Chapter 18

Just as the first rays of the morning sun shone on the endless yellow sand on the east side of Suzhou City, horses and camels galloped out of the city gate.

Xu Buling rode on the four snow-white hooves of Wind Treading on Snow. The fine horse's hair was black and shiny. A weapon hung on the horse's side. It was a bit longer than a normal white wax spear and was wrapped in waterproof black cloth.

Zhongli Chuchu changed back into her red muslin dress and wrapped her hair in a headscarf. She sat sideways on the white camel and deliberately paid attention to her appearance and bearing. Her figure and temperament attracted many passersby's attention.

After seeing those stinky men's gazes, Zhongli Chuchu finally felt a bit more at ease. These days, Xu Buling had been cold and indifferent. She even suspected that she had become uglier. Currently, it seemed that she hadn't changed. Xu Buling must be a blockhead to not have the slightest reaction …

Zhongli Chuchu sized up Xu Buling who was walking in front of her. She only thought that he was going to some manor outside the city to find a jade pendant and didn't take it to heart. She kept thinking about how to attract this blockhead's attention.

The two of them galloped outside the city and quickly approached the edge of the desert. There were fewer and fewer passersby around them.

Zhongli Chuchu thought for a long time and suddenly had an idea. She sat on the camel and began to hum a tune from the Western Regions.

"Humph ~ ~ ~"

The tune was mellow, light and moving. It was as if a clear spring had suddenly appeared in a desolate desert.

The red muslin on her body gently fluttered with the never-ending sandstorm. Her dark green eyes carried a bit of laziness as if she had seen through the affairs of the world. She was magnificent and had the flavor of a foreign beauty.

After trying so hard to seduce him, the blockhead in front of him finally had some reaction.

Xu Buling turned his head to look and revealed a bit of a smile. He didn't say anything to disturb her. After all, to be able to hear such a tune in the desert was also a kind of rare enjoyment.

The outline of Suzhou City gradually disappeared. The sea of sand around them couldn't be seen. The scorching sun in the sky rose high into the sky and fell from the sky, becoming a red sun at the end of the sea of sand.

Zhongli Chuchu hummed like this for a day. The blockhead in front of her never turned his head. Her throat was almost hoarse. Thirsty and hungry, she gradually became annoyed. She stopped humming and looked around.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To find the jade pendant. There is a ruin ahead. Let's camp there and rest for the night. We will continue tomorrow."

？？

Zhongli Chu Chu was unable to make head or tail of it, as this was the first time she had come to Suzhou, and she did not know where this desolate and uninhabited place was, causing her heart to show some vigilance.

"He can't possibly want to sell me …."

Thinking of this, Zhongli Chuchu felt that she was thinking too much. A son of a feudal vassal, why would he run so far away to sell girls?

"He can't, can he take me to the wilderness …"

That's not possible either. He's in a high position and his martial arts are so good. Even if he took care of me in Suzhou City, no one would dare say anything.

"That's impossible. He is in a high position and his martial arts are so good. No one would dare to say anything if he took care of me in Suzhou City. There is no need for him to come here …"

"Where is the jade pendant? How far is it? "

Xu Buling calculated. "It is a few hundred miles. It will take about three or four days."

Zhongli Chuchu couldn't tell which was which, so she didn't say anything more. She followed Xu Buling for another two miles and came to a small green field in the desert.

There was a small lake in the middle of the green field. Beside it were old houses, uninhabited and dilapidated. The low walls had collapsed. It should be a small stockade.

Zhongli Chuchu got off the camel by the lake and let the white camel eat grass and drink water. She took the waterskin and walked to the entrance of the small stockade. She saw dozens of skulls piled up outside. Most of them were buried in the yellow sand. There were also many corpses at the entrance. All of them were broken limbs. None of them were complete.

She had seen corpses all year round in Jianghu. But this kind of scene of bones all over the ground could only be seen in the frontier fortress where there were battles all year round. Zhongli Chuchu frowned. She felt a little creepy. She walked around a pile of skulls and looked inside.

"We will stay here tonight? There won't be ghosts in the wilderness, will there? "

Xu Buling took the luggage from the Wind-Chasing Horse and walked into the dilapidated stockade with ease. He joked,

"With me here, ghosts won't dare to come. If you are afraid, you can stay with me."

Zhongli Chuchu narrowed her eyes slightly. She saw Xu Buling's calm expression and serious eyes. He was not teasing her. She thought for a while and followed him into the stockade. She said softly,

"Okay."

"…"

Xu Buling stopped in his tracks. He was dumbfounded. 'Can't she tell that I am teasing her?'

When he saw that Zhongli Chuchu seemed to trust him, Xu Buling did not want to go overboard with his words. He carried the luggage and sat down in a house made of mud that could only block the wind. He took out a blanket from the bag and spread it on the ground. Then, he gathered the broken wood from the collapsed beams and used flint to light a bonfire.

The sky slowly turned dark. Xu Buling took out the dry food he brought with him and handed a portion to Zhongli Chuchu.

"You are a girl, and you are wandering the world alone. You are not wary of men when you meet them. You are quite bold."

Zhongli Chuchu sat sideways on the blanket and took the dry food. She chuckled.

"Young Master, you are a good person. I trust you."

Xu Buling picked up the wine gourd and took a sip. "If you trusted me, you wouldn't have hidden arrows in your boots and pointed them at me all the time. You also have a lot of poisonous needles on your waist. You even have a few poisonous needles tied to your hair. Aren't you afraid of being pricked?"

Zhongli Chuchu's expression froze. She pulled her feet back a little.

"I am used to wandering the world. Young Master, don't misunderstand me. But how do you know so much?"

"Using poison is the most despicable method in the world. There is basically no poison in the world that is colorless and odorless, especially those with strong toxicity. "Those who are skilled in martial arts will definitely have keen senses. You can smell the type of poison even if you are dozens of feet away. "Even if you can't smell it, the hidden arrows and silver needles will not be able to injure experts. Their inner breath will last for a long time, and the poisonous smoke will not be very effective. Unless it is an extremely domineering poison like the Dragon Lock Parasite, it will not be able to injure people."

Zhongli Chuchu did not quite believe him. She hesitated for a moment, but she did not dare to test him. She only chuckled and said,

"There are all kinds of methods to use poison. Some young masters will not even be able to imagine them. It all depends on how ruthless the person who uses the poison is. Anyway, if someone has evil intentions towards me, no matter how skilled they are in martial arts, I am confident that I can escape unscathed."

Xu Buling was dubious and did not comment on it.

There was only the night wind in the desert. There was no sound, and it seemed a little gloomy.

Zhongli Chuchu sat for a moment and looked at the bones in the stockade village. She asked curiously,

"What is this place? Why are there so many bones here? If they were left behind from a war, someone should have collected the corpses. "

Xu Buling glanced at it. "I came here when I was sixteen. I was lost and came here to ask for directions. But the horse was too good and I was surrounded. Only then did I know that it was a den of horse bandits."

Zhongli Chuchu had heard of the power of the desert horse bandits. She frowned and said,

"Then, how did you get away?"

Xu Buling raised his hand and pointed at the small view at the entrance of the stockade village. "I killed all the people and slept here for a night. I escaped on a horse the next day."

"…"

Zhongli Chuchu was slightly stunned. She tilted her head and looked at the stockade village that seemed to have been ravaged by the flames of war.

"Did you do this alone?"

"Didn't you hear from the storyteller?"

"Storytellers love to exaggerate. I can't believe it … I also heard that you like to bully women, especially married women. Is that true?"

Xu Buring blinked his eyes. "Hmm … that's nonsense. I heard from Qing Ye that you came from Nanyue, but you look like someone from the Western Regions. Why did you come so far? "

"It's nothing. I was born in a small tribe outside the Great Wall when I was young. I met bandits and was sold to Nanyue. Fortunately, I met a master and that's how I am now."

Xu Buling nodded. "Since your master could find the way to break the Dragon-Lock Parasite, he must be an expert. If there's a chance, you must introduce him to me."

Hearing this, Zhongli Chuchu smiled faintly. She did not answer. She took a piece of wood from the corner of the wall and put it under the blanket. Then she lay down with her back to him.

"I … I'm going to sleep."

Xu Buling smiled and did not disturb her. He closed his eyes and meditated beside the bonfire.

There was not a single person in a circular area of dozens of miles in the desert. There was only a man and a woman in the dilapidated stockade village. The woman was also very weak. No matter how she looked at it, something bad must have happened.

Zhongli Chuchu closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, but she was actually a little conflicted in her heart. She was afraid that Xu Buling was a beast in human clothing and would mess around with her, but she was also afraid that Xu Buling would not mess around even if he was worse than a beast.

If she messed around, even if she could not win against Xu Buling, she could still retreat in one piece, but all the wealth she had accumulated over the years would definitely be gone.

But if she did not mess around, did it not mean that he did not have any thoughts about her?

In the end …

This guy was really a blockhead!

Could it be that he would only remember that she was a woman after she went to the lake to take a wild bath?

Zhongli Chu Chu's heart was filled with anger and frustration. She gritted her teeth, but still did not dare to take a wild bath. She became more and more curious. How did that vixen Ning Qing Ye attract such a modest gentleman? In what way was she worse than Ning Qing Ye?

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became!

Zhongli Chuchu frowned and waited until midnight. She could not help but raise her hand and rub her arm. She said in a low voice,

"Young Master, it's a little cold."

Soon, a robe was draped over her body, which was still a little warm.

Zhongli Chuchu blinked her eyes and looked back. The handsome young man dressed in white was still sitting beside the bonfire with his eyes closed. Under the light of the fire, his face was really beautiful. He looked like a jade-faced monk who cultivated with his hair still …