Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 988: Jealousy Consumes the Heart

Yang Guo turned his head back with red eyes, only to see a group of Jin Dynasty warriors not far away, led by a strikingly beautiful young girl, who was none other than Pucha Qiucao, whom he had met in Daxing.

It turned out that Pucha Qiucao had received orders from Song Qingshu to descend the mountain to stop the Jin soldiers from advancing, and after settling three thousand elite troops, she worried that the forces at Chongyang Palace were insufficient. Thus, she brought a team of skilled warriors up the mountain to bolster the defense, just in time to run into Yang Guo.

Back then, when Yang Guo publicly ran away in the Imperial Palace, it had left Pucha Qiucao feeling both ashamed and furious, to the point where she had almost wished to kill him. Unfortunately, the world was vast, and she had no idea where Yang Guo had gone.

However, upon seeing him now, Pucha Qiucao was astonished to find that she couldn’t summon any anger; instead, the joy in her heart outweighed her fury. Feelings had always been so unreasonable.

For a moment, Pucha Qiucao felt a bit awkward, unsure how to start the conversation. After thinking for a while, she finally asked, “Where have you been during this time? Many people have been looking for you.”

Looking at this girl who was nominally his fiancée, Yang Guo momentarily lost his composure and instinctively replied, “Does that include you?”

Pucha Qiucao’s face flushed red, but being a girl from the grasslands, she wasn’t as shy as the women from Jiangnan. She responded generously, “I have been looking for you too.”

Seeing her shy demeanor, images of Xiao Longnu entwined in the arms of another m@n flashed through Yang Guo’s mind, and he couldn’t help but close his eyes in pain, squatting down on the ground and crying sorrowfully.

Yang Guo had always been stubborn; back when he was humiliated by the likes of Da Xiaowu and the daoist priests from the Quanzhen Sect, he had never frowned, let alone cried. This time, however, he couldn’t hold back his tears, which showed just how heartbroken and desperate he was.

Pucha Qiucao was startled by his reaction and hurriedly stepped forward to comfort him. After taking two steps, she suddenly stopped, waved her hand to her group of warriors, and instructed, “You all go up the mountain on your own. Later, everything will be directed by Mr. Ouyang.”

For some reason, she didn’t want her beloved to be seen in such a helpless and embarrassing state by others.

“But Miss, your safety…” The group of warriors exchanged glances. They knew that Pucha Qiucao was the young lady of the Pucha family, and now, in such chaotic times, if anything happened to her, they would all be in deep trouble.

“Don’t worry about me. The Quanzhen Sect has already surrendered, and there are large troops stationed at the foot of the mountain. What enemies could there be?” Pucha Qiucao glanced at Yang Guo, her face flushing, “Besides, Brother Yang is here to protect me.”

Women are naturally sensitive. Back in Daxing, she had sensed that he didn’t like that Jurchen name, so she quickly changed her words, calling him Brother Yang, hoping to get closer to her beloved.

The group of warriors secretly rolled their eyes, thinking that given Yang Guo’s current state, who was protecting whom was still uncertain. Although they didn’t think much of it, they didn’t dare to disobey her orders and could only comply and head up the mountain.

Once they had walked far, Pucha Qiucao approached Yang Guo and gently asked, “Brother Yang, what happened?”

Yang Guo suddenly raised his head and stared at her intently: “Is our engagement still valid?”

Pucha Qiucao’s heart skipped a beat, and she stammered, “You rejected it last time in the Imperial Palace…” Seeing Yang Guo’s expression change, she quickly added, “But that was an engagement set by our parents. Since it hasn’t been formally dissolved, it should… it should still be valid, right?”

As soon as she finished speaking, her face turned as red as an apple. No matter how generous she was, it was still quite embarrassing for a woman to say such things.

“Then that’s good.” Yang Guo nodded, grabbing her hand and running towards the Ancient Tomb, “Come with me to a place.”

“Where to?” Pucha Qiucao was taken aback.

Yang Guo didn’t respond, his expression dark as he continued to pull her along, his eyes gleaming with an unknown intensity.

In the Ancient Tomb, beads of sweat fell from Song Qingshu’s forehead like pearls from a broken string, but he had no time to be distracted. He was fully focused on helping Xiao Longnu regulate the chaotic Yin-Yang Qi within her body.

Xiao Longnu was no longer as clingy to Song Qingshu as before; her emotions had stabilized considerably, and her flushed skin gradually returned to its usual translucent whiteness.

Xiao Longnu slowly opened her eyes, her gaze gradually regaining clarity. When she saw everything in front of her, she was completely stunned.

Song Qingshu forced a smile, “Junior Sister, things are not as you think. Just now, I was treating your injuries, and then, for some reason, you suddenly seemed like a different person, full of enthusiasm, and you even mistook me for Yang Guo…” He didn’t dare to tell her the whole truth; if she knew that the root cause of everything was his Joyful True Qi, he wouldn’t know how to explain himself.

Xiao Longnu remained dazed, showing no reaction at all.

Song Qingshu could only continue explaining, “Because your situation is special, if I did nothing, you might have perished in the flames of passion, so… that’s why I tried to help you resolve the impulses within you…”

Xiao Longnu’s gaze finally moved, but she still showed no response.

Looking at her snow-white b0dy, glistening with fragrant sweat, in the past, Song Qingshu would have indulged in admiring this beauty. However, the atmosphere now was extremely strange. Although he believed he had done nothing wrong, facing Xiao Longnu’s eyes like autumn waters, he still felt a bit guilty and turned his gaze away: “And the clothes you’re wearing were taken off by you. I had no intention of offending you…”

Xiao Longnu’s gaze fell on the obvious kiss mark on her collarbone, and Song Qingshu instantly felt awkward, stammering, “Uh, at first, I couldn’t help myself, almost causing a big mistake, but luckily I stopped in time…”

“I know.” Xiao Longnu finally spoke. After all, she wasn’t under the influence of a real drng. Now that she was sober, everything that had just happened surged into her mind like a tide, and she naturally understood the whole story.

Song Qingshu awkwardly smiled, “It’s best that you remember, haha.”

Xiao Longnu’s cold voice rang out again, “Can you take your hand off me now?”

Song Qingshu’s face flushed, and he instinctively explained, “The passion within you hasn’t been cleared yet.”

“I practice the Jade Heart Sutra; this level of passion is still manageable.” Xiao Longnu said expressionlessly.

“My apologies.” Song Qingshu felt as if he had been scalded, hurriedly retracting his hands and turning away, not daring to look at her, after all, she was still naked.

For a moment, he felt extremely frustrated. He thought he was an experienced man in his previous life, and in this world, he had countless beauties, but in front of Xiao Longnu, he felt constrained, as if he had no place to showcase his abilities.

After thinking for a while, Song Qingshu could only blame Xiao Longnu for being as pure as a little white flower, making him reluctant to use any despicable or vile means.

Xiao Longnu quietly dressed herself and then coldly said, “You can leave now.”

“Ah?” Song Qingshu was taken aback. Xiao Longnu’s reaction was completely beyond his expectations. He had thought that even if she didn’t kill him with her sword, she would at least scold him, but now she showed no sign of any reaction at all.

Song Qingshu had originally planned to have her stab him with her sword to vent her frustrations, but of course, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to let her actually kill him. After all, with his current cultivation and experience, creating an injury that looked severe but was actually harmless wasn’t difficult.

However, Xiao Longnu’s cold and indifferent reaction felt like he had punched into thin air, and he couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “Aren’t you angry with me?”

“What good would it do to be angry?” Xiao Longnu sighed softly, “Although you offended me, you saved my life after all… I can only blame my fate for being unfortunate; I can’t blame others.”

Recalling how Xiao Longnu had said something similar to Yin Zhiping in the original story, Song Qingshu couldn’t help but sigh. Although the woman in front of him appeared cold, she was, at her core, an extremely kind person.

“Junior Sister, I’m sorry.” After a thousand words, it ultimately condensed into a single apology.

Xiao Longnu shook her head, “Don’t call me Junior Sister anymore. We probably won’t meet again.”

The more indifferent she was, the more pain Song Qingshu felt in his heart. Suddenly realizing something, he was alarmed: “Junior Sister, please don’t think too much. All the mistakes are mine. You can do whatever you want with me; I won’t even frown.”

Xiao Longnu looked at him strangely: “Why would I think too much? I haven’t found Guo’er yet.”

Song Qingshu nearly choked on her words, almost spitting blood. The three-no girl truly had a thick skin; even at this point, her mind was still filled with thoughts of Yang Guo.

Just as he was about to say something, his expression suddenly changed as he looked towards the corridor and whispered, “Someone is coming, and it’s two people.”

Xiao Longnu finally showed a hint of panic on her face and instinctively stood up: “I don’t want to see anyone right now.”

Her hair was disheveled, her clothes were disordered, and there was still a blush on her face from earlier excitement. Naturally, she didn’t want to be seen like this.

“Let’s find a place to hide.” Song Qingshu suggested. He didn’t know who was coming. Initially, he thought it was Yang Guo returning, but the footsteps indicated there were two people. Yang Guo usually acted alone; where would he find a companion?

Although Xiao Longnu didn’t want to have anything to do with Song Qingshu anymore, the footsteps outside were getting closer, and she had no time to think. She quickly pushed open a hidden door beside them and slipped inside with Song Qingshu.

Once inside the room, Xiao Longnu silently led the way in front, while Song Qingshu followed behind. Although there were no candles lit, one had grown up in the Ancient Tomb and was familiar with every inch of it, while the other had something similar to divine sense and could see clearly in the dark.

Watching Xiao Longnu’s graceful figure, Song Qingshu could only wish that this path would never come to an end.

Suddenly, Xiao Longnu paused, her voice trembling slightly: “The Broken Dragon Stone in the Ancient Tomb is below; outsiders would never know how to enter. Could it be that the one coming is Guo’er?”