Chapter 17
The enormous full moon hung high overhead. Its pale light was cold, yet somehow far too gentle, softening even Wen Wanxi’s expression in Song Qi’s eyes.
Song Qi swallowed again.
Partly from fear, partly from nervousness, and partly because she had once again been led astray by beauty.
Wen Wanxi was breathtakingly cold and beautiful, her features naturally aloof. When she smiled, it was like spring rain softening the earth and warm sunlight spreading across the land. When she did not, she appeared dignified and imposing, making people afraid to look directly at her.
Why did this woman have to be so beautiful for no reason?
“You’re beautiful, so I looked a few more times.”
The instant the words left her mouth, Song Qi wanted to cut out her own tongue.
Now it was not only beauty that caused trouble—alcohol did too.
Who could have known this wine would hit so hard afterward? She had taken only one sip, yet it had already gone straight to her head!
“I mean, everyone appreciates beauty.”
After Song Qi explained, Wen Wanxi appeared unconvinced. She merely gave a cold laugh, removed the stopper from the wine gourd, and poured a little into her mouth.
Her red lips did not touch the mouth of the gourd.
Song Qi: 【Does this mean the mission is complete?!】
Hutu: 【Does this mean the mission is complete?!】
Song Qi and Hutu simultaneously remembered that ridiculous side mission.
Had they really completed it so effortlessly without even realizing it?
“The wine is good. Unfortunately, it ended up in the hands of someone with a terrible tolerance.”
Song Qi: “…”
Did she really have to insult her like that?
Song Qi did not dare snatch the wine back. In the end, she merely said, “If City Lord Wen has no other business, I’ll return first.”
“Wait.”
Wen Wanxi’s footsteps drew closer.
Song Qi did not dare expose her back to this woman, so she immediately turned around.
“What is it?”
“I never said you could leave.”
It was over.
Although Wen Wanxi was her dark moonlight, this was still the dead of night, with wind high and darkness perfect for murder…
Well, that was not entirely accurate. The moon was quite large.
Either way, could she please stop coming so close?
Everyone in the novel feared Wen Wanxi’s martial arts. They feared even more her unpredictable temper and her habit of killing people while smiling and chatting.
When Song Qi had merely read about it, she had found Wen Wanxi wickedly charming.
Only after experiencing it firsthand did she understand what fear truly meant.
She was genuinely terrified.
Wen Wanxi’s lips curved slightly, like the sharp edge of a crescent blade.
Song Qi wanted to run, but her legs seemed rooted to the ground and would not move.
“Why are you hiding your true strength?”
Wen Wanxi was curious about Song Qi.
Moreover, she needed Song Qi to handle something for her next.
Wen Wanxi disliked unknown variables. She could not tolerate the sensation of being unable to control something.
“Then why is Xiao Sheng hiding his strength?”
The instant Song Qi said it, surprise clearly flashed through Wen Wanxi’s eyes.
All right.
It seemed her life had reached its end.
Goodbye, Hutu.
【Hold on a little longer!】
“Oh dear, I’m drunk! I’m drunk! Hahahaha!”
Song Qi let out several dry laughs and turned to leave, but Wen Wanxi hooked a finger into the back of her collar.
A chill instantly ran across Song Qi’s neck.
The words of surrender reached her lips—and somehow became stuck there.
“You know quite a lot.”
Wen Wanxi’s light, airy voice floated over.
Song Qi’s legs immediately weakened.
“City Lord Wen, I was speaking nonsense.”
“Do you think I believe you?”
“I’m not going to guess.”
Song Qi wanted to cry.
She had not cried when her parents treated her coldly.
She had not cried when she suffered grievances at university.
She had not cried when she could not afford food.
Yet now, she truly wanted to cry.
Ever since Wu Ye severely injured Wen Wanxi, she had never trusted anyone again.
Even with Xiao Sheng, she remained constantly on guard.
How could she possibly believe Song Qi’s nonsense?
“Who exactly are you?”
Even if Song Qi was the Drunken Sword Immortal’s disciple, how could she know Wucheng’s martial arts and Xiao Sheng’s hidden trump card?
Wen Wanxi sensed danger.
She felt as though her plan had been exposed.
“I’m just an ordinary person!”
Song Qi’s mind spun furiously.
For the sake of staying alive, she had never felt so intelligent before.
“Wucheng’s martial arts are profound and mysterious, but Xiao Sheng was obviously holding back on the platform. That’s why I guessed he was concealing his abilities.”
After saying that, Song Qi continued, “He won each of his previous matches within ten moves. Even I wouldn’t be confident of defeating him, much less Song Tianxing.”
Song Qi turned and looked sincerely at Wen Wanxi.
The woman was slightly taller than her, probably around five feet nine inches, with the unmistakable figure of a model.
“As for why I hide my strength, I only want enough ability to protect myself while staying out of the martial world’s affairs. I just want to be an insignificant nobody.”
After Song Qi finished, Wen Wanxi released her collar.
Song Qi did not immediately flee.
Instead, she turned, lowered her head, and said, “I’m not lying to you.”
“Even so, I still don’t believe you.”
Wen Wanxi’s words filled Song Qi with despair.
But given Wen Wanxi’s suspicious nature, it would have been stranger if she believed her.
“Come here.”
Wen Wanxi issued the command.
Song Qi obediently followed behind her.
When Wen Wanxi leaned back against a tree and sat down, Song Qi finally released a breath.
It seemed she did not intend to kill her.
“Sit.”
Seeing Song Qi standing foolishly there, Wen Wanxi did not know whether to call her obedient or stupid.
“Oh. Right.”
Song Qi sat facing Wen Wanxi, but did not dare look at her.
Instead, she stared at the ground, afraid of those beautiful eyes with their overwhelming force.
“Where is the sword tassel?”
“Here, here.”
Song Qi took the tassel from inside her robe.
She had kept it carefully and had not dared allow even the slightest stain or disorder.
Wen Wanxi did not take it back.
Seeing that it was unharmed, she relaxed.
“I need you to do something for me.”
Wen Wanxi went straight to the point, catching Song Qi completely off guard.
How could she have expected the woman’s attitude to change so quickly?
One moment she had been threatening her.
The next, she was asking for help.
Still, Song Qi was not foolish.
She knew she had no room to refuse.
First, Wen Wanxi knew she practiced the Seven Forms of the Wine Immortal. If that secret were exposed, Yu Mingshun would probably hunt her down.
Second, if she refused, she would lose her usefulness.
Wen Wanxi might genuinely kill her with a single palm strike.
“Find out whether your sect leader or any of the elders has a flying-eagle tattoo on their leg.”
“Huh?”
Look at other people’s legs?
Was she supposed to lift their trouser legs and inspect them?
“I don’t care what method you use. Report to me once every three days.”
Report once every three days?
Was Wen Wanxi joking?
The Divine Sword Sect and Wucheng were close, separated only by Tianshui City, but traveling from the Divine Sword Sect to Wucheng still required two days on foot.
If Song Qi frequently left the mountain, Yu Mingshun would become suspicious.
More importantly, her three hidden-boss roommates and Song Tianxing would definitely notice!
“We’ll meet in Tianshui City.”
When Wen Wanxi said they would meet in Tianshui City, Song Qi relaxed slightly.
It required only half a day to travel there from the Divine Sword Sect.
Still, if she was going to descend the mountain so often, she would need to think of a convincing excuse.
【A main mission has arrived: Complete Wen Wanxi’s request.】
【What the hell? Didn’t you say the main mission would only appear after the Young Heroes’ Assembly ended?】
【It’s what my superiors decided. What do you want me to do? Then don’t accept it.】
【…Fine. I accept my fate.】
Either way, she already had to complete Wen Wanxi’s request.
It made no real difference when the main mission was issued.
Song Qi was merely dissatisfied with the system constantly changing its mind.
“Tianshui City is enormous. Where am I supposed to meet you?”
Song Qi had no choice but to agree.
She could worry later about how she was going to inspect someone’s leg.
She had discovered that none of these missions followed ordinary logic.
Digging through the ground, obtaining a sword tassel, and now looking at other people’s legs.
It was incomprehensible.
“Yunmeng House.”
Song Qi nodded after hearing the answer.
Then she suddenly remembered something and looked sharply at Wen Wanxi.
“A brothel?”
“Mm.”
Yunmeng House appeared several times in the novel.
Lu Xiaoming, that terrible friend, had once tricked Song Tianxing into entering it.
Yunmeng House had a famous courtesan whom everyone called Miss Ning.
Song Tianxing had once encountered Miss Ning by chance, but she did not seem particularly fond of him.
When Song Qi read the novel, she had found Miss Ning especially mysterious.
In many male-oriented novels, the male lead practically overflowed with hormones. Almost every woman who met him developed at least some affection for him.
Miss Ning was also someone who refused to follow the usual path.
Although she appeared very little, she genuinely disliked Song Tianxing.
There had not been even the slightest hidden ambiguity between them.
Wen Wanxi raised the small wine gourd.
“Have a sip?”
Song Qi: “…”
Fine.
You possess powerful martial arts and a beautiful face and a kind heart—
Ahem.
Whatever you say goes.
Song Qi removed the stopper from her own small gourd and took a sip.
It went slightly to her head, and she could not resist taking another.
The more she drank, the better it tasted.
Wen Wanxi did not stop her.
She watched Song Qi drink several more mouthfuls before smiling and asking, “Is it good?”
“Good… hic! Very good!”
It was over.
The alcohol had truly gone to her head.
Song Qi did not merely feel dizzy. She felt as though her mind had started malfunctioning, like a computer preparing to shut down.
Her body kept tipping forward.
She hurriedly braced both hands against the ground.
Something fell out from inside her robe, but she did not notice.
When she finally realized an object had dropped and reached for it, Wen Wanxi picked it up first.
Wen Wanxi stared in shock at the jade pendant in her hand.
A qilin was carved on the front, while the character “Xiu” was engraved on the back.
This was clearly…
“Where did you get this?”
A vicious force gathered in Wen Wanxi’s palm.
If Song Qi’s answer failed to satisfy her, she would kill her.
Song Qi opened her eyes and looked, then narrowed them in an attempt to see clearly.
Only then did she recognize what Wen Wanxi was holding.
“Dug it up… rear mountain… dug it out of the ground. Stupid… stupid system.”
Wen Wanxi dispersed the internal force in her palm.
She looked at the pendant, then at Song Qi.
The woman had already become a drunken cat.
Precisely because she was drunk, what she said was probably true.
Wen Wanxi placed the jade pendant back into Song Qi’s hand.
“Keep it safe.”
Song Qi clenched it tightly.
She was truly extremely drunk.
Although she retained a small amount of awareness, with how strongly the alcohol was affecting her, she would soon… very soon… soon…
Thump—
Song Qi collapsed onto the ground and instantly fell asleep.
Even within the darkness, she felt the entire world spinning unbearably around her.
Wen Wanxi froze.
Looking at the careless way Song Qi had fallen, she could not help laughing softly.
What was she supposed to say about this person?
At times clever, at times confused.
At times vigilant, at times completely defenseless.
She had nearly died only moments ago.
Forget it.
Wen Wanxi stood and glanced at Song Qi once more.
She wanted to leave, but did not know whether she should simply abandon her there.
At that moment, footsteps sounded in the distance.
A woman’s voice also drifted over.
It belonged to the woman named Bai Luoyin.
Wen Wanxi looked down at the drunken Song Qi and shook her head with a helpless smile.
See you tomorrow, little one.
Author’s Note
Sister Wen: See you tomorrow, little one.
Song Qi: The author won’t update until Tuesday.
Sister Wen: …I’ll destroy her.
Salty Cat: Trembling in fear.
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