Cuddling with the Cold Female Protagonist – Chapter 87
by Little PandaVolume 4: The Perils of the Jianghu
Yue Ling started thinking about how to gain Ji Qingchi’s trust, so she could help her return to her kingdom and reclaim her power.
But Ji Qingchi was very suspicious and wouldn’t easily trust others. Gaining her trust would probably be quite difficult.
In comparison, that Miss Su whom she liked seemed a bit easier to approach. Perhaps it would be better to get close to that Miss Su.
After making up her mind, Yue Ling began to pay attention to Su Yi’s movements, preparing to find a suitable opportunity to get to know this Miss Su.
But Su Yi had several people guarding her, and Yue Ling really couldn’t find an opportunity. She could only give up for now. Anyway, the time for seeking medical treatment was so long; there would surely be a time when Su Yi was less guarded.
After resting in the secluded valley for a few hours, they set off again. Following what Feng Ruoqing said, after crossing the river and walking for three hundred li2, they encountered a forest.
The trees in the forest were lush and green, shrouded in mist, making it impossible to see clearly inside.
“Huh?” Feng Ruoqing held the map she had drawn when she escaped, saying doubtfully, “Since when was there a forest here?”
Ji Qingchi said, “You didn’t lead us the wrong way, did you?”
“How could I?” Feng Ruoqing quickly defended herself. “I still recognize the markers I made myself. Didn’t we see many medicine bottles I left along the way earlier? It definitely can’t be wrong.”
After Yue Ling led some people to scout ahead, she reported back, “Your Highness, the forest ahead seems off.”
“How is it off?”
“Your Highness, please come with this subordinate to take a look.”
Ji Qingchi frowned, had a few guards protect those who didn’t know martial arts, and walked to the edge of the forest. She was startled by what she saw.
Many desiccated corpses hung from the trees, and there were also numerous white bones in the forest. It looked like a hell on earth3.
Feng Ruoqing also followed to see what was going on. “These people all died from poisoning.”
Ji Qingchi turned back. “Poison?”
“Yes.” Feng Ruoqing’s expression became much more serious. “Look at those white bones; the bones are black. Those are all symptoms of poisoning.”
“Are you saying we can’t pass through this forest?”
“Mm…” Feng Ruoqing walked around the outer edge of the forest a few times. “I don’t know what’s inside either. So many people died here; perhaps it’s full of poisonous creatures or substances.”
Yue Ling asked, “Your Highness, what should we do?”
Ji Qingchi made a hand gesture to retreat. “Let’s go back first.”
After returning, Ji Qingchi told Su Yi and Hua Wuying about this.
“Poison…” Hua Wuying frowned, looking at the forest before them. “Based on my many years of experience as an assassin, that forest is most likely there to block outsiders.”
Su Yi shook her head. “Don’t many people come to Changsheng Valley to seek medical treatment? If these outsiders are blocked, how would they get in? I’ll make a bold guess: these people were likely dumped here after being killed.”
This guess sent a chill down everyone’s spine.
If their bodies were indeed dumped here, and so many people were killed, who was the murderer? How could they be so cruel? They killed so many people; could it be that no one found out?
Hua Wuying thought for a moment. “Words alone are no proof. I’ll go take a look.”
After going over and taking a look around, she returned and confirmed Su Yi’s deduction. “There are no traces of blood on the ground in the forest, and the trees where the bodies are hanging haven’t withered. This indicates these people were dumped here after they died. There probably isn’t any poison in the forest, but we need to be careful of traps.”
Feng Ruoqing said, “Mm… just in case, let’s get a body out, and I’ll examine it.”
To prevent anyone from rashly entering the forest and getting hurt, Ji Qingchi had the guards use the iron hooks and chains they brought to retrieve a skeleton.
Feng Ruoqing had just crouched down when she saw the clothes clinging to the skeleton and the wooden tablet tied to its waist. She froze instantly, her eyes staring blankly. “…Junior Sister4?”
Ji Qingchi was beside her and heard this clearly. “What?”
Feng Ruoqing didn’t answer her, reaching out to grab the wooden tablet from the skeleton’s waist. Hua Wuying, quick-eyed and swift-handed, knocked her hand away. “Careful, it might be poisoned!”
Feng Ruoqing ignored her, determined to get that wooden tablet.
Seeing this, Su Yi quickly offered her own handkerchief. “Use this to wrap it.”
Feng Ruoqing took the handkerchief, carefully picked up the wooden tablet, turned it over to look, and froze completely, slumping to the ground.
Ji Qingchi frowned, used a branch to flip the wooden tablet over, and saw the words “Changsheng Valley, Feng Chen5” clearly carved on it.
After circling the skeleton and examining it, Hua Wuying said hesitantly, “For a body to completely turn into a skeleton, it takes at least several years. This skeleton doesn’t look like it decomposed naturally; it seems more like someone used something to accelerate decomposition. Also, looking at her skull, there’s still an arrowhead embedded, suggesting she was severely injured by a crossbow trap… And judging by the wear on the bones, she was severely injured after death. There must be traps in that forest.”
Su Yi thought of the corpse-dissolving water6 from martial arts dramas. “Doesn’t corpse-dissolving water melt a body into a puddle?”
“It seems Miss Su is well-versed in storybooks7,” Hua Wuying chuckled. “Around here, the most we can do is turn a corpse into a skeleton. Melting it into water, now that’s an interesting idea.”
She crouched down and examined it further, confirming her guess. “That’s right. She was poisoned to death and then dumped here.”
“So… this… this ‘skeleton lady’…” Su Yi pondered for a moment before finding a suitable term, “…was murdered?”
Ji Qingchi turned the wooden tablet over for everyone to see. “It seems her name is Feng Chen.”
“…That’s my junior sister’s name.” After a long pause, Feng Ruoqing, with tears in her eyes, pointed at the wooden tablet and slowly said, “When we became disciples of our Master back then, she made one for each of us. This is an identity waist tablet, carved with auspicious symbols, also meant as a blessing.”
“When I left, Junior Sister was perfectly fine. It’s only been a short year and a half, why…”
“Perhaps, it’s a mistake?” Hua Wuying stepped forward, patted her shoulder, and comforted her, “Maybe it’s your junior sister’s tablet, and this girl just happened to pick it up? You haven’t seen your junior sister yet, so don’t jump to conclusions.”
Feng Ruoqing was already quite certain in her heart that the skeleton before her was her junior sister. But, it had to be said, she still hoped Hua Wuying’s words could be true, holding onto the only hope in her heart that her junior sister was still alive.
She lowered her head, clenched her fists, and said, “…Let’s bury her.”
The soldiers dug a grave and buried the skeleton.
Feng Ruoqing knelt on the ground, staring blankly at the burial mound.
Everyone looked grim. There were many poisoned corpses in the forest, and possibly traps; that forest was definitely impassable.
Yue Ling, not giving up, led soldiers to search around the forest. After a short while, she came back to report excitedly, “Your Highness, we found another path!”
“Oh?” Ji Qingchi also felt a bit more encouraged. “Are you sure that path is passable?”
“Certain. We saw many discarded medicine bottles on the path. They were probably dropped by people who came out of the valley after seeking medical treatment.”
“Oh? Take This Palace to see.”
“Yes.”
That “other path” was seven or eight li away from the forest where they were. Soldiers had found it when they went out to fetch water.
Ji Qingchi went to take a look. Indeed, there was a small path, with discarded medicine bottles and some food scraps by the roadside.
She still felt a bit uneasy, so she came back and asked Feng Ruoqing if this path could actually lead to Changsheng Valley.
After calming down a bit, Feng Ruoqing’s mood improved slightly. Hearing Ji Qingchi’s question, she suddenly remembered something: Changsheng Valley, to remain hidden from the world, had two gates: one was the Qian Gate, and the other was the Kun Gate. The two exits looked similar, but only the Qian Gate was the main route everyone used to leave the valley. She had been in such a hurry to escape back then that she hadn’t distinguished which gate she had used, which was why she had led everyone here. This place should be where the Kun Gate was located.
The Kun Gate was located to the northwest rear of Changsheng Valley and was considered a forbidden area of the valley; no one would ever come this way.
She explained the whole story and immediately received death glares from everyone.
So, it turned out they had been walking for half a day on the wrong path.
Feng Ruoqing quickly raised her hand. “I know I’m at fault! I can make amends. I’ll lead the way. If everyone follows me, we’ll be able to enter Changsheng Valley.”
Hua Wuying raised an eyebrow. “You won’t be wrong this time, will you, Doctor Feng?”
Feng Ruoqing pointed to the sky and swore, “No, I guarantee it.”
Everyone followed Feng Ruoqing and left. Before leaving, Su Yi glanced back at the forest that could be described as hellish.
“Don’t think about it.” Ji Qingchi knew what she was thinking, pulled her into an embrace, and gently massaged her temples, saying softly, “We’re just here to seek medical treatment. Your health isn’t good, so let’s not meddle in unnecessary matters, mm?”
“Mm.” Su Yi leaned into her embrace, finding a comfortable position to rest.
The carriage slowly sped towards the entrance of the Qian Gate. In this desolate wilderness, they were in a hurry to get Su Yi treated, so the soldiers didn’t hold back, and the carriage moved a bit faster.
The female carriage driver for Su Yi’s lead carriage was a retired soldier. She was holding the reins tightly, urging the horses to gallop faster, when suddenly a young master carrying a medicine basket popped out from a grassy ditch ahead.
“Whoa, whoa, stop quickly—”
“Ah—”
The young man’s clear cry of alarm overlapped with the horses’ neighing. The carriage braked sharply, and the people inside lurched forward heavily due to inertia.
Ji Qingchi held Su Yi tightly and managed to grab the carriage wall just in time to avoid being thrown out.
She lifted the carriage curtain with a cold expression. “What happened?”
“M-Miss, a young master suddenly darted out in front.”
“What’s going on?” Yue Ling had also ridden up by now. Seeing the delicate young man who had fallen to the ground, she frowned, then rode her horse back to the carriage. “Miss, it is indeed a young master. This subordinate observed that his palms are fair and without calluses; he probably doesn’t know martial arts.”
“In this desolate countryside, how could a young master appear? Go ask him what he’s doing here.”
“Yes.”
Yue Ling rode her horse over to the young master who had fallen on the ground.
He looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, exceptionally delicate and beautiful. He had a slender figure, eyebrows as fine as willow leaves, a fair face with a hint of sorrow in his dimples, and pale pink lips. He exuded an air of frailty, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.
Seeing him, one couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity.
Yue Ling rode up to him, didn’t waste words, and directly placed a long saber against his neck, saying coldly, “Who are you? Why did you appear here?”
Footnotes
- 乾坤门 | Qiánkūn Mén | Qian refers to Heaven (male, yang) and Kun refers to Earth (female, yin). Together, Qiankun represents Heaven and Earth, the universe, or the fundamental principles of yin and yang. So, Qiankun Gate could mean Heaven and Earth Gate or Universe Gate.
- 里 | lǐ | A traditional Chinese unit of distance. One lǐ is officially 500 meters (about 1/3 of a mile). So, three hundred lǐ would be approximately 150 kilometers or 93 miles.
- 人间炼狱 | rénjiān liànyù | Literally “human world’s purgatory/hell,” meaning a scene of extreme suffering or horror on earth.
- 师妹 | shīmèi | Junior female fellow apprentice or disciple. ‘师’ (shī) means teacher/master, and ‘妹’ (mèi) means younger sister. It denotes a younger female who shares the same master or is in the same martial arts school/sect.
- 风晨 | Fēng Chén
- 化尸水 | huà shī shuǐ | A fictional concoction often appearing in wuxia (martial arts) stories that can rapidly dissolve a human body, often leaving little to no trace.
- 话本 | huàběn | A genre of Chinese vernacular fiction that flourished from the Song to the Ming dynasties, often serving as prompt-books for storytellers.
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