"Uncle-Master, shall we go back to Lingyu?" Liuying asked.
“Well, we won’t take the official road this time, we’ll take another route,” Xue Qing said. If they took the official road, they would definitely have to stay in Wuzhen. Although several days had passed since they last met the male and female protagonists in Wuzhen, in the original story, Yan Ming took advantage of the opportunity of “detoxification” to enjoy Nangong Luoluo’s body and lingered there for several days. Who knew if they were done yet? Xue Qing was afraid of running into them again, and she didn’t want to end up like a flower thief.
Although Liu Ying didn't know Xue Qing's intentions, out of habit, he would obey whatever Xue Qing said. The territory under the jurisdiction of the Emei Sect was a prosperous area with favorable weather, and the people at the post station were incredibly lazy. They even refused to carry passengers when they heard that Xue Qing was not taking the official road. If this were in modern times, one could call 315 to complain about them, but in ancient times, there was nothing one could do.
Liu Ying said, "Uncle-Master, why don't we buy a carriage and I'll drive it?"
Xue Qing's first thought was, "Can your delicate little hands drive a carriage?" But then she thought, "He's so skilled with a sword, let alone a whip." She replied, "Okay, let's do it that way."
Upon hearing that Xue Qing was leaving, Abbess Dingni repeatedly tried to persuade her to stay. Xue Qing knew that these were just polite words on the surface, and of course she wouldn't be foolish enough to stay. She insisted on leaving, so Abbess Dingni had no choice but to say, "I heard from Xinmei that you've been very interested in medical books lately? There aren't any from the Emei sect, but there are many of these books. If you like any of them, I'll give them to you."
Xue Qing liked the gift. Medical books sold in the market might be pirated, with the meridians and acupoints printed out incorrectly, misleading students. The Emei Sect's unified teaching materials didn't have this problem: "Since you say so, Master, I won't be polite. I'd like a booklet that every new disciple of the Emei Sect will receive after they become an apprentice. I wonder if that would be convenient?"
“That’s easy,” he said, then instructed Tong Xinmei to fetch a copy from the storeroom. He added with some surprise, “You actually know about this booklet? I thought you only studied martial arts, but I didn’t expect you to be so good at intelligence as well.”
Xue Qing gently stroked her teacup, smiling without saying a word. She should be thankful that the novel hadn't been updated in four years, yet she still remembered the plot vividly. It was just a pity that she had transmigrated into the body of a supporting female character. If she had transmigrated into Nangong Luoluo's body, she would be the goddess of this world! Making all men infatuated with her!
The Emei Sect's pamphlets didn't record any secret martial arts techniques; they were just medical tidbits summarized by generations of the Emei Sect. Xue Qing's great-great-great-grandmother had a copy of "Family Doctor," Xue Qing's great-great-grandmother had a copy of "Family Doctor," Xue Qing's great-grandmother had a copy of "Family Doctor," Xue Qing's grandmother had a copy of "Family Doctor," and Xue Qing's mother had a copy of "Family Doctor." Every woman in the Xue family had a copy of "Family Doctor." This was a tradition passed down from their ancestors. In the past, doctors were scarce, and when people wanted to see a doctor, they couldn't find one. If a member of the Xue family had a headache or fever, they would simply look up the book themselves, saving time and effort.
Satisfied with the books they wanted, Xue Qing and Liu Ying bid farewell to the Emei Sect, planning to take a semi-circular route from the southwest back to the Lingyu Sect. Although Xue Qing had plenty of money, she didn't want it to travel too quickly, so she didn't buy a large carriage, only a sturdy little starwood carriage, pulled by a strong little white horse. This journey was quite long, so in addition to preparing enough dry food, Xue Qing also bought two cotton quilts to put in the carriage in case they had to sleep outdoors.
Xue Qing understood why the driver at the post station was unwilling to take them along the back road. The so-called back road was basically winding through the woods. Not to mention that the bumpy road made her butt hurt, that was a minor issue. What was more serious was that they had been traveling for several days without seeing a trace of a town. In ancient times, there was no GPS positioning, and she didn't even know where she was.
Once again, they had nowhere to rest until dark. Liuying stopped the carriage next to a tree, and the two of them would have to spend the night in the woods again. Xue Qing finally couldn't help but ask, "Liuying, are you sure we haven't taken the wrong road?"
“You’re going in the right direction. Look at the stars in the sky,” said Firefly, pointing to the seven brightest stars.
Judging from the direction the Big Dipper pointed, it was indeed correct; she deserved to suffer for insisting on taking the shortcut, and she even dragged Liuying into it. Xue Qing said nothing more. Having eaten dry rations for several days, her tongue was practically numb; to paraphrase Lu Zhishen, her mouth was practically bland. Seeing Liuying pulling steamed buns out of her bundle again, Xue Qing pouted and said, "Stop eating, they're all stale."
"Uncle-Master, what would you like to eat?"
"The forest is so big, there must be wild rabbits and deer. It would be good to catch one and roast it."
"Alright, I'll go look for it. Martial Uncle, you wait for me here." After saying that, Liu Ying picked up her sword and walked into the depths of the forest.
"It's really useful. It says one thing but does another," Xue Qing thought, looking at Liu Ying's back. At the same time, she felt lonely. It felt like she was playing a game with two accounts running simultaneously. It looked like there were two people, but in reality, there was only one soul.
After lighting a campfire with a tinderbox, Xue Qing found a clean rock to sit on. It was already dusk, and above her head, besides the rustling of leaves in the wind, she could hear the sounds of birds returning to their nests. Chirp...chatter... the birdsong circling in the woods reached Xue Qing's ears clearly. There weren't birds in the city, but their sounds were always drowned out by car horns, and Xue Qing's hearing wasn't very good back then because she often listened to MP3s with headphones. The sounds here were like the sounds of nature broadcast on CCTV that morning. Xue Qing closed her eyes and listened quietly. Chirp...chatter... chirp...chatter... Ah, no, there... um... it hurts... no... ah...
Xue Qing's eyes snapped open. Who had played the wrong tape?! How did the sounds of nature turn into R-rated sounds?! Her keen hearing allowed her to hear a woman's soft moans and a man's heavy breathing. She pinched her wrist hard; it stung. She was certain this wasn't a dream. It was terrifying! What was happening in broad daylight?! Curiosity drove Xue Qing to the source of the sounds. Pushing through the dense forest and parting the thick foliage, she saw the entire scene from an adult film playing: a man pinning a woman to the ground on a grass mat, their naked bodies locked together. Xue Qing was stunned! The male and female leads were indeed everywhere. No, that wasn't the point. The point was, Yan Ming and Nangong Luoluo, you two didn't just come all the way from Wuzhen to here?!
Luxury Sword
Xue Qing swore she didn't mean it, but this body's eyesight was just too good, taking in the bright red hickeys on Nangong Luoluo's chest and the beads of sweat soaking Yan Ming's back. Seeing how tired Yan Ming was, like he'd carried loads of rice, Xue Qing was even more convinced that Yan Ming and Nangong Luoluo had come all the way from Wuzhen. It wasn't surprising; these days, male leads are all "N*N times a night" types. Brother Yan Ming, you're very competent.
The people of the desert never let their guard down. Even during sex, Yan Ming remained highly vigilant. The sound of leaves being parted in large swaths clearly indicated that they were not dried by the wind. Yan Ming raised his head, his movements below not stopping, and immediately spotted Xue Qing, their eyes meeting.
Xue Qing never expected that it would be Yan Ming who was having sex in the wild. If it were anyone else, she could just apologize and leave. But with Yan Ming, it was much more troublesome. Given the relationship between this body and Yan Ming, she was now caught in the act. What should she do? Should she run away in tears or run up and angrily confront them? Seeing Yan Ming's serious murderous aura, sure enough... she still wanted to run away.
Nangong Luoluo was unaware that she was being spied on; she couldn't possibly be. Her mind wasn't clear, and she was likely about to lose consciousness. After a more vigorous movement, Yan Ming released the unconscious Nangong Luoluo, grabbed a nearby garment, and gently covered her. He then turned and walked towards Xue Qing. Xue Qing retreated in fear. If she hadn't known she couldn't beat Yan Ming, she would have slapped him across the face. "Officer, this man is a pervert! He's naked!"
Xue Qing took a few steps back, but a tree blocked her way. Yan Ming approached step by step, his face grim: "You've been following me?"
It was such a huge injustice that Xue Qing was on the verge of tears. She clearly just wanted to hide, so how did it become that she was deliberately stalking someone? Snow in June is nothing, it's bound to hail this June.
"No, I... I'm going back to Lingyu, just passing through." This was absolutely Xue Qing's honest opinion; she had never been so honest before.
"You think I'd believe that? Why don't you take the official road back to Lingyu?"
"Even jumping into the Yellow River won't clear my name," the question was too pointed, impossible to answer. In Yan Ming's eyes, Xue Qing's silence meant she was speechless, her weakness exposed. He grabbed Xue Qing's chin and bit down hard on her lips. Xue Qing saw Yan Ming's action and instinctively tried to dodge, but her weak body was no match for Yan Ming's superhuman strength. Her lower lip was bitten, the sharp pain followed by the sweet, metallic taste of blood. Yan Ming then ripped open Xue Qing's collar, revealing the dark butterfly pattern on her chest.
"Remember, you are my plaything. Don't you dare make me angry," Yan Ming said, staring at Xue Qing.
"And what about her?" Xue Qing sneered, pointing at the unconscious Nangong Luoluo. Because of Xue Qing's relationship with Yan Ming, Nangong Luoluo had caused a lot of trouble with Yan Ming, with minor conflicts every two days and major conflicts every three days. Since Yan Ming liked Nangong Luoluo, he should just be with her wholeheartedly. Why did he have to get involved with her, making everyone conflicted and even costing her her life?
"She..." Yan Ming froze, seemingly silent. Damn it, hadn't he realized his feelings for Nangong Luoluo yet? He'd already had sex with her until she was unconscious before even confirming his feelings? Should we praise his powerful male instincts?! As the saying goes, in love, where there's a third party, there's bound to be a scumbag. Yan Ming was that kind of scumbag. Throughout the whole story, he was the most carefree, having sex with the woman he liked every day, and making women he didn't even like fall head over heels for him. But, Brother Yan Ming, your luck isn't good this year. The woman who loved you is dead, the woman who loved you to the point of death is dead!
“She’s different, she…” Yan Ming murmured to himself.
The novel says that Yan Ming has a strong sex drive and many female concubines. It can be seen that Nangong Luoluo is indeed special to him. He only knows how to kill, not how to save people. The only person he has ever saved is Nangong Luoluo.
"You like her." Seeing Yan Ming's puzzled look, Xue Qing couldn't help but tell him that saying "like" was an understatement; to be precise, it was infatuation.
"You like her?" Yan Ming was puzzled for a moment, then suddenly realized: "I want to take her back to the desert."
"Cough cough cough..." Xue Qing almost choked on her own saliva. Just like the original story, Nangong Luoluo was "abducted" back to the Desert by Yan Ming, and they had sex every day. Yan Ming was surrounded by women, but as the Lord of the Underworld, he had six Dao Lords under his command, four of whom were men. Whenever Nangong Luoluo spoke to them or even glanced at them, Yan Ming would jealously have sex with her until she fainted. God, in fact, Nangong Luoluo didn't have much time to stay awake.
Yan Ming ignored Xue Qing's cough or vomit, picked up the clothes scattered on the ground, and began to change with his back to Xue Qing. Xue Qing looked at Yan Ming's pale buttocks and found them particularly eye-catching.
"After I return to the Underworld, I will leave one of my subordinates here. She will contact you at the appropriate time. The situation in the Central Plains martial arts world has been turbulent recently, which is a good opportunity for us to make our mark," Yan Ming said to Xue Qing while changing his clothes.
After Yan Ming returned to the desolate wilderness, the book only described his life with Nangong Luoluo in the underworld, without mentioning the situation in the Central Plains. In other words, Xue Qing's life during that period was a blank, and her fate was uncertain.
Yan Ming gently and slowly lifted Nangong Luoluo from the ground. Despite his usual ruthlessness towards others, he was incredibly caring towards those he loved, just like An Erle. Xue Qing had been deeply captivated by this when reading the novel—a cold and ruthless man who only doted on one woman. So cute, so incredibly cute, if only this man had nothing to do with her.
"Stay here in the desert with peace of mind. Don't worry about things in the Central Plains. Don't rush back," Xue Qing said sincerely.
"I know you're my most capable woman, and you'll take care of everything." Yan Ming freed one hand and placed it on Xue Qing's head, smoothing her bangs. His handsome face paired with the ambiguous gesture made Xue Qing's heart flutter, if there wasn't another woman in his arms.
Xue Qing returned to the campfire spot. Thankfully, Liu Ying hadn't returned yet. Her lip, bitten by Yan Ming, was still bleeding. Xue Qing rummaged through her bag and poured a strong dose of wound medicine onto the wound. Ancient medicine didn't contain hormones, and its effects were quite miraculous. The bleeding stopped, and there was no visible sign of anything amiss, which was good. A little while later, Liu Ying returned with two wild rabbits. After a quick treatment, she set up a rack over the fire to roast them.
"Uncle-Master, it's done." Liu Ying broke off a crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside rabbit leg and handed it to Xue Qing.
Xue Qing took a small bite; it wasn't good. It had no seasoning and tasted completely, but it was still better than a bland, dry steamed bun. She ate the tasteless rabbit leg numbly, then after a few bites, it tasted slightly sweet.
"Uncle-Master, what happened to your mouth?" Liu Ying suddenly asked Xue Qing.
Did you get meat scraps on your hand? Xue Qing reached out and wiped it, only to find that her hand was covered in blood. It was probably because the high temperature of the rabbit leg had caused her newly healed wound to reopen.