Chapter 1383: Confidence
Her bet with Ruan Yaozhu was about whether she could persuade him to leave the Hundred Herbs garden. If she could not, then that meant he possessed the same thoughts as Shen Yushu. He had simply hidden them better. However, that would also make him much more dangerous than Shen Yushu. Even if it was only to be safe, they had to get rid of him.
In other words, if he was willing to leave, he could instead stay. If he refused to leave, then he had to be expelled.
Unable to win against her, Ruan Yaozhu could only agree, or once she began throwing a tantrum, Li Qingshan definitely would not be staying here.
Now that she heard how he had agreed to leave so happily, she smiled even more brightly, but she also felt a little strange. With just a few strokes of the brush, Li Qingshan had completed his notice of resignation and immediately began handing off his work. He basically seemed like he was fleeing.
Then she became rather despondent. Was he really not reluctant to leave at all?
The nine-coloured deer checked through the notice. There was no resentment at all. Instead, he said that something had suddenly come up and he had to leave the Hundred Herbs garden, asking for Ruan Yaozhu’s forgiveness with great sincerity. She basically could not find any problems with it at all.
“This… you don’t need to leave in such a hurry, right?”
Suddenly, she discovered she had done something foolish. If she wanted to chase Li Qingshan away, she had to convince Li Qingshan to stay. It left her so conflicted that she basically wanted to throw her head against a tree.
“No, I’ll leave immediately.”
The nine-coloured deer tested him with great reluctance. “Don’t you want to see her again and bid farewell to her in person? She might persuade you to stay.”
Li Qingshan let out a great sigh and waved his hand. “No, definitely not. I’ll probably never see her again in the future.”
Ruan Yaozhu was gloomy. She felt rather wronged inside. “Even if you actually can’t stay in the Hundred Herbs garden, I’ve never mistreated you before, so why must you say something so harsh, breaking off our friendship like this?”
The nine-coloured deer beamed inside. She thought she had succeeded. As long as she made Yaozhu hate him, then that would be enough. The gamble would become secondary. She feigned a sigh. “So you really are unhappy, but that’s perfectly normal. You just settled down and gained such a fine place of cultivation, and you’re forced to leave. Anyone would be unhappy over something like that. Shen Yushu practises the Heavenly Tome of Nature. He’s worked for over a century in the Hundred Herbs garden, and he’s been of great help to Yaozhu. But don’t you worry, I will ask him to leave in the future as well!”
She purposefully brought up Shen Yushu to provoke a response from Li Qingshan. She thought, Heh, it’s time for you to make a mess, kid. Using him to provoke you still works best. He can stay, yet you have to leave. I ask you whether you’re content with that. If you’re not, then why don’t you just stay behind then!
“So Shen Yushu also practises the Heavenly Tome of Nature. No wonder his aura bears some resemblance to senior sister Ruan’s. Though, I feel like it’s best if he remains in the Hundred Herbs garden!”
“What?”
The nine-coloured deer was basically doubting her ears. Was this still the same Li Qingshan who had taught Shen Yushu a lesson over the slightest disagreement?
Li Qingshan smiled. “Don’t worry! I’m not that narrow-minded. It goes even more without saying when it comes to senior sister Ruan. Instead, I have to thank you.”
“Thank me for what?”
“Thank you for reminding me. Otherwise, I would have affected senior sister Ruan’s cultivation, and that would fill me with regret.”
Even the nine-coloured deer was a little moved. “Then why do you want Shen Yushu to stay behind?”
“You’ve made some miscalculations on the chances. That guy Shen Yushu doesn’t even have a one-in-a-million chance of posing a danger to senior sister Ruan. The Hundred Herbs garden still has to be managed properly, so you’re better off just keeping him around.”
“As for me, there’s far more than a one-in-ten-thousand chance for me to pose a danger to her!” Li Qingshan flicked his fringe and sighed. “Even if I don’t have any ulterior motives, being just too charming is also a crime!”
With a great thump, coupled with the sounds of bones cracking, the ground cracked and sank.
Li Qingshan said in surprise, “What’re you stomping on me again for?”
“I don’t know, I couldn’t help it!”
The nine-coloured deer squeezed out those words from between her teeth. She had never seen someone so shameless before. Just where did his foolish confidence come from?
In the Hundred Herbs dwelling, Ruan Yaozhu laughed so hard that she trembled all over. What was he on about?
Li Qingshan waved his hand. “Move your hoof. I’m leaving!”
“You could not go.” The nine-coloured deer ground her teeth. Against someone as deranged as him, she had no chances at winning the bet.
“I need to go!” Li Qingshan said firmly and forcefully pulled his foot out.
He had always been someone who repaid his debts, whether it was the kindness of a meal or the grievance of a glare, while the kindness that Ruan Yaozhu had shown him was far more than a meal. He was quite a loose person, but if others showed him kindness, he definitely could not obstruct their cultivation. Those were his principles.
“Go, go, go then! Please get out of here then!” The nine-coloured deer turned her head away. She felt like he had almost driven her insane.
“Alright. Jiu’er, you’ve lost, so stop being so ill-tempered.” Ruan Yaozhu appeared beneath the tree and explained everything. She apologised. “Sorry. We’ve used you for another gamble. Jiu’er was worrying about me too much. She was too careful. All I could do was prove to her that you aren’t that kind of person.”
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“No, she’s right. This is my problem.” Li Qingshan clasped his hands. “Senior sister Ruan, I will never forget about the kindness you’ve shown me, no matter how the world changes. I will definitely pay you back in the future!”
Ruan Yaozhu smiled wryly. “Please stay! I definitely won’t develop any improper thoughts towards you.”
“Really?”
“Really?” Ruan Yaozhu found it both hilarious and exasperating.
Li Qingshan let out a sigh of relief. “Then I don’t have to worry!” However, he was still a little worried. “If you want me to leave some day, just let me know.”
“I won’t say that. I hope you don’t say something like you’ll never see me again in the future either. It makes me sad,” Ruan Yaozhu said sincerely.
Although his “blind confidence” did make the entire matter extremely strange, his intentions definitely were not fake. He would rather leave a treasured land of cultivation like the Hundred Herbs garden regardless of his gamble with Le Tian than even pose the slightest threat to her.
“Sigh, actually I feel quite sad inside too. So be it. Even if I stay in the Hundred Herbs garden, it’s best if you don’t visit me too often!”
“Hmph, I’ll visit you whenever I want. Is this my territory or your territory?” Ruan Yaozhu grumbled loudly.
She understood how Jiu’er felt. The things he said were simply infuriating, acting as if she would lose all restraint and pledge herself to him if she just visited him a few times too many times.
“This is for your sake. I actually have a lot of women…”
“If you continue with this, I’m really going to get angry.”
Ruan Yaozhu interrupted him and squinted her eyes. She still had some pride after all. Perhaps she was not clustered around by people as she grew up, but she had never been treated like this. In the past, when she was betrayed by her peers, that was mostly out of envy. Even among the direct disciples, there were plenty of people willing to become her cultivation partner, so Li Qingshan was getting a little too ahead of himself.
“Alright, alright! I’m going to cultivate now.” Li Qingshan indirectly indicated for her to leave. His gaze basically made him look like he was looking at an ignorant little girl. All that was missing was a head rub and telling her, “You should go home!”
“Li Qingshan!”
Ruan Yaozhu could sense there was something wrong with the atmosphere, so she just wanted to leave, but if she just left like this, it felt a little unnatural, basically adding to the atmosphere. She glanced at Jiu’er in a grumbling manner.
Heavens. Sigh, I finally understand what they mean by there’s no escape. You two madmen, you’re on your own!
The nine-coloured deer could not watch on anymore. She let out a glum sigh. Not only had she failed to achieve her objective, but she had even given them a push. She galloped off into the wind and snow with both sorrow and anger.
