Ning Xian watched him walk back, sit down, and continue eating. Hesitantly, she asked, "You gave the whole hairpin to the carpenter?"
"right."
"That's such a waste of money..."
"...He had change in small change."
"Oh...you probably won't find much, right? Oh well, something is better than nothing. Just remember to give me some broken hairpins next time."
"……||||"
—She really is the biological daughter of those two old monsters from the Qiu family.
Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Uninvited Guest
"Will this door fly through a third time?" After the young lady left, Ning Xian stared at the back door that had escaped this time and blurted out. Mu Yuan became interested, "Xianxian, shall we make a bet?"
"Okay, which side are you betting on?"
I bet it can still fly!
"But I also want to gamble on flying again..."
How can you gamble if both of them choose the same side? So Ning Xian turned his gaze to Mr. Dongli, who had been ignoring what was happening all along.
Mr. Dongli, at a loss with these two clowns, smiled faintly and reminded them, "You're betting on my door." "It's just a door..."
"Have you two had enough?" Phoenix stood behind them, immediately bringing a gloomy, oppressive atmosphere. Mu Yuan immediately stopped eating quietly, while Ning Xian looked up at the sky; it was as if neither of them had spoken a word.
Looking at the three children, Mr. Dongli couldn't help but sink into memories... He recognized a familiar aura about these three children. Having lived in the demonic path for so long, he couldn't possibly fail to recognize the origins of these three young people.
This meal seemed destined to be anything but peaceful. Before Feng could even sit down, a loud crash echoed from the back door, which was shattered into several pieces by powerful internal force and sent flying into the air.
Ning Xian's eyes widened, and Mu Yuan's ears perked up—Damn it, why didn't we gamble just now?! We lost!
However, this thought was fleeting. Judging from their posture, the newcomer's martial arts skills were not low, and they were probably not easy to deal with. They stood up, and the group filed in, their breathing deep and their steps steady yet silent. All three of them were slightly on guard, but Mr. Dongli remained calm.
Ning Xian glanced at the several middle-aged men who looked serious and inscrutable, and asked with surprise, "I wonder if you've come for your sisters or your daughters?"
The other party didn't seem to understand her words, so Ning Xian explained more clearly: "Coming to your door in such a menacing manner, is it because Ah Huang has seduced your sisters or daughters again? —Not your wives, right?"
"You little brat, you're talking nonsense!"
—Huh? It wasn't the phoenix that provoked it?
"Ghost Child! The deadline our master gave you has passed. Whether you agree or not, you must come with us today!" —Huh? Ning Xian's eyes widened as he turned to stare at Uncle Dongli, exclaiming in surprise, "Uncle, you seduced someone's wife??" Dongli was speechless.
Even Lian Feng and Mu Yuan utterly despised her—she truly had nothing in her head but seduction.
The middle-aged men who barged in clearly had no sense of humor. Without a word, they launched a three-pronged attack on Dongli—should they help or not? There was an agreement against using martial arts, so even if they wanted to help, they would only be in the way, right? So, the three of them stood in a row, some watching the show, some listening, ready to run back into the house at any moment if the situation changed.
The three men had clearly blocked Dong Li's path, but Dong Li's pale blue, almost white shadow suddenly lowered, feinting towards one of them at the lower body. With just a slight dodge, he had already slipped out of the encirclement at an imperceptible speed. Ning Xian and Feng were slightly stunned, wanting to applaud. These men had obviously already experienced Dong Li's skills, and weren't surprised that he had dodged them. They simply quickly surrounded him again, while the others drew out long, silvery threads as thin as hair, which intertwined and condensed into a net, attacking from all sides—
Mr. Dongli hadn't intended to implicate the three children, but this sudden bundle meant the only possible escape route was in the direction of the three. No one saw how he walked over; it was as if he had moved so quickly that he was already several feet away from where he stood. And so, with each movement, he escaped the silver line's range—but he moved too fast, and the others didn't have time to stop before rushing forward as before.
In that instant, Feng had Ning Xian to his left and Mu Yuan to his right. With his lightness skill, he could easily dodge, but the blind man on his right couldn't, and as for the one on his left—he didn't know if she could, he only knew he wasn't comfortable with her. So, in that split second, he practically abandoned all considerations for the woman, grabbed Ning Xian, and flew onto the roof.
Abandoned, Hua Hua could hear the rustling of others' clothes as they moved and attacked, but not the sound of the fine threads binding her. Ning Xian, startled and hoisted onto the roof, cried out, "Why are you pulling me?! I can dodge on my own! Save Hua Hua!" Even without Ning Xian's intervention, Feng Ye realized the irrational nature of his decision. Indeed, succinctly, he "should" have pulled Mu Yuan, but… he genuinely said, "To hell with him."
Ning Xian rolled his eyes—and weakly crawled towards the roof—he'd better go save her himself…
If she can't use martial arts, how will she save him?
As soon as she climbed down, Mr. Dongli picked her up and threw her back onto the roof, into Feng's arms.
She remained in the position where she had been thrown up, blinking her eyes. Feng lowered his head and sighed softly, "Stay here, I'll go." Feng put her down and jumped off the roof, only to see Mr. Dongli give him a faint look. He couldn't be sure if it was a warning or something else.
A short knife was pressed against Mu Yuan's neck. "Gui Juezi! If you don't agree to come with us, he's dead!" Uncle Dongli smiled faintly. "So this is what the so-called righteous sects do."
"Will you agree to go save them or not!?"
Is this how you beg for help?
Although the other party was fierce, Uncle Dongli didn't care at all, because he could see the expression on Huahua's face. Although she seemed to be restrained, she didn't show any tension at all.
"Ghostly Child, don't flatter yourself without realizing it. Our master invited you with great gifts, but you refused. We were only eager to save lives!" Mr. Dongli seemed to have heard a joke—that being eager to save lives justifies hurting people at will?
"If you know my rules, release them immediately."
"Do you think things will be that easy? If you won't come with us, we can't let him go!" Mu Yuan listened quietly for a long time, then suddenly sighed, "I've waited so long, and you still won't let him go..." "Shut up!" The knife tightened against Mu Yuan's neck, but suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his ribs. He didn't even know what had happened. Mu Yuan had already grabbed his wrist and flipped it, the knife falling to the ground. He quickly kicked the man as revenge and hurriedly ran towards the direction from which Mr. Dongli's voice came. The people behind him wanted to chase after him, but Feng stepped forward to meet him and pulled him back.
Mu Yuan, though blind, wouldn't stop. With a seductive laugh that seemed to have no regard for human life, she said, "You people are truly courting death! I was only caught because I couldn't see you. You were so close, right next to me, I didn't even need to look. Weren't you just asking for it?" However, the other side burst into wild laughter, "Then you'd better pray that little girl is as capable as you!" Feng was startled and looked up, only to see Ning Xian still on the roof, but already captured. She smiled apologetically, "Hey~~ sorry, I was careless for a moment..."
Feng endured it all, clenching his fists tightly. While they needed to heal Mu Yuan's eyes, Ning Xian's safety was far more important to him.
Seeing everyone moving towards the rooftop, one of them said smugly, "Since Gui Juezi refuses to come, let's have this little girl come with us—you'd better show up soon, otherwise, it won't be good if such a pretty girl is missing something." Feng's anger was already showing, and Mu Yuan beside him said, "Go." He was taken aback, and then heard Mu Yuan continue, "I've said it before, even if I can't see, it won't affect my unparalleled charm—once I get used to it for a few days, I'll be invincible whether I have eyes or not." Feng glanced at him sideways, never realizing that Mu Yuan could be so pleasing to the eye. He suddenly leaped forward, finally making his move—Ning Xian sighed, Buddha, I am a sinner…
Mr. Dongli simply watched indifferently, without making any comment.
………………
As dusk fell, Feng's crimson figure was entangled among several people—all of whom were highly skilled, especially possessing considerable internal energy. Feng's martial arts were all deadly, and she was adept at fighting multiple opponents. However, at this moment, she was unarmed, and her killing moves were unleashed bare-handed. An ordinary person would naturally be unable to withstand it, but these people were supported by their internal energy, and for the time being, they could not break through her defenses. Seeing that the person who had captured Ning Xian had learned from the experience of others dealing with Mu Yuan and directly grabbed Ning Xian's throat to take her away, Feng acted hastily and ruthlessly grabbed the neck of the person in front of her. With just a little effort, she could break his neck. However, at this moment, Mr. Dongli suddenly spoke up: "Stop, all of you, I'll go."
The other party paused, startled. Dong Li continued, "Release her first." Seeing the hesitation on the other's face, he smiled, "When have I, Gui Juezi, ever broken my promise to heal someone?"
The men's attitude immediately changed. They released Ning Xian and apologized to Mr. Dongli, saying, "We're sorry, we were just trying to save him—" "No need for such nonsense, you've said it many times already—I will come to your door tomorrow, please go back." After a moment's hesitation, the men clasped their hands in a fist salute and left one after another.
Ning Xian climbed down from the roof, gave a wry smile; he'd completely messed things up...
Dongli smiled faintly and glanced at her twice. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"I'm fine... Um, what about Huahua's eyes...?"
Dongli's smile deepened as she looked at Mu Yuan. "There's no food left, but it's time to change your dressing. Come on over." "Huh?" Ning Xian exclaimed in surprise, "But Feng just..."
"He used martial arts?" His smile remained unchanged. "He already used it back at the Qixi Festival, didn't he?" —Huh? He found out!?
Dongli turned to look at Feng, "So your name is Feng."
Oops... I let it slip... Buddha, I didn't mean to.
However, Uncle Dongli didn't seem angry at all. He smiled at Feng and said, "I can see you really care about her. Keep trying. Even Heaven wouldn't stand for lovers not helping each other—" He patted Feng's shoulder, pulled Mu Yuan along, and the two went inside to heal their wounds. Ning Xian watched them go inside and chuckled, "Actually, Uncle is a nice guy..."
Feng sighed softly. "Come here." He pressed the back of her head against his chest and hugged her. "Feng?"
"Shut up."
"you……"
"I told you to shut up, so just stay here."
Why on earth would he fall for this guy? Feng held Ning Xian in her arms, and although she couldn't figure it out, the pounding in her chest was already beyond her control.
It's okay to fall in love with someone without realizing it; what's worse is when you realize it, you've already fallen in love with something that can be described as "heartless."
Chapter Sixty-Eight: The Young Master of the Escort Agency (from "The Story of My Wife Climbing the Wall") by Lian Zhi Qingting.
The next day, around noon, Ning Xian arrived at the house where Uncle Dongli was waiting for them, following behind him.
What she found utterly distasteful was that it was a reputable escort agency in the legitimate world, yet they resorted to such coercive methods when they needed something from them. Initially, when Dongli appointed her as his assistant, Feng was quite worried. But Mr. Dongli simply smiled and said, "You haven't finished chopping firewood, fetching water, and you still need to dry herbs for Ningxian. There's so much to do. Do you have time to come along? Don't worry, what danger could she possibly face with me?"
Mr. Dongli has already lifted their agreement that they could not use martial arts under any circumstances. Although he still does not approve of the indiscriminate use of martial arts, he will not restrict it in special circumstances. Since Ning Xian is not a delicate flower and has always been used to walking alone in the martial world, it would be a bit of an underestimation of her if he were to worry about this and that.
So Ning Xian followed Mr. Dongli. Seeing those people who had made a scene at their house yesterday eagerly and respectfully waiting for Mr. Dongli's arrival today, Ning Xian really felt that these righteous people were so pragmatic, changing their attitude in an instant.
Following the steward into the inner hall, Ning Xian naturally didn't need to pay attention to what the seemingly anxious old man was saying to Uncle Dongli, though she did catch the gist of it—the old man's son's story was quite complicated. In his youth, the old man was hot-tempered, and the escort agency was rising in popularity; with so many worries, he inevitably became irritable and harsh on his wife. So, his wife left with their newborn child—this was the official version from the head of the escort agency, which Ning Xian, of course, didn't believe was merely a matter of being a little harsh. However, it was their family matter, and it happened twenty years ago; she had no right to interfere. This old man hadn't had any other children in twenty years, so he sent people to try and find the mother and child—why no? Why did he only think of finding them after they were gone? Ning Xian felt a wave of disgust, looking at this—what kind of old man was he again? Fang? Whatever, let's continue—so many years had passed, and the old lady had long since lost her resentment, only wanting her son to be recognized by his ancestors. So, she sent a letter to the escort agency. Not long after the mother and son set off, the old lady suddenly fell ill and passed away. The young master arrived at the escort agency alone with the old lady's belongings.
The old man was getting on in years, and having regained his lost son, how could he not dote on him like a precious treasure? But unexpectedly, his son soon fell ill with a strange disease, and despite consulting many doctors, his condition did not improve, which really worried him.
Forget Uncle Dongli's strange rules; if it were her, she wouldn't want to treat him either. She'd just give him a few slaps with a stick and tell him that sons shouldn't be spoiled, and that a couple more slaps would cure all his ailments.
As they walked to the young master's room, Mr. Dongli suddenly stopped and asked Master Fang, who was following closely behind, "Master Fang, is it necessary for you to come in?"
"I am truly worried about my son..."
"Unfortunately, I don't like people around when I'm treating patients." Mr. Dongli simply stood there calmly, not looking at the old man, but not taking another step forward.
The old man hurriedly replied, "Alright, alright, I'll wait outside the courtyard..."
"And these servants too."
He was taken aback. "But..."
"Leave two people outside the door to await instructions, and the rest of you shall leave the courtyard."
Master Fang hesitated for a long time, but after all, he was a man of the martial arts world. How could he not know about Gui Juezi's strange temper? The man had already been invited to his home. Was he going to ruin everything just because he couldn't bear to do it for a moment?
Only a maid and a servant remained, while the others withdrew far away from the courtyard.
Mr. Dongli entered the room, and Ning Xian followed behind, casually surveying the luxurious house. What a spendthrift! "Who goes there!?"