Qin Jue’s expression showed his conflict. Originally, he should not have understood this kind of childish comparison. But under Xie Lin Lang’s quick-witted expressions and gestures, he got the gist of it.
Explaining it like this also cleared away all of the suspicions he had before.
For instance, it explained how Xie Lin Lang was able to carry him as if they were flying even though her KungFu skills were terrible. And why she was able to hear movements of the enemy even though they were still a long distance away…In the end, it was because there was a monster living inside her body…Ultimately, she was the person that held the most threat to others.
So her restraint was simply because she was afraid of becoming a monster and unintentionally injuring others. Could this be considered as a type of kindness?
But the more he understood, the more questions arose.
For instance, who was the person that put the monster inside her body? Was this related to the fact that her body was naturally immune to all poison? And if she did turn into a monster, just what kind of consequences would that create for the future?
Xie Lin Lang was like a layer of dense fog that he couldn’t see through no matter how much he looked. Even if he saw through one layer of fog, a new layer will appear on top of it.
After a long while, Qin Jue finally spoke quietly, “So during these couple of days, you had been following me the entire time?”
Actually, he had felt something along the lines of this. When he first slipped over the edge of the cliff and a tree root suddenly appeared. And the time when he accidentally fell into the water, a tree branch happened to float by…
Reflecting back to the fact that she had followed him this entire time, not only giving him a massive amount of room for personal growth but also not completely letting him run around wild…Qin Jue felt his heart warm up. At the same time, he was amused, thinking about the way she’s treating him…both like a strict teacher, but also like a close friend. She wasn’t actually thinking of taking him in as a disciple, was she?
Thinking until here, Xie Lin Lang suddenly handed over a chicken leg to him.
“Here, eat something. You haven’t eaten anything for a whole day.”
Hearing her words, Qin Jue’s face suddenly heated up with embarrassment. If Xie Lin Lang had been watching him all these days, then she must have seen how he appeared in all sorts of desperate situations?
After giving him a piece of chicken leg, Xie Lin Lang chewed on a piece of chicken wing too. She was very satisfied with her work this time around and spoke with a mouth full of food.
“My digging through the hornet’s nest for this honey wasn’t in vain! Roasted chicken isn’t complete without the layer of honey on top! I can eat almost all of it even if I don’t have any salt! How is it? You also think it’s tastier like this, right?”
Qin Jue stared distractedly at her. Ever since he had lost his sense of taste last time around, his taste never returned even after they had already removed all of the remaining poison from his body.
It was probably due to his body receiving too much excessive damage, leaving a lasting harmful effect on his body. But it wasn’t that big of a deal. Since he never emphasized too much on the desire for tasting good food, what was lost will just be gone.
Thinking thus, he nodded his head, “It’s tasty.”
Xie Lin Lang smiled with satisfaction. When she finished chewing on one chicken wing and moving to the second, she suddenly stuck out her tongue, a little unwilling to continue eating.
“Alright…I will take back what I said earlier. Food without salt is completely unacceptable! Ugh, it would be nice if Xiao Xi was here. He always carries seasoning with him wherever he goes!”
Hearing Xie Lin Lang saying this, a strange thought vaguely appeared inside Qin Jue’s brain.
It seemed as if Xie Lin Lang had always loved eating food? Then…should he be carrying seasoning on him wherever he goes as well?
…… (This translation was brought to you by LeafInBloom on Patreon and Sleepy Translations.)
Soon, the night quickly passed.
Since Xie Lin Lang had already revealed herself, there was no point in hiding anymore. However, there were still a couple of mountains in front of them, and rather than letting them go to waste, she decided to change up his training method.
Inside of the spacious and empty valley, Xie Lin Lang waved her fan while speaking to Qin Jue.
“In the upcoming days, we’ll forget about challenging past your limits. With your body full of injuries, I don’t want to purposely make things difficult for you either…”
Having said that, she lowered her head and removed the bindings from her waist, ankles, and wrists, and handed it over to him.
“All you need to do is to climb the mountains while wearing them. With these on, your footing will become steadier, and climbing the mountain will also become safer for you.”
Qin Jue reached over to receive them, but because he wasn’t prepared, both of his hands abruptly sunk, almost letting them go! Among these, one of the bindings Xie Lin Lang used for her wrist escaped his hold, falling into the snow, and instantly disappeared without a trace.
Qin Jue: …
Xie Lin Lang blinked, and then bent over to help him wear the bindings, speaking to him as she did so.
“These are all made of black metal. They shouldn’t be too heavy altogether, only about eighteen kilograms. Moreover, there is soft cushioning on the inside. As your clothing is very thick, your skin won’t be scratched. These bindings are the bare fundamental tools of training your Chi. In the past, I have seen an uncle wear a whole body of black metal armor. Now that was amazing.”
After Qin Jue finished wearing the bindings, he felt as if he wore a layer of heavy prison chains. Indeed, his walking became steadier, but once his foot landed on the ground, it was difficult for him to even lift it again.
Xie Lin Lang continued, “There’s currently a sliver of Chi inside your body now. If you feel that the bindings are too heavy, then think of a way to control that Chi to flow throughout your body. The faster it flows, the easier it will be for you to walk. At the same time, it’s only when the Chi is flowing that your Meridian won’t close up again. In short, it’s very difficult to keep your Meridian open and flowing. Before it closes up again, you must practice circulating it amongst your body first. That’s why I wish you good luck!”
Having said that, Xie Lin Lang went on ahead, shaking her fan and walking with light steps. It was difficult for Qin Jue to catch up even if he wanted to.
Eighteen kilograms. The heaviest object he had held in the past was probably the Crown Prince’s seal, squared on all sides and slightly larger than the size of his palm.
But just because he had never done something in the past doesn’t mean that he will never be able to do it in the future!
Thinking as such, he began trying all sorts of different techniques to get an understanding of the Chi inside his body while simultaneously making an effort to chase after Xie Lin Lang.
The only thing he was regretful of was leaving behind the tiger he had killed. His original plan was to skin the tiger and give it to Xie Lin Lang as a seat cushion since she was always going on about the horse carriage being too bumpy causing her butt to hurt very much.
……
On the other side, Xiang City.
Atop a simple and crude boat, the old expert behind County Magistrate Tao pushed a box of silver towards the person standing on the opposite end.
He smiled darkly, “One hundred taels of silver, it’s all here. And once you have killed Xie Lin Lang, DaRen will be giving you another hundred taels!”
The man wearing black took the silver into his possession and smiled as well, “That won’t be a problem. Tao DaRen’s orders, who would dare to disobey? Please be at ease, DaRen, by handing the case over to me, it’s as easy said as done!”
County Magistrate Tao nodded his head, his chubby face full of arrogance.
“Remember, you must have them killed before they can step a foot inside Xiang City. There are the Emperor’s men inside of Xiang City that are specifically waiting for the decrowned Crown Prince to arrive. Once they have entered Xiang City, then everything will be too late. Do you understand?”
“Understood! Rest assured, DaRen, I will most definitely not allow them to live long enough to step a foot in Xiang City!”
Hearing this much, County Magistrate Tao smiled with satisfaction. Simultaneously, on the outside, a very nicely decorated pleasure boat moved closer to the boat they were on. The County Magistrate and the expert left the small boat and boarded the pleasure boat, returning back to spending their time indulging in pleasure and drinking away.
Seeing them leave, a person of short stature spoke up behind the man dressed in black.
“Boss, are we really going to do it? Killing someone from the imperial court is punishable by death! What if the target has someone with a high background watching out for them? And that decrowned Crown Prince, since the Emperor especially had someone waiting here for him, he clearly saw the importance of the Crown Prince. Wouldn’t we be bringing trouble upon ourselves by killing them like this?”
His boss humphed in disapproval and spoke with not the least bit of concern, “What’s there to be scared of? If that person named Xie had a behind-the-scenes supporter, why would he be assigned to become a County Magistrate at a place like Xiang City in the first place? He most likely had been abandoned as well.”
“As for that decrowned Crown Prince, there are plenty of people that also want him dead. As long as we clean up after ourselves, who can guess that we’re the ones that commit the crime? And if worst comes to worst, don’t we also have the corrupt Magistrate named Tao to take the bullet for us?”
“…I understand, boss. I will set up the arrangement right away.”