Mo Li glanced to the side, and abruptly saw the clothes that had fallen on the ground.
The Zhongqing Sword was wrapped inside, feeling wronged.
The soft sword that served as a belt suddenly lost its support, and curled into a ball right away. From another perspective, it was also particularly handy, preventing the clothes from being blown into disarray by the wind. If luck was on its side, it could bunch up together, reducing the area of contact with the ground’s dust.
Mo Li: “…”
As a famed sword, “Zhongqing” truly had unfortunate luck.
The previous owner threw it into the Qing River. As for the current owner, he flung off his clothes at the slightest disagreement, tossing it from midair to the ground a hundred and eighty times.
If a famed sword had a spirit, it would probably run away from home.
No, that was not right.
Mo Li wondered how he had been influenced by Su Li, believing that weapons possessed sentience.
The soft, squishy sand rat rolled once in his palm, as though displeased by Mo Li’s wandering mind, then scrambled along his arm in a flash, hopping onto Mo Li’s shoulder.
Its soft, fluffy fur brushed against the hollow of Mo Li’s neck, causing a ticklish sensation.
The sand rat already took full advantage, snuggling and rubbing happily.
——Ah Li still smelled the same, sweet and pleasant, though there was a hint of medicine?
The sand rat turned its head to look at the medicine pot over the fire, its jet-black eyes settling as it began to ponder.
Since there were no signs of injury on Mo Li, for whom was this medicine being brewed?
People who did not understand medicine often had a stereotypical idea, and the sand rat was no exception. It believed that the more serious the illness, the more bitter the medicine.
Judging by this scent—
The sand rat’s whiskers trembled, and it wanted to dive into Mo Li’s embrace.
Those feelings of exhaustion and restless worries, that sense of defeat from trying so hard yet failing to change everything, and the sorrow of repeatedly witnessing misfortune unfolding—those had entangled Meng Qi’s mind for decades like a chronic disease.
Whenever such despair emerged, even the Dragon Vein could not hold on.
Unable to overcome himself, how could he muster the effort to hope for the future again?
Yet the moment he returned to Mo Li’s side, breathing in his beloved’s scent, even the deepest gloom and fatigue would slowly dissipate. The doctor was indeed a miraculous cure.
What pleased Meng Qi more was that Mo Li had no guard against him; otherwise, how could he remain unaware once Meng Qi approached?
Still, whether it was Mo Li’s aura of acceptance or an unguarded instinct, he would have responded to changes in his surroundings. It was impossible for him to continue meditating with crossed legs if someone grabbed him or touched his arm.
At the time, Meng Qi did not want to disturb Mo Li. He noticed that during their time apart, Mo Li had also fared poorly.
Furrowed brows robbed green mountains and graceful waters of their color.
Did he sleep badly, or did he have too many worries, leaving him no space to breathe?
Meng Qi immediately forgot his own exhaustion from traveling so far. He wished to comfort Mo Li but did not want to startle him, so he had no choice but to take the form of a sand rat.
With practiced ease, he shed his clothes and slipped into the doctor’s warm embrace. Before long, the sand rat sensed the heartbeat beneath it change and the anxious aura settle; then the plump little rat was scooped up by a hand. Glancing up, it noticed that much of the gloom between Mo Li’s brows had faded.
At that moment, it rubbed against Mo Li’s neck hollow again and rolled around twice, then slid into the embrace of its beloved, lifted its paws, and patted a few times.
——It knew, it understood everything.
Mo Li needed Meng Qi, and Meng Qi also needed Mo Li.
However, the intention to comfort was good, and the round, plump mouse felt very soothing, but the spot where it patted was truly a bit off.
Its paw even accidentally hooked lightly once, and Mo Li’s expression shifted slightly.
The sand rat hesitated after patting for a while.
Did the feeling beneath its paw become hard?
It lowered its head for a look, facing the “incident” directly.
The sand rat reacted extremely swiftly, jumped out of the collar, clutched Mo Li’s outer robe with its paws, and made a motion to stretch it open.
With its short, stubby paws grasping the robe, it hung there and then rolled down with a swift slide in the next moment.
Mo Li had no time to reach out to catch it. His vision blurred, and suddenly there was an extra “person” before him.
Meng Qi draped the outer robe he held over himself, positioning him extremely close to Mo Li. By extending his arms, he could hold Mo Li firmly in his embrace, and since the two of them were now “sharing” a single garment, as long as Mo Li did not want to tear it, he dared not move too forcefully.
“You…”
Mo Li rarely felt embarrassed.
Clearly, previously Meng Qi wore nothing and changed clothes right in front of him, and Doctor Mo did not even bat an eye. Yet this time, his mood was completely different.
The fire ignited by the sand rat’s paws was not enough, according to National Advisor Meng, and he could still add more fuel.
***
Outside in the courtyard, there was a dull sound, as if someone was speaking.
Su Li pricked up his ears suddenly.
As a top-notch assassin, he identified the direction by sound and wagered that this was the noise of someone’s back colliding with the wall.
Doctor Mo said the people of Fengxing Pavilion had arrived. Could it be that their light-foot technique was so clumsy that they flipped over the wall and still crashed onto the ground and walls?
The swordsman’s expression turned serious. He believed the enemy might have arrived.
The Holy Lotus Sect did not rely solely on the single Lord Luo to hold its ground; it had also gathered a bunch of scoundrels from the martial world. These were outlaws “wanted” and hunted by various major sects, including the Fengxing Pavilion. Although they could no longer roam freely in the martial realm, nor were there any top masters among them, their methods were each more sinister and vicious than the last. If a group of them suddenly arrived, it would not be easy to handle.
Su Li’s heart hung high.
He had been suspended in a net bag, unable to move, his saber not by his side, leaving him powerless, no different from a fish scooped ashore by a fishing net.
Su Li kept a fixed stare on the hole in the roof while continuing to listen to the commotion outside.
It seemed the fighting grew more intense.
Even though the noise was not loud, and even somewhat dull, it did not escape Su Li’s ears.
Panting, low cries, the thud of bodies colliding with walls and floors…
Strange, why was there no sound of weapons clashing?
Mo Li could not have been subdued without using his weapon. Could he have been injured? Drugged? Countless thoughts crossed Su Li’s mind. He did not hear any scolding or shouts, nor the sound of hidden weapons, and he did not even smell blood.
All that lingered under his nose was the increasingly strong medicinal scent.
“…The medicine pot needs water.”
The voice was muffled and slightly urgent.
Another voice seemed to say something, but it was too soft for Su Li to catch.
Feeling puzzled, he suddenly heard the rustle of fabric—normally heard only when putting on or taking off clothing, though it might also occur when sifting through cloth. But what was this place, and at such a time, who would rummage for cloth in an abandoned village courtyard?
Su Li stared at the hole in the roof, his gaze unfocused.
Meng Qi had returned…
Su Li wondered what misfortune he had incurred that caused constant friction with these two from their first meeting.
Enough. No matter how awkward, it was not as bad as that incident at Yu Prefecture’s Ganquan Hot Spring, when Meng Qi mistook the swordsman for someone Fengxing Pavilion sent to “serve his bed.”
Back then, Su Li’s limbs were dislocated, rendering him immobile, and Meng Qi took out his anger on him by stuffing him under the bed… Wait. Su Li lowered his head to look at himself in the net bag, thinking that he was indeed miserable now. Though they had truly gone from enemies to allies, the benefit might be that he did not have to pay Doctor Mo’s fees nor get beaten?
Thinking of money, the swordsman felt his scalp tingle.
His pockets were emptier than his face was clean.
He heard faint voices again in the outer courtyard. Su Li simply shut his eyes, made no effort to calm his mind, and decided to pretend to sleep—who was he afraid of?
***
“The Tianshou King is Zheng Tu?”
Meng Qi, draped in his own clothing, held the Zhongqing Sword in his hand, not yet having wrapped it around his waist.
His hair was still unbound. On the other side, Mo Li had also been thoroughly ruffled, forced to come barefoot to check the medicine pot over the fire.
Each time Meng Qi reverted to his original form, dressing was not the biggest hassle—having clothes was already fortunate. The problem was his hair. In these times, appearing before others with hair down was very discourteous. If the dragon vein gave him magic, Meng Qi wished he could tidy his appearance with a snap of his fingers.
Mo Li busied himself adding water to the pot, the flush on his ears lingering. Just now, Meng Qi had leaned over and teased, “Ah Li, do you feel it was no match for that time we went to Pengze on the wind?”
No matter how busy he was, Doctor Mo had to glare at Meng Qi.
But Mo Li could not refute; evidently, entangling in dragon form… truly was more…
“Ah.” Meng Qi sighed deeply. “Too bad the doctor was not a sand rat, and I was not a fish.”
Otherwise, there would have been a third attempt.
That look made Mo Li want to catch a mouse with a bamboo cup.
Meng Qi’s skill at reading expressions was extraordinary. Time and again, he managed to adjust before genuinely angering Mo Li, and this time was no exception.
“It seems that being the disciple of Ancestor Qingwu delayed Zheng Tu. Of course, maybe he studied under Zhao Cangfeng with the intent to use him.” Meng Qi casually sat beside Mo Li, then asked seriously, “How strong is the rebel army?”
Mo Li paused, then answered with difficulty, “I did not see anything.”
The Jingzhou forces collapsed in a single blow, and the Tianshou King’s army advanced effortlessly, but that did not necessarily mean the latter could truly fight.
“It did not matter. Once that one inside the house could walk and move, we would toss him to Fengxing Pavilion. Ah Li would accompany me to Hua County.” Meng Qi crossed his arms and cast a light glance at the house.
Su Li did not want to watch or listen in, and National Advisor Meng still believed the swordsman was in the way.
Could not let go!
There was not even a bed!
They were even halted because Ah Li needed to brew medicine!
“Chief Luo of the Holy Lotus Sect possessed decent martial skills, and Zheng Tu was even more extraordinary, gifted with an insight into martial arts that let him discern others’ styles. Perhaps neither of them had higher martial prowess than Ancestor Qingwu, Zhao Cangfeng, but combined, they would definitely be harder to deal with than our previous enemies.”
Mo Li could not help letting out a sigh; as expected, whatever they tried to avoid always came upon them.
Ancestor Qingwu, who had martial arts but no brains; Qiu Si, who had brains but could not fight; Ayanpuka, who had ambition yet was useless. Now they finally faced the Tianshou King and Chief Luo, who seemed to have everything.
The only blessing was that Zheng Tu was not as cunning as Qiu Si, and Chief Luo was not as heaven-defying in martial arts as Ancestor Qingwu.
They still had not reached the limits of their combined strength or intellect.
“Ah Li need not worry.” Meng Qi, seeing Mo Li’s thoughts, stated directly, “The Tianshou King merely had good luck. They were not necessarily more formidable than Qiu Si, Ayanpuka, or Zhao Cangfeng; they merely did not encounter us before they gained momentum.”
Mo Li: “…”
True enough. Given time, those three would also have created plenty of chaos.
After all, the ability to ruin the world did not depend on who was more clever, but on who had fewer scruples.
“How went things at Xuan Chuan Pass?”
As soon as Mo Li spoke, he noticed Meng Qi’s aura change.
That made Mo Li instinctively uneasy.
Even though he braced himself, when he heard Meng Qi’s quiet words, Mo Li still gradually stopped fanning the flames under the medicine pot.
——His body felt extremely heavy, as though something was dragging him into the earth.
“If we had the army from the founding of the Chu Dynasty, Jingzhou would not be in its present state.”
Meng Qi lamented; he found it even harder to reconcile than Mo Li did.
He wandered the martial world, roamed far and wide.
What used to be easily accomplished in bygone days had become today’s regret.
Zheng Tu likely could not even defeat Meng Qi, the officer in charge of provisions, yet he intended to stir chaos?
If he could not beat Meng Qi, how would he fare against General Song, Lord Jingyuan? Did he still dare try the old ploy of feigning surrender while secretly plotting rebellion to grow stronger?
Author’s Note:
Swordsman: Sigh, I had no money, so I had to endure.
Meng Qi: Sigh, I had no troops. Be they from the North or the South, they were far inferior to the soldiers I once had.
————
The end of the previous chapter could have gone like this: [What was it like reuniting with your boyfriend after a long separation?]
Mo Li: Thanks for asking, it directly sweetened my heart.
Swordsman (dead gaze): They came again…
Swordsman (grief-stricken): There was no patient meal, only dog food.
————
Forget the sand rat. If we were fish, it would be hard to experience a third type, since most fish reproduce externally.
Meng Qi: ???
Why was there a biology lesson here? Confusion.jpg
