"elopement."
"Then let them run."
"And my face!"
Long Jue glanced at his face a couple more times, but didn't say anything more. He knew that even if he did, this guy wouldn't let them off the hook. "Suit yourself."
The search continued. Mu Yuan was determined to find those two, even if it meant turning every inch of the Netherworld Sect's territory upside down; they wouldn't be able to elope successfully. Unfortunately, despite all the commotion, they couldn't find a trace of them. He bet they still hadn't left, but where were they hiding?
The place was dark and narrow.
Feng rolled over with some difficulty and asked, "Do we really have to hide here?"
"Shh~~" Ning Xian tried to keep her voice down, "Don't wake him up—it's very safe here, no one will come looking for us, and the guards at the door won't say a word."
Feng asked hesitantly, "Are you very familiar with this place?"
Ning Xian chuckled dryly, "I only worked as a mop once."
Feng ran her finger across the ground beside her; indeed, it looked fairly clean. It seemed to have happened only a day or two ago, hmm? —The answer to the mystery of her overnight disappearance?
"Maybe we can kidnap the cult leader?" Ning Xian's sudden suggestion made Feng Ye pause. "Are you sure?" "Anyway, he won't wake up once he falls asleep. It's just a change of sleeping place. With him, we can leave—" Seeing Ning Xian's enthusiasm, it seemed she was having a lot of fun. What did it matter if she accompanied her? "But how do we deal with the guards at the gate?"
“There’s no need to deal with them. We won’t harm the sect leader, so they won’t do anything. We can even ask them to help us find a carriage.” Feng did know that the Netherworld Heaven was a bit chaotic, but… was it really this chaotic? Ning Xian gently rolled Dongfang Qingming up in the blanket, tied him up with a pocket, clapped his hands in satisfaction, and said to Feng, “Carry him, let’s go.”
Feng stared at the sleeping Dongfang Qingming in the blanket for a long time. Could it be that one day he would be holding that [Dongfang Qingming] so closely? It was unimaginable, and Ning Xian actually came up with this idea?
He shook his head, picked up the blanket and walked out. Slightly sweating, he saw that there was actually a carriage that the cult leader usually used, parked at the door. The interior was comfortable and very suitable for that sleepyhead.
"Was this really prepared by the cult leader's personal guards?"
"Yes, you saw that I never left."
"I thought their duty was to protect the leader's safety."
"He is safe."
The carriage traveled smoothly without anyone daring to stop the sect leader's vehicle. However, Mu Yuan, already suspicious of the two, immediately sensed something amiss upon hearing that the carriage was heading out of the sect. Leaving aside the fact that he hadn't heard any news of the sect leader's departure, the timing was also suspicious; it should be the sect leader's sleeping time. What could possibly make this Eastern Emperor, disregarding sleep, get up and go out? He immediately ordered the gates sealed and personally went to the bamboo-green carriage, asking, "Sect Leader, is there something wrong with your sudden departure?"
"Since when has the Lord's affairs become something that requires the Left Envoy's attention?" the carriage guard asked with a smile. Mu Yuan raised an eyebrow. Even the guard, who usually acted as a gatekeeper and rarely spoke, had spoken. It seemed there was indeed something wrong with this carriage. "I indeed have no right to inquire about the Lord's affairs, but since I'm asking the Lord, why should a guard answer?" The guard's smile remained unchanged as he replied, "The Lord is sleeping."
"Whether it is or not, I'll only know after I've met the cult leader—"
Just as Mu Yuan was about to step forward, Ning Xian's lazy voice came from inside the carriage, "He's right, everyone said the leader is sleeping, do you really want to wake him up?" Her voice was quite low, and the carriage curtain was lifted, revealing the leader who was soundly asleep under the covers. Ning Xian smiled and put her finger to her lips, "Left Envoy, you'd better not wake the leader up, okay?"
Her smile faltered when she saw Mu Yuan's painted face; she almost burst out laughing. After struggling to suppress it for a while, she asked in a low voice, "How come you've become so much more handsome in just a short time?"
"you!"
"Shh—" Ning Xian pointed to the sect leader, whom she had helped up and who was leaning against her shoulder, signaling Mu Yuan to calm down and speak softly. Mu Yuan, unable to vent her anger, could only lower her voice as well, "Get out of the car!"
"No! Go ahead and try to hijack the carriage! Go ahead and wake the leader! Guards, let's go—" Mu Yuan certainly couldn't go up and drag them down; if she started fighting, she would definitely alert the leader. She could only watch them drive away. Inside the carriage, Dongfang Qingming shifted slightly, nuzzling his head against Ning Xian's shoulder, still fast asleep. Ning Xian sighed and shook his head. What could anyone do with this leader? He'd been kidnapped and sold like a pig without even realizing it.
The guards outside the carriage knocked on the door and asked, "Where are Lord Jialing and Lord Feng headed?"
"Hmm..." Ning Xian thought for a moment and asked Feng, "Are we going to Uncle's place?"
Feng, who had been leaning against the carriage wall with her eyes closed, opened them. "You've made such a commotion, kidnapped the sect leader, and gone to Mr. Dongli's place. Isn't that clearly a way to get Mu Yuan to find you?"
"Then can't we go find the old man?" What a pity, braised pork noodles, pickled cucumbers...
Feng shook her head, pulled Dongfang Qingming off Ning Xian's shoulder and put her down, then pulled her out of the carriage as they passed through the bushes. "Mu Yuan will definitely send people to follow the carriage from a distance to monitor our whereabouts, so let's separate from here. Please trouble the guards to continue forward, and we can go back when it's about time."
"Okay, no problem—"
"Thank you for your help, guard!"
After the car drove away, they used the bushes as cover and quickly changed direction to slip away quietly.
"So where do we go now?"
"Just like last time—go wherever you end up, and see what happens."
Chapter 98 The Wife's Final Chapter: "The Wife's Wall-Climbing Adventure" by Lian Zhi Qingting.
——Xiao Xu: The Phoenix's Name——
One night before bed, Ning Xian nestled in Feng's arms, chatting idly. Suddenly, something occurred to him, and he asked, "By the way, Feng—the name 'Feng' must just be your title among the Four Spirits, right? What's your real name?"
"——"
"What's wrong?"
“My stepmother is too lazy; she didn’t get it.”
"……||||"
……………………
As dawn broke and people were just rising, two people descended from the upper floor of an inn. The man, dressed in a dark red robe, possessed a cold and aloof beauty, a beauty mark under his left eye adding to his allure, yet his expression was icy and chilling, making one hesitant to look at him. The woman behind him seemed completely unfazed by his arrogant and cold face. Dressed in a pinkish-purple dress, she was charming and delicate, her eyes sparkling with a hint of wickedness that occasionally darted across her fragile appearance. The waiter, while tidying up the inn and opening the door, greeted them with a smile, "Are you two up? Would you like some breakfast?" "No, we'll eat out."
Ning Xian, in a good mood, pulled Feng out of the inn. Feng said behind her, "Isn't it the same to eat in the inn? Why bother going to eat at a roadside stall?"
"You're quite something, though you know a little about local customs, and even that's limited! What's the point of eating in an inn? It's the roadside stalls that have the real local flavor!"
"We haven't even left Zhanzhou yet, so how could we have any local specialties?"
"Feng! Wouldn't your tongue rust if you just shut up a bit?"
Ning Xian suddenly turned around, only to see a flash before her eyes. It was as if someone had darted past on the street ahead, startling her—that figure reminded her of someone…
"What's wrong?" Feng was puzzled by her sudden stop. Ning Xian paused for a moment, then turned around and said, "Feng... I... I think I saw someone..." But when she looked again, there was no one there.
Feng grasped her hand, sensing her unease. "Who?"
She shook her head, but still couldn't shake her worry. She pulled her hand away and chased after the direction she had just seen— "Ning Xian, wait a minute!"
Ning Xian seemed not to hear Feng's voice. She turned the corner and saw a slender figure in the distance, dressed in gray robes, which made her heart sink.
"Zuo Ci!?" She chased after him, suddenly grabbing the man, but turned around to find a surprised stranger asking in confusion, "Miss...?"
"Ah... I'm sorry!" She quickly let go of her hand. Feng stood behind her, watching her stand still without turning around. Following her gaze, he looked at the gray-clad man, walked over, and put his arm around her shoulder, saying, "It's just similar clothes."
"Um."
"It's alright, you're just too nervous. You saw what happened at Misty Rain Pavilion that day. He didn't run out with you. Under those circumstances, he couldn't have escaped. That person should already be dead in the rubble of Misty Rain Pavilion."
"Hmm." Ning Xian nodded. Yes, she must have been too nervous about not being able to confirm that person's life or death... It's okay, because all of that is over.
Eating ordinary spring rolls from a street vendor, sitting across from Feng—after experiencing so much, he can still sit across from her and eat every ordinary breakfast with her. Although this kind of life is not suitable for the two of them, what could be more pleasant than this?
"Feng, isn't it pointless for us to just wander around aimlessly like this? Now that we're out here, why don't we find something to do—like fighting crime, robbing the rich to help the poor, or something?"
"Do you think you're some kind of chivalrous thief?" Feng glanced at her and replied, "All I do is kill."
"Hmm...then...let's go to the government office and see if there are any notorious bandits with bounties on their heads that we can catch?"
"..."
"Is it still not good?"
"Ning Xian, are you bored?"
"Just a little bit, only a little bit..." She still couldn't get used to the mundane life. Thinking back, the only reason she was able to stay with Uncle Dongli for so long was because she was constantly worried about Mu Yuan and Du Zhengnian. Once she had free time and no burdens, such tranquility was not something a girl who grew up in the Demonic Sect could stay in.
Feng didn't care about that; it made no difference to him which kind of life he led. However, he still couldn't bring himself to do things like fighting evil and helping the poor.
“Okay, then I’ll choose the second option—but I can only look for bounties on heads.” If it’s a live target and he accidentally kills him, he won’t get the money, and he has no interest in working for the government for free.
"Yay—our goal is the huge bounty! Let's go!"
"Wait, breakfast—"
"I'll eat it on the go!"
Feng watched as Ning Xian ran off to settle accounts with the stall owner. Well... if he remembered correctly, Ning Xian's wealth was enough to make her a rich woman, right? How much could the government's reward money amount to?
—Perhaps, a few years later, another pair of fierce thieves will appear in the martial arts world, striking fear into the hearts of notorious bandits, roaming the land solely for the bounty offered by the government.
Ning Xian happily imagined that she would have to give the two of them a good name so that those annoying guys in the sect wouldn't hear about it and come looking for them.
"Hey, Feng, what name do you think we should have? Bounty Rakshasa? Bounty Assassins? The Invincible Bounty Duo?" "…………"
Ning Xian ran ahead of him, then suddenly turned back and walked backwards, saying, "Feng, did I ever say that it was good to be able to 'mess up' you back then?" "…………No."
"Haha—luckily I had responsibilities, and luckily Mu Yuan and Jin Na Luo came to drink with me that day, luckily my brother entrusted me with handling the Giant Axe Sect's affairs, luckily you came and chose me to accompany you. And luckily I married into the Bai family, luckily Bai Mo once had Yue Ji, luckily I had the idea of finding a lover—in short, luckily I climbed the wall, luckily I met you—Feng, it's so good to be with you like this now—" She smiled and turned around, skipping and humming a tuneless song on the still-sparsely populated road in the early morning. Her back looked very happy. Feng knew, because he was equally grateful for all of that. Seeing her smile and happiness, his heart felt light. Although he didn't know what the situation would be like now if none of that had happened—but, thankfully, it was all alright.
—Master thieves, the invincible bounty duo is here!
—The Story of My Wife Climbing the Wall/The End.