“Who?” Upon hearing Jiang Si’s words, A-Man was startled and immediately looked around nervously.
Jiang Si stared fixedly in one direction, her lips tightly pressed together.
A tall, slender figure gradually emerged from the darkness.
“How is it you?” A-Man was astonished.
Jiang Si, however, wasn’t surprised at all.
She was too familiar with his scent, both in her previous life and this one. Once he was close, how could she not notice?
“A-Man, wait here. Young Master Yu, please follow me.” Jiang Si walked forward.
Yu Jin followed with a stiff expression, though inwardly he was extremely puzzled.
He had hidden so well, how was he discovered? Would she think of him as a perverted stalker from now on?
The two walked about ten zhang before stopping.
Jiang Si suddenly turned around, asking with a stern face, “Why is Young Master Yu following me?”
Yu Jin lightly touched his nose.
Since she asked so directly, he could only make full use of his thick-skinned talent.
“Miss Jiang has misunderstood. I’m not following you, but protecting you.”
“Protecting me?” Jiang Si raised an eyebrow. “Is Young Master Yu treating me like a child to be coaxed? We’re neither relatives nor friends, and I certainly didn’t ask for your help. You appear here at this time and claim to be protecting me?”
Yu Jin let out a soft sigh.
His voice had the clarity of a youth and the depth of a young man. This sigh was like a morning breeze brushing across one’s heart.
Jiang Si suddenly thought of the time after their marriage when he would whisper in her ear countless times.
Back then, she couldn’t help but wonder how a man could have so much to say, even enthusiastically helping her choose what color of lip rouge to wear. In the end, that flower-juice lip rouge ended up benefiting a certain scoundrel…
Yu Jin noticed that the girl before him seemed to be lost in thought.
He, a living person, was standing right in front of her, and she was spacing out.
Yu Jin coughed lightly to bring back her attention, kindly reminding her, “Has Miss Jiang forgotten? You’ve already paid the protection fee.”
“What protection fee?”
“Don’t I still owe Miss Jiang a thousand taels of silver? And Miss Jiang won’t let me sell myself to repay the debt…” Yu Jin looked aggrieved. “But you see, I’m the kind of person who feels uneasy owing others money. So let’s consider that thousand taels of silver as a protection fee. From now on, I’ll be responsible for Miss Jiang’s safety.”
Jiang Si’s eyes grew wider as she listened.
Could it be calculated like this?
“Young Master Yu has also seen that my maid is quite capable. I don’t need Young Master Yu’s protection. You can continue to owe that thousand taels of silver for now.” Jiang Si finished, giving Yu Jin a cold look. “I hope there won’t be any more incidents of Young Master Yu following me, otherwise I’ll have to treat you as a scoundrel.”
Yu Jin looked at Jiang Si in surprise.
She hadn’t started treating him as a scoundrel yet?
What a kind-hearted and soft girl.
What? The “good girl” he just mentioned was planning to chop off a man’s vital part.
Heh, that kind of man who climbs over walls at night under the influence of alcohol to harm widows, what’s the point of keeping his vital part? Is it waiting for the New Year’s pig slaughter?
“Young Master Yu, farewell.” Jiang Si gave Yu Jin a slight bow, beckoning A-Man to follow.
It must be said that she was quite fortunate. The one following her this time was Yu Qi. Based on her understanding of Yu Qi, even if he found her actions with A-Man strange, he would keep his mouth shut.
If it had been someone else— Jiang Si couldn’t help but frown at the thought.
If it had been someone else, she might have had to go to greater lengths.
She had learned her mystical arts from the Wumiao Elder, who led the entire Wumiao tribe with her mystical abilities.
Compared to real martial arts, mystical arts could kill invisibly, making them more terrifying and mysterious.
In the entire Wumiao tribe, there were very few girls with a talent for mystical arts. The most outstanding would be designated as the Holy Maiden, to be the successor of the Wumiao Elder. The Elder and the Holy Maiden were the spiritual pillars of the Wumiao tribe.
Holy Maiden A-Sang was the granddaughter of the Wumiao Elder, but she didn’t become the Holy Maiden because of her lineage.
A-Sang became the Holy Maiden due to her outstanding talent. That’s why, after her death, for the stability of the Wumiao tribe, they delayed announcing the Holy Maiden’s death until she, by chance, ended up in the Southern Frontier and lived on as A-Sang.
Although she had learned some mystical arts, in her previous life she rarely had the chance to use them, let alone do things like killing to silence someone.
Tonight, the person following her was Yu Qi and not a stranger of unknown background, which saved her quite a bit of trouble.
“Is Miss Jiang just leaving like this?” Yu Jin asked with a smile.
Jiang Si paused her steps and looked at Yu Jin seriously: “What does Young Master Yu mean by this?”
Yu Jin stepped forward, his uniquely male presence instantly surrounding her: “I will tell Second Brother Jiang.”
Jiang Si, who had been full of confidence just moments ago: “…” She wanted to kill him to silence him!
“Tell Second Brother Jiang that his seemingly frail sister ran to a village by the Jinshui River on a night to follow a drunk man, knocked him unconscious, and was preparing to chop off his vital part. Oh, and she also pretended to be a ghost…” As he spoke, Yu Jin could barely hold back his laughter.
For so many years, the girl he admired had always been so unique.
“What exactly do you want?” Jiang Si was thoroughly angered.
She never knew before that this scoundrel could be so shameless, actually doing such a distasteful thing as threatening a girl.
Yu Jin chuckled softly: “Can’t Miss Jiang see? I’m threatening you.”
Since playing the role of a modest gentleman couldn’t win her favor, he might as well be true to himself.
After all, whether it’s persistent pursuit or shameless behavior, in this life he only wanted Jiang Si.
Jiang Si was so angry she bit her lip.
He openly threatened her!
“Young Master Yu, don’t think that just because you’re my second brother’s friend, I won’t do anything to you.” At this moment, Jiang Si truly had the thought of teaching this scoundrel a lesson.
“Does Miss Jiang want to silence me by killing me?” Yu Jin took out a dagger and placed it in Jiang Si’s hand. In the night, his starry eyes were full of mirth. “I promise I won’t resist.”
Jiang Si gripped the dagger tightly.
The cold touch of the dagger handle calmed her down, but she hesitated, holding the dagger without moving.
“If Miss Jiang can’t bring herself to do it—”
Jiang Si looked up at the man talking and laughing casually before her, thinking to herself, could he be about to say something hypocritical like “if she can’t do it, he’ll do it himself”?
Instead, she heard the man before her say with a smile: “Then I’ll just continue to threaten you.”
Jiang Si: “…”
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and suppressed the urge to kill him to keep him quiet.
“Let’s talk this over properly.”
Yu Jin chuckled softly: “That’s exactly what I want. Miss Jiang, please come with me.”
They headed west, passing through quiet and deserted streets and alleys until Yu Jin stopped.
“Miss, why has he brought us here?” A-Man asked.
The three had stopped at the entrance of Quezi Hutong.
“Since we’re going to have a proper talk, it’s most convenient at home. If Miss Jiang feels it’s inappropriate, we can go to your place as well,” Yu Jin suggested considerately.
“You, you scoundrel—” A-Man pointed at Yu Jin, unable to speak.
Did her mistress lose her senses at the sight of a handsome man?
Jiang Si gave Yu Jin a sidelong glance and took the lead walking into the alley: “Let’s go to your place.”
A-Man: “…”
Don’t talk to her, her feelings were a bit complicated!