Patrón de flores incorrecto

Capítulo 35

Luo Qingcheng slowly turned around: "This is a deity statue of the Shamaha religion."

Ye Xiao smiled and said, "What Mahayana sect?"

"It is a small sect in the Western Regions. It was once very prosperous, but it has declined recently."

"You... also follow the Shamoha religion?"

Luo Qingcheng said calmly, "I have been a follower of the Shamoha religion since birth."

“Those four lotus flowers are very special.” Ye Xiao cautiously probed, trying to peel off another clove of garlic.

“These four lotus flowers symbolize the four original sects within the sect, each with its leader calling himself a Heavenly King. Their intertwining symbolizes the unity of the brothers within the sect. Unfortunately, these four groups have been fighting amongst themselves for many years, and successive leaders have been unable to suppress them... Only the previous leader was an exception. He was highly respected and led the Shimohe Sect to unity and prosperity..." Luo Qingcheng explained to himself.

Ye Xiao listened attentively, feeling that some things had been unveiled, while others remained hazy and unclear.

Luo Qingcheng didn't explain further, but suddenly reached out and pressed Ye Xiao's pressure point again: "This time you have to stay put and don't cause any more trouble..." As he spoke, he casually shoved her behind the statue.

Ye Xiao rolled her eyes in annoyance, thinking, "I can just stay still, why do they keep stuffing me around like a wad of cotton?" Unfortunately, Luo Qingcheng neither saw her eye roll nor had any telepathic connection with her. Lying behind the statue, in the dim light, Ye Xiao could barely see anything and couldn't help but curse Luo Qingcheng in her mind again.

Luo Qingcheng slowly walked to the door, reached out and slapped the wall. With a loud thud, a hidden door opened. A downward stone staircase appeared, and he followed it for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea until he reached a large, dark room. Dim yellow light shone from the walls, and a figure stood coldly a few feet away from Luo Qingcheng by the wall—it was none other than the mysterious person who had stormed off that morning.

"Changed your mind?" the man asked coldly.

"I'm completely under the spell of this seductive charm." Luo Qingcheng's voice was so calm that it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.

"Oh? Congratulations." The man was slightly taken aback, his voice tinged with doubt.

"We've made some progress on what you asked me to find."

"Really?" The man's voice was full of doubt, but his eyes couldn't help but shine brightly.

"Not even a glimpse of his birth date has been made."

The light in the man's eyes burned even hotter, but his voice became even more sinister: "You just want to prove your importance to me, to get me to give you the antidote?"

"Whatever you want." Luo Qingcheng's voice carried a lazy, nonchalant tone, as if he wanted to play hard to get.

The man sneered, "Whether you find that thing or not, you can't die now... You can't die before I get what I deserve... Heh... The strange thing is, you just dodged all my poison eggs, so why are you poisoned now?"

Luo Qingcheng said calmly, "You can't even figure this out? It's a shame to waste those poison eggs..."

The man said, "Oh, so you wanted to keep them for yourself, but you accidentally got poisoned? Heh, do you think a thirty-year-old woman would turn on her child?"

Luo Qingcheng didn't speak, but lazily raised his right index finger. Under the light, his entire hand was slender and smooth, like it was carved from white jade, except for that index finger, which had a faint greenish hue, making it beautiful in a somewhat eerie way.

The man was clearly very surprised: "You're so charming! You're really useless! You don't have even a fraction of your father's style..." But his voice couldn't hide his smugness.

Luo Qingcheng suddenly moved closer, his fingers passing through the man's futilely resisting hands like a ghost, directly grabbing his throat: "Don't mention him again, otherwise..." In a flash, he released the man and retreated to the spot where he had just been standing, seemingly without moving.

The man's face turned deathly pale instantly. He touched his aching throat and said resentfully, "You're too arrogant! You begged me for help and you still act like this!"

Luo Qingcheng didn't say anything more, but simply lazily stretched out a hand...

Ye Xiao lay in the shadows, feeling stifled, when she suddenly heard a sound from the wall. A hand reached out and pulled her out. Then something soft pressed against her lips, a wet little snake slithered into her mouth, and a bitter pill rolled over. Ye Xiao, startled, swallowed the pill with a gulp. Then someone pressed a pressure point on her waist, releasing her pressure points, and she instantly felt a wave of relief wash over her. She cursed, "You stinking bastard!"

Luo Qingcheng closed his eyes, slowly savoring the fragrance lingering on her lips, smacked his lips, and murmured, "Delicious..."

Ye Xiao was furious and rushed over, punching Luo Qingcheng several times. Luo Qingcheng came to his senses, regretting his frivolous behavior, and his face slowly turned red under the mask.

Who knew that Ye Xiao would spit in disgust a few times, and then angrily punch Luo Qingcheng a few times: "Why are you making me eat your saliva? You're a stinky bastard! Your mouth stinks too! And what comes out of your mouth stinks even more!"

Luo Qingcheng's eyes immediately turned green, and his expression suddenly became desolate: "It's the antidote to being utterly seductive..."

Ye Xiao persisted, "Even the antidote won't do! Why can't you just give it to me whole?"

Uncharacteristically, Luo Qingcheng didn't argue with her and explained in a low voice, "There's nothing I can do. He's very suspicious and kept a close eye on the antidote for my seductive nature. He wouldn't leave until he saw me swallow it..."

Ye Xiao's eyes darted around, her mind racing, and she suddenly changed her voice: "He... is that mysterious person? Why did he watch you take the antidote?"

Luo Qingcheng looked at her with affection, his heart aching. He gently reached out and touched her face, chuckled softly behind his mask, and said nothing.

Ye Xiao held her breath, suddenly grabbed his hand, and looked at it against the light. She saw a slender finger that was glowing green.

“You…” She looked at Luo Qingcheng with some disbelief.

Luo Qingcheng gently patted her fluffy head and casually tugged at her long braid: "The antidote for 'Devilishly Seductive' is extremely rare, and that person only has a few. He would absolutely refuse to treat an outsider who is poisoned. It's alright... he won't let me die, I'll ask him for the antidote again. Even if that doesn't work, I'll just cut off one of my fingers... it's more worthwhile than you cutting off your entire hand."

Ye Xiao immediately looked up and grabbed his sleeve: "Then let's find him quickly!"

Luo Qingcheng responded, but didn't move. He simply said in a low voice, "No rush. I'll take you to Phoenix Town to find Lao San first..."

Ye Xiao looked at him suspiciously, then shook her head firmly: "I'm not going. I want to watch you take the antidote properly..."

Luo Qingcheng sighed, and after a long while said with difficulty, "Let's cut off the index finger. I can't find him. He's always the one who contacts me first. I only know that this place is his hideout. But he's gone, he's left."

Ye Xiao abruptly stepped back, stunned for a moment, then burst into tears: "Why...why did you do this?"

Luo Qingcheng didn't answer, but reached out to wipe away the tears on her cheeks, and said fiercely, "Crying again! You're supposed to be the leader of our Hulongmen! How come you're acting like a coward! Where did your former fierceness go! If I had known you were just like other girls, only knowing how to cry when things happen, I wouldn't have joined Hulongmen!"

Ye Xiao forced back her tears with a sob, then angrily raised her small face: "It's all because you bullied me..."

Luo Qingcheng's heart softened, but his gaze remained sharp. He handed the dagger to Ye Xiao and fiercely raised his index finger: "Xiao Xiao! Show some ruthlessness! Cut this menace in half with one stroke!"

Ye Xiao glanced at the lettuce-like finger, gritted his teeth, shouted, swung his dagger, closed his eyes, and lunged forward with a whoosh.

He unexpectedly missed, tumbled and fell flat on his face, landing face-first in the dirt, covered in mud from head to toe.

Ye Xiao opened her eyes in surprise, not even having time to spit out the mud in her mouth, and just stared blankly at Luo Qingcheng. The latter had already put away the lettuce, his eyes filled with mockery, a half-smile on his face: "I'm a little scared..."

Ye Xiao grinned, looked at her disheveled appearance, and finally couldn't help but smile. She heard Luo Qingcheng's relieved voice: "Xiao Xiao... no matter what happens in the future, face it with a smile... just like today... I love seeing your smile... as bright as the spring sunshine..."

_________________________________________________________

Ye Xiao gradually calmed down and regained some of his composure. "Let's find a doctor first... perhaps there are other ways..."

Luo Qingcheng opened his mouth, but ultimately refused to go against her wishes and nodded gently.

"So alluring to the bone? Are you sure it's really so alluring to the bone?" The skinny doctor stared wide-eyed at the emerald green finger, then suddenly became excited: "Da Bao, Er Mao! Come and see! In all my decades of medical practice, this is the first time I've ever seen a case of someone suffering from the 'So alluring to the bone' affliction of the Miraculous Hand of Yama! Hurry, hurry, hurry..."

"Truly alluring to the bone. I've heard... how to cure it? Uh... I don't know. Perhaps... cutting off this finger would help... but it's hard to say, the poison of the Miraculous Healer isn't something that can be cured so easily!" The fat doctor twisted his sparse beard uncertainly...

"Cut it off! That should save its life, I guess..."

"We'll try anything, even if it's a dead end. We'll cut off this finger."

They visited several clinics, but without much success. Ye Xiao kept encouraging herself not to give up. Finally, they found another one and led Luo Qingcheng inside. It was a small, inconspicuous shop, tucked away in a quiet corner of an alley. The sign above the door read: "Zhang the Divine Doctor's Clinic." A rather young and spirited doctor sat at the entrance, looking up when he saw the two of them.

"...Mr. Zhang, is cutting off this finger the only option?" Ye Xiao forced himself to explain the whole story, a sense of despair creeping into his heart.

The man said, "Oh, my husband is out treating patients and isn't home... I'm just Dr. Zhang's apprentice, I haven't completed my apprenticeship yet... However, I do know that you don't need to cut off your finger..." As he spoke, he took out a small bottle and tossed it over, "Just take this medicine and apply it!"

Ye Xiao was overjoyed: "Applying this medicine will cure the poison?"

The confident little apprentice shouted, "No, if you apply this medicine, your finger will fall off automatically..."

...

As darkness finally fell, the two, exhausted from traveling through almost every town in the surrounding area, disembarked from the carriage and checked into an inn. Ye Xiao buried her head in her arms, too sad to utter a word.

Luo Qingcheng drew his dagger, held up a finger to demonstrate, and felt a pang of sorrow in his heart. Life is but a dream; he had known since childhood the hatred and responsibility he carried, and for twenty years he had diligently practiced martial arts and studied literature without ever slacking off. He always believed that hard work would be rewarded, yet all these years of toil had yielded almost no results. Now, he was about to lose even a finger. He wondered if losing this precious finger would significantly diminish his martial arts skills.

"What... are you thinking?" Ye Xiao looked at Luo Qingcheng guiltily. "It's all my fault... I shouldn't have touched things I didn't know. That's just my problem, I'm too curious..."

Luo Qingcheng felt a warmth in his heart, turned around and smiled gently, "I'm regretting it..."

"Regret...saving me?" Ye Xiao was extremely sad.

"I regret not thinking things through... I should have sacrificed my little finger. The little finger isn't as useful as the index finger." Luo Qingcheng touched Ye Xiao's head. After a busy day, his hair was messy, and his long braid had grown spiky hair, making him look like a centipede.

Ye Xiao comforted him, touched: "Don't worry, Second Brother, I'll make it up to you..."

Luo Qingcheng's eyes lit up: "Compensation? How will we compensate?"

"I will take good care of you and cook delicious food for you every day..."

Luo Qingcheng's eyes grew brighter and gentler, almost dripping with tears, and his smile deepened.

"...Don't worry about not finding a wife, I'll find you a beautiful wife, no less beautiful than Yuan Meiren...I'll also earn lots and lots of money...for you..."

Luo Qingcheng felt a chill in his heart, his bright gaze dimmed, and his voice sounded listless: "Forget it. With your cooking skills, even if I could barely survive the 'Flamboyant Style' (a dish name), I would still be eaten to death by your food."

Ye Xiao immediately and sincerely corrected his mistake: "It's okay. I'll find you a beautiful chef as your wife, someone who can cook excellent dishes..."

Luo Qingcheng's voice grew even colder: "No need, I'm afraid eating too much will ruin my figure." With that, she raised the dagger, her eyes suddenly turning icy. In the end, it was all just wishful thinking on her part. When did she become so indecisive? Hesitation only brought more trouble. Giving up this finger for her was enough to show her conscience. As for the outcome, how could anyone control that?

A difficult struggle for survival

Ye Xiao suddenly snatched the dagger: "Let me do it. I'll be very gentle. I want to remember this scene, remember the kindness you showed me..."

Luo Qingcheng gave a wry smile, not arguing with her. The debt of gratitude… she remained oblivious to what he truly desired, or perhaps she was merely pretending not to know?

He held out that finger, steeling his resolve: "Come on. Don't hesitate. I won't feel pain."

Ye Xiao gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and with another low shout, slashed forward with his eyes closed. A muffled groan came from Luo Qingcheng. Ye Xiao didn't dare open his eyes, but asked fearfully, "Did you cut it off?"

Luo Qingcheng remained silent for a long time. Ye Xiao was somewhat surprised, opened his eyes, and then let out a loud scream. His fingers were still there; the dagger that could cut through iron like mud was actually stuck in Luo Qingcheng's inner thigh.

"W-what happened? Were you scared again?" Ye Xiao was a little confused, not knowing whether it was shame or fear.

Luo Qingcheng looked up in grief and indignation: "When have I ever been afraid? Last time I was just trying to make you laugh... It was clearly your own fault for having bad eyesight and being clumsy; you almost cut my... off..."

Ye Xiao paused for a moment, observed the position of the dagger, understood what he meant, and said awkwardly, "It's okay, it's alright even if it's cut off..."

"What?" Luo Qingcheng looked up in shock. "You really think that? If you cut it off, I won't be able to... pee..." After hesitating for a long time, he finally chose a gentler way of putting it so as not to scare this silly bird.

Ye Xiao continued with a forced laugh: "Well, actually, that looks pretty much like a finger."

Luo Qingcheng glanced at her own slender, long fingers and nearly fainted from anger. They were clearly much different, much thicker and larger than these fingers, but how could she tell her? She couldn't just show them to each other…

When Luo Qingcheng woke up, he was already at Doctor Zhang's clinic. He was still a little groggy at first, but he immediately snapped back to reality upon hearing Ye Xiao's sobs. "Xiao Xiao..."

Ye Xiaofei rushed over and hugged him: "It's all my fault, scold me... I'm so clumsy... I caused you to lose too much blood and faint."

Luo Qingcheng gave a weak "oh," tenderly touched her face, and wiped away her tears: "It's just some blood, I won't die... stop crying!" Ye Xiao let out a howl and hugged him, crying even harder.

Luo Qingcheng patted Ye Xiao, then suddenly noticed a kind-looking old man beside him and remembered something important: "Are you Mr. Zhang? Could you please give me some of your esteemed establishment's miraculous potion? I want to cut off my finger."