Boarding the Pirate Ship!

Zhuge Qing: (._.)

Σ(っ °Д °;)っ!!!

I have no idea why he suddenly kissed me...

My first kiss, aaaah...

Never in her wildest dreams had Zhuge Qing expected Ning Que to suddenly kiss her. She froze, her mind completely blank.

Zhuge Qing desperately wanted to raise her hand and slap this lecher.

Yes, you saved my life, but that doesn't mean you can just kiss me!

Yet her whole body felt as though an electric current had run through it, and she simply could not lift her hand.

"Quick! Don't let them get away!"

"They must be in here!"

"Check them one by one! Don't let them escape!"

Zhuge Qing was about to keep struggling to show her resistance when she heard the shouts of their pursuers behind her.

The escorts had charged into the pleasure quarter too, but there were simply too many people there.

They could barely move an inch.

Everyone was wearing masks as well, making them all look alike at a glance.

They could only rely on their eyes to check people one by one, and passed right by the pair.

"We're safe now."

Only then did Ning Que release Zhuge Qing. "Sorry for taking liberties just now..."

Zhuge Qing: "Ծ‸Ծ! Hmph!"

Ning Que: "..."

"If I hadn't done that, they would've spotted us."

"They were checking everyone one by one..."

Ning Que explained helplessly.

Zhuge Qing's anger subsided a little, but she had still lost her first kiss. Still displeased, she said, "That doesn't mean you had to kiss me on the lips! Two grown men... doesn't that make your skin crawl?"

She had to maintain her persona to the bitter end, so Zhuge Qing spoke fiercely.

Ning Que paused, surprised that this girl was still trying to keep up her act.

He could not help finding it amusing. "Stop pretending. I figured out you were a woman ages ago."

"What? You figured it out?"

But at those words, Zhuge Qing looked as though she were facing a formidable enemy, staring at Ning Que in utter disbelief.

As though discovering she was a woman were some earth-shattering matter, she remained speechless for a long time.

"Was it that hard?"

Ning Que's smile deepened. "You may be dressed as a man, but there's nothing remotely masculine about you. Especially in the brothel—you looked utterly disgusted."

Those were actually secondary clues.

Her lack of an Adam's apple was the most obvious evidence.

And Zhuge Qing's delicate beauty was even further removed from a man's rugged masculinity.

"Well..."

Zhuge Qing's expression turned dreadful, and her face went as red as a monkey's backside.

She had put a great deal of effort into making herself look like a man.

She had been quite pleased with her disguise, never imagining that to others, it was riddled with flaws.

"If you really were a man, I wouldn't have kissed you, no matter how handsome you were."

Ning Que added with a smile.

That made Zhuge Qing even more certain that she looked nothing like a man, killing off her last lingering hope.

In the end, she simply gave up pretending, removed the hairpin binding her long hair, and let her silken tresses tumble down.

The instant Zhuge Qing released her hair, Ning Que's gaze changed too.

Perhaps he had grown accustomed to seeing Zhuge Qing dressed as a man lately, but the sudden sight of her letting down her hair made Ning Que's eyes light up.

Her features were like a painting, her face as clear as autumn waters; her robes fluttered, and her pure beauty was beyond compare.

Zhuge Qing's looks were unquestionably exceptional. Years of martial training lent a hint of heroic spirit to her classical beauty.

"I am Zhuge Qing. Thank you for saving me, young master. May I ask your name?"

Zhuge Qing bowed to Ning Que, her voice like an oriole singing among green branches.

At the name "Zhuge," Ning Que felt a slight jolt.

Qi Shanhe had told him about the factions in Qingzhou City. Wasn't the provincial governor's surname also Zhuge?

Could she be the daughter of Qingzhou's provincial governor?

"A name is only a label. If you must know, my surname is Ning."

Because of his sensitive identity, Ning Que did not give Zhuge Qing his full name, only his surname.

Zhuge Qing did not mind. At most, they were strangers whose paths had happened to cross.

He had already done her a kindness by saving her life.

"What do you plan to do next, Miss Zhuge?"

Zhuge Qing sank into thought.

After something like this, she ought to go home. Under the protection of Qingzhou's provincial governor, no one would dare lay a hand on her.

Yet she resisted the idea of going home from the bottom of her heart...

"Little Juzi!"

Just as she was hesitating, a voice rang out.

It was Qi Shanhe, Yin Jiuyou, and Mu Yuwei.

They had heard the sounds of fighting nearby and rushed over.

Mu Yuwei was about to speak when her gaze suddenly shifted, catching sight of Zhuge Qing standing beside him.

Her pupils contracted at once, her face filled with disbelief.

"She, she's..."

Then Qi Shanhe also looked shocked, staring at Zhuge Qing in speechless astonishment.

He quickly pulled Ning Que aside and asked in a low voice, "Little Juzi, how did you end up with the daughter of Qingzhou's provincial governor?"

At that description, Ning Que's gaze sharpened.

It seemed he had guessed correctly. She really was the daughter of Qingzhou's provincial governor.

"We came out of the brothel together."

"The bro..."

He seemed determined to shock them to death with his words. Both Mu Yuwei and Qi Shanhe felt their breath catch.

The provincial governor's daughter visited brothels too?

But considering that the provincial governor's daughter yearned for the martial world and its chivalrous adventures, and brothels were an unavoidable part of that world, it was not so strange.

"Perfect, then. Little Juzi, you've done us an enormous favor..."

There was no time to worry about how Ning Que and Zhuge Qing had met.

Mu Yuwei quickly explained their current situation to Ning Que.

Ning Que was slightly taken aback. "Experts from both the Escort Guild and the Cave of No Worries are targeting Miss Zhuge? Qingzhou City is sealed off? We can't get out?"

Mu Yuwei nodded gravely. "That's right. If we want to leave Qingzhou City, the provincial governor's daughter is the key!"

Ning Que also realized how serious the situation was.

They had to protect Zhuge Qing and prevent the experts from the Escort Guild or the Cave of No Worries from killing her.

They also could not let Zhuge Qing return to Qingzhou's provincial governor too soon. Otherwise, if the gates opened before their people from headquarters arrived, they would still be in serious trouble.

"If you have nowhere to go, Miss Zhuge, and you trust us, why not come back to our place first and decide what to do afterward?"

Whatever happened, they had to keep Zhuge Qing with them for now.

"All right!"

They had never expected Zhuge Qing to actually agree.

She did so without the slightest hesitation, catching Ning Que, Mu Yuwei, and the others completely off guard.

"But I have one condition!"

Then Zhuge Qing spoke again.

Her bright, dewy eyes stared unblinkingly at Ning Que. "I'd really like to learn those saber techniques you used earlier. Can you teach me?"

She had no interest in the zither, chess, calligraphy, or painting. Only swordsmanship and martial arts interested her.

That left Ning Que and the others even more stunned, and they exchanged glances.

They had only wanted to use Zhuge Qing to leave the city safely and reunite with their main force.

Why was this girl volunteering to board their pirate ship?