An Jiu and Xue Sha went together to Zhending Prefecture. On the way, Xue Sha introduced the assassin hiding in this place to her.
The 9th ranked on the Crane Gathering List, code-named Jade Beauty, is a female 8th-level martial arts master. ” I’ve been on good terms with her for a while,” Xue Sha said proudly.
Seeing the long queue in front of the city gate, An Jiu turned to look at him questioningly, “Why did she ruin herself?”
“Because… uh.” Xue Sha realized his mistake, his expression darkening. “Am I that bad? It’s me who’s ruining myself!”
“Eh, so you know that yourself?” An Jiu thought for a moment, “Perhaps those in this line of work all have some issues.”
Xue Sha didn’t refute, but his expression became conflicted as if he was both anticipating and resisting, both excited and fearful.
An Jiu quietly said, “Jade Beauty… likes sadomasochism?”
Xue Sha looked at her with shock.
An Jiu understood that she had guessed correctly. “Looks like you enjoy it.”
“Ahem.” Xue Sha suddenly became bashful. “It’s usually quite boring, so I just try to find some interesting things to do.”
An Jiu understood, “No wonder you’ve been so anxious.”
” I’m not even sure if she’s here.” Xue Sha said dejectedly.
“Child, hold this for a bit.” A woman behind them took a lotus leaf from her bamboo basket and handed it to An Jiu. “You don’t look too good, don’t want you to get sunburned.”
An Jiu, dressed in men’s clothes with her hair tied up, wore a human-skin mask. While everyone’s faces were reddened by the sun, hers remained pale, looking especially sickly in this environment.
An Jiu quietly tucked the hidden weapon back between her fingers, took the lotus leaf, and muttered, “Th-thank you.”
She discreetly turned the leaf in her hand and, finding nothing unusual, slowly placed it on her head.
Xue Sha felt somewhat moved, remarking that An Jiu was so beautiful that she stood out wherever she went.
Suddenly, the snail-paced queue in front stopped moving.
Xue Sha leaned out to look, while An Jiu simply squatted down, the lotus leaf covering half her face, and let her gaze wander.
Over the past few days, certain things had been swirling in her mind, unable to be shaken off.
The repeating crossbow, the strength-enhancing drugs, the blood mutation… Any one of them made her feel an uncanny familiarity.
According to the current developments in various aspects, these things seemed to exist beyond the ordinary, but if they shouldn’t exist, what about Mo Shuigui and Luo Xiaowu? What they did wasn’t ordinary either.
Okay, even if the appearance of these things was reasonable, what about the various coincidences?
“What’s going on…” An Jiu murmured.
The queue started moving again, and An Jiu stood up and continued walking.
Presenting the token at the city gate was An Jiu’s favorite part – it allowed her to put all her worries aside. She took out the token with an air of righteousness.
As expected, the two were able to enter the city smoothly.
“Hehehe.” An Jiu couldn’t suppress her laughter.
Xue Sha kept turning around in the same spot, “Why am I so excited?”
“Doesn’t it feel great?” An Jiu finally found someone who could understand this feeling.
“It’s like when I was little and stole my sister’s hairpin to give to the girl next door.” Xue Sha said excitedly.
An Jiu’s smile instantly disappeared, and she narrowed her eyes. “I can tell you’re the type who’s used to being abused, a lifetime punching bag.”
Sighing, An Jiu began to wander around the city.
Xue Sha followed behind her. “Jade Beauty is good at hiding, I’ve left a mark on the street, let’s wait for her to come find us.”
“What if she doesn’t come?” An Jiu snorted. “Shall I just have to rely on your utterly below-average charm?”
Xue Sha sulked, “Why make things harder for your fellow traveler? We’re all having a tough time.”
An Jiu swiftly moved through the city, her spiritual sense like a vast net quickly filtering the crowd around them.
Knowing An Jiu could silently watch over him, Xue Sha quietly followed behind her.
In less than two hours, An Jiu had thoroughly searched the entire city. In the end, she stood outside the government office.
There were only three martial arts masters in the entire city – two 5th-level and one 7th-level, all inside the government office. An Jiu found it strange, as Jade Beauty was supposed to be an 8th-level master. Where was she?
“Let’s eat first, we’ll go take a look inside at night,” she said.
Xue Sha followed her into a restaurant, finding a private room with a view of the government office entrance. “So you think Jade Beauty is inside the government office?”
“If she’s in Zhending, she’s most likely there,” An Jiu replied.
“But what could a woman do in the government office?” Xue Sha asked.
Before the food arrived, An Jiu tapped the teapot with her chopsticks. “She’s probably the prefect’s concubine.”
“You’re talking nonsense!” Xue Sha reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
An Jiu knew just how to provoke this type of person. Xue Sha liked being abused by Jade Beauty, so in his heart, he might have seen her as a queen-like figure. How could a queen become someone’s concubine? An Jiu was quite pleased to see him flare up, her mood significantly lightened.
After the dishes arrived, An Jiu ate heartily, finishing five bowls.
Night fell.
The two stealthily entered the government office. An Jiu first went to where the 7th-level martial arts master was.
“The prefect,” Xue Sha whispered, “I didn’t expect the prefect to be such a powerful expert.”
An Jiu didn’t speak but instead crept up to the rooftop.
Lifting a roof tile, the warm yellow lamplight from inside spilled out.
“The Lord has worked hard today,” a woman’s voice said.
Hearing this voice, Xue Sha stiffened, looking into the room in disbelief.
A well-dressed woman smiled and took the handkerchief from a maid’s hand to gently wipe the face of a scholar-like middle-aged man. The man held her hand in return, “My lady, now that you are with child, leave these tasks to the servants.”
“This is nothing.” The woman spoke softly.
An Jiu estimated the woman to be around 25 or 26 years old, fair-skinned and beautiful, her gentle smile seeming to have water to squeeze out. The way she looked at the prefect was filled with tender affection, completely different from Xue Sha’s description. And the prefect himself didn’t seem like the type who indulged in perversity.
Xue Sha’s face darkened. He flicked a finger, and a wisp of fragrance drifted into the room.
The prefect’s wife subtly changed expression, taking out a handkerchief to lightly cover her nose.
All the maids in the room collapsed. The prefect’s wife supported the falling prefect and laid him on the couch, then went to open the window and climb out.
Xue Sha, sensing the incoming killing intent, jumped down from the roof, about 20 feet away.
“Jade Beauty,” Xue Sha said.
“What are you doing here?” Jade Beauty asked coldly, her expression devoid of any warmth, as cold and sharp as an eternal, unmelting glacier, even more so than before.
This was the Jade Beauty Xue Sha was familiar with. He felt a slight joy, “I knew you were just pretending. I have something to discuss with you.”
“No matter what it is, don’t come find me. I’m the prefect’s wife, my name is Zheng Yuhua, there is no Jade Beauty.” Jade Beauty’s mouth curved in a smile, “Everything about him is real, not an act. He allows me to live a simple life, whoever comes to ruin this, will be my enemy.”
It turned out the murderous aura was not for protecting someone, but for preserving her own peaceful life.
“Let’s go,” An Jiu suddenly said.
Jade Beauty was greatly startled, completely unaware that another person was hiding there.
Seeing Xue Sha unwilling to leave, An Jiu spoke again, “Since she’s now an ordinary person, we no longer need her.”
Xue Sha’s throat rumbled as he stood there for a long time before finally speaking, “I wish you… a lifetime of peace and prosperity, with children and grandchildren.”
Jade Beauty’s expression softened slightly.
She couldn’t make out Xue Sha’s expression in the darkness, nor did she want to say more, so she simply replied, “Thank you.”
Xue Sha ran off, and An Jiu jumped down from the roof, glancing at Jade Beauty before leaving the prefect’s residence.
An Jiu found Xue Sha in a dead-end alley.
“Are you alright?”
Xue Sha didn’t respond.
An Jiu used the tip of her foot to rub the fallen pieces of stone on the wall, waiting for him to calm down.
“You took off the lotus leaf, what were you doing with it in the middle of the night!” Xue Sha complained.
“Alright, I understand you’re seeing everything in a negative light right now.” An Jiu put the lotus leaf back in her embrace.
Xue Sha grabbed his hair, “She wasn’t like this before!”
“I know.” An Jiu shrugged, “I wasn’t like this either.”
Xue Sha paused, “Like what?”
An Jiu said, “Not so normal. Until I met Chu Dingjian. Your Jade Beauty probably had a similar experience to mine. But I should clarify, I don’t have any sadomasochistic tendencies.”