Sure enough, it took only half a day—faster even than Ziqing’s group.
From the first oasis in the Xijing desert, golden light burst forth from beneath the water’s surface. The tall one and short one landed on the shore, still not quite recovered, staring at Baili Weisheng with utterly worshipful eyes.
This man was simply incredible!
Baili Weisheng, carrying Jun Yaotiao over his shoulder, emerged slowly from the center of the lake, glowing head to toe in golden light. From a distance, he looked like some deity of the waters, magnificent and noble beyond compare.
“Boss, could he be the God of the Sea?”
“Could be.”
“Boss, I really admire him.”
“Me too.”
…
As the brothers talked, they found themselves, without even discussing it, dropping simultaneously to their knees before Baili Weisheng. “Great one, please accept us as your servants.”
Baili Weisheng looked down at them from on high, then suddenly burst out laughing. In an instant, the golden light faded, and his white robes returned—completely unlike the godlike figure of a moment ago. Right now, he looked exactly like a con artist dressed as a scholar, a big bad wolf in sheep’s—or rather, scholar’s—clothing.
“Stop dreaming. Hurry up and lead the way!”
The tall one and short one looked up and, sure enough, instantly snapped back to their senses.
“It’ll be dark soon, and it’s too dangerous to go over there now. Let’s wait until tomorrow,” the tall one said seriously. They were actually quite close to the bloodline clan’s territory now, and at night, the bloodline clan was at its most dangerous.
“Fine, we can rest here for the night. I’ll leave this brat with you two,” Baili Weisheng said, setting Jun Yaotiao down and turning to head back into the water.
“Hey! Wait a second!”
“Aren’t you her godfather? You’re responsible for her!”
The two brothers howled in protest, but Baili Weisheng’s figure had already vanished beneath the water.
Meanwhile, Jun Yaotiao’s hand twitched faintly. The tall one and short one, terrified, hid themselves away. Jun Yaotiao stirred groggily awake, feeling a sharp ache in her teeth, as if she’d been clenching them hard in her sleep.
She sat up, and seeing nothing but desert all around, with not a single person in sight, immediately scrambled to her feet and shouted, “Wretched scholar uncle! Where are you? Scholar uncle!”
“You’re the one who brought me here, aren’t you? Come out! If you don’t come out, my mother’s going to be angry!”
She called out several times, but got nothing back except the sound of wind and sand.
“Baili Weisheng! If you don’t come out, I’m telling my father!”
She was still a child, after all—even away from her parents, her heart hadn’t left them. Every other word out of her mouth was about her mother and father.
This was the first time Yaotiao had ever been separated from her parents, and she missed them terribly.
But soon she sat back down, her eyes reddening, though she didn’t cry. The desert night was bitterly cold, and she pulled the large outer robe tight around herself—only then did she notice that her whole body ached, every inch of her feeling as though it had been sliced with a knife.
Her eyes went wide, and carefully, she lifted her long sleeve—and was immediately horrified by what she saw on her arm!
How could this be!
There, on her arm, were rows of inch-long cuts, all over—not deep, and not terribly painful, but a chaotic, dense pattern covering every bit of skin!
Yaotiao’s face went deathly pale. She hurriedly pulled off her outer robe and lifted the other sleeve, only to find the same horrifying scars there—every wound had bled, the dried blood still clinging to her skin, though it had stopped flowing now.
Yaotiao’s small hands began to tremble. Gritting her teeth, she slowly reached for the hem of her skirt, grasping it for a long moment before finally lifting it.
There, on her legs…
“Waaah… Father, Mother, where are you!” She finally couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into loud, heartbroken sobs.
The tall one and short one watched, hearts aching.
“Boss, that Consort Li witch is truly awful.”
“No one should torment a little kid like this. Even the deepest grudge doesn’t excuse that.”
“Good thing she didn’t hurt her face, or the poor thing would’ve been disfigured.”
“But… she’s a girl, after all. How’s she supposed to get married someday, looking like this!”
…
As the two of them talked amongst themselves, Baili Weisheng had already emerged from the lake, unnoticed, and crouched down in front of Jun Yaotiao, carefully wiping away her tears.
Remarkably, Jun Yaotiao settled down at once, her crying stopping.
“Your mother never cries. Be strong, understand?” Baili Weisheng said seriously.
Jun Yaotiao nodded obediently, still sniffling.
“Consort Li’s existence has made your mother very unhappy, hasn’t it?” Baili Weisheng asked.
Jun Yaotiao, suddenly finding a kindred spirit, nodded firmly.
“When your mother’s unhappy, you’re unhappy too, aren’t you?” Baili Weisheng asked again.
Jun Yaotiao nodded again. “When brother’s unhappy, Mother’s unhappy, and Father’s unhappy too. We’ve never once had a New Year’s Eve dinner together as a family back home in the capital. Brother always leaves on New Year’s Day, and Mother always goes up to the highest mountain in the northern desert to look out. Brother’s life isn’t good at all, and Mother knows it, so Mother’s unhappy.”
Jun Yaotiao spoke with such earnestness that a flash of tender sympathy crossed Baili Weisheng’s eyes, gone as quickly as it appeared.
“Shall we kill Consort Li? Take our revenge?” Baili Weisheng continued.
“Yes!” Jun Yaotiao nodded immediately, without a second thought.
“Do you know that you’re just like your brother—you both have Sky Wolf fangs?” Baili Weisheng asked seriously.
Jun Yaotiao startled slightly, clearly having no memory of what had happened earlier. She reached up nervously, touching her own mouth.
Seeing this, Baili Weisheng smiled. “Once you grow up, you’ll be just like your brother—on the night of the full moon on the fifteenth, you’ll want to bite people too.”
Jun Yaotiao’s jaw dropped, then she shook her head vigorously. “I don’t want to!”
Baili Weisheng kept smiling, a flash of bloodthirsty glint passing through his eyes as he gently pulled Jun Yaotiao close, leaning in near her ear. “Girl, what if we take down the bloodline clan, get our hands on the Left Envoy’s blood, and cure both you and your brother’s addiction for good—how does that sound?”
Jun Yaotiao’s head rested against Baili Weisheng’s shoulder. She looked up in surprise, just in time to see the tall one and short one walking over from the direction of the gravel flats.
“Do you have the guts?” Baili Weisheng asked.
“Yes!” Jun Yaotiao answered without a moment’s hesitation, fearless as a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.
Only then did Baili Weisheng let her go, his playful, teasing manner returning as he pinched her cheek gently. “Good girl. Now you’ll have to listen to Scholar Uncle from here on out.”
Jun Yaotiao nodded, then quietly pulled her sleeves back down, covering all her scars.
Baili Weisheng saw all of it clearly, but deliberately said nothing, a flash of barely-concealed malice crossing his eyes.
It had been a very, very long time since anyone had crossed his line. Li Qinqin—how dare you lay your hands on my little Qingqing’s precious daughter. Just you wait.
That night, Baili Weisheng didn’t go back into the water. Instead, he let Jun Yaotiao sleep leaning against him, using himself as her bed, while the tall one and short one kept watch nearby. The night passed without incident.
Just as dawn was breaking, Ziqing and the others arrived as well, nearby—though they had no idea Baili Weisheng and Yaotiao were there too.
With Meng Duo’er leading the way, and the address given in Li Qinqin’s letter, they didn’t linger and pressed straight onward toward the bloodline clan’s territory.
There were still a few days left before the night of the fifteenth—there was no way they’d arrive right on schedule. Of course they’d go ahead of time to scout things out first.