Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 702: Two Huang Rongs

Seeing Yang Guo turn and leave, Wanyan Liang—knowing all too well about his peculiar temperament—didn’t bother with him. His thoughts were entirely fixed on Huang Rong. Fearing that relying solely on Murong Bo and Qiu Qianren wouldn’t be secure enough, he hastily summoned his subordinate warriors and ordered them to give chase as well.

Meanwhile, after Huang Rong had just leaped over the courtyard wall, she didn’t immediately flee; instead, she slipped into a nearby shadow. Watching the woman before her—dressed identically and even sporting the exact same hairstyle—she couldn’t help but burst into a laugh, “You really do look the part!”

“Rong’er, we’re well acquainted, but if you keep mocking me like that, I’ll really get mad!” Song Qingshu said in a sulky tone as he glared at her. “I’ve sacrificed so much for you, and yet you still laugh at me.”

Huang Rong stifled her laughter and quickly said, “Alright, alright, I won’t laugh…” Still, she couldn’t completely hold back her amusement. Noticing that Song Qingshu’s expression had darkened, she hastily added, “They’ve caught up—hurry and run!”

“I’ll settle with you later!” Song Qingshu threatened, waving his fist. But he had already caught the sound of fluttering robes and knew that Wanyan Liang’s elite fighters had arrived. Not daring to linger, he immediately activated his Qinggong and dashed off into the distance.

“Over there—chase after her!” cried Qiu Qianren, known as the Iron Palm and Water Skater. Besides his formidable iron palms, his Qinggong was second to none. Although he started after Murong Bo, he ended up arriving first by scaling the courtyard wall. Spotting a flash of green not far off, he instantly recognized Huang Rong’s silhouette and urgently signaled the others to pursue.

Watching the group vanish in a grand procession into the distance, Huang Rong, who had been concealed in the shadows, quietly emerged. A trace of inexplicable, complex emotion flickered across her pretty face as she mused, ‘The illustrious Golden Serpent King—one of the top experts in the realm—is actually willing to disguise himself as a woman just to save Brother Jing…’

It must be understood that in ancient times, to say a man behaved like a woman was the highest insult. Back then, Zhuge Liang had once used women’s garments to shame Sima Yi for his timidity in battle—nearly enraging the ever-cunning Sima Yi. This goes to show just how deeply the ancients abhorred such behavior.

Huang Rong was well aware of these conventions. Seeing that Song Qingshu had sacrificed so much, she felt so moved that a thought even occurred to her: since he had done all this for me, last night’s events should be taken as repayment…

She even wondered if her Brother Jing might ever disguise himself as a woman for her.

But soon she shook her head. Brother Jing was a hero of the highest caliber—how could he ever don women’s clothes?

Though she managed to convince herself, a hint of melancholy still lingered. Huang Rong knew that in her husband’s heart, country and nation came first. If forced to choose between her and Xiangyang, he would no doubt abandon all tender feelings for the sake of a greater cause. Yet, though she understood his choice, she was still a woman at heart—who doesn’t long for a husband to love her unreservedly? Who doesn’t wish that their beloved might even defy the world for them?

“Rong’er, are you worried about me?”

Huang Rong, lost in thought, was suddenly met by a warm breath near her ear.

Startled at first—and chiding herself for not noticing someone get so close—she quickly relaxed. After all, who else but Song Qingshu would speak to her in such a manner?

“Can’t you speak to me properly?” she retorted, instinctively stepping back to leave a safe distance between them while casting a disapproving glance his way.

“What’s wrong with speaking like this?” Song Qingshu shrugged nonchalantly. “If you want a serious conversation, you already have Brother Jing—surely that’s enough?”

Huang Rong’s breath caught in her throat; unwilling to let him be compared with anyone else, she hastily changed the subject, “So, you managed to shake them off so quickly?”

“Of course!” At the mention, Song Qingshu’s face lit up with pride as he lifted his head and snorted. “Although my martial arts might not be the best under heaven, I do have two skills that are unrivaled. One of them is Qinggong—when you look across the land, I alone belong to the top tier; the so-called Green Winged Bat King, Wei Yixiao, and Dongfang Bubai might be second, and the rest can be ranked out later.”

Earlier, under the cover of moonlight, Song Qingshu had disguised himself as Huang Rong to lure all of Wanyan Liang’s elite fighters outside the city. At first, he dared not fully display his Qinggong for fear the pursuers wouldn’t keep up; but once he had led them far enough away, he unleashed his skills without reservation, and in the blink of an eye, he had shaken them off.

With the trace of “Huang Rong” lost, Qiu Qianren, Murong Bo, and the others would surely take a long while to track her down. By the time they realized something was amiss and retraced their steps, it would have been more than enough time for Song Qingshu to rescue Guo Jing.

Seeing Song Qingshu in such high spirits, Huang Rong suddenly recalled a familiar verse—“With a spring breeze at one’s back, the horse’s hooves are swift.”

‘How wonderful it is to be young!’

She sighed inwardly. Although her age wasn’t advanced, years spent defending Xiangyang alongside Guo Jing had drained her, leaving her with the feeling of a beauty in her twilight years. Yet when she was with Song Qingshu, it was as if she’d returned to her youthful days, once again reliving that carefree feeling of the past.

“Look at you, so smug,” Huang Rong teased in a playful, girlish tone, deliberately going along with the banter. “Then tell me, our Young Master Song, what other skill of yours is unrivaled?”

Song Qingshu gave a wry smile, leaned in close, and whispered a few words into her ear. At once, Huang Rong’s delicate face flushed bright red, and incensed, she playfully raised her petite fists to hit him.

Song Qingshu burst into hearty laughter, dodging her playful blows while innocently remarking, “But bedroom skills are skills too…”

“You take that rubbish and save it for your Madame Tang—don’t sully my ears,” Huang Rong retorted with a deliberately stern expression, though her heart pounded wildly. Thinking back to how last night’s antics had nearly left her fainting, she had to admit that his skills in that area were probably indeed unsurpassed in the world… ?â???Ès?

“But I just love telling them to you,” he replied.

Huang Rong looked up to find Song Qingshu gazing at her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Startled, her heart skipped a beat, and she hastily coughed, “We’d better get going to rescue Brother Jing—if those people catch on, it’ll be bad.”

Not wishing to press her further, Song Qingshu nodded, “Very well, let’s go rescue Guo Jing right away.”

Glancing at the hand he extended toward her, Huang Rong was momentarily taken aback. “What for?”

With a completely serious tone, Song Qingshu replied, “Of course I’ll carry you—otherwise, with your Qinggong, could you possibly sneak into the dungeon without a sound?”

“Ah?” Huang Rong knew there was sense in his words, yet having him hold her so deliberately made her feel hesitant.

Smiling slightly, Song Qingshu teased, “Rong’er, why are you so shy? Haven’t we embraced before?”

Huang Rong’s heart skipped a beat—the first thought racing through her mind was that he must have learned about last night’s events. But she quickly realized he was surely referring only to what had happened between them at the Golden Snake Conference.

Seeing her hesitation, Song Qingshu didn’t wait for further protest. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arm around her waist.

With a soft moan, Huang Rong melted into his embrace. Before she could even gather her senses, she heard his infuriating voice in her ear, “Rong’er, you’re so soft…”

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