After Maxing out all Classes

In the dead of night, Robb was enjoying a bath. The Qiantang Sect’s mansion was quite empty, so he had set up a large wooden tub in the courtyard to bathe. It was quite comfortable.

Shisu sat with her back to him, under the eaves of a nearby building, looking a bit irritable. “I really don’t understand you. You insist on bathing every day. I have to fetch this whole tub of water from the well multiple times. Thankfully, you can use True Fire to warm the water, or else I’d have to go heat it in the kitchen.”

It turned out that Robb had been clamoring to bathe every day. As per Eastern traditions, hosts strive to fulfill their guests’ requests, so Shisu had been fetching water from the well and filling a tub for him.

The first day, she had planned to heat the water in the kitchen. But with a wave of Robb’s hand, using fire magic, he heated the water in the tub. This surprised Shisu, who quickly rationalized it as True Fire.

While the heating part was sorted, fetching water was still tiring. To fill the large tub, Shisu had to run back and forth between the well and the tub. So she complained, “It’s not the end of the world for a wandering martial artist to not bathe for a day. You’re so obsessive!”

Robb laughed heartily, not bothering to explain that as a modern person from the south, daily baths were the norm. “I’m coming out,” he said. “Keep your back turned, and whatever you do, don’t peek.”

Shisu retorted, “I have no interest in spying on a foreign devil like you. And you better not act indecently. We Eastern women are not as casual as your Western counterparts.”

Robb chuckled, “I have no intention of making moves on a rabbit person. Our races are different, so let’s not concern ourselves with each other’s genders, shall we?”

“Whatever,” Shisu grumbled. “It wasn’t always like this. Long ago, my rabbit people were like you, with human heads.”

“Really?” Robb was intrigued. “Why did that change?”

“The curse of Chi You,” Shisu said solemnly.

Robb was even more curious. “What? What curse?”

“In ancient times, my rabbit people were just like you, with human heads,” Shisu continued softly. “We lived happily and ordinarily under the rule of the Yellow Emperor, Xuanyuan. That is until a man named Chi You raised an army and led 81 barbarian tribes in rebellion.”

“Wow!” Robb was amazed. He had heard this story before.

Shisu continued, “At the beginning of Chi You’s rebellion, he almost succeeded. But later, the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan obtained Xuanyuan Black Iron and forged the Xuanyuan Sword using True Fire. He killed Chi You and quelled the rebellion.”

Robb replied, “I think I know the story up to this point.”

Shisu said, “Well, you might not know what came after. Before Chi You died, he laid an incredibly perverse curse: he cursed all the Eastern descendants to turn into rabbits.”

Robb exclaimed, “Wow, so that’s why there’s an entire Big Tang full of rabbit-headed people?”

Shisu nodded, “Exactly!”

Robb curiously asked, “Are you sad or upset about it? Do you wish to revert back to being human?”

Shisu, imitating Robb’s usual mannerism, shrugged, “That’s ancient history. Perhaps those people wanted to become human again, but it’s been five thousand years. I was born this way, and I’m used to it. Being a beauty among rabbit-headed people, why would I want to change?”

Robb was left speechless, uncertain where to begin his retort. After a few awkward seconds, he finally said, “Who knows? You might be even more beautiful as a human.”

Shisu responded, “Uncertainties abound. What if I turn ugly and can’t get married? Will you take responsibility?”

Robb shrugged, “I take no responsibility for ugly women.”

“Typical man!” Shisu sighed.

Robb slowly climbed out of the wooden tub.

Shisu, her back turned to him, didn’t sneak a peek or run away. She was a woman of the martial world, after all, more liberal than your typical Eastern woman. Had she been a regular young lady from a respectable family, she might have fled multiple courtyards by now.

With a flick of her wrist, she tossed a clean cloth towards Robb for him to dry himself.

Catching the cloth, Robb chuckled, “You’re quite accurate with that throw. It flew straight to my hand; you must’ve peeked.”

Annoyed, Shisu said, “It’s called ‘distinguishing by sound,’ and it’s basic knowledge. Do I need to look to know where you are?”

Robb retorted, “If you can tell just by hearing, then you’d know my body shape. How is that different from peeking? I object!”

Shisu snapped, “You’re truly shameless. Shouldn’t someone with your skills and level of cultivation have some kind of noble, chivalrous demeanor? Why do you always talk nonsense?”

“Who says that a master must conform to some sort of demeanor? Let me tell you, a true master must have my demeanor. Anyone who doesn’t match my style doesn’t deserve to be called a master. If you don’t believe me, have those so-called masters come and fight me. If they’re not as skilled as I am, that proves my demeanor is the one of a true master.”

Shisu was left speechless.

Just as they were talking, a figure suddenly appeared on the surrounding wall and hurled two strange black balls directly at Robb.

As Robb reached out to catch them, Shisu quickly spun around and exclaimed, “Those are Thunder Bombs from the Thunder Hall. Don’t catch them!”

But it was too late. Before she could even finish her sentence, the two bombs had already flown in front of Robb, who managed to catch them in his palms.

Then…

“Boom! Boom!”

Both bombs exploded simultaneously, producing a powerful blast. Robb was immediately enveloped in flames, and a plume of black smoke rose. The bathing tub was also shattered, its water spilling everywhere.

Shisu was shocked. Before she could check on Robb’s condition, a figure dressed in black appeared in front of her, blocking her way, and sneered, “Miss Shi, your bodyguard is finished. Hand over the Xuanyuan Black Iron you have.”