Chapter 1048: Chapter 1048: The Beauty of Women
Shuo Yu finally got the chance to be with Ru Lin and cherished the relationship dearly. After getting married, he transformed into a doting husband, utterly devoted to Ru Lin’s every wish.
Ru Lin’s suggestion immediately received Shuo Yu’s agreement and support. The couple packed some luggage briefly and went to bid farewell to Master Yipiao before setting out into the wilderness.
In Shuo Yu’s words, this trip was not only a honeymoon but also a quest to gather materials, as well as to accrue some practical combat experience. It was akin to killing three birds with one stone.
Master Yipiao looked at the lovey-dovey couple and thought sourly to himself: "You have a wife, so whatever you say goes..."
A month later, the late-blossoming lovers returned leisurely, bringing with them the materials needed to upgrade Qin Sisi’s weapon.
Qin Sisi was very grateful to them. Both Master Shuoyu and Teacher Ru Lin were of the Magic God level; sending them to hunt Sixth Order Demonic Beasts was not without danger, despite their teamwork. But still, it was not overly easy. In the end, they were also showing their gratitude to Qin Sisi for helping Shuo Yu overcome his heart’s knots.
While Master Shuoyu was preoccupied with upgrading Qin Sisi’s weapon, Teacher Yi Rou also arranged a new task for Qin Sisi.
"Do you think you’re beautiful?" Yi Rou leaned languidly on a vine-woven long chair, her posture lazy yet alluring, her skin white as snow and smooth as jade, her red lips like blooming petals, bright and dripping with color, her eyes affectionate as if they were two rippling pools of spring water, with her light red chiffon long dress trailing whimsically on the grass, exposing a pair of jade feet that were tender as lotus roots, extraordinarily tempting.
After admiring Yi Rou’s numerous charming aspects, Qin Sisi touched her nose and said sheepishly: "I am far from matching Teacher Yi Rou."
This wasn’t modesty, but her genuine inner feeling. She knew she wasn’t the kind to cause a nation to fall; a mere glance at Teacher Yi Rou evoked an impression of stunning beauty.
Yi Rou pursed her lips and smiled: "Heh, at least you have some self-awareness. Then tell me, do you want to become beautiful?"
Qin Sisi looked confused and asked hesitantly, "Aren’t looks innate?"
Yi Rou glanced at her and said coquettishly, "Postnatal factors can have a significant impact as well."
Qin Sisi looked at Teacher Yi Rou blankly, wondering if the implication was that she should undergo plastic surgery?
This reminded her of two ghosts she had encountered before; one committed suicide from a botched cosmetic surgery, while another died on the operating table during breast augmentation surgery.
Teacher Yi Rou’s gaze was profound as she scrutinized Qin Sisi, causing her involuntarily to shiver. Could it be that she was suggesting a full-body surgery?
Yi Rou could not fathom the extent of Qin Sisi’s imagination and, after pondering for a moment, continued, "Your foundation is not bad, with some diligent grooming, you have potential. However, let me be blunt—this process will be tough, and if you cannot endure the hardship, you may as well quit now."
These words roused the stubbornness in Qin Sisi. If she wasn’t afraid of the arduous Magic practice, why would she fear this? Her curiosity about Yi Rou’s method of beautification only grew, so she made up her mind.
"Teacher Yi Rou, you should be well aware that I can endure, so don’t beat around the bush anymore." Qin Sisi batted her eyes at Teacher Yi Rou; after three years of acquaintance, they had become very familiar with each other, and their way of speaking had also become much warmer.
Yi Rou, however, became more serious. She sat up straight, looked at Qin Sisi, and her voice gained a touch of seriousness and steadiness: "The beauty of a woman can be lower, middle, or upper. The lower beauty lies in appearance, the middle in sentiment, and the upper in demeanor. A mirror can be used to view one’s face; a woman, to stir emotions; a man, to produce demeanor. Without beauty, there can still be sentiment; without sentiment, there can still be demeanor. With demeanor, one can topple nations at the highest level and cities at the lowest."
Qin Sisi stared blankly at Teacher Yi Rou, never expecting there to be such profound truths about beauty.
Yi Rou stood up, patted Qin Sisi on the shoulder, and said: "First, go tailor a set of men’s clothes. Training starts tomorrow, and it’s inconvenient to wear a skirt."
"Oh." Qin Sisi, not knowing what else to say, could only agree.
Following Teacher Yirou’s instructions, Qin Sisi had two shirts and pairs of trousers custom-made in Scholar City, as the traditional attire for women in the Demon Sacred Realm was a one-piece long dress; wearing anything else required custom tailoring.
The next day, Qin Sisi arrived early at Teacher Yirou’s Tianyin Mountain to begin her beauty-enhancing training.
"First, practice standing."
"Ah?"
"Then, practice climbing trees."
"Ah?"
"After that, do the splits."
"Ah?"
"And then bend down."
"Ah?"
...
After a torturous ordeal, Qin Sisi felt dizzy and like all her bones were about to fall apart. She somewhat understood why Teacher Yirou said this process would be tough; her training was a combination of physical education, martial arts, dance, yoga, and even model training.
By the end of the day, Qin Sisi indeed began to think about quitting. If it was just to raise her beauty by a few points, was it worth enduring so much hardship and spending so much time that could be used for magic practice?
Yirou was also tired and went to rest first, instructing Mr. Chen Song to supervise Qin Sisi in completing a set of movements to finish today’s training.
As Qin Sisi was preparing to leave, pondering how to tell Teacher Yirou she’d rather give up, Mr. Chen Song said, "Ms. Qin, these exercises don’t just make a person more beautiful, but they also improve the body’s flexibility and agility, the strength of the bones, the sharpness of one’s reflexes, and resistance to dizziness. The enhancement of these conditions is very helpful for future magic practice. Between two individuals of equal magic power, naturally, the one with better physical conditions has a greater chance of victory."
Mr. Chen Song’s words made Qin Sisi hesitate again. After mulling it over for a night, she chose to persevere.
After all, Master Shuoyu was currently upgrading her weapon, and Ye You had not arrived yet, so she could only stay in the Heavenly Magic God’s Castle for now.
A few days later, Yirou assigned Qin Sisi another thrilling task—collecting snake venom.
The venomous snake would only spurt out venom when threatened, so one had to first unleash a bit of magic power to attack it. At the very moment it sprays venom, one must catch it with a previously prepared container.
This task demands a high level of responsiveness. If one is not quick enough, the venom may be sprayed onto the collector, causing poisoning; if the container is not accurately positioned, the venom might be wasted on the ground or walls.
Yirou kindly reminded Qin Sisi to prepare more Detoxifying Jade Fusion Pills.
Qin Sisi’s storage ring did have some Jade Melting Pills, but not many. The pills Ye You gave her mainly consisted of Spirit Revitalizing Pills and Bodhi Pills, as healing wounds and recovering magic power were most crucial in warfare, with poisoning being a rare occurrence.
