Beautiful Bones (Part Two)
Chapter Two
Xie Yuan rubbed the back of her head in frustration and sat back down in her usual spot. The bump had almost given her a concussion. Once she got out, she was going to settle the score with that brat!
Judging from the commotion outside, quite a few people must have died. Now we can only hope that someone passing by will discover it and report it to the authorities.
Although the chances of this happening were extremely slim, she didn't have the energy to think about anything else right now.
She's so dizzy, I wonder if she's gotten a concussion.
Never mind, since she's already here, she might as well make the best of it. It's more important for her to get some sleep and replenish her energy.
Xie Yuan spread out the hay piled in the corner, curled up on her side with her arms crossed, and quickly fell asleep.
But she didn't get to sleep for long; she was soon gently shaken awake by a young girl.
"Hmm, what's wrong?" Xie Yuan sat up in a daze, only to find that everyone else beside her was gone. She was startled awake: "Where are they?"
How come the weather changed when she woke up?
The little girl looked to be only about thirteen years old, with a pair of big, bright eyes, but she couldn't speak...
She knelt down beside her, gesturing wildly and making incoherent sounds. Xie Yuan listened patiently, nodding as she spoke: "Oh, I understand, so that's how it is. Hmm, I know."
"You mean that shortly after I fell asleep, a little girl who was with you went and touched the skeleton, then took out a key and opened the door. They're all gone now, and only you and I are left."
The little girl's face was full of joy, and she nodded vigorously.
Xie Yuan and the mute girl had another uninterrupted conversation. This was probably the first time the mute girl had met someone who could understand her. She looked very excited and joyful, with a childlike, innocent smile on her face.
This reminded her of the boy's resolute departing figure. Ah, how fun my little apprentice was when we were kids...
——
The snowstorm outside finally stopped at the crack of dawn.
Xie Yuan led the mute girl outside, and sure enough, the scene outside was a scene of carnage. The little girl clung tightly to her dress and hid behind her.
Xie Yuan led her carefully around the gruesome corpses and out of the village.
It must be said that this mountain stronghold was quite large, with buildings resembling small city walls. The construction measures and defenses were also very comprehensive. Judging from the number of corpses on the ground and the crossbows they were holding, it should be no less than a well-trained small army. There were at least five or six hundred people in the stronghold, and they were all slaughtered overnight.
Xie Yuan took the little girl to stay at an inn in the border town of Beizhao.
Fortunately, they looted the village before leaving, otherwise they would have either starved or frozen to death on the street.
With the immediate crisis resolved, the most pressing issue now is settling the little girl in. She can't stay here indefinitely, nor can we take her with us. Given her current frail and helpless state, she would struggle to even protect herself in danger, let alone protect her.
Moreover, the most urgent task is to find a young apprentice, but finding a legitimate way to approach him is also a difficult task.
On the night of her arrival, Xie Yuan watched the little girl rest before returning to her own room. Although she had been up all day, she was wide awake. In her memory, she had only recently died, and the feeling of the long sword slicing through her throat was still vivid in her mind.
She stood by the window, looking up at the bright moon hanging high in the sky. It was snowing again.
She reached out and caught a snowflake as light as a goose feather. It was icy cold, and in the warmth of her palm, it quickly melted into water.
The first time I met my young apprentice was also on a snowy day.
In her previous life, Xie Yuan had a system and missions. When she first arrived here, her goal was simple: complete the missions, get the rewards, and return to her original world.
The year the mission began, she had just turned seventeen. At that time, she was already a well-known swordswoman in the martial arts world, and people said she was a genius that only appeared once in a century.
At the age of seventeen, she became the number one on the martial arts ranking list and made friends with like-minded people. She made a promise with them to travel the martial arts world together and see the magnificent landscape, but her mission began not long after that.
The system, which had not appeared for seventeen years, has reappeared.
Its mission, however, was for her to kill.
However, seventeen years later, she suddenly realized that starting a new life here wasn't so bad. Here, she could run and jump, and was in good health. Although she still didn't have parents, she had a mentor who treated her very well.
To her, her master was like a teacher and a father.
She is very satisfied with her life here, and there's nothing wrong with staying here.
However, the system said that if she did not carry out this task, she would be judged to have automatically failed when the task deadline arrived, and at that time she would be completely destroyed. There would be no second Xie Yuan in the world, but a second and a third person would be pulled into this world to carry out this task.
He is doomed.
Ultimately, it was obvious that she agreed.
——
Xie Yuan was lost in thought, standing by the window enjoying the breeze for almost half an hour, forgetting that she was now the princess of Dongling. Even if she herself felt nothing was wrong, her body couldn't withstand such reckless torment.
"Achoo!" Xie Yuan was so startled by the sneeze that she finally came to her senses. Well, she couldn't stand the wind anymore. She reached out and grabbed the window sill, about to close it, when she inadvertently caught a glimpse of an extremely bright red in the snow.
The boy carried a lantern and walked slowly down the street. The temperature difference between day and night was extreme in the northern border region, and most shops closed at dusk. Why was he here at this hour? He didn't seem to be looking for an inn, and he was dressed so lightly. What if he caught a cold?
Xie Yuan hurriedly put on the rabbit fur cloak hanging to the side. Just as she was about to push the door open and go out, she turned back and grabbed an extra fox fur cloak she had bought. She sneaked downstairs in a few quick steps. At this time, even the shopkeepers were closed. She quietly opened the door and slipped out, but she underestimated the biting cold wind, which unexpectedly pushed her back several steps.
"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!" Her long hair was blown by the wind and flew straight towards her face, blurring her vision for a moment. When she finally managed to pull it down and her eyes were exposed, there was no sign of him anywhere.
"Where is he? Achoo!" Xie Yuan sneezed again from the cold. The long street was deserted, with the wind and snow rustling in the air, but she didn't feel cold at all; in fact, she felt a little warm. She glanced back at the tightly closed door behind her. Oh well, she was already out! If she didn't catch him this time, who knew when she would see him again?
Xie Yuan hugged the fox fur cloak tightly, recalling the direction she had seen him from upstairs, and ran off, randomly choosing a small alley to turn into.
In the cold night, the red lanterns hanging in front of every household swayed in the wind, some lit and some not. The wind carried snowflakes, creating a white expanse on the ground, and the wooden houses, dilapidated from years of neglect, creaked and groaned in the wind.
But her body was still weak after all. She was panting heavily after searching for only a short while, saying, "If it were before, I would have grabbed this little brat and given him a good beating! I can't take it anymore, I can't walk anymore."
Xie Yuan not only felt weak in the legs, but also dizzy and her vision blurred. She found a shop's steps and sat down against a pillar, not minding the dirt and cold. She carefully folded her fox fur coat and placed it on her lap. She rubbed her calves and looked up. Her dejected mood, which had been because she couldn't find anyone, vanished instantly.
The boy was carrying a lantern as he emerged from the depths of the alley.
"Young master, young master!" Xie Yuan got up from the ground and, despite her weak legs, quickly stood in front of the young man.
"Why is it you again?" The young man's calm and indifferent gaze fell on her.
To Xie Yuan, that expression was clearly a provocation, a blatant provocation!
"What, seeing Master... cough, am I disappointed?" Xie Yuan tilted her little face up and said smugly, "You don't understand, do you? I'm just lucky!"
"Ha, what is the sky anyway?" The boy's mocking tone was undisguised as he walked past her again.
Xie Yuan: ...No, can't we just talk like this?!
"Hey, hey, hey," Xie Yuan took a deep breath and grabbed the handle of the lantern he was carrying. "Alright, alright, let's not talk about that for now. Just now, Young Master was passing by, and I happened to see you at the inn, so I thought I'd give you some clothes."
"Are you this attentive to everyone?" The boy finally stopped, lowered his eyes and stared at her coolly, a faint mockery curling at the corner of his mouth.
Xie Yuan: Aaaaaaah! Whoever wants this disciple can have her! I'm so angry! Isn't this just a roundabout way of insulting her for being shameless?!
Xie Yuan puffed out her cheeks in anger, comforting herself in her heart, "Don't be angry, don't be angry. If I scold him, I'm scolding myself." She then gave him a bright smile: "Young master, you are mistaken. I only fawn over good-looking people. I've been to every brothel in Dongling, and I've seen countless male prostitutes. It's always others who fawn over this imperial princess!"
"I wonder how many male prostitutes I've seen in brothels... Hah."
Xie Yuan silently shrank her neck. No, is that the point?! Why speak in such a terrifying tone?!
"Anyway, just say one sentence. I'm freezing to death. I've searched so many streets for you, I'm exhausted, and now I have to talk to you about this nonsense in this freezing weather." Xie Yuan squatted down on the ground in a somewhat resigned manner.
From Song Ling's perspective, the person in front of her instantly shrank into a snow-white ball of fluff, almost blending into the snowy scene.
Xie Yuan was still fuming and complaining, "My head hurts too!"
"Yes." The boy followed suit and knelt down on one knee.
"Really?" Xie Yuan raised her head from her knees, half of her small face buried in the fluffy fox fur she was holding, only her two eyes showing. Her fox eyes were lively and cunning, full of the joy of a successful scheme.
When she first brought her little apprentice home, he was a cold and aloof person who didn't talk much. He acted like a little adult all day long, didn't like to play or eat anything, and would either sit alone in a daze or play with his insects. He wouldn't respond when she talked to him. Later, she didn't know when it started, but she finally found a way to deal with him: being spoiled, complaining, and acting pitiful. Something always worked.
It seems that this hasn't changed, hehe.
Taking advantage of his squatting position, Xie Yuan quickly stood up and said solicitously, "Come, come, let me help you." Having squatted for too long, she accidentally stumbled and instinctively braced herself against his shoulder. She looked down and met his deep, captivating eyes, and smiled awkwardly, "Oops, oops." She pouted, let go of his hand, unfolded the fox fur coat in her hand, walked around him, and tied a bow in a few quick movements.
"Alright! How was my bow tie? Not bad, right?"
Xie Yuan stood with her hands on her hips, smugly pleased with herself.
"Ugly." The boy stood up, reverting to his position of looking down at her, his eyes sweeping over the crooked bow tied in front of him with a hint of disdain.
"Hey, you!" As soon as he stood up, Xie Yuan's momentum inexplicably diminished, as if he had just poured a bucket of cold water on her.
"What about me?"
The boy placed the small lantern between them. The flickering light in the cold wind illuminated his delicate, jade-like profile, revealing his deep red lips and high nose bridge. In the dark night, he appeared both alluring and seductive.
Xie Yuan was thrilled: Wow, no wonder he's her apprentice, his face is so handsome, the more I look at him, the more I like him, her taste is really good, hehe.
This time she didn't dodge; instead, she deliberately moved closer and teased him in a cheeky manner.
"No, I just wanted to say that you are more handsome than any of the male prostitutes I have ever seen."
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