A head poked out—it was the young man who had run fastest earlier to search for good things on her.
He stared at Tie Ci curiously, waiting for her to perform magic. Tie Ci spread her hand, “I need food.”
The young man stared at her. Tie Ci’s smile remained unchanged. The young man withdrew his head, and moments later several fruits were thrown down.
Though fruits and flowers grew everywhere here, Tie Ci dared not eat them, so she could only extort these people.
The young man waited with sparkling eyes for her to show off, and Tie Ci lazily straightened her waist.
The young man’s eyes widened as he cried out in shock, “How is that possible? I just searched you and you had nothing! Where exactly did you hide that bag before?”
Tie Ci smiled without answering.
The young man waited a bit longer. Tie Ci sat motionless while he watched her, and she crunched on fruits while watching him back. After staring at each other for quite a while, the young man finally couldn’t help asking, “Where’s the magic trick?”
“Isn’t it finished?”
“How is that a magic trick?!”
“Something you couldn’t find, I made it appear again. Isn’t that a magic trick? If you’re not satisfied, I can show you another one.”
“Then show me.”
“Give me a blanket first.”
“…Southerners are truly cunning!”
Various heads poked out from nearby tree houses. Someone said, “Show me one too. If it’s good, I’ll give you a blanket.”
Tie Ci took out a box of matches—thin little sticks. She struck one against the side of the box with a hiss, and it lit with a small orange flame that made her eyes gleam like clear glass.
With a swoosh, a blanket was thrown down. Tie Ci spread the blanket and placed Murong Yi on it.
Next, she demonstrated the uses of a multi-tool knife and exchanged it for a quilt; used the excuse of rehydrating compressed biscuits to get a large bucket of water; demonstrated the near and far light effects of a flashlight to get powder that could repel poisonous creatures and beasts; and traded one anti-inflammatory pill for several of their medicines.
The items in her waist pouch were limited and soon demonstrated. She stood up and said, “Let me show everyone something else.”
People had already come down from the trees and gathered around her. She suddenly appeared beside a young girl carrying an oil lamp, snatched her lamp, and smashed it on the ground.
The girl was startled and about to get angry when Tie Ci crouched down and stroked her hand over the fragments. The oil lamp reappeared in her hand.
This move made the young men and women cheer, but the girl was somewhat unconvinced, saying, “Great Uncle can do this too.”
“Your Great Uncle learned it from me by stealing.”
“Impossible!”
Tie Ci smiled and changed the subject, “I’ve demonstrated, and now my request is to ask if any of you have heard these words.”
She then imitated several strange syllables, repeating them several times.
Someone in the crowd said, “Ah, isn’t that the language from Ink Valley?”
“Where is Ink Valley?”
“In that direction.” Someone turned and pointed in a direction.
“Who lives there? Do you know those people?”
The young man who answered laughed teasingly, “I’ve already answered one question. If you want me to answer more, you need to perform for us.”
“Fine, what do you want to see?”
The young man was about to speak when the girl whose lamp she had smashed already said first, “Is the Ink Valley matter very important to you? Well, I just don’t want to tell you… Hmm, I want you to kiss him for us to see.”
She pointed at Murong Yi with a sly smile, loudly whispering to her companions, “I heard Han women are the most bashful, with their three obediences and four virtues, never showing teeth when laughing. Making them kiss men in public would get them drowned in pig cages—they absolutely wouldn’t… dare…”
She suddenly began stuttering.
Under everyone’s gaze, Tie Ci turned around, half-kneeled beside Murong Yi, lifted his upper body, and pressed down on his lips.
She pressed down firmly and earnestly, without any pretense.
Everyone present was young men and women in the bloom of youth. Though the local customs in Yannan were open and the defenses between men and women among the deep mountain tribes were even looser, seeing this scene firsthand still made them blush and their hearts race. Especially since Tie Ci looked like a handsome young man—two beautiful young men doing that… everyone’s hearts began pounding.
Tie Ci gently pressed against Murong Yi’s lips, feeling the slight coolness and soft warmth beneath. That faint heat seemed to warm her heart as well, allowing her to keep a glimmer of light in her heart even in dire straits, to see hope.
Even without hope, it didn’t matter—she would find a way to kindle a flame.
She leaned gently against his face with a peaceful expression.
Suddenly all around became quiet.
The young men and women didn’t know why they had suddenly held their breath, but they knew that making noise at this moment would seem frivolous.
Then they cried out in alarm.
Because Murong Yi suddenly moved, pressing one hand to the back of Tie Ci’s head, slightly shifting their lips. Just as Tie Ci opened her eyes in surprise, he attacked fiercely again, his tongue tip licking across her lip seam.
The next instant, he rolled over. The quilt flew up and gently settled down, showing only the outlines of two people beneath it.
The young men and women stood dazed in place, unconsciously blushing.
They didn’t dare look at each other—if they had feelings for someone, they dared even less to look. Their gazes flickered and dodged in empty space, while faint blushes rose on their cheeks.
Someone first covered their face and ran off, causing scattered footsteps to echo through the forest.
The crowd gradually dispersed.
The first girl to run still remembered her promise and called out loudly, “Many people live in Ink Valley, and they don’t come out easily. They’ve marked out different territories from us. They fear our poisons, and we don’t want to provoke them either. They climb better than monkeys, have better eyes than mountain eagles, and their blow darts are more poisonous than my gold…”
Beside her, a golden snake hissed and flicked its tongue as if in agreement.
Under the bedding, Murong Yi propped himself up on his arms, looking down at Tie Ci beneath him, saying softly, “Are you asking about the archers who ambushed us secretly when we were on the cliff?”
“Yes, I heard some of their words,” Tie Ci said. “I suspect…”
Murong Yi didn’t continue listening, rolling over to lie beside her. His voice was muffled as he said, “My subordinates should be nearby. The leader is called Chazi—she’s a woman who knows you, skilled in medicine and good at tracking. You should have her follow you…”
Tie Ci said calmly, “You don’t need to give me last words. No matter what, I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Murong Yi’s fingers gently caressed her cheek. His knuckles were cool as soft jade, but his touch was light as wind. “I’m afraid you’ll work too hard.”
“Since we’ve already come this far, there’s no reason we can’t succeed.” Tie Ci caught his fingers and turned her head to kiss them lightly.
“Have you considered that the person in blue who attacked us on Floating Light River that day was this stronghold’s Great Uncle,” Murong Yi interlaced their fingers tightly. “He’s an enemy, not a friend. He won’t save us. You might even lose your life because of this. A’Ci, leave quickly.”
Tie Ci smiled, “No.”
Never mind if he’s an enemy—even if he’s a mortal foe, if I want him to save you, I must succeed.
Her other hand fell on the back of Murong Yi’s neck and pressed gently. Without much effort, she made him close his eyes peacefully.
Poisoned for too long, he was already at the end of his strength.
There were footsteps nearby. Someone lifted a corner of the quilt and sneakily poked their head in to look, their large eyes bright as a thief’s in the darkness.
Tie Ci lifted the quilt and smiled, “Young Master A’Chong.”
She found this child’s face familiar—indeed, it was the little child she had rescued from under the overturned carriage in the wind outside the Sheng Capital restaurant.
This child had obviously recognized them first but hadn’t thought of repaying the life-saving favor.
In normal times, Tie Ci would find this very natural—if one seeks repayment for kindness, the meaning changes. But now she didn’t plan to be magnanimous.
“Do you know?” she said, “Where we come from, if life-saving grace isn’t repaid in this life, the next life must be spent as an ox or horse for the benefactor.”
The child laughed, “So I’m here to repay you! Just give me one firework and I’ll take you to see Great Uncle. The kind where hens fart.”
Tie Ci didn’t expose his earlier sending people to search for her fireworks, saying frankly, “I don’t have fireworks now. As long as he’s saved, you can have as many as you want in the future.”
The child wagged his chubby short finger, “Great Uncle says those who believe in distant promises can’t even grasp the present.”
“Why is your Great Uncle so pessimistic, like someone who’s suffered deep emotional trauma,” Tie Ci said casually. “Let me ask first—can you cure this poison?”
“No.”
“Can your Great Uncle?”
“Maybe. But he won’t cure it. He swore years ago to only kill people, never save them, for the rest of his life.”
“No exceptions whatsoever?”
“No exceptions whatsoever.”
“Good.” Tie Ci stood up. “Have you heard this saying?”
A’Chong looked up at her in confusion.
Tie Ci lifted him with one hand like picking up a chick. A’Kou standing not far away stared and adjusted her glasses.
“The saying goes,” Tie Ci picked up Murong Yi on her back and carried the child as she strode forward, “hit the child, and the adult will come out.”
A’Chong cried out in shock and struggled desperately, but when Tie Ci was determined to catch someone, who could escape?
The canopy overhead swayed with sound. Tie Ci said, “Don’t try to use any means to harm me and my people. I guarantee that before you poison me to death, I can definitely kill him first.”
She jumped onto the boat A’Kou had rowed over, holding A’Chong in her arms with Murong Yi placed in front of her.
On shore, the flowers and grass that had been swaying in the wind stopped swaying. The rustling movements in the grass ceased, and the bouncing grass tips froze.
A’Chong tried to struggle, but Tie Ci was like cast iron—A’Chong’s small strength couldn’t even shake her fingertips.
A’Chong shouted, “You saved me before! How can you treat me like this now! Doesn’t that cancel out your life-saving grace!”
Tie Ci said strangely, “So you remember the life-saving grace? But I didn’t see you mention repaying it before I took you hostage. What use is that favor to me?” She pinched with her fingers, and A’Chong rolled his eyes and went limp.
Tie Ci beckoned to A’Kou, “Please row the boat.”
A’Kou climbed onto the boat in bewilderment. Tie Ci said, “Please protect him well. No matter what I do, he’s innocent—he’s still someone about to die. Harming someone about to die will bring retribution on your frog.”
A’Kou was startled and quickly touched her frog, whispering, “I won’t let anyone hurt him. Don’t curse Tiger.”
Tie Ci glanced at the frog called Tiger. The frog croaked at her several times. Tie Ci nodded, “You’re alone, I’m alone—we’re all brothers. I won’t make things difficult for you.”
The frog: “Croak!”
A’Kou picked up the oar and looked at Tie Ci. Tie Ci said, “Go find your Great Uncle.”
A’Kou said with difficulty, “I’m not sure where Great Uncle is either…”
“Doesn’t he have anywhere to live?”
“Sometimes he lives in trees, sometimes in fields, sometimes just on top of any peak in the Peak Forest, sometimes he goes out to wander around the mountains. Maybe he’s already gone out…”
“He hasn’t.”
A’Kou looked at Tie Ci in surprise, not understanding how she could be so certain.
“Outsiders aren’t allowed in the Peak Forest—it will kill you. Put down Young Master A’Chong and leave. I’ll let you exit safely.”
Tie Ci smiled and pointed at the oar. A’Kou adjusted her glasses, sighed, and began rowing. The small boat smoothly slid into the black river water of the Peak Forest.
The boat had entered the Peak Forest. Though called peaks, most were only about three zhang high, jagged like bamboo shoots, standing in a pool of black water. The boat required extremely skillful technique to navigate leisurely among them. Tie Ci vaguely saw that their distribution secretly contained formation patterns. Fortunately, A’Kou was obviously familiar with the routes. With her glasses on, her control was even more precise. Tie Ci gradually discovered she navigated close to the edges of the Peak Forest stone pillars, often just barely scraping past them. Despite A’Kou’s skilled technique, sweat appeared on her forehead, and A’Chong’s expression was obviously poor as he glared at her viciously.
Tie Ci immediately understood—there were poisonous beasts in this black pool. Only by traveling close to the stone peak edges was it safest. She glanced at A’Kou, whose palm-sized face was almost covered by glasses. Her expression was wooden, but her heart was soft.
Suddenly behind them came synchronized splashing sounds as black water splashed up. Through the spray, beast forms were vaguely visible—snow-white sharp teeth and deep red tongues flashed, lunging at Tie Ci’s front and back.
Tie Ci held A’Chong with one hand and protected Murong Yi with the other, never leaving her position, sitting unmoved.
A’Kou looked up and saw this, her eyes filled with horror.
The next instant, the two beasts roared in pain. Red blood mixed with snow-white sharp long teeth scattered everywhere. Steel-like long tails swept across in pain, actually creating a fierce wind and stirring up water spray half a zhang high.
Tie Ci still sat unmoved, pushing out with one hand like opening a window to view the moon. With one sweep and shake, hidden currents surged, forcibly pushing the two steel-like long tails half a zhang away before they crashed into the nearby Peak Forest and thunderously plunged into the water.
Someone roared angrily from a peak top: “A’Da! A’Er!”
Tie Ci looked up to see A’Ji standing on the peak, looking at the two water beasts below with great distress.
Tie Ci glanced once, lowered her head, and brushed off the broken fabric on her clothes.
The front and back of her garment were torn, revealing the dark blue vest underneath with a faint luster.
The one Murong Yi had personally woven for her.
On the peak, A’Ji was obviously distressed about the water beasts’ injuries and wanted to rescue A’Chong. She pointed at the water below, and the surface immediately began boiling with gurgling sounds. Each bubbling water bubble vaguely revealed swollen, whitish eyes and deep red tiny teeth. Countless red and white intertwined in the black pool, like suddenly boiling a pot of bloody meat soup.
The pool water became even more viscous, and A’Kou soon couldn’t row. The boat spun in circles on the surface and continued sinking.
A’Kou said urgently, “Let go of A’Chong and quickly find a way to escape with your person, or just admit defeat… A’Ji controls this water area. The babies in the water have been hungry for a long time. You’re alone and carrying someone—you can’t fight so many…”
Tie Ci took a breath and still didn’t release A’Chong, supporting Murong Yi with her other hand.
Letting him go was impossible, admitting defeat was impossible—she would just fight.
Suddenly a head popped up from the peak, shouting, “Wife A’Ji, why did you abandon me and run away! How can you abandon the groom on your wedding night!”
While shouting, he grabbed A’Ji’s clothes and pulled her down forcefully, “Ahhh it’s so high here, I’m about to fall! A’Ji, A’Ji, quickly help me!”
A’Ji helplessly reached out to pull him while twisting his ear and asking, “Didn’t you say you’d rather die than consummate with me? Didn’t you say the noble ladies of Sheng Capital were yours to choose and you didn’t want someone like me from a remote mountain corner of a foreign tribe? Didn’t you say your head could be severed and blood could flow but a man’s chastity couldn’t be lost…”
“That’s called speaking against my heart, called loving you but finding it hard to express! Oh, don’t worry about all that—come down quickly so we can consummate. Time waits for no one!”
A’Ji stood there steadily unmoved, glancing sideways at Feng Huan. Feng Huan couldn’t budge her either and sweated profusely as he looked at Tie Ci below, then at the peak bottom, and suddenly closed his eyes.
After closing and opening his eyes, this time he could clearly see that the water surface was not only far away, but the water bottom was also like cooking a pot of mixed offal with red and white cold glints flashing…
Feng Huan suddenly closed his eyes again.
Then he screamed miserably, “I can’t stand steady anymore ahhh…” and gritted his teeth as he fell backward.
Tie Ci’s pupils dilated a full circle.
She never expected the dandy to have such loyalty.
A’Ji was startled, not expecting Feng Huan to actually fall. She had to leap down to save him while making a series of strange sounds from her mouth.
The boiling on the water surface immediately disappeared. Those red and white shapes with tiny sharp teeth all silently vanished instantly beneath the black water.
The boat’s sinking slowed, and A’Kou’s oar could move again.
A’Kou immediately used the oar to push against the stone pillar. The small boat smoothly turned three circles, passed through the Peak Forest, and the exit was already visible ahead.
Above, A’Ji pulled up the dripping wet Feng Huan with a splash and patted his sausage lips while saying repeatedly, “Hey, what’s wrong with you? Hey, the babies didn’t even bite you—why did you faint? You Central Plains men are really too delicate…” She patted while walking away.
A’Kou breathed a sigh of relief and quickened her pace to row out of the Peak Forest. Ahead wasn’t like the Peak Forest with sharp peaks piercing the sky, gloomy and oppressive. The waterway was smooth, the view open, and the blue sky and white clouds were bright and beautiful, making one’s mood cheerful just looking at them.
A’Kou showed a smile and energetically pushed the oar with great effort.
Tie Ci suddenly said, “Slow!”
Just as her words fell, A’Kou happened to push down hard with the oar.
The small boat whooshed forward a long stretch. The water flowed smoothly downward. Tie Ci suddenly stood up. The next moment, A’Kou saw in horror that there was no path ahead!
Ahead was a cliff—a waterfall silently descended from the precipice, right before the boat’s prow.
Author’s Note: I’ve been dealing with a bunch of troublesome matters recently and haven’t written for over half a month straight. My manuscript stockpile is in crisis. There may be random breaks and leaves of absence going forward—please be mentally prepared, dear readers.