Fairy, don't try to mess with my filial piety

"Wuji, why didn't you take the initiative to ask to come up and sleep before, and just sit there for a few days?"

"I felt like Mother didn't remember me much before. Her impression of me came from my words. If I insisted on lying down to rest, she would probably feel unfamiliar and wary, and wouldn't be able to sleep well, which would delay her recovery."

...He was so considerate that he knew his mother might not recognize him. Even though he missed her in his heart, he was still able to control his temper and not get close to his mother rashly to avoid scaring her.

In this worldly world, who among the imperial noble families would not want a descendant with such a character? Yet, a child raised by a snake demon grew up to be so impartial!

Ning Xianzhi added, "It may be difficult for mother to recall more memories. The Bai Sujin you are familiar with will probably never come back. Will Wuji be sad?"

Chu Wuji thought for a moment, a look of regret on his face, and then shook his head and said:

"It will be a little sad, but at least my mother is still by my side. I shouldn't be too stubborn."

"You are quite open-minded, kid~" Ning Xianzhi was speechless.

"Besides, mother has only forgotten some things from the past. She doesn't seem much different to me in any way. She's very much the same as before!"

Am I the same as before?

To Ning Xianzhi, these words were like saying that her demeanor and behavior were very similar to those of a snake demon.

"Is this Wu Ji's flattery? How does it look like that?"

"Mother has always been a fairy in my mind, gentle, knowledgeable, dignified and beautiful. In the past few days since Mother woke up, she has been almost the same!"

That snake demon Bai Sujin is quite gentle...

Ning Xianzhi felt better, but asked curiously as if nothing had happened:

"So, comparing the mother before and the mother now, which one better fits your image of a female immortal?"

This question was not easy for Chu Wuji. He started from his true thoughts and considered the appropriateness of his expression. It was not until his mother beside him urged him that he replied:

"My mother now is very much like the female immortals described in books and legends. She is extraordinary and has the ethereal air of a hermit, like the hazy white mist on the mountains, which seems to disappear in the blink of an eye. That's why I'm watching her so closely."

"Hmm~"

Ning Xianzhi nodded in satisfaction, and Chu Wuzhi's voice came to her ears again.

"My mother before was a fairy who accompanied me all the way up, through the four seasons, and belonged only to me."

"..."

Chapter 5: Missing the Son's Taste

midnight,

Ning Xianzhi suddenly opened her beautiful eyes from her trance-like nap, and she felt a big hand coming to the soft flesh in front of her.

At first she thought that a thief had broken into her cave seeking death, but when she suddenly remembered her current situation, Ning Xianzhi realized that the sneaky hand belonged to Chu Wuzhi.

The hand did not seem to want to knead the white dough, but instead grasped the jade pendant between the collarbones and played with it in the palm of the hand.

Ning Xianzhi had a strange expression on her face. She sensed Chu Wuzhi's breath and confirmed that he was not pretending to be asleep, then she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I thought this kid was going to reveal his true colors, but it turns out it was just a habit in my dreams. Did he often play with Bai Sujin's jade pendant before...?"

The woman muttered and continued to pay attention to Chu Wuzhi's actions in his dream.

Most of his hand was trapped between two lumps of white, plump flesh, but his center of gravity was always on the jade pendant. His thumbnail rubbed and scratched the woman's delicate skin from time to time, but he was just rubbing the warm surface of the jade pendant with his thumb, not deliberately poking the soft flesh.

Ning Xianzhi originally wanted to let him touch her while she slept, since he didn't mean to offend her. However, the young man was full of energy, and the heat radiated from his big hands on her plump body made it difficult for the woman to adapt.

She could only take off the jade pendant and let Chu Wuji play with it by himself.

Taking advantage of the jade pendant's disguise disappearing, Ning Xianzhi looked at the bronze mirror on the dressing table in the moonlight, and looked at the woman's appearance in the mirror. He had to admit that this body had a beautiful appearance and picturesque features.

Just looking at the graceful beauty emanating from her face, it is indeed hard to imagine that Bai Sujin is a snake demon.

"But why did I react just now when this child touched my heart? Is this body not on guard against him, or am I gradually trusting this young man?"

Ning Xianzhi couldn't help laughing when she thought of the subtle embarrassment she had just experienced.

Under normal circumstances, Ning Xianzhi would be able to clearly sense if anyone within a hundred meters glanced at her intentionally or unintentionally, let alone someone approaching her.

It was also because of this that Ning Xianzhi suddenly woke up just now. After confirming that it was Chu Wuji's hand, he slightly suppressed his dissatisfaction.

This little episode in the middle of the night did not affect the peace in the bedroom, and Ning Xianzhi fell asleep again.

......

At dawn, a knock on the door woke up the mother and son in the house.

Boom, boom, boom!

"Junior Brother Chu, are you home?"

Hearing the call from outside, Chu Wuji sat up from the warm bed. Seeing the jade pendant in his hand, he was stunned. Then he saw his beautiful mother beside him waking up and revealing her true face. He thought he had pulled off the jade pendant while sleeping.

"Wu Ji, who is that person outside? Why is he looking for you so anxiously so early in the morning?"

"They are my fellow apprentices from the Shenji Academy. Mom, you continue to sleep. I'll go see what's going on with them~"

Chu Wuzhi helped his mother lie down on her delicate waist, put the jade pendant back on her, and then put on his clothes and went out.

......

Outside the door, several young men of the same age as Chu Wuji were standing there, wearing gray linen training suits.

Seeing Chu Wuzhi appear, they felt relieved and threw him two big hot meat buns.

"Junior Brother Chu, why haven't you gone to the academy for training in a few days? Coach Liang is angry!"

"We thought you were missing. We couldn't wait for you to show up. This is unlike you. You never missed training before."

"Yes, especially since there are two more rounds of competitions in a few days. Coach Liang and the others said that you have become arrogant because you won the competition once."

These fellow disciples have simple personalities and get along well with Chu Wuji.

Chu Wuji smiled apologetically and explained:

"I'm sorry to have worried you, brothers. My mother just woke up these past few days, and I have to stay and take care of her. I can't spare the time to go back to the academy. I hope you can help me explain to Master Liang."

Senior Brother Li suddenly understood, but looked embarrassed:

"I'm afraid that's not appropriate. Junior Brother Chu has been absent these past few days, and the instructors are all very angry. If we were to deliver your message, it would only make you look pretentious. It would be best if Junior Brother went in person to explain."

"That makes sense. I'll go back to the academy later, and you brothers, just pretend you didn't see me."

"Okay, we ran away in the nick of time, let's go back first."

These people are disciples of the martial arts academy of the Shenji Academy of Lihuo Country. Over the past period of time, they have become very close to Chu Wuji and have been taking care of each other.

Chu Wuji entered the Shenji Academy as a sparring apprentice half a year ago. The reason was simple: he wanted to get a pill for his godmother.

The widow shopkeeper mentioned the [Black Jade Soul-Restoring Pill] when she mentioned the elixir for treating mental illness.

Currently, the only way to obtain this pill is from the treasury of the Lihuo Kingdom.

The Lihuo Kingdom has a special rule: if you win the championship in three competitions recognized by the government, you can enter the national treasury and take away a reward.

Many people were eyeing the treasures in the national treasury, the sharp blades, or the martial arts techniques, but Chu Wuji was interested in the pill.

However, to participate in martial arts competitions recognized by the government, one needs to have a "legitimate master", that is, one must report one's master and the martial arts one has practiced.

This can be seen as a measure to control the underworld of Lihuo Country, reducing the possibility of "heroes breaking the law with force".

The Shenji Academy is equivalent to the Imperial College, and the Wuyuan is the martial arts school within it. The background is guaranteed, and it is very suitable for Chu Wuji to go in and "gild himself", otherwise he cannot explain his origins clearly.

After joining the martial arts academy of the Imperial Academy, Chu Wuji pretended to train on weekdays, but actually found time to visit various pharmacies in the capital to find medicine for his mother, and took time out of his busy schedule to go home and take care of his godmother.

A few days ago, after Chu Wuzhi gave his godmother a tranquilizing soup, he planned to help her wipe her body and then go back to the Shenji Academy to pretend to train.

Unexpectedly, she woke up, and Chu Wuzhi didn't go back.

Chu Wuji returned to the bedroom in the inner hall and explained to his godmother the things about the Shenji Academy, and then said:

"Now that my mother is awake, I won't go back to bother her anymore, but I still have to say something and do it as a courtesy."

Ning Xianzhi was surprised and asked:

"You won first place in the last competition in Lihuo Nation as a sparring partner?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing special. The martial arts world in Lihuo Country is strictly controlled, and the fighting culture has declined. The competition is more like a stage for show, with most people showing off their skills. If it weren't for the tempting elixir, I would have no intention of participating."

Ning Xianzhi recalled what the kid had said before about beating tigers and bears, and could understand why he won the championship. He just had to use his strength to make the bricks fly.

If this child goes to the martial arts academy for training during the day, he will have more free time to practice martial arts and heal his injuries. He can also visit the disciple recommended by his fellow disciples to see if his talent is really that good.

"Wu Ji, we should finish what we start. You also said that the next two rounds of competition will start soon. Is there still a few days left?"

Chu Wuji didn't really want to go back, but since his godmother said so, he might as well finish the next two games. If everything goes well, he can get the pill back and use it as an emergency!

"Well... okay, I'll go to the restaurant to order some food later. Someone will deliver it at noon. Mom, don't get out of bed and work yourself up."

"Row."

......

Ning Xianzhi was able to practice internal energy to heal his injuries for a whole morning, and completely got rid of his previous weakness, but it would take some time to fully recover.

There was a polite knock on the door. It was the restaurant waiter coming to deliver the food.

"It's already noon..." the woman murmured.

The person who came to deliver the food was the daughter of the restaurant owner. The girl was very skillful and brought the dishes to the table. She also made a pot of tea for Ning Xianzhi and then left with the food box.

Ning Xianzhi picked up the chopsticks, took a few sips, nodded slightly, acknowledging the taste, but put down the chopsticks and did not continue eating.

She glanced at the quiet room and felt that the sumptuous meal lacked some flavor.

Chapter 6: The Rules and Relationships of Lihuo Jianghu

Shenji Academy, Martial Arts Academy

The sound of angry table slamming came from the head coach's tea room, scaring away the birds in the yard.

"This kid, who was just a sparring partner, was given a chance to see the world, but he ruined my soon-to-be-great general. Now he's getting cocky after taking advantage of me. How outrageous!"

The person who spoke almost angrily was none other than Shang Liangzheng, the head coach of the martial arts academy.

After taking the seat of authority at the martial arts academy, Shang Liangzheng had neglected martial arts over the years. His limbs were as thin as a dog's, with only his belly and cheeks gaining weight. He looked like a round ball with four toothpicks as limbs and a small ball as a head.

All the apprentices in the martial arts academy had suffered from his bullying, and many of them privately called him "Master Liang", hoping that one day he would cause trouble and lose his position.

The deputy coach sitting next to him poured tea for Shang Liangzheng and advised:

"Calm down. Don't get mad at a fool like that. At worst, we can just banish him from the Divine Machine Academy and spread the word. There will be no place for him in the Lihuo world!"

What the two of them often mentioned in the teahouse recently was that an unexpected champion appeared in the "Three Swords Competition", which was not allowed!

The "Three Swords Competition" refers to three official-approved competitions in the Lihuo Dynasty, namely:

Sword fighting at the Sword Tomb, sword discussion at Lihuoshan Mountain, and sword testing at the Talent Recruitment Platform.

The knight who can emerge victorious from the competition is a rising star recognized and respected by the government, and represents the trendsetting figure of the righteousness of the martial arts world.

When the Lihuo Dynasty first implemented this policy, it was to win over the hearts of the people, attract the power of the underworld, and ultimately consolidate its rule.

If there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the underworld, it can easily threaten local management.

However, this kind of management has now become more like an idol audition chasing fame and fortune...

Those folk knights with real skills did not want to become vassals of the government, so they left early along with the gang forces, leaving behind only those who were only good at fancy moves.

The folk tradition of fierce martial arts has been almost completely lost.

Now, the head coach Shang Liang is relying on his status advantage to manipulate the selection of the champion to a considerable extent, and he can make whoever he wants the champion.

He even mastered this manipulation technique to perfection!

In the last sword fight at the Sword Tomb, Shang Liangzheng had already predicted that the winner would be Yu Hualong, the senior brother from the Martial Academy. He was the son-in-law of the Minister of Revenue and had come to "gild" himself and gain a reputation.

The Minister of Revenue secretly allocated a lot of financial benefits to Shang Liangzheng, which was considered an alternative way of buying an official position.

Shang Liangzheng is also very honest and has arranged everything to ensure that Yu Hualong wins the championship. But unexpectedly... Chu Wuji appears!

Originally, seeing that this kid had only been here for a few months and hadn't learned much, they picked him up to be cannon fodder, under the pretext of "giving him a chance to see the world."

Unexpectedly, this guy became a different person once he started fighting. He fought all the way to the end and even beat up the son-in-law of the Minister of Revenue!