Hearing the strange noise, Su Mu’s face turned pale with fright. It was so dark out—who knew what was lurking in the reed marshes?
She was already regretting it deeply in her heart. She should have dragged Chen Qing along with her.
Without any hesitation, Su Mu turned tail and bolted toward the shore.
But it was obvious her escape was too slow. A black shadow suddenly burst from the reeds, and a chilling iron sword was pressed against Su Mu’s neck.
“Mighty hero, spare me!”
Feeling the icy cold of the sword, Su Mu’s legs nearly gave out beneath her.
But before she could even utter the hundred lines of pleading she’d prepared, the black shadow holding her captive was sent flying by Chen Qing, who had appeared out of nowhere and delivered a kick.
Chen Qing hadn’t held back in the slightest with that kick. Against anyone who dared to hold Silly Shizun hostage, she had even channeled her Internal Energy into her leg.
Chen Qing pulled Su Mu protectively into her arms, her gaze icy cold and brimming with killing intent as she stared at the black shadow she’d kicked away.
Taking a full-powered kick from the Grandmaster head-on—if the Black Shadow Figure hadn’t reacted in time and raised her hand to block Chen Qing’s attack, she probably would have already reported to the King of Hell by now.
The Black Shadow Figure coughed up a large mouthful of stagnant blood from her chest before she finally felt a bit better.
After taking the time to observe closely, Chen Qing realized that this black shadow who had ambushed her looked a little familiar.
Wasn’t this the person who had given her two taels of silver today? Though the silver had been snatched away by Chen Qing, this perverted Villain, Su Mu still had a pretty deep impression of her.
At this moment, the Black Shadow Figure also got a clear look at Su Mu and Chen Qing. She hadn’t expected to run into them here, and this icy-eyed girl actually had such formidable martial arts.
“Why did you put your sword to my neck?”
Su Mu asked her in confusion, inadvertently giving her a chance to live.
After all, if Su Mu hadn’t spoken up, in Chen Qing’s eyes, anyone who dared put a blade to Silly Shizun’s neck would be killed on the spot.
“I thought you were the ghost-impersonator my Miss mentioned. I only wanted to capture you—I had no intention of harming your life.”
Seeing how tightly Chen Qing was shielding Su Mu, Wu Ran immediately knew that surviving under this expert required explaining herself clearly to the girl right away.
“Ghost-impersonator?”
Wu Ran’s words successfully piqued Su Mu’s curiosity.
But before she could ask more, two guards holding torches approached.
Seeing Wu Ran lying on the ground, the two guards nervously raised their crossbows.
Wu Ran quickly signaled them with her eyes to stop. In front of an expert like this, even thousands of crossbows firing in unison wouldn’t pose a threat.
“I still need to report back to my Miss. If you’re interested, young lady, you can come find me later, and I’ll tell you everything.”
With that, Wu Ran struggled to prop herself up and stand from the ground.
Chen Qing’s eyes, already icy, grew even colder upon hearing her suggest that Silly Shizun come find her later.
Wu Ran had no idea she’d touched another of Chen Qing’s taboos. Seeing her increasingly frigid gaze, she couldn’t help but shiver inwardly.
This person was too terrifying. How had she never heard of such a peerless expert before?
Su Mu watched the disheveled Wu Ran, her little brain whirring as she immediately started making demands.
“You want me to let you go? Fine, hand over your dinner.”
Seeing the miraculous Silly Shizun, Chen Qing really wanted to remind her that if anyone was letting her go, it was Chen Qing herself.
This fox-borrowing-the-tiger’s-might trick—Silly Shizun was getting better and better at it.
Wu Ran was stunned for a moment, not expecting such a simple condition.
She quickly sent the two guards back to fetch rations for ten people.
“There’s too much food for you young ladies to carry easily. Take these for now, and come find me if you need more later.”
Having successfully swindled the dinner she’d been craving, Su Mu hurriedly dragged Chen Qing back.
Her stomach was already starving. After Wu Ran’s sudden attack earlier, she didn’t dare move alone anymore, so she pulled Chen Qing along.
Chen Qing gave Wu Ran a cold glance before allowing Silly Shizun to pull her away.
Wu Ran, who had just escaped death, let out a sigh of relief. She’d truly walked through the gates of hell and back.
Looking at the food she’d gotten from Wu Ran, Su Mu suddenly felt a bit unbalanced.
The dry rations she’d eaten before were so dry and tasteless, while Wu Ran’s were a proper mix of meat and veggies, and they even tasted good.
Comparing people drives some to death; comparing goods makes you toss yours away.
The moment Chen Qing laid eyes on the rations, she knew the Miss Wu Ran mentioned was no ordinary person.
After all, these were royal specialties—not something just anyone could obtain.
But Chen Qing only thought about it briefly and didn’t care. She was only staying here for one night, after all.
There was no need to pay attention to what identity that Miss had. She might as well spend the time teasing her silly, naive Shizun.
It wasn’t until she’d eaten double portions for two people that Su Mu comfortably lay down on her grass mat.
Gazing at the bright starry sky, the full-bellied Su Mu suddenly asked, “What if it rains while we’re asleep later?”
“We’ll get wet.”
“Then you get wet. I’m going inside to sleep.”
Su Mu rolled up her grass mat and happily ran under the eaves of the Ancestral Hall.
This move of hers was actually reverse psychology—separating herself from the Villain so she couldn’t bully her.
But Su Mu was still a bit scared alone, so she picked a spot where she could fully see Chen Qing.
Chen Qing watched Silly Shizun’s little scheme, but she didn’t call her out. After all, she was confident that Silly Shizun would roll back on her own soon enough.
Sure enough, just as Chen Qing predicted, after Su Mu lay down, it didn’t rain—instead, she felt chilly all over.
Even curling up tightly in her sleep did nothing.
Driven by the instinct for warmth, Su Mu’s body gradually rolled toward the campfire.
Until finally, she ended up back in roughly the same spot as before.
Seeing that Silly Shizun hadn’t rolled all the way to her side, Chen Qing was a bit dissatisfied.
She forcefully pulled Su Mu into her embrace. Su Mu shifted uncomfortably but showed no sign of waking.
She just adjusted her sleeping position in Chen Qing’s arms and continued sleeping soundly and comfortably.
Chen Qing wrapped her arms around Silly Shizun’s waist. The soft, plush feel was as pleasant to touch as always.
Silly Shizun’s obedient demeanor in sleep formed a stark contrast to her usual rowdy, scheming self.
But that air of silliness was still blatantly obvious, even in her sleep.
Chen Qing sometimes genuinely worried that this Silly Shizun might really get sold off one day and still count the money for the seller with a smile.
But the only one who could sell Silly Shizun was herself.
Su Mu flipped over, now facing Chen Qing directly.
After flailing her hand around for a bit, she hugged Chen Qing’s waist like a body pillow and buried her head in her chest.
Silly Shizun looked truly obedient in this moment, but the fair, smooth little feet she had draped over Chen Qing made it hard for her to hold back.
Chen Qing really wanted to cradle those soft, delicate jade-like feet in her hands, toy with them, and then thoroughly bully the obedient Silly Shizun before her.
