"Actually, Mr. Yi doesn't like women who are too proactive."
Lan Xinluo's expression changed slightly. Before she could make a move, her body had already turned around. Her delicate hand was firmly held by him, unable to move at all. Then, her right arm was twisted, and a piercing pain instantly came. Her other hand was also easily restrained by him.
"I told you, it's best not to ruin my plans." The young master's calm voice came from above.
Her hand was restrained, and her pretty face turned pale and then red. Knowing that this person's martial arts were unpredictable, Lan Xinlu gritted her teeth and endured the pain, sneering, "You think I really did this for you?"
“I am not so arrogant as to think I am,” the young master said without changing his expression, his grip still firm. “I am waiting for your explanation.”
Why should I explain to you?
"A beauty whose right hand has been crippled, men probably won't be so infatuated with her anymore."
The voice was friendly, but Lan Xinluo knew that this person was indeed capable of such things. She turned her head and glared at him for a long time before finally revealing a hint of hatred: "So some people are not men at all."
“Of course I’m a man, and I don’t like to make things difficult for women. You should listen to me,” the young master released her, smiled, and looked coldly. “I agreed to cooperate not because the Yi family is short of money, but because you want things to go smoothly, you need my help. Miss Xinluo had better understand this. I don’t like others interfering in my affairs, and I think Master Lan wouldn’t want Miss Xinluo to ruin his big plans over some trivial matter.”
Lan Xinlu snorted.
The young master said with his hands behind his back, "She is indeed one of my people. You don't need to doubt my relationship with the Thousand Hands Sect. If I really want to help them, there's nothing you can do about it. In business, trust is key. Since I'm willing to cooperate with you, I know what I'm doing. As for matters unrelated to business, Miss Xinluo, it's best if you don't interfere."
After half a day, Lan Xinluo looked away, straightened her clothes, and regained her usual elegance: "I have my reasons for doing this. Jin Huanlai is Jiang Xiaohu's friend. The Thousand Hands Sect is well-informed. Jiang Xiaohu knows how to get into the city and brought his wife in."
The young master said, "His wife is one of yours."
“But he doesn’t really trust his wife,” Lan Xinluo took two steps. “Anyone would be suspicious if their wife showed up at their door for no reason, especially since his wife knows that girl from the Thousand Hands Cult. I’ve already hinted that he’ll only suspect that his wife reported him.”
The young master said, "My wife has an ulterior motive. If you kindly remind her, she will trust you more. What a clever sisterly scheme!"
Lan Xinluo said, "Don't worry, I'm just borrowing your people for a while. Jiang Xiaohu has a close relationship with her, or she may have a high position in the Thousand Hands Sect. Now that the Water City Lord is dealing with Jin Huanlai, it would be best if he could be lured out. If he can't be lured out, I'll still return your people to you in good condition, and I won't even take a single hair from your head."
It seems she doesn't know the relationship between the little girl and Jin Huanlai. The young master smiled and said, "Indeed, it's killing two birds with one stone, but can you guarantee that the Water City Lord will release them in the future?"
Lan Xinluo coldly said, "Don't worry, Shui Fengqing is still hoping to find Jin Huan to cure 'Half Moon Dew,' so he won't easily harm his people."
The young master was moved: "No wonder the Lord of Water City went to great lengths to buy the Warm Jade Cup; it was to cure the 'Half-Moon Dew'."
“Indeed, ‘Half Moon Dew’ is extremely cold and yin, and that person is already deeply poisoned. Even with the thousand-year-old warm jade cup, it would take at least one or two months to cure him. Now that the cup is lost, we can’t be too ruthless in our actions.”
The young master frowned: "In that case, he should beg Jin Huanlai for help. Given his status, Jin Huanlai might be willing to lend a hand."
Lan Xinlu scoffed, "You think he didn't beg? It's only because he has a grudge against the Thousand Hands Sect that Jin refused. Otherwise, why would he have made such a scene? Although he has managed to suppress the poison for several years, he can't delay any longer."
The young master pondered, "Tianshui City and the Thousand Hands Sect have always kept to themselves and I have never heard of any enmity between them."
Lan Xinluo asked, "Do you know who Shui Fengqing is?"
The young master asked, "Who?"
"Why should I tell you?" Lan Xinluo said coldly, "I was jealous of a fool, but he didn't appreciate it and even tried to cripple my hand."
The young master smiled and said, "Miss Xinluo is wrong. How could you be jealous? You just like men being infatuated with you."
Lan Xinlu looked at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "I really like you more and more, what should I do?"
That's not a good thing.
Spending money to save a weak woman
Torches blazed brightly in the dungeons of Tianshui City.
Jin stole Shui Fengqing's Thousand-Year Warm Jade Cup. How will Shui Fengqing treat the Thousand Hands Sect members? Qiu Lingling was both surprised and frightened when she was suddenly discovered and brought here. However, no one came to interrogate her until late at night. She began to wonder how she could have been discovered when she had been working at the Tianshui City branch for several days.
Recalling the details, she couldn't find any flaws. Just as she was racking her brains, she suddenly heard a loud voice: "The city lord has ordered that this girl is a spy of the Thousand Hands Sect and needs to be kept under close watch. The city lord will personally interrogate her tomorrow!"
Qiu Lingling approached the iron gate and discovered that the speaker was a middle-aged man wearing a white jade hairpin. He had been there for several days and knew that Tianshui City identified people by their attire. Those wearing white belts were ordinary guards, the leaders wore white hairbands, and the altar masters wore silver hairbands. It was said that the Lord of Tianshui City had four great guards, eight water gods, twelve close attendants, and thirty-six assassins under his command, all of whom were rare masters in the martial arts world. Those who were qualified to wear white jade hairpins were at least figures above the level of the eight water gods.
One of the leaders said, "Why don't we interrogate them tonight?"
The man shook his head: "If someone hadn't informed on us, we wouldn't have known that a spy had infiltrated the city. The city lord is furious right now, but because he's busy with the Golden Autumn Gathering, he's temporarily imprisoning her here. Don't make any rash moves; the city lord still has a use for her."
Everyone readily agreed.
Informing on them? Qiu Lingling was increasingly suspicious. Her disguise skills were considered excellent in the sect, more than enough to deal with these people. Familiar faces with good eyesight might recognize her, but there weren't many familiar faces here, and Yi Qinghan certainly wouldn't.
The man continued, “Since the Thousand Hands Sect members were able to infiltrate, it seems they already know how to enter the city. According to Chief Cui of the dock, there were probably two other people who infiltrated with them, claiming to be friends of the city lord. They used the same code word exactly, so they must also be from the Thousand Hands Sect. To prevent them from breaking into the prison, the city lord ordered me to come and keep an eye on things.”
While they were speculating, Qiu Lingling knew who they were talking about, because she had met those two people not long ago. They were Jiang Xiaohu and his formidable wife Lan Xinyue, who had also sneaked into the city to attend the Golden Autumn Festival. Judging from this person's words, the informant didn't seem to be them. So who was it?
Jiang Xiaohu can't use martial arts, and his wife's martial arts skills aren't particularly high either. If they really tried to break him out of the prison, it would only cause trouble. Does Yi Qinghan know this now? If Shui Fengqing wants to use him to lure Jin Huanlai out, wouldn't Jin Huanlai be in danger...?
Qiu Lingling was getting anxious when she suddenly heard the man shout, "Who's there!"
In an instant, all the torches went out.
.
Was it Jin Huanlai or Yi Qinghan? Qiu Lingling was overjoyed at first, but then she felt something was wrong. The faint sounds of wind and fighting only lasted for a short while before the dungeon returned to silence.
Someone is approaching in the darkness.
The footsteps were steady, showing that the person was fearless and did not take the prison break seriously at all. Qiu Lingling was half surprised and half horrified. The eight water gods of Tianshui City were all top masters in the martial arts world. How could this person's martial arts be so terrifying that he could subdue someone above the eight water gods so easily?
Although she couldn't see his face, a strange chill crept into her heart. Qiu Lingling suddenly felt afraid, nervously gripping the iron bars, her voice trembling: "Who are you?"
There was no answer. The faint "click" sound was even clearer in the empty dungeon, followed by a "clang" as the cell door was opened. Without hesitation, a strong hand reached out and lifted her up. Just as she was about to cry out, another hand quickly sealed her speech acupoint.
The man was indeed very familiar with the routes of Tianshui City. He carried her out of the dungeon and easily subdued the guards of both the inner and outer city. He used his lightness skill to run towards the Tianshui River. By the light of the fire at the city gate, Qiu Lingling could see that the man was dressed in a black robe. Because he was being carried on her shoulder, she could not see his face. The only thing she was sure of was that he was a very tall and upright man.
Who could possess such unfathomable martial arts skills? Qiu Lingling couldn't help but tremble. This person always exuded a kind of coldness, and the closer she got to him, the stronger that coldness became. She was skilled in disguise and could easily remember a person's features. This kind of lightness skill was definitely not Jin Huanlai. Who exactly was he, and why did he come to her rescue?
At the riverbank, the man finally abandoned her.
"You..." Upon realizing she could speak, Qiu Lingling took two steps back. Her intuition told her that getting too close to this person was not a good thing.
His face was still not visible in the shadows.
"Right here, waiting for Jiang Xiaohu." The voice was slightly deep, not old, and should belong to a young man.
Qiu Lingling was skilled at disguise and was very sensitive to a person's voice and appearance. However, she had no time to think about these things at the moment, because the voice sounded chillingly cold to her ears, filling her with fear: "Thank you..."
The man suddenly said, "I can kill you."
Qiu Lingling retreated in fear.
The man snorted coldly and turned to leave.
.
"Jin Huanlai!" With a shout, a large bat above suddenly stopped, flipped over, and swooped down from mid-air. Being in mid-air, there was nothing to use for leverage. Apart from Jin Huanlai, the leader of the Thousand Hands Sect, no one else could use such lightness skills.
The moment he saw her, the tense expression on his handsome face suddenly relaxed, but then he roared in anger: "Who told you to run around like that!"
Qiu Lingling, who had been beaming with joy, suddenly stopped in her tracks upon hearing this and slowly lowered her head.
After a moment of silence, Jin walked over and asked, "Are you alright?"
Qiu Lingling shook her head.
Who saved you?
"I don't know him. He's a man, and he's very skilled in martial arts. He's... terrifying." Thinking of that cold feeling, Qiu Lingling couldn't help but shudder again.
Jin quickly guessed: "What else did he say?"
Qiu Lingling whispered, "He said he could kill me."
"Is this considered doing me a favor?" Jin sneered, but said nothing more. "Only the Thousand Hands Sect can cure 'Half Moon Dew' now. Even though they know Shui Fengqing wouldn't dare to touch her easily, they still didn't want her to suffer, so they rushed over. If Shui Fengqing really uses her to blackmail them, what will the result be?"
He didn't want to think about it, but seeing that she was soaking wet, he frowned: "You came out by water?"
Qiu Lingling nodded.
Where is Jiang Xiaohu?
"He went back with his wife."
Jin stopped talking, took off his cloak, wrapped it around her, picked her up, and carried her away.
.
Although she had internal energy protecting her, Qiu Lingling's body had been damaged since she was poisoned by the Half-Moon Dew, and she had not yet recovered. She was still a little afraid of the cold, and with the autumn weather getting colder and her body soaking in the water for so long, she developed a fever on the second day and slept drowsily all day.
Jin sat by the bed, gazing at the sleeping little face, mesmerized.
The mute servant brought the medicine.
Looking out the door, he realized it was already dusk. He remained silent for a long time before finally calling her softly, "Lingling, get up and drink your medicine."
There was no movement.
After waiting for a long time, he got up and put the medicine bowl on the table: "If you don't want to drink it, go to sleep first, and I'll ask them to serve you the medicine later. I'll go out for a bit."
Qiu Lingling opened her eyes as expected: "Gold, return!"
He stopped and turned around.
She struggled to sit up: "Don't leave tonight, please stay with me?"
He should refuse, but seeing the pleading look in those dark, deep eyes, he felt a tremor in his heart, and he couldn't bring himself to say anything malicious. He didn't want to, he didn't want to push them away.
Now the little girl has no relatives left, and even he is going to push her away. Without protection, where can she go? She might not even be able to survive in the martial world. So, should she be kept by his side as a companion, like this? Two lonely people have come together, their fates are so similar. Perhaps that's why he took her in in the first place. Jin Yue took him in, but he also harmed him. Now that he's taking in the little girl, isn't he also harming her?
Finally, he whispered, "I'll be right back," and strode out the door.
"Gold, come back—"
.
Tonight, Xinqing Tower is no ordinary place. Countless wealthy young men and merchants have arrived early, because tonight is the first time that Miss Qingsi has received guests. No matter how aloof or talented she is, she will eventually become a plaything under a man's body. The so-called famous courtesan is just someone who has more customers and makes more money.
A light gauze curtain hung over the small window. Two people stood in front of the window, their slender hands lifting half of the curtain. Their beautiful eyes looked down at the hall below, where guests filed in one after another. Among them were the old and the young, and most of them had a confident smile on their faces.
The maid asked worriedly, "Why hasn't that Young Master Ning arrived yet?"
Her gaze swept across the crowd, and Qing Si said calmly, "Everyone has their own destiny. Let fate decide. If he doesn't come, there's no use worrying."
Will she ever meet him again? Her slender fingers, gripping the gauze curtain, tightened and trembled slightly. She had planned so much for so long, but it was very likely that it would all be for nothing. She was gambling.
The bidding downstairs had already started, and my despair grew little by little.
Just then, a figure in black slowly walked into the hall. Although the figure was far away and the attire was inconspicuous, she recognized it at a glance.
The maidservant noticed too: "Young Master Ning has arrived!"