Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 159: Gu...

Seeing Zhao Changhe’s dumbfounded expression, Sisi could not help but feel a bit smug. She maintained a straight face and said, “What are you looking at? Do you think that you’ve hit the jackpot? Did it not even occur to your little bird brain that this face might also be fake?”

“Erm...” Zhao Changhe’s thoughts raced. He replied calmly, “Real or fake, and whether you’re the ordinary maid from before or not, it doesn’t affect me in any way.”

“Huh?”

“I’m still going to tease you either way. It’s just that now, teasing you will be a bit more enjoyable.”

Sisi had no idea how to react. “Hey!”

“You got peeved by Tang Wanzhuang and you want to compete with her, right?” said Zhao Changhe. “Don’t take what I said earlier as just perfunctory words. There really isn’t anything between me and her. On the other hand, we’ve fought alongside one another, and we’ve risked our lives together. So why are you even bothering to compare yourself to her?”

“The reason why I was annoyed was that you keep teasing me, while you let her act all high and mighty and regard her with such respect! Is it because her status is high? Well, my status is even higher than hers, believe it or not!”

Zhao Changhe said, “I believe you. You’re a little princess of a small foreign tribe, right? You came to the Central Plains to steal the martial arts from all the major forces, starting with the Thieves Guild to learn the basics of theft, then you went to the Maitreya Cult to learn how to bewitch people’s hearts. The steps are quite clear.”

Sisi snorted coldly. “Your itch to solve crimes hasn’t gone away yet, huh?”

“So, did I guess right or not?”

“Your guess is remarkably accurate,” Sisi said with a straight face. “What now? Are you going to arrest me and bring me to the Demon Suppression Bureau? Your skills as a secret agent seem to be quite high.”

Zhao Changhe shrugged nonchalantly and said, “You mean that jade token? You can have it if you want.”

Sisi: “...”

Zhao Changhe said lazily, “Let’s not even mention stealing martial arts, my girlfriend is still a rebel. Do you really think that I’m doing things for the imperial court just because I have a jade token? And even if I was working for them, you and Chi Li are not from the same clan. The style and patterns of the clothes you wear are completely different. It’s possible that we even team up against Chi Li, so why would I arrest you?”

Sisi chuckled softly and said, “That’s just wishful thinking. Chi Li and I are in an alliance, and what we are aiming for is the Central Plains.”

Zhao Changhe tilted his head to judge her for a moment before shaking his head and saying, “No. You have nothing to do with them, and your goal is not the Central Plains. If your goal was the territory of the Central Plains, there would be no reason for you to sneak around stealing and learning martial arts. You’re not some idiot like Murong Fu. Such actions are utterly stupid and inexplicable.”

“Hey... If, and I’m saying if, I really was allied with Chi Li’s group, what would you do?”

Zhao Changhe said matter-of-factly, “I’d arrest you and convert you in private.”

Sisi clenched her teeth and turned around to find some bandages. “Let’s see who’ll convert whom!”

Seeing the way her bells jingled, Zhao Changhe found it quite amusing. “Sisi...”

“What?!”

“Stop hiding it. I’m afraid there is some misunderstanding between you and me. If you keep having me guess with half-truths and I take it seriously, will you blame me for being frivolous? You might as well be honest and clear with what it is that you want. I’d be willing to do it even if it were kissing... Well, transferring qi... Just be frank with me, maybe I can help you.”

Sisi looked at him steadily for a while, her eyes flickering hesitantly. She sighed softly and said, “I’ve sworn a heavy oath, and I can’t reveal anything about that place to the outside world. So, guess all you want, I have no choice but to accept it. As long as I can participate in the exploration of the Sword Emperor’s tomb, I will immediately leave the Central Plains. You may never see me again in your lifetime, so why bother asking so much?”

After pondering for a moment, Zhao Changhe suddenly asked, “You came to Gusu and hid as a maid in the Tang Clan because you heard that there was a treasure of vicious qi here while you were stealing the martial arts of the Maitreya Cult at White Lotus Temple. When you heard about the treasure, you suspected that it was at Tiger Hill Sword Pond, so you came here. Is that right?”

Sisi casually sat down next to the bed and replied, “Yeah.”

“So, when you came here, it was for the treasure of vicious qi, not for the tomb of the Sword Emperor, right? It was only later that you learned about the tomb of the Sword Emperor and felt that it was more important,” said Zhao Changhe. “The treasure of vicious qi is now right on the bedside table. Why haven’t you even spared it a glance?”

Only then did Sisi glance at the bead on the bedside, hesitating. “It’s something you need for your cultivation, so it’s more important to you. Since I have to cling onto your thigh to enter the tomb, I won’t compete with you for it anymore to avoid any unpleasantness between us.”

“Is that why you aren’t looking at Dragon Bird and the golden foil now?”

Sisi remained silent.

Zhao Changhe scoffed, “Your proficiency at tomb raiding and knowledge of the ancient era cannot be acquired in a short period of time. I don’t believe that you could have acquired it in the Thieves Guild. Maybe you’ve learned some things there, but that was just on top of the knowledge you already had. As for the tomb of the Sword Emperor, I doubt that anyone else knows about it as clearly as you do. When the time comes, I don’t know who will be clinging to whose thigh. But that’s enough of that. Since we’re going to be working as a team to get treasures, if you need something, take it. If you don’t want it, I’ll keep it. Let’s do things that way.”

Sisi gave him a deep look and finally reached out for the blood-colored bead. She carefully examined it for a moment before probing it with her true qi.

Her brow then furrowed deeper and deeper, and she muttered to herself, “It’s strange. Where did Maitreya get this?”

Zhao Changhe said, “This is probably the actual so-called treasure of vicious qi. Originally, Maitreya was looking for this thing in Jinling, but it seems that it had already been found. Fa Yuan then mentioned that it might actually be in Gusu, which directed the trouble here... What’s wrong?”

“This is not a natural treasure, but a kind of ancient demonic sacrificial technique. I don’t know the exact details, but I can tell that it’s not meant for nurturing vicious qi... Well, perhaps if you carry it with you all the time, the strong, bloodthirsty, vicious qi contained within it might have some effect on nurturing vicious qi, but the effect isn’t that significant. On the contrary, it might even affect your temperament, making you increasingly violent,” Sisi said. “You’re not allowed to use this. I don’t want to see a version of you with a bad temper.”

“No wonder Tang Wanzhuang said that I might be disappointed... Maitreya did not seem to care too much when he tossed it out either.” Zhao Changhe then said curiously, “So what’s the main purpose of this thing?”

Sisi thought for a moment, somewhat uncertain, and said, “I feel like this is part of a set. It would be easier to determine its true purpose if we had the whole set. Right now, it’s hard to say... Anyway, just don’t use it.”

Zhao Changhe said, “Then why were you originally looking for it? Is this something that you can use?”

“It’s not suitable for me either. I originally wanted to find it to refine gu[1]... I wanted to enhance my body, like you! Anyway, it’s useless to me. It isn’t what I thought it would be.”

Zhao Changhe looked at her for a while, not sure if he had heard a key point. He just said, “Alright, just leave it here. Once I’ve recovered, I’ll study it myself. If I don’t figure anything out, I’ll just keep it until I’ve collected the entire set.”

Sisi looked at him strangely. “You’re really keeping it until you maybe obtain the whole set? We don’t even know how many pieces are in the set or what effect it will have once you’ve completed it. Do you have nothing better to do?”

Zhao Changhe casually played around with the bead in his hand, murmuring, “I just have a feeling that someone should be coming to enlighten me soon. I’ve encountered many things that need explanation. She can’t just sit back and watch the show without saying anything, otherwise, she wouldn’t be a very competent director.”

Sisi was stunned and confused.

Zhao Changhe’s eyes fell on her red lips again, and he asked carefully, “How about... we exchange qi again? Or maybe a shoulder massage?”

“Fuck off!” Sisi kicked him in the waist and left angrily.

Sure enough, even when I’m using my actual appearance, he hasn’t changed the way he treats me!

What the hell is wrong with this bird guy?!

Zhao Changhe watched her beautiful back as she left. Her top was quite short, revealing a hint of her fair skin at her waist, which was extremely alluring. As he watched her leave, he inexplicably felt a twinge of jealousy, thinking that she shouldn’t be exposing herself like that to others. Immediately, he knocked his head, feeling that he might not be entirely normal right now.

Leaving aside the fact that he and Sisi were not actually in a relationship, just having such thoughts was not something that a modern person should have. How many girls flaunt their waistlines in the modern world? And who actually cared about such things in the modern world?

Zhao Changhe leaned against the headboard, thinking silently. It was likely that after a while, his memories of the modern world would fade further, and the thoughts of this world would completely take over.

The only thing that still connected him to the concept of being a transmigrator was the blind woman.

She had not appeared in his dreams for a very long time, as if to show his fading connection to the modern world.

Anyway, with all the injuries and exhaustion, he was too tired to think too much. After everyone had come and gone, when the enchanting Sisi stood before him, he found himself in a state of sage-like silence, not particularly eager to converse. He wondered if Sisi noticed it.

In the haze of half-sleep, Zhao Changhe suddenly had a strong premonition that the blind woman would definitely make an appearance today.

1. Legendary venomous insects that devour each other until only the most venomous are left. ☜