Chapter 182: Narrowly Escaping Trouble in the Hometown of Longyuan

Thinking this, Maidong walked toward the two people sitting in the courtyard, who were lost in their own thoughts.

"Ahem!" She cleared her throat. "Well... Long Qi, although I know your feelings, matters of the heart can never be forced. As the old saying goes, a twisted melon is not sweet. If you insist on this, you might not even be able to remain friends in the future. It would be better to let go and wish others well; wouldn't that be the act of a gentleman?"

Hearing what Maidong said, Long Qi was instantly startled. Even this blockhead Maidong could see his feelings, so why was Lingxiang still so oblivious? In any case, she was supposed to be much smarter than this one...

However... it just so happened that it coincided with the Grain Rain season...

When the three of them set out, it wasn't very warm, but it was still dry. But after walking for only two days, a light, drizzling rain began to fall.

This was no small matter, as it continued to rain incessantly, one downpour after another.

Long Qi and Xinyi had been accustomed to hardship since they were young, and because they had practiced martial arts and taken beatings since childhood, their bodies were naturally much stronger. Although the wilderness was damp and sticky, they could still endure it. Long Qi, as if he hadn't seen the expression on Lingxiang's face, just smiled, poured hot water into a copper basin, wrung out a towel, and handed it to Lingxiang.

"It is truly inconvenient in these mountains. I wanted to boil you a bowl of hangover soup, but I didn't know where to get the ingredients. I only saw that you had dried some tangerine peel, so I boiled some water for you to wash your face. I thought that would be fine."

Lingxiang took the towel, but her expression became even more disgusted. A hangover cure, naturally, had to be drunk to be effective. Tangerine peel and dried citrus peel seasoned with sandalwood, kudzu flower, and mung bean flower, paired with a little ginseng and white cardamom, then stir-fried with salt until dry, ground into powder, and brewed into tea—that would be very helpful for sobering up. But using tangerine peel water to wash one's face...

Not to mention that the scent of the tangerine peel was not as refreshing as fresh orange peel, the inauspicious color of the towel soaked in the water made Lingxiang find it difficult to wipe it on her face.

It seemed she still needed to teach them some pharmacology. Her own disciples couldn't fail to learn even half of her signature skills! Look at the Sixth Senior Brother's disciples; while they might not all be miracle workers, they were top-notch in the medical arts, not to mention Maidong, who had inherited his true teachings.

After all, she was an Elder of the Yuanqing Sect, wasn't she? She couldn't let herself have no successors, could she?

Thinking this, Lingxiang disgustedly smeared the towel over her face, held her breath, wiped it around haphazardly, and then tossed it to Long Qi.

Long Qi smiled as he caught the towel, then picked up the kettle and said, "You must be thirsty. This old tea shouldn't be drunk too much. I poured out the tea water earlier; there is tea brewing outside, and it should be ready soon. I'll go pour you some."

Before Lingxiang could call out to stop him, she saw him dash off in a flash.

Strange!

Truly strange! Seeing the worry on Maidong's face, Lingxiang remained completely indifferent.

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. If I can help the Kunwu Sect this time, they will owe me a huge favor. I'm not one to make a losing deal; naturally, I will collect it later. You don't need to worry."

But these words sounded muddled to Long Qi's ears. What exactly was this little girl plotting now?

Xinyi, who had been silent on the side, looked over as soon as he saw Lingxiang. Seeing the expression on his face, Lingxiang knew he must have discovered something.

"Did you gain anything?"

Xinyi frowned deeply and remained silent for a long time before speaking: "It's not as simple as just a gain..."

Upon hearing this, Lingxiang became interested and sat down beside him: "Then this is interesting. I am currently using the Substitution by Blood Talisman, so I have plenty of time to listen to you. Tell me in detail."

"That person is a female general beside the Demon Lord, named Guihua, who specializes in the Art of Punishment and Transformation..."

"You are! Guihua!" Xinyi was shocked. This Guihua had always stayed by the Demon Lord's side and had never been seen coming out. How could she risk her own safety to come to the Yuanqing Sect now!?

Was she not afraid of the Elders of the Yuanqing Sect!?

"Oh my~" Guihua sighed, her tone full of coquetry, "I didn't expect you to only realize it was me now. I thought you would have known after watching for these days." But Liu Xia seemed to have made up his mind, stubbornly returning to his room to pack his things.

The reason the two elders of the Liu family had previously agreed to let Liu Xia go to the Yuanqing Sect to cultivate was because Chiyanzi had told them at the time that Liu Xia had to go through this journey to live a peaceful life thereafter. Who would have thought that after this journey, he would throw himself heart and soul into cultivation?

Seeing her parents like this, Liu could no longer stand it, so she came to Liu Xia's room to persuade him.

But after all, he was her younger brother, whom she had watched grow up since childhood. The two had a deep bond, and seeing him like this, she couldn't bear to say even half a harsh word, only silently packing his luggage for him.

"Does Sister know why I insist on entering the Daoist Sect?" Liu Xia suddenly asked, looking at Liu.

Liu was startled upon hearing this. Wasn't it because he had heard of her connection with the immortal Chiyanzi that he was so devoted to the Dao?

Seeing the confusion on Liu's face, Liu Xia smiled softly: "Even if Senior Chiyanzi saved my life, I didn't remember anything at that time. How could it be because of him? It was just an excuse."

"That was a long time ago when I was very young. I don't remember it clearly, but I still remember that back clearly..." He sighed and couldn't help but recall it.

Thirteen years ago, when Liu Cishi was still a military officer, because of his talent as a commander, the Imperial Court specifically ordered him to guard Lindong, a vital border stronghold. Because of this, the entire Liu family lived in Lindong with the army.

But that very year, for some reason, the Tuhuer Khan of Manzhou suddenly launched an attack on Lindong. Because it was a night raid, the soldiers of Lindong were caught completely off guard.

Fortunately, thanks to the valiant resistance of General Liu at that time, Lindong was saved.

At that time, Tuhuer Khan found a Shaman from somewhere who used some unknown Witchcraft to kidnap Lady Liu and Liu Xia, who was only three or four years old, to their encampment, using them to threaten General Liu to surrender.

But as a general of a country, he naturally possessed a backbone of steel.

General Liu knelt before the enemy army on the city gate in full view of everyone. Just when the soldiers thought he was going to surrender, they heard him shout to the enemy: This was no wonder; the Prefect was originally a martial artist, so he must have discovered the perpetrator and had a fight with them. Being outmatched, he was severely wounded, and his essence and cultivation were both drained, which was why he was like this.

Over this month, his external wounds had healed somewhat, but there was internal damage, which was why he was so weak.

Lingxiang gave him a Nourishing Qi Pill and used Silver Needles to stimulate his acupoints for treatment. After checking the time, she ordered people to carry him out, cover his eyes, and expose him to sunlight. Only after two quarters of an hour was he carried back to the room.

After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, they only heard the Prefect whimpering; he had indeed been struck by Witchcraft.

Looking at it this way, it was impossible to get any clues from him.

The old Assistant Prefect was happy to see the Prefect's complexion improve, not expecting this young girl to have such skills, but upon hearing that the Prefect had also been struck by strange Witchcraft, he became anxious again.

Seeing this, Lingxiang hurriedly comforted him, saying that Prefect He's life was not in danger, and as long as the spell was broken, he would recover after a month of recuperation.

Although she said so, how could this Witchcraft be broken? And the day after tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival; wouldn't that mean three more people would fall victim!

Thinking of this, the old Assistant Prefect became even more anxious.

The only plan now was to strengthen night patrols and implement a curfew, which might prevent it.

It was just that Lingxiang found one thing suspicious. By logic, such an incident in the city should have caused panic, but when she observed the pedestrians that day, they all seemed completely unaware. Even if the Prefect's matter was hidden, the disappearance of neighbors should have been noticed, yet no one reported it to the authorities. Could it be that the people of Liangcheng were as cold-hearted as the city's name suggested?

She voiced this doubt. In fact, the Assistant Prefect had long been suspicious of this, but he could never find an answer. Previously, he had sent people to inquire, but was told that no one had gone missing.

Three days passed quickly, and indeed three more people were harmed in the western suburbs. One of them was Lu Zheng. A man who was usually tall and sturdy now had his shoulders slumped and his head hanging low, which made Lingxiang sigh with emotion.

Seeing Lu Zheng in this state, Long Qi punched the ground, his hand instantly torn and bleeding.

That evil thing was truly hateful! To harm such a good person to this extent...

That night, after settling the three of them, Long Qi took the initiative to find Lingxiang and asked to practice. Lingxiang thought of his appearance during the day and, after a moment of thought, agreed. "Practice your head!" Lingxiang rolled her eyes, "Why, do you want to 'drink' this Haoran Righteous Qi at my place in the future?" "True Person, please don't be so polite." Ajin said, cupping his hands in a return salute.

"The two of them are young and ignorant, causing trouble for the Divine Envoy. If there is any offense, I hope you will be magnanimous."

"True Person is too modest. It was thanks to their help today that we were able to capture this beast. I must thank the True Person for the final strike." Ajin said, cupping his hands toward Fuyin.

"Since you're here to see your disciple, why act like this? It's not like you're going to look for a male courtesan in Qinlou, what are you afraid of." Maidong said this, but she also poked her head in to look inside.

"This is, after all, the sleeping quarters of male disciples; entering so brazenly is, in any case, not quite appropriate." Lingxiang also pressed against the door crack to peer inside; the main courtyard was empty, very good, very good.

She thought that it had been quite some days since Long Qi left her, and she did not know if his Martial Dao cultivation had made any progress, or if he had hopes of being promoted to the inner sect. It would be better to slip over now and see if he was slacking off or goofing around.

"Just a moment ago you still wanted Long Qi to serve you, why are you so timid when the time comes?" Maidong's words were full of mockery.

"There is, after all, a distinction between men and women. I am now, at any rate, a Peak Master; if I rush in and accidentally bump into someone, I will, in any case, lose face."

He was now able to perform Yinqi Ruti and refine Qi into form, which made the Spirit Plant she had spent over a month using not go to waste, but if he wanted to step through the door, he still needed to wait for an opportunity.

However, she could teach him the Nian Talisman technique now.

"How were you able to step into Yuanqing? This Yuanqing Sect clearly has..."

Before Xin Yi could finish his sentence, Guihua interrupted: "The Mountain Guarding Array, right~" As Guihua spoke, she walked to Xin Yi's side as if sighing.

"This Yuanqing Sect is truly getting worse with each generation. When that Lingxiao was the Sect Leader, how could there have been such a bothersome Mountain Guarding Array, and how could they have feared us demons? Yet this group of his disciples, not one of them is useful, actually setting up these things, and they aren't even afraid of the trouble. Besides, this kind of thing is merely a facade; how could it possibly stop us?"

As Guihua spoke, she rested one hand on Xin Yi's shoulder and breathed into his ear: "Don't you think so, little Lu Family boy?"

Such a manner seemed as if she were flirting with Xin Yi, but Xin Yi remained motionless, only closing his eyes: "What is your purpose in coming here?"

Yet Guihua's face looked as if she were extremely aggrieved, and she actually wrapped both hands around Xin Yi: "At any rate, I am considered your master, having raised you for many years. We haven't seen each other for a long time, yet you are so cold, making your master very sad! Or perhaps..." As she spoke, she actually held Xin Yi's...

It really is...

Too strange!

Since when did Long Qi become so considerate and attentive? Even if the sun rose in the west, it wouldn't be this rare. Why was he acting so abnormally?

Could it be that she got drunk yesterday and beat him up?

But how could she be that unbearable?

Lingxiang couldn't help but frown as she recalled, but she only remembered some fragmented pieces...

"Ah... disciple! Mother has returned!"

But Zhao Wuyang was not doing well; on the second day of the rain, he began to run a fever. His forehead felt scorching to the touch, and he was burning up so much that he started talking nonsense, continuously calling out "Mother, Mother" in his mouth.

Seeing Zhao Wuyang like this, Long Qi was both anxious and heartbroken. He had always treated him as a younger brother, and now that his brother was in such a state, how could he still have the patience to travel slowly?

Although Lingxiang was well-versed in pharmacology and medicine, she had not taught him or Xin Yi anything at all. Now that they had encountered trouble, he really missed her a bit.

If she were here, a single Pill would surely solve the problem.

This was, of course, only Long Qi's wishful thinking. Even weeding in the fields required waiting for the Fufang Powder to work, and now it was a living person; no matter how miraculous the medicine, it still needed time to take effect.

And although Xin Yi was also anxious inside, he was not as flustered as Long Qi. When Zhao Wuyang was sick and delirious, he made a prompt decision to travel faster, and while traveling, he would occasionally rummage through the grass.

Long Qi was very puzzled to see him like this. Wuyang was already sick to this extent, yet he still had the heart to play in the grass; did he still think he was a three-year-old child?

What does it mean to fulfill others?

Fulfilling Lingxiang and Rendong? Or her and Xiaobai?

"I don't like hearing you say that. Who says a melon must be sweet? There are plenty of melons that aren't sweet—what about wild melons, bitter melons, white melons? Which of them is sweet? Don't people eat them all the same? If you don't strive for some things, how can you know what the result will be? Besides, I was never a gentleman to begin with; if I like someone, I naturally have to fight for it!"

Hearing this, Maidong gasped. Usually, he saw this Long Qi as foolish and dull, but he didn't expect him to be able to spout such nonsense. However, it really couldn't be blamed on him; his own damn charm was probably what made him lose his head...

"Sigh, actually, there are fragrant grasses everywhere in the world. If you are so fixated on one person, what if it causes her trouble? Loving someone naturally means not putting her in a difficult position, right? Why isn't letting go also a form of love?"

What was said in the storybooks—now that he finally had the chance to say it, it really was...

Satisfying!