An Unexpected Interaction

In the instant that voice sounded, many thoughts raced through He Suosi’s mind.

First, he thought: ‘How could I not have noticed someone coming? Was I too absorbed in applying medicine? =口=’

Then he thought: ‘How did this person get in? Are my barriers so flawed? Σ(｀д′*ノ)ノ’

Then he thought: ‘What should I do now? Is it someone from that caravan? Should I dispose of the body to erase all traces?’

Finally…

Finally, clutching his lower body, he turned around and found that the visitor was precisely the young mistress of the caravan. She wore a fiery red linen dress, with a dark brown horsewhip tied at her waist. Without a trace of shyness, she looked him up and down and said, ‘What? No clothes to wear?’

He Suosi hadn’t even spoken when she turned around without changing her expression, gracefully said ‘I’ll go find you some clothes,’ and left with a wave of her hand.

Leaving He Suosi clutching his groin, staring in shock at her retreating figure.

After a few seconds of shock, He Suosi came to his senses. He pulled a length of plain white cloth from the elixir furnace, carefully wrapped it around Yuan Zhigong, then wrapped the previous linen cloth over that. Glancing at himself, he hesitated for a moment before finally putting on his old clothes.

The jade silk of the dragon’s thread was not ordinary cloth, and He Suosi was reluctant to waste it for the time being.

After finishing, he put the command flags and everything else back into the furnace and tucked it into his ear.

At that moment, the red-clad young woman returned, holding two pieces of clothing in her hands. Seeing that Yuan Zhigong was already wrapped in the previous linen, she paused for a moment and said, ‘Those clothes are very dirty. Since you’ve already treated him, you should wear something clean.’

He Suosi thought to himself, troublesome. She had indeed noticed.

He found it troublesome not because he feared she might harm him or kill him for treasure, but because he worried that this girl might stubbornly want to become his disciple.

She had saved his life, and if she insisted on becoming his disciple, and if she were a girl (this last part was important), it would be difficult for him to refuse.

So instead of answering directly, he took the two pieces of clothing and asked, ‘You. What’s your name?’

The young woman laughed heartily and said, ‘My name is Mingmin. Ming as in bright, min as in quick.’

He Suosi held the clothes and said, ‘My name is He Suosi. As you can see, I’m a minor cultivator. I thought my barriers were quite powerful, but I didn’t expect you to walk right in.’ He Suosi gave a helpless smile.

Mingmin waved her hand and said, ‘Even a blind cat finds a dead mouse now and then. You get dressed. I’ll be off now. If you want to travel together later, come back. If not, just go.’

He Suosi pulled on the clothes, puzzled by the situation.

He carried Yuan Zhigong back to the caravan. Just as he was about to return to the previous carriage, someone came over and said that the young mistress had prepared a clean carriage for them, making it more convenient for their business.

He Suosi was extremely surprised. From the look in the person’s eyes who informed him, he knew that Mingmin had not told others that he was a cultivator, but what she was doing now clearly showed she was treating him with respect.

Full of doubts, He Suosi still got into the carriage first. Regardless, having a private space greatly helped him treat Yuan Zhigong. He could now directly open Yuan Zhigong’s spiritual meridians without having to hide, stimulate his sleeping spirit, and then ask him what had happened after he woke up.

The carriage rattled along for a day. At dusk, it stopped again.

He Suosi listened to the noise outside. He thought if someone called him, he would get off. But even when the aroma of food filled the air, no one called him. Just when he was getting anxious, someone brought him a box of food.

The person who came this time had a look of caution and awe in their eyes. He Suosi didn’t know what they had heard.

In the middle of the night, Yuan Zhigong finally managed to breathe properly from the thin thread of life. He Suosi felt relieved. His consciousness unconsciously spread out, probing the situation in the merchant caravan. Most people were asleep. He Suosi’s ears twitched, and he suddenly heard a familiar female voice.

‘… After all, he’s a cultivator. We’d better treat him well.’

‘Is he really a cultivator?’ This was an unfamiliar female voice, still young, probably a young girl. ‘If he’s a cultivator, can he teach us to cultivate? If we become cultivators too, let’s see if those wastes from the main branch dare to bully us.’

Mingmin laughed bitterly. ‘You think I don’t want to? But it’s not that easy. If we annoy him, we’ll be in danger instead.’

‘We won’t cause him trouble. If we encounter danger, he’ll help us, won’t he?’

‘Is he really as powerful as you say?’

‘I don’t know exactly. His formation—is it called a formation?—Anyway, it’s the most powerful one I’ve ever seen. I almost didn’t get in; Little Red Pearl told me.’

‘Really? Little Red Pearl…!’

‘Keep your voice down!’

A rustling sound. ‘Wow, it’s really red. Then he must be very powerful indeed.’

‘Mm, so let everyone keep their guard up.’

‘Pfft… No one’s causing trouble now…’

… Probably they went to sleep.

He Suosi had solved one mystery. This Mingmin was not pretending to be weak; she had a treasure that could break formations. She did not repay kindness with demands and was not tempted at all. Instead, she was calm and cautious, somewhat wary of him.

He could not help but admire her. He thought to himself, he didn’t have a disciple now. Maybe taking one wouldn’t be bad.

As he thought this, he pulled open the clothes on Yuan Zhigong’s chest to check the wound. Seeing that it was healing well, he ran his hand over his meridians, using spiritual power to break through the blocked channels.

This was undoubtedly painful. Yuan Zhigong twitched slightly in his sleep and frowned.

He Suosi couldn’t help but reach out to smooth his brow, pressing on the raised center of his forehead, then wiping away the cold sweat on his brow. There were small wounds on his porcelain-white forehead, now scabbed over.

He was slightly dazed, and couldn’t help but wonder: if he could go back to the past, would he and Yuan Zhigong become close friends through repeated dangers and obstacles?

This seemed like a question that already had an answer.

He Suosi removed his hand, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wooden wall.

Out of caution, He Suosi did not withdraw his spiritual sense but simply closed his eyes to rest. In the middle of the night, he suddenly sensed something and opened his eyes.

Mingmin had gotten down from her carriage.

But although she got down at this strange time, she was not sneaky. She just lightened her footsteps, walked outside, and then… climbed onto the carriage roof.

He Suosi opened his eyes. His gaze flickered. He placed Yuan Zhigong on the cushion, carefully set up an extremely complex formation this time, and then got off the carriage.

The night was cool as water, the moon like a silver hook. The stars were bright and vast. The carriages were parked together, crowded together for a sense of security. He Suosi calculated the distance and found that they had not moved more than a hundred meters from the carriage circle. He felt reassured and walked to where Mingmin was.

She was lying on the carriage roof, hands behind her head, legs crossed, looking carefree and unrestrained. He Suosi floated up to the carriage next to hers, his robes fluttering, and appeared before her eyes.

Mingmin did not seem surprised. She smiled and said, ‘Truly impressive.’

‘Not at all. Just a small trick.’

Mingmin laughed. At that moment, a night wind suddenly grew stronger, blowing back the bangs that covered half her face. Her smile instantly froze, and she quickly used her hand to smooth them back.

But He Suosi had already seen it. On the wheat-colored skin of her right cheek, there was a bell-shaped scar.

Actually, He Suosi thought the brand was quite delicate and not ugly, but since she was sensitive about it, he did not mention it. He sat down on the carriage roof, looking at Mingmin, and asked, ‘Your name is Mingmin? What about your nickname? Is it Minmin?’

Mingmin smiled. ‘How could that be? That wouldn’t be any different.’

He Suosi said seriously, ‘The difference does seem small. That’s not good. Anyone could take advantage of you, calling you Minmin.’

Mingmin truly laughed this time. A shallow pear dimple appeared at the left corner of her mouth, and even the tip of her nose had charming lines. ‘I have a nickname. My mother called me Little Bell.’

As she said this, her expression suddenly stiffened for a moment, then she continued, ‘You see, because I have a bell-shaped birthmark on my face, she called me Little Bell.’

He Suosi saw clearly that it was definitely not a birthmark, but a scar left by a hot branding iron. But since she said so, He Suosi naturally agreed: ‘Then it’s practically a destiny-given nickname. Little Bell. Just saying that name makes me know you must have been very cute as a child.’

Mingmin sat up straight, resting her chin on her knees, looking directly at He Suosi. She noticed that the wound on his face that had been hard to look at earlier was now only a faint bruise. Because of this, she could now see his handsome face and tender, affectionate eyes. What kind of eyes were they? Mingmin couldn’t describe it. She only felt that when she looked at him, he seemed so earnest and gentle, and all the words he said, because of those eyes, seemed true.

She couldn’t help but blurt out, ‘You’re not a sodomite, are you?’

He Suosi: ‘…’

He Suosi was shocked.

For a moment, he didn’t understand why the girl had such a misunderstanding. After a blank expression for a second, he thought of the scene she had seen earlier that could be easily misinterpreted, and hurriedly said, ‘How could you think that? Of course I’m not. I was helping him heal.’

Mingmin found his flustered expression amusing and said, ‘You and that severely injured friend of yours are a couple, right?’

He Suosi shook his head like a rattle-drum. ‘No, no, no, not at all. We’re just traveling companions who met by chance.’

‘Is that so?’ Mingmin tilted her head. ‘But when we found you, your friend was holding you in his arms, unwilling to let go no matter what. It was only after he lost consciousness that we were able to separate you.’

‘…’ He Suosi’s heart trembled. A sudden surge of emotion—touched, guilty, reassured—almost made him want to slap himself.

Reassured! Reassured my foot!

He Suosi shook his head firmly. ‘That’s because he likes to hug things when he sleeps. He’s been like that since he was a child.’

Mingmin was intrigued. ‘Have you been this close since childhood?’

He Suosi said with righteous indignation, ‘That’s because he’s been missing a screw in his head since he was young. And think about it, the ones he liked when he was young were girls too.’

Mingmin’s eyes widened. ‘Then the one he likes now…!’

He Suosi immediately realized his slip of the tongue. ‘No, no. I mean, actually, from before… Actually, if not for certain reasons… Wait, I’m not really sure yet…’

Mingmin covered her mouth and laughed. She lay back on the roof, looking like she was about to roll around, but probably afraid of waking others, she just laughed silently a few times.

Then she thought: How obvious is that? Men are so stupid.

The Milky Way stretched across the sky, sprinkled like gems on black silk. All was quiet except for the rustling of the wind. The scene was peaceful and serene, a rare moment.

Yuan Zhigong watched the two of them.

He was leaning against the carriage, his wounds itching from healing, but nothing compared to the itch in his heart.

Still weak, he closed his eyes and thought: He Suosi remembered.

Thinking this, he silently retreated into the darkness and walked back.