Chapter 70: Countless Stars Adorning the Spring Sky
"And then?"
Tan Yun swallowed hard.
Jiang Renyi\'s strengths had reached the First Grade Human Flower Realm ten years ago, a testament to his profound powers.
Moreover, three years ago, Jiang Renyi and a prime Li Fuzhou had a sparring match in the desert. With no one else present to witness the fight, the outcome was unknown to all.
However, Li Fuzhou was a Half-step Master Realm expert, and Jiang Renyi was only thirty-two three years ago. The fact that he could contend with Li Fuzhou was proof of his exceptional talent.
And years had passed, Jiang Renyi\'s cultivation must have made progress.
"What do you think, if Sect Master Jiang killed this young doctor, what would the Sect Hierarch do?" Li Fuzhou seemed to be asking Tan Yun, yet it also appeared to be a question to himself.
Killed the son-in-law?!?
Tan Yun couldn\'t help but think of An Jing\'s usual demeanor and then imagine An Jing lying in a pool of blood, barely clinging to life, and inadvertently swallowed hard again.
"Perhaps... perhaps the Sect Hierarch would go mad with killing... definitely would take action against the Earth Sect."
The Sect Hierarch of the Demon Sect wanting to eradicate the Earth Sect?
It was unimaginable!
If that happened, the Demon Sect would undoubtedly be thrust into instant disarray and collapse, spelling disaster for everyone within the sect.
"Indeed." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Li Fuzhou sighed deeply, "Why would the Sect Hierarch fall for an ordinary young doctor?"
Some things didn\'t need to be spelled out; everyone could see them clearly. Jiang Renyi\'s feelings for Zhao Qingmei were certainly more than just fraternal.
Tan Yun thought about Jiang Renyi, then about An Jing.
In terms of cultivation, the two were incomparable; one was the master of the Earth Sect who had \'ceded his position\' to Zhao Qingmei, while the other was just a young doctor from Yu State City, with no martial prowess to speak of.
In terms of appearance, the son-in-law was good-looking, pleasant to look at, amusing, and would even bring his treats, but Jiang Renyi was extremely attractive too, and his demeanor was extraordinary. In dealing with people, he was always measured and was valued highly by the older generation of the Demon Sect.
"Right, where is the miss and the young doctor?" Li Fuzhou suddenly asked.
An Jing, on several house call occasions, had given the Human Sect\'s experts the slip, and the time he spent with patients sometimes didn\'t match up with the Human Sect\'s investigations. Furthermore, after the incident at Fa Xi Temple, Zhao Qingmei had instructed Li Fuzhou to always ensure his safety.
However, Li Fuzhou felt that this young doctor couldn\'t possibly provoke Jianghu experts and would sometimes take it easy, leaving other Human Sect experts to follow him.
"The miss hasn\'t had a craving for something sour in a long time and wanted some sour date cakes, the son-in-law went off somewhere." Tan Yun replied earnestly.
"Did I hear you mention sour date cakes?"
Just then, a crisp voice rang out from behind them.
They saw Zhao Qingmei in a white garment, her phoenix eyes brimming with vitality, her long eyebrows extending into her temples.
Li Fuzhou stroked his beard, "Miss, we were talking about the son-in-law, not knowing where he has gone off to."
"He hasn\'t gone out for house calls these past days since returning from Fa Xi Temple; perhaps he just went out to wander around, having nothing better to do," Zhao Qingmei said, her mouth curving into a smile.
Seeing this, Li Fuzhou couldn\'t help but shake his head: Now, only when talking about that young doctor would the Sect Hierarch smile.
Hearing this, Tan Yun pouted, "The son-in-law always liked to find that Han Wenxin kid. Miss, you must be on guard."
That Han Wenxin brat, having not learned his lesson even after a beating, dared to come back and pester.
"He won\'t go."
After finishing her words, Zhao Qingmei prepared to turn and head inside.
"Miss, aren\'t you the least bit worried?" Tan Yun asked with surprise, for she knew Zhao Qingmei very well. If Zhao Qingmei knew about An Jing...
"I trust him, he wouldn\'t dare," Zhao Qingmei\'s lips curled slightly.
Li Fuzhou also stroked his chin, thinking to himself: With the Sect Hierarch\'s temperament, that young doctor must have eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard.
It was at this moment that a hurried voice came from outside the courtyard.
"I\'m back....."
The three of them looked towards the source of the voice.
Just then, An Jing, catching his breath, held a grass target in his hand upon which several candied hawthorns dipped in syrup glistened under the moonlight.
"So many candied hawthorns!" Tan Yun couldn\'t help but swallow at the sight of the shiny syrup.
"Did you go out late at night just to buy these?"
Zhao Qingmei\'s heart skipped a beat.
"Didn\'t you say you haven\'t had anything sour for a long time? These are much tastier than those sour date cakes."
An Jing wiped the sweat off his forehead and chuckled, "Old Zhang and his wife were about to go to sleep. He was cursing when I knocked, but his eyes lit up when I showed the silver..."
"Silly."
Zhao Qingmei looked at An Jing, who was soaked in sweat, her nose tingling slightly, "You bought so many, I can\'t finish them all. Don\'t tell me we\'ll have to go sell candied hawthorns on the streets tomorrow?"
An Jing responded cheerfully, "No worries, you can take your time. If we can\'t finish, we can give some to Little Blackie."
Tan Yun seemed to understand something and couldn\'t help but look at Zhao Qingmei with a touch of envy.
When Zhao Qingmei became a disciple of the Sect Hierarch, Tan Yun did not envy her—nor when Zhao Qingmei became the Hierarch herself, but today, seeing that young man under the moonlight,
she had to admit, she was envious, just like the feeling of eating these candied hawthorns.
Li Fuzhou let out a soft sigh, then shook his head with a bitter smile, as if reminded of a painful memory. Mixed feelings surged in his heart as he slowly walked towards his own room.
"Miss... I can do that job."
Tan Yun eyed the shiny syrup and whispered quietly.
"You just think about eating," Zhao Qingmei said with a light laugh.
Seeing Zhao Qingmei in such good spirits, Tan Yun grew bolder.
An Jing snorted from the side, "Don\'t even think about it. You were supposed to work today but ended up dozing off halfway through pounding the herbs, you lazy thing."
Tan Yun\'s cheeks flushed, and she retorted, "Who says I was being lazy? I was just going to...just checking if Little Blackie was dead..."
21:42
Little Blackie poked its head out nearby, thinking Tan Yun was calling it: "??"
"You were slacking off."
"Son-in-law, it won\'t happen next time, or rather, there won\'t be a next time. Just give me one, just one, please," she begged.
"Call me something nice, and I might consider it."
....
In the end, Tan Yun left contentedly with two strings of candied hawthorns, heading to her room at a brisk pace.
"My lady, Tan Yun took two strings; there are still a dozen or twenty left. I have bought out all of Old Zhang\'s stock," An Jing said, smiling as he picked up the grass target and approached Zhao Qingmei.
"It\'s quite late, it\'s not nice to disturb others like that. Aren\'t you tired from running so far?"
"It\'s not far, and Old Zhang\'s eyes turned green when he saw the silver. He was snickering to himself. Besides, if my lady wants to eat them, I\'d fetch the stars from the sky and string them up for you."
Zhao Qingmei picked up a stringed haw, her voice tinged with playful reprimand, "Earlier, I was just saying words without thinking."
As she spoke, she took out her handkerchief and gently wiped the sweat from An Jing\'s forehead, then brought the candied haw to his mouth.
Because she was so close, An Jing could clearly see her expression change.
"I take everything you say to heart," An Jing bit into a candied haw and then gazed greedily at the view before him, "Even if my lady wants the stars in the sky, I can pluck them down and string them up for you."
"Bad man, where are you looking?"
Zhao Qingmei\'s eyes were filled with charm as she said, "Your tongue gets more and more flippant. How would you even string the stars from the sky?"
"As long as my lady says she wants them, they will be there."
"This is what you have said. I want that one, and that one... You have to string them up for me right now, or you\'re not allowed to sleep tonight."
"Heh heh, guess we\'re not sleeping tonight then."
"You bad man~!"