The person had sharp, piercing eyes, and on the outer corner of his left eyebrow was tattooed a black snake.

Yan Qing recognized him at a glance and blurted out: “Black Snake.”

“Why is Miss Yan here?” Black Snake was equally puzzled. “Master Long is just behind.”

“Long Yunxiao is here too?” Hearing the name Long Yunxiao, Yan Qing was somewhat astonished. She had not expected to run into wave after wave of people here, and even less had she expected to encounter Long Yunxiao.

Long Yunxiao, the moment he heard Black Snake say those words ‘Miss Yan,’ had already leaped down from his horse.

Once he made his way through the crowd and saw the slim figure standing there — wrapped in a black rabbit-fur cape, the hood on her head skewed to one side from all the running, revealing a face flushed red from the cold yet still unforgettably exquisite — he felt a quiet overwhelm.

He could not recall how long it had been since he had last seen her, yet it felt as if he had just seen her yesterday, for her every smile and frown was etched so clearly in his mind, refusing to fade.

Long Yunxiao came to stand before Yan Qing, the surprise in his eyes still fresh. “Yan Qing, how did you end up here?”

Seeing Long Yunxiao, Yan Qing was greatly surprised as well, yet a sense of relief washed through her at once. With Long Yunxiao present, things would be much easier. After all, this was his domain.

“Long Yunxiao, go quickly and save Murong and Dihuai. They’re over there.” Yan Qing, anxious, instinctively grabbed Long Yunxiao’s sleeve.

Long Yunxiao looked down at that small hand gripping his sleeve, suppressing the turbulence in his heart. “All right.”

In that moment, he felt that whatever she said, he would do without the slightest hesitation, even if it meant walking through fire and water.

Black Snake gave Long Yunxiao a nod and led his men straight toward the direction Yan Qing had indicated.

Watching Black Snake and the others go to provide support, Yan Qing finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief. When she turned around, she found Long Yunxiao looking at her.

“You came to the Five Clans Territory with just two people?” Long Yunxiao’s tone carried reproach, but more than that was worry and lingering fear. “Do you know how dangerous this place is?”

Yan Qing blinked and looked rather innocent.

The feeling of Long Yunxiao speaking to her was like a teacher scolding a primary school student, yet faced with his rebuke she really had no grounds to argue back — after all, she had taken a risk, even if she had brought Mu Bai.

Seeing Yan Qing blinking at him wordlessly, Long Yunxiao felt his tone had been too harsh. He gave a light cough to cover it, and his voice softened accordingly.

“The Five Clans Territory is a place where criminal societies run amok. It is very dangerous for a woman to come here.”

“I know.”

Long Yunxiao swallowed down the words ‘you knew and still dared to come’ and couldn’t quite bring himself to see her look crestfallen.

“How did you come to be here? Weren’t you in Shun Cheng?” Yan Qing asked curiously.

“I’ve been in this area for a while. Business. About half a year.”

From her wedding until now was also about half a year. Long Yunxiao did not know why he had come here at that time — the business here was not so important to him that it required his personal attention.

But he had simply wanted to leave Shun Cheng for a while, it seemed. Yet even after leaving, he could not stop himself from wanting to hear some news of her. He had put in great effort to restrain himself from listening or asking, yet against all expectation, he encountered her here.

“How did you end up provoking those people?” Long Yunxiao pointed toward the grove.

Yan Qing told Long Yunxiao the whole story of how she had ‘stepped in when she saw injustice.’

Long Yunxiao listened and felt rather helpless, yet he knew this was Yan Qing’s nature — she seemed to have a very strong sense of justice, and whenever she encountered this sort of thing, she could never turn a blind eye.

She was truly different from other women.

“I came to Huxi Town today precisely to find them.” Long Yunxiao narrowed his eyes. “I’ve been tracking them all the way here. They’ve brought out all their forces today — I can catch the whole lot in one sweep.”

“You know these people?”

“To be precise, they were once my men.” Long Yunxiao raised an eyebrow. “They violated the Dragon Cloud Society’s rules and fled. I hadn’t actually planned to pursue the matter, but I heard they’d come to Huxi Town and were harassing the local residents there, leaving a very bad impression.”

“I see — so you are a Buddha descending to the mortal realm to subdue demons?”

Hearing this comparison, Long Yunxiao couldn’t help but laugh. “What kind of comparison is that? I am certainly no Buddha.”

“Haven’t you heard a story about how a pet belonging to the Buddha committed an offense and escaped to the mortal world, then transformed into human form and did all manner of evil? When the Buddha learned of it, he descended to subdue the demon.” Yan Qing said this in all seriousness. The television drama based on the classic novel about the Monkey King was a program that dominated holiday viewing in her former era, and she could recite it backward and forward.

Long Yunxiao was somewhat at a loss, and seeing that the hood had slipped to one side, exposing one of her ears — that small ear already reddened from the wind — he instinctively raised his hand to set the hood straight for her.

Yet the moment his hand came up, a figure suddenly flashed in from somewhere. Long Yunxiao, with his back turned, did not see it, but Yan Qing saw it clearly and quickly called out, “Master Mu, this is our own person.”

Long Yunxiao felt a sudden chill at his back, as if a wild beast had abruptly pressed itself against him, its fangs already imprinted on his neck.

This predatory killing intent made his back run cold, but fortunately he was someone who had weathered many a great storm, and he swiftly steadied himself.

“Master Mu, this is Long Yunxiao, a friend of mine.” Yan Qing had been quite frightened just then as well. Had she not spoken up in time, Long Yunxiao might already have been hurt.

Long Yunxiao turned and only then saw the man who stood like a ghost in the shadows not far away, his form half-shrouded in darkness. The killing intent in the man’s eyes faded gradually as Yan Qing spoke.

Mu Bai said nothing, but raised his eyes toward the area behind Yan Qing. Black Snake and his men were already returning. Accompanying them were the bald man’s henchmen — though these men had battered faces, every one of them bound tightly.

Yan Qing heard the sound and quickly went over. Murong and Dihuai were walking at the back of the group, and upon seeing her, Murong called out happily, “Miss!”

“Are you two all right? Were you hurt?”

“Miss needn’t worry. These are just minor wounds.” Dihuai said, pressing his hand to one arm.

“Dihuai’s arm was cut.” Murong’s eyes flickered with concern. “It needs to be bandaged.”

Yan Qing also saw the blood on Dihuai’s arm, so she turned to Long Yunxiao. “Dihuai is injured. Do you have medicine?”

“Just past this grove is the Five Clans Territory. When we get back there, there is a medical clinic. Let’s do a simple bandage for now.” Long Yunxiao said.

“All right.” Yan Qing said. “I was going to the Five Clans Territory anyway. Can we travel together with you?”

Having Long Yunxiao along, Yan Qing felt she no longer needed to worry along the way — after all, that was his territory.

Long Yunxiao would not have it any other way, and agreed almost without hesitation.

Since motor vehicles could not travel here, Yan Qing got back on her horse carriage, while Long Yunxiao continued riding his horse. But he gave a slight squeeze to the horse’s sides, and the tall, magnificent horse came alongside the carriage, moving at a leisurely pace that matched its speed.

“Are you here to find someone?”

Yan Qing was sitting inside the carriage when she heard Long Yunxiao’s voice outside, so she lifted the curtain on the compartment and sure enough saw him on his horse right alongside.

“Yes. I’ll tell you more about it later. And this matter has a little to do with you as well.”

“The Five Clans Territory around here is not very settled. I’ll take you to a safe place in a moment. That area is my domain — as long as I’m here, no one will come looking for trouble.”

Yan Qing smiled. “My luck is truly good — in picking a fight for someone else I found a clue, and in fleeing for my life I ran into a familiar face.”

Long Yunxiao’s gaze looked down from above, full of disapproval. “No matter how big the matter, is it worth risking your life over? Coming to Huxi Town is one thing, but you even dared come to the Five Clans Territory. You truly…”

Seeing Long Yunxiao about to deliver another lecture on personal safety, Yan Qing stuck out her tongue and immediately ducked her head back inside.

Long Yunxiao shook his head helplessly, tugged the reins of his horse, and looked ahead.

The whole group traveled grandly through the grove and arrived at the Five Clans Territory.

Opium was cultivated throughout the Five Clans Territory. As far as the eye could see it was all poppy fields. At this time, opium had not yet been banned — it was widely cultivated, and many people had grown rich from it. Gradually it had formed a monopoly, with both the production areas and the finished product under the control of criminal societies.

Long Yunxiao had business interests here, but for the Dragon Cloud Society this was only one of many, not significant enough to require Long Yunxiao’s personal presence.

Passing through the poppy fields led to a small town, where night had fallen but it was lively inside, lit up and bustling.

Yet all these lively establishments were taverns, opium dens, and brothels.

Yan Qing followed Long Yunxiao’s group to the entrance of a courtyard. Long Yunxiao dismounted and walked to the carriage, giving it a light knock.

“Yan Qing, we have arrived.”

Yan Qing lifted the curtain, and at once spotted two large red lanterns emitting a brilliant crimson glow. In a foreign place at night, such a glow brought a feeling of peace and warmth.

Murong got out of the carriage first and gave Yan Qing a hand, helping her down.

“This courtyard is mine. It’s normally uninhabited, but someone keeps it clean.” Long Yunxiao stood beside her at the gate. “You can stay here for now — at least your safety will be ensured.”

“I am too deeply in your debt for words.”  Yan Qing, imitating the manner of a man, gave Long Yunxiao a cupped-hand salute.

Long Yunxiao curved his lips and suppressed a laugh. “You also said I am your friend. Between friends, there is no need for thanks.”

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.” Yan Qing liked Long Yunxiao’s openness. With him, she had no need to be coy. What’s more, she genuinely needed his help this time. Without it, her meager resources would likely be hard-pressed to uncover the story behind that badge.

“Here, take this.” Yan Qing handed the small iron box to Long Yunxiao. “It’s because of this that I came to the Five Clans Territory.”

Long Yunxiao did not open it right away. Instead he said, “You’ve had a long day and given yourself a scare as well. Let’s leave these things for tomorrow.”

“Very well.” Yan Qing was indeed somewhat tired, and there was no reason to ask someone to go out and handle things late at night. “Then I’ll go in first.”

“Yes.” Long Yunxiao gave a nod.

Even after Yan Qing had gone inside, Long Yunxiao still stood gazing at the gate before him. The glow of the red lanterns tinted the depths of his eyes a deep, burning crimson.

* * * * *

Flowers, applause, and a bikini — a rousing welcome for Brother Long making his entrance.

Alas, every second male lead in this author’s pen is quite pitiful — the number of appearances can be counted on one’s fingers. If it weren’t for Brother Long promising me a roast duck dinner, I wouldn’t have let him come out!

I am moved by my own generosity!