The Cold And Aloof Senior Sister Keeps Flirting With Me - Chapter 21.2

In this cruel cultivation world, connections within immortal sects could sometimes be a lifeline. Yan Jue certainly wasn’t opposed to making a few more friends, and she smiled faintly, “Okay, let’s do missions together in the future.”

Yan Jue walked a few steps and noticed Qi Xianqing hadn’t followed. She couldn’t help but turn back and paused slightly.

Qi Xianqing was wearing an ink-dyed, thin gauze, overlapping collar, multi layered skirt, still in a convenient narrow-sleeved style. The exquisite and elegant crane embroidery on the fabric was faintly visible. The slightly deeper color tone made her look even fairer, with an ethereal temperament, like an exiled immortal.

Behind her, the immortal sword “Zhu Ying” (Candle Shadow), which could slay all evil spirits, was still hanging, adding a touch of chivalry to her originally gentle eyebrows.

Qi Xianqing stood with her back to the city gate, holding the “Bu Ying Xia” (Capture Shadow Box) in her hand, and with a click, she recorded an image of the street.

“…”

The return journey was under overcast skies, naturally much easier than the arrival.

Chu Fu walked up to Qi Xianqing and said something to her. Qi Xianqing nodded slightly.

Chu Fu took out a small cart from his Qiankun Pouch, placed it on an open space, and recited the Heart Incantation.

The cart body suddenly grew larger, quickly transforming into a carriage that could accommodate four people.

Thus, all four of them traveled inside the “Hundred-Step Cart.”

The small cart swayed gently.

Yan Jue watched the scenery flashing by beside her and sighed softly.

The rule of this world was that she was not allowed to interfere with the romance between the male and female protagonists…

So annoying.

Since the male and female protagonists are destined to fall in love, does that mean she is also destined to die?

There must be another way.

If she snatches the male protagonist Chu Fu’s opportunities, and the Heavenly Dao doesn’t punish her…

Then maybe she can achieve her goal indirectly by stealing all of the male protagonist’s opportunities.

Yan Jue touched the “Life Sacrificing Whisker” she had taken from the monkey demon in her bosom, and then also touched the gold bricks she had found in the monkey demon’s lair.

She was… quite a rich woman now.

Although gold didn’t seem to have much use in this world, the universal currency of the Myriad Demon Pavilion seemed to be, besides hairpins, gold, then silver, and then spirit stones.

At least she could be a rich woman in the demon world.

Yan Jue glanced at Qi Xianqing not far away. As if sensing it, the other party turned her head to look at her.

In the sunlight, the corners of those beautiful peach blossom eyes turned inward, deep and reserved.

Yan Jue was startled and subconsciously averted her gaze.

Qi Xianqing: “Junior Sister Yan.”

Yan Jue: “Uh… Uh?”

Qi Xianqing: “Have you thought about the request… yet?”

Yan Jue: “No! I need more time to think about it!”

Qi Xianqing: “Oh.”

“…”

Yan Jue rested her chin on her hand and began thinking again about how to use the request Qi Xianqing had given her.

That day outside the manor, Qi Xianqing had promised her that if she could successfully lure out the macaque demon, she would grant her one wish.

Meng Hengjun’s word was as good as gold he definitely wouldn’t go back on his word.

If she tried to stop the development of the male and female protagonists’ romantic storyline, she would receive punishment from this world, so she definitely couldn’t use this to sever Qi Xianqing’s connection with Chu Fu.

It was really hard to think of… she couldn’t come up with anything for the moment.

She might as well just hold onto this request for a while!

As dusk approached, the group stopped at an inn for the night.

This inn was called the “Ming Yan Inn” and was located amidst a purple bamboo forest a few li from the main road.

The setting sun dyed the surroundings in a magnificent glow.

The shadows of the bamboo swayed, creating a scene of breathtaking beauty.

Yan Jue walked into the inn and saw a large hall used for dining. About a dozen wooden tables were set up in the hall.

In the center of the hall hung a painting.

In the painting, large expanses of dense ink were spread out, depicting a classical, beautiful landscape of mountains, water, and bamboo forest with extremely exquisite brushstrokes. In the depths of the bamboo forest, a two-story wooden house was faintly visible through the dense mist. Six graceful beauties were inside the wooden house; some held food trays, others were applying makeup in front of a mirror, each with eyebrows like distant mountains and a touch of bright rouge on their lips, vividly lifelike.

Yan Jue stared at the painting for a few seconds. Such exquisite technique meant it was either by a master or priceless. It was truly rare to find such a thing in such a small inn.

The four sat down at a table, and the waiter brought over the menus.

Yan Jue looked at the menu and found the dishes listed were numerous. Moreover, the names were all dishes she had never seen in modern times, making it hard to choose what to order.

As she hesitated, she heard a cool voice nearby announcing the order: “Lotus Leaf Soup, Sweet Steamed Custard, Small Heaven Crisp, Pork and Spinach, Wild Fish with Pickled Greens, four bowls of Xiang Ru Drink.”

Yan Jue tugged at the corner of her mouth, turned to look, and saw Qi Xianqing frowning slightly as she put down the menu.

Duan Luxi: “That’s… all ordered?”

Qi Xianqing: “These are local specialties of Nanxing Town.”

“Since we’ve finally come down the mountain, it would be a waste to eat things we could have on the mountain.”

Yan Jue looked at Qi Xianqing, inwardly thinking, Isn’t this just what you want to eat?

About fifteen minutes later, Yan Jue discovered that the things Qi Xianqing ordered were truly delicious. After finishing the steaming hot Xiang Ru Drink, she started on the Sweet Steamed Custard. According to the waiter, the yiyu (wild fish) had been transported from Mount Beiyue that very noon, and the meat was indeed tender, smooth, and sweet, making one’s mouth water.

In the span of fifteen minutes, almost all the dishes were completely devoured. Yet, they still didn’t feel full.

Qi Xianqing looked at Yan Jue constantly swallowing her saliva and said, “If you’re still not full, you can order something else you’d like.”

Yan Jue: “No! I’m not not full!”

Duan Luxi smacked her lips and frowned, “Yan Jue, you ate too much just now, I’m still not full…”

Yan Jue: “Is that so? I’ll order for you!”

Qi Xianqing listened silently, her eyebrows imperceptibly curving slightly.

Yan Jue picked up the menu again, ordered another serving of Sweet Steamed Custard, and handed it to Duan Luxi: “Do you want anything else? What do you want?”

Duan Luxi: “Another serving of Lotus Leaf Soup, Small Heaven Crisp, Pork and Spinach, Wild Fish with Pickled Greens, and Xiang Ru Drink.”

Yan Jue: “…” You just re-ordered everything that woman ordered!

A short while later, the waiter brought the new dishes to the table.

Duan Luxi exclaimed, “Your serving speed is so fast.”

The waiter smiled apologetically, “It’s also because we haven’t had many customers these past few days, so the serving speed is fast.”

“Guest, don’t think we’re desolate here; many people from nearby towns like to come to our inn to enjoy the beautiful scenery.”

Duan Luxi: “Indeed, your inn is built in a bamboo forest, the scenery is particularly beautiful.”

Qi Xianqing was silently sipping her soup when she suddenly heard Yan Jue ask, “Were there many people who came to the inn before? Why have there been so few people recently?”

Hearing this, Qi Xianqing narrowed her eyes at her.

Having spent so many days with Qi Xianqing, Yan Jue had also learned many mission skills from her, and her alertness to her surroundings had improved.

The waiter sighed, “Because recently, there was a case of women trafficking in the nearby towns.”

“Towns slightly larger than Nanxing Town, like Changyou Town, have had many women and children go missing continuously. Everyone has stopped letting the female members of the family go out.”

Yan Jue was stunned and was about to say something when a crisp, slow sound of hooves suddenly came from outside the inn.

Yan Jue looked up and saw a ragged Taoist priest leading several camels, walking slowly toward the inn. There were six tall, large camels in total, each with a red saddle tied to its back.

The Taoist priest sat down at an outdoor table outside and called out, “Waiter, a bowl of tea.”

The waiter replied, “Coming right up!”

The tea was soon served. The Taoist priest slowly finished his tea, then tied the ropes of the six camels to the fence, said something to the innkeeper, and walked out.

The six camels remained standing quietly in place.

The sun set, night fell, and the air was filled with the stifling heat of early summer.

Yan Jue stared at the camels and soon noticed something was wrong! These camels seemed… too quiet! A pet animal’s owner leaves, and normally the domesticated animals would become restless. In such an unfamiliar and not very comfortable environment, these camels stood there listlessly, not even moving their hooves!

Yan Jue instinctively turned her head to glance at Qi Xianqing.

Qi Xianqing had clearly also noticed something was amiss, her brow tightly furrowed.

“There’s no ruminating action,” Qi Xianqing put down her chopsticks and slowly said, “Look at that camel.”

Following Qi Xianqing’s gaze, Yan Jue saw the leftmost camel had its head lowered, and a crystal-clear tear rolled down its face.

The waiter passed by with a plate of food, and Yan Jue stopped him: “Where did that Taoist go just now?”

The owner smiled and said, “He went to relieve himself. He’ll be back later. Do the lady guests want him to help exorcise evil spirits? Not every Taoist temple master is skilled at exorcising evil spirits!”

The camels’ behavior was merely a bit strange. With so many plot points in novels differing from reality, Yan Jue couldn’t think of anything else based on her experience of transmigrating to this world.

Yan Jue was still wondering if the Taoist mistreated them when she felt a tug on her sleeve.

Qi Xianqing raised her hand and offered the remaining half bowl of rice on the table to her: “Go feed them rice.”

Yan Jue was stunned. Seeing Qi Xianqing ordering her around so naturally, she didn’t feel strange and took the bowl of rice, walked over, squatted in front of the camels, and presented the rice to them.

The six camels came over, sniffed the fragrant rice, and then actually wolfed it down.

“…”

Yan Jue turned back and saw Qi Xianqing leaning on the edge of the table, her fingertips twitching, signaling her to come over.

Yan Jue walked back, somewhat annoyed, “Big sister, what is your order now?”

She knew Qi Xianqing liked small animals, but ordering her around like this…

Qi Xianqing picked up the teapot and poured a cup of water: “Give them this to drink.”

Yan Jue: “…”

Yan Jue scoffed, I won’t listen to you.

A few breaths later, Yan Jue was by the camels with a water jug. As she approached, the camels all raised their heads to look at her. Perhaps because she had just fed them rice, the camels showed less wariness in their eyes; a few even twitched their nostrils, sticking their heads out as if to see clearly what she was holding.

Yan Jue wasn’t obeying Qi Xianqing because of the command it was just that the camels stood there so numbly, they looked too pitiful, and she felt a pang of compassion.

Yan Jue poured the water from the jug into the trough in front of her. The camels again approached listlessly, stuck out their tongues, and lapped up the water.

“Gulp, gulp…” All that water in the trough was drunk up in just a few moments!

Yan Jue returned to the table, staring at Qi Xianqing, about to say something, when she suddenly saw Qi Xianqing staring intently at the space behind her.

Yan Jue spun around sharply and saw wisps of black energy suddenly rising from the bodies of the camels over there!

Everyone stared blankly at the abnormal sight. They saw dense black energy, one cluster after another, swirling around the camels.

“…”

The six camels instantly transformed into six raggedly dressed beautiful women! The six women sat by the fence, their necks tied with ropes, their faces stained with tears, looking incomparably delicate like falling pear blossoms. Some of the women noticed the change in their bodies and cried out in surprise, then began to weep loudly.

Qi Xianqing tutted lightly: “It’s an illusion technique.”

Duan Luxi’s eyes were filled with shock, and she couldn’t help but say, “Was that Taoist priest just now a human trafficker kidnapping women?!”

Yan Jue quickly went to the women and helped them untie the ropes around their necks. Fortunately, these people were all physically weak women, so the Taoist priest hadn’t used very strong ropes.

The ropes were quickly untied. Several girls sat on the ground, crying non-stop, “We want to go home… we want to go home…”

Yan Jue frowned. The Taoist priest’s cultivation didn’t seem very high just now, and these girls were clearly kidnapped. It was best to send them away quickly before the Taoist priest returned.

Yan Jue: “Where is your home?”

The girls bit their lips, looking timidly at Yan Jue, afraid to speak. The six nudged each other, and finally, one brave one squeezed out: “Nanxing Town.”

“Nanxing Town…”

Yan Jue turned back and looked at Chu Fu: “Then I’ll have to borrow Junior Brother Chu Fu’s Hundred Step Cart again.”

It was better to send these women away while the Taoist priest was still away.