Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 1038: A Beautiful Mistake

Taoist Baishang and the Master of the Vajra Sect were known for their ruthlessness; the words “tenderness” were foreign to them. Seeing Cheng Yaojia blocking their way, they didn’t hesitate at all, striking directly at her. Simultaneously, they planned to use her body to transfer their internal energy to the unfathomable Embroidered Flower Thief.

Before their attacks even reached her, Cheng Yaojia was already breathless from the biting palm wind, unable to move, her mind blank.

Song Qingshu also noticed the commotion behind him, his heart filled with anxiety. He knew that Xiao Longnu had been struck by the Seven Star Gathering of the Five Masters of Quanzhen; if it weren’t for her extremely high level of cultivation in the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, she would have already perished on the spot. Now, with the combined full power of Taoist Baishang and the Master of the Vajra Sect, the force was likely even greater than the Seven Stars Gathering of the Five Masters of Quanzhen. 

Cheng Yaojia’s internal strength was far inferior to Xiao Longnu’s; if she were struck, she would likely die instantly. Even with his One-Yang Finger and Joyful Meditation dual cultivation techniques, he wouldn’t be able to save her in time.

Song Qingshu already had a considerable fondness for this shy and timid young woman, and now that she had selflessly shielded him from the attack, how could he stand by and watch tragedy unfold?

Song Qingshu gritted his teeth, enduring internal injuries to forcefully pull away the palm strike, then grabbed Cheng Yaojia’s slender waist. At the critical moment, he used the “Distance as Close as the Ends of the Earth” technique. 

Everyone in the courtyard only saw a blur before their eyes, and the next moment Song Qingshu was already several feet away, carrying Cheng Yaojia.

Song Qingshu’s skill was now formidable. The sudden recoil from withdrawing his power had already inflicted serious internal injuries, and the forced use of the energy-consuming “Distance as Close as the Ends of the Earth” technique only exacerbated his condition. Therefore, upon teleporting here, his legs buckled, and he stumbled to the side.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly, spinning a few times to dissipate the force of the teleportation.

Cheng Yaojia, held in his arms, looked up at his face as they spun, feeling as if in a dream, her face unconsciously flushing red.

Song Qingshu wiped away a cold sweat. This felt like one of those cringeworthy scenes from a TV drama; he was practically dying of embarrassment. He really hadn’t meant to.

To ease his awkwardness, he quickly shifted his gaze to where they had been standing.

On the other side, the twenty-four Tibetan monks were overjoyed to see Song Qingshu suddenly pull back his palm. In a contest of internal strength, any sudden withdrawal of the palm was tantamount to inviting disaster. Seizing the opportunity, they launched a fierce attack, giving their opponent no chance to breathe.

However, Song Qingshu suddenly vanished from sight, replaced by the full-force attack of Taoist Baishang and the Master of the Vajra Sect.

Both sides now understood what had happened and inwardly groaned. But they were helpless; pulling back the palm at this moment meant certain death. Therefore, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and meet the blow head-on.

Although the Master of the Vajra Sect and Taoist Baishang were far more skilled than the Tibetan monks, this was a contest of internal strength, where trickery was unacceptable. Coupled with the monks’ miraculous combination technique, the four palms clashed, and the Master of the Vajra Sect and Taoist Baishang instantly turned red-faced, while the twenty-four monks swayed.

Song Qingshu knew that if he launched a sneak attack at this moment, these people would be severely injured, if not killed. However, the Prince Ruyang’s Palace’s experts were almost entirely wiped out, which wouldn’t be in his best interest. The situation in Yangzhou was incredibly complex, and he needed the Prince Ruyang’s Palace’s strength to break the deadlock.

Weighing the pros and cons, Song Qingshu laughed loudly, “The night is long, and I must keep my beauty company. I’ll take my leave.” With that, he and Cheng Yaojia leaped away several times and disappeared into the night.

The Eight Archers hurriedly fired their arrows, but Song Qingshu’s movements were elusive and unpredictable; they couldn’t hit him and could only watch helplessly as the two disappeared.

Having witnessed Song Qingshu effortlessly escape from a group of experts surrounding a frail woman, Wang Baobao’s face turned ashen. Seeing the two sides still locked in a fierce internal struggle in the courtyard, their eyes red and necks bulging, he was even more enraged: “Enough! Stop!”

With Wang Baobao’s intervention, both sides dared to gradually withdraw their internal energy, finally managing to stop.

“Can anyone tell me who this Embroidered Flower Thief is?!” Wang Baobao’s expression was grim.

The experts in the arena exchanged bewildered glances, seeing the fear in their companions’ eyes. They had always been extremely confident in their martial arts, believing they could easily sweep aside all the major sects of the Central Plains. Unexpectedly, they were now being toyed with by an unknown expert.

Seeing no one answer, Wang Baobao grew even more impatient. After a moment’s thought, he ordered, “To prevent the news from leaking and alerting the Southern Song, we’ll move the previous plan forward. We’ll act tonight!” 

The Mongols, conquering all sides and winning every battle, relied on speed as their tactical essence. As a renowned general of the new generation in Mongolia, Wang Baobao naturally understood the essence of blitzkrieg.

“Yes!” The experts roared in agreement. Having just suffered such a humiliating defeat in front of their master, they were all filled with fervor and eager to redeem themselves.

Noticing the high morale of his men, Wang Baobao nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand: “Let’s go!”

Song Qingshu, carrying Cheng Yaojia, didn’t know how much time had passed before, estimating that the people from the Prince Ruyang’s Palace were unlikely to catch up, and finally put her down.

As soon as they stopped, Song Qingshu suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Cheng Yaojia’s face paled instantly, and she grabbed his sleeve with worry, asking, “What happened to you?”

“I just suffered a minor internal injury, it’s nothing serious,” Song Qingshu said, wiping the blood from his mouth and smiling nonchalantly.

“How can it be nothing serious when you’ve coughed up blood? I have some healing medicine from the Quanzhen Sect here, take it quickly.” Cheng Yaojia hurriedly pulled a pill from her pocket.

“It’s just coughing up blood, it’ll get better after a while,” Song Qingshu smiled slightly, pressing her hand to make her put the pill away. “I’ll just circulate my internal energy and be fine.” He then sat down on the ground, his internal energy circulating continuously.

Although his injury was not minor, his internal energy had now reached a state of perfection, circulating endlessly and continuously. After circulating it for a few cycles, his internal injuries would be healed.

Cheng Yaojia was startled when he suddenly began to use his internal energy. In her memory, everyone around her, whether master or elder, would find a quiet, undisturbed room to heal, and there would often be a trusted person protecting them. Who would just casually find a place to sit down and start healing like this?

However, his amazing martial arts skills at He Garden had inexplicably made her trust him. She glanced at him secretly, thinking to herself: ‘I didn’t expect his martial arts to be so high. I even considered kidnapping him to escape from the Daotai Yamen.’

Thinking of her previous naive thoughts, Cheng Yaojia couldn’t help but smile shyly. Since Song Qingshu was healing, she sat down beside him somewhat listlessly, staring at him blankly.

Seeing the brocade handkerchief he had used to cover his face fall onto the grass beside him, Cheng Yaojia picked it up, instinctively wanting to put it back in her arms. After all, this handkerchief was one she had specially embroidered for her husband years ago, which he had stolen a few days ago. She had always wanted it back, but unfortunately, she hadn’t had the chance. Now that the opportunity had presented itself, she hesitated, lost in thought, her hand holding the handkerchief suspended in mid-air, making no further move.

Suddenly, she noticed the beads of sweat on the man’s forehead beside her. Remembering his internal injuries sustained while saving her, her heart softened, and she gently took the handkerchief to wipe his sweat.

After wiping his sweat, Cheng Yaojia stared blankly at the handkerchief in her hand. Thinking of her husband’s various rudeness lately, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger: ‘Since you don’t like this handkerchief, I’ll give it to someone else.’ (G: rip bro.)

For years she had been dutiful, but once this bold thought took root, she couldn’t suppress the impulse within her. Cheng Yaojia’s heart pounded. Seeing that Song Qingshu was still healing with his eyes closed, she used trembling fingertips to secretly slip the handkerchief into the arms of the man beside her.

A slight smile appeared on Song Qingshu’s lips: “Is this a token of love from the madam to me?”

Cheng Yaojia, already incredibly nervous, nearly jumped out of her skin in fright. Looking up, she saw Song Qingshu had opened his eyes and was scrutinizing her with a half-smile. She wished she could disappear into the ground.

“You’re bullying me!” Cheng Yaojia was almost in tears.

Song Qingshu chuckled: “How did I bully you?”

“You were clearly awake just now, but you pretended to be healing, deliberately… deliberately making fun of me. Isn’t that bullying me?” Tears streamed down Cheng Yaojia’s face uncontrollably. 

Seeing her tears, Song Qingshu panicked and hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief to wipe them from her face. “I’m innocent! I was really healing my wounds. I only woke up when you touched me.”

Cheng Yaojia blushed, her delicate white hand outstretched. “Give it to me!”

“Give what to you?” Song Qingshu was completely confused.

Cheng Yaojia glanced at the handkerchief in his hand, her face flushed, and said, “That one!”

Song Qingshu suddenly realized, but showed no intention of returning it. Instead, he put it back in his arms. “This won’t do. You already gave it to me.”

“I didn’t give it to you. You clearly took it from me,” Cheng Yaojia said, forcing a smile.

Song Qingshu immediately laughed. “Then who personally stuffed this handkerchief into my arms just now?”

Cheng Yaojia’s pretty face turned as red as rose petals. “Even if I gave it to you, I’ve changed my mind now. Give it back!” She then lunged forward, trying to snatch it back from him.

However, Song Qingshu reacted faster, pulling his hand back so Cheng Yaojia missed her target and lost her balance, falling into his arms.

With Song Qingshu’s martial arts skills, he certainly had countless ways to catch her, but he wasn’t the kind of clueless, unromantic man. He simply didn’t react, letting her fall towards him.

Cheng Yaojia’s almond-shaped eyes widened instantly, because when she fell into Song Qingshu’s arms, their lips actually met.