Chapter 13
Died for the villain for the sixth time (13)
An eerie, deathly silence fell over the atmosphere.
Yu Qi, being straightforward, immediately realized that Chu Jiangli, as the master of Liyue Palace, was not suited for such menial work.
Moreover, after spending so many days together, his impression of Chu Jiangli, apart from the time when the other party broke his heavy sword, was that this person truly deserved to be called the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world, and should be treated like an emperor by everyone around her.
So he thought for a moment and said politely to Chu Jiangli, "Then could I ask the Palace Master to cut a few bamboos? I'll make a raft and use a rope to carry myself, so I can carry the young master on my back while pulling the luggage."
Xiao Han also realized what was happening, then squatted down and rummaged through her suitcase: "Then I'll find a rope."
But as soon as his hand touched the rope, Chu Jiangli said again, "I don't want to cut bamboo either."
Yu Tang glanced at the red-clad man with a serious expression and his hands clenched into tight fists, covered his mouth to suppress his laughter, and covered it up with a cough.
This kid is hilarious.
If you clearly said you didn't want to invest your feelings, then why are you jealous?
Why don't you try raising your favorability rating to the maximum and see what happens?
"Palace Master Chu, you..." Yu Qi was somewhat angry this time, but he couldn't lash out directly.
After all, it was their young master who insisted on going with them, and after leaving Wulian Mountain, they would need Chu Jiangli's help a lot.
Otherwise, he alone wouldn't be able to protect Yutang.
Xiao Han said sensibly, "I'll go chop it."
He had studied martial arts with Yu Qi for several years, so cutting a few bamboo stalks was no problem for him.
But he had only taken two steps when Chu Jiangli drew his sword from his back, scabbard and all, and stood in front of Xiao Han, saying sternly, "You're not allowed to go..."
Yu Tang coughed several times at his unreasonable behavior, but couldn't suppress his laughter.
Yu Qi was truly angry this time. He said, "Palace Master Chu, forgive me for saying this, but haven't you gone a bit too far?"
Chu Jiangli's expression was already quite grim.
He actually knew that his behavior had gone a bit too far.
But he just didn't want anyone else to touch Yu Tang.
He made excuses for himself, saying that it was to protect Yutang for the sake of Yutang's beloved.
But he also knew that Yu Tang's health was indeed very poor.
If someone doesn't carry me, I'm afraid I won't even be able to get out of this forest.
Therefore, the two sides are contradictory and have reached a stalemate.
"Yu Qi, stop talking about him." Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Yu Tang stepped in to defuse the situation, teasing Chu Jiangli, "Haven't you realized yet? A-Li wants to carry me on his back, but he's too embarrassed to say it."
He gestured for Yu Qi to pick up the luggage: "Go get the luggage."
He then looked at Xiaohan: "Xiaohan, you follow your seventh brother and walk ahead. I'll say a few words to Ali and then catch up with you."
Upon hearing this, even the slow-witted Yu Qi and Xiao Han understood.
They always listened to Yu Tang. They exchanged a glance, quickly picked up their things, and slipped away from Chu Jiangli and Yu Tang, walking ahead.
After everyone had gone far away, Yu Tang looked at Chu Jiangli and saw that the man's lips were almost pursed into a thin line.
Whether it was due to the red silk or genuine embarrassment, the tips of her ears were both red.
Once the footsteps were out of sight, Chu Jiangli loosened his clenched fist slightly and followed Yu Tang's breathing to the man.
"I did not mean that."
Yu Tang raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean? You mean you're not what I guessed?"
"You're just being ridiculous by not carrying luggage, not cutting bamboo, and not letting Xiaohan cut bamboo. You don't actually want to carry me, do you?"
Yu Tang's three consecutive questions completely baffled Chu Jiangli.
The man looked visibly flustered, and he retorted, "No..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yu Tang reached out and grabbed Chu Jiangli's robe hem, feigning pitifulness: "Oh dear, I'm in such a sorry state... You won't let Yu Qi carry me, and you won't carry me yourself either. Are you just going to watch me, a sickly person, collapse from exhaustion, coughing up blood and unable to even get up?"
So this is how the dignified Palace Master Chu of the Moonlit Palace treats her savior? This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!
After saying that, he lay down on the big rock, mimicking the system cat's rolling over, and rolled onto his belly: "You, and you said you'd help me fulfill my wish... Wow, you won't even help with this little thing, so stingy... That night you..."
Chu Jiangli covered her mouth with his hand, and Yu Tang's eyes crinkled with laughter.
"Don't talk nonsense, Doctor!" Chu Jiangli didn't expect Yu Tang to say such a thing, and his face was burning hot: "I didn't say I wouldn't carry you. I was just a little slow to react and didn't explain it to you clearly."
When his palm touched her warm lips, Chu Jiangli recoiled as if his hand was on fire, and couldn't help but rub his palm with his fingers.
Then he quickly squatted down in front of Yu Tang, with his back to him: "Come on up, let's try to get to town as soon as possible."
Yu Tang smiled slightly, suddenly realizing the joy that the villains in the previous worlds had had in cheating on him.
But he knew when to stop. Seeing that Chu Jiangli had finally given in, he obediently lay down on him, stretched out his arms and gently wrapped them around the man's neck, and whispered in his ear, "Ali, the width of your back is just right, it's so comfortable to lie on."
Chu Jiangli's body stiffened slightly, and even the base of his neck turned red.
Yu Tang smiled contentedly, then closed her eyes with peace of mind and said, "Alright, stop fooling around. I'm going to take a nap. Remember to wake me up when we get there."
"Hmm..." Chu Jiangli responded softly, and soon he could tell from Yu Tang's breathing that the other person had fallen asleep.
He subtly adjusted his posture, feeling the back of the leg he was holding; it was covered with a very thin layer of muscle, and he could almost feel the bone.
I didn't feel any weight at all when I carried it on my back.
This man is so thin and so weak.
But it was this very man who saved her.
She cured him of the poisonous Gu that afflicted his heart, a feat that can be described as miraculous.
Despite his frail and sickly body, he was neither sad nor despondent, and one could often hear his cheerful laughter.
They would also crack a few harmless jokes during the chat to liven up the atmosphere.
In contrast, Chu Jiangli himself had not laughed from the bottom of his heart for a long time.
The former palace master, disgusted by his eyes, destroyed them with a single sword strike.
They locked him in an ancient tomb for three whole years, keeping him company with lizards, snakes, and insects.
The darkness only ever gave him coldness.
But when he was with Yu Tang, he could feel warmth.
Like a tiny flame igniting in the boundless darkness, it made him want to get closer.
Chu Jiangli followed behind Yu Qi and the others.
The autumn air is crisp and clear, with a cool breeze blowing.
The man's body heat soothed his back, which made him feel happy and his steps became lighter.
That's really... so strange.
Chapter 14
He died for the villain for the sixth time (14)
The dangers of sleeping outdoors in the dead of autumn were vividly demonstrated in Yu Tang, a sickly man.
"Achoo!" After sneezing for the fifth time, Yu Tang wrapped himself in the quilt in the inn, took the porcelain bowl handed to him by Xiao Han, drank the ginger and brown sugar water while it was still hot, and then lay back on the bed, looking sickly, with only his head sticking out and his eyes full of tears.
Having a cold is so awful.
I knew I shouldn't have slept outdoors, no matter how tired I was.
Yu Qi went out to buy dry food, and Xiao Han put away the medicine bowl and left, leaving only Yu Tang and Chu Jiangli in the room.
Seeing that he was standing there with a frown and wouldn't sit down, Yu Tang assumed he was angry and said, "I'm sorry, Ali, my illness has caused you trouble again. You could have returned to Liyue Palace earlier..."
“I’m the one who should apologize.” Chu Jiangli interrupted him, biting her lip before continuing, “I know I should have put a coat on you after you fell asleep. It was my negligence that made you sick.”
"Just focus on getting better, don't worry about me." Chu Jiangli slung his longsword back behind him and said with a stern face, "I'll stand guard outside the door. Call me if you need anything."
After saying that, he left without waiting for Yu Tang to say anything more.
Seeing that Chu Jiangli had left, the system cat scurried out from the corner and said to Yu Tang, "Hey, host, you didn't see how guilty Chu Jiangli felt when he found out you had a fever."
Yu Tang asked him, "Didn't he dislike me? Why are you feeling so guilty?"
The cat jumped onto the bed, snuggled up next to Yu Tang, and shook its head, saying, "I just realized that Chu Jiangli's favorability rating is really a joke."
Yu Tang: "What do you mean?"
From the moment he became jealous, his affection level fluctuated wildly, like an electrocardiogram, reaching a high of sixty and a low of zero.
Now that he sees you're awake, he's back to square one.
The system cat sighed: "In this respect, he's the most bizarre character in all six worlds so far."
Yu Tang sighed helplessly, "Well, in that case, he really took his awkwardness to the extreme."
The town is called Sanshui. It is located on the border of Chen State and is adjacent to two small countries, Miaojiang and Keqi.
Chu Jiangli's Liyue Palace is more than 200 miles away from here. The day he was plotted against was when he met with other evil cults at the Yama Temple outside Sanshui Town. Unexpectedly, he was betrayed by his subordinates and poisoned by the Hehuan Cult.
If Yu Tang hadn't saved him, he probably would have become a plaything for those people.
The people who were chasing him that day saw him jump off the cliff with their own eyes, but they dared not set foot on the dangerous Mist Lotus Mountain. So they lied and said that he was seriously injured and jumped off the cliff to his death. While he was away, they joined forces to attack the Moon Palace.
Therefore, the Moon Palace is now in dire straits.
It's likely that these cults will easily conquer them soon and eventually divide them up.
Because of the great fame of the Moon Palace, these scandalous affairs spread like wildfire even in this remote town.
While a few people were having dinner on the first floor of the inn that evening, they overheard people at the next table talking about this.
One of them said, "I heard that the Moon Palace has been besieged by the four major evil sects for three days and three nights, and they still haven't taken it down."
Isn't it said that once these cults lose their leader, they quickly fall apart?