"How can you tell?" Xue Qing couldn't tell. Whether they were desert people or people from the Central Plains, they all had normal human appearances, and it was difficult to judge them based on appearance alone.
"She smelled of millet grass, a plant that is common in the desert but not in the Central Plains."
Xue Qing didn't know what *Gu You Zi* (谷莼子) was, but that wasn't important. Liu Ying was a child Xue Qing had picked up fifteen years ago when she accompanied her master on a campaign in the Desert. Liu Ying was six years old then. Although she was raised and educated in the Central Plains after returning with Xue Qing, she never returned to the Desert. Having lived there for six years, she had some understanding of the Desert. Since Liu Ying said so, Xue Qing believed her. Xue Qing's only connection to the Desert was that wretched Yan Ming. Could she really be one of his subordinates? Among the girls his subordinates of that age, only that master-obsessed girl named An Luo was involved. Was the girl in red before her An Luo?
The girl in red stood protectively in front of Xue Qing's carriage, showing no fear in the face of more than ten burly men. Her red sleeves fluttered, a graceful yet powerful display of strength. She held the upper hand in the fight, the bandits, armed but unable to get close. The girl in red used no weapons, relying instead on palm and leg techniques. She grabbed the tip of the bandit leader's knife and kicked him in the neck, sending him flying three or four meters, collapsing to the ground, unable to rise again.
"Boss! Boss!" The second-in-command threw down his knife and ran to the bandit leader's side.
The henchmen laid down their knives and rushed to surround the bandit leader, weeping and wailing. The bandit leader, a burly man, leaned against his less than 1.5-meter-tall second-in-command, his face pale and his breath faint. Looking at the dozen or so strong men crying their eyes out, Xue Qing felt herself becoming weak and listless. These guys had come to rob them, but it seemed as if Xue Qing had robbed them.
"You bitch, you've got guts," the second-in-command snorted, picking up the bandit leader in a princess carry. "Brothers, let's go!"
More than ten burly men, each armed with their own weapons, ran even faster than they had come. Seeing the robbers flee, the girl in red also tried to run.
"Liu Ying, grab her quickly!" Xue Qing shouted anxiously.
Liu Ying jumped off the carriage and grabbed the red-clad girl's shoulder. The red-clad girl naturally resisted and a fight broke out between them. Liu Ying used her sword sheath to block the red-clad girl's attacks, her eyes fixed on her movements. Xue Qing also carefully observed the girl's martial arts moves. The original novel didn't describe An Luo much, but since An Luo was Yan Ming's disciple, her martial arts naturally followed her master's style. What martial arts did Yan Ming specialize in? Insidious claw techniques. The red-clad girl used palm techniques, which made Xue Qing feel that she was not like An Luo.
Fortunately, Liu Ying's fifteen years of training at the Lingyu Sect were not for nothing. After fighting for more than ten rounds, the girl in red was defeated by Liu Ying. Liu Ying seized an opening and struck the girl in red's pressure points, rendering her unable to move. Liu Ying dragged the girl in red back to the front of the carriage, and Xue Qing jumped off the carriage to face the girl in red.
"Girl, don't be afraid. I just wanted to thank you for saving me several times... and I also wanted to ask who you are?" Xue Qing said to the girl in red.
The girl in red looked at Xue Qing without saying a word.
"Didn't you silence her?" Xue Qing asked Liu Ying. Liu Ying shook her head. Xue Qing coughed twice and said to the girl in red, "Girl, don't blame me for being ungrateful. You know that the world is full of wonders. Some people save others only to put them in a deeper predicament. I don't know if you are one of those people."
"I don't know. My mother never told me that the person who saves you could be a bad person," the girl in red said.
"Mother? Who exactly are you, young lady?"
"My mother told me that I must not reveal my identity to the Lingyu Sect, but she also said that Aunt Xue Qing had been kind to us, so it should be okay to tell Aunt Xue Qing."
What? Aunt? I don't remember Xue Qing having any brothers. She just taught a fake nephew a lesson at the foot of Lingyu Mountain the day before yesterday. Where did this niece come from?
"Wait, young lady, are you saying I'm your aunt?"
"Mother said that you and Father are like siblings, so I should call you Aunt."
Xue Qing wiped the sweat from her face with a handkerchief: "Tell me who your father is first."
"My father's name is Liu Sishu."
As for Liu Sishu, he never actually appears in the original novel, unlike the innkeeper who appears every few chapters. However, he's quite remarkable; his name alone occupies a small portion of the story. He's Xue Qing's third senior brother, said to be handsome, known as the "Flower of Lingyu," and many beautiful girls in the martial world admire him. But he prefers imported goods; he falls in love with a demoness from the desert. Xue Qing's master nearly died of anger several times, imprisoning and forbidding Liu Sishu from being with the demoness. Later, Liu Sishu still ends up with the demoness. Why? This relates to Xue Qing's three great achievements when she was five years old, accompanying her master on a campaign in the desert: first, falling in love at first sight with Yan Ming; second, adopting Liu Ying; and third, scheming to elope with Liu Sishu and the demoness. This was just an old story, but it was brought up as evidence of Xue Qing's collusion with Mo Huang when Xue Qing was imprisoned in the Martial Alliance in the original novel. Therefore, Xue Qing had a deep impression of Liu Sishu.
"Really? Liu Si... no, Third Senior Brother has a child? How can I believe you without proof?"
“My father gave me a jade pendant, which I have always carried with me. I don’t know if my aunt recognizes it.”
Xue Qing was skeptical, but reached into the red-clad girl's bosom and felt around. Sure enough, there was a jade pendant. It looked familiar as soon as she took it out. The jade was made of ordinary green jade, but the craftsmanship was very special. The edges of the pendant had a unique design with a gentle breeze-like quality, which was a special feature of the Lingyu Sect. It was a Lingyu Sect jade pendant. The Lingyu Sect strictly controlled the jade pendants of their own sect. Last time, Xue Qing gave the Firefly Jade Pendant to Bai Xichen as a return gift and was severely reprimanded by Fang Yun. Currently, there is only one jade pendant whose whereabouts are unknown—Liu Sishu took the jade pendant with him when he eloped.
It seemed the girl in red wasn't lying, and Xue Qing also felt there was no benefit in a deserter going to such lengths to disguise herself as her niece and get close to her, so she decided to believe her for the time being.
"Liu Ying, quickly release her pressure points."
Liu Ying obediently released the pressure points from the girl in red, and Xue Qing hugged her tightly: "My dear niece~ Why did you only come to see your aunt now~~ How are your father and mother~~~"
“My father died. He couldn’t adapt to the desert environment. His health had been poor ever since he came to the desert with my mother. Coupled with his guilt towards his sect, his health deteriorated and he died when I was very young,” the girl in red said calmly.
"Uh..." Xue Qing loosened her grip on the girl a little.
“Mother is dead too. She just joined Father not long ago,” the girl in red said.
Xue Qing completely let go of his hand. She only wanted to express her enthusiasm as an aunt, but she didn't expect the topic to be so gloomy.
"Uncle-Master, if we don't get on the road soon, we'll be sleeping on the roadside tonight," Liu Ying reminded her from the side.
"Oh!" Xue Qing snapped out of her daze. "Niece, let's get in the car and talk. By the way, what's your name?"
"Cocoon butterfly, willow cocoon butterfly."
Get water, take a bath, and take off clothes
Firefly drove the carriage ahead, while Cocoon Butterfly and Xue Qing sat inside. Xue Qing asked Cocoon Butterfly many questions, and the answers were generally the same: "I don't know."
After Liu Sishu and the Desert Demoness eloped, they settled in the Desert. After Liu Sishu's death, Cocoon Butterfly's mother raised her alone in a remote mountain valley. She didn't understand the customs of the Central Plains, nor did she care about the meaning of red there. Before her death, her mother told her to come to the Central Plains and join the Lingyu Sect. She stayed overnight in Wuzhen, and that day, Yan Ming killed the flower thief. Xue Qing and Liu Ying were cleaning up the mess at the inn. Cocoon Butterfly learned that they were heroes of the Lingyu Sect, so she followed them.
“Mother said that Father always felt guilty about betraying his sect. He once said that no matter whether the child is a boy or a girl, he should teach them martial arts and do his best to help Lingyu when he is in trouble. Before she died, Mother told me that the atmosphere in the Desert Wilderness has been strange recently. The Lord of the Underworld is very warlike this time. I am afraid there will be a great calamity in the Central Plains. She asked me to protect my aunt.” Cocoon Butterfly told Xue Qing this.
"Don't worry, Liu Ying and I came out to find our second senior brother this time because of the Martial Alliance. If the martial arts world of the Central Plains can unite, Yan Ming will not dare to act rashly," Xue Qing comforted him.
"My aunt's second senior brother is Uncle Tongchou? I heard my father mention it. He said that besides his master, the person he admired most was Uncle Tongchou. Uncle Tongchou had been known as the 'Jade-Faced Swordsman' since he was a teenager. Before my father died, he said that he had three regrets in his life. The first was that he was not able to personally apologize to his master. The second was that he did not see Aunt Xue Qing get married. The third was that he had never won a sword fight with Uncle Tongchou."
If Xue Qing remembered correctly, "jade face" was a term used to describe a handsome person. She already knew that Dong Chou was highly skilled in martial arts, but it turned out he was also a beauty. This trip shouldn't be called a chore, it should be called a cushy one. Xue Qing lifted the curtain and knocked on the wooden planks of the carriage, calling out to Liu Ying: "Liu Ying, tell the horses to run faster. Second Senior Brother must be in urgent need of money. Let's hurry and send it to him."
As Xue Qing lowered the curtain, she saw a lovely smile on Jian Die's face.
"Aunt Xue Qing is indeed very gentle and always thinks of others," Jian Die said with a sweet smile.
Xue Qing's face burned; such a young child already knew how to speak with veiled sarcasm.
Thanks to Liu Ying's efforts, they finally arrived at the town before dark. This town wasn't much larger than the one at the foot of Lingyu Mountain, but it had several times more people. This was mainly because it was near Broken Sword Manor. Who in the martial world wouldn't want a divine weapon? Broken Sword Manor had been forging swords for generations, creating many famous swords renowned throughout the martial world. Possessing a sword from Broken Sword Manor was not only an enhancement of one's strength but also a recognition of one's status in the martial world. However, Broken Sword Manor swords were like Rolls-Royces among cars—want to buy? Really want to buy? No, they weren't for sale!
Because of the large number of visitors to the town, the inn was relatively crowded, and there weren't any three adjacent superior rooms. Xue Qing, who had no martial arts skills, needed to stay next to Liu Ying for safety reasons, so that Liu Ying could rush to her side if Xue Qing screamed. Jian Die stayed in another superior room a few rooms away from the two of them. As an aunt, Xue Qing inevitably had to take care of her niece while traveling, so before seeing their own rooms, Xue Qing and Liu Ying accompanied Jian Die to see hers.
The innkeeper led the three into the room, bowing and asking, "Sir, is this room alright with you?"
Since it was a superior room, the decoration and furnishings were quite satisfactory. After helping Jian Die make the bed, Xue Qing asked her, "In the Central Plains, it's too eye-catching for a girl your age to wear red. Do you have any other colored clothes?"