Hibiscus as a Painting - Chapter 187
"Come, let me tell you a secret." Qiu Baifeng took the soft whip from Zi Jin's hand, gripped the handle and gently rotated it. Suddenly, a dagger as thin as a cicada's wing emerged from the handle. With another light rotation, the dagger became a short sword. Then, with another rotation, it became a long sword as thin as a cicada's wing, its cold silver surface faintly gleaming with a chilling light.
Zi Jin happily took the soft whip, twirled it three times, and then put the long sword away. She played with it repeatedly for a while before looking up at Qiu Baifeng: "Master's wife is truly worthy of the Ghost Hand artifact. It's simply too exquisite. This whip is icy cold yet warm gold. I wonder what material it's made of."
"Heh... It's nothing good, take it and play with it." Qiu Baifeng stroked Zi Jin's long hair and smiled kindly.
Zi Jin looked at the whip in her hand for a while, then suddenly her face fell: "Master's wife... this... I'm afraid I can't use it. My master taught me to use a knife and an axe, taught me a set of sword techniques, and taught me to use the sound of the zither to hurt people... but... I don't know how to use a whip."
"Since you call me Master's Wife, today I will teach you a whip technique." Qiu Baifeng swept the whip from Zi Jin's hand with one hand and leaped onto the dueling platform.
Graceful as a startled swan, agile as a swimming dragon, seemingly like light clouds veiling the moon, drifting like swirling snow in the wind.
Despite her young age, Qiu Baifeng's whip-wielding movements were like those of a young woman in her late teens, unforgettable at first sight. What was clearly a ruthless whip technique was transformed into the most beautiful dance in the world, captivating all who beheld it.
Even after Qiu Baifeng jumped off the platform, Zi Jin and Cheng Qingsong were still in shock. After a long while, Cheng Qingsong suddenly came to his senses, turned his face away, and quickly wiped away the tears in his eyes with his sleeve.
Despite its speed, it still didn't escape Qiu Baifeng's eyes. Slowly, a mysterious smile appeared on Qiu Baifeng's face. She looked at Cheng Qingsong for a long time before turning to look at Zi Jin: "Girl, have you remembered everything?"
"Uh?... Ah? I... I don't remember very clearly." Zi Jin replied blankly.
Qiu Baifeng smiled slightly and said, "Although this set of whip techniques only has seven moves, it contains the unpredictability, profundity, beauty, and spirituality of the sun and moon, hence the name Sun and Moon Whip Technique. It is most suitable for women to use. If you can use all of them, you will surely amaze everyone and kill people without leaving a trace."
"Master's wife...is this how Master was captured by you?" Zi Jin smiled slyly, looking at Cheng Qingsong, who seemed to be blushing a little.
Cheng Qingsong sat up straight, adopting the demeanor of a master, and said seriously, "Hmm! When do you plan to go and rescue that idiot? Judging from his current state, he probably won't be able to escape that post station on his own."
“Since Master and Mistress have already found out that he is at the post station, I’m not in a hurry. Let the brothers reunite first, and then I’ll go and bring him back after dark,” Zi Jin said with a confident smile.
"Well then, you should practice the Sun and Moon Whip Technique that your master's wife taught you properly here. If you can't master this technique before dark, then let that idiot and his brother continue their reunion. ... Hmm! ... Bai Feng, why aren't you helping me back to my room?" Cheng Qingsong said casually.
Qiu Baifeng and Zi Jin exchanged a smile, then got up and walked towards Cheng Qingsong, gently helping him up so that he could lean all his weight on them, and slowly walked towards the door.
Zi Jin smiled as she looked at the awkward couple, then glanced at the golden whip in her hand and smiled confidently: "Little Bai, wait for me."
Love and hate leave no trace, deep affection is hard to wait for; the descendants of the gods, three generations of marriage and grudges, how can the past grievances be recounted? (Part 5)
How can we talk about the grudges of the past? (Part 5) Inside Qingzhen Post Station.
Jin Yu carefully lit lotus incense in the bronze incense burner, and soon the room was filled with a very faint lotus fragrance. After finishing everything, Jin Yu went to the inner room.
Inside the inner room, Prince Anle lay quietly on the bed. Sikou Xunxiang sat by the bed with a frown, wiping the sweat from Prince Anle's forehead again and again.
"Why is he still so restless?" Sikou Xunxiang asked in a low voice, tightly gripping the trembling hand of Prince Anle.
"Your Majesty, please do not be anxious. As long as the lotus incense burns for a while, the Prince will calm down," Jin Yu said.
After a while, the cold sweat on Prince Anle's forehead seemed to have subsided, and his body was no longer trembling so much. Sikou Xunxiang sighed softly and slowly withdrew the hand that Prince Anle had been holding tightly: "Jinyu, prepare pen and ink."
Jin Yu thought for a while before hesitantly asking, "Does Your Majesty intend to send a letter to the Yue Kingdom?"
Si Kou Huanxiang slowly closed his eyes, leaning wearily against the bedside: "Is there any other way now?"
Jin Yu lowered his head and said, "This matter is probably not so easy. The person in power in Yue Kingdom now is not Emperor Xuanlong but Crown Prince Jun Lin. He and the Emperor... would not give the antidote to the Emperor so easily."
Si Kou Xunxiang gave a bitter smile: "Prepare pen and ink."
Jin Yu bowed slightly and slowly stepped back.
Sikou Xunxiang glanced sideways at Prince Anle, his hand gently stroking his gaunt face: "Le'er... you've suffered so much for your brother... this time... even if it means losing the Chen Kingdom, your brother will save you..."
Jin Yu rushed in and looked at Si Kou Xun Xiang with delight: "Your Majesty! Qi Yongyue, a first-rank bodyguard under the Crown Prince of Yue Kingdom, requests an audience."
A hint of joy flashed across Si Kou Xunxiang's face, and he immediately said, "Send it quickly!"
Qi Yongyue strode into the room, and upon seeing Sikou Xunxiang, he merely bowed slightly: "Greetings to the Emperor."
Jin Yu's face was full of resentment.
Sikou Xunxiang was also slightly taken aback, then walked to the outer room and looked at Qi Yongyue, saying, "I wonder what brings Guard Qi here from the Yue Kingdom?"
Qi Yongyue smiled contemptuously: "Let's not beat around the bush. I have been waiting outside Rouge Valley in Qingzhen for nearly half a year, just to wait for the king."
Si Kou Xunxiang sat in the main hall, quietly looking at Qi Yongyue for a long time: "Three cities, three cities in exchange for the antidote to the core of the rotten bone."
Qi Yongyue walked slowly to Sikou Xunxiang's side and said softly, "Unfortunately, my lord does not care about the city you mentioned. Please consider something else."
Sikou Xunxiang suddenly stood up: "If this is what His Highness the Crown Prince wants, then please return, sir."
Qi Yongyue smiled slightly: "Your Majesty, please don't be anxious. The person my prince wants will be found by himself. My prince said that he doesn't want your Chen Kingdom's cities, he doesn't want your Chen Kingdom's treasures, and he doesn't want you to give her to him as charity. My prince only needs Your Majesty to do two things."
Si Kou Xunxiang was slightly taken aback: "Two items? Which two items?"
Qi Yongyue turned slightly, walked to the side, and sat down: "The first thing is that Your Majesty should set off immediately, as Lady Luo has been waiting for many days in Zhouliang City, three hundred miles away. The second thing is... to marry Lady Luo immediately and announce it to the world."
"..."
Qi Yongyue's lips curled into a mysterious smile: "Before you complete these two tasks, the King must not approach her, tell her the reason, or give her any hint that you are powerless... Heh... But the King can rest assured, His Highness said that he will absolutely not cross the King's bottom line, nor will he make such an unreasonable request as to abandon her. As long as the King completes these two tasks, my Yue Kingdom will offer the antidote without hesitation, without causing any trouble for the King or her."
Si Kou Xunxiang slowly lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes concealing all his emotions: "A state wedding cannot be prepared in a short time..."
"Your Majesty need not worry about these things. My Crown Prince has prepared everything necessary for the wedding. All Your Majesty needs to do is attend on time and issue the imperial edict."
Sikou Xunxiang slowly raised his eyes, his gaze unintentionally sweeping over the still unconscious and pale-faced Prince Anle in the inner room: "Your Highness has a deep mind, but how can I know that Your Highness will not break your promise?"
Qi Yongyue smiled again, took out a jade bottle from his pocket and placed it on the table next to Sikou Xunxiang: "To show our sincerity, let the prince take this half of the medicine first, which can temporarily suppress the pain for two months. As long as we get the other half of the antidote within two months, the prince will be fully recovered."
Si Kou Huanxiang casually picked up the medicine bottle beside him, uncorked it, and sniffed it lightly. A very faint smile appeared on his face. "Okay, I agree."