The Beauty and the Swordsman

Pei Lingyou and her six companions hurriedly left Danxia City and headed east into Tiger Mountain. They traveled for dozens of miles before feeling completely safe and no longer threatened by Du Chuan.

The seven people stopped to rest by a stream and divided the tasks tacitly.

Ren Wofei and Zhao Xingxing used tree branches to make simple crossbows and went into the forest to hunt.

After Chen Gui finished taking stock of the few things Kuang Ye had brought from the small courtyard, he went to gather firewood and set up the stove.

Pingping hurried to the stream to fetch water and boil it.

Shoumo rolled up his trousers and sleeves and stood in the shallow water, trying to catch fish.

Pei Lingyou, on the other hand, rested her hands behind her head, using her shackles as a pillow, and lay comfortably on the warm, cozy rock that Kuang Ye had just swept dust off with a twig.

Although the shackles on her hands were in the way, they didn't stop her from being mischievous, or rather, from flirting with Kuang Ye.

She hummed a little tune, swayed her long legs, and tilted her head to look at Kuang Ye.

He sat on a rock at her feet, his head down, weaving something large with branches and vines, and also making a rope.

His fair face glowed in the sunlight, and beneath his high, straight nose, the corners of his beautiful mouth curved slightly, forming a faint arc.

Her virtuous and gentle appearance was just like that of a fairy who had mistakenly fallen to earth and married this unruly man.

Seeing that Kuang Ye was engrossed in editing and didn't even look up, Pei Lingyou nudged his back with her knee:

"Hey, I didn't see your drawing when I was reading the sketches earlier?"

"Oh, really?" Kuang Ye raised an eyebrow slightly in confusion, his eyes crinkling with a smile.

"Maybe it got lost because the scene was too chaotic."

Pei Lingyou is no ordinary person; his cunning is more numerous than the hairs on his head.

"No way, it must have been eaten by He Xiuhe, right?"

When Kuang Ye first pulled a painting from the pile of sketches, the focus of the conflict was on He Xiuhe. In addition, Kuang Ye's hand reached deep into the painting box, leading everyone to mistakenly believe that he was taking He Xiuhe's painting.

Later, Pei Lingyou read through all the names on the drawings one by one. Even her own drawing of "Old Man and Chicken" was there, but Kuang Ye's drawing was missing.

She guessed that this cunning young man had played a trick in front of everyone.

He pretended to pull out the bottom with one hand, but actually pulled out his own drawing with the other.

He even fully anticipated that He Xiuhe would rush over and destroy the painting, so he deliberately made He Xiuhe eat it, thereby destroying the one that belonged to him.

Otherwise, with his skills, how could he have let an ordinary woman like He Xiuhe snatch things from his hands?

Pei Lingyou realized for the first time that this seemingly gentle and harmless young man actually harbored some cunning.

What should I do?

I love this contrast even more!

Pei Lingyou stood up with a wicked grin, like a philandering young master teasing an innocent girl, and leaned close to Kuang Ye's profile to ask:

"It's just a little 'grievance' I made to infiltrate the Ferryman's Guild. What's wrong? What grievance do you have that you're so ashamed to admit? Tell me, and I'll help you solve it, really!"

Kuang Ye didn't speak, but the corners of his mouth curled up even more.

He glanced at Pei Lingyou.

She was squatting on a rock, her hands forced to rest in front of her body by shackles, looking just like a little fox blinking its eyes, waiting for an answer.

However, at this moment, she was still wearing the coarse linen clothes of the Crossing Heart Society.

In the painting that belonged to Kuang Ye, she was a proud and charming fiery red fox.

The reason he had to destroy the painting was because the artist's brushwork was superb; the crimson fur color, the fiery red markings on the fox's brow, and the fox's cunning yet lively expression.

He felt that anyone who saw it would recognize it as Pei Lingyou at a glance.

How could he let his feelings slip through such a small detail? He could only tell He Xiuhe to swallow the drawing.

"I feel wronged, but I also feel wronged. How should I put it..." Kuang Ye deliberately kept everyone in suspense.

He knew that at this time every time, Pei Lingyou would be so eager to get closer to him that she would be kept in suspense.

Her brows would furrow slightly, and her eyes would widen anxiously, making her look extremely pitiful.

So Kuang Ye deliberately dragged out his words, but before he could properly appreciate Pei Lingyou's appearance, something heavy landed beside him with a "bang," kicking up a cloud of dust that made Pei Lingyou cough, and all his curiosity was diverted.

She peered out and saw a dead roe deer lying on the ground.

Ren Wofei and Zhao Xingxing were wiping the blood splattered on their bodies, searching for daggers, preparing to skin the roe deer.

"Wow! Finally, we can eat meat!" Pei Lingyou cheered happily.

During her time at the Crossing Hearts Association, she ate nothing but steamed buns and clear soup every day, and her mouth was getting so bland. Thinking that she would finally be able to have a delicious meal of roe deer meat, she couldn't help but stand on the rock and dance a couple of times.

Kuang Ye watched her with a smile from the side, silently opening his arms, afraid that she would lose her balance and fall because she was now shackled.

Meanwhile, Pingping and Chen Gui had already set up the fire and grill.

Shoumo hadn't caught any fish for a while, but when he heard there was roe deer, he lost interest in catching any and immediately ran over to help cut the roe deer meat.

With everyone contributing their efforts efficiently and effectively, they quickly placed the roe deer over the fire and began roasting it in circles.

Pei Lingyou remained squatting by the fire, gazing longingly at the meat and constantly swallowing her saliva.

Her appearance was so cute and charming that even Chen Gui, a serious and rigid middle-aged man who had been doing this his whole life, couldn't bear to look at her. Before the whole roe deer was even roasted, he used a knife to peel off a thin, golden, crispy layer from the skin and handed it to Pei Lingyou.

Pei Lingyou happily reached out to take it, but forgot about the shackles that were holding her back, and she fell face-first to the ground.

Now that my hands are bound, the first problem arises:

It's inconvenient to eat or drink.

The shackles in this government office are made of special coarse iron, which is not only extremely heavy but also very large. If Pei Lingyou wanted to raise her hands to eat something, the shackles would poke her throat before the food could even reach her.

"Sigh, there's nothing I can do but have you guys feed me!" Pei Lingyou sighed in a fake manner, crossed her legs and lay back on the big rock, looking like she was waiting to be served.

Kuang Ye knew this cushy job was definitely his, and couldn't help but smile. He then began to straighten his cuffs to make it easier to feed Pei Lingyou.

Before he could even speak, Shoumo jumped out first, moving so fast that Chen Gui couldn't stop him.

Shoumo felt that Pei Lingyou's current state was entirely due to the Crossing Heart Society, which in turn was caused by him, Shoumo.

He felt responsible for Pei Lingyou, so he volunteered to feed her.

Ren Wofei and Zhao Xingxing, who were standing nearby, chuckled and whispered to each other, "It's been a long time since I've seen such bright lanterns, especially the kind that have no sense of propriety."

Pingping was busy carving wooden cups and pouring water for everyone when she heard this. She looked up and glared at Shoumo.

Chen Gui couldn't help but click his tongue and shake his head.

Shoumo didn't understand why everyone was reacting this way, and why the atmosphere had become so subtle and strange.

Chen Gui couldn't stand it any longer, so he pointed at Pingping with his chin, as if to say, "The junior sister hasn't even spoken yet, so what's it to you?"

But Shoumo still didn't understand, and asked in bewilderment:

"I want to apologize to Pei Lingyou, so I'm willingly taking care of her, isn't that right?"

"Would you like to take a look? There seems to be someone here who's even more 'willing' than you?"

Someone whispered this in a voice barely above a mosquito's buzz.

Even now, Shoumo, that big idiot, still doesn't understand. He's carrying a freshly roasted plate of venison, ready to feed it to Pei Lingyou, walking with the air of someone about to feed a pig.

He kept muttering to himself as he walked:

"With shackles on your hands, you can now legitimately not work. That's right, you've never done any work before. We did all the chores along the way. Who would dare trouble you, you old tyrant? Come, come, eat some meat. After you finish, I'll show you the 'Shuowen Jiezi'—oh dear—"

Before Shoumo could finish speaking, he got kicked in the butt.

Pei Lingyou roared, "Get out!"

Her hands were immobile, but her feet were free, and she kicked Shoumo so hard he couldn't get up.

Then, like a master of disguise, she put on a pitiful expression and looked at Kuang Ye:

"If you don't feed me, I won't eat. I can starve myself, believe it or not?"

Pei Lingyou thought that such an ambiguous request required some harsh words to force Kuang Ye to comply.

Unexpectedly, Kuang Ye said "I believe you," and then picked up the tea, freshly roasted mushrooms, and a large bowl of meat, and walked to Pei Lingyou.