La ville solitaire a fermé

Chapitre 6

"Wow, it's exactly the same! It's practically a carbon copy of me, haha." Bai Qianqian laughed triumphantly. "Next, just stare at it until you're sick of looking at that face!"

Sitting cross-legged facing Flying Eagle, Bai Qianqian stared intently at "Dark's" appearance.

One minute, two minutes… Strange, something seems off. Why do I feel a little panicked as I look at him? My heart seems to be beating faster and faster, and my face is getting hotter and hotter. What's wrong? Am I running a fever? Bai Qianqian tried hard to look away, but found it was futile no matter how hard she tried. Her eyes seemed to be drawn to his gaze. Yes, it was his eyes that were different, completely different from the real An! In those eyes, there was endless tenderness and focus. In those eyes, there was a fiery passion. In those eyes, what kind of pain, helplessness, sorrow, and vicissitudes… those eyes contained so much. For no reason, Bai Qianqian's heart ached. She desperately wanted to comfort him; she didn't want to see such sorrow in his eyes!

So, the body acts before the brain gives the command.

She cupped his face in her hands and pressed her lips to his without hesitation...

Flying Eagle paused for a moment, then tightly embraced the beauty he had longed for, taking the initiative and their lips entwining in a passionate kiss. In the damp dungeon, the air gradually warmed…

Chapter Eighteen: A Confession of Love

What a wonderful feeling! It's like angels are singing in my ear! (Bai Qianqian's close friend, Du Rumei, once told her about her first kiss with her lover. At the time, she laughed at her, saying she was overthinking it.)

Their breathing grew increasingly rapid; Bai Qianqian was completely intoxicated. Suddenly, Feiying pulled away from them, panting heavily, his face filled with regret and pain. "Your subordinate is guilty, please punish me, Master!" After their breathing gradually calmed down, Feiying knelt on one knee before Qianqian.

"W-what happened?" Bai Qianqian never expected this situation. The person she had kissed was actually apologizing and kneeling before her? In the 32nd century, such kisses were commonplace, as ordinary as eating a meal. But this was the Song Dynasty, a country that placed great importance on a woman's chastity. Flying Eagle could only guarantee its master's honor with its death.

"Well, hehe, it's okay, it's just a kiss, don't take it to heart. A kiss won't hurt you. Please don't hurt yourself." Seeing Flying Eagle about to self-destruct, Bai Qianqian hugged him tightly in desperation and rattled off a bunch of things. "You're still my number one bodyguard, why aren't you protecting me anymore?"

"Your subordinate wouldn't dare!" Flying Eagle pulled Bai Qianqian away again, his expression complex. That kiss just now...did she...mistake him for "him"? Was that it? A dull pain shot through his chest. So...he was in pain and forgot to breathe...

"Flying Eagle! What's wrong?" Seeing Flying Eagle's pained expression, Bai Qianqian's heart ached unbearably, and tears streamed down her face. "I don't want to see you like this, I won't allow you to be so sad!" Once again, Bai Qianqian hugged Flying Eagle tightly. Was this feeling love? Bai Qianqian didn't know, but she knew clearly that she wanted to be with him, that she was happy and at peace with him. Because it was him, she was so willful. Only with him did she not wear the mask of humility and politeness; she could bully him however she wanted. Heh, so she had already decided on him at first sight.

"Qianqian!" Seeing her tears, he felt a pang of panic. "I'm sorry. Please don't cry, please don't cry, okay? I'll do anything you want."

"Really?" Qianqian stopped crying, then took off the Flying Eagle's disguise device. She gazed intently at the real Flying Eagle, then said firmly, "I think I've fallen in love with you. Although it might not be deep yet, please don't reject me if you feel the same way. I want things to develop naturally, without caring about others' opinions or being hindered by worldly constraints. Can you do that?"

Eagle was stunned once again. He hadn't disguised himself; she... truly loved him! A surge of overwhelming joy engulfed him. It felt like a dream; he couldn't believe it, even feared it was real. Ha! When had Eagle ever felt fear? But the feeling of having someone he loved was so fulfilling, so warm. His sunshine was so close; she was sent by heaven to save him! He didn't want to miss her; he wanted to protect this warmth forever!

"Yes, I will definitely do it!" Flying Eagle looked at Bai Qianqian with fervent and determined eyes.

"Yes!" The two, now certain of their feelings, embraced tightly. Bai Qianqian sighed contentedly, "I'm so happy!" Feiying, however, suddenly felt a pang of loss. Could he... truly give her happiness? He had once been a cold-blooded assassin, making a living by killing; now, he was a so-called traitor hunted by the Hall of Death. What kind of harm would he inflict on her? He dared not think further. A voice within him roared angrily, "Feiying, do you want to be a coward? Since you promised her, protect her. Protect her with your own life, don't let her suffer even the slightest harm, don't let her be sad or disappointed!" Yes, he couldn't back down. He had just promised her, hadn't he?

The two spent the night in the dungeon, happily embracing each other.

The next morning, when Bai Qianqian woke up, she saw Fei Ying staring at her intently and thoughtfully, his thick eyebrows slightly furrowed.

A sudden, bold idea popped into her head, and she acted on it without hesitation. She quickly kissed him, then was surprised to see a fleeting blush on his face. Good heavens! Flying Eagle actually blushes! So cute, hehe! His face was so close to hers. Bai Qianqian suddenly sat up straight, feeling embarrassed. "Hehe, good morning," she said, her eyes fixed on the ground.

"Good morning, Qianqian," Flying Eagle mimicked her.

"Thank you for redeeming my heart." Flying Eagle looked at Bai Qianqian sincerely.

Yes, he used to keep everyone at arm's length, closing himself off from everyone. Forced to wear a cold mask, he eventually became deceived by it, believing it to be his true self. He never hoped to escape the darkness; life had no real meaning, he lived only to obey his master's commands. Now, facing her, he has removed his mask, willing to reveal his true self.

I hope we can be together forever!

Chapter Nineteen: Thrilling Negotiations

She bribed the dungeon guard and then sent a message to An's spies, saying that she was the palace master of Xiaoyao Palace, possessing secret medical skills. This finally convinced An to agree to negotiate with her face-to-face to resolve their issues. Now, An has the time to summon her for negotiations.

Inside the dungeon, Bai Qianqian reverted to her female attire and even made a special effort to dress herself up. Then, she shamelessly asked the eagle, who was staring intently at her, "Can I now be described as breathtakingly beautiful?"

“You’re stunningly beautiful even without makeup.” Flying Eagle smiled and gently combed her hair.

"Hmph, what's so great about that leader of the Boundless Cliff Sect? Daring to look down on people, I'll utterly humiliate him today!" Bai Qianqian's anger was still burning. (How can a man and a woman be compared?)

"You," Flying Eagle smiled at Qianqian, noticing that she did indeed have a childlike nature. But seeing her charming attire, he couldn't help but feel a little worried, though he didn't know what he was afraid of.

"Let's go. Wait for me to bring news of victory! Don't worry, everything will be fine." Sensing his unease, Qianqian smiled reassuringly. Heh, when did she become so perceptive?

"Okay, go ahead." Flying Eagle gave her a reassuring smile, but the smile vanished the moment she left. Was it just a feeling, or did she think she wouldn't come back...?

After leaving the dungeon, led by several scantily clad and alluring women, Bai Qianqian passed through countless winding paths, pavilions, and towers, then through two gardens and three corridors, finally arriving at the Jue'an Palace where An Suo resided.

The women stopped outside the palace, some with flirtatious smiles, others with jealousy, urging her to go in alone.

Sigh, why not help someone to the end? How could you throw away the virtue of helping others? Bai Qianqian sighed inwardly, "I'll just have to find it myself... I should have told him beforehand that I have no sense of direction. I can't help it, I'm good at everything else, but I have no sense of direction at all."

After wandering around the Jade Dark Palace, Bai Qianqian noticed that the layout of the passageways was all pretty much the same, predominantly black, which she hated. She'd walked quite a bit earlier, and hadn't slept well in the dungeon last night. (Although nestled in the eagle's arms was warm, it couldn't compare to the comfort and relaxation of sleeping in a big bed.) Bai Qianqian's legs were now incredibly sore.

"Let's find a place to rest first and let him wait. It's his fault for not letting anyone bring her in." Having found an excuse for herself, Bai Qianqian pushed open the nearest door and went in with a clear conscience.

"It looks like a living room." Bai Qianqian muttered as she found a chair and sat down. Not long after, a seductive woman emerged from the inner room with a creak, her clothes disheveled.

"Hmm, she looks familiar. Where have I seen her before?" Bai Qianqian looked at her, trying hard to remember. "Oh, it's that beautiful woman from yesterday who wasn't afraid of the cold!" She remembered. Yesterday, after waking up from the cold, she saw her dressed so revealingly and secretly praised her for not being afraid of the cold. She was someone close to him! Then he... should be inside, right?

The alluring woman straightened her clothes, gave her a rather unfriendly once-over, her gaze full of malice. Then, looking at her disdainfully, she said, "The cult leader wouldn't even look at a woman like you. Give up!" With that, she snorted coldly and left.

"Uh, what do you mean? You must have made a mistake?" Bai Qianqian shook her head helplessly. She always thought highly of beautiful women, but this one was a bit strange, so she decided to ignore her.

Even an idiot would know what she had done with him inside after coming out like that, so Bai Qianqian waited outside the door for a while before knocking and going in. She had to give him time to tidy his clothes, Bai Qianqian thought, praising herself for being so thoughtful.

After a cold "Come in," she looked at the scene inside the door in surprise.

He... he wasn't wearing a shirt, and he was leaning against the bed, watching her reaction with a wicked grin.

"Shameless, buying meat, pervert!" After protesting strongly in her heart, Bai Qianqian walked over to a chair far away from him without looking at him.

"Ha! You're quite amusing!" A hint of amusement laced the cold voice. He couldn't deny that he'd been momentarily stunned by her when she pushed open the door. Now, he found it amusing that she was feigning indifference while clearly harboring anger. He suddenly became interested in the woman before him.

She stood up and stepped forward, not bothering to put on any clothes to cover herself, as if it were superfluous; going naked was perfectly normal for her. An walked to a chair next to Bai Qianqian and sat down. After hearing Bai Qianqian's obvious gasp, he looked at her with great interest. "I heard you're skilled in medicine?" An moved closer to Bai Qianqian, a wicked smile playing on his lips as he asked.

"Mm," she replied simply, because she had spent considerable time reprimanding his misconduct. As he moved closer, Bai Qianqian simultaneously moved as far away from him as possible from her chair.

"Would you be willing to help me with your friends?" An moved even closer.

"Hmm." Why are you standing so close? I'm not deaf! Bai Qianqian grumbled inwardly.

"But... I don't see any sincerity on your face?" This time it was even more outrageous, almost touching her ear, breathing hot air into her ear as he spoke, making it ticklish.

Taking advantage of the situation, Bai Qianqian stood up, quickly walked five steps away from him, bowed, and said in an exaggerated manner, "I am very willing to do my best to help you, the leader of the Wuya Sect. I hope you will gladly agree and not dampen my enthusiasm for helping others."

"Hehe!" What amusing words and actions! He couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing. How long had it been since he'd laughed so freely? He couldn't even remember. Perhaps it hadn't been since that incident? He suddenly wanted to keep her here, to keep her in the Boundless Cliff Sect, to keep her by his side.

"Alright, seeing how sincere you are, I'll let you give it a try. But... if you fail, you have to agree to one condition, okay?" An rose and moved closer to Bai Qianqian.

"Okay, no problem. If it doesn't work, you can name your terms." Bai Qianqian was extremely confident in herself.

"Okay, I'll give you three days. If you can't do it, you'll have to stay here." He was so excited by her words that he overlooked a seemingly inappropriate phrase in her statement.

"Three days? Are you kidding me?" If she didn't have high-tech skills, wouldn't she have been trapped by him? Bai Qianqian said with dissatisfaction.

"It's a pity you didn't ask me about the deadline. It's settled then." An, in a rare good mood, finally left her side to get dressed.

"Hmph, we'll see!" Bai Qianqian muttered to herself, said goodbye, and left his Jue An Palace.

Chapter Twenty: A Shocking Encounter with "Du Rumei"

As soon as she stepped out of the Jade Dark Palace, she saw the alluring women who had escorted her to the door and then refused to go in.

"So, they were afraid of disturbing the leader's 'refined enjoyment,' huh? I almost embarrassed myself by bumping into them!" Bai Qianqian was genuinely disliking them. (She was always magnanimous towards beautiful women; the principle of women not making things difficult for each other was her way of life. Besides, their behavior was a result of their environment. If anyone was to blame, it was that guy named An.) "Could any of you beautiful ladies please take me to meet that girl named Xue'er?" Bai Qianqian smiled at the group. Yesterday, she heard him ask Liu Xiao to meet Xue'er; surely she needed her help?

A group of women were busy looking her up and down, gossiping about her. They were mostly talking about her ambiguous relationship with their leader. Seeing that she ignored them and even asked for their help as if nothing was wrong, they were all stunned. Previously, women who had just joined the Wuya Sect, after being allowed to accompany the leader, were all arrogant and intolerant of gossip. This woman before them was truly beyond their comprehension; she was even smiling kindly at them.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, one of them finally reacted. It was a younger woman, whose looks were rather average compared to the other women, but in Bai Qianqian's eyes, she was the cutest. Because she returned the smile and willingly led her to Xue'er's residence.

"Hehe, thank you. That'll be a lot of trouble for you." Bai Qianqian stepped forward and affectionately took her arm.

"No...you're welcome!" The woman was clearly flattered.

On the way to Lianxue Pavilion, where Murong Xue'er resided, Bai Qianqian learned from Lüluo, the woman who had volunteered to escort her, that Murong Xue'er was actually An's younger sister. An was extremely cold towards this sister, not even visiting her after she was poisoned. Although Murong Xue'er was a pharmacist for the Wuya Sect, concocting various poisons and antidotes, she was kind-hearted and often tested medicines on herself to avoid harming animals. Fortunately, her medical skills were superb, and her prescriptions were always remarkably accurate, so she had always remained safe. This accident was entirely due to an outsider's intrusion; as for the specifics, Lüluo didn't know, as she was just an ordinary maid.

Besides learning more about Murong Xue'er, Bai Qianqian also noticed that there were many guards standing guard or patrolling along the way, and sentry posts were set up in various corners. "How could anyone have managed to break in with such tight defenses? Those guards are all incredibly skilled." Bai Qianqian was puzzled; who was so capable?

Finally arriving at Lianxue Pavilion, Bai Qianqian's eyes lit up. The pavilion was surrounded by a sea of flowers, which were in full bloom and filled the air with fragrance that could be smelled from two hundred meters away.

"These flowers are so beautiful!" Bai Qianqian exclaimed sincerely.

"These were all planted at Miss Xue'er's order. The fragrance of these flowers combined is very beneficial to the human body. We usually come here to play around when we have nothing to do. It's just a pity we can't go in; it's the leader's order." Green Luo liked Bai Qianqian's straightforward personality and explained to her.

Upon reaching the entrance of Lianxue Pavilion, since Lüluo was not allowed to enter, they said their goodbyes on the spot. "Thank you, Lüluo!" Bai Qianqian smiled and waved at her.

"Goodbye, Miss Qianqian." Green Luo curtsied to her.

After entering the Love Snow Pavilion, another maid came to escort her to see Murong Xue'er.

The moment Bai Qianqian saw the woman lying on the bed from afar, she exclaimed, "Meizi!" Then she rushed over and leaned against the bedside, anxiously and carefully observing her condition.

"This... this young lady, she is Miss Xue'er, not Meizi," a maidservant explained curiously.

"She, she is Murong Xue'er?" Isn't she her best friend Du Rumei from the 32nd century? But they look exactly alike, even the faint black mole at the corner of their eyes is exactly the same.

"Yes, she is indeed Miss Xue'er," the maid who had changed Ziyan said solemnly. (She greatly admires her mistress; how could she tolerate someone mistaking her for her?)

"How long have you been with her?" Could it be that Meizi also transmigrated here, and is suffering from a strange poison? That's terrible! Although it's unlikely to happen, concern can cloud judgment, so it's understandable.

"I've been with you, Miss, for at least ten years," Ziyan said, her anger beginning to rise.

"Uh, how long has Miss Xue'er been poisoned?" Bai Qianqian noticed that her maid was a little angry, so she quickly changed the subject.

“Miss…Miss has been poisoned for 7 days. If there is no antidote in a few more days, I’m afraid… Waaah…” Ziyan cried worriedly as she spoke.

Oh no, I was so focused on changing the subject that I made the pretty girl cry. What should I do? Bai Qianqian is most afraid of women crying.

"No, don't be sad. I promise, I'll give you a healthy young lady back tomorrow, okay?" Bai Qianqian said as she tried to drag Ziyan out without her noticing.

"Really? You can cure Miss?" Ziyan looked at Bai Qianqian in disbelief.

"I can definitely cure Miss Xue'er, but I need to use my secret medical techniques here, and no one can come in until noon tomorrow. You have to promise me that!" Bai Qianqian said deliberately in a serious tone.

"Okay, I promise no one will bother you before noon tomorrow. As for meals, I'll leave them at the door, is that alright?" Seeing her confident demeanor, Ziyan immediately made a solemn promise.

"Okay, you can leave now. Remember, no one is allowed to come in." Bai Qianqian was about to close the door when she suddenly remembered Liu Xiao. "Wait, where is that renowned healer Liu Xiao?"

"Oh, he's been preparing the antidote since last night and hasn't rested at all." Ziyan was genuinely worried about him.

"Making medicine all night? Could you please go and tell him to rest? Tell him I'll cure Miss Xue'er, and that he should save his energy to date Mei'er." Bai Qianqian finished speaking and closed the door. Oh, finally some peace and quiet.

"Dating?" Ziyan murmured the unfamiliar word strangely outside the door, then left somewhat dazedly.