Fang Yun never expected Xue Qing to run away from home. To be honest, she couldn't understand why Xue Qing would suddenly leave the Lingyu Sect as if she were fleeing for her life.
"Master, look at this." Sun Fang found a note left by Xue Qing on the table. It read: "Master Dingni of the Emei Sect has always been kind to me. Please forgive me for visiting her overnight. I was just thinking of you. Don't worry about my safety. Although I have lost all my internal strength, I still have Liuying by my side. Take care, Senior Sister."
Fang Yun, of course, did not believe Xue Qing's reasoning. Having grown up together, she knew that her junior sister was not such a sentimental person.
Sun Fang read the note and pondered it all. He said, "Uncle-Master is incredibly insightful. I only received a letter from Dongqi Pavilion this morning. Several of Dongqi Pavilion Master's disciples have infected wounds. Dongqi Pavilion Master wants to personally go to Emei Sect for medical treatment and will have to postpone our invitation to Lingyu Sect."
Xiao Guiying was going to the Emei Sect, so Xue Qing rushed there overnight. She really was... Although she didn't know where she had planted her spies, they were faster than the carrier pigeons of the Dongqi Pavilion. Fang Yun didn't care about all that; all she could think about was the image of Xiao Guiying and Xue Qing standing together like a golden couple.
"Very well," Fang Yun smiled knowingly at Sun Fang.
The camera pans back to the locust wood carriage on the official road. The road is smooth, and the carriage is lined with fine cushions. Xue Qing is extremely comfortable, almost reclining on the cushions, her upper body and head resting against a corner of the carriage. She occasionally pulls back the curtain slightly to look at the scenery outside the window. Compared to the casual Xue Qing, Liu Ying is clearly much more noble. Even sitting in the carriage, he doesn't appear lazy. He is fully alert, not relaxing for a moment. When Xue Qing looks at the scenery outside the window, he looks at her. His appearance reminds Xue Qing of a loyal sheepdog guarding its flock, sitting just like him, ears perked up and alert.
Having admired the scenery to her heart's content, Xue Qing picked up her bag and rummaged through the medicines inside: Hehuan San, Xiangjiao Le, Yili Shen… these were the legendary aphrodisiacs! No one can deny that aphrodisiacs play a role in ancient romance novels like ketchup plays on sweet and sour pork—unquestionable and unshakable. Every reader of ancient romance novels holds a deep reverence for the ubiquitous and omnipotent aphrodisiacs, and Xue Qing is no exception. She has always harbored a dream of finding an aphrodisiac, wanting to see what this magical, ubiquitous, and omnipotent medicine actually looks like.
So this is the Aphrodisiac Powder. A small bottle costs two hundred taels of silver. Qingping Le is truly a money-grabbing place. Xue Qing pulled out the stopper. Inside was yellow powder. She gently sniffed the opening of the bottle and could faintly smell a sweet scent. This was because Xue Qing's nose was very sensitive. If it were an ordinary person, they probably wouldn't be able to smell anything. The Aphrodisiac Powder appears very frequently. It's used when the male lead abuses the female lead, the female supporting character, or the male supporting character. Is it really that miraculous? After taking it, you can't control yourself? Xue Qing was a little curious, but she didn't dare to experiment on herself. Her gaze drifted to Liu Ying.
“This bottle was bought from the black market. The seller is very reliable, and the source is definitely not a problem,” Liu Ying replied, seeing Xue Qing looking at her with the medicine in her hand, assuming that she was doubting the authenticity of the medicine.
Xue Qing withdrew her gaze and chuckled twice to herself: "Of course, I trust you to handle things."
Liu Ying remained silent, glancing at the small white porcelain medicine bottle that Xue Qing was clutching tightly. Was she planning to use this medicine on Yan Ming, since it was the first time she had asked him to buy it? Liu Ying lifted the curtain beside her a little, but what could she do? She still couldn't breathe, and her heart was filled with gloom.
Encountering the female lead at the inn
As evening fell, Xue Qing's carriage arrived in Wuzhen for a rest. Although it was a small town, its location along the main road meant there was a steady flow of people. There were many inns in town, but even more people. She asked at four or five inns, but they were all full. A few smaller inns had rooms available, but the conditions were dirty and chaotic. Xue Qing refused to believe she couldn't find a place to spend her money. Finally, she found a large inn on the edge of town. Although the name wasn't Longmen Inn or Yuelai Inn, and the price wasn't reasonable, Xue Qing decided to stay. Why waste money when you can treat yourself well?
The inn was still quite crowded, but fortunately, because of its high price, the guests here weren't as chaotic as those in the smaller inns. Although a few tables were filled with people drinking, there wasn't the overpowering smell of alcohol found in the smaller inns. While she didn't smell alcohol, Xue Qing did catch a familiar scent—sweet, like a newly formed flower bud.
"Miss, could you please let me pass?" A man's voice came from behind Xue Qing. Knowing she was blocking his way, Xue Qing quickly moved two steps to the side. The man walked past her, smiled gratefully at her, and then turned to the shopkeeper who was calculating the abacus and said, "Shopkeeper, please give me a superior room."
Xue Qing kept staring at the man, not because he was particularly handsome—his appearance, while not sleazy, was hardly striking. Although his polite demeanor added to his charm, he could only be described as refined and cultured. Xue Qing was looking at him because the sweet scent she had just smelled was emanating from him. Since she had just smelled it during the day, Xue Qing wouldn't be mistaken; it was the scent of aphrodisiac.
"Shopkeeper, I heard there's a flower thief in this town, is that true?" A group of martial arts practitioners were drinking near the counter when a young woman suddenly looked up and asked the shopkeeper.
"Yes, it has already ruined several young women. Those with female relatives should be careful," the shopkeeper replied.
"Hahaha, Second Sister, are you afraid that the flower thief will steal your thunder?" A dark-skinned, tall, and burly man at the same table as the woman laughed as he drank.
"Pah, copper hammer, what a load of bull! That thief dared to mess with me, I'll skin him alive!" the woman shrewishly cursed.
Knowing women's temperament well, the burly man didn't get angry and continued drinking and joking with her.
Seeing that they didn't take it seriously, the shopkeeper silently reminded them again: "We know that the heroines are highly skilled in martial arts, but we should still be more careful. That thief is not simple either; he has never failed and has injured several heroes."
A flower thief… aphrodisiac… Xue Qing glanced at the man in front of her again; he was highly suspicious. Liu Ying also noticed his unusual behavior, their eyes met, and they both leaned closer to each other and whispered.
"What do you think of his martial arts skills? Can you beat him?" Xue Qing asked Liu Ying in a low voice, pretending to be intimate with him.
“His internal strength is quite ordinary. Catching him might not be easy, but defeating him is not difficult,” Liu Ying replied.
Then there's nothing to be afraid of. Xue Qing was very reluctant to leave this last remaining large inn. Since the flower thief was no match for Liu Ying, there was no need to worry about anything anymore.
"Give us a superior room," Xue Qing said, placing a silver ingot on the counter.
Hearing that only one superior room was needed, Liu Ying was a little surprised. Although he and Xue Qing were junior disciples and had a close relationship, there was no reason for them to share a room. Then he remembered that Xue Qing had no internal energy left and he was afraid that she would be harmed by the flower thief if she was alone. That's why he didn't say anything.
"Alright! Please follow me, gentlemen." The waiter flicked his large white rag and bowed beside the wooden ladder, gesturing for them to enter.
Just as Xue Qing was about to go up, she heard another woman speaking to the shopkeeper.
"Innkeeper, give me a medium-sized room." The woman's voice was soft and melodious. Xue Qing subconsciously turned around and glanced at her. The woman's appearance was far less captivating than her voice; she was merely pretty, but had a pair of large, watery eyes. She was slender and looked pitiful, evoking sympathy. Around the woman's neck was a rare piece of black jade, intricately carved with a soaring eagle. It was this unusual jade that made Xue Qing unable to look away. Long ago, in a place called Zhongming near the desert wilderness, there was a renowned martial arts family called Nangong. The eagle was the symbol of the Nangong family. With the Nangong family in charge of Zhongming, the claws of the Underworld had never been able to extend their reach. The Nangong family was an object of admiration for the righteous martial arts world. But over a decade ago, the Nangong family vanished from Zhongming. At that time, the Lord of the Underworld wasn't yet Yan Ming. The former Lord led his forces into the Nangong family, slaughtering all members—over a hundred in total. When the other righteous factions arrived, the place was a bloodbath of corpses and rubble. However, after counting the bodies, they discovered one was missing: Nangong Luoluo, the youngest daughter of the Nangong family, was gone. Years of searching yielded no results, and everyone assumed she was dead. Xue Qing knew she was definitely not dead; she was still alive because the heroine of that novel was Nangong Luoluo! Her keepsake was a piece of black jade carved with a falcon!
Xue Qing gasped. In her opinion, Nangong Luoluo was far more terrifying than the flower thief. The flower thief only wanted chastity, but Nangong Luoluo wanted life!
"Uncle-Master?"
Hearing Liu Ying's voice, Xue Qing snapped out of her daze. Liu Ying and the waiter were waiting for her halfway up the stairs. Liu Ying didn't recognize the ancestral black jade of the Nangong family. Apart from a few old hands still alive in the martial arts world, these rising stars probably hadn't even heard of the Nangong family's name. Xue Qing, at her age, shouldn't know either, so it was best to pretend not to know.
Xue Qing quickened her pace to catch up and followed the waiter to the room she had booked. The oak door was covered with paper windows, and the spacious room contained a large bed with carved curtains. It was probably a room specially arranged for a couple. Although Liu Ying and Xue Qing addressed each other as uncle and niece, it was no wonder that the waiter had taken it upon himself to make such a decision since the young man and woman were sharing a room.
Xue Qing didn't care how many beds were in the room. After a night with both the flower thief and Nangong Luoluo, she didn't expect to get a good night's sleep. Then she realized she'd been too optimistic. Just as she was contentedly having Liuying tip the waiter, her neighbor next door happened to come out of her room and politely smiled and nodded at her. Xue Qing returned an awkward smile. Her neighbor was well-dressed, plain-looking, gentle, and had a faint, strangely sweet scent. Her neighbor was actually a flower thief… Fine, she wasn't planning on sleeping tonight.
After the waiter happily took the tip and left, Xue Qing poked a hole the size of her index finger in the paper door and window. Usually, people would pry into other people's doors, so it was rare for her to pry into her own. As expected of a transmigrated woman, she didn't follow the usual path.
"Uncle-Master, get some rest. We have to travel tomorrow. I'll be here to keep watch, so don't worry." In the blink of an eye, Liu Ying had already made the bed for Xue Qing. Xue Qing plopped down on the bed. It was well-made, with just the right firmness. The skill level was just as high as that of the female disciples from the Lingyu Sect who served Xue Qing. There's a saying, isn't there? "If you're looking for a sugar daddy, you'll know how to warm his bed." Well done, Liu Ying, you have the qualities to back it up.
"I'm not sleeping. I want to see what kind of trouble that guy next door can cause," Xue Qing said. If it were just a mere flower thief, she would certainly feel at ease leaving Liu Ying to guard him while she slept soundly. The troublesome one wasn't the flower thief, but Nangong Luoluo. There was indeed a scene in the novel where Nangong Luoluo encountered a flower thief and was rescued by Yan Ming, but the location was definitely not in this Wuzhen, and the time was also different. Moreover, the flower thief incident was just a scene where Nangong Luoluo and Yan Ming's relationship deepened, and Xue Qing wasn't involved. All of these were Xue Qing's reasons for comforting herself not to change inns. The last reason was that she had already spent the money and couldn't let it go to waste. Xue Qing decided to stay here and not change!
"Uncle-Master, you've been acting strangely since just now. What's wrong?" Liu Ying asked with concern. He didn't think his uncle-master would be frightened by a mere flower thief; there must be something else he hadn't noticed.
"Me? You look strange?" Xue Qing quickly rubbed her face with her hands. Could it be that she had inadvertently let out a strange laugh while Liu Ying was making the bed?
“Uncle-Master, you’ve been different since you woke up after your cultivation went awry.”
How could a model young woman from the 21st century, who had left the Communist Youth League to join the Party, be the same as a ruthless female supporting character in an ancient romance novel? Even if she had watched countless Hong Kong and Taiwanese martial arts dramas, even if she was well-versed in ancient romance novels with explicit content, she was still herself—Xue Qing, who would pray at every temple in the vicinity before exams, not a female knight-errant. She didn't intend to explain to Liu Ying. First, people in ancient times might not understand what final exams were. Second, this wasn't a supernatural novel; the body was the real Xue Qing. As long as she insisted, who would dare say she was possessed by an evil spirit? Why bother stirring things up even more?
“Even the most stubborn person will eventually change. From childhood to adulthood, you will also eventually change,” Xue Qing said earnestly to Liu Ying.
Liu Ying lowered her eyes, her voice light and airy: "I have never changed."
Xue Qing opened her mouth slightly, but didn't know what to say. Liu Ying's character was mechanically obedient to Xue Qing's every command. His image was so vivid yet so thin. When Liu Ying was mentioned, Xue Qing could immediately summarize his life with the four words "only obeying Qing". She couldn't think of anything more. He was just a passerby with a slightly larger role. He couldn't even be called a supporting character.
Thinking this way, Xue Qing felt that Liu Ying was unreal. He was just a character sketched by the author with a few strokes, as if he had no blood or flesh. If Xue Qing were not there, he would not even have a last sense of existence. Xue Qing really wanted to walk over and pat him on the shoulder and say, "Hey, buddy, don't be like that, be more lively."
Light footsteps sounded outside the door. Xue Qing gestured for Liu Ying to shush, then tiptoed behind the door, pressing her eye against the small hole she had poked. Through the hole, she could only see a small patch of skin: a man's arms around a woman. Judging from his clothes, the man was the womanizer from next door. Xue Qing adjusted her angle to look at the unfortunate woman's face. She was a young woman with a serene expression. Good heavens, Nangong Luoluo, why are you so persistent!
I am wronged