《Spring Flower, Autumn Moon (Love Better Than Immortality)》 CH 1.1 Lei Lei traversed to a small mountain village. When she opened her eyes, there was a group of old folk standing in front of her. An aunty in her forties was sitting on the edge of the bed. When she saw her wake up, she was delighted, ¡°Quickly! She¡¯s awake!¡± The group of people gathered around. ¡°She¡¯s awake?¡± ¡°She¡¯s really awake!¡± ¡­ ¡°Everything was fine, why did you try to die?¡± The aunty sighed. Suddenly, she saw Lei Lei¡¯s bewildered expression and immediately said with a face full of panic, ¡°You¡­ You don¡¯t recognise us?¡± Lei Lei calmed down, ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t recognise you.¡± The aunty stomped her foot, ¡°You fell from such a height, you must have lost your memory!¡± Everyone looked at her with pity. Amnesia? Lei Lei almost fainted again. She gritted her teeth, half happy and half upset. She was happy that she had fulfilled her wish to traverse time, but upset that those jerks had tricked her into falling into a landmine genre story. No, they took the initiative to pull an amnesia stunt! She would not have amnesia, she would do it the other way around! She smiled confidently, ¡°No, I don¡¯t have amnesia.¡± Everyone was stunned. The aunty was doubtful, ¡°Then do you remember your name?¡± Lei Lei said, ¡°My name is Lei Lei.¡± The aunty shook her head, ¡°This child really has amnesia. She can¡¯t even remember her own name.¡± She noticed that her hands did not have her usual healthy skin colour but was instead pale and smooth with long fingernails. Only then did Lei Lei realise she had entered someone else¡¯s body. She was immediately invigorated and curious about her new identity, ¡°Then what¡¯s my name?¡± Lei Lei almost fainted, ¡°Chu Hua!¡± ¡°Yes, your name is Chun Hua. It¡¯s only been about three months since you came to our Guyan Village, saying that you couldn¡¯t find your relatives in Jinjiang City,¡± the aunty carefully explained to her, ¡°You¡¯re still young with a long road ahead of you. What are you doing seeking death? Fortunately, there was a tree in the middle of the cliff.¡± Guyan Village? Jinjiang City? ¡°Wrong,¡± Lei Lei interrupted her suddenly and said firmly, ¡°My name is not Chun Hua, it¡¯s Lei Lei.¡± The aunty panicked, ¡°You¡¯re talking nonsense again!¡± She really could not accept that she was ¡°Chun Hua¡±. Lei Lei tried to convince her, ¡°It¡¯s true, I actually lied to you on purpose back then¡­¡± ¡°Help her lie down, bring the medicine prescribed by Dr Zhao!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have amnesia, I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± ¡°Feed it to her!¡± Looking at the bowl of the black concoction, Lei Lei panicked. She jumped up and ran away, ¡°I¡¯m not drinking the medicine. I¡¯m really not called Chun Hua, that was a lie!¡± The aunty exclaimed, ¡°Oh dear! There must be something wrong with her brain! Quick, hold her down!¡± Five big men rushed up and held Lei Lei down, dragging her back to the bed. ¡°Waa¡ª¡± Lei Lei¡¯s eyes turned green, and she shrieked, ¡°I don¡¯t have amnesia! Did you hear me?! Hey, hey¡­¡± The aunty used a pair of chopsticks to keep her mouth in place, ¡°Have you guys ever seen Chun Hua speak so loudly?¡± Everyone shook their heads. ¡°Her mind must have become muddled after falling down, poor child.¡± Gulping down the bowl of medicine, the chopsticks were withdrawn. Lei Lei almost vomited. She was out of breath and did not have any strength left. She nodded incessantly, ¡°Yes, I suddenly remembered, my name is Chun Hua.¡± Everyone let go of her, ¡°Should have said it earlier!¡± The aunty looked at the sky outside the door and commanded two strong women, ¡°It¡¯s getting dark. You two stay here. We¡¯ll take turns guarding her from now on. This girl is so pitiful.¡± As she listened to everyone¡¯s footsteps retreating, Lei Lei wanted to cry but had no tears. She really did not have amnesia. Those crazy grandmas, actually creating such a powerful setting! In 2008, in a certain month, on a certain day, late at night, in a certain room. In front of the screen, someone stretched themselves and there was a lazy smile on their lips. They smiled pleasantly, ¡°To enter a landmine genre story, there will be thunder even if you don¡¯t want it. Without giving you some small suffering, you won¡¯t understand how powerful it is.¡± On top of the small and shabby counter, there was a small wooden sign. A few small characters were written on it in red paint. The light in the small room was not very good and only up close could it be seen clearly: Jinjiang Time Traversing Corporation. ¡°Here it is.¡± Lei Lei heaved a sigh of relief. A pure looking beauty was sitting at the counter, facing the computer with her eyes lit up. Lei Lei leaned over curiously. It turned out that there was a glistening roast duck on the screen! In a daze, the beauty raised her head sharply and looked at her with shining eyes, ¡°Hey, how does Peking duck taste?¡± Lei Lei smiled in return, ¡°Not bad.¡± The beauty was satisfied, ¡°Then that¡¯s dinner settled!¡± Lei Lei said hurriedly, ¡°Well, I¡¯m here for an interview.¡± The beauty rolled her eyes, ¡°Interview? What interview?¡± Lei Lei hesitated, ¡°I heard that you¡¯re starting a time travel business¡­¡± ¡°Certainly,¡± the beauty immediately coughed twice. She put aside the roast duck and sat upright, nodding seriously, ¡°Right. We recently started a time traversing business. Today is the last day for registration.¡± Lei Lei said urgently, ¡°I want to participate!¡± ¡°Register at the Human Resources Department.¡± ¡°Where is the Human Resources Department?¡± ¡°Right here,¡± the beauty smiled, ¡°Hello, my name is Su Su. I¡¯m the general manager of the Human Resources Department¡­¡± Lei Lei immediately laughed, ¡°Hello Ms Su! My name is Lei Lei.¡± She looked around, ¡°Why are you alone?¡± Me Su said, ¡°Because I¡¯m the general manager of the Human Resources Department.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Part-time staff.¡± Lei Lei started to sweat and she looked around in surprise, ¡°Can this be called a corporation? Can you really make people traverse through time?¡± ¡°Apart from us, who else in the world can help you fulfil your time travelling dream?!¡± Ms Su was excited and rose up, scattering the dust on the counter and scaring Lei Lei so much that she took a step back, ¡°This is a new project from our R&D Department. It¡¯s been certified by authorities and all the programs are idealised with various specialties, space, and time for you to choose from.¡± As she spoke, her eyes lit up suddenly and she pointed to the door, ¡°Look, they¡¯ve all signed up and have come today for the selection process.¡± Three girls who were talking and laughing pushed open a door and walked in. Lei Lei believed it a little, ¡°I still have to choose?¡± Ms Su sat down and regained her gracefulness. She gave a meaningful smile, ¡°Of course, there are too many participants and opportunities are limited.¡± Lei Lei immediately said, ¡°Then I¡¯m signing up. I want to go to the world of martial arts, action genre.¡± ¡°Let me check,¡± Ms Su suddenly disappeared from the counter and immediately, debris fluttered around the counter. After a long while, her head emerged from under the counter, ¡°Unfortunately, the other genres are all full. The only one remaining is the landmine genre.¡± Landmine genre! Lei Lei dodged a flying leather shoe, ¡°Not going, not going, it¡¯s too shocking!¡± ¡°What shock, it¡¯s currently very popular. You might not necessarily have a chance yet,¡± Ms Su propped herself up with both hands on the counter and patiently explained, ¡°I think your name is very fitting. Lei Lei, ah, one is Lei, two is also Lei. There¡¯s a saying that ¡®Lei Lei is healthier¡±. Little girl, don¡¯t worry, your future is bright.¡± (TLN: Landmine genre in Chinese is Tian Lei Wen. The character for Lei is ¡®thunder¡¯ but can generally mean shocking.) Lei Lei could not accept this and she said with a smile, ¡°Ms Su, please take a look. Is there anything else?¡± Seeing those innocent eyes, Ms Su was helpless and bent down again in displeasure. Countless items were thrown out again and after a long while, she poked her head out happily, ¡°There¡¯s one that¡¯s still not full. You can traverse through to a palace battle and with bodily abuse. Want to go or not?¡± Bodily abuse? Lei Lei trembled and said cautiously, ¡°What kind of abuse? Is it serious?¡± ¡°15 slaps.¡± ¡°That¡­ should be fine.¡± ¡°100 lashes, plus violent treatment.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡­ I won¡¯t die, right?¡± Ms Su stood up and gave her an incredulous look, ¡°You won¡¯t die.¡± Lei Lei wiped her sweat, ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Ms Su looked at her seriously, ¡°You still need to endure a miscarriage for the male lead and five slashes with a knife.¡± ¡°This¡­¡± Lei Lei considered it carefully for a long time and still decided to sacrifice her body to resist the landmine genre. She gritted her teeth and nodded, ¡°Okay!¡± Ms Su was shocked, ¡°You¡¯ll be treated like this, but you still want to go?¡± Lei Lei was silent for a moment, ¡°I understand that this is all for the setting up of the plot. You guys didn¡¯t do it on purpose.¡± ¡°Oh my god!¡± Ms Su looked up to the sky and sighed. She jumped out from the counter and picked her up. Then she opened a door and kicked her in, ¡°And you still say you won¡¯t go to the landmine genre!¡± CH 1.2 The door slammed shut behind her. Lei Lei staggered from being kicked. She looked up and found that this room was slightly darker than the previous one. There was a big sign in front of her that read ¡°Finance Department¡±. She heard voices. There was no other way, if it was the landmine genre then so be it, let¡¯s go! Passing the sign, Lei Lei immediately saw a huge desk. A beautiful woman sat inside. The three girls who came in earlier were still talking. Seeing her come in, they all fell silent. Lei Lei walked up boldly, ¡°Excuse me¡­¡± The beautiful woman looked up and twisted her hair around a pen, ¡°I¡¯m the general manager of the Finance Department, the accountant, and the cashier¡­ My name is Zhonghua Wuyan. You can call me Ms Zhong.¡± Lei Lei hurriedly said, ¡°Hello Ms Zhong! My name is Lei Lei¡­¡± Ms Zhong stretched out her hand, ¡°Hand it over.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The registration fee, it¡¯s 19,980.¡± Lei Lei remembered. She hurriedly took out her card and handed it over. Ms Zhong frowned, ¡°Cards are not accepted.¡± Fortunately, Lei Lei was well prepared. She took out a few stacks of money from her purse and handed them over, ¡°Here is 20,000.¡± Ms Zhong counted it and determined the amount was correct. She said awkwardly, ¡°I don¡¯t have any change¡­¡± Lei Lei sighed, ¡°Forget it.¡± Ms Zhong was happy, ¡°Young lady, you have great potential!¡± She appraised her, ¡°Mediocre appearance.¡± Lei Lei was nervous, ¡°Is that not okay?¡± Ms Zhong winked, ¡°Wrong, this is the style of a female lead traversing through time. Haven¡¯t you seen that pretty girls are always in a supporting role? Our interviews are mainly based on character and talent. If you really want to become beautiful, you can just enter someone else¡¯s body.¡± Lei Lei nodded repeatedly. Ms Zhong beckoned to the three women next to her, ¡°Come here for an interview!¡± The three girls came over. Ms Zhong took out a cheque, ¡°This is 10,000. Which of you is willing to give up time travel?¡± All three girls were delighted, ¡°Me!¡± Ms Zhong waved her pen, ¡°Pass!¡± The three girls said, ¡°What about the money?¡± ¡°Did I say this money is for you?¡± Ms Zhong was annoyed and pointed at the small door next to her, ¡°Go in and continue the interview.¡± The three girls went in dejectedly. Looking at Lei Lei who was left, Ms Zhong frowned and waved the cheque, ¡°This money really is for you. Are you willing to give up your qualification?¡± Lei Lei was delighted at first, then shook her head, ¡°I want to traverse through time.¡± Such strong principles! Ms Zhong frowned even deeper and took out another cheque, ¡°This is a million, how about it?¡± Lei Lei shook her head, ¡°No.¡± Ms Zhong sighed and asked without giving up, ¡°Ten million?¡± ¡°Okay!¡± If she had ten million why on earth would she traverse time?! It turned out, it was not that she was not greedy, it was just a matter of appetite. Ms Zhong was stunned for a long moment and could not help praising, ¡°Sure enough, you have a good eye. A time travelling girl¡¯s eyes widen when seeing money, the bigger the appetite, the better. You¡¯re still the most promising!¡± She used her pen to write ¡®excellent¡¯ in large letters, then pointed to the small door, ¡°You can go in to continue the interview.¡± Lei Lei asked anxiously, ¡°The cheque?¡± ¡°Here you go,¡± Ms Zhong said cheerfully, ¡°But it¡¯s fake.¡± The third room was even darker, so dark that it was almost impossible to see people clearly. Only a blue light glowed in the centre of the room. The light shone on two beauties, one charming and the other cute. If it were not for the sign as big as a person next to her that read ¡°R&D Department¡±, Lei Lei would have thought it was a nightclub. The three girls from before were also here, in a daze. ¡°I¡¯m the general manager and designer of the R&D Department, Shu Ke, you can call me Mr Shu.¡± Lei Lei was startled and turned around, finding that the voice was coming from a corner. There was a person sitting in the corner. Not a woman. Not a man either. Not even¡­ The main reason was that this person was covered in a halo of light from top to bottom. She could hardly tell if it was a male or female. His voice was gentle and majestic with a sense of clarity and mystery, like magic. The person slowly spoke again, ¡°In order to embody the fairness and authority of this selection process, our corporation specially invited two guests, Jinjiang special editors Su Su and Li Li Si, to join me as judges for this interview. You all must listen carefully to the questions.¡± He snapped his fingers to signal the start. Lei Lei pricked up her ears. In the blue light, the charming beauty Su Su on the left said, ¡°All time traversing girls must recite poetry.¡± Li Li Su, the cute beauty on the right, smiled sweetly, ¡°So the interview question is to recite a poem about the moon.¡± Sure enough, it was the landmine genre, thought Lei Lei secretly. She turned around. The other three girls were confident. One girl said, ¡°Bright moonlight above the bed¡­¡± Li Li Su said, ¡°Good poem! Good poem! One that must be memorised when time travelling! Great personality!¡± One girl said, ¡°When will the full moon¡­¡± Su Su said, ¡°Good poem! Good poem! Creative!¡± One girl said, ¡°A jug of wine among the flowers¡­¡± The two judges discussed for a while and they both nodded, ¡°Acceptable.¡± It was Lei Lei¡¯s turn. It was too shocking. She would definitely never recite bright moonlight above the bed. Full of confidence, Lei Lei said, ¡°The bright moon shines over the sea¡­¡± Silence. Mr Shu in the corner said slowly, ¡°No creativity and no personality. Go back.¡± Having come here determined to traverse, she had been pushed hard into the landmine genre and spent 20,000 yuan. Lei Lei was already full of anger. Hearing this, she was furious and rushed forward to grab Mr Shu¡¯s front collar. She raised her fist, ¡°I am definitely traversing today. Do you believe that I¡¯ll beat you?¡± ¡°Believe¡­ Believe, believe! Let go first¡ª¡± He nodded repeatedly. ¡°Is there creativity?¡± ¡°Speak, speak calmly! Speak calmly!¡± He turned to the two judges. Li Li Si said, ¡°There¡¯s creativity!¡± Su Su said, ¡°There¡¯s personality!¡± Mr Shu grabbed a sign and said, ¡°Pass¡ª¡± The empty room was like a small plaza. The darkness was endless and footsteps echoed. Mr Shu tried hard to climb on top of a tall apparatus, putting on airs as if finding the earth disdainful. He introduced the product, ¡°This landmine genre has been designed and all things inside were specially set by me. It took immeasurable effort¡­ Hmph, hmph¡­¡± The two judges interrupted, ¡°Since you insist on experiencing it, you first have to choose an ideal way to traverse.¡± Lei Lei nodded, ¡°What kind of ways are there?¡± Li Li Su smiled sweetly and pointed to the side, ¡°How about the most typical, a car accident?¡± Looking at the big truck the height of two people, Lei Lei immediately imagined her bloody body being crushed by the vehicle. She backed away in horror, ¡°No way, no way!¡± ¡°No rush, no rush,¡± Su Su patted her shoulder charmingly and pointed to the other side, ¡°Then what about falling into water and drowning?¡± Lei Lei found that she was a little breathless and retreated more, terrified, ¡°No, no!¡± Li Li Su handed over a sharp knife, smiling, ¡°This is an ancient knife borrowed from the museum. You can use it to suicide.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want!¡± Lei Lei¡¯s hand weakened and the knife fell to the ground with a clatter. Su Su bent down to pick up the knife. She blew on the tip of the knife, ¡°Then¡­ murder?¡± Woah, murder! Lei Lei backed away further in fright. She almost cried out ¡°save me¡± but suddenly, a louder cry was heard, ¡°Stop¡ª¡± In an instant, Lei Lei felt her feet sink. Thunder was rolling and even more shocking was that in the empty room, there was a flash of blinding lighting. Lei Lei disappeared from where she stood. Mr Shu leapt off the apparatus, ¡°So annoying! Told her to stop, no, she deserved it!¡± The two judges wiped off their sweat, ¡°Traversing by lighting isn¡¯t bad. At least we finally dealt with one.¡± CH 2.1 It was midnight and the oil lamp was dim. The two village women who were keeping watch over her were dozing off in front of the bed. She had not eaten dinner and her stomach had been force-fed full with medicine. Lei Lei lay on a simple wooden bed, finding it difficult to calm the waves of emotion. What was Chun Hua¡¯s identity? Looking at this tender hand, she was probably not an ordinary peasant girl. She heard from the aunty that she could not find her relatives in Jinjiang city and that was why she ended up in this village, even wanting to jump off a cliff and die? To clarify her identity, she had to get out of here first. Originally, Lei Lei was not very keen on her identity, but she really did not want to stay and continue being Chun Hua. So she quietly lifted the quilt and got up, then she cautiously walked past the two village women and slipped out the door. Under the cold moon, Lei Lei ran wildly. Seeing Guyan Village becoming further and further behind, she felt relieved at last. To be alive in the world, there would always be choices to make. Soon, two paths appeared ahead. One went left, the other went right. Where should she go? Lei Lei thought for a while, then decided to go left. She was about to take a step when a cold wind blew suddenly. Leaves fell on her head and she shivered involuntarily. Only then did she notice it was autumn, but she was only wearing a plain white unlined garment. Of course, she could not go back to get clothes, but it was unbearably cold. Just as Lei Lei was in trouble, there was a figure not far away walking towards her. The person looked elegant and scholarly. While walking, he was muttering, ¡°¡­I wish to speak and yet I stall, what a fair and chilly Fall¡­¡± A bookworm? Lei Lei jumped out from behind a boulder. The scholar was dumbfounded at having a woman suddenly appear in front of him, ¡°Miss¡­¡± The wind blew in gusts and the moonlight waned. Dressed in plain clothes that fluttered in the wind with a weird smile on her face, the woman stared at him for a while. Finally, she spoke grimly, ¡°I¡¯m cold, let me borrow your clothes¡­¡± ¡°You¡­¡± The scholar was terrified and was trembling. ¡°Take off your clothes!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ghost¡ª!¡± In the middle of an earth-shattering scream, the scholar fell to the ground with a thump. Then, everything was silent. It was only then that Lei Lei realised that she might have gone overboard with the situation. She hastily knelt down and touched the man¡¯s chest. Finding that there was still a heartbeat, she breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°Mister, I really didn¡¯t mean to.¡± She took off his coat, put it on, then ran away. Walking on firm ground and breathing unpolluted air, who knew how far she had come. The sun rose higher and higher and the ground was golden. Sunlight fell between the gaps in the leaves, shining on the ground like pieces of broken gold. Lei Lei really saw gold. Under an especially ancient tree, there was a small pouch. It was likely that because the opening of the pouch was not tied tightly, a gust of wind caused it to open, revealing many brightly coloured paper sheets inside. The top one had a large pile of gold ingots printed on it, and it read ¡°100 taels¡±. 100 taels, 100 taels¡­ What was this pile? Lei Lei half guessed it, and half forced herself not to think about it. She turned a blind eye to it and moved on, silently telling herself: I am not greedy for money, I want to be a normal female lead. Her footsteps stopped. When travelling around the world, it was necessary to bring some money¡­ Lei Lei went back. She crouched down and began counting the money. What idiot dropped money here? Let¡¯s pick up some living expenses, money for accommodation and meals, and she had to change clothes. Of course 100 taels were not enough. She needed at least 10,000 taels¡­ ¡°Who sent you here?¡± A nice male voice sounded. Looking up, she saw a young man standing not too far away. He appeared to be in his 20s, with eyebrows like swords and eyes like cold stars. He had an extraordinary demeanour and a silver crown held up part of his black hair. Although the blue and white robe he was wearing looked simple and plain, the texture and colouring were remarkable. Compared to the clothes worn by the villagers before, who knew how many grades higher his clothing was. His left hand was faintly visible under the wide sleeve, holding a black scabbard. The young master smiled cunningly, like a fantastical demon. Lei Lei stared dazedly and whispered to herself, there were still advantages in the landmine genre. Everywhere there was beauty to feast one¡¯s eyes on. Seeing that she did not answer, the young master¡¯s tone of voice became colder, ¡°Who sent you here?¡± Lei Lei hurriedly shook her head. Suddenly, she felt a chill on her neck, then pain came. It turned out that at some point, there were already several sharp long knives around her neck! A shadow flashed past, then the young master was already standing in front of her. He leaned over and tapped her acupoints quickly. A few clinks sounded, then all the swords returned to their sheaths. ¡°Wanting to suicide? It¡¯s not that easy!¡± An old man in blue came out from behind. Who the hell wanted to commit suicide?! ¡°Ahh¡ª Murder¡ª¡± Lei Lei howled like a pig being slaughtered, ¡°Hurry up and look to see if I¡¯ve been cut or not!¡± Everyone was stunned. A few more people came out from the side. Among them was a middle-aged man wearing a brocade robe. He had a purplish complexion with stubble on his chin. He looked at Lei Lei, then turned to the young master, ¡°Unexpectedly, it¡¯s a woman.¡± The young master was also surprised. It turned out that Master Tie from the Tie Clan Village took the initiative to report to them that a mysterious person approached him the day before yesterday. He claimed to know the whereabouts of the longevity fruit and wanted him to buy the information for ten thousand taels. The matter of the longevity fruit was at great stakes and had caused a lot of trouble. It was for this reason that the three main sects became enemies. He Tai Ping, the leader of the alliance, came forward and finally suppressed the matter temporarily. Who knew that this news would come out of nowhere. The Bai Sheng Shan Village had always been committed to maintaining justice in the martial arts world. Having passed by here, it was necessary for them to step in and take control. So, he devised a bait to lure the person to come, but unexpectedly, a young lady had come instead. ¡°Hurry, someone take a look for me and see if blood is coming out!¡± Lei Lei howled again, ¡°Murdering for no reason at all, I¡¯m going to send you to the officials! Give me compensation for my medical fees!¡± What was this about seeing officials? Everyone was confused. The old man in blue stopped her, ¡°Unable to distinguish between good and evil at such a young age. If the longevity fruit fell into the hands of a member of the demonic cult, it would be rare for the world of martial arts to be at peace. Fortunately, Master Tie understands righteousness¡­¡± Lei Lei only cared about her neck, but since her acupoints were restricted, she could not inspect it and was anxious, ¡°Is the cut deep? I¡¯m dizzy, so dizzy¡­ Excessive blood loss, damn it, hurry up and stop my bleeding!¡± ¡°Where is the longevity fruit?¡± ¡°My injury!¡± A cold light flashed and a long sword was resting at her neck again, successfully making her stop screaming. The young master spoke coldly, ¡°Speak!¡± Lei Lei came to her senses and trembled, ¡°Speak¡­ speak what?¡± ¡°Where is the longevity fruit?¡± ¡°What longevity fruit?¡± She was confused. Dressed in brocade robes, Master Tie stepped forward, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who knows the whereabouts of the longevity fruit and asked that I bring money to trade for the information here?¡± Lei Lei finally understood what was going on. It turned out that they had set up a bait for an ambush and she had accidentally stumbled upon it. She was immediately angry, ¡°How do you know it¡¯s me?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s not you, why did you come to get the money?¡± ¡°If there¡¯s money, why wouldn¡¯t I take it? Master Tie was indeed unable to refute. The young master frowned, ¡°Weren¡¯t you surprised to see so much money for no reason?¡± Lei Lei said, ¡°All I know is I got rich.¡± Everyone was silent. CH 2.2 Lei Lei shouted, ¡°Hurry up and release my acupoints, release my acupoints! I¡¯m going to lose all my blood!¡± The young master looked at her for a while, then retracted his sword and sheathed it. Then he stretched out his hand and released her acupoints. Lei Lei immediately touched her neck and found that there was no blood. This gave her great relief. Master Tie said, ¡°Young Master Xiao, be careful. This witch speaks strangely, it could be another trick by the Qian Yue Cave!¡± The young master nodded and felt the need to investigate thoroughly, ¡°Who are you? Where did you come from?¡± Even I don¡¯t know who I am. Lei Lei replied, ¡°I¡¯m from Guyan Village.¡± Seeing the rough clothing on her body, the young master believed it a bit, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Everyone turned around. Knowing that they were decent people, Lei Lei was not afraid anymore. She quickly jumped up from the ground and rushed forward to grab the young master¡¯s sleeve, ¡°You hurt me but you want to leave just like this?¡± The young master frowned, ¡°Let go.¡± Lei Lei tilted her head to show proof, ¡°My neck, look!¡± For the first time in his life, he was being blackmailed. The young master was a little speechless, ¡°It¡¯s just a superficial wound.¡± Since the other party had a bad attitude when admitting they were wrong, Lei Lei was even angrier, ¡°A superficial wound is still a wound! Arresting people is right, but I¡¯m innocent and now I¡¯ve been hurt by you, so you need to take responsibility!¡± The young master frowned, ¡°Butler Zhao.¡± The old man in blue looked contemptuous. He took out two ingots of silver and threw them over, ¡°Take them and go see a doctor.¡± Lei Lei caught them. The young master¡¯s eyes suddenly flashed, ¡°Are you really from the village?¡± Lei Lei nodded, ¡°Yes.¡± The young master grabbed her wrist and smiled coldly, ¡°A village girl would have such hands like these?¡± This was bad, she would be slaughtered as a villain. Lei Lei started to sweat and faltered, ¡°I¡¯m not originally from here. In fact, I don¡¯t know how I ended up in the village.¡± Seeing that he did not believe it, she hurriedly added, ¡°It¡¯s because I fell off a cliff yesterday and can¡¯t remember anything.¡± Damn, she lost her memory twice in a day. The young master let go of her, ¡°You¡¯re full of nonsense!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not nonsense, it¡¯s true!¡± Lei Lei was eager to find evidence but unfortunately, identification cards were not popular here. What the folks in Guyan Village could confirm was that her name was ¡°Chun Hua¡±. Lei Lei would rather die than be ¡°Chun Hua¡± in front of such a handsome man, so she laid it out, ¡°It¡¯s like this, my name is Lei Lei. I came to visit relatives in Jinjiang City three months ago and had been chased by a group of unknown people. I had no choice but to flee to this village¡­¡± The young master said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you lose your memory?¡± Lei Lei choked, ¡°Yes, it seems¡­ this is all I remember.¡± Next to him, Butler Zhao snorted, ¡°Young Master, be careful. This woman¡¯s origins are unknown and she¡¯s full of lifes trying to deceive us for money.¡± These words reminded Lei Lei. That was right, what could such little money do? To make sure that she had enough for food and clothing, she immediately wiped her eyes with her sleeve and burst into tears. The young master was stunned, ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°Young Master investigate clearly!¡± Crying loudly, Lei Lei rushed towards the young master, ¡°What I say is true. I only remember that someone wanted to kill me and then I fell off the cliff. Young Master is a good person, please help me!¡± Everyone was dumbfounded. Seeing her rushing over, the young master was on guard and thought it was a trick. As soon as she gave herself away, he would send her flying west with a flick of his palm. By the time he realised this woman was not malicious, she was already hugging him firmly. He was immediately at a loss. In addition, he had a fixation with cleanliness by nature and his conditioned reflex was to push her away. He was helpless as she was hugging him tightly and he could not break free. Taking into account his image and demeanour, he had to endure it, ¡°Let go first!¡± Lei Lei was tearful and was acting shamelessly, ¡°I¡¯m going with you, otherwise, I¡¯ll be killed by them!¡± Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade was world-renowned, who dared to be disrespectful? The young master had neve been so helpless, ¡°It¡¯s inconvenient for a man and woman to travel together, this¡­¡± He looked at Master Tie. Since she was being hunted down, who would be willing to take on something so problematic? Master Tie immediately coughed, ¡°Young Miss, don¡¯t worry. With Young Master Xiao of Bai Sheng Shan Village deciding for you, he will definitely bring you justice in the future.¡± Then he turned to the young master, ¡°Thank you very much for your assistance, Young Master Xiao. I¡¯ll take my leave first and send a letter to report this matter to Leader He afterwards.¡± Without waiting for an answer, he led his subordinates to take the big bag of money away. ¡°Let go.¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°You!¡± Apart from the witches from Qian Yue Cave, there was actually such a thick-skinned girl. The young master did not know what to say for a while. His handsome face reddened slightly and he was somewhat at a loss. Lei Lei observed closely. A blushing handsome man was such a nice sight. Butler Zhao¡¯s fingers trembled, ¡°In¡­ In broad daylight¡­¡± Lei Lei said intentionally, ¡°What?¡± Robbing a civilian man by force in broad daylight? Butler Zhao stomped his foot, ¡°Shameless! Still not letting go yet? Don¡¯t drag down our Young Master¡¯s reputation!¡± ¡°There really is someone wanting to kill me,¡± Lei Lei cried bitterly. She held the young master tighter and tighter, rubbing her face against his chest. ¡°If you leave me here, I¡¯ll die. Young Master, save me!¡± What are you so anxious about me hugging him, old man! Butler Zhao was speechless. The young master¡¯s face darkened and he grit his teeth to maintain his demeanour, ¡°If you¡¯re really being hunted down, I¡¯ll take you to meet Leader He and bring you justice. If you don¡¯t let go, then don¡¯t blame me for being rude.¡± Be as rude as you want. Lei Lei ignored the threat. Being strong in one area and weak in another, the young master had never met such a piece of work. Just what was he supposed to do with her? He barely managed to suppress his anger, ¡°We¡¯re rushing back to the village now. Since you insist on coming with us, then follow us back first, alright?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Lei Lei was suspicious. The young master did not answer. ¡°Our Young Master¡¯s promise is weightier than a thousand bars of gold. Hurry up and let go!¡± Butler Zhao raged. Relieved, Lei Lei loosened her hands, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± A tall burgundy horse was quickly selected. Lei Lei was willing to try new things. She tried five times to get on the horse, but the horse would immediately raise its neck and snort softly, making her roll down in fright. The young master caught her, his mouth twitching, ¡°Butler Zhao¡­¡± Butler Zhao had already mounted his horse. ¡°It¡¯s getting late, this old one will go ahead first to see if there¡¯s a small shop or something and arrange lunch.¡± He patted his horse and left. Seeing that the two other servants patted their horses and left, Lei Lei came back to her senses. She looked at the young master next to her with an unpleasant expression. She laughed, ¡°I didn¡¯t know that horses were actually so difficult to ride.¡± The young master glanced at her then leapt straight on his horse. Lei Lei panicked and rushed over to hug his long leg, ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t leave me. You promised!¡± The young master felt powerless and stretched out his hand. That hand was very slender and beautiful. Lei Lei was stunned for a while before she regained her senses and quickly handed over her own inelegant hand. As soon as she raised her hand, Lei Lei felt her body soar into the air. In a blur, she was already sitting behind him. The horse¡¯s back wobbled and she quickly hugged the young master¡¯s waist. ¡°Let go.¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m going to fall!¡± ¡­ The sunshine was warm and the cool breeze carried an earthy smell, and there was also the scent from the young master¡¯s body. ¡°Where¡¯s your home?¡± ¡°Bai Sheng Shan Village.¡± The young master¡¯s tone was unwavering. They had only ridden on horseback for over a li, but the person behind him screamed again and again. He had to slow down gradually to adapt to her and in the end, it turned into a stroll but the woman still was not satisfied yet. (TLN: One li is about half a kilometre.) ¡°Is it very far away?¡± There was actually someone who did not know about Bai Sheng Shan Village. The young master was slightly taken aback, ¡°About three days¡¯ journey.¡± He paused, then continued, ¡°At this rate, it¡¯s likely to take five or six days.¡± They had to ride on horseback for several days? Lei Lei cried secretly, and said, ¡°How should I address you?¡± The young master said calmly, ¡°Xiao Bai.¡± How could a ¡°Xiao Bai¡± be missing from a landmine genre story?! Lei Lei was in a good mood and suddenly felt that the name ¡°Chun Hua¡± was actually not bad. She said, ¡°Good name, good name!¡± (TLN: The young master¡¯s name is Ïô°×. MC calls him С°×. Both are pronounced Xiao Bai with slightly different intonation on the first character. MC¡¯s version is a common term used to describe handsome young men.¡±) The young master ignored the compliment. ¡°Where does your family live?¡± Having learnt her lesson, Lei Lei immediately shook her head, ¡°I forgot, I¡¯ve lost my memory.¡± The young master could not help but frown and sigh. It seemed like the only way was to take her back to the village first. Infected by this sigh, Lei Lei began to feel uneasy. As a time-travelling woman, how could she win the favour of the hero in the landmine genre novel? She could not recall any poetry off the top of her head, so why not sing a song?! ¡°I¡¯ll sing a song for you.¡± No answer. Clearing her throat, Lei Lei was about to open her mouth¡ª A loud and resounding roar suddenly sounded from the nearby mountain and a song shook the sky, ¡°The east is red, the sun is rising. The martial arts world has brought forth He Tai Ping¡­¡± Lei Lei was immediately struck by a landmine. CH 3.1 After waiting for a long while, there was no sound behind him so the young master thought it was strange, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you singing?¡± W-w-what kind of scheme was this?! With such a tough example taking the lead, Lei Lei did not dare to sing anymore and could only say, ¡°Actually, I can¡¯t sing.¡± The young master was speechless. Lei Lei remembered something, ¡°Who¡¯s He Tai Ping?¡± The young master calmly replied, ¡°Leader He.¡± ¡°The leader is the highest rank?¡± ¡°The leader rules the world and commands all the lords. The stability of the martial arts world ensures the peace of its people. It is a heavy responsibility so naturally it is no small matter.¡± Lei Lei said, ¡°Oh,¡± then said nothing else and calculated secretly. Bumping along for two or three hours, it seemed that her body did not know how to ride a horse. She could not adapt to it at all. Lei Lei reluctantly endured it. It was not until noon when the young master reined in his horse and they stopped in front of a roadside tea shop. Butler Zhao and the two other servants had been waiting there for half the day. Seeing the two of them coming, they suddenly caught a glimpse of her paws hugging the young master¡¯s waist. Their faces all showed indignation simultaneously. The young master pushed Lei Lei off the horse. Lei Lei was already disoriented from being thrown. She looked up. There was a tall sign next to the door of the small shop and on it was inscribed ¡°Zhong Hua Wu Yan Tea Shop¡± in large black characters. Zhong Hua Wu Yan Tea Shop? The name of this shop was really weird. Why did it sound so familiar¡­ Lei Lei was secretly surprised but her mind was helplessly and busily taking in everything new and she did not have time to contemplate. When she came to her senses, she had already followed the others into the shop. The shop was not big but business was good. There were only eight tables and seven were filled with guests. Lei Lei looked around and soon found the charm ¨C there was a beautiful proprietress sitting at the counter. Seeing the young master, the proprietress immediately stood up. She brushed her hair, winked and smiled, ¡°Speak of the devil, everyone¡¯s finally here!¡± The young master frowned, ¡°A tea shop?¡± ¡°This small shop originally sold tea, but in fact, we occasionally sell some cheap food and drink. The guests who come and go often know this,¡± the proprietress said as she came out from behind the counter, swaying side to side. She complained, ¡°For dozens of li around this area, it¡¯s all Xi Sha Sect¡¯s territory and their taxes are heavy. Young Master, except for us, who would dare open a shop on this road?¡± Then she showed a pitiful appearance and lowered her voice, ¡°It¡¯s not easy to make a living these days and besides, many merchants travel here and it wouldn¡¯t do to not have a restaurant here. It¡¯s convenient for us to secretly sell meals.¡± Financial matters were out of his control. The young master nodded to express his understanding. The proprietress was relieved. She smiled and said, ¡°Butler Zhao has already ordered a tableful of food. Everyone, sit down first, sit down!¡± She turned and shouted towards the inside of the shop, ¡°All the guests have arrived at table eight, hurry up and serve tea!¡± ¡°Coming¡ª¡± The shop was very efficient and a tableful of ¡°tea¡± was quickly placed in front of them. The green and white vegetables were very bland and crude. Only in the middle was a half of a fragrant roast duck, glistening with oil. Everyone began to eat. The few tables beside them were full of guests carrying knives and swords. While drinking alcohol, they gossiped about new happenings within the world of martial arts. Lei Lei found it interesting to listen to them. Suddenly, a low voice came from the next table over, ¡°This time, the information is right. Someone in Bi Shui City is going to auction the longevity fruit. The highest bidder will win. The auction will be held on the first night of the new year!¡± As soon as this remark came out, everyone at the table was stunned, including Lei Lei. ¡°Is this true?¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, it cost me 10,000 taels to buy this information!¡± ¡°Who sold this information, is it really credible?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen the person either. I just sent the money to the designated place to try it out. Who would have thought the person would actually leave a note¡­¡± Suddenly, someone coughed, ¡°Brother Wang!¡± The person who spoke earlier also realised that the current situation was amiss so he shut his mouth with tacit understanding. The others hurriedly and loudly changed the topic. What kind of treasure was the longevity fruit for so many people to pay for information about its whereabouts? Lei Lei thought it was strange. The young master, Butler Zhao, and the others had unpleasant expressions. That person had also approached Master Tie but fortunately, Master Tie was upright and selfless and had reported this matter. Now, listening to these people, it seemed like this had happened not just once. A message sold for 10,000 taels. That person could make a lot of money by just selling information and an auction for the longevity fruit was very tempting. At that time, the heroes would surely gather in Bi Shui City and it would be inevitable for members of the demonic cult to be mixed in. That person only cared about profit but had never thought that once the longevity fruit appeared, it would not be a simple matter of buying and selling. It would surely attract crowds that would contend for it, which would breed chaos. If it fell into the hands of the demonic cult, it would be even worse. ¡°Young Master, is that¡­¡± ¡°Master Tie will report this matter to Leader He. We¡¯ll discuss it further after we return to the village.¡± Everyone nodded and turned their attention back to the dinner table again, only to find out that the half roast duck had disappeared. Simultaneously, they all cast their eyes on Lei Lei. Seeing this woman being very refined and eating rice in small bites, they suddenly found it strange and were confused about where the duck went. After eating, everyone went outside. Suddenly, Butler Zhao¡¯s exclamation sounded from behind. ¡°What?! Such crude and simple dishes cost nine taels and eight coins, is this a black shop?!¡± (TLN: Black shops, ¡°ºÚµê¡±, are shops that scam people, often opened by gangsters and the like.) ¡°Hey, your words are too unpleasant, old man. Our small shop has always been innocent,¡± the proprietress patiently explained, ¡°Look, old man, here are the bill details. Although the other dishes are crude, that half roast duck is the real deal!¡± Away from home, Butler Zhao had always been responsible for manager accounts. He felt cheated, ¡°Half a roast duck costs five taels?¡± The proprietress said, ¡°Five taels is cheap. This is the ¡®Su Su Roast Duck¡¯ famous all over the world of martial arts. Have you heard of it? Su Su Roast Duck is a must have food for both home and travel! Young Master Qin Liu Feng praised it personally in front of people! The shop only prepared half of it for you because we¡¯re out of stock!¡± Su Su Brand Roast Duck? Lei Lei could not help but turn her head. This name sounded familiar¡­ Knowing the reputation of the roast duck, Butler Zhao fell silent. He took out a silver ingot, ¡°Here, ten taels!¡± The proprietress¡¯ eyes flickered and said awkwardly, ¡°Our small shop doesn¡¯t have change¡­¡± This sentence immediately made Lei Lei remember. While lamenting that the proprietress was really an expert in making money, she began to seriously doubt the credibility of the Jinjiang Time Traversing Corporation. They said how they designed carefully, but this martial arts world is what they made. Forget about the pirated version of ¡°The East Is Red¡±, even the names were so cheap. Zhong Hua Wu Yan Tea Shop, Su Su Brand Roast Duck. That Ms Zhong and Ms Su actually registered trademark properties here! Butler Zhao¡¯s beard shook and he practically jumped, ¡°You opened a shop, but don¡¯t have change?¡± The proprietress rolled her eyes, ¡°Can¡¯t you see our business is doing well? How about you wait, if there¡¯s change I¡¯ll find you.¡± Butler Zhao was stunned. The young master turned around, ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s go.¡± The proprietress immediately beamed with joy and her eyes curved, ¡°After all, this Young Master is generous and unlike those who are stingy. Young Master, take care, remember to come back next time!¡± CH 3.2 They continued to bump along on horseback all afternoon. Lei Lei was no longer in the mood to ask questions. All the bones in her body seemed to be falling apart. Seeing her like this, the young master found it difficult to continue so he ordered to take a rest in Jin Jiang City. He also had Butler Zhao inquire about buying a carriage. Since the delay was caused by that woman, Butler Zhao almost gave Lei Lei a death glare. Taking his image into account, the young master dismounted outside the city and walked. With her feet firmly on the ground, Lei Lei suddenly felt a lot more relaxed. Jin Jiang City was located in the central area of the martial arts world. It was lively and bustling with towers and pavilions, and heavy traffic. The entertainment life here was also very rich as there were many teahouses, restaurants, street performers, and cockfighting. The sounds of drums, gongs, and zithers mingled together. It was not difficult to glimpse the superb architectural level and glistening vigour of this martial arts world. Apart from the wine seller in front of the store occasionally shouting, ¡°Who walks the world of martial arts without drinking?¡±, or a heroic voice singing, ¡°Give a shout if you see injustice on the road!¡±, everything else was fine. Everyone stopped at the entrance of a large inn. The young master said, ¡°Let¡¯s just stay here for one night.¡± Looking at the three antique characters, ¡°Jin Jiang Inn¡±, Lei Lei immediately thought of the Jinjiang Time Traversing Corporation. Immediately, she was not tired anymore and angrily stopped the young master, showing resistance, ¡°We can¡¯t stay here!¡± Given her sonorous tone of voice and firm attitude, the two servants and Butler Zhao were frightened. They thought there was something wrong with this inn so they remained silent and dared not speak. The young master did not object and said lightly, ¡°Then let¡¯s change to another one.¡± After walking around 35 streets and looking at 35 inns, the sun had already set and they all returned to their original location, stopping in front of the Jin Jiang Inn. Except for the young master, everyone had expressions of extreme indignation. This girl was crazy! Butler Zhao said angrily, ¡°Young Master, look¡­¡± The young master glanced at the dejected Lei Lei. Then he walked towards the Jin Jiang Inn, making a decision with his actions. Lei Lei could not say anything. Moreover, her legs were already weak from walking so she could only follow in desperately. For heaven¡¯s sake, they were all called Jin Jiang Inn! From Jin Jiang Inn Number 1 to Jin Jiang Inn Number 35! It was said that two years ago, Leader He regulated the management of the inns as a convenient means to put an end to black shops. All the inns in the world of martial arts were renamed ¡°Jin Jiang Inn¡±, distinguished by the city registration number so the customers can easily tell the difference by city and number. Those without numbers or had other names would have to be black shops. Although this reasoning was plausible, Lei Lei firmly believed that it was just the design guy from the R&D department being lazy, too lazy to think of a good name for the inns. At the same time, she was quite depressed. It seemed like she would not be able to resist it. Fortunately, the inn was not bad. The bedding was fluffy and Lei Lei slept soundly until it had gotten dark and there was a knock on the door. Butler Zhao stood outside the door, ¡°Young Master tells you to go downstairs to eat!¡± His expression seemed to hold deep hatred for her, making Lei Lei think that the old man really wanted to see her starve to death. Having brought trouble and made mistakes, Lei Lei knew how to behave in a delicate situation. She followed him downstairs without a word. The young master was waiting downstairs. After bathing, he was still wearing a blue and white robe but the style was slightly different than before. It was natural and unrestrained, with some leisureliness. Lei Lei noticed that he was almost inseparable from his sword. It was said that a man with a sword was elegant and when the sword was in this young master¡¯s hand, it was not at all crass. It showed refined grandeur. Butler Zhao put on an amiable smile, ¡°Young Master, dinner has been arranged at the restaurant opposite.¡± The young master nodded and led the group out. Night shrouded Jin Jiang City. The streets were brightly lit and people were hurrying to and fro. The urban landscape was different to daytime, igniting romance between young men and women. ¡°Give a shout if you see injustice on the road!¡± was replaced by ¡°Just this blooming flowers and full moon¡± or ¡°You and I are entangled, lingering, and flying¡±. It was quite a different feeling of amour. ¡°The sound of the flute outside Lu Xia Tower rises, and intoxicated guests from central Shu arrive.¡± An antique couplet hung on either side of the main entrance to the restaurant. It was full of the martial arts world atmosphere with a scholarly touch, quite elegant and richly decorated. Inside, it was warm and full of guests which made people feel good from a glance. However, after looking up and seeing the three flamboyant characters on the plaque reading ¡°Shu Ke Restaurant¡±, Lei Lei retreated immediately, ¡°Not this restaurant!¡± She resisted resolutely. This time, including the young master, no one looked at her. They walked straight in. Lei Lei really wanted to have a backbone and go on a hunger strike, but her stomach was more important than having a backbone. She was penniless and most of the energy from the half roast duck earlier had been consumed during the bumpy journey. After lingering for half a minute, she finally walked through the door. Business in the restaurant was booming. Passing through several tables of guests, who knew how many times she said, ¡°Excuse me,¡± before she finally found the group. The table was already filled with abundant food and wine. They did not pay much attention to her belated arrival and simply drew a clear line, automatically shifting to one side. A seat was immediately vacated next to the young master. Under someone else¡¯s roof, she had to bow her head. Lei Lei sat down to eat in silence. It was probably because it was strange where the half roast duck had disappeared in the afternoon that this time, everyone stared at her chopsticks. No matter how thick-skinned Lei Lei was, she could not withstand it. She ate quite cautiously, scolding everyone in her heart. I didn¡¯t eat your share, damn it. Gradually, the young master also noticed something was wrong, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you eating the dishes?¡± Lei Lei said implicitly, ¡°I don¡¯t have an appetite.¡± So many people were guarding against thieves! The young master pondered, then instructed Butler Zhao, ¡°Order half a roast duck.¡± Under Butler Zhao¡¯s contemptuous gaze, Lei Lei was moved to tears. Where could she find a man like ¡°Xiao Bai¡± who was so considerate both inside and out? She had to find a chance to grab onto him! In order to attract customers to the restaurant, there was a storyteller. At this moment, the man was spitting all over the place and under his glib tongue, the originally ordinary stories of the martial arts world had become extremely exciting. Occasionally, guests would chime in. The man took a sip of tea, ¡°Next, let¡¯s talk about another matter. This is related to Young Master Xiao, Xiao Bai from the Bai Sheng Shan Village.¡± Lei Lei immediately raised her head. Sure enough, someone spoke. ¡°Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade?¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± the man looked pleased with himself, ¡°Bai Sheng Shan Village is known as the Big Dipper of the martial arts circles. It has always been their duty to safeguard the justice of martial arts. Because of this Phoenix Crying Blade, Qian Yue Cave and the Chuan Qi Valley dared not run amok and the world of martial arts can be peaceful¡­¡± Someone interrupted him, ¡°Old man, you don¡¯t need to talk about this. Who doesn¡¯t know Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade is the best in the world? Leader He is reputed to have ¡®Xiao on the left, Qin on the right¡¯. This ¡®Xiao on the right¡¯ refers to Young Master Xiao Bai.¡± The man sneered, ¡°How much can you know? Although Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade is famous, only Young Master Xiao Bai was able to practise the last form of the Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade in the Xiao family. Leader He also personally admitted that it¡¯s difficult to defeat him!¡± Silence. ¡°Afraid it¡¯s not true?¡± There was doubt. The man was resolute and decisive, ¡°It¡¯s absolutely true! Young Master Qin Liu Feng¡¯s personal book boy said it himself.¡± Everyone was moved. ¡°Young hero!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pity that he¡¯s always reclusive and it¡¯s rare to catch a glimpse of him.¡± ¡°Young Master Xiao abhors evil as if it¡¯s his personal enemy. However, Leader He would not send him to labour over trivial matters. Ever since he killed the ¡®Sea Raksha¡¯ two years ago, he hasn¡¯t appeared in the world of martial arts, up until the longevity fruit incident. ¡­ It turned out that ¡°Xiao Bai¡± was so famous! Lei Lei was pleasantly surprised and glanced over. She saw a proud expression on the faces of Butler Zhao and the others, but the young master¡¯s face remained unchanged as if he had not heard anything. She could not help admiring him even more while snickering at those people. ¡°Xiao Bai¡± was right in front of them and they did not even know. Someone urged, ¡°Why aren¡¯t you talking anymore?¡± The man smiled and said, ¡°I was just about to speak. This Young Master Xiao has been in an arranged marriage since he was young.¡± As soon as this remark came out, Lei Lei took a great blow. So he was engaged. Yet, soon she did not feel anything anymore. So what if he was engaged, he could divorce after marriage. As long as this time travelling girl took fancy to it, what fiancee, stand aside for me! The men in the seats were curious and the women were disappointed, ¡°Who¡¯s the lucky young miss?¡± The man said proudly, ¡°This matter was not made public. Apart from this old man, it¡¯s likely that no other person in this world can find out.¡± Everyone was anxious, ¡°Who is it?¡± The man spoke leisurely, ¡°Actually, this young miss is also from a fairly famous family. You all know her, she¡¯s the daughter of Ye Tan City¡¯s Old Master Hua, Young Miss Hua!¡± CH 4.1 Elder brother, you have been brilliant all your life but your future wife is actually Young Miss Hua! Lei Lei had a weird expression on her face. Seeing the young master¡¯s eyebrows slightly wrinkled, he seemed to be dissatisfied. She was about to laugh when she suddenly caught sight of Butler Zhao and the others who had serious faces. At once, she could not laugh anymore and was puzzled. The discussions were continuing over there. Someone asked, ¡°The Hua family in Ye Tan City is thousands of li away. How do they have any relationship with Bai Sheng Shan Village?¡± The man said, ¡°This you wouldn¡¯t know. When the Old Master Xiao Yuan was young, he helped the Hua family greatly. In his gratitude, the Hua family¡¯s old master betrothed his five year old granddaughter to the young master of the Xiao family.¡± Everyone understood, ¡°So that¡¯s how it was.¡± The man continued, ¡°The Xiao family has a sole heir. Five years ago, Old Master Xiao Yuan passed away. He once told Young Master Xiao to get married three years later, but it was just that Young Master Xiao devoted himself to practising sword skills and delayed it another two years. It was not until four months ago that he married Young Miss Hua.¡± What he said made Lei Lei lose all interest. After all her efforts, this good grass had already been eaten by someone. Everyone praised, ¡°It¡¯s a good marriage.¡± Unexpectedly, the man sighed, ¡°It was a good marriage, but little did they know it would turn out to be a disaster.¡± Everyone was surprised, ¡°Why?¡± The man said, ¡°Just as the auspicious moment approached, the matter of the longevity fruit came out and the disputes between the three sects continued. Young Master Xiao naturally followed Leader He around and was busy mediating. The Hua family was also reasonable. Seeing that Young Master Xiao was too busy to attend to anything else, and because it was not good to miss the auspicious date, they had Young Master Hua personally send his younger sister over. Unexpectedly, on the wedding night, the Xi Sha sect and Nan Hai sect fought again. Leader He was at the wedding banquet at that time. Hearing about this matter, he rushed over immediately. Young Master Xiao always took the affairs of the martial arts world as his own responsibility, so fearing that the two sects would fight and harm innocents, he had to follow even if he had not met his newly married wife yet.¡± Everyone praised, ¡°Young Master Xiao¡¯s actions are really admirable!¡± Someone laughed, ¡°Young couples will eventually meet anyway so what¡¯s the hurry? As the saying goes, absence makes the heart grow fonder. The two of them were newlyweds who parted ways. Who knows, after it was over, the young might have already made up for the night in the bridal chamber together, don¡¯t you think so?¡± Some laughed and some scolded. There was something sexual in his words which induced people¡¯s enthusiasm for conversation. Lei Lei looked back at the young master. It turned out that he had thrown his wife into the bridal chamber on his wedding night then ran to uphold justice himself. The young master was completely still, but being looked at by Lei Lei, his handsome face flushed again and he coughed slightly. So handsome, so handsome, but what a pity he was taken! Just as Lei Lei was feeling regret, the man suddenly clapped his hands, ¡°There was no after. The disaster happened on the wedding night. Young Master Xiao was not present and there was a fire in Bai Sheng Shan Village. The newlywed wife along with the bridal chamber burned to charcoal!¡± Everyone was stunned. ¡°How could such a thing happen?!¡± ¡°How could the people in Bai Sheng Shan Village be so negligent?!¡± Amidst the sighing, Lei Lei had returned to her senses and finally understood why Butler Zhao and the others had dark expressions. She could not help but sigh in her heart that Young Miss Hua was so unlucky. Look, she could not enjoy having such an outstanding husband even once, and passed away just like that! The man waved his hand to quieten everyone and put on a mysterious appearance, ¡°Coincidentally, this old man has a nephew of a distant cousin working in Bai Sheng Shan Village and heard that the fire was actually very strange.¡± Everyone hurriedly pricked up their ears. The man said, ¡°The newlywed bride had a dowry maid. That night in the bridal chamber, she was the one who accompanied and waited on her but after the fire, only the bride¡¯s body was found. The dowry maid could not be found!¡± Everyone was amazed. Someone asked, ¡°Since she was burned by the fire, how could the corpse be recognised as the bride¡¯s?¡± The man shook his head, ¡°There are things you don¡¯t know. The bride has worn a golden longevity lock since she was a child. Young Master Hua recognised his younger sister¡¯s body based on this.¡± He lowered his voice, ¡°I heard that there were deep knife gashes on the corpse. Although it was completely beyond recognition, there was no soot in the mouth so she must have been set on fire after being killed.¡± Immediately, someone said, ¡°Could it be that the dowry maid hamed her master?¡± The man clapped his hands, ¡°How would this old man know? Now that the maid has disappeared, no one can say.¡± ¡°Why not go to her hometown and search?¡± ¡°Young Master Hua said that the maid came to them a year ago. They didn¡¯t know her background but seeing that she was lonely and pitiful, they took her in. She also did her best usually, so who could think that such a thing could happen? Even they couldn¡¯t believe it.¡± Everyone sighed deeply. ¡°It¡¯s impossible to know someone¡¯s true nature by their face alone.¡± ¡°Must be a spy from the demonic cult!¡± Some people were worried, ¡°How can Old Master Hua be willing to leave the matter as it is after his daughter met with mishap at the Bai Sheng Shan Village?¡± The man nodded, ¡°Of course, Old Master Hua is grieving. Unfortunately, it turned out that it was someone from his own family who was wrong so he could not do much. On the contrary, Young Master Xiao was aware that he could not evade this responsibility. Although he had never seen Young Miss Hua, she was still his legally married wife. So two months ago, he set out to find the whereabouts of the dowry maid.¡± He paused deliberately, ¡°Young Master Xiao abhors evil as if it¡¯s his personal enemy. A few days ago, weren¡¯t there a few people from the demonic cult who were executed at the bottom of Tong Ren Mountain? It was Young Master Xiao who had passed by and taken the initiative to clean them up.¡± Everyone praised. Having successfully aroused everyone¡¯s interest, the man spoke slowly, ¡°The dowry maid must be questioned about this matter. Only then can we know the details. We shouldn¡¯t make wild guesses.¡± Everyone nodded. Lei Lei was also surprised. Murder was no joke, there must have been some benefit for a dowry maid to kill her master. If it was to provoke the relationship between the two families, it was clearly not done cleanly enough. Suddenly, there was the sound of knocking on wood. The man brought everyone¡¯s attention back, ¡°This matter had already spread out, it was just that you didn¡¯t know. Next, there¡¯s something this old man wants to talk about. Hehe, it¡¯s even more mysterious than this!¡± Everyone asked hurriedly, ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a strange thing that happened in Guyan Village nearby.¡± The man turned mysterious, ¡°After midnight last night, Lu Xiu Cai from Guyan Village went out to visit friends. It was a little late when he was on his way back when he was haunted by a female ghost in white clothing!¡± Guyan Village? Female ghost in white clothing? Lei Lei lowered her head immediately. Why was this scene so familiar? CH 4.2 Matters of ghosts and gods had always been a topic that people delighted in talking about and never tired of. The people¡¯s interest grew, ¡°What did the female ghost look like?¡± The man was serious, ¡°I heard the female ghost was dressed in white and had a tongue that stuck out a foot long!¡± Everyone exclaimed in surprise. The man suddenly laughed in a low voice, ¡°Guess what happened next? When Lu Xiu Cai woke up, he found himself lying on the side of the road with his clothes gone. He fell sick when he went back and he¡¯s still lying at home now.¡± ¡°Did the female ghost take advantage of him and suck out his life essence?¡± ¡°¡­¡± What an interesting and exciting topic, a female ghost blocking the road in the middle of the night and absorbing the life essence of a young man. Everyone was widely discussing it. At the table on this side, everyone including the young master was looking straight at Lei Lei. She was wearing a men¡¯s light blue long robe commonly worn by ordinary scholars ¨C of course, everyone knew she could not be a ghost but they could not be certain whether or not she would take advantage of men. Lei Lei ate in silence. Collecting yang to replenish yin, this old lady would rather take advantage of ¡°Xiao Bai¡± here than him! As the night deepened, the noise outside the window gradually subsided. After Lei Lei took a bath, she just stared at the mirror for a long time. Then she lay down in bed with peace of mind. Since she had rested in the afternoon, it was hard to fall asleep. She had not expected ¡°Xiao Bai¡±¡¯s identity to be so special. The first time she came to the world of martial arts, she had already bumped into great personages. The heroines of landmine genre stories are not so lucky. Just what is the identity of this ¡°Chun Hua¡±? Her appearance was not bad and was very useful. Thinking of the stories she had heard in the restaurant, her heart skipped a beat but then denied it. It was easy to say she did not know the bride and surely the dowry maid would have been seen by many people. If she really was that maid, then they should have recognised her. It seemed like she was destined to be an unknown person. Just as she was thinking this, a sudden commotion erupted downstairs. Then flames flared up and horses whinnied. ¡°It seems to be this one!¡± ¡°Quick, surround the inn!¡± Lei Lei turned over and sat up in shock. She jumped out of bed and ran to the window and saw numerous torches burning downstairs. Manu people with swords and knives surrounded the inn and they all wore similar black clothing with white trim. They looked anxious and angry. The two leaders were particularly prominent and one of them was a tall middle aged man in his 40s. Who were these people? Lei Lei was wondering this when the innkeeper came out in a panic, ¡°Gentlemen, what can I do for you?¡± The middle aged man spoke, ¡°Someone just tried to assassinate our Xi Sha Sect¡¯s Leader Wen. He¡¯s been hit by Leader Wen¡¯s palm and has been seen coming towards this place. It¡¯s likely he¡¯s hiding in the inn so we want to search.¡± The innkeeper¡¯s face was ashen, ¡°Who would be so bold as to dare assassinate Leader Wen?¡± The man sneered, ¡°Who else besides the Nan Hai Sect? We have to catch him alive and bring him to confront Leader He!¡± The innkeeper hesitated. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, old man. We have our own sense of propriety and won¡¯t harm your business!¡± Another person next to him came forward in consolation. Their attire was no different to the others but their voice was very pleasant to the ear. It was actually a woman. Lei Lei squinted her eyes to look, feeling that she was beautiful. The innkeeper breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°Yes, yes. Please go on in.¡± The middle aged man turned his face and ordered, ¡°Go in and search!¡± It turned out that someone from the Nan Hai Sect tried to assassinate the leader of the Xi Sha Sect. It seemed he had failed and had been injured by Leader Wen instead. Now, people from the Xi Sha Sect had come to search for the assassin. Lei Lei was not much concerned about the grudges between these sects. After understanding this, she turned around to go back to bed and continue sleeping. Who would have thought that in such a short moment, there would be a man in black lying in front of the bed?! She immediately covered her mouth and almost shrieked. How did this person get in?! He had a cold, handsome face and was in his 20s. His eyebrows were knitted slightly and his eyes were closed. He seemed to have passed out with a longsword in his hand. Lei Lei approached tentatively. There was blood on his lips. There was no need to ask. He must be the wounded assassin. Lei Lei did not think much and decided that beauties save heroes. So she was about to bend down to help him into bed first, but who knew that before she could even bend, a longsword would be pointed at her neck. ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± His voice was cold and he stood in front of her with sharp eyes. It turned out that he could still move by himself and it seemed like there was no chance to perform the act of saving a handsome man. Lei Lei was disappointed and moreover, being incited by the cold aura of the sword, she put up her hands hurriedly, ¡°Easy there, easy¡­ I was actually trying to save you. You see, they¡¯re going to search. Let¡¯s find a way to hide you first, how about it?¡± The handsome man obviously did not believe she would be so kind. He snorted softly and pointed the tip of his sword at her, ¡°Get in bed!¡± See, as soon as she came, she was forced into bed by a handsome man. Lei Lei went to lie down quietly. The handsome man took off his shoes and went to bed, then began to undress. This was¡­ While Lei Lei was being nervous and allowing her fancies to run wild, the handsome man had already unbuttoned his shirt and exposed the palm print on his chest below his shoulder. The palm print was black and purple. He quickly took out a small jade bottle from his pocket and took some white ointment with his fingers. He applied it on the palm print, then put away the bottle again. The sound of footsteps outside the door got closer. It was probably Butler Zhao and the others talking. He put on his clothes again, covering up the beauty in front of her eyes. The handsome man just leaned back and half closed his eyes, a slight sheen of sweat visible on his forehead. Having lost the opportunity to perform the act of saving a handsome man, Lei Lei could only express her concern in words, ¡°Do you want to use internal strength to heal your wound? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t tell them.¡± The handsome man immediately opened his eyes and returned to his cold posture, ¡°Stop talking nonsense!¡± Unable to tell the difference between good from bad, I really want to save you! Lei Lei was angry and kept silent. The sound of footsteps approached. ¡°Is anyone there, is anyone there?¡± There was a loud knocking on the door. Looking at the handsome man beside her, Lei Lei got up and wanted to get out of bed, but he grabbed her neck and pulled her back, tearing the bed curtain as he did so. ¡°If you dare to say a word, I¡¯ll kill you,¡± his voice threatened in her ear. Unable to move, Lei Lei had no choice but to stay silent. It was human kindness to take the initiative to save someone. Being forced to save someone felt very differently. She thought maliciously, alright, don¡¯t open the door, it would be for the best if they broke in, grabbed you, and killed you! With no response after a long time, the people outside were getting impatient. ¡°Go in and see,¡± said the middle aged man. ¡°Inappropriate,¡± said the young master. ¡°Could it be that Young Master Xiao is protecting the Nan Hai Sect?¡± He sneered. ¡°Uncle Hao!¡± Noting his indiscreet remark, the woman who had been following them stepped in, ¡°I think Young Master Xiao must have his own reason.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still siding with Leng Sheng Yin? He almost killed your father just now!¡± ¡°Uncle Hao!¡± She said plaintively. It turned out that the woman was the daughter of Xi Sha Sect¡¯s Leader Wen. Then who was Leng Sheng Yin? Lei Lei glanced at the handsome man who was expressionless. ¡°Bai Sheng Shan Village has always been transparent and righteous,¡± said the young master lightly, ¡°Swordsman Hao even searched my room, what is there to hide? It¡¯s just that a young miss is staying in this room so if you decide to enter rashly, then I can¡¯t stop you.¡± Sure enough, Swordsman Hao had nothing to say. Young Miss Wen suddenly said, ¡°Young Master Xiao is right to have scruples, but we¡¯ve called for a long while and there¡¯s been no movement inside. Perhaps something is really wrong. If Uncle Hao is worried, I¡¯ll go in and have a look.¡± ¡°Alright. You two, go in with Young Miss.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The moment that the door was kicked open, the hand around her neck loosened and moved to her waist. ¡°Speak carefully,¡± he warned in a low voice. Lei Lei rolled her eyes and opened the curtain angrily, She rubbed her eyes, pretending to have just woken up, ¡°Who is it?¡± Seeing her up close, Young Miss Wen was indeed beautiful. The black outfit with white trim on her did not appear arrogant but on the contrary, highlighted her quiet temperament, ¡°Miss, don¡¯t be afraid. We¡¯ll just take a look and then go.¡± Her voice was very gentle. As she approached the bed, she smiled slightly at Lei Lei, ¡°There was an assassin just now. Did anything happen here?¡± Lei Lei shook her head, ¡°Nothing happened.¡± The room was very simple. The other two female disciples rummaged around and not even the small cabinet was spared. Seeing nothing, Young Miss Wen seemed relieved. She was about to speak to Lei Lei when who knew that she would look down inadvertently and see something in front of the bed. Immediately, her expression changed. Damn! Lei Lei was shocked. There was half of a boot protruding from the bottom of the bed and it obviously belonged to a man. Her palms began to sweat coldly and Lei Lei looked at Young Miss Wen in horror. She cried secretly, it¡¯s over, if she was exposed to have been hiding an assassin, she would be the first to die, and she would die at the hands of a handsome man! Then something unexpected happened. Young Miss Wen quickly regained her composure. She looked at the two female disciples, then turned around quietly and seemingly unintentionally, kicked the boot under the bed. ¡°Since there¡¯s nothing, then we won¡¯t disturb Young Miss¡¯ rest. Let¡¯s go.¡± The two female disciples followed. ¡°There¡¯s really nothing?¡± Swordsmen Hao¡¯s voice was suspicious. Obviously, he could not trust Young Miss Wen either. ¡°Nothing,¡± said the two female disciples in unison. ¡°In this case, this rough fellow has caused offence. Young Master Xiao, please excuse me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mind it, please greet Leader Wen on my behalf,¡± said the young master. After a few words of apology, Swordsman Hao led everyone away. Hey, what was this, it¡¯s all fine just like this? It took Lei Lei a long time to come back to her senses. She understood most of it, this Young Miss Wen and the handsome man¡­ They¡¯re having an affair, an affair! The handsome man tried to assassinate Leader Wen but was rescued by the enemy¡¯s daughter. Such drama, such drama! Downstairs, the firelight gradually dimmed. Lei Lei turned around, ¡°You¡¯re Leng Sheng Yin?¡± The handsome man did not answer. He got out of bed and went to the window, disappearing in a flash. Lei Lei was even more speechless. Either way, she had saved his life, he should have said ¡°thank you very much¡± at least. Men who were born handsome like to act cool. CH 5.1 ¡°Who¡¯s Leng Sheng Yin?¡± Lei Lei asked the young master during breakfast the next day. ¡°The new leader of the Nan Hai Sect.¡± ¡°I heard that someone from the Nan Hai Sect sent someone to assassinate Leader Wen of Xi Sha Sect last night, is that true?¡± The young master glanced at her but did not speak. ¡°Everyone knows,¡± the servant next to her said quite disdainfully, ¡°His father, Leng Ying, was killed by Wen Ying. The Nan Hai Sect wants to avenge their former leader so how could they not settle accounts with Wen Ting?!¡± The young master frowned, ¡°The reason for former Leader Leng¡¯s death is still uncertain. Moreover, Leader Wen¡¯s reputation has always been good. Don¡¯t talk nonsense!¡± Butler Zhao said, ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily the case. The longevity fruit is incredibly precious and it¡¯s unavoidable that people would covet it. Everyone believes that it¡¯s in Leng Ying¡¯s hands. Wen Ting might have lost his head for a moment. Besides, Leng Ying did die under the orthodox palm force of the Xi Sha Sect.¡± The young master said, ¡°Former Leader Leng¡¯s martial arts skills are equal to Leader Wen¡¯s. Nan Hai Sect is a sword sect, how could Leader Wen have done it so easily?¡± Butler Zhao smiled coldly, ¡°Young Master has forgotten. Yan Wen Dao of the Dong Shan Sect is on the same mountain. If he became greedy and allied with Wen Ting¡­¡± The young master shook his head, ¡°When the matter of the longevity fruit occurred, the leaders of the three main sects agreed to meet at the top of Mount Hua to clarify and vindicate themselves in private. Even if Leng Ying had the longevity fruit, he would never have taken it with him. Since this was a three-person meeting, and knowing that his death would arouse suspicion, how could they attack him so openly and kill Leng Ying? Besides forming a grudge with the Nan Hai Sect, there were no benefits and there are many questionable aspects to this matter. It would be better to wait for Brother He and the others to investigate clearly before discussing this.¡± So it turned out that the leader of the Xi Sha Sect harmed the former leader of the Nan Hai Sect. Lei Lei finally understood the reason for the feud between the two sects. She laughed secretly, as expected, the enemy who killed his father would definitely have a beautiful daughter. Was this not the cliche of all cliches? That pitiful beautiful couple, being used by that guy in the R&D Department to define the law of love in the world of martial arts! However, she still felt the matter of the longevity fruit was strange but it was not easy to ask too much. She muttered, ¡°Didn¡¯t those people say that on the night of New Year¡¯s Day, Bi Shui City would put up the longevity fruit for auction?¡± Butler Zhao said, ¡°Since the longevity fruit has appeared, it can be seen that Leng Yin was indeed wronged at the beginning.¡± Everyone was silent. Lei Lei sighed. It was said that you had the treasure, but in the end, the treasure was in someone else¡¯s hands. Former Leader Leng, you really died unjustly. The young master said, ¡°It¡¯s likely Brother He and the others had long received word of this. Let¡¯s return to the village first before discussing further.¡± Butler Zhao nodded and said, ¡°I heard that Chuan Qi Valley and Qian Yue Cave have sent people to investigate the whereabouts of the longevity fruit. No matter if this is true or not, the longevity fruit must not fall into the hands of people from the demonic cult.¡± The young master said coldly, ¡°A mere longevity fruit caused the three main sects to fall apart. It shows that greed hurts people. That person deliberately released news of the auction of the longevity fruit. When the time comes, heroes will gather in Bi Shui City in order to compete for the longevity fruit and this will cause great chaos. I¡¯m just afraid that this is another trick by the Qian Yue Cave.¡± ¡°Shang Guan Qiu Yue!¡± Lei Lei dropped her chopsticks and involuntarily cried out. The young master looked at her. Lei Lei regained her composure, ¡°Who¡¯s Shang Guan Qiu Yue?¡± Everyone was surprised. Seeing her expression was really not fake, they believed she had amnesia even more. Butler Zhao said coldly, ¡°Who else could it be? The leader of Qian Yue Cave!¡± His tone was quite resentful and indignant. Lei Lei hurriedly asked, ¡°What¡¯s the Qian Yue Cave?¡± The young master snorted, ¡°Demonic cult!¡± His hand tightened on the sword he was holding. Right, how could there be no demonic cult in the world of martial arts? This body was called ¡°Chun Hua¡± and now there was a ¡°Qiu Yue¡±. According to the names, the two of them were likely to be relatives, could they be sisters? Alas, Chun Hua Qiu Yue was a bit tacky, but there was hope that she could solve the mystery of her identity. At least she had a family! (TL: Chun Hua ¡°´º»¨¡± and Qiu Yue ¡°ÇïÔ¡± means literally spring flowers and autumn moon respectively. A famous Chinese poem by Wu Men Hui Kai describes the four seasons by linking them with an element each; ¡°´ºÓаٻ¨ÇïÓÐÔ £¬ÏÄÓÐÁ¹·ç¶¬ÓÐÑ©¡± ¨C spring has hundreds of flowers, autumn has the moon, summer has rain, winter has snow.) Lei Lei was so excited that tears filled her eyes and she said repeatedly, ¡°That¡¯s great, that¡¯s great!¡± Qiu Yue, just wait for Chun Hua to come to you! ¡°You!¡± The dishes on the table flew high from someone slamming the table which finally brought Lei Lei back to reality. Only then did she realise everyone was glaring at her with looks that could literally kill. Butler Zhao was so angry that his beard was shaking and he trilled, ¡°Those witches in Qian Yue Cave are shameless, harming the world of martial arts and inciting trouble. Old Master was poisoned by them, but you actually¡­¡± He could not continue. The young master¡¯s complexion was extremely unpleasant, ¡°Can¡¯t even distinguish between good and evil!¡± While taking in the criticism, Lei Lei¡¯s mind finally cleared. Right, Shang Guan Qian Yue was the master of Qian Yue Cave. If Chun Hua was really her sister, then her identity should be great. Why would she have gone alone to such a remote place like Guyan Village and even tried to kill herself? Since Qian Yue Cave was a demonic cult, and in demonic cults there were often examples of people disdaining to recognise their own blood relatives and actually killing each other, would the two of them be on good terms as sisters? Could it be that Chun Hua was hunted down by Qiu Yue and stripped her of her martial arts skills¡­ Thinking of the plots in television shows, Lei Lei was frightened and immediately ingratiated herself with her protective talisman. She put on a serious expression, ¡°Don¡¯t be angry, don¡¯t be angry, I just lost my memory. It turns out that the demonic cult is so bad. Then we must avenge Old Master!¡± The young master¡¯s expression softened slightly. Lei Lei let out a deep breath and did not dare to ask anymore questions. ¡°Xiao Bai¡± really hated evil. It turned out that his father was also harmed by Shang Guan Qian Yue. He was so vigilant that before she ensured her safety, she could not let him see that she was related to the big devil. Seeing that she was quite willing to accept criticism, Butler Zhao had a much better impression of her. He said, ¡°The carriage is ready, let¡¯s go.¡± The young master stood up. Watching Lei Lei and the others walk out of the inn, two unremarkable men in the corner looked at each other, then got up to leave. In the midst of faint water sounds, white marble railings, and white curtains, a tall snow-white figure stood with hands behind his back. He wore a white jade hairpin inlaid with beautiful, round pearls and his loose black hair fluttered in the wind. The white and black formed a sharp contrast and there was almost no colour, just like the cold and secluded valley of ice and snow across the deep stream, refined without any worldliness. A woman in white came up to the platform and said respectfully, ¡°My Lord, this Star Minister has news to report.¡± He turned around. His face was as perfect as his temperament with eyes like stars, his gaze as gentle as a breeze or flowing water with an extremely bewitching smile. Coupled with his icy temperament, the hot and cold contrast exuded a somewhat devilish aura. ¡°Has the traitor been found?¡± ¡°This¡­ Not yet.¡± He said nothing and walked towards her slowly. The woman in white was terrified and hurriedly said, ¡°Although she hasn¡¯t been found, this Star Minister found out something else important.¡± He stopped walking. The woman in white immediately stepped forward and said a few words in a low voice, then returned to her original place. Sure enough, he was surprised and said, ¡°That girl is alive?¡± The woman in white said, ¡°It¡¯s absolutely true, this Star Minister servant saw it with my own eyes. She was with Xiao Bai and I think they¡¯re heading back to Bai Sheng Shan Village. This Star Minister wants to ask, since she is alive, do we still have to search?¡± Silence. ¡°So it was her,¡± he turned around again and looked across the ice valley. His laughter seemed to melt the ten thousand year old ice and snow, ¡°Daring to play tricks. How strange, having deceived us and escaped, why would she come back? Should we call her clever or stupid?¡± CH 5.2 Tall courtyard walls, clean stone steps, an ancient plaque hanging over the door was engraved with four large calligraphy characters, ¡°Bai Sheng Shan Village¡±. There was also a couplet engraved on either side which read, ¡°The vast and chivalrous sentiments of the sun and moon will shine for generations to come, with the sound of Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade will conquer the world of martial arts.¡± Who knew how many hundreds of years old this was. After Xiao Sheng, the ancestor of the Xiao family, helped the 352nd alliance leader pacify the world of martial arts, the alliance leader personally inscribed these plaques as a token of praise to demonstrate his righteousness. It also served as a reminder to the descendants to continue upholding justice. From then on, all the descendants with the surname Xiao took it as their duty to maintain the stability of the world of martial arts and they have never disappointed. Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade was famous all over the world, and it was unrivalled. There were two servants chatting at the door. When they suddenly saw the horses and carriages arriving, they immediately beamed with joy and welcomed everyone in. There was a huge yard upon entry which faced the reception hall. It was not flashy, and the style of the tables, chairs, doors, and windows were very simple and classically elegant. It was spotless. Turning around the corridor, there was a small door which led straight to the back garden. There were some flowers and plants in the garden but there were mostly trees. The early autumn season meant it was still lush and green. The clean ground had evidently just been swept, but there were a few scattered fallen leaves. From time to time, she bumped into maids and servants who greeted her. After days of travelling through wind and dust, suddenly seeing so many smiling faces and hearing so many friendly greetings, Lei Lei¡¯s mood lifted a lot. After taking a shower and having a brief rest, the young master summoned several people in charge into the small hall and began inquiring about the affairs of the village while he had been away. Everyone responded one by one. Hearing the news that Leader He and Qin Liu Feng went to Jia Kong City to investigate, the young master was troubled and looked at Lei Lei, ¡°Your matter¡­¡± Lei Lei had changed into a clean maid outfit. Hearing this, she shook her head quickly, ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, matters of the martial arts world are more important, the civilians are more important. Let¡¯s wait for Leader He to return to discuss my issue. I can¡¯t remember anything anyway.¡± The young master had gone out for a trip and returned with a girl following him so all the servants were talking about it. It was not until Butler Zhao explained the reason that they became relieved that she was just a weak girl who was hunted down until she lost her memory. Everyone was sympathetic and seeing her so concerned about the overall situation, they busily comforted her, ¡°Young Miss, don¡¯t worry, no one will dare come into Bai Sheng Shan Village to cause trouble.¡± The young master nodded, ¡°You can stay here without worries.¡± Lei Lei was really not a spineless person so she came up with a story of being hunted in order to rely on others to survive. She may have to stay here for a long time before her identity is revealed, so she could not just live and eat here for free and still be able to face them. Besides, as a newcomer, she wanted to win their favour, so she quickly said, ¡°How could I have the nerve to eat and live here for free? I can help work.¡± As a visitor, she was a guest so the young master hesitated, ¡°This¡­¡± Lei Lei said, ¡°Besides, I have nothing to do. Are you lacking in maids to serve you?¡± It would be best to become his personal maid. The others did not know of her intentions, so they all had expressions of praise, thinking she was a sensible girl. ¡°The Young Master doesn¡¯t need a maid.¡± A portly aunty looked at her for a moment then suddenly said joyfully, ¡°Hey, has Young Master noticed she looks a bit like a certain person?¡± The young master looked at her thoughtfully, ¡°There¡¯s a bit of similarity.¡± Like which beauty? Lei Lei smiled calmly. Look, a cliche was coming! Sure enough, the aunty quickly walked over with a few steps and took up both her hands. Then she turned her around a few times and became excited, ¡°She¡¯s really like Little Cui from the kitchen before!¡± Lei Lei finally tasted what it was like to suffer a heavy blow. Her smile turned weird, ¡°Is that so¡­¡± ¡°She was a clever girl, but it¡¯s just a pity that she went and got married early which isn¡¯t a bad thing, but now we need a helper in the kitchen. Why don¡¯t you follow along and help?¡± The aunty let her go, ¡°Although Xiao Cui was more beautiful.¡± The young master looked at her hands, ¡°This kind of manual labour, you¡­¡± What was good about being too pretty? Those who were beautiful only got supporting roles. The main thing about being a time traversing woman was personality, personality! Lei Lei comforted herself and decided to maintain her good image until the end and immediately said, ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, I can do it.¡± Seeing her persistence, the young master had to acquiesce, ¡°Then go ahead and help out Aunt Hong in the kitchen when you¡¯re free.¡± Lei Lei lowered her head. She was secretly amazed. Xiao Bai, Xiao Cui, Aunt Hong, the girl he married was called Young Miss Hua, Bai Sheng Shan Village sure was colourful. One strike, two strikes¡­ Early in the morning, Lei Lei was worrying about the pile of wood in front of her. She had really overestimated herself. No, she had overestimated the ability of this body she was living in. She used to have a lot of strength and it was no problem for her to carry a box and run around. However, this body was very delicate with white and tender skin that could be easily damaged. She did not have much strength, so how could she do such manual labour? In addition, she had never used an axe before so she did not know the right way to use it. After trying to chop one piece, her waist was already sore and her hands were red. If she tried to chop it again, she would probably get blisters. There were quite a few men in the village, so why should women have to chop firewood? Seriously. While complaining, she swung the axe again. Aunt Hong had ordered for the firewood to be chopped in the morning so that it could be used throughout the day. She could not leave a bad impression just after she began working. Just as she was about to endure the pain and continue chopping, her eyes lit up suddenly. Still in blue and white robes, he looked relaxed and unrestrained but also seemed too old and mature. The wind blew his long hair and his hands were half hidden, half visible under his wide sleeves. He held a long black sword in his left hand. She had only arrived for one day, but Lei Lei had found out all the information about ¡°Xiao Bai¡±. His mother had died early, and Shang Guang Qiu Yue of Qian Yue Cave had plotted against his father, Xiao Yuan, five years ago and he had died of poisoning. At age 19, he became the young master of Bai Sheng Shan Village. It was probably due to the fact that his daily attire was too formal and his words and actions were too cautious, so it had never occurred to her that he was just 24 years old. There was a large bamboo forest in the village. Seeing the young master walking into the forest, Lei Lei came back to her senses, dropped her axe immediately, and followed. Reaching a glade, the young master stopped. Lei Lei did not dare to approach and watched from afar. In fact, the young master never deliberately avoided others when he practised his swordsmanship. Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade was a strange and unique skill and without cultivation, it did not matter how many times you watched it because you would not even be able to learn half of it. The people in the village were long used to it. In their eyes, Lei Lei¡¯s secret peeping was, to be expressed in modern language, ¡°old fashioned¡± and certainly, everyone who was new to the village would inevitably be so ¡°old fashioned¡± at first. His perfect side profile showed not the slightest bit of expression. He held the handle of the sword in his right hand and stood still. Then in a single moment, a strong murderous aura spread rapidly and the surrounding green bamboo moved despite the lack of wind, and his blue and white robes fluttered. Among the fallen leaves, there was a snapping sound and a green bamboo stem broke for no reason. Simultaneously, the longsword was unsheathed and pierced the air, and a phoenix¡¯s cry could be clearly heard. As the sword glimmered, bamboo splinters flew. With just one move, the bamboo stem was divided into countless pieces and scattered onto the ground. The young master frowned, seemingly dissatisfied. He thought for a moment, then continued to repeat this move. It turned out that there was really such unrivalled divine skill in this world! Lei Lei was amazed. She was suddenly inspired and turned around to run back. The young master was seriously studying his sword technique, thinking about how he could make further progress, when suddenly Lei Lei was running over with a few large pieces of firewood in her arms, out of breath. He immediately put away his sword and looked at her suspiciously. Lei Lei threw the firewood on the ground and brushed off her clothes. She slowly circled around him twice, then raised her face and looked him straight in the eyes. She had a serious expression, ¡°Your sword skills are very good.¡± The young master got goosebumps from her gaze and nodded out of politeness. Lei Lei smiled coldly, ¡°Chopping bamboo is easy, but can you chop each of these logs into eight pieces in one strike?¡± She reached out and gestured, ¡°There are five logs here to be cut like this. Use the move you just did.¡± The young master was startled and frowned. After so many years of practising swordsmanship, he had only tested this move on bamboo. Splitting one piece into 59 fragments was the fastest way. He was really unsure if the desired effect would be achieved when used to split wood. Moreover, she had set such strict restrictions on the chopping method. In order to realise his full potential, he expressed his willingness to try so he nodded, ¡°Let me try.¡± Lei Lei stepped aside. The young master concentrated on his blade, then moved suddenly. An arc of light swept across the sky and all the wood on the ground flew up into the air. Then his figure disappeared and there was only the shining light of the sword and his shadow. The sword seemed to turn into a dozen swords and a clear cry sounded again, likely coming from that sword. ¡°Thunk, thunk¡±, the sound of wood colliding in mid-air reverberated incessantly. In a flash, all the swords merged back into one and pointed downward. His figure also appeared before her again, his hair slightly messy but his expression very calm and relaxed as if he had not moved at all. The firewood fell piece by piece. The young master was obviously satisfied with the effect. He looked at Lei Lei, ¡°40 pieces in total.¡± 40 pieces, and each piece was cut according to the requirements. So amazing! Lei Lei immediately clapped and exclaimed in wonder, ¡°Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade really lives up to its reputation! A reputation well deserved!¡± The young master retracted his sword and returned it to its sheath. Then he said in an apologetic voice, ¡°These logs¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll clean it up!¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No problem, it¡¯s no problem at all, you must practise hard!¡± Lei Lei said repeatedly as she bent down to gather the chopped wood into a heap. She picked it up then ran away. CH 6.1 The new girl worked very hard and it only took her a while to chop enough firewood for the day. Moreover, they were all uniformly sized and neat, fulfilling both quality and quantity requirements. Aunt Hong praised her to everyone she saw and for a while, Lei Lei became famous all over and even Butler Zhao was more pleasant when he saw her. Early the next morning, the young master had just arrived at the martial arts training place when Lei Lei was already waiting there. Beside her, there were six logs. ¡°Can you split each of them into eight pieces with one strike?¡± ¡°Let me try.¡± With an extra piece, the task difficulty had increased and it was very challenging. The young master thought this was very helpful for practising martial arts so without hesitation, he unsheathed the sword and instantly split the wood as required. ¡°Good effort, good sword skills! There¡¯s progress!¡± ¡°This wood¡­¡± ¡°Leave it to me, leave it to me, you keep practising.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± In the early morning of the third day, Lei Lei was also waiting in the bamboo forest with seven logs beside her. The young master swung his sword and split them into 56 pieces as required. Really, this ¡°Xiao Bai¡±. Lei Lei smiled and left with the firewood in her arms. On the fourth day, Lei Lei was waiting with eight logs. Eight logs should have been split into 64 pieces, but with the one strike this time, there were only 58 pieces. Lei Lei praised as usual, ¡°Good! Good sword skills!¡± Being challenged to the limit, the young master was unsatisfied with the results and was ashamed, ¡°It can only be like this, too slow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay,¡± Lei Lei waved her hand and encouraged him, ¡°It¡¯s already good to be able to do this. Just keep practising and strive for 64 pieces with one strike!¡± The young master was very disturbed. He thought that in order to accompany him to practise sword skills, this woman always spared no effort to set up props and clean up the mess, so he decided to make the most of things, ¡°I¡¯ll try again.¡± Before Lei Lei could react, the wood on the ground flew up again and a cold light flashed before her eyes. He did not move at all, but the sword seemed to have a life of its own and it flew and danced in the air. Sawdust scattered all over the sky. In the blink of an eye, half the firewood was destroyed. ¡°Don¡¯t¡ª¡± Seeing that he did not follow the requirements, Lei Lei rushed forward to hug his hand in panic, ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t chop! If you chop it again then they can¡¯t be burned!¡± The young master was stunned, ¡°Burn?¡± Lei Lei let him go then crouched down to pick up the remaining firewood, complaining, ¡°You, if you want to chop them again just tell me, I can go and bring a few more logs. Look, how can it be burned after being split like this?!¡± The young master finally sensed something was wrong and his expression darkened, ¡°You wanted to chop firewood?¡± Lei Lei realised her tongue had slipped. She straightened up, holding a piece of firewood in each hand and explained, ¡°Since you already practised your sword skills, it would be a pity to waste all this firewood!¡± The young master took two steps forward with his sword firmly in hand. He said coldly, ¡°You wanted me to chop firewood with Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade?¡± Thinking that this person wanted to kill her, Lei Lei was so frightened that she threw the firewood away and took two steps back, spreading her hands, ¡°What chopping wood, of course I just wanted to help you practise your sword skills, but after you¡¯re done, this firewood would be wasted so I¡¯m just taking them to the kitchen to burn. The young master took another two steps forward. There was a hint of anger in his voice, ¡°The sword is a weapon, how can you treat it like this?!¡± Lei Lei took another two steps back and retorted, ¡°A sword can also cut vegetables and kill chickens, why can¡¯t it chop firewood?¡± The young master was very angry but did not know how to reply. After a long while, he said, ¡°Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade is used to uphold justice, punish evil, and promote goodness. It is world renowned and countless wicked have died from it. How could you insult it like this?!¡± Lei Lei still insisted on her point of view, ¡°How do you know it¡¯s a waste? It¡¯s good to punish evil and promote goodness, but helping with firewood chopping is also doing a good deed. Look, it would take me half a day to chop this pile of wood. You lifted a finger and saved time and effort. When you finish practising your sword skills, there¡¯s enough firewood to use in the kitchen for a day, it¡¯s killing two birds with one stone!¡± She swallowed her saliva, her tone turned soft and comforting, ¡°Besides, if you don¡¯t chop firewood, you still have to chop bamboo. Isn¡¯t that the same?¡± ¡°How could it be the same?¡± The young master was angry. ¡°It¡¯s all being chopped, what¡¯s the difference,¡± Lei Lei hurriedly shut up when she realised his expression was getting more and more unpleasant. She seemed to understand something, ¡°If you¡¯re afraid of wearing out your precious sword, then next time I¡¯ll find a shabby one for you to use.¡± ¡°You!¡± The young master took two steps forward. All his reactions were like paper tigers! Lei Lei did not retreat any further. In order for her work to go smoothly in the future, she decided to persuade him with a glib tongue, ¡°Actually, the division of labour in the village is inappropriate. There are so many people who know martial arts but the one chopping firewood doesn¡¯t know any. What a waste of skills and time. What is the point of learning martial arts if not to use it?!¡± ¡°Martial arts are not for chopping firewood!¡± ¡°Of course, martial arts are of course used for chivalrous acts, but don¡¯t you think it¡¯s also very convenient to chop firewood with martial arts? It saves time and you can also practise¡­¡± His face was as black as coal as he tried to suppress his urge to strangle her to death. He sheathed his sword and turned around to leave. Lei Lei knelt down and continued to grieve over the wasted firewood. On the fifth day, the young master went to the bamboo forest as usual. Seeing that Lei Lei was waiting there again, his face immediately sank and he turned around to leave. ¡°Don¡¯t go,¡± Lei Lei rushed up to stop him. ¡°I¡¯ve thought it through and understand now. Love whatever profession you learn. I understand how you feel, your sword is sacred and used to punish evil and promote goodness. It can¡¯t be used to chop wood. Look, I didn¡¯t bring any logs today.¡± The young master turned his face and saw that there were indeed no logs. His expression softened. Lei Lei intended to establish a good relationship with this person. She pointed to the Phoenix Crying Sword in his hand and praised, ¡°Good sword!¡± It originally was already a good sword. The young master nodded. Lei Lei touched the blade, ¡°Is it from your ancestors?¡± The young master nodded. ¡°Having used it for so long, has it gone blunt?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°It won¡¯t wear out?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The young master thought about it and finally organised his words to explain, ¡°It¡¯s controlled with internal energy so naturally there are no issues.¡± The hero¡¯s magic weapon really did not need to be maintained and it had been used for hundreds of generations with no problems. Who said diamonds are of the best quality? Lei Lei clapped in amazement, ¡°Good sword! Good sword! Your sword skills are so good, can you teach me a few moves?¡± The young master thought she was studious so did not think about it. After a little thought, he gave serious advice, ¡°Swordsmen are steady and strong, the emphasis is on strength. Women are weaker by nature and there are very few who have mastered the sword techniques. It would be better for you to learn the sabre.¡± ¡°No need, I don¡¯t have to use it all, just a few moves will do.¡± ¡°A few moves?¡± The young master felt an ominous premonition. ¡°The moves you used to chop firewood,¡± explained Lei Lei, ¡°Your sword cannot be used to chop wood, but I can learn to chop it myself. Besides, my sword wouldn¡¯t need to be sacred. From now on, you can be dedicated to killing people and I¡¯ll specialise in chopping firewood. It¡¯s so fast and highly efficient, and wouldn¡¯t take much effort.¡± The young master was astonished and his expression gradually darkened. He snorted and started to leave. Lei Lei held him back in panic, ¡°Having martial arts but not using it and actually chopping wood slowly with an axe, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s stupid?¡± ¡°Let go.¡± His voice was tolerant. The firewood for today had yet to be chopped, how could Lei Lei be willing to let go? ¡°Just practise a move or two¡­¡± ¡°Let go!¡± ¡°Xiao Bai, good Xiao Bai, I can¡¯t chop it, help by practising a move or two¡­¡± The young master finally lost his patience. Angrily, he flung off her hand and left. Lei Lei¡¯s voice came from behind, ¡°Hey, hey, if you don¡¯t chop, you won¡¯t be able to eat lunch at noon!¡± CH 6.2 The young master was angry! It was like a shocking secret was discovered and all the servants gossiped to each other privately. Then one by one, they deliberately passed by the door of his room and took in the young master¡¯s expression. The young master had been taught strictly since he was a child and in addition, the method of Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade required calmness, self-control, and not being impetuous. That was why he had developed such a mature and prudent character. Although he was angry, he rarely lost his temper in front of others so everyone was curious. Who on earth was capable of making him so angry? Soon everyone understood. Lunch at Bai Sheng Shan Village was half an hour late. Having lost his temper earlier, the young master seemed much calmer now looking at Aunt Hong and Lei Lei in front of him. Even a skilled woman could not cook without firewood. Aunt Hong¡¯s face was filled with aggrievance and remorse, ¡°Today, lunch was half cooked before the firewood ran out. Fortunately, Wu Shun went to chop some more, otherwise the whole village would really go hungry.¡± She sighed and looked at Lei Lei, ¡°This girl was born with thin skin and tender flesh with little strength. She can¡¯t cut firewood to begin with. Let¡¯s arrange for her to help elsewhere, she won¡¯t be able to do the duties in the kitchen.¡± Lei Lei explained it like this, ¡°It¡¯s just that I haven¡¯t done any physical work before and it was too difficult to come up with a creative idea to cut firewood. It¡¯s not suitable for me.¡± What was this about coming up with a creative idea, if no one helped you, you could not chop it, right? The young master¡¯s mouth twitched and he completely forgot that he had gotten angry because of this before. Aunt Hong laughed and said, ¡°I should have known, this girl was born so delicate and fragile. At first glance, she¡¯s a lady from a big family who¡¯s enjoyed a good life so how could she do rough work like this. Your intentions are good enough.¡± Taking her hand, she said kindly, ¡°Look, your hands are blistered. Take a good rest.¡± Lei Lei was silent. The young master frowned, ¡°Forget it, just live in peace. These jobs will be done by others.¡± As a time travelling woman, Lei Lei was not willing to let her skills be buried, ¡°Actually, even though I don¡¯t know how to chop wood, I can cook!¡± As soon as she said this, both the young master and Aunt Hong were suspicious, ¡°You?¡± Lei Lei wanted to show off her skills, so she grasped at the opportunity to perform, ¡°I learned how to cook before so it should taste good, plus I¡¯ll cook food that you¡¯ll definitely never have eaten before.¡± It turned out that her skills were not used in the right place, the two of them realised. Seeing that Aunt Hong had no objections, the young master nodded in agreement. The next day, Lei Lei was officially promoted to being a chef of the Bai Sheng Shan Village. With a spoon in her left hand and a kitchen knife in her right hand, she had a big apron tied around her waist, full of posture. ¡°How do you use this thing?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Aunt Hong was startled. ¡°Forget it, forget it, I don¡¯t need this.¡± ¡­ ¡°Can the rice be cooked like this?¡± Aunt Hong was worried, ¡°Shouldn¡¯t a steamer be used¡­¡± ¡°Yes, yes, no need for that.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Oh dear it¡¯s turned into a paste, lower the intensity of the fire! No no, not enough firewood, add some more¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°I made some dim sum.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Too much pepper and Sichuan pepper powder!¡± Aunt Hong could not help coughing with tears in her eyes. ¡°Ah, it wasn¡¯t chilli powder?¡± ¡°There¡¯s also too much chilli powder. Young Master won¡¯t be able to eat it, cough cough¡­¡± Everyone in the kitchen left while choking. In the end, the whole village waited for more than an hour before they were finally ushered into lunch -¨C a pot of hard rice that could hit birds, a few plates of strange and colourful dishes where the original ingredients used could not be identified. There was also a plate of dim sum that smelled burnt. Everyone fiddled with their chopsticks for a bit, then summoned the courage to take a bite. They were stunned for a long while and then all left their seats. Lei Lei took a seat by herself. She picked up some with her chopsticks and put them into her mouth. She chewed it twice and then spat it out, wiping her mouth with her hand. She made an analysis and summary without changing her expression, ¡°Actually, this dish should be delicious. The main reason is that I¡¯m not used to your equipment here and I¡¯m a bit unfamiliar with them, so it¡¯s inevitable that I wouldn¡¯t get it right the first time. It will be better when I become more familiar with them.¡± More familiar? Countless eyes turned green from feeling ill. Someone outside the door reported that the young master¡¯s food was returned completely untouched. Lei Lei stood up and put on her apron, ¡°I¡¯ll go make dinner.¡± Butler Zhao had barely swallowed a mouthful of rice. Hearing this, his beard trembled and he put down the bowl. Forgetting about how he saw her as a freeloader, he said, ¡°Young Miss, don¡¯t work anymore. Let Aunt Hong do it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, I¡¯m happy to do it.¡± Everyone turned pale. Aunt Hong ran over hurriedly to hold her back, ¡°Young Miss¡¯ intentions are good enough. This is hard work, leave it to us to do. Nobody will blame you.¡± She desperately winked at everyone, ¡°Isn¡¯t that right?¡± Everyone nodded in unison. Lei Lei said seriously, ¡°How could I possibly do that?¡± ¡°Why not, everyone knows you¡¯re a girl with a kind heart.¡± Aunt Hong tore off her apron and pushed her out of the door along with the maid who was burning the firewood. ¡°Actually, there isn¡¯t a shortage of staff in the kitchen, the two of us are enough. How could we let you do such manual labour? Just come around if you¡¯re free to chat with us.¡± Feeling that this meal did not reflect her craftsmanship, Lei Lei stretched her arms and grabbed the door frame, struggling and thrashing, ¡°Actually, I can still¡­¡± Nobody intended on listening to her continue and they all pushed her with their hands and legs, ¡°Go, go.¡± ¡°Hey, hey, I¡¯m just not familiar with the equipment in the kitchen here,¡± Lei Lei was very reluctantly pushed out of the door. She shouted, ¡°Let me try a few more times, I can make you things you¡¯ve never eaten before¡­ The most delicious things!¡± The most delicious things? Everyone believed that this would be possible in the future, but no one had the courage to use their stomach to contribute to other people¡¯s inventions, so they barricaded the door tightly. Seeing her adamantly refusing to leave, Aunt Hong suddenly had inspiration, ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to Young Master¡¯s side and see if he needs you to serve him?¡± Serving ¡°Xiao Bai¡±? Lei Lei really stopped insisting, ¡°Oh¡­ Okay.¡± She turned around and took two steps, then stopped, ¡°If you have anything that needs doing, remember to call me for help!¡± Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°We will, we will.¡± Having been trained strictly since childhood, this was not the first time the young master had experienced hunger. He had already pretty much guessed that this woman might cause public disorder so he decided to go to the kitchen to mediate. Unexpectedly, just outside the courtyard he saw Lei Lei being coaxed out of the dining room by a group of people. The corners of his mouth raised up. He turned around to walk back. ¡°Xiao Bai! Xiao Bai!¡± A cry came from behind. The young master felt very helpless. This was far from the etiquette education he had received since he was a child. Bai Sheng Shan Village was famous far and wide. There was no one in the world of martial arts who did not respectfully call him Master Xiao or Young Master Xiao. Now, a girl was calling him Xiao Bai this and Xiao Bai that. He stopped and looked sideways at her. Lei Lei said, ¡°It¡¯s like this, they said there¡¯s no shortage of staff in the kitchen. The young master was speechless. How could there be no shortage of people? He guessed Aunt Hong would come over to ask for another girl in a while. Lei Lei was cheerful, ¡°They asked me to wait on you.¡± He had goosebumps from her looking at him, so could the young master dare to let her serve him? He shook his head, ¡°No need, just live in peace.¡± Lei Lei said, ¡°How about this, I¡¯m actually useful in many ways. For example, practising sword skills. Whatever you need, I can bring it for you. Of course, I won¡¯t ask you to chop firewood again. Besides, your clothes are always just two colours. It¡¯s too old fashioned, you¡¯re only 24! I¡¯ll prepare different colours for you to wear, you can just eat and sleep¡­¡± She stopped talking. Sure enough, that handsome face flushed red. Lei Lei sized him up viciously. It turned out that such an upright handsome man could think wildly and even blush. Should she pounce on him again to flirt with him frivolously? He had seen the methods of the witches from the Qian Yue Cave many times and he had also experienced larger scenarios. After all, the young master¡¯s concentration was extraordinary and he soon restored his calm. He was likely embarrassed and did not speak. He only smiled at her slightly then walked away. In fact, the young master had a special charm when he smiled and he was like a different person. With his slightly upturned lips and his smiling eyes, he seemed slightly devilish contrary to his usual poker-faced and serious appearance. It was a pity that after his surprise smile when they first met, it was a rare sight. Now that it was suddenly revealed, it literally knocked down Lei Lei on the spot. What a handsome man, Lei Lei admired. In the next few days, no one from Bai Sheng Shan Village ever came to her for help. Even Butler Zhao was more polite when he saw her and did not express any dissatisfaction with her eating and drinking. So, Lei Lei became the most idle one in Bai Sheng Shan Village. Of course, she was very unsatisfied with this state and continued to try hard to find a job. She followed the young master around all day. When the young master practised his sword skills, she clapped. When the young master was thirsty, she offered tea. Her ability to take cue from his words and expressions improved a lot. At the beginning, the young master felt apologetic, but seeing that she insisted on doing this, he did not say anything. On this day, Lei Lei was wandering around. She reached the corner of the corridor when she suddenly heard a few people talking. ¡°From what Butler Zhao said, it¡¯s likely that Leader He won¡¯t come back until after the Mid-Autumn Festival.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take that long to investigate Jia Kong City?¡± ¡°The day before yesterday, a major event happened at the Xi Sha Sect and Leader Wen was almost assassinated. Although it was unsuccessful, they insisted that the assassin was from Nan Hai Sect. Now the two sects are making trouble in front of Leader He again so the old man naturally has to mediate.¡± ¡°¡­¡± It turned out that a group of servants were sitting on the corridor railing and chatting. Having been here for a few days, Lei Lei has gotten to know most of the people in Bai Sheng Shan Village. The person speaking at the moment was the one who followed Butler Zhao, Wang Cong. He always brought back the latest news of the martial arts world. Hearing him say the three words, ¡°Nan Hai Sect¡±, Lei Lei immediately thought of the handsome man she met at the inn who might be called ¡°Leng Sheng Yin¡±, so she came out from behind the pillar. Wang Cong sighed, ¡°A mere longevity fruit caused the three main sects to break apart and made everyone in the martial arts world delusional¡­¡± Lei Lei interjected, ¡°Then what happened to the longevity fruit?¡± CH 7.1 Snowbun12-15 minutes 08.05.2023 When they first heard Lei Lei speak, everyone was stunned. Although nobody wanted her help with anything, chatting with her was fine. Moreover, this woman was unlike the other maids who only talked about their husbands, food, and clothing all day long. Most of the time she could keep up with them and talk incessantly, asking about interesting things in the world of martial arts, so they never excluded her. Wang Cong was surprised, ¡°The matter of the longevity fruit is such a big issue, you don¡¯t know about it?¡± Lei Lei shook her head. She was so far behind the times! Everyone looked at her scornfully. Even Aunt Hong, who was busy in the kitchen, knew about this. Lei Lei sat down hurriedly, ¡°Hurry and tell.¡± Wang Cong looked at the crowd and said, ¡°It¡¯s a long story. Do you know Bo Yao Qian, the idiot doctor in the Bai Xian Mansion? The old man is a good person with excellent medical skills but he leads a poor life.¡± Lei Lei nodded, his name was ¡°Don¡¯t Want Money¡±, so of course he was poor. (TLN: ¡°Don¡¯t want money¡± in pinyin is Bu Yao Qian ¡°²»ÒªÇ®¡±, which sounds similar to the doctor¡¯s name Bo Yao Qian ¡°²·Ò«Ç«¡±.) Wang Cong said, ¡°Half a year ago during one night, Old Mr Bo was killed at home.¡± Lei Lei said, ¡°There must have been some benefit from killing him.¡± ¡°According to his brother, Bo Yao Ming, it¡¯s because of a treasure called the longevity fruit,¡± whispered Wang Cong, ¡°Old Mr Bo once mentioned to his brother before he was killed that he should sort out his relics, but there was no such thing.¡± The older brother did not want money, and the younger brother did not want his life! Lei Lei was surprised, ¡°What¡¯s the longevity fruit used for?¡± (TLN: Bo Yao Ming ¡°²·Ò«Ã÷¡± sounds like Bu Yao Ming ¡°²»ÒªÃü¡± which means ¡°don¡¯t want your life¡±.) Wang Cong¡¯s spirits lifted, ¡°People live to a hundred years and death is inevitable. It¡¯s said that the longevity fruit is very strange. If you¡¯re over 70 years old and you eat it, you can be reborn and live another hundred years.¡± ¡°Really?¡± She was surprised. ¡°Old Mr Bo is known to be a medical nerd and studied medicine hard all his life. His words will definitely never be false.¡± Longevity. The dream of emperors since ancient times, being able to live a century longer than others. No one could resist this temptation. Lei Lei finally understood why everyone was willing to spend a lot of money to buy information on its whereabouts, ¡°The longevity fruit must have been taken away by the murderer.¡± Wang Cong said, ¡°Not only Young Miss, everyone thinks this too. Old Mr Bo¡¯s martial arts skills were not bad at all, but he died under the power of an outsider¡¯s ordinary palm strike. It should be someone who was extremely trustworthy to him, someone who hit him when he was unprepared. Coincidentally, only three people saw him that night. They were Yan Wen Dao, leader of Dong Shan Sect, Wen Ting, leader of Xi Sha Sect, and Leng Ying, leader of Nan Hai Sect.¡± Dong Shan, Xi Sha, Nan Hai. Seeing as how these were named, Lei Lei doubted the intelligence of the R&D department guy even more, ¡°So, the three of them are most likely the murderers.¡± Wang Cong nodded, ¡°The three of them were old friends of Old Mr Bo. They had good reputations in the martial arts world. Old Mr Bo was kind and honest so it would not be strange for him to tell them about the longevity fruit.¡± Lei Lei said, ¡°It¡¯s such a treasure, it¡¯s likely it made them all greedy.¡± Wang Cong said, ¡°Exactly. Old Mr Bo only died half a month ago, but the Nan Hai Sect suddenly spread news that the longevity fruit was in the Leng family¡¯s residence. The last person who saw Old Mr Bo that night was also Leader Leng Ying. In this way, suspicion naturally fell upon him.¡± Lei Lei hurriedly said, ¡°Who released the news?¡± Wang Cong sighed, ¡°It was a servant from the Leng family. Not only this, when they found the servant to confront him, he had actually been nailed to death with a sword piercing straight through his heart. Everyone said that it was Leader Leng who silenced him via murder. There was nothing Leader Leng could do to clear his name.¡± Lei Lei suddenly said, ¡°Since the longevity fruit is so good, why didn¡¯t Old Mr Bo eat it himself?¡± Wang Cong said with a smile, ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know this, but it was said that even though the longevity fruit is so good, if someone younger than 70 years eats it, it would only strengthen your body and was useless otherwise. Old Mr Bo was only in his 60s.¡± So it turned out to be like this. Lei Lei pondered for a moment and then said, ¡°Leader Leng was probably framed. Although he was the last one to see Old Mr Bo that night, the others could have quietly gone back to kill Old Mr Bo after he left, and snatch the longevity fruit. Besides, to release the news that the longevity fruit was in the Leng family¡¯s house, they could just bribe the servants, and then kill the man again and blame it on Leader Leng.¡± Everyone said, ¡°Who wouldn¡¯t understand this reasoning?!¡± Wang Cong laughed, ¡°Leader He is wise and found this to be strange early on. Naturally, he did not condemn Leader Leng so easily. Unexpectedly, another big event happened after.¡± Lei Lei quickly asked, ¡°What?¡± Wang Cong said, the three main sects have always been friends. Since something happened, they could not help but suspect each other. So, the three leaders secretly arranged to meet at the top of Mount Hua to sincerely and openly clarify this matter with each other.¡± What the people of the martial arts world valued the most was righteousness. Lei Lei sighed secretly, ¡°And then?¡± Wang Cong said, ¡°The disciples of the three sects were waiting at the foot of the mountain that day. Yet, only two leaders came back down. Leng Ying, the leader of the Nan Hai Sect did not appear for a long while. The disciples of the Nan Hai Sect had no choice but to go up the mountain to investigate. They found him dead on the mountain path. He had been killed by the unique palm strike move from the Xi Sha Sect.¡± Lei Lei immediately remembered the black and purple palm print on the handsome man in the inn, ¡°Leng Ying¡¯s martial arts were not as good as Leader Wen¡¯s?¡± Wang Cong said, ¡°Of course not, but the Leader of Dong Shan Sect also went up the mountain with them. If he joined forces with Leader Wen, it would not be difficult for them to kill Leader Leng.¡± Lei Lei said, ¡°They definitely won¡¯t admit it now.¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± Wang Cong clapped his hands, ¡°Now, Leader Yan has repeatedly clarified, saying that at that time, it was true the three of them did not get along with each other and Leader Leng left in a rage. The two of them had no choice but to go down the mountain. However, Leader Wen found an excuse to lag behind and the underlying meaning was that he also suspected Leader Wen. Leader Wen refused to admit it no matter what, but the wound on the leader of Nan Hai Sect was still there and it truly was the palm strike from the Xi Sha Sect. The new leader of Nan Hai Sect, Leng Sheng Yin, has tried to avenge his father several times. Fortunately, Leader He stopped him. It¡¯s presumed that hatred has been forged between the Nan Hai Sect and Xi Sha Sect.¡± The original investigation was to probe into the death of Mr ¡°Bu Yao Qian¡± and the whereabouts of the longevity fruit. Now that this had happened, it was time to focus on investigating the cause of former Leader Leng¡¯s death. No wonder Leader He Tai Ping was so busy! (TLN: Lei Lei uses the ¡°Don¡¯t Want Money¡± characters to call Old Mr Bo.) Lei Lei thought of what the young master said and also grew suspicious, ¡°Knowing that it would be troublesome to kill Leader Leng, why would Leader Wen use his unique palm strike technique? Could it be that someone else did it to frame him? For example, a demonic cult?¡± Wang Cong shook his head, ¡°The Xi Sha Sect¡¯s palm strike method follows a strict path and the cultivation method is unique, so how could it be imitated so casually? What¡¯s more, it can shatter a person¡¯s internal organs without breaking their ribs. To practise the palm strike to that extent, only Wen Ting can do that.¡± Was it really Wen Ting? Of course, he would not admit it. The dignified leader of the Nan Hai Sect died so innocently, of course the alliance leader would deal with the murderer. Everyone knew this, and people were afraid to die. Lei Lei thought to herself and asked casually, ¡°There¡¯s Dong Shan, Xi Sha, Nan Hai. Why is there no Bei? (TLN: Dong Shan ¡°¶«É½¡± means East Mountain, Xi Sha ¡°Î÷ɳ¡± means Western Sands, Nan Hai ¡°ÄϺ£¡± means Southern Sea, Bei ¡°±±¡± means North.) Everyone scorned her more and more. ¡°Our Bai Sheng Shan Village is known as the Bei Dou of martial arts. With the Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade, the demonic cults dare not make trouble so blatantly and only like this can the world of martial arts have peaceful days.¡± (TLN: Bei Dou ¡°±±¶·¡± means the Big Dipper constellation.) ¡°Even the three main sects have to give way, not to mention the small gangs and factions.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even know something like this!¡± ¡­ With this, Lei Lei finally understood the status of Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade and she felt admiration in her heart. She started asking about another important matter, ¡°Then what¡¯s up with the Qian Yue Cave?¡± Everyone¡¯s expressions changed. Lei Lei nudged Wang Cong, ¡°Tell.¡± Wang Cong looked around, then spoke in a low voice, ¡°It all started with the demonic cult back then. A hundred years ago, Nan Xing He, the leader of the demonic cult, ran rampant in the world of martial arts. Later, Leader Wu gathered several major sects and eradicated him. He died under the Phoenix Crying Blade of Xiao Min, the ancestor of the Xiao family. After Nan Xing He died, the demonic cult¡¯s vitality was greatly damaged and since then, it had split into two sects, Qian Yue Cave and Chuan Qi Valley.¡± Lei Lei said, ¡°Chuan Qi Valley?¡± Someone snorted coldly, ¡°Chuan Qi Valley¡¯s Leader Fu Lou was ruthless and cruel. Not only did he abandon righteousness and defect to the demonic cult, he even killed his teacher at the time and forcibly married his teacher¡¯s wife.¡± Wang Cong said, ¡°Not only that, Shang Guan Qiu Yue, the leader of Qian Yue Cave, is even more cunning. Our Old Master would not use his sword to kill women, so he deliberately sent his witches and as a result, the Old Master was poisoned to death. So you must never mention the words ¡°Qian Yue Cave¡± in front of Butler Zhao.¡± Using righteous methods to deal with the demonic cult, of course you would suffer. Lei Lei was not surprised. Thinking that she might be related to that devil Shang Guan Qiu Yue, she dared not continue the topic. She shook her head, ¡°Such three great main sects became like this over a longevity fruit.¡± Everyone also sighed. Wang Cong said, ¡°However, there are still many people trying their hardest to find the location of the longevity fruit. I heard that the longevity fruit fell into the hands of a mysterious person and that there will be an auction in a few days!¡± Everyone was surprised, ¡°Really?¡± ¡°It¡¯s absolutely true!¡± ¡°It seems like Leader Leng had really been wronged back then.¡± ¡°Certainly!¡± ¡°¡­¡± While they were all discussing, Lei Lei already knew about this so she lost interest and stood up to leave. That man had sold news for ten thousand taels of silver and on the first night of the Lunar New Year in Bi Shui City, there would be an auction for the longevity fruit. It was only early August so there was still quite a while until the new year. CH 7.2 Snowbun11-14 minutes 08.05.2023 It was evening and the moon hung high. The courtyard ground was white, dewy and silent. Before she knew it, ten days had passed. Everything in the village was as usual. Seeing that tomorrow would be the Mid-Autumn Festival, the entire village was preparing for the festivities and everyone was busy all day. At night, they were so tired that they went to bed early. According to her plans, Lei Lei slipped out of her room quietly. The village was built on a mountain and there was a hot spring in the corner behind the village. The pool was not large, but it was steaming hot. The spring water gushed up from the ground, flowing away through a long canal which kept the pool water constantly clean and fresh. The bottom of the pool was covered by many uniformly sized pebbles and it was obviously done by someone on purpose. Lei Lei did not care too much. This place was originally very well hidden and blocked from sight by a few tall rocks. Now that it was evening, she was not worried about people coming to visit. She hung up the lantern, then took off her clothes. Lei Lei carefully slid along the sloped stone surface into the water. Instantly, her entire body felt relaxed. It turned out that she had gotten used to living like this these days. The only downside was that the weather was getting colder and taking a bath was becoming more and more inconvenient. Luckily, she had wandered about and accidentally discovered this great place. This body should have reached adulthood and had a well-developed physique. Her skin was smooth and soft, as pale as snow. Soaking in the warm spring water, it developed an attractive pink lustre. Lei Lei marvelled at herself for a long time. Her feeling of comfort grew stronger and stronger and she began to feel drowsy. However, at this moment, she heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Alerted, Lei Lei opened her eyes but before she could react any further, she heard someone draw in their breath sharply, ¡°Who¡¯s there?!¡± The tone was unpleasant and her originally dazed mind suddenly cleared and she subconsciously straightened up. She saw the young master standing at the shore of the pool with a calm expression. Lei Lei was both embarrassed and surprised, ¡°It¡¯s so late, why are you here?¡± The young master did not reply. In the past half a month, his good manners were constantly challenged. Unfortunately, most of the time it was not easy to simply lose his temper with her. His long-term repression made his anger surge to its peak at this moment, because this woman was always pushing him to his limit, either intentionally or unintentionally. Lei Lei quickly understood and nodded repeatedly, ¡°Right away, I¡¯ll give way to you right away.¡± The young master gritted his teeth, ¡°You, get up!¡± Hey, his reaction was still so calm after seeing a girl bathing. Were the men so open minded here, or was this scene too lacking in shock and allure? Lei Lei looked down at her body then looked up at him again. She blinked awkwardly, ¡°That¡­ wouldn¡¯t be good?¡± The young master took no notice, ¡°You¡¯re still not getting up?!¡± Lei Lei suddenly felt defeated and helplessly said, ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll get up. Can you first¡­¡± Seeing her dawdling, the young master finally could not help raising his voice, ¡°Get up!¡± Lei Lei was speechless. It turned out that the young master was slightly obsessed with cleanliness. At this moment, seeing his personal private bath being occupied by someone else, how could he not be annoyed? He did not consider the gravity of his order at all. Lei Lei was also a little annoyed. There was no sign up there to clearly state who could use it so how could she know it was his? Forget about coming here out of nowhere to peep at her, but he was actually forcing her to get out of the water in front of him? Hmph, if you really want me to get up, then so be it. Either way, this body isn¡¯t mine, but I¡¯m afraid you can¡¯t take it big brother! Thinking of ¡°Xiao Bai¡± blushing, she simply lifted her face maliciously. She raised an eyebrow at him, ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯ll get up, I¡¯ll get up!¡± After saying this, she really stood up slowly up from the water. Her jade neck. Scented shoulders. Chest! With the beauty coming out of the bath, a spring-like scenery gradually unfolded in front of his eyes. The young master finally realised something was wrong. Sure enough, his handsome face started to turn red again as he hastily averted his gaze. He had difficulty maintaining his composure, ¡°No¡­ You¡­ Get down!¡± Lei Lei felt quite cheerful and asked deliberately, ¡°No need to get up?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The young master really did not know what to do. In his impression, this kind of behaviour could only be carried out by a witch of the Qian Yue Cave. Facing them, he did not need to show mercy and usually killed them all with a single strike. However, this woman was not malicious at all and he really could not figure it out. How could a decent girl be so thick-skinned? Actually flirting with a man! Lei Lei also knew that she could not go overboard with her playing, so she sank back down into the water with a splash, ¡°Alright, alright, you go out and wait first, I¡¯ll get up and give way to you!¡± As if he needed her reminder. The young master had already turned sideways to leave when he unthinkingly glanced out of the corner of his eye and immediately froze in place. His expression was surprised at first, then he looked at her in deep thought. Seeing him suddenly become bold, Lei Lei was baffled. For a long while, the young master stared straight at her, his expression becoming more and more complicated. His line of sight seemed to stop below her neck¡­ Lei Lei was vigilant and coughed immediately, then covered her chest and sank deeper into the water. No way, had ¡°Xiao Bai¡± really turned into a pervert? Since the spring-like scenery disappeared, the young master regained his composure and also understood that his behaviour just now was too disrespectful. His face reddened and he wanted to explain, ¡°Actually¡­ I wasn¡¯t¡­¡± Playing was playing, but no matter how good Lei Lei¡¯s mentality was to be able to force herself through a scenario, he had been staring at her for so long that she could not help but feel her heartbeat quicken. She looked at him innocently ¡ª did he think this was a good time to explain? Realising that he was only making matters worse, the young master did not say anything else and turned around to leave. The sound of his footsteps disappeared. He was gone? Lei Lei probed, ¡°Hey, Xiao Bai?¡± After a while, a sentence floated over from behind a rock, ¡°Are you still not getting up?¡± A beautiful woman bathing was accidentally seen by a man. This plot was really cliche and it was becoming more and more of a landmine! Understanding this, Lei Lei quickly went ashore and put on her clothes. She picked up the lamp and walked around the rock. She saw the young master standing silently under the moonlight, maintaining a straight and upright posture out of habit, standing very dignified. He was aloof as though in a painting, slightly lonely but never dispirited. This was what it meant to stand upright like a pine tree, this temperament! Maintaining his bearing at any time and any place, how much training did it take for a person to reach this state? No wonder he had developed a rigid temperament. Lei Lei was unable to learn poise like that all her life so she was secretly envious. She went over and pushed him hard. The young master really did not move at all. He looked at her suspiciously. Lei Lei pushed again. The young master could not help but ask, ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lei Lei gave up trying and suppressed a laugh, ¡°Your posture is too perfect, I was trying to see if I could push you down.¡± She deliberately emphasised the words ¡°push you down¡±. Under the lamplight, his face which had finally returned to normal reddened yet again. The young master left without saying a word. Lei Lei became addicted to teasing him and she cheerfully chased after him, ¡°Hey, aren¡¯t you going in to take a bath?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He was obviously a shy young man, what was he pretending to be sophisticated for? When Lei Lei came with the strong intention to tease him, practically ordering him, ¡°Come, give me a smile,¡± the young master simply turned a deaf ear as was his specialty and dully walked straight onward. Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade was renowned all over the world and it was not unusual for him to meet a girl who worshipped him, but who dared to make fun of him like this?! Finally, he stopped in his tracks, ¡°We¡¯ve arrived.¡± Only then did Lei Lei realise she was standing outside the door to her room. She was filled with regret, ¡°So fast!¡± The young master¡¯s mouth twitched. With a handsome man beside her, Lei Lei did not feel sleepy at all and scrambled for something to say, ¡°The Mid-Autumn Festival is here, the moon is really round¡­¡± It suddenly occurred to her that talking about the moon and stars to this person was foolish, so she stopped immediately. Disappointedly, she said, ¡°Then, I¡¯ll head to bed first.¡± She turned to enter the door. The young master suddenly called after her, ¡°You.¡± Lei Lei already had a foot through the door. Hearing the handsome man call, she immediately retracted her foot, ¡°What is it?¡± The young master hesitated for a long while, then said, ¡°Why would you¡­¡± He paused. Lei Lei was surprised, ¡°Would I what?¡± The young master did not answer and looked at her for a while. Suddenly, he asked, ¡°Have you really lost your memory?¡± Hey, could it be that ¡°Xiao Bai¡± had already begun to suspect that she was making up lies to survive? Lei Lei was on guard and showed a sincere expression that even she could not believe of herself, ¡°It¡¯s true, I really didn¡¯t lie to you. I don¡¯t even know who I am. Lei Lei is just a name I casually thought of. As soon as I find out my identity, I¡¯ll leave right away.¡± There was even more hesitation on his handsome face. The young master quickly looked away, ¡°No need, you can stay here in peace.¡± He paused, ¡°Don¡¯t go out alone at night.¡± After he said this, he stopped looking at her and left. It was rare for ¡°Xiao Bai¡± to express concern. Lei Lei felt pleased with herself. She watched his figure disappear and was about to go back into her room to rest. Unexpectedly, she felt a sudden chill at the back of her head and immediately afterwards, her vision began to blur. She did not know how many hands were holding onto her. There was a man¡¯s voice in her ear, ¡°Quickly!¡± Her consciousness slowly faded away. Before she passed out completely, the last thought in Lei Lei¡¯s mind was this ¡ª My god, I just casually made up a story about being hunted down, but now I¡¯m really being targeted! CH 8.1 It was quiet, terribly quiet. When she opened her eyes, everything was white. Lei Lei was so frightened that she turned over and sat up immediately. Looking around, she saw many soft white gauze fabric sheets hanging from above her head, like a curtain. She was unsure how heavy they were. Light shone dimly through them. There was nothing else to see. She could not even distinguish between day and night. Why was it like a mortuary? Had she been murdered? Her hair stood up one by one. Just as Lei Lei was being terrified, suddenly, a gust of cold wind blew and the surrounding gauze moved in response. They fluttered soundlessly with vague shadows in between them. It was particularly ghastly. Unlike the usual cool autumn breeze, the wind carried an icy coldness which pricked the skin and caused dull pain. The chill penetrated bone deep. Lei Lei felt her entire body going numb from the cold. Opening her mouth, she exhaled white steam. It was like being in a big freezer. She almost suspected that this place was the legendary underworld. Has she really become a ghost? Lei Lei managed to stay calm. She rubbed her legs and stood up with some difficulty. She moved her hands and feet. After feeling a bit better, she began to analyse the current situation in detail. She really did not believe there were any ghosts in this world. Looking up over her head, she saw rocks looming above. This was probably a cave in a mountain. Light came in from the right and the wind was blowing from there too. There must be an opening. She had no time to think about why those people left her here. Lei Lei made up her mind to leave first, so she decisively walked in the direction of the light. Opening the heavy curtains, the light became brighter and the wind grew colder and colder. The sound of water could also be faintly heard. Finally, the scene in front of her opened up. Translucent moonlight flooded the night sky and the surrounding scenery was extremely clear. There were mountains in the distance. Under the moonlight, Lei Lei was a little confused. However, strong feelings of hunger in her stomach proved one thing. The moon was definitely not the same as the one before she had fainted. It should be the 15th of August now, mid-autumn night. Water was splashing, there should be a deep ravine ahead where the coldness was coming from.On the other side, there was a large valley shining with silver light. Its colour was completely different from the surrounding mountains and it was very strange and beautiful. Here, there was a high platform with white marble railing. On the right, there was a flight of stone steps leading downward. A raging fire burned in stone cauldrons on either side and the flames danced wildly in the wind. She did not feel any excitement from having escaped death because Lei Lei saw two people. One was standing and the other was kneeling. Her eyes were naturally attracted to the person who was standing. His white robes fluttered in the wind, almost colourless like the peak of a snowy mountain without a single speck of dust. In an instant, the moon above her head was eclipsed as he made people think that he should be the full moon aloft, shining brightly. Part of his black hair hung down like rich ink flowing from his shoulders. The light from the fire and moon reflected on his perfect side profile face. The corners of his lips were slightly raised with a warm smile that did not match his temperament. This smile made him look less ethereal and illusory, actually making him seem slightly corporeal. He did not seem to notice Lei Lei and only looked at the woman kneeling in front of him as he kept his hands behind his back, ¡°Did I allow you to kneel?¡± The woman trembled as she stood up from the ground, ¡°My Lord¡­¡± He smiled faintly, ¡°Neglecting to follow orders and acting of your own accord, what should I do to make you remember better?¡± Glowing in the firelight, his handsome half face was lifelessly pale. The woman took a step back in fear. She wanted to retreat further, but found that her soles were firmly fixed to the ground and she nearly fell ¡ª she did not dare to retreat anymore. Even more so, she dared not to commit suicide because doing so would only make the consequences more severe and her fate would be worse. He turned around. Finally, his entire face was clearly visible. His eyebrows, eyes, the bridge of his nose¡­ He was practically more beautiful than a woman! It if were not for his tall and slender figure, Lei Lei would have thought that he was a woman. Devil! Definitely a devil! Yet, his warm smile made this devil seem to not be a devil. Lei Lei knew that this person must have already noticed her, but he still did not look at her as if treating her like a lifeless decoration. His beautiful eyes only narrowed at the woman beside him. He sighed, ¡°It¡¯s better if you do it yourself.¡± The woman gritted her teeth. Suddenly, she grasped her left wrist with her right hand. Then a crack sounded and her beautiful left hand was folded from the wrist, just like the Transformers toys she had played with when she was a child. It was folded into an extremely strange, impossible angle where the back of her hand lay flat against her arm. What was she doing?! Lei Lei clenched her teeth tightly in fright, resisting the urge to cry out. In the cold wind, the woman¡¯s voice trembled, ¡°My Lord¡­¡± There was no surprise in his expression. He smiled and shook his head, ¡°Not enough.¡± As soon as he spoke, he lifted his left hand. Watching that beautiful hand stretch out towards her, the expression on the woman¡¯s face turned from pain to despair. She did not beg for mercy, because she knew it would be useless and she did not have the courage to escape. His movement was as graceful as if he was picking flowers. Natural, casual. He smiled and bent his fingers, plucking out an eyeball from that beautiful left eye. The woman grunted miserably, but still managed not to faint. On this half of her face, she originally had a shining, large, black eye but now it was a bloody hole. The blood kept pouring out like a line of tears that slid down her face. Beauty met with ugliness and it made that half of her face look especially eerie. ¡°Go.¡± ¡°Thank you, My Lord.¡± The woman seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She turned around and walked unsteadily along the stone steps on the right towards the platform, then disappeared into the shadows. As for the beautiful man who was bright like the moon and had a warm smile, he was looking at his two blood-covered fingers with great interest, with an eyeball on his fingertips that was black, red, and white. Lei Lei suddenly became dizzy and her empty stomach began to convulse. She could not help but turn around nauseously. ¡°You still came back?¡± His voice was as friendly as his smile, greeting her like a caring relative. Lei Lei was terrified as she looked up at him. The man was still standing in the same position, wiping his fingers carefully with a clean white handkerchief with extreme elegance. He did not look at her. Soon, those two fingers were clean again. With a wave of his hand, the blood-stained handkerchief floated down to the bottom of the stream. Then he turned his gaze on her. With a smile over his face, he strolled leisurely over to her. His demeanour was dazzling and his pace was calm. His bearing was so self-satisfied. His clothes were blown up by the wind and he looked like a celestial being riding the wind, or like a poet walking on the moon, or like a noble wealthy son wandering freely. It was impossible to imagine what he just did. CH 8.2 In an instant, Lei Lei thought of the young master. The young master who was upright and despised evil, but had a devilish smile. However, the terrifying man in front of her grabbed people¡¯s eyes easily, but had a gentle and refined smile as warm as the spring sun. She felt chills all over and could not even move her feet. Lei Lei watched helplessly as he walked up to her and slowly reached out to caress her face. Stroking freely, his clean and slender fingers looked very beautiful up close, carved like jade. It was very windy here and the air was chilly. Her face was already cold to begin with, but his fingers were even colder than her face. She could feel them vaguely and a faint smell of blood wafted from his fingertips. Finally, he lifted her chin, ¡°Since you¡¯ve returned, why are you unhappy?¡± His voice was gentle and she could not hear even the slightest bit of malice. If he had not seen what he did with her own eyes, Lei Lei would definitely have a good impression about him. At this moment, she was forced to look directly at his beautiful face, so she felt goosebumps all over her body, ¡°Who are you?¡± He froze for a moment, then smiled faintly, ¡°You¡¯re already being unfamiliar with me so quickly?¡± Lei Lei forced a stiff smile back, ¡°I fell off a cliff, I don¡¯t remember anything.¡± She glanced at his two fingers, ¡°You¡­ Why did you want to harm me?¡± He looked at her silently. Lei Lei calmed down a bit, then asked again, ¡°You know me?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± he said softly, ¡°Of course I do, how could I not?¡± ¡°Where is this place?¡± ¡°Qian Yue Cave.¡± Qian Yue Cave! Stimulated by these three words, Lei Lei immediately had an idea and blurted out, ¡°I want to see Shang Guan Qiu Yue!¡± Smiling slightly, he let her go. Lei Lei breathed a sigh of relief. This was really the demonic cult, it had such cruel punishments. Since he knew her, why was he saying ¡°you¡¯ve come back¡±, it seemed like this ¡°Chun Hua¡± was really from the Qian Yue Cave, and maybe she really had something to do with Shang Guan Qiu Yue! Seeing this person did not intend to make a move, she became more sure of her guess and asked probingly, ¡°Do you know who I am?¡± ¡°Lei Lei is just your pseudonym.¡± ¡°Yes, I am Shang Guan Chun Hua.¡± He was not the slightest bit surprised or astonished and looked at her quietly, not overlooking even the slight change in expression. She was standing before her alive, there was no mistake for sure, but there was indeed something off. How could she not know him? Lei Lei became even more certain. She did not beat around the bush and mustered up her courage, ¡°Was it Shang Guan Qiu Yue who told you to bring me back?¡± He nodded. Lei Lei was confident and put on airs, ¡°Hurry up and take me to see her!¡± He suddenly laughed, ¡°Alright.¡± Lei Lei really wanted to leave this ghostly place. Thinking of that eyeball, she felt goosebumps all over her body and ehr heart skipped a beat, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He did not move. Lei Lei urged him, ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Go where?¡± ¡°Take me to see Shang Guan Qiu Yue.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already looking at him.¡± Already looking? Lei Lei was stunned and said in shock, ¡°You¡­ You¡¯re a man?¡± ¡°Do I look like a woman?¡± ¡°Why is Shang Guan Qiu Yue a man?¡± Her surprise replaced her fear. ¡°Who told you that Shang Guan Qiu Yue was a woman?¡± As he had successfully tricked her, he tilted his head and smiled pleasantly, ¡°What, you can¡¯t even recognise me?¡± The pampering in his smile was obvious, like an elder brother who indulged his younger sister. It made people feel warm and at ease. Lei Lei relaxed a bit and was not so scared anymore. Oh dear, there was a 90% that she was related to this devil! She muttered, ¡°I don¡¯t remember anything.¡± ¡°Then how did you know you were looking for me?¡± ¡°Because¡­ When will the endless cycle of spring flowers and autumn moon come to an end?¡± When will the endless cycle of spring flowers and autumn moon come to an end? He laughed, ¡°Right now, you know nothing else but have learnt to compose poetry. Who taught you to make fun of my name? Getting bolder and bolder.¡± ¡°Who¡­ Am I? ¡°Of course, you¡¯re my younger sister, Shang Guan Chun Hua.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue pinched her cheeks. No way, her name really was Chun Hua! Lei Lei was dumbfounded, half happy and half fearful. She was happy that she had such a handsome brother, but she was afraid that her brother was a cruel and merciless big devil. The bloody horror scene just then still made her feel lingering fear. However,now the man in front of her was looking at her jokingly. He really was a gentle brother who doted on his younger sister. There was no way anyone could connect him with that kind of cruelty. Seeing that she did not respond, Shang Guan Qiu Yue showed a slight dissatisfaction and there was resentment in his tone, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you can¡¯t remember others, but how can you really forget your own elder brother?¡± Lei Lei became vigilant and took a step back, ¡°How do I know if you¡¯re lying to me or not?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue shook his head, sighing with remorse, ¡°If I had known it would have caused you to become like this, then I wouldn¡¯t have let you do things as you wished with your temperament.¡± Lei Lei was surprised, ¡°Do things?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue said, ¡°To go to Bai Sheng Shan Village with that girl from the Hua family. You rarely wander around the world of martial arts, but you insisted on going this time, saying you wanted to retrieve the cultivation method of the Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade for me¡­¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Lei Lei interrupted him in surprise, ¡°Since I was the dowry maid, there must have been many people who met me. Why has no one recognised me until now?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue was also surprised, ¡°Aren¡¯t you the most proficient in disguises? At that time, we planned to have you disguise yourself as the maid and sneak into the Hua family¡¯s wedding procession.¡± Lei Lei finally understood all the details of the matter. No wonder why the loyal maid killed her mistress. It turned out that the real maid had already been replaced by Shang Guan Chun Hua halfway through! ¡°Later, that girl from the Hua family was burned to death for no reason and you could not be found. I thought you betrayed me, until recently I heard you returned and even changed your name¡­¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue felt a little guilty and reached out to tidy her hair, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you. You¡¯re the most obedient, why would you betray your elder brother?¡± No wonder, she had felt that his attitude towards her was unpleasant. It turned out he was doubting her. Lei Lei groaned secretly and at the same time, she was suspicious. There was nothing unusual in Bai Sheng Shan Village these days, which showed that Shang Guan Chun Hua had not gotten Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade cultivation method as she had wished. Then why had she killed that Hua family girl and escaped? Was this not a bad plan? Did she not want to help her elder brother? And then how could she actually have fallen to death off a cliff? Or was it not her doing these things, but someone behind her? She defended herself, ¡°I really¡­¡± ¡°I know, you really can¡¯t remember, otherwise how could you not even recognise me?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue smiled faintly, ¡°Elder Brother always loves you the most and you¡¯re so sensible. How could you betray Elder Brother? Who harmed you?¡± Lei Lei looked at him, ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue raised his eyebrows. Suddenly, he raised his hand and before she could react, there was a tearing sound and a large part of the fabric on the front of her chest was torn open. Lei Lei covered her chest in fright and retreated, ¡°What are you doing?!¡± This was not something an elder brother should do! Shang Guan Qiu Yue smiled and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t you still suspecting that I lied to you? You¡¯ve had a red birthmark since you were a child, shaped like a flower bud. That¡¯s why you were named Chun Hua. If you don¡¯t believe me, see for yourself.¡± He was not simple, as expected from a devil, he could even understand other people¡¯s thoughts so clearly! Lei Lei had no choice but to believe it now. In fact, she had seen that mark many times when bathing. It was about the size of a fingernail, brightly coloured. It was also located in a special place under her shoulder on her left breast. Apart from a biological brother who grew up together with her, who else could have seen such a secret place on a girl¡¯s body?! ¡°Is it believable now?¡± Lei Lei gave a ¡°mhmm¡± and complained while arranging her clothes, ¡°Just say it, why tear my clothes?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m your elder brother, what¡¯s there to be afraid of?¡± Even my elder brother can¡¯t see my chest, you really have quite the personality! Lei Lei was depressed. Now, she really had become a witch of the demonic cult, why?! Why was the handsome man her elder brother?! She suddenly remembered the horrible scene earlier and she had another bout of chills. She was secretly grateful, if this person was not her elder brother, it was likely he would already have dealt with her. Fortunately, this devil still loved his younger sister! ¡°Do I have martial arts skills?¡± ¡°You originally had a little, but it¡¯s alright if it¡¯s gone,¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue took her hand and walked down the stone steps to the platform, ¡°What are you afraid of? Elder Brother is here. It¡¯s good that you¡¯ve returned safe and sound. When you recover your memory and remember who harmed you, I¡¯ll kill him.¡± The word ¡°kill¡± was spoken lightly as if it was something done by others and had nothing to do with him. Lei Lei immediately thought of the saying ¡°face of an angel, heart of the devil¡±, and she said deliberately, ¡°You¡­ Do you often gouge out other people¡¯s eyes?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue was surprised, ¡°Were you scared? Didn¡¯t you do this often too?¡± Damn, often? After all this, Shang Guan Chun Hua was also a little devil! Lei Lei trembled and involuntarily moved her fingers. She imagined how it would be, dripping with blood and holding someone¡¯s eyeball. Her empty stomach churned again. ¡°If you¡¯re afraid, Elder Brother won¡¯t do these things in front of you from now on,¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue pulled her and continued to walk down, ¡°Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. We¡¯ve finally been reunited as brother and sister. Let¡¯s eat some mooncakes, and then have a good night¡¯s sleep.¡± Lei Lei remained silent. She really should sleep well, and hope that this was just a dream. CH 9.1 When she woke up, she saw the white gauze again. Lei Lei felt as if the sky had come crashing down. Great, she really had become a murderous little devil. If that ¡°Xiao Bai¡± who abhorred evil knew she was a witch from Qian Yue Cave, he would probably kill her with a single strike. ¡°Xiao Bai¡± should have found out that she had suddenly disappeared without a reason. Did he know that it was Qian Yue Cave who did it? Let¡¯s just hang out with my handsome elder brother first. She jumped down from the bed, ¡°Brother¡ª¡± Hearing her movements, two women dressed in white came through the door. They were holding new clothes in their hands. With a smile, they said, ¡°My Lord went out early to conduct business. Since Young Mistress has woken up, why not change clothes first and have something to eat before heading over?¡± After changing her clothes, Lei Lei slurped the congee messily. She glanced at the two of them occasionally. Suddenly, she put down her spoon, ¡°Who are you two?¡± The two maids looked at each other. The older one smiled and said, ¡°Her name is Yin Huan, my name is Su Lian. We usually serve Young Mistress. Does Young Mistress really not recognise us?¡± Lei Lei observed their expressions carefully, ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡± Su Lian was very clever, ¡°It¡¯s good that Young Mistress has returned. My Lord loves you the most and will definitely avenge you.¡± Avenge? Lei Lei felt chills, ¡°Did I often gouge out people¡¯s eyes?¡± The two maids faltered, ¡°This¡­¡± Lei Lei was about to ask again when suddenly, someone outside said, ¡°Star Minister!¡± Star Minister? As she was wondering, a man in his thirties walked in quickly. He was a bit tall with dark skin and was lean-faced. His expression was somewhat dignified. ¡°This subordinate is Gu Wan. My lord is at the Yue Hua Terrace and has asked this subordinate to bring Young Mistress there.¡± This Gu Wan was reticent and taciturn. Along the way, Lei Lei asked him about this and that, but the result was only a few plain and polite formulaic answers. Losing interest, she stopped asking anymore questions. A flight of winding stone steps led the way up. There was a faint sound of water and there was that bone-chilling coldness in the wind again, as though she was standing in front of a big freezer. Lei Lei recognised it as the high platform from the previous night. Soon, the two of them reached the terrace. The sunlight was soft overhead and the cold air rushing towards Lei Lei made her tremble. She took a look and finally understood why. On the other side of the deep stream, there was a fairly large valley of ice. It was all white and reflected the sunlight, and was slightly dazzling. So that was the thing shining with silver light under the moonlight last night! Shang Guan Qiu Yue was dressed in white. Standing at the railing, his coldness made him seem like a piece of mysterious ice. The gentle brother from last night had disappeared. At this moment, he was the dignified and lofty leader of Qian Yue Cave. Lei Lei suddenly flinched a little and halted unmovingly. Gu Wan went forward, ¡°My Lord, Young Mistress has been brought over.¡± As he spoke, Shang Guan Qiu Yue turned around. His faint smile bloomed instantly and it was extremely cordial. The scenery around him immediately filled with vitality and the sunlight up above felt much warmer. Lei Lei immediately felt less cold. He waved to her, ¡°Have you eaten?¡± It was not a loss to have a handsome brother. Being cared for at first glance, Lei Lei was no longer afraid and walked over, ¡°Mhmm.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue looked at Gu Wan with a smile, ¡°Gu Wan is my subordinate, the Star Minister of Qian Yue Cave. He personally brought you back from Bai Sheng Shan Village.¡± Lei Lei hurriedly said, ¡°Thank you Star Minister Gu.¡± Gu Wan bowed, ¡°This subordinate was only following orders.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue nodded, and he retreated knowingly. ¡°Did you sleep well last night?¡± ¡°Pretty well.¡± She had lost all the people close to her in an earthquake and now suddenly, there was someone giving her thoughtful attention and comfort. Lei Lei felt warm. So what if he was the devil? It¡¯s fine if he¡¯s good to me. She tugged at his clothes, ¡°Brother, are you cold?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue was taken aback slightly, then laughed, ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected you¡¯d be more sensible now, knowing how to care about Elder Brother.¡± Lei Lei looked at his face that could be considered the devil. Her eyes shone, ¡°I have a birthmark, so I¡¯m called Chun Hua. Your name is Qiu Yue, so do you have a birthmark too?¡± ¡°Why, do you want Elder Brother to take it off for you to see?¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Seeing her nod repeatedly, Shang Guan Qiu Yue was speechless and reproached her softly, ¡°Shameless girl!¡± ¡°What are you afraid of, I¡¯m your younger sister,¡± Lei Lei finally knew the benefits of having the title of younger sister. Very excitedly, she began untying his clothes, ¡°Take it off and show me!¡± Her handsome elder brother was such a devil, he must have a good physique. Although she was very conscious to not ***, it was okay to indulge in a little pleasure. The so-called *** was easy to avoid, but it was hard to prevent obscene desires! Shang Guan Qiu Yue did not stop her. Lei Lei was just a paper tiger claiming to be bold when she really was not. Seeing him like this, she could not pretend anymore. She looked around and stopped, ¡°Never mind, in case someone comes and sees.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue smiled, ¡°What are you afraid of? We¡¯re siblings.¡± He was open-minded enough and not as old-fashioned as ¡°Xiao Bai¡±. Lei Lei thought it was very good to get along with this elder brother, ¡°Did you marry a sister-in-law?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue took her into his arms and said affectionately, ¡°To have you is enough for Elder Brother, why have anyone else?¡± Elder Brother was so forward thinking! Lei Lei was taken aback and quickly comforted herself. No, no, she must have misunderstood, ¡°If you say that, it might frighten others if they hear¡­¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue frowned slightly and interrupted her, ¡°We can just do what we want, no need to care about others.¡± Walking your own path and letting others talk, this devil from the ancient times actually had a style like Dante! It was not good for Lei Lei to take off his clothes in front of others. This man was unconventional. Although her body was his younger sister¡¯s, she herself was not! ¡°Xiao Bai has discovered one of our branches.¡± ¡°Xiao Bai?¡± Lei Lei finally came back to her senses and was nervous, ¡°He knows I¡¯m in Qian Yue Cave?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue looked at her, ¡°He treated you well?¡± Lei Lei shook her head, ¡°We can¡¯t even be considered friends. Someone disappeared in Bai Sheng Shan Village, so of course he would take responsibility to find them. But he was¡­ quite nice.¡± ¡°Quite nice?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue became serious, ¡°Do you know how many of our people he¡¯s killed over the years?¡± Lei Lei already knew about ¡°Xiao Bai¡±¡¯s abhorrence for evil. She asked quickly, ¡°How many?¡± ¡°632.¡± Oh dear, an executioner who took over 600 lives! Lei Lei was shocked, ¡°That¡­¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue took her hand, ¡°So as long as Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade exists, we would not have peaceful days. Elder Brother loves you so much, are you willing to help Elder Brother one more time?¡± That Chun Hua had enjoyed the love from this handsome elder brother. Now that he needed business to be done, it was her turn. What a harsh fate. Lei Lei sighed, ¡°How can I help?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue narrowed his eyes, ¡°You¡¯ve been with him for many days but he didn¡¯t recognise you.¡± Lei Lei thought for a while, ¡°Probably not.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue said, ¡°Now that you have no martial arts skills, he won¡¯t doubt you.¡± It turned out that he had already decided. Lei Lei guessed, ¡°You want me to go back with him, then find an opportunity to steal Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade¡¯s cultivation method?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue laughed and praised, ¡°Clever.¡± Lei Lei smiled but in her heart, she was at a loss for what to do. How would Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade¡¯s cultivation method be so easily obtained? If she was discovered by ¡°Xiao Bai¡±, he would end her in a second with his knife. Moreover, no matter how obsessed she was with handsome men and how disinterested she was about what was right and what was evil, she could still distinguish between the good guy and the bad guy. In general, ¡°Xiao Bai¡± behaved decently and was wholly unmovable. The beautiful brother was harmful to the world of martial arts, but he was good to her. If she possessed his younger sister¡¯s body and betrayed him, it would be too cruel! ¡°Why, you don¡¯t want to harm him?¡± Having been seen through her thoughts, Lei Lei was startled. She knew she could not fool this person so it would be better to be honest, ¡°Actually, don¡¯t you think our methods of doing things are too¡­ that?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue looked at her, ¡°Elder Brother is the bad person, and he¡¯s the good person?¡± Lei Lei pretended to smile innocently. Taking advantage of the situation, she hugged him and acted like a spoiled child, ¡°They¡¯re not bad people either, we don¡¯t necessarily have to fight them.¡± The handsome brother smelled so nice. Shang Guan Qiu Yue sighed and lifted up her face, ¡°Stupid, the demonic cult and the righteous way have always been at odds with each other. When they meet us, they also kill without reason no matter what. Elder Brother has already been designated a reputation with the demonic cult. Even if we don¡¯t act against them, they won¡¯t let me go. You¡¯re my younger sister. If Xiao Bai knew about your identity, do you think he¡¯ll show mercy?¡± Lei Lei only cared about rubbing against him. Shang Guan Qiu Yue was unaware of her perverted thoughts. He hugged her and thought for a while, ¡°It¡¯s indeed a little risky, it doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t want to go.¡± He obviously wanted to use her but he willingly said this now which showed he still cared about his younger sister. Lei Lei secretly calculated. Although the handsome brother treated her well, his methods of action were horrific and she did not feel at ease staying with him. Although she liked handsome men, she would not joke with her life for the sake of handsome men. It would be better to go back to ¡°Xiao Bai¡¯ and hang out with him. As for the task, she would drag it out and say ¡°Xiao Bai¡± was guarding it too heavily. The beautiful brother would not really do anything to her. So she raised her face, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll try.¡± She did not guarantee she would steal it. Shang Guan Qiu Yue smiled, ¡°What a good younger sister indeed.¡± He touched her face, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Elder Brother will help you in secret and won¡¯t let him harm a single hair of yours.¡± If you don¡¯t reveal my identity, ¡°Xiao Bai¡± will definitely not harm me. The one I¡¯m afraid of is you! Lei Lei was eager to leave, ¡°I¡¯ll leave now.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue shook his head, ¡°Xiao Bai is not that stupid. We need to plan well and have him take you back.¡± Lei Lei nodded and thought of something else, ¡°Have you heard of the longevity fruit?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue said, ¡°Of course I know. You don¡¯t have to worry about it, Elder Brother will naturally arrange things and never allow it to fall into the hands of He Tai Ping and the others. It¡¯s said that if the longevity fruit is eaten before the age of 70 years, it would have the effect of retaining a youthful appearance and strengthening the body. Elder Brother had long been thinking of finding it for you.¡± Oh, the elder brother was actually searching for it only for the sake of his younger sister. Lei Lei was moved. CH 9.2 Several white lanterns lit up and floated in the treetops. Under the light from the lanterns and the moon, over 20 women in white clothing floated down and surrounded a group of young men. Dressed in blue and white robes with wide fluttering sleeves that flew in the wind, at this moment, he was no longer leisurely and calm as usual but exuded a menacing aura from his entire body. His expression was icy. In his hand was the famous Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade. The reputation of ¡°witches¡± was not derived from thin air. All the women were dressed in very thin clothing, practically nothing but a flimsy, fine gauze. Between the flashes of action, their beautiful bodies were faintly visible and they did not even wear an inner layer underneath. The young master turned a blind eye and sent forth palm strikes to attack the enemy. Although he was originally skilled in swordsmanship, there were many opponents. He would not fall behind, but it was difficult for him to momentarily rid himself of the entanglement. In a hidden place, two people watched the battle from afar. Lei Lei had lived in Qian Yue Cave for a few days and knew that those women were servants of Qian Yue Cave. Was ¡°Xiao Bai¡± not abhorrent of evil? Why did he not use his sword to deal with those ¡°witches¡±? As she was wondering this, Shang Guan Qiu Yue smiled and told her the answer, ¡°It¡¯s because father, Xiao Yuan, had a final wish that the Phoenix Crying Blade would not kill women.¡± This beautiful elder brother was too scary and could guess even the slightest things others were thinking. If he found out she was not his younger sister¡­ Returning to Xiao Bai¡¯s side was the right choice! Lei lei shivered. She carefully put away her emotions and continued to watch the battle. Shortly after, the younger master was already impatient. He waved his palm to push away the women who were close to him and said coldly, ¡°If you don¡¯t get out of the way, don¡¯t blame me for being ruthless!¡± The women did not answer and just fought on. Even though their swordsmanship was not very good, they all stuck to a strict formation and firmly trapped the young master who was unable to extricate himself from them. It was a fight of swords against palm techniques. The young master knew it was difficult to win and that he needed to break the formation and charge out. So he saw an opportunity and struck out with his palm. Seeing that a woman on the right was about to collide into his hand, he was unable to dodge it at all. Unexpectedly at this moment, the woman smiled charmingly and moved her body slightly, pushing out her chest. His handsome face reddened slightly and the young master withdrew his palm immediately. In an instant, his chance to escape was lost and he was surrounded again. Lei Lei laughed when she saw this. He was a gentleman, truly an honest gentleman who could be taken advantage of. Shang Guan Qiu Yue laughed, ¡°What a righteous person, interesting!¡± Evil Elder Brother, the subordinates you taught are really evil! Lei Lei glanced at him and was about to speak when the young master suddenly smiled coldly. A silver light flashed and there was a miserable wail. Lei Lei immediately turned her gaze back and saw that of the 20 or so women, more than a dozen had fallen to the ground and were clutching at their severed right hand. Their beautiful faces were severely distorted in pain and most of them had passed out on the spot. The remaining ten or so who were not injured all looked in horror at the man with the sword, somewhat overwhelmed. With the formation broken, the young master slowly resheathed his knife. He was incredibly elegant and imposing. ¡°The Phoenix Crying Blade will not be used to kill women, but there¡¯s nothing saying it can¡¯t cut off the hands of demon women,¡± he said lightly. Too merciless! Lei Lei did not dare to continue watching this frightening and bloody scene. Turning her face away, she desperately pulled Shang Guan Qiu Yue beside her. Elder Brother, if we don¡¯t go out soon, all the beauties under your command will turn into Venus! ¡°Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade, really did not disappoint.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue¡¯s expression did not change and he lowered his head with a smile, ¡°Elder Brother is going to bring you out, don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Overhead, a shadow passed silently and inconceivably slowly. Under the half moon, a ribbon fluttered like an immortal flying from afar. Two white silhouettes settled on a tall boulder. The young master remained calm and motionless. Lei Lei immediately put on an expression that a kidnapped person should have and exclaimed, ¡°Xiao Bai!¡± The young master immediately looked up, ¡°You¡­¡± Suddenly seeing the man in white beside her, he recalled how his father had been poisoned by this person. When enemies come face to face, their eyes blazed with hatred. He could not help but grit his teeth, ¡°Shang Guan Qiu Yue.¡± The women on the side quickly picked up the injured and retreated. Shang Guan Qiu Ye smiled and said, ¡°Master Xiao is safe and sound.¡± The young master said. ¡°Conditions?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue remained silent and raised his hand to caress Lei Lei¡¯s neck. Lei Lei seized the opportunity to show her acting skills and struggled, ¡°Xiao Bai, don¡¯t worry about me! Kill this devil quickly and avenge the old master!¡± ¡°Really want him to kill Elder Brother?¡± There was a very low laugh in her ears. ¡°Will he be fooled if we don¡¯t put on a show? Do you think he¡¯s an idiot?¡± Lei Lei glared at him and raised her voice, ¡°Xiao Bai, hurry up and kill him, get rid of evil for the citizens. Don¡¯t worry about me!¡± Of course, the young master would not ignore her. He snapped sternly, ¡°Shang Guan Qiu Yue, what exactly do you want?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue looked at Lei Lei with interest, ¡°Phoenix Crying Blade.¡± Lei Lei was dumbfounded when she heard the conditions. Hey, even if the show needed to be believable, there was no need to ask for such a difficult condition. What was the Phoenix Crying Blade? It was the family¡¯s famous ancestral sword! Who was she, she was not related to him at all so how could he be willing to exchange that thing? If he refused and simply took his sword and attacked directly, would their plan not be foiled? ¡°Xiaobai¡± seemed to be someone who could not be bargained with. She had no choice but to stare at Shang Guan Qiu Yue desperately. Elder Brother, lower the conditions a little! Shang Guan Qiu Yue smiled and repeated, ¡°Leave the Phoenix Crying Blade behind.¡± The handsome elder brother was firm with his words and refused to lower the conditions. Lei Lei began to regret acting too realistically. In desperation, she had no choice but to pin her hopes on the young master. Do not be so stupid and actually be tricked into exchanging your precious sword, or I will be guilty. The young master was silent for a moment and said coldly, ¡°In the future, I will definitely kill you, you devil.¡± Placing the sword on the ground, he retreated. ¡°Xiao Bai¡± was so kind! I will never harm you! Lei Lei burst into tears. Shang Guan Qiu Yue raised his eyebrows, ¡°Are you thinking that he treats you well?¡± Having her thoughts seen through again, Lei Lei rolled her eyes. Handsome Elder Brother, you really are the devil, so despicable. Looking at his morality, it was not even just a level lower than ¡°Xiao Bai¡±¡¯s, but was inversely proportional to his beautiful appearance. Shang Guan Qiu Yue whispered, ¡°Silly girl, you can¡¯t be soft-hearted when dealing with the likes of him. If he knows who you are, you¡¯ll be in danger.¡± Well, there is a possibility of being slaughtered, Lei Lei thought silently. Shang Guan Qiu Yue sighed and ordered, ¡°When the time comes, Elder Brother will come find you. Remember to be careful.¡± At least you still knew how to care about your younger sister. Lei Lei felt a little comforted and was about to answer when Shang Guan Qiu Yue suddenly grabbed her by the back of her collar, then threw her lightly ¡ª As if she had lost weight, Lei Lei floated straight into the air like a kite being let loose to fly. ¡°Since Master Xiao came personally to retrieve someone, how could I not give face?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue laughed. Realising the feeling of flying through the clouds, Lei Lei was scared half to death and did not even have the strength to cry. Handsome Elder Brother, it¡¯s impressive just how much of a jerk you are. Expressing concern one moment, then turning your back and not taking me seriously. If ¡°Xiao Bai¡± did not come to rescue in time, then won¡¯t your younger sister, as in me, break my head from falling so high?! As she saw that she was about to hit the ground, a powerful hand reached out from the side and caught her precisely by the waist, then carried her for about two feet further before settling down. At the same time, a white shadow flew straight out of Shang Guan Qiu Yue¡¯s sleeve and took the Phoenix Crying Blade from the ground. Watching his ancestral sword falling into the hands of the enemy, the young master was not alarmed and simply smiled coldly, ¡°It¡¯s but a mere sword. Cave Leader Shang Guan really places too much emphasis on it, even your Duo Qing Veils have come out.¡± CH 10.1 The white veil was about a foot wide and made of an unknown material. It did not look like ordinary silk and its colour was like icy snow. Glittering in the moonlight, it was extraordinarily spectacular and beautiful and it was obviously a very soft and light thing. At this moment, under the control of a powerful internal energy, it seemed to have a life of its own. It stood straight, hard and sharp as a blade and just like its name, it was passionate. Since ancient times, many beautiful things had arisen from it but as long as you were not serious, you would inevitably be hurt by it. Handsome Elder Brother¡¯s weapon was also so beautiful! Lei Lei¡¯s jaw dropped open. Just as the Duo Qing Veil was about to wrap around the Phoenix Crying Blade on the ground, unexpectedly, the Phoenix Crying Blade flew up by itself and avoided the Duo Qing Veil. It soared through the sky towards the young master. Shang Guan Qiu Yue obviously had not expected it either, ¡°Ice silk!¡± It turned out that the Phoenix Crying Blade had a very thin and extremely tough silver thread attached to it. The young master retracted the sword into his hand, then without a word, his figure flashed and he swung the sword towards the Duo Qing Veil. Instantaneously, the Duo Qing Veil became soft and flexible like a meandering serpent. It wrapped around the Phoenix Crying Blade. This was exactly what the young master planned and the moment the veil wrapped around the sword, he immediately twisted the sword inwards. The Phoenix Crying Blade was originally cast from the finest cold iron from the seabed and could even slice through hair fluttering in the wind. It would inevitably slice through ordinary swords. However, the Duo Qing Veil was also unusually tenacious. Not only did it not break, there was instead a strange and very jarring sound of friction like two metals grating against each other. The young master was slightly startled, ¡°So it turns out that the Duo Qing Veil is woven from ice silk.¡± Ice silk was known to be the most flexible and when made into close-fitting clothes, it was invulnerable. It was a treasure that martial arts people dreamt of and back then, it was already rare for Xiao Yuan to have found one. How much was needed to weave such a long veil? It could be seen that this Duo Qing Veil could be regarded as the most valuable weapon in the world of martial arts today. With a ¡°chi¡± sound, Shang Guan Qiu Yue withdrew the veil and laughed, ¡°I¡¯ve long heard that the final form of the Xiao family¡¯s sword technique, ¡°Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Cry¡± is infinitely powerful. I¡¯d be much obliged to learn it, but the time for that has not yet come.¡± His figure soared up like the beautiful clouds floating in the sky. ¡°Wanting to leave?¡± With his great revenge yet to take place, how could the young master be willing to give up? He started to chase. Her elder brother was on one side, and ¡°Xiao Bai¡± was on the other. In the end, it would be bad if either side sustained losses. Lei Lei hurriedly grabbed him, ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t chase!¡± Seeing Shang Guan Qiu Yue leave while being pulled by the arm, the young master was anxious and angrily said, ¡°This devil is harming the world of martial arts. If he¡¯s not eliminated now, there¡¯ll be endless troubles ahead!¡± He threw her aside and wanted to leave again. Lei Lei was quick witted and simply opened her arms to pounce on him. She held him tight and looked up at him, blinking innocently with doe-like eyes. She looked at him pitifully, ¡°I¡¯m afraid to be alone.¡± After saying this, even she herself felt goosebumps all over. No, this line was too shocking and the situation compelled it! Suddenly, she saw the blood on the ground and immediately trembled again. She held onto the young master tighter. She was really a little scared¡­ The young master also found it wrong to leave her alone and seeing that it would be hard to catch up to the enemy, he helplessly said, ¡°Let go.¡± Lei Lei refused and buried her face into his chest, ¡°If you leave me here alone, what if the witches from Qian Yue Cave come back and kidnap me again?¡± Seeing that she was terribly frightened, the young master had no choice but to comfort her softly, ¡°I won¡¯t leave.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still the best.¡± Lei Lei rubbed against his chest reluctantly and let go. His handsome face blushed slightly. The young master glanced at her then withdrew his sword and sheathed it, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± The two of them walked along the mountain path in the faint silver light. Who could be in high spirits after being kidnapped? The young master paid attention to her for a long while then finally could not bear it, ¡°You¡­ Are you alright?¡± ¡°Me? I¡¯m fine, I¡¯m fine!¡± Lei Lei was in a good mood and changed the topic, ¡°Why can¡¯t your Phoenix Crying Blade kill women?¡± The young master relaxed and shook his head, ¡°It was my father¡¯s will, I don¡¯t know why.¡± Lei Lei deliberately said, ¡°So close, if you hadn¡¯t kept a trick up your sleeve, he would almost have snatched your precious sword!¡± The young master smiled coldly, ¡°How could it be so easy for the demonic cult to snatch away the Xiao family¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade? Shang Guan Qiu Yue simply wanted to deal with me. If the Phoenix Crying blade really fell into his hands today, it¡¯s likely neither you nor I could leave.¡± Lei Lei sighed, ¡°So you were already prepared, so clever!¡± Her handsome elder brother was even smarter. What he wanted was not the sword, so everything was as he had planned, allowing you to ¡°rescue¡± me. Look, he had managed to plant a spy by your side. However, it did not matter. ¡°Xiao Bai¡± performed well today so she definitely would not harm him. Should she just tell him the truth? This thought flashed in her mind but she immediately dismissed it. Shang Guan Qiu Yue did not treat his younger sister badly and it was too bad to betray him. Besides, this Shang Guan Chun Hua seemed to enjoy plucking out people¡¯s eyeballs so who knew how many lives she was accountable for. It was 99% certain that she killed ¡°Xiao Bai¡±¡¯s wife, the Young Miss Hua. Being involved in a murder case and with ¡°Xiao Bai¡± abhorring evil and being methodical in every word and action, would he believe the nonsense of being reincarnated into someone else¡¯s body and spare her? After calculating carefully for a long while, Lei Lei realised depressedly that it was best to continue pretending to have lost her memory. It really was a landmine even when it should not have been! Seeing that the two of them returned safely, everyone in Bai Sheng Shan Village was overjoyed. Butler Zhao also made an exception and allocated some extra money to the kitchen to let Aunt Hong cook a delicious meal and congratulate Lei Lei for surviving through a catastrophe. Lei Lei felt very warm. She spoke in detail about her ¡°misadventures¡± in Qian Yue Cave and how she was saved by the young master. Due to her exaggeration and embellishments, everyone listened with great interest. When it came to Shang Guan Qiu Yue¡¯s Duo Qing Veil, they were all speechless. ¡°The Duo Qing Veil is also a treasure of the martial arts world. It¡¯s made entirely from ice silk and it¡¯s comparable to your Young Master¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade. Shang Guan Qiu Yue has excellent martial arts skills¡­¡± Someone interrupted her, ¡°What does Shang Guan Qiu Yue look like?¡± Lei Lei thought for a while, ¡°Not bad.¡± The crowd was dissatisfied, ¡°He¡¯s probably extremely ugly, what do you mean not bad?!¡± Lei Lei felt sorry for her handsome elder brother, ¡°No, he¡¯s very good-looking.¡± ¡°Shang Guan Qiu Yue can be good-looking?¡± Someone smacked the table and challenged her, ¡°You mustn¡¯t have seen it clearly and are making it up!¡± Everyone laughed and all of them began to doubt the authenticity of the story, ¡°Girl, you must not have seen it clearly and now you¡¯re spouting nonsense deliberately.¡± Lei Lei was speechless. Handsome Elder Brother, you have done too many bad things. Everyone has a deep impression of your actions, like plucking out eyeballs, and with rumours flying around, your reputation only became worse and no one knows your natural beauty anymore. Someone urged her, ¡°What happened next?¡± Lei Lei rolled her eyes, ¡°Later, it ended in a draw and Shang Guan Qiu Yue left.¡± They all rolled their eyes back at her, ¡°Nonsense, Xiao¡¯s Xiao Phoenix Crying Blade is unparalleled in the world, how could it be a draw?!¡± Lei Lei said hurriedly, ¡°Of course, the most powerful move had not been used yet.¡± Everyone believed this and was proud, ¡°The last move hadn¡¯t even been made yet and the devil already got scared and ran away!¡± Lei Lei thought something did not sound right and tried to correct them, but no matter how much she emphasised, everyone firmly believed that it was their young master who drove Shang Guan Qiu Yue away. CH 10.2 Torn between the truth and misunderstanding, a few days passed by unknowingly until one day, several distinguished guests came to the village. The sunlight was soft and beautiful and there was the scent of osmanthus in the garden. The Chongyang Festival was approaching. It was rare to have such fine weather and with the arrival of several special guests, Bai Sheng Shan Village became very lively. ¡°Leader He is here!¡± ¡°Young Master Qin was still here just now, why has he disappeared?¡± ¡°Hurry and see, the new leader of Nan Hai Sect, Leng Sheng Yin, came too and brought his brother!¡± There were three guests sitting in a small pavilion not far away. Butler Zhao led a few respectable servants to stand in front of the steps. They were all radiant with a red glow on their faces, listening to the young master¡¯s orders. The rest of the servants could only watch from a distance. Everyone was discussing and looking excited. ¡°Where, where? Where¡¯s Leng Sheng Yin?¡± Lei Lei pushed everyone away. Seeing that her attention was solely on the new leader of Nan Hai Sect, Aunt Hong was surprised and pointed towards the pavilion, ¡°He¡¯s just sitting inside the pavilion!¡± The windows were open wide and low. A young man sat silently with a long sword across his knees. His icy face was still unchanged as ever. It really was that handsome assassin back then! Lei Lei was excited, ¡°Why is he here?¡± Next to her, Wang Cong said, ¡°Didn¡¯t someone from Nan Hai Sect try to assassinate the leader of Xi Sha Sect last time? Leader He spent a lot of effort to conciliate it. Now, it¡¯s likely he¡¯s afraid the two sects will cause trouble again so he brought them here.¡± With this remark, Lei Lei also nodded. Whether or not Leng Ying was killed by Xi Sha Sect was still under investigation. However, Xi Sha Sect¡¯s unique palm strike could be said to be conclusive evidence. It could be presumed that on that night in Jinjiang City, he must have been tempted to seek revenge for his father so he went alone to assassinate Wen Ting. Fortunately, Young Miss Wen helped in concealing it, otherwise for a dignified leader to attempt assassination, things would definitely escalate and be harder to fix. Then she wondered again, ¡°Who¡¯s that in the yellow outfit?¡± Aunt Hong laughed, ¡°Even him you can¡¯t recognise? Of course it¡¯s old man Leader He.¡± He was in his 30s and wearing an embroidered robe. Although he was not as good-looking as the young master and Shang Guan Qiu Yue, he had a considerably dignified appearance, slightly more sophisticated than the young master and a bit more righteous than Shang Guan Qiu Yue. At this moment, he was speaking to Leng Sheng Yin with his face turned to the side. He had a gentle expression with a smile on his lips. He looked very cordial and amiable, however there was a sense of authority in his gaze. Xiao Tai Ping, so this is what Xiao Tai Ping looked like! Lei Lei¡¯s eyes glowed. She glanced at Aunt Hong. How could she call such a handsome leader an ¡°old man¡±? There was no time to grumble because she was immediately attracted to another person. He was a very handsome man in white, thinner than the two next to him and also younger. His inky black hair was held up by a jade hairpin and he had long eyebrows and red lips, looking calm with an elegant posture. Lei Lei looked at him for a long time, then suddenly asked, ¡°Who is he? ¡°He¡¯s Leader Leng¡¯s brother, Leng Zui.¡± Something was wrong! Something was very wrong! That skin, nose, mouth¡­ There was no Adam¡¯s apple! Lei Lei hid by the window and observed for a long while. When she finally discovered something, she almost jumped with excitement. Interesting, interesting. Even in these times, there were women disguised as me. It was easy to trick these ancient people with a little trick, but could they fool her? ¡°Little girl, what are you sneaking around for?¡± A light voice sounded and a hand patted her head. Lei Lei turned around reflexively. Standing behind her was a young man with his hair in a golden crown. His eyebrows were raised and his eyes full of ridicule. Judging by stature and age, he was similar to the young master but his outfit was quite the opposite. It was resplendent, the snowy blue robe was embroidered with gold trim and patterns. His belt was loosely tied and his chest was slightly exposed under his snow white inner garment, looking casual and elegant. Beauty was everywhere. Lei Lei was almost visually fatigued, ¡°Who are you?¡± The handsome man did not answer and instead asked, ¡°And you are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a maid here,¡± Lei Lei was eager to announce her discovery so she pulled him, pretending to be mysterious, ¡°Look at that Leader Leng¡¯s brother!¡± The handsome man took a look and nodded, ¡°What about it?¡± Lei Lei scorned, ¡°You don¡¯t notice anything wrong?¡± The handsome man was very interested and retracted his hands, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lei Lei scorned even more, ¡°Don¡¯t you think he looks like a woman?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± the handsome man was not surprised, ¡°She¡¯s a woman to begin with. She¡¯s Leader Leng¡¯s sister, Leng Ning, but because she doesn¡¯t like being a woman, she changed her name to Leng Zui. She goes out to meet guests and discuss poetry, she¡¯s really a rare talented female scholar in the martial arts world.¡± Lei Lei choked. The handsome man raised his eyebrows. Lei Lei returned to her senses, ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°My name is Qin Liu Feng.¡± Woah, this is Qin Liu Feng? Like the young master, he was Xiao Tai Ping¡¯s right-hand man. Handsome and charming, he was renowned for his poetry and known as the top talent in the world of martial arts. Liu Feng¡¯s palm technique was extremely sublime and more importantly, he was the face and spokesperson of the famous ¡°Su Su Roast Duck¡±. Thinking of the world famous roast duck, Lei Lei gulped then eyed him up and down. Qin Liu Feng suddenly took her hand, ¡°What can you see from here, let¡¯s go, bring me in alright?¡± You¡¯re already at the door, but you still want me to bring you in? Lei Lei rolled her eyes. Elder Brother, don¡¯t tell me you pick up every girl you see. Are you Qin Liu Feng or Qin Feng Liu? With a handsome man making advances, she naturally would not refuse. Holding a girl¡¯s hand in front of so many people, this person was open-minded enough, kind of like her handsome elder brother who did whatever he wished. Qin Liu Feng pulled her and entered through the door with a smile, ¡°When did Brother Xiao find such a clever maid? She¡¯s very amusing!¡± Seeing the two of them come in holding hands, the young master was slightly taken aback. He Tai Ping looked at Lei Lei with a smile, ¡°Brother Qin has always been open-minded. Young Miss, if you have other matters to attend to, please go ahead. No need to bother with him.¡± Encountering celebrities at a close distance was different. Xiao Tai Ping was really kind and amiable. Lei Lei blinked, ¡°I am dedicated to serving Young Master, so I have no other things to do.¡± He Tai Ping was instantly surprised and glanced at the young master. Lei Lei¡¯s attention was on Leng Sheng Yin beside him. This person still maintained an icy expression as if he did not know her at all which angered her immediately. Yes, she had been forced to save him and his gratitude was for that Young Miss Wen so naturally he would not feel grateful to her. It seemed like her good intentions had instead saved an ungrateful and vicious person. ¡°Xiao Bai¡± and He Tai Ping were better! Qin Liu Feng let her go and went to sit down, ¡°What a clever girl! But I remember that Brother Xiao doesn¡¯t need female maids to serve him. It¡¯s a pity to keep you here, so how about you come and serve me?¡± He Tai Ping was helpless, ¡°Be careful, this is not the Qin Mansion.¡± Qin Liu Feng smiled wordlessly. Being used to his temper, He Tai Ping did not say anything more and just laughed it off. How could a handsome man be so affectionate to her when meeting for the first time? As Lei Lei was wondering this, she suddenly saw the talented woman Leng Zui next to her reveal an expression of contempt, seemingly very disdainful. She suddenly realised and laughed, this talented girl obviously liked this playboy scholar, but she was pretending to be indifferent! Looking at Qin Liu Feng again, there seemed to be a little more of a smile on his handsome face. It turned out that he already knew and wanted to hit on the talented woman so he was using her as a catalyst! Lei Lei had seen this trick so much when watching TV. After she realised this, she was very displeased. Taking advantage of others without their consent, this man was so immoral. How about you let me take advantage of you and drag you along?! ¡°Just now, Young Master Qin insisted on pulling me in before I could say anything,¡± she walked over with a smile and leaned on Qin Liu Feng¡¯s shoulders, ¡°It would be my honour to be able to serve Young Master Qin, so of course it would be good, but only if Young Master agrees.¡± Seeing her take initiative, Qin Liu Feng was surprised. Lei Lei looked at the young master. The young master was silent. He Tai Ping noticed something was amiss and he was about to speak when Leng Zui suddenly stood up, ¡°I just saw the fragrant osmanthus in the garden has bloomed beautifully. I will go for a walk first and not disturb your discussion about business matters.¡± Without regard for the crowd, she walked out. Lei Lei was joyful. When the talented woman left, she immediately stood straight and backed away from Qin Liu Feng. Unexpectedly, this girl acted like this and made him seem like a fool for trying to be clever, and caused Leng Zui to leave in anger. Qin Liu Feng smiled wryly and his interest grew. He looked at the young master meaningfully, ¡°What a good maid. Is Brother Xiao willing?¡± The young master returned to his senses and looked at Lei Lei. Lei Lei also looked at him. The young master looked away, ¡°If you¡­¡± You¡¯re really treating me as one of your people, daring to cast me out?! Lei Lei was disappointed and immediately latched onto him, ¡°I serve with all my heart so of course Young Master would be reluctant to part with me. Surely there¡¯s no shortage of people around Young Master Qin. It would be better if I stayed and served Young Master. Besides, he saved my life and I haven¡¯t repaid him yet, how can I leave?¡± The young master immediately raised his face to look at her. Qin Liu Feng smiled, ¡°This little maid has a sharp mouth.¡± He Tai Ping noticed her question in her words, ¡°Saved your life?¡± Being able to sit firmly in the position of alliance leader, he naturally had outstanding qualities and could clearly see through a person¡¯s slyness. Lei Lei did not dare to be careless and carefully re-examined her lie that she had fabricated of being ¡°a weak woman that was hunted down and ended up having amnesia¡±. She fully prepared herself for interrogation, then started to speak, ¡°Actually, I¡­¡± The young master suddenly interrupted her, ¡°I rescued her on the way home the day before yesterday. She has amnesia and can¡¯t remember anything.¡± Lei Lei was originally worried about this. As long as they sent someone to Guyan Village to check, ¡°Chun Hua¡±¡¯s identity would be revealed. Although she had inquired in private and no one had heard of the name, Shang Guan Chun Hua, and it could be seen that she rarely wandered around the world of martial arts just like Shang Guan Qiu Yue had said, there was no guarantee for anything. Now, seeing the young master say this, she could not help but be very surprised. ¡°Xiao Bai¡± had taken the initiative to open his mouth and it was obvious that he intended on helping her conceal it. Had he seen through her lies and was willing to keep her for nothing? He Tai Ping looked at her, ¡°Amnesia?¡± Lei Lei looked back calmly, ¡°Yes, I can¡¯t remember anything. Even my name is just random.¡± He Tai Ping remained silent and looked at Qin Liu Feng. Qin Liu Feng looked at her hands and nodded, ¡°I say, she doesn¡¯t seem like a maid.¡± Lei Lei suddenly realised he had been doubting her for a long time so wanted to transfer her away from ¡°Xiao Bai¡±. He was too insidious! CH 11.1 A sumptuous meal, and there was Lei Lei¡¯s favourite ¡°Su Su¡¯s¡± roast duck. According to Aunt Hong from the kitchen, this meal cost about 20 taels. It cost 12 taels just to buy that roast duck. Lei Lei reluctantly said, ¡°Please enjoy your meal. I will retreat first.¡± The young master said, ¡°Let¡¯s eat together.¡± Qin Liu Feng frowned, ¡°Brother Xiao, about the longevity fruit¡­¡± The young master shook his head, ¡°No harm.¡± He Tai Ping and Qin Liu Feng looked at each other, their expressions worried. The current situation in the world of martial arts was critical and the sole descendant of the Xiao family¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade must not meet with mishap. Although Xiao Bai acted cautiously, his mentality and calculations were somewhat inadequate still and he was easily exploited by others. Now that he was specially treating a woman of unknown origin, and not avoiding her while knowing that he had important matters to discuss, he was too gullible and this was not a good thing. Lei Lei was both surprised and puzzled. ¡°Xiao Bai¡± had always been mature and did not do things recklessly. How could he trust her so easily? Either way, Lei Lei was very grateful for this kind of trust. She wanted to leave voluntarily so as not to embarrass everyone. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of Qin Liu Feng¡¯s eyes and immediately felt a little unhappy. She just would not leave and sat down demonstratively next to the young master. At this moment, Leng Sheng Yin, the handsome iceberg next to her, glanced at her a few times. He was evidently surprised too. The talented woman Leng Zui kept calm and sat with her brother. Fortunately, these people had an extraordinary friendship and no one was overly courteous, they all ate very casually, each with their own thoughts. Lei Lei was grateful to the young master and ate as usual. She personally peeled a prawn with her hands and put it in his bowl. The young master said nothing and ate with his head lowered. Qin Liu Feng had been watching the two of them for a long while and his eyebrows raised immediately when he saw this, ¡°Girl, you¡¯re too thoughtless, only serving food for your master and ignoring the guests, isn¡¯t that rude?¡± You had ill intentions and wanted to separate ¡°Xiao Bai¡± and I, but you still want me to serve you? Lei Lei glanced at him and suddenly saw a lot of chives had been picked out of his bowl. She looked at the dishes on the table, of which one was scrambled eggs with chives. She could see this person did not like chives, so she picked them up with her chopsticks and threw them into his bowl, ¡°Please eat, don¡¯t be courteous!¡± Qin Liu Feng stared at the chives for a long time and murmured, ¡°Not the same, it¡¯s just not the same.¡± Everyone laughed and even Leng Zui could not help but smile slightly at Lei Lei. Our ¡°Xiao Bai¡± is the best. Lei Lei peeled another shrimp and put it in the young master¡¯s bowl. The young master¡¯s face reddened slightly and he said in a low voice, ¡°Thank you.¡± He Tai Ping looked at her meaningfully, ¡°Staying here as a maid is not a solution after all. Do you remember anything else? I may be able to help you investigate your identity so you can reunite with your family as soon as possible.¡± Here we go again! Lei Lei was nervous. The young master glanced at her, ¡°Brother He need not worry, I have sent someone to investigate.¡± Seeing that he insisted on helping this woman, He Tai Ping sighed softly and began to talk business, ¡°I have investigated that the matter of the longevity fruit being sold in Bi Shui City is indeed true.¡± The young master and Lei Lei were stunned at the same time. Qin Liu Feng said, ¡°I¡¯ve heard it will be an auction with a minimum price of one million yuan. It will be held on the evening of New Year¡¯s day at an old tea alley in Bi Shui City. The seller called himself Mr Shi. Although the news has not been widely disseminated throughout the world of martial arts, many people have secretly spent money to buy this news. There aren¡¯t many people who can afford this price financially. Once the longevity fruit appears, the bidding will not be a problem but rather the chaos it¡¯ll cause. What¡¯s more, with such a precious item, the people from Qian Yue Cave and Chuan Qi Valley would never stand by idly. They would definitely step in.¡± The young master pondered, ¡°I wonder who Mr Shi is, and if the longevity fruit is really in his hands?¡± Lei Lei interrupted, ¡°The longevity fruit is such a good thing. Who would be willing to take it out and sell it?¡± He Tai Ping said, ¡°Either way, the longevity fruit cannot fall into the hands of Shang Guan Qiu Yue and Fu Lou. That Mr Shi is intending on leading many heroes to Bi Shui City which is actually an ulterior motive. When the time comes, I¡¯ll release news of going to Jia Kong City to inspect in advance and then take a private detour to Bi Shui City, mobilising the three main sects to lockdown the city under martial law to prevent the demonic cult from taking the opportunity to cause chaos and to see who Mr Shi is. Spreading the news but moving without a trace, it may have a lot to do with the longevity fruit.¡± Whether intentional or not, he accentuated his tone when he continued, ¡°This matter must not be leaked to prevent that person from finding out and causing an unforeseen mishap.¡± Hearing the deliberateness, Lei Lei rolled her eyes. Leng Sheng Yin suddenly said, ¡°Perhaps the person who stole the longevity fruit intentionally blamed my father who was wronged and died for nothing¡­¡± He Tai Ping patted his shoulder and interrupted him, ¡°My intentions are to investigate this matter exactly and find the murderer to avenge your father.¡± Next to him, Leng Zui¡¯s eyes reddened and she lowered her head. Leng Sheng Yin sneered, ¡°My father was struck by the unique palm strike of the Xi Sha sect, who else could be the murderer? Back then, the two of them used an excuse to suspect my father and invited him to the top of Mount Hua. What was the talk about explaining to each other¡­¡± He did not continue and just snorted, ¡°There¡¯s quite a few cases of thieves accusing someone else of being a thief to cover themselves¡­¡± He Tai Ping smiled, ¡°I think there is something strange about this matter. Bi Shui City has always been under the jurisdiction of your Nan Hai sect. While your father was alive, they had acted openly and honestly and had always considered the civilians. I still hope Brother Leng can consider the overall situation. There¡¯s still quite some time until the New Year, so please go back first and send more people to investigate the information. If we could find the whereabouts of that person early, not only can your father be avenged but it would be considered a great achievement for the civilians. Surely your father in the afterlife would also be greatly relieved.¡± Leng Sheng Yin was silent. Lei Lei sighed beside him. His animosity towards having his father killed was unshakeable and now everyone believed his father was killed by Wen Ting. In fact, it was also very likely the case. Poor Miss Wen with all her sincerity, would this handsome ice cold man appreciate it? What bloody drama was going to happen later? The young master remembered something, ¡°The day before yesterday, I passed through Xi Sha sect¡¯s territory. Many people seemed to complain they were being taxed too heavily.¡± He Tai Ping immediately looked at Qin Liu Feng. Qin Liu Feng nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll investigate.¡± Lei Lei realised that Qin Liu Feng was in charge of the economic issues. Xiao Tai Ping had literary and military talents by his side and there were many of them. No wonder that the world of martial arts was not in chaos even after such a matter had occurred. With matters agreed upon, everyone was about to continue eating when they suddenly heard Leng Zui say, ¡°On the 15th of this month, we¡¯re having a poetry meet. I want to invite Brother Xiao to go, I wonder if Brother Xiao is free?¡± As soon as she heard it was poetry, Lei Lei became enthusiastic. She could not even be bothered to eat the roast duck and immediately put down her chopsticks. Her blood in her chest was surging. Here we go, here we go, the opportunity to display her skills to compose poetry! Can our time travelling heroine compose poetry?! Let me surprise you all! Could ¡°Xiao Bai¡± also compose poetry? She turned to look at the young master. The young master frowned, ¡°I¡¯ve never been good at composing poems¡­¡± Leng Zui interrupted and said, ¡°Brother Xiao is too modest. Brother He has business and cannot go. You are simply not refusing to give me face.¡± The young master said, ¡°Brother Qin to be invited to such elegant things.¡± Qin Liu Feng smiled and said nothing. Leng Zui paid no mind, ¡°It¡¯s but a little poetry meet, I¡¯m afraid it will delay Brother Qin¡¯s business.¡± The young master looked at Qin Liu Feng. Qin Liu Feng smiled and said, ¡°I would love to join in the fun, but I¡¯m afraid Miss Leng will dislike me for my lack of talent and knowledge. Leng Zui smiled slightly, ¡°Brother Qin is famous and known by all so naturally it would be good if he can go and I dare not dislike. But I must also invite Brother Xiao to come as a favour.¡± To write poetry, how could it be done without the top talent in the world of martial arts? This beautiful woman probably wanted to invite Qin Liu Feng originally but it was not easy to speak up, so she beat around the bush and asked ¡°Xiao Bai¡± as a cover. For example, if you want to pick up a beautiful woman, then it was necessary to invite her best friend too, it was the same reasoning! However, if there was excitement then of course we had to join in. If ¡°Xiao Bai¡± wouldn¡¯t go, then how could she have a chance to show off? CH 11.2 Without waiting for the young master to speak, Lei Lei nodded immediately and agreed, ¡°Go, go, we¡¯ll definitely go when the time comes.¡± ¡°We?¡± Everyone was stunned. The young master ate in silence. Qin Liu Feng suppressed his laughter, ¡°She asked Brother Xiao to compose poetry, what is a little girl like you going for?¡± Seeing him trying to find fault on purpose, Lei Lei replied confidently, ¡°Of course I will be taking care of the young master and keeping him safe.¡± The young master glanced at her speechlessly. Even He Tai Ping could not help laughing this time. Qin Liu Feng said, ¡°I couldn¡¯t tell that you¡¯re capable.¡± Lei Lei kept a low profile, ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to hold a poetry meeting with as many people as possible? I can also learn poetry from you all.¡± ¡°You?¡± Qin Liu Feng looked her up and down, ¡°A little girl can also compose poetry?¡± Leng Zui said lightly, ¡°Brother Qin¡¯s words are far from the truth. Who said women can¡¯t compose poetry? If Miss Lei Lei is willing to go, then of course it would be good.¡± Having unconsciously made a faux pas, Qin Liu Feng coughed, ¡°It¡¯s not that women can¡¯t compose poetry, it¡¯s just that she¡­¡± He looked at Lei Lei, ¡°I have to give you a test to feel at ease. Improvise a poem, no limit to topic or rhyme.¡± Improvising a poem? Lei Lei had not expected this trick and began to sweat. When she traversed, the girls had recited poetry about the moon, admiring flowers, and drinking alcohol. Yet now, nobody was drinking alcohol, it seemed too early for the moon to come out, and there were no flowers or plants for her to recite about. There was only one table of people eating right now. Which great poet had written a poem about eating? Qin Liu Feng fiddled with the chives in his bowl with his chopsticks, ¡°Composing poetry?¡± Due to the suddenness, Lei Lei had no inspiration at all. After thinking for a long time, she still could not think of any poems about eating. Looking up and seeing Qin Liu Feng¡¯s teasing expression, she became more depressed. If she had known about this earlier, she would have memorised a few more poems when coming here! Just like the pain of book authors, this deeply confirmed the truth ¡ª ¡°Inspiration was always forced out¡±. As she was being depressed, Lei Lei hit on an idea in her desperation and finally remembered a very famous and deeply educational poem. This poem was taught since kindergarten and must be recited every time they ate, continuing until the third grade in primary school. Who knew how many generations in modern China had been taught this? The memory was particularly deep. It was too childish to recite this thing now, so she felt a bit awkward bringing it out¡­ The situation was urgent so let¡¯s deal with it first! Lei Lei wiped the sweat from her forehead and opened her mouth, ¡°Hoeing the grass under the sun at noon, sweat dripping to the soil on the ground.¡± She stopped and carefully observed everyone¡¯s expressions. The topic had run far from the table of food in front of them to hard labour. Leng Zui frowned and put down her chopsticks. The young master¡¯s mouth twitched at the corners. ¡°Interesting,¡± Qin Liu Feng picked out a chive from his bowl, ¡°Hoeing the grass under the sun at noon, sweat dripping to the soil on the ground, and then?¡± Seeing that she was being looked down upon, Lei Lei did not care much anymore and loudly threw out the last two sentences, ¡°Who knows that in the meal on this plate, every single grain of rice represents hard labour!¡± The dining table immediately fell silent. Qin Liu Feng stared at his chopsticks holding the chives in midair for a long time. He coughed and in the end, decided to sacrifice his sense of taste and put it in his mouth. He frowned and swallowed hastily. Looking at her leftover half bowl of rice, the talented woman Leng Zui lowered her head and picked up her chopsticks again. With no one praising, Lei Lei was a bit disheartened. After reciting this short poem, a cold wind blew over the dining table. He Tai Ping could not help looking at Qin Liu Feng and laughed, ¡°It is indeed a good poem. Each grain of rice and millet is not easy to come by and must be cherished more. I only hope that everyone in the world can understand this truth.¡± Qin Liu Feng smiled wryly and went ahead to tackle the remaining chives in his bowl. After all, Xiao Tai Ping¡¯s level of appreciation was high! Having experienced firsthand the pleasure of a kindergarten aunty successfully educating children, Lei Lei ignored the suffering of the others and was very pleased. Turning around, she found that the young master was looking at her with his eyes upturned into a smile. Immediately, she was stunned with shock. His handsome and cunning smile brought infinite charm. In the evening, they discussed in detail the matter of the longevity fruit. After setting a date for the next meeting, He Tai Ping led everyone to bid farewell and left. Lei Lei accompanied the young master to send them away. Everyone got into their carriages with just the two of them staying behind. Leng Sheng Yin turned around and cupped his fists, ¡°Matters are urgent so I must depart tomorrow to go back. Brother He will go to Jin Jiang City for inspection in a few days. I will leave my younger sister in your care.¡± It turned out that Leng Zui refused to go back with her brother so that she could stay and host the poetry meet. She was stubborn by nature and it was too inconvenient for Leng Sheng Yin to meddle too much. Both the young master and Qin Liu Feng nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Leng Zui opened the curtain of her carriage, ¡°Brother Xiao, don¡¯t forget the poetry meet on the 15th at Ting Yun Lou.¡± Lei Lei nodded like pecking at rice, ¡°No, definitely not.¡± Qin Liu Feng half leaned out of the carriage and raised an eyebrow at her, ¡°Not only Brother Xiao, but also Miss Lei.¡± Having found out that this person did not have any good intentions, Lei Lei immediately hid behind the young master. She cursed him in her heart, what was the number one talent worth? At that time, I will scare you to death by reciting a few poems by Old Li and Old Du! Finally, the carriages all drove away. Next to the pavilion, the two watched the guests leave far away. The setting sun was gone and the evening wind blew at their robes. The young master in the breeze looked more and more leisurely, standing tall and straight with a peaceful handsome face. He turned around, ¡°Let¡¯s go back.¡± Lei Lei came back to her senses and thinking of his trust in her, she felt a little guilty, ¡°Xiao Bai.¡± The young master looked at her. Lei Lei thought for a while and looked at him, ¡°Actually, I made up the story of being chased and to death.¡± The young master was silent. Lei Lei added, ¡°But I really did lose my memory and can¡¯t remember what happened before.¡± The young master finally nodded, ¡°I know.¡± Sure enough, he already knew she was eating and staying for nothing. No wonder he was willing to help her hide it. Lei Lei was happy. The young master looked away and walked off, ¡°Your issue, I¡¯ll get someone to help investigate.¡± Investigate? Don¡¯t, I¡¯m a little demon! Lei Lei chased after him, ¡°Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai, you¡¯re so kind. Actually, there¡¯s no need to investigate. I don¡¯t remember anyway. I¡¯ll stay here and serve you from now on and be your maid, okay?¡± ¡°¡­Let go.¡± ¡°Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai?¡± ¡°¡­¡± With his sleeve being pulled and a person hanging halfway between his arms, the young master could no longer maintain his calm and composed demeanour. Embarrassed, he led her back. On 15th September, at the poetry meet at Ting Yun Lou, Lei Lei was determined to show off her skills. She decided to work hard to prepare materials from now on. She made a summary of poems she could think of and memorised them several times. So after having dinner with the young master, she hid in her room. Reciting from ¡°The moonlight in front of the bed¡± to ¡°Asleep in spring unaware of the dawn¡±, then from ¡°Two golden orioles¡± to ¡°Goose, goose, goose¡±, she secretly speculated, what themes might be arranged for that day¡¯s poetry meet? The night fell and a crescent moon hung in the west part of the sky, shaped like a crescent eyebrow. Seeing this, Lei Lei¡¯s poetic inspiration flourished. Leaning on the window and shaking her head at the moon, ¡°When will the endless cycle of spring flowers and autumn moon come to an end? How much of the past does one know?¡± In fact, she still had a lot of cultural connotations. There was the sound of someone¡¯s laughter. Having the experience of being kidnapped, Lei Lei was so frightened that she immediately jumped away from the window. She opened her mouth to shout for help but a cold hand quickly covered her mouth. Then came a tangy fragrance and someone took her into his arms. ¡°Don¡¯t shout, it¡¯s Elder Brother.¡± A gentle smile filled the room with brilliance. The full moon was by her side, shining brightly. Who else would pay attention to the new moon in the sky? Lei Lei was in a daze. Reflecting the lights, the perfect face looked so elegant and gentle. However, against the dazzlingly cold snow-coloured outfit, the alternating cold and warmth formed an almost eerie temperament. ¡°When will the endless cycle of spring flowers and autumn moon come to an end? This phrase is not good. How can us siblings do that?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue let go of her. With sparkling eyes and a soft voice, ¡°How much of the past does one know? How much of the past do you remember?¡± CH 12.1 It seemed like the relationship between the two of them as siblings before was really good. Either way, having possessed his younger sister¡¯s body, she could not disregard her handsome elder brother. Lei Lei hurried to the window. She leaned and looked out then quickly closed the windows and said nervously, ¡°What are you doing here? Be careful, it would be bad if Xiao Bai found out!¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue sat down, ¡°You¡¯re worried about Elder Brother?¡± Having been in Bai Sheng Shan Village for a while, Lei Lei had already discovered that the defence in the village was actually very tight. No wonder he had to ask Star Minister Gu Wan to come in person last time to take her out. Now that the young master was afraid another incident would occur, he had specially sent additional guards here to the north. To be able to avoid so many martial arts elites and enter the village, her handsome elder brother was indeed quite capable. Turning around and putting a latch on the door, Lei Lei felt more relieved, ¡°There are many people guarding, it¡¯s dangerous.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue watched as she did all this then laughed again, ¡°You are indeed my good younger sister.¡± Their relationship as a brother and sister was a fact. Although ¡°Xiao Bai¡± was not bad, there was not much progress yet and it was different for her brother. If something happened, he would definitely protect her unconditionally. Besides, this man was a devil and if they were found out, it would be horrible if she was accused of being a spy! Lei Lei hugged his neck and between joking and smiling obsequiously, she said, ¡°You¡¯re my elder brother, if I don¡¯t care about you, who would I care about? From now on, don¡¯t come in so casually, let¡¯s agree on a date and place to meet.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue took her hand and said softly, ¡°There would be no harm in that. You¡¯ve stayed in the village for so long, have you found anything?¡± If she said she found nothing, he might not believe it. Lei Lei deliberately thought about it, ¡°The old study in the east courtyard seems very strange.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue nodded as expected, ¡°You can tell too. It was the study that Xiao Yuan used when he was still alive. Now the guards there are all first-class elites and there are about 12 or 13 of them. Even I can¡¯t go in easily.¡± In fact, apart from the young master, no one could enter the study room. This matter was no secret in Bai Sheng Shan Village. Lei Lei also found it strange. Now that she knew there were special elites guarding it secretly, she could not help but be more surprised. An ordinary study room was guarded so tightly. The only possibility was that¡­ ¡°Do you suspect that the cultivation method for Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade is in there?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue did not express any opinion. Lei Lei looked at him for a moment, then turned to face him, ¡°Elder Brother, there¡¯s no end to learning martial arts in the world. You¡¯re already so good, do you have to practise that?¡± Shang Guan Qiu yue shook his head, ¡°Martial arts has its own factions. The Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade must be wielded with the most powerful and pure internal yang power which is contrary to what I¡¯ve learned. Why would I use up my true energy to practise it?¡± Discovering that he did not seem to lie, Lei Lei was surprised, ¡°Then you want it for¡­¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue said, ¡°The Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade claims to uphold justice. Xiao Bai has obstructed us several times, how could I let him keep it any longer? Besides, I need to use it as a testimony.¡± Seeing that she was puzzled, he smiled, ¡°The matter should begin with Nan Xing He, the Southern Leader back then. Lei Lei remembered the name, ¡°The leader of the demonic cult? Didn¡¯t he die under the Phoenix Crying Blade wielded by Xiao Min, the ancestor of the Xiao family? ¡°It¡¯s the Xing Yue sect. Those who claim to be righteous labelled it as the demonic cult, why are you talking nonsense?!¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue reproached, ¡°They set a trap back then and killed the Southern Leader. Xing Yue sect¡¯s vitality was greatly damaged and was divided into Chuan Qi Valley and our Qian Yue Cave. But the two factions had an agreement. Whoever killed the descendant of the Xiao family first and destroyed the Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade cultivation method to avenge the Southern Leader, the other faction will bow and submit to them and Xing Yue sect will be unified again.¡± Handsome elder brother was quite ambitious! Lei Lei was dumbfounded. His slender and beautiful fingers lifted her chin. Shang Guan Qiu Yue looked into her eyes, ¡°It¡¯s related to my great plan for our faction. You don¡¯t want to help Elder Brother?¡± His friendly gaze was bewitching. Lei Lei quietly pinched herself with one hand to keep her mind clear, ¡°But Xiao Bai has already practised the Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade cultivation method. Even if the method was stolen, it won¡¯t be lost either.¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue released her, ¡°That¡¯s why I still need to take the Xuan Bing Stone.¡± Lei Lei was confused, ¡°Xuan Bing Stone?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue said, ¡°Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade was created by Xiao Sheng. It was famous all over the world at that time. Unexpectedly, after practising it, he found that this mental technique had demonic implications and the more times it was used, the easier it was to be possessed by demons. So he did everything possible to find a solution and finally, he found an extremely rare black ice stone that would suppress demonic nature when worn. So although Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade was powerful, even when the Xiao family was at its most prosperous, it was always only passed on to the eldest son because of this secret.¡± Lei Lei suddenly asked, ¡°Is the Xuan Bing Stone blue?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue nodded. The young master did wear a light blue pendant. She discovered this when flirting with him. No wonder he always wore this ornament when he had always dressed plain and simple. It turned out there was a reason for it. Lei Lei was secretly started, ¡°How did you know?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue smiled, ¡°Is there anything Elder Brother doesn¡¯t know?¡± Lei Lei began to worry. That was an important thing that ¡°Xiao Bai¡± wore on his body, how could she get it easily? Moreover, without the stone, ¡°Xiao Bai¡± would be possessed by demons in the future. That would not do. ¡°Has your heart softened?¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue pulled her into his arms and rested his nose on her nose, just like a brother who doted on his younger sister, ¡°You have the kindest heart, but Xiao Bai would not think so. If he knew who you are, he would never be merciful. You think that they¡¯re all good people because they speak of justice? At the beginning, they conspired to plot against Leader Nan and used all means to do so.¡± With her thoughts seen through again, Lei Lei did not dare to be careless again, ¡°How did they harm Master Nan?¡± ¡°Elder Brother will tell you when we have time,¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue pushed her away and got up, ¡°Since Xiao Bai wears the Xuan Bing Stone with him all the time, you need not rush to get it. Just find a way into study and have a look.¡± Lei Lei was silent. Shang Guan Qiu Yue looked at her for a while, then sighed, ¡°Forget it. If you don¡¯t like doing these things, then come back with me now.¡± If she would not be a spy and steal, then she had no need to stay here? Lei Lei rolled her eyes and was in a quandary. Go back? Although this man was a first-class handsome man, he was her elder brother after all. How could he compare with ¡°Xiao Bai¡±? *** was not conducive to the inheritance of good genes, no way! She wanted to follow ¡°Xiao Bai¡±. She would promise first then talk later. There would always be a way. Making up her mind, Lei Lei pulled him immediately and put on a firm appearance, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll find a way to get into the study.¡± With a smile in his eyes like bright spring flowers, Shang Guan Qiu Yue touched her face, ¡°That¡¯s right, no matter how good they are, you¡¯re an outsider after all. Only Elder Brother will treat you sincerely.¡± It would be a pity to not eat tofu delivered to your doorstep. Lei Lei hugged and rubbed against him, ¡°What about your Duo Qing Veil from last time? It¡¯s so beautiful, I want to see!¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue had a faint smile that was not really a smile, ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡± ¡°Show me, show me!¡± ¡°No.¡± Lei Lei was angry and let him go, ¡°Stingy! Isn¡¯t it just a Duo Qing Veil? Even the name sounds like something used by women. What¡¯s a man doing using women¡¯s things?! I don¡¯t want it!¡± Shang Guan Qiu Yue stopped coaxing her and just looked at her, laughing, ¡°Be careful when acting.¡± He opened the door to leave and was gone in a flash. In fact, her handsome elder brother was not as easy to bully as ¡°Xiao Bai¡¯. No wonder it was said that ¡°A priest climbs a foot, the devil climbs ten¡±. Still, the devil was the most handsome. Lei Lei looked at the door as she came to this conclusion. To the east, there was a small courtyard. Hidden in the lush evergreen forest, there was an old study room used by the old master, Xiao Yuan, when he was still alive. Although Lei Lei had no intention to actually steal the cultivation method for Shang Guan Qiu Yue, she was curious so she pretended to help clean up and tried to get closer twice. Each time, someone came out to stop her. This reinforced her thoughts even more ¡ª there was indeed something up! It was so tightly guarded. Was this not clearly telling others that there was something important inside?! ¡°Xiao Bai¡± did not look like such a stupid person¡­ CH 12.2 The days passed by through a series of questions and soon, it was 15th September. The opportunity for her to show her talents had arrived! With excitement surging in her mind, Lei Lei let go of her thoughts. Holding a beautiful white robe, she ran towards the hot spring behind the village. She made an extremely important decision in her heart ¡ª What was a playboy scholar? Our ¡°Xiao Bai¡± is also very handsome! ¡°Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai!¡± A warmth enveloped the hot spring. The young master was about to get out to dress, when he suddenly heard this shout. After coming to his senses, he retreated into the water in shock and looked up. Lei Lei jumped out from behind a rock and shook loose the robe in her hand, ¡°Xiao Bai, don¡¯t wear those clothes today, wear this one!¡± The young master was speechless. Realising the peculiar situation, Lei Lei stood still holding the clothes. She carefully appreciated his beauty. You saw us once last time, so now let¡¯s see you once. His figure seemed pretty good! Getting chills from her gaze, the young master quickly calmed down. He was accustomed to this woman¡¯s behaviour and did not lose his temper. He only said slightly reproachfully, ¡°Get out.¡± Get out? Lei Lei shook her head to rid herself of impure thoughts. She shook the new clothes, ¡°Look, I got someone to make you a new outfit, just in time for you to wear it to today¡¯s poetry meet.¡± It was white with a silver trim, and it had faint gold threads shimmering throughout. The young master glanced at it and felt that it was too extravagant, ¡°No need.¡± He did not appreciate it? Le Lei raised her eyebrows and her voice, ¡°I entrusted a lot of people to make this, but you don¡¯t want to wear it?¡± The young master shook his head and insisted, ¡°Get out.¡± Lei Lei snorted and simply picked up his old clothes by the pool. The young master suppressed his anger, ¡°Stop causing trouble!¡± ¡°If you won¡¯t wear it, then just don¡¯t wear anything and go naked!¡± Knowing this person was easy to bully, Lei Lei did not take his objection seriously at all and triumphantly prepared to leave. The young master became anxious and scolded, ¡°Stop!¡± Lei Lei stopped. The young master had no choice but to say, ¡°Put it down.¡± Lei Lei was joyful, ¡°Should have said so earlier!¡± She put down the clothes as he said to, then as she was turning away, she inadvertently suddenly caught a glimpse of something ¡ª by the pool close to the young master, a light blue pendant was placed grandly. With her interest piqued, Lei Lei began to ponder. The function of this Xuan Bing Stone seemed to be a secret that not many people knew about. Of course, she would not harm ¡°Xiao Bai¡±, but her handsome elder brother would definitely think of other methods. Should she remind ¡°Xiao Bai¡± to be careful? Seeing that there was a difference in her gaze, the young master remained calm and asked, ¡°What are you looking at?¡± Lei Lei rolled her eyes and acted mischievously, ¡°Of course I¡¯m waiting for you to get up and try the clothes, get up!¡± The young master was helpless, ¡°Get out.¡± Lei Lei comfortably teased him. She stood there with her arms crossed and her gaze became bolder, ¡°Ah, are you afraid of me?¡± ¡°¡­¡± In fact, if the young master really stood up from the water at this moment, this woman would run away immediately. It was a pity that although the young master understood this truth, the concept of men and women had been instilled in him since childhood and it made him reluctant to take this step. The result was that he could only obediently soak in the water and be teased. It would not be good to get angry and he could not call for someone to come. Feeling gloomy for a moment, he could only watch her silently, secretly calculating how thick this woman¡¯s skin was. So good looking! Lei Lei¡¯s obsession was infinite. Being watched endlessly, the young master¡¯s dissatisfaction soon disappeared and his gloomy expression gradually returned to normal. In the end, he finally sighed and could not help but smile and say, ¡°Come here.¡± He actually called me over? Lei Lei was bewitched by his smile and did not think at all. Her feet started to move as if she was possessed and she really went over, closer to the handsome man. Some details could be seen more clearly and her blood surged. She dared not to continue looking down and immediately raised her gaze a bit to avoid having a nosebleed on the spot. The young master smiled devilishly, ¡°Come.¡± What did Xiao Bai want to do? Lei Lei¡¯s eyes were shining and she bent down. The young master reached out and touched her acupoints. Then he quickly turned her around and stood up, picking her up by the back of her collar and throwing her lightly. Lei Lei flew lightly over the rock, settling behind it like a toad. ¡°Xiao Bai!¡± She gritted her teeth. ¡°¡­¡± The young master¡¯s expression did not change. He got up and dressed. He unlocked her acupoints. The angry Lei Lei was released. Seeing him still wearing his old blue and white robe, she immediately became more angry. She disregarded all else and quickly picked up the white robe on the ground, ¡°Change into this one!¡± The young master remained silent and turned around to leave. Lei Lei had always been a persistent person. She grabbed him immediately, heartbroken, ¡°You don¡¯t understand my painstaking troubles at all, you don¡¯t know how much effort this outfit took me, how much heart and soul! I won¡¯t let you not change into it today!¡± Seeing her reach out to pull at his belt, the young master was embarrassed and picked her up to throw her away. A scream. This was not the expected effect. The young master turned around confusedly and found her lying on the ground. Immediately, he walked over to help her up and said nervously, ¡°You¡­ Are you alright?¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯m not!¡± Lei Lei was blunt, yelling with red eyes, ¡°My hand, you hurt me!¡± The young master was doubtful, ¡°I didn¡¯t use any strength¡­¡± Lei Lei complained, ¡°You know martial arts. You could hurt me even if you don¡¯t use any strength!¡± Her reasoning seemed logical. The young master felt a little guilty and did not know how to comfort her, ¡°I¡­¡± Lei Lei rolled up her long sleeves, not caring about exposing her snowy white arms at all. She felt extremely aggrieved, ¡°You said you didn¡¯t use any strength, but it hurts a bit, take a look yourself!¡± With a jade-like arm before his eyes, the young master could not really look at it closely, but also could not simply not look at all. He just looked away and said in an apologetic tone, ¡°I¡¯ll take you to see a physician.¡± ¡°Forget it, forget it. It¡¯ll be fine in two days,¡± Lei Lei lowered her arm graciously. She held onto his arm and rubbed her face against him, then lifted the white robe in her hand and said ingratiatingly, ¡°Just wear it once, okay? This outfit really took me a lot of effort and I specially got someone to make it for you. I ran a long way!¡± The young master hesitated for a moment, but did not object any longer. At dusk, a carriage jolted along the main road, neither hastily or too slowly. There was not much room inside the carriage. The young master sat inside, his body covered in the white robe with silver trim and golden patterns, looking more and more handsome. He was a little less mature and modest, and a little more elegant and cordial. It made Lei Lei, who was looking at him, practically drool. He always dressed so old-fashioned and formal but having changed his outfit today, he looked like Prince Charming! In fact, the young master originally planned to ride a horse, but Lei Lei pulled him in with the excuse of ¡°How could a maid ride the carriage while the master rides a horse¡±. The young master originally did not care either way, and finding out that this woman did not mind and was even happy to approach men, he did not object. Lei Lei had her own reasons. There were many people in the city and it was too unsafe for such a handsome beauty to ride a horse outside. How could the handsome beauty that she took so much effort to dress up fall into the hands of others? It was better to pull him in and create opportunities for individual contact. Thinking of the upcoming poetry meet, she became more and more excited. She reviewed all the poems on various subjects that she had memorised and made up her mind. Tonight, she would show these ancient people what a top notch poem was like. Compared to the ¡°number one talented scholar in the martial arts world¡±, she would become the ¡°number one talented woman in the martial arts world¡±! Turning around, she found that the young master did not seem to be in the mood. She immediately leant over and rubbed against him, ¡°Xiao Bai!¡± The young master looked at her. Lei Lei rubbed her arm, her face full of grievance, ¡°My arm still hurts a little!¡± The young master¡¯s mouth twitched. Lei Lei rubbed against him more and more, ¡°Xiao Bai¡ª¡± The young master got goosebumps from her calling him and he moved aside, ¡°You¡­¡± Lei Lei was angry, ¡°Xiao Bai, my arm hurts!¡± Sure enough, the young master no longer dodged her and let her lean on him. Lei Lei thought of the poetry meet she was about to attend and asked confidently and cheerfully, ¡°Will that Qin Liu Feng come today?¡± The young master was stunned for a moment and remained silent. CH 13.1 By the time the carriage reached their destination, the moon was rising on the river and the night was dark. Ting Yun Lou was located beside the river. It was originally a restaurant, but tonight their business had been taken over by Leng Zui and the others. A dozen or so carriages with horses were already parked in front of the building. It was very lively. It seemed like quite a lot of people had come. Leng Zui was dressed in a pale blue outfit, still dressed as a man, and was standing at the door to greet everyone. After greetings, Lei Lei went upstairs with the young master. The upstairs room was originally quite spacious, about 50 to 60 square metres. It seemed a bit crowded at the moment and it was warm. More than 20 people were standing or sitting around. The oldest of them was about 50 years old, and the majority of them were young, looking like the gentle and polite scholars or like respectable noble young men. They all greeted each other and chatted, waves of ¡°Brother Wang, Brother Zhao¡± ringing out in unison. There were six or seven other women, all quiet and proud. The seats were already set up with about a dozen or so small tables next to them with several plates of dried fruit. Due to the strong wind, only two windows had been opened and the carved railing outside could be seen, reflecting the moonlight like it had a light layer of frost. The young master already had a special temperament to begin with and dressed like this, he was even more eye-catching, immediately becoming the focus of the audience. All the people he knew came over to greet him and those who did not know him also came over to meet him after hearing about him. Lei Lei was very proud. The young master replied with a few words, then sat down on a chair. Lei Lei carefully searched around for Qin Liu Feng, but unexpectedly after looking around every corner, she did not see the figure of the talented scholar. She tugged at the young master, ¡°Qin Liu Feng didn¡¯t come.¡± Her tone was not without disappointment. The young master looked at her and remained silent. Soon after, Leng Zui came upstairs. Her expression was clearly unpleasant. Lei Lei snickered, it seemed like she had also looked forward to Qin Liu Feng coming. With the number one talent in the world of martial arts absent, the poetry meet was not so exciting. Moreover, Qin Liu Feng had promised to come earlier so now he had stood her up, it was pure arrogance, not giving face to the talented woman. However, it was alright. In fact, it did not matter whether the talented scholar came tonight or not. ¡°Xiao Bai¡± and I came in support and I¡¯m prepared too! Leng Zui walked to the middle and everyone automatically quietened down. Lei Lei praised, this was the demeanour of a talented woman, her charisma was really strong. I really should become a talented woman! Her red lips parted slightly and Leng Zui said, ¡°You have all come a long way. I, Leng Zui, am deeply honoured. It¡¯s almost time now and everyone has arrived¡­¡± Immediately, someone interrupted her inquiringly, ¡°Miss Leng, didn¡¯t you say Brother Qin will come too? He hasn¡¯t arrived yet so why are we starting instead of waiting?¡± Leng Zui said lightly, ¡°No need. I think he may have matters to attend to and cannot come. So many people are waiting for one person and the delay is happening over a trivial matter. Customs must not be broken.¡± Lei Lei followed the crowd and stood to curtsey. The gentleman in the first seat was an old man with a goatee. He cupped his hands with a smile but did not stand up. He had an enigmatic appearance and his status was obviously quite high. Everyone sat down. After introducing the authoritative experts, Leng Zui began to introduce the special guests, ¡°There are two distinguished guests attending today, Young Master Xiao Bai from Bai Sheng Shan Village¡­¡± She paused. Although the young master rarely attended such occasions, who did not know of Xiao Xiao¡¯s Phoenix Crying Blade? It was respected by all. Old Mr Cai also nodded, ¡°With a righteous heart, heaven and earth in the chest, if one does not understand good and evil and abets one¡¯s enemy, then having talent and knowledge is in vain.¡± The young master said a few words of humility and did not continue talking. Leng Zui continued to introduce, ¡°And¡­ Miss Lei Lei.¡± Hearing the name, Old Mr Cai was visibly moved, ¡°Is it possible that she is the one you mentioned, the Miss Lei Lei who wrote a poem about sympathising with farmers?¡± Leng Zui bowed slightly and replied respectfully, ¡°Precisely.¡± Everyone looked at Lei Lei in surprise and praised her with phrases like ¡°a teacher among women¡± and ¡°a gifted female scholar¡±. Old Mr Cai also nodded vigorously and stroked his beard, exclaiming this was ¡°rare¡±. The stolen poem was really useful. Lei Lei was pleased with herself and put a humble expression on her face. She secretly speculated, it turned out that her poem, ¡°Hoeing the grass under the sun at noon,¡± had already spread around. Could it be that the talented scholar was afraid she would feed him chives again so did not dare to come? Suddenly, she heard Leng Zui say, ¡°In today¡¯s meeting, you don¡¯t need to restrict yourselves. Show your true self as much as you can. Talent is respected. Lei Lei sat up straight. Leng Zui turned to the side, nodded, and said, ¡°Please introduce the poetry topic.¡± A servant in the corner immediately stepped forward and pulled a rope. A scroll that was originally hanging high on the eastern wall unravelled in an instant. Two to three lines of beautiful and elegant characters were written on a snow-white scroll. ¡°It¡¯s the 15th, so the topic is the moon. The format is five or seven characters in a line, with four or eight lines in total, or various ditties.¡± Everyone cheered that it was wonderful, ¡°The moonlight outside just happens to be very beautiful, this topic is well timed!¡± Someone rhymed. Leng Zui frowned, ¡°I¡¯ve never liked restraint. Those words are always repeated again and again. On the contrary, it¡¯s hard to have a clever sentence.¡± Everyone agreed. Leng Zui said, ¡°Everyone please do as you wish. There will be a stick of incense burning here. Once the incense has burnt out, come back for the outcomes.¡± The incense was specially made and would take about an hour to burn out. Everyone stood up and headed out to moongaze for inspiration. In the corner, Lei Lei¡¯s mouth was already twitching with laughter. There were so many poems praising the moon, it would be enough to bring out any random one. Today, she would definitely sit on the throne of the ¡°number one talented woman¡±! Seeing her being foolishly happy by herself, the young master next to her was very surprised. After watching her carefully for a long while, he finally said, ¡°You¡­ Are you alright?¡± The implication in his words was that you haven¡¯t gone crazy, right? I am a normal heroine, so I would definitely never recite such simple things like ¡°Moonlight in front of the bed¡±. Lei Lei immediately returned to normal and pulled him, ¡°Come, let¡¯s go moongaze!¡± The bright moon was thousands of miles away and the river was flowing silently. The water and the sky were the same colour, both above and below were clear and empty. The wind was strong near the railing and the heavy chill in the air against their faces was painful. Of course, this could not spoil Lei Lei¡¯s spirits in the slightest, ¡°The moon is so beautiful tonight! What a pity, what a pity¡­¡± The young master asked, ¡°What¡¯s so pitiful?¡± Lei Lei shook her head and sighed, ¡°It¡¯s a pity that Qin Liu Feng didn¡¯t come!¡± He would not be able to admire her appearance! The young master glanced at her, then looked away. Since she already had a poem, Lei Lei began to think about matters on her mind. She could not betray her handsome elder brother and she could not forsake ¡°Xiao Bai¡±. How could she satisfy both parties? She had been thinking about it these days and had really come up with a plan ¡ª her handsome elder brother just wanted the cultivation method as proof to make Chuan Qi Valley bow their heads and unify the Xing Yue sect, but he would not practise it himself and definitely would not give it to someone else to practise. Without anyone practising it, who would find out if there was a problem with the cultivation method? Why not just put a fake one there to copy? Besides, her handsome elder brother had never seen the real one before. She touched her chin. The more she thought about it, the more feasible she thought it was. Even if she was discovered, she could blame ¡°Xiao Bai¡¯. On TV, aren¡¯t there always backups of unmatched secrets? She could not be blamed for making a mistake and stealing the wrong one. But there was also another problem. To deceive her powerful brother, things had to imitate the real thing. It was obvious that she could not accomplish this by her own skills. To say nothing of the fact that Lei Lei did not know anything about martial arts terminology, she did not even know how many bones there were in her body. Besides, it was a big deal to have the Phoenix Crying Blade¡¯s cultivation technique stolen, so she would need ¡°Xiao Bai¡±¡¯s cooperation. If something important was stolen and Bai Sheng Shan Village did not respond at all when the time came, it would be strange if her handsome elder brother actually believed it! Yet, ¡°Xiao Bai¡± abhorred evil. Could she tell him about this? Lei Lei looked at the young master hesitantly. Under the silver moonlight, his face became more and more handsome. The straight and firm bridge of his nose was very candid, plus his tall and straight posture gave his whole body an aura of righteousness. I¡¯m sorry, handsome elder brother. She held onto her hope, ¡°Xiao Bai, I have an issue¡­¡± The young master turned to look at her. Lei Lei probed, ¡°What would you do if you met someone from the demonic cult?¡± Hearing the words ¡°demonic cult¡±, the young master¡¯s expression suddenly turned cold. Looking over the mountain and river, there was a faint murderous aura in his eyes. He said lightly, ¡°The demonic cult harms the world of martial arts. It is the duty of the descendants of the Xiao family to eliminate harm from civilians. You still need to ask?¡± Lei Lei deliberated then said, ¡°Then if by chance your friend is from the demonic cult, will you still kill them?¡± The young master¡¯s eyes flickered. Lei Lei concealed her guilty conscience and acted nonchalant, ¡°By chance, it¡¯s just by chance.¡± The young master snorted coldly, ¡°Stop talking nonsense!¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s completely different, there¡¯s no collusion. How could I have such a friend?!¡± Lei Lei argued, ¡°There¡¯s also good people in the demonic cult, what if you killed the wrong one?¡± The young master said, ¡°What a joke! How could there be good people in the demonic cult?¡± ¡°Who said there can¡¯t be? Could it be that everyone in the demonic cult has done bad things?¡± ¡°If they haven¡¯t done it yet, they will eventually. Letting them be will be a disaster!¡± ¡°If you have to get rid of them, wouldn¡¯t innocent people be hurt during the back and forth fighting?¡± The young master did not hesitate, ¡°Without sacrifice, how can there be justice?!¡± Dedicated to justice? She guessed that this person had been indoctrinated with this kind of mentality since childhood. It had been ingrained and it was too impractical to change it now. Lei Lei gave in desperately, ¡°What if they break away from their evil ways and return to the path of justice?¡± The young master was stunned, ¡°Naturally that would be good.¡± Talking about things was easy. Lei Lei regained her confidence and emphasised one sentence, ¡°But she¡¯s murdered people before, what then?¡± The young master frowned, ¡°It¡¯s natural and proper to pay with one¡¯s life after murdering someone. Having already repented, they should understand this more clearly and take responsibility for what they¡¯ve done by committing suicide and seeking forgiveness.¡± Commit suicide and seek forgiveness? Lei Lei trembled and all the words she had prepared were rescinded in fear. Was this not nonsense? No wonder nobody was willing to repent and change, it turned out that the premise was suicide! Who knew how many lives had been taken by Shang Guan Chun Hua, and among them was his wife, Young Miss Hua. Now that Chun Hua was dead, this life belonged to her. Although she had the heart to abandon evil and turn to justice, what good was it if she lost her life?! It seemed like ¡°Xiao Bai¡± would not cooperate and might just persuade her to ¡°suicide and seek forgiveness¡±. That would not do, she still wanted to hang out with her handsome elder brother. As for ¡°Xiao Bai¡±, she would not hurt him either but would just find a way to find the cultivation method first then imitate it. Alas, with the identity of a little devil, it would be very difficult to win ¡°Xiao Bai¡± ove CH 13.2 Fortunately, Le Lei was someone who drifted along with things. She quickly put aside her worries. She found that her hands had been blown cold by the wind and had almost frozen. She quickly lifted them and rubbed them together, ¡°Xiao Bai, are you cold?¡± The young master shook his head. Lei Lei immediately took his hand to warm herself up, and it really was extremely warm. The young master wanted to withdraw it hurriedly. Lei Lei said pitifully, ¡°Xiao Bai, I¡¯m cold.¡± The young master was speechless. Looking around and seeing that everyone was busy thinking about poetry and not paying them any attention, he did not say anything. Lei Lei tilted her head, ¡°That one too.¡± The young master stretched out his left hand. Covering her small hands with his larger ones, the warmth kept coming. Lei Lei immediately dismissed the idea of going back into the room and continued to stay out in the cold, ¡°The moonlight is beautiful tonight. Should have thought of this topic long ago!¡± The young master was silent for a moment and nodded, ¡°I¡¯ve never known the moonlight was so beautiful.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t noticed it before?¡± She was suspicious. ¡°Everytime there¡¯s a moon, my father would make me practise martial arts until the night watch.¡± A happy childhood was spent practising martial arts. Lei Lei was startled and then felt sympathy, poor child, being a victim of education. No wonder he was mature at such a young age, ¡°Did you look forward to days without the moon?¡± The young master was embarrassed as he looked at the great river outside the building, ¡°The ancestors of the Xiao family have done many great things in the world of martial arts to pacify the whole country and destroy the Xing Yue sect. If I don¡¯t study diligently and train hard, I would be ashamed to shoulder this heavy responsibility.¡± Lei Lei looked at him silently. Someone nearby said, ¡°The incense has almost burned out, do you have anything Brother Zhao?¡± Someone else replied, ¡°I have, but it¡¯s not good.¡± ¡°I only have two sentences.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Lei Lei came back to her senses and chuckled. You all can think about it slowly. I will recite a few poems by myself and scare you to death. She was regretful, ¡°Why didn¡¯t Qin Liu Feng come?!¡± The young master was silent. Seeing that he did not seem to be interested much, Lei Lei understood and whispered, ¡°Do you not have inspiration? Don¡¯t worry, I have many and can lend one to you.¡± Lend one? The young master looked at her and the corner of his mouth raised slightly, ¡°No need.¡± He hesitated, ¡°I have, it¡¯s just not necessarily good.¡± So fast, ¡°Xiao Bai¡± was really quick-witted, adept with both literary and military affairs! Lei Lei was joyful, ¡°Alright, alright, it¡¯s good you have one, you did well!¡± Her shoulders hunched up, ¡°Let¡¯s go in, it¡¯s so cold!¡± The incense had burnt out and people came in from outside one after another, looking dignified or self-satisfied. Only Lei Lei was confident with an indifferent expression and gracefully pulled the young master to sit down. Leng Zui walked to the middle, ¡°The incense has burned out. I think everyone has come up with a clever poem.¡± There was a lot of discussion among everyone. Leng Zui looked at Old Mr Cai, ¡°Everyone has, so what do you think?¡± Old Mr Cai nodded, ¡°Although I am not good at writing, when it comes to commentary, I believe I can still talk¡­¡± Someone interrupted, ¡°Old Master is too modest, who would dare to be dissatisfied with your comments?¡± Everyone agreed. Old Mr Cai smiled wordlessly. ¡°Since it¡¯s like this, then let¡¯s begin.¡± Leng Zui walked to the table and picked up a brush. Then she looked at the elegantly dressed young man on the left, ¡°How about we start with Brother Zhao?¡± The young gentleman named Zhao said a few humble words, then sure enough, he got up and recited a poem. The poem was very raw and Lei Lei was confused listening to it. Although she had stolen many famous poems as preparation, she could not fake her actual level for these things. So she did not know what it meant and just thought the handsome gentleman¡¯s poem was very interesting, so she followed everyone and clapped her hands in applause. In a blink of an eye, more than a dozen people had recited a poem. Soon it was Leng Zui¡¯s turn herself. Everyone laughed, ¡°Today, Miss Leng is the host. You¡¯ll surely have a good poem to show us.¡± Leng Zui placed the brush, then said lightly, ¡°I have one, but it¡¯s not so good.¡± Everyone said, ¡°How could Miss Leng¡¯s poems be bad? Let us hear.¡± Leng Zui did not refuse, ¡°I don¡¯t have a poem, but I have a song called ¡°Prelude to Water Melody¡±, it should be right to break the ice.¡± The talented woman was about to recite lyrics! Lei Lei pricked up her ears and became excited. She saw Leng Zui walk slowly to the window and hold the window lattice with her left hand. After a moment of contemplation, she recited slowly, ¡°When will the moon appear, I ask as I raise my wine to the heavens¡­¡± There was a ¡°boom¡± in her head and Lei Lei was petrified on the spot. There was the sound of applause. Old Mr Cai was excited, ¡°What a good ¡®I wish everyone lives long, a thousand miles of love and beauty¡¯!¡± Mr Zhao stood up, ¡°I need not wait tonight, I will respect this song!¡± ¡°People have joys and sorrows, the moon waxes and wanes, good sentence!¡± ¡°It is said that Miss Leng¡¯s poems are full of pride, not inferior to men¡¯s, as expected!¡± ¡°¡­¡± My goodness, so you had also transmigrated, why not tell me sooner?! Lei Lei¡¯s blood surged through her body and she almost could not laugh. You are really amazing, miss talented woman, plagiarising this song and daring to obtain the title of ¡°talented woman¡± through plagiarised poems? When we have time, we must deepen our friendship! She could not help but praise a fellow transmigrater. Lei Lei clapped and shouted, ¡°Good! Good words! Good words!¡± Leng Zui lifted the brush and wrote it down, then smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s it, now it¡¯s Brother Wang¡¯s turn.¡± The scholar named Wang stood up, ¡°With Miss Leng¡¯s good words, I have no face to compose and just managed to scrape together four lines with seven characters each, please excuse me.¡± After saying this, he recited, ¡°Alone on the river tower I ponder quietly, the moonlight is like the water and the water like the sky¡­¡± Was this not a poem by Zhao Gu? Brother, you were also transmigrated! Lei Lei was excited and clapped her hands, ¡°Good poetry! Good poetry!¡± Then came a young nobleman named Yan, ¡°The moon sets, crows cry, and the frost fills the sky¡­¡± How many people did that traversing group send over? Lei Lei froze for a moment, then continued clapping. At the same time, she began to worry. Fellow transmigraters, don¡¯t memorise all the good poems, at least leave one for me. Surely when the time comes, she would not really have to use the one that transmigrating girls had to memorise, the ¡°Moonlight in front of the bed¡± that was popular among elementary school students! It should not be a big problem, because the next one was the young master. ¡°The moon shines on the sea, from far away you share this moment with me,¡± having whispered out these two lines, the young master stopped and smiled slightly at Lei Lei. Lei Lei opened her mouth wide enough to fit an egg. She could not tell if others had transmigrated or not, but she knew ¡°Xiao Bai¡± the best and it was absolutely impossible for him to have transmigrated! She had been set up! A light flashed in her mind and Lei Lei finally remembered a key person ¡ª Mr Shu of the R&D department! As expected of a landmine genre! Designing this damned plot, maybe all the poems by these talented men and women were all designed by that guy! The young master finished reciting and as usual, he was praised a lot. Old Mr Cai nodded in satisfaction. The young master looked at Lei Lei. Lei Lei clapped her hands feebly and forced out an awkward smile, practically crying as she said, ¡°Good poem! Good poem!¡± ¡°Xiao Bai¡±, oh ¡°Xiao Bai¡±, although your poem is considered normal, but if you used this one, then what would I recite? I only remembered a few and the remaining one, ¡°A jug of wine among flowers¡±, did not conform to the required format, and ¡°Spring flower, autumn moon¡± was a sensitive topic that did not fit the situation. Was this not forcing her to recite ¡°Moonlight before the bed¡±?! Leng Zui frowned, ¡°Miss Lei, it¡¯s your turn.¡± Shock! I¡¯ll shock you all to death! Lei Lei was ready to risk everything. She stood up and was about to speak ¡ª ¡°Brother Qin!¡± ¡°Brother Qin, why did you come so late?!¡± ¡°¡­¡± Qin Liu Feng, who had arrived late, was wearing a light jade coloured robe and looked more and more elegant. He first straightened his clothing and saluted Old Mr Cai. Then he cupped his fists and smiled at the crowd, ¡°Unfortunately, there was an accident with the carriage on the way here. Having disturbed everyone¡¯s mood, forgive me, forgive me!¡± Someone laughed, ¡°Brother Qin, if you really want to make amends, then how about composing a good poem now to broaden our minds.¡± Everyone nodded, ¡°That¡¯s reasonable. With Miss Leng¡¯s good words preceding, Brother Qin must not do this perfunctorily.¡± Qin Liu Feng looked at Leng Zui and pursed his lips, ¡°How could I break your rules?¡± Rushing here after having an accident, it could be seen that he had already given her face. Leng Zui¡¯s expression was much better and she looked at Lei Lei awkwardly, ¡°This¡­¡± Everyone looked at Lei Lei. Even if Lei Lei was impervious to the obvious, she knew what to do. Besides, it did not matter whether she recited ¡°Moonlight before the bed¡± earlier or later. So she cupped her hands and did them a favour at little cost to herself, ¡°It¡¯s alright, Brother Qin please go first.¡± Qin Liu Feng also noticed her and raised his eyebrows, ¡°So it turned out to be Miss Lei Lei.¡± His mood when he arrived had already dissipated. Lei Lei wished this person would disappear immediately. She feigned a smile, ¡°No problem, no problem.¡± Qin Liu Feng looked at the crowd, ¡°I wonder what poems you composed?¡± Everyone hurriedly guided him to read the topic of the poems. Qin Liu Feng read the topic, then looked at everyone¡¯s works in turn. Seeing Leng Zui¡¯s ¡°Prelude to Water Melody¡±, he paused in silence for a while. Suddenly, he smiled, ¡°So it turns out, it¡¯s about the moonlight. Coincidentally, the moonlight was fine last night and I came out with one. Although it¡¯s not my current work, it¡¯s passable to bring it out to be presented.¡± Everyone laughed, ¡°Don¡¯t say that, come on, tell us and let us appreciate it!¡± Qin Liu Feng put his hands behind his back and looked out the window. He smiled, ¡°Moonlight in front of the bed¡­¡± Brother, what do you mean by this?! Lei Lei¡¯s gaze froze at his words. By the time she returned to her senses, there was only applause left at the scene. ¡°Good poem!¡± ¡°Brother Qin is so talented, you have my admiration!¡± Old Mr Cai was excited and stood up, ¡°Young Master Qin¡¯s poem and Miss Leng¡¯s words can be regarded as the double masterpiece of tonight¡¯s poetry meet. This old man has nothing to say!¡± Everyone agreed in succession. Qin Liu Feng smiled, ¡°Old Master has overpraised me.¡± Leng Zui¡¯s pretty face reddened, ¡°Old Master has spoken too early. There are still many people left who have yet to take their turns. Let us continue.¡± All eyes fell onto a certain someone. Lei Lei returned to her senses. She leaned to the side and fell onto the young master, pretending to have fainted. On a certain day in a certain month in 2008. Next to the computer, Mr Shu looked at the screen and snapped his fingers, ¡°OK!¡± He burst out in smug laughter simultaneously with the four beauties beside him. ¡°Entering the landmine genre, but this little sheep still wanted to escape the plot setting!¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t follow the plot, then this is the end!¡± ¡°Haha!¡±