Flower Stealing Master

Song Qingshu wore a mysterious expression as he placed a finger to his lips. “A secret makes a man, man!”

“Huh?” Wanyan Ping looked utterly confused. “Brother-in-law, what kind of nonsense are you saying?”

Song Qingshu couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed. In a moment of excitement, he had blurted out a famous line from his previous life’s Detective Conan, originally spoken by Vermouth—though he had made a slight modification.

“Uh, what I meant was…” Song Qingshu deliberately paused, keeping Wanyan Ping in suspense before finally saying, “It’s a secret.”

Wanyan Ping was so frustrated that she nearly reached for her whip again, but her curiosity won out in the end. “Brother-in-law~” She deliberately stretched out the last syllable, pouting coquettishly. “Tell me~ Please tell me~”

Most of the time, Wanyan Ping came across as quite cold and aloof, so when she acted coy like a young girl, even Song Qingshu found it hard to resist. “This is my exclusive technique—I can’t just share it with anyone.”

In truth, the principle behind it was nothing remarkable. His ability to shoot down a sparrow without an arrow wasn’t due to any extraordinary archery skills. On the contrary, it was precisely because he knew next to nothing about archery that he had resorted to such a trick.

When he had heard Wanyan Ping mention that Tang Kuo Bian’s archery skills were godlike, he had immediately realized that he wouldn’t be able to avoid demonstrating his own archery later. Moreover, he couldn’t afford to perform too poorly—after all, the young lady beside him was an expert in archery and would instantly see through his lack of skill. So, he had simply gone all out.

Of course, he hadn’t actually reached some profound state of “shooting without an arrow.” His real intention was to dazzle Wanyan Ping, drawing her attention while he discreetly released a burst of sword Qi to strike the sparrow from the tree. He was fortunate that they were in a forest rather than the grasslands—if it had been a great eagle soaring at high altitudes, his sword Qi wouldn’t have been able to reach that far.

“Ping’er, this really is my secret technique,” Song Qingshu couldn’t possibly reveal the truth, so he had to come up with an excuse. “In this lifetime, I’ll only ever share this secret with my wife, and then pass it on to my son.”

“Then I’ll just become your wife!” Wanyan Ping blurted out without thinking. 

The moment the words left her lips, both of them froze.

“What did you just say?” Song Qingshu’s expression turned strange.

Wanyan Ping’s face flushed as red as a tomato. “You misheard me!” she snapped before hastily spurring her horse forward, galloping into the depths of the forest.

Song Qingshu chuckled to himself. Well, that worked out—now he didn’t need to come up with an explanation. She would be too embarrassed to bring up the matter again. Without hesitation, he called after her, “Ping’er, wait for me!”

Wanyan Ping, of course, had no intention of waiting. Hearing his voice, she only urged her horse on even faster. Fortunately, the dense forest made it difficult for a horse to reach full speed, allowing Song Qingshu to barely keep up.

“Brother-in-law, there’s a sika deer over here!” Wanyan Ping suddenly exclaimed in excitement. The thrill of spotting prey quickly washed away her earlier embarrassment. She swiftly nocked an arrow and let it fly. However, the sika deer was incredibly alert—startled by her shout, it moved just in time to dodge the lethal shot.

The deer zigzagged through the forest, using the dense foliage as cover, and soon disappeared into the underbrush. But Wanyan Ping had been out hunting for so long and had finally encountered such a rare prey—how could she possibly let it go? Without hesitation, she leaned low over her horse’s back, dodging the branches that whipped past her, and pursued the deer at full speed.

Song Qingshu watched in shock from behind. How could his riding skills possibly compare? In just the blink of an eye, Wanyan Ping had vanished from sight, leaving only faint sounds of movement from deep within the forest.

Since Wanyan Ping held the antidote for saving Song Yuanqiao and the others, Song Qingshu naturally couldn’t allow anything to happen to her. Moreover, after spending time together, he had developed quite a fondness for this lively and charming young woman. On a personal level, he couldn’t just stand by and watch her get into trouble.

Clenching his teeth, Song Qingshu abandoned his horse. With a light tap of his foot, he shot forward like an arrow, weaving through the dense forest with incredible speed.

Freed from the constraints of horseback riding, he moved as effortlessly as a bird in the woods or a fish in the sea. Anyone watching from the side would have only seen a black shadow flickering rapidly between the treetops—his speed even surpassing that of a galloping horse!

After chasing for some time, Song Qingshu finally caught up with Wanyan Ping. However, he didn’t dare get too close, choosing instead to slow down and secretly follow her from a distance to ensure her safety.

“Yrroo! Yrouuu!” The sika deer had reached a dead end—there was no path ahead, pursuers behind, and only a steep ravine to the side. It let out a desperate cry.

Wanyan Ping grinned triumphantly. “Let’s see where you run now!”

Just as she was about to release another arrow, the sika deer seemed almost intelligent—it shrank back just enough to ruin her shooting angle.

“Hmph, do you think that can stop me?” Wanyan Ping sneered, putting away her bow. She drew her waist dagger and leaped off her horse. The path ahead was too steep for a horse, but with the deer trapped, she was confident she could handle it alone.

As she approached, the sika deer grew visibly agitated, glancing toward the ravine. Wanyan Ping felt a twinge of alarm—if the deer decided to jump, all her efforts would be wasted.

With her dagger in her left hand, her right hovered over the whip at her waist. She was fully prepared—if the deer made a move toward the ravine, she would immediately lash out and ensnare it. The deer wasn’t particularly large, so she was confident she could hold it back.

From behind, Song Qingshu frowned, moving in closer. He found it ridiculous that she was taking such a risk just to hunt.

As she crept nearer, a triumphant smile spread across Wanyan Ping’s face. But just then, a sudden numbness spread through her leg. Startled, she looked down to see a small snake with gray and white markings baring its fangs at her.

“D*mn it!” Wanyan Ping realized something was wrong and tried to retreat, but the paralysis had already set in. She lost her balance and tumbled straight toward the ravine.

The snake was so small that Song Qingshu hadn’t noticed it at first. Only when Wanyan Ping suddenly stopped moving did he sense that something was off. As he looked closely and saw the snake, she was already falling.

In that split second, Song Qingshu didn’t have time to think. He lunged forward, but he was still a moment too late—he only managed to grab her sleeve, which tore instantly.

Cursing under his breath, he tossed aside the fabric scrap and leaped forward, catching Wanyan Ping in his arms. However, the momentum of their fall was too great for him to use Qinggong to halt their descent.

All he could do was hold her tightly, channeling his protective True Qi as they tumbled down together.

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