38 Ghost Market (Part 3)
◎While groping, she accidentally touched his collar, and through the fabric, she seemed to feel the warmth of his neck.◎
The performance on the stage was in full swing but it came to an abrupt halt at the critical moment. Not only were the people in the audience stunned, but the pretty boy behind the scenes also showed a look of surprise, and then stepped aside with a sullen face.
"Report—" Suddenly, a man came running in, sweating profusely. One eye scanned the stage, the other fixed on the pretty boy. "Boss, Boss, those two masters just sent a message saying they can't come today due to some matters."
The pretty boy's eyebrows suddenly twisted together, his facial features contorted with anger, and he almost shook off the white powder on his face.
He immediately rushed out, pulled back the curtain, and dropped all his compliments. He pointed at the two people on the stage and shouted angrily, "Who the hell are you?!"
The two exchanged glances, and Qu Lingfei stepped in front of Qiuyan, grinning, "Why do you say that, brother? Was our performance just now not good enough?"
When he said the words "not good enough", his fingers had already climbed onto a piece of red cloth, and he suddenly lifted it up, and the red cloth was thrown directly at the shopkeeper's face.
"What's going on?" Li Jintang suddenly stood up after seeing the two people on the stage tear off their masks. "It's Brother Qu and Qiuyan!"
In a blink of an eye, several people holding wooden sticks rushed out and surrounded them aggressively.
Li Jintang was shocked and looked at Xie Changyan with a pleading look: "Xie An, can you go and help them?"
"What's the hurry?" He slowly put down the teacup in his hand and smiled casually: "Isn't someone coming?"
Before Li Jintang understood what he meant, he heard a series of crackling sounds. When he looked back, he saw that the people surrounding them had all fallen down after a sudden swaying movement.
"Brother Nangong, don't hurt anyone!" Qu Lingfei did not forget to remind him during the fight.
After several people fell down together, Nangong Xiu snorted, without even unsheathing his sword: "When did you come?"
"We'll talk about this later. Let's go out and find Brother Xie and Atang first..."
"Atang?" Qiuyan shouted in surprise and joy, and immediately ran to the stage.
How could the audience have ever seen such a scene? It was even more intense than what was played on stage, and the scene was already in chaos. Li Jintang carefully navigated the chaotic crowd until he reached Qiuyan.
"Atang, why are you here?"
"Xie An said he wanted to come to the opera," Li Jintang replied. Now that he thought about it, he should have guessed that Brother Qu and the others would be here. "I didn't expect to actually run into you guys."
Suddenly, a loud shout interrupted them: "Do you think you can still escape?!"
"Yes, it's them," one man stood up with a look of fear on his face, and said tremblingly, "I recognize them. They came from outside to take our lives!"
Qu Lingfei was startled when he heard this, recognizing the speaker as one of the pedestrians who had watched them during the day. Suddenly, he saw heads swaying in the attic, behind pillars, and on the rooftops, their hands flashing silver weapons, and murderous intent was everywhere.
"Brother Xie, don't hurt them!" Qu Lingfei used his elbow to push away several people who surrounded him and shouted anxiously.
Xie Changyan didn't take his words seriously at all.
Spiritual power flashing with cold light was already surrounding his fingertips - they were just a bunch of ants, what was the pity in killing them?
Just as he was about to raise his hand to strike out, he suddenly felt a warm current coming from the palm of his hand hanging by his side. He was slightly startled, and the spiritual power in his palm gradually faded as he was distracted.
"Xie An, can you please not hurt them?" Li Jintang loosened his hand and slowly stood in front of him. "We accidentally broke in and disturbed their lives, but they are innocent."
The young man's eyes changed slightly, and he slowly lowered his hands, with the murderous aura gathered between his five fingers.
"Atang," he suddenly called her, his tone indifferent and a little helpless, "I told you not to be soft-hearted towards others easily."
The teahouse door collapsed with a loud bang. Not wanting to hurt them, the men stepped on the door panels and retreated outside. It was already dark, but the streets were more crowded than during the day. Street vendors were crowded on the sidewalks, and as they fled, they carefully avoided them, trying not to knock over the stalls.
"I say, don't chase us anymore," Qiuyan said, shaking two stones in her hand. She turned around and threw them casually, hitting the pretty boy right on the forehead. She made a face and said with a smile, "Hurry up and get your master!"
"Hurry up!" Nangong Xiu held the scabbard of his sword horizontally, knocked down several pursuers who came forward, and left the group behind him far behind. The five of them quickly broke out of the encirclement and blended into the night.
The dense trees obscured their figures. After catching his breath, Qu Lingfei glanced at them and said, "Is everyone safe? We've been through a lot today. Why don't you rest here tonight and continue your journey at daybreak?"
Naturally, they all agreed and chose a clean spot to sit down. Qiu Yan blinked and smiled playfully, "Nangong Xiu, how was your time with Tian Heng today?"
Nangong Xiu's face turned pale as he punched the tree trunk hard, sending dust flying everywhere. "It's my fault for being careless. I let him get away!"
"It's best that everyone is fine right now." Qu Lingfei said this to comfort her. Suddenly, he heard a few gurgling sounds. He turned around and saw Qiu Yan. The moment his eyes met, her face turned slightly red. She immediately lowered her head and pressed her hands on her abdomen.
He smiled knowingly, put his hand on Nangong Xiu's shoulder, and pursed his lips: "I've been running around all day and I'm so hungry. Let's go find something to eat?"
"It's already this late and you're still eating?" Nangong Xiu rolled his eyes at him, but his hands kept moving as he put on his sword.
Qu Lingfei chuckled and said, "Why don't you, Brother Xie, come with us? Junior Sister and Atang can stay here and start a fire."
"That won't do," Qiuyan stood up immediately. "You grown men are acting so clumsily. What if you get caught again? Besides, if someone shows up later, how can Atang and I fight them off?"
That’s a problem…
Qu Lingfei frowned and thought for a moment: "Xie brother, why don't you and Atang stay..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the young man calmly replied, "Then I'll trouble you, Fellow Daoist Qu." He glanced at Li Jintang and asked with a smile, "I wonder if Miss Li agrees?"
Why would she refuse? Li Jintang glanced at him puzzledly, then nodded: "Then you must be careful."
The figures of several people gradually disappeared at the end of the forest. Li Jintang did not dare to delay and stood up to look around for firewood to make a fire.
"Xie An," she walked a few steps, stopped and looked back, "Aren't you going with me?"
The bushes around grew unevenly, with occasional bird calls. The surroundings were pitch black, as if something terrible might jump out at any time.
"I don't want to get my clothes dirty," Xie Changyan said simply and to the point. A smile suddenly flickered across his dark eyes as he looked at her. "If I don't go, does Miss Li have the heart to let me starve to death?"
Why is this person... like this... Li Jintang would of course not answer such a question. She gave him a helpless look, then lit the fire stick, turned around and went into the bushes.
There were several branches lying randomly on the ground. Li Jintang bent down to pick them up one by one and looked at them, but she felt that none of them were suitable. She walked forward a few steps and suddenly tripped over something. She held the tree trunk and looked up, only to see a branch extending horizontally above her head, dividing the full moon hanging high in the sky into two halves.
This branch is good! Li Jintang's eyes lit up, and she pulled out a dagger from her waist. She stood on tiptoe and threw it upwards with force. There were only a few clicking sounds. She stood there waiting for a long time. The knife fell to an unknown place, but the branch did not move at all.
Strange, what was that sound just now? Did she knock something down?
After another pause, with still no movement, she raised her fire starter and prepared to retrieve the dagger. As she took a step forward, she suddenly heard a buzzing sound in her ears.
Li Jintang's body stiffened, and he raised his head to look up - he saw above the treetops, under the moonlight, a large black group of insects flapping their wings and approaching downwards.
If she got stung by one of these, it would hurt for days, right? She hadn't expected to not only chop down branches but also accidentally provoke a group of these creatures. She turned and tried to leave, not even bothering to find her dagger.
Her ankle suddenly felt tight, and Li Jintang lowered her head stiffly - a thorny vine was tightly wrapped around her ankle, and if she moved even slightly, she would be cut with several bloody marks.
The black swarm of bees seemed to bring a chill. Li Jintang squatted down, skillfully protecting his head with both hands, not daring to move, just hoping that they would not discover him.
The sound was getting closer and closer. She closed her eyes tightly and waited for a long time, but the expected pain did not come.
The girl hesitated for a moment, then slowly and nervously opened one eye, and was met with a blue light.
Is that... the protective shield of the Book of Destiny?
The vines under his feet broke, and his ankle suddenly felt relieved. Li Jintang felt as if he had been pardoned. He was about to thank the book of destiny properly when a ray of pure white suddenly flashed in his peripheral vision.
The young man stopped in front of her, leaned over slightly to look at her, with a faint smile at the corner of his lips.
"Miss Li, do you still want your knife?"
Xie Changyan handed over the dagger that had just disappeared, with the handle facing her and the tip pointing towards himself.
"I..." Li Jintang felt like she couldn't even speak anymore. She reached out to take the dagger slowly, her head tilted back with a sore head as she asked softly, "Didn't you say you weren't coming?"
I expected something bad would happen to you alone.
He didn't say this out loud, only sneered: "At your rate, I'm afraid by the time Qu Lingfei and the others return, there won't be any trace of the fire."
“…”
This person always appears when she needs him the most. He obviously means well, but why does he have to mock her?
He had ridiculed her enough and his eyes slowly moved over her body. "Why don't you get up?"
Li Jintang's face flushed, and he lowered his head awkwardly. He said in a voice so low that he could hardly hear it, "My foot was scratched, and I can't stand up..."
It wasn't like she wanted to get hurt. Li Jintang avoided his gaze, fearing that he would say something else. "You go first. I can walk back by myself in a while..."
Before she finished her words, a figure slipped past her eyes. She looked up in a daze and saw Xie Changyan had half-crouched down, exposing his back to her.
"Come up," he said sarcastically, his tone slightly impatient. "By the time you get back, it will be daybreak."
Li Jintang hesitated for a moment, and finally reached out and carefully placed her hand on his shoulder before the other party lost his patience. As soon as her fingers touched the cold fabric, she felt a pair of hands supporting her from behind. She flew into the air, her heart panicked, and she quickly grabbed his sleeve.
"Don't hold on so tightly."
"Oh, sorry." She loosened her fingers little by little, and accidentally touched his collar while groping.
She didn't know if it was an illusion, but through the clothes, she seemed to feel the heat of his neck.
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