Responsibility

Last night, Li Qinglin stayed awake all night on Immortal Trace Mountain. To ensure he had energy for the journey, he didn't chat for long. Soon, he was sitting on the railing by the pavilion, leaning against a pillar, holding his spear, and sleeping.

Li Qingjun didn't sleep. Her eyes were fixed on Qin Yi.

Qin Yi had also stayed up all night and was feeling sleepy. Seeing Li Qingjun's strange look, he was puzzled. "Why aren't you sleeping? What are you staring at me for?"

Li Qingjun said, "If I also sleep, what if you have ill intentions towards us?"

"You're crazy." Qin Yi couldn't be bothered with her. He also sat on a railing, leaning against a pillar, lost in thought.

The ease with which the Li siblings' martial arts dealt with these demons and monsters surprised him a little. He always felt that low-level cultivators using low-level spells to deal with the winged tiger from before and this spider demon now might not be as effective as the Li siblings' fighting.

He also enjoyed the thrill of smashing something with a club...

Unfortunately, martial arts clearly had some limitations and couldn't deal with some strange spells. Otherwise, Li Qinglin wouldn't have needed to come and ask him to come out, and Li Qingjun wouldn't always fall into some low-level traps and poisons... So, purely cultivating martial arts really wasn't enough.

However, it also seemed to be because this girl was too reckless and lacked experience... While thinking, he couldn't help but glance at Li Qingjun again.

Li Qingjun was sitting on the stone table, propping her chin with one hand, still looking at Qin Yi.

Qin Yi was quite helpless. "Why are you staring at me all the time?"

"Seeing that you have a cold personality and are cautious about your life, and you didn't even make a move when we dealt with the tiger on the mountain. Besides, we have a grudge, so why did you save me?"

"After all, we are partners now. If something happened to you right in front of me, wouldn't it be inappropriate for me not to act?"

A smile appeared at the corner of Li Qingjun's mouth. "Partners?"

The smile wasn't one of happiness; instead, it held a hint of mockery.

Qin Yi glanced sideways, and said coldly, "I know you have high status, so I'm the one who's trying to climb up, alright?"

"That's not what I meant." Li Qingjun smiled. "It's just that I haven't heard that kind of address in a long time, so it's a bit... well, a bit new."

Seeing that her attitude wasn't what he had imagined, Qin Yi's tone softened a little. He sighed, "What exactly is your status? I originally thought you were from a general's family, but now, based on what you're saying, it doesn't seem like it."

Since they were already planning to deal with Dong Huazi together, there was no need to hide it anymore. Li Qingjun answered casually, "My brother is a prince, the Second Prince of Nanli."

"My brother is a prince..." This boast was quite unconventional. Qin Yi was stunned for a long time, and his expression slowly became a little awkward.

Li Qinglin is a prince, so what is Li Qingjun?

In other words, he had actually hung the princess of his own country upside down at his door, letting her get soaked in milky white liquid...

Fortunately, he hadn't been handsy at the time, otherwise, he would have been chopped up and had nowhere to complain.

What kind of bizarre country is this? A prince and princess traveling alone to the deep mountains and old forests without even a single guard, and they are enthusiastically doing the work of subduing demons and monsters themselves? The prince even said that if the princess died at his hands, it would be because his skills were not good enough? And the princess keeps wanting to become an immortal?

Qin Yi felt that this country was crazy.

"What?" Li Qingjun said with a hint of sarcasm. "Are you scared?"

Qin Yi was very honest. "A little."

"Afraid I'll use my status to retaliate against you?" Li Qingjun said lazily, "Don't worry, I didn't do anything to those martial artists who spoke disrespectfully."

I think I did more than just speak disrespectfully... But thinking of this, Qin Yi felt even more that the Li siblings were not simple. With such status, they could actually endure the humiliation of martial artists... Perhaps it was because, as Li Qinglin said, no matter what your status, killing people would cause some trouble?

Of course, he didn't say that out loud. He just said, "People of the royal family seeking Fangshi... I feel like I've gotten involved in the most troublesome thing in the world, so I'm scared."

Li Qingjun quickly understood what he was referring to and couldn't help but laugh, "You're a village commoner, why do you have this attitude towards the royal family's succession struggle? It's unbelievable. Don't worry, my brother looking for you has nothing to do with that. You can think of it as a struggle between good and evil."

Good and evil my foot! Even if it's not a succession struggle, it's definitely a power struggle in the imperial court! Qin Yi didn't laugh at her naivety and instead asked her, "You're a princess, not a knight-errant. Seeing such a disgusting monster, I clearly saw you were terrified, yet you were the first to charge forward with your spear. What were you thinking?"

Li Qingjun calmly said, "This Daoist temple is within the borders of my Nanli. The Daoists inside are my subjects, and so are those martial artists. The responsibility of protecting the region and ensuring the peace and safety of the people is inherently ours, not some knight-errant's."

Qin Yi's eyes flickered slightly, and he turned to look at Li Qingjun's expression.

Her eyes were very serious, still so heroic.

"Want some wine?" Qin Yi took out a gourd. "This gourd is newly filled. I haven't drunk from it."

He tossed the gourd over. Li Qingjun caught it casually. Qin Yi took out the gourd he had been drinking from during the day and raised it in a toast from a distance, "To your words."

Li Qingjun smiled, pulled out the stopper, and tilted her head back to take a big gulp. Her demeanor was quite unrestrained.

Qin Yi also took a big gulp. The heavy rain outside the pavilion was pattering down. He looked at the curtain of rain outside the eaves and suddenly felt that this trip to Lihuo City might be very interesting.

Liu Su grumbled, What a boring sense of mission. She doesn't even act like a princess.

Qin Yi's expression remained unchanged, and he quietly farted towards the Wolf Tooth Club.

Early the next morning, the night rain had just cleared.

Li Qingjun woke up at the table and saw that her brother was already standing outside the pavilion talking to Qin Yi. She felt a little embarrassed for a moment. She had said she would guard against Qin Yi, but she didn't even know when she had fallen asleep. Looking at the situation, it was probably Qin Yi who had stayed up all night guarding them.

The scene of being held by Qin Yi around her waist twice last night couldn't help but surface in her mind.

She felt uncomfortable all over, and just thinking about it made her waist feel hot. But he had done it to save her... Li Qingjun couldn't say anything. What else could she do besides stare at him?

Walking out of the pavilion, she heard her brother asking Qin Yi, "Brother Qin didn't sleep all night?"

"I'm used to staying up all night refining medicine and watching the furnace fire."

Li Qinglin nodded and didn't ask any more questions. He just looked at the Daoist temple in a daze for a while and sighed softly, "Burn it."

Qin Yi "hmm"ed. It was indeed better to burn this Daoist temple. Seeing Li Qinglin take out a tinderbox, Qin Yi suddenly said, "Wait."

Li Qinglin looked at Qin Yi strangely as he went to the horse's back to get his backpack, took out a bottle, and sprinkled it around the Daoist temple.

Li Qingjun walked out of the pavilion and asked strangely, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, this is for fire prevention. I usually sprinkle some at home to prevent the furnace from going out of control when refining pills." Qin Yi looked up and smiled, "If you want to burn the Daoist temple, be careful not to burn the mountain."

Li Qingjun muttered, "It's hard to light the Daoist temple after the rain, and you're still afraid of burning the mountain."

Then she saw Qin Yi take out another bottle and sprinkle a little on the window lattice of the Daoist temple.

"What is this?"

"Quick-Dry Powder."

"...You really have a lot of strange things."

"That's right. Otherwise, why would you invite me?"

The conversation fell silent here. The three of them looked at each other, then suddenly laughed at the same time.

The great fire in the Daoist temple blazed fiercely, and as expected, the flames were strangely contained within the circle where Qin Yi had sprinkled the powder. Li Qingjun watched for a while, clicking her tongue in wonder. This was truly something martial arts couldn't achieve. If martial arts were to contain such a large fire, they would have to crudely dig a trench around the temple, which would be time-consuming and laborious.

"Hey." Li Qingjun suddenly asked Qin Yi, "When we get to a town later, I need to wash up. Do you still have that toothbrush?"

"Yes," Qin Yi said with a smile. "Do you think I could make a living selling toothbrushes in Lihuo City?"

Li Qinglin was dumbfounded and then laughed. "Although I don't know what this 'toothbrush' you speak of is, if Brother Qin's ambition is merely to be a merchant, it would be a great pity."

Qin Yi smiled but didn't speak.

The three of them led their horses and slowly walked down the mountain. Halfway down, Li Qinglin stopped and looked back at the large fire on the mountain, sighing softly.

Qin Yi asked, "What's wrong?"

"In the past, it was rare for demons to openly devour people, but in the past few months, there have been quite a few such incidents. This is definitely related to the Demon Transformation Poisonous Mist..." Li Qinglin paused, then continued in a low voice, "No matter what he is plotting... if this person is not eliminated, he will surely be a demonic star bringing disaster to the country, and the great edifice will crumble."