《Beyond The Primordials》Chapter 23: The Infuriating Su Jia
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"You!" Yin Hui shouted with visible anger in his voice.
"Why do you sound so aggressive when you're talking to me? I just came to thank my handsome savior for his help earlier." The girl said coyly.
"You almost got me killed! If I wasn't a cultivator, flies would be picking at my rotting corpse right now!" Yin Hui gnashed his teeth. He already had a grudge against this girl. Now that Yu Zhuwa invited her to stay for the night, he was even more displeased.
Yu Zhuwa nudged him on the shoulder.
"Psst, Big Brother Li. You seemed to have scored big time on this one. This elder sister is a real beauty and she seems to be around your age too, have you even asked for her name yet? Also, I think your face is turning a little red."
Yin Hui slapped Yu Zhuwa on the back of the head, causing him to fall flat on his face. He was not reddening because of embarrassment, but rather because he was trying to contain his immense fury.
"Anyways, I guess I was a little rude just now. My name is Su Jia. I came to pay you back for the trouble I caused you. Here." The girl threw a bag of holding towards Yin Hui's direction. Inside the bag was a small fortune of qi crystals, medicines, and a short sword with a red string attached to it.
"While you dealt with those two disciples, I finished off an elder I knocked away before you arrived. Because you helped me, I'll give you the elders bag as compensation."
Yin Hui accepted the bag emptied the contents into his own bag of holding. Combined with the loot he seized from the other two cultivators, he now had a decent amount of medicinal supplies should he ever be injured in a fight.
"Hmph, I've given you a nice reward and dealt with a cultivator that could have called for reinforcements and I don't even get a thanks? You truly are a shameless man." Su Jia pouted.
Her comment struck a nerve in Yin Hui. He never dealt with a girl such as this before in his life. Back at the Tang Clan, most of the servant girls were soft spoken and constantly had an expression of worry on their faces. On the other hand, the female cultivators of the clan acted proud and arrogant, much like the men. Until now, Yin Hui had never met a girl with such an infuriating, bratty personality like the one before him.
"First of all, I know you did not finish off that elder just to save me. You probably had to kill the elder anyways because if he called for help you would be in danger as well."
"Second, I am certain some of the contents in this bag of holding have been plundered by you before you gave it to me. An elder of a minor sect or clan would definitely have much more on them than this. So this 'gift' you have generously repaid me with is full of nothing more then leftovers."
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"Finally, I still haven't forgiven you for using me as a distraction to escape from those two cultivators!"
The girl played with her nails as Yin Hui ranted, it was obvious that she was intentionally making it look like she wasn't paying attention.
"Are you done? I still didn't get my thanks. Even if I took some things I liked, isn't receiving a gift from a pretty girl like me reward enough?" She said playfully.
"You're not getting one! Besides, I don't even approve of you staying the first place! Get out!" Yin Hui snarled.
Yu Zhuwa tugged Yin Hui's arm lightly.
"Big Brother Li, you got to have more class when speaking to a member of the opposite sex. Grandma Yu taught me to never leave a girl alone, especially in a dangerous forest like this one. Let's just let her stay for one night." Yu Zhuwa whispered. He then turned towards Su Jia with a huge smile on his face.
"Sorry about that Elder Sister Su. Big Brother Li Feng didn't mean what he said. We've gone through some tough times recently so he's a little frustrated right now. Your welcome to stay the night."
Su Jia grinned.
"It's okay Xiao Yu. I'll only stay a single night if it bothers you that much. For now, I guess I'll trouble you to host for me tonight." Su Jia gave a warm smile towards Yu Zhuwa. Afterwards, she turned to Yin Hui and her expression went from warm and kind to outright mischievous.
"You hear that Li Feng? Xiao Yu says I'm an esteemed guest tonight! Fetch me the best cut of whatever you are eating! Also, pour me some water too! I'm thirsty!"
Yin Hui's veins bulged from anger. His rage had reached it's peak and he was very close to giving in to violent tendencies.
"What Xiao Yu says doesn't matter! Unless you have my approval you are not staying anywhere! And just so you know, the answer is no!" Yin Hui said angrily. He took out a jug of water from his bag of holding and took a big gulp. His mouth was dry from yelling so much and he needed to cool down.
Su Jia made a pouty, but endearing expression, puffing her cheeks and widening her eyes. She had done this many times in the past. While it worked on females as well, it never failed with men. As soon as she made this expression, they would immediately cave in to her demands to the best of their ability.
"Is that your solution to all your problems? The answer is still no." Yin Hui said sternly. Given his upbringing, Yin Hui had seen countless people get through life relying on charm. Slaves used it to avoid punishment or receive better treatment, while weaker members of the Tang Clan used it to make friends with those in power and boost their own reputations. Seeing it so much led him to develop an immunity to such methods. In fact, Yin Hui had seen the ins and outs of so many charm tactics throughout his life that he could immediately recognize any attempt, and remain unfazed without the slightest change in expression..
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Su Jia frowned. She felt a bit insulted that her charm did not work on Yin Hui. While his handsome looks afforded him a bit of arrogance, the fact that he didn't give her so much as a glance triggered her a bit. Su Jia knew that many people considered her a beauty, but seeing Yin Hui's reaction made her question herself for a moment.
"Tch. You truly have a heart of stone Li Feng. Or maybe you just have no interest in women. Are you one of those homosexuals?" Su Jia said coldly.
Yu Zhuwa covered his mouth, trying to contain his laughter. Was that really the reason? Was the reason Yin Hui not batting an eye to a beauty such as Su Jia because he was actually a homosexual?
That was the last straw. Yin Hui picked up Yu Zhuwa and threw him 20 meters into a tree in the distance. Because he was nearly a peak Impurity Cleansing cultivator, the impact did not cause any serious damage to him. However, his body was technically still mortal so it caused a bit of pain.
"You. Leave now..." Yin Hui said to Su Jia gritting his teeth.
Su Jia chuckled.
"Okay, but if I do I'll tell everyone that your a demonic cultivator."
Yin Hui's expression turned serious, his anger replaced with a cold and calculating demeanor. Without hesitation he took out the broadsword from the cultivator he killed and aimed it at Su Jia's throat.
"How much did you see?" Yin Hui asked coldly.
"A dark aura. Black tendrils dragging those two cultivator's souls out of their bodies. Your qi capacity increasing as you devoured their souls. I saw it all." Su Jia's expression remained calm and playful. Even with a sword pointed to her throat, she talked as if she was in no danger at all.
"You don't have backup do you? That's the reason your staying with us. You also have a strong cultivation base, but you were weakened when you fought that elder. Weakened to the point you could not fight two mid-stage Spirit Waking cultivators. Fights like that only happen in the outer regions because of the war between the Tang and the Yan. Now, which are you? Depending on your answer I may let you live." Yin Hui threatened.
"You're a sharp one aren't you Li Feng. But--"
In the blink of an eye, Yin Hui's sword was flung to the side. He moved his hands to his throat as Su Jia lifted him in the air by his neck. Yu Zhuwa came running after her, but she merely pointed a finger at him and he was instantly paralyzed.
"I may be weakened, but I'm still strong enough to crush you like an ant. The reason I had you fight those two was because I was trying to get rid of all the witnesses. Initially, I thought your cultivation was only at the first aspect of Spirit Waking by sensing your qi capacity. I assumed that those two would kill you and I would return afterwards to finish them off."
"However, you surprised me and killed both of them. Your spiritual sense and cultivation is strange, which I believe is a result of your demonic style of cultivation. Demonic cultivators are looked down upon in most provinces. I can easily turn you in right now and you will undoubtedly be executed." Su Jia said with contempt.
Yin Hui struggled to break free of Su Jia's grip, but her hand wouldn't budge. Her hand was like a boulder, unwavering no matter how much strength he put into pushing her away.
"You're far to weak to be questioning me on my allegiances, I could kill you right here, but I find your cultivation to be quite interesting. Even though your a demonic cultivator, your personality isn't bad either which I also like." Su Jia threw Yin Hui to the ground and undid the paralysis on Yu Zhuwa. Yin Hui coughed violently as he tried to regain his breath.
"Spill it. Tell me what your future plans are and about your cultivation style. Most demonic cultivators go down the dark path because they can't advance further cultivating normally. However, you seem to have done it from the very start. I will plant my spiritual sense into your bodies so I can tell if you're lying. If you are I will kill you. Don't bother trying to remove it either. Unless your cultivation is higher than mine, you'll only harm yourself trying to get rid of it."
Yu Zhuwa mouthed the words 'I'm Sorry' to Yin Hui, but Yin Hui did not blame him. Even if Yu Zhuwa didn't invite Su Jia to stay, she would've gotten to them anyways based on what she had said. Seeing no other choice, Yin Hui sighed and began to tell Su Jia the whole story.
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