Broken Linglong (11)
"Huh?" Zhao Yuxiao was stunned by the question, his eyes filled with confusion.
But since it concerned Senior Yun, his mind raced, and he immediately realized, "What happened to Senior Yun?!"
"Shh—" Ye Yingying gestured for him to be quiet. She glanced at the direction of Yun Yanqiu's room out of the corner of her eye and whispered, "There was a lot of noise in his room last night. I almost thought a thief had broken in."
"What!" Zhao Yuxiao exclaimed in surprise, "How come I didn't hear that?"
He slept soundly last night, Ye Yingying rolled her eyes at him.
Zhao Yuxiao protested, "I really didn't hear anything! And he was perfectly fine when I brought him food last night!"
It seemed that Zhao Yuxiao really didn't know. Ye Yingying hesitated for a moment, but decided not to tell him about Yun Yanqiu's strange behavior. So she said evasively, "Maybe I misheard."
"No! This kind of thing can't be taken lightly," Zhao Yuxiao said seriously. "I'll go take a look."
With that, he rushed out of the room and knocked on Yun Yanqiu's door: "Senior Yun, are you awake?"
No one answered. Zhao Yuxiao knocked harder again, but there was still no response. "Damn it!" Zhao Yuxiao and Ye Yingying exchanged a glance, then decisively broke down the door, shouting, "Senior Yun!"
But when Zhao Yuxiao went inside, he was dumbfounded. He saw Yun Yanqiu leaning against the headboard, resting with her eyes closed. She only opened her eyes impatiently when she heard his noise and asked, "What's wrong?"
The two who entered were both taken aback. Zhao Yuxiao blinked and awkwardly forced a smile: "Um, Miss Ying'er heard some noise coming from your room last night and thought something had happened to you, so we..."
Ye Yingying quickly nodded in agreement: "It was me who said it, we were worried about you."
Yun Yanqiu looked much better than last night, which made Ye Yingying feel a little insecure and start to wonder if what happened last night was just a hallucination from a dream. She inadvertently met Yun Yanqiu's eyes, and the other looked at her calmly, his thin lips slightly parted: "I'm fine."
"It's good that you're alright! It's good that you're alright!" Zhao Yuxiao patted his chest, relieved. "Would you like to have breakfast with us, senior?"
"No need." Yun Yanqiu closed her eyes again. "You may all leave."
"Well, okay then..."
Zhao Yuxiao reluctantly pushed Ye Yingying out of the room. The two exchanged a glance and went downstairs to eat.
As soon as he sat down at the table, Zhao Yuxiao said in a deep voice, "There really is a problem."
"I knew it," Ye Yingying said, taking a bite of her steamed bun. "If he were really alright, why would he be lying in bed like that? It's no different from being sick."
Zhao Yuxiao nodded in agreement: "Did you hear anything else last night? Or see anything, that's fine too."
Ye Yingying coughed twice, took a sip of tea, and said mysteriously, "Actually, I secretly saw him lying on the ground through the crack in the door last night. He looked like he was in a lot of pain."
"Hiss..." Zhao Yuxiao frowned and gasped, "That's a very serious problem!"
"But how did you see it?"
The guest room doors were all directly facing the tables, chairs, and windows, with the bed placed on the inside; logically, it shouldn't be visible. Zhao Yuxiao looked at Ye Yingying with confusion, while the latter sipped her tea nonchalantly, feigning profundity: "I have good eyesight, of course I can see. Otherwise, what do you think I would use to follow Qin Zhiqing?"
"Oh, right, right, and about Miss Qin..." Zhao Yuxiao suddenly remembered, and then asked, "How's it going?"
"There's been a major discovery. I'll tell you when Qi Shuojun comes."
"What major discovery is it?"
Just then, Qi Shuojun appeared in front of the two of them. He naturally sat down, leaning on the edge of the table with one hand, and looked at Zhao Yuxiao and Ye Yingying with interest: "Is there any progress on my wife's matter?"
"You've come at the perfect time!" Ye Yingying swallowed the soft steamed bun in her mouth and looked at Qi Shuojun. "I've found out Qin Zhiqing's purpose. She went to your ancestral land at night to find a cluster of true fire."
"Oh?" Qi Shuojun leaned forward, getting even closer. "What real fire?"
"Azure Netherfire".
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuxiao nearly choked. He gulped down a glass of water before recovering and asked, "She's also looking for the Azure Nether True Fire?"
Qi Shuojun raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why does Brother Xiao want to use it?"
"Senior Yun is also looking for this thing; he's been searching for it ever since he came to the Lingyun Alliance!"
Ye Yingying's heart skipped a beat, and the scene of Yun Yanqiu embracing her suddenly flashed into her mind again. She sipped her tea blankly to hide her panic, listening to the two of them continue their conversation.
Qi Shuojun asked what the Azure Nether True Fire was used for, and Zhao Yuxiao shook his head helplessly and said, "I'm not quite sure either. There are no ancient records of this in the Lingyun Alliance. I only heard a rough explanation from my father, who said it could protect the soul and such... In short, it's very mysterious!"
"Protecting the soul?" Qi Shuojun rested her chin on her folding fan, a thoughtful look in her eyes. "That's quite rare."
The Qi family started out as sword forgers, and they had just as much knowledge of true fire as those weapon-forging sects. He could recite the clan's list of true fires by heart, but he had never seen the name of this particular true fire. However, sword forging required the use of yang fire, the stronger the better, and the name Qingming True Fire sounded yin, so it was normal that his family didn't pay attention to it.
"What does Zhiqing need this fire for?" Qi Shuojun asked Ye Yingying again.
Ye Yingying pursed her lips, leaned back on the table, and said, "She said she wanted to help a vengeful spirit who died because of her, but I don't know the specifics."
"Oh, you two are chatting?" Zhao Yuxiao's focus was always unusual. "Doesn't that mean your stalking has been exposed?"
Ye Yingying's exposure means Qi Shuojun's exposure too, doesn't it? Zhao Yuxiao was worried, hoping this wouldn't ruin a marriage.
"Don't worry, I didn't expose Young Master Qi." Ye Yingying waved her hand. "Young Master Qi, the mission is complete, shouldn't you fulfill your promise?"
"Young Master Qi?"
Qi Shuojun seemed lost in thought, not responding to his calls several times. It wasn't until Ye Yingying waved her hand in front of him that he snapped out of his reverie: "Oh, you mean... the token I promised Miss Ye..."
"The token is unnecessary," Ye Yingying said seriously. "I discovered that what I'm looking for is in the Qi family's ancestral land. I only ask that Young Master Qi tell me if your clan has any way to avoid the monsters and traps in the mountains?"
"What do you mean by that..." Qi Shuojun was slightly taken aback, but quickly realized, "You're also looking for the Azure Nether True Fire?"
“Exactly.” Ye Yingying nodded. “To be precise, I want to bring back the Azure Nether True Fire for Senior Yun.”
Zhao Yuxiao, standing to the side, was dumbfounded. He looked left and right, and finally asked with wide eyes, "Why did Senior Yun look for you and not me?"
Ye Yingying rolled her eyes at him, ignoring him, and then stared straight at Qi Shuojun, asking, "Well? Young Master Qi, can you help with this?"
Qi Shuojun's face turned serious for once, and he remained silent for a while, seemingly struggling with something.
“Young Master Qi, I already made it clear to Miss Qin yesterday that this True Fire cannot fulfill her wish.” Ye Yingying tried to persuade Qi Shuojun to agree to her request. “Besides, it’s not necessarily a good thing for it to stay in your ancestral land. This thing is uncontrollable, and if you are not careful, it may cause a disaster. It would be better to entrust it to us for safekeeping, which can save the Qi family a lot of trouble.”
Ye Yingying's gaze was resolute, and she appealed to his emotions and reasoned with him, which made Qi Shuojun somewhat swayed. He rubbed his forehead and stared at the table for a while, then sighed and said, "It's not that I don't want to help, it's just that I don't know much about the ancestral land. My father is in charge of things there, so if you want to ask, you have to ask him."
Since the matter involved the ancestral land, Qi Shuojun originally wanted to minimize the impact and resolve the issue peacefully. After all, if the family head accidentally found out the whole story, it might implicate Qin Zhiqing as well, which would likely affect the marriage.
But this has turned into a problem. Qi Shuojun tapped the table with her finger, pondered for a while, and then made up her mind to say to Ye Yingying, "Give me some time. I'll go back and think of a solution. I'll give you an answer within two days."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Young Master Qi."
Ye Yingying clasped her hands in a respectful greeting and, together with Zhao Yuxiao, saw Qi Shuojun off from the inn.
After he walked away, Zhao Yuxiao whispered to Ye Yingying, "I think this matter is risky. Brother Shuo's father is not easy to talk to."
Besides, how could the patriarch tolerate a bunch of kids who are about the same age as his son running around in such a solemn place as the ancestral land?
"Let's wait for news first, just in case?" Ye Yingying was unsure, and if all else failed, she would ask Yun Yanqiu for help to force her way in.
Oh, right, speaking of Yunyanqiu, their matter hasn't been resolved yet.
"What should we do about Senior Yun?" Ye Yingying sighed worriedly.
"What, you still want Senior Yun to go with you to their ancestral land to find fire?" Zhao Yuxiao stroked his chin and speculated, "The senior is probably not going to be able to get out of bed for a while."
Why does that sound so strange? Ye Yingying glanced at him sideways, thinking that Zhao Yuxiao really needed to have his mouth cleaned up.
“However, there is someone else who might be able to help you.” Zhao Yuxiao thought of a guest who had not yet arrived and couldn’t help but feel uneasy. “But that person has a rather strange personality and may be difficult to get along with, so I won’t deal with her.”
Ye Yingying asked in confusion, "Who?"
"The sorcerer of Witch Valley is named Wu Yue—"
In the Qi family's villa, Qin Zhiqing sat in the courtyard, casually flipping through the books, but her mind was completely elsewhere. Ye Yingying's words from last night, and the ball of fire in her hand, had dealt her a heavy blow. In Qin Zhiqing's view, the Azure Nether True Fire had clearly fallen into Ye Yingying's hands. Once a true fire recognizes its master, there's practically no way to take it away except by killing the host.
Is killing her really the only option? Qin Zhiqing was lost in thought, unconsciously crumpling the corners of the book.
Just then, Zhique suddenly ran in from outside and shouted, "Miss, Young Master Qi is here!"
Qin Zhiqing looked up and saw Qi Shuojun following closely behind Zhique into the courtyard, a smile on her face as always: "It's just the two of us today, would you like to go for a walk in the garden?"
Qin Zhiqing glanced at the book in her hand and nodded in acceptance of his invitation.
The two strolled through the garden of the mansion, chatting idly for a while. Qi Shuojun asked her, "Did you sleep well last night? Did you find the sachet I gave you useful?"
"That's fine, thank you, Young Master Qi." Qin Zhiqing remained calm.
"But I heard from your maid that you didn't sleep well last night? Is something on your mind that's keeping you awake? Why don't you tell me and see if I can help you?"
"No, it's just that I'm not used to it yet. I'm a light sleeper, and I'm used to sleeping in my own bed. I'll get used to it in a while," Qin Zhiqing casually made up an excuse.
“I see.” Qi Shuojun walked slowly with her hands behind her back, deliberately matching Qin Zhiqing’s pace. “That’s because this maid was meddling.”
Qin Zhiqing paused, then defended Zhi Que: "It's not her fault. She was just thinking of me, that's why she talked back to you. I'll teach her a lesson later."
"Well, she is still your maid after all, so I can't say much, but it wouldn't be a bad thing to remind her of the rules again."
After saying that, Qi Shuojun changed the subject and suddenly asked, "Speaking of which, wasn't this the maid who served you when you were little? I remember she was a quiet, reserved girl, what was her name again?..."
Qi Shuojun tapped her head with her folding fan and began to recall carefully.
Suddenly, a thought struck him: "Chi He! Is that the name?"
The moment she heard that name, a scar was unearthed from the deepest corner of Qin Zhiqing's heart.
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