Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 16.1

Chapter 16.1
Too sensitive and suspicious, annoying!

She took the roasted bird and lowered her head to eat it. She instantly remembered the people she had killed before and felt her stomach flip up.
She practiced medicine in the past. It wasn’t that she hadn’t seen blood before, but killing someone was ultimately different.

She felt hungry on one side and nauseous on the other. After a few moments of suffering, Qin Jue suddenly said, “Did you just wake up and can’t eat meat? Do you want to eat fruit?”

Luo Wanqing raised her eyes and saw Qin Jue’s pale hand handing over a small fruit. Qin Jue said, “There’s nothing to eat in winter. You can make do with this wild fruit.”

Luo Wanqing wasn’t fussy. She put down the roasted bird, took the fruit, and gently bit it down.

Qin Jue sized her up and said tentatively, “First time killing, ah?”

The wild fruit was sour yet made Luo Wanqing much more comfortable. She lowered her head and nibbled on the fruit, not bothering with Qin Jue.

Knowing this, Qin Jue shut up and only looked at the surroundings and said, “There’s a town another five miles ahead. Let’s get a set of clothes together tomorrow and then go to Dongdu together?”

Luo Wanqing listened to his words, ate the fruit, and raised her eyes to look around, “Where is this? How long have I been unconscious? Where are the others?”

“This is the middle of nowhere, twenty miles from the inn. You’ve been unconscious for a day and a night. The others are either dead or have run away.”

Qin Jue took the roasted bird, tore the leg down, ripped the meat, and carelessly said: “After you passed out, I took you back to the inn. The inn burned down, the officials disappeared, and there were corpses everywhere. I’m afraid that those killers chased after me, so I took you to run away.”

Qin Jue, seemingly to remember something, asked curiously: “Last night, you kept shaking me off. When you saw the killer, you said to allow them to kill me. Why are you so sure that the other side wants to kill me?”

“Why do you have so many questions?” Luo Wanqing raised her eyes impatiently.

Qin Jue smiled, “I’m surprised. It seems like you know a lot?”

“They’ve been following us. I don’t have such powerful enemies.” Luo Wanqing explained. Qin Jue listened and nodded. He accepted this statement, seriously saying, “That’s true.”

Then, he frowned, seemingly puzzled: “Then they really came to kill me?”

Luo Wanqing didn’t say anything and looked at him faintly. She didn’t quite believe this person didn’t know his situation back then when they were in the dungeon. She had memorized the genealogy of all the famous families in the Jianghu dynasty and was very clear about his identity.

The Qin Clan was the largest in Jiangnan. This clan and one of the four great clans, Cui Clan, had a deep relationship. Five years ago, Cui Clan was guilty of treason and surrendered without a fight, offering the border of ten cities to the foreign enemy. The Cui Clan’s loss implicated the Qin Clan. More than four ranks of the clan’s children at Dongdu resigned and returned to Jiangnan. From there onward, there was no news regarding them in the court. Last year, the Royal Historical Bureau reported the Qin family had privately stocked grain and secretly manufactured armor. The Emperor was furious and sentenced the Qin family children to detention based on treason. The Qin family head, Qin Wenyan, was escorted into Dongdu for trial. The case dragged on for a long time.

When Luo Wanqing went to prison, the Qin family’s sentence had just come down. Decapitated the male and sold the women to the brothel. The rest, who were not involved in this matter, were exempted from the net.

Unfortunately, at that time, most of the Qin family could not stand the prison torture and losing their lives, leaving only Qin Wenyan’s only son, Qin Jue. Such a person, if he said he didn’t know that these killers came to kill him, she wouldn’t believe it. But he did not mention it. So she won’t point it out. After all, these things were unrelated to her.

After she rested well, she would part ways with him. This thought of hers seemed to be showing too much obviousness.

Qin Jue seemed to notice and looked back at her, carefully saying, “Xiniang, we’d come this way, yet you’re still planning to leave me behind, ah?”

“Call me Miss Liu.” Luo Wanqing finished the last bite of meat and clapped her hands, reminding him, “I’m not familiar with you.”

“Don’t be like this,” Qin Jue revealed a look of regret, “We’ve at least shared some friendship.”

“You dragged me down, not sharing your hardships.” Luo Wanqing put on her shoes and said, “You also know you are dragging me down, so don’t delay my trip. There were only two months left before the examination by the Inspection Department. You take your sunny road, I’ll cross my lone bridge, and I’ll see you again when there’s a fate.” Luo Wanqing stood up. She had nothing to carry. She looked up at the stars in the sky, vaguely recognizing the Big Dipper, and walked towards the north.

Behind her, Qin Jue scrutinized her direction and couldn’t help but remind her, “Xiniang.”

“Scram.”

“That’s south.” These words made Luo Wanqing freeze. She stood still, then remembered that after being locked up in prison for so long, she’d forgotten that she’d never gone out alone, let alone recognized the way.
Although she had lived in Lingnan for ten years in her dream, she had always lived in a small area where she didn’t need to recognize directions. She knew things like directions based on the stars but never practiced. She stood on the same path for a while, and behind her, Qin Jue said tentatively, “I’m a person with a good sense of direction.”

Luo Wanqing said nothing.

Qin Jue continued, “I also cook good food and am familiar with gongfu techniques. Your knife skills are so lousy. Don’t you want to improve? Look at how well we worked together when I taught you how to fight Black Bear.”

Luo Wanqing closed her eyes and calmed down. If the Feng Yu Pavilion hadn’t chased Qin Jue, these conditions might have moved her, but —