Chapter 082 Red Garment

“But how are we going to get a boat?” Qingjin raised the most crucial question.

“I’ll go look around again and see if there are any caravans traveling by water to Wuding City. If so, we could hitch a ride with them,” Ning Qi replied.

“I’ll go with you,” said Qingjin.

“Alright.”

“I want to go too,” Qinghu raised her hand. Sitting around in the inn was boring.

“You and Qingzhen can wander around the city, but don’t stay out too long,” Qingjin said.

“That works. We’ll head out together—you two look for a boat, and I’ll take Qinghu for a stroll,” Qingzhen immediately agreed for his sister. Why not take the chance to go out?

Qinghu: Why am I always being represented?

“Let’s check out the market district. Have you ever walked through an Eastern Wasteland market?” Qingzhen asked with a mischievous smile.

“You haven’t, so how could I have?” Qinghu retorted.

“That’s why we siblings should both go see it.” Qingzhen couldn’t resist tugging at Qinghu’s bun.

Qinghu quickly batted his hand away. “Xiaobai took so much trouble to style it for me.”

“All the girls are wearing little hair buns now. Why are you still sticking with a big bun?” Qingzhen teased.

“I think it looks nice,” Qinghu replied. Truthfully, she thought the little buns made her cheeks look even chubbier. The trouble was, after years of malnutrition, only her face plumped up while the rest of her body stayed skinny as a bean sprout. The effect was rather unbalanced.

“This style is cuter. Qingzhen, stop meddling with Xiaohu’s hair,” Qingjin quickly intervened.

Qinghu nodded immediately. Yes, this bun made her look cuter.

Qingzhen: …Where does this brat get her confidence? From bean sprouts?

Qingjin caught the look and glared at him, and Qingzhen instantly backed down.

When they left, Qingjin brought Jiuquan along. Qinghu and her group took Qingquan and Xiaobai.

Ning Qi took Qingjin away, while Qingzhen led Qinghu toward the marketplace. They hadn’t gone far when a boy suddenly darted out from a dark alley, barreling straight toward Qinghu. Seeing he was about to collide with her, Qinghu promptly kicked out, sending him flying into the brick wall opposite with a resounding thud.

A section of the wall came crashing down.

“Help! I’m being bullied! The female tyrant wants to forcefully abduct a poor civilian boy!” The youth who’d been kicked into the wall scrambled up, dusty and disheveled, pulling at his clothes to expose half his chest.

He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Many onlookers turned to stare, some even approaching.

“…What did he say?” Qinghu asked Xiaobai, bewildered.

“Miss, he called you a female tyrant and said you wanted to forcibly take him as your man!” Xiaobai replied bluntly.

“He reeks and looks awful, like a piece of meat that fell on the ground and rolled in the dirt. Why would I ever pick him up?” Qinghu mused, searching for the right words.

“Miss, you shouldn’t say that. You should call him a piece of sour, rotten meat—not worth a second glance from you,” Xiaobai suggested.

Qingzhen: …A toad coveting swan meat. My sister looks so pretty; how could you even dream of her?

Qinghu puffed out her little chest in pride.

Alas, her attempt at elegance only made her look more adorable.

“That girl just covets my beauty. Even if I look like a beggar, she’d still want to get close to me. Why don’t you all see for yourselves?” the boy declared, then charged at Qinghu again, moving with slippery steps and a shifting shadow—a clear sign he’d trained in footwork techniques. Under normal circumstances, he’d easily get close to the girl, maybe even touch her face or her fair hands.

Unfortunately, he’d met his match.

Qinghu calmly kicked out, and the boy seemed to run right into her foot, launching him into the air once more.

This time, he flew even farther and struggled to get up, blood trickling from his mouth.

Though Qinghu was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining, her physical strength far exceeded ordinary people. Her Majesty had devoted all her energy to reforging her divine body. And she hadn’t even used the earth attribute bonuses that came with it.

Otherwise, the boy would’ve been shattered by her kick.

The youth climbed up again, terror in his eyes.

“You…how could you hurt me?” he stammered.

“You talk as if you wouldn’t do worse,” Qinghu replied, unimpressed.

“Hahaha, that’s right! You talk as if you wouldn’t do worse!” A girl in crimson, flanked by her guards and maids, walked over. “Shao Kaiyun, I caught you again. Hmph, last time—hey, don’t run! Why are you all just standing there? Hurry up and chase him!” The red-clad girl shouted as the youth darted away.

But it was impossible to catch him, not with so many people on the street, and the boy was no fool.

Besides, the girl’s guards didn’t seem too eager to pursue, so they soon returned.

“Hey, little miss, what’s your name? Since we’ve both been tricked by that boy, how about I treat you to lunch?” The red-clad girl smiled at Qinghu.

“I don’t want to,” Qinghu answered flatly.

“Why not? Do you look down on me?” The girl’s face turned cold and shadowed.

“The fox by your side smells too strong—I can’t stand it,” Qinghu replied.

At her words, the girl blanched and quickly retreated, trying to distance herself from her maids and guards. But her maid suddenly sprang forward, grabbed the girl by the throat, and held her hostage. The experts among the bystanders hesitated to intervene.

“H-help…” the girl gasped, her face turning blue from lack of air.

“Little fox, it’s one thing to pretend to be a maid, but why choke your mistress?” Qinghu protested.

“Shut up. If you hadn’t meddled, I wouldn’t have had to resort to this,” the maid snapped at Qinghu. If not for this little girl, she wouldn’t have been forced to expose herself now.

“You’re a fox, and your scent is so strong that anyone with a decent nose can smell it,” Qinghu insisted, feeling utterly wronged.

“But why didn’t I smell anything?” Qingzhen stepped beside Qinghu, shielding her, and asked curiously.

“Use the power of wind around her and then sniff yourself,” Qinghu suggested.

Qingzhen summoned a small breeze, swirling it around the maid and then to his own nose. He gagged, nearly vomiting.

“Demon fox—it’s even stronger than wild foxes. But why didn’t I smell it before?”

“That’s because she uses a scent-removing pouch. Unless you’re up close or have a particularly sharp nose, you won’t catch it,” said a middle-aged man in brocade who appeared behind them.

Qingzhen spun around, startled. When had this man arrived?

“Uncle Han, h-help…” The red-clad girl struggled harder as soon as she spotted the man.