Qin Jiujiu quickly called out to the door, "Sister Bai, I'll open it right away!"
Xie Jing, however, had no intention of leaving. Seeing him lying motionless on the bed, Qin Jiujiu could only feel anxious but dared not open the door.
"Why don't I open it?"
Xie Jing suddenly said, and not only said it, but actually did it.
Before Qin Jiujiu could stop him, she could only watch him open the door. In her haste, she quickly got out of bed, tidied her appearance, and tried her best to act natural as she looked towards the door.
Bai Qianluo entered, her face clearly showing deep surprise. Qin Jiujiu could only explain, "Young Master Xie Er is here to borrow books!"
Bai Qianluo's gaze swept over the two of them. She remembered that Jiujiu had told her some time ago that the person she liked was Xie Jing.
Qin Jiujiu didn't know what Bai Qianluo was thinking, only seeing a fleeting smile on her face. She didn't need to think to know that Bai Qianluo had misunderstood something, but she was too lazy to explain. Bai Qianluo was unlike Liu Jin; she wouldn't gossip.
At most, Xie Yun would know!
"Yan Xing, Chen Zhi needs you."
Xie Jing responded, but showed no immediate intention of leaving. His gaze fell on the bed, which was slightly disheveled from their recent movements.
Qin Jiujiu's heart suddenly tightened. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye while still dealing with Bai Qianluo.
"Sister Bai, did you come to see me for something?"
She saw Xie Jing's eyes land on the bed. Then he leaned forward and picked up the storybook. So he had come to get the book!
Her heart eased slightly, but Xie Jing deliberately walked in front of her, holding the book, and said, "Miss Qin, I'll be borrowing this book first!"
He seemed to be wearing a mask at this moment, incredibly gentle, yet Qin Jiujiu inexplicably saw deeper emotions beneath his gentle smile.
He was doing it on purpose!
He clearly knew the content of this storybook, wasn't this a blatant threat?
But with Bai Qianluo present, Qin Jiujiu could only respond with a smile and say to Xie Jing, "Young Master Xie Er, please take good care of it. I'll come to get it from you another day!"
The threat had succeeded!
Xie Jing smiled, as pleasant as a spring breeze, yet it made Qin Jiujiu grit her teeth in anger.
She felt inexplicably uncomfortable, yet had to smile as she watched him leave. Turning around, she saw Bai Qianluo looking at her with a peculiar smile.
She was most familiar with this kind of smile; wasn't this the auntie smile she had on her face when she was shipping couples!
Getting back to business, Bai Qianluo had come on behalf of Xie Yun. The Ghost Market would be open tonight, and in just a few hours, the three of them would enter the Ghost Market to buy information at that杂货铺.
The whereabouts of the Xie family heirloom.
If they got the information, they would likely set off in the next two days. Bai Qianluo came to ask Qin Jiujiu if she wanted to continue with them or stay at Chunfeng Du temporarily and wait for them to return.
Qin Jiujiu naturally wanted to follow the protagonist group. There was only Xie Jing left to conquer, and if she didn't follow them, who knew what would happen on the way? If Xie Jing turned evil, her mission would fail!
So Qin Jiujiu said, "Sister Bai, of course, I want to follow you!"
Bai Qianluo, whatever she was imagining in her mind, thought that Qin Jiujiu was doing it for Xie Jing, and would follow him no matter the risks, staying by his side, because that was how she felt about Xie Yun.
Her training was actually over, but she was unwilling to return to her sect yet.
"Jiujiu, I understand your feelings, so I will persuade Chen Zhi to let you accompany us!"
Qin Jiujiu knew that Bai Qianluo had misunderstood something, but she was indeed doing it for Xie Jing, and her thoughts were not entirely wrong. Since such a misunderstanding could help her complete her mission, it wasn't too bad.
Two days later.
The City Lord sent a letter asking Liu Jin to return to Liuliu City. Liu Jin was reluctantly sent back by Liu Qi. Therefore, by the time the four of them left, Liu Jin was already on her way back to Liuliu City.
When Qin Jiujiu had packed her things and met up with Xie Yun and the others at the door, Liu Qi was seeing them off.
Because they were entering the Manluo Kingdom, Liu Qi specially assigned some of his subordinates to accompany them.
The whereabouts of the Xie family heirloom could be found in a mysterious place.
That place was called Anzhou.
More than twenty years ago, Anzhou was a small country deep in the desert. Although it was located at the border of the Manluo Kingdom and Shengqi Kingdom, unlike Chunfeng Du, this small country did not belong to any country. It was small but independent. Because it was located deep in the desert, it had no contact with the outside world.
However, twenty years ago, during a war between the Shengqi Kingdom and the Manluo Kingdom, this place disappeared...
Because it had no contact with the outside world and its location was remote, very few people knew its exact whereabouts. Therefore, there were only rumors that the people of this small country were different from ordinary people; they practiced sorcery and could control minds, but whether this was true was unknown—those who searched for this place never returned!
Qin Jiujiu sat in the carriage, leisurely reading her storybook. Before setting off, she had bought many storybooks to pass the time.
Admittedly, the protagonist group's configuration had improved greatly now!
Xie Yun and the others rode horses, while she and Bai Qianluo traveled by carriage. Compared to walking at the beginning, it was like the difference between heaven and earth!
This carriage was specially prepared by Liu Qi!
The storybook in her hand was the one she had finally retrieved from Xie Jing. The story in the book took place in Anzhou.
It told the story of a princess from Anzhou and a general from the Shengqi Kingdom. The Shengqi Kingdom and the Manluo Kingdom were at war. The Manluo Kingdom was skilled in witchcraft and used dishonorable tactics. The Shengqi Kingdom had no way to counter them and was repeatedly defeated. They heard that a small country deep in the desert, Anzhou, knew how to break the curse. The general leading the army at that time led a troop of elite soldiers and secretly infiltrated Manluo to find Anzhou deep in the desert.
The journey was arduous, with countless casualties. The general was also severely wounded but was eventually rescued by a young girl.
When the general woke up, he realized he was in Anzhou, and the young girl was the princess of Anzhou.
Then came the love-hate affair between the general and the princess.
The part Xie Jing had read last time was when they pledged their love.
And now, she had just read about the princess of Anzhou returning to the Shengqi Kingdom's military camp with the general, helping him break Manluo's witchcraft. The Shengqi Kingdom won a great victory, and the princess happily returned to Anzhou to wait for the general's wedding. What she received instead was a vast army, whose cavalry trampled her entire country. She died without ever seeing the general she longed for.
Qin Jiujiu's heart ached, her heart aching with every word. The story in this book felt so real, making her shed tears unconsciously.
How desperate the princess must have been at that time!
Bai Qianluo was resting with her eyes closed, so she didn't notice Qin Jiujiu crying, which allowed her to cry so unrestrainedly. She pulled open the curtain and looked outside. They had already entered the Manluo Kingdom, but they were heading in the opposite direction of Manluo's prosperous capital.
"Jiujiu, are you feeling unwell?"
Xie Yun was riding his horse and, seeing her slightly red eyes, came to inquire.
Xie Jing had already seen the peeking head, and was staring intently, but did not approach.
"Brother Xie? I'm fine!"
Qin Jiujiu looked up at the person on the horse. To prove she was truly fine, she even smiled.
Xie Jing immediately saw the smile on her face and found it extremely fake. She was clearly not in a good mood, so why force herself to smile? He didn't understand.
Xie Yun handed Qin Jiujiu a pot of water. Just as she was about to take it, a pot of water suddenly appeared in her arms, and Xie Jing's face appeared before her.
Qin Jiujiu didn't know whether to take the water from Xie Yun. Xie Yun suddenly smiled. Qin Jiujiu felt that his smile was very similar to Bai Qianluo's smile that day. She shook her head slightly and decided not to take anyone's water.
Just as she was retracting her hand and preparing to return the water pot that Xie Jing had thrown into her arms, she heard him say, "Is my brother's water tastier? Then I must try it!"
Qin Jiujiu's hand paused. She looked at Xie Jing. He had already taken the water from Xie Yun, opened the lid, and poured a large gulp into his mouth.
A few drops of clear water dripped down his chin to his Adam's apple. Qin Jiujiu watched his Adam's apple move up and down a few times, feeling her entire body heat up, and directly pulled the curtain closed.
Xie Jing's lips curved upwards slightly. He re-covered the water pot and returned it to Xie Yun.
Xie Yun: I feel like a third wheel!
After an unknown amount of time, they had reached the border of the desert. Further in, they would be in the desert.
The person sent by Liu Qi had completed his task. "The desert is ahead, and the legendary Anzhou is said to be deep within that desert, but that is just a legend. You will have to find the specifics yourselves... I will return to the city to report."
Qin Jiujiu was sleeping when she vaguely heard someone speaking outside the carriage. The carriage also stopped. Realizing they had arrived at their destination, she also got out of the carriage.
Looking at the desert in the distance, the shadow of the little princess suddenly appeared in her mind!