Time Travel: I'm a Flower Thief

Xie Lingyun looked up at him.

That day, while she was meditating at "Wanghailu", she suddenly felt the dragon scale jade pendant on her chest stirring slightly.

She knew that the ornament was made from the dragon scales on the body of the Ancestral Dragon, and was inextricably linked to the Ancestral Dragon's true energy.

It would have been fine if I hadn't met Xie Xiaoyi, but after meeting him, our energy resonated, and he suddenly trembled so violently... Could something have happened to him?

Putting aside his memories, Xie Lingyun simply said:

"I went to the beach to check if you were slacking off during your sword practice, but you really made me look bad, getting beaten up so badly!"

Her beauty truly deserves the title of "the best in the world." Even now, with her face bare and wearing the most ordinary clothes, she is still so beautiful that people dare not look directly at her.

Xie Xiaoyi stared at her blankly, vaguely remembering the regret he had when he cried out "I haven't captured her yet" on his deathbed, and how she had responded to him.

Will she be angry?

By this time, the medicine had spread throughout his limbs, and he felt that most of the pain and swelling had subsided, leaving him feeling extremely comfortable.

Xie Xiaoyi mustered her strength, raised her hand to support herself on the edge of the bed, and slowly sat up: "Thank you, Aunt, for saving my life."

Xie Lingyun's gaze sharpened, his expression hardening with seriousness: "I'm asking you, are you the infamous flower thief of legend?"

boom--

These words struck Xie Xiaoyi like a thunderbolt: "Could it be that Xie Lingyun already knows?"

He panicked and waved his hands in explanation:

"How could I possibly be a womanizer? I studied medicine before, and later learned martial arts. How could I be the kind of despicable person who humiliates women? No, of course not!"

"Xie Xiaoyi?"

"Oh—my aunt is calling me..."

He confessed without being asked!

Xie Xiaoyi was dumbfounded.

Who in the lower echelons of society doesn't know the infamous womanizer, Xie Xiaoyi?

Her sudden question, and my subconscious response, were tantamount to putting my identity on the table, leaving me with no room for maneuver.

Since she had already questioned the "flower thief" and could accurately call out her own name, it was clear that she already knew his background!

"Auntie, I..."

"From now on, don't call me aunt."

Xie Xiaoyi understood; she was drawing a line between herself and him.

That's right.

How could someone ranked fourth in the world, a grandmaster-level figure, possibly accept a womanizer, the leader of the Five Evils, as a disciple?

She hasn't killed me and is even healing my wounds; she's already done more than enough.

As he was pondering this, Xie Lingyun spoke slowly:

"The day I saved you, the Rakshasa woman revealed all your secrets to me. You don't need to hide anything from me now."

That's it!

Xie Xiaoyi nodded immediately.

"So... Senior Xie, are you going to kill me, or let me go?"

Upon hearing this, Xie Lingyun froze, his hands unconsciously clenching, a strange, unsettling feeling churning within him.

He was the person she had been waiting for for eighteen years.

For the past eighteen years, he has held fast to his obsession and remained chaste, yet he has become a notorious womanizer and the leader of the five vices.

I can't bear to kill him.

I want to stay, but I can't get over that mental hurdle.

Xie Lingyun was at a loss for what to do.

After a long silence, she concealed all emotion in her eyes, her voice calm and undisturbed: "Your injuries have healed, you can go down the mountain now."

Xie Xiaoyi was secretly delighted: "These past few days as her apprentice haven't been in vain. We've developed some affection for her, and in the end, she can't bear to kill me."

He immediately clasped his hands in a respectful bow and said, "Thank you very much, Aunt... Senior!"

For the next few days, the two barely spoke to each other in the hut.

Xie Lingyun, who used to never drink a drop of alcohol, began to drink alone every day. He would place a jar of wine on a stone table and drink by himself until dusk.

Xie Xiaoyi saw all this but dared not say a word. He simply stayed quietly in his room, even walking with a light step.

Before they knew it, autumn was almost over, and Xie Xiaoyi's injuries had almost healed.

He glanced at Xie Lingyun, who was sitting alone in the corner of the courtyard drinking wine, then mustered his courage and walked over, cupping his hands in greeting:

"Aunt... Senior, I have troubled you greatly these past few days. I will be leaving tomorrow."

Xie Lingyun paused in his hand holding the wine cup, looked up at him, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, and it took him a moment to come back to his senses.

She didn't answer, but instead lowered her head and drank a few more glasses of wine. After the wine went down her throat, she slowly nodded slightly to him.

Seeing Xie Lingyun nod, Xie Xiaoyi felt a sudden pang of pain in his heart for no apparent reason, and then slowly retreated back to his small hut.

As I closed the door, I glanced at her one last time, because that one glance might be the last time we ever saw each other!

As night fell, Xie Xiaoyi tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep, his mind filled with thoughts of where he would go in the future.

Given the current situation, Heaven and Earth and Lingxiao Palace will surely expose my identity, and once I enter the martial arts world, I will be surrounded by enemies.

Heaven and Earth, Lingxiao Palace, Kunlun Heavenly Sword Sect, Hanhai Sword, and even the Overlord Blade—just thinking about them makes my head spin.

Or should we find a place to hide?

Go find Fu Yaoqin?

No, given her personality, if she knew I was a womanizer, she probably wouldn't even want to see me.

Go find Ouyang Qing?

That's not appropriate either, as it's ultimately not proper and would only cause more trouble.

Should we go find our senior sister?

But what if my senior sister and senior brother also find out about my background?

The more he thought about it, the more confused he became. He shook his head, let out a heavy sigh, and felt a surge of bitterness in his heart: "In this vast world, there's nowhere for me to belong!"

Just as I was gazing in confusion, a soft sound came from outside the door, as if someone was pushing the door open.

Xie Xiaoyi quickly got up and reached out to push open half of the door, only to see Xie Lingyun standing at the door, his strong smell of alcohol hitting him.

Before he could react, a sharp "slap" rang out as a slap landed hard on his face.

Xie Xiaoyi was knocked to the side, his head was buzzing, and he stood there stunned.

"You're a notorious womanizer, aren't you?" Xie Lingyun's voice was hoarse with the smell of alcohol, yet it carried a sense of desolation.

"S-Senior..."

Xie Xiaoyi had barely managed to utter two words when "slap!" another slap landed on his face.

The force was greater than before, making his cheeks burn with pain and blood trickling from the corners of his mouth.

"The head of the five evils, right?" Xie Lingyun's eyes were red as he stared at him, his voice filled with indescribable anger and pain.

Xie Xiaoyi was completely stunned, frozen in place, forgetting to dodge or argue.

"You're Xiao Yi from Heaven and Earth, right?"

Another "smack!" landed, the third slap making his eardrums ring.

"Eighteen years... I waited eighteen years... and you became a notorious womanizer?"

She waited for eighteen years, but I became a womanizer?

Is there any connection between these two?

Xie Xiaoyi was stunned: "I...I..."

He was speechless, unable to utter a single word, when Xie Lingyun stepped forward, choking back tears as she pounded his chest. Xie Xiaoyi staggered backward, his back hitting the corner of the wall.

Xie Lingyun leaned in, bracing himself against the wall with one hand, pinning him tightly: "Xie Xiaoyi, I hate you..."