The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

"Brother An, are you alright? What happened...?"

Qu Feiyan's gaze fell on Ji Wushi, who was immobilized by having his acupoints sealed, and her words came to an abrupt halt.

She tilted her head, her bright eyes scrutinizing the man in black for a moment, her brows furrowing as she looked on with deep confusion.

That figure, those eyes that shine so brightly in the night... why do they look so familiar?

The sleazy figure by the river, feigning greed, muttering about not having any corpses to touch, and most importantly, taking An-gege's clothes, slowly overlapped with the image of the man in black before them.

"It's you!" Qu Feiyan exclaimed in surprise, pointing at Ji Wushi. Her pretty face instantly flushed red, not from embarrassment, but from anger. "You're the one who robbed the corpse!"

Having his identity exposed, Ji Wushi didn't seem embarrassed at all; only a helpless, bitter smile flashed in his cunning eyes.

Seeing his reaction, Qu Feiyan became even angrier.

I was so foolish to have actually taken him for a greedy nobody, and I was completely deceived by his behavior.

"You bastard!" The girl's almond-shaped eyes widened, and her two small fists were about to be thrown out. If Shen An hadn't been there, she probably would have already rushed up and taught this despicable liar a lesson.

"A corpse looter?"

Seeing that Shen An was puzzled, Qu Feiyan explained in detail what had happened when she encountered him earlier.

"Alright, alright," Shen An said, seeing her puffed-up face, he really wanted to pinch her cheeks, but he restrained himself, not because he was afraid of being bitten. "His name is Ji Wushi, he's from the Sun Moon Sect, and he's been ordered to investigate your grandfather's whereabouts."

"No plan?" Qu Feiyan was taken aback, then suddenly realized. She had grown up in the church since she was a child, and although she had never met him, she had heard of his reputation as "no plan" and "night owl".

"I plan to take him back first so your grandfather can take a look, and then we'll see what to do with him," Shen An said, turning his gaze to Qu Feiyan with a mischievous smile in his eyes. He teased, "It seems you're not the only one in this martial arts world who likes to pretend to be someone else."

This was originally a lighthearted joke, meant to subtly remind her to be more careful in the future.

Unexpectedly, Qu Feiyan was stunned upon hearing this, and then the anger on her face faded away.

She lowered her head, her long eyelashes obscuring her eyes, making it impossible to see her expression.

Immediately afterwards, as if she had suffered some great injustice, she pouted and turned around abruptly, leaving Shen An with only an angry back view.

"snort!"

A soft moan, thick with nasal tone, sounded particularly clear in the dead of night.

"Uh..." Shen An's smile froze.

What did I say wrong again?

He was completely baffled, utterly unable to understand why the girl's emotions had changed so quickly. Just a moment ago she was angry about being deceived, how come her taking her anger out on him after he said something?

Shen An naturally wouldn't understand.

Because Qu Feiyan wasn't angry with him; she was just blaming herself.

She still harbors resentment about her initial concealment of her identity.

The initial concealment stemmed from habitual caution and a test. But now, that test has long since drifted away into the distance with each passing day.

But guilt remained.

This fool was completely oblivious and even used the past incident to make fun of himself!

And even if he is 99% at fault, doesn't Brother An bear any responsibility at all?

Shame, anger, grievance, and a hint of sweetness that she couldn't quite explain... all these emotions intertwined and ultimately transformed into that spoiled "humph" and that stubborn back that refused to turn around.

Shen An scratched his head, completely bewildered, and could only pick up Ji Wushi beside him and chase after them.

All of this was witnessed by Ji Wushi.

Brother An? Sure enough, this kid is Shen An, who has been causing quite a stir in the city recently.

He looked at Qu Feiyan, who was throwing a tantrum over a joke, and then at Shen An, who looked bewildered and clearly "unromantic," but other thoughts began to stir in his mind.

If we lose our horses, we can't know what a blessing is.

Isn't this young man from Mount Song the very person that the Holy Maiden and the Left Envoy have been searching for?

Ji Wushi cried out in his heart.

Firstly, his martial arts skills are quite high. He still feels lingering fear from that palm strike. The fact that the Twin Bears of the Northern Desert died at his hands speaks volumes about his strength. Even though it's just a basic palm technique from Mount Song, it possesses such power. If the higher-ups were to teach him a few more powerful martial arts manuals, it would definitely be more than enough.

Secondly, his background is clean. He is a disciple of the Songshan Sect and has little connection with the power struggles within the Sun Moon Sect. Although Ji Wushi doesn't know the reason, he knows that the Holy Maiden and the Left Envoy have been searching for a master outside the Sun Moon Sect.

Thirdly, and most importantly, he is not bound by the distinction between good and evil!

A disciple of a prestigious sect can be so close to Elder Qu Yang's granddaughter, even making jokes with her... This shows that this person acts only according to his own heart, and is not bound by those so-called rules of righteous and evil sects!

Given this, it's possible that it could be used by the Holy Maiden.

Ji Wushi's mind immediately started working.

He looked at Shen An, his eyes gleaming with a calculating light that grew even brighter.

It seems that after getting away from Qu Yang, I'll have to investigate this kid thoroughly.

We especially need to investigate him... to see if he's easy to fool.

…………

When Shen An carried Ji Wushi and returned to Bailianfang side by side with Qu Feiyan, it was already very late at night.

If they had lingered a little longer on their journey, they would have seen the first light of dawn on the horizon.

The sound of their footsteps was exceptionally clear in the empty and quiet neighborhood.

Upon entering the inner courtyard, Shen An casually put Ji Wushi down from his shoulder and let him lean against a pillar.

The unfortunate "night owl," after hanging upside down for half the night, was completely disoriented. When it finally got its feet on solid ground, it was as soft as a lump of mud and slid down the pillar to the ground.

Shen An looked at the dark room, turned his head, and whispered to Qu Feiyan beside him, "Xiao Cao should be asleep by now. When you go back, please walk quietly so as not to wake her."

Qu Feiyan's little temper had already been worn away on the way back.

She nodded obediently, her bright eyes still sparkling in the dim light. She lowered her voice as well, pointed to Ji Wushi slumped on the ground, and asked, "Then... what about him?"

"That's simple, just apply pressure to the acupoints and hang him upside down with a rope."

"Hmm..." Qu Feiyan responded softly, feeling a little sorry for the despicable guy who had deceived her.

She looked deeply at Shen An, and his tired and weathered face, which had been worn out by a long day, stirred a feeling of pity and tenderness in her, making her reluctant to leave.

"Go to sleep early, Feifei. You've had a long day too. You can sleep in tomorrow."

"You're the one who sleeps in late..." Qu Feiyan pouted, but her voice was so low it was almost inaudible. "Goodnight, Brother An."

"Okay, goodnight."

When Qu Feiyan tiptoed back to the room, she didn't mind seeing the blanket wrapped up in a ball on the bed. She simply covered herself with the blanket and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Little did they know, those eyes had been open the whole time, even under the covers.

Wang Xiaocao didn't sleep at all.

Or rather, she didn't sleep a wink all night.

As the footsteps entered the courtyard, a familiar voice rang out.

At that moment, the anxiety that had gripped her all night finally subsided.

But then, their intimate and gentle conversation was suddenly interrupted.

The foot that was about to land was pulled back.

In such a harmonious atmosphere, there shouldn't be one more person...