Meng Jue, like Tian Xianzi, still hasn't woken up.
It seems that the medicine put into Jiuzhou Chungui is indeed consistent with Ningning's guess. The higher the cultivation level, the more serious the poisoning. Fortunately, Pei Ji and He Zhizhou have woken up, which means this is not a deadly poison. I believe that after some time, they will gradually wake up.
"If you two have other important matters, you can let him stay here first."
The painting-selling grandmother comforted the girls, coughed softly and said in a gentle voice: "Meng Jue is very well behaved. He keeps calling me grandma and gets along well with other children. You don't have to worry."
Meng Jue seems to be affectionate but is actually the most ruthless. He always smiles gently on weekdays, but actually he doesn't care about anyone.
This kind of character mainly stems from his childhood experiences. His mother was a concubine of low status. She died of a serious illness after giving birth to her only son. His father did not love him, and his mistress did not care about him. Meng Jue was nothing more than a discarded chess piece in a large mansion, and even the servants could bully him at will.
I heard that there was only an elderly woman who cared about him very much. Unfortunately, her house was later attacked by demon cultivators, and no one survived except Meng Jue.
Not long after that, he was accepted as a disciple by Tian Xianzi who came to exorcise demons. It was also from then on that Meng Jue became more distant and rarely showed emotions.
Now that he was drunk, he might have mistaken this grandmother for the old woman who died tragically that year.
In this world of cultivation, life and death seem to be both extremely close and extremely far away. As time passes, only a few shadows of old friends remain in our hearts.
Ningning thought of the descriptions about Meng Jue in the original book, sighed secretly in her heart, and could only nod slightly.
Luo Yuanming said in the teahouse that Luanniang has been inseparable from him since last night, and today she is also accompanied by maids and servants.
If she really did commit a crime, she would have to hide it from everyone in the City Lord's Mansion, and at the same time, she would have to verify the results as soon as possible. The best time to leave would be to wait until the middle of the night when everyone was fast asleep. If they could go to the City Lord's Mansion to investigate late at night, they might find something.
"How strange."
Ningning looked up and down at the painting in her hand, and finally her eyes fell on Luanniang's look back: "Grandma made two paintings in total, why did Luanniang only buy the one with the backs of the two people after seeing it?"
"Isn't this simple?"
Chengying kept talking. Ever since she heard Ningning say "like", she was so excited that she seemed to have taken a lot of stimulants. "If you want to live a decent life, you must have some green on your head. Grass is already growing on the head of the city lord. If Luanniang takes this painting back, when he sees his wife's face in the portrait, won't the grassland turn into a dense forest?"
Naturally, she couldn't hear what was said, so she had no way to argue with Chengying. Ning Ning thought about it again and again but could not come to a conclusion, so she had to put the question aside for the time being. After putting away the scroll, she whispered, "Grandma, I like these paintings very much and want to buy them."
"If the girl likes it, feel free to take it."
A few rays of light overflowed from the old woman's gray pupils, as if she was smiling lightly: "It's been a long time since anyone said they liked these paintings. You don't know, when I was young, I was the best painter on this street. Even the portrait of the Oiran was made by me. Everyone who saw it praised it for being so lifelike. It's a pity that I'm old now, and now I can hardly sell it."
Ningning smiled and shook her head.
After she came to Luancheng, she spent almost all of her pocket money on the Night Pearl. This time, she experienced some training in the secret realm and collected a lot of precious herbs, which she sold for a good price after coming out. If all of it were given to grandma, it should be able to support the whole family for a period of time.
So what if she is poor? She has gotten used to it anyway.
Ning Ning made up her mind and was about to take out the money bag from the storage bag when she suddenly heard Pei Ji's cold voice: "Five thousand spirit stones, buy all the paintings."
Ningning stared at him with eyes wide open.
The exchange rate of spirit stones is different from that of RMB, and five thousand is not a small amount. Could it be that he saw that she was planning to go bankrupt... so he took the initiative and let himself go bankrupt on her behalf?
"Five, five thousand spirit stones?"
Not only grandma, but even Ah Hui showed an expression of disbelief: "Sir, these paintings are not worth so much money!"
"No problem."
Pei Ji rarely showed a slightly hesitant look, and looked at Ning Ning quickly with an expressionless face, and then quickly looked away, like a dragonfly skimming the water, and his tone was also cold: "As long as she likes it."
How did he manage to say such words in such a calm tone?
Ningning: ...
Ningning also had no expression on her face, and her face was as stiff as a piece of wood. When she noticed Ah Hui's direct gaze at her, she lowered her head awkwardly and touched the tip of her nose with her right hand.
Ah Hui glanced at Pei Ji who was holding the sword again, and couldn't help laughing for a moment: "Poof."
=====
Midnight, City Lord's Mansion.
Ningning concealed the spiritual energy around her body and sneaked into the mansion with Pei Ji.
This was the first time she had done such a sneaky thing, so she was inevitably very nervous. In order to hide from others, she wore black clothes and stood next to Pei Ji, who also had black hair and a black shirt. The two of them could almost disappear into the night.
They mastered the movement rules of the phoenix statue and took advantage of blind spots to sneak into the mansion. The mansion was deserted in the middle of the night. The rich ink-black color set off the flowing moonlight. A few lights were dim, giving off a slightly eerie atmosphere for no reason.
As she had been here several times before, Ningning had a general idea of the direction of the mansion and could rely on her memory to reach the bedroom of the city lord and his wife. However, surprisingly, the door of the room was ajar but no one was there. There was only a flickering candle in front of the door, probably lit by the servant.
What could this couple do together at this late hour? Killing badgers in a melon field under the moon?
The door was open, which meant that the two people must have returned to the bedroom before. The reason why they left without closing the door was perhaps because some unexpected emergency occurred.
——But what could have happened that made them leave the house in such a hurry?
Ning Ning and Pei Ji looked at each other and made a small mouth shape to him: "Let's go in and take a look?"
Pei Ji nodded.
There was no light in the bedroom, and the feeling of loneliness became even heavier. On the surface, this house looked normal, with a large wooden bed and gauze curtains. However, until this moment, the host and hostess had not returned yet, which made it hard not to be suspicious.
The two men's whereabouts were unusual, and there might be some clues left in the room. Ning Ning couldn't turn on the light, and didn't dare to make any loud noises. She wanted to go forward and search carefully, but suddenly she noticed Pei Ji moving beside her.
A woman's sweet laughter came from not far outside the door, followed by the sound of footsteps. It must be Luo Yuanming and Luanniang returning to their room late at night. Pei Ji was quick-witted and quick-handed. He spotted the wooden cabinet standing nearby, grabbed her arm and hid inside.
The wooden cabinet was only half a person's height and contained some scattered clothes. Ningning was caught off guard and fell on his chest. Before she could fully adapt to the darkness, she was about to move slightly when she felt something warm and soft covering her mouth.
Pei Ji covered her mouth with his palm.
Wait, wait a minute.
Was she held in Pei Ji's arms...without any explanation?
Ningning quickly came back to her senses from her momentary daze, and tried hard to identify their current postures in the narrow and dark wooden cabinet.
Pei Ji had already released the hand that was holding her shoulder, and was sitting in the cabinet with his legs spread out and bent. She was pulled along and naturally fell on the wooden board between his legs.
The young swordsman had a thin body, but his chest was unexpectedly spacious. Ningning was trapped in it, unable to escape or move. She could only feel her violent heartbeat on her back, like a leaping hot flame.
This posture was surprisingly not uncomfortable, and was even extremely tender, making her reluctant to leave.
wrong.
Fortunately, Pei Ji was behind her and couldn't see Ningning's suddenly red face.
...What is she thinking about? Who would want to be held in Pei Ji's arms all the time?
Pei Ji didn't move or make any expression.
Although it was he who initiated the action, the moment his palm touched his lips, Ningning clearly felt that the boy behind her stiffened all over and his heartbeat quickened, as if he was very nervous.
How can I not be nervous?
Pei Ji suppressed his restlessness and closed his eyelashes slightly.
The wooden cabinet was not high, and he sat inside it, almost holding Ningning in his arms.
The girl's soft body was close to him, her head gently resting against his chin, and thin strands of hair silently brushed across her Adam's apple, neck and neck, like a silent tease.
It was pitch black all around, with only a little light seeping in from the slightly opened gap.
The darkness makes all senses except vision extremely sharp, and the faint light is intermittent, casting a hazy veil over the entire space, which is impossible to see or touch, and is extremely ambiguous.
The most tense part was his right hand.
Ningning's breath all fell on her index finger, scratching and rubbing it gently like a feather, bringing a bit of warmth, turning around and around. The palm of his hand was pressed tightly against her soft lips. Sometimes she would subconsciously purse her lips because of nervousness, and her lips would inadvertently brush across the skin of the palm of her hand.
Just like a kiss.
For some reason he recalled the night when he was drunk, and felt even more upset.
Luo Yuanming's cultivation is far above the other two of them. If they use their spiritual energy easily, he will most likely notice it.
Ningning and Pei Ji were unable to communicate secretly and could only maintain this posture and remain silent.
"I am so tired tonight."
The candle on the table was lit, and Luan Niang's laughter came to my ears, lazy and languid, like a cat: "Let's rest early."
Luo Yuanming also smiled: "Okay, okay. What kind of incense do you want tonight? Madam loves peach blossoms the most, why not use that?"
"My husband is used to the scent of bamboo, and now that the smell of his body has changed like mine, I wonder how many people will gossip about him behind my back."
"So what? They are just jealous that I have such a wife."
Then there was a series of wanton laughter and the sound of clothes rustling.
Luo Yuanming really loved Luan Niang as the rumors said. His tone was full of love and longing that could not be concealed: "My lady, I really want to be close to you every day."
Luan Niang's voice was like that of wine, and she repeated the words he had said in a low voice: "Isn't this what we are like now? Since we are already touching each other's skin and ears... then I am yours."
Ningning, with her lips pressed against Pei Ji's palm, paused in her breathing.
Damn, do this couple always talk so corny? She got goosebumps all over her body when she heard that.
Pei Ji, whose black hair was entangled with Ningning's hair, stiffened.
...If this is the case, then she is his?
When he took Ningning and hid in the closet, he did not close the door completely, leaving a small gap. If you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of two people hugging each other in the room.
Ningning grew up watching costume dramas, so she was not surprised by such scenes. She squinted her eyes without any psychological burden, and was about to look outside to see what was going on, when she suddenly noticed a thick layer of darkness covering her eyes.
No way.
Pei Ji, this bastard... actually used his free hand to quickly cover her eyes?
Ningning had a heart attack.
Does he treat her as a child? How stupid! Childish ghost! So annoying!
After all, she was a senior sister, so how could she willingly be suppressed in such a matter? She frowned in dissatisfaction, forcefully pried open his blindfolded hands, and then raised her right hand up.
They were both sitting in the cabinet, Pei Ji's chin was almost touching her head. Ning Ning couldn't see his appearance, so in order not to disturb the two people in the room, she moved extremely carefully.
My right hand first touched a smooth and soft place. When I poked it gently, it would slightly sink and then slowly bounce back.
It's his cheek.
At this moment, Pei Ji's face was unusually hot, but his limbs were completely motionless. He let Ning Ning's palm brush across his cheek, nose bridge, and brow bone in turn, and finally, as if as a prank, she covered his eyes without hesitation.
He couldn't see anything, but he knew that the little girl in his arms must have a satisfied look on her face, lowering her head and looking out without saying a word.
——Pei Ji’s right hand was still covering her mouth, and he could feel Ningning’s slightly raised lips.
He always hated physical contact with other people, but he didn't dislike the actions at this moment. It was just that when she moved... it made him feel uncomfortable.
In my ears are the soft laughter and whispers of men and women, bringing the ambiguous atmosphere to the extreme. The intoxicating fragrance of peach blossoms lingered in the air, and it was dark all around. As his eyes were blindfolded, Pei Ji could not see anything clearly.
Ningning sat very close to him, and even the slightest movement she made would cause the trembling to magnify thousands of times, spreading from her abdomen upwards, as if burning an inexplicable fire throughout her body.
I feel hot all over.
Pei Ji held his breath. Unable to mobilize his spiritual power, he could only rely on his consciousness to suppress his pounding heart.
But it seems unbearable.
When those hot, dense itches gathered together, it was like a raging fire that suddenly erupted. He couldn't help but take a deep breath, slowly lowered his head, and whispered in her ear as hard as he could: "Don't move."
The voice was suppressed and became heavy and hoarse, turning into a breathy sound that fell into the ear, with a hint of forbearance and restraint, yet particularly alluring.
The sudden heat spread around her ears, as if an electric current ran through her entire spine. Ningning's ears turned red when she heard these two words, and she really stopped what she was doing for a moment.
Using this tone and voice all of a sudden... it's too much.
Couldn't he just give her a little bit of preparation?
"Oh my god, Pei Xiaoji, if you are like this now, how can you bear to be with Ningning in the future?"
Chengying's tone was filled with pretentious tears: "No way, no way, there really is no sword cultivator... It takes a girl to take the initiative!"
Pei Ji was so angry that he suppressed the heat in his heart and wanted to draw his sword and kill it immediately.
Pei Ji: "Shut up."
Fortunately, the City Lord and Luan Niang did not do anything inappropriate for children, which would cause mental harm to little Pei Ji who was trying desperately to cover Ningning's eyes. They turned off the lights and went to sleep soon after, leaving behind the scent of incense.
Ningning was held in Pei Ji's arms, feeling as comfortable as if she was lying next to a soft and gentle teddy bear. I don’t know how much time had passed, but just when I was getting sleepy, I suddenly heard a creaking sound coming from the wooden bed.
Her tiredness suddenly disappeared, and through the small gap, she saw a slender figure.
The room was filled with the scent of incense, and the city lord fell into a peaceful sleep. The white smoke and the moonlight coming in through the broken window entangled each other, like light smoke and water, as if in a dream.
In the terrifying silence, Luan Niang got up from the bed.
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