Because she had been applying a thick layer of gold wound medicine worth a hundred taels of silver every day, the wound on Xue Qing's left chest had healed, leaving a scar that was lighter in color than the surrounding skin. Taking advantage of the good weather, Xue Qing went to the town at the foot of the mountain and found a tattoo shop. Because the location was rather inconspicuous, she specified that she wanted a female tattoo artist.
A moment later, the female tattoo artist came out; she was a slightly plump woman: "What kind of design would you like, young lady? A butterfly or a leopard?"
Xue Qing looked at the sample pictures hanging on the shop wall. They were either depictions of monstrous faces and fangs or patterns with explicit implications commonly used by prostitutes. "Here's what I'll do," she said. "I'll draw them out, and you can get a tattoo based on my drawing." Guan Xiaoer asked for paper and a pen and drew a cheeky rabbit.
"Young lady, what is this?" The woman turned the drawing over and over but couldn't figure out what it was.
"Don't pry into the organization's secrets, just get the tattoo," Xue Qing said deliberately with a sinister tone.
The woman immediately shut her mouth, her face turning ashen. She'd assumed the woman was from some assassin organization getting her tattooed and dared not be negligent. She'd even managed to shrug off the exorbitant price she'd initially wanted to overcharge Xue Qing, seeing her well-dressed appearance, and managed to bring it down to cost price. Xue Qing was quite satisfied with the service; the woman was extremely respectful, and the price was very reasonable. After praising her service a few times, she left the tattoo shop, and the woman breathed a sigh of relief as if she'd seen off a plague.
Xue Qing walked back with a radiant smile, only to find a pair of eyes staring at her. Being stared at wasn't a big deal; Xue Qing was often stared at, after all, she was beautiful, so there was nothing she could do (slaps her cheek). But the owner of these eyes was an old monk, and Xue Qing couldn't stay calm. He suddenly embodied both disrespect for elders and a lecherous monk. Such an oddball was truly rare. Why hadn't Buddha struck him down with lightning?
The old monk followed Xue Qing closely, his powerful, deep gaze unsettling her. Xue Qing finally couldn't bear it any longer and suddenly turned to ask the old monk, "Holy Monk, is there something you need?"
The old monk cleared his throat and said, "Benefactor, your forehead is dark, your eyes are dull, your face is pale, you are baring your teeth and your smile is eerie. You are sure to face a bloody disaster!"
"Thank you, Master, I'm going home now," Xue Qing said coldly, turning her head to continue walking. She was sure it was a scam; as a transmigrated woman, she had no reason to be superstitious.
The old monk skipped and hopped after her, calling out beside Xue Qing, "Benefactor! Wait! For just one tael of silver, this old monk will tell you the solution, just one tael! Just one tael!"
Xue Qing, unable to bear it any longer, drew her thick iron sword from her waist and pointed it at the old monk, saying, "Don't follow me anymore. I am the number one assassin on the Blood List, with a thousand lives on my hands. If you follow me any longer, I will make you the thousand and first person to die."
But the old monk wasn't buying it and continued, "Give me one tael of silver, and I will recite the Great Compassion Mantra for you. With the mercy of Buddha, I will save you from the suffering of hell."
Xue Qing was going crazy. This wasn't asking for money; it was clearly debt collection! She ran for her life, trying to shake off the old monk. She vaguely heard him saying something like, "You'll definitely go to hell after you die." Xue Qing suppressed the urge to go back and beat the old monk up. These charlatans are too arrogant these days!
She had left in a good mood, but returned to Dongqi Pavilion in a huff. Seeing Xue Qing's sour expression, the maids whispered among themselves, "Look, Miss Xue seems angry." "Of course she's angry! When the leaders of Emei, Shaolin, and Wudang arrive, the Pavilion Master will merge with Miss Cheng's Xilin Pavilion. Miss Cheng will then be the Vice Pavilion Master, and the two of them will be together day and night. How can Miss Xue be happy?" "Sigh, why can't the Pavilion Master see Miss Xue's good qualities?" "It's truly a case of unrequited love..."
Xiao Guiying and Dong Chou went to the main peak to work with Cheng Ling on rebuilding the Qilin Pavilion. The East Qilin Pavilion was much quieter. While Xue Qing was down the mountain, Bai Xichen and his servant Zhi Qiu ran away, leaving the house and kitchen empty. They definitely ran away. Xue Qing understood that, given Bai Xichen's status, facing the leaders of the three pillars of the Central Plains at the same time was indeed a lot of pressure.
However, Liu Ying's medicine needs to be changed every six hours. How can Bai Xichen change Liu Ying's medicine now that he's run away? Xue Qing returned to her room dejectedly and found several paper packets on the table, with a letter underneath. She opened the letter and read: "I have to leave without saying goodbye because of an urgent matter at home. I hope you will forgive me, Miss Xue. I have prepared those medicine packets. Just apply them to Young Master Liu Ying. Also, I didn't have enough money for the journey, so I took a few pairs of earrings from your jewelry box for travel expenses. Please forgive me."
Xue Qing opened the jewelry box and found that several pairs of earrings were missing. Oh well, they didn't have enough money, so she should help them. Bai Xichen didn't seem like someone who was short of money; he probably just kept getting lost and had spent all his money.
"Fang'er!" Xue Qing called Fang'er over and said, "Young Master Bai has left. Go and ask the old doctor to change Liu Ying's dressing."
"The doctor's close friend in town has a granddaughter-in-law who is about to give birth, so the doctor went to help and won't be back until tomorrow," Fang'er replied.
Good heavens, why are we helping with a baby delivery at this time? Who's going to change Liuying's dressings? Of course, we can't let the maid do it; Liuying's private parts can't be seen by outsiders... We'll do it ourselves!
Author's Note: It's time for another side character skit! This time, it's about Cheng Ling's childhood.
At that time, a martial arts gathering was being held at Qilin Mountain. Since it was right in front of his house, Pavilion Master Cheng allowed Cheng Ling to come and take a look. Cheng Ling wasn't interested in the gathering; she just wanted an excuse to get some fresh air. Pavilion Master Cheng was eager for a son to inherit his business and was quite disappointed by Cheng Ling's birth, having no interest in properly raising her. Although Cheng Ling had never lacked a life of luxury since childhood, she was ordered to stay in Xilin Pavilion and live a secluded life, spending her days learning vocal music and needlework, waiting to be sent away to marry when she reached a certain age.
The Martial Arts Gathering, as the name suggests, is a grand event held by the sects of the Central Plains to consolidate their friendship and to demonstrate their strength to each other. This time, Qilin Mountain was chosen as the base, and a huge arena was built on the site of the former Qilin Pavilion. Everyone gathered below the arena to admire the legendary martial arts skills of the heroes.
While her wet nurse wasn't looking, Cheng Ling secretly slipped away and ran to a tree outside the arena, away from the noise, to cool off. Unfortunately, the ribbon in her hair came loose and was blown by the wind onto a branch. The branch was at least twice as tall as Cheng Ling, and no matter how much she jumped around under the tree, she couldn't reach it.
"Whose young lady are you? What are you doing? Are you dancing?" A childish voice came from behind.
Cheng Ling turned around and saw a boy who was about the same age as her. The boy was handsome and his manners were more polite than many adults.
"Who's dancing? Didn't you see my ribbon got caught on the tree?" Cheng Ling said irritably.
"I'll pick it for you." The boy smiled gently, stepping on the tree trunk and jumping up. He was half a head shorter than Cheng Ling, so naturally he couldn't reach it.
"Forget it, it's just a ribbon, don't take it off." Cheng Ling said dejectedly, having no choice but to give up on the ribbon, even though she really liked it.
"No, I promised to pick it for you, so I have to pick it. I'll try a few more times, I'm sure I can pick it." The boy still refused to give up.
"You can pick them yourself. I'm going back now. Dad will definitely scold me if he finds out I've been running around like this," Cheng Ling said, ignoring the boy and running back to the arena.
The fighting on the ring was utterly boring to Cheng Ling, and she soon fell asleep in her nanny's arms. While she was sound asleep, someone woke her up, and when she opened her eyes, she saw the boy from before standing right in front of her.
"I've taken your ribbon." The boy shoved the ribbon into Cheng Ling's hand and ran away.
"Isn't that the young master of Dongqi Pavilion? Miss, quickly throw away the ribbon, be careful it's coated with poison." The nanny said, trying to snatch the ribbon, but Cheng Ling stuffed it into her bosom and wouldn't give it to her.
How could an adult understand the purity in a child's heart? In the years that followed, she heard more about his benevolence, righteousness, and gentlemanly integrity, and her admiration and envy grew even stronger. Living in her father's shadow, Cheng Ling often imagined what it would be like if she were a boy. If she were a boy, she would want to be like Master Xiao.
Strange Abbot
Xue Qing took the medicine into Liu Ying's room. Liu Ying was lying on the bed reading a book. After their eyes met, Xue Qing coughed lightly and said, "It's time to change the medicine."
"Where is Young Master Bai?"
"They ran away."
Where is the doctor?
"He went to deliver the baby."
"..."
The two looked at each other awkwardly. Xue Qing thought that Liu Ying was shy, so she should take the initiative: "Lie down and lift up your clothes."
Liu Ying stared blankly at Xue Qing, motionless. Please, this would only make things more awkward and difficult to make a move. Xue Qing walked to the bedside and pushed Liu Ying down onto the bed. Trying to keep her mind pure and not let her thoughts wander, she moved her hand to Liu Ying's belt, trembling uncontrollably as if touching a sacred object. Xue Qing gritted her teeth, gripping the belt tightly, almost tearing it open. It felt a little strange; this scene usually only happened to womanizers. Without the belt's restraint, the clothes slipped down her sides, revealing part of her abdomen, with three sword wounds near her navel alone.
Xue Qing mustered her courage and tore open her clothes, exposing Liu Ying's entire upper body to her. The sword wound was no longer as horrifying as it had been a few days ago; it had healed into fine marks, and the newly grown flesh was a light pink. Xue Qing felt a pang of heartache when she looked at the wound.
"Uncle-Master..." Liu Ying called out when she saw Xue Qing staring blankly at her injury.
Xue Qing cheered up again: "Don't be afraid, I'll be gentle, I won't hurt you."
First, I used a towel dampened with warm water to clean Liuying's wound. As I gently rubbed the wound along its veins, Liuying suddenly chuckled.
"What's wrong?" Xue Qing asked anxiously.