Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1156: Chapter 1158 Courtesan Parade_1

Lü felt that he suddenly couldn’t muster his inner strength, and even his entire body became warm and soft.

”What have you done to me?” Lü asked, only then realizing that his voice was like a cat’s meow, which embarrassed him terribly, and his face flushed red.

Jianqi and the others held back their laughter at the side, daring even to provoke Bai Ruozhu. No wonder they hadn’t reminded this man to be more polite.

”Is it the Ten Fragrance Muscle Relaxing Powder?” Lü asked in a suppressed voice.

Bai Ruozhu, upon hearing this, was surprised that the poison from the martial arts novels she had read in her previous life still existed in this era, but she shook her head and said, ”No, it’s my unique poison, only I can cure it.”

”You, you took advantage of me while I was unprepared. How can I command the Shadow Guard after you’ve poisoned me? You don’t want to save Jiang Yichun, do you?” Lü said as he steadied himself by holding onto a nearby table. He was about to collapse and knew he should signal his subordinates to rush in and capture this Bai Ruozhu immediately, but now they were dining in a small inn, and causing a scene would expose their whereabouts.

Muyu showed a look of disdain, ”Haven’t you heard that all’s fair in war? Don’t make excuses for your own failures.”

”Exactly, I’ve been protecting her all this way. How could I have expected that she would make a move on me?” Lü said, unconvinced.

Bai Ruozhu laughed with a hoarse voice, having used a medicine on herself. Her voice was raspier than usual, like a teenager going through voice change.

”Alright, then let’s make a bet. I say I can poison you again within two hours. Of course, I will cure you of the poison first,” Bai Ruozhu said and waved her sleeve. Lü felt his strength gradually returning to his body, and he could circulate his inner strength again.

He quickly checked his inner strength and meridians and found the poison thoroughly cured. This realization made him secretly admire Bai Ruozhu, but because of his pride, he did not want to show it.

The Shadow Guard were the emperor’s true personal guards and considered his sharp swords. Becoming a member of the Shadow Guard was their pride, so these guards were quite arrogant.

”How about it, dare to bet?” Bai Ruozhu asked with a smile.

”Bet on what?” Lü asked cautiously.

”If you lose, you naturally must admit your defeat to me wholeheartedly. You must cooperate fully with me for the rest of the journey and not be too presumptuous,” Bai Ruozhu said, her face turning stern. She was in men’s attire with her hair tied up in a male’s style. Coupled with her voice and power now, even Lü was taken aback.

”You better prepare well this time, be extra cautious, lest you refuse to admit it afterward,” Muyu chimed in from the side.

Lü became nervous and immediately stepped back two meters, fearing he might carelessly fall for Bai Ruozhu’s scheme again. Anyway, they would continue on the road later. He planned to ride his horse and keep his distance from Bai Ruozhu, not believing she could succeed again.

”Fine, if you can’t take me down within two hours, you’ll have to willingly give up your position leading the team, so you won’t endanger us brothers,” Lü said unreservedly.

Bai Ruozhu shrugged indifferently, ”Sure, but you’d better be cautious. It’d be best to stay away from me.”

As she said this, she flexed her fingers. Each time she flicked a finger, Lü’s heartbeat tightened. Eventually, he decided to go feed the horses and left the room altogether.

Jianqi couldn’t help but laugh, ”Look how scared he is; he wouldn’t have had these issues had he been honest earlier, right?”

But Bai Ruozhu couldn’t quite laugh. It wasn’t that she found it difficult to poison Lü; it was that she was always worried about Jiang Yichun’s safety. Without any news of him for a day, she couldn’t feel at ease.

On the road afterwards, Lu hid from Bai Ruozhu like a rat spotted a cat, but it was to no avail. Barely two hours had passed when he abruptly tumbled off his horse. Had he not been accustomed to martial arts with a body resilient to injury, he surely would’ve suffered a mishap.

When Lu was awakened by Bai Ruozhu, he glared at her and said, ”You cheated, you must have poisoned me again before I even left the restaurant.”

”You really hate to lose, don’t you? I don’t see how someone with such meager skills became a Shadow Guard, let alone a Team Leader,” Chén Fēng said in a lowered voice.

Lu had woken up by this moment, but his body had not yet recovered. The color on his face shifted from red to white with embarrassment at Chén Fēng’s words. He wanted to retaliate but found himself completely unable to lift his arms.

”This poison is different from the previous one; otherwise, why didn’t you faint then and why do you faint now? I don’t need to cheat. Even if you were a mere ten meters away from me, as long as we are on the same path, I can find a way to poison you,” Bai Ruozhu said.

Lu was somewhat dazed. ”Impossible, I’ve been so cautious on guard, you had no chance! How could this happen?”

”The poison is released into the air, you breathe it in nonetheless. As for Jianqi and the others, I had already cured them of the poison,” Bai Ruozhu declared, then with a sweep of her sleeve, she cured Lu’s poison once more, since she now needed to save someone and couldn’t afford to have her forces incapacitated.

After a while, Lu got up and, clasping his hands towards Bai Ruozhu, said, ”Young master, I admit my complete defeat. During this journey, I will respect you as the leader.”

Muyu’s face revealed a smug smile. With their lady’s sublime poison skills, they couldn’t help but admire her.

The rest of their journey was without incident, and they galloped towards Wucang Mountain. A few days later, they arrived near Wucang Mountain.

”We should slow down now. Achun is probably no longer on Wucang Mountain, but likely somewhere nearby,” Bai Ruozhu whispered.

The others complied, slowing down and dispatching their subordinates to investigate the area.

Bai Ruozhu also inquired with Furball if it could sense Achun’s whereabouts, since Furball had been with Achun before and was very familiar with his scent.

Unfortunately, Furball didn’t feel anything. It was possible that Achun wasn’t nearby, or maybe the distance was too great for Furball to sense him.

The four of them continued their search until they finally reached Wuyuan City. Bai Ruozhu had once participated in the Mathematical Techniques Competition at the Wuyuan City Commerce Association, where she defeated the cheating Li Dan.

It was a pity that this visit bore no resemblance to the leisure of her previous trip.

Her thoughts were drifting away when suddenly, the boisterous sound of gongs and drums from the end of the street pulled her back.

”Oh, it’s the parade of the newly esteemed courtesan, Miss Qingqiu. Let’s hurry and see. Miss this chance and you’ll have to pay silver at the Yicui Building to see her,” said a middle-aged man to his friend.

”We must rush then, to lay eyes upon Miss Qingqiu’s grace,” his friend said with excitement.

Bai Ruozhu, however, was unaffected by what she overheard. If it were any other day, she would normally be curious about the courtesan’s appearance, but now wasn’t a time for such distractions.

Since Lu and his team were on official business, they wouldn’t be distracted either, so the group went straight through the street without giving much attention to the courtesan’s event.

But as they were about to pass by, Bai Ruozhu suddenly felt an uneasy premonition. She couldn’t pinpoint the cause. She swiftly glanced at the courtesan, Qingqiu, and indeed she was a stunning beauty, and someone Bai Ruozhu had never seen before.