The mute servant nodded.
He turned around and pointed at Qiu Lingling: "You, you're not allowed to come along." This cult leader is going to teach two people a lesson today.
Qiu Lingling's face fell: "Then come back quickly, I'm waiting for you!"
Jin left without saying a word.
No sooner had he left than Yue Yiping, the Protector of Wealth, came running over with a note. Upon seeing her, he immediately beamed with a smile. Although Hua Yunfeng hadn't revealed the title "Master's Wife" due to the Master's warning, as time went on, several Protectors of the main altar noticed that the Master's manners improved considerably whenever this junior sister was around. He would never test medicine on anyone in front of others. The Thousand Hands Sect members, with their limited intelligence, discovered this pattern. After that, whoever messed up would report back while the young girl was around, and they could almost always escape disaster without having to endure the test of willpower.
The young lady's status was so important that even the slow-witted Protector Qian, Yin Fei, had already realized it. Naturally, Yue Yiping wanted to curry favor with her even more. What could have been handled by sending someone else was instead brought over personally: "What a coincidence, Miss Lingling, Young Master Yi sent someone with an invitation, saying it's for you."
"For me?" Qiu Lingling had never received an invitation before, and she was delighted. "Thank you!"
"Miss Lingling, you're too kind," Yue Yiping said with a beaming smile.
Qiu Lingling opened it and found the contents to be very simple: "Ha, tomorrow."
Yue Yiping hurriedly asked, "Do you need my help?"
"Help?" Qiu Lingling shook her head. "No need, Yi Qinghan invited me to go drinking."
Oh, they're so intimate, Yi Qinghan? Yue Yiping was a little dumbfounded: "Just the young lady alone?"
"yes."
"This seems to be..."
Noticing his strange expression, Qiu Lingling asked in surprise, "Is it not okay?"
A young man who is not related to her by blood invites a beautiful girl to his house alone. It can't be just a simple matter of drinking... As if struck by a sudden realization, Yue Yiping laughed heartily: "Of course, of course! Young Master Yi is a young hero, handsome and talented. The Yi family has a long history with our Thousand Hands Sect. Perfect! Perfect!"
Seeing his strange attitude, Qiu Lingling was puzzled.
The girl naturally didn't like these things being discovered, and Yue Yiping almost wanted to slap himself. So he pretended to look to the left and said, "The sect leader just asked us to go to the hall to discuss matters. I'll go and take a look first. Farewell."
The sect leader seems to like this junior sister quite a bit. What if he has feelings for her? Should we report this to the sect leader? Pshaw, it's just a little squabble between the senior and junior siblings. If the girl finds out, I, Yue Yiping, will be the one who suffers in the end. It's better to avoid trouble.
.
The next morning, Jin left again, this time really going to Tianshui City on business. When Qiu Lingling saw the note he left, she was disappointed, but thinking that she still had to keep the appointment, she didn't feel bored. She hurriedly ate breakfast and ran down the mountain.
The weather was lovely, with bright sunshine. Outside the pavilions and rockeries, there was a large flowerbed where hundreds of peonies and other flowers bloomed in the breeze, displaying a variety of colors and shapes. Each flower was as large as a plate, floating on the green waves, undulating with the current. Bees and butterflies flitted among them, and the air was filled with their fragrance, creating a lively scene.
Beside the flowerbed stood a small pavilion with vermilion railings on all four sides. The young master stood by the railing, his jade belt gleaming in the sunlight.
Overly ornate decorations can only result in two outcomes: either appearing luxurious or vulgar. This depends entirely on the owner's taste and temperament. Thus, the same gold and silver jewelry will have different effects on different people.
Amidst a sea of flowers, she wore a brocade robe, resembling a goddess of flowers.
With his peach-blossom eyes glancing sideways, he looked at the wall not far away, where unknown purple flowers bloomed on the trees on the top of the wall, and petals occasionally fell.
"Ha, you see me!" A burst of laughter rang out, and in the blink of an eye, a little black swallow flew out from the lush foliage, nimbly flipped in mid-air, and landed in front of him.
"Avoiding me while watching?"
"Yes, and these flowers are even prettier than those in Jinyuan."
The young master sized her up. If the little girl were dressed differently, she would surely be as fresh as fresh flowers and clear water: "If you are so pretty, why are you wearing such ugly black clothes?"
"Is it ugly?" Qiu Lingling was extremely nervous and lowered her head. "But Jin still likes black, so if you're his wife, you have to wear black."
The young master's eyes flickered, but his expression remained calm: "Wife?"
Qiu Lingling pursed her lips, embarrassed: "Yes, I'm his wife. He said he saw you that day."
The young master was stunned at first, then laughed. Would a man let his wife run around everywhere and hold hands with other men? Would he react so calmly when he saw her unconscious in another man's room? Besides, could a girl who knows nothing and doesn't even feel afraid lying in a strange man's arms be a wife?
"Are you really sixteen?"
"Almost seventeen."
"Then you can indeed get married," the young master said, suppressing a laugh. "You want to marry him?"
"kindness."
"Did your parents agree?"
Qiu Lingling said sadly, "My parents are already dead."
The young master frowned slightly: "Since you like flowers, we'll drink here later." He then pointed to the distant veranda: "There's a talking bird over there."
"A talking bird?" Qiu Lingling was indeed surprised, forgetting her unpleasantness.
"Shall we go take a look?"
"Okay." She took his hand.
The young master remained calm, instead taking the small hand in his own, a smile on his face, and walking slowly. "Little cat, this has nothing to do with me. You offered yourself up to me so I could take advantage of you."
.
"Miss Cheng, what brings you here?"
"The weather is perfect for flower viewing today. Since my cousin is in the mood, I've come to take a look too." Cheng Xiaolin, dressed in her finest attire, smiled as she walked along the covered walkway into the garden, gently waving her fan.
Liu Bai's eyes flickered slightly, and he made small talk while being half respectful: "How did Miss Cheng know that the young master wanted to admire the flowers?"
Cheng Xiaolin realized she had let something slip and smiled, "I love peonies the most, as my cousin knows. When he came last time, he saw many good varieties in this garden, so he kept an eye on them. The weather has been warm lately, so I thought they should be in bloom, and it would be a good time to enjoy the flowers."
Liu Bai smiled: "Miss Cheng, you're in high spirits, but the young master is currently entertaining guests, so..."
Cheng Xiaolin stopped and glanced at him sideways: "Is it inconvenient for me to go?"
This young lady is not stupid; she knows who she cannot touch. Liu Bai is not worried that she will make things difficult for him. He calmly explained, "It is fine if Miss Cheng wants to go. My idea is to go and inform them first, or that they may have something important to do, so as not to go rashly and displease the young master."
"Important matter?" Cheng Xiaolin asked curiously. "Could it be that you've invited some distinguished guest?"
Liu Bai smiled and said, "I know nothing about your affairs, young master."
Cheng Xiaolin, always sensible, quickly stopped smiling and nodded understandingly, "Since my cousin has important matters to attend to, it's best if we don't disturb him. The flowers are in bloom for a while, I'll come back to see them another day." She glanced casually through the flower window in the corridor wall and then turned to leave.
Liu Bai quickly praised her and escorted her to the gate. Knowing his identity, Cheng Xiaolin hurriedly told him to stay and left without letting anyone else see her off.
When I returned, I could hear voices from a great distance.
"Lingling! Lingling!"
"It really does call my name!"
Liu Bai rolled his eyes across the corridor wall.
Ten top-quality parrots and ten servants were ordered to change jobs. For three whole days, each servant was responsible for teaching one parrot to speak from morning till night. The content was only two words. In this kind of teaching environment, it was not surprising that one of the smart ones learned to speak.
Confucius may not be able to cultivate talent, but the young master will definitely be able to force talent out of him. The young master's methods are much more effective than Confucius'.
.
As the sun set, Qiu Lingling didn't use her light-footed skills and quickly walked back. This time, Yi Qinghan didn't let her get drunk again. Actually, her interest was more drawn to the parrot. She rarely went down the mountain before and had never seen a talking bird. But Yi Qinghan didn't seem to notice. She wanted to ask where it came from several times, but she was too embarrassed to ask.
The Thousand Hands Sect is very good at finding information; I'll just ask them where I can buy it when I need gold again another day.
Just then, she suddenly realized something was wrong. She looked up and saw four men in black, their faces covered with black cloths, each holding a sword or knife, blocking the road ahead and staring coldly at her.
Qiu Lingling, having prior experience with missions, knew the newcomers were up to no good. She immediately took two steps back and tried to run away using her lightness skill, but the four men were also quite skilled and quickly caught up.
Seeing that she couldn't outrun him, Qiu Lingling simply stopped running, threw out a few hidden weapons, and at the same time used the momentum to leap onto a tall tree next to her: "Hey, so many of you are bullying me, you're shameless!"
"We are acting on someone's behalf."
"Who sent you? Are you here to kill me?"
The leader didn't answer, a glint of shrewdness in his eyes. He snorted, "Little girl, be sensible. We don't want to kill you. As long as you don't seek out Young Master Yi again, you'll be safe. Otherwise..."
Yi Qinghan? Qiu Lingling rolled her eyes: "Otherwise what?"
"You ignorant brat!" he scolded.
Who are you?
"Will you agree or not?"
Qiu Lingling didn't answer immediately. She blinked and looked down at them. Although these people were highly skilled in martial arts, they didn't have much killing intent. They were obviously not professional assassins. They were probably just there to warn her. They deliberately wore assassin outfits to avoid being recognized by her in the future. What was their relationship with Yi Qinghan?
"Why can't I go to him? Besides, I don't even know you guys, why should I agree?" She touched her face with one hand, then suddenly gestured for them to look into the distance, "Look, isn't Yi Qinghan here?"
The men in black, feeling guilty, immediately turned around.
Qiu Lingling giggled and darted out quickly.
"You little brat, so cunning!" Realizing they'd been tricked, the four gave chase.
This trick was something she learned from Jin Huanlai during the mission. It was precisely because these people weren't professional assassins that they fell for it. Although Qiu Lingling possessed the Thousand Hands Sect's superb lightness skill, these four were all experts, and their internal strength was superior. Seeing that they were getting closer, she simply stopped. Without panicking, she quickly pulled something out of her bosom and raised it: "Pah, pah, I'm going to find him anyway, watch my 'Thousand Mile Soul-Chasing Bullet'!"
The wind howled, and countless hidden weapons came hurtling towards us.
"Thousand Hands Sect!" The four were shocked. Although the little girl's technique for throwing hidden weapons was not very skillful, the "Thousand-Mile Soul-Chasing Bullet" was something they could not afford to offend. They immediately stopped and retreated rapidly.
After a while, there was no movement from the bushes.
The group looked at each other in bewilderment.
The leader tentatively walked over to take a look, his eyes widening in surprise: "That brat is playing us!"
Looking ahead, the little girl had already disappeared from sight.
.
In a distant corner, two people finished watching the match: a young man in brocade robes and a man in blue.
The young master smiled with interest: "How about it?"
Liu Bai smiled and said, "Very clever."
The young master nodded: "He's also quite clumsy."
Liu Bai almost cried. "Young master, I can't keep up with your logic."
Seeing the four men in black discussing and walking away, the young master said, "From the Cheng family."
Liu Bai remained silent.
The young master asked, "Have you found out?"
Liu Bai lowered his head: "We've made some progress."
"who?"
"Ding Bocheng from Class Two."