Chapter 62 Shock! Has the fairy already discovered our secret mission?

"What's wrong with you?" Ning Jinli asked, stunned.

Xiao Qidi hurriedly turned around, covering his nose, "Miss Ning, why...why don't you wear clothes to bed?!"

He had been exposed to the modern world for some time and had become accustomed to modern people's clothing, especially in the summer when men and women with bare arms and legs could be seen everywhere.

However, Ning Jinli just threw off the covers and exposed herself to him completely naked, which shocked him.

Ning Jinli, who had just woken up, finally came to her senses, screamed, turned her head, and burrowed under the covers, "You...you get out! Get out!"

Xiao Qidi strode out of the dormitory and closed the door behind him.

"Ahhh!" Ning Jinli was so embarrassed under the covers that her mind went blank.

I was so tired yesterday that I fell asleep right after taking a shower without even putting on my pajamas. I had completely forgotten about it when I woke up.

After a while, she calmed down.

It's just that an unexpected situation occurred and someone glanced at it.

It's not like I'm missing a piece of meat, it's no big deal.

After giving herself a pep talk, she got up, dressed, and walked out of the dormitory as if nothing had happened.

Xiao Qidi was still in a daze in the corridor.

Although he had only glanced at her briefly, her exquisite, fair, and radiant body was already etched into his mind.

As a king, what kind of stunningly beautiful woman hasn't he seen?

But she wasn't wearing any clothes...

This is truly the first time.

Despite his efforts to calm himself down, the more he tried to avoid the images that kept replaying in his mind, the more they surfaced.

"Hey, little brother, let's go!" Ning Jinli came to his side and patted his shoulder.

Xiao Qidi tensed up inexplicably, turned around stiffly, and tried to keep his expressionless face. "Okay, let's go."

"Pfft—" Ning Jinli suddenly burst out laughing.

Xiao Qidi frowned. "Why are you laughing?"

"Hahahaha!" Ning Jinli laughed even louder, leaving Xiao Qidi completely bewildered.

He was extremely puzzled.

Could it be that Miss Ning was traumatized by what just happened?

After all, it concerns the woman's innocence...

In his time, if a young woman encountered such a situation and the man did not take responsibility, it could lead to someone's death.

Oh well... the fault ultimately lies with me.

Xiao Qidi gritted his teeth and clasped his hands in a fist salute, "Miss Ning, I...I will treat you..."

I almost ground my teeth to powder, but I just couldn't squeeze out the word "responsible".

It wasn't that he was unwilling to take responsibility, but he was the king of Xuan Kingdom, and such a life-long matter could not be treated so lightly.

Furthermore, his long-cherished ambition of unifying the six kingdoms had not yet been realized, and he had no interest in matters of personal affection...

"Hahahaha! Here's a tissue, hurry up and wipe it yourself!" Ning Jinli laughed until tears streamed down her face, pulling a tissue from her pocket as she said, "You look so serious with two bloody noses... hahahaha, it's hilarious!"

Xiao Qidi was stunned for a moment.

So that's what made you laugh?

Is it really that funny?

“Miss Ning, about what happened just now…” Xiao Qidi took the tissue, wiped his nose, and said, “I’m really sorry.”

Ning Jinli said generously, "It's okay, you didn't do it on purpose, let's call it even."

"Even? What do you mean?"

"Oh dear... you forgot about the time I brought you here to bathe? I looked at you once, and you looked at me once, so we're even, aren't we?"

"..."

It would have been better if he hadn't mentioned it, because once he did, Xiao Qidi immediately pictured Ning Jinli, soaking wet, squatting next to him packing her things.

Instantly, my nasal cavity felt hot again.

Ning Jinli exclaimed in surprise, frantically pulling out more tissues and shoving them at Xiao Qidi's nose, "My God! How come you're bleeding so much from your nose!"

It took quite a while to figure it out.

Xiao Qidi's nosebleed finally stopped.

Beneath his high, straight nose, both nostrils were stuffed with wads of toilet paper, which, combined with his stern, reddish, and gloomy handsome face, created a strangely comical effect.

The two walked side by side toward the warehouse.

Ning Jinli suppressed a laugh and said, "Is your little brother so hot-tempered?"

Xiao Qidi said in a deep voice, "The weather at Xitun Pass is dry..."

"By the way, you just said you would do something to me—what to me?" Ning Jinli asked.

Xiao Qidi turned his head away and said, "I apologize to you."

Ning Jinli said, "Oh, I thought you meant to say you would take responsibility for me."

Xiao Qidi almost stumbled.

"Hahaha!" Ning Jinli's eyes crinkled into crescent moons with laughter. "I've discovered that teasing you is so much fun."

A shadow crossed Xiao Qidi's brow, and he took a few deep breaths silently.

never mind……

A ruler should be magnanimous and not hold a grudge against her.

After a brief hiccup, the two finally made it through the time tunnel to Linxian Village.

As Xiao Qidi said, the victory celebration banquet has already begun.

Looking around, there were crowds of people.

The soldiers and civilians sat in small groups on the ground, around a straw mat, on which were some cooked or roasted food.

There were canned fruits and vegetables provided by Ning Jinli, as well as dried rations and meat chunks seized from the enemy.

Although the cooking was simple, it was considered a very lavish meal for them.

However, from Ning Jinli's perspective as a modern person, she really had no appetite...

But she still ate something with Xiao Qidi.

Chewing on the dry rations that tasted almost as good as grit, and watching everyone happily wolfing them down, Ning Jinli silently vowed to make sure that the people of ancient times could live a better life.

After eating a little, she asked about the current situation in Linxian Village.

The soldiers told her that although there were no conditions to build more houses to accommodate tens of thousands of people, the large number of enemy tents they had captured had been distributed, giving the people a place to stay and freeing them from sleeping under the open sky as before.

On the groundwater side, the soldiers continued to clear away the shattered remains buried there after the explosion.

In addition, a large water storage tank was dug, and the disinfectant she provided was added on time.

Then the disinfected water is channeled into the canal for everyone to use.

The tens of thousands of chicks and thousands of piglets she sent are all growing very well.

In short, everything is moving in a positive direction, and the people are generally at ease and full of hope for the future.

Ning Jinli felt both happy and a little sad after hearing about the situation.

Under such difficult conditions, people are content as long as they have food to eat and a glimmer of hope to survive.

"Your Majesty! Fairy!" Suddenly, a soldier ran over, excitedly reporting, "Great news! Great news!"

Ning Jinli was full of surprise. What could make her so happy? It was even more exciting than the pacification of the western and southwestern border regions.

Xiao Qidi calmly asked, "What is the joyous occasion?"

The soldiers' eyes lit up as they rubbed their mud-covered hands. "Please, Your Majesty and the Fairy, go and see for yourselves!"

Xiao Qidi didn't ask any more questions, got up and left, and Ning Jinli quickly followed.

The two followed the soldier, winding their way through the fields until they arrived.

"Your Majesty, Fairy, look!" The soldier ran to the field, knelt down, and exclaimed, "It's sprouting...it's all sprouting!"

On the reclaimed yellow earth, there were scattered tender green spots like stars.

Xiao Qidi's pupils trembled. He rushed over hastily, disregarding his image, and knelt down to get close, staring at the tender sprout emerging from the small pit.

"It's sprouted... the crops have finally sprouted!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

His hearty laughter echoed through the sky.

After more than half a year of drought, the green shoots emerging from the seeds in this field are the first touch of green in the entire Xitunguan area, and also represent the hope of the people's harvest soon.

How could he not be excited!

Seeing him kneeling in the yellow earth field, laughing loudly, Ning Jinli felt a lump in her throat and couldn't help but shed tears of joy.

"Quick! Tell everyone this good news!"

Xiao Qidi jumped up and shouted, "Let's have the victory celebration banquet for another day!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The soldiers happily went to deliver the message.

Xiao Qidi was immersed in joy, sometimes running back and forth like a child, sometimes stopping and lying on the ground to carefully look at the tender shoots of the crops, never getting enough of looking at them.

Ning Jinli stood beside the field, quietly watching him.

At this moment, not far away.

Several patrolling guards, however, stared at Xiao Qidi's figure with grim expressions.

“Brother, the situation has become like this. If we don’t act now… it might be too late.” A patrolling guard turned around and questioned, “How long are you going to wait?”

Standing at the back was the patrol captain.

The other guards also looked at him with serious expressions, waiting for his answer.

A complex expression flickered in the patrol captain's eyes. "We have to wait a little longer; the time isn't right yet..."

"Brother!" the guard said through gritted teeth, "We were ordered to disguise ourselves as ordinary people and follow Xiao Qidi all the way. We suffered so much hardship and torment, all to complete the mission assigned by the Marquis, weren't we?"

“Before, you said he was surrounded by bandits and that we didn’t need to take action, so we didn’t.”

"In the end, he wiped out the bandits and escaped alive!"

"Then, the Yu Kingdom suddenly mobilized 50,000 troops to break through Xitun Pass and besiege Linxian Village. You'd think they'd be finished, and we wouldn't even need to lift a finger. But what happened..."

"Then, the Yu Kingdom mobilized even more troops! You still say that even if he has divine assistance, he is doomed and we still don't need to intervene, but... sigh!"

The guards spoke with such emotion that their eyes turned bloodshot.

Time and time again, it seemed Xiao Qidi had no way out, yet time and time again, miracles happened to him.

Opportunities kept slipping away, and now he is not only alive and well, but has also built a powerful Xuanjia Army, pacified the border, and begun to develop this place for recuperation and development!

If this continues, things will get out of hand.

The patrol captain's face grew increasingly grim, and he said with a forced smile, "I didn't misjudge, but... miracles always seem to happen to him."

"Brother, just tell us, when are we going to make our move!" The patrolling guards couldn't wait any longer.

The captain of the guards clenched his fists secretly, "With Fairy Jinli protecting him, I'm afraid..."

"So what if she's Fairy Jinli?" one of the guards said. "She does have amazing abilities and has sent over many divine items, but after observing her secretly for a while, we brothers have found that she's no different from us ordinary mortals!"

"That's right, brother! We don't actually need to worry about the fairy at all!"

"She has no magic to protect Xiao Qidi, and now it's just Xiao Qidi and her in the field. This is a great opportunity for us to take action!"

As the patrolling guards spoke, they slowly drew their knives from their waists.

The patrol captain hissed, "If it weren't for the fairy here, how could those people, including you and me, have survived until now? I will not allow you to be disrespectful in front of the fairy!"

"Big brother..."

"Enough!"

The patrol captain said sternly, "All of you, hold your tongues for now. I'll give you the orders when the time is right! Until then, behave yourselves and don't ruin my plans! Go on patrol!"

Seeing his unwavering conviction, the guards didn't dare say anything more.

Although they were all unwilling, they still sheathed their swords and silently dispersed.

After the brothers left, the patrol captain sighed inwardly.

His feelings were complicated.

Originally, he was supposed to carry out the mission according to the marquis's secret orders.

However, during this period of time, he witnessed the emperor's actions firsthand.

This young king, whose power had been usurped by the court, not only cared deeply for the people but also shouldered great responsibilities, leading his soldiers and the common people out of dire straits.

His courage and ability are evident to tens of thousands of people in the area.

He simply couldn't think of anyone in the world who could do better than this ruler.

The fact that such a monarch could emerge from the Great Xuan Dynasty should be a great blessing for the Great Xuan Dynasty. Moreover, this monarch can also receive the help of a fairy.

She's a goddess! There must be a reason why she helped Xiao Qidi, right?

"Huh? You're here?" A clear voice interrupted the patrol captain's thoughts.

"Ah... I'm here to greet Fairy Jinli!" The captain immediately knelt on one knee and clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Ning Jinli approached and said with a smile, "Get up, get up. I've told you so many times, you don't need to act like this when you see me, but you just won't listen."

The captain stood up, bowing slightly. "You are a fairy, and you have done us a great favor. We should do this for you. Moreover, if it weren't for your intercession last time, I would have been executed by the king. I have no way to repay your life-saving grace."

"It's alright, don't take it to heart. I don't need you to repay me," Ning Jinli casually asked. "I don't even know your name yet."

"My name is Qi Zhan."

"Qi Zhan..."

Upon hearing the name, Ning Jinli was startled and quickly looked him up and down.

This is going to be a famous general of the Xuan Dynasty!

According to official historical records, Qi Zhan and Xiao Qidi were of similar age and were initially unknown. However, he not only made great contributions during the period when Xuan Kingdom unified the other six kingdoms in the Central Plains, but also recovered a large amount of land that had been occupied by foreign tribes after the establishment of Xuan Dynasty!

"Fairy... what's wrong?" Qi Zhan felt a little guilty under her gaze.

Ning Jinli patted him on the shoulder, "If you work hard with Xiao Qidi, you'll definitely achieve great things in the future!"

Qi Zhan was stunned.

He's here to kill Xiao Qidi, so why should I work for him?

Ning Jinli added, "Oh, by the way, be careful not to follow the wrong person!"

That's all she can say for now, because she can't explain that secret history in a short time.

In any case, such a talented military person should never become that puppet's right-hand man.

But Ning Jinli didn't know that her simple words, "Don't follow the wrong person," were interpreted by Qi Zhan as having a different meaning.

Qi Zhan's pupils trembled, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

Could it be that... the fairy has already discovered my secret mission?

Is the fairy subtly hinting at something, issuing a warning or reminder?