Chapter 76 076 "...Not bad, you've finally learned to be wary of people..."

Clouds gather and the sun is obscured; a gust of wind rises and dust is stirred up.

At dawn, another light rain fell.

Jiang Ling'er woke up slowly in the drizzle that was as soft as willow catkins.

The dull pain in her heart, as if it had been cut open, still lingered. She struggled to breathe, and the drizzle moistened her parched lips, allowing her to taste... a faint, sweet, metallic taste of blood.

Jiang Ling'er was startled. Although the pain in her chest had subsided considerably, everything that had happened last night seemed to rush through her mind, more like a sharp dagger piercing her chest, causing her so much pain that she could barely breathe. Suddenly, a familiar and pleasant voice reached her ears:

"woke up?"

She paused, turning to look in the direction of the sound. The morning mist hadn't yet dissipated, vaguely outlining a tall, slender figure. Jiang Ling'er squinted, waiting for the dull pain in her chest to subside, while simultaneously scrutinizing the person before her. When the mist cleared, a pair of handsome features were revealed. Fine eyebrows and bright eyes, phoenix eyes gleaming, a tall figure with a disheveled air, and a faint flush of drunkenness on his cheeks…

"...It's you."

Jiang Ling'er was slightly taken aback, then her brows furrowed in disdain.

The person standing beside her was none other than the scoundrel Taoist priest, Pei Xuan.

The young Taoist priest was quite solicitous, and smiled with narrowed eyes, saying, "It's me, it's me."

His cold, phoenix-like eyes silently swept over the woman in the misty haze—white skin, red lips, disheveled hair… who rarely showed any vulnerability. His eyes curved slightly, like a fox stripped of its fur and cunning.

However, a fox is still a fox even after its fur has been removed.

"I bid you farewell, my love will last forever; like clouds drifting and rain scattering, I bid you farewell." He recited a broken poem, swaying his head, as if speaking with the wisdom of someone who had been through it all. "Leaving the wrong person is like a viper stinging your hand, a brave man cutting off his own wrist. As the saying goes, 'Drawing a knife to cut water only makes it flow more, raising a cup to drown sorrow only makes it more sorrowful...'"

Suddenly, he pulled out a wine flask from behind his back and waved it in front of Jiang Ling'er: "Want a drink?"

Jiang Ling'er: "..."

Jiang Ling'er couldn't hide her disgust: "...What nonsense is this?"

She turned her head away, avoiding Pei Xuan's outstretched hand.

He glanced warily at the wine pot in the young Taoist's hand.

The young Taoist priest paused, then chuckled softly to himself. He blinked innocently, "Why are you looking at me like that?" He was genuinely puzzled. "Someone else is deceiving and cheating you. Why are you looking at me like that?"

Jiang Ling'er scoffed coldly, her usually open and clear almond-shaped eyes seeming to hold all the mist and dust, now clouded over for the first time:

"If you can't trust those little poisoners, do you think you are?"

Pei Xuan was taken aback, then smiled brightly: "...Not bad, you've finally learned to be wary of people."

He put the wine jug away, took a swig in his mouth, and the faint blush on his fair cheeks deepened with the effects of the wine. He glanced at her sideways.

"Let's make this clear first, it was Chunhua who insisted on saving you, not me."

Jiang Ling'er: "..."

Jiang Ling'er was caught off guard and choked for a moment, but since she had received a favor from him, she couldn't show it. Besides, he really wasn't wrong.

From then on... she found it hard to trust people anymore, but she could trust Chunhua.

Jiang Ling'er stroked Chunhua's glossy fur, watching the young Taoist lead Chunhua and the others deeper into the birch forest...

After holding back for a moment, she finally couldn't help but ask, "...Where are you taking me?"

The young Taoist priest glanced at her upon hearing this: "Didn't you say you were going to the Lingxiao Sect on Dagushan Mountain?"

Jiang Ling'er paused, her eyes immediately lighting up: "You're going to take me?" Then her expression dimmed again, and she leaned lazily against Chunhua, yawning casually. "Didn't they say that the Lingxiao Sect would only open its gates according to the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches and the Five Elements? It's not time yet..."

Before Jiang Ling'er could finish speaking, Pei Xuan suddenly tilted his head back and downed the wine in one gulp. He threw the wine pot down, and a cold light flashed—

He cleaved the mountain gate in two with a single sword strike!

Jiang Ling'er was so shocked that she jumped up from Chunhua's body: "...!!!"

A single sword strike, like clouds, exudes a magnificent aura.

The vast sea of ​​fog was suddenly split in two!

The sea of ​​fog surged, then dissipated. A startlingly powerful figure rose from the flat ground, its sword energy piercing the azure clouds.

The majestic mountain gate, hidden behind a sea of ​​mist, was revealed. With a very clear "clang," the mountain gate was indeed split open!

The melodious and magnificent sound echoed through the mountains.

Jiang Ling'er was completely dumbfounded.

As the sword fell, Pei Xuan wiped away the wine stains that were about to drip from his chin with his sleeve. He turned back, smiling, and opened his hand to her:

"Isn't this a special case?"

Jiang Ling'er: "..."

"…………"

Jiang Ling'er was speechless for a long time: "You...you...you know martial arts?"

The young Taoist priest replied frankly, "Did I never say I couldn't?"

Jiang Ling'er choked: "..." Then, as if remembering something, she jumped off Chunhua's back, walked over to the young Taoist, her brows furrowed, and the gloom in her almond-shaped eyes vanished, replaced by anger as she glared at him, "Why didn't you use it in the Ghost Market?! We almost died there!"

Even when he was chased and beaten so badly by her and Qin Xiangyu with a rolling pin, he never retaliated even once.

She actually thought he didn't know martial arts.

Before Pei Xuan drew his sword, Jiang Ling'er thought that the long sword he wore at his waist was just a showy decoration.

What a strange person.

Jiang Ling'er initially thought he was just a young man like Xue San Gui, merely an outer disciple of the Lingxiao Sect, or even less, given his age... She had always suspected that this guy was nothing more than a scoundrel charlatan using the Lingxiao Sect's name to swindle and deceive people...

However, it now appears that he is far more complex than he seems.

Pei Xuan's expression remained indifferent upon hearing this, as if he were merely discussing the weather, speaking casually:

"I have sworn a solemn oath never to use force again, unless..."

He paused abruptly, his thin lips pursed.

Jiang Ling'er couldn't help but step forward, look up at him, and ask, "Unless what?"

The young Taoist priest glanced down at her and saw that her almond-shaped eyes were wide open. The gloom finally dissipated in those eyes.

Gazing at the boundless blue sky and white clouds reflected in her clear, bright eyes, she suddenly narrowed her phoenix eyes, leaned closer to those eyes, and a wicked thought arose again: "Want to know?"

Jiang Ling'er: "..."

Jiang Ling'er really wanted to turn her head away and ignore him, or even punch him, but she couldn't suppress her curiosity and nodded rather stiffly and with great difficulty.

Pei Xuan smiled and said, "I won't tell you."

Jiang Ling'er: "..."

"…………"

Jiang Ling'er gasped, her teeth clenched, the unmistakable scent of alcohol still lingering around her nose. Looking at his flushed face, she suppressed her anger and asked, "Are you... drunk?"

The young Taoist priest chuckled self-deprecatingly: "So what if I'm drunk? So what if I'm not? Does being drunk or not... really matter that much?" He chuckled twice, then stepped aside, clearing a secluded green path for him.

Deep within the green path lies the majestic entrance to the Lingxiao Sect's mountain gate.

It was just chopped.

"Didn't you long to go to the Lingxiao Sect on Dagushan Mountain? Please."

Jiang Ling'er had no choice but to swallow her anger. As she brushed past him, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that this scoundrel Taoist priest hadn't even drawn his sword from its sheath...

And so the mountain gate was cleaved open.

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The author notes: ① From Xie Tiao's "Viewing the Morning Rain"; ② From Li Bai's "Returning to My Old Residence at Shimen on the Way Home"; ③ From Hao Jing's "Hua Bu Zhu Xing"

I'm back! Wishing everyone happiness every day!