Glimpse into a Hundred Faces (8)
How did this fan end up on a demonic cultivator? Ye Yingying followed Yun Yanqiu with a puzzled look, her gaze fixed on the folding fan at his waist. In a daze, she seemed to see the fan move slightly.
Could there be someone hiding inside? Ye Yingying recalled Qi Shuojun bringing her and Wu Yue into the folding fan area before, and a guess formed in her mind. But she couldn't speak now, and could only chirp desperately to try to attract Yun Yanqiu's attention.
"What's wrong?" Yun Yanqiu glanced at her and saw her pecking at the fan ribs from a distance. He immediately reached out and pushed her away. "Be careful, this thing might suddenly bounce you away."
Yun Yanqiu didn't understand her meaning, which made Ye Yingying very anxious. But he was busy checking Zhao Huai Ren's injuries and didn't have time to pay attention to her. Ye Yingying could only puff out her cheeks angrily and fly to Zhao Huai Ren's arm to examine his injury.
Because he was protecting the coachman, Zhao Huai-ren had significantly more wounds than Yun Yan-qiu, but fortunately, he was thick-skinned and most of them were just abrasions. His most serious injuries were his two arms; one was swollen from being hit in the carriage, and the other was broken during the roll.
The medicine Yun Yanqiu brought was completely inadequate for this level of injury, leaving him somewhat at a loss.
Zhao Huai Ren was quite optimistic, laughing heartily and telling him it was just a minor injury and nothing to worry about. But no matter how stubborn he was, he couldn't hide the fact that his lips were pale with pain. It was getting late, so Yun Yan Qiu had no choice but to start a fire on the spot and bandage Zhao Huai Ren's wounds before making further plans.
“This driver should know the way around here. Let’s wait for him to wake up and take us back to the post station,” Zhao Huai-ren suggested, the firelight highlighting the fine beads of sweat on his forehead. He looked at the silent Yun Yanqiu and suddenly asked, “By the way, brother, I still don’t know your name.”
Yun Yanqiu's expression was indifferent. He glanced at him and simply said, "Yun Yanqiu."
"Yunyanqiu?" Zhao Huai-ren clicked his tongue. "Why does that sound so familiar?"
He frowned slightly, his memories surging like a tide, and suddenly he remembered something: "Oh! The youngest son of the Yun family winery in Ganzhou, I think he also has this name."
Yun Yanqiu froze, then abruptly turned to Zhao Huai Ren: "How did you know?"
“Sigh, a friend from Ganzhou mentioned to me that the family was a very prominent one in the area, known to everyone for miles around.” He finished speaking, then his tone shifted, tinged with a hint of regret, “But their youngest son was unlucky; I heard he passed away before he even reached adulthood.”
"They went?" Yun Yanqiu frowned.
"That's it," Zhao Huai-ren blurted out, but seeing the man in front of him stiffen, he asked in bewilderment, "Brother, what's wrong with you?"
Yun Yanqiu's expression froze, clearly deeply shocked. This puzzled Zhao Huai Ren; he hadn't been talking about him, so why the expression?
Wait, something's not right. Zhao Huai-ren suddenly realized, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Brother, could it be that you are...?"
Yun Yanqiu seemed not to hear, her eyes fixed straight ahead, her gaze piercing the night, a rage rising in her pupils. What do you mean he's gone? Who spread such nonsense? Did her parents and sister really believe it? Don't let him catch that bastard who spread the rumors!
Seeing his expression, Zhao Huai-ren understood the gist of the matter and tactfully changed the subject: "So, what exactly is that demonic cultivator's fan?"
Upon being asked this question, Yun Yanqiu closed his eyes and composed himself. He then took out the folding fan from his waist, opened it, and showed it to Zhao Huai Ren: "It is a magical artifact."
The night was dark, and Zhao Huai-ren squinted, barely able to make out the painting on the fan by the dim firelight. The painting depicted swirling mists, rolling mountains, and lush forests. Unfortunately, he didn't understand painting; he only knew that the painting contained mountains, water, and trees, but couldn't discern anything else.
Just as they were at their wits' end, the long-silent blue-and-white sparrow suddenly took flight, its emerald feathers fluttering as it repeatedly tapped a spot on the fan with its beak. Zhao Huai-ren followed its movements and exclaimed in surprise, "There's someone behind that tree!"
Upon hearing this, Yun Yanqiu immediately flipped the fan over and indeed saw half a human figure hidden deep in the ink, seemingly hiding but not quite.
Is this how landscape paintings are done? The two looked at each other, falling silent in unison, but everything they had just experienced told them—this thing could not be kept.
So Yun Yanqiu made a quick decision and raised his hand to throw the fan into the fire.
Seeing this, Ye Yingying was extremely anxious and flapped her wings to rush forward. Just as Yun Yanqiu was about to let go, the folding fan suddenly trembled violently and broke free from Yun Yanqiu's grasp as if it were alive!
With a thud, the folding fan fell to the ground, and a thick, dark shadow emerged from it, outlining the silhouette of a young man. Then, to everyone's astonishment, the darkness faded, revealing a noble young man in brocade robes and a jade belt standing under the moonlight. His white robe, trimmed with gold thread, reflected the firelight, and beneath his jade crown, his bright eyes shone like stars, his teeth were white, and his lips were red. He appeared even younger than Yun Yanqiu and Zhao Huai Ren.
As soon as the young man came out, he hurriedly raised his hands to shield himself, shouting in terror, "Heroes, please don't kill me! I'm a good person!"
This statement is generally not very convincing, but his elegant and luxurious clothes, coupled with his fair and clean face, make it somewhat believable. Doesn't he look like the young master of some family?
Yun Yanqiu crossed his arms, waiting with great interest for him to continue.
The young man, suppressing his fear, stammered, "I...I...I am Qi Rongting of the Qi family of Jinzhou. My family has been in business for generations, and we have a large business. You can ask us if you don't believe me!"
"What business is it of ours what your family's business is?" Yun Yanqiu said coldly. "What are you doing hiding in the demonic cultivator's fan?"
"This isn't her fan, it's mine!" Qi Rongting said, feeling aggrieved. "I encountered this demonic cultivator on my way out on business. She killed my guards and tried to kill me, so in desperation I hid inside the fan. Who knew she would carry the fan with her the whole time, preventing me from even getting out..."
"Is this your fan?" Yun Yanqiu raised an eyebrow, still somewhat doubtful. He had seen many magical artifacts from his master, but this was the first time he had ever seen one so wondrous.
Qi Rongting picked up the folding fan from the ground and carefully put it into his pocket: "Yes, this is a treasure that my family gave me for self-defense. I never thought I'd have to use it on my first long trip..."
To be honest, it was a bit tragic. Ye Yingying flapped her wings and landed back on Yun Yanqiu's shoulder. She looked at Qi Rongting and saw that he looked like he was about to cry. It was hard to imagine that this guy was actually Qi Shuojun's grandfather.
Compared to Zhao Huai'ren, Zhao Yuxiao and Zhao Huai'ren are noticeably more similar. It's quite amazing...
Qi Rongting was still sobbing as he recounted his tragic experience. His first trip away from home had turned into such a nightmare, and the trauma was immense: "I told them I wasn't ready yet, but my parents insisted on forcing me to come out and train. Heavens above, do you know how terrified I was when I ran into her? Two Golden Core cultivators had their stomachs ripped open by her bird! Blood and intestines were gushing out! I almost fainted from fright..."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but recall the bloody scene from that time. He quickly clutched his chest and said in pain, "Oh dear, those demonic cultivators are terrifying, like ghosts. I still get chills just thinking about it."
"She's only at the Core Formation stage, yet she managed to kill two Golden Core cultivators who were far beyond her level?" Yun Yanqiu still had some doubts.
"How could I lie, brother! Do you think I don't know the strength of my guards?" Qi Rongting almost cried out. "If I hadn't seen them killed with my own eyes, I wouldn't be so scared."
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, his voice even trembling with emotion. Yun Yanqiu, fearing he would continue crying, quickly stopped him, saying, "Alright, be quiet, don't attract the demon beasts."
Upon hearing this, Qi Rongting immediately fell silent, blinking nervously. Calming down, he looked around and noticed that Zhao Huai Ren seemed to have difficulty moving. He then asked in a low voice, "Is this hero injured in the arm?"
Zhao Huai-ren raised an eyebrow, smiled when he met his gaze, and said in a relaxed manner, "It's nothing, I'll be fine after a rest."
"No way! You saved my life, how can I just abandon you!" Qi Rongting said righteously, fumbling around in his pocket for a while before pulling out a medicine bottle. He uncorked it, poured out a glittering golden pill, and held it to Zhao Huai Ren's lips: "Brother, take this, it'll definitely make you better!"
Zhao Huai Ren hesitated for a moment, but he couldn't resist Qi Rong Ting's intense gaze, as if he would be letting him down if he didn't take the medicine. Zhao Huai Ren thought about it again and figured that this young master was inexperienced and probably wouldn't harm anyone, so he swallowed the pill with Qi Rong Ting's help.
Just as Qi Rongting had said, the pill was remarkably effective. In just a short while, Zhao Huai-ren felt his eyes clear, his blood flowing smoothly, and the pain in his arm had vanished. He swung his arm in disbelief and found it didn't hurt at all; even the fractured area felt much better.
"A miraculous medicine..." Zhao Huai Ren couldn't help but sigh. Suddenly, he gained some understanding of the aristocratic family behind Qi Rongting. A family that could possess such a pill must be either rich or noble.
"I already said it would be fine!" Qi Rongting smugly put away the medicine bottle. "Don't worry, brothers, I won't cheat you!"
Qi Rongting kept calling him "brother" so naturally that Yun Yanqiu and Zhao Huai'ren felt a little embarrassed.
Having received help from others, Zhao Huai-ren stretched his arms, stood up, and invited Qi Rong-ting: "It's dangerous for you to be out there alone. Why don't you come with us to the post station and hitch a ride home from there?"
These words were meant well, but Qi Rongting's expression changed drastically upon hearing them: "No, we absolutely cannot go back!"
"Why not?" Yun Yanqiu frowned in confusion. "Your cultivation level isn't high, and you don't have any guards. Where else can you go if you don't go back?"
"I haven't finished my business yet!" Qi Rongting said anxiously. "My parents want me to go to the Yanqing Sect in Lizhou to pay my respects to the Grandmaster. If I go back without even seeing him, I'll definitely get scolded!"
"You almost died, and you still care about this?" Yun Yanqiu was speechless, but Qi Rongting was determined and refused to go back like this.
Not only that, he also took out two gleaming gold coins from his pocket, held them out in his hand for the two men to see, and asked, "Could I hire you to escort me to Lizhou?"
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