The handsome face of the man looked a bit stunned in the firelight.
Sheng Jiangli raised his far - peak - like eyebrows and looked at Qingqing in disbelief.
"What did you say?"
"Aren't you afraid I'll strangle you?"
This girl dared to ask him to take responsibility?
Did she forget who had held a knife to her throat just now?
At this moment, Qingqing was no longer afraid of death. She lifted her chin and said plausibly, "Didn't you say you're Sister Caiyu's man? Then you're Qingqing's brother - in - law. Brother - in - law won't hurt me, right?"
Sheng Jiangli stared at Qingqing in silence.
He didn't know whether he should praise her for being innocent or for being brave and smart.
"You believe just because I said I'm Caiyu's man?"
Sheng Jiangli said this, but it was indeed he who had cut Qingqing's neck.
He always cherished women who posed no threat. This girl even claimed to be Caiyu's little follower. Anyway, he should take responsibility and apply some medicine!
Sheng Jiangli still took out the wound - healing powder from his bosom and motioned.
"Sit down."
Qingqing was delighted. She quickly found a place with thick straw and sat down, obediently raising her neck and waiting.
This kind of courage was not like that of an ordinary maid.
Sheng Jiangli rubbed the bottle in his hand, and a thoughtful look flashed across his eyes.
Then.
He poured out the powder.
Applied the powder.
All in one smooth motion.
"That's it." Sheng Jiangli withdrew his hand and said calmly, "We're even now. Don't try to snitch on me in front of Caiyu... If you dare to talk nonsense, I'll cut out your tongue!"
"Okay."
Qingqing nodded repeatedly. She moved her neck, then turned her head. With a pure smile on her face, she suddenly asked,
"Brother - in - law, did you feel anything for me when you were applying the medicine just now?"
Sheng Jiangli was stunned again. "What? What kind of feeling?"
He felt that his once - proud intelligence couldn't keep up with this girl's rhythm.
A look of disappointment appeared on Qingqing's face. "… If you ask like this, it means you didn't feel anything… Strange. When I saw the prince applying medicine to Sister Caiyu, he seemed so into it. Men really see women differently!"
Sheng Jiangli was unexpectedly hurt. He almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
"… That hypocritical lecher Song Yinghuai! He, he…"
Sheng Jiangli ground his teeth for a long time but still couldn't say the words.
It was really unpleasant to hear that the girl he liked was coveted by another man.
"Are you doing this on purpose?" Sheng Jiangli glared at Qingqing fiercely. "Taking revenge on me for hurting you?"
Qingqing's eyes were pure and bright. She shook her head with an innocent smile on her lips. "I don't understand what you're saying, brother - in - law… But why did I feel something when brother - in - law was applying medicine to me?"
Sheng Jiangli scooted his butt a foot away from Qingqing as if seeing a ghost. His usual eloquence was gone.
"You, you, you… What kind of feeling did you have? How could you have a feeling?"
There seemed to be a little devil hidden in Qingqing's pupils.
"The same feeling Sister Caiyu has when she looks at the prince!"
Sheng Jiangli felt as if thunderbolts were striking down on his head. He watched Qingqing's lips open and close as she chattered on.
"When the prince was applying medicine to Sister Caiyu, I saw Sister's face turn as red as a peach in March."
"The kind that would drip water if you squeezed it!"
"The prince was breathing heavily, and so was she. It made my heart pound like crazy."
"The looks in their eyes were intertwined like a tangled embroidery thread. You couldn't pull them apart…"
"Enough!"
Sheng Jiangli abruptly interrupted Qingqing's vivid description. For the first time, he felt so angry that his vision went black.
He took a deep breath. His ashen face gradually returned to normal, and he showed a cold smile.
"I was wrong… I shouldn't have cut your throat just now."
"I should have cut out your tongue!"
"Brother - in - law is going to cut out my tongue?" Qingqing covered her cheeks in shock. "Do you think you can bear to do it?"
After saying that, she playfully stuck out her little pink tongue.
The tender red color flashed in front of Sheng Jiangli's eyes.
Sheng Jiangli: …
In just a short moment, he had felt like he was being fried in a frying pan over and over again.
He took a deep breath. His pupils began to look dangerous. He pulled the corner of his mouth into a smile.
"Little girl, I advise you not to try to challenge a man's self - control. I'm not your prince… who clearly needs a woman but pretends to be a Buddhist detached from the mortal world."
His smile in the flickering firelight was chilling. His white teeth were faintly visible. "If you anger me, I'll really take you right here!"
As he said that, his curved knife flew out.
Qingqing only felt a flash of cold light in front of her eyes, and her chest seemed to become cool.
"Ah!"
Qingqing let out a scream. She lowered her head and saw that a piece of the front of her clothes had been cut off by the curved knife.
Her snow - white skin was exposed to the air, showing a corner of her pink bellyband.
Qingqing hurriedly covered the exposed part. She looked at Sheng Jiangli in disbelief with her eyes wide open.
Was he still a man?
Was he?
He drew his knife on a woman at the slightest provocation!
She had even sweetly called him brother - in - law!
Qingqing finally felt afraid. She realized that this man was different from all other men.
He was like a wolf in the desert. Under his handsome appearance was a cold and ruthless nature.
Qingqing blinked her eyes. Her eye sockets seemed to turn red. She covered her chest and slowly turned around without saying a word.
If it were other men, they would have softened their hearts seeing her so aggrieved. But this man was Sheng Jiangli.
He was a man who, although he joked about the world with his words, was actually extremely clear - headed.
Seeing that she finally stopped provoking him, Sheng Jiangli put away his curved knife. His tone became as gentle as a spring breeze.
"Your name is Qingqing, right?"
Qingqing nodded with her back to him. Then she heard his chilling question.
"Before I rushed over just now, I saw you confronting the wolf. You were holding a hidden weapon in your hand. What was it?"
Qingqing's back stiffened. She turned her face and asked in surprise.
"Hidden weapon?"
"Yeah." Sheng Jiangli nodded and looked at her with a smile. "My eyesight is always good. You must have been holding a hidden weapon at that time. Take it out and let me have a look."
This girl said she was taken in by Caiyu in Pengcheng.
These were troubled times. A girl appearing out of nowhere on the way, Sheng Jiangli had to be cautious.
Moreover, what kind of maid could use a hidden weapon?
Just for this reason, he had to be careful.
If this girl was pestering Song Yinghuai, he wouldn't bother to care.
But since she was pestering Caiyu, he had to care.
After a look of bewilderment on Qingqing's face, she suddenly seemed to understand. "Oh! Brother - in - law, are you talking about that embroidery needle?"
Sheng Jiangli raised his eyebrows. "Embroidery needle?"
Qingqing nodded. "It's the embroidery needle I use for needlework. I usually like embroidery. I was embroidering a sachet in the carriage yesterday. Who would have thought that we'd encounter water bandits? I didn't have time to put it back in the needlework kit, so I just stuffed it in my cuff."
Qingqing pouted. "It's not a hidden weapon. Brother - in - law, you're wronging me. I'm not like you. I don't know martial arts."
Sheng Jiangli remained unmoved. He stretched out his hand and said, "Take it out and let me see."
He didn't believe that during their continuous journey, this girl could embroider in a bumpy carriage!
If she could take out the embroidery needle, he'd swallow it!
Looking at his calm face, Qingqing gritted her teeth in hatred. She said stubbornly,
"It's gone!"
"When your flying knife came in just now, it scared me. The needle in my hand fell to the ground!"
The cave was dark, and the ground was full of thick weeds.
She didn't believe that Sheng Jiangli would be patient enough to look for it.
She bet that Sheng Jiangli would be eager to take her away and eager to find Caiyu.
Gone?
Sheng Jiangli became even more suspicious. He even put away the false smile on his face. He stepped closer to Qingqing.
"I'll count to three. If you don't hand it over, I'll search you myself."
A wicked look appeared on his face. "I think you'd better believe that I'll search you… After all, I'll stop at nothing. You've already experienced that."
"If I accidentally touch you somewhere, don't expect me to take responsibility for you."
Qingqing: …
Sheng Jiangli had already started counting.
"Three."
"Two."
"One…"
Qingqing: Could he really do it?