Paper crane streaked across the night sky, carrying the two of them back to Wanqi Town.
The night grew deeper, and the chirping of crickets slowly sounded, enveloping the town below in tranquility, occasionally punctuated by a couple of ill-timed, heartfelt barks.
On the streets, apart from the watchman swinging his lantern slowly, there was no other movement.
Le Lin Qing stood on the paper crane, her brows furrowed, staring intently below.
Her right hand hung slightly, a length of rope wrapped around her Ning Shuang Hao Wan, the other end wrapped around Xu Ping Qiu's hand.
To avoid appearing like a prisoner leashed by Le Lin Qing, Xu Ping Qiu also summoned his courage and stood up, observing the town below.
Though he didn't know if Le Lin Qing had noticed anything, he was certain that Xu Ping Qiu hadn't seen anything at all.
The paper crane slowly descended into an alley. Le Lin Qing reeled in the rope and then led the way towards the house they had just visited.
This time, Le Lin Qing chose the front door, primarily because she believed it to be Xu Ping Qiu's home.
Inside, nothing had changed. The real owner was still fast asleep, though their quilt had inexplicably been pulled away.
Regarding this, Xu Ping Qiu could only sigh that being able to sleep was a blessing. Even though his home had been entered three times, at least he hadn't woken up at an inopportune moment to be 'harvested'.
"Is this person in the bed someone you know?" Le Lin Qing asked in a low voice, seemingly afraid of disturbing the sleeper's sweet dreams.
"If I said I didn't know you, would you believe me?" Xu Ping Qiu didn't know how to explain to Le Lin Qing at that moment.
But considering the paper crane could fly and find its way, his appearance in this house seemed explicable by metaphysics.
"Hmm, in that case..." Le Lin Qing didn't doubt him, but she asked again, "Why are you in someone else's house late at night instead of sleeping?"
"Could it be..."
Le Lin Qing looked at Xu Ping Qiu suspiciously, her delicate brows furrowing, which reminded Xu Ping Qiu of the terrified look on her face when that pervert had climbed into the bed.
He immediately shouted, "Stop!"
Then, he said sincerely, "Actually, I don't know why I'm here. I was already in my own bed, ready to sleep, and then in the blink of an eye, I was standing here."
Xu Ping Qiu pointed to the spot where he had been ambushed earlier and continued:
"Then that person climbed through the window, put a mask on my head, and right after that, you came in and pinned me against the wall - bi dong."
"Is that so? What does 'bi dong' mean?" Le Lin Qing asked curiously, pondering a word she had never heard before in Xu Ping Qiu's sentence.
"Don't be curious about that now, at least not in someone else's room. Let's talk about it outside."
Xu Ping Qiu turned and walked towards the door, Le Lin Qing followed closely.
"'Bi dong' means forcing someone into a corner where they have nowhere to retreat and nowhere to escape. That's called 'bi dong'," Xu Ping Qiu explained with mock seriousness after they were outside, omitting the 'dong' part to avoid Le Lin Qing overthinking.
"I see. That's a novel way of putting it. Then let's 'bi dong' Chen Da Peng later!"
Le Lin Qing clenched her fist, showing an eagerness to apply what she'd learned, which made Xu Ping Qiu's mouth twitch.
"This term isn't used lightly. At least, it shouldn't be used like you just did."
Xu Ping Qiu quickly corrected the naive Le Lin Qing, lest she say something even stranger.
"Why?"
"Those who understand will understand. For those who don't, I can't say too much. This matter involves too many complications, so I won't elaborate. Just ponder on it, and don't ask me for details."
Xu Ping Qiu deployed his trump card, successfully ending the discussion and tying Le Lin Qing's mind in knots.
After a moment, she let out a somewhat dazed "Oh," unsure if she truly understood or was simply bewildered.
"In any case, let's first go and catch... hmm, let's go catch that Chen Da Peng."
Xu Ping Qiu forcefully steered the conversation back, preventing Le Lin Qing from dwelling on his cryptic explanation, as he didn't know how else to fabricate.
"Right," Le Lin Qing nodded, no longer pondering Xu Ping Qiu's words. She formed hand seals, and points of light suddenly surged around them, gathering together before slowly flying in one direction.
"What is this?" Xu Ping Qiu asked curiously.
"Tracking Ethereal Sign. It's a common Taoist art. By collecting traces of energy, it creates a tracking index that will lead us to the person," Le Lin Qing explained, simultaneously drawing the Golden Patterned Sword from her Xu Qiao.
"Oh." Xu Ping Qiu suddenly understood. This was basically like a dog using its sense of smell to track, but it seemed more practical.
But why did she take out a sword? Could it be...
As the Golden Patterned Sword was manipulated by Le Lin Qing in front of her, she stepped onto it with effortless grace and turned to offer her hand to Xu Ping Qiu.
"Hsss..."
Xu Ping Qiu gazed at Le Lin Qing's hand, hesitating. Flying on a sword, soaring ninety thousand li, leaving the clouds behind, carrying the blue sky – it was within reach, especially with a fairy extending her hand to you.
This was certainly something to aspire to, provided one didn't have a fear of heights.
After all, flying on a sword was far more thrilling than any glass-bottomed bridge or bungee jump.
Xu Ping Qiu hesitated for a long time, then firmly grasped Le Lin Qing's hand. With a pull from her, he immediately stood on the sword.
The strength in her grip gave Xu Ping Qiu a sense of security.
However, Xu Ping Qiu still cautiously asked, "Are you good at flying on a sword?"
As everyone knows, being able to drive doesn't mean you're good at driving; being able to fly a sword doesn't mean you can carry a passenger, especially since she's also directionally challenged.
My dear user, there's more to this chapter, please click next page to continue reading, it gets more exciting!
"Don't worry about that. My Shizun said my sword-flying skills are very good, second best," Le Lin Qing said, a hint of pride in her tone.
"Then how many disciples does your Shizun have?"
"Two."
Xu Ping Qiu: "..."
Wait, what exactly are you proud of, Le Lin Qing!
At this moment, Xu Ping Qiu seemed to understand why his Shizun said her mind worked slowly sometimes.
No, that was being polite; it wasn't a matter of speed, but rather a lack of a brain. Le Lin Qing was too easily fooled!
But Xu Ping Qiu couldn't voice his doubts. The flying sword shot out with a whoosh, and a strong G-force pushed him back. The scenery blurred as it rapidly receded.
"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit..." Xu Ping Qiu could only utter exclamations. Wind rushed into his mouth, giving him the feeling of his body flying ahead while his soul chased behind.
Fortunately, one of Le Lin Qing's hands was placed on his shoulder just in time, helping him stabilize. This prevented him from falling ungracefully into Le Lin Qing's embrace.
A warm stream of energy flowed from Le Lin Qing's palm into Xu Ping Qiu's body once more.Krążyło to przez jego duchowe żyły, następnie pokryło jego powierzchnię, blokując ostry wiatr i mocno zakotwiczając go w mieczu.
This was certainly good, but Xu Ping Qiu felt that the energy didn't really need to take a detour through his body first; it seemed rather intrusive.
However, Xu Ping Qiu soon dismissed the thought.
Compared to flying on the paper crane earlier, the experience of flying on the sword was even more awe-inspiring. He could reach out and touch the clouds, as if he could pluck the sun and moon. Mountains and rivers flowed as if at his fingertips.
So, Xu Ping Qiu rubbed his hands together. Recalling Le Lin Qing's boast about her sword-flying skills, he dared to ask:
"Can it be any more exciting?"
"Hmm? Okay."
Le Lin Qing was puzzled for a moment, but decided to indulge Xu Ping Qiu.
The flying sword accelerated again and began to spiral upwards. The scenery before Xu Ping Qiu's eyes spun wildly.
In that instant, Xu Ping Qiu felt his blood pressure and heart rate soaring, his consciousness teetering on the verge of collapse.
In a daze, he thought he saw Yama, the King of Hell. He smiled kindly and warmly at Xu Ping Qiu, as if asking, "Why are you back again?"
After the world turned upside down, Le Lin Qing pulled Xu Ping Qiu and leaped off the flying sword.
After all, Xu Ping Qiu himself had asked for more excitement, so she would see it through to the end!
At this moment, Xu Ping Qiu instinctively grabbed Le Lin Qing's hands, yet simultaneously felt a sense of disorientation.
Though his rational mind told him he was falling from the sky, his body felt as if he were flying from the heavens towards the earth, as if he were flying upwards.
Only when they smashed through the clouds did Le Lin Qing help Xu Ping Qiu reorient himself, and the Golden Patterned Sword returned beneath their feet.
"How was it? How was it?"
Le Lin Qing asked eagerly, her tone betraying her self-satisfaction.
"Very... *urp*... very good... *urp*!"
Xu Ping Qiu gave Le Lin Qing a thumbs-up with difficulty, thinking that he should never utter such suicidal words to Le Lin Qing again, because she would take them seriously.
Looking down at the forest below, Xu Ping Qiu felt his stomach churning. He now believed Le Lin Qing's sword-flying skills were well-earned.
And after the excitement, he felt as though he wasn't so afraid of heights anymore.
Indeed, the best way to overcome fear is to face it.
After flying for half an hour, Le Lin Qing cured my "internal mental exhaustion."