Beggar Travels the World

Chapter 28

"Sigh, I never expected that little beggar would actually be the most talented woman in the world. The contrast is too great." Baili Tieyi sighed with all his might.

"It seems that Miss Yin has indeed suffered a lot over the years," Qin Qiyun said with pity.

"It's been so hard for my brother to search for her for so long, only to find out she was right under his nose. Do you think, with my brother's cunning, he probably already knew her identity?"

"Given Qingyi's intelligence, it is highly likely."

Yin Wuxiao pricked up his ears, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but glare at Baili Qingyi again.

Baili Qingyi raised an eyebrow and looked back at him innocently.

"I think my devilish older brother might have fallen for her. Didn't you see the look on Xiao Wu'er's face the few days after he left Baili Mansion? Hmph, I've never seen anyone laugh so hard."

Baili Qingyi smiled bitterly to himself. His third brother was so outspoken that even he had suffered greatly as a result…

Looking down at Yin Wuxiao's hair whorl, seeing her head down and motionless, he knew she was biting her lip again. A sense of helplessness welled up inside him, and his breathing became slightly heavy.

The warmth of his breath quickly spread to the slender hand covering his lips, and Yin Wuxiao trembled slightly.

"But I heard that Miss Yin is already engaged to Chief Qiao and they will be getting married next month..." Qin Qiyun seemed to be frowning and deep in thought.

"Tch, how can Qiao Fenglang compare to my elder brother?"

“That’s not how it works,” Qin Qiyun said politely. “Chief Qiao is also a young talent, excellent in both academics and martial arts. Moreover, he and Miss Yin are childhood sweethearts. Since they are engaged, Miss Yin should not break off the engagement.”

Yin Wuxiao's face flushed slightly. She looked up abruptly, staring at Baili Qingyi with a flustered expression. For the first time ever, she was at a loss, unsure whether to explain to him why she had agreed to the marriage, or to insist on the marriage to clear herself of her feelings for him.

Baili Qingyi slowly lowered his head, as if trying to see into her heart. His breathing became heavier and heavier, and he couldn't help but feel a little disordered.

The soft hand that pressed against his thin lips was damp and warm, perhaps from nervousness. Its delicate fragrance easily wafted into his nose, and combined with the soft, warm touch, it surprisingly stirred a slight flutter in his heart. He lowered his handsome face further, seeing her long eyelashes flutter like butterfly wings. Through those wings, a pair of clear black and white eyes struggled to suppress the urge to change the subject, gazing firmly at him.

Baili Qingyi suddenly found it funny.

He knew, of course, that he was always smiling, so much so that he almost began to doubt whether he was making a living by selling his smiles. Yet this seemed to be the first time in his short twenty-eight years that he genuinely wanted to smile.

I've seen her struggle before, but I've never seen her struggle to this extent. She struggled so much that she didn't even realize the person outside had left, and she didn't notice that with just a slight movement from him, their noses could touch.

Baili Qingyi began to feel that she needed a reward, an affirmation of her long wait and patience, and an encouragement for the long and tortuous road ahead.

Thinking of this, he slightly parted his lips and made up his mind to lightly lick the sweet palm that was offered to him.

It cannot be denied that this was indeed somewhat despicable. Such an intimate and provocative probing caused the unsuspecting Yin Wuxiao to cry out in surprise and quickly withdraw her hand. Finally realizing the dangerous distance between the two, she hurriedly reached out her other hand and pushed him hard in the chest.

"Ouch..." Baili Qingyi cried out, her beautiful face slightly contorted.

Yin Wuxiao then remembered that he was injured, although it was only a minor injury, but... She cursed herself inwardly and quickly grabbed his shirt with both hands to straighten him up.

"Are you alright...?" She paused before she could finish her sentence.

This so-called celestial beauty, a handsome and refined gentleman, took advantage of her pulling him up to turn over and press himself against her, but stopped just in time, allowing her to bear a limited weight while still blatantly pressing himself against her.

"You..." She opened her mouth to curse, but she wasn't sure if he was doing it on purpose or unintentionally, so she had to swallow all her dissatisfaction, restlessness, shyness, and anger.

She placed her hands on his broad back, trying to help him up, but he remained unmoved.

Now even an idiot would understand that this guy was clearly taking advantage of the situation.

All the dissatisfaction, restlessness, shyness, and resentment from before surged back like a mighty, surging wave.

"Baili Qingyi!" she gritted her teeth at his neck.

Instead, a pair of strong arms reached out from behind her and pulled her tightly into his warm embrace.

"Xiao'er, you're back." Baili Qingyi buried his face in her hair and sighed softly. Touching her, he realized just how deep his longing had been. All the coldness and aloofness of the past few days crumbled away, and he no longer cared about her marriage proposal. At this moment, nothing was more real or more important than her in his arms.

This woman was too careless. She thought she could safely approach him as before, but she didn't take into account his resentment at having to send her away, his long-held restraint out of worry and caution, or his deep longing for her. She may never understand how much she occupies in his life.

Yin Wuxiao was struck dumb.

"You're finally back." Baili Qingyi tightened his embrace, gently stroking her jet-black hair, and then his delicate kisses landed on Yin Wuxiao's flawless white neck, filled with tenderness and affection.

My breathing felt like it was about to stop.

She's back?

Is he waiting for her to come back? Or is her final return only in his arms?

Long-suppressed grievances and vulnerability quickly spread through her heart.

Then, Yin Wuxiao did something that was hard for ordinary people to imagine.

Suddenly, her nose stung with tears, and she burst into sobs, wailing and weeping, her snot running down her face.

Tears, sweat, and snot soaked into Baili Qingyi's blue robe. She clutched the fabric of his robe tightly, pulling at it desperately, as if she wanted to cry down a Great Wall.

Baili Qingyi was first taken aback, then amused, and finally only felt heartache.

She probably hasn't cried like that since she was old enough to understand things.

"Xiao'er." He cupped her tear-streaked face and gently wiped it clean, not caring at all that she had ruined the originally tender and affectionate atmosphere.

Now that he had started, how could he let everything fall apart halfway? No, that would be beneath his reputation as the trustworthy and indomitable young master of Baili Prefecture.

And so, as everyone expected, he pressed his lips to hers.

It was a salty and wet kiss, but it was very long, so long that in the end, only a sweetness that penetrated to the bone remained. Yin Wuxiao felt as if she were enveloped and melted by a spring breeze, until she herself transformed into the spring breeze like him, into a clear spring, lazily flowing between his lips.

She neither resisted nor responded, but simply danced with him, swaying, turning, soaring, everything seemed to fall into place naturally, so naturally...

Recognize the true meaning of music

Natural height!

Yin Wuxiao swore that he had never cried like this in his entire life since he was old enough to understand things!

Should she blame herself for lacking self-control? With just a soft call from Baili Qingyi in her ear, the defenses she had painstakingly built up over so many years completely collapsed, and she cried like a three-year-old child!

Yes, there's no denying that his embrace was warm, reassuring, and made her feel at home. It made her relax unconsciously, until she unknowingly revealed her most vulnerable and private side...

Yin Wuxiao breathed a sigh of relief. Over the years, even when she was alone, she had never truly shed a tear. She had long been accustomed to taking everyone around her under her wing, accustomed to forcing herself to calmly and composedly face all difficulties, and accustomed to burying all sadness and helplessness deep in her heart. She had even forgotten that she could cry.

Only when Baili Qingyi gently embraced her in his broad arms did she realize that the long-standing confusion and grievances that had been building up in her heart had already overflowed.

But... but why did he kiss her?

Yin Wuxiao clenched his fists, a mixture of embarrassment and restlessness spreading from his toes upwards to the top of his head.

"Miss Yin also thinks this zither is quite remarkable?" A question suddenly came out of nowhere.

"Huh?" What are they talking about now? Yin Wuxiao came back to his senses and almost forgot that he was in the pavilion, drinking tea and chatting with several female martial arts heroes.

Originally, she accompanied Cui Shenghan out for some fresh air, but unexpectedly they ran into the Yuwen sisters in the garden. Yuwen Hongying meticulously described how unique and distinctive the landscape design of Baiwen Mountain Garden was. How could the talented Yin not appreciate it? She invited them to rest in the pavilion and give their opinions together.

Well... she does occasionally like to feign elegance, but it's mostly to annoy people. I guess Yuwen Hongying also had a plan to annoy her.

"Miss Yin?" Yuwen Hongying called again, patiently waiting for her to come to her senses.

She pulled out a red zither from somewhere and insisted that Cui Shenghan perform it, even commenting on the zither's history and materials, truly taking her affectation to the extreme.

"This zither... is indeed quite remarkable," Yin Wuxiao said with a perfunctory chuckle.

"Oh? What makes it so special?" Yuwen Hongying's eyes lit up, and she pressed closer.

Yin Wuxiao groaned inwardly. Over the past few years, Yuwen Hongying must have put a lot of effort into the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Ever since the emergence of the "Qingyi Absolute," everyone in the world has assumed that Baili Qingyi prefers talented women.

"This zither... is red."

Heaven help it, it was just an ordinary zither, made of Burmese rosewood, only painted with fine red lacquer to make it look more pleasing to the eye...

As expected, Yuwen Hongying sneered: "In our dynasty, all zithers are made with red lacquer. What's so strange about red? Miss Yin hasn't touched a string in three years, has she? Alas, it's a pity that the most talented woman in the world back then has now become a country bumpkin..." She looked Yin Wuxiao up and down. She was dressed in plain clothes and had her hair in simple buns. She didn't wear any makeup. At first glance, she looked like an ordinary countrywoman. Where was the noble demeanor she had in Yun Pavilion back then?

Yin Wuxiao remained silent. She had two Qin zithers in her home, one made entirely of jade and the other of natural sandalwood, both priceless treasures. However, if she were to answer like that, Yuwen Hongying would probably be so angry that she would choke.

This is too arrogant, no, no. She silently repeated to herself.

Yuwen Cuiyu quickly changed the subject: "Didn't we say we wanted to invite Miss Cui to perform a song?"

"I won't." Cui Shenghan's face was cold and indifferent, clearly indicating that she had no intention of playing the zither and chatting with them.

Yuwen Hongying's expression changed: "Miss Cui is naturally unwilling to perform easily. To hear Miss Cui play the zither, you'll probably have to pay a hefty price..."

"Miss Yuwen!" Yin Wuxiao's expression changed drastically. Yuwen Hongying had always held Cui Shenghan in contempt, partly because of her brothel background and partly because of her identity as an assassin. But now that Cui Shenghan was on their side, how could Yuwen Hongying dare to humiliate her to her face?

"Miss Yuwen is so knowledgeable about the zither, you must know the origins of the zheng, right?" She suppressed her displeasure and asked coldly. Yuwen Hongying could mock her in every way, which she didn't care about, but she could never tolerate any disrespect shown to those close to her, just as she had done when she sought justice for Shi Mansi in Yun Pavilion back then.

“Of course I know.” Yuwen Hongying’s bright eyes gleamed as she chuckled, “The zither was created by Meng Tian, a great general of the Qin Dynasty.”

"No, no. The story of Meng Tian inventing the zither is a misconception."

"Then tell me, what is not a misunderstanding?" Yuwen Hongying said angrily.

Yin Wuxiao smiled, her confidence and intelligence surfacing. Her clear eyes sparkled with a smile as bright as spring blossoms. The arrogance that once filled her with envy and jealousy seemed to return to her side in an instant, even causing Yuwen Hongying to be momentarily stunned.

"In Tang Zhao Lin's 'Yin Hua Lu', it is said: 'The zheng is a Qin instrument, a branch of the qin. The ancient se had fifty strings. When the Yellow Emperor ordered Su Nu to play the se, the Emperor was so sad that he broke it. After that, the se had twenty-five strings. When the Qin people played the se, the brothers fought over it, and it was broken into two. The name zheng originated from this.'" She spoke slowly and deliberately, quoting classical texts.

"How do you know that what Zhao Lin said is true?" Yuwen Hongying pressed.

Yin Wuxiao's face showed a look of sudden realization, and her red lips curled into a smile: "Wuxiao originally had doubts, but after seeing Miss Yuwen today, I have no choice but to believe that what Zhao Lin said is true."

"Huh?" Even though Yuwen Hongying was on guard, she couldn't help but be taken aback.

"The people of Qin are fickle; they fight over a zither when they see one, and that's how a zheng is made. Only after meeting Miss Yuwen today do I finally understand the reason why a zither is better than a zheng." Yin Wuxiao smiled lazily with her eyes narrowed, her plain clothes unable to conceal her dazzling radiance.

Yuwen Hongying's stunningly beautiful face was blank with ignorance. After a while, she suddenly realized what was happening, and her face flushed red.

"She loves the zither and the lute, and she loves beauty and fights with men." This is clearly a satire of Yuwen Hongying for being attracted to the beauty of the young man in blue and deliberately making things difficult for her!

"You..." She glared at Yin Wuxiao with barely concealed anger, almost drawing her sword, but if she really revealed the meaning behind it, wouldn't that make things awkward for herself?

Cui Shenghan finally broke through her icy facade, revealing a faint smile.

"No wonder she is the most talented woman in the world." How could she not know that Yin Wuxiao had stood up for her?

"You flatter me." Yin Wuxiao cupped his hands in a casual manner, his understanding already clear.

She didn't like to make things difficult for people with her words unless it involved someone close to her. Since Yuwen Hongying dared to humiliate Cui Shenghan, she shouldn't blame her for being ruthless.

"Your mouth can be terrifyingly vicious when it comes to things," she recalled Shi Mansi saying.

“Miss Cui is pregnant, so it is indeed inappropriate for her to play the zither. It is Cuiyu who has offended you.”

Yuwen Cuiyu, who had been standing quietly to the side, not participating in the dispute, suddenly spoke up. She gave Yin Wuxiao a meaningful look and gently diffused the awkwardness, "Cuiyu has heard that Miss Yin's family runs a printing and stationery business. I wonder if they are also involved in the guzheng?"