"Pfft," someone laughed, it was that same gentle voice, "Young master, you jest. It's a dark and windy night, in a secluded alley, with a beauty in my arms, our love is still fresh. Since you have such a refined taste, are you not allowing me to indulge in some moonlight? I won't roll away, but why don't you roll away first and let me see?"
Qingmo's lips curled slightly. Judging from the voice, the other person was probably a young gentleman, and from his words, she could tell he was a very interesting person. "Wandering under the moon..." she thought, "but there's not even a single star tonight." Since someone was meddling in her affairs, she'd better leave as soon as possible.
"Hey, brother over there, don't go! There's a good show to watch together. Since we're already here, how about we watch a live sex show?"
She had barely taken a step when the words of entreaty to stop her drifted out from the other side, indicating they must have known of her presence all along. Qingmo, being a martial artist, had a longer field of vision than ordinary people, but due to years of training in the snow and ice, her eyesight was also worse. Considering both factors, she could only sense a pair of bright eyes on the opposite wall, seemingly traveling through a thousand years across the dark night, casting a melancholy gaze upon her.
Chapter 13: A Beauty by Nature
"You sons of bitches, ruining my plans! You guys go up there and grab them both, cut out their tongues!"
The man below the wall was cursing and swearing. Qingmo heard the first three words and suddenly became furious. She pulled out a bottle from her bosom and scattered a handful of golden powder into the air. "Those who do not respect elders should suffer the most painful torment in the world," she said coldly, and then turned and left.
"Ah...it hurts...ah..." Almost instantly, more than a dozen men collapsed to the ground, their faces contorted in horror, their limbs slowly swelling, until they could no longer even cry out in pain.
"Ah...ah..." The woman by the corner screamed repeatedly. "Girl, you'd better go home quickly," the man with the soft voice said, throwing down a piece of clothing and hurrying after her.
Under the cover of night, two nimble figures chased each other along the high and low walls.
Qingmo had been practicing the Phoenix Spirit Clan's top-tier lightness skill, the Wind Chasing Technique, since childhood. Her body was as nimble as a swallow, even more agile than the wind brushing past a crack. But at this moment, she couldn't get rid of the sticky dog behind her. Seeing that they were about to reach the Prince Ping's mansion, she had no choice but to stop and asked in an annoyed tone, "Young master, we've only met once. Why are you following me?"
"Haha...you've finally stopped. I thought I'd have to chase you for three days and three nights without sleep."
The man approached, laughing and joking. Just as he was about to reach Qingmo, she quickly blocked him with one hand, creating distance between them. "So, what are you doing following me?"
“Eh…” The man didn’t answer, but suddenly sniffed around her like a hunting dog, saying to himself, “I wondered why you, a man, could be so graceful and lithe. So you are a beautiful woman.”
"How...how did you know?" Qingmo's face flushed red and then turned pale. She felt resentful at being exposed, but she was someone who could admit her mistakes and correct them. Since someone had broken her disguise, she naturally wanted to get to the bottom of it so that she could improve next time.
The man chuckled mockingly, and instead of answering, asked, "What did you just sprinkle in the air? Why was that young lady the only one unharmed? I'm truly curious about the reason behind this, and I hope you can tell me." After saying this, he even gave a proper bow.
This person doesn't play by the rules at all. Qingmo glanced at the brightly lit house in the distance, not wanting to get entangled, and raised her voice, "If I tell you the use of that medicine, will you stop following me?"
"Of course, I always keep my word," the man said in a gentle, pleasant voice.
"The name of the medicine is 'Three-Day Heart-Piercing Powder.' This medicine is only effective for men. It can cause unbearable pain, making one wish for death but unable to live. The symptoms are that the whole body feels as if a thousand insects are gnawing at the heart, the limbs are stiff and cannot move, and the tip of the tongue swells up. When the poison takes effect, the person cannot even commit suicide. The pain lasts for ten hours every day, and after three consecutive days, the pain will subside on its own without the need for medicine."
The cold voice spoke very quickly. Qingmo answered the man's question almost without hesitation. After speaking, she lightly touched her toes and floated forward.
"Tsk tsk tsk... A heart gnawed by a thousand insects, unable to live or die, I finally know what the most poisonous heart of a woman is. Look at you, a young girl, so young, yet you are not a kind person at all. How could anyone dare to marry you..."
She drifted ten zhang away in an instant, the incessant chatter following her like a shadow. She had initially found this man amusing, but he was anything but amusing; he was clearly a rogue and a scoundrel. Qingmo's face darkened with anger, and she gritted her teeth, "You treacherous scoundrel."
"Where have I gone back on my word? Where have I been a 'little'? I said I wouldn't follow you, and I didn't. But now, it's you behind me, young lady." She paused slightly, and a figure instantly swept past her and appeared in front of her. In the darkness, the deep eyes that were looking at her shone brightly, and the tone was full of innocence.
"You..." Qingmo felt a sense of frustration, both amused and exasperated, as she listened to his sophistry and was unable to refute it. It was like punching cotton, leaving her feeling incredibly stifled.
“Alright, since you don’t like traveling with me, young lady, I’ll leave then…” Seeing that no one spoke for a long time, the man’s pitiful voice slowly rang out.
"Then why aren't you leaving?" Qingmo shouted, her almond-shaped eyes wide open.
A rustling sound came, followed by something gliding through the night sky. Qingmo casually reached out and grabbed something in her hand, slightly warm, resembling jade but not quite. The man's tone was gentle and soft, yet tinged with shyness, "This humble one and Miss were unforgettable at first sight. I'd like to leave this little thing as a memento, and I hope Miss will grant my request."
Holy crap, how did this person's brain even develop?
Wang Qingmo prided herself on her good manners, but even she couldn't help but want to curse him out tonight. However, having lived two lives, she was far more composed than most. She would rather give up some material possessions than have too much contact with this man. Reason told her that this kind of person was definitely difficult to deal with. After thinking it over, she coldly asked, "What do you want?"
"Hehe..." The man chuckled sheepishly, "I...I want the Three-Day Heart-Slaying Powder."
Qingmo frowned slightly, as if sensing her displeasure. The man hurriedly explained, "It's like this. I saw that you have made this medicine so skillfully, and my master happens to have a deep understanding of pharmacology and poisons. I sneaked out this time, and I want to use this medicine to win my master's favor so that he will no longer punish me for running away from my master."
His voice was sincere, seemingly not lying. Qingmo half-covered her eyelashes. The Three-Day Heart-Piercing Powder wasn't fatal, and there wasn't much left in the bottle. Besides, this man didn't seem like a bad person. After thinking for a moment, she took out a bottle from her bosom. "If I give you the Three-Day Heart-Piercing Powder, will you disappear immediately?"
"Does the young lady dislike me so much... Waaah... Fine, give me three days' worth of Heart-Slaying Powder, and I'll leave immediately."
The man's plaintive, feigned crying reached Qingmo's ears, and she shuddered. She quickly threw the medicine bottle at him, "Quick...go." If he didn't leave soon, she wasn't sure if she could still speak to him so calmly. This man really had a knack for provoking people.
The night wind raged
After standing there for a long time, and making sure the man had gone far away, Qingmo ran towards the Prince Ping's mansion.
There were many guards patrolling the Prince's mansion. Relying on her familiarity with the terrain from having been to the mansion once before, Qingmo lightly touched the ground with her toes and, with a few leaps, silently landed on a rooftop in a dark corner.
Tonight, she felt something was off about the Prince Ping's residence. The vast mansion was eerily quiet. Shouldn't a residence of a royal noble be bustling with maids and guests laughing and chatting? Yet, after checking several courtyards, she found them all brightly lit, but so quiet you could hear a pin drop. She didn't see a single person moving about. It seemed something unusual had happened in the mansion.
Qingmo lowered her eyes. For the Prince's mansion to become so strange, this matter must be related to Feng Chenmu. But what exactly happened? With a glance, she suddenly saw the shrewd old man who had led her out of the mansion yesterday carrying a food box. He hurriedly slipped into a small door. It was already late at night, but the small door was completely dark, with not a single ray of light coming through. It seemed that there had never been a lamp lit. What kind of place was that?
---Aside---
Dear readers, Chapters 1 and 12 have undergone major revisions... Chapter 1 now includes a new short chapter about the events leading up to the time travel, along with an introduction to this mysterious country. Chapter 12 has also had some unnecessary text removed...
Chapter 14: The Mysterious Stone Chamber
After waiting a short while, the person who went in seemed to have vanished into thin air and never came out. Qingmo quietly jumped down from the roof, her ear pressed against the wall. The night was silent, and there seemed to be no one moving inside. If she hadn't seen the old man go in with her own eyes, she would have completely overlooked this room, but now she was certain that there was more to it than met the eye.
He cautiously pushed open the door. The room was pitch black; the person who entered seemed to have vanished into thin air. Qingmo focused his mind and took out a tinderbox from his pocket. Using the dim flame, he lit the candle on the candlestick.
The room was simply furnished with only a few pieces of everyday furniture, and its layout suggested it was a guest room. She touched and tapped around, checking every possible hidden compartment, but found nothing unusual.
The interior design was undoubtedly ingenious. Qingmo stood in the center of the room, her sharp eyes slightly narrowed, and she examined the furnishings of the room again from beginning to end. Fragments of memories flashed through her mind, and her gaze finally settled on the candlestick in front of the door. She remembered that when the old man pushed the door open, she didn't see any light flowing out of the room. Now, upon closer inspection, she discovered a very logical yet very illogical seven-shaped corner at the entrance, and the candlestick was nailed into that corner.
Normal official residences are subject to strict feng shui regulations, and the Prince Ping's residence is a top-ranking official residence. How could such a glaring mistake be made during its construction? She strode over, knocked on the wall, lifted the carpet, and knocked again. Sure enough, she heard an echo. No wonder she noticed that the candles on the candlestick were mostly new when she came in earlier; the secret passage was right under the carpet behind the door, so there was no need to light any lamps.
She blew out the candles, opened the secret passage, and Qingmo carefully walked forward along the stone steps.
Lights were lit on the stone walls of the secret passage. There were no guards in the long corridor. Qingmo walked with unusually light steps. She hadn't gone far when she suddenly heard a low growl. The sound drifted into her ears, making her feel oppressed and uncomfortable. The sound was very faint, as if it came from a distance. She quickened her pace.
"Mmm... Ah... Mmm..." The closer she got, the louder the sound became. She was puzzled. Why did this sound sound so strange? It was a bit like, a bit like a woman's moaning in bed.
"Ah... um... ah..." The soft moans that reached her ears grew heavier, the woman's whimpers incessant. Qingmo's face flushed inexplicably. This time, she was certain: someone was engaging in sexual activity in a secret room. She felt a surge of embarrassment and anger. Just how abnormal could their relationship be to require such a hidden room for their trysts? She had thought something terrible had happened, and that by secretly investigating, she could help Feng Chenmu and repay his favor. But it turned out...
The groans and moans behind her continued, as if trying to shake off those lewd sounds. Qingmo walked back quickly, thinking as she went. She hadn't seen anyone else along the way. Could it be that the old man working in the stone chamber? But he looked at least 50 years old, and he didn't look like that kind of person... Could it really be that you can't judge a book by its cover?
"Bang...bang..." Before she had gone far, a pile of plates fell to the ground with a crisp cracking sound. "Your Highness, how are you?" Immediately afterward, Qingmo heard someone scream "Your Highness!" and she froze on the ground.
Was it really Feng Chenmu in the room? Judging from the unusual events at the palace tonight, only Feng Chenmu could have created such a commotion, but... but at this moment, Qingmo was somewhat unwilling to believe it, unwilling to believe that the person in the room making love with someone was actually her fiancé.
"Oh no! Quickly use the blood silkworm silk to bind the master, and I will give him acupuncture."
The crackling sounds inside the stone chamber continued, and a deep, aged male voice reached her ears. It seemed to be the old man's voice. Qingmo couldn't resist any longer and jumped several times, running towards the source of the sound.
Perhaps because of the urgency of the situation, the people inside the stone chamber did not notice anyone approaching. She leaned against the window, and the scene inside the room was terrifying.
The room was a complete mess, all the furnishings destroyed, making it impossible to recognize what it had been like before. Blood was everywhere on the floor, red as fire, as if it were burning into one's heart, making one forget to breathe.
All three people inside the room were injured. At this moment, Qingmo saw a scantily clad woman holding down the man on the bed. A thin white silk thread bound the man's body, but he kept struggling. The thread cut through his exposed skin, and blood flowed down the thread, like a string of beads, dripping onto the floor tiles, blooming into alluring regional flowers.
The old man stood at the head of the bed, his hands moving constantly, seemingly administering acupuncture to the man. Because of his position, Qingmo could not see the man's face on the bed.
The scene unfolding before her eyes gripped her heart. Though she couldn't see the man lying on the bed, Qingmo knew he was Feng Chenmu. One moment she heard him making love to someone; the next, she saw him writhing in pain, so intense he seemed to want to destroy everything to find a way out, so deeply wounded he couldn't regain his senses… What illness did he have?
"Ah..." A suppressed male voice let out a helpless whimper. Qingmo saw that the old man's hand holding the silver needle was trembling, but he hesitated to put it down. She saw the woman on the bed with her black hair disheveled like a female ghost, tears falling like raindrops. Her heart trembled, and she suddenly kicked open the half-closed door.
With a loud bang, both men turned to look at her. Seeing the astonishment and murderous intent on their faces, Qingmo quickly tore off the human skin mask and said urgently, "Let me take a look at Prince Ping. Maybe there's a way to cure him."
Since the three of them had the same goal, the old man's surprise at seeing her appearance was fleeting, and he quickly stepped aside. Qingmo rushed forward instantly, her movements as fast as lightning. She used the unique acupoint striking technique of the Moon Spirit Clan to strike all the major acupoints on Feng Chenmu's body, pinched his chin, and threw a pill into his mouth at the speed of light. Almost simultaneously, the person on the bed stopped struggling and seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
"What did you feed him?" Seeing that the person on the bed was no longer moving, the woman who was still sitting on Feng Chenmu suddenly got up, hurriedly checked his nose, and only felt relieved when she saw that he was breathing.
Qingmo paid no attention to this scene, nor did she have time to care about the woman on the bed. She placed one hand on Feng Chenmu's wrist, and slowly, her brows furrowed. She looked at the old man with a deep and serious expression, "How did he get this illness?"
"Miss Yue, do you have a way to cure the prince?" The old man asked instead of answering, staring intently at her.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Qingmo knew he might have something difficult to say. She then took a thin silver needle from her acupuncture box and pricked her finger. A drop of blood fell onto Feng Chenmu's forehead, sliding down his temple and into his hair. The spot where the blood fell remained clear and unchanged. Only then did she let out a heavy sigh, murmuring to herself, "Thank goodness... thank goodness..."
Chapter 15: Three-Time Acupuncture
"How is Your Highness?" Hearing her murmur, the woman on the bed nervously grabbed Qingmo's arm and asked anxiously.
Qingmo glanced at her, her tone grave. "He's not doing well. The Yuezhi's acupuncture technique can only last for half an hour, and it cannot be used repeatedly on the same person in a short period of time, otherwise it will ruin his skills. Right now, only the Three-Times Acupuncture can calm his mind and alleviate his pain."
"Three-times acupuncture?" The old man standing by the bed had a bright look in his eyes; he knew this acupuncture technique.
The Three-Time Acupuncture is a closely guarded secret technique of the Moon Spirit Clan. Over a decade ago, he had the privilege of witnessing Yue Qingyang perform it on the Phoenix Emperor. This acupuncture method is said to have the power to bring the dead back to life, but it is extremely demanding on the practitioner. The practitioner must infuse their own true energy into the needles, and the entire process cannot be interrupted. Each needle insertion takes one hour. Afterward, the practitioner must guide the blood and qi of the patient, and after another hour, perform the second needle insertion. After the second insertion, the practitioner scrapes the bone and adjusts the meridians, and after another hour, performs the third needle insertion. Only after all this is done can the practitioner rest. This entire process takes a full five hours, and only those with strong internal energy can perform this acupuncture. Furthermore, the practitioner must be mentally calm; otherwise, if interrupted, the practitioner will suffer a backlash—at best, unconsciousness; at worst, severed meridians. Although the Three-Time Acupuncture is remarkably effective, its process is complex and dangerous. When Yue Qingyang performed this acupuncture, he was unable to use his martial arts for half a month, becoming weaker than an ordinary person. Could this young woman perform the acupuncture?
The old man's expression of surprise quickly turned to worry. "Miss Yue, this acupuncture technique is not something an ordinary person can perform. You..."
Seeing that he knew about the acupuncture technique but was puzzled, Qingmo quickly said, "Yes, but I need a reliable person with sufficient internal strength to help me. Now you need to prepare a large enough bathtub, as much 50-year-old Shaoxing wine as possible, several sets of clean and simple clothes, several reliable guards, and get rid of all other irrelevant people as soon as possible."
“Alright, my name is Wu Yu. Miss Yue, you can just call me Uncle Wu. I’ll go prepare right away.” Hearing her strong and resonant voice, Wu Yu felt a sense of security and trust for no apparent reason. For some reason, seeing her calm and composed demeanor, he didn’t need many reasons; he simply trusted her.
"Okay, thank you, Uncle Wu." Qingmo thanked him. Wu Yu walked to the wall and pressed a switch. Only then did she see that there was a side chamber in this stone chamber. Wu Yu went out of the side chamber and leaned over to untie the blood silkworm silk on Feng Chenmu's body. The woman who had been staying on the bed said, "I tied these blood silkworm silks. Let me untie them."
Hearing this, Qingmo got up and moved aside, finally giving her a chance to observe the woman who had been sitting on the bed.
The woman wore a loose-fitting outer garment with a haphazardly tied belt, clearly having been put on in a hurry. A patch of snow-white flesh was visible at the neckline, indicating that she was not wearing any clothing underneath. Her dark hair was disheveled, obscuring her true appearance, but judging from her silhouette, she was quite attractive.
"Miss, you should tidy up your clothes first. You might feel embarrassed if there are too many people later."
Qingmo observed her every move and thought she didn't seem like a maid, yet she couldn't guess her identity, so she kindly offered a reminder. Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, the woman turned around and glared at her fiercely, saying with undisguised pride, "What's there to be ashamed of? They've all seen me before and know about Chen Mu and me..."
The woman paused, then suddenly fell silent. But Qingmo could tell that this woman was familiar with Feng Chenmu and their relationship must be very close. That's why she proudly told her that she was familiar with all of his personal attendants. But she immediately realized that this was not the time to boast, so it was appropriate to end the conversation.
Who exactly is she? Could she be the white figure who lured Feng Chenmu away yesterday? As Qingmo was lost in thought, the woman got off the bed, opened the side room, and went out.
Not long after, Wu Yu returned, followed by two men carrying a large bathtub filled with more than ten jars of wine. Their appearance was quite comical, and when Qing Mo looked over, both of them showed slight embarrassment. Wu Yu placed several sets of clean clothes on the bed and introduced them, "Zuo Qing, You Ming."