5 – Assassin in the Merak Palace (I)
She felt a tingle at the tip of her nose as something teased her nose, rousing her consciousness. It was the fragrance of jasmine.
The pillow was slightly warm and incredibly elastic, very comfortable.
“Hmm…” Xue Qilin moaned, and then rolled over and adjusted her posture. She felt something.
What’s this? She subconsciously grasped something rough and hard that emitted no heat. If it did, she might have gotten a scare, and jumped up.Xue Qilin slowly opened her eyes. The flickering light made her feel a little uncomfortable. After her eyes had adjusted to the light, Xue Qilin finally saw what she had touched – it was a longsword, a cyan longsword. She was holding the sword’s scabbard.
How come there’s a sword here? Just as Xue Qilin wondered, a gentle voice came from above: “Young Ancestor, this is my sword.”
“Oh, sorry.” Xue Qilin quickly let go of the sword, and then noticed something wrong and made a sound of surprise.
There’s someone here? Xue Qilin looked in the direction of the voice, where light blue eyes met her gaze. It was a girl. From her appearance, she looked to be 18 or 19 years old.
Although she wasn’t as good-looking as Qi Qiqi, but she radiated an ineffable gentle charm. She resembled green tea. Although it only had a light color and seemed quite plain, but when tasted, it had a unique appeal.
The two people stared at each other. Because she just woke up, Xue Qilin’s head was still muddled. She asked dully: “Who are…?”
“I am Luo Qing. The Palace Master asked me to take care of you.” She spoke her name yet didn’t introduce herself properly, just saying that Qi Qiqi asked her to come.Be that as it may, she didn’t seem like a cold and detached character as there was a smile on her face. It was very a gentle smile, and it contained a charm that made other people get unconsciously drawn to her.
She seems like a stoic person! Xue Qilin made this judgment.
“Well, how should I address you?” Xue Qilin didn’t like to call people by their full name.
“I am your martial niece, you can call me Qing’er.”
Qing er? Xue Qilin wrinkled her nose. To be honest, she didn’t like such an elegant address. After rolling her eyes in thought, she asked: “How about I call you Little Qing?”
“Alright!” Luo Qing nodded and gave a short response.
“So, Little Qing – ha choo!” Xue Qilin suddenly sneezed. Something irritated her nose, which she pushed aside. It was hair, which was still attached to its owner. Only then did Xue Qilin realize that, while lying, she was facing Luo Qing, whose waist was next to her ears.
Looking slightly to the side, she saw Luo Qing kneel sitting, with her thighs serving as her pillow.
Is this the legendary lap pillow? Xue Qilin was stunned for a moment, and then reacted. Even though she really enjoyed the lap pillow that men yearned for even in their dreams, but since she has already woken up, she could not continue lying on the other party’s lap.
“Ah, sorry! I’ll get up right away.” As she spoke, Xue Qilin raised her upper body. But then, she felt some pain in her belly and she knit her brows.
Luo Qing immediately reached her hands out to support Xue Qilin and shook her head, saying: “That’s all right, don’t force yourself.”
“No way! I’m a person with principles.”
Luo Qing smiled and no longer insisted.
“By the way, how come… uh, I was sleeping on your lap?” Xue Qilin asked while rubbing her belly.
“Do you remember what happened before you fainted?”
“Uh…” Why did I faint? Xue Qilin searched her memories.
She was talking with Qi Qiqi before she lost consciousness. She inadvertently provoked the other party into smashing a table in anger, and then apologized immediately. But she misspoke. Then…
Xue Qilin jumped up and said indignantly: “I remember! I was punched by that violent girl.”
“Violent, violent girl?”
“It’s Twenty One [1]! How long have I been asleep?”
“It’s been half a day.” Not knowing whether to laugh or cry, Luo Qing went on to say: “I see. The Palace Master said that you suddenly fainted, but it turns out that she was the cause of it.”
“What a liar! Who would suddenly faint without rhyme or reason?!”
“In fact, the Palace Master’s temper is still rather good. Just that… she flies off the handle at times.”
Xue Qilin was a little scared when she heard that, and she recalled the innocent table: “Does she often flies off the handle?”
“Not at all.” Luo Qing pursed her lips, saying: “In recent years, you are the only one to make her go off the handle, Young Ancestor.”
“Oh, then should I feel honored?” Xue Qilin asked angrily.
Luo Qing unexpectedly poked fun at her: “Might as well.”
Getting up, Xue Qilin snorted: “No thanks.”
Seeing that Xue Qilin got up, Luo Qing followed suit and stood up as well.
Perhaps her legs served as a pillow for Xue Qilin for too long, but when she got up, they felt sour, and she staggered unsteadily. Xue Qilin reached out to help her at once.
“Thank you, Young Ancestor.”
“No need! I’m just returning the favor! That said, you didn’t have to let me sleep on your lap. Wouldn’t it be enough to just put me on the bed?”
Luo Qing blinked her eyes, and then, as if instinctively, pointed to the side, a wry smile on her face. She pointed to the bad, which had a big hole in it.
“What happened?”
“The Palace Master said that you did this.”
How shameless, Seven Seven-seven! There’s actually someone this shameless in the world in addition to me? Xue Qilin felt an inexplicable admiration.
“Sorry for the trouble.” Xue Qilin scratched her head and apologized awkwardly.
Luo Qing smiled back, then squatted down to untie a bundle wrapped in cloth lying at her feet, took out a set of clothes, and handed it to Xue Qilin.
“This is?”
“Clothes.” Luo Qing continued rather hesitantly: “The clothing you’re wearing doesn’t seem to fit you.”
Xue Qilin looked at the T-shirt hanging from her body and nodded helplessly.
“Well, I’ll send someone to get hot water. You might want to wash up first before you change clothes, Young Ancestor. Palace Master had this set of clothes tailor-made for you, so they should fit you well.”
Xue Qilin had just received the clothes, when she suddenly stopped mid motion, and then asked with an odd expression on her face: “How does she know my size?”
“I measured you.”
“Oh, so that’s how! Fortunately, it wasn’t the lass Twenty One who measured me, or she might have broken a few of my ribs in the process. My little arms and legs wouldn’t be able to handle it.”
“Don’t bully the Palace Master too much, Young Ancestor.” Luo Qing chuckled.
“Who has bullied whom! She was the one to hit me!”
“Er… that, she should have thought that you wouldn’t be hit that easily, Young Ancestor.”
Luo Qing’s statement wasn’t without reason. Since she claimed to be the Young Ancestor, Xue Qilin shouldn’t be too weak, so how could she have been hit so easily?”
All in all, it is a big loss of face! Xue Qilin couldn’t help turn red in the face.
“That said, how come the clothes were made so quickly…” In order to conceal her embarrassment, Xue Qilin randomly changed the topic.
“The Merak Palace has its own workshop that specializes in the supply of clothes to the sect. Besides, the Palace Master ordered for the production of this set of clothes to be given priority.”
“That so…” Que Qilin suddenly remembered something: “By the way, you said you were going to send someone to prepare hot water? Is there no boiler here?”
“Boiler?” Luo Qing seemed to be at a loss.
“Hey, don’t you know what’s a boiler? It uses electricity…”
“Electricity? You mean lightning?
“Well, their the same thing.”
“Young Ancestor, surely you jest. Lightning is a force of the heavens, how can we use it willy-nilly?”
Ancient clothes, martial arts sects… Could it be…? Suddenly an idea popped up in her mind like a grass in early spring, and then expanded more and more.
“What dynasty is it now?” Xue Qilin swallowed, and then asked after hesitating for a while.
Luo Qing blinked her eyes several times before answering: “The Hua Dynasty.”
The Hua Dynasty? Xue Qilin has never heard of it, but since it was called a dynasty, she was obviously in ancient times. Even in my world, the Qing Dynasty is a thing of more than a hundred years in the past! Xue Qilin was at a loss. The question that she put aside due to being confronted with too many things instantly flared up in her mind.
So I not only transmigrated, but still transmigrated into ancient times? This place was foreign to Xue Qilin, and even the times were completely different. She was engulfed by a sense of unease, which was even more intense than being thrown into some remote wilderness.
“Why are you standing there in a daze, Young Ancestor? Why don’t you go take a bath? You look tired.”
“Oh, okay.” Xue Qilin responded, then shook her head and pushed the feeling of being at a loss to the back of her mind, trying not to pay it any mind.
After Luo Qing pointed it out, she realized that her body really felt a little heavy. She really seemed tired.
“Well, then I’ll do as you say.” Xue Qilin plastered a smile on her face. After she finished speaking, she winked at Luo Qing enticingly. However, she forgot that she was now a loli. Her wink probably had no effect.
Luo Qing looked like she found her actions cute and a little funny, and she couldn’t help smile lightly: “Okay, I’ll prepare the hot water first, Young Ancestor.”
“Sorry to trouble you, next meal is on me!”
“Alright.” Following a brief reply, Luo Qing turned and left.
Looking at Luo Qing’s back, Xue Qilin sighed secretly that if she had to choose a wife, it would be her. Although the lass Seven Seven-seven is very beautiful, but my body can’t bear her…
Luo Qing was not only gentle and agreeable, but she was also very efficient. In less than fifteen minutes, she brought back people carrying a bathtub filled with hot water.
When everything was ready, Luo Qing asked Xue Qilin if she wanted her help. Feeling embarrassed, Xue Qilin refused. She just asked Luo Qing a few things about how to use the bathing implement, which was new to her.
I transmigrated! Xue Qilin sighed. She was just about to remove her clothing, when her hands suddenly stopped.
Wait! Hold on! I’m a girl now, an adorable loli to boot! Is this really fine? Although it is my body, but…
Xue Qilin was caught in an internal struggle – to undress or not to undress? I really have to undress, oh, and there’s also a bit of desire involved. But if I don’t undress, that would be negligent of me.
“Ah! Undress it is!”
Even though I’m a lolicon, and am currently a loli, but I have no perverted desires regarding my body! I haven’t fallen that low yet.
Just that, when the moment of truth came and she undressed and looked at the reflection in a bronze mirror located not far away, she couldn’t help but stare in rapture.
Petite, well-balanced body, delicate face with both mature and childish traces, skin as fair as first-rate white jade radiating a fascinating gloss, looking very tender and smooth.
Suddenly, Xue Qilin realized that her trembling hands were moving toward a place that was taboo.
Bear with it, my hairy palms [2]! Xue Qilin quickly suppressed her disobedient hands.
In order to drive the bad thoughts away, she immediately jumped into the bathtub. The water, which was of a moderate temperature, immediately wrapped her body, and all her pores opened.
She stretched herself comfortably and then stared into space.
I really transmigrated, and into ancient times to boot… She sighed heavily.
“Others say – old is a treasure. As I see it, old is a hole, a deep hole to boot…” She was in a daze for a while before she began to wash herself. Consequently, she had soaked in the water for close to two hours.
After she came out of the bathtub, Xue Qilin picked up a towel. As she dried herself with the towel, she looked at the clothing next to the bathtub and frowned.
The ancient clothing had straps, folds, and belts. To a modern person like Xue Qilin, this was very complicated. But there’s always a first time for everything.
After drying herself up, she picked up what was clearly underwear from the top of the clothes. To her surprise, however, the underwear here was no different from the modern underwear.
Nevertheless, she struggled for quite a bit before she put it on.
Next was a dress that looked like a piece of cloth. She couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
Holding it against her chest, Xue Qilin stared at the dress, yet nothing happened after a long while. Well, if the dress was conscient, it would have sprung out by now and wrapped itself tightly around Xue Qilin. She shouted: “Look! Have you seen enough!”
The standoff lasted until…
“Young Ancestor, is everything okay?” Suddenly a voice came from behind her, from very close behind her.
“Ah!” Startled, Xue Qilin jumped up, turned around, and took a few steps back.
When she saw the person clearly, she was relieved. “Who! It’s you, Little Qing. Don’t scare me like that.”
Luo Qing smiled and apologized: “I’m sorry, Young Ancestor, I didn’t mean to. But when I saw you just standing here, I thought you were thinking, so I didn’t want to disturb you.”
“Have you been here long?”
“Um…” Luo Qing pressed her index finger against her lip in thought: “Not long, less than half a quarter of an hour.”
Hey, that’s really embarrassing! She saw me stand here foolishly for so long! Xue Qilin felt a little ashamed.
Seeming like she had thought of something, Luo Qing stooped down to pick up the clothing that fell on the ground, and then asked with a smile: “Do you want my help, Young Ancestor?”
“What?” When Luo Qing hugged the clothing against her chest, Xue Qilin realized what she meant.
“Oh, this…” An adult who needs help with clothes, that’s so embarrassing? Xue Qilin hesitated. Although she wanted to refuse, but she really didn’t know how to wear that those clothes.
“Uh, then I’ll have to trouble you!” Xue Qilin asked for help, embarrassed. She threw caution to the wind, and no longer cared if she lost face in front of Luo Qing again.
But Luo Qing suddenly sighed: “You had it hard, Young Ancestor.”
“Huh?” Xue Qilin blinked her eyes, unable to understand what the other party meant.
“According to the Great Ancestor, you were accepted into the sect by an ancestor when you were little, and you’ve been in closed door cultivation in the Sword Mound for many years. It must be because of this that you…”
At this point, Luo Qing seemed to suddenly realize that what she was saying was inappropriate, and quickly shut up. A wry smile on her face, she apologized at once: “I’m sorry, Young Ancestor. Don’t blame me. I was just lamenting a little, that’s all.”
Although Luo Qing did’t finish her sentence, but Xue Qilin had her guess about what she wanted to say. She probably wanted to say that Xue Qilin didn’t know of the ways of the world.
Although Luo Qing was sad for Xue Qilin, but the latter wasn’t thrilled by it.
What’s the difference between thinking that you have no survival skills and that you are a good for nothing? Xue Qilin felt like crying. However, she had no choice but to tacitly approve of Luo Qing’s guess. Otherwise, many things would be difficult to explain.
Next, Luo Qing manipulated Xue Qilin like a doll. Following the other party’s instructions, what looked like a few pieces of cloth at first had quickly turned into an unique dress worn by Xue Qilin.
“Come, Young Ancestor, sit here. I’ll comb your hair.”
Xue Qilin sat in front of a dresser according to the instructions. Then, Luo Qing fished out a towel from god knows where to dry the hair. After a while, Luo Qing fished out a comb to comb her hair.
Do women carry combs with them? Just now, Xue Qilin saw Luo Qing pull out the comb from her sleeve.
“Young Ancestor, apart from Palace Master’s hair, your hair is the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen.”
“Oh, okay.” Although Luo Qing’s tone sounded plain, but Xue Qilin could perceive a faint feeling of envy. Figures, which woman doesn’t wish to be beautiful?
“That so?”
“Yes. Do you know what hairstyle you want, Young Ancestor?”
Hairstyle? Oh, I haven’t thought about that! Just let it hang loose.”
“Won’t that be too cumbersome? Your hair is very long, Young Ancestor.”
After listening to Luo Qing, Xue Qilin realized that the tips of her long hair were touching the ground. If she stood up, her hair would be reach her calves.
“How about pigtails?” Ever since she found out that she had become a loli, Xue Qilin wanted to try out the legendary moe [3] hairstyles, among which pigtails ranked first.
“No, it’s too long.”
Just when Xue Qilin was feeling flustered, Luo Qing showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, and then asked with interest: “Do you mind letting me decide, Young Ancestor?”
“Oh, I guess.”
As a beautiful woman, whose temperament is even more so remarkable, Luo Qing should have good taste. But then she thought about the wide gap in values between ancient and modern people, and she suspected that the aesthetic standards might be different, bearing a similar result as the pompous style of the Tang Dynasty.
However, it looked like she was overthinking it.
Luo Qing first combed Xue Qilin’s long hair into two symmetrical parts, then took out two ribbons god knows from where, rolled the two parts of long hair into buns on either side of the head. But the buns didn’t use all the hair, leaving the remaining portion of hair, which was still considerably long, hang from the buns
Luo Qing looked at Xue Qilin’s new hairstyle from several angles before nodding in satisfaction: “What do you think,Young Ancestor?”
At first glance, this hairstyle was no different from pigtails, just that it involved two buns. But because of this, the adorable and spirited Xue Qilin had a bit of a classical flair to her.
“Little Qing, there’s nothing else teacher can teach you! You can graduate as a hairdresser [4].”
“Hairdresser?” Luo Qing obviously didn’t understand this term.
“Well, never mind! In other word, the hairstyle is beautiful!” Not wanting to explain the meaning of hairdresser, Xue Qilin gave a casual reply.
Luo Qing suddenly chuckle: “You’re weird, Young Ancestor.”
“Am I weird?” Xue Qilin paused, then pointed to herself and asked.
Luo Qing nodded in affirmation.
“Maybe…” After all, we are not only people of different ages, but also of different worlds… When she thought till here, an ice-cold feeling suddenly arose deep in her heart, a feeling called loneliness.
Xue Qilin thought she could dismiss Luo Qing’s words with a laugh, but she found it to be impossible. Although she believed herself to be someone heartless, but it didn’t mean she was a piece of unfeeling wood.
As long as you were alive, you couldn’t feel nothing.
“Don’t overthink it, Young Ancestor.” Luo Qing seemingly sighed emotionally: “In this world, things mostly don’t go your way. Apart from silently bearing it…” Luo Qing wasn’t so much consoling Xue Qilin, as she was reminiscing.
Just what gave birth to these emotions of hers? Xue Qilin didn’t ask, nor was it something she wanted to ask.
Everyone has such times, has something buried in their heart that they don’t want to be exposed. Xue Qilin didn’t know if it was the last thing she wanted to be exposed, but it was none of her business?
“Okay, let’s change the subject. You should be hungry, Young Ancestor. I’ll go prepare your meal.” Luo Qing was the first to break the silence. Clearly, she already recovered from her temporary loss of composure.
“Oh, then I’ll have to trouble you!”
“Is there anything you don’t like?”
Xue Qilin contemplated for a moment, then raised her finger and said: “Thirty-five yuan [5] prawn tails.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, it’s just a joke.” Xue Qilin said somewhat dejectedly. She forgot that the other party was a person from ancient times.
“There’s nothing I don’t like to eat.”
“Well, that’s good then.” Luo Qing nodded, then uttered “wait a moment, Young Ancestor.” and left.
[1] – 21 = 3*7, which is what Xue Qilin calls Qi Qiqi (777). Twenty One is another way to poke fun at Qi Qiqi
[2] – Hairy palms, the masturbation myth made up by Christians
[3] – Moe, a Japanese term for cute
[4] – The term I translated as hairdresser, 洗剪吹, literally means “washing, cutting, and blowing”
[5] – Thirty-five yuan, as in the price of the dish.
