Chapter 33 The Childhood Betrothal of a Miao Girl (Part 3)
The passersby were all dressed in Miao ethnic costumes. Jiang Yiqing looked out the window; they had already reached the depths of the mountains, a vast expanse of...
The passersby were all dressed in Miao ethnic costumes. Jiang Yiqing looked out the window and saw that they had arrived deep in the mountains, where everything was lush and green. The vehicle was driving on a narrow mountain road, and apart from the sound of the vehicle, the surroundings were so quiet.
A sense of unease suddenly overwhelmed her, and she couldn't help but regret how so easily she had agreed to come to this unfamiliar place. Even if Jiang Xuerou might notice something was wrong with her, she was, after all, her own mother. In the place where she lived, there were so many people just like her. What did she have to be afraid of?
But when Jiang Yiqing arrived at this place, she felt incredibly scared.
She was not a bold person to begin with, and she was terrified by her own rashness.
The people here really know how to raise and use poisonous insects; they can take a person's life in an instant.
When Shui Mingsheng arrived at this place, she gave Jiang Yiqing a different feeling. She was not as sunny and cheerful as she was at her home. She seemed to have something on her mind, and her face became serious.
This made Jiang Yiqing even more flustered, and she couldn't help but reach out and touch the back of her hand.
Shui Mingsheng looked at her, concealing his inner emotions, and a smile finally appeared in his eyes: "Yi Qing, is it too late to regret it now?"
"What did you say?" A hint of panic shone in Jiang Yiqing's pure eyes.
Shui Mingsheng wanted to tease her even more. She leaned close to her ear, almost touching her soft, white earlobe, and said, "Once we arrive in Miao territory, it's my domain. Yiqing, you were only persuaded by a few words. How dare you run off to the desolate mountains with someone?"
Jiang Yiqing met her suddenly deep eyes and felt a little flustered, but she forced herself to remain calm as she looked at her: "Mingsheng, you promised me..."
"Yes, I promised you I would protect you and wouldn't let anyone bully you. I shouldn't have bullied you either." Shui Mingsheng saw her fear and immediately softened. He reached out and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. The touch of that ear made her pause for a moment. He said softly, "Yiqing, you have to be wary of people. It's okay if it's just me, but would you dare to wander around with someone else?"
Her voice was so beautiful that Jiang Yiqing didn't hear a word she was saying for a moment, but she was relieved and said, "I understand, Mingsheng. I will be careful, but you are the only one who cannot lie to me."
Shui Mingsheng saw that her eyes had regained their clarity. She took out a few bags of snacks from her backpack and said, "We're almost at Qingfeng Village. Eat something first to replenish your energy. See which one you like."
Jiang Yiqing was hungry and saw a red package that looked appetizing, so she picked it up.
Shui Mingsheng didn't expect her to be able to eat such spicy food. Isn't the food in N City supposed to be mild? The food in her hometown is quite spicy.
Jiang Yiqing didn't know how to open it. After looking at it for a long time, she found a notch, tore it open, and chili oil splattered onto her face and clothes.
Several red oil spots instantly appeared on the white dress, and Shui Mingsheng quickly took out a wet wipe.
"I'm so stupid," Jiang Yiqing said, feeling particularly frustrated. She must look incredibly silly right now.
Shui Mingsheng gently coaxed her while wiping away the oil stains, "It's not your fault, it's my fault. I shouldn't have given you the spicy strips."
"..." Jiang Yiqing looked at her, losing her appetite, because her mood was already very sweet.
Shui Mingsheng wiped the small red dot on her cheek with a wet wipe, and after wiping it, he carefully looked at her face to make sure that nothing was missed, and said, "Luckily, it didn't splash into her eyes."
Jiang Yiqing did not stop her. She saw her take the wet wipe and wipe the front of her shirt. The two were very close, and her fragrance wafted over. Noticing her gaze, Shui Mingsheng looked up and met her eyes.
The posture was ambiguous, with Shui Mingsheng's arm in front of her chest, so white that you couldn't see any pores, as delicate as jade. Jiang Yiqing suddenly felt her breathing become a little rapid.
Just then, the car passed over a collapsed section of ground, and the car shook violently. Shui Mingsheng's body, which was turned to the side, tilted towards Jiang Yiqing's direction, and Jiang Yiqing's breath brushed against her face, her cherry-colored lips seeming to touch hers.
In fact, his lips were only millimeters away from Jiang Yiqing's cheek. Shui Mingsheng looked at the flawless white skin in front of him, which was radiating a crystal-clear luster. The light downy hairs were like snow under the sunlight, sparkling. In an instant, he felt bewitched.
Just as she was about to press her lips to Jiang Yiqing's, the close contact between them startled her into a flustered state. Her exaggerated body language made Shui Mingsheng involuntarily step back, wanting to both laugh and tease her.
Jiang Yiqing blushed crimson. All pretense of modesty and manners seemed to be useless in this world; she was no longer the person she used to be.
"Host, congratulations on binding with the 'Fragment Collection System'! Collect fragments of rare and precious materials to instantly refine them into miraculous elixirs, achieve immortality through these pills, and fulfill the dreams of ancient emperors! Host, perk up! We're almost at Miao territory, where endless treasures await your collection!"
When the sound rang out, Jiang Yiqing thought she was hallucinating, but it was quite strange to hallucinate such things.
She noticed that Shui Mingsheng's expression was the same as before, and he didn't seem to notice anything unusual, so she asked in a low voice, "Who are you?"
"I'm the system, host. You can think of me as a cute little thing that only you can see~"
"I don't know you. What do you want with me?"
"Everything is fate, so mysterious and profound. Host, don't you believe in fate?"
"I do not understand."
"It's okay if you don't understand," the system said. "You'll understand when you need me, and I'll show you the way."
Jiang Yiqing didn't quite understand, but she didn't have time to figure it out immediately, because they had already arrived at Qingfeng Village.
Shui Mingsheng got out of the car first, then reached out to pull her down. When she finally stood on this land, Jiang Yiqing felt a little dazed. She could see that the village, with its cluster of stilted houses, stretched as far as the eye could see. When the Miao people in the village saw Shui Mingsheng and her, they gathered around and started talking about them.
Whispers began to circulate.
"This is the maid that the young master brought back; he says he wants to marry her."
"Isn't that a girl too?"
"I heard he's a college student. I've never seen a college student in my life."
Discussions from all directions flooded Jiang Yiqing's ears, but she couldn't understand a word. She then realized that the people here were speaking their own local dialect, something she hadn't even noticed before arriving.
Shui Mingsheng gripped her hand tighter and said to the others, "This is Yi Qing, a guest in our village. I hope everyone will take ownership and let her have a pleasant holiday here."
Those Miao people seemed somewhat unruly. One of them, Zhao Er, questioned, "Young Master, why did you stop speaking Miao language after going out?"
"Back then, your mother married into our village, causing our village to go from being a native Miao village to being unaccepted. Now you've brought an outsider here!"
"Zhao Er." Shui Mingsheng looked at him sternly. Jiang Yiqing noticed that she had suddenly become assertive and domineering. Shui Mingsheng said, "Do you think it's your place to interrupt when I, the chieftain, am speaking?"
"What? Can't I even have questions? Then young master, use the Gu worms to control me, just like your father did to Elder Qiu Shu back then!" Zhao Er shouted.
Shui Mingsheng was amused and slightly raised his left hand. Gradually, the shape of a Gu worm, round like a silkworm, emerged from the flowers and plants on the silver chain.
"According to the rules of Qingfeng Village, those who cause trouble must reflect on their actions by facing the wall. You either go to the prison cell or apologize to me immediately, or don't blame me for punishing you in front of everyone!"
Seeing her actions, Zhao Er, though frightened, shouted unreasonably, "Young Master is going to use Gu to hurt people! He's going to attack our own people for the sake of an outsider!"
Jiang Yiqing could only understand Shui Mingsheng's words. She felt that this was not a solution, so she had no choice but to ask the system she had just met for help: "What are they saying?"
"Host, there is a language barrier in the new area. Here's what I'll do: I'll give you a limited-time Miao language pack so you can understand what they're saying and even speak it yourself."
"Thanks."
Then those obscure and difficult-to-understand dialects were immediately transformed into a language that could be understood.
Shui Mingsheng looked at Jiang Yiqing, feeling that she had lost face in front of the girl she liked, which was really hard for her to swallow. However, if she used the Gu worm and accidentally scared her, it would be even more of a loss. She hesitated, which only fueled the other party's arrogance.
"Go ahead and do it, young master. Didn't you say you meant what you said?" Zhao Er provocatively said.
Just then, Jiang Yiqing spoke up.
“You don’t need to harbor such malice towards Mingsheng and me,” Jiang Yiqing said.
Her fluent Miao language was something that could not have been mastered so well without interacting with her own people; the Miao people looked at her in astonishment.
"As you can see, I speak Miao, and as a newcomer, I have caused you some inconvenience. If you have any opinions about me, please feel free to speak them, and I will certainly accept them humbly," Jiang Yiqing said politely.
"College students just talk differently..."
"This girl seems very calm and composed; she has a special kind of charm..."
The crowd was buzzing with discussion.
“Well… since it’s the young master’s decision, we have no objections.” Someone advised Zhao Er: “Zhao Er, you’re too aggressive. After all, he’s the young master. Keep your personal grudges to yourself.”
A woman came up to comfort Jiang Yiqing: "Yiqing, our village is like this. Since the young master's father passed away, it has fallen apart a bit. I'm sorry you had to see this. Are you here to be the young master's wife? If you can't accept it, please don't force yourself. Miao territory is not like the outside world; it's more closed off, and people's thinking is more restricted."
Shui Mingsheng was somewhat embarrassed: "Aunt Yun, you can't say things like that. What if you scare Yi Qing away?"
"You silly girl, bringing someone to a place like this, you'd better protect her well." Aunt Yun looked at Shui Mingsheng reproachfully.
"I know, I know..." Shui Mingsheng raised his hand to assure her.
She then asked Jiang Yiqing, "Yiqing, were you scared?"
Jiang Yiqing knew that this was the last thing she wanted to encounter, so she shook her head.
This is the environment in which Shui Mingsheng grew up, and it's quite remarkable that she remains so sunny and cheerful.
"At the Gu Battle Tournament in three days, Shui Mingsheng, I will definitely drag you down from your position as young master..." Zhao Er muttered to himself as no one paid any attention to him, then turned and left.
Shui Mingsheng led Jiang Yiqing forward and said, "Yiqing, I didn't know you could speak Miao."
Jiang Yiqing said, "...Mingsheng, I don't know how to explain this to you right now."
Shui Mingsheng didn't care and said, "That Zhao Er has always believed that my father killed Elder Qiu Shu, so he has always been against me."
"..."
Shui Mingsheng became increasingly embarrassed as he spoke: "Uh... I'm sure you're not interested in these things either, I'll explain it to you next time."
Jiang Yiqing was simply not yet fully absorbing all these new things, and her language system was not yet fully integrated with the local context, which made her appear taciturn.
“Come back to Qingyu Tower with me first; that’s where I live,” Shui Mingsheng said.
Jiang Yiqing and she walked through the stilted houses and arrived at a very wide waterfront that was not connected to the surrounding area. On the other side of the waterfront was a large group of stilted houses, which could be described as "luxurious". A wooden bridge led from their feet to the other side.
The shadows of the stilted houses were reflected in the clear water, and the surrounding bamboo forest rustled. This place could be described as a place of outstanding natural beauty, with an extremely high content of negative oxygen ions in the air. Jiang Yiqing was stunned for a moment.
Shui Mingsheng smiled and led her onto the wooden bridge. The two young girls' figures were reflected in the water, the gentle current making them appear so tender and affectionate.
Jiang Yiqing was a little scared and leaned closer to Shui Mingsheng. Shui Mingsheng smiled and subtly supported her arm. The two finally crossed the long wooden bridge and arrived in front of a building.
Is this Qingyu Tower? Jiang Yiqing looked at the stilted building shrouded in green bamboo leaves and was deeply impressed.
Suddenly, words appeared in front of her: “Qingyu Bamboo Fragment X10”.
"Host, the appearance of text indicates that this is a spiritual object. You can collect some fragments of Jade Bamboo and synthesize a Jade Flute immediately."
Jiang Yiqing nodded, stepped forward, and observed carefully.
The system continued, "Then the jade flute can be sold in the shop and converted into currency, which you can then use to redeem the items you want."
Jiang Yiqing gazed at the lush leaves. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew by, and many leaves fell from above. Some of them were collected by Jiang Yiqing before they even hit the ground, and then a green jade flute appeared in her hand.
"As part of the newbie gift pack, I will also give you a space that you can check at any time."
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