The dark figure stood tall before Jiang Ci, his cold gaze fixed upon her. Jiang Ci shuddered, feeling like a mouse being toyed with by a cat, unable to escape its sharp claws.
Her heart pounding, she slowly backed away, but the figure matched her pace, advancing step by step. Jiang Ci felt a strong killing intent enveloping her, making her nauseous.
As the moon emerged from behind the clouds, its light illuminated the man’s face. Jiang Ci could now see his rigid features and eyes that gleamed like black obsidian. A sudden realization struck her, and she pointed at him, exclaiming, “It’s you!”
Immediately regretting her outburst, she forced a smile and bowed, “My apologies, I mistook you for someone else. We’ve never met before, and we won’t meet again. I won’t disturb your moongazing by the lake. Farewell!” With that, she leaped backward and turned to flee.
She channeled all her Yuan Power and ran at full speed. After covering several dozen steps, she collided with something. Without pausing, she sidestepped and continued running. Suddenly, a powerful force yanked her braid. Jiang Ci cried out in pain, tears welling in her eyes.
A soft chuckle reached her ears. Jiang Ci thought to herself, “I’m done for,” but outwardly maintained a smile as she faced the masked man.
The masked man held her braid with his left hand while keeping his right hand behind his back. His eyes were full of mockery and murderous intent, sharp and otherworldly.
Fighting through the pain, Jiang Ci forced a smile and said, “My good sir, I’ve offended you unknowingly. I’ll make amends another day with wine. But I have an appointment to keep now, so I beg you to let me go.”
The masked man’s laugh was soft yet triumphant. He pulled her closer and whispered in her ear, “An appointment with whom? Your lover, perhaps?”
Jiang Ci clapped her hands together, “How perceptive! You’re right, I’m meeting my lover. As they say, ‘Better to destroy ten temples than ruin one marriage’—”
As she rambled on, trying to distract him, she suddenly felt a grip on her throat. The masked man’s right hand had seized her neck, pushing her back against a willow tree.
Jiang Ci tried to summon her Yuan Power to break free, but the masked man swiftly struck several of her acupoints, rendering her immobile. She could only stare helplessly at the dark sky above.
The masked man fell silent, his eyes filled with a bone-chilling coldness as his fingers gradually tightened. Jiang Ci’s strength ebbed away, her face flushing red. In this life-or-death moment, she absurdly noticed the icy coldness of his skin, as if he had just emerged from a frozen river. As her vision began to blur, she felt the grip on her throat suddenly loosen.
Gasping for air, Jiang Ci slumped against the tree trunk, sliding to the ground. As she wondered why the masked man had spared her, he crouched beside her, a cold dagger now pressed against her cheek.
The masked man lightly traced the dagger across Jiang Ci’s face without speaking. As Jiang Ci felt her sanity slipping away, anger suddenly flared within her. She glared at him and spat, “If you’re going to kill me, just do it! Why act like a cat? And a stray cat at that—a thieving, faceless cat!”
The masked man paused, taking a moment to process her words. His eyes grew colder as he leaned in close to Jiang Ci. She closed her eyes in fear but caught a whiff of exquisite ambergris. He whispered, “If I’m a cat, then you’re a mouse. It’s my nature to eat you. It’s fate, don’t blame me! Blame yourself for climbing trees when you should have stayed on the ground!”
Jiang Ci felt the ice-cold dagger move from her face to her neck, where it paused briefly. A sharp pain made her shudder as blood trickled from the blade’s edge. In despair, she thought, “Senior Sister, Little Ci won’t be coming back. Remember to burn incense for me every year!”
As the dagger slowly pierced her skin, Jiang Ci, unwilling to give up, suddenly opened her eyes and stared defiantly at the masked man. To her surprise, he jerked upright, using his dagger to block a snake-like sword thrust from behind.
In a flash of cold light and a series of clangs, the masked man leaped away like a wildcat, engaging in a fierce duel with the newcomer.
Relieved at her narrow escape, Jiang Ci composed herself and realized that the masked man’s opponent was none other than the “Giant Crab” she had cursed countless times in her mind—Left Prime Minister Pei Yan.
Dozens of people emerged from the darkness, lighting torches and surrounding the area. One of them, Pei Yan’s trusted subordinate An Chen, came over to release Jiang Ci’s acupoints and help her up.
Jiang Ci suddenly understood that the “Giant Crab” had set this trap, using her as bait to lure out the masked man. Her earlier pride at escaping his control vanished as she realized every step had been part of his plan.
Disheartened, with her neck wound throbbing and her stomach cramping, she leaned against the willow tree and watched the life-or-death battle between Pei Yan and the masked man with a blank expression.
“Master Xiao, I’ve heard of your handsome face. Might I have the honor of seeing it?” Pei Yan laughed loudly as he charged forward, his sword flashing.
The masked man remained silent, his dagger dancing like a silver snake to parry Pei Yan’s relentless attacks.
Pei Yan’s sword technique flowed like quicksilver, weaving an endless net of blades around the masked man, who was forced to retreat step by step, still maintaining his silence.
“Master Xiao, since you’ve come to the capital, why not join me for a drink? Would you do me the honor?” Pei Yan continued to speak as he fought, his sword moving like rolling clouds, the cold light of his blade dazzling as he pressed the masked man, leaving him no chance to counterattack.
An Chen and the others stood by, seeing that Pei Yan had the upper hand, and spread out to prevent the masked man’s escape.
During the intense battle, the masked man stumbled, appearing to weaken. Pei Yan halted his attack and smiled, “Master Xiao, I advise you to surrender!”
The masked man clutched his chest and lowered his head. Pei Yan approached cautiously, his sword still poised to attack, guarding against any last-ditch efforts.
Suddenly, the masked man’s left hand swept out. Pei Yan, sensing danger, leaped backward. A loud boom echoed, followed by a red flash and billowing smoke. A foul odor made everyone cough violently, and in an instant, the masked man had vanished.
Pei Yan let out an angry snort and leaped onto the nearest willow tree, scanning the area, but there was no sign of the masked man.
He had seen Jiang Ci looking around from the tree at dusk and guessed she was planning to escape, so he had carefully set this trap to lure out the Star Moon Sect’s leader. Now, his efforts had been in vain, as the masked man escaped using a smoke bomb. Leaping down from the tree, he saw An Chen about to lead a group southward in pursuit and coldly said, “Don’t bother. You won’t catch him.”
He turned to face Jiang Ci, who wore a mocking smile, and said coldly, “What are you smiling at? You should be burning incense and thanking Buddha for your life!”
Jiang Ci giggled and stood up, clapping her hands, “Minister Pei, your martial skills are impressive. It’s a shame you’re not the leader of the martial arts world.”
Pei Yan snorted coldly, fixing his piercing gaze on Jiang Ci. “You haven’t seen his true face?”
Jiang Ci tore off a strip of her clothes to bandage her neck wound, shaking her head, “I swear to heaven, I truly haven’t seen it.”
“But you’ve heard his voice?”
Knowing she couldn’t deny it, Jiang Ci nodded, “I have heard his voice, but I don’t know him. We’re strangers—”
Pei Yan ignored her and turned to leave, with An Chen and the others hurrying after him.
Jiang Ci hesitated, then, fearing the masked man might return to silence her, quickly followed Pei Yan.
Pei Yan turned back with a serious expression, “Miss Jiang, I’ve saved your life, so we’re even now. Let’s go our separate ways—you to your life as a wandering knight, and I to mine in the imperial court. From now on, whether in the jianghu or the mortal world, heaven or earth, the netherworld or the mortal realm, with misty mountains and distant streams between us, let us forget each other for all lifetimes to come.”
Jiang Ci was surprised that Pei Yan had remembered her casual words from before and was now throwing them back at her. Inwardly, she was furious. But now, the Prime Minister’s residence was the only safe place where she could avoid being hunted down. Even with all the courage in the world, she didn’t dare to wander alone.
While cursing the “Giant Crab” in her heart, she put on a pitiful expression and grabbed Pei Yan’s sleeve, pleading, “Minister, that, um—”
She stammered, unable to think of a reason to stay at the residence. In desperation, she blurted out, “Well, I should repay the debt of saving my life. Since you saved me, how can I just leave? I’ll stay at your residence and serve you as a servant, working as hard as an ox or a horse, to repay you with my body and labor!”
An Chen and the others behind them heard clearly and burst into laughter. Some mischievous ones even chimed in, “Minister, why don’t you accept her offer? The young lady wants to repay you with her body, after all.”
Pei Yan swept his sharp gaze over them, and the group, intimidated by his authority, quickly stopped laughing and lowered their heads. Pei Yan said coldly, “Whoever just spoke, go receive twenty strokes of the cane.”
Seeing how strictly Pei Yan controlled his subordinates, so different from his usual spring breeze-like smile, Jiang Ci felt a bit scared and slowly released her grip on his sleeve.
Pei Yan turned to see Jiang Ci looking dejected, with blood seeping through the bandage on her neck and her braid in disarray, looking quite pitiful. He smiled and said, “This is your own choice to stay at my residence. Don’t go climbing trees or jumping into lakes again in a couple of days.”
Jiang Ci brightened up, raising her head, “I won’t, I won’t! I definitely won’t jump into any lakes again. Besides, I didn’t jump into the lake today.”
Pei Yan smiled slightly and walked on with his hands behind his back. Jiang Ci suddenly remembered something and caught up to ask, “Minister, how did you know I was still by the lake and hadn’t escaped elsewhere? Didn’t you think earlier that I had escaped by jumping into the lake?”
Pei Yan smiled smugly but didn’t answer. After a while, he couldn’t resist waving his right hand in front of Jiang Ci’s face.
Seeing his five fingers mimicking a crawling motion in the air, Jiang Ci suddenly understood and pointed at Pei Yan, exclaiming, “Giant Crab! It’s the Giant Crab!”
Her shout was so loud that the people behind them, who had never seen anyone openly call their minister a “Giant Crab,” all held back their laughter and lowered their heads.
Seeing Pei Yan’s sinister smile, Jiang Ci quickly waved her hands, “No, Minister, I wasn’t calling you a Giant Crab. I meant that I understand now. You put a scented drug on that last giant crab to track my whereabouts.”
Pei Yan said calmly, “You’re not stupid after all. You even knew to hide under Madam Su’s bed.”
Jiang Ci grumbled inwardly but had no choice but to follow Pei Yan obediently.
It was now midnight, with a cold moon illuminating the frosty path by the lake.
Jiang Ci walked quickly behind Pei Yan, the pain in her stomach intensifying. Gradually, her whole body felt as if it was being bitten by ants, unbearably itchy and painful. Her steps slowed, and finally, with one hand on her stomach and the other frantically scratching her chest and back, she crouched down, groaning in pain.
An Chen hurried over to ask, “Miss Jiang, what’s wrong?”
Jiang Ci, wracked with abdominal pain, could barely speak coherently. She managed to groan, “My—stomach—hurts, itchy—so itchy.” Her body was unbearably itchy, and she scratched her front and then her back, reaching a point of extreme suffering.
An Chen didn’t know what was wrong with her and suspected she might be faking it. As he hesitated, Pei Yan strode over. He stared at Jiang Ci for a few moments, then suddenly grabbed her right hand, pushed up her sleeve, took a look, and burst out laughing.
Jiang Ci, in her most miserable state, angrily said, “What are you laughing at? Ah!” She cried out and reached back to scratch her back, but then her legs started to itch as well. Unable to bear it, she bent down to scratch, lost her balance, and sat on the ground.
Pei Yan crouched beside Jiang Ci, watching her suffer, and said with a laugh, “Let’s see if you dare to eat giant crabs again. Rashes and stomach pain—truly karmic retribution!”
Despite her usually carefree nature, Jiang Ci began to feel embarrassed and annoyed. She was surrounded by a group of men, led by the “Giant Crab” she hated most, all staring at her in her pathetic state.
She inwardly cursed herself for indulging in those giant crabs earlier just for a moment of satisfaction. The stomach pain and itching were bad enough, but now so many people were witnessing her embarrassment—truly the most humiliating moment of her life. In her pain and confusion, she saw Pei Yan’s smiling face swaying before her like a giant crab. Overcome with hatred, she clenched her right fist and suddenly struck at that detestable smiling face.