"Oh, okay!" Xue Qing followed Bai Xichen eagerly.
Liu Ying took a deep look at the two people's backs, and sat down at Zhi Qiu's invitation.
Bai Xichen went to the warehouse and picked out a few medicinal herbs for Xue Qing to carry. He didn't take many, and they weren't heavy at all. Xue Qing was amazed; how frail was Bai Xichen that he needed her help carrying such small things? After helping Bai Xichen carry the herbs to the room where the alchemy furnace was, Xue Qing asked him, "Is there anything else I can help you with? Just let me know!"
"I have a question for you, and you must tell me the truth," Bai Xichen suddenly said, "Have you practiced some kind of evil divine skill?"
"What the hell?" Xue Qing's surprise was genuine: "Isn't that Yan Ming's unique martial art? How could I possibly practice it!"
“I wanted to tell you this when we were at Qilin Mountain, but I was delayed while I was imprisoned. When I was healing you, I discovered that you have a cool true qi that is completely opposite to the Yi Jin Jing. The only true qi I know that is cool is the Evil Charm Divine Skill,” Bai Xichen said.
"But I really didn't practice it," Xue Qing said honestly. Suddenly, she thought of another possibility: "When Yan Ming suffered a qi deviation, I helped him transfer his qi, which is why I lost all my internal energy. Could it be from that time?"
Bai Xichen grasped Xue Qing's wrist and took her pulse: "It's just a small amount of true energy; it's not impossible that it's leftover."
"No wonder I've been feeling like my face is getting more and more sinister and arrogant lately when I look in the mirror," Xue Qing muttered.
"You're overthinking it. It's just a remnant of true energy, far from being comparable to the profound mysteries of the Evil Charm Divine Art. Not only will it not enhance your internal strength, but it will also be a hidden danger. The Yi Jin Jing you practice is pure Yang internal energy, while the Evil Charm Divine Art is Yin. One is Yin and the other is Yang, one is cold and the other is hot. Your internal organs will be in a state of extreme cold and heat for a long time. That's not a pleasant feeling," Bai Xichen said.
Xue Qing had already experienced that kind of suffering, and it was indeed very unpleasant. She tugged at Bai Xichen's sleeve: "Divine Doctor, save me! Don't let me suffer any more."
Bai Xichen shook his head: "I can heal injuries and poisons, but martial arts and internal energy are not my forte. I will help you look up ancient medical books, but I can't do anything for now."
That's all we can do. It's thanks to this chill that we were able to escape with our lives in the molten pit. It's just that when it flares up, it's really deadly, giving you an urge to die quickly. But once you get through it, it's like nothing ever happened. Fortunately, it hasn't flared up for a long time. Xue Qing suspects that it might have been neutralized by the heat in the molten pit.
Bai Xichen prepared the medicine and gave it to Xue Qing and Liu Ying. Xue Qing felt okay about her changed voice, which was just a change in tone and timbre. However, after hearing Liu Ying's reaction, she laughed so hard that she rolled on the ground. With Liu Ying's current appearance and delicate female voice, she would definitely be pushed down by a perverted old man if she went out.
From appearance to voice to flawless disguise, the disguise was complete. Lei Ji led the two into the Underworld, the place where the male protagonist resided. The novel describes the Underworld quite a bit, and when Xue Qing stepped into it herself, she found it to be darker and more terrifying than she had imagined. The gloom was so intense that even sunlight could not bring a smile to her face. It was as quiet as the afterlife. Many maids stood waiting in the corridor. Xue Qing even wondered if their tongues had been cut out. They were so quiet that they didn't seem like living people, but more like clay dolls.
Lei Ji led the two to an empty room and said, "This empty room is for you to stay in. You can do whatever you want with it afterward. I won't interfere."
"At this point, you still want things to look like they have nothing to do with you?" Liu Ying said, her soft, charming voice making Xue Qing think for a long time before she recognized her as Liu Ying.
Lei Ji smiled charmingly: "Of course, I also need to leave myself a way out."
If Xue Qing and Liu Ying's identities are exposed, Lei Ji might escape unscathed. Bai Xi Chen would be the first to be exposed. What a cunning woman, stirring everything up into a muddy mess while trying to remain an untainted bystander.
Xue Qing and Liu Ying spent most of the day digging hidden compartments in the house to conceal Su Wen and Ling Shu. Now, these two swords had practically become symbols of their status. With everything in order, searching the Underworld was a massive undertaking. It wasn't because the Underworld was vast, but mainly because the two of them were maids. How could they recklessly search everywhere? The two walked slowly down the corridor with calm expressions, making no sound like the other maids, not daring to look around. They could only glance here and there casually, familiarizing themselves with the terrain of the Underworld first.
"All the doors to these rooms look the same, so you can't tell which room is which at all," Xue Qing complained.
“There are people watching everywhere, so it’s not easy to sneak in. We can only act after we have a complete grasp of the target,” Liu Ying said.
The two walked together with graceful steps, with one or two expressionless maids appearing around them from time to time. As they walked, suddenly all the maids around them knelt down.
"What's going on!" Xue Qing looked around in a panic and saw a person walking towards her. The person had a handsome face, a strong body, and a cold expression that made people afraid to approach.
Yan Ming! Xue Qing's heart clenched. It hadn't been long since that day on the molten pit when he laughed as he pushed her into the furnace. Seeing that face again, even though Yan Ming no longer wore that wicked smile, Xue Qing's fingers still went cold. It was a feeling of wanting revenge. After he had treated her like an ant, she wanted to bite him to the bone.
Liu Ying was much calmer than Xue Qing. She pulled Xue Qing down to avoid standing out among the maids on the ground. Liu Ying focused her gaze on the ground, not looking at any part of Yan Ming. His eyes were like a deep pool of water, unfathomable, showing neither hatred nor warmth.
Xue Qing lowered her body, letting her hair fall down to cover her face and hide her wide, uncontrollable eyes. Yan Ming, wearing black cotton boots, stopped beside Xue Qing: "You two, lift your faces up."
The atmosphere was eerily silent. Xue Qing and Liu Ying kept their heads down and waited for a few seconds. When no one moved, they were sure that the person being referred to was themselves. They slowly raised their heads. Even they couldn't recognize themselves because of Lei Ji's disguise. Could it be that they had been found out?
“You’re quite good-looking,” Yan Ming said. “What are your names?”
Unexpectedly, they would meet Yan Ming so soon. Before they could even think of fake names, Xue Qing noticed the bell around Liu Ying's neck in her panic and said in a moment of inspiration, "My name is Da Ling, and his name is Xiao Ling."
"Are you sisters?" Yan Ming asked again.
Xue Qing nodded shyly, inwardly rolling her eyes. What's it to you?
Yan Ming didn't ask any further questions, and his gaze no longer fell on Xue Qing and Liu Ying. It seemed that he had only asked casually and had no interest in the two of them. He said, "Someone come with me to the study to help me move some books."
A study...a mysterious location in period dramas where secret manuals, treasures, and corpses are hidden! Xue Qing has been sneaking around here, hoping to find a place similar to a study. Isn't this a golden opportunity? Xue Qing raises her hand and shouts, "Me! I'll go!"
Author's Note: It's nothing new that Tear Princess likes to collect beautiful maids. It's not difficult to bring Xue Qing and Liu Ying, who are disguised, into the Underworld. Tear Princess needs to take the two to Bai Xichen to make a voice-changing medicine.
Although Yan Ming was angry at Bai Xichen's actions, as he said, he was the only one in the world who could cure Nangong Luoluo's poison, and his medical skills were unmatched. In the end, he let Bai Xichen go, only dragging Zhi Qiu out and giving her a beating. Bai Xichen did not live in the Underworld, but built a small house next to it, surrounded by bamboo, creating a shady spot for himself.
Xue Qing and Liu Ying followed Lei Ji into Bai Xichen's courtyard, which was full of grass and trees. Lei Ji knocked on the door, and the three of them waited outside. The cool breath of her panting brushed against Xue Qing's ear. This Liu Ying was getting more and more beastly. How could she flirt with Lei Ji in front of her? Xue Qing wanted to turn around and glare at Liu Ying, but when she turned around, she saw the head of a huge pure white python hanging very close to her face, flicking its pale pink, icy tongue.
"Whoa!!" Xue Qing screamed, her hidden sword sliding out of her sleeve as she instinctively reached out to stab the python.
"No!! No!!" Bai Xichen's voice came. He was usually as gentle as a lady from a noble family, so it was rare for his voice to reach such a volume.
Xue Qing sheathed her sword and took a few steps back to distance herself from the python. She saw the huge white python slide down from the tree, twisting its body and quickly crawling to Bai Xichen's feet, seemingly trying to hide behind him. However, its size was too large, and Bai Xichen's slender figure could not block it at all. Xue Qing could clearly see that its two round eyes on its huge head covered with white scales were watery and looked like it was about to cry.
"Who's scaring our Lord Python again, young master? Poison her!" Zhi Qiu said, stroking the python's head to soothe it. His voice had returned to the loli voice that Xue Qing remembered.
"Your voice has returned to normal," Xue Qing said.
"Huh? That voice sounds familiar." This time it was Zhi Qiu's turn to be full of question marks.
Xue Qing touched her face, remembering that she had already disguised herself.
“It’s us,” Liu Ying said. He was more convincing, as a man’s voice came from beneath the woman’s appearance. Bai Xichen immediately realized what was going on.
"Let's go inside first," Bai Xichen said, leading the three of them inside. The white python gave Xue Qing a mournful look before quickly slithering back to the tree where it had been sunbathing. Xue Qing felt a pang of guilt; the python blood pill she had taken came from this python. She was so sorry for accidentally offending her benefactor.
After explaining the whole story to Bai Xichen, Bai Xichen said, "I saved Young Master Liuying once and Miss Xue once, so I don't owe you any favors."
Xue Qing's heart skipped a beat. She had forgotten that Bai Xichen was not as helpful as Xiao Guiying. Although he was a doctor, his heart was as hard as stone. How could she expect him to continue helping her? What should she do? He already knew about her plan. Should she kill him to silence him?
Unexpectedly, Bai Xichen then said, "So this time, you owe me a favor."
Xue Qing's expression turned to joy: "Alright, alright, I'll repay this favor however I want. I'll give you the biggest red envelope when you get married."