Chapter 14

The next day, early in the morning, Lin Qiang brought a fish basket and knocked on Yuan Qiong's door. He knocked twice but received no answer, so he waited a while before knocking again.

"Girl, get up quickly, let's go catch fish."

Yuan Qiong was always groggy when she woke up in the morning, and it took her a while to fully wake up. She vaguely heard a knock on the door, so she rolled over in her blanket and waited for the next knock.

Sure enough, the person at the door knew her habits and knocked three or four more times, steadily and calmly, until she was fully awake.

The fair-skinned young girl peeked out from under the covers, listened to the man's shouts outside the door, then buried her face in the covers and chuckled twice before getting up and getting out of bed.

"You bandit, don't you know you can't just knock on a girl's door like that? If you did that in Yandu, you'd be hung from a tree!"

The little girl's voice was charming and clear, which made Lin Qiang happy.

"Then tomorrow I won't knock, how about I kick it instead?"

"You dare!"

After getting dressed, she pretended to be angry and went to open the door, but her act broke down the moment she saw the man with the big black beard, and she burst out laughing while clutching her stomach.

"Hahaha... What's with this outfit? What's a grown man doing wearing so many flowers in his hair? Are you going to compete for the title of courtesan?"

The tall man had more than a dozen wildflowers tucked into his collar, some large, some small, some red, some purple. The green leaves on the flowers, combined with the man's imposing beard, made him look rather comical.

Yuan Qiong was overjoyed, looking him up and down, almost laughing until tears streamed down her face.

"Ha ha ha ha......"

Lin Qiang put down the fish basket and flicked her forehead.

"Laugh, laugh, laugh! What's so funny!"

He reached into the back of his collar and pulled out a large bouquet of flowers, neatly arranged them, and handed them to her.

"When I went to practice this morning, I saw these flowers and thought they were pretty. I figured you young ladies would like them, so I picked some for you. When I was getting the fish basket and net, I didn't have any extra hands, so I just stuck them in my collar. They're so itchy!"

As Lin Qiang spoke, he stuffed the flowers into her hand.

"Quickly find a bottle and soak it in water, otherwise it will wither in a while."

"A gift for me?"

Yuan Qiong held the flowers in disbelief; the vibrant wildflowers were quite beautiful. Her face immediately flushed, and she felt somewhat flustered. When she came to her senses, she quickly turned her back, pretending to look for a bottle, but actually to hide her blushing from the burly man with the dark beard.

These bandits are really something, why would they send flowers out of the blue?!

Running into the inner room, Yuan Qiong stared blankly at the vibrant flowers in her hand for a long while, and suddenly felt that these unknown wildflowers in the mountains were more beautiful than the most precious flowers in the royal palace garden.

I closed my eyes and took a gentle sniff, like a little fox with a pointed nose, testing its new gift, and couldn't help but smile.

"Are you done yet?"

Lin Qiang let out a howl, which startled her instantly.

"Almost done!"

She frantically dug out an earthenware bottle and carefully placed the flowers inside.

Just then, Lin Qiang walked in.

"Who, who let you in?!" Yuan Qiong kicked him, shouting angrily, "You lecherous scoundrel! Barging into a young lady's room! Believe me or not, I'll have you hung up a tree!"

"I was worried something had happened to you since you haven't made a sound for so long." Lin Qiang dodged while using his height advantage to snatch the earthenware bottle from her hand: "Give me the bottle, I'll go out and get you some water, otherwise you'll wither away soon!"

After saying that, he used his light-footed skill and disappeared in a flash.

"Hmph! You lecher! You should be hung up!" Yuan Qiong muttered under her breath as she watched his retreating figure.

Immediately, a dark figure appeared behind her: "Miss, should I go and hang that bandit?" Leopard asked sincerely.

"........"

"Who told you to meddle! Get lost!"

Yuan Qiong kicked him, which startled the leopard so much that he immediately jumped out of the window.

Did he say something wrong?

**

When Lin Qiang went to fetch water, he ran into Yuan Liu Niang, who had just gotten up. She was carrying a bucket of water, her steps were heavy, and her once fair and radiant face was now dark, as if she were very tired.

When Yuan Liuniang saw him, her eyes lit up instantly, and she became energetic: "Good morning, Boss!"

He nodded, not wanting to say more: "Good morning."

"Boss, will you come to guide my training today?" Yuan Liu Niang's bright peach blossom eyes were full of anticipation: "Little Sixth Brother said I'm improving very quickly. Starting today, I don't have to just practice the horse stance anymore. I can start practicing some basic skills!"

Thinking about what she had experienced this month, she couldn't help but shed a tear of bitterness.

She practiced horse stance under the sun for a whole month!

We finally made it through today! It wasn't easy!!!

If Prince Cheng, who is far away in the capital, knew this, he would be so shocked that his jaw would drop!

The woman he knew, Hua Wenluo, possessed a jade-like complexion and ethereal beauty, and her every move was accompanied by brocade carpets, untouched by the slightest dust. She was like a fragile porcelain doll, so delicate that no one dared to touch her, and she could only be held and cherished by everyone.

Now, this delicate and beautiful girl is actually doing horse stance under the sun?!

Ah, thank goodness Prince Cheng didn't see it...

"Sixth Brother can guide you through the basics. Come find me again when you start practicing the moves." Lin Qiang said indifferently, then turned and left after taking the water.

Yuan Liu Niang wanted to say something, but before she could speak, she disappeared from sight.

"...They didn't even glance at me! Am I really that bad? What do I lack compared to Wang Yao?!"

Thinking of this, she walked to the water vat to look at her reflection. As she looked, she discovered that she had turned completely black! This was absolutely unacceptable!!!

**

The capital city, the Prince Cheng's residence.

After his failed assassination attempt on Yuan Qiong, Yuwen Zhe did not take any further action.

When he was reborn, he was so focused on getting rid of Yuan Qiong that he forgot that Yuan Qiong was now on Black Wind Cliff.

Black Wind Cliff is no ordinary mountain stronghold...

"Jia Yi, Jia Er, send more people to closely monitor every move on Black Wind Cliff. Report to me immediately if there is any disturbance."

"promise."

Yuwen Zhe sat in his wheelchair, his expression shifting between light and dark.

That big black beard guy isn't a big deal; what you need to pay attention to are his sworn brothers.

The second brother, Ghostly Sorrow, is a highly skilled assassin. The third brother, Wild Wolf, can tame animals with music. The fourth brother, Smiling Tiger, appears honest and harmless, but is actually the most cunning. The fifth brother, Toothless Dog, and the sixth brother, Mountain Eagle, are just as stupid as Blackbeard, so they don't need to be worried about them too much.

Most importantly, there's a treasure trove left behind by a previous dynasty within Black Wind Mountain, the location of which is known only to the successive leaders of Black Cloud Stronghold. Furthermore, rumors suggest that Black Beard also possesses Emperor Wu's (Fu Yuan's) handwritten notes...

In his previous life, after impulsively tearing Black Beard to pieces, Ghost Sorrow and several of his brothers defected to Yuan Qiong, causing him numerous troubles both openly and secretly, resulting in the deaths of many of his capable subordinates. Later, it was Wenluo who persuaded the sixth brother to disintegrate from within, thus reducing much of the trouble. His regret, however, was that he never managed to obtain the treasure.

This time, he's determined to get the treasure and the manuscript from the big black bearded man!

**

That evening, as usual, Lin Qiang told Yuan Qiong a fairy tale, then turned off the lights, closed the door, and left.

When all was quiet, she lifted the simple curtain and sat on the edge of the bed. The leopard knelt silently at her feet.

"Young Miss, the Prime Minister has sent a message."

He then handed over a strip of cloth.

She got up, relit the lamp, and carefully examined the cloth strip by its light before burning it.

"I understand. Send someone to inform Grandpa that I will definitely handle this matter properly."

"promise."

That night, Yuan Qiong couldn't sleep.

She never imagined that so many secrets were hidden on this small cliff.

Her grandfather, who had been urging her to return home not long ago, suddenly changed his mind. He told her to stay on the mountain, gain the trust of the bearded man, and then obtain a book called "Fuyuan's Notes" from him.

Fu Yuan was the name of Emperor Wu, the founding emperor of the previous dynasty. He overthrew the tyrannical Qin dynasty and was a legend in history. From the age of sixteen, when he began his military campaigns, he was undefeated in every battle.

It is rumored that the "Fuyuan Manual" is the culmination of Emperor Wu's life's work, containing his secrets to governing the country and leading troops. Whoever obtains the "Fuyuan Manual" will surely unify the world and become the next Emperor Wu.

Yuan Qiong has always scoffed at this rumor.

If a single book could rewrite the fate of a nation, wouldn't that be utterly absurd?!

But over the past two months, the military strategies and amazing arithmetic that the black-bearded man told her had forced her to believe the rumor.

Perhaps, he really does have such a book in his possession...

Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants!

Thank you to the little angel who watered the [nutrient solution]:

Even the top bunkmate who's terrible at naming things gets a name from one bottle;

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!