Caught red-handed, Qiu Lingling pouted, clutching the Thousand Hands Token tightly: "Can I borrow it? Just for a little while."
Jin glared back: "No way! How can I give away my token so easily!"
Seeing that he was about to take it, Qiu Lingling panicked, covered herself with her hands, looked at him pitifully, and pleaded in a low voice: "Master said that if I don't get the token, I won't be allowed to eat tomorrow."
If the task isn't completed, no food is allowed; given Jin Yue's style, this is entirely possible.
"Take it, take it!" Jin waved his hand through gritted teeth, letting that old guy laugh at him.
Qiu Lingling then smiled again: "You're so kind!"
The phrase "You're so kind" made Jin feel much better. However, he didn't fully understand its true meaning until the next day when he was discussing matters with Hua Yunfeng, the handsome Dharma Protector of the sect.
.
"Your token?" he asked, surprised.
Hua Yunfeng was taken aback: "Didn't the sect leader take away my token yesterday?"
Jin frowned: "When did this happen?"
Hua Yunfeng felt a chill in his heart and answered truthfully, "It was around 3 PM yesterday."
Jin Huanlai pondered, "You mean, yesterday at Shenshi (3-5 PM), someone came to you and took the jade token?"
Hua Yunfeng forced himself to admit, "That's right."
As expected, Jin said calmly, "How can you be so sure that it is me?"
"This..." Hua Yunfeng began to break out in a cold sweat. Although he had suspected it before, he had observed the sect leader in private for many days and found it hard to connect him with that delicate little girl. He had long since put it aside. But nearly two years had passed, and yesterday that little girl suddenly came to him asking for the Jade Token. He had seen her in person at the Golden Garden and had never heard that the sect leader had a wife. Moreover, she had a token that indicated the sect leader's personal presence, so he was completely convinced that it was the sect leader. Now it seemed that something was very wrong!
Jin sneered, "Oh, someone asks you for a token, and you give it to them? Then can you just give this position of protector to someone else?"
Hua Yunfeng dared not speak.
In fact, Jin Huanlai had a general understanding of this handsome bodyguard's style. Apart from his fondness for flirting and his somewhat frivolous appearance, he was always very cautious in his actions. There must be a reason why this happened.
He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Do you remember who it was?"
Hua Yunfeng gradually calmed down and surprisingly did not answer. Instead, he looked up at him with a strange expression: "This subordinate dares to ask if the sect leader still has the Thousand Hands Token on him?"
Jin, now of considerable importance, smiled and said, "You mean you want to examine my token?"
Hua Yunfeng hurriedly lowered his head: "This subordinate dares not. It was just yesterday that a girl dressed in black came to this subordinate asking for the Jade Token. Because she possessed the Thousand Hands Token of the Sect Leader, this subordinate thought... thought that the Sect Leader had sent her."
"You thought it was me!" Jin Huanlai suddenly realized, and waved his hand helplessly in anger: "I forgot. You may leave now, and I will have her return it to you another day."
Hua Yunfeng breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back, his handsome face still showing a lot of doubt. How could he forget what happened yesterday? The sect leader's memory is too bad, isn't it?
I thought the old man had sent her to steal the Thousand Hands Token again, but I didn't expect the real target to be the Jade Character Token. Hua Yunfeng's martial arts are excellent, and it's not easy to steal something from him. No wonder the little girl had her eye on the Thousand Hands Token from the beginning! Jin Huanlai suddenly stood up and strode towards the door. "You made me look bad in front of my subordinates. I won't settle the score with you today!"
.
"Come out here!" He found the stone house and kicked the door open.
The room was empty.
"What brings my eldest disciple here?" Jin Yue's voice came from behind, tinged with mockery.
Jin replied irritably, "Where's your little apprentice?"
"She's afraid you'll be angry, so she doesn't dare to see you."
Something didn't sound right. Jin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned around. There was no Jin Yue there, only a little girl sitting on the top of a big tree, looking at him pitifully with a smile. Who else could it be but the little girl!
Unexpectedly, she had been studying disguise techniques all day long and could even mimic people's speech perfectly. Jin was both amused and exasperated. He finally managed to straighten his face and yell, "Get down here!"
Qiu Lingling blinked and swung her legs: "Come on, come on, come up and sunbathe!"
Without saying a word, Jin Huanlai leaped into the air. Seeing that he was about to grab her, Qiu Lingling hurriedly dodged and tried to escape, but she had only managed to get five zhang away when he caught her and dragged her to the ground.
"You dare to lie to me?"
"No, no," Qiu Lingling said, knowing she was in the wrong, and hugged his waist. "Don't be angry. Master said that if I don't get back the token of that beautiful Jade Protector, I won't be allowed to eat, and I'm not allowed to tell you. The Jade Protector's martial arts are so powerful, so I had to borrow your token." She then hooked her arms around his neck and giggled, "Anyway, you'll help me." Then she added, "Don't tell Master!"
Seeing her like this, Jin Huanlai could only glare: "My token?"
Qiu Lingling quickly took it out and gave it to him.
Jin took it from him: "Where's the jade token?"
"It's with my master. I'll take it back to him in a couple of days, don't worry."
.
Bamboo grove path.
"I've been a bit busy lately, helping Jiang Xiaohu with some things. Be good and don't leave the valley without your master's permission."
“Brother Xiaohu?” Qiu Lingling remembered this person and was happy. She begged him, “Can you talk to Master and ask him to take me with you? I haven’t seen him in a long time.”
"Tch, you two really have a tacit understanding," Jin Hailai glared at her. "Jiang Xiaohu is indeed good, but if the little girl really marries him... at least for now, Jin Hailai feels very uncomfortable." He answered decisively, "No way."
Qiu Lingling was unhappy: "I'm your wife, I want to go with you."
"Look at this childish temper, how could he be a wife?" Jin sighed, stopped in his tracks, and said with great distress, "I'll say it again, I don't have a wife!"
"I am your wife."
"Do you even know what a wife is?"
"I know."
Jin nearly fainted, his expression strange: "You know?"
“Yes,” Qiu Lingling nodded earnestly, “A wife is your wife, who will be with you for life. No matter what happens to you, I will help you and we will never be apart.”
Who told you that?
"Master."
Jin was speechless. "Old man, what kind of apprentice did you teach?"
What else did he say?
“Tell me a story,” Qiu Lingling said, her interest piqued. She sat down on a large rock nearby. “Once upon a time, there was a couple who went to the desert beyond the Great Wall. They got lost and had nothing to eat or drink. The wife was about to die, and the husband couldn’t bear to see her die, so…” Her voice trailed off. She paused, lowered her eyes, and then cut her hand with a knife so she could drink his blood.
This is an ancient story, passed down through generations in the martial arts world. The ending, of course, is that the husband dies, while the wife survives and is rescued. For young men and women yearning for love under the moonlit flowers, such stories are incredibly beautiful, enviable, and heart-wrenching.
Unfortunately, Jin has already passed that adorable stage, so seeing her so heartbroken, I just find it both funny and infuriating. Women will be women, they can get so worked up over a story. Silly girl, do you really think such a thing is true? Maybe before it even comes to a life-or-death situation, that person will just abandon you.
Qiu Lingling remained silent for a while, then suddenly looked up at him and asked, "Would you save me like that?"
Jin then added, "Boring!"
Qiu Lingling wouldn't have it, and got up to pull him away: "Do you even know how?"
Jin looked at her and raised an eyebrow: "No."
For a fleeting moment, disappointment crossed her face, but she quickly smiled and said, "You will." She wrapped her arms around his waist, buried her head in his chest, and whispered, "Because I will save you."
Jin Huanlai froze, looked down, but couldn't see her face.
She said she would save him with her own life. This was not something a little girl should say. Her tone, her expression... Her little hands were around his waist, holding him so tightly, as if she would never let go. It was a long-lost intimacy, so close that he could hear the beating of his heart. It felt warm, yet it disgusted him, just like the phrase "never to be abandoned."
Jin Huanlai was quite annoyed and roughly pulled her off him: "Get out of here, get out of here! Do you think I need you to save me? You actually believe such a ridiculous thing? It's all made up to fool people!"
"It's true." Jin Yue's voice came from behind.
.
"Master." Qiu Lingling was happy and didn't mind being pushed away.
Jin was also a little surprised.
Jin Yue stood not far behind, wearing a blue shirt and a gray-blue long gown. He seemed to have aged a bit since Jin Huanlai last saw him. Only his back was still straight, like the withered old bamboo beside him. His expression was peaceful, without any sharpness. He looked like an ordinary old man. In Jin Huanlai's memory, he had almost never seen him like this before.
They thought he was going to laugh at them again, but to their surprise, he just glanced at the two of them and said calmly, "It's true, she really did it."
Qiu Lingling asked curiously, "Who?"
“Your master’s wife,” Jin Yue said, his hands behind his back and his gaze unfocused, “I was seriously injured at the time, and she really did that.”
Both of them were stunned.
Jin Yue smiled, turned around and left.
Bei Yijia Gongzi
The windows are shaded by trees, and the shadows move in the wind.
Quietly, a head peeked out of the window, its large eyes peering into the room. Seeing no one was there, she jumped in with peace of mind, walked to the table, took out a white jade token from her waist, placed it on the table, and turned to leave.
"I, Hua, have been waiting for you for a long time. Now that you've arrived, young lady, why don't you sit for a while?" Laughter rang out from behind.
She was terrified to be caught on the spot and instinctively darted toward the window.
The Jade Protector of the Thousand Hands Sect was renowned for her exceptional lightness skills, so how could she let anyone slip away right under her nose? Just as she reached the window, a hand landed on her right shoulder, the pressure perfectly controlled—enough to stop her from escaping, yet gentle enough not to hurt her.
Then, somehow, his hand pulled her into his arms.
"I have been waiting for you for a long time, how can you leave in such a hurry?" A jade flute lifted her chin.
To her upper left rear, a handsome face was smiling at her.
.
Amazed by his martial arts skills and seeing his gentle and harmless expression, Qiu Lingling was no longer so afraid. Instead, she smiled at him and pleaded, "I've already returned the token to you, please let me go?"
The beautiful woman, innocent and naive, begged for mercy in his arms. Hua Yunfeng, always one to cherish women, nodded with a smile without hesitation: "Alright, but you can't run away."
Qiu Lingling quickly said, "I won't run."
Even if you run, I can catch you and bring you back. Sure enough, Hua Yunfeng released her.
Qiu Lingling looked him up and down for a moment and said, "You are really good-looking."
It was common knowledge that the Jade Protector of the Thousand Hands Sect was beautiful, but no woman had ever praised his appearance so openly upon first meeting him. Hua Yunfeng was in a good mood; she was a simple and innocent girl.
He remained calm and asked, "What is your name, young lady?"
"My name is Qiu Lingling."
"A good name," Hua Yunfeng said, glancing at her with a broad smile, "Lingling, you have the beauty of heaven and earth. Your name is beautiful, and you are even more beautiful."