clergé

Chapitre 37

"I just lightly flicked it..." came the man's dismissive voice.

"How can you be so picky! You picked off a huge chunk of paint, you liar!" The girl was on the verge of tears.

"You call something the size of a needle tip a big piece?! Do you even have a concept of weight...?" The man was furious.

On the earthen slope by the riverbank, someone leisurely brushed aside the lotus leaves covering their face, revealing a beautiful, fair face.

As Jin Buyao listened to the distant arguing, a faint smile appeared on her cheeks.

"This lullaby is quite nice," she mumbled incoherently, ignoring the mud beneath her, and drifted off to sleep soundly.

true and false

On this day, it was time for "The Story Behind the Flaming Needle" again. Pang Wan hummed a little tune and walked briskly towards the study.

Unexpectedly, someone was standing at the door of the study, blocking her way.

"Please wait, young lady." Jin Diluo stood with his hands behind his back, like an iron wall.

"What?" Pang Wan stared at him warily—this man was not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also seemed to have a rather deep mind. She had already labeled him as "not to be underestimated" in her heart.

"My young master is currently entertaining guests. Please come another day, young lady," Jin Diluo said with a polite but distant smile.

Pang Wan paused slightly, then turned her head and gave a sweet smile in return: "Then I'll head back now."

After leaving the study, she did not go back to her room, but instead, when no one was looking, she quietly climbed over the edge of the lotus pond.

If you want to get close to the study without anyone noticing, there's also the option of using water escape techniques.

When she was twelve, Pang Wan was kicked into the river by a southern barbarian and almost drowned. After that, she worked hard to improve her swimming skills and is now almost as good as the "white streak in the waves".

She carefully hid and buried the Flaming Needle, then silently swam across the shore. She tiptoed to the window and lay in ambush, holding her breath.

—He Qinglu is a mechanical enthusiast. Unless something particularly important happens, he will never give up the opportunity to study. Moreover, the person guarding the gate this time is Jin Diluo, the most trusted and mysterious person in the mansion.

She became somewhat curious.

"...Please make another face, young master."

A hoarse, aged voice came from inside the room, sounding like an old man well over seventy.

"Hmph, you think you can just do it like that? You ruined my best work, why should I make another one?"

The somewhat somber reply came from He Qinglu.

"Disfiguring that face was a last resort, so my master specially presented 100,000 taels of silver to express his apologies to you, young master," the old man said apologetically.

Pang Wan instinctively covered her mouth—Ten thousand taels! My God!

"One hundred thousand taels?" He Qinglu's voice seemed to carry a smile, yet it was also exceptionally cold. "Your master really thinks highly of me."

"No, no! A mere 100,000 taels of silver is just an apology. If you, young master, are willing to grant me another favor, my master will reward me with another 100,000 taels of gold." The old man's voice was very humble.

Pang Wan's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Do you think getting a face done is an easy thing?" He Qinglu's voice was clearly tinged with anger. "Especially a face like that!"

"No need to say more, my mind is made up, I won't do it again." He told them to leave.

After a moment of silence, the old man let out two strange laughs and advised, "Young master, you are proud and my master understands. This 100,000 taels of silver will be left here as an apology. Please consider it for a few more days. Hu An will take his leave now and will not disturb you any longer."

Then came the sound of the door closing.

Pang Wan was a little surprised because she hadn't heard any footsteps, which showed that the old man was definitely a master of light-footed kung fu.

The room returned to silence.

With no further need to eavesdrop, Pang Wan cautiously turned and left, completely unaware of the thin, invisible silver thread beneath her feet.

"Ding-a-ling!" The crisp sound of a bell rang out the instant her foot stepped onto the silver line.

How could she forget that He Qinglu was a cunning and ruthless master of mechanisms!

It was too late for regrets. A whooshing sound came from behind, and hidden weapons hurtled towards her. Pang Wan instinctively rolled on the ground to barely dodge them, but in doing so, she blocked even more silver threads. Amidst the clanging sounds, countless plum blossom nails surged from all directions. At the same time, with a loud bang, a black-feathered arrow shot straight towards her cheek. In this life-or-death moment, Pang Wan swung her serpentine whip with her left hand, coiling and pulling to catch the black arrow and throwing it into the lake. At the same time, with her right hand, she removed her outer robe and swept it away, collecting all the plum blossom nails.

This series of actions happened in the blink of an eye.

"Clap clap." Two crisp claps came from behind.

Before Pang Wan could catch her breath, her chest heaving, she turned around and saw He Qinglu leaning against the window, watching her with calm, unwavering amber eyes.

"My mechanism is indeed excellent." Looking at Pang Wan, who was covered in mud, the corners of his mouth turned up into a very beautiful arc.

Pang Wan thought the applause was for his excellent kung fu skills, but he never expected that the applause was only for the traps, and he was left feeling humiliated.

"What are you doing here?" He Qinglu was in a good mood seeing her disheveled and miserable appearance.

"Would you believe me if I said I came here to catch fish to eat?" Caught red-handed eavesdropping, Pang Wan was extremely frustrated.

“I believe you, of course I believe you.” He Qinglu laughed. “If you said you came here sleepwalking, I would believe you too.”

—This guy is blatantly looking down on me! Pang Wan glared at him angrily.

"Come in." For once, He Qinglu didn't immediately get angry with her and turned to walk into the house.

Pang Wan felt uneasy and dared not act rashly.

"Are you going to go back soaking wet and covered in mud?" His voice drifted back again, devoid of any emotion.