Even with Jiang Ruan’s heart as steady as a rock, when she clearly saw the person before her, she couldn’t help but feel momentarily dazed.

The black-clothed young man was about twenty years old, with a countenance rarely seen in the world—exquisitely beautiful. He had refined brows and starlike eyes, skin like snow and thin lips, yet didn’t appear feminine. Instead, his features were sharply defined with compelling heroic bearing. He lowered his gaze to look at Jiang Ruan, his ink-black eyes showing not a ripple of emotion, extremely cold and clear.

The two were too close. The touch at her waist was cold, his breath was cold. What should have been an intimate gesture, with one heart cold and the other wary, neither felt any stirring of emotion.

This posture was delicate—it seemed as if she was being taken advantage of. Jiang Ruan instantly awakened, secretly annoyed, feeling that such beauty was like a demon. In the blink of an eye, she stepped back two paces, creating distance from the black-clothed young man.

Suddenly she heard the faint sound of clashing swords and blades from outside. Jiang Ruan froze, then suddenly reacted. The black-clothed young man looked at her indifferently, saying nothing.

Originally there was no one in the temple. Xia Yan shouldn’t have sent two groups to kill her. If not for her, then these should be people drawn by this young man. Now she had just resolved one trouble but fallen into such a situation again. She didn’t know whether this person would kill to silence her, after all, her appearance was an accident.

Jiang Ruan looked up to study the other person again. When she had stepped back, he had already leaned against the door, somehow now holding an exquisite dagger in his hand, thoughtfully playing with it. His gaze wasn’t directed at Jiang Ruan, but she believed that if she made the slightest movement, this person would immediately respond.

After a moment’s consideration, Jiang Ruan slowly walked forward. She deliberately moved very slowly, completely demonstrating that she had no ill intentions.

The young man stopped his movements, watching her approach until they were only a finger’s width apart—already quite intimate.

Jiang Ruan stood on tiptoe. Her height only reached his chest, and with some effort she leaned close to his ear, lowering her voice to whisper softly: “I saw nothing.”

The black-clothed young man’s gaze flickered slightly as he lowered his head to scrutinize her. Jiang Ruan frowned, noticing the black unicorn ice silk patterned fabric he wore—he definitely wasn’t an ordinary person. After thinking, she continued: “Since you’ve hidden here, naturally you don’t want to make things bigger. If you killed me, I’m afraid there would be some trouble. Though this trouble isn’t unsolvable, it’s not what you want.”

“Who are you?” the black-clothed young man finally asked, his voice cold and clear like pearls and jade in a cold pool.

“The legitimate eldest daughter of Minister of War Jiang Quan,” Jiang Ruan said. Jiang Quan’s position in court was quite important. Once this identity could be utilized, she would use it without hesitation, not fearing any accidents. First, in her previous life’s memories, the Jiang family had no such enemy. Second, even if she was truly unlucky to the extreme and this person really had some grievance with the Jiang family, he would definitely know that her status in the Jiang household was humble—she only occupied the name of legitimate daughter and wouldn’t have any impact on Jiang Quan.

Killing her would bring no benefits, only possible trouble. Jiang Ruan had laid out the pros and cons, now it depended on how the other party chose.

The black-clothed young man’s gaze fell on her. Jiang Ruan understood that her current attire was simple. Due to deliberate instructions, she wore old clothes altered from her previous estate wear, inevitably appearing quite disheveled. The other party was probably doubting her identity, so she said: “Wang Yushi and Officer Li Mi are both in the male quarters. If I met with an accident, they would inevitably be implicated and would probably investigate for a long, long time.”

The black-clothed young man glanced at her, then turned to put away the dagger in his hand. Jiang Ruan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing the other party didn’t intend to kill her—though not necessarily because of her threats.

Just as she opened the door, a black shadow rushed in from outside, bowing to the black-clothed young man: “Master, it’s done.”

By moonlight, she saw corpses lying scattered on the ground, all dressed in night clothes, their deaths identical—a bloodline across the throat, killed with one blade.

The person who called the young man master looked up and was also startled to see Jiang Ruan, seemingly not expecting anyone awake in the temple, hesitating: “Master?”

Was he asking whether to kill to silence her? Jiang Ruan sneered inwardly, only hearing the black-clothed young man say indifferently: “No need.”

Jiang Ruan’s mind raced. These people had definitely come for this young man. In just that short time, these people had lost their lives without even disturbing others in the temple. This black-clothed young man probably had considerable background. If she could utilize this…

She suddenly smiled: “Sir, there are still fish that escaped the net.”

The black-clothed young man turned to stare at her. Jiang Ruan said: “Please wait.” She got up and walked to the adjacent room. In the neighboring room, Bai Zhi and the other two had just finished tying up the unconscious people, completely unaware of what happened outside. Seeing Jiang Ruan enter, Lian Qiao asked: “Miss, look…”

Jiang Ruan shook her head, making a silencing gesture to her, saying softly: “Don’t move from here.” After speaking, she struggled to drag one person from the ground and walked toward the door. Lian Qiao wanted to follow, but Lu Zhu pulled her back, so she had to give up. Jiang Ruan went back and forth five times, finally dragging all five people before the black-clothed young man.

Both the black-clothed young man and his attendant waited for her to explain. Jiang Ruan smiled: “These people were affected by sleeping smoke. Their bodies can’t move, but their consciousness is very clear. They heard everything about my conversation with you just now. Once they wake up, who knows what trouble they might bring you. So I’ll do you a favor and deliver these people to you for your disposal.”

Both being pursued on a snowy night in a lonely temple, their fates should sympathize with each other. She spoke extremely generously, as if giving someone a tremendous advantage, but how could the two opposite not see through this method of killing with a borrowed knife? Still, what she said was quite reasonable. The black-clothed young man lightly waved his hand. The attendant beside him stepped forward with his sword, and in moments there were five cold flashes—the people on the ground lost all signs of life.

Jiang Ruan understood in her heart that if even this person’s attendant was so skilled, the master must be extraordinary. Yet tonight he never showed himself, definitely hiding from something. Since hiding required silencing witnesses, he didn’t kill her, the Jiang family’s legitimate daughter, because it might bring trouble. But these five nameless people could be disposed of at will. Initially she thought of doing it herself, but now that there was ready help, it was much better. The technique of killing with one blade—no matter what, suspicion couldn’t fall on her. She was cleared quite cleanly.

Thinking of this, her mood inexplicably improved. Jiang Ruan smiled at the black-clothed young man: “The path is cleared. Sir may go first.”

The black-clothed young man looked at her once. His star-like eyes made it difficult to discern emotions, only appearing extraordinarily cold and clear. He turned and walked into the night. Jiang Ruan stared at his retreating figure. All the way, his movements flowed like clouds and water, showing an restrained elegance as if carved into his bones and flowing with his marrow—his exterior couldn’t conceal it, and the revelation was unconscious. Such outstanding appearance and bearing, she had never seen in either her previous or current life. She frowned tightly. When did the Great Jin Dynasty have such a person? Who exactly was he?