Time Travel: I'm a Flower Thief

No words were spoken that day. Xie Xiaoyi sat listlessly on the hard bed in the town's inn, tossing and turning, unable to calm down.

"Knock knock knock!"

The third watch gong sounds, signaling the appointed time.

Xie Xiaoyi's bedding was soaked with cold sweat, and the evil energy deep in his dantian was like a wild beast that had broken free of its shackles.

During the day, he could barely suppress it with his inner energy, but at midnight, the heat would surge through his meridians.

The scorching energy made his limbs tremble, and even his eyes turned uncontrollably bloodshot.

Xie Xiaoyi gritted her teeth and sat up—the urge to pick flowers was creeping back into her mind like crazy.

Haha!

Screw control! This is the only time of day I can be happy. If I don't go pick flowers now, when will I ever get another chance?

He cursed under his breath, grabbed a black robe from beside the bed and put it on, just about to push open the door and leave...

A faint fragrance wafted towards my nose, not the scent of perfume, but a cool fragrance with a captivating allure.

Xie Xiaoyi suppressed the evil energy within him and laughed heartily, "Sister Ning Yangzi, why hide? Come out quickly!"

Before the words were finished, a fiery red figure floated down lightly in the moonlight outside the window.

The newcomer was none other than one of the "Four Beauties" from the "Heaven and Earth" brothel, one of the three lower gates, who was as famous as the "Five Evils".

The four beauties each occupied a region: the alluring Hua Nongying in the east, the enchanting Ye Wanniang in the west, the alluring Ning Yangzi in the south, and the seductive Yue Qinghan in the north; each specialized in the art of seduction.

Countless men in the martial arts world have fallen at their feet, and their popularity surpasses even that of the Five Evils.

Ning Yangzi sat casually on the windowsill, her two slender legs dangling in the air.

With her elbows propped on her knees, she toyed with a red jade flute with her fingertips, and her eyes, as they moved, exuded a seductive charm that seeped into one's very bones.

She is strikingly beautiful, yet when she smiles, the curve of her lips carries a captivating allure.

She looked at Xie Xiaoyi, her voice soft and teasing: "Your nose is still as sensitive as ever, truly a gift."

Xie Xiaoyi raised an eyebrow and asked casually, "How did you find this place?"

Ning Yangzi twirled the red jade flute in her palm, her eyes crinkling with laughter: "Isn't this all the work of you, you master thief?"

"The Thief King?" Xie Xiaoyi was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled softly, his tone tinged with amusement.

Ning Yangzi swung her leg, which was dangling in mid-air, her voice full of mockery:

"You little rascal, while others pick flowers for girls from minor sects, you specifically target Murong Wei and Yun Qianxun from the top three sects."

Now everyone in the flower-picking world knows you; they all call you the Grand Marshal of Flower Thieves—the Thief King.

Xie Xiaoyi raised an eyebrow and tapped lightly on the doorframe with her fingertips. "You still haven't answered me why you came here?"

Ning Yangzi's smile faded slightly. She stopped swaying her legs, gently pressed the red jade flute between her fingertips to her lips, and her voice became more melancholic:

"I've always liked you, kid. I happened to run into you during the day, so I came here specifically tonight to tell you that our Heaven and Earth has been taken over by that old sword immortal Cui Juqing."

Seven elders died, the sect leader's whereabouts are unknown, and the remaining members scattered like monkeys after the tree fell, all gone in the martial world.

Xie Xiaoyi's smile froze abruptly, her voice rising in disbelief: "Why...why?"

Ning Yangzi looked up at him, the mockery in her eyes completely gone, and said, word by word, "Isn't it all because of you?"

"Because of me?" Xie Xiaoyi suddenly stood up straight, his tone full of astonishment.

Ning Yangzi sneered, slamming the red jade flute heavily in her palm. "You took Yun Qianxun as your concubine, and it seems she didn't return to the Kunlun Heavenly Sword Sect; she simply vanished from the martial world."

Upon learning the truth, Cui Juqing, enraged, went to the Heaven and Earth nightclub and killed more than three hundred people in one fell swoop...

I happened to run into you while passing through this town today. I was disguised during the day, and I came to see you tonight.

"Sister Ning Yangzi, you...don't hate me?"

"Hate you? Heh—"

Our world is a place where everyone takes what they need. We gather because we profit, and we disperse because we lose our profit. Where is there any genuine affection?

Whether you're destroyed or Old Sword Immortal Cui is wiped out, to me it's just a matter of changing places to live my life. Why should I hate you?

"Then what do you want from me?"

"Let me tell you, stay away from the people of Heaven on Earth. They wish they could grind you to dust right now."

And that old monster Cui Juqing, he's searching the whole world for you, so don't wear that human skin mask you used to wear for your crimes anymore.

"Fine! Anyway..."

Before he could finish speaking, Xie Xiaoyi felt the evil energy he had forcibly suppressed inside his body begin to surge wildly again.

He suddenly stepped forward, grabbed Ning Yangzi's wrist, and pulled her tightly into his arms.

"I want to pick flowers now, but since you're here, I'll use what's available."

Ning Yangzi stiffened and poked him in the chest with her red jade flute: "Our rules in Heaven and Earth are that men don't offend women, and women don't offend men. You've broken the rules!"

"Um!"

"Then let me go!"

"good!"

But the moment the word "good" was uttered, Xie Xiaoyi not only did not let go, but instead picked Ning Yangzi up horizontally around the waist.

Ning Yangzi got angry and punched him hard in the chest: "Xie Xiaoyi, I've always treated you like a younger brother, are you even human?"

"I'm not going to be the younger brother today!"

"What do you want to be?"

"Brother-in-law!"

"You...you little rascal, ugh!"

The moon's shadow outside the window was mostly obscured by dark clouds, while the candlelight inside flickered and wouldn't stop.

......

The distant sound of the fourth watch clapper shattered the silence of the inn.

Xie Xiaoyi struck a tinderbox and lit the candle on the table.

The flickering firelight illuminated half of his face. He sat leaning against the edge of the bed with his clothes wide open, revealing his well-defined chest and abdominal muscles, which were still damp with a thin layer of sweat, their lines hard and full of power.

Ning Yangzi's long hair was disheveled, with a few strands clinging to her sweaty neck. Her fiery red dress was wrinkled.

She didn't say anything, but lazily leaned forward, pressing her cheek against Xie Xiaoyi's slightly cool back.

"Xiao Yi, you've changed."

Xie Xiaoyi turned her head, a self-deprecating smile tugging at the corner of her lips: "I said, I'm now two people merged together, do you believe me, sister?"

"Of course I believe you." Ning Yangzi raised her hand and gently poked his back with her fingertip. "You weren't human just now, you were an animal."

Xie Xiaoyi paused for a moment, then his voice deepened:

"I know that, but every time the alarm goes off at midnight, I feel an uncontrollable evil aura about me, like I'm going mad."

Ning Yangzi chuckled softly, a hint of nostalgia in her voice:

"You! You entered the Heaven and Earth Club at the age of nine, and by thirteen you had grown into a handsome young man."

I've said it before, with your looks, why would you need to pick flowers?

"Just beckon with your finger, and those young ladies will jump into your arms, won't they?"

Xie Xiaoyi raised an eyebrow, turned her head to glare at her: "You're one to criticize me? Aren't you the same way, sister?"

Ning Yangzi was taken aback, then raised an eyebrow and asked, "What about me?"

Xie Xiaoyi withdrew his gaze, staring at the flickering candlelight, and said, word by word:

"You were a beautiful woman, why did you become a thief?"