Chapter 36: Chapter 36: Mysteriously Quite Refreshing
 

No sooner had the words left her mouth than Qian Faliang suddenly collapsed to the ground, his waist curling at a speed visible to the naked eye into a shrimp’s pose.

That degree of curvature was not something a normal person could achieve.

“Crack… Crack…”

As he curled up without limit, all the bones in his body followed by breaking.

Just by hearing that sound, one could tell how much pain Qian Faliang must have been in.

Yet, oddly enough, he neither screamed nor cried out; like a fish on the verge of death, he simply opened and closed his gaping mouth.

This sudden scene made everyone tense yet, at the same time, oddly relieved.

After a brief silence, they began discussing as if they had suddenly come to a realization.

“Hold on, our chance to get out of here all depends on this Qian guy! If Miss Qi kills him, won’t we all be doomed?”

“Exactly, didn’t Miss Qi give him the antidote just yesterday? How could he suddenly…”

“She’s clearly about to die herself, and now she wants to drag us down with her!”

“That won’t do at all, Qian Faliang has grievances with her and the Zhao family, not us! We can’t get dragged into this!”

“Right, that’s not acceptable.”

In the cramped cave, one could hear everyone speaking unless they deliberately lowered their voices, especially since these people were intentionally shouting loudly.

Qi Yue listened silently, slowly curving her lips into a faint smile.

She watched Guan Yidao approach and raised her eyebrows.

“What, you agree with them?”

Guan Yidao furrowed his brows and glanced at the agitated exiled crowd.

“Qi Yue, these people cannot die.”

Qi Yue snorted.

“Is there no other reason?”

Guan Yidao paused for a moment, looking at Qian Faliang with a somewhat complex expression.

“Forget it, with him like this, when we get to Longnan Ridge, I’ll tell you why I didn’t let you kill him.”

Qi Yue indifferently twisted her lips.

He really knows how to keep someone in suspense! Will she even remember such a person as Qian Faliang by the time they reach Longnan Ridge?

Ridiculous!

She stepped towards Qian Faliang and kicked heavily at the Houbei point on his back.

Then, miraculously, Qian Faliang’s curled-up body stretched out as if by magic, instantly returning to normal.

“Lord Qian, inform your men to let the people out of the cave! I’ll spare your life if you do, otherwise, when the poison takes effect again, you’ll curl back up into a ball. At that point, even I won’t be able to save you!”

“You, when did you poison me?”

“When else could it have been? Didn’t you snatch the antidote to eat it? I warned you to be careful, but you didn’t believe me!”

“You, you poisonous woman!”

Qi Yue smiled faintly.

No one had cursed her like that in her previous life! Why did she find it somehow satisfying?

In order to save his own life, Qian Faliang agreed to have the guards outside clear the debris, allowing everyone to go free.

After a series of whistle signals, there started to be some activity outside the cave.

Guan Yidao, possessing good qinggong skills, climbed up to check and reported that indeed they were moving the rocks. It would take at most half a shichen to get out.

Upon hearing this, the people trapped inside the cave instantly relaxed.

But their looks towards Qi Yue were filled with fear, especially after seeing Qian Faliang collapsed on the ground, their eyes showed even greater terror.

A person who knows both healing arts and how to poison is not someone one can afford to provoke.

It’s best to stay as far away as possible!

Unconsciously, everyone shifted to one side, keeping their distance from Qi Yue.

The Zhao Family members, however, had smiles on their faces.

Especially Zhao Shuanghua and a few other young girls, who all crowded around bombarding her with questions, their eyes full of intense admiration and reverence.

“Sister-in-law, you are really amazing, even more so than big brother!”

“Sister-in-law, did that guy named Qian shrink because he was poisoned?”

“Sister-in-law, since he’s already like that, he shouldn’t be able to harm anyone anymore, right?”

“Sister-in-law, since there is a way, why didn’t we leave earlier?”

“…”

Detoxifying him was impossible.

The poison was incurable from the start.

The pill that caused Qian Faliang unceasing stomach pain after he ingested it was also poison, though not fatal.

As for why he curled up into a ball, that was just a little trick Qi Yue had played.

The reason she decided to wait an entire night was a choice she made after weighing her options.

The main reason was that she wanted to rest well herself.

Traveling continuously was too tiring, and even with her natural strength, she couldn’t withstand dozens of vicious thugs watching outside.

Once they went out, those dozens of people would rush to kill her and the Zhao family members; she feared that Guan Yidao and the group of government officials wouldn’t risk their lives to protect them.

All of these weak and sick people had to rely on her.

As for Zhao Xiyan, he couldn’t be counted on either since he couldn’t move; if he could protect just himself, that would already be good!

Qi Yue squinted her eyes, listening quietly to the sound of moving stones outside the cave.

By now, Qian Faliang would definitely fight desperately.

Since all his men were outside, there would be another great battle once they got out.

Luckily, after one night, her energy had been fully restored, and as long as the enemies’ martial skills weren’t too formidable, she could take on fifteen of them.

The others could be dealt with by Zhao Xiyan’s hidden weapons, and with Guan Yidao lending a hand, there shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

As for how to cope with Not Good People’s frantic retaliation afterward, they could only play it by ear.

As she was pondering these matters, she suddenly heard Zhao Xiyan call her.

“Yueyue.”

She turned uncontrollably to look back, and saw the eyes hidden behind his mask twinkling with a brilliant light, like stars in the night sky or moonlight reflecting in a deep pool.

“What’s the matter?” she asked.

Zhao Xiyan didn’t speak, just slowly shook his head.

She almost instantly understood what his shaking head meant.

He was telling her that he had no secrets from her.

Qi Yue remembered the “Beiyuan Local Chronicles” in the space; the book was placed at the very top of the shelf, clearly put there deliberately.

She had checked the book, but found no map inside.

This gave rise to two possibilities.

One was that the map was hidden and not easily discovered, and the other was that Xin Zhao had taken the map and placed it elsewhere.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Zhao Xiyan really didn’t know anything.

His teacher had given him the book, but hadn’t told him about these matters.

But regardless of which it was, it didn’t matter to her.

Everyone has secrets, and so does she.

Moreover, she hadn’t planned to reveal everything to Zhao Xiyan, so naturally, she wouldn’t expect him to be completely candid with her.

Qi Yue gave him a smile in return, then turned her head back to continue thinking.

Ensuring the Zhao family’s safe arrival at Longnan Ridge was certain, but as for what happened after that, she wasn’t sure.

She indeed had feelings for Zhao Xiyan.

But as to how far they could go, she wasn’t certain.

She could protect him, and even cure him, allowing him to stand up again.

However, as a soul from the modern world, she cherished mutual affection, a two-way love, rather than a one-sided devotion.

If Zhao Xiyan had no feelings for her, then no matter how handsome or outstanding he was, she would resolutely cut off her affections.

She thought deeply, and without meaning to, her gaze fell on her chubby hands, her mood instantly freezing.

Even though she had lost close to 50 jin, she was still very overweight.

Her figure was bloated, her face swollen…

During this time, how had she managed to interact with Zhao Xiyan without any psychological barriers?

When Zhao Xiyan smiled at her previously, she even thought he was flirting with her?

With such an appearance, she still fantasized that a great beauty would become affectionate towards her?

She really was daring in her dreams!

Qi Yue was completely unsettled!

She looked back at Zhao Xiyan in panic, only to see that his gaze was also directed at her.

In the short exchange of glances between them, no one noticed that the cave entrance suddenly shook.

The next second, the entire cave shook, and the opening that had let in the light was instantly buried.

The cave was plunged into darkness.

…