Ning Yao narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the two of them: "You ran into her on the way and woke her up?"
Lin Qingyu asked in confusion, "You woke her up? What do you mean by that, Miss Ning?"
"careful!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Hua Yan, who was standing next to Lin Qingyu, launched an attack, striking Lin Qingyu with a palm.
Lin Qingyu was a weak scholar, and unable to dodge in time, he crashed into a tree from behind, spitting out a mouthful of blood and passing out.
"Something's wrong with her! She was forcibly woken up from her sleepwalking state, and now she's experiencing hysteria!"
As soon as Ning Yao finished speaking, Hua Yan turned to look at her.
His eyes were empty and dull, yet they revealed a murderous intent.
Hua Yan lightly touched the ground with her toes and flew directly to attack Ning Yao.
Shen Ci'an neutralized the force with his palm and blocked her attack.
"Sister, be careful!"
"You be careful too!"
Having failed to defeat Ning Yao, Hua Yan turned her attack on Shen Ci'an.
Every move he made was filled with killing intent, and was extremely fierce!
Upon seeing this, Shen Ci'an's expression turned slightly cold, and he began to seriously address Hua Yan.
Ning Yao came to Lin Qingyu and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he had only fainted.
He fed him a pill, then turned to look at the two who were locked in a fierce fight.
Shen Ci'an was no match for Hua Yan. Hua Yan found an opening and struck him on the shoulder with a palm, causing Shen Ci'an's face to turn pale instantly.
Ning Yao drew the snake-skin whip from her waist and lashed it at Hua Yan.
The whip seemed to come alive in Ning Yao's hands as it wrapped around her waist.
Hua Yan dodged nimbly, just like a mountain spirit.
But in the end, Ning Yao was more skilled, and Hua Yan was bound by Teng She's whip and tied to a tree.
"Are you alright?" Ning Yao asked with concern.
Shen Ci'an forced a smile: "I'm fine."
Ning Yao has excellent night vision and could clearly see his furrowed brows as he endured the pain.
"Let me see!" Ning Yao carefully examined his injured arm, then took out two pills. "Take these."
Shen Ci'an obediently listened and ate the pills from her hand.
After taking the pill, the pain was quickly relieved.
Seeing Hua Yan struggling while tied to the tree, Shen Ci'an was displeased and stepped forward to knock her unconscious with a single blow.
"Sister, are you still going in there?"
Ning Yao looked into the dense forest and shook her head: "It's almost dawn. Let's ask Lin Qingyu first before we talk about it."
Shen Ci'an nodded: "I'll do whatever you say, sister."
At daybreak, Lin Qingyu woke up first.
The lingering pain in his chest reminded him of what had happened the night before, and he quickly asked, "You didn't go in, did you?"
Ning Yao countered, "Why can't we go in?"
Lin Qingyu hesitated for a moment, then finally explained, "There are bad things in there that can harm people."
Ning Yao exchanged a glance with Shen Ci'an and continued to ask, "What is it?"
Lin Qingyu honestly explained his relationship with Zhao Xin and Zhao Xin's illness.
"You mean you found gold here, gave it to Zhao Xin, and then Zhao Xin fell ill?" Ning Yao asked.
"That's right."
"Then why aren't you sick? You know that the people who stopped the caravan that day were Lord Zhao's men, right? Zhao Xin was seriously ill, and if it weren't for me, she would have died long ago."
Lin Qingyu murmured, "I know it was you who healed Xin'er, so I am willing to sell myself into slavery to repay your life-saving grace."
"As for why I didn't get sick, I don't know. Lan'er also came into contact with that thing, and she's fine. Only Xin'er..."
"Zhao Xin is fine, don't worry. His father has already repaid the life-saving debt, so you can forget about it."
Ning Yao thought about it and realized it was probably because of that leaf.
The item Lin Qingyu found should be the same as the one in the mountain resort's hot spring, which is why Zhao Xin's body was covered with spiritual energy, endangering her life.
Furthermore, the legend of the sacred tree is true; its leaves have the power to isolate spiritual energy, thus protecting Lin Qingyu and her brother.
This shows that spiritual energy and sacred trees are mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining.
For others, spiritual energy is a death sentence, but for Ning Yao, it is a good thing.
She can only possess one of these spiritual energies or the sacred tree.
Ning Yao's choice regarding this unknown sacred tree was clear: she wanted to upgrade the secret realm with spiritual energy!
Ning Yao didn't take the leaves out; she planned to return them to Lin Qinglan when the opportunity arose.
She didn't want anyone to know about Shenmu for the time being.
This trip into the mountains was driven by curiosity about the Kunlun Mountains. If we encounter a sacred tree, great; if not, then let it remain forever in the legend.
But she absolutely had to go to the woods.
"Ouch, what's wrong with me? Why does my whole body hurt so much?"
After realizing her current predicament, Hua Yan looked hurt and asked, "Why did you tie me up, young lady?"
Seeing the three people with their different expressions, Hua Yan felt a sense of dread for the first time.
Lin Qingyu hesitated, then asked, "Does Miss Hua Yan suffer from sleepwalking?"
Hua Yan looked bewildered: "No, I don't move when I sleep, how could I have sleepwalking?"
“But last night I woke you up from your sleepwalking and you even hit me. My chest still hurts.”
Hua Yan was shocked: "I have sleepwalking? You hit me? Impossible!"
Lin Qingyu pointed at Shen Ci'an, then at her: "You also hit Young Master Shen. Miss Ning had no choice but to tie you up with a whip."
Hua Yan was completely dumbfounded, staring at Ning Yao in disbelief.
Ning Yao remained unmoved and coldly asked, "You know kung fu, so what is your purpose in deliberately approaching me?"
"That day, before I left, my second brother wanted to tell me about you, but you interrupted him. Don't say it was just a coincidence."
“A normal woman knows that following the carriage is the safest option. The Kunlun Mountains are extremely dangerous, and we don’t know when we will be able to get out. Under these circumstances, why do you, a weak woman, insist on coming with us?”
Is there anything you need in the Kunlun Mountains?
"Who exactly is your identity as the most beautiful courtesan in Nanyuan?"
Ning Yao was aggressive and completely unlike her usual casual self.
Shen Ci'an said coldly, "On the surface, Nanyuan is a den of iniquity, but in reality, it belongs to the Red Kite, the largest intelligence organization in Yan Kingdom."
"Nanyuan is scattered all over the place. The men and women there are all of superior appearance. Talent and erudition are just the basics. More importantly, regardless of gender, everyone there needs to master a skill. Is your skill medicine or something else?"
"Moreover, only outstanding individuals are assigned to serve as courtesans in various regions' South Gardens. The position of courtesan in the capital is not easy to hold."
Upon hearing the name "Red Iris," Hua Yan's expression changed.
She suppressed her sobs and looked sharply at Shen Ci'an.
"Who are you? How do you know so much?"
At this moment, Hua Yan was completely unfamiliar to Ning Yao.
She has lost some of her feminine charm and gained more of her masculine strength.
Shen Ci'an gave a sarcastic smile: "What right do you have to know?"
Hua Yan's face was extremely ugly; she had thought she had disguised herself very well.
I never expected that someone would know about Hong Yuan, let alone know so much about her.
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