Chapter 37 Dodder (Part 1) Take off your pants and take a look
"Why are there so many rules? Fine, fine, I won't touch them again." Yu Qi was stubborn and didn't care what others said.
It was early spring, a time of abundant water and grass. Horses need to eat and rest well to run further. Yu Qi, who understood this principle well, turned to take care of the horses, leaving the three people at the table looking at each other in bewilderment.
Song Qiling picked up the teacup on the table, took a casual sip, and glanced at her junior brother's tightly clenched sleeve, finding it amusing.
Why are you meddling in other people's business?
Young Master Gu's thoughts are truly unfathomable.
After drinking the warm tea, the sound of galloping hooves grew louder as they approached the teahouse.
Song Qiling turned her head and looked at the man on horseback. Her hand holding the teacup froze on the spot.
The man was tall and imposing, riding a magnificent horse, and his every move exuded an air of otherworldly elegance that made him stand out.
Looking at him again, he was dressed in a drab gray Taoist robe, his hair tied up with only a willow hairpin, simple and unadorned, yet he had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, red lips and white teeth, and a natural charm.
Such a person should not be here at all.
Song Qiling frowned. As the man dismounted, she took out some silver from her bag, slammed it on the table, and got up to walk toward the carriage.
"Senior brother." Young Master Gu's voice rang out untimely from behind.
Song Qiling closed her eyes briefly, then turned around, winked at Gu Lianzhou and the others, and silently said, "Let's go."
Such a guilty conscience makes it hard not to attract attention.
But then the Taoist-robed man calmly asked the shopkeeper for a bowl of tea, sat down at a table with the teacup in his hand, took off the bundle on his shoulder, took out a hard cornbread, broke off a piece, and put it in his mouth.
He was calm and composed, clearly no ordinary person.
Gu Lianzhou had seen a lot on this trip and rarely saw his senior brother so flustered, so he couldn't help but take another look at the man.
Unexpectedly, the person seemed to notice something and looked up at them.
After a moment of silence, the man chuckled softly, looking at Song Qiling not far away with amusement, "Senior Brother?"
Song Qiling raised an eyebrow and took a half-step back warily. "So what if it is? Don't meddle in other people's business."
She paused, then added, "Senior Brother Wujiu."
As soon as he finished speaking, the air fell into a moment of deathly silence.
After a long while, Gu Lianzhou finally realized that this person was actually his senior brother's fellow disciple.
Thinking back to the conversation in the prison illusion and his senior brother's warning, he realized that the person in front of him was probably up to no good.
Are they here to arrest someone?
Yun Wujiu's expression remained unchanged as he continued to nibble on his steamed bun, occasionally glancing at Gu Lianzhou as if he were looking at something new. "How come I didn't know Master had taken on a disciple outside? Junior brother, you have quite the nerve."
Liu Dai and Yu Qi had no idea about the intricacies of the Tianji Sect. At this moment, they only felt that it was a private matter of the sect and that they should stay as far away as possible. Therefore, ignoring Song Qiling's look, the two used the excuse of performing the Five Grains Reincarnation ritual to hide in the depths of the forest.
For a moment, apart from the bewildered shopkeepers busy at their stalls, only Song and Gu remained on the scene, confronting Yun Wujiu.
Gu Lianzhou knew that he and his senior brother were now in the same boat, and if his senior brother did not back down, he would never desert his post.
"Junior brother, you must..."
"Yun Wujiu, let's talk in private."
The two spoke almost simultaneously.
Yun Wujiu was slightly taken aback, as if he hadn't expected her to do this. After a while, he reacted and nodded happily, saying, "Okay."
Avoiding being seen, the two went to a secluded bamboo grove behind the teahouse.
Song Qiling didn't mince words and went straight to the point: "Senior brother, you've come to take me back on Master's orders, haven't you?"
Yun Wujiu stared at Song Qiling, his gaze complex as he looked her up and down. Finally, his eyes settled on her thin face, and he softened his tone, "Junior sister, why do you have to pretend like this? Master didn't really blame you. You know that Master loves you the most."
"If there's no fault to be found, why make such a fuss?" Song Qiling flung his sleeves, unable to vent his anger, and said viciously, "He deserved to have his house burned down, he got what he deserved!"
“Although I don’t know what grudge you have against Master, how could you not understand the principle that a teacher for a day is a father for life?” Yun Wujiu sighed, glanced at the thin chain around his junior sister’s neck, and seemed to remember something. He hesitated and asked, “Junior sister, are you really going to Nancheng?”
"Did Chu Yue tell you this?" Song Qiling seemed to have been provoked, laughing angrily. "He has deceived me for so many years. I am just taking back what belongs to me. What wrong have I done? Senior brother, you don't need to persuade me anymore. Once I have accomplished my task, I will return to Tianji Sect to receive my punishment."
After saying that, Song Qiling turned and walked away.
After taking only a few steps, I suddenly felt a tightness in my sleeve.
A man's helpless sigh came from behind, and then a withered lotus leaf package was handed to him.
"I was worried that you might not be eating well while you were traveling alone, so I brought you some flatbread."
Having said that, he handed it to Song Qiling without further ado.
"Eh." Song Qiling turned around in surprise and saw Yun Wujiu walking away in his wide Taoist robe, showing no intention of taking her back.
Looking down again, feeling the heavy weight in her hands, Song Qiling unfolded the lotus leaf and stared at the stack of green bamboo leaf cakes lying inside, stunned.
-
Thanks to the freezing weather, the bamboo leaf cakes, though stored for a long time, did not spoil. With careful chewing, one could still taste the fresh and sweet flavor of the bamboo leaves.
Song Qiling took a difficult bite of the pancake and walked into the post station with puffed-out cheeks.
We were lucky today. After passing the teahouse, the carriage traveled for only two hours before we saw an inn that offered lodging for people.
As you pass through the front hall, you see a group of people huddled together, their embarrassed cries mingling with the man's malicious laughter, a sound that makes you feel irritated.
"Take off his clothes! Take them off!" someone shouted, taking advantage of the chaos.
Song Qiling frowned, and then heard another rough male voice say, "You pretty boy with delicate skin, you're even prettier than my wife. I wonder what Que'er looks like. Come on, take off your pants and let the men take a look at that place."
Every day, I encounter all sorts of things.
Song Qiling lifted her foot and continued forward, intending to bypass the crowd, when she suddenly heard the crisp sound of fabric tearing.
"..."
Song Qiling closed her eyes.
Never mind, consider it accumulating merit.
Putting the pancake back in her pocket, Song Qiling rolled up her sleeves, grabbed the collar of the most boisterous man, and pulled him backward.
Caught off guard, the man was suddenly choked and struggled to breathe. He clutched his neck and tried to look back to see who was doing it, but Song Qiling didn't give him the chance. She kicked the man in the back of the knee and swiftly pinned his hands to the ground.
"Don't move, or I'll cripple your hand."
Zhou Ren had never lost face like this before, and immediately struggled to his feet, shouting, "Which bastard is pretending to be a good guy, trying to be a hero and save the beauty? Who do you think you are?"
Zhou Ren was a helper at the post station, responsible for transporting grain and fruits. He had developed a muscular physique and, because of his tall stature and daring nature, he often bullied others.
Today, I picked up a lonely young man and a mischievous thought arose in my mind to play a trick on him, but I never expected to run into Song Qiling, a tough nut to crack.
Everyone stared in disbelief. Zhou Ren, who was usually so arrogant, was now struggling violently like a carp out of water, looking utterly pathetic. The man behind him, though thin, had hands like iron clamps, tightly binding him and giving him no chance to escape.
One should press on with one's might, but the momentum will wane with each attempt, and exhaust it completely with each subsequent one.
Teasing someone is a small matter, but losing face in front of his brothers is a big deal. Zhou Ren twisted his body in vain, panting heavily, and said unwillingly, "Hero, spare my life."
Song Qiling gestured with his chin toward the crowd, "Disperse."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ren hurriedly shouted in a gruff voice, "Listen to me, disperse, everyone disperse!"
Seeing that no one moved, Zhou Ren, embarrassed and enraged, shouted, "What are you still standing there for? Look again, and I'll gouge your eyes out!"
And so, the crowd dispersed listlessly.
They really are a bunch of rats.
Song Qiling scoffed, grabbed the person and shoved him forward, saying irritably, "Get lost."
Finally free, Zhou Ren rubbed his aching wrist, glanced sideways at the culprit who had ruined his plans, and said angrily, "Mind your own business, you just wait!"
It's still a tough nut to crack.
Song Qiling watched the man limp away and found it amusing. When she turned back, she saw a lone boy sitting on the bench.
After hesitating for a moment, Song Qiling stepped forward and walked to the person's side. Under the gaze of a pair of doe-like eyes, she half-squatted down and said with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, "Why did you abandon your perfectly good ginseng and run out of the forest?"
She had just smelled the demonic aura and assumed that Gu Lianzhou had been pickled, but she never expected that there was such a little spirit hiding in this post station.
The ginseng spirit was fair-skinned and had a handsome face that made it difficult to tell whether he was male or female. Although he wore ordinary coarse linen clothes, his overall demeanor was extraordinary.
Such a person, falling into the hands of evil people, is like a lamb entering a tiger's den, pitiful indeed.
"You...you are a demon hunter?" The little ginseng spirit was clever and could tell at a glance that the person in front of him was different from the others.
"You guessed right. I'm in a good mood today, so I won't catch you," Song Qiling said with a smile. "But as you've seen, people do all sorts of evil, which is not something a little ginseng like you can bear."
Recalling the humiliation he had just suffered, the ginseng spirit bit his lower lip and nodded, saying, "He deserves to die."
Song Qiling nodded and said, "Yes, he has done such evil deeds, someone will surely take care of him."
Seeing the resentment in his eyes, Song Qiling continued, "I am a demon hunter and cannot help you all the time. If you want to live a peaceful life, go back to the forest and wait until you are stronger before seeking revenge on that villain."
"Revenge?" A hint of suspicion flashed in the ginseng spirit's eyes. "You demon hunter are quite strange. It's one thing to disguise yourself as a man, but to actually encourage demons to take revenge on humans?"
My good intentions in helping him have backfired, making me the one in the wrong.
Song Qiling said irritably, "I suddenly regret it. I'm going to catch you and stew you into chicken soup."
Upon hearing this, the ginseng spirit lowered its head and rummaged through the small pocket on its side. After much effort, it finally pulled out a golden object.
"Here you go." He held the golden ginseng in his slender, pale fingers and handed it to her.
The little ginseng showed no emotion on its face, but said earnestly, "You saved me, so I should repay your kindness. This is my root; you can use it to make chicken soup."
Song Qiling: "..."
She just mentioned it casually, why did this spirit take it seriously?
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