clergé

Chapitre 15

While packing, I saw the phoenix robe that the cult leader had given me. Its bright and flamboyant red color was like the most beautiful and finest rose, beautiful yet thorny.

"White lotus, white lotus, I want to be a white lotus!" Pang Wan silently repeated three times in her heart, then painfully folded the phoenix robe and placed it at the bottom of the box.

Looking at the simply dressed girl in the mirror, she wasn't quite a lotus flower, but a small purse would be a more accurate description!

He took his divine steed with him and prepared to go on a picnic with Bai Xiaosheng.

Bai Xiaosheng was usually very busy and didn't visit her often. This outing was because she had heard that there was a Buddhist temple near the capital where fortune-telling was very effective, so she begged Bai Xiaosheng to take her there. Pang Wan rarely made requests, so Bai Xiaosheng agreed.

After waiting in a long line, when it was finally his turn, Pang Wan clasped his hands together and silently prayed, "May God bless me with a good fortune."

To his surprise, he pulled out a bamboo stick and found that the number on it was the worst possible fortune.

The young monk who was distributing the fortune slips looked at the girl whose face had suddenly turned pale, and his eyes filled with pity.

Pang Wan stared longingly at the inscription on the yellow slip of paper. The first thing that caught her eye was four large characters: "Do not ask about marriage."

Don't ask, don't ask, don't ask...

Boom! My mind went blank for a moment, countless thoughts popped up, but were forcibly suppressed.

"Do you want your fortune told?" Bai Xiaosheng leaned over.

"I don't understand, I don't understand." Pang Wan folded up the divination slip and hurriedly stuffed it into his sleeve. "I don't understand."

"Why don't you understand it?" Bai Xiaosheng raised an eyebrow at her. "I asked for a copy and was just about to interpret it."

"You prayed too?" Pang Wan lowered his head and saw that he was holding a piece of yellow paper in his hand, which openly displayed the words "Great Fortune".

"Go ahead and interpret it, I'll wait." Pang Wan was too embarrassed to tell him that she had drawn a bad lot, so she could only force a smile. "The thing I want to ask is, the lot tells me not to ask."

Bai Xiaosheng glanced at the fortune slip in his hand, smiled indifferently, and said, "Then I won't interpret it either."

With a heavy heart, Pang Wan walked down the mountain. Her mind was in turmoil. She thought she should hurry home, find a tinderbox, and burn the fortune slip to avoid bad luck.

"Is the matter you inquired about today, young lady, about marriage?" Halfway there, Bai Xiaosheng suddenly asked from behind.

Pang Wan gave a bitter smile, his expression somber: "But the Bodhisattva specifically told me not to ask."

"Perhaps the time is not right yet?" Bai Xiaosheng led his horse to her side and gently comforted her, "Miss, you don't need to take it too seriously."

Pang Wan thought about Sang Chan's glorious achievements in seducing three male leads, and then looked at her own lonely figure with no male lead interested in her. She couldn't help but sigh: "The person I like will probably never like me in this lifetime."

Bai Xiaosheng paused for a moment, then asked, "What exactly does the young lady like about the Alliance Leader?" His tone was as gentle as a spring breeze.

This simple question actually stumped Pang Wan.

Why do I like Gu Xi Ju? And why do I look forward to Zuo Nan Yi?

In her previous life on the Mary Sue continent, this was a question she didn't even need to consider. A plethora of male leads, each adorned with labels like "stunningly handsome," "peerless in his charm," and "exceptionally talented," flocked to her, leaving her no time to think. The only thing she needed to rack her brains about was choosing a partner type—the wickedly charming type? The refined type? The devilishly handsome type? The "love me and I'll torture you to death" type? As a Mary Sue heroine, she didn't need to think about why she loved; she simply loved, deeply loved—because the male lead was so handsome!

He opened his mouth for a long time but couldn't utter a complete syllable. In the end, Pang Wan had no choice but to make up a story: "I admire the leader's heroic demeanor."

Bai Xiaosheng stumbled as he walked.

Distracted like this, Pang Wan's mood brightened somewhat. She thought, male leads are always coming and going, an endless stream. Even if Sang Chan has already taken all the alliance leaders, palace lords, and princes, there will always be some hidden gems! Besides, even if there aren't any finished products, she can cultivate one herself! For example, rescuing a handsome young man in distress, helping a beggar on the street, or having a chance encounter with a young nobleman experiencing his first love…

As she pondered this, she turned and glanced back at Bai Xiaosheng.

Based on her many years of experience in the world, the man in purple before her was far more handsome than most, but unfortunately, the term "handsome man" didn't quite fit him. Upon closer inspection, he possessed a certain charm, a charm refined by time, not the type of male protagonist popular in Mary Sue novels.

"Already formed, difficult to cultivate"—Pang Wan silently made this eight-character assessment in her mind.

But then she heard Bai Xiaosheng say to her with a serious expression, "That's not right."

Huh? Pang Wan shuddered, thinking that this guy might be so insightful that he could read her mind. Looking closely, she realized that Bai Xiaosheng was looking behind her—about a hundred feet behind her, a cloud of blue smoke was billowing in.

“They are bandits,” Bai Xiaosheng said, frowning.

Smoke billowed ahead, yellow and red flags fluttered, and faint sounds of wailing and the clash of weapons could be heard, suggesting a terrible scene inside.

"Don't panic, young lady. They're robbing someone right now, and it seems they won't be coming anytime soon." Bai Xiaosheng seemed relieved and reached out to take Pang Wan's hand, leading her backward. "We can go to the temple to hide for a while..."

But when Pang Wan heard the word "robbery," a terrifying glint suddenly flashed in her almond-shaped eyes.

"Shameless bandits, how dare you rob innocent people!" With that, she shouted, drew her whip from her waist, and rushed towards the thick smoke of war, without looking back.

The bandit leader, Zhang Lao Er, had been lying in ambush for over half a month. Someone had given him information that a caravan laden with jewels would be passing through the valley in the next few days, so he made thorough preparations early on, occupying the best terrain and blocking off the front and rear exits, determined to kill the group without leaving a single survivor, and then return victorious with gold and silver treasures.

Everything was going according to plan. They surrounded the convoy and attacked down the mountain with overwhelming force. They thought everything was foolproof until a shrew suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Oh, it really was my great-aunt! He didn't even get a good look at her before she whipped him into the ditch, where he couldn't move. The golden whip cracked, and cries of agony filled the air. Seeing his companions being beaten to a pulp and rendered helpless, he closed his eyes and decided to play dead.

Peeking through a narrow crack, I saw that the old lady had put away her whip and headed straight for the only sedan chair in the caravan.

Young man! A handsome young man in distress!

The moment Pang Wan lifted the curtain of the sedan chair, her hands trembled—my handsome young man in distress, your sister has come to rescue you as expected! You must stay inside!

Sure enough, a young master in fine clothes was lying face down in the sedan chair, his face down, and it was hard to tell whether he looked good or not.

Pang Wan felt an unreal sense of "about to get what she wanted," and reached out tremblingly to help the young master up, then tremblingly turned his face back to him.

Okay, now it's true.

That young master had a face that looked even more like a pig's head.

Pang Wan's expression changed drastically, and just as she finally couldn't bear the shock and wanted to get rid of the young master, the pig-headed young master suddenly woke up.