Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Zuo Qiuchi sat up and vigorously rubbed Chu Mingkong's head with her two jade feet, making him dizzy and drooling.

The woman exclaimed "Eek!" and reached under her skirt to pull off the white stockings, which were stained with drool. She then threw them disdainfully at her little apprentice's face. Her fair and beautiful feet were particularly rosy and alluring because Chu Mingkong had been holding them for so long.

She can now confirm that the nightmare she had some time ago might be real. That wretched woman, Feng Ying, had instilled a foot fetish in Chu Mingkong back then.

You're corrupting my disciple!

Chu Mingkong stopped interrupting and said:

"I'm certain that both of my cuts ripped through her flesh, but as if by some kind of fate, her life force instantly returned, while a villager from the tribe who was helping her cover her died suddenly, and the wound looked just like the one I made."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Qiuchi immediately understood what had happened:

"It's a secret technique in the witchcraft system that requires sexual intercourse to complete the ritual and establish a life bond. However, this usually involves sharing injuries. From what you've said, it's like using someone else's life as a second life. This woman, Gu Mei, has seduced the men of that village to the point of being completely devoted to her. They're even willing to form a bond with her using this kind of secret technique."

Chu Mingkong remained silent. Did that mean... Feng Ying's master had seduced all the men in the village?! What a master of scheming!

Is it possible that those men were deceived?

"Impossible. This kind of life-or-death secret technique, even if you don't know what it is, your life instinct will warn you—that ominous feeling of palpitations and panic. The only way to make someone willingly enter into this unfair secret technique connection is by deceiving them emotionally," Zuo Qiuchi denied outright.

However... Chu Mingkong's actions effectively wiped out almost all of Fengying's village.

Zuo Qiuchi knew something about the Crescent Moon Kingdom; normally, a tribe only had a few hundred people. Since Gu Mei was living in seclusion, the tribe she chose was probably even smaller, maybe a hundred or so.

If Gu Mei had seduced a prominent man in the tribe, perhaps even a leader, then when the leader died, the other villagers certainly wouldn't have let it go.

"Did you kill a lot of the villagers there?"

"...I guess so." Chu Mingkong said with a guilty and disappointed expression. "Actually, I realized at the time that these people had a good relationship with Feng Ying, maybe they were her villagers or something. I showed them mercy. After Gu Mei ran away, I wanted to leave immediately, but those villagers came over to stop me. They used poison, poisonous insects, hidden weapons, and wild beasts. They almost brought out the totem guardian spirit to attack me."

The final result was that half of the village's population was wiped out, Chu Mingkong escaped unscathed, all of Gu Mei's lovers died, but she herself was unharmed.

When Chu Mingkong returned to the Xiling border, he dragged a corpse back for Wei Hai to search for souls. Then he learned about the situation and that Feng Ying was from that village.

Gu Mei was training Feng Ying to be a sacrifice, and she kept pretending that she had lost all her skills. In fact, the dagger she gave Feng Ying was a trap to harm her, since she hadn't taught him all the combat skills.

Ironically, Chu Mingkong's antics actually helped Feng Ying uncover her master's conspiracy and saved her life. Feng Ying herself probably figured it out herself.

But those villagers were also her family, and Chu Mingkong's meddling and recklessness made it seem like their lives were over.

He is both a benefactor and an enemy.

After Chu Mingkong learned about this, he couldn't sleep for several days. He had lost a big sister who was willing to lick his horns.

At that time, Feng Ying went into seclusion to cultivate the [Steel Slash] technique. Before she left for seclusion, Chu Mingkong told her that he would give her a surprise after she finished her cultivation.

Chu Mingkong couldn't even imagine what Feng Ying's feelings would be when he returned to the tribe after leaving seclusion.

And then that was it. Chu Mingkong stayed at the Xiling border for so long, but he never saw her come to visit him again, nor did he see her come to seek revenge or anything.

At that time, all Chu Mingkong could do was send people to deliver some herbs, cattle, and sheep to the villagers as compensation, and also to investigate Feng Ying's movements and see if he could invite her to Xiling to explain things properly.

Unfortunately, when people were sent there later, the villagers said that Fengying had only returned once and had not appeared since. The small tribe, due to a sharp decline in the number of men, had voluntarily joined another tribe.

When they met again later, Fengying came to ambush him, accusing him of having sex with her daughter...

Chu Mingkong felt a headache just thinking about it, and the bottle of high-grade aphrodisiac dew that followed was, in a sense, a great contribution.

"Master, there's something I want to tell you." Chu Mingkong removed the white silk from his face.

"What is it? The story isn't over yet?" Zuo Qiuchi asked in surprise, wondering if there was more to the story.

"You're forcing me to recall this kind of thing, it's making me so melancholy, can you help me sip some?"

"You're really saying anything now..."

Zuo Qiuchi grabbed him by the collar and, amidst Chu Mingkong's bewildered gaze, threw him out the window.

--------

PS: The storyline involving Feng Ying and her master is a classic trope in wuxia (martial arts) fiction: "the enemy is the one who raised you." Qiao Feng's background in *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* is similar, as is the Iron-Blooded Marquis in Wong Jing's masterpiece wuxia drama *The World's Finest*, who becomes the boss the protagonists face, and Shi Potian in *Ode to Gallantry*. Even in anime, there's a similar phenomenon; in *Akame ga Kill!*, the noble family that initially takes in a newbie actually enjoys torturing and killing them.

The core plot twists of these stories are all the same: "The benefactor is also the enemy."

P.S.: The "Wind and Shadow" part wasn't originally conceived this way. It all started with the author's dismissive attitude, and then Jin Yu being given preferential treatment at lightning speed. At first, it really was just about finding his daughter...

Chapter 151 Where are your pants?

After Chu Mingkong was thrown out of the window by Zuo Qiuchi, he clung tightly to the window frame and hung on the outer wall of the spaceship.

The spaceship was moving extremely fast, and a gust of wind caused his loose belt to come undone, almost pulling his pants down. He instinctively reached out to steady his pants, only to see a white silk thread floating out of the window—the same one Zuo Qiuchi had just worn. Without hesitation, Chu Mingkong turned and grabbed the white silk thread.

Unfortunately, he was still not used to his current body and hadn't expected his arms to be so short. The white silk floated past him, but he couldn't catch it. He could only watch helplessly as the white silk flew away, landing in the lush forest below and getting caught on a treetop.

"What's with this sudden heartache? From the perspective of imagery, it must be a metaphor for my inability to hold onto my master," Chu Mingkong said, feeling lost and dejected.

Not only did he fail to catch his master's white silk, but he also failed to protect his own pants, which flew out together.

High in the sky, an elephant's trunk flutters in the wind.

"Don't be so cruel, Master. How about we be fair and give each other a break? I'll help you, and you help me!" Chu Mingkong poked half his head out of the window.

Listening to the children's voices outside the window, Zuo Qiuchi sighed deeply. She put her veil back on and left the room with the viewing stone.

Chu Mingkong had almost climbed back when he saw Zuo Qiuchi leave. He asked, "Master, where are you going?"

Just as he was about to climb into the window, Chu Mingkong suddenly heard a hoarse "caw caw" sound coming from the woods below, as well as the helpless crying of a little girl.

His gaze followed the sound to the source, where he found a child hiding inside a barrier in an abandoned ruin in the forest below. Outside the barrier, four or five grotesquely shaped humanoid figures were banging on it.

"We need to go help out. We don't even see a single tribe in this desolate wilderness. How could a little child be wandering around here? And what kind of monsters are those? We've never seen them before..."

He clung to the windowsill and swung towards the window of the next room. Chu Mingkong remembered that the room of the person in charge of this caravan's transport was there. After swinging several times, he arrived at the captain's room and opened the window.

Inside the room, Di Shudie and her Daoist partner Wang Fei were preparing for intimacy. Although neither of them had decided to break through the barrier and unite in cultivation, since they were Daoist partners in love, some intimate gestures were inevitable during their private relaxation time, including but not limited to kissing and touching.

The sudden opening of the window startled both of them. They thought it was a thief causing trouble. Di Shudie looked over warily and found a petite boy standing there with his hands on his hips.

Because of the backlighting, Di Shudie couldn't see his face clearly at first, but her gaze was immediately drawn to the fact that the boy wasn't wearing pants...

She was utterly shocked; how could this person be so much bigger than Wang Fei?!

Chu Mingkong didn't waste any words; saving lives was the priority. He said urgently:

"Master, someone below just called for help. It's extremely dangerous. Could you please stop the spaceship?"

Di Shudie quickly realized that the boy was the one who had been traveling with the mysterious woman. He had not shown himself since boarding the ship, and she hadn't expected him to appear in this way for the first time.

"Why did you come to me through the window, young master? Where are your trousers? Did a thief break in and you had to leave in such a sorry state?"

Upon hearing her words, Chu Mingkong instinctively reached out to cover his private parts, but his hands were too small, and the object he needed to cover was too large, so he couldn't cover it at all. He wanted to find a spare, but then he remembered that the children's clothes he was currently wearing were all altered with the help of Elder Si Chunhua, and there were no spares.

“A true man doesn’t concern himself with trifles! I was feeling a bit stuffy in my room, so I came out for some fresh air. This is no big deal, Master. Someone down below just called for help. Hold on, I’m going down to rescue them.”

Di Shudie forced herself to look away from the oddly sized toy, and said with practiced ease:

“That’s not a good idea. No normal people would come back from this desolate place, let alone call for help. It’s probably a trap set by thieves. Besides, the area ahead is where flying magical beasts are found. If we linger here, we’ll quickly attract the attention of those beasts. We need to get through as soon as possible. If there are too many flying magical beasts, it will be very troublesome.”

That makes sense... How could a young girl possibly be hanging around in a place like this? It looks a bit like a honey trap, and it just so happens that she appeared right where they were passing by.

but,

Should we really just stand by and do nothing, staying on this spaceship and pretending nothing is happening?

My pants fell down! Pants are a minor issue, I can just not wear them, but Zuo Qiuchi's white stockings fell down too!

He said apologetically:

"I'm really sorry to trouble you, Miss Leader. Don't worry about the flying magical beast. My elders will protect the spaceship. The flying magical beast won't be able to damage it."

Wang Fei, already in a bad mood from having his plans ruined, spoke in a harsh and impatient tone:

"Young man, these flying magical beasts are not to be trifled with. There are a great many of them, and their support speed is extremely fast. If you're not careful, you could attract fourth- or even fifth-tier magical beasts! Moreover, this is a desolate wilderness, and the situation is complex. You could easily step into a trap set by someone from some ancient era. The dangers are unpredictable. Our spaceship is carrying the treasures of the Immortal Treasure Pavilion. You can't just act recklessly!"

His words were neutral and reasonable, but his tone was extremely unpleasant, as if he were deliberately mocking him. Even his Daoist partner, Di Shudie, couldn't help but frown and feel uncomfortable upon hearing them.

"Wang Fei, be more polite and speak properly with your guest."

Chu Mingkong knew he was putting the other party in a difficult position, so he came up with a compromise:

"Here's what we'll do: when we pass through the airspace where flying magical beasts appear, don't speed up. Just keep your current speed, or even slower if you can. I'll catch up after you. My elders were legendary sword saints who can easily protect you."

"Sword Saint? I'll answer as you command!" Wang Fei didn't believe it.

If he were truly a sword saint, would he be hiding in his room like this? Besides, a sword saint wouldn't be an unknown person.

Chu Mingkong couldn't come up with a name, so he just shouted something based on his and Zuo Qiuchi's current personas:

"Stepmother—!"

"What are you doing?" Zuo Qiuchi pushed open the door and asked irritably.

"I'm going downstairs to find my pants. Could you help me deal with the flying monsters, or at least let some of my domineering aura show through, so they don't interfere?"

After saying that, Chu Mingkong turned around, his bare bottom facing the people in the room, and jumped down.

Zuo Qiuchi didn't mind protecting him, but he didn't quite understand why he would appear naked in front of someone else's window.

Oh, she has things to do too. Zuo Qiuchi took out the viewing stone.

"Can you help me transfer the Viewing Stone here? Please deliver it to Xiao Yunhan of the Xiao family in the capital."

Chapter 152 Relic Illusion

"No problem."

Di Shudie replied, quickly tidying her clothes before walking up to the veiled woman with a graceful and voluptuous figure, and taking the viewing stone from her. It was protected by a restriction, and the restriction was of a very high level, far exceeding her ability to detect it.

"How long will it take to deliver?" Zuo Qiuchi asked. She was in a hurry and wanted Xiao Yunhan to see how she had played with her brother!

Just imagining it, Zuo Qiuchi could guess how angry Xiao Yunhan was. If it weren't for the fear of conflict and his impatience, Zuo Qiuchi would have liked to save the viewing stone for when he met her in person.

"If it's just a normal exchange of information, we can send it out after we land in a few hours. But if you really need to send a message urgently, we can also provide a space teleportation channel, although it will consume a lot of spirit stones."

"Since you can teleport, why don't you just teleport the goods over? These treasures should be worth the price, right?"

"That's true in principle, but there's the issue of cost. Plus, most spiritual treasures are extraordinary in themselves, and the current teleportation arrays can't really transport them. They can only send simple things like viewing stones and letters. If our caravan needs to use this small teleportation array, it's mostly for requesting help or to transmit the enemy's identity."

So that's how it is. Zuo Qiuchi didn't have much contact with these escort caravans before, and didn't know about this.