Minglong

Chapter 257 Mo Mo is also not asleep

By the time they returned from the government office, it was nearly midnight.

After Xie Jinhuan escorted Sister Bu to Parrot Lane, he didn't disturb her any further because it was too late, and returned alone to the nearby Princess's Mansion.

In the dead of winter, the snow fell silently. The large mansion was sparsely lit, and apart from a few guards moving around the perimeter, there was no other sound.

Xie Jinhuan glanced around and went straight to Wanyi's courtyard, intending to sneak in to sleep. However, before he even reached the door, he heard soft voices inside:
"Auntie, do you think Young Master Xie was secretly summoned to the palace by the Empress Dowager?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Yang Dabiao said he caught some thieves and is busy with official business at the yamen."

"That's what we'll definitely say to outsiders. Young Master Xie can't exactly openly say he went to the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager..."

"It seems to be the same..."

?

What do you mean by "also"...?

Xie Jinhuan felt that Wanyi was being nagged by Zisu from morning till night, and he began to doubt the rumors. He already had something going on with Guo Da Meiren, so he couldn't clarify anything.

Seeing that the mother and daughter were having a great time chatting, it would be inappropriate for him to interrupt, so he went to Momo's yard and took a look.

Qingmo always had a regular schedule, so he must have been asleep by now. The courtyard was quiet, but the snowman he had built in the morning was still there. Wanyi must have noticed it halfway through, because she stood the lying snowman up and placed it next to him, so that it was now sitting on either side of him.

Meanwhile, Big Coal Ball, a natural night owl, was still squatting nearby, tilting its head to examine the little snowball on the ground. Its amber eyes were quite puzzled, as if it was trying to figure out what the ball represented. When it noticed him coming back, it hopped over and opened its beak.

Xie Jinhuan curled the corners of his mouth, raised his hand to rub the coal ball's head, and then took out the small pieces of jerky he always kept on him:
"Go keep watch at Senior Sister Hua's place tonight. Don't slack off. If anything happens, come and let me know immediately."

"Gooji!"

Seeing that there was still work to be done that night, Coal Ball immediately indicated that he needed more money.

Xie Jinhuan looked slightly helpless, then took out a few more pieces of dried meat, and Coal Ball finally flew off to Parrot Lane, satisfied.

After watching the coal ball leave, Xie Jinhuan had nowhere to go for the time being, so he entered the courtyard, slightly pushed open the door, and glanced inside.

Qingmo's room was quite simple and clean. There were several books on the table, all of which were the official arrangements of the mission and the advanced study of Taoist incantations. On the dressing table near the bed, there was a small jewelry box and a sword, Zhuying. A white dress was hanging on the clothes rack.

The canopy of the four-poster bed was lowered, and the even breathing could be heard inside, but faces could not be seen.

"..."

Xie Jinhuan considered it for a moment, then entered the room and closed the door. She tiptoed to the bedside, lifted the curtain, and looked around.

The temperature in the north is extremely low in winter, currently around a few degrees below zero. Although cultivators are not afraid of heat or cold, they are not immune to the cold. Therefore, Qingmo was covered with a warm yellow winter quilt, sleeping upright with only his rather cold and handsome face showing. Next to his pillow was a small doll that he had given him.

Although there was a slight difference in their strength, Qingmo was still alert. After staring at him for only a moment, her long eyelashes twitched slightly, and her breathing stopped, but quickly returned to even breathing. It seemed that she thought he would leave after looking at her and was pretending to be asleep.

If Qingmo were asleep, Xie Jinhuan would have just glanced at her and left, but now that she's awake, and he's already here...

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan said nothing. He quietly took off his shoes, sat down between the curtains, then lifted the covers and crawled into the warm bed. Then, words of shame and indignation rang out from between the curtains:
"Thank you, Jinhuan!"

Looking down, one could see that Mo Mo had already opened her eyes, her face flushed, and she shrank further under the covers. When she noticed the little doll next to her pillow, she quickly reached out her fair arm, grabbed it, and hid under the covers.

Xie Jinhuan smiled and said, "You're still awake? I just came to check on you. How about...?"

Zi La La...

Linghu Qingmo was sleeping in her room, wearing only a bodice and shorts, when she was suddenly attacked by this lecherous man. Startled, she tried to push him away with a combination of electric shocks and shoves.
"Get out of here, I want to sleep!"

Xie Jinhuan remained motionless, still holding Momo's wrist, pulling her into his arms. Her skin felt smooth and delicate, and the fragrance of a young girl wafted towards him.

"I really won't do anything..."

Linghu Qingmo discovered that while this fellow was polite in words, his hands were anything but polite, sliding directly down to his lower back. Unable to push him away, she could only say:
“Stop!”

Xie Jinhuan stopped abruptly, but still held the person in his arms:

"Okay, I won't move. I just need your help with something, don't misunderstand."

Linghu Qingmo twisted her shoulders but couldn't break free from his embrace. Seeing that her boyfriend wasn't going to continue his mischief, she could only give up the futile struggle, curling her arms around her chest, her eyes slightly wary.

"Wha...what is it? You want to cause trouble by going to Doctor Lin? She's capable of anything, and I'm not someone to be trifled with..."

Xie Jinhuan gently stroked his lower back and said earnestly:
"What are you thinking? I've been studying the Thunder and Fire techniques lately. Although I can figure them out on my own, it's always easier to stand on the shoulders of giants. You've been practicing Thunder techniques since you were young, could you teach me?"

"?"

Linghu Qingmo never expected that he would one day be teaching Xie Jinhuan a lesson, but Xie Jinhuan's miscellaneous palm strikes were indeed an eyesore. After a moment's thought, he responded with righteous indignation:
"You have made great contributions to the people by slaying demons and monsters in the past. I will teach you the incantations of the sect. I don't think the master will blame you. However, you must promise not to pass them on to outsiders."

"Why would I pass it on to outsiders? Besides, I don't just use it directly; I learn from it."

"Just talk, don't pinch me like that!"

"Uh... I'm used to it."

Xie Jinhuan nodded slightly, moving her hand from Man Yue's waist to her thigh. Linghu Qingmo, huddled under the covers, looked a little embarrassed and annoyed, but continued with the important matter:
"I didn't bring any cultivation manuals with me. If there's anything you don't understand, I'll explain it to you."

Xie Jinhuan laughed and said, "No need for secret manuals, just circulate your internal energy. I can figure out the trick by observing the flow of your energy."

Linghu Qingmo had no doubt about Xie Jinhuan's quick wit and ability to apply what he learned to other situations, and immediately began to practice the Five Thunder Demon-Slaying Spell:

"The Thunder God of Heaven, summon thunder and shake the wind. Azure thunder and crimson qi, penetrate the nine palaces... palaces..."

Before she could finish reciting the incantation, she felt a warm, large hand placed on her lower abdomen, specifically the dantian, and slowly sliding upwards along her meridians...

?

Linghu Qingmo took a deep breath and looked at the lecherous man with a slightly cold gaze.

Xie Jinhuan replied with a serious expression, "I'm observing the flow of Qi. You continue."

How am I supposed to continue like this?

Linghu Qingmo felt that Xie Jinhuan was just looking for an excuse to take liberties with her, but she had no choice but to grit her teeth and say, "I can't help it."
"I'll teach you once. Whether you learn it or not, you have to go back to sleep after the practice. You're not allowed to stay."

"Row."

"..."

Seeing this, Linghu Qingmo continued his ritual. As expected, the hand on his waist followed the flow of Qi along the Ren meridian, quickly sliding into the white crane bellyband and reaching the Tanzhong acupoint on his chest. Because of the Ziwei Mountain blocking the way, he grasped the inverted jade bowl...

"Huh~..."

"Be serious, your breathing is unsteady."

?

Linghu Qingmo originally wanted to say a few words to this lecherous man, but he was instead attacked first. How could he tolerate this? He immediately stopped practicing, raised his hand to his arm, and began to cast lightning magic:
Stab~
"Are you getting out or not!"

"I'm really learning, don't get excited."

"Let go!"

"If I let go, how will I sense your presence...?"

"What you're sensing isn't even aura! I can't even say that to you... Huh?!"

Pop pop pop pop...

In an instant, a fierce battle erupted between the curtains and the surrounding area...

……
-
Compared to the joyful and carefree atmosphere in the Princess's residence, the atmosphere in another mansion in the inner city was much more oppressive.

Snowflakes fell silently outside the window, and several people sat in the room, all with furrowed brows and silent.

He Can, still wearing his hood, leaned against the corner of the room with Zhang Chu. After a while, when no one spoke, he turned his head and asked:
"Are they afraid we'll find out they're communicating using sign language?"

Zhang Chu also couldn't see what was happening inside the room, to which he responded:
"It's not that bad. If they don't want us to know, they can just kill us."

He Can agreed, and took the initiative to speak up:
"Things have come to this point, and sitting here and remaining silent won't solve anything. Tuoba Nashui and Chu Xiangzhu were captured while covering our retreat. Although they are imprisoned, their merits will live on forever. Why don't you give them a major commendation, and then we can leave this dangerous place as soon as possible?"

The old man sat in the main seat, holding his teacup and sighing softly:
"I can't leave until the matter is settled."

Fang Anguo had already received the message from the Ministry of Justice, and at this moment he interjected:
"Tuoba Zhe confessed on the grounds of smuggling military equipment and was temporarily spared severe torture by the court. However, Chu Xing is not an envoy, so the court has no scruples about his actions. Even if Chu Xing has a strong will, he cannot resist the soul-dismantling and vision-revealing technique. The people from the Ministry of Justice are watching over him day and night. Our people cannot silence him and can only try their best to delay the interrogation. But as long as the court uses this method, we will all be exposed, and then we will not even have a chance to leave."

The old man, of course, understood the seriousness of the problem and responded:
"The Soul-Dismantling Imaging Projection can only 'see' the projection of what we have seen in the past few days, that is, our appearances and Chu Xing's movements in the past three days. Although the impact is quite significant, fortunately, I myself am the 'bait,' so I won't lose everything. For now, we can only play along and bring things forward."

At this point, the old man looked at Fang Anguo:

“You are in the open, and you will not survive if things are exposed. Go back and contact your men first, and then immediately go to Cangyan Mountain to take refuge. I will take care of the rest.”

"Yes."

Fang Anguo nodded upon hearing this, then got up and left the room.

The old man then turned to look at He Can in the corner:
"I sent a letter to the South some time ago, and your father replied, instructing us to send you back to the Church of the Underworld..."

After hearing half of the sentence, He Can realized that he was being addressed, and said in bewilderment:

"I still have a father?!"

"If you weren't surnamed He, you would have died in Danyang and wouldn't be alive now. But your father wasn't much better. He wanted to learn from the Corpse Ancestor, but he didn't have the Corpse Ancestor's talent and comprehension. He only learned the Corpse Ancestor's ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness, not knowing that the Corpse Ancestor was only ruthless to outsiders, but treated his own family members without any mistreatment. I think you are a talented person, but if you go back, you probably won't escape the fate of becoming a vessel. Now I'll let you choose for yourself: will you go back to the South or serve my sect?"

He Can shrugged slightly: "Since you've said it yourself, what choice do I have?"

The old man nodded slightly, said nothing more, and continued discussing the next steps of the plan...
-
I get so sleepy whenever I try to think. My brain feels like an old-fashioned phone covered in dust—my thinking is incredibly sluggish. This chapter was supposed to be free, but I clicked the wrong button again. Sigh…

(End of this chapter)