Flower Stealing Master

While being held by Song Qingshu as they fled, Huang Rong clearly noticed that his breathing was a bit irregular—no longer as calm and effortless as usual. With a trace of worry, she asked, “You… what’s wrong?”

Song Qingshu let out a bitter laugh. “I’ve been showing off too much; now my inner Qi is nearly exhausted.”

“Ah?” Huang Rong exclaimed in surprise, but soon she noticed that his face held little sign of concern. Curiously, she asked, “Even so, why aren’t you worried at all?”

“Why should I be?” Song Qingshu replied with a relaxed smile. “Although I might not be able to beat them now, they might not even be able to catch up with me.”

“If you were running alone, of course they wouldn’t catch you, but with me along, it isn’t so certain,” Huang Rong sighed.

“Rong’er, you don’t need to test me; how could I ever leave you behind to escape on your own?” Song Qingshu answered in a deep tone.

Huang Rong spat, “Who is testing you? I know full well you wouldn’t abandon me. How could you bear… bear to let me be captured by Wanyan Liang?” Her voice trailed off into a whisper.

“Of course I couldn’t bear it,” Song Qingshu replied with a hearty laugh.

Huang Rong’s face flushed, and she quickly turned away, though her hands instinctively hooked around his neck to help lessen his burden.

‘Could it be that today we’re really going to die here?’ Compared to falling into Wanyan Liang’s hands, Huang Rong would rather die. Yet she soon sensed something was amiss, for Song Qingshu’s expression was so calm that he didn’t seem to worry at all about their dire predicament.

‘Did you purposely choose this place to flee?’ Huang Rong suddenly recalled that the entire plan had been devised by Song Qingshu. He couldn’t possibly not know that this was a dead end. Even though she really couldn’t think of any other way to escape, she inexplicably felt reassured when she remembered the miracles Song Qingshu had once accomplished.

“Rong’er, do you believe me?” Song Qingshu asked in a deep voice.

Huang Rong’s face turned even redder, and she suddenly became coy. “You b*stard—filthy and shameless—there isn’t a word you say that I can trust.”

Song Qingshu was immediately at a loss, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “What are you on about? I asked if you believe that I won’t hurt you.”

Only then did Huang Rong realize her mistake, and she couldn’t help but blush deeply. “I… believe you.”

“That’s good,” Song Qingshu sighed with relief. “In a moment, when I tell you to do something, just do it without hesitation.”

“Now, with no way forward and enemies chasing us from behind, what plan do you have for our escape?” Huang Rong asked, her heart filled with curiosity.

Song Qingshu smiled enigmatically without offering an explanation. Instead, he remarked, “If it weren’t such a desperate situation, how could one so easily shake off one’s pursuers?”

Before Huang Rong had time to digest his words, Ouyang Feng and Murong Bo had already caught up. They didn’t immediately charge forward; instead, they halted several zhang away, gradually forming a pincer to trap Song Qingshu and Huang Rong in between.

Ouyang Feng grinned and said, “Hey, you stinking brat, you have no escape now. At this point, as long as you hand over Huang Rong, I can ensure your safety.” After chasing for so long, Ouyang Feng had noticed that Song Qingshu seemed extremely weakened—certainly incapable of fending off the combined force of him and Murong Bo. 

After all, he and Song Qingshu shared a good relationship; the only reason they were at odds was because of Huang Rong—one of them eager to eliminate her, the other determined to protect her. Both were well aware of this, so Song Qingshu didn’t resent Ouyang Feng, and in turn, Ouyang Feng tacitly refrained from revealing Song Qingshu’s identity to the Jin state.

On the other side, Murong Bo frowned slightly, thinking, “That man insulted Wanyan Liang so severely just now—if he truly fell into our hands, would Wanyan Liang spare his life?” Ouyang Feng surely couldn’t be unaware of that; perhaps his words were meant to undermine our opponent’s morale.

Murong Bo quickly came up with a plausible explanation, but little did he know that Ouyang Feng’s words were spoken from the heart.

“Many thanks for your kindness, Master Ouyang, but since I share a fate with Madame Guo, how could I stand by and watch her die?” Song Qingshu shook his head.

“Lust will only lead to ruin—you have a brilliant future ahead, so why squander it on a married woman?” Ouyang Feng observed the abnormality between the two. However, since Huang Rong had always maintained her virtue, he hadn’t expected that the two had already transgressed propriety; he simply assumed that Song Qingshu was bewitched by Huang Rong’s beauty. The mere thought that, in the past, Ouyang Ke had been so infatuated with her that he ultimately lost his life made Ouyang Feng’s expression even grimmer.

The words “married woman” pierced Huang Rong’s heart like a series of sharp daggers, and her face turned deathly pale. Gently patting her shoulder, Song Qingshu then declared in a loud voice, “Master Ouyang, your words are mistaken. Madame Guo, who embodies both grace and brilliance, is a rare celestial beauty in this world—how could she be compared to an ordinary woman?”

Being praised in such a manner by a youth considerably younger than herself, Huang Rong couldn’t help but feel immensely shy. She secretly glanced at Song Qingshu’s profile, thinking, ‘With such skill in pleasing women, no wonder he has so many intimate female friends.’

Clap! Clap! Clap!

A burst of clapping echoed over. Wanyan Liang, who had rushed over, happened to hear Song Qingshu’s remarks and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Your words are exactly to my liking, sir. Had we not been enemies but friends, I would have truly enjoyed sharing a drink with you.”

“No thanks,” Song Qingshu waved his hand dismissively. “Who would befriend someone like you? Their wife would be in danger. I’ve long heard that the prince has a particular penchant for such things—I have no desire to be the sufferer.”

Upon hearing Song Qingshu’s barb aimed at Wanyan Liang, Huang Rong couldn’t help but roll her eyes, inwardly seething, ‘As if you don’t have such a special fondness yourself!’

Noticing the strange looks from his subordinates, Wanyan Liang immediately became enraged. “Shameless! Men, get someone—chop this lunatic into minced meat!”

“Yes!”

Although Song Qingshu had just displayed an astonishing martial arts performance, Wanyan Liang’s strict military discipline—and his guards being among the best—meant that, despite a tinge of fear in their hearts, they resolutely executed his orders. They formed up and slowly advanced toward the two.

“Unfortunately, sir, your wish cannot be fulfilled,” Song Qingshu said with a slight smile as he retrieved an object from beneath a nearby massive boulder.

“A kite?” Huang Rong gasped as she recognized the shape of the object in his hand.

“This isn’t a kite; it’s a glider,” Song Qingshu corrected.

“A glider?” Huang Rong was utterly confused. She had never heard of such a thing.

Meanwhile, Wanyan Liang burst into wild laughter. “Could it be that you intend to use this kite to fly off the cliff? Ha ha—what an absurdity! Do you really think a kite can bear a person’s weight? Even a three-year-old would know that! Ha ha ha…”

“Uncultured—simply dreadful,” Song Qingshu scoffed, then turned to Huang Rong. “Rong’er, do you believe me?”

In truth, what Huang Rong was thinking wasn’t much different from what Wanyan Liang had said. Yet as soon as she saw the clear and confident look in Song Qingshu’s eyes, she subconsciously nodded, “I believe you!”

“Alright then—hold on tight!” Song Qingshu grasped Huang Rong’s hands firmly on the tripod of the glider, and together they plunged down a steep slope beside the cliff.

“Ah!!!!!!!!” Seeing Song Qingshu pull her to jump off the cliff, Huang Rong screamed with her eyes tightly shut in terror.

“Hey, hey, hey! If you keep shouting, my ears will go deaf! You’re supposed to be the leader of the Beggar’s Sect—how can your reactions be exactly like Shan Rou’s?” (G: a singer.) 

At that moment, a familiar voice suddenly reached her ears.

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