CH 2.1

It was midnight and the oil lamp was dim. The two village women who were keeping watch over her were dozing off in front of the bed.

She had not eaten dinner and her stomach had been force-fed full with medicine. Lei Lei lay on a simple wooden bed, finding it difficult to calm the waves of emotion. What was Chun Hua’s identity? Looking at this tender hand, she was probably not an ordinary peasant girl. She heard from the aunty that she could not find her relatives in Jinjiang city and that was why she ended up in this village, even wanting to jump off a cliff and die?

To clarify her identity, she had to get out of here first.

Originally, Lei Lei was not very keen on her identity, but she really did not want to stay and continue being Chun Hua. So she quietly lifted the quilt and got up, then she cautiously walked past the two village women and slipped out the door.

Under the cold moon, Lei Lei ran wildly. Seeing Guyan Village becoming further and further behind, she felt relieved at last.

To be alive in the world, there would always be choices to make. Soon, two paths appeared ahead.

One went left, the other went right.

Where should she go? Lei Lei thought for a while, then decided to go left. She was about to take a step when a cold wind blew suddenly. Leaves fell on her head and she shivered involuntarily. Only then did she notice it was autumn, but she was only wearing a plain white unlined garment.

Of course, she could not go back to get clothes, but it was unbearably cold. Just as Lei Lei was in trouble, there was a figure not far away walking towards her.

The person looked elegant and scholarly. While walking, he was muttering, “…I wish to speak and yet I stall, what a fair and chilly Fall…”

A bookworm? Lei Lei jumped out from behind a boulder.

The scholar was dumbfounded at having a woman suddenly appear in front of him, “Miss…”

The wind blew in gusts and the moonlight waned. Dressed in plain clothes that fluttered in the wind with a weird smile on her face, the woman stared at him for a while. Finally, she spoke grimly, “I’m cold, let me borrow your clothes…”

“You…” The scholar was terrified and was trembling.

“Take off your clothes!”

“It’s a ghost—!” In the middle of an earth-shattering scream, the scholar fell to the ground with a thump. Then, everything was silent.

It was only then that Lei Lei realised that she might have gone overboard with the situation. She hastily knelt down and touched the man’s chest. Finding that there was still a heartbeat, she breathed a sigh of relief, “Mister, I really didn’t mean to.”

She took off his coat, put it on, then ran away.

Walking on firm ground and breathing unpolluted air, who knew how far she had come. The sun rose higher and higher and the ground was golden. Sunlight fell between the gaps in the leaves, shining on the ground like pieces of broken gold.

Lei Lei really saw gold.

Under an especially ancient tree, there was a small pouch. It was likely that because the opening of the pouch was not tied tightly, a gust of wind caused it to open, revealing many brightly coloured paper sheets inside. The top one had a large pile of gold ingots printed on it, and it read “100 taels”.

100 taels, 100 taels…

What was this pile? Lei Lei half guessed it, and half forced herself not to think about it. She turned a blind eye to it and moved on, silently telling herself: I am not greedy for money, I want to be a normal female lead.

Her footsteps stopped.

When travelling around the world, it was necessary to bring some money…

Lei Lei went back. She crouched down and began counting the money. What idiot dropped money here? Let’s pick up some living expenses, money for accommodation and meals, and she had to change clothes. Of course 100 taels were not enough. She needed at least 10,000 taels…

“Who sent you here?” A nice male voice sounded.

Looking up, she saw a young man standing not too far away. He appeared to be in his 20s, with eyebrows like swords and eyes like cold stars. He had an extraordinary demeanour and a silver crown held up part of his black hair. Although the blue and white robe he was wearing looked simple and plain, the texture and colouring were remarkable. Compared to the clothes worn by the villagers before, who knew how many grades higher his clothing was.

His left hand was faintly visible under the wide sleeve, holding a black scabbard.

The young master smiled cunningly, like a fantastical demon.

Lei Lei stared dazedly and whispered to herself, there were still advantages in the landmine genre. Everywhere there was beauty to feast one’s eyes on.

Seeing that she did not answer, the young master’s tone of voice became colder, “Who sent you here?”

Lei Lei hurriedly shook her head. Suddenly, she felt a chill on her neck, then pain came. It turned out that at some point, there were already several sharp long knives around her neck!

A shadow flashed past, then the young master was already standing in front of her. He leaned over and tapped her acupoints quickly.

A few clinks sounded, then all the swords returned to their sheaths.

“Wanting to suicide? It’s not that easy!” An old man in blue came out from behind.

Who the hell wanted to commit suicide?!

“Ahh— Murder—” Lei Lei howled like a pig being slaughtered, “Hurry up and look to see if I’ve been cut or not!”

Everyone was stunned.

A few more people came out from the side. Among them was a middle-aged man wearing a brocade robe. He had a purplish complexion with stubble on his chin. He looked at Lei Lei, then turned to the young master, “Unexpectedly, it’s a woman.”

The young master was also surprised. It turned out that Master Tie from the Tie Clan Village took the initiative to report to them that a mysterious person approached him the day before yesterday. He claimed to know the whereabouts of the longevity fruit and wanted him to buy the information for ten thousand taels. The matter of the longevity fruit was at great stakes and had caused a lot of trouble. It was for this reason that the three main sects became enemies. He Tai Ping, the leader of the alliance, came forward and finally suppressed the matter temporarily. Who knew that this news would come out of nowhere. The Bai Sheng Shan Village had always been committed to maintaining justice in the martial arts world. Having passed by here, it was necessary for them to step in and take control. So, he devised a bait to lure the person to come, but unexpectedly, a young lady had come instead.

“Hurry, someone take a look for me and see if blood is coming out!” Lei Lei howled again, “Murdering for no reason at all, I’m going to send you to the officials! Give me compensation for my medical fees!”

What was this about seeing officials? Everyone was confused.

The old man in blue stopped her, “Unable to distinguish between good and evil at such a young age. If the longevity fruit fell into the hands of a member of the demonic cult, it would be rare for the world of martial arts to be at peace. Fortunately, Master Tie understands righteousness…”

Lei Lei only cared about her neck, but since her acupoints were restricted, she could not inspect it and was anxious, “Is the cut deep? I’m dizzy, so dizzy… Excessive blood loss, damn it, hurry up and stop my bleeding!”

“Where is the longevity fruit?”

“My injury!”

A cold light flashed and a long sword was resting at her neck again, successfully making her stop screaming.

The young master spoke coldly, “Speak!”

Lei Lei came to her senses and trembled, “Speak… speak what?”

“Where is the longevity fruit?”

“What longevity fruit?” She was confused.

Dressed in brocade robes, Master Tie stepped forward, “Aren’t you the one who knows the whereabouts of the longevity fruit and asked that I bring money to trade for the information here?”

Lei Lei finally understood what was going on. It turned out that they had set up a bait for an ambush and she had accidentally stumbled upon it. She was immediately angry, “How do you know it’s me?”

“If it’s not you, why did you come to get the money?”

“If there’s money, why wouldn’t I take it?

Master Tie was indeed unable to refute.

The young master frowned, “Weren’t you surprised to see so much money for no reason?”

Lei Lei said, “All I know is I got rich.”

Everyone was silent.