Chapter 20 Birds and Fish (VIII) “Besides, he was not wrong…
Chi Xingji's eyes were gloomy, and he didn't seem to be pretending.
Lian Qiang subconsciously wanted to stop him. Huai Xu just wanted to vent his anger, but if Chi Xingji took action first, today would definitely not end well.
Seeing that Chi Xingji was about to take action, Huai Xu's eyes became more sinister, and the mockery on his lips deepened: "Why are you so angry, Immortal Lord? I didn't say anything."
Lian Qiang closed her eyes, trying to suppress her anger. After only three encounters, the impression that Huai Xu had left on her was becoming increasingly despicable. She tried her best to press down Chi Xingji's sword-holding hand. "...I'm fine. Just bear with it. Just bear with it."
Just a moment of grievance, and the problem would be resolved peacefully. What's wrong with that? Lian Qiang once again sighed at her own weakness. She had thought that after a hundred years, she would at least have the power to protect herself, but in the end, she still couldn't escape unscathed.
She could only watch the two of them arguing over her without being able to say a word.
Lian Qiang's words sounded too familiar, and Chi Xingji glanced at her distractedly. This glance almost made her thoughts clear.
But Chi Xingji said nothing, slowly letting go of his sympathy, a move tantamount to compromise. Huai Xu was naturally satisfied with the current situation, saying that a maid would come to deal with it later, and then he left with his group.
Standing among the ruins, Lian Qiang was in a state of restlessness. She looked up and met Chi Xingji's deep and inquiring gaze. She instinctively wanted to say something to evade the question, but he asked faster than she could: "Why did you say that just now?"
Lian Qiang pretended to be dumb: "What? Which sentence?"
"You know, there's no need to lie to me."
Chi Xingji's attitude clearly showed that he wouldn't let her succeed. Lian Qiang thought about it for a long time before finally speaking honestly, "Nothing, just a habit."
"Habit?" Chi Xingji frowned. "How did you develop this habit? Why do you have to be so submissive?"
Recalling a similar conversation a few days ago, Lian Qiang couldn't help but laugh. Talking about this, she looked relieved yet lonely: "In this world, living is always difficult; living well is even more difficult. Wanting to accomplish something while also not having to endure any hardship is a bit too simplistic."
At this point, Lian Qiang smiled and paused, "Besides, he didn't say anything wrong. For an Immortal Lord to associate with someone like me is to degrade himself..."
"I never thought so." Chi Xingji interrupted her abruptly, "If you really care, I won't go in and out with you these days. You are suspected because you helped me. It's only natural for me to help you."
He spoke bluntly, and his expression was extremely sincere. Facing those clear eyes, Lian Qiang, who had prepared a long speech in mind, was stunned and could not respond to what he said.
She wanted to speak awkwardly, but fortunately the maid Huai Xu had just mentioned came over respectfully and broke the strange silence.
The maid led Chi Xingji to another room, but he didn't move. Only when the maid looked up at him timidly did he take a step.
The two parted ways in front of Lian Qiang's room. The young swordsman's tall shadow cast a shadow on the smooth ground. Lian Qiang glanced at it, then averted her gaze as if it were burning. The shadow dragged on, then suddenly stopped. Chi Xingji sighed and said softly, "You don't have to do this."
Lian Qiang certainly knew what he was referring to, but she only responded with a chuckle from Chi Xingji.
After suffering a great loss, she would never expect others to empathize with her. She had to remind herself at all times: after the matter was settled, she and Chi Xingji would eventually go their separate ways.
-
After that night, the two of them didn't become distant from each other, but at least they were much more polite to each other than before.
Seeing that the guards around were becoming increasingly dense and the time for departure was approaching, Lian Qiang had tried several times but could never see the girl from that day again, and he couldn't help but feel anxious.
It was probably a distant prospect for her to complete the task entrusted to her by Jiang Lang. Even though she knew that Jiang Lang would not punish her, Lian Qiang, who had benefited deeply from him, felt really guilty about it.
She was anxious, but she no longer set her sights on Chi Xingji. She couldn't always rely on other people's power.
He also seemed to be aware of her thoughts, and their interactions drastically decreased. That day, she saw Chi Xingji again in the corridor and instinctively wanted to avoid him. However, Chi Xingji glanced around and saw her, but he ignored her and walked away.
Lian Qiang couldn't decide whether to avoid or greet him, but looking at Chi Xingji's hurried look, she seemed to have something in mind.
Could it be that Chi Xingji wanted to break away from her and act alone? It wasn't impossible...
Intellectually, he convinced himself that this was normal, but in reality, Lian Qiang couldn't help but follow him.
She was not sure if she could follow Chi Xingji without being noticed, not to mention avoiding the guards roaming around at the same time, so she could only follow him from a distance, fearing that she would be discovered.
Chi Xingji walked faster and faster, going deeper and deeper. At the next corner, he was about to collide with the guard. Lian Qiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief for him. It was said that it was too late. Chi Xingji raised his hand and struck the merman on the back of the neck with his scabbard!
With a muffled thud, the merman fell to the ground, unconscious. Seeing this, Lian Qiang tried to hide, but unexpectedly, as she retreated, she seemed to step on something, and a crisp sound suddenly occurred!
"Who!" Chi Xingji said sternly, and in an instant, the Tongbei wrapped in the sheath appeared in front of him!
Lian Qiang raised her arm to block, but saw no sign of the attack. She hesitantly lowered her hand, only then did she see Chi Xingji's stunned face.
"...Why is it you?" Chi Xingji put down his hand. He could not have expected that Lian Qiang would appear here at this moment.
"What... are you going to do?" Lian Qiang bit his lip, his momentum weakened for a moment, and he quickly set his gaze on the mermaid he had knocked unconscious, turning the tables.
Chi Xingji followed her gaze and actually took two steps to the side, intending to block her probing sight: "This has nothing to do with you. To avoid any danger, you'd better go back early."
Under normal circumstances, Lian Qiang might have let it go, but after talking to him again after so many days, she couldn't help but feel rebellious when she saw Chi Xingji's resistance. She immediately said, "If I remember correctly, you once said that this road leads to the Queen's bedroom..."
Before she could finish her words, Chi Xingji quickly embraced her, covered her mouth and nose with one hand, and held her shoulders with the other hand. He spun around and hid the two of them in the dark.
The sound of rippling water approached from afar—someone was coming. Lian Qiang sensed his intention and wanted to ask him to let her go first, but the moment she opened her lips, she felt something was wrong and stopped herself abruptly, her hot breath spraying onto his warm palm.
A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye, as if they had never left any trace on Chi Xingji's face. Lian Qiang looked at the face that she had thought about day and night, and she couldn't tell what mixed emotions were in her heart.
Fortunately, Chi Xingji was listening intently to the sounds outside. She was left twitching her fingertips awkwardly. They were so close now that the slightest movement could easily be sensed by the other. Lian Qiang could only follow his lead, holding her breath and listening to the sounds outside, her face gradually turning crimson.
Damn Chi Xingji! She cursed inwardly, and then felt disgusted with her own embarrassment.
She forced herself to listen: the person seemed to have discovered her unconscious accomplice and was frantically trying to get help. Logically, it was safe at this moment. Lian Qiang wanted to leave, but Chi Xingji refused, turning his head and frowning at her, signaling with his eyes that she should wait.
Turning his head, he noticed something he hadn't noticed just now. A pair of sparkling eyes beneath his palms were gazing at him with resentment, their hems rubbing against each other. Chi Xingji realized belatedly that their posture didn't seem hostile, but rather... intimate.
"...It happened suddenly, I'm sorry." After confirming that it was safe, Chi Xingji quickly let go of his hand and apologized with lowered eyes.
Lian Qiang rubbed her shoulder that had just been held awkwardly. No matter what, Chi Xingji had helped her again.
"Rescue will probably arrive soon, and it will be too late for me to leave. At this point, you still don't want to tell me what you want to do?" Lian Qiang asked him directly without saying much.
Chi Xingji pursed his lips, and Lian Qiang almost took it as a sign of grievance: "This matter is dangerous, and you shouldn't be involved... Well, you're right. Today I want to explore the Queen's chambers. This is a bad idea, but I still want to give it a try."
"Are you crazy?" Lian Qiang blurted out, "How dare you, a great Immortal Lord, think of doing such a thing? Do you really want to be sentenced as a criminal and imprisoned?"
While accusing her of not cherishing herself, Lian Qiang made the same bold move. Lian Qiang understood that Chi Xingji was afraid of missing this last chance and was unwilling to take things slow. But without any evidence, how could he dare to trespass into the queen's chamber? Even if he had the courage, how could he have the confidence to single-handedly challenge the entire Canglang Sea's mermaids?
"I've thought about it, and what you said that day was very reasonable. The problem might be with the queen. Although this move is risky, there is no guarantee that there will be no gains." Chi Xingji spoke righteously, but Lian Qiang laughed in anger.
"Why, do you just say whatever I say? I told you to turn the entire palace upside down to look for clues, will you do it?" She really wanted to pry open Chi Xingji's brain and see what was inside. After a hundred years, how could he be even more reckless than he was back then? "Such a big thing, and you didn't even tell me?"
"I thought about discussing it with you, but I thought you didn't want to be with me anymore." Chi Xingji said slowly, the shadows of his long eyelashes falling on his eyes, looking... pitiful.
Lian Qiang only felt that something hit her soft heart, and she didn't feel resentment or blame at the moment.
"...Is finding the truth so important to you?" After thinking about it, Lian Qiang only had this question left for him to answer.
Chi Xingji answered very quickly: "It's not that finding the truth is important, but what Yu Huang promised me, I must get it."
Lian Qiang was filled with mixed emotions and remained silent. Just as Chi Xingji guessed that she would not speak again, she suddenly spoke, "Your Majesty, please understand that once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back."
She stared at Chi Xingji, waiting for his reply.
This matter wasn't 100% certain, but I'm afraid it wasn't even 50%. If Princess Shaoyu was somewhere else, if the Queen had nothing to do with these anomalies, if they couldn't find anything... there was only one outcome waiting for them.
——Completely become enemies with the mermaid clan.
Lian Qiang's breathing became rapid. It was very strange. The arrow was on the string, but she had no thoughts about the mission entrusted to her by Lang. Instead, other emotions were running wild, making her blood boil.
Chi Xingji looked at her deeply and said, "Thank you very much."
She knew what he was thanking her for, so there was no need for further explanation. The two of them hurried towards their destination, knocking out many guards along the way.
Soon, the door to the queen's bedroom was in sight. As expected, the door was tightly closed, and the magic circle on it was dazzling, which was not easy for ordinary people to break.
Lian Qiang and Chi Xingji looked at each other and had some ideas. Even though the queen's bedroom was heavily guarded, this was far beyond normal. They were afraid there was something fishy going on.
Chi Xingji slowly drew his sword and raised it, Tongbei shone brightly. As long as it fell, the door would be broken.
Just then, the door opened.
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