Simply Trading

The Elders left his field almost immediately after that. But not before Nu Yuanqing shot the three younger people a scathing glare. Qin Feng did his best to ignore that, as he continued to play up his injuries. From what he could see, Elder Xuan had this whole thing orchestrated, so he wasn't too concerned about the woman Elder.

Besides, didn't he have Elder Xuan's daughter there with him? If Nu Yuanqing was looking for a target, a pitiful little medicine field tender like him certainly wouldn't be the first on the list.

Xuan Mei giggled, after she saw all of the visiting Elders disappear over the horizon. But she turned back to Qin Feng, and continued to dab her pungent medicinal fluid over the bruises on his face as she did so. Assisted, of course, by a grinning Lingxi.

Which drew another series of sharp cries from the young man. And that gave rise to another round of laughter, this time from both women.

"Is it really necessary to keep doing this, Xuan Mei? The Left Guardian and the Elders have already left, haven't they?" Lingxi asked as she turned her head to look in the direction in which the visitors had gone.

Qin Feng naturally sniffed at her, in between his groans. "Does it mean you are going to stop caring for these bruises on my poor face, just because there is no one watching? How cold of you! I almost regret calling you my friend!"

Xuan Mei covered her mouth again, as soon as she heard that. "Oh? Friends, are you? I had thought that you were her latest lover, from all the tales that she had been telling me. Did you know that she had peeked at you when you were bathing just this Summer? And she even told me how long ..."

Lingxi pushed a hand over the younger girl's mouth at once, stopping her from saying more. But her bright crimson cheeks were enough to give her away.

Qin Feng merely laughed, as he shook his head at the older of the two. "I am shocked! To think that you would peek at me while I was bathing, Senior Sister Lingxi! If you were really curious, you could have asked me about it. I would have been more than pleased to ... satisfy your curiosity. Indoors, of course!"

Then he looked towards his battered little hut, and raised his eyebrows her way. And waggled them, meaningfully. "In fact, I could show it to you now, if you desire."

Xuan Mei burst into laughter at once, while Lingxi stamped her foot in frustration. "Rogue! Pervert!" the latter screamed, as she turned her face away.

Clearly, she had not expected him to tease her like that.

Qin Feng merely laughed, and was about to press his advantage when he suddenly spied someone approaching, along the narrow trail that led between the hills separating his field from the others. And it was a man that he could not help but recognize at once.

Nor was he a stranger to the two women at his side.

"Senior Supervising Disciple Chen Xing? Why is he coming over here?"

Qin Feng shrugged when Lingxi shook her head at Xuan Mei's question, indicating that she had no answer to her question. He didn't know either, and wasn't about to make a guess. But he knew that it had to have something to do with the decision made by the Elders' Council.

Perhaps Chen Xing was there to formally tell him the result of the same?

In any case, he didn't take very long to cross the distance, and was soon standing before the trio, without a trace of exertion in his speech:

"I had not expected you to have visitors, Qin Feng. Or have they been sent by Elder Xuan to help you with the cleaning up? How untimely! Elder Ming wishes to see you. At the Medicine Hall."

The old man greeted the pair with a smile, before he spoke. And it was clear from the way that he directed the words at the only male disciple present, that he was not all too surprised to see the two women helping him with the cleaning up. Which, in turn, begged the question as to who had told on him. Still there was a certain speculative gleam in his eyes as he looked over the trio. One that neither of the women missed.

"We were here to help him with his injuries, Senior. And we thought we might as well help him clear up some of the damages inside," Lingxi told Chen Xing with a calm smile.

Xuan Mei, on the other hand, merely grinned at Qin Feng mischievously, sticking her tongue out as she started towards the trail. And her reminder was delivered in a manner that was more reminiscent of a younger sister:

"But since Elder Ming is looking for you, we had best be on our way. We left the medicinal salve on your bed, so remember to use it later. And take care of that finger of yours."

The pair barely gave the Senior Disciple a quick nod before they half-ran away. Before Qin Feng could even begin to realize that he was losing his helpers. Did that mean that he would have to clear up the mess inside his hut all by himself? For a moment, he felt like throttling Chen Xing for his idiotic words.

Fortunately, his injured left hand didn't really allow him to do that.

The apparently ignorant Chen Xing did nothing but smile awkwardly at Qin Feng as the latter watched the pair run away from his hut. It seemed the old man had just realized that his arrival had cost Qin Feng his pair of lovely helpers. Which was enough to make him concerned about the young man's damaged roof, and how he was going to get it repaired, since both of the girls had fled!

But he soon brought Qin Feng's attention back to his original purpose:

"We shouldn't keep Elder Ming waiting. And this is something to do with your contribution points for the Medicine Hall. So we really shouldn't delay."

Qin Feng turned back to the old man with a sigh. There was truth in what Chen Xing said. After all, no one else knew about the herbs that he had hidden away. So the issue of his contribution points would certainly be a rather significant issue, even if he had the Left Guardian on his side.

So he straightened his back and nodded at Chen Xing with a straight face.

"In that case, we had best go and see what Elder Ming has in mind."

* * *