The Passerby Female Supporting Character – Chapter 53
by Little PandaReturning to the Sect
In the quiet night, Song Linlin lay in her bedding with her eyes closed, trying to force herself to calm down and sleep. However, once her eyes were shut, all sorts of strange and bizarre thoughts uncontrollably popped into her mind.
The more she tried to banish those odd thoughts, the more frequently they surfaced. It was truly like a tangled mess that couldn’t be sorted out, chaotically occupying Song Linlin’s mind like a jumbled ball of yarn, impossible to find the end of the thread.
Song Linlin experienced a rare bout of insomnia. She didn’t dare move recklessly, only able to rigidly maintain her current posture, lying wide-eyed in her bedding until dawn.
Only when unable to sleep does one realize how long the night truly is. Song Linlin felt as if every second stretched longer. By the time she finally endured until daybreak, her eyes were quite bloodshot. Fortunately, for a Golden Core Cultivator, losing one night’s sleep wasn’t a major issue. Song Linlin only felt her eyes were drier than usual, but seeing things was still no problem.
Zhang San, who had been knocked unconscious, finally showed some movement after dawn. She groggily opened her eyes, her memory still stuck in the middle of the night. Only upon opening her eyes and seeing the bright surroundings did she realize it was already daytime.
Zhang San wiggled her fingers, then propped herself up slowly with her arms on the bedding beneath her. She subconsciously raised a hand to touch the back of her neck; it didn’t hurt, and she found nothing amiss.
“How is it already dawn?” Zhang San asked, still a bit dazed.
Seeing that Zhang San was awake, Song Linlin finally threw off her covers. At last, she had someone to talk to and no longer needed to lie there pretending to be asleep.
Song Linlin also sat up, looked at Zhang San, and asked tentatively, “Awake? How are you feeling?”
She remembered Zhang San had been knocked out by Chi Qianning, and didn’t know if that blow had hurt her too much.
Zhang San rubbed her shoulders. She had slept in a very awkward position all night and now felt uncomfortable all over, though it wasn’t serious. “I’m alright,” she said.
Then she stretched her arms again. The grogginess from just waking up gradually faded, and her thoughts became clearer. Then, she remembered the scene she had witnessed before falling asleep.
Zhang San’s movements abruptly froze. Even now, the sight of Song Linlin and Chi Qianning from last night was still quite impactful for her. Now, Zhang San’s gaze towards the other two couldn’t help but turn peculiar.
However, after a night had passed, Zhang San felt too embarrassed…
“I’ll get up first.”
Zhang San felt it was better for her to leave the tent first; otherwise, the scene from last night would keep replaying involuntarily in her mind.
Once Zhang San crawled out of the tent, only Song Linlin and Chi Qianning remained inside. After a whole night, Song Linlin finally mustered the courage to turn her head and look at her.
Chi Qianning had also sat up by now, her clothes so neat she hardly looked like someone who had just woken up. Her long silver hair cascaded smoothly down her back. Song Linlin’s gaze flickered towards her neck, only seeing an expanse of snowy white.
All the marks she had left last night had vanished completely. Seeing Chi Qianning’s current dignified and cool demeanor, Song Linlin’s mind involuntarily conjured the image of her last night, face flushed red, lying beneath her—especially with her own hand in a place it shouldn’t have been.
Song Linlin sat there, staring slightly entranced at Chi Qianning. Sensing the gaze from her side, Chi Qianning also turned her head. Her red eyes met Song Linlin’s, and only then did Song Linlin somewhat collect her thoughts.
“What are you spacing out for? It’s time to go,” Chi Qianning said faintly, as calm as if last night’s events had never happened at all.
“Oh.”
Song Linlin pushed aside those wild thoughts, straightened her own clothes, smoothing out the wrinkles. During this, she glanced up at Chi Qianning. The other woman truly seemed like someone completely unaffected, showing not the slightest hint of awkwardness or unnaturalness.
This attitude puzzled Song Linlin. After tidying her clothes, she didn’t leave, just sat there motionlessly, eyes fixed intently on Chi Qianning’s face.
After being stared at by Song Linlin for quite a while, Chi Qianning really couldn’t stand her gaze anymore. That dignified and cool facade successfully cracked, her eyes vividly showing annoyance as she glared at Song Linlin, the carefully maintained calm instantly shattered.
“Song Linlin, what are you looking at?”
Song Linlin let out an inexplicable chuckle, thinking inwardly that this was how the other person should be reacting. She shook her head, her voice full of amusement, “Nothing.”
Sensing the other’s displeasure, Song Linlin seemed to anticipate what Chi Qianning was about to say, preemptively throwing off her covers herself. “Alright, I know, I’ll go out now.”
Song Linlin crawled out of the tent and put on her shoes. Zhang San was already sitting outside waiting. Seeing Song Linlin take so long to emerge, she strongly suspected that the two inside the tent might have taken advantage of her absence to do something else, hence the delay.
However, these were just Zhang San’s speculations; she was too embarrassed to ask directly, merely looking at Song Linlin with suspicion in her eyes.
It was now early morning. The mountain air was filled with the scent of dew mixed with various grasses and trees. The three silently began dismantling the tent. They needed to reach the ferry crossing in the small town by noon1, then take a boat back to Yunxin City.
Fortunately, it was still very early, giving them ample time to pack. Once everything was tidied up, the three began their relaxed descent down the mountain, following the route they had taken up. Coming up, they had a mission, and the sky had been gradually darkening, filling Song Linlin and Zhang San with considerable fear.
Now, the mission was successfully resolved, that Moon Poison Scorpion had long since fled somewhere unknown, and it was daytime. Song Linlin felt this journey down had the feeling of a spring outing2.
By the time they returned to the town, there was still quite a while before the agreed time with the boatman. They only re-boarded the ferry after finishing lunch.
When the trio returned to Yunxin City again, it was already the morning of another day. Song Linlin felt very uncomfortable having not bathed for two days. As soon as they disembarked, she immediately took the others to rent two rooms at an inn again. Once the inn staff had prepared hot water and adjusted the temperature, Song Linlin immediately soaked herself in it.
Soaking in the hot water, Song Linlin exposed only her head above the surface, her whole body relaxing in the warmth as she began to contemplate her next plans.
Their main task for coming down the mountain this time was actually already completed—they had successfully gathered the Purple Mist Leaf, and they had also done some sightseeing along the way.
However, just returning like this was definitely impossible. The external mission Song Linlin had accepted from the Affairs Hall hadn’t been done yet; she had to complete that mission.
Song Linlin silently calculated the time spent off the mountain. Today was already the fifth day since they descended. The opening of the Mirror Moon Secret Realm was about half a month long. Adding the travel time to and from Guanzhong from the sect, the calculation meant that Ye Tingran and the others should be back in about twenty days. At the same time, Zhang San’s grandfather would definitely be coming over too.
A few days ago, Song Linlin had followed Zhang San to study alchemy for seven days. Unfortunately, she lacked the talent and ultimately chose to retreat in the face of difficulty. Another five days had passed during this trip down the mountain.
Zhang San had basically snuck down the mountain with Song Linlin, so she naturally had to return to the sect a few days before her grandfather came back, otherwise, there was a risk of being discovered.
Calculating it this way, Song Linlin realized they didn’t have many days left on this trip before they had to go back. She needed to hurry up and complete that sect mission.
Feeling the pressure, Song Linlin couldn’t afford the thought of slacking off. She didn’t soak for long before getting out of the pool, changing into clean clothes, and dragging Chi Qianning and Zhang San out the door with her.
She first went to the apothecary that had previously told her the location of the Purple Mist Leaf. The middle-aged Shopkeeper recognized Song Linlin when she arrived.
The middle-aged man clearly hadn’t expected Song Linlin to successfully obtain Purple Mist Leaf in just two or three days. He thought she was here to inquire about further information, sitting calmly in his chair and taking a sip of tea. “Young lady, have you come today to ask about something?”
“No.”
Song Linlin shook her head. She put down the two bamboo baskets she was carrying. Only then did the middle-aged man notice she had brought things with her. His gaze swept into the baskets, and the man who had been calmly sipping tea now nearly spat it out.
He shot up abruptly, looking at the two baskets full of Purple Mist Leaf, his face a mask of shock. “Th-th-this…”
“Is this all Purple Mist Leaf? So much?!” The middle-aged man’s face was aghast.
“Not all.”
Song Linlin shook her head. Back in the Moon Poison Scorpion’s cave, she and Zhang San hadn’t been picky, harvesting everything they saw. It was just that Purple Mist Leaf was the most numerous. Zhang San didn’t need that much, simply taking a small amount, and giving the rest entirely to Song Linlin. Song Linlin had no use for this stuff, so naturally, she wanted to sell it all now.
“There’s also some Thousand-Renom Poison Ginseng3 and Profound Yin Flower in here, but Purple Mist Leaf is the most plentiful.”
These strange names were naturally told to Song Linlin by Zhang San. Song Linlin didn’t know much about medicinal herbs, but since they grew in the Moon Poison Scorpion’s lair, she figured they probably weren’t common goods.
“Hiss—”
The apothecary Shopkeeper couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath. Those latter two herbs were also rare poisonous plants, expensive, even more valuable than Purple Mist Leaf. His way of looking at Song Linlin now was completely different.
Previously, he had just thought Song Linlin was a fledgling4 novice and casually told her the location of the Purple Mist Leaf, never expecting her to succeed. But looking at the situation now, it seemed this person had directly emptied out the Moon Poison Scorpion’s entire lair!
Song Linlin didn’t yet know she had become such a formidable figure in others’ eyes. Right now, she just wanted to get the money and leave quickly; she still had to hurry up the mountain later to do the sect mission.
The middle-aged man didn’t dare to be neglectful. He immediately ordered his subordinate to fetch a large quantity of Spirit Stones and personally handed them to Song Linlin. This was a batch of higher-quality Spirit Stones; a single one was equivalent to a hundred ordinary ones.
Song Linlin accepted the money, surprised that these medicinal materials were actually worth so much. But time waited for no one; she didn’t have time to marvel, immediately running out of the shop.
After finishing all their business and staying in Yunxin City for another half day, Song Linlin finally led Chi Qianning and Zhang San back inside the Xuanyun Sect. There was news that the Mirror Moon Secret Realm was also ending today; it was estimated that the group who went out should be returning to the sect within two or three days.
The author has something to say:
This is sort of a transition chapter, speeding through the end of the plotline off the mountain. I remembered that the previous Chapter 51 was revised many times, but I saved the original version. My Weibo name is written in my profile description; those interested can go take a look~
Footnotes
- 午时 | wǔ shí | Hour of the Horse; 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM in the traditional Chinese time system.
- 踏青 | tàqīng | Lit. “tread the green”; Traditional custom of an outing in spring.
- 千仞毒参 | Qiānrèn Dúshēn | Thousand-Renom Poison Ginseng (Renom is an ancient measure of height/depth).
- 初出茅庐 | chū chū máolú | Lit. “first time out of the thatched cottage”; Refers to someone young and inexperienced, a novice.
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