Chapter 123 Interlude
With no one around and the mountain temple quiet, Xiao Qing strolled along, taking his time to observe the scenery, and was in no hurry to descend the mountain.
She felt uneasy when she couldn't see Jueyin, always feeling that it was divine retribution as Jueyin had said.
However, it could not be verified.
Not many people came to the temple to offer incense today. Fu Mingyi originally wanted to close the mountain, but Xiao Qing firmly disagreed. After thinking about it, Fu Mingyi gave up. However, this put more pressure on Zhao Youchen, Ma Hongdu and others.
However, Xiao Qing knew that if she wanted to leave the palace in plain clothes, Mr. Wu would hide not far away. He never appeared, nor would he comment on anything she did, but he never left her side until she returned to the palace.
Xiao Qing also knew that Mr. Wu was Fu Mingyi's man.
However, this is not a problem worth worrying about.
Xiao Qing walked slowly and unconsciously arrived at a bamboo grove.
There are many such bamboo groves in Tianyin Temple. When she returned in terror and quietly drank tea with Jueyin, she could also see a bamboo grove.
She remembered that Jueyin had taken out a particularly beautiful white porcelain tea set, the surface of which shimmered under the moonlight.
Because her memories were stirred up, Xiao Qing wanted to take a walk in the bamboo forest.
There are winding paths paved with pebbles in the forest, and some small stone benches and tables along the way, presumably for pilgrims to rest.
As Xiao Qing walked, she heard voices.
She listened intently, and it seemed there were about four or five people, mostly girls.
She learned kung fu from Mr. Wu, and breathing techniques were the basics. Although she didn't have the same powerful internal strength as Mr. Wu, she could still identify people by their voices without any problem.
She originally wanted to avoid the crowd and walk back, but suddenly heard one of the girls shout loudly, "In broad daylight, with gods and Buddhas around, aren't you afraid of retribution for doing this?"
The girl's voice was a little hoarse and she sounded somewhat disheveled, but she spoke with great authority.
Xiao Qing's steps unconsciously slowed down.
Immediately, the other girls burst into laughter.
One of them said, "Don't try to scare us with these words, Miss Chu. Even if there is retribution, it will fall on your short-lived mother. Alas, who knows if her short life was due to the bad things she did, and she suffered retribution for them!"
The group of girls burst into exaggerated laughter again.
“You…” The girl from before was clearly angry.
Xiao Qing shook her head. Children just love to talk big, and these words are so disrespectful to our ancestors.
As she was thinking, the girl shouted sharply, "Stop! How dare you! Don't touch me! Get away!" and other similar words.
She struggled and shouted, then cried out again, "Someone come here, woo woo..." The last syllable faded away.
This is definitely because someone has gagged them.
Sure enough, another girl said, "Take off her clothes! Humph, if it weren't for the fact that you're a member of the Chu family, I'd gouge out your eyes and see what you'd do then..."
Xiao Qing felt that things were probably not going to turn out well if things continued like this.
How can a girl do things like this...?
She turned and walked quickly into the depths of the bamboo forest. After walking only a dozen steps, she saw three girls pinning another girl to the ground and stripping her clothes off.
"Ahem." She quickly spoke, her face turning cold and stern.
Xiao Qing walked lightly, and the girls didn't even notice her approaching. When they suddenly heard her voice, they panicked.
The girl standing to the side turned around and looked back. She was initially a little scared and wary, but when she saw that Xiao Qing was handsome and looked like a young man, she calmed down.
She turned to the side, using her sleeve to cover half her face, and said gently, "Young master, this is a family matter. Would you mind leaving for a moment?"
As she spoke, she couldn't help but glance at Xiao Qing again.
Xiao Qing's face was cold as he glanced behind her and said, "I've never heard of family matters being handled in a mountain temple. I see that you ladies are all from prominent families, so it's quite strange that you don't have any servants around you."
The girl was only seventeen or eighteen years old. Hearing Xiao Qing speak like that, her face darkened. "Young master, aren't you being too nosy?"
Xiao Qing clapped his hands. "Oh, I see. I'm afraid it's not convenient for servants to see me handling household affairs."
She took two steps forward, pretending to take a closer look at the situation, but the girl quickly stopped her from going any further.
“In that case, I’m afraid it’s indeed inconvenient for me to be present.” Xiao Qing nodded in understanding and turned away.
The girl, pinned to the ground, struggled violently, making "woo-woo" sounds.
The girl blocking Xiao Qing's way slightly raised her chin, "Good to know, hurry up..."
Xiao Qing suddenly shouted, "Help! A female thief is committing murder..."
The girl was shocked and shouted, "What are you yelling about!" The other three girls also panicked and let go, giving the girl who was being held down a chance to kick one of them away and then squeeze through the gap to get up.
"Stop her quickly!"
"Help! There's a female thief..."
"Don't shout!"
"Let's run!"
"Come……"
The four bullying girls were at their wits' end and, fearing being caught, could only run away in a panic.
Only the one who had been bullied frowned and looked at Xiao Qing, saying, "Stop shouting, no one will come."
Xiao Qing wasn't really going to call the person over, but she was curious about the girl's composure.
How do you know no one will come?
"If they want to embarrass me, they'll definitely clear the area first."
"Then how did I get here?"
Just because you can get in doesn't mean others can.
This girl was a head taller than Xiao Qing, which was considered tall for a girl by the standards of this world. Moreover, she looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, with room to grow.
Xiao Qing felt a pang of envy.
She turned her head and said, "Young lady, you should tidy yourself up."
Seeing Xiao Qing's actions, the girl curtsied and said, "Thank you for your help, young master. May I ask your name? If there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely repay you. However, I am not at liberty to reveal my name, please forgive me."
Xiao Qing burst out laughing.
"It's nothing to mention. Young lady, you'd better not go out alone in the future, and be careful." With that, she gracefully departed, coming quickly and leaving just as fast.
She could tell that the girls from before had run far away and probably wouldn't be coming back.
She didn't know that even so, the girl she saved didn't escape being beaten when she got back, and was locked in the cold Buddhist shrine in her home for three days. If she hadn't had a high fever, which almost killed her, she wouldn't have been released so quickly.
The incident in the bamboo forest was just a minor episode that Xiao Qing could easily forget. However, she did not know that her unintentional act of kindness was a ray of light that sustained a person walking alone in the darkness.
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