The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#223 - No escape

Lu Jing couldn't help but be a little surprised to hear the little girl speak so logically.

Because according to Ye Gongmei, she was just a servant girl, not a disciple. Even if she had been exposed to some beast-taming methods from being around Ye Gongmei day and night, she shouldn't be so experienced at her age.

After the little girl finished speaking, she seemed to realize something and closed her mouth again.

A moment later, Lu Jing brought up the old topic again and asked, "Can I go inside and pay my respects to Senior Ye?"

"My master doesn't see outsiders. Didn't that Wu Han tell you?" the little girl refused flatly. Her tone was very firm, leaving no room for discussion.

It was unclear how a servant girl could overstep her bounds and refuse visitors for her master, but since the old voice in the cottage didn't speak again, it meant that she had tacitly agreed to her statement.

Then, the little girl looked straight at Lu Jing, her expression practically screaming "See you out."

But Lu Jing didn't move an inch, even as she stared at him.

So the little girl frowned, "What? Are you planning to resort to force?"

"Miss, you misunderstand," Lu Jing shook his head. "May I ask what your name is?"

"Me?" The little girl was stunned when she heard this, seemingly not expecting Lu Jing to ask her this question. After a while, she said, "I'm called Song… Bing."

As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Jing saw the mountain spirit that he had scared away earlier peek its head out of the cottage again. When it saw that he hadn't left, it quickly retracted its head.

"Miss Song Bing?" Lu Jing said politely, "I see that Miss Song is also quite knowledgeable about beast-taming. Since Senior Ye prefers peace and quiet, we juniors naturally shouldn't disturb her. But I wonder if Miss Song can help me take a look at this civet cat?"

"You're asking me? But I'm just a servant girl… and only ten years old," Song Bing said in surprise.

"There's a sequence to learning and a specialty to every skill. Skill isn't necessarily related to age," Lu Jing said. "And you don't need to feel any pressure. Even if you misdiagnose it, I won't blame you."

Hearing his words, a strange look flashed in Song Bing's eyes, but then she still said, "I think you're just saying nice things. You probably don't really believe me, otherwise why would you ask what would happen if I misdiagnose it before I even help you?"

Lu Jing was speechless, but he wouldn't argue with a child. Besides, since he was asking for help, he simply admitted his mistake, "You're right, it's my fault."

Song Bing snorted. Lu Jing's attitude had been good from beginning to end, so she couldn't find any fault with him even if she wanted to. In the end, she could only reach out her hand and say, "Give it to me."

Hearing this, Lu Jing handed over the black cat in his hand and reminded her, "Be careful, it bites people, but it seems to only attack specific targets."

"Strange objects are like that; they all have fixed behaviors," Song Bing took the black cat, and her whole person became serious.

First, she paid attention to the black cat's reaction. Seeing that its pupils hadn't changed at all, she confirmed that she wasn't its target, and then relaxed her hand and held it in her arms.

It was unclear how she did it, but after stroking the black cat's abdomen a few times, the latter gradually calmed down from its original agitation and seemed to be enjoying it.

However, the good times didn't last long. Just as Lu Jing thought that Song Bing had subdued the black cat, a sly look suddenly flashed in its eyes.

Then, taking advantage of the two people's inattention, it kicked its legs and jumped out of Song Bing's arms, landing on the ground, and then rushed into the maple forest without hesitation.

When Lu Jing saw this, he wanted to chase after it, but seeing that there was no nervous expression on Song Bing's face, he withdrew the foot he was about to step out.

Then, he saw that after the black cat ran into the forest, it suddenly turned its head for some reason and ran back after circling around.

And after looking up and seeing him, the black cat was obviously startled again and turned to escape in other directions, but the final result was no different.

It just kept circling around near the cottage.

"The array of this place?" Lu Jing looked at Song Bing beside him.

The latter nodded and hummed, "Without my… master's permission, it can't escape from here, but it has lived for hundreds or even thousands of years and shouldn't be stupid. It will soon realize this."

As the two were talking, they saw that the black cat's pace had indeed slowed down, and finally stopped in front of the cottage. Then, a rather human-like look of helplessness appeared on its face.

However, he remembered Song Bing's words and didn't approach the cottage or urge her.

He got up and moved his hands and feet, and then, looking at the maple leaves all over the ground, he felt an itch in his hands for a moment and began to practice the leg techniques of Wind and Cloud Transformation on the open space outside the door.

He had now cultivated this leg technique to the fourth level, and its power was slightly weaker than the Mad Demon One Hundred and Eight Staffs, so Lu Jing didn't use it much in actual combat.

However, considering that there were still five levels behind, and the further he went, the stronger it would become, the development potential was still good. It was just too difficult to practice. This was still the case with Amu's help, otherwise Lu Jing wouldn't have been confident that he could bring this martial art to Great Perfection.

And after he finished kicking all four levels and re-kicked the three most familiar levels, the door of the cottage finally opened again.

Song Bing stood by the door, silently watching Lu Jing in the maple forest.

Until the latter finished his practice, she put her hands behind her back and praised him, "Well, your martial arts are indeed good."

Lu Jing was used to her old-fashioned behavior and only said thank you when he heard this.

Then, Song Bing put on her somewhat baby-faced face again and said to Lu Jing, "Your civet cat…"

"How is it? Is there a result?" Lu Jing asked excitedly.

"No, I wanted to say it's already asleep."

"… … … …"

"Don't underestimate this matter. It's very alert. It took me a lot of effort to get it to drink the medicine I prepared, but it kept forcing itself not to sleep until just now when it finally fell asleep," Song Bing said. "And I estimate it won't sleep for too long, so you need to hurry."