Responsibility

Last night, Li Qinglin had spent the entire night awake on Immortal Trace Mountain. To ensure he had the energy for the journey, they did not chat for long. Before long, he sat on the pavilion railing, leaned against a pillar, and fell asleep hugging his spear.

Li Qingjun did not sleep. Her bright eyes remained fixed on Qin Yi.

Qin Yi had also stayed up all night yesterday, and he was sleepy now as well. Seeing Li Qingjun's expression, he found it utterly baffling. "Why aren't you going to sleep? What are you staring at me for?"

Li Qingjun said, "What if I fall asleep too, and you harbor ill intentions toward us?"

"Crazy woman." Qin Yi could not be bothered with her. He sat on the railing as well, leaned against a pillar, and drifted into thought.

The ease with which the Li Family Siblings dealt with these demons and monsters surprised him somewhat. He felt that even low-level cultivators using low-level spells against the Winged Tiger from before and this Spider Demon might not have fought as freely and exhilaratingly as the Li Family Siblings had.

He himself also greatly enjoyed the thrill of smashing down with a club...

Unfortunately, martial arts clearly had their limitations. They surely could not deal with certain strange spells. Otherwise, Li Qinglin would not have needed to come ask him to leave the mountains, and Li Qingjun would not have kept falling for low-grade traps and poisons... Put that way, cultivating martial arts alone truly was not enough.

Though it also seemed this girl was simply too rash and inexperienced... As he thought, he could not help glancing at Li Qingjun again.

Li Qingjun sat atop the stone table, one hand propping up her chin, still watching Qin Yi.

Qin Yi was helpless. "Why do you keep staring at me?"

"You seem cold by nature, cautious, and protective of your own life. You did not even act when we killed the tiger on the mountain. Besides, you and I have bad blood between us. Why did you save me?"

"After all, we're partners now. If something happened to you right in front of me and I did nothing, would that make any sense?"

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

That smile was not one of joy. Instead, it carried a hint of mockery.

Qin Yi shot her a sidelong glance and said coldly, "I know your status is lofty. I was reaching above my station, all right?"

"That wasn't what I meant." Li Qingjun smiled. "It's just that I haven't heard that kind of term in a long time. It feels... well, rather fresh."

Seeing that her attitude was not what he had imagined, Qin Yi's tone softened somewhat. He sighed. "Just what are your identities? At first, I thought you were from a general's household, but from the way you speak now, that doesn't seem to be the case."

Since they were planning to deal with Dong Huazi together, there was naturally 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..." That was a remarkably refined way to show off. Qin Yi froze for a long while, and his expression gradually became somewhat awkward.

Li Qinglin was a Prince, so what did that make Li Qingjun?

In other words, he had actually hung the princess of this country upside down at his door, letting her sway about, and drenched her all over with milky-white liquid...

Fortunately, he had not gotten handsy back then. Otherwise, even if he were chopped to pieces, he would have nowhere to argue his case.

What kind of bizarre country was this? A prince and princess traveled alone into the deep mountains and ancient forests without even a guard, eagerly taking matters into their own hands to vanquish demons and monsters? The Prince had even said that if the Princess died in his hands, it would only mean his skills were lacking? And the Princess wanted to become a Fairy all day long?

Qin Yi felt this country had gone mad.

"What?" Li Qingjun's tone carried some sarcasm. "Scared?"

Qin Yi answered honestly, "A little."

"Afraid I'll use my status to retaliate against you?" Li Qingjun said lazily. "Don't worry. Those martial artists spoke rudely to me, and I never did anything to them."

I did more than just speak rudely... Yet thinking of this, Qin Yi felt even more that the Li Family Siblings were not easy to understand. With such identities, they could actually endure the humiliation of martial artists... Perhaps it was because of what Li Qinglin had said: no matter one's status, killing people would bring trouble?

Naturally, he did not say any of that aloud. He merely said, "People of the royal family seeking Fangshi... I feel like I've become involved in the most troublesome matter in the world. That's why I'm afraid."

Li Qingjun quickly understood what he meant and could not help laughing. "You're a village commoner, yet you have this sort of attitude toward royal succession struggles. It's simply unbelievable. Don't worry, my brother sought you out for something unrelated to that. You can think of it as a struggle between righteousness and evil."

Righteousness and evil, my ass. Even if it isn't a succession struggle, it must still be a court power struggle! Qin Yi did not laugh at her naivety. Instead, he asked, "You're a Princess, not some wandering hero. When you saw such a disgusting monster, you were clearly terrified, yet you were still the first to raise your spear and charge forward. What were you thinking?"

Li Qingjun said calmly, "This Daoist Temple lies within Southern Li. The Daoists inside are my subjects, and so are those martial artists. The responsibility of protecting a region, defending its borders, and keeping its people safe belongs to us in the first place, not to any wandering hero."

Qin Yi's gaze flickered. He turned to look at Li Qingjun's expression.

Her eyes were very serious, and she remained every bit as valiant.

"Want a drink?" Qin Yi pulled out a gourd. "This gourd was freshly filled. I haven't drunk from it."

He tossed the gourd over. Li Qingjun caught it casually, while Qin Yi took out the gourd he had been drinking from during the day and raised it toward her. "To those words of yours."

Li Qingjun smiled, pulled out the stopper, tilted back her head, and took a large gulp. Her manner was quite dashing.

Qin Yi also took a large gulp. Outside the pavilion, the rain pattered softly. Looking at the curtain of rain beyond the eaves, he suddenly felt that this trip to Lihuo City might prove very interesting.

Liusu snarked, "Such boring devotion to duty. Not even a Princess would do that."

Qin Yi's expression did not change. He secretly farted at the Wolf Tooth Club.

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

Li Qingjun woke from the table and saw that her brother and Qin Yi were already standing outside the pavilion, talking. Her face flushed for a moment. She had claimed she was guarding against Qin Yi, yet she did not even know when she had fallen asleep. From the looks of it, Qin Yi might truly have stood watch over the two siblings all night.

The scenes of Qin Yi wrapping an arm around her waist twice last night surfaced in her mind.

She felt uncomfortable all over. Whenever she thought of it, she felt as if her waist were still burning. But he had done it to save her... Li Qingjun had nothing she could say. Other than glaring at him, what else could she do?

When she walked out of the pavilion, she heard her brother ask Qin Yi, "Brother Qin, you didn't sleep all night?"

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

Li Qinglin nodded and did not ask further. He merely stared at the Daoist Temple in a daze for a while, then sighed softly. "Burn it."

Qin Yi gave an "Mm." It was naturally better to burn down this Daoist Temple. Seeing Li Qinglin take out a fire starter, Qin Yi suddenly said, "Wait."

Li Qinglin watched curiously as Qin Yi went to retrieve a pack from the horse's back, took out a bottle, and sprinkled a circle around the Daoist Temple.

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

"Oh, this is for fire prevention. I usually sprinkle some around the Household so my pill refining doesn't start a fire." Qin Yi looked up and smiled. "If you're going to burn the Daoist Temple, be careful not to set the mountain ablaze."

Li Qingjun muttered, "It won't even be easy to light the Daoist Temple after the rain, yet you're afraid of burning the mountain."

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

"What's that?"

"Quick-Dry Powder."

"...You really have all sorts of strange things."

"Of course. Otherwise, why did you invite me along?"

At that, silence fell. The three looked at one another, then suddenly laughed at the same time.

The Daoist Temple burst into roaring flames. Sure enough, the fire was strangely contained within the circle where Qin Yi had scattered the powder. Li Qingjun watched for a while, clicking her tongue in amazement. This truly was something martial arts could not accomplish. If martial arts wanted to contain such a blaze, the only way would be to forcibly dig a trench around the Daoist Temple, wasting both time and effort.

"Hey." Li Qingjun suddenly asked Qin Yi, "When we reach a town later, I want to wash up. Do you have any more of those toothbrushes?"

"I do." Qin Yi smiled. "Do you think I could make a living by selling toothbrushes in Lihuo City?"

Li Qinglin laughed speechlessly. "Though I do not know what sort of thing this toothbrush you speak of is, if Brother Qin's ambitions go no further than becoming a merchant, that would be a great pity indeed."

Qin Yi merely smiled and said nothing.

The three led their horses down the mountain at a leisurely pace. Halfway down, Li Qinglin stopped and looked back at the great fire on the mountain, letting out a soft sigh.

Qin Yi asked, "What is it?"

"In the past, it was rare for demons to openly devour people. Yet over these past few months, there have already been quite a number of such cases. This must be inseparable from the Demon Transformation Poisonous Mist..." Li Qinglin paused, then continued in a low voice, "Whatever he is plotting... If this man is not eliminated, he will surely be a baleful star bringing calamity upon the nation, and the great edifice will come crashing down."