Hearing Lu Tianxun say this, Ling Xue'er looked up at him cutely before taking a step aside.
This expression of hers angered Wu Min. With a flick of her finger, a venomous spider jumped over and landed steadily on Ling Xue'er's shoulder, then started crawling down her neck.
"Ah—" Ling Xue'er let out a shrill scream as she felt it.
Immediately, the welcoming procession was in chaos. The secret guards and the people from Ghost Floating Mountain surrounded Xiao Jinghan and the others to protect them.
Ling Xue'er, who had been poisoned, was sent to the medical clinic, leaving Yi Qing and the others to move into the Ling Mansion in peace.
The Ling Mansion was not very large. Fortunately, there was a separate courtyard originally reserved for Ling Xue'er. It was just big enough for their small group.
"General, please feel free to let me know if you need anything," Ling Hong said, bowing with clasped fists.
Xiao Jinghan was quite satisfied with this small courtyard. "Take me to review the troops."
They went to review the troops, while Wu Min and the Ghost Lord stayed in the courtyard.
"What kind of bug did you throw on her?" Yi Qing knew that Ling Xue'er's sudden outburst must have been Wu Min's doing.
"A ghost - faced black - spotted spider. It'll just cause some black spots for a few days. She won't die," Wu Min said irritably. "Do all the women in the Great Jin like to ogle other men?"
"Does Ling Xue'er have a crush on Lu Tianxun?" Yi Qing couldn't help but smile.
"Otherwise?" Wu Min said seriously. "Although the ghost - faced black - spotted spider isn't very precious, it can't be wasted casually."
Yi Qing was at a loss for words. "Then you might as well take Lu Tianxun back to the Southern Border and hide him. No one can even take a look at him. Maybe that can only be achieved in the Witch Gorge."
"What if someone looks at Xiao Jinghan?" Wu Min said mockingly, looking at Yi Qing.
"I'll make sure he never sees anything again," Yi Qing shrugged.
The Ghost Lord looked at the two women in front of him. They were both so ruthless. "What about when you look at other men?"
The two women looked at the Ghost Lord simultaneously. The Ghost Lord immediately cowered.
"How do you plan to deal with Ping Xinian?" the Ghost Lord changed the topic.
"Let her go," Yi Qing said directly. "Next, it's up to you."
"Okay," the Ghost Lord nodded in satisfaction.
"Don't kill her too quickly," Yi Qing reminded.
"Don't worry. I'll send people to keep an eye on Ping Xinian so that she can't do anything," the Ghost Lord said with a smile.
Xiao Jinghan spent a night at Geling Pass. The next day, he led his men to Southern Fujian. Lu Tianxun went with Xiao Jinghan, while the Ghost Lord led some of the people from Ghost Floating Mountain to stay at Geling Pass to protect Yi Qing.
Yi Qing stood on the city wall and watched Xiao Jinghan and the others leave. Even after the dust on the road had settled, Yi Qing still stood there in a daze, not knowing what she was thinking.
Ling Hong waited for a long time and seeing that Lady Xiao showed no reaction, he bowed and said, "I've heard that Lady Xiao is highly skilled in medicine. My younger sister was bitten by a bug and now has black spots all over her body. Could you please take a look?"
"Since you know it was a bug bite and it's just black spots, it should go away in a few days. It's also a good chance for her to calm down in the house," Yi Qing said indifferently.
Ling Hong bowed nervously. "Yes."
He knew his younger sister well. She had been spoiled since childhood and was already of marriageable age but disliked everyone. Yesterday, when she saw General Xiao, her expression had changed.
Actually, he had thought that if the general liked her, he could marry his sister to the general. But now it was obvious that the general didn't like her, so he didn't dare to act rashly.
"Take me to see Ping Xinian," Yi Qing said and turned to leave.
Every time Yi Qing met Ping Xinian, it was an unpleasant encounter. This time, for the first time, Ping Xinian looked rather disheveled.
Geling Pass was a strategic military location, and an iron prison in the military camp was used. Ping Xinian was originally wearing simple and neat clothes. After the bumpy journey here, she had long lost her former dignity. But when she saw Yi Qing, she still straightened her back and smoothed the hair at her temples.
Yi Qing smiled when she saw this action. "Ping Xinian, if you had always cherished your reputation, you wouldn't have ended up like this."
Ping Xinian's hand that was smoothing her hair paused. She slowly turned around and looked at Yi Qing. "You've just been lucky."
"Although luck is a part of strength, there's no such thing as free - flowing luck. If I hadn't saved the Ghost Lord, he wouldn't have even glanced at me when passing by."
Ping Xinian was surprised. "What? You saved the Ghost Lord?"
"Otherwise?" Yi Qing shrugged.
Actually, until now, Ping Xinian still couldn't accept the fact that the Ghost Lord was still alive. The Ghost Lord's survival was the biggest failure in all her plans.
"Impossible," Ping Xinian had provided a lot of resources to Xiang Beizheng in order to poison the Ghost Lord. How could the Ghost Lord still be alive?
The Ghost Lord walked over with his mask on. He always showed himself with a mask, so people only recognized his mask rather than his real face.
"What's impossible?" the Ghost Lord looked at Ping Xinian.
Ping Xinian staggered back two steps, tripped over the bed board and sat directly on the ground. Her eyes were filled with disbelief. "Impossible, impossible..."
When a person's belief is shattered and they start to doubt their own life, that's a real upheaval.
Ping Xinian had always been in control of everything and had never encountered any accidents. This time, she had lost completely.
Looking at Ping Xinian like this, Yi Qing lost interest. "There's nothing impossible. Only those who do too many bad things will face retribution."
Ping Xinian looked at Yi Qing. "You're no better."
"I don't need to be good. I just need to have a clear conscience."
"Humph, a clear conscience indeed. You dare say you're not indebted to anyone in this world?"
"Why should I be indebted to everyone in the world? Just as the world doesn't know who I am, I only need to be worthy of those I interact with," Yi Qing said with a smile. "Ping Xinian, let's make a bet. If I let you out, you'll still end up with nothing."
"Do you dare?" Ping Xinian thought that as long as she got out, everything would start over.
"Why wouldn't I dare? I'm just letting you out to see your retribution," Yi Qing said with a smile. "General Ling, let her go." Then she left.
Ling Hong was a bit surprised but still let her go.
After leaving the prison, Ping Xinian raised her hand to block the sun.
Actually, she knew very well that now that Qiao Ye was dead, she definitely couldn't return to Southern Fujian.
But she was sure she could return to the Ping family. Over the years, she had earned a lot of silver for the Ping family with the Ruyi Cake, and she knew all the dirty secrets of the Ping family. The Ping family wouldn't dare to turn her away.
Just as she reached the city gate, an arrow shot towards her. Ping Xinian didn't have time to dodge. Someone on one side deflected the arrow for her, glanced at her and walked away directly.
Ping Xinian felt a chill in her heart. Someone wanted her dead.
Wu Min was very bored at Geling Pass, so she pestered Yi Qing to tell her about the rules of the Great Jin. Yi Qing only knew a little about them. When they disagreed on something, they would even complain about it together.
Xiao Jinghan would send messages back every other day, so Yi Qing wasn't that worried.
Wu Min was sitting in the shadow by the window. When she saw Ling Xue'er skipping towards them, she said, "Hey? She's here for you."
Yi Qing leaned over to take a look. "Why not for you?"