Chapter 76 I think I've fallen for you, what am I supposed to do?

The main peak of Yuqi Mountain is surrounded by a lush bamboo forest.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the bamboo forest, casting dappled patterns. Lu Xingfeng was sitting cross-legged on a rock, practicing martial arts.

This is the backyard of his residence. He has instructed the eight trusted experts he sent out to bring them here to see him after the mission is accomplished.

He had great confidence in his trusted confidants, after all, they were all top-notch experts in the entire Tian Shu Sect.

He was in a particularly good mood, estimating that the others should be back soon.

Once he has handed over the Crown Prince of Yu Kingdom and the King of Xuan Kingdom to Yu Kingdom, he will become the Grand Preceptor of Yu Kingdom, a position second only to the King in a country.

Suddenly, faint, drifting footsteps came from afar.

Lu Xingfeng frowned.

He could tell from the weak and staggering sound that something was wrong with the person's physical condition.

He immediately opened his eyes and leaped towards the direction from which the footsteps came. His toes left no trace on the grass, and his speed was as fast as lightning, which was enough to show how high his martial arts skills were.

"What's going on? Why are you the only one who came back?" The voice came first, and then the figure appeared in front of the newcomer.

This man was one of the eight trusted experts that Lu Xingfeng had sent out.

The man's face was covered in blood, and his clothes were in disarray, as if he had suffered a great deal.

"Senior Brother..." He knelt before Lu Xingfeng, "We... have failed, and the other seven are probably all dead."

Lu Xingfeng was shocked. "What on earth happened?!"

The man then explained the whole situation in detail.

He still felt lingering fear when he talked about taking Xiao Qidi and that woman through Falling Eagle Gorge last night.

"Despite our utmost caution, we still fell into Xiao Qidi's trap. That guy is far too cunning!"

"If I hadn't managed to throw out the grappling hook and entangle him in time as I fell, allowing me to use my lightness skill to grab onto a protruding rock face, otherwise... I would definitely have fallen too!"

Upon hearing these words, Lu Xingfeng's expression changed, and anger surged within him.

He placed his hand on the man's shoulder and said coldly, "So, according to you, if you hadn't thrown out the grappling hook to protect yourself, Xiao Qidi wouldn't have fallen?"

"It seems...that's the case."

"Ha! So, in other words, I originally had a chance to catch him in this Jade Qi Mountain, but now there's absolutely no hope?"

"Senior Brother, I..."

"It's fine if the Crown Prince of Yu couldn't be saved, at least Xiao Qidi was captured. Even if I can't become the Imperial Advisor, holding him will at least get me a high-ranking official position and a generous reward from Yu. But you—"

"Senior Brother, spare me!"

The confidant became increasingly suspicious as he listened, and hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Lu Xingfeng forcibly suppressed the murderous intent in his heart, "If it weren't for your unwavering loyalty to me for more than ten years, I would really want to kill you!"

His confidant broke out in a cold sweat. "Thank you for sparing my life, Senior Brother."

Lu Xingfeng became increasingly unwilling to accept it, and gritted his teeth, saying, "No, I absolutely cannot just watch myself lose the high-ranking official position and generous reward that is rightfully mine."

"Senior Brother... what do you plan to do?" the confidant asked in a low voice.

Lu Xingfeng pondered, "What else can I do? I have to personally go to Xitun Pass and rescue the Crown Prince of Yu Kingdom. You useless people, you even have to do this little thing by yourself in the end."

The trusted aide hurriedly said, "Senior Brother, Xitun Pass is no ordinary place."

"Oh? It's just a simple border town, and you can come and go as you please. Why can't I?"

"No, no, no, we didn't have time to explore inside carefully in order to complete the mission as soon as possible. However... we discovered that the city wall of Xitun Pass is no longer an ordinary earthen and stone wall."

"So what?"

"Not only did the city walls become unusual, but the iron chains and locks used in the prison where the Crown Prince of Yu was imprisoned were also not made of ordinary cast iron. Furthermore, the armor worn by the Xuan soldiers was something we had never seen before. We didn't have time to examine it closely at the time, but we always felt that there was a lot of luck involved in capturing Xiao Qidi this time."

After listening to his confidant's analysis, Lu Xingfeng frowned.

So you mean you want me to give up?

“Senior Brother, we have already been there once, and although we were extremely cautious, it is still possible that they will notice something amiss and strengthen their defenses. What I am thinking is that if you want to rescue the Crown Prince of Yu Kingdom again, you must be fully prepared and absolutely cannot go alone.”

"Hmm...that makes sense."

Lu Xingfeng nodded slightly.

He paced back and forth in the bamboo forest, pondered for a moment, and a cold smile appeared in his eyes. "Since things have come to this, I have no choice but to seize the position of sect leader and take over the Tian Shu Sect as soon as possible. Mobilizing the entire sect should not be a problem."

His confidant was startled. "Wouldn't this make our Tian Shu Sect offend the Xuan Kingdom?"

Lu Xingfeng stood with his hands behind his back. "So what if I offend them? Even if everyone in the Tian Shu Sect except my people is wiped out, it doesn't matter. I don't just want to be the leader of a martial arts sect. I want to become a powerful and influential minister of the imperial court."

"Although I only saved the crown prince and can no longer become the national advisor, I will be the benefactor of the Yu Kingdom from now on. If I help the Yu Kingdom to conquer the Central Plains and unify the world in the future, my status will be unimaginable!"

His words were delivered with great enthusiasm, as if they were about to become a reality.

His confidant knew that although his senior brother always appeared carefree and indifferent in front of others, seemingly not caring about anything, he was actually an ambitious person.

Over the years, he has been patiently enduring all this in order to win the favor of his junior sister, the sect leader.

Although they didn't know why he suddenly stopped pretending, since he had made this decision, his confidants would only continue to obey.

"I am willing to give my life for my senior brother!" the confidant said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

Lu Xingfeng suddenly blurted out, "Then go and kill the sect leader."

The confidant was stunned. "This... I'm afraid I can't do it..."

The reason it cannot be done is not because the current sect leader's martial arts skills are too high.

On the contrary, that Sect Leader Ye had no martial arts skills, especially when he first arrived ten years ago, he had no martial arts foundation whatsoever.

Later, she gained the favor of the old sect leader, who even made an exception and personally taught her the unique mental cultivation method of the Tian Shu Sect, which only the successors of the sect leaders were qualified to learn.

However, she doesn't seem interested in learning martial arts.

I haven't improved even after practicing for several years.

Instead, he devoted almost all his energy to making strange and unusual gadgets.

She even spent years searching for materials and personally forging a divine weapon that was unique in the world.

Even the most skilled senior disciple in the Tian Shu Sect was not confident that he could fight against him.

Although that divine weapon fell into Eagle Falling Gorge not long ago, no one can say for sure what other divine weapons Sect Leader Ye might still possess.

Seeing his confidant's reaction, Lu Xingfeng laughed loudly, "Hahahaha! Even if you could do it, I don't want her to die. I want her to see me become a superior person, to understand that all these years I've been spoiling and indulging her. What I want, I can take back anytime I want! Including her!"

The confidant breathed a slight sigh of relief. "Senior Brother, what are your plans?"

“I have my own plans,” Lu Xingfeng said confidently. “You should go and heal your wounds and rest as soon as possible. When the time is right, I will assign you a mission.”

"Yes, Senior Brother!" The confidant got up and left.

——

At the bottom of Eagle Falling Gorge, Ning Jinli returned to the cave with a pile of wild fruits in her hands.

After eating the wild fruit, Xiao Qidi finally had some strength to circulate his internal energy and regulate his breathing. Although it was not enough to heal his internal injuries, at least it would not make them worse.

"What kind of martial arts do you practice?" Ning Jinli asked while drying his clothes.

Xiao Qidi answered with his eyes closed, "It's just basic, ordinary martial arts; there's nothing special about it."

Ning Jinli asked curiously, "Can I learn it too?"

"sure."

"You'll teach me?"

"Can."

"Okay, since you're so generous, I'll try to get you an extra meal."

After saying that, she placed Xiao Qidi's coat on a frame made of branches by the campfire and ran quickly out of the cave.

Half an hour passed.

Ning Jinli returned covered in sweat.

The clothes that I had just managed to dry were now soaking wet again.

splat—

Her arm loosened, and two large carp, already gutted and cleaned, fell from her arms.

Xiao Qidi asked in surprise, "How did you catch him?"

Ning Jinli said with a smile, "When I was little, my parents often took me to the countryside to play. My best skill was catching fish. There were a lot of fish in this river, and you could even catch them by throwing stones at them from the bank."

Then, she skewered the carp on a branch and roasted them by the fire.

Once the fish was cooked, she carefully removed the bones and fed it to Xiao Qidi bite by bite.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Xiao Qidi asked, seeing that she had almost finished feeding him the two large carp.

Ning Jinli said, "You're so badly injured, you need to replenish your nutrition the most. I'll just treat this as a way to lose weight."

Xiao Qidi frowned, "You're so thin, why are you even trying to lose weight?"

Ning Jinli laughed and said, "You don't understand, do you? Girls will always feel like they're not thin enough."

Xiao Qidi was somewhat speechless, and said seriously, "Even during the day, the temperature here is quite cold, so you need to eat more to resist the cold."

"Okay, little brother, open your mouth, there's one last piece. You eat your fill first, then I'll go catch more fish." Ning Jinli pinched a piece of fish and put it to his mouth.

Xiao Qidi silently ate the last piece of fish, a look of heartache appearing in his eyes.

Ning Jinli didn't have time to rest and went outside to collect leaves and branches again.

Of the two of them, only she can do these things, so she needs to prepare for the night before dark.

If the fire goes out, it's hard to say whether we'll even survive the night here.

Like a diligent little bee, she tirelessly collected grass and leaves, making a simple bed for Xiao Qidi so that he could sit more comfortably.

After Ning Jinli finished her work, the light outside the cave began to dim.

Here in the depths of this mountain valley, night falls much earlier than outside.

A thick, cold fog slowly spread into the cave. Fortunately, the fire was burning brightly, otherwise the oppressive chill would have swallowed the two people inside.

"See? Luckily I had the foresight to gather the fire-starting materials early on," Ning Jinli said with a smug look. "Little brother, praise me!"

Xiao Qidi's face tightened. "But you haven't eaten anything. Are you really alright?"

"It's alright, it's alright, I'm perfectly fine," Ning Jinli said, standing up. "Look at me, I'm as lively as ever."

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly felt everything go black.

Xiao Qidi quickly reached out and pulled her into his arms before she fell.

Since waking up, Ning Jinli has barely rested and has been relying entirely on her willpower to hold on. At this moment, she really can't hold on any longer.

"I...I'm so cold..." Ning Jinli's lips trembled, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Xiao Qidi hugged her tighter.

She still felt very cold, and drowsily snuggled into Xiao Qidi's arms.

Xiao Qidi thought for a moment, then unbuttoned his clothes so that she could be close to his skin, and then wrapped his outer garment around her whole body.

In this way, we can use our body heat to further warm her up.

Darkness soon enveloped the area outside the cave.

Apart from the eerie howling wind, there was no other sound.

Inside the cave, Xiao Qidi leaned against the rock wall, holding Ning Jinli curled up in his arms, and quietly watched the burning fire in front of him.

Ning Jinli was wearing summer shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, which gave Xiao Qidi a feeling of skin-to-skin contact.

This was the first time in his life he had ever been so intimate with a woman.

He had been hugged by Ning Jinli before, and that feeling... made him both resistant and inexplicably expectant.

Right now, I'm actually feeling a bit restless.

As his thoughts raced, he even had a fleeting thought that he wished time could stop right now, stand still completely.

That way, he could hold her like that forever.

There are no distractions from the outside world, and you don't have to think about anything anymore.

When the thought popped into his head, he was startled.

“Miss Ning…” Xiao Qidi lowered his head, his lips brushing against Ning Jinli’s forehead, and murmured, “I think I… like you. But you probably don’t feel the same way about me, what am I supposed to do?”

...

One night passed.

Ning Jinli gradually regained consciousness, yawned, and stretched.

Instantly, the aches and pains throughout her body jolted her awake.

"Ouch...it hurts!"

She sat up with a start, and Xiao Qidi's oversized coat slipped off her shoulders.

A fire was burning nearby, and there were a few fish stuck on branches.

The fish is almost cooked and is emitting an enticing aroma.

Ning Jinli rubbed her eyes hard, sighed with mixed feelings, "I thought... everything yesterday was just a nightmare. I wish I could wake up and still be in the same tent."

"Wait...where did he go?" Ning Jinli looked around. The cave wasn't very big; you could see the whole thing at a glance, but she couldn't find any trace of Xiao Qidi.

She hurriedly got up, threw on his coat, and ran out of the cave, calling out, "Xiao Qidi! Xiao—Qi—"

"I'm here," a deep voice came from above.

Ning Jinli turned around and looked up.

Suddenly, Xiao Qidi was seen picking something on a steep cliff more than ten meters above the ground.

"Why are you climbing so high? Come down now!" Ning Jinli's heart jumped into her throat.

Xiao Qidi climbed up the rock face and slowly moved down.

Ning Jinli watched in terror, not daring to even breathe.

This guy was already injured, and he's definitely not fully recovered after just one night's rest. If he falls again, he's sure to be heading to the underworld.

Once Xiao Qidi was safely back on the ground, she glared at him angrily, "Are you crazy? Don't you value your life?"