“Such an insincere gift, I don’t want it,” Bai Xichen said. “Zhiqiu, you stay and entertain Young Master Liuying and the Lord of the Asura Sect. In particular, keep an eye on the Lord of the Asura Sect and don’t let her touch my collection. Miss Xue, could you please come and get me some medicinal herbs?”
"Oh, okay!" Xue Qing followed Bai Xichen eagerly.
Liu Ying took a deep look at the two people's backs, and sat down at Zhi Qiu's invitation.
Bai Xichen went to the warehouse and picked out a few medicinal herbs for Xue Qing to carry. He didn't take many, and they weren't heavy at all. Xue Qing was amazed; how frail was Bai Xichen that he needed her help carrying such small things? After helping Bai Xichen carry the herbs to the room where the alchemy furnace was, Xue Qing asked him, "Is there anything else I can help you with? Just let me know!"
"I have a question for you, and you must tell me the truth," Bai Xichen suddenly said, "Have you practiced some kind of evil divine skill?"
"What the hell?" Xue Qing's surprise was genuine: "Isn't that Yan Ming's unique martial art? How could I possibly practice it!"
“I wanted to tell you this when we were at Qilin Mountain, but I was delayed while I was imprisoned. When I was healing you, I discovered that you have a cool true qi that is completely opposite to the Yi Jin Jing. The only true qi I know that is cool is the Evil Charm Divine Skill,” Bai Xichen said.
"But I really didn't practice it," Xue Qing said honestly. Suddenly, she thought of another possibility: "When Yan Ming suffered a qi deviation, I helped him transfer his qi, which is why I lost all my internal energy. Could it be from that time?"
Bai Xichen grasped Xue Qing's wrist and took her pulse: "It's just a small amount of true energy; it's not impossible that it's leftover."
"No wonder I've been feeling like my face is getting more and more sinister and arrogant lately when I look in the mirror," Xue Qing muttered.
"You're overthinking it. It's just a remnant of true energy, far from being comparable to the profound mysteries of the Evil Charm Divine Art. Not only will it not enhance your internal strength, but it will also be a hidden danger. The Yi Jin Jing you practice is pure Yang internal energy, while the Evil Charm Divine Art is Yin. One is Yin and the other is Yang, one is cold and the other is hot. Your internal organs will be in a state of extreme cold and heat for a long time. That's not a pleasant feeling," Bai Xichen said.
Xue Qing had already experienced that kind of suffering, and it was indeed very unpleasant. She tugged at Bai Xichen's sleeve: "Divine Doctor, save me! Don't let me suffer any more."
Bai Xichen shook his head: "I can heal injuries and poisons, but martial arts and internal energy are not my forte. I will help you look up ancient medical books, but I can't do anything for now."
That's all we can do. It's thanks to this chill that we were able to escape with our lives in the molten pit. It's just that when it flares up, it's really deadly, giving you an urge to die quickly. But once you get through it, it's like nothing ever happened. Fortunately, it hasn't flared up for a long time. Xue Qing suspects that it might have been neutralized by the heat in the molten pit.
Bai Xichen prepared the medicine and gave it to Xue Qing and Liu Ying. Xue Qing felt okay about her changed voice, which was just a change in tone and timbre. However, after hearing Liu Ying's reaction, she laughed so hard that she rolled on the ground. With Liu Ying's current appearance and delicate female voice, she would definitely be pushed down by a perverted old man if she went out.
From appearance to voice to flawless disguise, the disguise was complete. Lei Ji led the two into the Underworld, the place where the male protagonist resided. The novel describes the Underworld quite a bit, and when Xue Qing stepped into it herself, she found it to be darker and more terrifying than she had imagined. The gloom was so intense that even sunlight could not bring a smile to her face. It was as quiet as the afterlife. Many maids stood waiting in the corridor. Xue Qing even wondered if their tongues had been cut out. They were so quiet that they didn't seem like living people, but more like clay dolls.
Lei Ji led the two to an empty room and said, "This empty room is for you to stay in. You can do whatever you want with it afterward. I won't interfere."
"At this point, you still want things to look like they have nothing to do with you?" Liu Ying said, her soft, charming voice making Xue Qing think for a long time before she recognized her as Liu Ying.
Lei Ji smiled charmingly: "Of course, I also need to leave myself a way out."
If Xue Qing and Liu Ying's identities are exposed, Lei Ji might escape unscathed. Bai Xi Chen would be the first to be exposed. What a cunning woman, stirring everything up into a muddy mess while trying to remain an untainted bystander.
Xue Qing and Liu Ying spent most of the day digging hidden compartments in the house to conceal Su Wen and Ling Shu. Now, these two swords had practically become symbols of their status. With everything in order, searching the Underworld was a massive undertaking. It wasn't because the Underworld was vast, but mainly because the two of them were maids. How could they recklessly search everywhere? The two walked slowly down the corridor with calm expressions, making no sound like the other maids, not daring to look around. They could only glance here and there casually, familiarizing themselves with the terrain of the Underworld first.
"All the doors to these rooms look the same, so you can't tell which room is which at all," Xue Qing complained.
“There are people watching everywhere, so it’s not easy to sneak in. We can only act after we have a complete grasp of the target,” Liu Ying said.
The two walked together with graceful steps, with one or two expressionless maids appearing around them from time to time. As they walked, suddenly all the maids around them knelt down.
"What's going on!" Xue Qing looked around in a panic and saw a person walking towards her. The person had a handsome face, a strong body, and a cold expression that made people afraid to approach.
Yan Ming! Xue Qing's heart clenched. It hadn't been long since that day on the molten pit when he laughed as he pushed her into the furnace. Seeing that face again, even though Yan Ming no longer wore that wicked smile, Xue Qing's fingers still went cold. It was a feeling of wanting revenge. After he had treated her like an ant, she wanted to bite him to the bone.
Liu Ying was much calmer than Xue Qing. She pulled Xue Qing down to avoid standing out among the maids on the ground. Liu Ying focused her gaze on the ground, not looking at any part of Yan Ming. His eyes were like a deep pool of water, unfathomable, showing neither hatred nor warmth.
Xue Qing lowered her body, letting her hair fall down to cover her face and hide her wide, uncontrollable eyes. Yan Ming, wearing black cotton boots, stopped beside Xue Qing: "You two, lift your faces up."
The atmosphere was eerily silent. Xue Qing and Liu Ying kept their heads down and waited for a few seconds. When no one moved, they were sure that the person being referred to was themselves. They slowly raised their heads. Even they couldn't recognize themselves because of Lei Ji's disguise. Could it be that they had been found out?
“You’re quite good-looking,” Yan Ming said. “What are your names?”
Unexpectedly, they would meet Yan Ming so soon. Before they could even think of fake names, Xue Qing noticed the bell around Liu Ying's neck in her panic and said in a moment of inspiration, "My name is Da Ling, and his name is Xiao Ling."
"Are you sisters?" Yan Ming asked again.
Xue Qing nodded shyly, inwardly rolling her eyes. What's it to you?
Yan Ming didn't ask any further questions, and his gaze no longer fell on Xue Qing and Liu Ying. It seemed that he had only asked casually and had no interest in the two of them. He said, "Someone come with me to the study to help me move some books."
A study...a mysterious location in period dramas where secret manuals, treasures, and corpses are hidden! Xue Qing has been sneaking around here, hoping to find a place similar to a study. Isn't this a golden opportunity? Xue Qing raises her hand and shouts, "Me! I'll go!"
Her name is A Chou.
Xi'er walked out of Broken Sword Manor, holding a white paper umbrella. Large, vibrant peonies were painted on the umbrella, and fine snowflakes drifted down, blocked by its surface, preventing them from wetting her hair. Suddenly, Xi'er drew a sword from her sleeve and thrust it into the snow-covered grass. Her Tai Chi swordplay was outwardly soft but inwardly strong. In a short while, several corpses lay on the snow-covered ground. Xi'er approached to examine them; they weren't from the Underworld, nor did they seem to belong to any sect from the Central Plains. Regardless of their origin, she disliked anyone watching the every move of Broken Sword Manor. Like a fierce beast, she patrolled her territory daily, eliminating any who dared to approach with ill intentions.
Xi'er threw the rusty iron sword in her hand next to several corpses. Soon, the falling snow would cover everything. Who would have thought that this round-faced and pleasing little maid was a spy sent by Mo Huang? Who would have thought that beneath the calm exterior of the Central Plains martial arts world, there was already a lot of turmoil?
Lei Ji was doing her makeup in her room. The incense burner was still burning with a nauseatingly strong fragrance. She combed her hair with a horn comb from top to bottom, over and over again. Mo Qingshan pushed the door open and then closed it tightly. "I've bought the rouge you wanted," Mo Qingshan said, placing a box of rouge in front of Lei Ji.
Lei Ji opened the rouge, sniffed it closely, and closed the lid with satisfaction: "You never buy the wrong thing for me."
A small gourd hung on the bedpost above Lei Ji's bed. It was something that the people of the Desert Wilderness often gave to children to play with. Mo Qingshan touched the gourd and asked, "You went to all this trouble to let those two people from the Lingyu Sect infiltrate the Underworld. Did you really think they could find the Ling Shu Sword Manual?"
Lei Ji scoffed, "They can find the Ling Shu Sword Manual? How is that possible? Even Yan Ming has never seen that thing."
"You've never even seen Yanming?"
Lei Ji stood up, swaying her hips as she walked to Mo Qingshan's side, leaning against him: "Yan Ming has only heard his master mention it. I don't even know where that sword manual is. How could he possibly know? I was the former domain lord's most beloved woman." Lei Ji emphasized the word "beloved" with particular force.
Mo Qingshan remained elegant, but upon hearing the last sentence, a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, which quickly disappeared. He said, "It seems that fate intends for Yan Ming to become king. It's a pity that the Immortal Physician chose the wrong side. If Yan Ming takes over the Emei Sect, the first thing he will do will be to deal with him."
“I never imagined that someone like him would risk his life for someone else. Could it be that he has fallen in love? No, how could someone like him have feelings? This world is getting more and more interesting,” Lei Ji chuckled happily, and then said, “Speaking of which, I haven’t heard from your little apprentice who was working as a spy at Broken Sword Manor for a long time. Could he have been dragged out and killed?”
“She wasn’t caught, but I think she’ll expose herself,” Mo Qingshan sighed. “I taught her swordsmanship from a young age, and she learned one move at a time. But she mastered this move, ‘Being Troubled by Love,’ without any instruction.”
"Fortunately, I thought she had a good talent and even wanted to pass on the art of disguise to her. Even if I had been willing to teach her, she might not have had the chance to learn it," Lei Ji said reproachfully.
After Mo Qingshan left, Lei Ji leaned against the carved bedpost alone, gently closing her eyes. When Mo Qingshan said that Xi'er was "troubled by love," she wanted to say, "Aren't you the same? Like master, like disciple." But in the end, she couldn't bring herself to say it. Such a clever woman had always pretended not to know about this issue. What good would it do to follow her? She was impure, her hands were covered in blood, her personality was strange, and her future was uncertain. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't be trapped here. If there was any clean spot in her venomous heart, it was guilt—the only guilt she felt towards him.
The wind blew the small gourd hanging on the bedpost, making a sound as it tapped against the bedpost. Lei Ji opened her eyes, reached out and grasped the gourd. This gourd had been hanging there for ten years without being moved. The past had been settling in her mind for a long time, and she thought it had decayed and become blurred, but when she thought of it, it was clear as day. When she married into the Underworld, the Lord of the Underworld was still Yan Ming's master. At that time, his wife had just died, leaving behind only an orphan girl named Xi Huan. After Yan Ming murdered his master and ascended the throne, she, as the Dao Lord of the Asura Path, surrendered without hesitation. The Underworld was like this, not caring about blood ties or methods, but the strong would rule. The little girl who always followed her and called her "Second Mother" was thrown out of the Underworld by her and left in the desert. She was so young then, and there was no doubt that she would be eaten by the wild beasts in the desert.