Chapter 37 037 "Pity me?"
Only then did Jiang Ling'er realize what she had just heard...
"Aren't you about to die? Let's have one more night of pleasure as husband and wife."
It's not an illusion.
Seeing the person still standing there, staring blankly at him, the little poisonous creature chuckled. He touched his prominent nose with one hand, while the other remained on the couch, his knuckles rhythmically tapping the thin quilt, already damp with the night dew and frost.
"Looking at me like an idiot. What, have you forgotten what you said?"
Jiang Ling'er blinked twice quickly, but didn't say anything.
Seeing that no one reacted, the little poisoner's expression remained unchanged. However, the fingertips that were normally tapping the bedding erratically skipped a beat and stopped. From an angle unseen by others, the bedding was tightly gripped by the fingertips and rolled into the palm of the hand.
A blue vein quietly bulged on the back of his fair hand.
"Want me to help you remember?" He stared at Jiang Ling'er with a cold smile, his eyes strangely dark. "Who dared to boast that they wanted to cultivate with me? Who was it that was pestering me..."
His voice abruptly stopped. Seeing Jiang Ling'er still staring blankly at him, seemingly oblivious, it was as if he had been the one chasing after her...
The little poisonous creature, its chest heaving slightly, turned its head away from her, lying down on the bed with one hand behind its head, its back to her, eyes closed, cruelly banishing her:
"Get out!"
There was still no response from the other party.
Those who practice martial arts have sharp ears. They waited for a long time but didn't hear the expected door opening. Instead, they heard... the sound of clothes falling to the ground.
The little poisonous creature opened its eyes.
"No... I didn't say anything, why are you angry?"
Jiang Ling'er angrily untied her outer garment and threw it on the ground, then buried her head in the knot on the belt of her inner garment.
It was called an inner garment, but it was actually just a strapless top. The thin strapless top outlined her slender waist and revealed a patch of porcelain-white, delicate shoulders, neck, and collarbone that had not seen sunlight for a long time. The knot that should have been fastened in front of her body had somehow ended up at the back.
Jiang Ling'er felt bewildered and wronged. This was a rare opportunity, and she was genuinely afraid of being kicked out by the little poisoner. But the more she tried to unravel the mystery, the less she could.
She haphazardly tugged at the fabric, ending up with a knot in her inner garment's sash that seemed impossible to untie! Jiang Ling'er stared at the tiny knot, her brows furrowing into a deep frown. Suddenly, she paused, feeling an intense, undeniable gaze fixed upon her—
Jiang Ling'er glanced to the side and unexpectedly met the gaze of the little poisoner.
The little poisoner had somehow gotten up and was half-sitting up, leaning against the headboard, his dark eyes staring intently at her.
Jiang Ling'er: "..."
Her hand was still on the knot behind her back when she suddenly didn't know whether to untie it or pick up her clothes and roll out.
but--
Jiang Ling'er glanced at the little poisoner again. The little poisoner was still angry; his handsome face was somewhat gloomy, but he didn't tell her to get lost again. He just stared at her quietly...
Jiang Ling'er suddenly twitched her brow and loosened her hand from the knot.
Stepping over the outer robe that had fallen to the ground, she slowly approached the bed. During this time, the little poisonous creature leaned against the headboard, silently watching her without uttering a word, until Jiang Ling'er reached him. Like a cat, she knelt on one knee before the bed, her hands resting on the couch, her chin also on the couch, tilting her head to look up at the boy leaning against the headboard. Her lips pursed slightly, and she whispered:
"I can't solve it... Can you help me?"
The little poisoner paused very slightly, pressing down the corners of its lips until they formed a thin line.
He didn't answer, but just quietly looked down at the pair of cat-like almond eyes in front of him. His handsome face seemed calm and composed, but his back was tense like a fully drawn bow. If Jiang Ling'er was like a cat, then Little Poison was even more like a cat.
A cat with its fur standing on end.
Not answering means you agree.
Jiang Ling'er's lips curled slightly, then quickly fell back. She leaned forward, pressing her forehead against the little poison creature's hand wringing the bedding, and swept her hair back to her neck, revealing a section of her long-unseen, smooth, white neck, the knot of which rested on the back of her neck.
The tiny, dark red knot, like a drop of blood or a drop of wax, fell on his small, delicate nape, causing his pupils to contract. His hand, which was clutching a corner of the thin blanket, trembled nervously before tightening its grip, his nails digging into the flesh of his palm.
His face showed no sign of it, only his dark eyes grew even deeper and more unfathomable.
He had seen it before.
On that sweltering night, with torches flickering.
With just a gentle flick, just a gentle flick...
The hand that had been clutching the thin blanket suddenly loosened, its fingertips trembling slightly, and reached out. Just as it was about to touch the tiny knot—
"Don't tear it."
Just a step away, his fingertips paused, frozen in mid-air.
It was already autumn, and perhaps because of the chill of the night, Jiang Ling'er sniffed before saying in a slightly self-deprecating tone:
"We don't have the money to buy a new one."
To be honest, this was the first time in Jiang Ling'er's more than 20 years of life that she had shown weakness and yielded.
To be precise, it's like a woman, like a delicate and pitiful woman described by poets and writers, showing weakness and yielding.
But she had no experience, and although she was reluctant to admit it, she was learning from Tao Niang.
She had to admit that it was no wonder that literati loved having beautiful women by their side, and no wonder that Ji Yunshu would also keep a mistress, Tao Niang.
If it were her, if some delicate young woman were to treat her with gentleness and tenderness, with a soft smile... she might very well fall for her.
Not to mention this callow brat.
Let alone pretending for ten days or half a month, she couldn't even keep it up for a day or a quarter of an hour. Because...
Because her neck was already sore!
Especially last night, I slept on a mattress that smelled of the little poisonous creature's cool fragrance. I tossed and turned for most of the night and didn't sleep well, and even got a stiff neck because of it!
At this moment, Jiang Ling'er remained in the same position, her head still bowed, like a swan willingly offering her life to him. In reality, she was out of the little poison's sight. She frowned, enduring the soreness of her stiff neck, not knowing what the little poison was dawdling about. She could only endure the lack of his response. On the other hand, she couldn't keep up the act any longer and was genuinely curious. She couldn't help but raise her head to look at him. The little poison didn't notice her suddenly looking up, and his fingertips, which had been hovering over the back of her neck, naturally landed on her twisted collarbone.
The two of them were stunned for a moment when their cool fingertips touched their warm skin.
The little poisonous creature's action seemed to confirm some suspicion in her heart, and Jiang Ling'er's almond-shaped eyes widened slightly:
"So, dual cultivation can increase one's power?"
The little poisonous creature paused, stunned. After a long while, it frowned, then said in astonishment:
"What did you say?"
Once you start talking, you can't stop. What's the point of pretending?
Jiang Ling'er kicked off her shoes and straddled the couch. Feeling too far from the little poison creature, she straddled it with her other leg, kneeling on the couch with both knees bent. Not content with that, she hurriedly moved two more steps closer to the little poison creature on her knees, forcing it to lean back repeatedly, its back pressed against the corner of the wall, its eyes wide open, revealing a rare hint of childishness.
"...What are you doing?!"
Jiang Ling'er knelt before him, hands clasped on her knees like a model student, looking up at him with strikingly bright almond-shaped eyes.
"All I've ever known is practicing martial arts, practicing martial arts, practicing martial arts from dawn till dusk... You think you can increase your skill just by sleeping?"
Little Poison: "..."
The little poisonous creature froze completely, falling silent. Upon closer inspection, its handsome face was ashen, and a vein throbbed on its forehead.
Jiang Ling'er craned her neck and took another step closer, almost right under the little poisonous creature's eyelids, the light in her eyes almost intimidating:
"What a strange cultivation method! Absorbing yin to replenish yang... Did you learn it from mountain spirits? How can there be such a cheap thing in the world?! If you sleep with ten, a hundred... a thousand, ten thousand women, why bother fighting over the secret of immortality???"
Little Poison: "…………"
Jiang Ling'er became more and more animated as she spoke, even growing increasingly indignant, which made the little poisonous creature's forehead twitch as he listened:
"I heard from people at the inn that night that no fewer than a hundred women died because of your evil arts under the old poison master Gongye Naked..." Jiang Ling'er said, glancing at him sideways, straightening up, pointing a finger at him, and squinting at him, "And what about you? As the old poison master's last disciple, how many women have you slept with at such a young age? How many women have you caused to lose their lives..."
Before she could finish speaking, her outstretched fingertips were suddenly caught in someone's palm, and she was pulled into the arms of the person in front of her. Jiang Ling'er reacted quickly, striking the little poisoner's chest with her other hand. The little poisoner took the blow, letting out a muffled groan but refusing to let go. He gripped her waist with his other hand, encircling her in his arms. Seeing that she was still struggling, the little poisoner seemed to have reached his limit and gritted his teeth in her ear:
"No, you're the only one!"
Jiang Ling'er was stunned for a moment, then struggled even more fiercely. She had only used a fraction of her strength before, but now she was using it all, wishing she could unleash her full power of the Thunderclap Palm on this guy! However, the little poisoner was already on guard against her, locking her tightly in his grasp. The two were intertwined like vines, and unable to gain any strength, Jiang Ling'er began to curse him:
"Let go! I don't want to cultivate with you anymore! Let me go!"
The little poisoner paused, then suddenly tightened his grip on her waist, with such force that it almost broke her back. His dark eyes seemed to burn with two black flames as he glared at her, his already thin cheeks puffed up with anger.
"Ha, as expected, women and petty men are hard to deal with! You were the one who begged me to cultivate with you, and now you're going back on your word, playing me for a fool?!"
Jiang Ling'er was even angrier than the little poisonous creature. The hot breath sprayed between them like a fire. She wished they could both be burned to death together!
"I did say I wanted to cultivate with you, but I didn't say I wanted to die! You used to threaten to chop off my hand if you even touched a finger! Now, isn't it because you're afraid of Huo Wu, one of the assassins of the Demonic Sect? I don't want to become your object of yin-yang cultivation and die in your bed..."
Almost as soon as Jiang Ling'er finished speaking, the little poisoner chimed in:
"Who said you were going to die?"
Jiang Ling'er naturally didn't believe him.
She once believed in Ji Yunshu, but in her eyes, even a seemingly refined gentleman like Ji Yunshu would keep a mistress. She once believed even more in her mentor and friend, Uncle He Yong, than in Ji Yunshu, but it was Uncle He Yong, whom she regarded as her father, who pierced her chest with a sword, ending her life.
She doesn't trust anyone now.
Jiang Ling'er was so angry that her eyes turned red. She couldn't die now that things had come to this! She kicked and punched the little poisonous creature, but it was held tightly by the person in front of her and couldn't move, so she resorted to biting it!
Anyway, it wasn't the first time, so she bit his left shoulder hard again, with such force that she wanted to bite the flesh off his shoulder!
The little poisoner immediately frowned, let out a muffled groan, and then hugged her even tighter, burying his face in her hair, his thin lips brushing against her ear, his voice hoarse with pain:
"...That's good."
Jiang Ling'er was taken aback, and the lips that were nibbling at his left shoulder loosened slightly.
The familiar sarcasm echoed in his ears: "Who said they were going to sleep..." He paused abruptly, his voice suddenly lowering and becoming somewhat hoarse, "You just stay here and be nice..."
After a brief silence, Po roared in exasperation, "Just stay put!"
Jiang Ling'er: "..."
Jiang Ling'er blinked rapidly with her almond-shaped eyes, completely stunned. In her moment of shock, she caught a glimpse of a small, rice-grain-sized bump suddenly appearing on the smooth side of the little poisonous creature's neck, and the bump even seemed to move!
Upon closer inspection, it was an insect swimming under his skin!
Even faster than her, she noticed that the little poisonous creature had already taken out a silver needle from somewhere and stuck it into the bulge, instantly immobilizing the rapidly swimming insect.
Soon, the little poisonous creature used three silver needles to imprison three small, swimming insects in different parts of its body.
Jiang Ling'er had already given in, and was dumbfounded. That day, when the little poisoner disguised himself, he had allowed the Gu worms to burrow under his skin, but it was clear that the Gu worms swimming in his body now were not the Gu worms fed by his blood essence.
"These are the Gu worms that the old poisoner planted in my body. There are seven in total, and they activate every forty-nine days. The rainy day when I first met you was the first time it activated. My original intention was to recruit some people with high internal strength from the Discipline Hall of your Number One Escort Agency to practice my Gu, to see if I could use poison to fight poison and suppress the Gu worms that old man planted in my body... I never expected that you would ruin my plans and cause me to suffer the backlash of the formation." The little poisoner used another silver needle to fix one of the Gu worms, then glanced at her coolly and snorted, "You ruined my plans, of course I won't let you get away with it."
I see.
Jiang Ling'er suddenly realized why the little poisonous creature's health was always fluctuating; it turned out that it had been infected with a Gu worm.
As she was thinking, she suddenly sat up straight and grabbed his arms. She didn't know when, but the little poisoner was no longer holding her so tightly as before.
"Wait...why would your master do this? Aren't you his only disciple? Isn't he afraid that if you die, there will be no one to carry on his legacy?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Ling'er vaguely remembered that the little poison master seemed to have never called the old poison master "master".
"If I die from the poison, it's because I'm incompetent." Despite the fact that his life was at stake, the little poisoner spoke as if he didn't care at all. He glanced at Jiang Ling'er, gave a self-deprecating laugh, and a strange light flashed quickly in his dark eyes. "Heh, the only closed-door disciple? If the hundred or so children who died before me don't count as my senior brothers, then I truly am the old man's only closed-door disciple. Why is Gongye Chi called 'Old Poisoner'? The old man is incredibly poisonous, not only to others, but even more so to himself. From the first day he implanted his natal Gu into my body, it meant that only one of us could live. Only by refining a more ferocious natal Gu than his can I devour him, thus removing the Gu. If the natal Gu dies, the old man can't live either, and only then can I truly be considered a master..."
The little poisoner paused midway through his sentence, noticing Jiang Ling'er's slightly furrowed brows as she looked at him, as if shrouded in a layer of mist. Her usual fierce and domineering demeanor transformed into a wisp of smoke on the horizon, drifting leisurely into his eyes and penetrating his heart.
This was even more pronounced than her previous affected and coy demeanor.
It felt like something was dripping down... My heart skipped a beat.
The little poisonous creature raised its eyes and stared at Jiang Ling'er, its voice light and ambiguous: "Pity me, huh?"
It is naturally pitiful.
Jiang Ling'er, having lived this long, had only ever heard of fraternal harmony within a master-disciple relationship, where a teacher for a day is a father for life. She had never heard of such a treacherous master-disciple dynamic. No wonder the little poisoner developed such a temperament…
Just as she was feeling sorry for this guy, she suddenly heard the little poisonous creature prick her lightly:
"You pity me? I pity you. At least I, who was poisoned by Gu worms, still have a chance to struggle and breathe, a glimmer of hope. But you were silently stabbed through by your own master. I think you're the one who's more pitiful..."
Jiang Ling'er gritted her teeth and struck out with a "Thunderclap" palm strike. The little poisoner was prepared and dodged to the side. He then grabbed Jiang Ling'er's wrist and restrained her. His eyes were deep, and his handsome face no longer held any hint of teasing or determination. He said in a deep voice:
"Judging by the time, the day the Gu worms flare up is almost here again. If we run into Huo Wu at this time, we won't have the slightest chance of winning."
Jiang Ling'er, still angry, glared at him:
"Since you don't plan to sleep with me to increase your power, and I can't catch Gu worms for you, then what do you want me to do?!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the little poisoner was about to say something, but then seemed to have something difficult to say, and swallowed the words that rolled to the tip of his tongue.
The Gu worm planted in his body by the old poisoner was elusive, only biting him on the day it took effect. He couldn't think of any other way to deal with it except to refine a stronger natal Gu or to continuously absorb the internal energy of others. However, his several close encounters with Jiang Ling'er led him to inadvertently discover the loophole.
Even in intimate contact, like that night behind the haystack... the constantly rising body temperature would expose the old man's natal Gu, allowing him to find seven natal Gu and apply silver needles, which should temporarily delay the onset of the poison for a few days.
Of course, he couldn't tell her these things.
After waiting for a long time, just when Jiang Ling'er thought the little poison creature wouldn't speak anymore, a low, slightly hoarse voice came from it:
"There are two more."
Jiang Ling'er was stunned for a moment: "...What?"
The little poisonous creature released its grip on her hand, raised its eyes and stared directly at her, its gaze somewhat unfathomable:
"If you don't want to die at Huo Wu's hands, you'd better listen to me."
Jiang Ling'er: "..."
Jiang Ling'er impatiently picked at her ear: "Fine, fine, whatever you say, hurry up and say it!"
Little Poison: "Hug me."
Jiang Ling'er: "..."
Jiang Ling'er froze, seeing that the little poisoner was still staring straight at her, as if it wouldn't let her go until she let go. She scratched her hair, cursed inwardly, and resignedly opened her arms and hugged the little poisoner tightly!
"Is this alright?"
The little poisoner didn't reply. After waiting for a while, he still didn't do anything; he really just wanted her to hold him. Jiang Ling'er was happy to be free and didn't bother to guess his thoughts anymore. Whatever his intentions, as long as he didn't intend to kill her, everything was fine!
The coolness met the warmth, and the body she held, exuding a chilling fragrance, began to heat up, like embracing a giant heater, a ball of fire—in fact, she was embracing a ball of fire. The ghostly fire on the little poisonous creature continuously baked and smothered her body, her entire being being roasted and enveloped by this fire from the inside out. So comfortable were her toes that she involuntarily curled up, clinging to the little poisonous creature like an octopus, constantly pushing herself deeper into its embrace, pushing herself into the hottest core of that fire…
It was so comfortable that I fell asleep without even realizing it.
By the time the two silver needles from the little poisoner fell, it was already dawn.
The lights are dimming.
The morning light shone through the window frame onto Jiang Ling'er, who was standing on the chest of the little poisonous creature.
She was sleeping soundly with her head resting on his chest, a wisp of hair falling on her long eyelashes. She seemed to be frowning slightly, but did not open her eyes.
The little poisonous creature stared at her sleeping face for a long time, then paused and raised its hand, which was hanging by its side. Just as it was about to brush away the stray hairs on her long eyelashes, it noticed out of the corner of its eye that the knot that had been wrapped around the back of her neck had come undone.
The tube top fell onto his lap.
The hand that was about to brush away her stray hairs suddenly recoiled as if it had been burned.
Her breathing became a little erratic.
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Meanwhile, before dawn, a faint glimmer of pale light rose from the horizon.
A little girl with her hair in two buns slowly pushed a wooden wheelchair from afar. As it drew closer, an elderly woman in her sixties finally came into view on the wooden chair.
The old woman seemed utterly exhausted, slumped asleep in the wooden chair, her expression weary. The little girl pushing her wheelchair appeared dazed and her movements stiff; upon closer inspection, she turned out to be… a wooden doll!
The little girl silently pushed the old woman forward, while behind them, rows of thirty puppets, exactly like the little girl, walked silently alongside them!
And they were not far ahead—
It was Yangjiazhuang, hidden behind the reeds.
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Author's Note: Sorry for the late chapter... I wrote and deleted and revised it repeatedly because of my perfectionism... I will continue to give out red envelopes as compensation in the comments. Sorry!
Oh yeah, I participated in the essay contest, so I'm asking for some nutrient solution!
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