r18novel Chapter 37 The Glazed Tile Residence
Chapter 37 The Glazed Tile Residence
After evening classes, Ning Rongrong, carrying "The Legend of King Arthur" and a small bag of candied fruit, strolled over to Dormitory 7 again—she was now a regular there, and had even used her "money power" to clean up an empty room next to Dormitory 7 that was used to store miscellaneous items, turning it into a comfortable tea room, which she called the "Literary Exchange Room".
"Yan Zu, Sister Xiao Wu, I'm here!" She pushed open the door and sat cross-legged on the cushion with practiced ease. She handed out candied fruit to the two of them. "Try it quickly. This is honey-brewed plum, a tribute from the southern border of the Star Luo Empire. My father specially sent it over."
Xiao Wu took the plum and popped it into her mouth; the sweet and sour taste made her squint her eyes in satisfaction. Yan Zu picked up a plum and slowly savored it.
"Ning Rongrong, you come here every day, aren't your sect's guards worried?" Xiao Wu asked casually.
"They're guarding outside," Ning Rongrong waved her hand dismissively. "Besides, with Yan Zu and Sister Xiao Wu here, it's safer than anywhere else."
She paused, then suddenly lowered her voice: "Actually... I quite like it here. Back in Tiandou City, everyone either flattered me or feared me because I was the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. Only here do you treat me as Ning Rongrong, not 'Sect Master Ning's daughter'."
Xiao Wu noticed the fleeting sadness in her eyes and felt a pang of tenderness in her heart. This seemingly perfect little princess actually had her own troubles.
"Then you can come often from now on," Xiao Wu said, unusually proactively. "But don't bring too many snacks, or we'll get fat."
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously: "Yes!"
The three ate candied fruit and chatted about interesting things at the academy, and before they knew it, night had fallen. Ning Rongrong yawned, picked up her books, and prepared to leave. Just before leaving, she suddenly remembered something and took out an exquisite jade pendant from her bosom.
"Yan Zu, this is for you."
She handed over the jade pendant, a piece of warm, white jade carved with a pattern of a seven-jeweled glazed pagoda, its spire inlaid with a golden crystal the size of a grain of rice.
"This is the 'Guest Elder' token that my father asked me to pass on. With this token, one can enjoy the highest treatment in all properties of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and also mobilize certain resources. My father said... Thank you for taking care of me, and thank you for Mr. Wen Yansheng's excellent work."
This is Ning Fengzhi's further gesture of goodwill, and also a test.
Yan Zu accepted the jade pendant, its smooth texture warm to the touch, allowing him to sense the pure soul power it contained. He did not refuse, but solemnly said, "Please thank Sect Leader Ning for me. Also, please tell him that Mr. Wen Yansheng is currently working on a new book, which may offer some inspiration for the future of the sect."
Ning Rongrong asked curiously, "A new work? What is it?"
Yan Zu smiled slightly: "A story about an ordinary person's rise to power. It tells the story of a young man who is looked down upon by everyone, who, with perseverance and wisdom, breaks through his shackles step by step and changes his destiny. The title is tentatively set... 'Battle Through the Heavens'."
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up even more: "I'm waiting!"
After Ning Rongrong left, Dormitory 7 returned to quiet.
Xiao Wu poked Yan Zu's arm: "Brother Zu, that Ning Rongrong... seems to be getting more and more attached to you."
Yan Zu chuckled, "She's obsessed with Wen Yansheng's works, and also with Xiao Yu. Haven't you noticed that every time she comes, she spends most of her time playing with Xiao Yu?"
Xiao Wu looked up at his profile and suddenly asked, "A-Zu, is there anything different about how you treat her?"
Yan Zu turned his head and met her clear yet tense eyes, then gently stroked her nose: "She's a friend, a partner, and you..."
He paused, his voice gentle yet firm: "You are Xiao Wu. Just Xiao Wu."
Xiao Wu's face flushed red, but she smiled like a child who had stolen candy, hugging his arm tightly: "Mmm!"
Ning Rongrong is very distressed lately.
As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, she has been pampered since childhood. But now, in order to verify that secret—whenever she gets within three feet of Yan Zu, the speed of her soul power circulation will inexplicably increase, making her even more comfortable than the simulated training ground that the sect spent a fortune to build—she has to run to the Seventh Dormitory every day.
The environment of Dormitory 7 drove her crazy: a large dormitory with a mixture of sweat, foot odor, and the "fragrance" wafting from the toilet next door.
"I want to build my own dormitory!" Ning Rongrong, the spoiled young lady, erupted in anger. "Yan Zu, Sister Xiao Wu, you two have to move out!"
Xiao Wu crossed her arms warily: "What do you want?"
"I've checked," Ning Rongrong said, pulling out a blueprint with a shrewd glint in her eyes. "There's a vacant lot in the northwest corner of the academy; I'll rent it and build 'Liuli Residence.' It'll have three main rooms: an east room, a west room, and the main room itself—one room each for us!"
Xiao Wu immediately grabbed Yan Zu's arm, like a little animal protecting its food: "No! I want to share a room with Brother Zu!"
Ning Rongrong was stunned: "Huh?"
"We've always slept together!" Xiao Wu raised her chin, her pink scorpion braid swaying back and forth. "In Dormitory Seven, we had bunk beds, and in Five Souls Village, we shared a bed! We can't be too far apart!"
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened, then she retorted defiantly, "Then...then I'll stay in that room too!"
Yan Zu: "???"
"Ning Rongrong, have you no shame!" Xiao Wu exclaimed angrily, jumping up and down. "Don't you know that men and women shouldn't touch each other?"
"I understand," Ning Rongrong said matter-of-factly, "but it's for cultivation! Besides, we're only ten years old, what's there to be afraid of? And—" she pulled out her purse and waved it, "I paid for this courtyard, I have the right to choose which room I live in!"
The final compromise: The main room is the largest, with two beds. Xiao Wu and Yan Zu will sleep on one bed, and Ning Rongrong will sleep on the other, no more than six feet apart.
On her first night, Ning Rongrong sat cross-legged on her bed to cultivate, only to find that her soul power circulation speed was only 10% faster than usual. "That's not right," she frowned, "it's clearly twice as fast within three feet of Dormitory Seven!"
She secretly opened her eyes and saw Xiao Wu clinging to Yan Zu like an octopus, the two of them covered by a quilt, with Qilin Xiao Yu lying in the middle.
"Too close..." Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth, "Too far away!"
On the second night, Ning Rongrong, citing her fear of the dark, moved her bed three feet closer to Yan Zu's, almost touching it, which Xiao Wu glared at angrily.
On the third night, Ning Rongrong pushed her luck: "That's still not enough! I want to sleep between you!"
"You're dreaming!" Xiao Wu snapped.
"Then I'll add a blanket to your bed, and I'll sleep at the foot of the bed, okay?" Ning Rongrong compromised, "I'll just squeeze in a spot near the feet!"
Yan Zu sighed helplessly, "Rongrong, you are the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School..."
"The princess needs to cultivate too!" Ning Rongrong had already climbed up with her pillow. "Don't move, I'll sleep here, I won't take up any space!"
Thus, a bizarre scene unfolded: on the large wooden bed, Yan Zu slept in the middle, with Xiao Wu on his left, tightly hugging his left arm, and Ning Rongrong on his right, gripping his right sleeve tightly, while Qilin Xiaoyu lay at his feet.
The three people and one beast cultivated under the auspicious aura, and their soul power circulation speed reached three times the usual speed.
"That's more like it," Ning Rongrong said, closing her eyes contentedly. "Maximize efficiency!"
Xiao Wu was furious, but sensing her soul power rapidly increasing, she could only mutter, "I want to be in the middle tomorrow!"
"No, it's my turn tomorrow!"
"You guys..." Yan Zu looked at the ceiling and sighed, "Could you please let me turn around?"
"cannot!"