Chapter 136: Leaving the City, She Is Nearby

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After successfully escaping from the He family army’s camp, Meng Yuanheng took the lead, guiding everyone at a gallop along the broad official road outside the city.

Watching the lean, upright figure seated astride his horse, clad in black with white hair streaming behind him, Yun Yi felt so jealous his teeth nearly itched.

There were people who seemed born with extraordinary gifts, inspiring envy in all who saw them. They did not need arduous training or years of tempering; they were simply better than everyone else. Such people were called “geniuses.”

Clearly, Meng Yuanheng was one of them.

After seven years of secluded living and stoic endurance, that man’s martial arts had only grown more formidable, reaching a realm almost beyond human comprehension. But then again… his arrogant, willful, and maddeningly overbearing temperament made Yun Yi grind his teeth with hatred as well.

Take the present moment, for instance. The man was obviously seriously wounded and desperately needed his injuries bandaged and treated, yet he stubbornly endured the pain, paying no attention to the blood-soaked wounds covering his body.

Yun Yi snorted through his nose. Perhaps they should simply let the man bleed to death. Once they found Qian Mo, he would like to see how Meng Yuanheng intended to explain himself to her.

This time, however, Yun Yi had wronged him. Meng Yuanheng was not deliberately showing off by refusing to treat his wounds. Rather, the little fox in his arms had become restless the moment they left the military camp, darting and leaping about anxiously in front of him the entire way.

Yun Yi and Yan Mo soon noticed the fox’s unusual behavior as well.

“What’s wrong with this little fox?” Yun Yi asked.

“Mo’er is nearby.” After a long pause, Meng Yuanheng answered in a low voice that trembled faintly.

The little fox had been with Shen Qianmo for so long that it was naturally extremely sensitive to her scent. The keen sense of smell possessed by the blue-eyed spirit fox was beyond doubt.

And indeed, Shen Qianmo was nearby.

After successfully leaving the He residence, the members of the Mo Clan immediately dispersed in order to conceal their movements. Following a brief farewell, they went their separate ways. Baili Xiao and Ye Qinglan, however, had accepted Mo Qingshan’s request and insisted on escorting Shen Qianmo to Jingzhou.

Shen Qianmo did not refuse. Given her current physical condition, she could not afford to force herself. Baili Xiao possessed superb medical skills, while Ye Qinglan was highly skilled in martial arts. With the two of them accompanying her, she could hardly have asked for anything better.

Ye Qinglan seemed extremely familiar with the layout of Dading City. Under her guidance, the three of them took a winding route, successfully evaded the patrolling soldiers, and slipped into an ordinary farmhouse not far from the city gate.

The cottage was small. Its furnishings were plain, but the surroundings were quiet and secluded. No one was inside, and it appeared to have been abandoned for some time. Yet Ye Qinglan opened the door with the familiarity of someone entering her own home and ushered the other two inside.

The moment Baili Xiao entered, he hurriedly tore off the black cloth covering his face. Wearing a veil might make him look mysterious and cool, but it was suffocating.

After drawing several deep breaths of fresh air, he surveyed the cottage and turned to Ye Qinglan with an expression of admiration.

“Senior Sister Qinglan, it’s only been two years, and you already have a base in Northern Di. Is there anywhere in this world you haven’t been?”

“Enough nonsense.”

With her back to them, Ye Qinglan walked straight to a cabinet whose paint had begun to peel. She opened it, pulled out several garments, turned around, and tossed them to Baili Xiao.

“Go outside and change.”

“Outside?” Baili Xiao cried in disbelief. “Senior Sister Qinglan, are you serious? It’s freezing out there, and you want me to change clothes outside?”

Ye Qinglan had not yet removed the cloth covering her face, but her exposed eyes were starkly black and white as she stared at him with lifeless calm. Her meaning could not have been clearer: I am not mistaken, and you did not mishear me.

Baili Xiao put on a mournful expression and turned to Shen Qianmo pitifully.

“Brother Xie, Senior Sister Qinglan is bullying me terribly. You have to stand up for me.”

Shen Qianmo raised an eyebrow and looked him up and down before saying with great seriousness, “Unless you don’t mind letting us admire your robust physique…”

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With a whoosh, before Shen Qianmo could finish, Baili Xiao’s ears flushed red. Clutching the clothes, he bolted for the door.

At last, he had recognized the truth. He could afford to offend neither of these two women, so the only thing he could do was obediently retreat as far away as possible.

Baili Xiao was actually handsome, with delicate features and clear, refined brows. The only imperfection was that, because he had practiced bone-shrinking techniques from childhood, his body had developed somewhat poorly. He looked much thinner and more fragile than an ordinary man.

In fact, he was several months older than Shen Qianmo and Ye Qinglan. Yet he was almost the same height as Shen Qianmo, and several inches shorter than the taller Ye Qinglan. That was also why Ye Qinglan insisted that Baili Xiao address her as Senior Sister.

Consequently, his physique had always been a sore spot with him.

Standing outside in the biting wind, Baili Xiao shivered as he changed out of his night clothes. Without thinking, he lowered his head and glanced at his thin, bony chest, feeling as though tears were dripping from his heart.

Wuwu… Brother Xie was simply too cruel. Where did he have any robust physique?

Watching Baili Xiao flee in disgrace, Shen Qianmo curved her lips and let out a soft laugh. But when she turned around with a smile and met Ye Qinglan’s gaze, she froze. The smile instantly stiffened on her face.

Ye Qinglan had already removed the black cloth that had covered her face, and only now did Shen Qianmo finally see her true appearance.

She had willow-shaped brows, limpid eyes, a straight nose, and delicate cherry-red lips. Her features were exceptionally attractive. Having spent years roaming the martial world, her skin was not as fair and translucent as Shen Qianmo’s, but it was equally smooth and fine, carrying a faint, healthy wheat-colored glow that lent her an unpretentious, generous air.

Perhaps Baili Xiao’s antics had amused her as well. The corners of her eyes curved slightly, revealing the hint of a smile. Her originally dull, lifeless gaze now shimmered with light, making her look bright and captivating.

There was an unconventional, open beauty about this woman that inspired affection without effort.

Yet that was not what had stunned Shen Qianmo. She had already expected Ye Qinglan to be beautiful. In fact, after seeing her true appearance, Shen Qianmo felt that it matched her earlier imaginings quite well.

What truly astonished Shen Qianmo, a woman who rarely revealed her emotions, was the fact that the expression and spirit in Ye Qinglan’s eyes bore a certain resemblance to her own—or, more precisely, to the face she had possessed in her previous life.

After inhabiting the original owner’s body for so long, Shen Qianmo had gradually grown accustomed to her present appearance. By contrast, she had begun to forget what she herself had looked like in her former life. Now, seeing Ye Qinglan’s face so suddenly, how could she not be shocked?

Compared with her present appearance, she had actually preferred the face she had possessed in her previous life. Though the original owner’s body was beautiful, it was too gentle and frail, often leaving Shen Qianmo frustrated by the feeling that her ambitions exceeded her physical strength.

No wonder she had instinctively felt drawn to Ye Qinglan the moment they met. So that was the reason.

“What is it?” Ye Qinglan asked when she saw Shen Qianmo staring blankly at her. Thinking there might be something on her face, she lifted a hand and touched her cheek.

After staring for a moment, Shen Qianmo smiled sincerely and shook her head.

“Nothing. I simply feel that we are fated to meet, Miss Ye.”

Ye Qinglan raised her willow brows slightly and replied in an indifferent tone, “Since we are fated, there is no need to stand on ceremony. Just call me Qinglan.”

“All right.” Shen Qianmo agreed readily. “From now on, I’ll call you Qinglan. You may call me Qianmo as well.”

“Mm.”

Ye Qinglan nodded lightly, then turned and took a set of blue-green robes from the cabinet before handing them to Shen Qianmo.

“These are new.”

“Thank you.”

Shen Qianmo accepted the clothes. Understanding the kindness behind the gesture, she gave Ye Qinglan a grateful smile. Ye Qinglan must have noticed the torn collar beneath Shen Qianmo’s outer garment. She had probably also guessed what had happened in Listening Pine Garden at the He residence, but she had not revealed the slightest hint of it.

She was a perceptive woman, gentle in spirit yet skilled at enduring in silence.

The two women exchanged a knowing, faint smile and were just about to change clothes when several soft knocks sounded at the door.

Then Baili Xiao’s cautious voice drifted in, unmistakably trembling from the cold.

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“Brother Xie, Senior Sister Qinglan, may I come in now?”

The northern wind howled outside, and the weather was bitterly cold. He was nearly frozen into an ice sculpture.

“No.”

Shen Qianmo and Ye Qinglan exchanged a glance and answered in unison.

Bang!

A loud crash came from outside.

Clearly, Baili Xiao had cried himself unconscious on the ground.

Inside the cottage, the two equally beautiful women looked at each other and laughed, their favorable impressions of one another deepening further.

After the three of them had finished making their preparations, the sky was already bright. The city gates had opened, and Dading City was awakening beneath the first light of dawn, gradually returning to the bustle of daytime.

To pass through the city gate inspection without trouble, the three decided to disguise themselves. Baili Xiao sat inside the carriage, pretending to be an ailing young master leaving the city to seek medical treatment, while Shen Qianmo and Ye Qinglan disguised themselves as servants accompanying him and driving the carriage.

Baili Xiao might truly have caught a chill. He had been coughing repeatedly since early morning, and his face was pale, making him look convincingly like a sickly young master. As for Shen Qianmo and Ye Qinglan’s servant disguises, they were entirely the result of Ye Qinglan’s skillful hands.

Shen Qianmo had not expected Ye Qinglan’s art of disguise to be so extraordinary. With a few deft strokes, Ye Qinglan had made it seem as though she had given her an entirely new face. Shen Qianmo now looked so utterly ordinary and unremarkable that, if she were thrown into a crowd, no one would ever find her again. She felt that even if Meng Yuanheng were standing directly in front of her, he would have difficulty recognizing her at first glance.

As the carriage passed through the city gate, the guards showed not the slightest suspicion. Once they had safely left the city, all three let out a long sigh of relief.

After leaving the city, the carriage sped toward Jingzhou.

Because Shen Qianmo was physically unwell, Ye Qinglan insisted that she sit inside the carriage and rest. She had originally intended to call Baili Xiao out to drive with her, but seeing his pale face, she could not bring herself to do so. Instead, she decided to let him play the part of a genuine sickly young master and rest in peace for a while.

Inside the carriage, Baili Xiao kept his eyes tightly shut and pretended to be utterly weak and helpless, slumping in a corner like a heap of mud. In his heart, however, he was secretly laughing.

This was what they called the devil being a foot ahead, while the righteous path was a yard ahead. Hmph! Since they were always bullying him, this time he would play the sickly young master to the very end. He would like to see what they could do about it.

Sitting beside him, Shen Qianmo had keenly caught the glint that flashed through his eyes just before he closed them. She did not expose him, merely laughing inwardly.

This Baili Xiao was occasionally rather clever. Besides, his coughs did not seem fake. Letting him rest for a while was not unreasonable.

Perhaps out of consideration for Shen Qianmo’s pregnancy, Ye Qinglan slowed the carriage. It proceeded at a remarkably steady pace.

The farther northwest they traveled, the more sparsely populated the land became. The road was exceptionally quiet. Only the sound of hooves and the wheels rolling over the gravel made Baili Xiao drowsy.

Suddenly, a sharp arrow split the sky.

The carriage jolted violently. The horse’s abrupt, high-pitched neigh startled Baili Xiao, who had been half-asleep, and sent him springing upright.

Shen Qianmo’s heart sank.

Had their whereabouts been discovered?

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