Chapter 877: Chapter 877: A Comparison of the Two
Finally, Teacher Tai Tan hardened his heart and said in a cold voice, "One more time, hurry up and go. Once you’re done, you may leave the class."
Seeing that neither the self-harm ruse nor her charms had any effect, Ya Ling felt both angry and helpless. Reluctantly turning around, she dawdled for quite a while. Seeing that Teacher Tai Tan truly wasn’t going to change his mind, she resignedly burrowed into the dirt to carry out her second punishment task.
As soon as Ya Ling left, Qin Sisi returned.
She emerged from the ground and handed the bottle containing the Tiger head Black Bees to Teacher Tai Tan.
Xiao Meng caught sight of this and couldn’t help exclaiming, "Sister Sisi, your hand!"
Qin Sisi looked at her hand, which was swollen like a steamed bun, and said in a gentle tone, "I got stung. It’s alright, not too painful."
Initially, it had been incredibly painful, but the time it took to return from under the big tree allowed the pain to subside. Now, only severe swelling and a fiery burn like a coat of extremely spicy hot sauce remained, along with a bit of numbness.
Fortunately, she hadn’t lost any sensation. Qin Sisi took the bottle Teacher Tai Tan handed back to her, moved her fingers a bit, and felt that it wasn’t too serious. She could move her fingers freely, so continuing to capture Tiger head Black Bees with the bottle shouldn’t be a problem.
Qin Sisi nodded at Teacher Tai Tan, turned, and walked a few quick steps forward before swiftly burrowing back into the soil to start her next round of practice.
Tai Tan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. They were all students of Heaven Academy, yet why was there such a disparity?
Compared with Sisi’s firm perseverance, Ya Ling’s childish petulance highlighted an apparent gulf between them.
Teacher Tai Tan came from the Panhu family, whose loyalty was ingrained in their bones. He was equally loyal to the Jiu Xi Royal Family and to Ye You.
Even so, he had once doubted Ye You’s decision to gift the Wings of Rainbow, a symbol of the queen’s position, to Qin Sisi.
Now, it seemed that Ye You’s judgment was correct, and it was they who had been prejudiced.
About half an hour later, Qin Sisi and Ya Ling returned to the starting point at the same time, presenting their respective spoils to Teacher Tai Tan.
After handing over the Tiger head Black Bees to Teacher Tai Tan, Qin Sisi immediately set off again. Her workload was heavy; even though she was confident of completion, she had to make the most of her time in hopes of resting a bit after finishing.
On the other hand, Ya Ling stood next to Teacher Tai Tan with tears welled in her eyes, waiting for his permission to leave the class.
Teacher Tai Tan sighed helplessly and took out a bottle of medicinal oil from his storage ring, saying to Ya Ling, "This medicinal oil was prepared by Teacher Ru Lin. It can quickly neutralize the poison from the Tiger head Black Bees. Apply it after you return, and the wound will heal quickly."
Only then did Ya Ling turn her worry into joy, hurriedly taking the medicinal oil and thanking Teacher Tai Tan as she turned to head back to Tianyue Mountain.
"Wait a minute, your makeup box." Teacher Tai Tan took out the Tiger head Black Bees and returned the now empty makeup box to Ya Ling.
However, Ya Ling disdainfully said, "I don’t want it, I don’t want it. It’s all dirty now; who would want that?"
Having said that, she didn’t look back and walked away.
Teacher Taitan held the exquisite vanity case aloft, momentarily forgetting to put it down, his face a portrait of awkwardness.
Xiao Meng’s eyes darted around; she stepped forward and took the vanity case, saying, "I’ll take it if you don’t want it, it’s just covered in some dirt, right? It’ll be clean once washed."
Teacher Taitan looked at Xiao Meng and tugged at the corner of his mouth, saying nothing.
Li Li glanced indifferently at the vanity case, her gaze tinged with disdain. She admitted the case was delicate and valuable, but she certainly wouldn’t pick up something discarded by others.
Wen Xuan was expressionless; such feminine objects weren’t of his interest. However, the way Ya Ling casually discarded it left a sour taste in his mouth, as after losing his Jade Flute in Wind Valley, he couldn’t even afford a new weapon and had to make do with an old wooden flute.
With Wen Xuan’s slow progress, the Meilan Family, after having paid his expensive tuition fees twice, had begun to disdain him. Even though his situation had improved since joining Heaven Academy, the support from his family remained significantly limited.
Apart from the most basic living provisions, Wen Xuan lacked the financial capability to purchase anything too extravagant and had to temporarily endure.
However, now Xiao Meng, Wen Xuan, and the others weren’t too worried about Qin Sisi—since Teacher Taitan had provided Ya Ling with medicinal oil, he would undoubtedly do the same for Qin Sisi, ensuring at least her life was not in danger.
When Qin Sisi returned once more, Teacher Taitan stopped her, handing her a bottle of the same medicinal oil, and explained, "First, apply it to the areas where you were stung. The consequences of the Tiger Head Black Bee venom accumulating inside the body can be quite severe."
Having said that, Teacher Taitan signaled Wen Xuan with his eyes, who instinctively followed Teacher Taitan and moved several dozen meters back to avoid the awkwardness Qin Sisi might feel while applying the medicinal oil.
Qin Sisi looked at the medicinal oil in her hand, recalling Xiao Meng’s words that being stung by ten Tiger Head Black Bees could jeopardize her life.
Considering the severity of the consequences, she could only afford to spend some time on treatment.
Xiao Meng stepped forward, taking the medicinal oil and helping Qin Sisi apply it to the areas stung by the Tiger Head Black Bees.
After the Tiger Head Black Bees became frenzied, Qin Sisi had already made three trips back and forth, each time getting stung by two to three bees. The stung areas quickly swelled, forming large bumps, and the venom spread to the surrounding area, causing small red rashes to appear.
The medicinal oil from Teacher Ru Lin was indeed effective; upon application to the injured skin, it brought a cool sensation, causing the swelling bumps to recede and the newly formed red rashes to vanish.
Seeing the poison was nearly neutralized, Qin Sisi quickly adjusted her clothes and continued practicing her Earth Escape Skill.
Li Li watched Qin Sisi disappear into the ground with deep eyes, paused, then said to Xiao Meng, "It seems she’ll be fine, I’m going back to rest."
Without waiting for Xiao Meng’s response, Li Li had already turned and briskly walked away.
Xiao Meng nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders; Li Li’s temper was quirky, and Xiao Meng hadn’t expected her to become a sincerely close friend anyway.
Xiao Meng continued to stand guard. Every three practice attempts by Qin Sisi, she helped her apply medicinal oil to eliminate the toxins from her body.
As dawn approached, Qin Sisi finally completed her forties practice of the Earth Escape Skill, and after one last application of medicinal oil on her body, the bottle was empty.
Qin Sisi’s current appearance was difficult to describe; her clothes were completely stained gray with dirt, the hem of her skirt worn through. Her skin was a mix of mud, sweat, medicinal oil—indescribable in color.
Moreover, her face had been stung twice, and Xiao Meng had also applied some green medicinal oil there. Her face now sported a blend of green and earthy yellow—lacking any trace of its natural skin color.
