Jin disagreed: "She has never learned any of this, how can she deal with Baili Ying?"
Jin Yue raised his eyebrows and looked at him with amusement: "Bai Liying is highly skilled in martial arts and is quite cautious, but he has a lecherous streak and prefers to date young girls. It would be best if this girl could help you. She doesn't know martial arts, so Bai Liying won't be too wary of her. It's a good opportunity to get close to her."
Jin refused, saying, "She doesn't understand these methods."
Jin Yue laughed: "It's good that they don't understand. It will make Baili Ying feel more at ease and make it easier for him to succeed."
Jin retorted angrily, "What do you want her to do?"
“That’s a tactic too. A thief has to learn to use his strengths,” Jin Yue said calmly, his expression composed. “I ask you, why did you hand her over to me?”
Jin replied, "I can only trust you now."
Jin Yue said, "That's right. Whether I accept her or not is my business, and whether she's qualified is her business. You sent her here to learn kung fu. If she wants to establish herself in the martial arts world, she should know all kinds of methods. Otherwise, you might as well take her back and keep her in your boudoir."
Jin remained silent.
Although Qiu Lingling only vaguely understood what the old man was saying, she knew he was trying to make things difficult for her, so she nodded and said, "I'll go steal it."
Jin Yue clapped his hands: "Good girl, are you really willing to help Sect Leader Jin steal that fire toad?"
Qiu Lingling blinked: "Okay."
“Then you go with him. As long as you get the Fire Toad from Baili Ying, tell him to take you away. No one can catch you,” Jin Yue said, but his eyes were on Jin Huanlai, and he smiled like a fox. “By the way, you are not allowed to use poison. I believe that in a couple of days, news will come out that the one who stole the Fire Toad was a woman.”
Jin turned around, grabbed Qiu Lingling, and left.
Jin Yue beckoned to her and said, "Girl, come here. I have a few words to tell you."
Qiu Lingling hesitated.
"Sneaky!" Jin cursed coldly, released her, and walked out the door.
.
The fire toad is not a toad, but a small stone. Legend has it that if a green toad in the desert receives the essence of the sun and moon, its whole body will turn fiery red. After it dies, it turns into stone and is named the fire toad. Its nature is extremely yang, so it can remove all kinds of yin evils and cold poisons. However, this thing only appears in the hot and humid desert outside the pass. It is extremely rare and priceless.
Baili Ying, the master of Baili Manor, was highly respected in the martial arts world. He was skilled in martial arts, calm and meticulous in his work, and had never made a mistake. His only flaw was his lust. He already had more than ten wives and concubines at home, but he still liked to seek out new ones outside. However, for a successful man, such things were nothing. Now, he had been traveling with Huochan for months and couldn't help but feel restless. He had fallen into his old habit again. Thinking that he was close to home and that no one knew about this trip, he would need to find a place to go after entering the city.
A lavish brothel, upstairs rooms.
Two men in blue robes stood guard at the entrance, one with a knife and the other with a sword; both were Baili Ying's trusted confidants.
Inside the door, a man nearing forty sat at a round table drinking tea. He wore a brown shirt with a black and gray sleeveless long coat over it. He had a bronze complexion and was not bad-looking. His eyes were sharp and piercing, clearly indicating that he was a master with profound inner strength.
The madam introduced with great enthusiasm: "You've come at just the right time, sir. I just got a new girl here yesterday, sixteen years old, still very fresh..."
Hearing this, the man seemed intrigued and put down his tea: "How does he look?"
The madam knew she had business, and hurriedly said, "Not to flatter you, but that girl is so pretty and delicate, and very well-groomed! It's just that... we haven't had time to train her properly, so she's a little naive and needs some guidance."
The inexperienced girls, though naive, did not diminish their allure in the eyes of men. The man laughed and tossed out two gold coins: "Alright, let's call them over to take a look. If they're satisfied, you'll get a reward too."
Holding the heavy gold in her hands, the madam nodded with delight, gave a few instructions to the maid beside her, and the maid agreed and left.
.
She wore a light blue shirt with a flowing skirt, her hair piled high, her eyebrows lightly drawn, and her skin as smooth as cream. Her delicate, fair hands held a tray with a wine pot and cups on it. She stood there awkwardly, her large eyes revealing a hint of childishness, a touch of nervousness and panic, and her gaze shifting uncertainly.
The gold on the roof is still burning, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and go up and have a couple of drinks!
Baili Ying was indeed satisfied, but he was mindful of his status and had seen many beauties, so he wasn't the kind of lustful man who would rush into a relationship. He simply narrowed his eyes, looked at those small, fair hands, and asked softly, "What's your name?"
"Lingling."
“Lingling? What a nice name,” he nodded, “Let’s put it down for now.”
Qiu Lingling bit her lip and slowly stepped forward to place the wine on the table. It was her first time stealing, and she was filled with ulterior motives. Her little hands trembled slightly, and she didn't know whether to stand or sit.
Baili Ying was not unaware of this, but he interpreted it differently. She was indeed a novice. Who would send such a girl to do things? If they were going to send someone, they would send a skilled veteran. Her hands were trembling with nervousness, which was impossible for her to fake. Therefore, he liked her even more and his guard was down considerably.
The best way to win over this kind of girl is to show her tenderness and act as her savior.
Suppressing his impulse, he smiled and pulled her to sit beside him, picking up her small hand and stroking it subtly, his voice full of heartache: "Good girl, it's a pity you ended up in a place like this. Do you want to get out?"
Qiu Lingling had never been so intimate with another man before, and she didn't feel like she was being taken advantage of. She was just surprised that this person cared about her. However, she felt very uncomfortable with him holding her hand. She wanted to refuse but couldn't pull it back, so she could only lower her head and remain silent.
He had indeed found a treasure! Seeing her shy and timid appearance, Baili Ying's heart fluttered: "I'll rescue you tomorrow, okay?"
.
Jin Huanlai was seething with anger. "Damn you old bastard! This little girl could be your daughter! Shameless! This idiot! She let others take liberties with her. She's probably forgotten everything I taught her." Jin Huanlai was a man and knew the consequences of continuing certain actions. He was anxious. "Why steal the fire toad? If this continues, things will only go wrong sooner or later!"
Fortunately, things are progressing as planned.
Baili Ying probably knew that he couldn't rush things in winning a woman's heart, so he simply held her close and spoke to her tenderly. Qiu Lingling became a little bolder and, after saying something, started pouring him wine.
Jin breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Liying was a cautious man and would definitely test for poison first. Of course, he couldn't detect it, but he would still make the little girl drink a cup first to prevent her from being poisoned. There was indeed no poison in the wine, only a colorless and odorless medicine that had no effect on people at all, so it was fine for her to drink it.
Sure enough, Baili Ying remained calm and dripped a little wine onto the ring inlaid with the poison-avoiding bead. Seeing that the color did not change, he was relieved. After saying a few words, he fed the wine to Qiu Lingling's lips, and Qiu Lingling obediently drank it.
Jin nodded, secretly pleased with himself.
Now the old man won't suspect anything anymore. As long as the little girl is clever, she can coax him to drink a cup or two, and then wipe his nose with the silk scarf from her waist. The silk scarf is soaked in a special medicine, and its fragrance is similar to that of ordinary face powder and rouge. It's fine to use alone, but if it's mixed with the medicine in the wine, it's an easy way to knock out a grown man without leaving a trace.
Unfortunately, things seem to have taken an unexpected turn.
Each glass of wine, after several twists and turns, ended up in Qiu Lingling's mouth. Baili Ying didn't touch a drop, but his gaze towards her grew increasingly intense, and a malicious smile appeared on his face.
Oh no! Jin was sweating profusely. This little girl had no idea how to persuade someone to drink or how to refuse. What a cunning old fox!
What to do? It would be easy if Grandpa Jin took action himself, he could just snatch it, but the dignified leader of the Thousand Hands Sect would disdain to snatch it. Besides, if he went down directly now, he would inevitably alert Baili Ying and attract others. Moreover, the old man specifically asked the little girl to steal it. If they heard that it was a man who stole it, wouldn't all their efforts be wasted?
In a moment of quick thinking, he muttered a couple of curses and jumped off the roof.
.
After about ten cups, Qiu Lingling was already a little tipsy. Her fair face was flushed with two peach blossoms, making one want to take a bite.
With a gurgling sound in his throat, Baili Ying finally lost his patience and suddenly reached out to hug her.
Disliking the hug, Qiu Lingling instinctively struggled, but the arm was too strong, and she couldn't do anything: "You... let go!"
Even a fool would know that Baili Ying would never let go at this moment. He breathed heavily on her neck: "As long as you obey me and stay with me, I will take you back to the manor tomorrow..."
Just then, the door was suddenly pushed open with a bang.
"Grandpa—" A tall, disheveled woman swayed in and rushed straight at Baili Ying.
Both of them were stunned.
Qiu Lingling rubbed her eyes.
Baili Ying's lust instantly turned into rage. He didn't care about anything else, grabbed Qiu Lingling and dodged away, shouting sternly, "Don't you know the rules? What are you doing barging in like this!"
The woman asked in surprise, "Didn't the old man ask Xiao Huan to come and keep you company?"
Bai Liying's face darkened: "You?"
The woman approached with a grin and pulled him along, saying, "That's right, Xiao Huan, please serve the master well tonight."
Strictly speaking, this woman did have a high nose and prominent eyebrows, but she looked strange. Her features were too harsh, and her makeup was incredibly heavy. When she shook her neck, the powder would fall off in a flurry. There were also her swaying movements, her affected coquettishness, and her deliberately drawn-out voice... Baili Ying was both amused and annoyed. The feeling reminded him of the pederasts he had seen before, but she was not as effeminate and charming as the pederasts. Baili Ying had no interest in that sort of thing, and he felt even more nauseous. However, he couldn't make a move in front of the beauty, so he hurriedly pulled Qiu Lingling away, cursing inwardly, "This damn crazy woman!"
The three of them were entangled in a knot.
The woman turned around and saw the wine on the table. She quickly picked it up and said coquettishly, "Since you don't want Xiao Huan to accompany you, you should at least drink a glass of wine with Xiao Huan."
Where did this rascal come from! Baili Ying was furious. His men outside the door had been sent to guard the stairs, probably because they had deserted and let this madwoman run up here and cause trouble! He was about to go out and call someone to coax the woman away when he saw the beauty staring at him blankly. Not wanting to spoil the mood, he was in a dilemma when the wine was already being fed to his lips.
The woman, with an affected, seductive smile, kept rubbing against him.
With goosebumps rising all over his body, Baili Ying decided to choose the quickest solution. So he secretly tested the poison-repelling bead, and finding it wasn't poisonous, he drank it all in one gulp: "Alright, alright, hurry up and get out of here!"
Before he could react, the woman snatched the silk scarf from Qiu Lingling's waist and pressed it against his nose: "Xiao Huan, wipe this for me..."
Baili Ying felt a chill and no longer cared about her composure. She quickly brushed the hand away, took a few steps back, and bent over to vomit.
After finally finishing vomiting, he straightened up and was about to get angry when suddenly the world spun before his eyes. He only managed to utter the word "you" before collapsing to the ground unconscious.
.
Jin gritted his teeth and snorted coldly. He walked over and kicked Baili Ying, then regained his original voice and cursed, "You bastard! What kind of status do I have? Offering you a drink is giving you a huge favor, and you still dare to spit it out?"
He kicked her twice more, then turned around angrily, only to see Qiu Lingling staring straight at him. She looked exactly the same as when he first saw her in the brothel, as beautiful as a peony, with big, clear eyes.
After a moment of stunned silence, Jin turned around, looking both angry and distressed.
Damn it, why does she look at men like that all the time? How can a man not get angry? She's being taken advantage of and doesn't even realize it. Luckily, I, the leader, am here today, otherwise this idiot would probably be bullied without even knowing what happened! This little girl has absolutely no sense of caution towards men, thinking that "accompanying" just means drinking with them. How can I make her understand that men are dangerous things that she shouldn't touch?
He suppressed his anger and ordered gruffly, "Come here, let's go!"
Qiu Lingling snapped out of her daze and pointed at Baili Ying on the ground: "Will he be alright?"
"Won't."
"What about the fire toad?"
Jin threw something red at her, saying irritably, "I'm leaving. From now on, listen to your master!"
Unexpectedly, after a struggle, he had already succeeded. Qiu Lingling looked at the fiery red, toad-shaped stone, then looked at him carefully, and suddenly laughed.
This little girl has ruined my noble image! Jin was even more furious and threatened menacingly, "What are you laughing at? Don't tell anyone about tonight's events, do you hear me!"
Qiu Lingling blinked: "Oh."
"come over!"
.
In the stone house in the Retreat Valley, Jin Yue sat leisurely on the couch, looking at his two disciples with a happy and kind smile.
"Was it really stolen by a woman? It can't be fake."
"The news will come out soon."
Where is the stuff?
Jin then threw the fire toad to him.
Jin Yue picked it up and examined it closely, quite satisfied: "Not bad, not bad! A good treasure!"
Jin then asked, "Are you satisfied now?"
Jin Yue laughed: "Every time you do something, you always satisfy your teacher."
Jin Huanlai immediately pressed Qiu Lingling to the ground and said, "Kowtowing."