Chapter 34 Suddenly I felt a surge of...

Li Daoxuan reacted quickly. He grabbed Chen Qing's slender wrist in an instant and lifted her out of the water. When she came out of the water, Chen Qing's skirt swept a curtain of water in the air. When the person was behind him, he immediately swept his sword towards the bottom of the water. A series of water dragons exploded on the surface of the water, and silver flowers splashed everywhere.

When the storm passed, the water surface was empty and there was no "thing" to be seen.

Li Daoxuan immediately realized that he was being played a trick by her. He turned to look at the smiling person, but before he could say anything, he suddenly felt a tingling sensation in his body. The numbness rose from his ankles, and climbed along the meridians to his limbs. Soon, his body softened uncontrollably.

He could only barely chop the ground with his sword, his cold eyes sweeping mercilessly over the culprit.

Chen Qing stretched out her snow-white hands with a curved eyebrow and waved them in front of his eyes. On her index finger, there suddenly appeared a delicate and small ring, which seemed to be the source of his paralysis.

She had a triumphant smile on her face, like a cat that had successfully stolen some fish, and her eyes were narrowed into a line.

"You didn't expect that I still have a trick up my sleeve." Chen Qing whispered softly in Li Daoxuan's ear.

Hearing this, Li Daoxuan snorted softly, tilting his head slightly to look her in the eye, "I really didn't expect this. It was my mistake." At this moment, the two of them were almost face to face, with their noses only a fraction of a second away. Li Daoxuan could even clearly see the water droplets that were about to drip from Chen Qing's eyes.

But anyone could see the sharpness in their eyes and the undercurrents surging around them.

Li Daoxuan asked again, "What do you want? Don't forget, without me, you won't be able to get out safely."

Chen Qing raised her hand to wipe away the new round of water stains on her face, and wiped her hand on his shoulder. She said leisurely: "Your Highness only said that I can't go out safely, but he didn't say that I must not go out." It's just that the price to pay is greater.

At this point, she patted his shoulder and changed the subject, "Of course, I'm not going out alone either. After all, Your Highness promised to protect my safety." She pointed to the water and said, "I just tested it for Your Highness. The water is safe. You can go down without worry."

Li Daoxuan raised his eyelids and said, "I never said I wanted to go into the water."

Chen Qing: "Of course I didn't say that, I said it. Besides, it's not up to you." She pointed at his waist, "The poison in your body can be detoxified by soaking in water."

After she finished speaking, she began to caress his chest and waist, not sparing his sleeves. When several stacks of talisman paper appeared in her hands one after another, along with the previously inexplicably disappeared sachet, Chen Qing curled her lips and cursed inwardly: "No wonder the sachet disappeared, it turned out to be taken away by the dog."

She snatched away the sword that Li Daoxuan used to support his body. Seeing that he was still struggling and refusing to fall to the ground, Chen Qing decided to help this stubborn man. She raised her foot and kicked him in the abdomen, ignoring the dagger in his eyes that could almost stab someone to death before he fell into the water, and slowly walked to the side to wait.

Although it was approaching July, the underground palace was extremely cold, with a chilly wind blowing from nowhere. After she calmed down and had the energy to think, she felt her body getting colder and colder, and she even began to shiver uncontrollably.

But she felt that the air she exhaled from her nose was extremely hot, and her face and ears began to heat up. Shen Qing touched her forehead and found that the temperature was a little different. She realized that she was about to have a fever.

After staying with Li Daoxuan for a long time, she often forgot that her body was different from that of ordinary people and was extremely fragile. The series of stimulations she had suffered before, coupled with the sudden fall into the water, and the cold environment of the underground palace, made her feel sick again.

She couldn't help but curse Li Daoxuan from head to toe, secretly hating herself for not stripping off his coat and leaving it for her to wipe her hair. Now she could only stand here in the cold holding this broken sword.

I don’t know how long it took, but perhaps the poison had dissipated, and there was finally movement in the water again.

Li Daoxuan jumped out of the water and stood steadily on the shore. In Shen Qing's eyes, he looked like a drowned dog that had just come ashore.

But the fact is, his long hair was wet and draped behind him. Because of the water, the fabric of his clothes stuck tightly to his body, revealing his body lines. The water droplets constantly flowing on his forehead were like a transparent water droplet curtain, adding a bit of mystery to him.

At this moment, he looked like a mermaid who had just transformed into a human form. His eyelashes were dripping with tears, his eyes were like black stones, and the wet hair on the side of his face was like black algae. He was extremely beautiful.

The "mermaid" who had just come ashore moved his palms, and then an invisible wind lingered around his body. Before long, his robes were no longer dripping, and his hair turned from clumps into a piece of smooth silk.

Chen Qing knew that he had these abilities, and she pushed him into the water just to vent her anger. Seeing him slowly drying his body, she couldn't tell what she felt. She just thought: If only her senior brother was here too, he would never let her get dirty with a drop of dirty water, and even if he got wet, he would dry her with a distressed look on his face.

Feeling an unbearable dry cough in her mouth, Chen Qing swallowed uncomfortably. She stared at Li Daoxuan and handed him the sword in her hand, "We are even. You can't beat me."

Li Daoxuan turned his wrist, took the sword, looked at the person who suddenly retracted his fangs, and asked, "Is it even?"

Shen Qing said confidently, "That's right, it's even! You pushed me into the water once, and I pushed you into the water once, so we don't owe each other anything."

"Besides, you thought I didn't know what you were planning, so you deliberately took away my treasure bag and took advantage of my blindness, wanting me to step on those bone spurs." When she said this, her voice was a little aggrieved, perhaps because of the fever. "If you step on it, not only will you become lame, but you will definitely get a scar on the sole of your foot." She lowered her head and sniffed.

After this incident, she missed her senior brother even more.

He hadn't done anything yet, but she looked like she was about to cry. Li Daoxuan gritted his teeth and felt like he was about to laugh out of anger. But when he thought about it carefully, he realized that he had been affected by the poisonous insect before, and the evil thoughts in his heart had been magnified several times, and he had indeed done those things.

After calculating this way, they couldn't say who owed whom, so Li Daoxuan asked: "Then what do you want?"

When Chen Qing heard this, a gleam flashed in her eyes. She raised her eyes, but her eye sockets were red. There was a strong nasal tone when she spoke. At first glance, it sounded like crying: "You have already poisoned me. You are not afraid that I will not give Liuli Heart, but in exchange, you have to protect my safety."

"Of course, I'm not talking about a lifetime, just until we get married. During this period, if I encounter any danger, you must rush to my rescue in time."

She lowered her head again. "You've seen it too. Lately, I've been feeling like someone is out to harm me. Even before, I was the only one who fell into this underground palace. It seemed like it was targeting me. I'm not going to catch any monsters anymore. I just want to keep you safe."

Doing good deeds doesn't necessarily mean catching monsters. Giving out porridge to the people is also a good way to do good deeds. It is far more practical than risking one's life to catch monsters and eliminate evil.

"Master passed away early, and my senior brother was busy punishing demons and evildoers, saving the people from suffering. He was often gone for more than a month. The brothers in the pavilion all have their own things to do, and I can't always trouble them."

Li Daoxuan continued, "So you came to me and tried to use me?"

Chen Qing shook his head in disapproval. "Your Highness, that's not the way to talk. Let's just get what we need. Even if we've settled our grudges just now, the important thing is that we work together to escape from this place. Once Liuli Heart is in your hands and my poison is cured, we'll be completely even. How do you say that?"

"Evening" sounds like a good word. Ever since he met Chen Qing, Li Daoxuan felt that he had a lot more troubles. Moreover, he had already let out his anger. If he could just part ways, it would save him a lot of trouble.

So he nodded and said, "I promise you."

Li Daoxuan was never a man who went back on his word, so she took this opportunity to say everything she needed to say. Chen Qing was not afraid that he would go back on his word. Seeing that her goal had been achieved, the worry in her heart was finally resolved. Chen Qing was completely relieved. She had played with him for so long, even if Li Daoxuan didn't mind, she would have been tired of him.

Now, the image of me in his mind must be that of a troublemaker who cannot be killed, and is difficult to deal with, and a thorny one at that. In order to get rid of her as soon as possible, as long as I don't make any excessive demands, he will definitely agree to it.

But at the moment when Li Daoxuan let go, the system couldn't understand. After being silent for a long time, it had no choice but to disobey Shen Qing's order and asked aloud: "Host, since you want Li Daoxuan to protect your safety, why didn't you mention it from the beginning? Instead, you let the target of the strategy hate you?"

If this continues, how can we continue the strategy mission?

Chen Qing was startled by the sudden voice in her head. She quickly realized that it was the system's voice. Chen Qing did not answer immediately, but sneezed, and then her body shook uncontrollably a few times. The next moment, a hand appeared on her shoulder, holding her steadily.

Chen Qing's eyes were dizzy and blurry. She could only fall back and lean against the cold wall, but the big hand on her shoulder was warm and dry.

Her cheeks were slightly red and extremely hot. Without probing, one could tell that she had started to have a fever. She was afraid that she would not be able to hold on for long.

Li Daoxuan just watched her lying on her back against the stone wall, without any intention of helping her out of pity. He just clenched his palms slightly, covered her weak and wet shoulders through a thin layer of cloth, and began to transfer his internal energy.

A warmth began to spread from the shoulders to the whole body. Compared with the uncomfortable heat on the forehead, this internal force was like a warm spring breeze, gently soothing the restlessness in the body.

Chen Qing knew that he was fulfilling his promise to "keep her safe" and drying her clothes and hair, so she leaned against the wall, motionless, with her eyes closed.

A drop of water fell from her forehead, slowly sliding across the tip of her nose before dripping onto her cheek. The girl's eyelids trembled slightly, as if being touched by the water drop. The drop lingered for a moment on the side of her face, like a pearl on jade against her rosy white skin, strikingly beautiful.

However, there was nothing in the boy's eyes. He lowered his gaze, seemingly looking at the girl's face, but in fact his thoughts were already somewhere else.

Until Chen Qing said, "It's all your fault." and woke him up.

The voice was very soft, like a coquettish whisper, or like the mumbling in a dream, and disappeared like bubbles.

As if she was extremely dissatisfied, she added: "I have to take medicine again when I go back. It's so painful."

Li Daoxuan gradually regained consciousness. His gaze was attracted by the small water droplets on her cheek. He stared at that spot for a long time and said, "You are not even afraid of death, but you are afraid of suffering."

Chen Qing asked, "Everyone has something they're afraid of. If you don't have it, it's because you haven't discovered it yet. Just like my senior brother only discovered he was afraid of cooking when he grew up, my father was afraid of my mother crying, and my mother was afraid of me getting sick." At this point, she paused, suddenly opened her eyes, and asked him, "What about you? What are you afraid of?"

Li Daoxuan moved his gaze to her eyes, but found that she had closed her eyes and leaned back, as if she didn't care whether he answered or not.

He really had no intention of answering.

Silence returned to the surroundings.

However, at this moment, a little person flashed through Li Daoxuan's mind.

The little man was in an airtight room, with the only light coming in through the open wooden door. In front of the door stood a tall figure with a blurred face. The large black shadow almost completely covered the thin man, like a cage erected on the ground.

The thin and weak child sat on the cold ground, his scarred body already covered with filth. He ignored the dirt on his hands, holding a bowl of spare ribs and chewing on it with his mouth full of oil, wolfing it down, fearing that the meat would be snatched away by others.

The black shadow smiled grimly and said, "Eat it, and I'll send you to see my mother after you eat it."

He didn't understand what was being said, so he could only force himself to eat. After he was full, he could see A-niang. A-niang would hug him, coax him, tell him stories, and give him a warm embrace so that he could have a good sleep.

So he ate even more vigorously. He carefully sucked the meat off the bones and even sucked the juice off the bones clean. He was really very hungry.

The man in black smiled more fiercely, "It seems you can't wait to see your mother."

The little guy held the bone he had just chewed clean in both hands and nodded vigorously, with a look of purity and innocence in his eyes.

And then, and then…

Li Daoxuan suddenly closed his eyes, his eyelashes trembled uneasily, and the strength in his hands also tightened.

Sensing the change in strength, Shen Qing glanced at his face, then closed her eyes as if thinking about something.

She thought to herself, "001, have you ever heard of 'slow and steady wins the race'?"

The system, thinking it would not get an answer, was silent for a moment before saying, "I have heard of it, host." But what does this have to do with the strategy to conquer Li Daoxuan?

As if guessing what the system was thinking, Shen Qing explained, "Everything I'm doing now is for the sake of strategy. You see, Li Daoxuan hates contact with outsiders, but he himself doesn't even realize how many times he's made an exception for me."

"Just now I asked him if he was afraid of anything, and he didn't answer, but his subconscious actions told me that he was. He didn't answer this time, but maybe he will tell me sometime in the future. Isn't this a change in his attitude towards me?"

The system previously asked, since you want Li Daoxuan to protect her safety, why don't you bring it up at the beginning, but instead make him feel disgusted with the Datong team itself.

Chen Qing thought, maybe Li Daoxuan disliked her at the beginning, but until just now, after the two of them made things clear, he was definitely no longer disgusted with her, but regarded her as a "trouble".

After all, she had "put in a lot of thought" to plot against him several times, and he had pointed out and seen through her schemes one by one, but he didn't know what her purpose was. Things that are unpredictable and under control often pose potential threats and are the most annoying.

Ever since he fed her poison to "threaten" her, she kicked him into the water to "vent her anger", and finally she "helplessly" proposed to live in peace with him, and bluntly stated her "purpose". At this time, Li Daoxuan knew her purpose, and he could classify her as harmless, so his inner vigilance naturally relaxed a bit.

And what he wanted from the beginning to the end was Liuli Xin, so in order to get rid of her trouble, he would agree to anything that was within his tolerance. Therefore, he would "make exceptions" again and again after seeing how much of her thoughts were and how harmless she was.

After all, making an exception occasionally will not harm his original interests, and he can get what he needs in one fell swoop, so why not do it?

“…It seems so.”

"Moreover, he has been respected by everyone since he was young. He is high and mighty. Anyone who dares to disobey him will be dragged away the next moment. In all these years, I am the only one who has plotted against him and teased him many times, but he cannot kill me." This is due to her identity and the role of Liulixin.

"It's like you've lived peacefully for years, and suddenly a cat shows up, thinking it has a flawless plan to snatch the dried fish from you. You've already seen through everything, but because your life is so monotonous, you're willing to play along and pretend to let the cat succeed. Li Daoxuan is very clever; he can easily detect my little schemes."

But precisely because he could see through it so easily, he became less vigilant, and his subconscious mind would think: This person is not a hidden danger.

This makes it easier to fall in love, because no one would fall in love with or even sleep with someone who is a potential threat to them.

"The more peaceful Li Daoxuan's life is, the more I want to break it and make him remember me. Otherwise, why do you think so many domineering CEO novels are still popular in the market? CEOs have seen all kinds of intrigue and deception, and have seen the schemes of beautiful women. If I were in your place, I would also be interested in the heroine who is not interested in fame and fortune, strong but fragile."

The system was stunned by the coaxing: "So that's how it is." The system sighed again, "The host is right, it turns out that humans are so complicated."

Hearing 001 repeat what she had said before, Chen Qing's eyelids twitched, and she suddenly asked: "Are all your systems so humane?"

Upon hearing this, the system fell silent for a moment, then asked with a slightly electronic tone, "It was a bit stuck just now. What did the host say?"

Chen Qing: "Nothing, just hide. Don't come out again without my permission next time."

After all, she had adapted to the life in the Li Dynasty for so long, so she would only feel that the emergence of the system was out of place and made her uncomfortable.

The system secretly breathed a sigh of relief, "Okay, host."

001 went into hiding, but Chen Qing's heart began to stir. Would the system also freeze? Would it be as curious as 001?

After several brief conversations, Chen Qing no longer felt that 001 was a cold electronic product. On the contrary, it even had some spirituality, more like... a spiritual creature like Qiu Ren. The only difference was that Qiu Ren could not speak, but 001 could.

With this doubt, Chen Qing opened her eyes and looked at the hand hanging on her shoulder. Her lips were a little dry, so she simply pursed her lips. When she raised her eyes, her gaze unexpectedly met Li Daoxuan's, and she found that Li Daoxuan seemed to be wrong again.