Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 462: If You Trust Me, I Won't Betray You

When daylight fully broke, the two mischievous lovebirds came out of the guesthouse, both looking refreshed. They had even carefully disguised themselves as the protectors from the previous day.

As soon as they stepped outside, they saw several young girls kneeling in a row by the wall, hands on their heads, sniffling pitifully.

Zhao Changhe found it amusing. “What are you doing?”

The girls mumbled, “Bringing you your breakfast.”

Zhao Changhe then noticed that each girl had a small basket balanced on her head, filled with various pastries.

“That’s very kind of you,” Zhao Changhe said, taking a pastry and handing it to Yue Hongling behind him. “What a cute custom for delivering food we have here...”

“What custom?” one of the girls sniffled. “We’re being punished by the saintess. She’s taking out her personal grievances on us.”

Yue Hongling glared at Zhao Changhe as if to say, “Stop pretending you understand their customs.” Fortunately, the girls did not think much of it; otherwise, that one sentence would have given them away.

Embarrassed, Zhao Changhe lowered his head and quietly took a bite of the pastry without saying a word.

But as soon as he took that bite, he nearly spat it out.

He had assumed it was one of the famous local flower cakes[1]—on the outside, it looked the part. But the moment he bit into it, he found that it was full of deep-fried insects, making his scalp tingle.

Yue Hongling’s scalp tingled too, and she almost threw the pastry she was holding.

The girl in front of them, however, kept speaking through her sniffles: “Wah, this fried grasshopper was supposed to be mine... Wah, it smells so good...”

Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling froze mid-motion, realizing it was not Sisi playing a prank but the pastries were actually a cherished delicacy.

Yue Hongling, without missing a beat, calmly handed the pastry back to the girl. “Then you eat it. How could we take your food?”

“The saintess forbade us from having breakfast...”

“Don’t worry, we’ll go plead with her.”

And with that, the two dashed off, with Zhao Changhe still holding the half-bitten pastry in his hand, hesitating the entire way. “To be fair... it’s actually kind of tasty...”

Yue Hongling snapped, “Oh, so because Sisi gave it to you, it tastes amazing, huh? One day, she’ll give you gu, and let’s see if that kills you!”

“No, really, it’s pretty tasty...”

“Get lost! And don’t kiss me after eating that!”

The two bickered as they made their way to find Sisi. Before they got far, Sisi appeared on the road, smiling mischievously at the quarreling couple, clearly pleased with herself for causing some discord. She said sweetly, “Oh my, stop fighting. It’s all my fault for forgetting that you two aren’t used to eating these things...”

They both stopped talking and stared straight at her.

Sisi, still smiling, said, “Anyway, Big Sis Yue, you always claim that those who wander the jianghu are tough, but it seems like you’ve never faced a truly desperate situation. Otherwise, you’d be eating anything you could find, including bugs.”

“Uh...” Yue Hongling thought for a moment and admitted, “It’s true I’ve never been pushed to that point... but if Changhe hadn’t come to help me the day before yesterday, and I had to escape into the Cangshan, it could’ve happened.”

That one sentence almost shifted their argument into sweet affection, much to Sisi’s regret. She quickly changed the topic: “So it’s delicious, right? You should give it a try. Wasting food is shameful.”

As she spoke, she led them into her room and set out some real flower cakes and fruit wine. “Today or tomorrow at the latest, Lei Zhentang will definitely hold a meeting for the five-tribe council. I think we should discuss some serious matters...”

Yue Hongling said, “I thought you were already discussing serious matters last night, which is why I didn’t disturb you. But what exactly were you doing then?”

“Huh?” Sisi tapped her head and smiled. “Oh, I forgot... I was busy, ahem, all night until dawn... Big Sis Yue, it seems you’ve got a little green on your head.”

Yue Hongling was speechless.

Did she really just say that?

Zhao Changhe could not hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. “Alright, let’s talk business. Speaking of which, while we’re hiding here with the White Tribe, don’t you still have people at your mountain stronghold? Aren’t you worried Lei Zhentang might launch a surprise attack? You seem pretty relaxed.”

Sisi shook her head. “Assassinations are one thing, but openly attacking those in the five-tribe alliance would be a grave offense. The White and Yao tribes would be enraged if they did such a thing, and even the smaller tribes would not sit idly by. He would be caught in endless internal conflict. So all we need to do is to defend ourselves. Honestly, the more open and public we are, the safer we are. Hiding away in some secluded spot would actually be riskier.”

Whether she was using this as an excuse for personal revenge or justifying her actions for personal gain, it was hard to argue with her reasoning on the surface. The couple exchanged glances but remained silent.

Sisi, feeling a sense of triumph, took a bite of a flower cake, her eyes narrowing with satisfaction as she smiled. “As for us... How was your sword testing against the Hundred Tribes? Is there anything you need me to explain about curses or gu arts?”

You’re over there enjoying your flower cakes while we’re eating bugs... Zhao Changhe internally complained but said aloud, “Gu arts, whether they affect oneself or are used to harm others, at least show some signs. But how do you deal with curses? They’re silent and undetectable. It feels as if they’re impossible to defend against.”

“Curses require a medium and take some time to cast. In a typical one-on-one situation, they’re hard to use. The danger comes when the curse is prepared beforehand, and you don’t realize you’ve already been affected,” Sisi replied.

Zhao Changhe commented, “Of course, there have to be limitations. Even with such clear limitations, curses are already a headache. If there were no restrictions, it would be a nightmare.”

Sisi smiled. “You don’t need to worry too much. Curses aren’t completely impossible to deal with. The more powerful the curse, the higher the prerequisites. For instance, the caster might need to collect your nails or hair to create a doll that represents you, and chant for days or even months. In some cases, the caster might even have to sacrifice their own life. So generally, you don’t have to worry about strong curses.”

Yue Hongling asked, “What about more common curses?”

“Ordinary curses are still governed by the laws of the natural world. They try to affect your soul or body. As long as your cultivation is at a higher level, you can naturally resist them. It’s similar to resisting poison,” Sisi explained, though her expression darkened slightly. “We once tried to use the combined strength of our entire tribe to curse someone, but it was like a breeze passing by—completely ineffective. That was my father...”

She stopped herself, as if she’d been about to say something forbidden, and said slowly, “That’s why I believe martial arts are true strength. These strange techniques can only be auxiliary. The Hundred Tribes are still reasonable in this regard, valuing personal strength. The Spirit Tribe, on the other hand, relies too much on these techniques. That’s why I left the mountains, only to be bullied by a certain someone...”

Yue Hongling pondered, “What level of cultivation is required to completely ignore curses?”

Sisi shook her head. “I don’t know, but probably at least the third layer of the Profound Mysteries, right? For ordinary curses, I think the second layer, the level those on the Ranking of Earth are at, should be enough.”

Zhao Changhe said, “That means that they’re still beyond what we can ignore for now. Are there ways to counter them?”

“There are. For example, when you were at Erhai, I saw you resisting a weakening curse. You were slowly dispelling it yourself. And yesterday’s blood curse failed because it was met with your strong mastery over blood and qi. However, your self-dispelling is inefficient. You did not fully remove it during the battle,” Sisi said, resting her chin on her hand. “We have medicines that can prevent curses, at least for a few days. But the question is, would you dare to take them?”

Zhao Changhe asked, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“Curses can be broken, but once a gu insect fully integrates with your body, there’s no undoing it. If you try to remove it, you’ll end up crippled,” Sisi said with a charming smile. “Master, would you dare to eat something with unknown origins, given to you by Sisi?”

Zhao Changhe looked down at the bug-filled pastry in his hand and suddenly felt a chill.

“This is Miaojiang,” Sisi said, her smile fading. “This is how Miaojiang is, and the Spirit Tribe is even worse. Are you still thinking about visiting the Spirit Tribe?”

Zhao Changhe looked into her eyes, then down at the pastry again, before suddenly taking a big bite and grinning. “If you dare to give it, I dare to eat it.”

Sisi watched Zhao Changhe as he ate the pastry, her eyes clouding over with a misty, unreadable expression.

After he had finished the entire pastry, she finally said softly, “The preventive medicine has already entered your system. For the next seven days, you will be immune to curses.”

Yue Hongling frowned, wanting to caution Zhao Changhe to be more careful, but in the end, she said nothing. In this situation, what else could they do but trust Sisi? Refusing to trust her would only make things harder for them.

One person ate the medicine while the other did not—this way, if something went wrong, at least one of them would be able to take care of the other

Sisi stood up, stretching lazily, then bent down and whispered in Yue Hongling’s ear, “Don’t worry about your little lover... I’ve already wronged him once before, and I don’t intend to do it again. Since he dares to trust me, I won’t betray him.”.

Yue Hongling smiled slightly. “I hope so.”

“Saintess, saintess!” A young girl came running over from outside. “The Dao Tribe’s chief sent word that Lei Zhentang has invited us to a banquet in Dali. They want to know what we think.”

“A bloody banquet, I suppose, eh? It’s even more dangerous than yesterday. Only an idiot would go to Dali to die,” Sisi sneered. “Tell them to come here for the meeting. With two leading tribes gathered here, don’t we have the right to host?”

The girl nodded and ran back to deliver the message.

Sisi turned to Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling. “Are your injuries healed? They have figures on the Ranking of Earth, and there are two of them. If we can’t dominate this first meeting, all our efforts so far will have been for nothing.”

The couple’s expressions grew serious.

Two Ranking of Earth figures... Lei Zhentang’s power combined with his mastery of witchcraft and gu arts was one thing, but the real problem was Shi Wuding. If he showed up...

Being among the top on the Ranking of Earth placed him on par with figures such as Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, and Tang Wanzhuang. Could the two of them handle that?

1. The cake specifically mentioned here is the Yunnan flower cake (鲜花饼). It is a flaky pastry with edible Yunnan roses inside. ☜