Chapter 8 Paying the Debt of Love "It won't allow me to be more than ten miles away from you"...

Luo Mansion, East Courtyard.

The doors and windows of the wing rooms were tightly shut, with only the stained glass windows half-open. It was already the second watch of the night, and the courtyard was completely dark. Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao were the only two people left to look after the Luo family's residence in the capital, and in the dead of night, not a single light or candle was on in the vast Luo residence.

The bed curtains in the room were hanging down to the ground. Perhaps because there was no light in the room, the scene inside the room could not be seen clearly.

Suddenly, a golden light flashed at the end of the bed, instantly illuminating the entire room. The light overflowed from the stained glass window, making the courtyard exceptionally bright, as if it were daytime.

Luo Qingling suddenly opened her eyes and jumped straight up from the bed. She saw the Golden Dragon Sword that she had placed at the end of the bed before going to bed was shining. The light was so dazzling that she had to raise her hand to cover her eyes. She reached out with her other hand to pick up the sword and was about to find out what was inside when she suddenly felt a pulling force pulling her out and she almost fell off the bed.

In the middle of the night...what the hell is this Golden Dragon Sword doing?

Luo Qingling tried to extinguish the golden light of the sword, but to no avail. Instead, the pulling force kept pulling her towards the door.

"thump--"

The stained glass window was smashed open by something. Luo Qingling threw down the Golden Dragon Sword and ran forward. She saw a small hole in the window paper and a piece of jade lying quietly on the ground. It was thrown in by someone just now. She picked it up, looked at it carefully in the moonlight, and curled her lips.

Heng.

The calligraphy on the jade is extremely elegant. You can tell at a glance that it was written by Qin Yanheng. The calligraphy is just like the person himself, written as he pleases.

But this young prince is a bit too casual! Luo Qingling clutched the jade stone, as if to vent her anger. Screaming for someone to leave the house in the middle of the night, were she that familiar with him?

The door of the mansion opened from the inside, Luo Qingling strode out of the threshold, stood on the stairs with his hands on his hips and looked around.

There were no lights in the streets, no wind, and no one around. There was no sign of the young prince. Could it be that this piece of jade was forged by someone else?

Just as Luo Qingling was about to turn around and go back home, she saw a figure flash by at the corner of the alley. The young man was wearing a pure white crane cloak, which was particularly eye-catching in the quiet winter night. He walked towards her slowly with a smile on his face, his steps steady, and his wide aqua blue sleeves were faintly revealed from the crane cloak as he moved. Every move of that man was elegant.

What does he want to do?

Luo Qingling stood there, watching him with a wary look on her face. Qin Yanheng stopped a few steps away, his arms folded across his chest, and looked at her with a half-smile—the sword in his hand.

"Madam Luo," Qin Yanheng said with a smile on his face, a hint of impatience in his eyes, and gnashed his teeth at the Golden Dragon Sword. "Do you know that this Golden Dragon Sword not only recognizes you as its master, but also forbids me from being more than ten miles away from you?"

What does this mean?

It was true that the Golden Dragon Sword recognized her as its master, but what was the story behind this forbidding her to stay away...

Perhaps Luo Qingling's expression was too confused, so Qin Yanheng took a deep breath and continued to explain: "In other words, you and I cannot be more than ten miles apart at the moment, otherwise..." He didn't want to say the rest. The dignified Prince Rong'an was not stopped by the patrol when he went out late at night, but was pulled back by a sword. It would be so embarrassing to tell others about it!

Hearing this, Luo Qingling became even more confused.

Why does she have to say this now? Could it be that this person was bored and couldn't sleep at night so he came to bother her? It seems that the golden light just now must have been caused by Qin Yanheng, and he has bad intentions!

"So, Your Highness came to me at midnight just to say this?" Luo Qingling said unhappily. No one would be in a good mood if they were woken up in the middle of the night.

As if sensing Luo Qingling's dissatisfaction, Qin Yanheng suddenly realized that his visit was indeed somewhat offensive. He blinked and walked up the stairs. He stood in front of Luo Qingling and looked down at her slightly. He softened his voice as if accepting his fate, and even deliberately concealed his own name, patiently explaining for her.

"Madam Luo, my master left me a Taoist temple. Inside the temple's library, there's an ancient book that describes a human-shaped pottery figurine. I'm thinking of figurines tonight, so I can solve your aunt's problem by day. Since this Golden Dragon Sword won't let me leave you, will you come with me to the temple and take a look?"

The young man in front of her had stars in his eyes, and his eyebrows were curved when he looked at her. Perhaps because they were a little close, Luo Qingling could even see her own face in his pupils.

Since… since the young prince had said so, it would be quite unreasonable for her to vent her anger on him. Luo Qingling turned her head to look at the ground, her ears slightly red. She stammered, "Uncle Zhao has gone to bed in the mansion, so there's no one to ride the horse right now…"

"It's okay." Qin Yanheng stood up straight, breathed a sigh of relief, and the smile on his face became a little lighter. He stretched out an arm towards her, slightly bent forward and moved closer, smiling and motioning her to put her hand on it.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

Someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder, and in the blink of an eye, she was on the rooftop, the wind whistling in her ears. The winter night was chilly, and the man's arm suddenly tightened. Luo Qingling leaned her face against Qin Yanheng's shoulder, holding her breath to try to suppress the pounding heart in her chest.

Qin Yanheng wasn't much better off. He had never imagined he'd end up doing something so "married" late at night with an unmarried noblewoman. Well, once he'd untied the Golden Dragon Sword, he could go anywhere he wanted. Who could stop him?

There was no moon tonight, only a few lanterns scattered along the street. The flickering candlelight lengthened the two figures.

*

Taoist temple, library.

The attic was filled with books. Luo Qingling felt a headache as she looked at the two-story bookshelf before her. She shook the candlestick in her hand and bent slightly to search for the immortal book that Qin Yanheng had mentioned.

But with so many books, how long will it take them to find them?

Luo Qingling sighed, took two steps back and half leaned against the stained glass window. Not far away, Qin Yanheng was sitting cross-legged on the ground, flipping through an ancient book with his head down. The candlelight beside him flickered, and his face looked unusually gentle. His black hair was half draped over his shoulders. In a daze, she even mistakenly thought that she had broken into the palace of the young prince.

I wonder if Qin Yanheng looked like this when he locked himself in the study for half a month after refusing her portrait... No, no, they are here to look for books!

Luo Qingling suddenly came back to her senses, and the moment her eyes focused, she saw Qin Yanheng had looked up at her at some point. The two of them were looking at each other across the bookshelf. The man's eyes were calm, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"If you are tired, Madam Luo, you can take a rest in the side room of the temple," Qin Yanheng said suddenly, and continued to look for a book, leaving his furry head facing her.

"No need. My aunt's matter has not been resolved yet, and I can't sleep."

Luo Qingling turned around and continued searching for the immortal book. She placed the candlestick on an empty bookshelf, weighed it for a moment, and then stood on tiptoe to try to take the red book above her head.

Most of the ancient books here are grayish white, and there are very few books that are so conspicuous. Maybe it is the immortal book that Qin Yanheng mentioned?

The books piled up at his feet shifted to one side at some point, but Luo Qingling didn't notice. He was just trying to reach the red ancient book by tiptoeing. The book suddenly fell to the ground, and Luo Qingling's figure tilted and he fell backwards.

It’s bad, it’s bad. I hope I don’t fall and get into trouble before my aunt is rescued!

Luo Qingling closed his eyes tightly, all he could think about was that luckily he came out in a hurry tonight and did not use a hairpin to tie up his hair, otherwise his head would have been pierced through!

While she was lost in thought, her back fell into a warm embrace. Luo Qingling knew who caught her without opening her eyes. After standing firmly, she opened her eyes and quickly moved to the side, trying to distance herself from Qin Yanheng.

Unexpectedly, the bookshelves here were densely packed and the space was extremely narrow, so only one person could pass through. No matter how she dodged, their clothes would still rub against each other.

It’s better to leave quickly. If she stays any longer, this young prince might not know what to do to her!

Luo Qingling said nothing, bent down to pick up the candlestick, turned around and left, holding the red ancient book he had just set his eyes on in his hand.

Behind him, Qin Yanheng narrowed his eyes as he looked in the direction where Luo Qingling left, his eyes full of inquiry.

He remembered who Luo Qingling was, the daughter of General Luo who guarded the border. Not long ago, Lord Wei, the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, sent portraits of noble ladies from the palace, and one of them was her. No wonder he always felt that she looked familiar, it turned out that she did it on purpose!

The more Qin Yanheng thought about it, the more it seemed to make perfect sense. When they first met, Luo Qingling was dressed in brocade, her face delicately made up. It was obvious she'd come for the Qujiang Banquet. Even though he hadn't attended that night, instead hiding in the woods to enjoy the breeze, he'd still managed to run into Luo Qingling!

It is obvious whether this was an "unexpected encounter" or "intentional".

Qin Yanheng looked at the beautiful figure not far away and curled his lips. He wondered what method she had used to make the Golden Dragon Sword recognize her as its master... It was truly intriguing. He wanted to see what she was up to. If she wanted to gain some benefits from him, she would have to pay a price.

Besides, he has always disliked people who have ulterior motives towards him, especially those who plot against his marriage. If Luo Qingling is really like that, he will not let her go.

"Your Highness—"

Behind the bookshelf, Luo Qingling suddenly shouted. Before Qin Yanheng could come to his senses, she half-poked out from the bookshelf, raised a red ancient book above her head with her right hand, and spoke to him with a look of surprise.

"Your Highness, come and take a look. Is this the immortal book you mentioned that records the terracotta warriors?"

She spread out the ancient book, her slender jade fingers placed on a certain paragraph. Qin Yanheng leaned over to take a look. The book was densely packed with records of all kinds of bizarre and strange demons, and the paragraph that Luo Qingling found was -

"The terracotta warriors are human beings. They were hanged to death unjustly while alive, and were not buried after their death. Their souls later escaped into the earth, where they transformed into jade and became demons... In the cold winter, the earth dried up and cracked, and the demonic souls escaped, feeding on the pearl fetus..."

"I think what we encountered were indeed living human terracotta figures." Qin Yanheng closed the book, and the pages brought a gust of wind, blowing the strands of hair on his forehead. "This monster can only use human bodies to absorb pearl fetuses. The more pearl fetuses it absorbs, the longer it can maintain its human form. By now, those women in Xiangshan Temple must have been sucked by them, which is why they have turned into human-shaped terracotta figures."

This explains why the monster can change into various forms to seduce women. It's really hateful!

Luo Qingling couldn't bear to imagine how helpless her aunt was before the monster. She gritted her teeth and asked, "The monster has absorbed so many pearl fetuses now, so I guess it can still maintain its human form. So whose skin is it using?"

"Just look at who has disappeared in the capital recently and you'll know."