Chapter 250 - 128: Yu Xiaoqian
’It seems my gamble to play the tempting bait paid off.’
After carrying Jiang Mu into the valley on her back, Yu Xiaoqian didn’t immediately head toward the towering grand hall.
She stopped and glanced around furtively, like a thief with a guilty conscience.
She sighed in relief only after confirming there were no other demonic ghosts on patrol.
She gently set Jiang Mu down on a large, flat rock, propping him up in a sitting position.
Seeing Jiang Mu’s face—still unconscious and turned a deathly pale from the combined corrosion of corpse poison and Ghost Qi—a flicker of hesitation and conflict crossed the young woman’s eyes. She muttered to herself:
"This fool ended up like this because he was saving me. If I hand him over to Grandmother, I’d be repaying kindness with cruelty. That’s what a bad ghost would do.
Even though I, Yu Xiaoqian, am a ghost, I’m going to be a good one, a ghost with heart and honor."
She seemed to have made up her mind.
The young woman tilted her head back slightly and opened her small, cherry-like mouth.
A perfectly round, jet-black bead giving off a faint, ethereal fragrance emerged slowly from her mouth, hovering at her lips.
A soft, gentle luster flowed across the bead’s surface.
It was clearly no ordinary item.
Yu Xiaoqian extended two fingers and carefully plucked the Black Pill from the air. A pained look crossed her face as she grumbled:
"This will cover up your living human aura. Otherwise, Grandmother would smell you before we even got through the door."
With that, she pried open Jiang Mu’s jaw and shoved the Black Pill—still warm and coated with her saliva—directly into his mouth.
Then she closed his jaw.
After doing all this, she hoisted Jiang Mu onto her back again.
But this time, she didn’t head for the grand hall in the center. Instead, she furtively turned onto a secluded path nearby, hidden by shrubbery.
Lying on the young woman’s back, Jiang Mu’s throat bobbed slightly.
He hadn’t actually swallowed the Pill. Instead, with a deft movement, he had used the base of his tongue to press it into the space underneath.
Taking advantage of the moment while Yu Xiaoqian was focused on carrying him, Jiang Mu quietly opened his mouth and spat the black bead into his palm.
He squinted one eye, using the dim light to examine the wet Black Pill.
’What is this thing?’
Jiang Mu was puzzled, not quite understanding.
’But that girl was just muttering something about concealing my human aura... It seems she really does want to save me, not just hand me over to the Old Witch.’
’This is a bit troublesome.’
’If we don’t go to the main hall, how am I supposed to scout out that Old Witch?’
’How am I supposed to launch a sneak attack?’
Jiang Mu tightened his grip on the Black Pill, feeling its lingering warmth. His eyes flickered thoughtfully.
’Oh well. Since I’m here, I might as well see it through. I’ll see where she’s taking me first, and then I’ll play it by ear.’
...
Yu Xiaoqian carried Jiang Mu to a small, secluded courtyard.
Just then, Jiang Mu feebly "woke up" right on cue.
"Where is this?"
Jiang Mu asked weakly.
"Just lie here quietly. Don’t make a sound, and don’t move."
Yu Xiaoqian carried Jiang Mu into a room. Looking at the man’s deathly pale face, her eyes filled with worry. "My Ghost Pill is suppressing the corpse poison, so you won’t die for now. I’m going to go steal... I mean, go ask Grandmother for some medicine. You have to hold on."
Jiang Mu closed his eyes, his breathing shallow.
Just as Yu Xiaoqian turned to leave, a sudden knock echoed from the door.
Yu Xiaoqian froze, looking like a child caught red-handed. She glanced frantically at Jiang Mu on the bed.
"Xiaoqian, are you in there?"
A sharp, feminine voice called from outside. "I saw you come back."
"It’s... it’s Sister Qing!"
Yu Xiaoqian gasped.
She grabbed a thick quilt from nearby and unceremoniously threw it over Jiang Mu, covering him completely except for a tiny gap for air, then pulled the bed curtains shut.
The young woman took a moment to calm her frantic heartbeat, then forced a calm expression and walked over to open the door.
A woman in a light green gauze dress stood outside.
She was also quite beautiful, but her high cheekbones and upturned eyes gave her a harsh, mean-spirited look.
At that moment, she stood with her arms crossed, peering suspiciously into the room.
"Sister Qing, what brings you here?"
Yu Xiaoqian blocked the doorway, forcing a smile.
The female ghost, "Sister Qing," frowned. "What took you so long to open the door?"
"Oh, I was just changing,"
Yu Xiaoqian said.
"Grandmother is furious in the main hall. She sent me to find you." Wen Xiaoqing’s voice was cold.
Hearing the word "Grandmother", Yu Xiaoqian trembled.
Wen Xiaoqing looked her straight in the eye. "Grandmother wants to know, where is the scholar? The man you were supposed to bring back—did you get him or not?"
Yu Xiaoqian lowered her head, not daring to meet Wen Xiaoqing’s eyes. She stammered:
"N-no..."
"No?!"
Wen Xiaoqing’s face darkened instantly. "You’re useless! Grandmother specifically asked for him, and you let him get away?"
"I-I didn’t let him get away!"
Yu Xiaoqian quickly tried to explain, reciting the excuse she had prepared earlier with a wronged look on her face.
"I... I ran into some trouble on the way."
"That bearded Daoist was too strong. The moment Grandmother’s Clone dissipated, he started chasing me relentlessly. I had a hold of the scholar, but the Daoist attacked me like a man possessed.
To save my own skin, I had no choice but to... to abandon the scholar and flee back here by myself."
She finished her story with a pitiful, woebegone expression.
Wen Xiaoqing stared at her for a long moment. Seeing her sorry state, she sneered:
"You’re more trouble than you’re worth. Grandmother is in a rage right now. You’d better have a good story for her."
With a final, cold snort, she turned and sashayed away.
Only when Wen Xiaoqing’s figure had completely vanished down the corridor did Yu Xiaoqian’s body go limp as if from exhaustion. She sagged against the doorframe, gasping for breath.
"That was close..."
She patted her chest, quickly shut the door, and ran to the bed to pull off the quilt.