Glass-Clear and Translucent

Song Qingshu knew perfectly well that Tian Guinong was behind this, but at the sight of his delicate and charming sister-in-law, his heart stirred. He subconsciously wanted to spend more time with her and decided not to tell her the truth yet.

The three arrived near Baima Temple and came across a gaunt scholar dozing by the roadside. Madam Hu stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, could you tell us how to get to Medicine King Manor?"

The scholar looked up, and his eyes immediately lit up. "What a beautiful little lady!"

Little Hu Fei hated it most when other men ogled his mother. Hearing this, he snapped, "You scholar, you're far too frivolous!"

The scholar looked Hu Fei over and clicked his tongue. "Exceptional bones—what fine martial talent. He'd surely make an excellent test subject for medicine." With that, he reached out to grab him. Hu Fei already had a decent foundation in martial arts and raised a hand to block with the Silkworm Palm Technique, but it was utterly useless against that grab. He was subdued at once.

"Fei'er!" Madam Hu cried out in alarm, sending a strip of white silk whipping toward him.

"Hm?" Seeing that the silk was swift, fierce, and coming from such a tricky angle, the scholar hastily extended a finger and deftly jabbed several inches ahead of its tip.

Madam Hu's expression changed. With a flick of her wrist, the white silk swept in a great circle and lashed toward an acupoint on the scholar's back.

The scholar seized Hu Fei by the shoulder and sealed his acupoints. His feet shifted deceptively, and Song Qingshu felt his vision blur. In the next instant, the scholar had leaped out of the range of Madam Hu's silk attack.

"Who are you, sir? Why do you know my martial arts techniques so well?" Madam Hu stared at the scholar opposite her, her face dark as water.

"The Ancient Tomb Sect's Silver Bell Golden Lock specializes in striking acupoints all over an enemy's body. Its reputation is well deserved. What a pity you met me." The scholar stroked his little mustache and smiled smugly.

"Sister-in-law is from the Ancient Tomb Sect?" Song Qingshu was startled. Looking at Madam Hu, whose beauty was as pure and translucent as ice and snow, he mused that her appearance and bearing did indeed fit the Ancient Tomb Sect's standards for disciples. But aside from Xiaolongnü and Li Mochou, he had never heard of any other successors of the Ancient Tomb Sect.

Madam Hu's expression grew even more solemn. "There are very few people in the world who even know of the Ancient Tomb Sect, yet you also know how to counter our sect's martial arts."

Yet the scholar shook his head. "I only know a little of the surface. Your sect's most profound arts—the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra and Jade Maiden Heart Swordplay—are hardly so easy to break."

"Judging by your bearing, sir, you must be a master in your own right. Why make trouble for a child?" Song Qingshu stepped forward.

The scholar sized Song Qingshu up, a lewd smile curling across his lips. "Wonderful, wonderful. A ravishing young widow traveling with a handsome young man—one man and one woman alone together, dry tinder and blazing fire. Truly wonderful..."

"Bastard!" Madam Hu's pretty face flushed crimson. With an angry cry, she attacked. "Be careful!" Song Qingshu saw through the scholar's intentions at once. He was clearly trying to provoke Madam Hu into losing her temper and exposing an opening.

Sure enough, after exchanging more than ten moves with him, Madam Hu let out a cry. She had already taken a palm strike to the chest. She retreated rapidly, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her lips.

The scholar did not pursue. He merely flexed his fingers, brought them to his nose for a deep sniff, and wore a blissful expression. "Excellent feel. And so fragrant, too."

"You!" Madam Hu was so furious that she intended to attack again, but the movement tugged at her wound, and she could not help frowning.

"Sister-in-law, don't fall for his taunts." Song Qingshu hurried over to support her. Her faint fragrance filled his arms, and despite the perilous situation, his thoughts could not help wandering.

"Hehe, you're lucky today. If this had been twenty years ago, when I came across such a beautiful young widow, hehe, I'd have had my way with her before killing her. But now I have an important matter on my mind and no taste for that sort of pleasure. I'll borrow your son for a while!" With that, he grabbed Hu Fei, performed several flips, and vanished into the distance.

Little Hu Fei's frightened voice drifted faintly back. "You pervert! You actually like men! If you dare lay a hand on me, I'll bite my tongue and kill myself..."

Song Qingshu was left speechless, while Madam Hu was both furious and distressed. The pain in her chest flared up, and she fainted.

Song Qingshu was alarmed. Fearing that the scholar might change his mind and return, he quickly picked Madam Hu up and left the area.

Madam Hu was tall, yet when he held her, she was soft and boneless, seemingly weightless. Along the way, Song Qingshu inhaled her faint scent, and the occasional brush of their skin felt smooth and tender as snow. His heart stirred, but then he remembered that he had sworn brotherhood with Hu Yidao. He silently despised himself, calmed his mind, and searched everywhere for shelter.

At last, he found an abandoned shack. Song Qingshu spread a thick layer of dry grass on the ground before gently laying Madam Hu down.

"Mmm..." Her wound must have been disturbed. Madam Hu gave a soft moan, her expression pained.

Song Qingshu did not know exactly where she was injured or how serious her wound was. He wanted to examine her, but as he reached out and saw Madam Hu's icy skin and jade-like bones, along with the faint sacred air about her face, he suddenly did not dare offend her.

Song Qingshu slapped himself hard. Examining her injuries was only an excuse. She was obviously wounded in the chest; he merely wanted a legitimate reason to take advantage of her.

But then he thought again: as a transmigrator, why should he abide by this world's restrictions on propriety? It was not as though he had never seen a woman's body in his previous life. Why was he being so hesitant...

While Song Qingshu was struggling with himself, Madam Hu slowly woke. The moment she saw him, she urgently asked, "Where is Fei'er?"

"That scholar took him away. Seeing that you were badly injured, sister-in-law, I could only bring you here first to treat your wounds." Song Qingshu felt ashamed. He had clearly fled because he feared the scholar might return, and at that moment he suddenly resented how useless he was now—utterly helpless, nothing but dead weight.

"I'm going to save Fei'er!" Madam Hu struggled to stand, cried out in pain, and collapsed back down.

"Sister-in-law, how are your injuries? It wasn't appropriate for me to examine you earlier." Song Qingshu caught her, feeling nothing but warmth and softness beneath his hands.

Madam Hu's pretty face reddened. She quietly moved out of his arms and said with a frown, "I'm afraid my ribs are broken."

"Sister-in-law, let's treat your injuries first, then rescue Fei'er. Even if we catch up to him now, we won't be able to do anything." Song Qingshu helped Madam Hu sit down.

"No. We'll go after that scholar directly." Madam Hu blushed and shook her head. She thought to herself that they were far from any marketplace, and going back and forth would waste who knew how much time. Besides, physicians these days were generally men—how could she let a man touch her there...