Beauty Bones (Part 3)
Chapter Three
"A gentleman uses words, not fists! Hey hey hey!"
The consequence of her teasing was that the hood of the rabbit fur cloak tightened, and Xie Yuan was pulled in a different direction. The boy then dragged her into the alley.
"Weren't you very curious about me? What? Are you scared?"
The boy spoke lazily, glancing at her excited expression.
She said one thing, but her actions betrayed her true intentions as she hopped forward. If he hadn't grabbed her, she probably would have already run ahead.
Xie Yuan was indeed very curious, but she couldn't show it too much, since to her little apprentice, she was at most a stranger she had just met.
"Ahem, no, it's just a little curiosity. I just wonder how someone as handsome as you makes a living, that's all. I'm new to the world, isn't it normal to be curious?"
Xie Yuan gave a serious rebuttal.
"By the way, I still don't know your name, young master. My name is Xie Yuan!"
Song Ling saw through her attempt to cover up her actions, and her eyes grew increasingly gloomy as she watched her back, but quickly returned to calm the moment she turned away.
"Hmm, young master, why aren't you saying anything?"
Xie Yuan stopped and glanced back at him.
The boy was tall and had long legs. It was unclear what was wrong with him again; he seemed inexplicably in a bad mood. Without saying a word, he walked straight past her, still holding her hood in his hand…
Xie Yuan felt a tightness around her neck as he pulled her, and she hurried after him, looking completely bewildered.
Why are you unhappy again?
"Song Ling".
Xie Yuan: "........" Damn it! She only answers the questions he wants to answer!
——
"Young Master Song, where is this place?"
After following Song Ling through a winding path for quite a while, Xie Yuan finally stopped in front of a dilapidated courtyard. Through the crack of the half-open wooden door, they could see a stone table and stone benches lying askew inside.
Having been a renowned swordsman in his past life, Xie Yuan possessed extraordinary courage and even asked with great interest, "Young Master Song, are you treasure hunting or tomb raiding?"
Xie Yuan said this, but her mind was full of questions. It couldn't be that bad. The money she left for her little apprentice was enough for him to live a life of ease, even if he was a spendthrift.
It shouldn't have come to this.
Just as she was racking her brains, Song Ling stuffed the lantern he was carrying into her hands, then reached out to pull her cloak tighter, and said the cruelest words in the gentlest tone: "On a dark and windy night, a time for murder and arson."
As soon as he finished speaking, a gust of wind, seemingly out of nowhere, creaked open the wooden door.
Song Ling had already loosened her collar and turned to go inside.
Xie Yuan stared dumbfounded at his retreating figure, standing rooted to the spot in shock, exclaiming, "Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!?!"
She didn't have time to ponder the meaning behind his words and hurriedly caught up with him.
Xie Yuan was stunned as soon as she stepped across the threshold; the scene inside could only be described as extremely cruel.
By the dim moonlight, she estimated that there were more than a dozen headless corpses lying haphazardly in the courtyard, all dressed in uniform black tight-fitting night clothes. If she was not mistaken, these people should belong to some kind of assassin or intelligence organization.
Song Ling walked to one of the corpses, squatted down, picked up a dagger lying next to him, and began rummaging through the body of the man in black, seemingly searching for something.
Xie Yuan stood behind him, tiptoeing and peeking out.
"Isn't Your Highness afraid?"
Song Ling suddenly asked her a nonsensical question.
Xie Yuan: Oh no, I almost forgot. The character of the Eastern Mausoleum Princess is a spoiled and unruly princess. Although Eastern Mausoleum is a matriarchal society, only the social status has changed. Women have ascended the throne as emperors, and women are superior to men. Everything else remains the same.
So how could a pampered princess like her possibly have the opportunity to be so frightened and have seen so many dead people?
At this moment, she really should be afraid.
Xie Yuan was terrified. She clutched her heart and took several steps back, her face pale. She deliberately pinched her throat to pretend to be frightened, and said in a trembling voice, "I... I'm just too scared to speak."
Xie Yuan silently gave herself a thumbs up for her wit and intelligence. People can indeed be too scared to speak when they are extremely frightened, and this explanation was perfect.
Before she could even feel happy for a moment, she couldn't help but pat her chest and cough violently: "Cough cough cough cough!" She was exasperated; she had choked on her own saliva.
While Xie Yuan was engrossed in her performance, she didn't notice the fleeting smile on Song Ling's lips, who had her back to her.
Song Ling picked out a token and wrapped it in a handkerchief.
He turned around and saw the girl's eyes were red like a rabbit's, looking at him with teary eyes. In keeping with her acting skills, she did not forget to defend herself: "Young Master Song, look, I'm so scared that I'm crying. Let's go quickly, or we'll be in big trouble if the thief comes back."
But when Song Ling saw the rabbit fur cloak she was holding, her expression changed. "Why did you take off your cloak in such cold weather?"
"I'm hot," Xie Yuan said nonchalantly. "It's probably because I was running around looking for you and it got too hot."
"What are you doing?" He snatched her cloak. "Hey!"
The next second, Xie Yuan was wrapped up so tightly that only her eyes were showing. She stared at him blankly, protesting, "I'm not cold at all!"
Song Ling pursed her lips and remained silent, while also pulling up her hood.
"Hmm!"
It was pitch black all around. Although Xie Yuan was a little unconvinced, she was still gratified. Her little apprentice actually cared about people. Not bad, not bad. She knew it. The apprentice she taught could never be too bad. Cold on the outside but warm on the inside, cold on the outside but warm on the inside, hehe.
"Are you an idiot? You should burn your brain out."
Xie Yuan: ?! !! Ugh!! No way, this person can't take praise at all! She even started cursing her master! Aaaaaah, this is outrageous!
She pouted, and indignantly raised her hand to lift the hood, but after lifting it halfway, she caught a glimpse of his cold expression and silently put the hood back down.
When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head! I'll endure it!
"What's wrong with you now? You have such a fickle personality."
Xie Yuan was completely bewildered and caught off guard. Suddenly, her entire body was lifted into the air, and her survival instinct made her instinctively wrap her arms tightly around his neck.
Song Ling actually lifted her up by supporting her knees with one hand, but this was nothing like the romance she had imagined! It was clearly the way he held a child!
Xie Yuan was instantly transported back to when her little apprentice was still a tiny baby. The difference was that most of the time she would hug him forcefully, mainly because she wanted to warm him with her actions. At first, he resisted extremely...
But no matter what, it was still embarrassing to be hugged like this by her little apprentice. She reached out and awkwardly poked his shoulder: "Young Master Song, why don't you put me down? I can walk by myself."
"Shut up."
Xie Yuan: ⊙︿⊙
Ever since their reunion, she's either been getting the short end of the stick or on her way to getting the short end of the stick. Unfortunately, her little apprentice's aura is now even stronger than before, so she doesn't dare to mess with him. She's hoping to stay close to him and find out what kind of life he led during the ten years she was away from him, whether he was doing well or not. This is probably a side effect of having an apprentice and becoming a master...
I'll endure it!
——
Xie Yuan never expected that Song Ling would sneak into the guesthouse with her at night!
She was still dazed when he placed her on the small counter of the clinic. After Song Ling put her down, he went straight into the back door, and no one knew what he was doing.
The clinic wasn't large; it could be seen at a glance. Even though it was so late, it was still brightly lit inside. Upon entering, there was a counter and a medicine cabinet covering most of the wall behind it. A passageway next to it was separated by a gray curtain, leading directly to some unknown place inside.
A faint scent of medicine filled the air. This seemed to be just an ordinary little clinic in a quiet alley, nothing special.
Xie Yuan looked around for a while, and then heard rustling voices coming from behind the gray curtain.
Soon, the curtain was lifted, and Song Ling came out first, meeting her gaze, which was fixed on him with suspicion. He remained calm and did not change much, walking towards her probing gaze without flinching.
Immediately afterward, another person hurriedly ran out from behind him, slipping on his shoes and carrying a medicine box: "Boss, I'm here, I'm here."
Xie Yuan shifted her gaze to the young man, who was about twenty years old and dressed in a blue cloth robe. He had the appearance of a handsome scholar.
He's clearly older than his junior apprentice, yet he calls him "boss." Could it be that his junior apprentice is now part of some organization in the martial arts world?
"Three." Song Ling began the countdown, sparing with her words.
"Alright, alright, right away, right away, Miss, could you please extend your hand over here so I can take your pulse?" The young man put his medicine box aside and stepped forward.
"Here you go." Xie Yuan placed the small lantern she was carrying next to the counter and stretched out her right hand.
The girl's wrist was as smooth as cream, like the finest white porcelain. Just as the young man was about to place his hand on it, she said, "Wait."
Song Ling suddenly spoke up, and then a thin, gauze-like handkerchief was placed over her wrist.
The young man looked at her, then at Song Ling, and then nodded as if suddenly understanding, smiling meaningfully: "I understand."
Xie Yuan could understand; in ancient times, it was normal for men and women not to touch each other. However, the young man's expression clearly suggested otherwise, so she asked him curiously, "What do you know?"
The young man smiled but shook his head without saying a word: "It can only be understood intuitively, not explained in words."
Xie Yuan rolled her eyes speechlessly. Ugh, another one trying to play riddles.
Could it be that she's been dead for ten years, and now it's her turn to fall behind?
"Shut up and do your thing."
Song Ling stood to the side with her arms crossed, urging him on in a cold voice.
"Alright!" Before he could even think about getting a beating, the young man used his fastest speed ever to take his pulse and prescribe medicine, providing a one-stop service. Xie Yuan didn't even have time to marvel at this powerful execution ability before he was smilingly "invited" the two of them out the door.
"Gentlemen, it's freezing cold, you should go back and rest early. My humble abode is simple, and the young lady needs to take her medicine as soon as possible. I won't keep you any longer. Goodbye." The young man tucked his sleeves and said goodbye to them.
Before they could even respond.
"Bang!"
Xie Yuan, holding a small lantern, stared thoughtfully at the locked wooden door and asked Song Ling, who was standing next to her, "Young Master Song, isn't he your little brother? Why did he dare to kick you out?"
"Do you think everyone is like you, staying up all night?"
Xie Yuan: "........."
Good heavens, I've been tricked again! Which master in the world behaves with such a lack of dignity?!
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