Chapter Seventy-Seven: Do You Believe Me?

“What are you doing?”

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

With the girl’s startled cry still hanging in the air, Tianming swiftly seized the pale, delicate hand of the shadowy figure behind him.

“Who gave you permission to take my things?” he demanded in a low voice, gripping the girl's hand.

His gaze fell upon the girl’s face, who appeared to be around his own age. Tianming fixed her with a deep, steady look.

“Hmph! Why should I care what you think?” the girl retorted, staring back at him without the slightest trace of fear, undaunted by his imposing manner.

She wore a dress of sky-blue, and in that moment, her arched brows and fluttering lashes lent her an air of mischief, her lively eyes roaming over Tianming. “So you’re Tianming?”

Her words caught Tianming off guard. “Oh? Little lady, you know me!”

“...Let me go. And who are you calling little lady? Your whole family are little ladies.” Clearly displeased that Tianming was still holding her hand, the girl’s expression soured. Yet, as if afraid he might persist in calling her that, she hastily added, “I have a name. It’s Xun Qing!”

Huh?

“What? Xun Qing! Then... what is Xun Tianxiao to you?” Tianming stared at her in shock.

A sudden realization struck him, and he couldn’t help but hope his suspicion was unfounded. After all, the Sect Master himself was just downstairs.

Seeing Tianming’s reaction, Xun Qing turned away with a haughty toss of her head. “Now that you know who I am, aren’t you going to let me go?”

Xun Qing had just witnessed Tianming chatting happily with her grandfather and great-uncle downstairs. As the Sect Master’s granddaughter, she was used to being pampered. Seeing Tianming ascend the stairs, she couldn’t resist the urge to tease him a little.

She hadn’t expected, however, that Tianming wouldn’t recognize her identity. Nor did she imagine he’d be so bold as to lay hands on her without a word.

Ahem!

“Return that scroll of elemental arts to me, and I’ll let you go. How about it?” Tianming shook his head.

Even if this girl was the Sect Master’s granddaughter, he felt no fear. He hadn’t even bothered to curry favor with Xun Tianxiao himself; why should he be intimidated by his granddaughter?

Hmph!

Seeing that Tianming refused to back down, Xun Qing simply ignored him, hugging the scroll to her chest and turning away with a sulky pout.

“If you don’t give it back, I’ll...” Tianming leaned down, his tone teasing, eyeing the scroll nestled in her arms.

“Don’t you dare!”

She cut him off with a fierce glare, her eyes saying plainly: Try it, and I’ll scream!

---

“Why shouldn’t I? In fact, I’d love for your grandfather to come up and see what you’re up to right now.” Tianming smiled with hidden meaning, as if he could read Xun Qing’s thoughts.

“You...!”

For a moment, Xun Qing’s eyes flickered, betraying her unease. Clearly, she was more afraid of her grandfather than she cared to admit.

“What’s the matter, Miss Xun? Shall I do the honors?” Tianming chuckled, shaking his head at her speechless, adorable face.

Naïve! You’re still too green to outwit me.

In truth, Tianming didn’t want to snatch the scroll by force; the situation was simply too awkward. The scroll was hardly large, and reaching for it would inevitably risk touching her inappropriately, something he most certainly wished to avoid. He had no desire to appear as a bully.

Who knew if Xun Tianxiao was keeping an eye on things? Tianming had no intention of tangling with the old man.

Xun Qing...

These words left her utterly defeated—her greatest failure yet.

“Sigh! Miss Xun, that scroll is filthy, you know. Are you sure you want to keep hugging it like that?” Tianming reminded her with some exasperation.

After all, the scroll had been covered in dust. Even after Tianming had given it a quick blow, it was still quite dirty.

“Hmph! Fine, you win.”

Xun Qing, who had already decided to give up, now tossed the scroll away with an expression of utter distaste.

As she did so, she shot Tianming a sly glance—let’s see if you’ll go and fetch it!

“That’s better.”

Tianming paid no heed to her antics and released her hand. Taking advantage of their proximity—and the charming difference in their heights—he ruffled the twin ponytails on her head with his free hand. “Good girl!”

“...You scoundrel!” It took Xun Qing a moment to react to the sudden head-pat.

Her triumph vanished at once, her brows furrowing as she glared in embarrassment and anger at Tianming, who was already making his escape. She lashed out, swinging her palm at him. She had never dreamed Tianming would dare act so boldly after knowing who she was.

Ha!

“That’s what you get for taking someone else’s things!”

With that, Tianming ignored Xun Qing entirely, spinning around and dashing off toward where the scroll had landed.

“Tianming! Tianming, have you made your choice?” Just then, a youthful voice called out.

It was Hengcheng, who had already made his selections and was approaching Tianming.

---

“Hmph! Tianming, just you wait!”

Seeing someone else approach, Xun Qing blushed furiously and ducked behind a bookshelf containing cultivation manuals, desperate to hide her mortified state from view.

Hearing Hengcheng’s voice, Tianming felt a surge of relief and called out, “Hengcheng, over here!”

“Tianming!”

Hengcheng hurried over, just in time to see Tianming bending to pick up the scroll from the floor.

“So, Hengcheng, what did you choose?” Tianming asked with a smile, turning to his friend as he retrieved the scroll.

Nodding, Hengcheng showed off a cold, gleaming steel spear and two scrolls in his hands. “I chose a weapon, a cultivation technique, and an elemental art. What about you, Tianming?”

“You’ve got a good eye!” Tianming exclaimed, shaking his head in admiration.

Clearly, the sect’s offer of three choices was no arbitrary favor, but a carefully calculated opportunity! Once again, Tianming was reminded of the grandeur of this great sect.

“Oh, me? I picked two elemental arts—one movement technique and one offensive skill.”

Despite his musings, Tianming answered Hengcheng without reservation, smiling. In truth, he was certain he had gained the most of all, for nothing could compare to the Nine Heavens Violet Lightning Immortal-Slaying Slash.

“Tianming, shall we go downstairs and make copies?” Hengcheng asked.

Without waiting for a reply, he walked over to Tianming, not pressing him for details about his selections. Tianming, in turn, felt no need to inquire further—after all, these choices were private matters.

“...Wait a moment.”

Before Hengcheng could ask, Tianming strode over to the section containing elemental arts and tucked the two scrolls into his arms.

Huh?

As he passed the area of cultivation techniques, something caught his eye and he stopped abruptly.

“Hey! Miss Xun, coming down with us?” Tianming called out with a playful glint, his eyes fixed with interest on a certain spot.

As for how he had spotted her, the wooden shelving offered no real cover. At that moment, a girl in a violet dress stood with her back to him, seemingly unaware of his approach. Who knew what she was up to.

Tianming didn’t even need to look closely to know it was Xun Qing. Did she think he hadn’t finished selecting yet? Was she hoping to startle him?

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