Chapter 50 Amidst the sound of the wind rustling through the treetops…
The sound of the wind rustling through the treetops was mixed with the sound of objects passing through the branches and leaves.
Those present were all sharp-witted and observant, and they looked toward the source of the sound.
The two officers from the Anti-Evil Division who were chasing after "Yingyue" were about to give chase when they heard the commotion, but were stopped by Rong Feng's order: "No need to chase."
Beneath the broken branch, Xie Zhuo stared blankly at his empty palm, awkwardly clenching his fingers, but they could only touch his cool palm.
The shadows of the trees beside him rustled and swayed. He pulled himself out of his powerless emotions and looked keenly at the swaying bushes.
A pair of boots appeared first in the shadows of the trees, followed by another person appearing beside Xie Zhuo.
Qi Gui walked up to Xie Zhuo, stopping half a step away from the sunlight beyond the shade of the trees. His fingers twisted his clothes, and he looked up, his voice dry: "Lord Xie..."
Xie Zhuo's gaze fell on Qi Gui's anxious and weary face, easily seeing through the unease and struggle in the young man's eyes, and patiently waited for Qi Gui to speak.
Qi Gui fell silent the moment their eyes met, his gaze darting away.
A silent stillness loomed over Qi Gui like a shadow overhead.
Xie Zhuo's thoughts were mostly on Xie Baoqiong, who had been taken away. Although he noticed that Qi Gui's expression was somewhat strange, he simply assumed that he was frightened by what had happened.
He placed his hand on Qi Gui's shoulder and said gently, "Go down the mountain with them first, and someone will take you back to the capital."
As Xie Zhuo spoke, he pushed Qi Gui toward the group of people from the Anti-Evil Division.
Qi Gui let him do as he pleased, stepping out of the shade of the tree. Just as he withdrew his hand, she turned her head and looked at him hopefully: "May I go with Lord Xie to find Ah Qiong?"
Xie Zhuo looked slightly surprised, then smiled and patted Qi Gui's head, declining Qi Gui's offer: "The journey is dangerous. I'll invite you to my residence after I bring Qiong'er back to the capital."
Qi Gui felt the warmth on his head leave, and stared blankly at Xie Zhuo's receding figure.
Even after being led away by the officers of the Anti-Evil Division, she still couldn't figure out whether she should swallow back the words she hadn't uttered a moment earlier: "Ah-Chung will be alright."
He was carried onto a horse by the officers of the Anti-Evil Division and headed down the mountain.
Qi Gui looked back.
Xie Zhuo's shadow was nowhere to be seen behind him.
The only one was the carriage that was rescued with him.
It swayed and obscured the mountains behind it.
The man riding with him noticed his movement, and the comforting words uttered in his cheerful voice sounded slightly stiff:
"Lord Xie is going to rescue Young Master Xie. You don't need to worry. Our men have already laid an ambush in the valley ahead. You will be able to see Lord Xie and Young Master Xie later."
Although Lord Xie, whom you know well, is not here, there is no need to be afraid.
The awkward attempts at comforting others became smoother as the conversation progressed.
Qi Gui looked up at the person behind him. The newly risen sun hung on the branches, making it difficult for him to see the person's face clearly.
Only that indigo scarf caught his eye.
Qi Gui stared at the indigo blue in a daze. After a moment's thought, he realized that his unspoken words, if heard by someone unaware of the situation, would most likely be taken as words of comfort.
Just as dawn was breaking, he and Xie Baoqiong were about to board the carriage, having been tucked into Yingyue's sleeve.
Through the gaps in the sleeves, children were being carried onto the carriage.
Just before boarding the carriage, Qi Gui asked "Yingyue" to put him in another carriage.
He also wanted to help Xie Baoqiong. Her behavior after being kidnapped and her ambiguous conversation with Su Xiaochun made him vaguely guess that Xie Baoqiong wanted to achieve something through this group.
His abilities are insufficient; he cannot help like Su Xiaochun, and might even hinder the process.
Moreover, he can save children who are not as fortunate as him.
Therefore, when the people and horses were chasing them and the two carriages parted ways at a fork in the road, he promptly pulled down the bamboo curtain hanging in front of the carriage window, attracting most of the people away.
But now, according to the people behind him, there is still an ambush ahead, and he doesn't know how Ah-Jung and the others are doing.
Feeling that no one was behind Xie Baoqiong, a voice came from the stone: "Xiaochun, can you sense where I am, the illusion you conjured?"
The fox whimpered out a "Okay".
It carried him and ran off in one direction.
A crimson figure carrying a blue stone swiftly darted through the forest, flashing past Li Yi, who emerged from the bushes covered in dust.
Li Yi glanced at the compass needle in his hand, quickly changed direction, and pointed it at the crimson figure that had become a small dot. His face was blank. He raised the compass, spun it around, and then patted it with his hand.
"No?! Why is it forbidden again?" The crimson figure that just flew by didn't even look like a human. He was trying to find Lord Xie's child.
Although he ran away, if the person is found, he might be able to make amends and even get some reward money.
Unaware of the danger, the stone and the fox arrived near Amei and Cao Zhuangling, concealing their presence and landing on a tree branch.
Cao Zhuangling's expression below seemed a bit off, so the two of them didn't rush down.
Cao Zhuangling grabbed Xie Baoqiong by the collar and scrutinized her closely, his face growing increasingly grim.
He slammed "Xie Baoqiong" to the ground with his backhand and hissed angrily in a low voice: "Idiot."
The scolded Amei looked at Cao Zhuangling in a daze, waving his short little hands to catch "Xie Baoqiong," who was being manipulated like a puppet.
Cao Zhuangling kicked Amei, and Xie Baoqiong's hand brushed past Amei's before hitting the ground and dissipating into a cloud of smoke.
"No wonder those people didn't chase after us, good for them." Cao Zhuangling's suppressed voice was filled with anger.
Amei knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the smoke passing through her fingers. Her delicate eyebrows twitched downwards, and she reached out to grab Cao Zhuangling's hem.
"Master!"
Amei looked puzzled and muttered in a low voice, "He lied to me, he lied to me."
Amei's hand gripped Cao Zhuangling's clothes tightly:
"Master, don't worry, Amei will bring the person back right away."
Cao Zhuangling's face was clouded with gloom, his eyes were dark, and a cryptic smile played on his lips. He pulled Amei up from the ground and ruffled Amei's hair.
“Good Amei, your master believes in you. Go ahead, we’ll meet in Luozhou.”
Amei nodded vigorously with admiration, promising, "Amei will definitely bring the person back."
"Good, good, good." Cao Zhuangling said "good" three times in a gentle tone, and Amei couldn't take her eyes off him even more.
He bent down and patted the dust off Amei's body when she fell to the ground: "Amei, your master is waiting for you."
Remember, only if you bring the person back can your master stay with you forever.
Amei hugged Cao Zhuangling's waist and buried her face in his chest: "Amei will always stay with Master."
They were completely oblivious to the cold, sharp look in Cao Zhuang's eyes above them.
But the stones in the tree and the fox saw everything clearly.
Su Xiaochun was utterly disdainful of Cao Zhuangling's behavior, especially after the latter smashed his "Xie Baoqiong" and broke his illusion, he felt no liking for the latter whatsoever.
Not to mention the latter's series of rhetoric used to deceive the monster.
The two figures below went their separate ways. Cao Zhuangling headed towards Luozhou, while Amei turned into a wisp of white mist and disappeared from the spot.
Su Xiaochun glanced down at his rock-solid friend, unable to discern how the other had reacted to the conversation below, but he still resentfully reminded him:
"Little tombstone, look, that's how humans are. They talk about forever and everything, making monsters lose their bearings."
"Amei knows which way is north." A voice emerged from the bluestone, and Su Xiaochun's fox fur bristled as she chattered on:
"I'm saying that humans are good at deceiving simple little monsters like you, tricking you into giving up all your cultivation and spiritual path, all for the sake of what humans call eternity."
They're all liars, you can't believe them, you know? Humans are all liars..."
Xie Baoqiong neither agreed nor disagreed with Su Xiaochun's words. Whenever this topic came up, Xiaochun would always express her deep hatred for humanity. Now that they had encountered a case, she naturally had to talk about it for a while.
But a childish voice suddenly interrupted Su Xiaochun from behind:
"My master would never lie to me!"
You're the liars!
As he finished speaking, Amei's gaze was fixed on the blue stone on the branch: "You lied to me!"
Seeing that he had been recognized, Qing Shi transformed into human form and sat on a tree branch, looking at A Mei on another tree:
“I didn’t lie to you,” Xie Baoqiong retorted.
"I never promised you I would follow you forever."
The fox next to him chimed in, "Yes, the little tombstone wants me to stay with it."
Amei's usually cute face scrunched up in anger, then relaxed as if she had thought of something:
"You're not human, you're a monster too, so you can stay with me for a long time."
Xie Baoqiong looked at Amei silently, who completely ignored what he and Su Xiaochun had said.
He turned and exchanged a glance with the fox beside him, then jumped off the branch, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and leaped towards Amei's direction.
The red fox then pounced on him from the side.
In a short while, the man and the fox appeared in front of Amei.
Amei reacted instantly and her body dispersed.
Xie Baoqiong and Su Xiaochun pierced through the mist and landed on another tree.
Amei solidified her body again, landing on the original branch, and looked at the two demons with displeasure:
How could you do this?
"You ignored us first," Xie Baoqiong said calmly, raising her eyes slightly.
"Kids, that's how they fight." An arrogant voice accompanied a crimson figure lunging at Amei.
Xie Baoqiong gathered a stream of spiritual energy from behind and approached Amei.
The crimson figure released spiritual power in mid-air, forming a shield that pressed down from above, blocking Amei, who had turned into white mist.
Xie Baoqiong's spiritual power followed closely, forcing Amei to reveal her human form, which then coiled around her and pulled her downwards.
Xie Baoqiong landed on the ground right after Amei, who was tied up like a rice dumpling.
Amei's face turned bright red: "Two against one."
“There were three other people with you when you arrested me.” Xie Baoqiong stepped on the fallen leaves and shut Amei up.
The red fox leaped down from mid-air, landing on Amei, and then hopped happily to Xie Baoqiong's side, its two tails swishing as it went.
Amei struggled for a moment, but found she couldn't break free from the spiritual energy binding her. She started yelling and thrashing about like a silkworm cocoon, shouting, "You're lying! You're lying! You're lying to me!"
The man and the fox remained unmoved, plotting their next move.
Su Xiaochun extended a wisp of spiritual energy and took Amei's hand: "Come on, I'll take you to find your master."
Amei made no move to stand up. The red fox walked away as soon as it was told, following Xie Baoqiong's footsteps and dragging Amei along behind it. After all, it was just a demon, so it wouldn't hurt her.
The leaves rustled behind him. Xie Baoqiong turned around and glanced at Amei lying on the ground. The latter raised his head when he felt Xie Baoqiong's gaze, but after seeing him clearly, he glared at him and turned to the other side.
Xie Baoqiong silently withdrew her gaze.
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Author's Note: Little Fox's Anti-Abduction Class is now in session!
Su Xiaochun: What should you do if you meet someone who tells you "forever"?
Xie Baoqiong: Stay away from him
Su Xiaochun (nods in satisfaction)
Xie Baoqiong: Will Xiaochun stay with me forever? (Curious) (Her droopy eyes are bright)
Su Xiaochun: ...Yes.
Xie Baoqiong (stay away)
Su Xiaochun (sulking) (following after him): ...I didn't say forever.
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Fifty chapters already! Yay! [starry-eyed]
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