Chapter 94: A Thread of Immortal Red Amidst the Spirit Dragon

Lingxiang looked at Long Qi, but the expression on her face was difficult to fathom.

"You... what are you saying? How could I, your master, accompany you forever? In the future, you will have to stand on your own two feet, won't you..."

Before Lingxiang could finish, Long Qi hurriedly spoke to interrupt her.

"I don't want you to be my master! I... I..."

"I..."

"I want to marry you!"

Upon hearing this, Lingxiang was shocked; she stared at Long Qi, not even blinking.

"What nonsense are you spouting?! I am... I am your master!"

After saying the words that were hardest to speak, Long Qi felt as if a burden had been lifted, and his mind became active.

"What master or not? I don't remember ever performing the grand apprenticeship ceremony. Besides, you've seen every inch of my body; how can you just wipe your mouth clean and try to walk away like that?!"

Wipe her mouth clean? When had she ever wiped it?

"What kind of talk is this? When have I ever seen..." Lingxiang's words came to an abrupt halt halfway through.

She...

She...

She seemed to have truly seen it!

Lingxiang blushed, stiffened her neck, and said, "So what if I have? From childhood to now, I've seen plenty of other people's bodies. Does that mean I have to take responsibility for every single one? Besides, in front of a physician, that is just plain white flesh, no different from the meat sold at a butcher's stall in the market!"

"Naturally, it is different," Long Qi said with a soft laugh. "My flesh is not just plain white." As he spoke, he leaned abruptly toward Lingxiang.

Looking at the approaching Long Qi, Lingxiang felt like a rabbit whose ears had been caught.

"You... what do you want..."

The word "want" seemed to still be lingering in her mouth when Long Qi pressed forward and kissed Lingxiang lightly on the lips.

Lingxiang was accustomed to being imperious in her daily life and had not realized that Long Qi was this much taller than her. She froze there for a moment, staring with wide eyes, not knowing where to look.

Prayer lanterns drifted along the river one after another, their flickering lights dappling the vast Guyang River. In the dark of night, naturally, no one saw a pair of lotus lanterns slowly open their petals. The candles inside burned peacefully, seemingly unaffected by the light breeze. The wick of one of the lotus lanterns suddenly sparked; looking closely, the wicks of those two lanterns were actually two rolls of paper.

Just then, the red rope tying the two lanterns together began to glow red, then vanished. At this moment, a flash of red light passed beneath the feet of Lingxiang and Long Qi, appearing like a knot, or perhaps a binding.

Looking at the river again, the lotus lanterns had drifted far away, yet they remained side by side.

On a tree not far away, two people sat and stood; the one sitting was the injured Rendong, and the one standing was naturally Xinyi.

"It seems you are about to have an extra master-in-law," Xinyi joked.

"Hmph! The feeling is mutual," Rendong replied with a light snort, his eyes filled with unreadable emotions.

Long Qi had originally intended only to peck lightly, but upon touching that softness, he found himself wanting more.

Lingxiang finally came to her senses and pushed hard against Long Qi, but since Long Qi's frame was much larger than her own, she couldn't push him away. Anxious, she immediately pinched a hand seal and cast a piece of Witchcraft to bounce him off.

"You... you... you are rebellious! You are deviant! You are acting wildly! You..."

Lingxiang was panting heavily from anger, wiping her mouth forcefully from time to time. Although Long Qi was in some pain from the impact of the Witchcraft, he clutched his chest and laughed, interrupting her:

"A moment ago you were completely bewildered, yet now you can speak so eloquently; I suppose you are enjoying the way of it."

"You!" Lingxiang was so angry her eyes widened like copper bells: "You are talking nonsense!" Saying this, she turned to leave.

Seeing her like this, Long Qi hurriedly chased after her and grabbed her.

"If you walk away in such a fit of anger, could it be that you don't want that ancient zither anymore?"

Upon hearing this, Lingxiang stopped in her tracks immediately: That's right, that was an Ancient Dharma Artifact. Even if she couldn't use it herself, if she could sell it to someone else, wouldn't she make a huge profit? It was all that damn Long Qi's fault for making her so angry she almost forgot about it. But the riddle for the Wolong Lantern was quite difficult; what was she to do...

Seeing that Lingxiang was standing with her back to him but had not shaken off his hand, Long Qi knew she must be thinking about the lantern riddle. It seemed she really wanted that Prisoner Ox Zither.

"If I help you win the prize, will you agree to my terms?"

Lingxiang was first filled with disbelief, then turned her head, the expression on her face as if she had heard a colossal joke.

"What did you just say? You said you would help me win the prize?"

"Exactly!" Long Qi said, nodding very solemnly.

Seeing him like this, Lingxiang let out a "pfft" of laughter. After a long while, she stopped laughing and said:

"Then tell me, how will you help me win it? Don't tell me you're going to steal or rob?"

Robbery was naturally out of the question; it was too blatant. As for stealing, if it were done discreetly, it might not be impossible. Anyway, she wasn't exactly a noble person, just a woman who loved wealth. If this zither were of great benefit to her cultivation, what would it matter if she stole it?

Thinking this, Lingxiang rubbed her chin and nodded repeatedly. Seeing her like this, Long Qi knew she must think he was going to resort to those kinds of criminal acts.

"Don't look down on me. Although I, Long Qi, have wandered the streets since I was young and have done some petty thieving, that was only to survive and eat. Now that I don't have to worry about food or clothing, why would I do such things?" Long Qi said, lifting his head.

Since he was small, his father had taught him that he must never do those kinds of underhanded things; what he did back then was only out of necessity.

Lingxiang was quite surprised to hear this; she hadn't expected Long Qi to have such awareness.

"Then you mean..."

"Naturally, I mean to solve the riddle and take it away fair and square."

"You can solve that riddle?" Lingxiang said, so excited she was about to reach out and grab Long Qi's robe, only to find her hand was still being held tightly by him.

"That goes without saying, as long as you agree to marry me."

Lingxiang had just wanted to break free from Long Qi's hand, but hearing him say this, she immediately stopped moving.

Although she didn't quite believe this fellow could solve the lantern riddle, she had no ideas of her own right now anyway. Seeing him so confident, she might as well take the gamble. If it really worked out, it wouldn't be a loss. At worst...

At worst...

At worst, she would just pretend she had been bitten by a dog!

As for marrying him, she would agree for now. Once the Prisoner Ox Zither was in her hands, she would discuss other things. Anyway, even if she dared to marry him, he might not necessarily be able to marry her. Those old men in the sect weren't pushovers; wanting to marry her wouldn't be that easy.

Thinking this, Lingxiang immediately extended the hand that wasn't being held by Long Qi and said: "It's a deal!"

Seeing her like this, Long Qi also extended his hand and slapped it against hers.

"I give you my word!"

Afterward, he smiled and turned around, pulling Lingxiang toward the Wolong Lantern.

On a tree not far away, the branches swayed, but Xin Yi and Rendong had disappeared to who knows where.