54 Ancient City (IX)
◎Don’t get hurt all the time◎
He knew very well that she couldn't kill him, and he immediately regretted saying it, unable to understand why he had asked such a question.
Although he was reluctant to admit it, a feeling of tension still quietly and irresistibly invaded him.
Especially... when I saw her lower her head to take the dagger.
Xie Changyan closed his eyes, and the spiritual power at his fingertips repeatedly condensed and extinguished.
She was just like those people, always saying that she felt sorry for him, wanted to save him and wanted him to be well, but in fact, once any interests were involved, she would kill him without hesitation.
No one would care about his life or death.
There was a sound of wind blowing past his ears, and it seemed as if something flew past his face. He opened his eyes and saw only a flash of silver light in his peripheral vision.
"Be careful, it's not dead yet."
Xie Changyan was slightly startled. When he turned around, he saw a golden light coming out from his fingertips along the ground, directly piercing the dying puppet.
He raised his hand, and the dagger fell steadily back into the girl's hand.
"I don't know why you ask such a question," Li Jintang put away the dagger and looked up at him seriously, "but if what you just said is true, then you must be more careful from now on."
The moonlight in the boy's eyes rippled slightly. "Why do you want me to... be careful?"
"You are stupid. You have so many enemies. Shouldn't you hide yourself?" Li Jintang stopped talking after saying that. He felt that he was almost being led astray. How could he curse people without thinking?
"Don't get hurt so often in the future," she said softly, like a spring breeze across a lake, barely stirring up waves but creating ripples that lingered for a long time. "Just now, that puppet tried to sneak attack you, but you didn't even notice... After the poison is cured, if anything happens again, can you tell me?"
"Xie An, I really want to help you, no matter what you've been through."
When she used to read storybooks, she always felt sympathy for the protagonists' experiences - why did the protagonists always have to live such a miserable life? From childhood to adulthood, was there no one who cared about them except themselves?
The young man was stunned when he heard this. Two crescent-shaped lights flashed in his eyes. Then his face darkened again and he looked at her with a sneer, "You don't want a bargain that's delivered to your door?"
Who can cross the protagonist? Retribution is inevitable. This is not a bargain, this is a death sentence.
She was uncomfortable with this kind of look, so Li Jintang turned her face away and didn't respond.
"Where are you going?" She lifted her skirt and trotted after him.
"Do you still want to stay here?" He turned and looked at her with a half-smile. "If a puppet appears, I won't care whether you live or die."
"I see," she replied quietly, then she thought of something else, "Shouldn't we go find Brother Qu and the others?"
"It's been so long, they must have either left or—" He narrowed his eyes slightly and said grimly, "They're too useless. Unless something unexpected happens, if you go there now, you won't even be able to collect their bodies."
“…”
Sometimes she felt it was tiring to communicate with this person, but what he said was not unreasonable.
The person in front suddenly stopped. Li Jintang raised his head nervously and swallowed, "What, what happened?"
"There's someone in front." He said calmly, glanced back at her hands that were clenched together in anxiety, and laughed in his heart.
If she had taken the opportunity to leave just now, she would have seen Qu Lingfei and the others by now. She was so scared, but she still wanted to stay. I wonder who is the person who likes to show off.
"Is it... a puppet?" Li Jintang didn't notice the gaze staring at him, and his voice trembled slightly.
Xie Changyan didn't answer. He raised his hand and a silver needle flew out from his sleeve. It rustled a few times and went straight into the grass.
"The needle is poisonous. Get out here if you don't want to die."
There was a rustling sound in the bushes, and a dark shadow emerged.
"You...are not dead yet," Si Yun covered his shoulder, a streak of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Who are you, and who sent you here?"
"You should be the one answering these questions," Xie Changyan smiled faintly. His white robe was so pure that not a single trace of blood could be seen. The other party was terrified that he had escaped from the encirclement of puppets without a single injury. He asked coldly, "Where are they?"
Si Yun assessed the situation and said decisively, "I can lead the way, but you must cure my poison afterwards."
"You are not qualified to negotiate terms," he said calmly, "Lead the way."
As they walked along, a gust of wind suddenly swept past, and the top of a very lush tree beside them made a few noises. Li Jintang looked over there intently, and after a while he said, "Xie An, you go ahead. I... I have something else to do."
Xie Changyan immediately turned around, his face darkening: "You want to stay?"
She nodded, as if she was afraid he would stay with her, and added quickly, "I'll be back soon. I've already come this far, I won't get lost."
The young man's eyebrows raised slightly when he heard her. He stared at her for a few breaths, and a strange irritation welled up in his heart. He suddenly smiled, his sleeves fluttering as he turned and stepped into the shadows of the forest. "Whatever."
Before his figure completely disappeared from her sight, Li Jintang turned and walked towards the tree she had just been to. She circled around the trunk and, using the immortal technique of the Book of Fate, leaped onto the treetop, hiding her figure among the broad branches and leaves.
"This antidote is indeed only possessed by that kid Qi He. How could he possibly hand over the antidote when I have such a big grudge against him?" Two figures came from a distance. Judging from the voice, one of them was the monk Sikong.
She just faintly heard the word "antidote", but the other party did not say anything else - this might be the only chance to save Xie An, but she didn't expect to run into them when she turned back.
The little demon following beside him trembled with fear, "Yes, you, you... I will go and capture him and force him to hand over the antidote."
"You?" Monk Sikong narrowed his eyes, as if the poison had made him extremely irritated. He raised his foot and kicked the man to the ground. "You think you can beat him? Humph, but luckily that guy was also poisoned by the same poison last time, so I was able to snatch it away so easily..."
What did you snatch? Li Jintang didn't hear the sentence clearly, but saw a golden light glittering on her waist. When he looked closely, he found that it was the same as the thing Xie An had carried before.
It turned out that he was the one who stole Xie An’s things!
She stared at him indignantly, her mind wandering for a moment. Suddenly, a cold light flashed before her eyes, and a curved arc swept over. She quickly bent down to avoid the attack, but her foot slipped and she fell down.
As soon as he stood up, he met the threatening eyes of Sikong Jushi.
No...why does he only have one eye?
Li Jintang felt a chill in his heart—could this poison cause blindness? Then, then Xie An...
"You are so bold, girl, you dare to eavesdrop here," Sikong Jushi grinned, and a bow and arrow appeared in his hand. "But you are smart. It is better for you to die in my hands than to be trampled to death by those evil people."
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," Li Jintang said, "It was the Qi... City Lord who summoned me."
This statement greatly surprised Sikong Jushi. He put down his bow and arrow, frowning, "Did Qi He send you?"
Before she could answer, he suddenly raised his bow and arrow, nodding the string. "You're lying! I've seen you before. You're in cahoots with that Xie brat!"
"I'm not," Li Jintang felt that she was now terrifyingly calm. She continued with her story, "The city lord sent me to follow them because... because they had something the city lord wanted."
"Oh? Tell me, what is it?"
"Yes..." Li Jintang's gaze shifted, and he suddenly had an inspiration, "It was something you took from Xie An, and our city lord also wants it."
Mr. Sikong was startled and the bow and arrow in his hand finally dropped again.
Seeing this, Li Jintang continued, "You don't have to ask me what it is. Our city lord said that it's too strange and forbids us from asking about it."
Qi He...really wanted the Xuanyu, so it made sense not to let them know.
Li Jintang had been relying on her own witty fabrications, never expecting her to stumble upon the truth and actually guess correctly. Seeing the other party's frown deepen, she pressed the issue, "Our city lord knows you're coming, and he's arranged for these puppets to invite you as his guest. If you hand over that thing, he'll give you the antidote."
"Give you the thing?" Sikong Jushi laughed, "How do I know if you are lying? How can I possibly give you the thing..."
"Of course not for me. This item is too important to the City Lord. I wouldn't dare touch it. I must deliver it to him personally. Please come with me." Li Jintang waved his hand and blinked. "Think about it. If it weren't for the City Lord's instructions, how would I dare to appear here alone? Besides, you saw it just now. Xie... He was badly injured by the puppet, while I was completely unharmed. It's all thanks to our City Lord's protection."
“Sir, she…” The little demon was about to stop him, but was restrained by a hand.
Sikong Jushi shook his head and said, "Alright! Then I will go with you alone. I want to see what Qi He can do to me!"
Li Jintang was walking in the front when she suddenly saw a beam of blue light bouncing towards her. Her eyes lit up and she quickly reached out her hand and let it jump onto her shoulder. "What's wrong? Did you find it?"
"There's fog ahead. You take him through it," the Fate Book snorted. "You dare to take this risk just to help that kid get his things back?"
"It won't be dangerous," Li Jintang smiled. "Look, I still have so many talismans on me."
"Girl, you are not deliberately trying to take me on a detour, are you?" Sikong Jushi narrowed his eyes and spoke threateningly.
"How dare I? Our city lord has ordered us to see you," Li Jintang replied with a sidelong glance. "Besides, you're not even afraid of puppets. What can a little girl like me do to you?"
These words made him very happy. Mr. Sikong snorted twice and then stopped talking.
Li Jintang estimated the distance and secretly lit a piece of talisman paper when he was not paying attention. The talisman paper immediately turned into a faint halo, enveloping her in it.
The fog grew thicker, blurring the surrounding scenery until even the path beneath his feet became indistinguishable. Finally realizing something was amiss, Monk Sikong shouted, "You little bastard, how dare you play tricks on me?!"
"What are you talking about?" Li Jintang was roughly dragged over by him. The moment she leaned over, she took the opportunity to reach out and took the black jade from his waist. "Our city lord is just ahead. You know, the place where he lives is very strange. It's either foggy or full of poisonous snakes..."
"Old man?" The monk Sikong laughed loudly, but she only felt that his laughter was terrifying. "He is not much older than you. He is an old man, so what are you?"
Li Jintang was shocked - she didn't know the age of the city lord, but seeing that everyone in the city, young and old, men and women, were extremely respectful to him, she thought he was an old man. She didn't expect that at this moment, because of a careless word she said, she was caught by someone.
However, the thing was already in her hands, and the source of the antidote had also been found out. She drew out the dagger at lightning speed and stabbed him. Sikong Jushi slightly dodged the knife and easily avoided it.
Li Jintang didn't think she could stab him. While the strength in his hand was weakening, she quickly crouched down and retreated, running back without looking back.
Dust was flying behind her and the sound of flapping wings continued - how could she forget that the other party had wings? No matter how hard she tried to escape, her two legs would never be able to outrun the flying one.
Suddenly, there was a cracking sound - it was the sound of the protective shield made of talisman paper being pierced by the arrow. Li Jintang turned a corner in front, trying to get rid of him.
Suddenly another arrow came. She had no time to get the talisman paper, so she had to duck to avoid it. But because of this, she couldn't see the road in front of her at all.
Suddenly, she stepped on empty air and Li Jintang panicked and raised her hand to grab the branch above her, but the branch broke and fell into the cave with her.
Her body was covered in blood from the thorns growing all over it. She supported herself on the ground and crawled to her feet, but her palms were also bleeding.
It...hurts.
She endured the pain, holding onto the edge of the cave with both hands, struggling to climb out, when she suddenly heard a sneer:
"So when Miss Li said 'something', she meant coming back to die."
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