A Beauty at His Side (Part One)

After listening to Dongfang Hui's account, Xu Qingtong finally understood the whole story.

He had always known Lin Qian was no good, but he had never imagined the man could be so sinister and vicious. To think Qin Xinghan had tried to play his petty tricks on someone like that. His death was hardly worth mourning!

An Chengbao, however, had died rather unjustly. Lin Qian had claimed he feared An Chengbao would leak the secret, but Xu Qingtong suspected that was only one reason. The greater reason was probably that he had coveted An Chengbao's possessions!

The thought of possessions suddenly reminded Xu Qingtong of Lin Qian's Storage Bag. "Sister Dongfang, Lin Qian poisoned you with Power-Dissolving Powder. Now that we have his Storage Bag, hurry and see whether there's an antidote inside."

Dongfang Hui removed a Storage Bag from her waist and handed it to Xu Qingtong. He took it and tossed it into the air, sending a heap of objects clattering onto the ground.

The two drew closer and began searching for the antidote. After rummaging for quite some time without finding one, Dongfang Hui said with a hint of disappointment, "Lin Qian said he didn't have an antidote for the Power-Dissolving Powder either. I thought he was lying to me. It looks like he really didn't have one!"

Seeing her spirits sink, Xu Qingtong comforted her. "Sister Dongfang, it doesn't matter if there's no antidote. Lin Qian said the Power-Dissolving Powder would wear off on its own after seven days. I'll stay with you for those seven days. I won't let you come to any harm!"

Warmth filled Dongfang Hui's heart. She looked at the young man before her, three or four years her junior, and murmured, "Thank you, Brother Qingtong!"

Xu Qingtong did not notice her gaze. His eyes remained fixed on the heap of Lin Qian's belongings.

Hearing her thanks, he replied, "It's nothing. It's only right. There's no need to stand on ceremony between us!" Then he continued rummaging through the things on the ground.

Suddenly, a book meant for mortals caught his attention. "Hm? What book is this?"

Xu Qingtong picked it up and saw the title Thirty-Six Forms of the Pure Maiden on its cover. Thinking it was a cultivation manual for women, he started to hand it to Dongfang Hui.

By chance, he caught sight of an illustration inside, and the hand he had extended hastily drew back.

It turned out to be an erotic illustration, its sensual imagery making him blush. He flipped through a few more pages, only to find more erotic illustrations depicting all sorts of positions.

He spat in disgust and muttered, "That Lin Qian really was a nasty piece of work!"

Dongfang Hui was examining the Jade Boxes on the ground. Hearing Xu Qingtong say something about a "piece of work," she leaned over to look.

When she saw the illustration in the book, her pretty face flushed red all the way down to her neck, and she hurriedly turned her head aside.

Utterly embarrassed, Xu Qingtong felt as though he were holding a scalding-hot yam. He quickly tossed the book aside and said, his face reddening, "Lin Qian actually carried a book like this around with him. You could tell at a glance he was no decent man. He deserved to die!"

To ease the embarrassment, he could only change the subject. "Sister Dongfang, are those Jade Boxes holding the things we need for the Trial assignment?"

"Yes, they're all medicinal herbs for the Trial," Dongfang Hui answered softly, the rosy flush still lingering on her face.

Xu Qingtong was delighted. There were more than twenty Jade Boxes on the ground, all containing items for the Trial. He might be able to gather everything his assignment required without having to run all over the place.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Sister Dongfang, take a look and see whether you can find everything your assignment requires."

A little embarrassed, Dongfang Hui replied, "I've only found two kinds of herbs. I'm still missing far too many. You choose first, and I'll choose from what's left."

Each deferred to the other, neither willing to choose first. Finally, Xu Qingtong said, "Sister Dongfang, why don't we put all our herbs together and see whether we can make up two complete sets for the Trial? If we can, we'll take one set each. If we can't, we'll see what's missing and search for it together. How does that sound?"

After briefly considering it, Dongfang Hui could only nod in agreement.

She took out her two kinds of herbs, set them on the ground, and turned to look at Xu Qingtong.

Seeing her watching him, Xu Qingtong had a sudden impulse to tease her. He took out a Jade Casket and placed it on the ground, then did nothing more. She waited for quite some time, but he made no further move.

Dongfang Hui stared at him in disbelief and asked hesitantly, "That's all?"

Amused by her expression, Xu Qingtong took out another case and set it on the ground.

Dongfang Hui rolled her eyes at him. "That's more like it. I thought you had even fewer herbs than I did!" With that, she patted her chest and let out a long breath.

Watching her movements, Xu Qingtong momentarily lost himself. Then he came back to his senses and reached out to produce another Jade Casket.

Dongfang Hui froze and asked uncertainly, "You have more?"

Without answering, Xu Qingtong took out two more Jade Caskets and placed them on the ground. Dongfang Hui stared blankly and murmured, "You actually have more!"

Seeing her stunned expression, Xu Qingtong decided to give her an even bigger surprise. With a turn of his hand, he brought out another four Jade Caskets.

He had taken out nine Jade Caskets in all, arranging them in a straight line before him.

Suddenly realizing something, Dongfang Hui raised her delicate fist and struck Xu Qingtong's shoulder. "You little rascal! How dare you tease me!"

Xu Qingtong sucked in a sharp breath of pain and reached out to catch her delicate hand.

Although Dongfang Hui's punch had not been hard, it had tugged at the wound on the right side of his chest, making him cry out in pain.

Seeing his pained expression, Dongfang Hui remembered that he was injured and hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry! I forgot you were hurt. I didn't mean to!"

Looking at her tender, concerned expression, Xu Qingtong forgot to release her hand for a moment. He merely murmured, "It's all right. It's all right."

Only then did Dongfang Hui notice that her hand was still in his. She quickly pulled it free, her already flushed cheeks growing redder still.

The sight of Dongfang Hui's shy beauty left Xu Qingtong entranced. Images from the Thirty-Six Forms of the Pure Maiden surfaced in his mind. His heart felt as though twenty-five rabbits had been stuffed inside it, a hundred paws scratching away as it thumped wildly.

"Delicate clouds wove their art, flying stars carried longing, and the vast Silver River was crossed unseen. One meeting amid golden wind and jade dew surpassed countless encounters in the mortal world." After that brief, tender interlude, the two faced each other without a word, falling into silence.

After a long while, Dongfang Hui recovered first and broke the awkward silence. "Brother Qingtong, hurry and look through these herbs. Can we gather everything the assignments require?" Xu Qingtong also regained his composure and quickly replied, "Yes, yes. Let's take a look."

They opened the Jade Caskets one by one, placing matching herbs together and sorting them by type. After a flurry of activity, the herbs they had gathered proved enough to make up two complete sets for their assignments, with a few left over. Each took one set. Dongfang Hui firmly refused to take any of the remaining herbs, so in the end, Xu Qingtong could only keep them.