Behind her, a faint whistling sound suddenly arose. A sharp pain shot through her lower back, as if struck by something pointed. Her waist trembled, and suddenly she felt her arms could move again.

She was facing the kitchen directly. Across from her, the elderly woman took out flint to light a fire, igniting kindling that she was about to stuff into the stove.

Without thinking, she immediately waved her hand.

“Crack.” The clean vegetables sitting on the stove counter suddenly fell to the ground, and several vegetable leaves flew into the stove chamber. Among them, one wet leaf landed right on top of the ignited kindling, and she watched as the dark red sparks on the kindling slowly died out.

The elderly woman stared dumbfounded at those vegetable leaves—how could they fall to the ground for no reason? And after falling, how could they still fly into the stove chamber?

She had no choice but to quickly pull the leaves out, as wet vegetable leaves in the stove chamber wouldn’t catch fire.

As her hand reached in to pull them out, she let out a sharp scream.

“There’s someone here!”

Jing Hengbo let out a long breath.

She had won.

Only then did she feel the coldness on her back, already soaked through with cold sweat.

The elderly woman pulled out a small girl with blackened eyebrows and soot-covered eyes from the stove chamber—it was Yong Xue. Her frame was small and thin, and the rural mud stove was quite large, so hiding in the stove chamber, people outside couldn’t see her at all.

Jing Hengbo thought about how this little girl had almost been burned by a fire, and secretly vowed that someday she would definitely stuff that shameless old man viciously into a stove chamber as well.

No, she’d cook him directly in a pot!

The moment Yong Xue was pulled out, her body relaxed, she could move again, and she could speak again.

Her lower back still burned with pain, but her heart was full of gratitude. If not for this person’s help, perhaps Yong Xue wouldn’t have been burned to death, but being stuffed in the dark stove chamber for too long and then having her hair singed or something, leaving shadows or scars at such a young age would be terrible.

She felt that with Purple Micro Superior’s personality, at most he’d think life was more important, but as for harm, shadows, setbacks, psychological care—in his view, these were all bullshit. He lived to create shadows for others; why would he care what shadows you might be left with?

On this Seven Peaks Mountain, there was no soil for delicate flowers to survive, only training for comedic characters, scoundrels, and masters who appeared comedic and roguish on the surface but were actually iron-hearted inside.

Virtues like kindness, protection, tolerance, and respecting teachers and valuing the Way were scorned here, while those who repaid tooth for tooth, were full of cunning schemes, rebellious, and ignored rules were more popular.

The paralysis on her body gradually faded, and she didn’t know what method that old immortal had used to detoxify from a distance. Jing Hengbo let out a series of cold chuckles.

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river—today this old lady was played by you, but once I’ve learned all your skills, this old lady will put you on a leash to play with!

Over there in the tree, an empty wine jug fell down. She decided to find the best wine to send to Ying Bai tomorrow.

“Starting tomorrow, you two will go learn martial arts from Seven Kill and Tian Qi. No matter what you can learn, you must have self-protection abilities.” She gazed intently at the ash-covered Zirui and Yong Xue. “We’re going to the most complex and difficult-to-survive Blackwater Marsh. If you don’t even have one or two self-protection abilities, then stay forever in the small town below Seven Peaks Mountain and get married!”

She wasn’t afraid of hurting their self-esteem, nor was she afraid of being impolite with these words. Some things, if not said clearly, would lead to regret later. Originally, she had clearly felt uneasy about Jing Jun, but because of soft-heartedness and pity, she had let it pass. From now on, when matters concerned life and death, she would never be soft-hearted again.

If they couldn’t grow, then they should stay behind and marry. She truly thought this way—no one should become anyone else’s burden.

Zirui and Yong Xue knelt down together, without saying another word, they knocked their heads heavily on the ground. “Your Majesty, rest assured, we will definitely learn! If they won’t teach us, we’ll steal and learn!”

Jing Hengbo nodded. She knew that learning martial arts in the martial world had strict rules—techniques should not be lightly taught to non-disciples. So she hadn’t suggested Pei Shu or Ying Bai, only the rule-breaking Seven Kill and Tian Qi, who had no martial arts sect affiliation, might possibly help Zirui and Yong Xue.

She had also wanted those two to learn martial arts before, but as genuine ancient women, most had no interest in learning martial arts. Zirui only wanted to be a good female official, to manage palace affairs for her after she became queen. Yong Xue only wanted to be a good little cook. But these were all future matters. If she couldn’t even become queen, couldn’t even preserve her life, where would there be female officials and cooks?

Cui Jie’s death was forever a pain in her heart. Her knees that could never be warmed again in this lifetime—she was unwilling to have companions’ corpses lying on them again.

Seven Kill had some unique esoteric arts that didn’t require martial arts foundation, all of which could be learned. Moreover, she discovered that Zirui had very good eyesight and hearing, while Yong Xue seemed to have a beast-like intuition. But this kind of intuition might not necessarily be the type that predicted danger; it was more about judging human nature.

There were no true wastes in this world, only people who didn’t strive for progress.

She suddenly remembered Taishi Lan’s words. At the time, she had scoffed at them, laughingly saying that being able to be a waste from beginning to end was true fortune, because you had a superior environment and people who loved you, so you didn’t need to strive.

Since they didn’t have this fortune, they could only fight for it.

“That old immortal Purple Micro,” she said, “is narcissistic and especially protective of his hair. Remember this—from now on, always carry fire starters with you. If this old bastard ever tries to use you to threaten me again, you burn off his bird feathers. Don’t worry about burning your own faces—however much you burn, I’ll burn that much of his later.”

In the distance, someone in a tree touched his own long flowing hair and quickly tucked it into his robes.

The seven comedic characters whispered and snickered among themselves, faces full of schadenfreude, but they soon couldn’t laugh anymore.

“Qi Yi’s ghost-driving fake death technique most hates Er Lu’s bug manipulation. Er Lu’s bugs are often killed by Si Si’s medicines. Shan Wu’s puppet technique can’t be properly deployed when encountering Wu Shan’s sandalwood singing. Wu Shan’s sandalwood singing most fears Lu Er’s dream parasites. Lu Er’s dream parasites fear Yi Qi’s soul-splitting technique…”

Listening to Jing Hengbo’s endless stream, the Seven Kill stared at each other in bewilderment, nudging each other with their elbows.

“Hey, how does she know this?”

“Hey, I haven’t performed it many times, have I?”

“Hey, I haven’t even performed the dream parasite technique!”

“If you haven’t even performed it, how does she know what counters it?”

“Hehe, Third loves talking in his sleep, right?”

“You’re saying she listens to dream talk at night? Ah ah ah, why doesn’t she come listen to me? Every day I dream of expressing deep feelings to her…”

“Congratulations to you. If she came to listen to you, you might already be a eunuch.”

…

“I say…” a voice suddenly spoke leisurely. The seven comedic characters immediately shut up, looking at the person who spoke with dodging, shifty, yet malicious glances.

“The girl you brought back this time is very interesting…” someone combed his precious hair, eyes flashing with light, “I want to properly entertain her…”

The seven comedic characters all shivered in unison.

…

In the courtyard, the elderly woman called for dinner. Jing Hengbo took Zirui and Yong Xue to eat, not bothering to look at the tree where people were trembling like mental patients.

She knew that group of idiots was there—she had deliberately said it for them to hear.

The more challenging it was, the more it could arouse the idiots’ interest. She believed that now if she wanted to go down the mountain, Purple Micro would chase after her demanding to play.

There were many people, so they cooked in a big pot. Most people consciously served themselves rice, took some vegetables, and went outside to eat, leaving the table and chairs for Jing Hengbo and her two companions.

Jing Hengbo also held a large bowl, but didn’t sit on a chair. She walked to the center of the courtyard, looked up to see there was no tree shade overhead, then squatted down to eat.

Zirui and Yong Xue didn’t understand why she wouldn’t sit on a stool when there was one available, wouldn’t stay under the eaves or tree shade to avoid the wind, and insisted on squatting in this open courtyard with no shelter on all sides. Soon they understood.

Those sitting on stools to eat—their stools quickly collapsed.

Those squatting on doorsteps to eat—the doorsteps broke.

Those eating under the eaves—tiles fell from the eaves.

Those eating under tree shade—many unidentifiable objects fell from the trees.

Before they were halfway through the meal, a pile of men lay scattered across the courtyard.

Zirui and Yong Xue stared in shock. Jing Hengbo buried her head in her rice without looking up, eating quickly. She had a premonition that the old bastard wouldn’t give her a chance to eat comfortably here.

Sure enough, when she had barely eaten seventy percent full, a pair of underwear floated down from overhead.

Zirui and Yong Xue stared in shock at the underwear—obviously men’s, with what appeared to be suspicious white and yellow stains on it. Such underwear really didn’t give the two girls courage to reach out and catch it.

A hand reached out, calmly catching the underwear.

A voice from above suddenly said, “Hesitation in receiving orders, minus one point.”

Zirui and Yong Xue looked at each other in bewilderment.

Jing Hengbo ignored them, spreading out the underwear in her hands. The underwear was densely covered with characters, written in truly flying dragons and dancing phoenixes with supernatural craftsmanship. She said, “Zirui, you read it.”

In the past, Zirui would certainly have been embarrassed, but now she immediately moved closer. After looking for a few moments, her expression changed, and she said in a low voice, “Ah… it’s an exam paper.”

Jing Hengbo now also recognized it—what was written on the underwear was actually an exam paper.

It began with several hundred flowery words giving Purple Micro Superior nauseatingly fawning praise, then stated that as such an earth-shaking, ghost-weeping, unprecedented, unparalleled genius, he naturally couldn’t casually treat anyone who came up the mountain seeking medical help, as that wouldn’t show his class and worth. Therefore, from the moment Jing Hengbo and her subordinates entered the Seven Peaks Mountain range, all their behaviors would be included in assessment items and scored. The base score was one hundred points. After half a year, if the total score was above seventy points, he could detoxify Jing Hengbo and also detoxify Pei Shu and his subordinates. If the total score was below seventy points, hehehe, Purple Micro Superior was kind-hearted and wouldn’t kill people, but Jing Hengbo and her people shouldn’t think of leaving either. Purple Micro Superior had recently had a great idea—he wanted to dig through the mountain belly of Seven Peaks Mountain to build roads, and he needed a batch of strong workers. They should stay and help Superior dig mountain caves. After digging for about a hundred years, when it was pretty much finished, they could go wherever they wanted, mwah.

Hearing this, Jing Hengbo thought this old guy might also be a transmigrator. How else could he think of digging tunnels for transportation? This was indeed a great plan, but if this plan required her to do it personally, then forget it.

After this disgusting passage came various scoring items. Sure enough, scores had already been listed.

The scores were listed like this:

Jing Hengbo’s subordinates showed initiative in the mid-mountain construction competition, plus one point.

Jing Hengbo’s analysis of the nursery rhyme by the pond showed wisdom, plus half a point.

Jing Hengbo wasn’t frightened by the female ghost at midnight, showing courage, plus one point.

Jing Hengbo successfully broke the formation while searching for people down the mountain, plus one point.

These contents were all written in the crotch area, where there were still some suspicious stains emitting an ambiguous odor, and the characters were very small. Poor Zirui had to lean close and strain to read them. Seeing they were all plus points, she couldn’t help but beam with joy.

Jing Hengbo sighed, not having the heart to remind her of the cruel facts that followed.

Deduction items:

Jing Hengbo’s subordinates didn’t belong to the same camp and were even somewhat hostile, yet when sleeping at night they were completely unguarded and didn’t arrange anyone for night watch. Er Lu had to sleep on someone before they noticed. As subordinates, their vigilance was too poor, unqualified, minus ten points.

Jing Hengbo attempted to leave after entering the mountain, lacking courage to accept challenges, minus ten points.

Zirui and Yong Xue were easily captured, completely lacking vigilance, unqualified, minus ten points.

Er Gouzi went to challenge White Eagle and returned in crushing defeat, poor judgment, minus three points.

The subordinates weren’t vigilant enough while eating, minus three points.

When the underwear fell, Zirui and Yong Xue found it dirty and didn’t catch it, minus three points.

When Jing Hengbo rescued Yong Xue, Ying Bai helped, cheating, minus twenty points.

The underwear fluttered down from the dumbstruck Zirui’s hands. Yong Xue quickly caught it, afraid that if she were a step slower and the underwear fell to the ground, more points would be deducted.

Jing Hengbo calculated—damn, up to now she had gained three and a half points but lost fifty-nine points. She could already take her subordinates to dig caves.

This wasn’t an exam—this was a scam.

After this scamming exam paper, the benevolent Purple Micro Superior also told Jing Hengbo that during her stay on the mountain, if she participated properly in the exams, the toxicity in her and her subordinates could be controlled. For example, today when she kicked through the wall to find Zirui, the crystal poison that temporarily paralyzed her was actually part of the medicine to suppress her toxicity. These antidotes would randomly appear in various assessment items.

Jing Hengbo thought this was just like leveling up, fighting monsters, farming equipment, and clearing stages.

“What should we do? How can we earn back the points?” Zirui and Yong Xue felt very guilty about the points lost because of themselves and began calculating what they could do to gain points.

Another pair of underwear floated down from the sky. This time, the two pure and innocent girls pounced on it like wolves to snatch the man’s underwear.

Jing Hengbo rested her chin on her hand watching, thinking that indeed only pressure and competition could change a person fastest.

The underwear first stated that washing the previous pair of underwear cleanly at the fastest speed could earn points. One-tenth of a point.

Though the points gained were pitifully few, one-tenth of a point was still a point. Zirui grabbed the underwear at the fastest speed to wash it, while Yong Xue was very dejected.

After that came multiple choice questions. Jing Hengbo could rest for half a month first, then choose from the following options to do as she pleased.

First: Enter the dense forest deep valley of Seven Peaks’ main peak and fight with various fierce beasts inside. Each fierce beast would have corresponding point rewards. Based on ferocity level, Jing Hengbo could first choose lower-scoring beasts to earn points, ranging from one to ten points.

Second: Within the entire range of Seven Peaks Mountain, find Purple Micro Superior’s real residence and obtain a pair of his clean underwear. This could earn five points. This option had annotations in different handwriting, indicating this option was very tricky because the Seven Kill members hadn’t been able to figure out where their master actually lived after all these years. Also, even finding his residence was useless because he never washed his underwear.

Third: Go down the mountain to Seven Peaks Town for shopping. She could bring one person, but couldn’t bring money, couldn’t borrow money, couldn’t buy on credit, couldn’t exchange with any valuable items, couldn’t use force, and couldn’t use any threatening, coercive, or violent methods. She had to buy rice, grain, vegetables, and other daily necessities from down the mountain. Complete within one day—the faster and better the completion, the higher the score, with a maximum of five points. But if caught cheating, twenty points would be deducted.

This option also had Seven Kill annotations, stating this was the damn hardest one. The townspeople of Seven Peaks Town, though they loved them very much, loved them too much. All people coming down from Seven Peaks Mountain were objects of their “fierce love,” and the townspeople were very tough, very tough…

Currently, there were only these three options. They were formulated based on Jing Hengbo’s current abilities. Purple Micro Superior said that when he felt Jing Hengbo could handle higher-level tasks, naturally there would be higher-scoring questions available.

Jing Hengbo was too lazy to complain about this unfair exam paper. Anyway, gaining points was always little by little, while losing points was always lots and lots. If you wanted to fail, it would happen in minutes.

“Which one to choose?” Yong Xue was very nervous because the underwear said that for every half-quarter hour of consideration time exceeded, points would be deducted.

Jing Hengbo didn’t hesitate: “The third one.”

Rather than fighting with wild beasts of unknown strength, searching for caves in completely unfamiliar mountain paths, or looking for a pair of underwear that couldn’t possibly be clean, it was better to first deal with people. This was what she was good at.

After staying for a while, when her strength had improved somewhat and she had some understanding of Seven Peaks Mountain’s terrain and fierce beasts, the first two questions would also be relatively easier to handle.

“Which companion to pick?”

“Take me!” A figure flashed, and Pei Shu appeared from nowhere, looking impatient. “Grandpa can’t stand this godforsaken place where birds don’t lay eggs. Grandpa will take you down the mountain to burn, kill, and plunder!”

“Get lost!” Jing Hengbo kicked him over and looked at the darkening sky. She called out loudly, “We’ll talk about it later!”

There was no sound from above, presumably agreeing. Jing Hengbo returned to her lodging and immediately saw that the bark had been stripped from the big banyan tree at the mountain dwelling’s entrance, and the underwear rules had been carved onto it. The titled school captains and Pei Shu’s subordinates were all crowded together looking at it, their faces ashamed.

Jing Hengbo returned to the mountain. This time no one was waiting to serve her. Zirui was repeatedly washing underwear, hanging it high to dry in the mountain wind when clean, afraid that leaving any traces would result in point deductions.

This kind of pressure—”your poor performance leading to point deductions would cause others to lose their way out”—was really too enormous. Young girls’ tender shoulders couldn’t bear it. Even Zirui, who was used to luxury and comfort, had a tense expression, while Yong Xue directly abandoned the cooking and told Jing Hengbo to eat dry rations, then went off to find Tian Qi to learn skills.

Jing Hengbo had no choice but to eat dry rations with no appetite. After eating, she cleaned up herself, boiled water, and also boiled water for Zirui and Yong Xue.

After transmigrating, though she had faced many ups and downs, she had always lived a precious and noble life. Even when fleeing, there were people to serve her. But from now on, she knew the good days were truly over.

She couldn’t worry about so much. After finishing her tasks, she lay down to sleep. This time she didn’t find the mountain wind noisy and hard to sleep with. She quickly fell into dreams. In the middle of the night, she vaguely heard what seemed like sounds in the distance, but was too lazy to open her eyes.

For the following half month, she and Zirui and Yong Xue were all busy with various studying and training, familiarizing themselves with the terrain, and even finding and storing food, in case they were trapped by the old witch at any time.

This day, she was awakened while it was still dim. Opening her eyes drowsily, the first thing she saw was the dark sky, almost thinking she hadn’t slept yet.

But Zirui nervously said, “Master, get up! There’s an exam today! If we’re late getting up, what if points are deducted?”

Jing Hengbo wanted to say, “Damn, this also gets points deducted?” But thinking about it, with Purple Micro Superior’s scamming personality, it really was possible. This exam was an extremely unfair exam because all the rules were set by one person according to his whims and could be changed at any time. What’s more, the person presiding was a black-hearted, shameless old witch.

She had no choice but to get up and bring Er Gouzi and Feifei, preparing to go down the mountain. The old witch said she could only bring one person—Er Gouzi and Feifei didn’t count as people.

Er Gouzi was listless, his small mung bean eyes seemed to have some astigmatism, and looking carefully, his fur had also thinned considerably. Ever since finding a little brother and mistakenly finding White Eagle, he had been in this condition. Jing Hengbo felt slightly guilty, understanding that this guy’s current state was inseparable from herself. But when she said White Eagle was a sparrow, was that really calling it a sparrow? Lord Dog’s poor eyesight—he deserved it.

“Ying Bai! Ying Bai!” She called for Ying Bai while walking. She had considered it—among this group of people, only Ying Bai was somewhat reliable, though a drunkard’s image actually wasn’t conducive to neighborly relations either.

Ying Bai didn’t respond. She went to look in his room—no one there. This early in the morning, where had he gone?

She called for Tian Qi again, still no response. She had no choice but to go down the mountain herself. At mid-mountain she hitched a cart. The mid-mountain house had already been built, with many materials piled up. These were things she had quietly transported from Tianhui Valley, which had just arrived yesterday. She was preparing to hand them over to the craftsmen brought from the Zhanyu tribe to start manufacturing the Tianxing treasure boats.

Jing Hengbo planned to make Seven Peaks Mountain her technical base, with the weapon-making workshops staying here for maximum safety. After teaching those craftsmen some techniques, Yin Wuxin had already returned to his sect halfway through the journey. Having these craftsmen was sufficient.

Jing Hengbo found a titled school captain’s personal soldier to drive the cart. Just as she sat down, another person appeared beside her. As soon as he sat down, he impatiently said, “Move over, your woman’s ass is too big. Taking up so much space.” After moving her aside, he then smoothly tried to prop his long legs on her legs.

Jing Hengbo slapped those legs away with one palm. “Passenger refused! Get off!”

“Stinking woman!” Pei Shu glared angrily. “Are you challenging my patience?”

“This fish pond has been contracted by me! Go next door if you want to be a CEO!”

“I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Pei Shu muttered, yawning. “Stop making a fuss. I have business in town. Once we arrive, I’ll go my separate way. I’m going to sleep for a while—don’t disturb me.”

After speaking, he closed his eyes and actually fell asleep.

Sigh, how could he not sleep? Last night he spent half the night luring Ying Bai away, then spent the other half of the night “talking about life and ideals” with Tian Qi, talking until that guy was blushing like peach blossoms and voluntarily gave up the competition.

To fight for a chance to be alone with this damn woman, he had endured nausea to praise a transvestite, saying “you are graceful and elegant, you should indeed be a woman.” Was it easy for him?

Jing Hengbo gestured and gestured for a long time, but ultimately didn’t throw him out.

Sigh, actually, though this guy was domineering, fierce, arrogant and conceited, deep down he was actually the most innocent. Among all the remarkable people Jing Hengbo had interacted with since transmigrating, the most natural and comfortable to get along with was Tie Xingze, but the most relaxed and carefree was Pei Shu.

The young commander was actually quite adorable.

She thought about getting along with Yélu Qi again, always feeling surrounded by a mysterious and ambiguous atmosphere. His gaze, his smile, all seemed to be filled with unspeakable emotions and hints. Walking beside him was like being surrounded by that seemingly distant but actually intimate feeling—not scorching, but sticky and lingering, so much so that she always had to remind herself to remember proper boundaries and distance. Otherwise, if she wasn’t careful, she’d be wrapped up by those dense, clinging threads into his omnipresent web.

Ying Bai was like a refreshing wind, sweeping past you. He seemed not to care about you, and you didn’t care about him either, but that wind would suddenly carry you along for a stretch.

The Seven Kill were noisy and boisterous, like a piece of dramatic music, comparable to the divine song “Uneasy”—it sounded annoying at first, but after listening more, it became quite interesting. If you went too long without hearing it, you’d feel like something was missing.

Tian Qi’s gender was ambiguous, like a cloud of mist, hazy and moist. Whether you approached or moved away, it was all the same—he had no substance to begin with.

All these people had their own characteristics, yet the truly unforgettable feeling was still that person—his clear and cold embrace, his distant and aloof posture, his far and remote distance. Back then, he had given her continuous and dense longing, long and lasting peace of mind.

Only later did she understand that it was actually different. The feelings with others were what others gave her, but the feeling with him was her own.

Her heart suddenly ached, disrupting her breathing. She turned away to look at the mountain scenery and saw that Pei Shu was breathing deeply, already fast asleep.

The carriage was bumpy. He had originally been sitting against the carriage wall, but gradually leaned toward her shoulder.

Jing Hengbo pushed his head away with one palm.

After a while, his head leaned over again.

Jing Hengbo pushed it away again.

After another while, he leaned over again. The carriage jolted at this moment, his body shook, and his whole person was about to fall onto her knees.

Jing Hengbo simply stretched out her foot and pressed him against the opposite carriage wall.

This kick was not polite at all, because she was convinced that Pei Shu was pretending to sleep. Would a great master sleep so deeply that he was unconscious? This was clearly a trick commonly used by perverts on public transportation.

Her action was quite trampling. She had originally thought that the hot-tempered and male chauvinist Pei Shu would definitely be unable to resist opening his eyes and flying into a rage, or even fighting might be possible. Who knew that guy really leaned against the carriage wall, half his body hanging outside the carriage, and his eyes still didn’t open.

Moreover, he even let out light snoring sounds.

Jing Hengbo was puzzled—it really didn’t seem like he was pretending!

She leaned closer to look at Pei Shu. This guy’s eyelashes hung deeply, looking deeply asleep. Looking closely, she could see that his eyelashes were actually curled and upturned, truly dense like fans. Jing Hengbo had only seen such adorable and beautiful eyelashes online in her modern world.

His skin was delicate and smooth. Only when looking closely could you discover its perfection—truly without a single spot or flaw. Sheep’s milk couldn’t match its warm refinement and beauty, beautiful jade couldn’t match its snow-white perfection. Under his skin showed a rosy color like sunset clouds, as exquisite as a porcelain figure touched with rouge.

Some people had naturally good conditions that made others jealous. Even years of torment and suffering couldn’t change their appearance.

The only slight imperfection was that Pei Shu had large dark circles under his eyes. When his complexion was gray before, it wasn’t noticeable, but looking now it was very obvious.

This guy’s sleeping posture, being able to sleep soundly while squeezed in a corner of the carriage, was exactly like someone who hadn’t slept well in years.

Jing Hengbo gazed at him, a faint feeling of pity rising in her heart. Regarding Pei Shu, because she knew his experiences, she had a feeling of shared misfortune. Though she didn’t show it on her face, deep in her heart, she had a feeling of looking at him like a younger brother.

Pei Shu should be older than her, having long been famous, but his innocence and straightforwardness that remained unchanged despite experiencing storms made her feel mistakenly that he still needed someone to take care of him. Perhaps this young commander who was famous throughout the world had once focused only on studying military strategy and only knew how to fight wars. Regarding human relationships and worldly affairs, he never understood and disdained to understand.

Even his fierce and violent nature was honestly endearing.

She thought about it and finally helped him sit up straight, pulling out a blanket from the spare box in the carriage and covering him with it. As soon as the blanket fell, that guy hugged it and turned over, clamping the blanket between his legs, and conveniently rested his long legs comfortably on Jing Hengbo’s legs.

Jing Hengbo wanted to push again, but his light snoring sounds sounded so content. This guy really seemed to be having a rare relaxing sleep. Jing Hengbo suddenly remembered that she had vaguely heard Tian Qi complaining before, saying that Pei Shu often didn’t sleep and wandered around in the middle of the night. Sometimes when going out to relieve himself at night, he’d suddenly see him and get startled.

Forget it, she’d settle accounts with him after he slept well.

Pei Shu hugged the blanket and turned over again, his expression satisfied. Jing Hengbo maliciously wondered whether she should have Zirui make him a toy pillow to hug while sleeping. What shape would be good? Cucumber? Chrysanthemum?

Pei Shu didn’t sleep for too long. After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze so clear it was as if he had never entered deep sleep, startling Jing Hengbo.

He stared at the carriage roof for a while, then suddenly said, “So comfortable… it’s been a long time since I slept like this.”

“Do you have insomnia?”

“No.” Pei Shu was silent for a long time before slowly saying, “The valley is full of swamps everywhere. The mountains and swamp bottoms could have evil beasts appearing at any time. Many move silently, swift as wind. They might appear in any corner, so even when taking turns on night watch, you can’t sleep too deeply. Especially as the leader, I have more responsibility to protect my subordinates. In those years in the valley, I never slept a complete sleep.”

Jing Hengbo thought about the environment of Tianhui Valley—it was indeed harsh. She hadn’t encountered wild beasts on her way because she spent a short time in the valley and had some luck.

“Couldn’t you sleep well after coming out?”

Pei Shu snorted. “With so many people whose allegiances are unclear, how could I sleep?”

Jing Hengbo expressed understanding. Someone like him who had suffered great disasters, whose beliefs and trust had been destroyed, would find it hard to trust others again. Here, the Seven Kill, Ying Bai, and Tian Qi weren’t his friends but masters who posed threats to him. The titled school captains were old enemies. How could he sleep peacefully?

Her heart stirred—Pei Shu had been unable to sleep peacefully all along, but now he had run into her carriage and slept soundly. Did this mean he only trusted her?

Jing Hengbo scratched her face, thinking to herself, wasn’t she the one he should find most inappropriate?

Before she could say anything, Pei Shu closed his eyes and fell asleep again, as if determined to catch up on sleep beside her. Jing Hengbo watched him sleep so sweetly and felt quite jealous. She really wanted to sing “Uneasy,” but in the end helped him pull the blanket up higher.

Even in his dreams, Pei Shu seemed to know her actions and slightly revealed a smile. Jing Hengbo stared at him curiously—the young commander actually had dimples when he smiled!

However, this time Pei Shu had only closed his eyes for a moment when there was a thunderous crash and the carriage shook to a stop.

“What happened?” Jing Hengbo lifted the carriage curtain. The personal soldier driving turned around and said, “Someone suddenly kicked a big stone over and it’s stuck under our wheel.”

Jing Hengbo looked down and saw a considerable stone stuck under the front wheel, with the axle already damaged.

This stone was as big as a washbasin. To kick it over and get it stuck under the wheel wasn’t something an ordinary person could do.

“What’s this about for no reason…” Before Jing Hengbo could finish speaking, people on the street ahead were already shouting, “The Seven Evil’s carriage!”

“We saw it last time!”

“The Seven Evil are here again!”

“Close the doors!”

Before the shouting ended, the street reenacted the scene from when they passed through last time—people swept into their homes like wind, doors slammed shut one by one with bang bang bang sounds, young ladies and young wives screamed and fled frantically, leaving various shoes and boots scattered on the ground.

After a bout of well-trained chaos with chickens flying and dogs jumping, in the blink of an eye, it was again a scene of debris everywhere and closed doors throughout the street.

Jing Hengbo stood at the street entrance, staring dumbfounded at what lay ahead. What earth-shattering evil deeds had the Seven Kill committed? Just a carriage that had passed through once could make the townspeople remember it—this destructive power was unmatched.

Now there was trouble. With all the doors closed, how could they buy rice and grain? Not to mention at the lowest prices.

Jing Hengbo was stunned for three seconds when she suddenly heard a thunderous roar of anger from behind her: “What is this!”

The awakened Pei Shu had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.

His natural killing intent made this shout so startling that the entire long street became even quieter. Hearing his voice, Jing Hengbo’s heart stirred. She grabbed Pei Shu, who was about to jump down, and whispered, “Pei Pei, let’s put on an act!”

“What for?” Pei Shu was in a bad mood.

“We can’t go down the mountain as friends of the Seven Kill. Their reputation is too bad. Look, you haven’t shown yourself yet. You can perfectly play one of the Seven Kill’s people. I’ll play a good woman who was captured up the mountain and is trying to escape. You chase me, I rush into the town. The common people deeply detest the Seven Kill—the enemy of my enemy is my friend. They’ll accept me.”

“No way!” Pei Shu flatly refused. “I’m such a world-conquering hero—how can I play an evil man who forcibly abducts women!”

Jing Hengbo was about to knock some sense into him with a chestnut when she heard him continue with righteous indignation: “…Chasing a fleeing wife would be more like it!”

“Fine, fine, chasing a fleeing wife.” Jing Hengbo was too lazy to argue with him. It was all acting anyway.

“Hey! Where do you think you’re running!” Before the words were finished, before Jing Hengbo had even taken a step, Pei Shu reached out and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back into his arms. He spread his arms wide, very satisfied as he hugged her tightly.

“Are you trying to die!” Jing Hengbo was furious, slapping him with her back hand. “The director hasn’t called action yet, and you’re already acting! Now that you’ve caught me, how can we continue the scene? Let go quickly!”

“Oh, is that so?” Pei Shu reluctantly released her, his eyes roaming around her waist several times. “Your waist is really thin, thinner than all the ones I’ve hugged…”

“Shut up!” Jing Hengbo quickly cut off his disgusting comparison, shook out her hair, and shouted, “Action!”

As soon as her voice came out, she started running outward, shouting as she ran: “Help… help…”

Pei Shu got very into character and immediately chased after her, shouting loudly: “You shameless woman, how dare you betray me and mess around with that Bai Ying! You’ve angered me to death! Tonight I’m definitely going to catch you and battle with you for three hundred rounds…”

Er Gouzi also flew down from the carriage roof, joining the commotion with loud barks: “The garden’s spring beauty cannot be contained, one branch of big waves has come out over the wall!”

Jing Hengbo wanted to vomit blood.

What was this nonsense?

Who was Bai Ying? Ying Bai? What kind of combination was this?

And what did “battle for three hundred rounds” mean?

Very misleading, wasn’t it!

At this point, she couldn’t turn back to correct someone’s completely mismatched lines. She could only secretly swear that if she ever acted opposite Pei Shu again, she would definitely write his lines for him first. His improvisation wasn’t even as good as a third-rate actor’s.

To put on an act, she couldn’t use instant movement. She ran forward with disheveled hair, stumbling and staggering. Behind her, the wind whooshed. That bastard wouldn’t slow down at all. In a few leaps, he bounded behind her and again grabbed her shoulder with his hand, touching it and saying very much in character: “Hey! Young lady’s shoulders are so slender!”

Jing Hengbo: “…”

The script was changed again?

With this behavior, he wouldn’t even qualify as an extra!

Forget it. Acting opposite this character would only get worse and worse. Better to make it quick.

She kicked Pei Shu in the shinbone and said in a low voice: “Get out of the way!” Pei Shu saw her fierce expression, snorted, and rolled away cooperatively. Jing Hengbo got up, saying urgently: “Wait until I run to where someone opens a door before you chase me! No more mistakes!” Then she turned and ran.

The two were so absorbed in their acting that they didn’t notice that at the road entrance, a convoy of carriages and horses was passing by. The carriage was plain with no visible markings. The people on the carriages and horses also looked like ordinary merchants. The only strange thing was that this group’s travel direction showed they weren’t planning to pass through the town.

Not stopping at the small town meant the other party was in a hurry to travel. From the dust covering the shoulders of the mounted knights, they indeed seemed to be traveling urgently.

The carriages rumbled past, just passing the street entrance. The people on horseback were attracted by the two chasing figures and all turned their gaze over.

The leading guard clearly saw the two people’s faces and showed a surprised expression—to encounter them like this by coincidence, then their master…

Sure enough, from that carriage with heavy curtains drawn came a voice.

“Stop.”

The carriage stopped. The curtain moved slightly, revealing a pair of eyes.

The eyes were deep black, cool as mountain peak snow and heavenly moon, the gaze like wind that had passed over an icy lake.

He glanced at Jing Hengbo’s stumbling figure rushing forward, then at Pei Shu chasing with a fierce and menacing appearance.

Strange emotions slowly surfaced in his eyes.

He flicked his finger, and a force shot out.

…