Broken Linglong (9)
"Hey, my wife's right here, and you're already plotting to beat me up?" Qi Shuojun hid behind Qin Zhiqing and yelled, "Don't you even know where you are?"
Ye Yingying and Zhao Yuxiao both cast disdainful glances at him, but ultimately restrained themselves from making a move out of consideration for Qin Zhiqing.
Qin Zhiqing observed their interaction and suddenly remembered her rudeness yesterday. She bowed and said, "By the way, I left Zuijinlou in a hurry yesterday. Looking back, I was really impolite. I apologize to everyone."
"Hey, it's no big deal." Zhao Yuxiao smiled indifferently. "Neither Miss Ye nor I mind."
As he spoke, he raised an eyebrow at Ye Yingying, signaling her to say something as well. Ye Yingying responded, "That's right, that's right. We're all rough people, we don't concern ourselves with trivial matters. But Miss Qin, you shouldn't overthink things and let them affect your complexion."
As Ye Yingying spoke, she raised her hand and touched the area under her eyes: "Look, your eyes are all dark circles."
Qin Zhiqing was startled and hurriedly covered half of her face with her hand. Hadn't she asked Zhique to apply extra powder? How could it still be showing? Could it have rubbed off when she tried on the wedding dress?
"Let me take a look." Qi Shuojun said, and before Qin Zhiqing could react, he stepped forward, turned his back to Ye Yingying, and completely blocked his bride.
He leaned close to Qin Zhiqing and observed her carefully for a while. Then, taking advantage of the moment when Qin Zhiqing hadn't reacted, he quickly withdrew and turned to Ye Yingying, pointing and saying, "Nonsense, my wife looks great. She didn't stay up all night."
"Really?" Ye Yingying feigned surprise. "Then I must have misread it."
If there really wasn't anything wrong, why bother with all the secrecy? Ye Yingying knew perfectly well that she was just trying to test Qin Zhiqing's reaction. Having achieved her goal, she stopped pressing for details.
But Qin Zhiqing's wariness of Ye Yingying rose again. She steadied herself and sighed with feigned sadness, "Miss Ye has good eyesight. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a while."
Upon hearing this, Qi Shuojun immediately asked with concern, "Zhiqing, is something troubling you?"
"Perhaps it's because the chirping of insects in Yuancheng is particularly loud at night. I'm used to the quiet of my hometown, and I'm not used to it for a while." Qin Zhiqing gently touched the corner of her eye, putting on a haggard look. "I specially asked the maid to apply thicker makeup to cover it up, but I didn't expect that Miss Ye would still notice. It seems that it was indeed too obvious."
As she spoke, she curtsied and said, "In that case, I'd better go back to my room and rest for a while, so that I won't be listless on my wedding day and become a laughing stock."
The excuse for leaving came naturally, and the other three couldn't stop her, so they could only watch her leave. After Qin Zhiqing had gone far away, Qi Shuojun turned around and looked calmly at Ye Yingying: "Did you discover anything yesterday?"
Ye Yingying shrugged: "No, I just wanted to see if she felt guilty."
"Aren't you afraid of alerting the enemy?"
"It's alright. If she were really wary of me, she would have been pretending to sleep tonight." Ye Yingying said confidently. "Don't worry, I will definitely find out her purpose before the wedding."
Qi Shuojun sighed helplessly, said a few words to the two of them, and then went to Qin Zhiqing's courtyard alone. He was greeted by the maid Zhique, who bowed respectfully to him and said that her mistress had already gone to bed and could not see him.
"Then give this to her for me. It was originally meant for your young lady, but I was too busy and forgot about it." Qi Shuojun took out a spherical silver sachet from her bosom. "Just say it's for calming the mind at night."
After saying that, he handed the item to Zhique and turned to leave.
Zhique carefully held the sachet and knocked on Qin Zhiqing's door. Before anyone inside could respond, she pushed the door open and said to the figure on the bed, "Miss, Young Master Qi has already left. This is a sachet he asked me to give you. He said it can calm the mind and help you sleep."
Qin Zhiqing lay there motionless, but her eyes were very clear. She said softly, "Put it on the table."
"Yes." Zhi Que deliberately placed the sachet in a conspicuous position before leaving.
As night fell, Qin Zhiqing changed into her night clothes early and went to the table to find a hairpin to style her hair. Using the dim moonlight, she searched the table for ornaments, and suddenly noticed a spherical sachet. Her hand unconsciously picked it up to examine it. This silver sachet had a hollow center and was carved with intricate patterns around the edges. Inside was a solid ball of spice, like a silent bell. The fragrance wafted out, initially fresh and delicate, like a lotus pond on a summer night. A closer whiff revealed a subtle sweetness, refreshing and delightful.
The scent was indeed calming, and Qin Zhiqing was captivated by it for a moment before putting it down. She picked up a wooden hairpin, neatly styled her hair, and left the bedroom.
Qin Zhiqing left earlier than usual today; the echoes of fireworks could still be heard outside. She quickly arrived at the foot of the mountain where the Qi family's ancestral land was located, and as usual, she began searching for the markings on the trees before disappearing into the deep forest.
Shortly after she went in, Ye Yingying arrived as expected and followed suit, disappearing into the woods. Having learned from yesterday's experience, Ye Yingying was much more agile today. Her only worry was how to maintain distance from Qin Zhiqing in the forest without her noticing. Fortunately, the forest was dark enough that she only needed to focus on controlling the sound of her footsteps.
After walking for a while, Ye Yingying still couldn't find Qin Zhiqing. Following the markers, she returned to the vicinity of the tombstone from yesterday. By the moonlight, she looked around in the fairly wide field of vision for a while, but didn't find anyone.
Where did Qin Zhiqing go? Ye Yingying frowned in confusion, then turned and continued running towards the summit along the markings. The markings became sparser as she went on, until the last marking indicated a location where no new glowing symbols could be found, forcing Ye Yingying to stop. She looked into the distance and saw the command flag fluttering on the summit.
She was about to continue walking in the direction of the command flag when she suddenly felt a chilling killing intent on her neck.
"Don't move." A cold female voice rang in Ye Yingying's ear. "Did Qi Shuojun send you to follow me?"
Qin Zhiqing's eyes turned cold, and the short knife in her hand was pressed against Ye Yingying's throat. With a little force, she could take her life.
Ye Yingying froze, realizing she had been exposed. It seemed Qin Zhiqing was more vigilant than she had thought. She surrendered, raising her hands in resignation, "Miss Qin, you misunderstand. Following you was just a spur-of-the-moment decision. I was just curious, what's a bride doing in a graveyard in the middle of the night?"
"It's none of your business," Qin Zhiqing said coldly.
"Does Qi Shuojun know that you went to his family's ancestral grave? What would he think if he found out?"
"You don't need to worry about these things." Qin Zhiqing gripped the knife tighter, the blade extremely sharp, forcing a thin line of blood down Ye Yingying's fair neck.
Ye Yingying showed no fear, but instead chuckled: "I thought Miss Qin was a refined person, but it turns out she's just like me, preferring to use her hands rather than her words."
Qin Zhiqing frowned. Before she could react to the meaning of those words, a bluish-green ghostly flame suddenly rushed into her view. She instinctively dodged to the side, inadvertently allowing Ye Yingying to break free of her restraints.
Ye Yingying created several meters of distance, and with a wave of her hand, the ball of flame that had been wildly attacking and entangling Qin Zhiqing obediently fell into her grasp. Qin Zhiqing, seeing this, couldn't help but show surprise. What was going on? How could she possess the Azure Nether True Fire?!
"Hmm?" Ye Yingying didn't expect Qin Zhiqing to suddenly be in a daze. She followed the other's gaze and looked down, only to find that she was curious about the flame in her hand.
Ye Yingying couldn't help but tease, "Isn't she beautiful?"
"Where did you get this flame from?!" Qin Zhiqing demanded sharply.
"Is it any of your business?" Ye Yingying retorted, extinguishing the flame in her palm with a flick of her fingers.
It was only meant to scare her, but unexpectedly, Qin Zhiqing reacted to the Azure Netherfire. This was truly an unexpected gain. The Azure Netherfire is yin in nature, which seems to be compatible with a place like a tomb complex. Could it be...?
A glint flashed in Ye Yingying's eyes, and a smug smile spread across her lips: "Miss Qin, you didn't come here to find the real fire, did you?"
Qin Zhiqing's expression changed drastically. She raised her knife and charged at Ye Yingying. Ye Yingying could hardly stand still and take the knife. She nimbly dodged to the side and once again unleashed her ghostly blue flames to fight with her.
Miss Qin's first place was truly well-deserved. The spiritual energy attached to her short sword was like hard ice crystals, which she stabbed at Ye Yingying in swift strokes. Ye Yingying dispersed her flames, enveloping the ice crystal-like spiritual energy within them, but unfortunately, her cultivation was not as profound as her opponent's, and she was unable to dissipate the spiritual energy.
The flames were clearly not dissipating spiritual energy as quickly as Qin Zhiqing's attacks. If this continued, Qin Zhiqing's spiritual energy would riddle her with holes. Ye Yingying gritted her teeth, hesitating whether to use the life-saving magic artifact Qi Shuojun had given her.
Seeing Qin Zhiqing closing in, Ye Yingying instinctively took a large step back, accidentally stepping on a button. With a "click," several arrows rained down from the sky, striking the two of them and disrupting Qin Zhiqing's offensive rhythm.
Then, a loud howl echoed from the forest, a sound like a deafening war drum, which made both of them tremble.
"Are there monsters in these mountains?!" Ye Yingying looked at Qin Zhiqing in surprise, only to find that the latter was not surprised at all.
Qin Zhiqing leaned back, turned around abruptly, and ran away without saying a word.
"Hey?!" Ye Yingying was stunned by the speed at which she ran away. The footsteps of the monster were getting closer and closer, so she immediately chased after Qin Zhiqing in the direction she had left.
Qin Zhiqing's figure leaped through the forest like a black lightning bolt, and her speed at this moment was much faster than when Ye Yingying had followed her before.
Ye Yingying could barely catch a glimpse of her figure, and then, guided by the marks, she ran forward as fast as she could. The sound of the demonic beast's footsteps kept echoing in her ears, and Ye Yingying had to stay on high alert to keep up with Qin Zhiqing's pace. She knew that if she took a wrong step, she might become the demonic beast's prey behind her.
Compared to Ye Yingying, Qin Zhiqing was much more at ease. She moved through the woods with ease, and even occasionally looked back to see if she had shaken off Ye Yingying.
Unfortunately, Ye Yingying disappointed her. This guy stuck to her like a leech, and even though they were some distance apart, he never completely disappeared from her sight.
The two chased each other out of the woods. When Ye Yingying saw Qin Zhiqing stop at the entrance, she rushed forward, grabbed her shoulder, and said angrily, "Where do you think you're going to run to!"
Qin Zhiqing ignored her and looked straight into the forest. There, she saw a four-legged monster standing at the edge of the forest, staring at the two of them menacingly.
This monstrous beast resembled a dog, its entire body a deep blue-green, with a pair of golden antlers on its head. Its back and neck were covered with long, fine, bright golden hair, which shone like a dazzling golden light in the night. Its limbs were extremely strong, and with its sharp claws, a single swipe of its paw could kill a person.
It stared intently at the two uninvited guests with its two golden, bell-like eyes, and let out a low, warning growl.
This was the first time Qin Zhiqing had seen the true form of this demonic beast. Its dazzling gold color captivated her attention. It was this creature that had been secretly watching her and hindering her actions time and time again.
Ye Yingying finally saw the beast's appearance clearly. Startled, she turned to run, but saw Qin Zhiqing standing motionless beside her. Ye Yingying decisively grabbed her hand and shouted, "Run if you don't want to die!"
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