Broken Linglong (18)

"What do you want with him?"

“Tell him about tonight’s events.” Ye Yingying shrugged. “He only told me before that the monster wouldn’t attack people on its own. Now, either he’s lying, or something has happened.”

"No matter what, Young Master Qi should know what happened."

Ye Yingying spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, but Qin Zhiqing's expression was grave. Ye Yingying noticed this and couldn't help but ask, "Miss Qin, you haven't answered my question yet. Do you really have a lover outside?"

"No." Qin Zhiqing answered decisively, her gaze towards Ye Yingying carrying a hint of anger. "What's going on in your head?"

"What kind of look is that?" Ye Yingying glared at her, dissatisfied. "Isn't it because you're too strange? You say Young Master Qi is good to you but you won't admit it! I just don't understand, you two are about to get married, what's there to resist?"

Qin Zhiqing glanced away in annoyance: "It's just a childhood betrothal; I have no emotional foundation with him."

"But I see how Young Master Qi treats you..."

"Enough!" Qin Zhiqing interrupted sharply, her eyes filled with a thick layer of ice as she stared directly at Ye Yingying. "This is none of your business to advise me on this matter."

Ye Yingying was speechless and shut her mouth, feeling awkward. Fine, don't mention it then, I don't care anyway! Qin Zhiqing's shout made Ye Yingying's newly risen goodwill towards her plummet to zero. After a moment of silence, Ye Yingying decided to avoid the issue and returned to the inn.

She angrily changed out of her night clothes and lay down on the bed, feeling increasingly frustrated. If Qin Zhiqing didn't like Qi Shuojun, why did she marry him? She was the champion of the Heroes' Gathering! With such a renowned title, shouldn't she have no trouble finding a suitable husband? Why insist on clinging to this old, childhood betrothal agreement?

Or was there some unavoidable hardship she had? Was it related to being threatened into retrieving the Azure Nether True Fire? Ye Yingying suddenly realized that she didn't really understand Qin Zhiqing. During the day, in front of Qi Shuojun and Zhao Yuxiao, she was always dignified and reserved, rarely showing any emotion—a typical young lady from a noble family. But the Qin Zhiqing she faced at night was decisive and resolute, her emotions written all over her face—she seemed more like a living, breathing person.

Ye Yingying realized that Qin Zhiqing was completely different during the day and at night; the contrast, though not huge, was still quite striking.

What caused this result? Ye Yingying turned over, a guess popping into her mind: perhaps the answer lies within the Qin family.

The next day, Ye Yingying got up early and went downstairs. When she saw Zhao Yuxiao, she went up to him without hesitation and called out to him.

"Miss Ying'er, so early today?" Zhao Yuxiao asked in surprise, handing her a steamed bun. "Want some?"

Ye Yingying took the steamed bun, took a big bite and said indistinctly, "Let's go see Qi Shuojun."

"See him? In such a hurry?" Zhao Yuxiao also popped a mouthful into his mouth. "You went out again last night?"

“Yes, I have something important to tell him.” Ye Yingying nodded, ate the whole bun in a few bites, and then licked her lips and said, “Hurry up, take me to him.”

"Alright, alright." Zhao Yuxiao swallowed the last bite, clapped his hands, and said, "He should be at his residence right now. I'll take you there."

"Where are you going?" A clear voice came from the stairs. Wu Yue walked between the two of them and asked with great interest, "Why are you in such a hurry so early in the morning?"

"Hiss... You jinx!" Upon seeing Wu Yue, Ye Yingying couldn't help but recall the gesture Wu Yue had made to her yesterday, and couldn't help but scold her, "Last night I almost had my head bitten off by a monster!"

Wu Yue was initially surprised, but then couldn't help but smile: "It worked so quickly? I thought it would take longer."

What good would it do you to curse me to death? Ye Yingying was so angry that her teeth itched, but she couldn't actually hit her.

"Why are you angry? I was just trying to be helpful."

"Stop talking, I'm afraid you're right again." Ye Yingying grabbed a steamed bun and stuffed it into her mouth, then urged Zhao Yuxiao, "Let's go, let's go, hurry up and go!"

Zhao Yuxiao nodded like a chick pecking at rice, then grabbed Ye Yingying and ran outside. Wu Yue squinted at the two figures hurrying away, spat out the bun in her mouth, and said disdainfully, "What's the rush? Even if you're in a hurry, you'll still be too late..."

When Ye Yingying and Zhao Yuxiao arrived at Qi Shuojun's residence, they had indeed missed him. They asked the guards at the gate, who said that he had already gone to Qin Zhiqing's residence. So the two of them drove to Qin Zhiqing's place. Just as they arrived at the gate, they bumped into Qi Shuojun's carriage coming from the other end. Accompanying the young master Qi was an old doctor carrying a medicine box.

Qi Shuojun was somewhat surprised to see the two of them. She first instructed the servants beside her to take the doctor inside first, while she explained to Ye Yingying and Zhao Yuxiao, "Zhiqing had a high fever this morning and her condition is not very good."

"She's sick?!" Ye Yingying exclaimed in disbelief. "How could that be? She was perfectly fine last night..."

"I also want to ask you what happened." Qi Shuojun waved her hand with a heavy expression. "Let's go inside and talk."

He led the two to a side room, closed the door, and sternly questioned Ye Yingying: "What happened between you two last night?"

"I just accompanied her to the ancestral land, and while we were testing the mechanism, the Azure Golden Hou suddenly jumped out and attacked us."

"Attacked you?" Qi Shuojun raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. "That shouldn't be the case... My father said that the Azure Golden Hou wouldn't attack people."

Ye Yingying spread her hands: "That guy chased us like a mad dog. I was almost eaten by it. It was Miss Qin who saved me."

As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeve, revealing the abrasions on her arm from when she was whipped the night before.

"By the way, it seems like there's some kind of barrier set up on that mountain in the ancestral land. That Azure Gold Hound wanted to rush out and bite me, but it was blocked." Ye Yingying added, "Luckily it was blocked, otherwise neither of us would probably have survived."

The two of them were only at the Core Formation stage; the consequences of facing a demon beast with the strength of the Golden Core stage were predictable.

Qi Shuojun looked at the slightly bluish marks and abrasions on Ye Yingying's arm, his heart sank, and he said in a serious tone, "I'm sorry, I didn't expect it to turn out like this..."

"My goodness, your injury is quite serious." Zhao Yuxiao was shocked by the sight. "I'll find some ointment to apply when we get back to the inn. Just make sure Senior Yun doesn't see you."

Ye Yingying glanced at him expressionlessly and said, "Why are you panicking? It has nothing to do with you."

"How can it be nothing! Senior Yun will definitely scold me if he finds out I let you do such a dangerous thing by yourself!" Zhao Yuxiao said righteously. "Don't even mention me, you'll get scolded too!"

Ye Yingying was speechless and could only sigh and look away: "What's the situation on Miss Qin's side?"

Qi Shuojun shook her head, her brows furrowed: "I don't know, I just found a doctor. But her maid said she had a very high fever and couldn't be woken up no matter what she did."

"Is it that serious?"

Ye Yingying and Zhao Yuxiao exchanged glances, realizing that things were indeed in trouble. The wedding was in a few days, and the ceremony was quite elaborate. Now, the bride had fallen ill, and it was uncertain whether she could withstand the illness. The Qi family was a prominent and prestigious family; if the wedding was postponed or ruined because of the bride's illness, it would become the talk of the town.

Even Ye Yingying understood this principle, so how could Qi Shuojun, the person involved, not know it? He then led the two of them to the courtyard where Qin Zhiqing's bedroom was located, to wait for the doctor's diagnosis.

Besides them, there was a middle-aged couple in the courtyard. Qi Shuojun bowed to them and told the two behind her that they were Qin Zhiqing's parents.

"These two are from the Lingyun Alliance and are also my good friends. They had been in contact with Zhiqing before, and when they heard that she was sick, they came to visit her." Qi Shuojun introduced Ye Yingying and Zhao Yuxiao to Qin's parents.

Qin Chaofeng, with his sharp eyes, recognized Zhao Yuxiao's identity at a glance and immediately cupped his hands, saying, "Young Master and this young lady are both very kind. It is an honor for our daughter to have you two think of her."

"Not at all!" Zhao Yuxiao quickly returned the greeting. "Miss Qin's wedding is imminent; I just hope nothing bad happens to her."

When the topic of marriage came up, Qin Chaofeng's face immediately fell: "I don't know what's wrong with this girl. She's getting married in a few days, and she suddenly has a high fever!"

"Master, please stop talking..." Qin's mother advised from the side, her voice soft and full of sadness.

"What's wrong!" Qin Chaofeng roared. "I think it's because you spoiled her; she can't even tell what's important anymore!"

“Father-in-law!” Qi Shuojun interrupted Qin Chaofeng’s incessant chatter with a loud voice. His gaze was serious and his voice was heavy. “Everyone gets sick sometimes. Right now, Zhiqing’s safety is the most important thing. Everything else can wait.”

Qin Chaofeng was taken aback by Qi Shuojun's sudden change in attitude and felt somewhat embarrassed, but out of respect for her status, he could only say awkwardly, "My dear son-in-law is right. I was too hasty just now."

Silence fell over the courtyard as everyone waited silently for news from inside. After a while, Zhique opened the door, and an elderly doctor with gray hair came out. Qi Shuojun immediately went to greet him and asked, "Doctor, how is she?"

The old doctor bowed and replied, "Young Master Qi, the bride has been overworked and has caught a chill due to the cool nights these past few days. Her body simply couldn't take it anymore, and she developed a high fever."

"The treatment isn't difficult. A few days of bed rest and some warming medicine to relieve the symptoms should be enough to make you fully recovered before the wedding." The old doctor stroked his beard. "The prescription and medicine will be sent to your residence later. If there's nothing else, I'll head back now."

"Alright, thank you for your trouble." Qi Shuojun bowed and thanked him, then ordered someone to escort the doctor back.

He then asked Zhique, "Has your young lady woken up yet?"

For some reason, Zhi Que looked hesitant. Qi Shuojun pressed her for an answer: "What's wrong?"

“Um…” Zhi Que began timidly, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible, “Miss said she would like to see Madam alone.”

"Meeting my mother-in-law?" Qi Shuojun turned around and looked at Qin's mother who was standing to the side.

Qin's mother was slightly taken aback, and stepped forward to confirm: "She wants to see me?"

Zhique nodded heavily, then stepped aside to let her in: "Please come in, Madam."