Chapter 177

In the endless darkness, there seemed to be light.

True Qi circulated through her body, point by point, and then the Bright Jade Art began to operate on its own. Yao Yue's body stiffened, and she opened her eyes. Subconsciously, she leaned toward the side of the boat and opened her mouth to spit out clear water. The more she spat, the more she coughed. Amidst this coughing, a hand pressed against her back, and True Qi was transmitted to help Yao Yue regulate her breathing, finally allowing her to stop spitting water.

Yao Yue turned back and saw Gu Qing, who had been channeling his energy to help her.

All sorts of memories flooded her mind; without a second thought, Yao Yue prepared to strike.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

Gu Qing's hand had been on Yao Yue's back all along. At this moment, he exerted force with his fingertips, pressing two points on her back to seal her acupoints. Yao Yue, who had been about to attack, felt her body go limp and instead lunged toward Gu Qing.

In her haste, and at such close quarters, Gu Qing performed a "snake slithering, raccoon rolling" maneuver. In this cramped space where it was difficult to even stretch one's limbs, he actually managed to roll away. Yao Yue, meanwhile, fell heavily onto the deck, her head even striking the side of the cabin, which only made her eyes burn with rage.

At this moment, Gu Qing returned to the stern of the boat, looking perfectly at ease. He lay half-reclined, gazing at Yao Yue from afar.

"You should have let me die."

Yao Yue's eyes were filled with hatred. Although she had been saved by Gu Qing, she did not accept this favor.

She still intended to settle the score with Gu Qing.

"After all, you are Palace Master Lianxing's sister."

Gu Qing said nonchalantly, "For the sake of Palace Master Lianxing, I had to save you."

The Gu Qing from before would say he was willing to die for Yao Yue at every turn, but now, everything he did was for Lianxing's sake. As for Yao Yue, they really weren't that close.

Yao Yue let out a cold snort and lowered her eyes slightly, preparing to force open her acupoints. But when she looked at her own clothes, she suddenly opened her eyes in anger, glaring hatefully at Gu Qing.

"After a person falls into the water, their clothes must be loosened; this helps with breathing."

Gu Qing said, "I only loosened your belt and removed your chest binder. I didn't do anything else."

Gu Qing spoke with righteous indignation.

"Heh..."

Yao Yue's face was extremely pale. From childhood to adulthood, Yao Yue had only ever felt affection for Jiang Feng. Her body was pure and untainted, and she had never been touched by anyone. But after being held down by Gu Qing and nearly drowned, then fished out, Yao Yue felt that her body was no longer so pure.

He removed her chest binder, and he claims he didn't do anything else?

The boat was silent. Gu Qing sat at the stern, quietly admiring the moonlight and the shimmering water.

Yao Yue closed her eyes and used the Bright Jade Art to force open her acupoints, but Gu Qing's acupoint-sealing technique was the "Reverse Nine Yin." Yao Yue's method of forcing them open from the front only made things worse, causing her to remain unable to move. She had no choice but to calm her mind, circulate her Qi and blood, and slowly unlock the points.

"Palace Master Yao Yue."

Gu Qing suddenly said, "I want to take a trip to the Flower-Plucking Palace."

Yao Yue understood. Gu Qing wanted to go to the Flower-Plucking Palace because Lianxing was there. But at this moment, Yao Yue wore a somewhat cruel smile and asked a question she already knew the answer to: "You want to go to the Flower-Plucking Palace?"

If Gu Qing's goddess was Yao Yue, Yao Yue considered herself perfect and flawless. But if Gu Qing's goddess was Lianxing, then the disabled Lianxing would cause Gu Qing's years of anticipation to fall completely to ruin.

Just thinking about this made Yao Yue want to laugh.

Having already begun to hate Gu Qing, Yao Yue hoped to see Gu Qing suffer and watch his hopes be dashed.

"Half-drunk, half-awake, I ask the villagers; bamboo thorns and vine tips, I'm lost at every step. Just follow the cow dung to find the way home; my house is west of the cow pen, and west again."

Gu Qing lay half-reclined and recited a poem by Su Dongpo.

This poem was written by Su Dongpo at the age of sixty-two in Danzhou. It tells of how Su Dongpo, after drinking, couldn't find his way home and eventually had to look down to find cow dung to follow back, because the house he lived in at the time was west of the cow pen. "You are the cow dung!"

Yao Yue's face was icy, and she said coldly.

Su Dongpo looked down to find cow dung to get home, and with Gu Qing reciting it like this, it was as if he couldn't find the woman in his dreams and had to feel his way across the river by following Yao Yue—he was comparing Yao Yue to cow dung as well.

Gu Qing chuckled and looked up at the moon and stars in the sky. Even when he occasionally looked at Yao Yue, his gaze was calm and indifferent, as if she were a stranger, completely different from his previous fanatical attitude toward her.

The boat drifted on Dongtinghu. By the second half of the night, Yao Yue had reopened her acupoints. She did not attack Gu Qing but sat cross-legged, silently regulating her breath.

Gu Qing had also had enough of lying on the boat. Feeling that his interest had waned, he turned around and began to row, heading back in the direction they had come.

On the way back, neither Gu Qing nor Yao Yue spoke. When the boat reached the shore, the chaos caused by Gu Qing burning the pine resin had already dissipated. However, on the shore, Gu Qing saw two people confronting each other.

One was Jiang Xiaoyu'er, and the other was Hua Wuque.

Tie Xinlan stood between the two, protecting Jiang Xiaoyu'er.

Gu Qing leaped over and arrived at Tie Xinlan's side, also standing directly between Jiang Xiaoyu'er and Hua Wuque.

Seeing this, Yao Yue's expression changed instantly. Her footsteps were light, and she landed almost at the same time as Gu Qing. Her face was gloomy, and she stared coldly at Gu Qing, fearing that his loose tongue would ruin her plans.

!

The Gu Qing from before had been fanatically in love with the "Flower-Plucking Palace Master" and was willing to do evil deeds for her. The Gu Qing of now was quite different.

"Big Brother Gu!"

Jiang Xiaoyu'er breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Gu Qing and hurriedly called out.

This time, having Tie Xinlan stand in front of him made Jiang Xiaoyu'er feel that he had lost all face, and for the first time, he felt that his brain was sometimes useless.

"Grandmaster!"

Hua Wuque both respected and feared Yao Yue. He bowed honestly, then bowed to Gu Qing, saying, "Grand-teacher!"

Gu Qing had sent betrothal gifts to the Flower-Plucking Palace to marry Yao Yue, and Yao Yue had agreed, inviting Gu Qing to Dongtinghu. Gu Qing had come, and now Gu Qing and Yao Yue were returning together from Dongtinghu...

In Hua Wuque's view, this meant it was a done deal.

Yao Yue shouted coldly, "What are you calling him?"

Hua Wuque knew his master was temperamental and immediately shut his mouth.

"Big Brother Gu, then we are one family with the Flower-Plucking Palace now, right?"

Jiang Xiaoyu'er stood behind Gu Qing, his gaze darting between Hua Wuque and Yao Yue as he asked, "Then why does Hua Wuque want to kill me the moment he sees me!"

This matter was absurd to Jiang Xiaoyu'er. The two had been fine when they met, but after exchanging names, Hua Wuque had immediately turned hostile and was determined to fight to the death.

"This matter, ah."

Gu Qing smiled. Seeing Yao Yue's gaze fixed tightly on his lips, as if she would strike immediately if he said one wrong word, he couldn't help but find it amusing and said, "In the final analysis, this is a story of how the Bright Jade Art cannot hide tears."

Although the Bright Jade Art has the characteristic of being introverted, it cannot hide the tears that flow outward.

Hearing this, Yao Yue was so angry her face turned red. The Gu Qing before going to Dongtinghu was willing to sacrifice everything for her and could understand everything about her. But after discovering he had recognized the wrong person, he immediately changed his face and wantonly ridiculed her sad past, as if he were watching a show.

"The Bright Jade Art cannot hide tears; everything that enters the eyes is a sin."

(End of chapter)