She had never thought about marriage before, but after hearing Bai Yuxiao mention it today, it seemed quite nice. Imagining herself sitting in a bridal sedan chair with a red veil covering her face... oh dear, she couldn't think about it anymore! Qin Xiaoyou covered her head with the blanket; thinking about it any longer would make her face burn.
When her dorm mates were laughing and talking about their future marriages after graduation, only Qin Xiaoyou said that if she didn't meet the person she wanted to marry, she'd rather be single for life. Qin Xiaoyou's ideal marriage was probably the kind of relationship Qian Zhongshu described: before meeting that person, you never thought about marriage; after meeting that person, you never regret marrying them. Qin Xiaoyou didn't know if she would regret marrying Bai Yuxiao in the future, but for now, she was already very content to have met someone she felt she could willingly marry.
Chapter 73, Doubt
In the following days, Qin Xiaoyou wondered what Bai Yuxiao and the others were busy with, as they seemed secretive and in a hurry. Sometimes, Qin Xiaoyou could only see Bai Yuxiao briefly before going to bed at night. She wanted to ask them what they were doing, but seeing Bai Yuxiao's exhausted face, with dark circles under his eyes, she decided to wait until he was finished. After all, she had a feeling that what Bai Yuxiao and the others were doing couldn't be explained in a short time.
Although everyone in the house was busy, there were two people who were idle. One of them was Qin Xiaoyou, and the other was Kongkongzi. However, Kongkongzi didn't seem to be dissatisfied with his idleness. He had been seen wandering around the yard for the past two days, seemingly looking for something. In the last two days, Kongkongzi had been unusually chatting with Qin Xiaoyou.
They were supposed to be chatting casually, but in reality, they didn't have much to say. Firstly, Qin Qin was now Qin Xiaoyou, and she had no shared memories with Kongkongzi to talk about; secondly, Kongkongzi always had a blank expression, and it was obvious he wasn't a good conversationalist. So, whenever Kongkongzi tried to chat with Qin Xiaoyou, most of the time it was just the two of them sitting opposite each other drinking tea. Occasionally, they'd exchange a few words like, "The weather's nice today," "This tea tastes good," or "What are we having for lunch today?" That was considered a relatively good conversation.
However, ever since Qin Xiaoyou accidentally let slip about her amnesia during her chat with Kongkongzi that day, she clearly saw Kongkongzi breathe a sigh of relief, and her expression became much more natural when facing her afterwards. The conversation naturally expanded, with Kongkongzi not only asking Qin Xiaoyou what she had done and where she had been since leaving the mountain, but also gossiping about how Qin Xiaoyou met Bai Yuxiao.
Qin Xiaoyou naturally couldn't tell Kongkongzi that she met Bai Yuxiao at Chunfeng Yidu Tower and mistakenly thought he was the top courtesan of the brothel, so she made up a story of a hero saving a beauty to fool him.
Because the plot was improvised, it was full of flaws. Fortunately, Kongkongzi wasn't paying attention to it at the time, so she didn't notice anything amiss.
As they chatted, Qin Xiaoyou sensed something was off. Kong Kongzi kept intentionally or unintentionally steer the conversation toward Bai Yuxiao. On the surface, he seemed to want to know about her relationship with Bai Yuxiao and how close they were. But actually, Qin Xiaoyou wasn't sure if she was being too sensitive or overthinking. She felt that Kong Kongzi wanted to ask something about Bai Yuxiao, but for some reason, he never actually asked.
Because of this suspicion, during dinner that evening, Qin Xiaoyou subtly stepped on Bai Yuxiao's foot under the table, then moved closer to him almost imperceptibly, quickly mouthing "Come to my room tonight." Bai Yuxiao blushed upon seeing this. Qin Xiaoyou was slightly annoyed; why was this person getting the wrong idea again?
When Bai Yuxiao came over that evening, he brought a bottle of wine. Qin Xiaoyou found it amusing; it was rare for this blockhead to know how to create a romantic atmosphere. Unfortunately, she had serious business to discuss that night and wasn't in the mood for "that kind of thing" with him.
Upon entering the room, Qin Xiaoyou was about to speak when Bai Yuxiao gestured for her to shush. After helping her sit down at the table, he poured two cups of wine he had brought. He handed one to Qin Xiaoyou and kept the other for himself, smiling as he said, "This is a fine pear blossom white wine, with a refreshing and crisp taste. How about trying it? I remember you love drinking and want to try all kinds of wine, but alas, your alcohol tolerance isn't very high."
Qin Xiaoyou glared at Bai Yuxiao defiantly: "I call that appreciating wine. Unlike you guys, you just grab a jar and drink it all the time. You get so drunk you don't even know what the wine tastes like."
"Alright, alright, our Xiaoyou isn't a light drinker, she just doesn't like to drink much. She always sips her wine slowly and carefully," Bai Yuxiao said, as if coaxing a child, and even flicked Qin Xiaoyou's nose.
Qin Xiaoyou blushed not only in face but also in ears. She quickly lowered her head and took a large gulp of wine to hide her embarrassment. She drank too fast; after one glass, she hadn't even tasted the wine. She smacked her lips and put down the glass, somewhat embarrassed.
Now that the wine has been drunk, it's time to get down to business. Qin Xiaoyou composed herself and was about to tell Bai Yuxiao about the strange things she had discovered when Bai Yuxiao suddenly picked her up and carried her to the bedside without warning.
Qin Xiaoyou panicked. Things were progressing too fast. Although she and Bai Yuxiao were indeed in love, she hadn't thought about taking it to the next level. Seeing Qin Xiaoyou's flustered expression, Bai Yuxiao leaned down and whispered in her ear, "There's someone outside."
A warm breath brushed against her earlobe, making Qin Xiaoyou's heart itch. After hearing Bai Yuxiao say that they weren't going to do *that*, for some reason, Qin Xiaoyou felt a little disappointed. In that moment of distraction, Bai Yuxiao gently placed her on the bed, then lowered the bed curtains and lay down beside her.
Qin Xiaoyou stiffened, and asked awkwardly, "What...what are you doing?" Hearing the stammering question from the person beside her, Bai Yuxiao blinked, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and said, "What do you think?"
Seeing the amusement in Bai Yuxiao's eyes, Qin Xiaoyou knew he was teasing her. However, remembering Bai Yuxiao's earlier comment about someone outside, she knew who it was without him saying it outright. It seemed they were going to talk about the same thing tonight. After thinking for a moment, Qin Xiaoyou asked, "You have something to tell me?"
Bai Yuxiao propped his head up with his hand and turned to the side, saying, "You go first."
After Qin Xiaoyou hummed in agreement, she began to recount in a low voice Kongkongzi's strange behavior over the past few days, especially his change in attitude after learning of her amnesia and the content of their conversation earlier that day. After listening to Qin Xiaoyou's account, Bai Yuxiao didn't rush to join her in marveling at how Kongkongzi was indeed suspicious; instead, she asked with great curiosity, "So you told him what our relationship is?"
"Why should I tell you!" Qin Xiaoyou said haughtily, refusing to answer. Bai Yuxiao smiled and said confidently, "I know even if you don't tell me." Qin Xiaoyou pouted, "You'd never guess."
"Really?" Bai Yuxiao looked unconvinced. "Alright, let's not talk about that anymore. Let's get to what you wanted to say." Seeing that the two had been chatting idly and it was getting late, Qin Xiaoyou urged them on.
Bai Yuxiao straightened his expression and stared at Qin Xiaoyou before saying out of the blue, "Xiaoyou, you must remember, no matter what happens, I will be by your side."
But Qin Xiaoyou's mind was completely blank right now, and she had no mood to pay attention to Bai Yuxiao's sweet words. She gave a perfunctory reply and urged Bai Yuxiao to get down to business.
In fact, what Bai Yuxiao wanted to say was roughly the same as what Qin Xiaoyou wanted to say: Kongkongzi was suspicious, and she was warning her to be careful. Actually, when Bai Yuxiao took Kongkongzi's pulse after administering the antidote, she had already sensed something was wrong; Kongkongzi's internal energy was very abnormal. Logically, Kongkongzi had practiced martial arts for many years, so his internal energy should be abundant and profound. However, when Bai Yuxiao took his pulse, she found that while Kongkongzi's internal energy was vast, it lacked staying power, suggesting that he had taken the medicine to drastically increase his internal energy in a short period. However, this alone wasn't enough to conclude that Kongkongzi was problematic, so Bai Yuxiao only informed Wenren Qi and Qin Wu. She decided not to tell Qin Xiaoyou until she had a conclusion, after all, Kongkongzi was her master, and she was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle the shock.
Chapter 74, Forging the "Blood Evil Manual"
"Sigh." Qin Xiaoyou sat in the courtyard, and this was already the umpteenth time she had sighed.
"Qin'er, what's wrong? Tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help you." Finally, unable to bear Qin Xiaoyou's constant sighs, Kongkongzi walked over to Qin Xiaoyou and asked.
"Master." Qin Xiaoyou glanced at Kongkongzi with a resentful look. This glance made Kongkongzi's heart skip a beat, and he couldn't help but reach out and touch his face. Could it be that he had given something away?
But after Qin Xiaoyou called out, she turned her head and stared blankly ahead, her eyes vacant, lost in thought. Kongkongzi stroked his beard, moved a stool to sit next to Qin Xiaoyou, and said with a serious face, "Qin'er, is there anything you can't tell your teacher, hmm?"
There's so much I can't tell you," Qin Xiaoyou thought to herself. But her face still wore an expression of deep resentment. "Master, Bai Yuxiao is a bastard!"
"Did he do something to you?" Kong Kongzi was relieved to hear Qin Xiaoyou's words, realizing that it had nothing to do with him.
"He did nothing to me, but he... he said you..." Qin Xiaoyou deliberately stammered, making Kong Kongzi's heart leap into his throat. He quickly grabbed Qin Xiaoyou's shoulders and shook her vigorously. "What did he say about me?"
"Forget it, I won't say anymore, lest you feel upset if you hear it, Master. Anyway, I won't believe anything he says." After saying this nonsensical sentence, Qin Xiaoyou left lightly, leaving Kongkongzi alone in the courtyard, racking his brains about what Bai Yuxiao had told Qin Xiaoyou.
During dinner that evening, Qin Xiaoyou winked triumphantly at Bai Yuxiao, who secretly gave her a thumbs-up. Qin Xiaoyou became even more smug and, for the first time ever, ate two bowls of rice that night.
After dinner, Kongkongzi made an excuse to go for a walk and called Qin Xiaoyou along. After wandering around the woods for a while, Kongkongzi finally got straight to the point and asked, "Qin'er, what exactly did that white jade flute tell you?"
Wow, this guy is really persistent. I said something to him this morning, and he's been agonizing over it all evening. But Qin Xiaoyou still pretended to be troubled: "Anyway, it wasn't anything nice, so you don't have to listen, Master."
Kongkongzi asked knowingly, "Are you afraid I'll get angry and hurt Bai Yuxiao?"
Qin Xiaoyou lowered her head in shame and remained silent. But her action undoubtedly confirmed Kongkongzi's guess. Kongkongzi laughed loudly, "As expected, daughters grow up and leave home. Before she's even married, Qin'er is already thinking about helping her sweetheart. Don't worry, Bai Yuxiao is just a junior. No matter what he says about me, I won't hold it against him."
"Master, are you serious?" Qin Xiaoyou looked up with a surprised expression. Kongkongzi nodded: "Now you can tell me what Bai Yuxiao said about me, right?"
"It's nothing really. Bai Yuxiao just said you don't look like my master," Qin Xiaoyou said, fiddling with the hem of her clothes.
"Doesn't resemble your master? Then what does he think resembles?" A murderous glint flashed in Kong Kongzi's eyes, but unfortunately Qin Xiaoyou kept her head down and didn't see it.
"He said you look like someone impersonating my master." Qin Xiaoyou continued to fidget with the hem of her clothes.
"Qin'er, do you believe him?" Kongkongzi placed his hand on Qin Xiaoyou's shoulder.
"Of course I don't believe it!" Qin Xiaoyou looked up, her face resolute.
Kongkongzi breathed a sigh of relief, smiled and patted her shoulder, saying, "You don't need to pay attention to what Bai Yuxiao said. I think he had ulterior motives for saying that."
"Hidden motives? What motives?" Qin Xiaoyou asked, puzzled.
Kong Kongzi smiled contemptuously: "Isn't it all for the Blood Evil Manual? That's the ultimate martial arts manual that everyone in the martial arts world dreams of."
"The Blood Evil Manual"? A martial arts secret? Qin Xiaoyou inwardly cried out in alarm. This Kongkongzi was indeed an imposter. The real Kongkongzi would know that the "Blood Evil Manual" was actually just a chess manual. Qin Xiaoyou rolled her eyes, trying to think of an excuse to slip away, when Kongkongzi suddenly looked at her and said, "By the way, Qin'er, there are a few parts of my practice that I haven't been able to understand lately. When will you hand over the 'Blood Evil Manual' to me for a look?"
"Huh?" Qin Xiaoyou was stunned. She had never seen anything like the "Blood Evil Manual" before, and she was nowhere to conjure one up for him in a short time. Seeing that Qin Xiaoyou didn't agree, Kongkongzi frowned unhappily: "What? You're not willing to give it to your master even when he asks for it?"
"Of course not. This Blood Evil Manual was originally given to me by my master. How could I not give it to him? It's just that I was being hunted down by various people recently. Bai Yuxiao said he would keep it safe for me. So, Master, don't worry, I'll go ask him tonight to get the Blood Evil Manual back." Qin Xiaoyou rattled off a bunch of nonsense.
Upon hearing this, Kongkongzi frowned even more deeply: "How could you give such an important thing to someone else so easily? Fine, fine, go and ask for it back tonight. If you can't get it back, I'll go myself. If I hurt your sweetheart because I don't know my own strength, don't blame your master for being ruthless."
"Yes, I know, I'll go get it right away." Qin Xiaoyou nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice. After making the promise, she dashed off towards Bai Yuxiao's room.
Bai Yuxiao had been waiting for her for a long time. When she came in, he first looked her up and down to make sure she wasn't injured before asking, "How are you?"
Qin Xiaoyou recounted their conversation from the previous night. After she finished, Bai Yuxiao tapped the table, seemingly lost in thought. Qin Xiaoyou also looked distressed, wondering where she could conjure up a copy of the "Blood Evil Manual" all night long.
"Brother Bai, Xiao You, what's wrong with you two?" It turned out that Wenren Qi and Zui Linglong had come in. Qin Xiao You recounted Kong Kongzi's matter again. However, Wenren Qi and Zui Linglong didn't have any solutions at the moment, and the four of them sat together, all looking worried.
Suddenly, Zui Linglong slammed her hand on the table and exclaimed, "I have a way!"
The three of them looked at her simultaneously: "What's the plan?"
Zui Linglong looked at Qin Xiaoyou mysteriously and said four words: "Nine Yin Manual".
Startled for a moment, Qin Xiaoyou realized what she meant and slammed her hand on the table, "Oh right, how come I didn't think of that?"
Seeing that the two of them were engrossed in speaking in riddles, Wenren Qi and Bai Yuxiao urged them, "What's your plan? Tell us quickly!"
Qin Xiaoyou grinned lewdly: "He wants the Blood Evil Manual, right? We'll just give him the Blood Evil Manual. We'll make up a martial arts manual for him and let him practice it."
Bai Yuxiao sighed: "We did think of this method, but we were worried that if we made it up, he would see through it at a glance and we wouldn't be able to fool him at all."
"That's easy, we'll just write something he can't understand," Zui Linglong said confidently.
"Don't understand?" Wenren Qi looked at Zui Linglong with a puzzled expression.
Zui Linglong shook her head and recited: "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. Only those who follow the Tao of Heaven can achieve great things. The so-called Tao of Heaven can be further divided into..." Zui Linglong pieced together various random phrases from TV dramas she had watched before, resulting in a situation where people were completely confused and did not understand what she was talking about, but it sounded very profound.
After listening to Zui Linglong recite a short passage, Wenren Qi and Bai Yuxiao exchanged a glance, agreeing that the method was feasible. They immediately decided that Wenren Qi and Zui Linglong would forge the manual, while Qin Xiaoyou would be responsible for stalling Kong Kongzi for a while.
Chapter 75, Kidnapping
"Qin'er, how did things go with Bai Yuxiao? Did he agree to return the Blood Evil Manual to you?" Kongkongzi, who had been searching for Qin Xiaoyou all day, asked, barely suppressing his anger.
Qin Xiaoyou shrank back, thinking to herself that this old man was really persistent; she had even hidden in the kitchen, yet he still managed to find her. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Qin Xiaoyou stammered, "He did agree, but he said he would give it to me in a few days."
"A few days? What do you mean by a few days?" Kongkongzi exploded in anger, sweeping all the bowls and chopsticks off the table with a wave of his hand. "I think he clearly doesn't want to return them to you and is just making up an excuse to delay!"
Seeing Kongkongzi's furious state, Qin Xiaoyou tried to sneak away along the wall. After all, her life was more important. But as soon as Qin Xiaoyou reached the door, Kongkongzi spotted her and snorted coldly, "Where are you going?"
"I... I'll go find Bai Yuxiao and ask for the 'Blood Evil Manual'," Qin Xiaoyou said, suddenly having an idea.
"Is that so?" Kong Kongzi's voice was unreadable. Suddenly, Qin Xiaoyou felt a tightness around her neck, and she was lifted up by Kong Kongzi like a chick. Kong Kongzi strode forward, saying as he walked, "To avoid Bai Yuxiao making up some lies to coax you later, I'll go with you to ask for it."
But Bai Yuxiao left the mountain last night, how could they possibly find him? After searching twice without success, Kongkongzi put Qin Xiaoyou down and asked coldly, "Qin'er, shouldn't you give your master an explanation for Bai Yuxiao's whereabouts?"
"Master, I don't know how he suddenly disappeared." Qin Xiaoyou pinched herself hard and said with tears in her eyes.
Kong Kongzi lowered his head and thought for a moment, "I doubt you would do something like this to deceive your master. However, Bai Yuxiao is a cunning man, and I have to be on guard. So, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble my good disciple." As soon as Kong Kongzi finished speaking, Qin Xiaoyou felt her vision go black and collapsed.
"Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong," Qin Xiaoyou slowly woke up to the constant dripping sound, but all she could see was darkness. Panic gripped her; had she been blinded? She hurriedly got up and groped around, touching only slippery, sticky stones—it was utterly disgusting. Qin Xiaoyou slumped to the ground, utterly disoriented. She didn't know where she was, or if Wenren Qi and the others had noticed she was missing.
Meanwhile, Kongkongzi knocked Qin Xiaoyou unconscious and handed her over to his subordinates who had been hiding in the shadows. He then returned to his room as if nothing had happened. That evening, as everyone was waiting for Qin Xiaoyou to return for dinner, without warning, a dart flew towards Wenren Qi. Reaching out to catch it, he noticed a strip of cloth tied to the end of the dart. Upon untying it, Wenren Qi's expression turned more grave than ever before.
Zui Linglong asked with some concern, "What happened?"
Wenren Qi took a deep breath and slowly read the words on the cloth strip: "The person is in my hands. Meet me at Luoyue Spring at noon tomorrow. Bring the 'Blood Evil Manual' with you. If you miss it, just wait to collect the corpse."
"Xiao You has been arrested?" Zui Linglong's face was pale, and Qin Wu and Ren Dong's faces were not much better. Kong Kongzi also looked very surprised.
Wenren Qi nodded. "It seems this person's goal is the Blood Evil Manual."
"But the Blood Evil Manual is on Yu Xiao. How can we save Xiao You?" Qin Wu asked, looking troubled.
“It’s alright. Judging from the timeline, Brother Bai should be back early tomorrow morning,” Wenren Qi said thoughtfully.
"But how do you know he would be willing to use the Blood Evil Manual to save my disciple?" Kong Kongzi asked, his face full of distrust.
"Why wouldn't he be willing? He was originally going out to retrieve the Blood Evil Manual for Xiao You."
"Linglong!" Wenren Qi quickly stopped Zui Linglong when she blurted out the truth. Zui Linglong threw down her chopsticks with a displeased expression and went back to her room. Wenren Qi smiled apologetically at everyone and followed her.
"It seems he couldn't hold back any longer, just as we expected," Wenren Qi said, staring at the flickering lamplight on the table.
“But he acted too quickly. I thought it would take at least two days. Now that Xiaoyou has been taken away so suddenly, I wonder how she is.” Zui Linglong said with a worried expression.
"Don't worry, he captured Xiaoyou for the Blood Evil Manual. He won't do anything until he gets the Blood Evil Manual." Although Wenren Qi said this, he still had a bad feeling in his heart, as if something was going on behind the scenes.