“Creak, creak, creak, creak! Even if you’re as cunning as a ghost, you’ll still have to drink my foot-washing water!”
A pair of feet, adorned with black stockings, dangled in the air. The bright red toes twitched nervously, conveying boundless extravagance and satisfaction. The feet owner cheerfully kicked the air several times, holding their stomach and laughing silently.
“Go ahead and look for it!” Jing Hengbo quickly got up, stood by the window, and watched the activity in the woods.
She was currently inside a small house in the forest. With amusement, she observed the clueless individuals outside, circling a tree and puzzling over where she had disappeared. It was reminiscent of foolish dogs looking for a spot to relieve themselves around a tree.
Jing Hengbo chuckled, her fingers playing with her voluminous, loosely curled, and lightly golden waves of hair.
Tianding Fenghua Research Institute is a four-person team with unique abilities: Jun Ke possessed penetrating vision, Tai Shi Lan had an extraordinary healing power, and Wen Zhen could see the tiniest bacteria with his eyes. As for Jing Hengbo, she had the ability to teleport instantly and move objects across space.
However, in the past, her teleportation range was limited, and she couldn’t even leave the several acres occupied by the institute. At times when she wasn’t feeling well, she could only teleport from her own bed to a dog’s kennel. Just a moment ago, she was a bit concerned that she might not be able to teleport to the small house in the woods as she wished. Surprisingly, after this recent journey through time, it seems like her teleportation ability has expanded compared to before. In the blink of an eye, her intention was effortlessly fulfilled.
However, moving from behind the tree to inside the house was just the first step. If she guessed correctly, that handsome man wouldn’t easily give up.
As expected, in the next moment, she saw the dark-clad man turn around. His temple-length hair, illuminated by the mottled moonlight, partially covered half of his face, revealing only a delicate profile. Jing Hengbo stared at his porcelain-like jawline, captivated, wondering if her fingers would slip smoothly if she were to pinch it.
However, the handsome man, Master Zuo, seemed to have a telepathic connection of sorts. Suddenly, he turned towards the house, his gaze falling on the dust-covered window.
After a pause, the corners of his lips slowly curled up, revealing a mysterious and half-smiling expression, like a flower partially blooming in the wind.
Jing Hengbo instinctively pulled her head back, feeling a bit surprised. Even at this distance, with only her eyes visible through the dusty spider-webbed window, it should be impossible for him to see her. How did he sense her presence? Intuition, perhaps?
People with strong intuition are always frightening. She believed that such individuals must have been beasts in their past lives, like Tai Shi Lan.
In the next instant, she slowly approached the window, peering through.
The handsome man in the woods had vanished.
Jing Hengbo’s heart skipped a beat. Her second instinct was to quickly look toward the door.
Sure enough, by the window, there was now an additional hint of silver-black robes!
This guy moves in and out like a ghost!
Jing Hengbo was greatly alarmed, her heart pounding like a drum. She quickly pulled her head back, trying to dodge.
“Bang.” The door of the small house in the woods was slammed open.
Lord Zuo, stood at the doorway.
His eyes darted around, quickly realizing that there was no one inside the room.
His brows slightly furrowed, deepening his confusion. His gaze then fell upon the bed.
Although this room had been uninhabited for a long time, it remained tightly sealed. The lock on the door was securely fastened just a moment ago, and as a result, there wasn’t much dust inside. He lifted the bedsheet, revealing clear signs that someone had slept there. The mattress was crumpled in a large area.
Considering this disheveled appearance, it didn’t seem like peaceful sleep but rather as if the person on the bed had rolled and tumbled vigorously many times.
Could they have been joyously laughing and rolling around?
He bent down, picking up a strand of long, golden, curled hair from the pillow. He examined it closely for a moment before flicking his finger.
The golden strand of hair instantly disappeared at his fingertip, as if a splendid dream had turned to ashes in the changing space.
“Intriguing,” he remarked.
…
“Hah Hah Hah, go ahead and chase! If you can find me, I’ll give you credit!” Jing Hengbo stood on the edge of the other side of the forest, looking at the small house in the woods, hands on her hips with a mischievous grin.
She was anticipating an angry roar, but unfortunately, the house remained eerily silent. It seemed like this guy had quite a bit of patience.
“One, two, three…” When she reached three, she immediately turned around and vanished from sight.
At the same moment, she disappeared, and a hint of silver-black robes fluttered out of the house.
…
In the next instant, Jing Hengbo found herself by the riverbank five yards away, admiring her reflection with a captivating pose. “I am truly beautiful… One, two, three…”
Just as her figure vanished, the silver-black robes flashed and descended by the riverbank. Lord Zuo in black lowered his head, observing two cone-shaped footprints on the muddy ground.
…
A horse is peacefully munching on grass on the sloping terrain.
With a quick descent, Jing Hengbo lands on the ground, narrowly avoiding a collision with the horse’s hindquarters.
“Woah, that stinks…” she grumbles to herself, then gazes up, discovering the lively horse. Her eyes brighten, and she walks around the horse, considering the possibility of using it for a speedy escape.
After considering it, she shakes her head, saying, “No way. I can’t ride. What if I fall off? Plus, the saddle is too harsh, and it might leave scars on my delicate skin. However, this horse is truly stunning. Come here, mwah, mwah. Hey, don’t kick me… Oh… here we go! One, two, three!”
The silver-black robe swiftly lands on the horse. The restless horse snorts, hooves tapping, and the person in black affectionately pats the horse’s head, laughing, “Almost overwhelmed by the fragrance? Next time, keep your distance from her.”
He looked up, observing the rich night hues in a particular direction.
……（。Y。）……
“Shh. Stay quiet.” Jing Hengbo lifted a finger, gesturing for the heavily adorned and wide-eyed bride before her to remain silent.
The sedan chair rocked gently, and Jing Hengbo chuckled as she examined the bride across from her.
It was a bridal procession passing below from the slope, following the local tradition of welcoming the bride early in the morning. The bride inside the sedan had dozed off, but she was abruptly awakened by a weight on her legs. As she opened her eyes, she discovered a figure covered in mud, staring right at her.
The bride was about to scream, but Jing Hengbo swiftly covered her mouth.
Jing Hengbo touched her face and felt a bit regretful that she couldn’t reveal her true appearance. It would have been a great opportunity for this country girl to witness the genuine beauty behind her captivating face.
Blaming the rushed time, she didn’t have a chance to wash her face. Of course, she could have used the water brought by the guards to wash up, but how could she settle for such a simple face wash? Her face-cleansing ritual required four bowls of water – one cold and three warm. She would start with cold water to tighten her skin, then use warm water to cleanse, followed by an exfoliating scrub and moisturizing face wash. Only after that would she consider herself truly clean. If she only had one bowl of water, how could she get rid of all the dirt and impurities clogging her pores? Just the thought of all those black mud particles in her pores… it would drive her crazy!
People with severe cleanliness tendencies often take cleaning matters very seriously…
“Hey, girl, getting married today?” Jing Hengbo casually draped her arm over the bride’s shoulder. “Your makeup doesn’t look good, you’ve overdone the rouge, like a monkey’s butt. It’s actually covering up your natural beauty, sweetheart.”
“Oh, is that so…” The bride immediately forgot that the stranger might have an unclear background.”Could you teach me…miss?”
“Now, you go get a soft little brush and gently sweep it from your cheeks to your temples. Yes, a stroke and a hook, like Li Ning’s logo…” Jing Hengbo patiently instructed, providing on-the-spot makeup artistry.
Outside, the sedan bearers murmured, “Hey, why did the sedan suddenly get heavier?”
“Just passed by a grave mound just now, could it be…” someone skeptically guessed. Suddenly, they raised their heads and saw a silver-black robe fluttering on the hill behind them.
“A ghost…”
“Hurry, let’s move faster!” The sedan carriers quivered as they increased their speed.
“…And then, apply a darker powder to the hollows of your chin for a sculpted look…” Jing Hengbo suddenly paused, her eyes shifting, “Oh, it’s happening! One, two, three! Goodbye, dear!”
The bride, who was adjusting her chin, looked up in bewilderment at the now-empty sedan. After a moment, she let out a scream.
“Ah—”
“Ah!” The sedan carriers outside also yelled, “Who are you? Halt! This is a bridal sedan; don’t crash into it—”
“Swoosh!” The sedan curtain lifted.
The bride screamed and looked up to see an indescribable face. Her scream caught in her throat, her gaze instantly enchanted. Subconsciously tilting her chin, she wanted to present her most beautiful angle to him.
The figure in black was half-bent, his eyes swiftly passing through the sedan with an unsurprised yet slightly annoyed expression.
The bride inside the sedan stared at him, captivated.
The man in black lowered the curtain to leave, and the bride, in a daze, reached out, not even sure of her intentions, “Hey, you…”
The figure in black comes to a halt, partially turns around, and notices a hand peeking out from behind the deep red curtain. The hand is fair and plump, bearing slight calluses that hint at the girl’s rural background. The nails are clean but unevenly colored with a faint red tint from the dye of phoenix flower juice, not applied perfectly and showing some irregularities.
Suddenly, he recalls another pair of hands, pristine and slender, with nails painted in a delicate shade of gold. The dazzling, pale gold color is luminous, smooth, and meticulously trimmed, resembling exquisite little tiles reflecting sunlight.
Feeling an odd sensation in his heart, he turns abruptly and takes hold of the bride’s fingertips. The bride, pleasantly surprised, looks up at him, and her red lips part.
“A woman as ugly as you,” he gently holds her hand, speaking tenderly, “shouldn’t bother with nail polish. It looks like it’s been chewed on by a dog.”
…
