Chapter 56: Chopped Pepper Fish Head (Part 7)
Jing Yi had to admit in his heart that Shenxiu made a valid point.
Whether Leng Yue admitted it or not, Jing Yi didn't know, but amidst the dead silence, he did hear the soft sound of the wooden stool being properly placed back on the ground.
Oh, merciful Buddha...
"Ahem..." Jing Yi retracted his outstretched arms, keeping his upper body still while silently shifting his feet inward from their splayed position until they were together. After clearing his throat softly with a bowed head, he lifted his face with an impeccably straight posture and an expression of perfect obedience. "Senior brother, since we'll be sleeping here tonight, where will you be resting?"
Shenxiu didn't answer directly. Instead, he looked meaningfully at Jing Yi and asked with gentle eyes, "Are you interested in where I sleep, junior brother?Before Leng Yue could grab the stool again, Jing Yi replied without hesitation, "Not at all.""
"Amitabha..." Shenxiu smiled with satisfaction, bowing to Leng Yue with palms pressed together. Before leaving, he reminded Jing Yi, "Keep the noise down tonight. The master's room is next door - don't disturb his rest."
"......"
Even after Shenxiu's footsteps had completely faded away outside, Leng Yue's face remained thoroughly darkened.
"What's that monk's name?"
"Shenxiu."
Leng Yue frowned slightly, carefully examining the room that belonged to this Shenxiu.
The room was indeed tidied up as Shenxiu had said, exuding an indescribable neatness everywhere - so pristine it seemed like its occupant wasn't human but a bodhisattva, and specifically one of those clay statues without personality, habits, or any movement.
"Are you familiar with this Shenxiu?"
"I'm really not in cahoots with him."
"......"
Leng Yue shot Jing Yi a sidelong glance, just in time to see him standing obediently by her side with hands at his sides. The oversized monastic robe wrapped around his tall, well-proportioned figure, illuminated by the oil lamp, made him so beautiful that Leng Yue couldn't even maintain her anger.
"I'm asking you - do you think there's anything unusual about this Shenxiu?"
Jing Yi paused slightly, his light frown making Leng Yue's heart soften instantly.
Ever since Jing Yi had been shorn bald, all the attention that had been drawn to his waterfall-like black hair now focused entirely on his face. Only then did Leng Yue truly realize how exquisitely crafted Jing Yi's features were.
Before, she had merely found his every smile and frown pleasing to the eye. But now, if she paid even a little extra attention to his face, the rest of her focus would follow without hesitation.
Thus, when Jing Yi spoke softly after frowning, Leng Yue completely missed what he said.
"Hmm?"
Seeing his wife's slightly flushed, dazed expression, Jing Yi smiled patiently and repeated gently, "I said, you must be thinking again how I'm as beautiful as a celestial being, right?"
"......"
Leng Yue's face flushed completely crimson.
This damned bald man had discovered this particular reaction back when the effects of Drunken World hadn't fully worn off. He'd tease her about it every now and then, and since Leng Yue lacked his thick skin, Jing Yi would always seize the opportunity. Though it inevitably ended with him getting a thorough beating afterward, he never tired of it...
This time was no exception.
Jing Yi swept his flushed wife into his arms, carried her into the inner room, and laid her on the bed that Shenxiu had repeatedly assured wouldn't be uncomfortable to sleep on, happily taking advantage of the situation once more.After the robbery, Jing Yi propped his head up contentedly, watching his wife who lay beside him drenched in fragrant sweat, glaring at him as if he were a thief. Only then did he leisurely remark, "Shenxiu... doesn't seem like a bad person."
Leng Yue weakly rolled her eyes.
At this moment, even if she were to look at the most heinous death row inmate, she wouldn't think they could be worse than the person lying beside her—the one with the most wicked heart in the world, who still managed to smile with an expression of universal salvation.
"At least he hasn't lied to either of us, and his identity as a monk isn't suspicious. I saw him in the temple when I came here with my mother as a child to offer incense."
Leng Yue was slightly taken aback.
Shenxiu appeared to be around Jing Yi's age, perhaps slightly older, but no more than three years his senior. If he had been ordained at Anguo Temple since childhood, and the temple monks had no tradition of martial arts training, then where did his profound martial skills come from?
While Leng Yue was lost in thought, Jing Yi added, "However, I suspect he has some connection with my three elder brothers."
A connection with Jing Yi's three elder brothers meant a connection with court officials.
A monk ordained since childhood, yet possessing inexplicable martial skills and ties to court officials...
Leng Yue tensed up. "What kind of connection?"
Jing Yi shook his head, stroking Leng Yue's silky long hair pensively. "I'm not quite sure... but it's definitely related to sleeping."
"..."
Leng Yue suddenly didn't want to delve deeper into this matter while lying on Shenxiu's bed.
"Jing Yi..." Leng Yue regulated her breathing, her temper calming considerably. She turned her head slightly to look at Jing Yi's harmless expression, her brow lightly furrowed as she lowered her voice to a whisper only audible to those on the bed. "Do you realize that Wang Tuo isn't an arrow—he's a target."
Jing Yi paused briefly, then nodded gently.
He had actually figured this out when he first met Wang Tuo.
Such a young man, weak and single-minded, hardly warranted Prince An going to such great lengths to keep an eye on him.
Unless Prince An was uneasy about this foolish young man from Goryeo and didn't trust the people in the temple, needing to assign one of his own to protect and watch over him.
As for why they sent someone like him who could only run but not fight to handle this matter, Jing Yi had figured that out after witnessing Shenxiu's lightness skill.
With such a master hidden in Anguo Temple, if they had sent any other skilled martial artists from Prince An's residence, they would have been exposed before even getting started.
Although Shenxiu's martial arts were superior, his lightness skill still fell slightly short compared to Jing Yi's. When necessary, Jing Yi could directly take Wang Tuo out of the temple. As long as Wang Tuo didn't cause any trouble himself, no one could stop them.
After realizing this, Jing Yi had already mentally cursed Prince An eight hundred times.
If Prince An had straightforwardly said it was such a troublesome task, Jing Yi would have absolutely refused to come unless he was beaten to death...
Jing Yi buried his smooth head in the hollow of Leng Yue's shoulder and murmured gloomily, "He's the target, and I'm the one holding up the target."
"Mmm..." Leng Yue responded softly, her voice heavy. "So you're in too much danger here. You should go back. I'll handle the rest."
Jing Yi looked up in surprise, finding Leng Yue completely serious, without any hint of casual politeness. "You'll handle it?""As long as the matter is handled properly, His Highness won't blame us."
Seeing his wife who seemed already confident in her approach, Jing Yi felt somewhat uneasy. "You... what do you plan to do? Continue playing the bodhisattva?"
Leng Yue frowned slightly. "Playing the bodhisattva isn't entirely out of the question..."
Jing Yi felt like crying.
How had his wife become so addicted to playing the bodhisattva...
Other concerns aside, just the thought of that Goryeo prince—thin as a street urchin—putting on a pitiful face and asking Leng Yue for some kind of "true energy" made Jing Yi want to go mad.
He knew better than anyone how soft-hearted his wife could be.
"Darling, listen to me," Jing Yi wrapped his arms around Leng Yue, pulling her into an embrace. He seriously kissed away the frown between her brows and spoke with a grave expression. "This method might fool Wang Tuo once or twice, but if you do it too often, no matter how beautiful you are or how foolish he is, he'll eventually catch on. Once he starts shouting about it, you'll be charged with defying an imperial decree—punishable by beheading... Could you bear to leave me all alone to grow old in loneliness and sorrow?"
Leng Yue couldn't help rolling her eyes at him, though she refrained from uttering that harsh "I could bear it." "If not playing the bodhisattva, then we'll just find a place to lay low. We just need to watch out for that Shenxiu."
Jing Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. This plan was even worse than playing the bodhisattva...
"If he really stays here until Zhang Lao Wu's forty-ninth day burial ceremony, are you going to hide in this temple for over a month?"
"What's wrong with hiding in the temple for over a month?" Leng Yue straightened her neck defiantly in Jing Yi's embrace. "I once hid in a mountain valley for over two months before, didn't I survive just fine?"
Jing Yi had indeed heard about this remarkable feat of hers.
Back then, she was still Prince An's guard, single-mindedly determined to enter official service. Prince An, concerned she was a woman who might suffer among men, kept refusing her requests. In a fit of anger, she disappeared without a word. Prince An initially thought she was throwing a tantrum and didn't pay it much mind. But when she remained missing for over a month with no news, he finally sent people searching for her everywhere. They searched for a full month without finding any trace, until she eventually returned on her own.
According to Wu Jiang, when Leng Yue returned that day, she had several bloody wounds on her body. Having hidden in the mountains for over two months without proper meals, she had become emaciated beyond recognition. She tossed a tightly tied hemp sack before Prince An and immediately collapsed into unconsciousness, remaining asleep for nearly half a month before waking up.
Inside that hemp sack was a long-fugitive death row inmate with considerable martial skills. When Wu Jiang dragged him out of the sack, the man was still swollen all over.
By the time she woke up, the Emperor's special decree permitting her to serve in the Ministry of Justice was already placed beside her pillow.
Back then, Leng Yue still refused to see him. Jing Yi had only managed to sneak one visit while she was unconscious, after which he slipped into the death prison and beat that already swollen convict until he was even more swollen.
That was the first time in his life he had ever resorted to violence. The cost was kneeling before the dark-faced Emperor in the imperial study for an entire day, receiving a stern scolding from Prince An, and getting beaten with a feather duster by his own father.
Leng Yue never knew about this, but he would remember it for the rest of his life.
Now, hearing her mention that incident so casually, Jing Yi's heart suddenly ached. He tightened his embrace around her. "That was before. It's not acceptable now.""Why not? My martial arts are much better now than before."
"Even if you were as skilled as The Monkey King, it still wouldn't do."
Leng Yue looked at this unreasonable man with mixed amusement and exasperation. "It's not as difficult as you think. Essentially, it's just finding a place to hide..."
Before Leng Yue could finish speaking, Jing Yi sealed her lips with a lingering kiss, treating her so tenderly that Leng Yue felt herself melting completely.
Jing Yi's warm fingers gently traced several old scars on Leng Yue's body, causing her to involuntarily shiver.
As a martial artist, having a few new and old scars should have been something to boast about. But she knew all too well that someone like Jing Yi, a pampered young master, probably wouldn't want to see such marks on his woman. She had secretly tried various methods to remove these scars, but no matter what she did, they remained just as prominent.
When Jing Yi first saw her body, she had noticed the fleeting astonishment in his gaze. Though he never mentioned it, she knew her skin had ultimately frightened the very person she most wanted to please.
Now, as Jing Yi deliberately traced the deepest and longest scar, Leng Yue panicked and tried to struggle free from his embrace, only to be held tighter.
"You're the best woman in the world... If I let you live the same way you did before, what right would I have to marry you?"
Leng Yue was taken aback. She looked up at Jing Yi, whose gaze was both clear and profound, and the tension in her bones slowly eased. "Jing Yi..."
Jing Yi pursed his lips slightly, loosened his arm around her waist, and created some distance between them. He looked somewhat resentfully at this woman who was already on the verge of tears but still refused to yield. "If you insist on doing this, I won't stop you. But you'll have to kill me first. Otherwise, my heartache would torment me to death anyway—you might as well just stab me directly..."
Before Jing Yi could finish, she had already buried her head in his chest.
"I'll listen to you!"
Jing Yi let out a long, careful sigh.
Thank merciful Buddha...
Buried deep in Jing Yi's embrace, warmer and more comfortable than the bed itself, Leng Yue called his name with a faint sob, like a pampered kitten.
"Hmm?"
"You're the best in the world..."
"The best what?"
"Little bald donkey..."
"..."
OpenNovel