Scholar Qi Heng

A familiar voice reached her ears, and she was shocked. Her heart started beating wildly, and the wild donkey in her heart started beating wildly again because of him after eighteen years.

Without hesitation, she grasped those hands tightly, warmth instantly enveloping her cold hands, dispelling the chill. He returned the grip firmly and pulled her into the carriage, a familiar face coming into view.

They shouldn't meet at this time...

The boy's voice was gentle, but he asked in a serious tone, "Am I good-looking?"

At this moment, Yuanli's mind replayed the wedding night in the Prince Wen's mansion in Liangzhu. He took her mandarin duck fan, and the red quilt reflected his face with a rosy glow of joy. He took out the rabbit handkerchief, leaned forward slightly, and wiped her saliva. His eyebrows curved, his voice gentle, and he asked her, "I am very beautiful?"

The person in front of her looked very much like her A Ci, without the unreachable sense of distance from heaven, but with more of the touch of human life. Yuanli tried her best to suppress the bitterness in her tone.

"Looks good. You are the most handsome man in the world."

He was stunned for a moment, then quickly regained his composure and asked calmly, "Are you a Gu Master? Regarding the rabies in town, are you confident in identifying whether it's a type of Gu?"

"Are you here for rabies?"

"Well, rabies came without warning and spread extremely quickly. There's no historical basis for it, so the only rumors left are that rabies was caused by Gu Masters."

"What about you? Do you also think that the rabies in Qingshui Town was caused by the Ghost Mountain Gu Master you mentioned?" Yuanli stared at him intently, confirming the answer with him.

She grew up in Jiwang Valley. The villagers lived and died with her. She knew their natures well. Although she could make poisons, she would never violate the taboos set by her father and use poisons to harm others.

When my father was young, poison was rampant. Emperors and nobles often paid out precious gold and silver to hire poison masters to work for them. To achieve their goals, they would use any means necessary, causing great suffering to the people. Therefore, the people hated poison masters.

She could understand, even if he said yes.

The emperor is still a mortal now. Considering his patriotism, he might be deceived by worldly opinions, but she still wants to hear the answer from his own mouth.

"I can't say for sure whether it's a Gu at the moment, but even if it is, it definitely wouldn't be the work of someone from Jiwang Mountain. He wouldn't allow his own people to behave like that."

"Do you know the village chief?"

He slowly turned around and stared at her. Seeing that look, Yuanli said angrily, "I'm sorry for asking about your private affairs."

"A similar poison...is there one?"

"From what I know personally, there are indeed Gu Masters who can control a person's words, actions, and even thoughts, but I've never seen a Gu that can drive a person as crazy as a mad dog."

He fell into deep thought, saying nothing, letting the carriage slowly move forward. Outside the thin wall of the carriage, the screams of the people fleeing in panic gradually disappeared.

Yuanli lifted the carriage curtain, and the familiar dirt road outside the carriage came into view. The Qingshui Town boundary marker that she saw when passing by early in the morning receded behind her. Only then did she realize that the carriage was heading towards Jiwang Mountain.

She anxiously lifted the carriage curtain, only to see that there was no driver in front of the carriage to control the direction, only two shiny chestnut horses running freely.

"Stop, I want to get off."

"Qingshui Town is not peaceful. I advise the young lady to stay put."

As soon as Heng Jin finished speaking, the two red-skinned horses suddenly increased their speed as if they knew their master's thoughts. Yuanli was thrown back by the sudden recoil.

When she was panicking, Heng Jin's large palm supported her from behind, holding her firmly in place. Throughout the entire process, he remained calm and composed, showing no signs of worry.

"Stop your horse!"

"Isn't it good for me to take the girl home? You are so afraid to step into the territory of Jiwang Mountain. Could it be that you violated the taboo of the village chief and secretly escaped to save your life?"

After saying this, he restrained her right hand and said, "If that's the case, I can capture you and take you back to the Miao village to ask the village chief for a reward. Perhaps if he's pleased, he'll help me resolve the mad dog case."

Hearing this, Yuanli became anxious and suddenly came up with an idea. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she pretended to be sad. She wiped her tears and said, "I have no way to repay you for saving my life. If this can help you solve your urgent problem, then I am willing to follow you back to the wolf's den."

Tears as big as beans slid down her face and dripped down. She looked up at him with tenderness, imitating the way Jiang Yue looked at Chen Xuhuai in her previous life, "I feel pity for her and the beauty is crying."

Heng Jin loosened his grip on her hand, his eyes slightly evasive. He asked in confusion, "Wolf den?"

"Well, my original Miao village was hit by a man-made disaster, and all my tribe members died. I was the only one left alive. I wandered here a while ago. I heard that the people in Qingshui Town were simple and kind, and I would definitely be able to find a good livelihood. But I didn't expect that as soon as I set foot here, I was kidnapped by a rough man and taken to the mountains. He wanted... he wanted... to force me..."

Having said this, Yuanli was choked with sobs and couldn't utter a complete sentence. She lowered her head and covered her face with her hands, crying. Her left hand was frantically covering her face and vision, and her shoulders were also heaving with it.

Heng Jin completely released the hand that was restraining her. He sat up straight, bowed, and apologized, "I am sorry for the offense and for touching upon your sorrow. I hope you will forgive me."

She put on a full show, wiped her tears quickly and waved her hands, saying, "It's okay, it's okay. I know very well that you are a kind-hearted person. I don't know the reason, so I won't blame you."

"So, what are your plans now?"

Yuanli hung her head in despair, nervously clicking her fingers. She spoke in a low voice, "Originally, I wanted to find a job and a place to stay in Qingshui Town, so I could have a good meal. I wore the most respectable clothes I brought with me when I fled, but I never imagined... I never imagined that Qingshui Town would have such a ridiculous case of mad dogs."

Her tone was full of grievance, the corners of her mouth were pressed down, and she sobbed and wiped her tears. Her pitiful eyes were full of helplessness, and she would look up at him from time to time.

"Two taels of silver a month, are you satisfied?"

"But I'm just a Gu Master, like a rat crossing the street, despised and cursed by everyone. If I stay by your side and serve you, I'm afraid I'll bring you unnecessary trouble..."

Heng Jin immediately took out two taels of silver and stuffed them into her hand, interrupting her, saying, "What I do and my identity are extremely dangerous. Staying with me means you risk your life at best, or even death without a burial place at worst. Since you want to repay my kindness but also cherish your life, I advise you to think it over before you speak."

"I am good at poisoning, and I can ensure your immortality. From now on, wherever you are, I will be there too."

Yuanli stared at him with tender eyes, filled with determination and persistence, as if she had set her sights on him. It was a blessing in disguise; now her worries about how to stay by his side had been completely resolved.

The carriage turned around and drove back to Qingshui Town. The slightly bumpy ride made her drowsy, but Heng Jin was reading a book with great interest.

Yuanli experienced spring sleepiness, autumn fatigue, summer naps, and even hibernation in winter. She soon fell asleep leaning against the wall of the carriage.

Yuanli felt that she fell asleep one second and her spirit left her body the next. The two of them sat on the trunk of a big tree as the carriage passed by.

Tianshu took out a golden scroll, which was surrounded by fairy light. He held the scroll of life in his hand and tried to open it, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not shake it at all.

"When did the unusual movement occur?"

"You and Qi Heng should have met by the Qingshui River, fallen in love with each other, expressed your feelings for each other, and then tied the knot. But you met a full four hours too early. By then, your fate was too fragile to open up."

"What about the post I read in the lower realm? Has it changed?"

Tianshu shook his head and said, "What the lower realms are observing is the opportunity sticker, which is closely related to the fate book. What appears on the opportunity sticker is what the fate book shows. You two have missed the destined connection. A Li Xingjun will probably have to put in a lot of effort to make the emperor fall in love with you again."

What Tianshu meant was that you should rely on yourself instead of cheating.

As Yuanli was in distress, his consciousness rose and drifted towards the carriage in the distance. His ethereal voice came to his ears, saying, "Ali, don't believe everything you see."

Before she could think through her response, she had already returned to the carriage, repeating under her breath, "Don't believe everything you see... What on earth does he mean..."

The sound of Qi Heng closing the book hit her ears. She lifted the curtain of the carriage and the cold wind blew on her face. She pretended to be indifferent and stared at the scenery outside the window to avoid looking at Qi Heng.

The closer they got to Qingshui Town, the stronger the cold wind blew on her face. The cold wind penetrated the gaps in her clothes and made her shiver.

Just as she was about to lower the curtain, the stone boundary marker of Qingshui Town came into view and quickly passed by. Yuanli rubbed her eyes in disbelief and looked outside.

I don’t know if it was because of my eyesight, but Yuanli seemed to see that the originally smooth boundary marker was covered with moss, and it looked like a withered claw seeking survival extending towards the top of the marker.

The scroll behind her tapped her waist and said, "It's dangerous. Come back quickly."

Hearing this, Yuanli shrank back, and recalled the boundary marker she had seen before over and over again in her mind.

The atmosphere in the carriage was silent and still until they entered the town. Qi Heng took out a sky-blue gauze dress from the drawer of the couch beneath him, and then got off the carriage first.

Qi Heng said through the carriage curtain, "I'll stay here for you. Come down after you change your clothes."

Yuanli opened the dress and took a closer look. Judging from the material and workmanship, it didn't look like the attire of a maid or servant. Instead, it looked like the low-key outfit of a rich lady going out.

A sense of crisis surged in her heart. The road to chasing her husband was long, dangerous and full of changes. Now a strong enemy appeared. Yuanli couldn't help but sigh.

After changing her clothes and lifting the carriage curtain, she saw Qi Heng standing beside the horse with his back to the horse. His broad shoulders and narrow waist gave her a sense of security. Qi Heng tilted his head slightly and whispered, "Let's go. Let's rest here for tonight."

The people passing by cast their eyes at them from time to time. Yuanli nodded and lowered her brows, following him half a step closely. Qi Heng took her directly into the path beside the inn and walked back and forth.

Xiang Yao, dressed in cook's clothes, came to lead the way and went straight to the VIP room on the top floor of the inn through the backyard door. When the door was pushed open, Yuanli seemed to smell a faint smell of gray mold.

The large guest room was simple and elegant. There was only a bed in the room with the luggage on it. There was no sign of life.

"We checked you in hastily, so we only have this one guest room ready. You'll sleep on the floor."

"Master, it's very cold, we..." Before Yuanli could say any words of protest, Qi Heng turned around and glanced at her, seeming a little displeased.