The Passerby Female Supporting Character – Chapter 49
by Little PandaTaking a Boat
The next day, early morning.
Due to her biological clock, Song Linlin naturally opened her eyes first thing in the morning. Squinting, she took a look around; the room’s window was closed, but light still spilled inside through the cracks.
A thick mattress, a spacious spot, unfamiliar decorations all around, and what felt like a cool yet soft touch in her arms—Song Linlin belatedly remembered that she had run away from the Sect.
As for the touch in her arms, Song Linlin noticed another person lying beside her. Seeing that signature silver-white long hair, she knew who it was without needing to be told.
The two were currently in an intimate posture, limbs pressed together. Clearly, Song Linlin had spent the whole night hugging Chi Qianning like this while sleeping. Because Chi Qianning beside her was completely buried under the covers, Song Linlin couldn’t see her face. Cradling the other’s cool body, her own consciousness still not fully clear, Song Linlin really couldn’t figure out for a moment why she was hugging the other person, and seemingly doing it so naturally.
She tried to pull out a hand, then lifted the blanket covering Chi Qianning’s head. As the blanket was lifted, the exquisite and beautiful face beneath was slowly revealed. Receiving such a close-up beauty crit1 first thing in the morning, Song Linlin stared blankly at Chi Qianning. Right after, the person opposite her opened her eyes, revealing those red irises.
Those red eyes also looked towards Song Linlin. It wasn’t until their gazes met that her consciousness gradually cleared, and the final memories from last night also slowly became distinct.
So, it turned out that last night, Song Linlin herself had forcibly hugged Chi Qianning all night, and at the end, it seemed she had even given Chi Qianning a kiss on the face…
This made Song Linlin, who was currently looking at Chi Qianning up close, unable to help feeling a bit awkward. She shifted her gaze away from where she had been staring at the other person, and the arm that had been hugging all night was finally retracted at this moment.
Song Linlin’s arm was still a bit numb. Paying no mind to these small details, she silently scooted over towards the empty space beside her, putting some distance between herself and the person opposite, then got up from where she was.
Quickly putting on her shoes, Song Linlin ran off to wash up.
By the time she finished washing up and returned to the bedside, Chi Qianning was already up. Song Linlin took on the task of waking Zhang San.
The three sat inside a noodle shop. After finishing breakfast, Song Linlin started pondering where they could go to gather information. Beside her, Zhang San was still engrossed in eating her second bowl of noodles.
The extra second bowl was naturally because Chi Qianning hadn’t wanted to eat this kind of food, so Zhang San had taken it.
“Are you done eating?” Song Linlin asked Zhang San boredly, propping her head up with one hand.
Zhang San put down her bowl and wiped her mouth. “I’m full. Where are we going next?”
“No idea.” Song Linlin shook her head frankly. Although the plan today was to inquire about the Purple Mist Leaf, Song Linlin was completely unfamiliar with this Yunxin City and had no clue where to go for the time being.
Zhang San stared at Song Linlin with a dumbfounded look. She had thought the other girl definitely knew where to inquire about such things, but it turned out Song Linlin didn’t know anything either.
Finally, Song Linlin scratched her head, thought hard for a good while, and said, “Why don’t we just go find someone at an apothecary and ask? These people deal with various herb gatherers year-round, maybe they’ll know?”
Zhang San nodded, vaguely understanding. Anyway, the three of them couldn’t think of any other plan right now, so they might as well give it a try.
“Okay!”
Exiting the noodle shop, Song Linlin found an apothecary that looked quite large. She peeked her head inside for a look; there were only a scattered two or three customers inside. Going in to ask shouldn’t affect their business.
Letting Zhang San handle this kind of thing, Song Linlin worried she was too naive and might say the wrong thing. Asking Chi Qianning seemed completely out of the question. In the end, she had no choice but to step up herself2.
Song Linlin walked into the shop and headed towards the counter. A middle-aged man was currently standing beside it. His attire was clearly different from the other clerks in the shop; she guessed he was probably the shopkeeper of this apothecary.
Seeing Song Linlin approach, the man thought she was there to buy medicinal ingredients. He put down what he was holding and asked, “Miss, do you need any herbs?”
Song Linlin shook her head. After mulling over her words for a moment, she decided to be direct. She spoke right away, “Shopkeeper, may I inquire where one might find Purple Mist Leaf? Of course, I will give you spirit stones!”
Hearing this, the middle-aged man raised his eyebrows. He sized Song Linlin up carefully, guessing she was likely a cultivator. After considering for a few seconds, he said, “I do indeed know of a location with Purple Mist Leaf. There’s no need for you to give me spirit stones, Miss.”
“However, if you manage to obtain the Purple Mist Leaf, Miss, how about selling any excess you have to me then?”
He had thought it through clearly. Anyway, the partnered herb gatherers working under him couldn’t obtain the Purple Mist Leaf from that location. Besides, the fact that Purple Mist Leaf grew there wasn’t exactly a secret; more than just him, this apothecary owner, knew about it.
Since that was the case, he might as well just let someone else give it a try. Even if they failed, he wouldn’t suffer any loss anyway.
“Oh?” Song Linlin was surprised by his generosity and quickly nodded, “Okay!”
“Within Dong Huang Mountain3, there is a Moon Poison Scorpion. Quite a lot of Purple Mist Leaf grows inside its lair,” the middle-aged man said slowly. Seeing Song Linlin’s expression sour after hearing this, he added with a chuckle, “Of course, that Moon Poison Scorpion is not easy to deal with. If you find you’re no match for it, Miss, there’s no need to force things.”
Song Linlin could only manage a strained nod. After saying a few words of thanks, she walked out of the apothecary. Zhang San and Chi Qianning were waiting outside. Seeing Song Linlin appear, Zhang San immediately ran over and asked expectantly, “How did it go? Did he tell you?”
“Well, he told me…”
Song Linlin now finally understood why that man had told her where to find the Purple Mist Leaf so easily. It was simply because the Moon Poison Scorpion was too difficult to deal with; they couldn’t get it themselves, so they didn’t care about telling others.
“That stuff is inside Dong Huang Mountain. There’s a Moon Poison Scorpion in the mountain, and the Purple Mist Leaf is in its lair,” Song Linlin said.
Purple Mist Leaf itself is a type of poisonous herb, and the Moon Poison Scorpion is also a famously poisonous creature. The possibility of finding Purple Mist Leaf in its lair was very high.
“Huh?” Zhang San had naturally heard of the Moon Poison Scorpion. If she were going with her grandfather, she wouldn’t be afraid, but now, she couldn’t help but feel a bit intimidated. She could only stare blankly at Song Linlin.
Song Linlin noticed her staring and took two steps back, asking in return, “What are you looking at me for? Do I look like I’m very powerful?”
If they really ran into the Moon Poison Scorpion, Song Linlin would definitely be the first one to grab the others and run. She wouldn’t dare try to mess with it.
“Then maybe we should just forget it? We can go look somewhere else?” Zhang San didn’t insist. She was currently only at the late stage of Foundation Establishment, a realm slightly lower than Song Linlin’s.
“It’s not like there’s no way.” Song Linlin lifted her chin, indicating for Zhang San to look at Chi Qianning, and whispered, “Go ask Lin Qianqian. If she’s willing to go, then there should be no problem.”
Zhang San turned her head to look at Chi Qianning. The other girl was currently standing listlessly under the shade of a tree; she clearly didn’t like being in the sun much. Hearing the other two mention her, she also turned her head towards Song Linlin and Zhang San.
Seeing this, Zhang San immediately felt Chi Qianning seemed very reliable. Song Linlin didn’t look like she could fight well, but Chi Qianning, despite speaking little, just standing there instinctively made people not dare to approach. Only Song Linlin would always go over and stick close to her.
Before Zhang San could speak, Chi Qianning took the initiative and said lightly, “Let’s go. To Dong Huang Mountain.”
Go to Dong Huang Mountain sooner, get this matter resolved sooner, then they could return sooner. Otherwise, who knew where these two would run off to play next. Chi Qianning had agreed so readily simply because she didn’t want to run around everywhere with them.
Dong Huang Mountain was some distance from Yunxin City. At the foot of the mountain was Dong Huang Town. Traveling there by water was the most convenient route, so the three rented a boat by the lakeside.
The boatman rowed at the stern, while Song Linlin sat at the bow holding a fishing rod, fishing. Zhang San still found everything novel; she squatted by the edge of the boat, leaning over to look into the lake. “I don’t see any fish. Can you actually catch any, Song Linlin?”
Song Linlin grabbed Zhang San by the collar and pulled her back from the boat’s edge. This kid was such a handful4 whenever they went out. “Keep looking and be careful you don’t fall into the lake.”
She couldn’t swim, so if that happened, they’d have to rely on the rowing boatman to save Zhang San.
Song Linlin looked at Zhang San as if she were an idiot and shook her head. “The fish are definitely in the lake. It’d be strange if you could see them on the surface.”
The three would have to spend a day on this lake. They wouldn’t reach Dong Huang Town until noon tomorrow5. Today would be spent entirely on the boat.
As dusk fell, Song Linlin looked at the fish cooking in the pot. Not a single one had been caught by her. And to think she had sat on the stool all afternoon, only to end up catching nothing.
The boatman’s wife was adding various seasonings to the pot; she had also been the one to net the fish. Zhang San squatted beside the pot, watching her movements eagerly.
After finishing dinner, they learned the boat had a second level. However, sleeping inside would definitely not be as convenient as in an inn. Zhang San wasn’t picky about where she slept and simply fell asleep sitting on a chair. Song Linlin, however, spent the night dozing while hugging Chi Qianning’s arm and leaning on her shoulder.
Song Linlin was the first off the boat. Standing on the bank, she reached out a hand to help Chi Qianning, who was about to disembark. The other girl’s fingers rested on her palm, that familiar cool touch. Once Chi Qianning was down, Song Linlin went to pull Zhang San, who was last.
Looking at the small town before them, they could see the large mountain behind it in the distance. Perhaps because there were many yaowu7 on the mountain, most of the town’s residents made a living by fishing. The riverbank was the liveliest area.
This town wasn’t large, and few outsiders came here. Finding a decent inn would likely be impossible. Song Linlin decided to go directly up the mountain today to gather the Purple Mist Leaf, and then take the boat back to Yunxin City first thing tomorrow morning.
This way, they could get the important business done now, and then they could spend a few more days playing around in Yunxin City before returning to the Sect.
The author has something to say:
Just finished writing this now. The next two chapters will have something more exciting.
Footnotes
- 美颜暴击 | měiyán bàojī | Lit. “beauty critical hit”; Internet slang describing being overwhelmed by someone’s beauty, borrowing gaming terminology.
- 亲自出马 | qīnzì chūmǎ | Lit. “personally ride out on a horse”; To take action or handle something oneself.
- 东潢山 | Dōnghuáng Shān
- 不让人省心 | bù ràng rén shěngxīn | Lit. “doesn’t let people save worry”; Means someone causes worry or is troublesome/a handful.
- 午时 | wǔ shí | Hour of the Horse; Traditional Chinese time corresponding to 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
- 午时 | wǔ shí | 11 AM – 1 PM
- 妖物 | yāowù | Demons, monsters, or supernatural creatures, often malevolent.
0 Comments