Chapter 26 Your Foolishness
Yan Chongyan quickly accepted the mission. This time, the location was outside Changning City in Xuanzhou, and there were two level-three demonic beasts. To be on the safe side, he led seven disciples along.
After flying on their swords for a day, they arrived in Changning City, found an inn to stay in, and prepared to head to the location of the monster the next day.
After everyone was assigned their rooms, they went back to their rooms to rest, and Yan Chongyan was no exception.
His junior brother, who lived with him, looked down at his waist and asked curiously, "Is this the sachet the princess gave you?"
Yan Chongyan was somewhat surprised: "How did you know?"
The junior brother smiled and said, “I heard from my roommates that the princess would take the sachets to class to sew every day. Although the masters complained, they could only pretend not to see it. I guessed at the time that they were for you, and sure enough, they were.”
Yan Chongyan frowned. "She sewed it during class time?"
“Yes.” The junior brother’s envy was evident. “The princess likes you so much. Once you become the prince consort, you’ll definitely enjoy endless wealth and honor. You won’t have to travel around with us anymore and suffer on missions. That’s wonderful.”
Yan Chongyan's brows did not relax at all. He corrected him with a stern face: "It is my heart's desire to rid the people of harm. I never feel tired, and I will never live a life dependent on anyone."
The junior brother was startled by his overly serious expression and stuck out his tongue. "Sorry, senior brother, I misspoke."
Yan Chongyan hated it most when people said that he could gain power by relying on the princess in the future, so he didn't want to say anything more to his junior brother, and only said: "Get some rest, we have to get up early tomorrow."
The junior apprentice responded and slunk off to fetch water.
Yan Chongyan was the only one left in the room. He picked up the sachet from his waist.
Actually, he didn't want to hang it up, because the sachet was also very roughly sewn, and unlike a T-shirt which was worn underneath, this one was always exposed.
However, if he didn't hang it up, the princess seemed to be very sad. He had no choice but to reluctantly agree to it, never expecting that she would neglect her studies to do it for him.
I must have a serious talk with her about this when I get back.
Even if she has a noble status, once she enters the Huaguang Sect and becomes a disciple, she should focus on cultivation and not indulge in useless emotions.
The next day, Yan Chongyan led seven people, fully prepared, to the northwest outside the city to search for the whereabouts of the monster.
After traveling twenty miles, they entered a forest. According to nearby villagers, someone had been attacked by a monster here and was seriously injured.
"Everyone stay alert, there should be monsters in this area," Yan Chongyan warned.
He led the group deeper into the woods. After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, they heard some unusual movement in the nearby bushes. Almost instantly, a dark shadow pounced over.
"Take out the talisman!" Yan Chongyan shouted.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone skillfully dodged the attacks of the monster, changed formation, and surrounded it. It was a leopard monster, and they all threw exorcism talismans at it.
The leopard, attacked, roared and charged at Yan Chongyan.
Yan Chongyan drew his longsword, touched the ground with his toes, and said to the others, "Cover me!"
Three or four people threw out smoke talismans, enveloping his body in white mist.
The monster suddenly lost its target and was momentarily confused. The next moment, the longsword had already pierced its back, and blood was gushing out.
Yan Chongyan landed on it, quickly turned around, and drew his long sword to stab its neck.
The monster kept twisting its body, trying to drive him off, but soon, he was swaying on the spot due to excessive blood loss.
Yan Chongyan gracefully left its body, which had crashed to the ground.
His white clothes were spotless, without a trace of dust or blood.
"Wow, that's amazing! No wonder he's Senior Brother Yan." Someone exclaimed, "He killed a level three demon beast so quickly."
"Otherwise, how could he be Master Jingyan's most valued disciple?" the others said.
Yan Chongyan dug out the demon core, but his expression did not relax. "There should be another one. Everyone, don't be careless."
The group continued on their way, but as darkness fell and they made no further discoveries, they began to feel tired.
Yan Chongyan led everyone to find an open space near the river, lit a campfire, and prepared to rest for the night before continuing.
Suddenly a mournful cry came from nearby, startling countless birds into flight.
Everyone immediately became alert and stared intently at the source of the sound.
"It seems like Junior Brother Yuan went to the restroom just now?" someone said in a very low voice.
"Is something bad going to happen?" someone else asked.
Yan Chongyan walked over slowly, sword in hand.
There seemed to be a standing figure in the bushes, walking towards them.
"Junior Brother Yuan?" he called out tentatively.
No one responded.
But the dark figure approached even faster.
Everyone felt a chill run down their spines.
As the figure drew closer, its fur finally became clearly visible.
It turned out to be a black bear taller than a person. It disguised itself as a human to lower their guard, and then suddenly charged at Yan Chongyan when they got close.
A stench wafted over, and Yan Chongyan swiftly swung his sword, but with a clang, he left no mark on the black bear.
"Quickly, use the talisman!" he shouted.
One exorcising talisman after another was thrown at the black bear, but it still failed to stop its attack.
The black bear seemed to be in a frenzy, constantly attacking him, its sharp claws gleaming coldly in the moonlight as it tore his clothes.
The sachet fell to the ground.
Yan Chongyan retreated, panting, finally realizing something was wrong. He said, "This is a level five demonic beast! Everyone, get out of here!"
——
During the break between classes, Ning Qi heard Xie Xiyue say that Yan Chongyan had an accident while exorcising demons. He had encountered a level-five demon beast, and not only him, but other disciples were also injured.
While she acted anxious, she mentally complained to the system, "Why does he always get injured on missions? Do I have to go and check on him again?"
"Perfect for adding to your infatuation points," the system said.
Before she could even go to find Yan Chongyan, Yan Chongyan came to her door himself.
She had just returned from cultivating on the main peak that day and was munching on dried fish when she heard Zhizhi say that Yan Chongyan had arrived at the door, which almost made her choke.
She quickly wiped her mouth, glanced at Xiao Sui inside the room, got up to go out and greet him, and closed the door behind her.
Yan Chongyan stepped into the courtyard, his face grim.
Ning Qi sensed something was wrong, but still asked, "Brother Yan, I heard you were injured? Where are you injured? Is it serious?"
Yan Chongyan gave her a cold look, then threw something onto the stone table, making a loud noise.
Ning Xi was startled. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was the sachet she had given her, but it seemed to have been opened.
She picked it up and asked, "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong?" Yan Chongyan sneered. "Princess, how dare you ask? Don't you know what kind of filthy things were put inside?"
Ning Qi was stunned, her brows furrowing. "What do you mean?"
She had Qianyu put in calming spices, so why is the male lead acting like he's accusing her?
"Do I need to remind you?" Yan Chongyan said, enunciating each word clearly, "You put aphrodisiacs in there."
Ning Qi glanced down at it and asked the system, "What is this 'love grass'?"
System: "Literally, wearing it for a period of time will generate desire/lust, and it is usually used to enhance pleasure."
Ning Xi: "?"
That's so wild! Who did it?
"But you can't distinguish the different spices and mixed in the similar-looking Beast-Bewitching Incense, which caused me to attract two Level 5 demonic beasts when I was on a mission. This resulted in five of my fellow disciples being injured to varying degrees, the most seriously injured of whom we had to carry back!"
Yan Chongyan approached her step by step, "Princess, you are of noble status, yet you indulge in pleasure all day long and are ignorant and incompetent. I have been trying to accept this, but now your stupidity has harmed my fellow disciples who fought alongside me, and I simply cannot tolerate it."
He lowered his head, his eyes extremely cold, his words full of warning, "If such a thing happens again, even if the emperor beheads me, I will break off our engagement."
This was already extremely serious for the princess.
Ning Xi stared at him blankly, standing there motionless.
"Ding, infatuation value increased by 20, current score 1730."
Ningqi asked the system, "Should I cry or laugh now?"
System: "Crying."
She secretly pinched herself, and tears immediately welled up, falling like beads from a broken string.
Yan Chongyan paused, then swallowed back the words he was about to say.
"Current infatuation value increased by 20. Current points: 1750," the system prompted again.
Zhizhi, who had overheard everything, immediately said, "It has nothing to do with the princess. I secretly took the love grass, but Sister Qianyu has already thrown all of them into the waste bin. She shouldn't have put them in the sachet."
Yan Chongyan listened coldly, "Did the love grass grow legs and get into the sachet by itself?"
Zhizhi looked at the princess again, "We really didn't put it in."
Ning Xi pressed down on her flustered arm. "No matter what, I was the one who sent it out, so the responsibility lies with me."
She looked at Yan Chongyan, tears still streaming down her face, "I'll pay for the medical expenses of those injured fellow disciples, is that alright?"
Yan Chongyan nodded. "That's how it should be. I won't report to my master this time. I also ask the princess to keep a close eye on the servants and make sure they don't accidentally leave anything behind."
He emphasized, "Princess, you don't need to bother sending me anything in the future. I won't accept it anymore, and I will return the undershirt to you."
After saying that, he turned and left without looking at Ning Xi.
The performance was finally over. Ning Xi lowered her head and wiped away her tears.
“Princess, something’s fishy about this,” Zhizhi said cautiously. “Someone must have secretly put that thing in there.”
Qianyu also came over, her expression grave. "I'm sure I threw that thing away. Now that it's in the sachet, I'm afraid someone in this courtyard has designs on us."
Ning Qi was also completely baffled. Who would do such a thing?
After thinking it over and over without finding a solution, and with the heat outside, she pushed open the door and went back inside, only to see Xiao Sui kneeling on the ground.
"What are you doing?" Ning Qi reached out to pull him away.
Xiao Sui raised his head, his lips pale as he faced her.
He held the iron plates that sealed him in his hand, his fingers trembling as he tightly wrapped them around his neck, and Ning Qi couldn't pull them off no matter how hard she tried.
"Why are you wearing it again?" she exclaimed in surprise. "Have you forgotten how much trouble it was to take it off?!"
The metal plate gripped his neck tightly, making his throat constrict. He bent over as if he couldn't hold on any longer and said with difficulty, "It's my fault. I put that thing in there. Punish me however you want, whatever you want."
Ning Qi squatted down and asked, puzzled, "Xiao Sui, lift your head and tell me why you did this?"
He couldn't lift his head. He shouldn't have broken the seal; he had actually hurt the princess!
A sharp pain began to throb in his eye sockets, making him instinctively want to cover them.
Qianyu's voice suddenly rang out: "Princess, this servant has caused too much trouble. I think we should send him away."
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Author's Note: Xiao Yan: She released the love potion, and cried when she heard the engagement was called off. She loves me so much.
I'll play "Hate Is Hard to Give" for Xiao Sui. I have no official status, so I won't hold a grudge.
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