Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 20.1

Chapter 20.1
Going To Dongdu

Luo Wanqing’s eyes widened.

Seeing her expression, Qin Jue smiled. Without further explanation, he turned to leave.

Luo Wanqing heard Qin Jue say goodbye to the host family, and for a moment, she had some trouble reacting. When she heard the sound of the man riding away, she finally realized that Qin Jue had left. She leaned on the edge of the table, turned her head to look out the window, and saw the back of the man riding away, not even looking back.

Luo Wanqing suddenly felt that Qin Jue was right. She was indeed a softhearted person. If she hadn’t, others wouldn’t have easily deceived her. The only thing she could be thankful for was that she had been deceived by a good man for the first time since she became Liu Xiniang.

Qin Jue taught her a lot. This matter was also a lesson. This world was too complicated compared to what she taught. She took a deep breath. She didn’t want to think about this person. He’s a liar, so it’s useless to think about it.

She returned her thoughts to Qin Jue’s words. Jiu Shuang is a woman? Is he lying to her again? But on second thought, she felt that he was right. That burly man at the inn may not be Jiu Shuang. According to Liu Xiniang, Jiu Shuang is mysterious and rarely seen. Liu Xiniang also did not pay special attention to the person, so she did not know Jiu Shuang’s information, except for the imprisonment. The matter of Jiu Shuang falling into the net was too sensational. Thus, she only heard an ear. Precisely because Liu Xiniang did not have Jiu Shuang’s information, she came to the death cell to inquire. But no one in the death cell had seen the person. So, why would such a low-profile person actively expose their identity in a crowd when it was clear that the officials were helping to hide them?

Jiu Shuang doesn’t reveal herself, but the news of her entering the prison is already known to many people. When the Inspection Department needs to form a team, and someone claims to be Jiu Shuang, that person will get people’s support and attentiveness. As long as no one else denies it, very few people will dare to challenge ‘Jiu Shuang,’ and the person who claims to be Jiu Shuang will, at least on the way to Dongdu, have a good chance of winning the title of Jiu Shuang. On the way to Dongdu, that person could taste a lot of sweetness. As for whether or not they would attract enemies, they might not have even considered it, or they might have but didn’t care. If that swordsman was not Jiu Shuang and Jiu Shuang was a woman, why would someone tell her that Jiu Shuang was a man? Who was the one who told her?

Luo Wanqing recalled and suddenly realized that no one had responded for a long time when she inquired about Jiu Shuang. One day, when someone beat up Zhao Yuyan, and she stopped them, that woman, to repay her favor, timidly told her that Jiu Shuang was a bookish man, saying that Jiu Shuang had saved her in the past and that she had thought that she was looking him for revenge, so she hadn’t dared to say anything about it. If Jiu Shuang was a woman, and Zhao Yuyan was lying to her, then it was more than clear who was the real Jiu Shuang.

Luo Wanqing thought about it and suddenly felt that this Inspection Department’s examination was too intriguing. She pondered for a while, walked over to the table, and looked over the things Qin Jue left for her. This person was meticulous. He even left two maps, a map for going to Dongdu and Dongdu’s city map. On Dongdu’s city map, he drew the route to the Inspection Department in red, marking it as if he were afraid she wouldn’t recognize it.

He left a note on it:
“On the first day of March, at the 5th hour, you must arrive at the Inspection Department.”

Luo Wanqing took the note, thought about it, put it into her arms, walked out the door, chatted with the host family for a few moments, confirmed the time, and found that it was now less than sixteen days from her schedule.

Hearing this time, Luo Wanqing breathed heavily. At first, going to Dongdu via official road would take at least two months. Then they became ‘no-road-no-guide’ and had to go over the mountains. They had traveled all day and night, leaving nearly a month to finish the distance. When she asked how long she had been asleep, Qin Jue said seven days. She did not think much about it. But now, she realized that it wasn’t seven days! It’s twelve days!

February is only twenty-nine days. After deducting twelve days, she only got seventeen days to finish the last half of the journey. She didn’t understand why Qin Jue lied to her again and couldn’t help but ask her hostess at dinner, “Elder sister, did I pass out for twelve days?”

“I’m not quite sure about that,” the hostess shook her head, “I just know that for the first five days, your husband hardly went out. He was in the room all the time. During those hours, several people came to the courtyard to cook medicine. Your husband only came out occasionally to get some of the medicine. When he opened the door, I peeked and saw his face was ugly as hell. Then your husband came out, and those people left. You seemed to be awake at that time. I could hear you crying, shouting like crazy.”

Luo Wanqing’s face stiffened, and the mistress laughed: “Your husband is extremely nice. When the weather is good, he carries you out to bask in the sun, and I’ve seen him combing your hair. You’ve slept for many days, yet your body is still clean. He must have taken good care of you. I’ve never seen such a meticulous husband before.”

Luo Wanqing listened and nodded embarrassedly, “Ah, he is quite good.”

Seeing this, the hostess said, “Eat more, nourish your body. Those bandits are too much. You are a girl …….” The hostess said, seeming to feel that she said something she shouldn’t have said, stood up: “I also cooked some other dishes. I’ll go get them for you.”

After the hostess left, Luo Wanqing ate her meal and realized Qin Jue didn’t lie. She did sleep for seven days, not including the time when she molded her bones and when she was awake and crying. He hadn’t intentionally fed her calming medicine. But the process was probably taxing for her, so painful that she had lost consciousness.

Not knowing what shameful thing she had done during the bone-shaping process, Luo Wanqing felt uneasy. On second thought, Qin Jue hadn’t left the house for five days, so it probably took him five days to reintegrate her bones.

She was a healer and knew very well that when an ordinary person broke the spine, that person would be disabled. How can there be any such thing as reshaping broken bones? These martial arts practitioners had unbelievable sounding practices, but they were all protected by a stream of true qi.

At that time, she was in a coma, and the only one who could look after her was Qin Jue. He used true qi five days in a row to protect another person’s bones with such precise control. Even as a top master, he won’t be able to endure it.

She suddenly felt that her thank you was too light, so if they see each other again in Dongdu —
She should thank him properly.

Thinking of Dongdu, Luo Wanqing smiled and did not think about the miscellaneous. She hurriedly ate, packed her bag, and said goodbye to the host family.

All Qin Jue gave her were good things, and Luo Wanqing carried them all on her back. With only 17 days left, without a road guide and walking through the mountains, she wouldn’t be able to catch up if she walked at the usual speed. She could only run all the way, every day, running with flying, day and night.

To save time, she didn’t eat things that needed a fire. When passing through the mountains, she would hit a few birds or rabbits, exchange them for dry food from the villagers, or eat fruits.

After running for sixteen days in a row like this, she finally rushed to the mountains not far from Dongdu. With only one more night, she could arrive in Dongdu. However, she had just recovered from a heavy injury and trekking for days without eating properly. She was already exhausted. As she walked, she could not support herself. Her eyes went black, and she fell to the ground. She couldn’t tell whether she was falling asleep due to exhaustion sleep or fainting.