Due to the fracture in her leg, Lin Qingyan had no choice but to be carried by Lucas Reeve.
It was the first time in her life she had been in such close contact with a member of the opposite sex, especially being carried on his back. Her chest was pressed tightly against his back, and since the weather wasn't very cold and none of them were ordinary people, they weren't particularly afraid of the chill.
So, neither Lin Qingyan nor Lucas Reeve were wearing thick clothes. Lin Qingyan only had an open jacket and a thin long dress.
This feeling, as if their skin was touching, made Lin Qingyan's face flush.
However.
To maintain her cool image, she had to endure the discomfort, even trying hard not to blush, forcing herself to hold it in.
Thump, thump, thump...
Lin Qingyan's heart pounded incessantly, like a drum.
And with their skin so close, Lucas Reeve could clearly feel the frequency of her heartbeat.
198 beats per minute...
Hmm~
Lucas Reeve even took the time to count.
This young lady might seem calm and composed on the surface, as if she didn't care at all, but in reality, her heart rate was approaching the maximum for an ordinary person, and her body was very stiff.
Since the village was deep in the forest.
Although it wasn't too far, that was relative to traveling by car. Walking was still some distance, requiring them to go around a small hill.
"Clap~"
A light blow seemed to hit the back of Lucas Reeve's head.
"Don't touch my thigh with your palm!!"
Lin Qingyan couldn't help but whisper in Lucas Reeve's ear.
"Hey... then how am I supposed to carry you?"
Lucas Reeve was a bit speechless.
"Whatever! Just don't use your hands!"
Sigh...
Lucas Reeve had been using his palms to support Lin Qingyan's thighs to maintain balance. Since she insisted, he switched to hooking his elbows under them.
"Is this okay?"
"Hmph..."
Lin Qingyan huffed arrogantly and said no more.
To be honest.
This young lady's thighs were quite smooth and very firm. As an Elite Operator, she must have trained a lot.
These were truly perfect legs.
And... who would have thought... Miss Lin Qingyan was quite... well-endowed. Impressive, impressive. A unique, girlish fragrance wafted from Lin Qingyan's body. With such close contact, an ordinary man might have already lost his composure.
But... as time went on, the divine aspect of Lucas Reeve became more and more apparent, so even in a situation like this, Lucas Reeve remained perfectly calm inside, without any extraneous thoughts.
Due to the rugged forest terrain, after going around the small hill, the group walked for a while longer and finally saw a rather remote mountain village at the foot of the hill.
"It's just ahead~
"Closure pointed to the village in front of them.
"I've always traded with them for Orirock in the past. The goods from this village are considerably purer than those from other similar villages, and the price is about the same. It's 30% cheaper than the official price, and 130% cheaper than the price in other countries. It's a great deal."
The village wasn't large.
In any case, when the group entered, they estimated it had a few hundred households at most.
As a diligent Dali Temple official responsible for the local area, Lin Qingyan naturally remembered every city, town, and even village name within her jurisdiction and the surrounding areas clearly.
'Sitting' on Lucas Reeve's back.
Lin Qingyan, out of professional habit, began her introduction.
"This village is called Orirock Village. It's considered a wealthy town in this region. By selling small quantities of Orirock, many of the villagers here have incomes that even surpass those in some nearby small towns. Although it's far from the main city, the people here live relatively happy lives."
Lin Qingyan recited the information about the village as if from a book, giving a crystal-clear introduction.
"Hm? How do you remember it so clearly? I thought there would be many remote little villages like this in Yan."
Lucas Reeve curiously asked the beautiful girl on his back.
Lin Qingyan snorted proudly.
"Hmph~ Remembering all the place names, rivers, and even towns and villages within one's responsible area is a required course for any Dali Temple official. If you can't even remember these things, how can you talk about protecting the people?"
Very serious.
With Lin Qingyan's straightforward, serious, and uncompromising personality, if she didn't have a strong background, it would be difficult for her to attain a high position. After all, she was too blunt and rigid. Not many people would like a personality like hers.
"It's that profitable? Why would the imperial court intentionally leave it alone?"
Closure asked, puzzled.
As the buyer, she knew the prices well. Even if it was cheaper than the outside world, the price was still incredibly expensive, and it required almost no cost. Besides manual excavation, there were basically no other costs. It was a blood-pumping profit.
"Because a high-ranking court official once came from this village. Plus, this mining area is very remote and not large, so it was naturally gifted to this village."
"Oh, oh~
"Closure and Lucas Reeve nodded.
Closure confidently led the group into the village, but as soon as they entered, they felt that the atmosphere was a bit off.
In the center of the village, many villagers were sitting directly on the ground, all of them wrapped in bandages. The bandages were stained with crimson, as if they had just been through a battle.
"Hm?"
Everyone noticed that something was wrong. The one with the strongest reaction was Lin Qingyan, because this was her area of responsibility, but she had never received a report from this village.
Lin Qingyan struggled to get off Lucas Reeve's back, but it was difficult to stand steady on one foot. Fortunately, without Lin Qingyan saying a word, Lucas Reeve directly let her rest her arm on his shoulder to prevent her from falling.
"Hey!!"
Lin Qingyan was both shy and embarrassed.
But after thinking about it, she didn't refuse.
After all, in her current state, limping over and potentially falling would be even more humiliating.
"Hello, may I ask what happened here?"
Supported by Lucas Reeve, Lin Qingyan limped over. The group of injured young people gathered in the village center were first stunned to see another young woman limping towards them, and for a moment, they didn't know what to say.
"Dali Temple official, Lin Qingyan."
Lin Qingyan took out her credentials.
At that moment.
The villagers immediately reacted, standing up and bowing respectfully to Lin Qingyan.
"My lady!!"
"What happened to you all? Why are so many people injured?"
Upon seeing Lin Qingyan, the villagers seemed to have found their backbone. Although this official seemed to be injured as well, she wasn't alone; she had others with her.
"It's like this..."
With the explanation from a very sturdily built man with the lightest injuries in the crowd, everyone got a general idea of what had happened.
Orirock Village had originally been very peaceful.
But two days ago, a large number of monsters suddenly appeared out of nowhere. These monsters were very strange; after being killed, they would turn into various objects like bowls, chopsticks, and inkstones and fall to the ground. The villagers tried to resist, but there were too many of these monsters. After barely managing to fend them off, many were injured.
Sigh...
After finishing, everyone sighed.
Monsters?
Lin Qingyan narrowed her eyes. This description was almost identical to the Qichang everyone had encountered in the forest.
Qichang had appeared here too.
The Qichang were deliberately attacking ordinary villagers.
Lin Qingyan turned her head, her fine brows knitted, and she looked at Nian beside her with a scrutinizing gaze.
After all, according to Nian's own admission, these Qichang were created by her second brother, who was also a Sui fragment.
These Qichang were attacking common people...
Just as I thought!
These Sui fragments are ultimately Divine Fragments. How could they possibly coexist peacefully with humans? I was too naive back then to actually believe that Sui fragments could coexist with mortals.
However.
There were a full three Divine Fragments present, and the one supporting her was even a Divine Fragment...
"What are you looking at?"
Lucas Reeve turned his head and smiled at Lin Qingyan. Lin Qingyan's abilities were ordinary, and she was very young. What she was thinking was written all over her face.
"Gods, like people, are divided into good and bad..."
"There are murderers among humans, so naturally there are evil gods among the gods."
"Hmph... then which category do you fall into?"
Lin Qingyan asked in a low voice.
"Take a guess?"
Lucas Reeve raised an eyebrow, imitating Kal'tsit's riddles. Except, Kal'tsit would say a long, incomprehensible speech, while Lucas Reeve just used "take a guess."
"Hmph... Scoundrel! Smooth-talker...."
Lin Qingyan ignored Lucas Reeve and prepared to continue her investigation.
Suddenly.
Amidst a clamor.
A woman whose style was completely different from this village walked out of the adjacent wooden house.
Her pure white clothes, like the clouds in the sky, fluttered.
When she walked out of the wooden house, it was as if she brought the light with her. She instantly became the center of the world, the most dazzling person under the heavens.
Her skin was like white jade, her features were perfect, her eyes sparkled, and her appearance was exceptionally beautiful. On her forehead were pure white deer antlers.
Her mere walk gave people the impression of a celestial being descended to the mortal world, a beauty so captivating one couldn't look away.
One could not harbor a single evil thought, only admiration and appreciation for beauty. She was utterly holy.
"The wound medicine is ready. I'll change your dressings. The medicine in the house is almost done brewing too. After I'm done changing the dressings, I'll serve it for you to drink."
However.
As the maiden was preparing to change the dressings for the injured, many women ran out and stood in front of their husbands.
"Change dressings? What dressings!!"
"You must have brought these monsters here!!"
These women had a fierce attitude, absolutely refusing to let the maiden get anywhere near their husbands.
Of course.
There was another reason.
This maiden was simply too beautiful. Their husbands could hardly take their eyes off her. As wives, how could they not be jealous?
The maiden didn't frown, nor did she get angry because of these harsh words.
Instead, she seemed to only care about the patients' health.
"I will be leaving today. You can apply these herbs to the wounds of the injured. The decoction in the wooden house should be taken half an hour after dinner tonight."
"Pah! Who wants your medicine!!"
Unexpectedly.
These women showed no gratitude at all. Instead, with a wave of a hand, they violently knocked the herbs from the maiden's hand to the ground. The herbs scattered all over, instantly making Lin Qingyan frown. She immediately rushed forward and shouted sternly.
"Stop!"
Under Lin Qingyan's powerful presence, these women became somewhat frightened.
They stammered, "My... my lady, it's definitely this woman's fault. Our Orirock Village has always been peaceful, we've never even had evil spirits or demon beasts. Two days ago, those monsters started appearing out of nowhere every day, and this woman just happened to show up yesterday, right when our husbands got injured. And after this woman came, those monsters stopped appearing."
"My lady, think about it, how can there be such a coincidence in the world? This woman must have attracted these monsters. She must be hoping to promote her herbal medicines through these monsters. Maybe, once the injuries are mostly healed, she'll start demanding an exorbitant price. She knows our Orirock Village is much richer than other villages or even small towns, so she's thinking of blackmailing us!"
The maiden sighed and didn't argue. She picked up the usable herbs from the ground and placed them in her basket, though her expression was a bit downcast.
She turned to leave the village, but one of the women put her hands on her hips and said excitedly, "My lady, look, she must have seen you arrive. Her plan has been exposed, so she's scared and trying to run away!"
"Hmph!"
Lin Qingyan snorted coldly. On a normal day, if she had come alone and known nothing, she might have had her doubts. After all, this maiden was indeed a bit suspicious. A beautiful girl walking alone in the deep mountains and old forests was suspicious in itself.
However.
Knowing that these Qichang were a trick by the second brother of the Sui, Lin Qingyan pretty much knew that this maiden was likely just passing by chance.
The maiden was about to leave the village entrance.
Lin Qingyan, supported by Lucas Reeve, immediately chased after her.
"Please wait, miss."
Lin Qingyan called out.
"I am Lin Qingyan, an official of the imperial Dali Temple. May I ask the young lady's name?"
The celestial-like maiden slowly turned her head.
"Nine-Colored Deer..."