The Foolish Agent

Chapter 52

Xuanyuan gritted his teeth and asked, "Do you experience pain every month?"

"No, it just hurt like this a moment ago," Leng Jie replied, clutching her stomach.

Looking up, she saw that Xuanyuan's face was flushed, and it dawned on her. She'd been in this body for over three months, always pretending to be a man, and her period hadn't come even once. She hadn't paid much attention, but suddenly hearing that it would hurt every month caught her completely off guard. How embarrassing! Was this body's first time? And it really knew how to pick its time! How was she supposed to entertain it in this desolate place?

Seeing Leng Jie's embarrassed face turn red, Xuanyuan knew he had guessed correctly. He quickly lit a fire for her and stood up, saying:

"I'll go find some more firewood." Then he turned and left the cave.

Watching Xuanyuan's retreating figure, Leng Jie muttered, "You're smart to know what's good for you!"

Then she followed him to the cave entrance to make sure he was really far away. Only then did she begin to properly care for the "friend" on her body.

Her biggest regret now was not wearing a cotton-padded coat and trousers because she wanted to look pretty. The only piece of cotton cloth she had on now was the one she used to wrap her chest. Fortunately, it was long enough. Without hesitation, she pulled it off her body for the time being. She also tore a piece of silk from the wide sleeve of her outer garment, tied it around her chest, and now she had another bra.

She finished in less than five minutes. As soon as she stopped, the abdominal pain returned. She had never experienced menstrual cramps before, and she never imagined they would be so excruciating. Her lower back felt like it was about to explode—aching, swollen, and painful all at once. Leng Jie sat down by the fire, trying to warm her abdomen as much as possible.

"Xiao Jie, may I come in?" Xuan Yuan asked at the cave entrance, holding a bundle of tree branches.

Just as Leng Jie was in excruciating pain and feeling extremely agitated, she suddenly heard Xuan Yuan's voice and impatiently replied, "Whatever."

Xuanyuan paused for a moment, then placed the firewood he was holding at the cave entrance. He walked over to Leng Jie, knelt down, and gently asked:

Would you like some water?

Leng Jie, who was squatting on the ground with her knees drawn up, didn't even raise her head and gave a soft "hmm," then fell silent. After a long while, Xuan Yuan spoke in a gentle, sickeningly sweet voice:

"Xiao Jie, you can drink it now."

"It's just pouring cold water, and it takes so long. He's so useless," Leng Jie thought resentfully. She reached out and took the bamboo cup he offered, raising it to her lips. But just as it reached her mouth, Xuan Yuan snatched it away. Leng Jie glared at him and said angrily:

"What are you doing? You're messing with me even when I'm just drinking water!"

"Don't drink so fast, be careful not to burn your tongue. You still have a sore on your tongue!" Xuanyuan said softly.

"Hot?" Leng Jie looked at him, puzzled.

Xuanyuan nodded and said:

"The book says that women shouldn't eat raw or cold food at this time. You probably have abdominal pain because you ate raw food and drank cold water. There's no sugar water here, so you can only drink some hot water. I just boiled this with my internal energy, so drink it slowly."

"Thank you!" Leng Jie felt a warmth in her heart, and her earlier agitation subsided considerably. She sincerely thanked Xuan Yuan. She took the bamboo cup from his hand again, gently blew on it to her lips, took a small sip to test the temperature, and then slowly drank it.

After drinking a cup of hot water, the pain was relieved a lot. But not long after, the pain started again.

Seeing Leng Jie's worried expression, Xuan Yuan's heart clenched. He mustered his courage and asked softly, "May I help you with your blood circulation? The book says that can relieve some of the pain."

"So you had a solution, why didn't you say so sooner?" Leng Jie complained irritably.

"I need to place my palm on the spot that hurts; otherwise, I'm afraid you won't let me treat you," Xuanyuan said truthfully. Thinking of the scene that morning when she bit her tongue, how could he dare to give in so easily!

"This is for treating an illness, okay?! Are we still going to talk about men and women not touching each other?" Leng Jie couldn't help but roll her eyes at him. Not wanting to talk to him, she grabbed his hand and placed it directly on her lower abdomen, urging him with her eyes to hurry up and circulate his energy. Xuan Yuan paused for a moment, then nodded and began to circulate his energy. Leng Jie immediately felt a warm current flow from her lower abdomen to her waist, then throughout her entire body. After about fifteen minutes, Xuan Yuan withdrew his hand.

Leng Jie suddenly stood up straight and smiled happily:

"Wow! It really doesn't hurt anymore. Thank you! But, Xuanyuan, how do you know this? Don't you hate women? How come you know more about women than I, a woman myself?"

Xuanyuan's face suddenly turned bright red, then he replied sadly:

"I learned it from the martial arts and medical techniques that my mother left me. My mother's wish was for me to roam the world and live a free and unrestrained life. She made me read all the books in her study no matter what. And I never forget what I've read, so I memorized it."

"Your mother is a remarkable woman," Leng Jie praised sincerely. Then she added, "It's too stuffy in here, let's go for a walk!"

Meanwhile, Duanmu Xingchen and his sister Xingyue, not finding Leng Jie at the designated spot, immediately returned to the cave halfway up the mountain to look for her. They discovered that the clothes she had prepared to change were still intact in their original place. Seeing that the rope at the cave entrance was still there, the two stared at each other in disbelief for a long while. Xingyue exclaimed first:

"Brother! Did Sister Leng really fall down?"

Duanmu Xingchen's expression changed drastically, and he said regretfully, "It's all my fault for not stopping her and letting her act so recklessly."

"Brother, hurry and think of a way to save her! Sister Leng is such a good person, she'll definitely be alright."

"What can we do now? We can only go down with ropes. But weren't all the ropes taken away by the King of England? Making a long rope won't be easy. I wonder how badly they're injured, and whether they can hold on." Duanmu thought for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed:

"I've got it. Let's give them medicine and food first. If they're alright, at least we can wait for the people above to come down and rescue them."

"Yes! Let's go prepare now. It's best to bring plenty, including blankets and clothes. The bigger the items, the easier it will be for them to spot if they don't have anything else to do!"

Bathed in the beautiful sunset, by the misty, cold pool, amidst vibrant flowers and green grass, two elegant, ethereal figures walk side by side, their white robes fluttering in the evening breeze, their long hair flowing. What a dreamlike, enchanting, and divinely beautiful scene!

Suddenly, a colossal object plummeted from the sky, shattering the beautiful scene. With a loud "bang," the object landed on the ice with a dull thud. The two people on the shore were startled by the sudden appearance of the object and simultaneously looked towards the ice. However, the mist on the ice was too thick, making it impossible to see the object clearly from the shore.

Leng Jie and Xuan Yuan exchanged a glance and asked simultaneously:

"Someone else fell?"

"You wait here, I'll go check," Xuanyuan told Leng Jie, before leaping into the icy pool.

Why did she stay? Leng Jie rolled her eyes at Xuan Yuan, then followed him. Landing behind him, she asked, "Who is it?"

"Didn't I tell you not to come over? It's too cold here, aren't you afraid of getting a stomachache?" Xuanyuan said reproachfully.

Leng Jie had already moved in front of him, completely ignoring Xuan Yuan's rebuke, and answered herself:

"Wow! It's not a person, it's a huge burden."

Seeing that Xuan Yuan had picked up the bundle, Leng Jie said anxiously, "Quickly open it and see what's inside! Maybe it's food they airdropped for us?"

"Airdrop food? They don't even know if we're alive or dead, how could she think of airdropping food? How could she even come up with that idea?" Xuan Yuan looked up at Leng Jie and saw her expectant expression. He then opened the bundle as she had instructed. He was stunned. Inside, there were not only food, but also blankets and clothes.

When Leng Jie realized she had guessed correctly, she excitedly snatched the cloth from the stunned Xuan Yuan and repackaged it. She then leaped ashore, eagerly entered the cave, and impatiently opened it to check the contents.

Inside, there was a fine cotton quilt, a set of women's clothing, a set of men's clothing, a lot of dried meat, flatbread, snacks and other dry rations, various medicines for treating injuries, and a letter. The letter was written by Duanmu, saying that Qingfeng and Shiyu were tying a long rope to come down and rescue them, and that they must stay alive and wait for them.

Looking at the huge pile of things they desperately needed, and the letter in her hand, Leng Jie excitedly kissed the letter and exclaimed:

"Duanmu Xingchen, Duanmu Xingyue, I love you both so much!"

Xuanyuan, who had come in with her, was delighted to see her beaming face. He was about to remark on how thoughtful Qingfeng and Shiyu were when he saw Leng Jie kissing the letter in her hand and loudly proclaiming her love for Duanmu Xingchen. His heart sank. Without thinking, he snatched the letter from Leng Jie's hand, quickly glanced at it, and finding nothing ambiguous, handed it back to her, asking:

"Is this Duanmu Xingchen the one you saved in the capital? Is he the young master of the Duanmu family of Cangyuan?"

“Yes, didn’t you want to know who rescued me from Shi Fang? It was him. The sword wounds on my body were also healed by his family’s ancestral sacred medicine. Look, even the scars are barely noticeable now.” As she spoke, Leng Jie rolled up her sleeve to show him.

A smooth, delicate arm, as smooth as jade, suddenly came into Xuan Yuanfeng's view, and his heart began to race involuntarily. His cheeks flushed involuntarily, and he unconsciously turned his head away. Swallowing hard, he said in a trembling voice:

"Put your sleeves down. Don't forget you're a girl now; you can't just expose your arms like that."

Seriously? He didn't even dare look at her arm? I really don't know where he got the courage to talk to her like that this morning? If he knew how she kept him warm last night, what would happen? Would he throw up too? Thinking of him vomiting like crazy, Leng Jie couldn't help but burst into laughter:

"Haha, Emperor Xuanyuan, you might as well just treat me as a man, a brother."

"The person you like is Duanmu Xingchen?" Xuanyuan turned and gazed into her eyes, asking earnestly. "Was that performance on the cliff yesterday not for us, but for him? To avenge his family?"

“Uh! I like all of you.” Leng Jie looked back at him and answered just as seriously, “Because he happens to know the truth! So we cooperated with him. As for who it was for? I haven’t thought about that. Anyway, our goal was to find out the truth. Although it was a deception, didn’t we achieve our goal? The Shangguan father and son are two not simple foxes. Don’t you think he’s not a member of the Dark Division? How does he know about the Dark Division? To be honest, I suspect he might have an even bigger backer.”

"But why do you believe in the Green Robe Sect so much?" Xuanyuan asked, puzzled.

Why? Of course, because they're from the Dark Guard and the Duanmu family! But she definitely wouldn't say that. She had already made her plans. The book about the Dark Guard couldn't fall into anyone else's hands, nor could it be obtained by Xuanyuan. Therefore, she had decided to bring all the Dark Guard members except Shi Yu under her command, establishing an intelligence organization even more powerful than the Dragon Gate. She believed that with her management and the Dark Guard's formidable strength, it wouldn't be long before she could establish her own sphere of influence in this rootless and unfamiliar world. Then, even if she revealed to him that she was a fool, what could he do to her? Of course, she didn't want to be his enemy. On the contrary, she could provide him with intelligence, but it would definitely be for a fee.

"Xiao Jie! What are you thinking about? You seem so happy!" Xuan Yuan asked when he saw Leng Jie staring blankly into a dreamlike state with a smile on her face.

Leng Jie looked up abruptly and saw Xuan Yuan staring at her with interest. She smiled awkwardly and said:

"It's nothing. I just want to travel all over Jinghe, from north to south and from mountain to river, after we get out."

"Are you thinking about what will happen after we get out?" Xuanyuan reminded him, clearly not believing him. "But we were just talking about the Green Robe Sect!"

“My thinking has always been leapfrog; you didn’t just realize that today, did you?” Leng Jie answered confidently.

Xuanyuan shook his head helplessly and sighed, "If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it." After a pause, Xuanyuan pressed on:

"But you just said you love Duanmu Xingchen, how do you explain that?"

Leng Jie pointed to the things scattered on the ground and asked:

"Aren't you moved by these things? Think about it, they are the ones who helped us in our time of need! Shouldn't they deserve our love? Look at Qingfeng and the others, they only knew to go find a rope to get down and see what was happening, but no one thought to throw us food down first. That's why I say these two siblings are the most adorable people. And when people are excited, the best way to vent their emotions is to shout it out loud."

Is that so? Xuanyuan remained silent.

Leng Jie ignored him and began packing her things. Touching the soft cotton quilt, she suddenly remembered the sanitary napkins she needed and turned to Xuan Yuan, saying:

"Could you go and get some more firewood? We'll need a lot for one night."

Xuanyuan nodded and said "Okay!" before turning and leaving.

On the morning of the third day after they fell off the cliff, the two ropes that Shi Yu had requested, each ten centimeters thick and a kilometer long, were all ready. Qingfeng and Shi Yu couldn't wait to have the ropes tied to two ancient pine trees, and then a copper bell was tied to each rope to transmit information.

With everything ready, the two of them took the lead and climbed down the rope.

But as soon as they entered the misty water, they suddenly felt dizzy. Their hands slipped, and they plunged straight into the icy pool. "Bang!" "Bang!" Two loud crashes followed, instantly creating two human-shaped ice holes in the ice!

The two people who were gazing up at the cliff top from the lakeside didn't hesitate and flew into the pool to rescue the people. Xuanyuan pulled the unconscious Qingfeng out of the icy pool in one swift motion. Seeing that Leng Jie couldn't lift Shi Yu's hand no matter what she tried, he quickly placed Qingfeng on the ice, took Shi Yu from Leng Jie's hands, and pulled her out. Then, carrying both of them with one hand each, he leaped ashore. Leng Jie was left staring blankly at his retreating figure. Only after he entered the cave did Leng Jie react and fly after him.

Upon entering the cave, they saw Qingfeng and Shiyu, just like Xuanyuan had been, turned into two ice sculptures. Learning from their previous experience, Leng Jie immediately instructed Xuanyuan to use his internal energy to cure Shiyu's cold poison. She herself helped Qingfeng up and used her internal energy to dispel the cold from him.

But even after the chill dissipated from their bodies, they remained unconscious. This puzzled Leng Jie and Xuan Yuan greatly. Moreover, they had slid down from the rope; how could they have fallen together?

"Xiao Jie, do you think it's because the cold air is poisonous that they fell down together when they met?" Xuan Yuan guessed.

Leng Jie thought about it and agreed with him, but she still couldn't understand: "I think so too. There isn't a single living thing in this valley, it must be related to the environment. But how come we're alright? Are we not human?"

What else could it be but a human? Could it be a ghost? Xuanyuan anxiously pondered, watching Qingfeng and Shiyu's breathing grow weaker and weaker. Suddenly, he drew his sword from his waist with a "whoosh" and slashed at his own wrist. Without even flinching, he placed his wrist into Qingfeng's mouth. Then he fed it to Shiyu in the same way.

Leng Jie stared at his actions in astonishment. Seeing his face turn pale, she immediately spoke up to stop him:

"That's enough! If they keep sucking, you'll bleed out!"

Seeing that he was still sucking on Shi Yu's blood, Leng Jie quickly pulled his wrist over, applied some hemostatic medicine, and bandaged it with a cloth. She kept cursing under her breath.

"Are you out of your mind? You can use my blood! I can save them too."

"I'm fine, nothing's wrong..." Before he could finish speaking, Xuanyuan's entire weight pressed down on Leng Jie, who was bandaging him.

"Hey! What's wrong with you?" Completely unprepared, Leng Jie's legs trembled as he pressed down on her, and she took three steps back before she could support him and slowly put him down on the ground.

Looking at the three unconscious men lying on the ground, Leng Jie was deeply moved by their selfless act of saving their friend. They were all born into privilege, their bodies precious. It reminded her of her comrades-in-arms, who, too, always revealed their true colors in times of danger.

Leng Jie waited for a long time, but they still didn't move. Just as she was about to try her blood to see if it would work, Qingfeng woke up first, followed by Shi Yu. Leng Jie sighed and said:

"You two are finally awake!"

The two opened their eyes to find Leng Jie sitting beside them. Excited, they wanted to hug her tightly. Just then, Xuan Yuan stirred, and Leng Jie got up to look at him. "Bang!" Shi Yu and Qing Feng ended up in a tight embrace…

Leng Jie turned around and chuckled, "Hehe, surviving a disaster is something to celebrate!"