Chaotic World Book

Let's get back to the main topic. We've been chatting normally all evening. I thought you didn't mind those awkward incidents, but it turns out you've been dwelling on them, waiting here?

Zhao Changhe was close to crying. He couldn't reply to that!

What's even more awkward is that this time, he really was somewhat distracted and couldn't proudly claim he didn't intend to do anything.

It's just how it is with virgins... Zhao Changhe grimaced and honestly said, "I really didn't think about it before... It was just banter with the brothers in the stronghold. Don't mind it."

Yue Hongling's eyebrows shot up.

What do you mean by "I really didn't think about it before"? So now you do mean it?

Zhao Changhe then said, "But could you please stop touching me? I am, after all, a normal man... It's just stomach contraction and deep breaths. I can do it myself. It really isn't necessary..."

Yue Hongling's hand almost turned into a bloody imprint as she said through clenched teeth, "Who's touching you! I'm waiting for you to draw in the Outer Breath to help guide your Dantian and blend it with the Inner Breath in circulation! Did you think the Inner Breath Exhaling Method was just about how to breathe? Someone needs to supervise your practice!"

Zhao Changhe opened his mouth, hanging his head, "Then go ahead and touch."

Yue Hongling: "?"

Why does this sound like I'm taking advantage of you?

I came seeking your guidance, and you sought my teachings. Shouldn't this just be a glorious narrative shared under the clear moonlight, yet how did it end up like this?

Gritting her teeth, she added a bit more force, "Breathe deeply, concentrate, quiet…"

"Boss, boss!" The door was flung open as a bandit ran in, panting, "Outside... uh..."

Yue Hongling turned emotionlessly to look at him, then slowly lowered her gaze to her own posture, reaching down to Zhao Changhe's lower abdomen. One could easily guess what others might think this was a prelude to.

Now the public opinion was thoroughly annihilated.

No, I'm not Yue Hongling. I'm just some woman who looks a bit like her.

Zhao Changhe kept a stiff face, "What's the matter?"

"Uh, just now some brothers went to the back mountain and noticed that a trap had been triggered. It doesn't look like an animal did it, so there might be someone entering the mountain."

Zhao Changhe flinched, suddenly alert as all trivial thoughts vanished. He stood up suddenly, "You did well... Everyone drank a bit too much tonight, indeed it's the perfect opportunity for a night raid. I've been negligent..."

Saying this, he paced a step or two and told Yue Hongling: "Yue... Yue'er, hide inside the house, absolutely do not go outside. I'll go check the situation and organize some people to guard this place."

Yue Hongling twitched the corner of her mouth and turned away without responding.

Zhao Changhe marched out, and faintly heard the bandits outside saying, "Boss, the sister-in-law indeed looks a bit like Yue Hongling. So the boss has had a crush on Yue Hongling all this time..."

Zhao Changhe's voice grew distant, "None of your damn business... get people to keep guard, don't frighten your sister-in-law."

"Of course, you can count on me! If a single hair falls from sister-in-law's head, I'll twist my own head off and give it to the boss for a night pot!"

"Stop your bulls**t and get to work!"

Yue Hongling suddenly felt like laughing. Whose reputation is really getting ruined here? Others don't even know this is the real Yue Hongling. Her reputation is actually fine, but Zhao Changhe's reputation of having a secret crush on Yue Hongling is definitely indelible now.

That Holy Daughter from Xia, would she chop him up...

Just as she was pondering this, she felt a sudden urge, and with a swoosh, the longsword was in her hand, "Who is the esteemed expert gracing us with their presence? Why not show yourself?"

A muffled voice came from outside the window, "It's me."

The voice sounded weak as if fatigued.

"Cui Yuanyong?" Yue Hongling was dumbfounded. Now there really was someone who knew she was Yue Hongling...

No, what are you doing here!

Angry enough to consider violence, she exclaimed, "You're more injured than I am. What are you doing running to the stronghold in the middle of the night? Since when did the Cui Family care so much about capturing low-level criminals? If you really wanted to catch a fugitive, is this how you'd risk your life?"

From outside, the weak voice explained, "I heard a rumor that the lady boss of the Beimang Mountain stronghold was quite beautiful, and she even resembles Yue Hongling a bit. Zhao Changhe has a taste for that... I had a feeling something was off. Could it really be that you were captured by bandits, and I couldn't rest until I checked on you. Now it seems I came here wrongly, not only wrongly but also at a very bad time."

Yue Hongling's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, "When did you arrive?"

"Just now... when you voluntarily leaned against him and reached your hand down. Indeed, a woman's spiritual sense is nearly zero at such times... Once he left, you became exceptionally alert, though I hadn't done anything and you already detected me..."

"Clang!" The Sword Qi was cold and the murderous aura soared.

"Cui Yuanyong, go die! Why would I have run to him, why would I have fallen into a pit? It was all your fault from the beginning!"

"Clang clang clang clang!" The sounds of swords clashing faded into the distance.

"Cough cough... Cui just had good intentions, merely did not intend to disrupt your leisure, why the need for this..."

"I, I will kill you!"

"Indeed, it's tough raising women and petty men… Farewell."

"If I hear even half a whisper outside, my family and the Cui Family will be irreconcilable!"

...

"So it was a misunderstanding? The other party had no ill intentions?" Back inside the house, Zhao Changhe clasped his hands and silently watched Yue Hongling, whose face was red with anger, and suddenly thought, could Cui Yuanyong's real occupation be a troublemaker?

Look at this mess...

But truth be told, he really did not want things to turn out this way, Yue Hongling and he truly had no such relationship, which could only bring trouble to both parties. Not only had their interactions become awkward, but Yue Hongling might even avoid him in the future to avoid suspicions, possibly not even being friends anymore.

He wasn't sure whether to thank this Brother Cui or to chop him.

However, just when he felt they might not even remain friends, Yue Hongling suddenly spoke, "There's a spy in your stronghold."

Zhao Changhe was stunned, then nodded, "Yes, you had just fallen into the pit at dusk, and before midnight, Cui Yuanyong, who was in the town, had already heard about it, obviously someone's been gossiping."

"Do you know who it is?" Yue Hongling asked.

"Mm."

"Do you need help dealing with it?"

"Not for now, I can handle it when necessary... Of course, if you want to vent, we can handle it now."

"Since you have a plan, let's not." Yue Hongling said indifferently, "Alright, since it's a misunderstanding, don't think too much about it. Continue to sit, I will guide your breathing."

Zhao Changhe was dumbfounded, "You still…"

"Why not? Cui Yuanyong, despite being a young master from a major family, shouldn't be so trivial like the gossipy village widows. Besides, Yue Hongling is without guilt, I just do what I need to, and let others gossip as they will." Yue Hongling glanced at him, then suddenly smiled, "What, did you think I would sever ties with you over such a matter? You did nothing wrong in this situation, why should I transfer my anger to you?"

"I..." Zhao Changhe pursed his lips and finally didn't say much, simply sitting quietly.

The Yue Hongling in his heart was still heroic and clear about gratitude and grudges, not overwhelmed.

The sunset made Hongling uncontainable. How could she be troubled by mere worldly gossip?

Zhao Changhe sat quietly, Yue Hongling still had her hand on his lower abdomen. Breathing deeply, the gentle True Qi from his belly mingled with the Outer Breath he inhaled, almost demonstrating, "Remember this sensation, hereafter, breathe three longs and two shorts, gradually regulating your breathing. Once you are accustomed, there's no need to deliberately do so."

"I understand."

"I will transmit the Heart Method Mantra to you, remember it…"

The subtle fragrance of his female mentor still lingered, and although her hair still brushed against her cheeks, Zhao Changhe could no longer entertain any fanciful thoughts. The clear and concise voice came, word by word. Zhao Changhe immersed himself in the cycle of breathing and the flow of Inner Breath, gradually entering Meditation.

Yue Hongling's hand had already moved away, and she sat beside him with her eyes closed, cultivating to heal her injuries.

After a long time, Zhao Changhe opened his eyes, and in the darkness, it seemed as if a light flickered, like electricity filling an empty room.

Mystical Gate, Second Layer.

Almost simultaneously, Yue Hongling opened her eyes and smiled slightly, "It was your first time receiving the technique, meant just for familiarization, yet you sensed the opportunity for a breakthrough and directly broke through without hesitation. This decisiveness and power fits your name, truly like a relentless flowing Changhe."

"...You flatter me, I've always thought my name was rather dull. About that last remark, if only it was a Judgement from the 'Chaotic World Book,' damn the cursed book..."

Yue Hongling ignored him, her brows slightly furrowed again, "Your Cultivation Technique... is very powerful… Just at Mystical Gate's Second Layer, creating electricity in an empty room, I haven't heard such a powerful technique before, yet revealing no specific traits, just purely immense and prolonged... What Divine Skill is this?"