There Seemed to Be a Ticking Time Bomb Beside Her

Thinking of Wei Mingchi and Miss A Man, Zhu Lianqing could not help sighing.

Before she fell asleep, the light in that room had still been on, and she could hear arguing.

She wondered whether, once the night grew deep and quiet, these childhood sweethearts who had spent the whole day sulking had calmed down and sat knee to knee for a heart-to-heart.

After all, Sister-in-law Little Liu had said so much during the day.

Or perhaps they had still kept their feelings buried, each nursing their own awkwardness.

Sadly, in their youth, they had not known how rare it was for two hearts to love each other. It was not even that the road of love was difficult; they had set so many obstacles in their own way first.

They had barely gone any distance before opening their eyes again to find themselves forever separated by life and death.

Truly, the world was ever-changing.

While Zhu Lianqing was lost in these reflections, Xie Lingchuan had already finished his work and walked over from the bedside, carrying a lamp as though he intended to find the others looking after A Man outside.

The lamplight swayed gently inside the room, and the instant Xie Lingchuan passed Zhu Lianqing, it illuminated her face with perfect clarity.

Xie Lingchuan, who had been heading outside, suddenly stopped and looked at Zhu Lianqing.

"Senior, did we meet at Ode to the Spring Breeze a few days ago?"

Zhu Lianqing braced herself and nodded. "I suppose so. I did brush past a few people wearing clothes like yours, but I don't really remember their faces, haha."

Fortunately, Xie Lingchuan did not volunteer his name, nor did he ask why she had insisted on betting on his victory.

"Since you are also a cultivator, Senior, why do you have no magical artifact? You were able to fight the Ghoul just now, so why did you not intervene when we were fighting the moth yaoguai? Were you observing something?"

For the first time, Zhu Lianqing felt that her disciple was such a fiend for details, spotting so many suspicious points at once.

But Zhu Lianqing's skill at spinning tales while roaming the world was no empty boast, either.

"I used to be a cultivator, but an accident ruined most of my spiritual meridians. These days, I can barely manage a few minor yaoguai. Just now, I saw how many of you there were and was afraid I'd get in your way, so I didn't intervene."

Xie Lingchuan fell silent for a moment at that. "I see. My apologies for bringing back unpleasant memories, Senior."

Zhu Lianqing waved dismissively. "Oh, I've long since gotten used to it after all these years. Otherwise, I wouldn't be out enjoying the mountains and rivers. It's nothing. Don't take it to heart."

Xie Lingchuan said nothing more and went outside with the lamp.

Zhu Lianqing followed him.

A Man had been poisoned by the powder on the moth yaoguai's wings and, coupled with her excessive fright, remained unconscious for the time being. Shen Ji had already fed her a medicinal pill.

Yet though she was covered in blood, she had no wounds.

Clearly, Wei Mingchi had staked his life on saving her.

Jiang Tingxue looked at A Man, then around the little courtyard. "Senior Brother, something feels strange. Why hasn't a single person in the village come out after such a commotion?"

Shen Ji also looked around the utterly silent courtyard. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Perhaps they heard the noise and were too frightened. Mortals are weak. If they know there's a yaoguai outside, they would rather nail their windows shut than come out. That corpse tonight was rather horrifying. It's better that they didn't see it. Let's wait until daybreak to discuss exterminating the yaoguai with the villagers."

Jiang Tingxue nodded. "Then where should we put this young lady?"

Standing to one side, Zhu Lianqing raised her hand. "I'll help her into my room."

"Sorry for the trouble, Senior."

Zhu Lianqing settled Miss A Man on her bed. When she came out, she heard the young people beneath the eaves discussing a plan.

"Senior Brother Xie, do you think we should take the initiative and look for that moth yaoguai, or stay here and keep watch?"

"The Record of Ten Thousand Yaoguai states that moth yaoguai are no different from ordinary people during the day. At night, they follow firelight to find living people and feed on their vital essence. We've only just arrived and don't know the surrounding terrain, so it would likely be difficult to find. That moth yaoguai is wounded and needs large amounts of vital essence to heal. It will certainly return. We need only wait by the stump for the rabbit here."

Listening to her disciple's analysis, Zhu Lianqing silently agreed.

Moth yaoguai were not very intelligent. There was no such thing as falling into a pit and gaining wisdom for them, so even after suffering a setback here, it would still return to feed.

But her young disciple probably had not memorized the entire Record of Ten Thousand Yaoguai yet.

Zhu Lianqing stepped forward and squeezed in among them, adding, "If a moth woman and a Ghoul appear together, there's usually a White Bone Cavern nearby. That's the Ghoul's nest. The cave is an ideal environment for hatching moth eggs, so this yaoguai and demon work together like a wolf and its accomplice. After draining a person's vital essence, the moth yaoguai carries the corpse back to the cave to feed the Ghoul. So, while you're waiting by the stump for the rabbit, don't forget to leave some alive to lead the way, then wipe out that White Bone Cavern in one fell swoop."

Song Wensheng said, "So that's how it is. You truly are knowledgeable and well-traveled, Senior!"

Zhu Lianqing shook her head modestly. "I wouldn't call myself knowledgeable and well-traveled. At most, I've lived a few more years than you."

Shen Ji said, "Senior, you just said that moth yaoguai carry corpses back to feed Ghouls. Why did the Ghoul come out itself just now, then?"

"That's simple. It was so hungry its belly was sticking to its spine and thought the cook was taking too long. So just wait here without worry. The full moon is only a few days away. They'll certainly take advantage of their greatly increased yaoguai power to come out and feed."

"Don't worry, Senior. We'll wait here very patiently and wipe them all out in one fell swoop!"

Zhu Lianqing clapped in agreement. "Good, good, good! Every generation brings forth its talents, and the waves behind push the waves ahead along the Yangtze. With young people like you here, I can rest easy. Keep it up, youngsters! I'll be on my way first!"

Everyone had been delighted by the first half of Zhu Lianqing's words, only for her to suddenly change tack and announce that she was leaving. They were all a little bewildered.

"Why are you suddenly leaving, Senior? We were still counting on you to tell us about the White Bone Cavern and give us some guidance."

"Ah, there's nothing much to say about that White Bone Cavern. It's just a low-level maze. All you need to do is fight some monsters. You don't need my guidance."

Zhu Lianqing made to take her leave, only for the young people to stop her, their faces full of worry and concern. "Has something urgent suddenly come up, Senior? Is there anything we can help with?"

Zhu Lianqing thought, Nothing urgent has come up. It just feels as though there's a ticking time bomb beside me.

Although her identity was unlikely to be exposed so easily, staying with her young disciple like this still put a mountain of pressure on her. Better to slip away as soon as possible.

"Nothing urgent. I'm just afraid I'll hold you back if I stay. We met like duckweed drifting together on the water, all merely passing through. No need to keep me, no need to keep me."

"How could you hold us back? Your experience is far greater than ours, Senior."

Zhu Lianqing was about to say something else when Xie Lingchuan, who had remained silent beside her, suddenly spoke.

"The moon hangs in the middle of the sky, and it is precisely midnight. Traveling now would likely be unsafe for you, Senior. Since that is the case, why insist on leaving at this hour?"