Chapter 19: You Think You Can Be a Live-in Son-in-Law?
After leaving the government office and walking several hundred meters, the city gate would appear; slipping past the servants there would mean escaping the city.
“Or I could simply strike right away. Besides the overwhelming White Lotus Sect crowd outside the city, no one here poses a real threat to me.”
The only good news was that although the White Lotus Sect had besieged Qinghe County for several days, they had yet to make any aggressive moves. During our time at the Martial Dao Camp, many of the locals had already managed to flee.
Standing before the government office, Yang Le gazed at the strangely desolate streets of Qinghe County.
Two paths lay before him: break through with force, or quietly slip away during the window when the killing of Changsun Ji had not yet been discovered.
Hesitating, Yang Le glanced down at Li Qier’s feet; escaping might be more troublesome than it seemed.
“Though these servants have no consciousness, unleashing a massacre would summon a thick aura of bloodlust. If they go berserk, it could get complicated.”
“It’s not that you can’t kill them, just that it would be troublesome. Individually, these servants can be slain easily, but combined into a battle formation, they would delay us significantly.”
Seeing Yang Le already draw his sword, Li Qier suddenly spoke, “If not necessary, it’s better to leave Qinghe County quietly. A major conflict might alert the White Lotus Sect.”
“You can leave?”
“Yes.”
“Then let’s go.”
Having decided to sneak out of Qinghe County, Yang Le exchanged a glance with Li Qier, and they immediately began moving.
Leaving the county office, they walked along the quiet street toward the city gate.
...
“Hah!”
“The scent... of kin...”
“Not a demon, yet surpassing demons. To find such kin within this cage—hahaha, old bald monk, you never dreamed this could happen! To meet kin in this very prison!”
Shortly after Yang Le and Li Qier departed the county office, the blood pooling among the corpses on the ground began to converge, flowing like a small stream.
As if guided by some unseen hand, the dark red blood gathered and dripped into a secret chamber inside the house where Changsun Ji had temporarily stayed.
Then—
A girl in a red robe with disheveled hair quietly crawled out from the hidden chamber.
Her ankles, as smooth and pale as jade, dragged heavy iron chains forged from cold steel, clanking against the stone floor.
The iron chains were so heavy that they shattered the rock slabs wherever they scraped.
"All my bones were removed, leaving only a skin sack. Such a frail body makes me want to end my own life..."
“Hahaha!”
Her words were nine parts madness, one part clarity; her wild laughter made her seem like a demon.
But in the next moment, the girl calmed, returning to a normal youthful face tinged with innocence, her clear eyes flickering with a hint of liveliness.
“Find the bones, then ask this kin whether to kill that damned old heaven.”
“If we kill, we kill together.”
“If not...”
...
Having seen no sunlight for too long, the red-robed girl’s flawless face appeared unusually pale, her smile chillingly mad: “Devour him…”
As soon as the words fell, her figure vanished like she had never existed.
Even the mighty Da Qian chains weighing like a thousand pounds—chains no third-tier martial cultivator could break free from—seemed nonexistent around her ankles.
...
“When I first came to Qinghe County, I never imagined it could be so desolate.”
“I’ve never seen Qinghe bustling. If not for the sudden arrival of the White Lotus Sect, I doubt I would have come here; Cizhou is my real target.”
“What a coincidence. If you hadn’t come or if I had left, we wouldn’t have become master and disciple.”
Indeed, at that moment, Yang Le and Li Qier’s figures appeared somewhat abruptly on the empty street of Qinghe County.
Ordinarily, this broad bluestone street—built over years—was thronged with people: laborers, merchants, government officials’ daughters, all coming and going.
But now, aside from the two of them, only piles of withered autumn leaves littered the ground.
Water stains from the recent rain added a touch of melancholy to the street.
“I wonder if Qinghe County will even exist in the future…”
At the street’s end, Yang Le suddenly stopped, looking back with deep emotion.
In his previous life on Blue Star, Yang Le was nothing but a drudge; over a month after crossing into this chaotic Da Qian world, he had managed to carve out some dignity—not losing face as a transmigrant.
He had reached the seventh rank of martial cultivation.
He had become someone’s master.
And by his side was Li Qier.
This past month had been more thrilling than all his previous life combined—like a dream, like an illusion.
At the same time, the memories of Qinghe County flashed through his mind, stirring a bittersweet sense of change.
“It’s time to leave.”
Moments later, Yang Le stepped forward decisively.
People...
Living in the past is never a good thing.
“If fate allows, I’d like to return to that teahouse by the river in Qinghe, drink a pot of rough wine, and watch the crowds go by.”
“Last time I was here, someone even asked me to marry into a family.”
...
By chance, Yang Le passed by a tavern he frequented when he first crossed over.
It was almost laughable—without the entry system, Wang Chunhua, the half-hearted matchmaker of Qinghe County, might have introduced him to a girl from the neighboring county, whose family even had business in Cizhou.
If he had agreed, marrying into the neighboring county might not have been so bad.
“People always romanticize the roads they haven’t taken, thinking the untraveled path is always better.”
“Your talent won’t suit a plain and simple life. The path you must walk, the path of martial cultivation, is one of hardship and struggle.”
Seeing Yang Le’s hesitation, Li Qier spoke frankly.
She never regretted the path she had chosen—right or wrong.
As long as she could walk it, she would.
Because the moment she rejected the other path, it had already become the wrong one.
“It’s not that I want the untraveled path, but…”
Seeing Li Qier misunderstand, Yang Le intended to explain but stopped himself.
“Let’s go. Qinghe County is a place of turmoil. We should leave as soon as possible. When the dust settles, I’ll bring you back to see the Qinghe I remember.”
After all, Yang Le knew his own martial talent was limited.
What he had...
Was just a facade.
“Are you thinking about the girl you’d marry into?”
Li Qier couldn’t help but laugh.
“Nonsense! I’ve never thought about living off a woman or becoming a son-in-law!”
Yang Le was momentarily stunned, then hurriedly denied it.
Marrying into a family, living off others—he, Yang Le, swore to heaven—
Had never considered such a thing.
He never lived off others!
Really, Yang Le never expected Li Qier, usually so serious and reliable, to have such a sharp tongue.
“Let’s go!”
Yang Le pursed his lips, refusing to continue the conversation.
The two quickened their pace toward the deserted city walls.
Taking one last look at the lonely, desolate Qinghe County,
He lifted Li Qier into his arms.
And with a leap—
Qinghe County...
Was left behind.