Jinhuan, ever the honest type, spread his hands:

“I’m not blind. You tore your dress off right in front of me. I couldn’t even dodge it! I saw you weren’t lucid, worried you’d hurt yourself, so I came to help. Don’t repay good with malice...”

“...”

Nangong Ye glanced toward the door—and sure enough, saw the torn-up dress on the floor...

He saw everything?!

Dammit...

Her expression turned complicated—like an iceberg erupting into a volcano!

But this brat was Qingmo’s future Dao partner. She couldn’t kill him. After a long moment of silence, she raised her chin and tried to reclaim her senior aura:

“I was focused on suppressing the poison. I thought you’d left. If word of this gets out...”

Xie Jinhuan raised a hand: “I won’t say a word. It’s not even on my mind. And if I wanted to take advantage of you, you were on top of me—don’t you think I’d have touched you?”

You didn’t?!

Nangong Ye almost grabbed her chest wrap to show him the handprint, but thought better of it.

“Just go.”

Xie Jinhuan felt her release his neck, but didn’t leave. Instead, he asked:

“What about the Jiazi Lotus? We didn’t finish discussing that...”

Nangong Ye had only a pendant on. This wasn’t the time to talk business! But Xie Jinhuan had helped her tremendously, and clearly wouldn’t leave without an answer. After thinking it over, she replied:

“The Jiazi Lotus is foundational to my sect. If you had a working antidote, I’d give you one. But you don’t. I can only offer you a high-grade artifact in return.”

What use do I have for a magic weapon?

Xie Jinhuan turned his head toward her, blindfold still in place:

“I really need that lotus...”

?!

Nangong Ye flinched. She raised her hand to smack him, but seeing the blindfold was still there, she held back.

“Exchange it for a cure.”

“I already gave you one!”

Xie Jinhuan leaned on the tub, speaking calmly:

“The method works—you just didn’t like it. How about this: I won’t ask for any reward. Just lend me one Jiazi Lotus. I’ll return it within three months. I swear by the Luo River, okay?”

Nangong Ye knew his character well. It wasn’t stinginess that held her back—it was that Zihui Mountain only had living plants. If uprooted, they died.

If it were something like Return-to-Life Grass, she could explain it to her sect. But giving away the lotus without anything in return? That’d be impossible to justify.

“I can’t lend it. At most, I can give you some artifacts or manuals.”

“...”

Xie Jinhuan had nothing left to say. After a moment of thought, he turned around, pulled off the blindfold, and looked into the gleaming white bath.

“Miss Mu, surely you don’t want to—gurgle—?”

Before he finished, he was face-washed—hard.

Nangong Ye shot out of the bath like lightning, pulling a curtain around herself mid-air and spinning rapidly!

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—

Splash—

When Xie Jinhuan flipped upright, he saw the snow-white heroine wrapped in a towel, standing behind him. In her hand: a three-foot-long sword now leveled at his neck. Her expression: colder than ten thousand winters.

“You don’t want to what?”

“...”

Xie Jinhuan, staring down the blade less than a millimeter from his throat, raised his hands obediently:

“Miss Mu, surely you don’t want our friendship to end here? I’ve endured a lot to help you—if not meritorious, at least miserable. If you can’t lend it, could you help borrow one elsewhere? Qingming Sword Manor is a righteous sect, surely there’s a way. I need this medicine urgently...”

Nangong Ye looked puzzled:

“The Jiazi Lotus is only useful to super-tier cultivators. What’s your emergency?”

Xie Jinhuan couldn’t exactly say he accidentally opened a demon tomb. He sighed:

“It’s for the world. The Dark God Cult has infiltrated the capital. Anyone could be a spy. I trust no one, so I’m investigating myself.

“Their agents likely possess near-super-tier cultivation. I can’t handle that now. I need to raise my strength fast. I know a remedy that can help, but it requires the Jiazi Lotus.

“Every day I delay, my progress lags—and demons don’t wait. They could strike at Jingzhao at any moment...”

“Enough.”

Nangong Ye didn’t doubt his “saving the world, racing against time” speech.

After all, since his arrival, Xie Jinhuan had thrown himself into demon-slaying nonstop. His bravery was proven—boarding enemy ships solo, purging evil whenever he had time. Even when she tailed him secretly, she saw him following leads and battling fiends.

That he’d want to boost his strength to fight infiltrators from the Dark God Cult made perfect sense.

Now here he was, still begging for the lotus despite being manhandled. If this wasn’t an iron Dao heart, what was?

Recalling his efforts, and how reasonable his request actually was, Nangong Ye’s frustration cooled. She flipped her sword behind her back and softened her tone:

“I can help you borrow it—but you must never breathe a word of today. If I hear even a whisper, you’ll face the consequences.”

Xie Jinhuan’s eyes lit up: “How confident are you in getting it?”

Nangong Ye could vouch through Zihui Mountain to borrow a rare treasure from the court. Return-to-Life Grass was too contested, but Jiazi Lotus, while still costly, could be obtained—if you paid interest.

“I’ll get it to you in the next day or two. But don’t think you’ll get it for free. You’ll have to pay the full price of whatever you receive. I can at most help you get credit. If you do find a cure, I can help repay some of the debt.”

Xie Jinhuan was beyond relieved. He wanted to kiss this big cold lump on the spot:

“A man without trust is no man at all! If I can’t find a cure, I’ll definitely repay the lotus. I’ll take my leave for now—see you in a few days. Forgive my offenses. Rest well!”

He vanished like the wind, afraid something else might go wrong.

Nangong Ye, wrapped in a towel, sword behind her back, stood tall and graceful, like a frozen glacier watching him go.

But once Xie Jinhuan was gone, her face turned pale... then red... then pale again. She dove back into the bath, submerged herself in the ice water, and covered her face with her hand, full of regret.

What have I done...

Why the hell did I let that brat inside?

No cure was found. And now he’s somehow talked me into handing over a Jiazi Lotus...

How am I going to explain this to Qingmo?

Damn demoness... you’ve ruined me good!

If I don’t make you suffer the same, how can I face the world...