Time Travel: I'm a Flower Thief

On a sparsely starry summer night, the evening breeze carries the chirping of cicadas past the window.

The residence in the backyard of Jinghua Bookstore was quiet. Xie Xiaoyi had just taken off his outer robe and lay down on the bed, his eyes still closed.

A faint, cool fragrance drifted in from outside the courtyard wall, followed by the soft sound of clothes brushing against the green tiles on the wall.

A thought struck him, and he lightly tapped the edge of the bed. He got up and pushed the door, but the half-closed wooden door was pushed open by a clever force.

A fiery red figure darted in like the wind, instantly enveloped in a cool, captivating fragrance.

The jade flute pressed against Xie Xiaoyi's chest, while its arms tightly encircled his neck, holding him close.

"Sister Ning Yangzi?"

Xie Xiaoyi was slightly startled. He raised his hand to support her waist, his fingertips touching the warm skin beneath the fiery red brocade.

"How did you end up at Jinghua Bookstore?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Yangzi looked up at him, her eyes filled with urgency and an indescribable allure.

"Xiao Yi, I miss you. Don't ask me any questions right now!"

Ning Yangzi didn't answer him at all, and instead tilted her head back to cover Xie Xiaoyi's lips with hers.

She casually slammed the red jade flute onto the table beside her, making a crisp sound. Ning Yangzi grabbed Xie Xiaoyi's clothes with both hands and used the momentum of the kiss to push him back.

Xie Xiaoyi staggered backward, his lower back hitting the edge of the bed, and he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

Ning Yangzi pressed down on him, pinning him firmly to the bed, kissing him urgently and fiercely, with a touch of reckless arrogance.

Xie Xiaoyi was dumbfounded.

He wasn't curious why Ning Yangzi was so proactive, because any woman who had witnessed his "Dragon Tail Swing" move would fall for him.

What he didn't understand was how Ning Yangzi had found this place.

The lamp in the corner of the room was very bright, casting the intertwined shadows of the two people onto the plain-colored curtains.

The fiery red fabric clung to Xie Xiaoyi's black clothes, and a cool fragrance permeated the small bed.

The candlelight flickered and wouldn't stop...

The room was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere, and after an unknown amount of time, the bed with its lightly drawn curtains gradually quieted down.

Xie Xiaoyi propped himself up on his arms, his chest still heaving violently. His heavy breathing caused his clothes to slip loosely off his shoulders, revealing several faint red marks.

Ning Yangzi caught her breath, propped herself up from the bed, and smoothed the strands of hair that had fallen across her cheek. Without the slightest hint of embarrassment, she simply leaned forward slightly.

She leaned softly against him, wrapped her arms around Xie Xiaoyi's waist, and gently rested her cheek on his sweaty shoulder.

Just as Xie Xiaoyi was about to ask a question, a sharp pain shot through his neck.

It turned out that Ning Yangzi had bitten him hard on the strong muscles of his shoulder.

The force was considerable; the teeth marks were deeply embedded in the flesh, carrying a hint of savage ruthlessness.

Xie Xiaoyi let out a muffled groan, his teeth clenched tightly, afraid that making a sound would attract the attention of the people from Jinghua Bookstore.

"Sister Ning Yangzi, you're going too far."

He grabbed Ning Yangzi's wrist with his other hand, used the force to turn her around, and pinched her chin with his other hand, forcing her to look at him.

Ning Yangzi glanced at him, her eyebrows raised with her usual flirtatious air, her tone both coquettish and domineering:

"If I don't play really hard on you, you master thief, will you even remember me?"

Xie Xiaoyi was stunned for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and smiled, lowering his head to kiss her lips:

"Don't worry, although I may be a womanizer, I'm not fickle and I won't forget her in the blink of an eye."

Ning Yangzi nuzzled his lips with her nose, her eyes gleaming with a seductive smile: "That would be best. If you dare forget your sister, next time I won't just bite your shoulder."

Xie Xiaoyi was dumbfounded again.

If you don't bite the shoulder, where should you bite?

It can't be...

He was startled and quickly changed the subject.

"Seriously, how did you find me? My whereabouts aren't that easy to track, are they?"

Ning Yangzi looked up at him and smiled, her fingers lightly tracing the teeth marks on his shoulder, her tone charming yet tinged with smugness:

"When we parted last time, I secretly put a scent-attracting fragrance on you. The scent is very faint, and no one else can smell it. Only my scent-attracting bird can find you by following the scent."

As she spoke, she raised her hand to her lips and let out a short, clear whistle.

With a soft "fluttering" sound, a glossy gray sparrow flapped its wings and flew into the house, landing directly on Ning Yangzi's outstretched fingertip.

The little guy's head darted around, his black pearl-like eyes first glancing at Xie Xiaoyi, then affectionately rubbing against Ning Yangzi's fingertip, as if seeking praise.

"This little thing?" Xie Xiaoyi reached out to touch it, but Ning Yangzi slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch it, it's very wary of strangers. If anyone else touches it, it will peck them."

Ning Yangzi gently stroked the sparrow's back feathers with her fingertips, her tone full of pride:

"Don't underestimate it. This Fragrant Bird is a rare breed that I trained over three years."

The scent that carried you was as faint as a gentle breeze, yet it was this very scent that led me all the way to the bookstores of the capital.

"Good heavens, so I've been watched by your 'little informant' the whole way?"

"Of course." Ning Yangzi smiled, her eyes crinkling, and gestured for the sparrow to fly to the side.

"A few days ago, it landed outside my window and cried incessantly, and I knew I had found you."

I was planning to surprise you, but the moment I saw you, I couldn't help myself...

She was speaking when her eyes reddened, realizing she couldn't say any more, or she would be being too unrestrained.

Seeing her like this, Xie Xiaoyi smiled mischievously and reached out to pinch her flushed cheek.

"Sister Ning Yangzi, you went to all this trouble to come to the capital, you didn't just come here to be intimate with me, did you? Is there nothing else?"

Upon hearing this, Ning Yangzi's alluring and shy expression vanished instantly. She straightened up and gently pushed Xie Xiaoyi's chest away with both hands.

"Stop being silly. I came here specifically to tell you to find a place to hide right now, or it will be too late."

Xie Xiaoyi raised an eyebrow and chuckled, "Sister Ning Yangzi, are you trying to scare me?"

Ning Yangzi frowned and lowered his voice: "Our 'Heaven and Earth' sect leader, Liu Chandu, has given the order to eliminate you."

Xie Xiaoyi's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a hint of surprise in his voice: "Why?"

"Didn't I tell you before? You picked flowers and got involved with that little girl Yun Qianxun, and as a result, she couldn't stand it and disappeared into the vast world of martial arts."

After a pause, Ning Yangzi sighed softly, her eyes filled with helplessness:

"Cui Juqing killed over three hundred members of 'Heaven and Earth' with his sword. The sect leader escaped death, and in his grief, he concluded that everything was caused by you, and that he had to get rid of you..."

Xie Xiaoyi snorted coldly, his tone carrying a hint of arrogance:

"Sister Ning Yangzi, not to brag, but there aren't many people at our 'Heaven on Earth' who can beat me right now."

Ning Yangzi looked at him like this and shook her head helplessly:

"What if it's Ba Dao, the leader of the Tianba Blade Sect, plus Gui Hai Qian Feng, the head of the Han Hai Sword Sect, and the assassins from the Lingxiao Palace?"