Volume One, Chapter 73: Miss Bai (7)

As soon as Qin Yu returned to her room, a sharp gaze locked onto her.

“Have you eaten your fill? If so, let’s get moving.”

Xiaoqing materialized, her voice icy cold.

Qin Yu: “…”

Is that really something you say?

“What’s your rush? At noon, the yang energy is at its peak. Can you even handle it if I take you there now?”

Xiaoqing’s face fell, her features contorting with frustration. “So when will you take me?”

Qin Yu calculated with her fingers, then held up five. “Five o’clock.”

Xiaoqing asked, “What time is it now?”

“Twelve. Five hours to go.”

“Fine!”

With that, Xiaoqing slipped back into the painting, not dragging things out in the slightest.

Though she seemed to have withdrawn, Xiaoqing continued to watch Qin Yu’s movements in secret. She saw her first meditate in place, then move to the desk to draw and paint, without making any other moves.

Xiaoqing’s expression was a blend of doubt and suspicion. Muttering to herself, she wondered, “Is she just fooling the snake?”

Her face darkened with determination. “If she’s lying to me, I’ll just take her body for myself! Hmph!”

—

Qin Yu sat at her desk for three straight hours. If not for the chill creeping up her back, she might have stayed longer.

“It’s five o’clock,” Xiaoqing reminded her, pouting.

Qin Yu’s stomach rumbled in untimely protest, but as soon as she opened her mouth, Xiaoqing cut her off. “Someone promised to take me to Leifeng Pagoda to find Lady Bai at five.”

Qin Yu regretted it instantly, patting her stomach. She’d forgotten that dinner at the Su residence wasn’t until six. What a loss.

“Give me five minutes,” Qin Yu said, heading for the door.

Xiaoqing flicked her tail to chase after her, but a small cloud of black mist blocked her way.

Narrow eyes narrowed further, making her seem even fiercer. “What are you supposed to be?”

The “what are you” in question, Mu Ling, was so angry he stamped his feet. Crossing his little black arms, he snapped, “I’m the thing that was shipped over from the Luo family with you!”

Xiaoqing nodded, recalling the black mist that carried her through the clouds the previous night. “Ah, so it’s you, little one.”

Mu Ling’s face flushed a deep red-black. “Who are you calling little? I’m a millennium-old vengeful spirit!”

But Xiaoqing’s face was indifferent, as if to say, “so what?” and she replied coolly, “And what of it? I’m sure I’m older anyway.”

Mu Ling could only give her a thumbs up, inwardly admitting defeat—“you win!”

“All right, little thing, out of my way.”

“You’ve waited so long for Xiaoyu already; what’s five more minutes?”

Xiaoqing’s eyes darted, realizing his words made sense. “Fine, I’ll listen to you, little thing. I’ll wait five more minutes.”

Mu Ling took a deep breath, outwardly displaying the poise of a “handsome man unconcerned with a lady snake’s antics,” but inside he was wailing, “Xiaoyu, I’m sacrificing way too much for you.”

Qin Yu returned with some snacks from the housekeeper, telling her not to call her for dinner, then went back to her room. She slung on her small pouch, stuffed the charms she’d drawn that afternoon inside, and tossed in the bamboo painting as well.

She was brimming with energy, eyes shining bright.

Just the moment to try her “Thousand Mile in a Day Talisman”!

She pinched the charm between two fingers, recited the incantation, and when the paper burst into flames without fire, she pressed it to her calf.

With a whoosh, the wind chime on the window tinkled, and in the next instant, the room was empty.

—

Beneath Leifeng Pagoda.

Qin Yu clung to a pillar, face pale as she fought to suppress the upheaval in her stomach, but failed.

With a retch, up came all her midday meal.

A figure in green floated over, both surprised and amused. Hands on her hips, she teased, “Well, well, who gets motion sick just from traveling?”

Qin Yu’s grip on the pillar tightened into a fist.

If she hadn’t been nagged from inside her bag the whole way, would she have rushed so fast?

Her stomach turned again, and all she could vomit now was bitter yellow bile.

Already irritable, with this snake gloating noisily beside her, Qin Yu finally snapped.

She gestured with a spell, and though Xiaoqing kept chattering on, her voice was silenced.

Mu Ling drifted out, at first thinking his own ears had gone wrong, until he saw Qin Yu’s confirming look. Then, delighted, he bounced around her like a two-hundred-pound child.

“Xiaoyu, well done! I couldn’t stand her either! If I could beat her, you wouldn’t have needed to do it yourself!”

Qin Yu wiped her mouth and scoffed coldly. “Realize your own weakness now, don’t you? Better retrieve your thing soon, or you’ll keep drawing aggro from other spirits.”

Every time the conversation reached this point, Mu Ling would just laugh awkwardly and play dumb.

Qin Yu saw through him but didn’t bother to say more.

—

Xiaoqing basked in her own triumph for a while, but when she didn’t get any reaction from Qin Yu, she looked over suspiciously.

Mu Ling immediately clapped his hands over his ears in mock agony and tugged at Qin Yu’s sleeve behind his back.

“She’s looking this way—act like you’re in pain,” he whispered.

Qin Yu: “?”

Mu Ling: “I’m worried she’ll realize we can’t hear her.”

Qin Yu: “You’ve devoured all the bamboo shoots on this mountain.”

Xiaoqing, seeing the two of them writhing as if tormented by her words, was quite satisfied and spoke even more vigorously.

Mu Ling even thought he saw flecks of her spittle flying.

Qin Yu rested in place for a while, only moving on once she felt better.

Leifeng Pagoda stood tall beside the lake, an octagonal structure in the style of a Tang or Song dynasty pavilion, each tier roofed in copper tiles, with bracket sets at the corners and eaves that soared and curled skyward.

The setting sun cast its glow on the tower, reflecting in the lake below, as if another shimmering pagoda rose from the crystal-clear waters.

Faced with such a scene, Xiaoqing found herself speechless, eyes brimming with tears as she flew toward the pagoda.

Along the way, she occasionally passed through tourists, leaving them shivering from the chill.

Qin Yu, having used an invisibility charm, stayed unseen by passersby.

Seeing Xiaoqing so agitated, Qin Yu hurried after her.

Her soul was bound to the painting and couldn’t stray too far.

Moreover…

She didn’t have time to warn her before a beam of Buddhist light shot from the pagoda.

Xiaoqing’s form bounced off it like a balloon slamming into a wall, rebounding with a thud.

Fortunately, Mu Ling darted over to catch her, or who knows where she’d have ended up.

“Xiaoyu, come look!” Mu Ling called as he sped over with Xiaoqing in tow.

The once lively snake now lay limp, utterly motionless.

“That Buddhist light was set up specifically against snakes. That’s why she’s so badly hurt.”

Qin Yu took out the bamboo painting. “Rest inside the painting for now.”

But Xiaoqing gritted her teeth, her voice weak. She opened her mouth but no words came.

Qin Yu, realizing she’d cast a muting spell, quickly undid it.

“What were you trying to say?”