He looked her over: "Didn't sleep well?"
"No," Qiu Lingling withdrew her hand and rubbed her eyes. "I just wanted to sleep. I almost fell asleep while I was eating yesterday."
Jin Huanlai grew increasingly suspicious: "Are you... alright?"
Qiu Lingling didn't seem to care much, blinking and saying, "I get sleepy every spring, it's nothing."
"Is it like this every year?" Jin Huanlai vaguely felt something was wrong, but then he thought that it was indeed easy to feel sleepy in spring, so he nodded. "If you feel unwell, ask your master to take your pulse."
.
As night fell, the clatter of hooves echoed through the quiet streets.
First up was a young nobleman riding a snow-white steed. He had almond-shaped eyes, a slightly downturned nose, and was quite handsome. However, strangely, while ordinary people would wear light clothing when riding horses, he was wearing a loose brocade robe with wide sleeves. He looked more like he was taking a stroll than riding a horse.
Following him to his left, a horse's length behind, was a thin servant. Behind them was a magnificent carriage, followed by four mounted guards.
"This road is relatively quiet."
"It's a bit far, we walked around most of the city," Liu Bai laughed. "What do you think of that jade, young master?"
"Although it is not as good as the original, it is still a rare treasure."
"That's perfect. Buy it and send it to the capital. Have Zhang Zhen make another one just like it. Just tell everyone we've found it. That should be enough to get away with it. I've already told them to take down the reward notice."
The young master nodded: "It's nothing, just to save the old man from asking about it in the future, which would be troublesome."
Liu Bai agreed, then laughed and said, "Speaking of which, the Zhong brothers from Yunnan also suffered a great loss this time. Their thousand-year-old sandalwood pagoda was stolen in front of so many top experts, and no one noticed. The methods of the Thousand Hands Sect are indeed getting more and more sophisticated."
The young master sighed, "There are some clever ones, and some foolish ones."
Liu Bai was puzzled: "That brat who stole the jade pendant must also be a member of the Thousand Hands Sect, why doesn't the young master..."
As they were speaking, a shout suddenly came from afar.
Liu Bai immediately stopped talking. Both of them were very surprised. The young master frowned and increased his horse speed slightly. But just as they reached the corner of the road, a dark figure rushed over from the side.
.
Chased by someone, the person panicked and only cared about running away. Little did they expect that two people would suddenly appear and block their way. Being in mid-air, they couldn't stop in time and were about to crash into them, so they cried out in fright.
Liu Bai instinctively tried to step forward, but the young master had already leaped up, dodging the attack, and caught the man, landing him on the ground.
The person seemed to be exhausted, unable to stand steadily, and unable to speak. She could only lower her head, holding his arm and breathing heavily. Judging from the petite and exquisite body under the black robe, she was clearly a woman.
Her long hair was first tied up on top of her head with a red ribbon, and then cascaded down like a waterfall. This outfit looked somewhat familiar...
The young master was taken aback at first, then laughed. "You're causing me trouble again. Last time you made me lose money on a business deal. I hope you won't be so unlucky this time."
The noise grew closer, and the pursuers seemed to be heading this way as well.
The man panicked and looked up: "Thank you, I'm leaving..." His voice trailed off.
The young master watched with satisfaction as those big eyes gradually widened, becoming dark, bright, and clear, alternating between surprise and joy, still carrying a touch of childishness, which was quite amusing.
.
"Ha, it's you?"
The young master nodded.
"You still remember me?"
The young master sighed. Everyone would remember someone who caused him to lose two million taels of silver.
It turned out that Qiu Lingling had asked for the jade several times, but Jin Huanlai didn't take it seriously. So she mustered up her courage and sneaked down the mountain. Unexpectedly, the most valuable thousand-year-old sandalwood pagoda was taken by the Thousand Hands Sect. The merchants were very discouraged. Thinking that the Thousand Hands Sect had a rule that they would not steal a batch of goods a second time, they dismissed most of their expert bodyguards that day, and their guards were much lax. She actually managed to disguise herself and sneak in. Unfortunately, the buyer of the jade was going to come to pick it up in person tonight. Therefore, when they checked the items, they quickly revealed their flaws, which led to the chase that followed.
Upon seeing him, Qiu Lingling was simply excited, still a little unsteady on her feet. After catching her breath a few times, she heard the shouts getting closer and, without thinking, hurriedly pulled something from her bosom: "Quick, they're catching up! This is yours..."
Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly swayed and then collapsed limply to the ground.
Already sensing something was wrong, the young master was slightly startled. Upon touching her hand, he felt it was icy cold. When he saw what was in her hand, he couldn't help but shake his head. Sure enough, trouble had come knocking again.
"Help her into the car."
Liu Bai had already dismounted and was waiting to the side. Upon receiving the order, he immediately came up and took the person from him.
Isn't this the kid who stole the jade dragon pendant at the inn's entrance the other day? How come he's turned into a girl? And the two of them seem to know each other quite well.
.
Just as Liu Bai had helped Qiu Lingling into the carriage and settled her in, a group of men arrived. About twenty men in black, armed with swords, landed one after another, followed by several fast horses. Leading them were two middle-aged men around forty years old, one plump and the other thin, who looked somewhat alike. Both were dressed in luxurious clothes, typical of wealthy merchants from out of town, and their faces seemed to show signs of anger.
Upon seeing the young master, the two immediately reined in their horses and stopped.
The chubby man asked anxiously, "Young Master Yi, did you see anyone pass by just now?"
The young master sat calmly on his horse, smiling, and asked, "What happened?"
"Something terrible has happened!" The thinner man sighed repeatedly, his face contorted with grief. "Young master, you've come to retrieve the jade, haven't you? Oh no, the jade was just stolen by thieves from the Thousand Hands Sect!"
The chubby man also cursed, "These thieves are lawless and greedy. They stole the sandalwood pagoda the other day, and now they're back again!"
The young master smiled and asked, "Are you two talking about a young man in black?"
The two exchanged a glance and said in unison, "That's right, we don't know which way he ran off to."
The young master remained calm and said, "Just now I saw him coming and going in a hurry, as if he was being chased. I suspect there must be something strange about it."
The two were deflated: "This..."
"Although I failed to capture him, I did manage to snatch a treasure from his hands," the young master said, pursing his lips slightly and raising his hand. "I saw this jade the day before yesterday, and it looked somewhat similar to mine, so I took it on a whim. It should rightfully be returned to its rightful owner, but I have already brought the agreed price and the item itself. How about we make a deal now? What do you two think?"
If someone else had obtained such a treasure for no reason, they would surely have kept it for themselves. How could they possibly return it to its rightful owner? The two were stunned for a moment, then overjoyed, they clasped their hands and said, "Young Master Yi is indeed an honest man. We admire you!"
The young master smiled enigmatically: "Please don't flatter me, gentlemen. If there's a next time, I might not be willing to take it out."
The two of them burst into laughter.
The thinner one said, "Fortunately, young master is here today, otherwise my brother and I would have suffered a great loss. Now that we are here, why don't we go to the inn for tea and rest for a while?"
The young master declined, saying, "I have important matters to attend to and cannot accompany you. Please allow me to visit you another day. It just so happens that you two are both here now. My idea is to settle the transaction here and now, so as to conclude this deal as soon as possible. What do you say?"
The chubby man hurriedly said, "Young Master Yi is right. We should close the deal quickly to avoid any unforeseen complications."
As they were talking, Liu Bai had already taken a box out of the carriage.
The young master pointed at the box with his whip: "Inside is the price we agreed on last time, 1.5 million taels of silver, in the form of bank notes from the Yi Family Bank. They can be cashed anywhere. You two might as well check them carefully."
The two brothers instructed their servants to take it, and the thinner one laughed, "We've long heard that the Yi family is known for its honesty and integrity in business. With Young Master Yi acting this way today, what else could we possibly distrust..."
The young master shook his head, interrupting him: "It's better to count it in person."
Before the two could speak, Liu Bai stepped forward, opened the box from the man's hand, and presented stacks of silver notes inside. Seeing this, the two could no longer refuse and instructed someone to count them.
As for the matter of buying a reputation with money, the young master smiled and said, "Liu Bai, please stay. I have some business matters to attend to back home, so I'll take my leave first. Please excuse me, both of you."
The two exchanged polite words, and the young master took his carriage and departed.
.
The weather in March and April was not cold, and the air in the room was quite warm. Moreover, thick and soft quilts were specially used on the tatami. However, the little girl was still pale and cold all over.
The young master sat in the chair with a frown, holding a piece of translucent jade.
They initially thought she had been chased and injured, but when she returned, they found that she had no injuries at all, no obvious signs of poisoning, and her breathing was steady. This situation was very strange and they had never encountered it before. It was more like she was sick.
"You dare to act alone in such a dangerous situation? Is this little girl born to steal jade?" The young master laughed. "It's fine to lose money once, but I didn't expect you to come to me again. What bad luck."
He bowed slightly and placed the jade into the little girl's arms.
Before long, Liu Bai returned, followed by a kind-looking old man in his fifties: "Young master, Mr. Wei has arrived."
The young master smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Wei."
The old man was quite modest, saying he dared not, and then sat down on the stool in front of the bed. Seeing that the patient was a girl, he hesitated a little. The young man remained calm and took the small hand out from under the brocade quilt. The old man quickly took a small square pillow to support it and focused on taking her pulse.
Now, this Mr. Wei, whose real name was Wei He, was a renowned physician in the martial arts world. There was a reason why he was called "Mr." He was born into a declining martial arts family in Guanzhong. Most of the family's children had already gone into literature, but he was naturally fond of martial arts and wanted to revive his family's fortunes. So he practiced martial arts diligently, but he really had no talent for martial arts. By the age of thirty, he had achieved nothing. Disheartened, he had no choice but to become a teacher to make a living. Five years passed in a flash. When he was thirty-five, he finally had the opportunity to obtain a book called "The Divine Physician's Manual". He studied it diligently and his reputation spread far and wide. This proved the saying, "If you plant flowers with care, they will not bloom; if you plant willows without care, they will thrive." Even he himself did not expect that he would become famous from his youth to old age. Looking back, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion, so he always called himself "Mr."
After a while, the old man suddenly withdrew his hand, his brows furrowed, as if deep in thought.
The young master did not ask.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the old man slowly stood up: "Young master, please forgive my bluntness, but this girl is not ill."
The young master nodded: "May I ask your insightful opinion, sir?"
"In my humble opinion, this girl seems to have been afflicted with an extremely potent cold poison," the old man said, looking at the person on the bed with a hint of pity. "It is very likely that it is 'Half-Moon Dew'."
The young master was moved.
Liu Bai, who was standing next to him, was also shocked: "How is that possible!"
The "Half-Moon Dew" was a sensation in the martial arts world ten years ago. It was cold and vicious, colorless and odorless. Anyone who was poisoned would suffer from bone-chilling coldness and blood coagulation within half a month, freezing to death unless there was a unique antidote. However, the person who had the unique antidote died ten years ago, killed by the swords of dozens of masters. With such a terrible poison, who would dare to let him live?
The old man glanced at Liu Bai, his expression calm: "I only said it's possible, I'm not entirely sure."
Everyone knew that if Mr. Wei said "possibly," then there must be no mistake. Liu Bai also realized that he had said the wrong thing, and quickly smiled apologetically: "Please don't be offended, sir. I just didn't expect that this 'Half Moon Dew' would still exist in the world. Who would use it to deal with a weak woman?"
"Actually, two or three years ago, I also encountered someone who had been poisoned by 'Half-Moon Dew'," the old man shook his head and sighed, "I'm ashamed to say, I really..."
The young master regained his composure: "How many days left?"
The old man said, "At most seven days."
The young master nodded, "Thank you for your trouble." He then instructed Liu Bai, "Take good care of the gentleman and escort him back."
The old man didn't say much, just gave a few simple instructions, and then left with Liu Bai.
Looking at the closed eyes of the person on the bed, the young master remained silent for a long time, then shook his head. "Poor little cat, you made me lose money twice, and now you've offended someone and even lost your own life. I can't save you."
Liu Bai quickly returned and stood silently to the side.
"Let's send a message to Master Kim."
"yes."
The Thousand Hands Sect is skilled in using poison, and only by sending her back can she have a chance to live. The young master sighed softly, got up and walked out.
I'm such a good person for saving a stupid little cat that made me lose millions of dollars.
Knowing one's fate often brings helplessness.
Inside the stone house in the Retreat Valley, Jin Yue sat silently on a small stool, looking rather unwell. Beside him was a stove with an earthenware pot on it, steaming hot and filling the room with the aroma of medicine.