“Uh, what are you two doing? Get up quickly.” Due to the propriety between men and women, Song Qingshu couldn’t directly help them up. Instead, he raised his hand slightly in the air, and the two women felt a gentle force lifting them to their feet.
Zhao Yingluo couldn’t help rolling her eyes. Unlike her sister, who didn’t know martial arts, she was well aware that Song Qingshu had countless opportunities to stop them from kneeling earlier. Yet, he had waited until after she had knelt before pretending to be kind and helping them up—utterly despicable! Still, she understood that he was probably retaliating for her earlier behavior. For a moment, she wasn’t sure whether to blame him or herself.
While she was lost in thought, Song Qingshu suddenly appeared right in front of her, so close that she could almost feel the warmth of his breath on her face. Instinctively, she tried to retreat, but his arm—long and agile like an ape’s—wrapped around her slender waist, trapping her in place.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Zhao Yingluo panicked, momentarily forgetting that she was not only skilled in martial arts but exceptionally so.
“Shh, keep your voice down!” Contrary to her expectations, Song Qingshu didn’t look like a lecherous man. Instead, his expression was grave. “There are two people in the courtyard outside—both experts. One is to the southeast, the other to the southwest. We’ll each take one. Make sure they don’t make a sound and alert the guards.”
Only then did Zhao Yingluo realize she had misunderstood him. Following his reminder, she focused her senses and faintly detected the presence of two individuals in those directions. She couldn’t help but marvel inwardly: ‘This man might be a bit of a flirt, but his martial prowess is truly unfathomable… But can someone who’s genuinely lecherous really cultivate such profound skill?’
“You’re spacing out now?” Song Qingshu was about to move when he noticed her distraction and nearly laughed in exasperation.
“None of your business!” Zhao Yingluo’s jade-like cheeks flushed crimson as she ignored him and dashed toward the southeast corner.
Watching her graceful figure glide through the air like an immortal fairy stepping lightly on lotus feet, Song Qingshu couldn’t help but sigh in admiration: ‘Despite her youth, her cultivation has reached such heights. Huang Shang truly lives up to his name!’
Without hesitation, Song Qingshu activated Traceless Sand Treading Steps, a Qinggong far superior to the movement techniques in the Nine Yin Scripture. Though he started later, he arrived in the courtyard before Zhao Yingluo.
The two figures hiding in the shadows of the courtyard never expected their targets to appear before them so quickly. Reacting swiftly, they flung a barrage of hidden projectiles at Song Qingshu and Zhao Yingluo before immediately fleeing.
Their response was quick-witted—against ordinary experts, even if the projectiles missed, the delay would have given them enough time to escape. Unfortunately, they weren’t facing ordinary experts. Both Song Qingshu and Zhao Yingluo were among the most elite warriors in the martial world.
With a flick of her delicate, jade-white fingers, Zhao Yingluo transformed her hands into a blur of afterimages, effortlessly catching every incoming projectile. Seeing her target already dozens of feet away, she frowned and flung the projectiles back with both hands. A muffled groan later, the man collapsed, twitched twice, and then lay still.
‘Turning the sinister Nine Yin White Bone Claw into something so ethereal—this woman really has some skill.’ Song Qingshu smirked. Facing the barrage of projectiles, his body defied physics as he sidestepped three feet, dodging every single one. Then, with a light tap of his toes, he closed the distance of dozens of feet in an instant. Gripping the black-clad man’s throat, he demanded in a voice laced with the Soul Capture Technique from the Nine Yin Scripture: “Who sent you?”
Under the hypnotic effect, the man answered reflexively: “The Empress… Her Majesty ordered us to monitor Xiao Xingguo… to ensure he doesn’t leave his residence…”
“Empress Pei Man?” Song Qingshu’s brow furrowed as he crushed the man’s windpipe without hesitation. He hadn’t even realized how much he had changed over the past two years. When he first arrived in this world from a society governed by law, he had vowed never to stain his hands with blood. But he wasn’t a carefree wanderer like Chu Liuxiang. Once he set foot on the path to conquer the world, the choice of whether to kill was no longer his to make. Tempered in the fires of battle, he had become far more ruthless than he ever imagined.
“Did you learn anything?” Zhao Yingluo floated gracefully to Song Qingshu’s side.
“Empress Pei Man sent them. Probably worried I’d ruin her plans by escaping.” Song Qingshu replied absentmindedly.
“What plans?” Zhao Yingluo looked puzzled.
“I’m not entirely sure myself.” Not wanting to explain further, Song Qingshu deliberately changed the subject. “The way you redirected those projectiles using the Thunderfire Pearl technique was nothing short of divine craftsmanship.”
She rolled her eyes. “Please. Compared to your inhuman Qinggong, my clumsy skills are nothing.”
Song Qingshu chuckled. “If you’re clumsy, then you’re the most beautiful clumsy woman I’ve ever seen.”
“I’m not one of those foolish women around you who fall for sweet talk.” Snorting, Zhao Yingluo turned and walked away.
Song Qingshu was dumbfounded. ‘Did I abandon her in a past life or something? Why does she despise me so much?’
“The Empress only sent people to monitor me. It’ll take time before she realizes something’s wrong. You two will be safer here for now.” Returning to the room, Song Qingshu addressed the sisters.
“Are you leaving, Young Master?” Zhao Fujin sensed the implication in his words.
Song Qingshu nodded. “I have other matters to attend to.”
“What other matters? You’re just rushing back to see your precious princess wife.” Zhao Yingluo sat beside her sister, her tone indifferent.
Song Qingshu shrugged. “If Miss Yang wants me to stay, I can. But there’s only one bed here—I’m afraid the two princesses will have to squeeze in with me.”
“Go die! Who wants you to stay?!” Enraged, she grabbed a pillow from the bed and hurled it at him.
Song Qingshu, already prepared, laughed and swiftly left.
Once he was gone, Zhao Fujin suddenly gave her sister a strange look. “Yingluo, do you… like Young Master Song?”
Zhao Yingluo flushed. “Sister, don’t be ridiculous. I just can’t stand how he flirts around despite already having so many women around him.”
Zhao Fujin smirked teasingly. “Oh? And who has he flirted with? Ah, I remember—didn’t he kiss someone earlier?”
“Sister!” Zhao Yingluo protested, tickling her sister’s sides in retaliation. “Weren’t you the one being hugged and touched by him at Autumn Fragrance Pavilion?”
“You little—!” The sisters quickly dissolved into a playful tussle.
Had Song Qingshu still been there, he would have enjoyed the sight of their disheveled hair and loose robes.
*****
After a long night, the horizon was beginning to brighten.
To avoid being spotted in daylight, Song Qingshu raced back to the Tang Kuo residence.
Slipping past the servants, he quietly returned to his room—only to find Wanyan Gebi dozing at the table, her cheek resting on her hand.
Startled by the noise, she opened her eyes and stared at him in confusion.
“Who are you?”