Tang Si stuck out her head and immediately saw Lin Shu and his two friends crouching wretchedly by the wall as if waiting to watch a good show.
At that moment, Tang Si was furious. An evil smile painted her lips as she crooked her forefinger and lightly tapped on the window. Ding ding!
Lin Shu and friends lifted their heads upon hearing the sound. As they looked up, Tang Si poured the four snakes bundled in her clothes out of the window to land neatly on their heads and clothes.
"Ah!" The trio screamed in shock and jumped up, frantically shaking their limbs. One of the snakes was swept onto the ground while the other three separately burrowed into the three men's clothes. Even though they knew the snakes were pets, they were still drenched in cold sweat.
They stripped off their clothes as if they had been set on fire, removing layer by layer until their chests were bare. Only then did the snakes leave their clothes.
The snakes were probably as terrified of the boys; they slithered into a nearby grass patch and not a trace of them was left within two shakes of a rattle.
The three boys were scared stiff. They remained rooted on the spot with faces pale as a sheet.
Tang Si couldn't hold in her laughter. "Serves you right. You want to bully this miss? Didn't you know I grew up in the mountains? You're dreaming if you think you could scare me with just a few snakes."
"Crazy woman," Lin Shu cursed angrily.
"Say that again? Who's the crazy woman? You're supposed to be educated people, but I say that dogs can never produce ivory [1]. Have you not been punished enough?" She shook a fist at them.
Lin Shu stood there with his bare chest, trembling all over in rage. He was about to step forward but was held back by his two friends. One of them reminded him in a whisper, "Lin Shu, she knows martial arts."
He was furious. "What's so great about knowing martial arts? Is that a license to be arrogant? Is she going to thoroughly turn our Mingshan Academy into shambles? Wild brat, don't think that we forgot what you did just because someone is supporting you."
"So what? You want to take revenge?" Tang Si drew out her silver whip from around her waist. "This miss has never been put at a disadvantage; the silver whip in my hands has never missed either. Were the previous two lashes not enough? Why don't…" She glared at them, full of killing intent.
However, just as she was about to leap out of the window, a figure suddenly appeared from the side, standing in front of her outside the window.
Jing Rong?
Didn't he go rest with Ji Yunshu in tow? Why would he appear here for no reason?
He only gave her a side glance and told her off severely. "Go inside and kneel properly."
There was no room for discussion!
Tang Si pointed at them. "It was them…"
"Do you like looking at naked men?"
Oh, how infuriating!
Indeed, Lin Shu and his colleagues were still bare-chested. However little she cared for formalities, she was still a little embarrassed. She glared daggers into the distance before closing the window in front of her with a bang.
Jing Rong felt like sighing. His face was full of dancing dust bunnies from the window. He raised a hand to wipe his face and turned to face the three bare-chested men. Looking at the pile of clothes on the ground, he barked, "Why aren't you picking up your clothes yet? Are you waiting for me to help you get dressed?"
The three of them scrambled to pick up their clothes.
In contrast, Jing Rong was just getting warmed up. He crossed his arms and leaned his upper body on the wall, admiring the youthful scene in front of him. He commented casually, "You guys sure know how to have fun. It's almost midnight and you're all the way out here playing with snakes. Should I also stoke a fire for you to let you cook some snake stew?"
"Who's playing with snakes?"
"If you're not playing with snakes, then did you come out here to take off your clothes? What a novel fetish you have!"
Jing Rong's poisonous tongue rendered them speechless. The three quickly put on their clothes and tidied up.
He gave Lin Shu another look. "You were whipped not long ago; your wound is still fresh. Are you so perverted to come seeking abuse?"
Lin Shu glared back. "Who's seeking abuse? That wild girl made a mistake and it's our right to punish her." As he spoke, he stepped forward to pull open the window. Jing Rong hit his hand away.
"If you continue this nonsense, I'll chop off your hand."
"It hurts!"
Jing Rong shoved him back forcefully. "Good that you know it hurts. You better behave."
Lin Shu furrowed his brows, full of discontent. His arm hurt, his waist also hurt. Eh? He quickly lifted his clothes to check and discovered that he actually had a snake bite on his waist.
"Lin Shu, you were bitten?"
"It's such a deep bite!" His two friends exclaimed.
Instead, he grit his teeth and pulled down his clothes nonchalantly. "It's just a bite; it isn't a poisonous snake. It'll be fine after applying some medicine."
Jing Rong had grown up so closely with Mo Ruo that they would share the same pair of trousers; even if he couldn't diagnose serious illnesses, he still knew a little something about small ailments. Even if the wound wasn't actually deep and the snake was a domestic pet, it didn't mean that it wasn't poisonous. He said coldly, "Snake poison shouldn't be taken lightly."
"Mind your own business!"
"I'm not being nosy; it doesn't matter to me whether you live or die. I'm just reminding you to watch yourself. If anything else happens, you'll be the one on the losing end." He left after he finished speaking.
Lin Shu was left behind hissing in pain. His colleagues had to help him back to his room to apply medicine to the wound.
Jing Rong didn't go back to his room but went to the study hall to look for Mo Ruo, who was still seated on the stone steps outside the hall. The jugs of wine beside him had mysteriously multiplied. As he drank, he leaned back to look at the stars twinkling in the sky.
"I knew you'd still be here."
Jing Rong sat down beside him, casually grabbing the jug of wine from Mo Ruo's hand as he reminded, "This is an academy; you know the rules. Don't break any rules and let Teacher Yu have a chance to make trouble. You know how sly that old man can be."
"What's there to be afraid of? That old fogey isn't here."
Thus, Mo Ruo snatched the wine jug back and took a large gulp before asking, "You went to the study hall?"
"Mm. Just to check on that lass for Ji Yunshu."
"So, how's the lass?"
"What could happen to her? She's hale and hearty, not a single hair lost from her head. As for Lin Shu and his friends, they just couldn't sit still and stubbornly insisted on making more mischief. They even caught a few snakes but ended up getting bitten instead. Write a prescription for him later."
Once he finished speaking, Mo Ruo stretched out his hand and demanded, "Give it here."
"What?"
"Money! Medicine costs money you know. I'm a divine doctor - where's the logic in me giving away medicine?" He had a money-grubbing expression.
Jing Rong directed a scornful look at him in response.
The two then burst out in laughter.
After a moment, Jing Rong sobered up and turned serious. "Actually, Tang Si greatly resembles Kong Yu." Eh?
Mo Ruo's hand froze for a moment before he resumed taking a sip of wine. He then replied nonchalantly, "Obviously."
Obviously! How is it obvious?
One was like water, while the other like fire. The possibility of water melding with fire was lower than the possibility of Mars hitting the Earth.
Jing Rong lowered his gaze for a moment. "The two of them certainly appear to be from different worlds, but Miss Tang is just like the other self Kong Yu has always hidden deep within herself. That girl is fiery, dynamic, willful, and even arrogant; the side of herself that she doesn't dare to express. They appear to be complete opposites. I don't know why but I just feel that they are too similar."
Mo Ruo lifted the corner of his mouth in a wry smile and only answered after a long pause.
"Maybe."
[1] It's a saying that means that someone low-class (like a dog) can never produce something of high quality (like ivory).