"Huh?"
At Zhang Qingyuan's words, the girl's pretty face suddenly flushed red as a ripe apple, and she hurried to protest.
"Y-you little Daoist, stop talking nonsense!"
Her eyes grew flustered, and her helpless fumbling looked utterly adorable.
After a brief moment of panic, she steadied herself and glared at Zhang Qingyuan. So frivolous-he had to be a lecher.
Zhang Qingyuan had no idea the girl before him had already passed judgment on him, and continued teasing her.
"If you're not after my money or my body, why are you pointing a sword at me?"
"You shameless Daoist! What girl in this world would rob someone of... of their chastity?"
Zhang Qingyuan put down his book and slowly rose. Girls in ancient times really were innocent. Hadn't that obviously been a joke?
Besides, he had little interest in a little loli like her. Admiration was one thing-anyone would take a few extra looks at a pretty girl-but as for harboring improper intentions...
This poor Daoist isn't a randy poodle!
Besides, with a girl this young, who knew whether it was criminal? In his previous life, it would probably have meant prison.
More importantly, the girl's appearance did not meet his requirements for a Dao companion.
The girl's gaze sharpened, and she grew even more cautious.
I'm wounded right now, and I can't gauge this Daoist's strength. If he really means me harm, I'll be in trouble.
Huh?
He's coming toward me!
The girl's eyes widened, and she hurriedly mustered what little internal power she had left.
"W-what are you doing?"
"Getting my bundle."
Zhang Qingyuan pointed at the bundle behind her as though it were only natural, then took another step forward.
The girl glanced behind her and saw that there really was a bundle there, then hastily turned back.
"Don't move!" She raised her sword, bracing it with her hand, its tip pointed at Zhang Qingyuan.
Zhang Qingyuan, however, paid it no mind and burst out laughing.
"Why not?"
"You're not allowed to move."
"My bundle's behind you. Why shouldn't I be allowed to get my own things?"
"I'll get it for you."
With that, she backed up two steps until she was behind the bundle, raised her little foot, hooked it up with her toes, and kicked it toward Zhang Qingyuan.
Zhang Qingyuan caught the bundle and glanced at her.
Keeping her face stern, the girl asked, "You have your bundle. What are you looking at?"
"What's it to you?"
"You..."
Her sword thrust straight at him, its gleam icy cold. Zhang Qingyuan sidestepped it.
"Hey, are you sick in the head?"
"You're the one who's sick! Take this!"
"No thanks."
The blade swept sideways as she unleashed Thousand-Feathered Flying Crane. Zhang Qingyuan dodged left and right without the slightest disorder.
Zhang Sanfeng's talent lay not only in creating techniques, but also in reacting to opponents in battle.
Back when He Zudao, the Three Saints of Kunlun, entered Shaolin, Shaolin Temple had braced itself as though facing a formidable enemy. Yet the one who defeated him was Zhang Junbao, who knew only a few moves of Shaolin Fist.
Yang Guo had taught him those fist techniques, and they were nothing particularly sophisticated. He had won purely through his reactions in battle. That was the sort of talent worthy of being called genius.
The girl's swordsmanship was unpracticed, and she was wounded besides. Dodging her attacks could hardly have been easier for Zhang Qingyuan.
After three moves, Zhang Qingyuan seized an opening and caught the blade between two fingers. The girl tried to pull her sword back, but no matter how much force she exerted, it seemed embedded in his hand and would not budge.
"Such a little girl, and such a huge temper. Attacking someone you've only just met-is something wrong with you?"
"Enough talk, you lecher."
Seeing that she was no match for him, the girl simply let go and closed her eyes in resignation.
"Kill me or carve me up-do as you please!"
Zhang Qingyuan watched her, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes.
Were girls in ancient times all this... foolish and innocent?
Looks like I need to change how I talk. I need to drop those speaking habits from my previous life.
He took possession of her sword, opened his bundle, and rummaged through it.
Having waited for death with her eyes closed for some time without anything happening, the girl secretly opened them to look. She saw Zhang Qingyuan take a medicine bottle from his bundle.
"If you've opened your eyes, stop being so wary," Zhang Qingyuan reminded her.
The girl simply abandoned all restraint and glared stubbornly at him.
Zhang Qingyuan tossed her the medicine bottle and put this bundle on the pile of straw as well.
He had two bundles. The new one held things he had collected over the past few days. Since he had recently been reading medical texts, it contained many medicinal herbs he had found lately.
As the girl caught the bottle, Zhang Qingyuan teased, "Careful. There's an aphrodisiac in there."
Her face reddened further. She had already seen the words "wound medicine" written on the bottle and only then realized that the Daoist had wanted to get medicine for her.
Remembering how she had misunderstood him and even drawn her sword against him, she felt a little more guilty.
She moved aside, found a clean spot to sit, and rolled up her trouser leg, revealing a fair, smooth calf.
A three-inch wound stood out starkly on her leg. The wound had stuck to her clothing in places, and as she rolled up the trouser leg, a tearing pain made her moan despite herself.
After applying wound medicine to her calf, she raised her head and looked at Zhang Qingyuan.
Discovering that he was staring at her without blinking, she felt shame well up, and her cheeks flushed even brighter.
"C-could you... could you turn around?"
Zhang Qingyuan licked the corner of his lips and sighed. "What a bother."
Despite his words, he still turned around. Only then did the girl lower her trousers, revealing a wound on her thigh that was worse than the one on her calf, with pink flesh curling outward.
She frowned, thinking that it was certain to leave a scar.
After applying medicine to the wound on her thigh as well and putting her clothes back on, she finally said, "All right. You can turn around."
Zhang Qingyuan turned back. "Don't they say people of the jianghu don't fuss over trifles?"
"There's still a distinction between men and women."
The girl lowered her head, cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment, and cupped her hands in salute.
"I am Chen Ling'er of the Chen Household in Songjiang Prefecture. Thank you for the medicine, Daoist Priest. Ling'er will remember your great kindness and repay this drop of kindness with a gushing spring someday."
Someday?
Couldn't we skip the 'some' and get straight to the doing?
Zhang Qingyuan recalled a stale dirty joke from his previous life. Those netizens from his previous life had thoroughly corrupted him.
"You're welcome. I'll thank heaven and earth as long as you don't point your sword at me again. Forget about repayment."
"No, I must repay this kindness."
"How?" Zhang Qingyuan asked.
The question left Chen Ling'er dumbfounded, unsure how to answer.
Isn't this what everyone in the jianghu says? After I offer repayment, isn't he supposed to decline politely and say it was a mere lift of the hand, not worth mentioning?
"Er... how would you like me to repay you, Daoist Priest?"
"Give me money."
"How much?"
"Whatever you think appropriate."
Chen Ling'er had not expected this Daoist priest to be so unconcerned with propriety, so genuinely vulgar.
Zhang Qingyuan smiled, leaned against the straw pile, and picked up his Daoist scripture.
"Normally, after a hero saves a beauty, if the hero is handsome, the rescued girl usually says, 'I have no way to repay you for saving my life. I can only offer myself in marriage.'
"But if the hero is ugly, the girl says, 'I have no way to repay you for saving my life. I can only hope to become an ox or a horse in my next life to repay your great kindness.'"
Zhang Qingyuan looked at Chen Ling'er. "Since you're neither offering yourself in marriage nor repaying me in your next life, giving me a little money is perfectly reasonable, isn't it?"
Chen Ling'er was utterly speechless. Who says things like that? How have I never heard of it?
The corner of her mouth twitched, and she said awkwardly, "You certainly jest, Daoist Priest. I have yet to ask your esteemed name. May I ask which school or sect you belong to?"
What a completely seamless change of subject.
Zhang Qingyuan also cupped his hands in reply. "Certainly. I graduated from Three Purities Temple and now belong to the jianghu. This poor Daoist is Zhang Qingyuan. You don't have to keep calling me Daoist Priest, either. Just use my name."
What does 'graduated' mean? Chen Ling'er roughly understood him. He probably meant he had left his school.
"How could I do that? In that case, I'll call you Daoist Priest Qingyuan."
"As you like." Zhang Qingyuan continued reading his scripture, asking as he read, "Right, I haven't asked how you got those wounds."
Chen Ling'er drew a deep breath. He had touched a sore spot.
Seeing her discomfort, Zhang Qingyuan said, "If it's inconvenient to talk about, forget it."
"There's nothing inconvenient about it."
Chen Ling'er stretched her hands toward the fire and began, "Daoist Priest Qingyuan, have you heard of our Songjiang Chen Household?"
Zhang Qingyuan shook his head. "No."
"Er..." Chen Ling'er choked briefly. "To tell you the truth, our Chen Household has been well known in Songjiang Prefecture for a long time. My father has quite a reputation in the jianghu thanks to our ancestral Chen Household Swordsmanship."
"Mm."
"But two months ago, my father received a letter saying that a peerless sword had appeared in Nanyang Commandery, so he wanted to go and buy it.
"Since my father left, there hasn't been a word from him for two months. I was afraid something might have happened to him, so I came out to search for him.
"And today, while passing through the county town, I happened upon a fiend from the Black Lotus Sect..."
"What happened when you saw the fiend?"
When she stopped halfway through, Zhang Qingyuan asked, "Did you misjudge your own skills, try to rid the people of a scourge, and end up getting wounded by the fiend?"
Chen Ling'er nodded silently. "I knew I might be no match for that fiend, but I'd almost run out of travel money, and the authorities had a bounty of a hundred taels of silver on him, so I wanted to try my luck."
"What?" Zhang Qingyuan started violently and looked at Chen Ling'er. "There's a bounty?"
"Mm."
Zhang Qingyuan sprang to his feet and declared with righteous conviction, "Where is that fiend? Slaying demons and defending the Dao is our bounden duty!"
You're doing it for the money, aren't you? Aren't you?