Nanxing Town (2)

Yan Jue seemed to freeze in place. “Thank you, but there’s no need. I can walk on my own.”

Qi Xianqing looked at her coolly. “You fell like that. You probably can’t walk very fast.”

“When you’re out and about, don’t hold your teammates back.”

Yan Jue looked as if she might cry. Seeing Qi Xianqing come closer, she instinctively backed away. “Really, it’s fine.”

Duan Luxi hesitated, looking as though she wanted to say something but held back. “Oh, Senior Sister…”

Yan Jue was looking to her for help when Duan Luxi clapped her hands. “Of course she can. You know our Senior Sister dotes on her junior brothers and sisters the most, let alone someone as cute as you, Junior Sister.”

Qi Xianqing: “…”

Yan Jue: “…”

You really aren’t Senior Sister’s hater, are you?

Qi Xianqing narrowed her eyes and looked back at Yan Jue.

The girl’s cheeks were flushed from the heat; beads of sweat slid down her fair skin. She was also looking at Qi Xianqing, her amber phoenix eyes bright with light and flickering with fear.

Qi Xianqing crouched in front of her and said impatiently, “Hurry up.”

“…”

Since she’d already staged the fall, there was no backing out now that she’d gone through with it.

A cup of tea later, Yan Jue reluctantly climbed onto Qi Xianqing’s back.

Wine-sick on a long road, all one wants is sleep; the sun climbs high, and a thirsty traveler thinks idly of tea.

Yan Jue’s temples throbbed. She clutched tightly at Qi Xianqing’s neck, only to catch the other woman’s faint fragrance drifting steadily into her nose.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, and her calves pressed tightly around Qi Xianqing’s waist.

Qi Xianqing walked very steadily, neither flushed nor out of breath.

As expected, sword cultivators weren’t human.

Yan Jue was so furious she felt like her lungs might burst. This wicked woman knew perfectly well she didn’t want to touch her, yet she kept teasing her again and again.

“…”

If she didn’t show Qi Xianqing what was what today, then she wouldn’t be surnamed Yan!

After crossing the long main road, the group soon reached a dense forest.

Beyond the woods lay the mission site: Nanxing Town.

The forest was thick, and sunlight filtered through the towering trees, scattering little diamond-bright flecks of light.

Yan Jue lay across Qi Xianqing’s back, staring at the other woman’s fair ear. Her red lips parted, and a long breath slipped out.

That snow-white skin had actually turned a vivid red.

Yan Jue hadn’t expected Qi Xianqing to be so sensitive.

Just a little, and she was already red.

She let out a faint breath and kept blowing toward that ear, watching the blush deepen little by little.

Qi Xianqing suddenly stopped, tilted her head slightly, and asked in a low voice, “What are you doing?”

Right. The famed Lord Meng Heng had been teased the whole way by her without making a sound.

Yan Jue: “Ah? What do you mean, Senior Sister?”

Qi Xianqing was silent for a long moment. Then she adjusted her grip under Yan Jue’s legs and kept walking. Yan Jue could feel her steps growing lighter and faster.

Yan Jue clung tightly to Qi Xianqing’s neck, her grip so strong it could strangle someone, and whined unhappily, “My legs hurt so much, Senior Sister… You’re walking too fast.”

Hearing her complain, Qi Xianqing had no choice but to slow down. “Is this better?”

“…”

At her question, Yan Jue’s heart seemed to tighten.

No matter what, Qi Xianqing really had nothing to say when it came to her junior brothers and sisters.

She had originally thought Qi Xianqing would simply ignore her, but who would have thought she would actually slow down for her?

They walked on through the forest for a while longer.

Yan Jue suddenly heard a buzzing sound ahead.

She lifted her eyes and saw that by the stream in the distance, there was somehow a mosquito… the size of a fist!!!

No, there was a whole swarm!

A cluster of mosquitoes drifted lazily through the air ahead of them. A few were as big as sparrows, their bodies glossy and their veins clearly visible; several had landed by the stream to drink water.

Yan Jue stared in horror and unconsciously tightened her grip on Qi Xianqing’s shoulder.

Well, that made sense. This world had everything. In a forest full of such rich spiritual energy, of course mosquitoes would grow as big as they pleased.

Qi Xianqing’s expression suddenly turned stern. A faint thread of spiritual energy spread outward from her and gradually formed a protective barrier, sealing off the surrounding area completely.

Yan Jue stood there blankly for a moment before belatedly realizing that Qi Xianqing had an Immortal Spirit Physique…

With that special constitution and blood that smelled so sweet, she must have been bitten by mosquitoes plenty in her time.

Hahaha.

Chu Fu had been watching from the side for a while. Seeing Yan Jue draped over Qi Xianqing’s back, every gesture and expression soft and seductive to the bone, he grew increasingly impatient. After holding it in for a long time, he finally coughed lightly and smiled. “Senior Sister, it’s getting dark already. Are we moving a little too slowly?”

Qi Xianqing considered it for a moment. “Go on ahead. No need to wait for me.”

Chu Fu: “That wouldn’t be very good. We’re a team, so of course we should go together.”

Duan Luxi knew Qi Xianqing’s temperament and simply grabbed Chu Fu by the arm. “Let’s go, Junior Brother Chu. I know you want to walk with Senior Sister, but we still need to put the mission first.”

Chu Fu: “…”

Yan Jue: Hahaha.

She couldn’t help laughing to herself. Senior Sister Duan was really straightforward; she dared to say anything.

Chu Fu and Duan Luxi soon moved on ahead.

Qi Xianqing carried Yan Jue quietly at an easy pace. Hearing Yan Jue on her back clinging to her neck so tightly, warm breaths brushing the back of her neck one after another, and her soft, coquettish voice whining, “It hurts, it hurts so much. Senior Sister, walk a little slower—”

Qi Xianqing suddenly stopped. “Your leg should be mostly better by now. Come down and walk yourself.”

As she spoke, she lowered her hand.

Yan Jue nearly fell off and hurriedly hooked an arm around Qi Xianqing’s shoulder.

Tired now, are you? Serves you right for wanting to carry me!

Yan Jue hung on Qi Xianqing like a limpet and couldn’t be shaken off. She said viciously, “It still hurts, Senior Sister… Carry me a little longer.”

Qi Xianqing stopped and asked softly, “Not getting down?”

Yan Jue: “It hurts so much… I can’t walk.”

Qi Xianqing said nothing. Carrying her, she stepped across a shallow stream; then, all of a sudden, she shifted sideways and put a little force into her waist. The next second, Yan Jue was thrown off.

Yan Jue was still talking when, without warning, she flew through the air in an arc and crashed heavily into the grass not far away.

“…”

Qi Xianqing had almost instantly flung her down. Yan Jue had no time to brace herself; though the fall into the grass didn’t hurt, her wrist had still been twisted.

This woman!

The surroundings were quiet, with only the soft sound of the stream flowing in the distance.

Qi Xianqing gave her a cold look, then turned and walked on without another word.

Yan Jue: “…”

She stared at the woman’s cold retreating figure and cursed her inwardly. She was the one who’d chosen to carry her, after all.

And then Yan Jue couldn’t help thinking again about how gentle Qi Xianqing had been with the little fox. Why was she so fierce and cold toward her?

As Qi Xianqing walked farther and farther away, Yan Jue’s heart grew sour, and so did her nose. The forest around her was dense, the wind rustling through the leaves. Thinking of how it would be dark soon, and thinking of the huge mosquitoes she had just seen by the stream, by the time she realized it, she had already started crying.

Yan Jue burst into tears, burying her face in her knees.

Then suddenly, a gust of wind swept past her.

Yan Jue snapped her head up warily and saw that Qi Xianqing had somehow returned to stand in front of her. She slowly crouched down and looked at her with narrowed eyes.

Yan Jue bit her lip, instantly on guard. She clutched at her clothes and stared back. “What are you doing?”

Qi Xianqing crouched beside her and gently lifted the hem of her trousers, taking hold of her slender ankle. “I’m checking your injury to see whether the bone is out of place. If you really can’t walk, then I’ll carry you again.”

The warm fingertips touching her skin sent a wave of tingling itchiness through her, and Yan Jue’s head nearly exploded. “No need! I don’t hurt anymore.”

Yan Jue struggled, but failed to break free.

Qi Xianqing’s expression was very calm; it seemed this dead-straight woman really didn’t think there was anything wrong with this.

The allure of an Immortal Spirit Physique was too much. Caught by Qi Xianqing, Yan Jue had no room to fight back at all.

Yan Jue was so comfortable her fox tail was practically about to pop out; she nearly shrieked, “Senior Sister! I really don’t need it!!”

The girl in front of her had a fair face flushed bright red, and there were still faint tears glistening in her eyes.

Qi Xianqing paused, then suddenly thought of what had happened on the bed that day. Her hand loosened before she even realized it.

Yan Jue’s leg pain had been fake from the start. Anyway, she’d already achieved her goal of keeping Chu Fu from stealing the spotlight, so she immediately stood up and strode ahead.

After all that commotion just now, she discovered a secret.

They had already walked so far, and the moment she cried, Qi Xianqing came back…

Qi Xianqing was very easy to soften.

Yan Jue’s heart was pounding like a drum. Afraid that Qi Xianqing might see through something, she got up and hurried off.

…

When Qi Xianqing reached the front, she saw that the Watercloud Sect disciples, Chu Fu and Duan Luxi, had actually not gone on ahead. They were standing at the edge of the forest waiting for them.

Chu Fu, in his Watercloud Sect outer robe, was sitting on a large rock. His face, lit by sunlight, looked rather carefree, with a striking kind of handsomeness.

Duan Luxi stood beside him, craning her neck to look this way.

The two of them had seen Yan Jue unable to walk just a moment ago, yet now she was moving even faster than Qi Xianqing. They couldn’t help being a little surprised.

Qi Xianqing frowned. “Why didn’t you keep going?”

Duan Luxi said, “Wasn’t it because this little junior brother insisted on waiting for Senior Sister to come?”

Chu Fu had seen that Qi Xianqing and Yan Jue had been delayed in the back for so long, and he was faintly uneasy.

These two women weren’t going to fight because of him, were they?

Actually, Chu Fu only had a little acquaintance with Senior Sister Qi. Their outer-sect disciples usually attended classes in that enormous lecture hall, with a few hundred people packed into one room, and inner-sect disciples would take turns teaching them.

Chu Fu had been lucky enough to have Qi Xianqing teach a few times.

He was naturally quick-witted, and he often went to ask questions after class, so he got to know Qi Xianqing. Then, once after class, he bought some spiritual spring juice and happened to run into Qi Xianqing on her way back to the dormitories, so the two of them walked together for part of the way.

And then, for some reason, the gossip in The Five Dragons Encyclopedia ended up involving him and Senior Sister.

Seeing that the two of them still hadn’t come from behind after quite a while, Chu Fu couldn’t help worrying.

So they had to wait.

Yan Jue could be ignored; she’d be fine after a while anyway. The main thing was to soothe Senior Sister.

Chu Fu stepped forward. “Senior Sister, are you tired from walking? I have a magical artifact called the Hundred-Step Cart. As long as someone sits on it, it can travel hundreds of li. The few of us can ride together.”

Qi Xianqing glanced at him. “We’re almost at Nanxing Town. There’s no need.”

Chu Fu was left speechless and didn’t know what to say.

Qi Xianqing clasped her hands behind her back. Looking rather pleased, she walked lightly on ahead.

-

The group soon arrived in Nanxing Town.

Because the Huang family was also wealthy, they didn’t choose to stay at an inn. Instead, they went straight to their estate.

It was still early. After Yan Jue finished tidying up in the guest room provided by the Huang family, she went into the inner room to look at Huang Niangzi’s condition.

Pushing open the bedroom door, the first thing she saw was a woman sitting with her knees drawn up at the head of the bed, utterly dazed and vacant.

The woman was staring blankly at the ceiling, the corners of her lips slightly upturned in a lovestruck smile. A thread of saliva slipped from the corner of her mouth.

A mass of deathly qi.

Duan Luxi said, “Huang Niangzi? Huang Niangzi?”

Huang Niangzi gave no response. Instead, the smile on her lips grew even brighter, and her fair, scallion-like hands reached out to grab at something in the air.

This was the Huang Niangzi mentioned in the talisman, the one who had been struck by evil spirits.

Huang Laoye’s face was full of worry. “Immortal, my daughter has been in a muddle since a year ago. Recently, this situation… has become more and more serious.”

“What’s even more unsettling is that every night, laughter and chatter appear in my daughter’s room. Yet when the servants go in, there’s only the young miss alone. And as soon as the servants enter, she drives them out. She also lies alone on the bed striking all sorts of strange poses. This old man feels vaguely uneasy and believes it must be some evil thing.”

Aside from Qi Xianqing, the other three were all on their first few tasks and had very little experience.

So they stood behind her and watched how Qi Xianqing handled it.

Chu Fu saw that Yan Jue was listening very seriously and couldn’t help frowning. Quietly, he tugged at Yan Jue’s sleeve. “Did you make things difficult for Senior Sister just now?”

Yan Jue didn’t bother with him. Smiling, she drew her sleeve back and shifted a little to the side without a word.

She really was studying very seriously how Qi Xianqing handled missions. Setting aside this wicked woman’s status as the heroine, Qi Xianqing was simply far more mature than she was when it came to handling this kind of thing.

Yan Jue had originally thought they would just go straight into the room to take a look, but Qi Xianqing remained calm, a gentle smile on her lips, and asked, “Sir, why is the lady of the house not here?”