Chapter 62: Sparrow-Feather Dharma Robe

The voice was soft and sweet, coquettish to the extreme. Zhao Xing's outstretched hand paused unconsciously, and he turned his head to look at the source of the voice.

He saw a young girl suddenly appear at one end of the stream.

Her face was pretty, her eyes clear; she wore white clothes, the sash at her waist fluttering, as if carrying an otherworldly air.

Her red lips parted slightly, calling "brother" toward this side, her voice sweet, and she raised a fair arm to wave, her smile pure.

As if she had waited a long time to see the lover she admired, she stepped forward and ran over.

"Calling me?"

Zhao Xing paused for a moment, then still picked up the Vermilion Fruit.

Seeing his action, a strange glint flashed in the girl's eyes, and her steps quickened.

At the same time, the silver bells on her wrist jingled, emitting a crisp, pleasant chime.

"Brother, have you forgotten me so soon? I'm Qian'er." The girl floated across the stream, stopped, and lowered her gaze, seeming a little shy.

Zhao Xing watched her quietly and silently gave an order.

"Brother, last time we were together, you kept saying you'd come find Qian'er, and that you'd bring the finest treasure to give me. Now Qian'er has come." Lu Qian slowly drew closer, her coquettish air growing heavier.

She pointed at the Vermilion Fruit in Zhao Xing's hand, her red lips parting slightly: "Is brother going to give this to me?"

"You mean this?" Zhao Xing raised the Vermilion Fruit in his hand, his expression like that of a fool for love, and took two steps forward.

"Yes." Lu Qian smiled even more happily.

"In your dreams."

"??"

Lu Qian's smile froze, and she immediately sensed something was wrong.

This man was not affected by her charm art!

Not only that, she instead sensed a trace of danger!

"Not good!"

Lu Qian immediately retreated.

She rose on her toes, retreating quickly with small steps, like a light dancer.

Her sleeves fluttered, and colored silk ribbons extended from beneath both sleeves, the dancing sleeves flying up and down, her figure incomparably nimble.

But she was still a step too late.

From the earth covered by autumn leaves, a golden hand suddenly reached out and clamped onto her ankle!

"Swoosh swoosh swoosh~"

Immediately after, all around her in every direction, figures rose up from the ground, rapidly closing in on her.

"This is... straw men?"

Lu Qian was somewhat shocked. Her dancing sleeves suddenly snapped taut, like a great saber, slashing at the Vajra clamping her ankle.

"Clang!"

The sound of clashing metal rang out. The dancing sleeves rebounded, while only a shallow white mark appeared on the Vajra's arm.

"What? Can't cut through?" Lu Qian was shocked.

This was a second-grade superior Silver Silk Sleeve Sword—yet it couldn't even cut through a straw man?

"Knock her down." Zhao Xing gave the order calmly.

"Wait!" Lu Qian's face paled in alarm. Before she could say more, a Vajra charged over fiercely.

"Bam!"

Lu Qian took a fist to the face, and her right eye immediately swelled up.

"Ah—"

She was sent reeling backward, but the sound of pain had just begun when it was cut off.

The reason was that another Vajra leapt up and delivered an elbow strike to her left eye.

"Bam!"

The white-robed fairy was instantly knocked from her pedestal into the dust, lying stiff in the dirt with a pair of panda eyes.

"Hang her up."

Zhao Xing waved his hand, ordering the binding straw men to hang the unconscious Lu Qian from a tree.

She received the same treatment as Zong Zong Shichang, suspended in a split between two trees.

"Pfft~"

A basin of water was poured over Lu Qian, and she woke from her stupor.

"L-let go of me!"

Soaked through, Lu Qian's alluring figure was faintly visible. Just the right amount of weakness showed on her face, and she bit her lower lip, looking pitifully fragile: "Wh-what are you doing? Don't come any closer!"

Zhao Xing actually stopped in his tracks and said calmly: "Enough with the act."

"Wh-what are you talking about." Lu Qian's gaze was a little unnatural.

"You're wearing a third-grade superior Sparrow-Feather Dharma Robe underneath. If I really came over to strip your clothes, I'd immediately fall for it and be charmed by you. Did you think I didn't know?" Zhao Xing looked at her with a half-smile.

Lu Qian's face changed. She knew she was done for today.

Even her undergarments had been seen through—the man before her was far more formidable than she had imagined.

Her charm spell had not had the slightest effect on him!

How could she know that Zhao Xing was a man who had cleared all ten levels of the Heart-Questioning Platform—her little illusion arts were simply incomparable to those national-level elite trials of the Great Dream Academy.

"Since you've seen through me, I beg you to spare my life. I don't want the Vermilion Fruit anymore." Lu Qian dropped her coquettish air and said seriously.

"What do you mean 'you don't want it anymore'? It was never yours to begin with. You're the one who came to rob me."

Lu Qian argued: "The Vermilion Fruit was something I discovered up above. I was about to pick it when it fell down from there. By rights, I found it first."

Zhao Xing was unmoved: "That reason isn't enough for me to let you go."

"What do you want?"

"Simple. Buy your life with money. That Que-Ling Dharma Robe of yours, I'll take it."

"You—" Lu Qian was instantly both ashamed and furious.

The Que-Ling Dharma Robe was not only a treasure, but also her close-fitting undergarment. Having it taken by a strange man just like that—she couldn't accept it for the moment.

Zhao Xing, however, did not give her too much time to consider: "Bound by the rules, I can't kill you directly. If Miss wants to keep some dignity, take it off yourself. If not, then I can only help you."

"Fine, I'll take it off myself! You have to keep your word!" Lu Qian gritted her teeth; she considered herself bested.

If she were bound here, she would be in mortal danger.

Zhao Xing reminded her: "Don't try any more little tricks, or I can't guarantee I'll be able to control the force of my counterattack."

Having said that, he waved his hand, letting the straw man release Lu Qian.

Lu Qian had been punched twice, her whole body aching. She knew there was no way to resist and could only let herself be pushed around—this outcome was already a good one.

So she didn't try any more little tricks either. Turning her back, she reached both hands inside from the collar, fumbled around for a bit, and a multicolored undergarment came off.

"Here you go." Lu Qian turned back around and handed over the Que-Ling Dharma Robe. In her heart she still held some hope, hoping Zhao Xing would see the robe and be affected.

Unexpectedly, the latter was unmoved and completely unaffected. This shattered Lu Qian's last sliver of hope.

"Good stuff."

A high-grade Que-Ling Dharma Robe is made from the feathers of the rare beast Kong Que. This one used the feathers of a Peng-Que.

However, one of the feathers used was from a fourth-grade rare beast. The eye pattern on it made it somewhat hard to look away.

Zhao Xing stared straight at the robe, his gaze somewhat dazed. He hurriedly cast the Bright-Eye Spell to block the channel to the mind.

The girl before him should be a Gathering Origin sixth-rank Illusion Dancer. Dancers are generally clerks of the Music Office. The Zhou Dynasty was given to the system of rites and music, used for sacrifices and other grand official ceremonies.

"Sir has already obtained the dharma robe; please allow me to take my leave." Lu Qian's tone was stiff; clearly her mood was terrible.

She had been somewhat careless in her estimation of the enemy, and a little too hasty. Seeing Zhao Xing was only at Gathering Origin fourth-rank, she hadn't even used her dance technique, nor had she put on this Que-Ling Dharma Robe—otherwise her Charm Spell could have been even stronger.

"Wait a moment."

"What, you—" Lu Qian was caught between shock and fury. She had just wanted to resist when she was slapped unconscious by the Great Strength Vajra and collapsed softly to the ground.

"I said I'd let you go, but I never said when I'd let you go."

Zhao Xing didn't know whether Lu Qian had companions. His Vajra Bamboo was still some time from maturing, so naturally he had to wait until after she left before releasing her.