Chapter 63

The sudden “proposal” caught Shen Yao Xing off guard.

Her dark eyes glanced at him, thinking of her current situation and his recent actions. She turned her face away with a somewhat defiant expression, “No.”

The next moment, her face was pulled back, forced to meet those deep, dark eyes.

“Why not?” he asked.

Shen Yao Xing’s mouth was pinched slightly upward. Hearing this, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. As if she would agree to this.

“Let go of me…” she frowned and struggled weakly, but the fingers on her cheeks only pressed harder.

Jiang Ming Yue stared intently at the young woman’s eyes, as if he wouldn’t give up until she gave a reason.

“Tell me, why not?” His melodious voice grew hoarser, the morbid affection wavering in his eyes making one shudder involuntarily.

After saying this, he paused for a moment, then murmured again with a grievance: “Clearly, I should be in your heart…”

Damn! When did you ever enter my heart!? You can’t just say things like that!

After a long while, Shen Yao Xing squeezed out a sentence, “I don’t!”

Although unsure if the young woman’s words were sincere, it still made Jiang Ming Yue’s heart ache. He didn’t argue with her, but lowered his eyes and gently rested his cheek on her shoulder. His long arms tightly encircled her waist as he slowly closed his eyes.

Even if she didn’t admit it, he had ways to make her marry him.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t like me, as long as I like you.

Jiang Ming Yue said this to himself in his heart, twisted emotions swirling within. He wished he could hide the young woman’s slender body inside himself, becoming one with her.

The next day, Shen Yao Xing finally felt she had regained some strength, but only a little. Her dantian was completely empty, unable to use even a bit of inner force.

She wasn’t the only one in this condition; Bai Sha and the other were the same.

The severed limbs from last night were still in their original place. Seeing them upon waking was quite frightening.

“Young Miss, what… what happened?” Bai Sha’s face was slightly pale, realizing how weak she felt after speaking just one sentence.

In fact, Shen Yao Xing hadn’t figured out what happened either. She scratched her face and said, “It seems we were ambushed last night.”

Bai Sha looked scared, rubbing her slightly soft elbow. Suddenly remembering something, she looked towards the carriage and urgently asked, “Is Young Master Yin alright? Was he taken advantage of by those villains?”

“…He’s fine.”

Looking at the dutiful Bai Sha, Shen Yao Xing didn’t know what to say. Shouldn’t she be worried about herself at a time like this?

Shen Yao Xing didn’t know Bai Sha’s thoughts. In her view, protecting Young Master Yin was the order from the master. If anything happened to him, the master would surely not let her off.

Moreover, she didn’t want to disappoint the master.

After breathing a sigh of relief, Bai Sha asked again, “Young Miss, you’re alright too, aren’t you?”

“…I’m fine…”

What’s with this casual tone of asking?

“Young Miss, for some reason this subordinate feels extremely weak all over.”

Just as Shen Yao Xing was about to speak, Meng Xin Yi, leaning against a tree trunk, spoke first, “It’s the Soft Bone Powder. Without an antidote, you won’t be able to use inner force for twenty-four hours.”

Still weak like this for two more days?

“Won’t it be dangerous if we encounter bandits on the road!”

Seeing Bai Sha so worried, Shen Yao Xing sighed, “It’s only two days, it’ll be fine after that.”

They shouldn’t be that unlucky, besides, there’s still Jiang Ming Yue.

Shen Yao Xing looked towards the woman sitting under the tree and noticed her face seemed somewhat unwell. She walked over worriedly and asked, “Are you alright? Is there any other discomfort?”

Meng Xin Yi concealed the gloom in her eyes, shook her head lightly, raised her head to give the young woman a complex look, then got up and walked past her towards the carriage.

“We should set off soon.”

Inside the carriage, the man seemed to be resting with his eyes closed, leaning against a deliberately arranged soft couch. A moon-colored robe spread out beneath him, his ink-black long hair swaying slightly with the breeze from the window.

Even just closing his eyes and leaning there, he couldn’t hide his noble elegance.

If she didn’t know who he was, Shen Yao Xing would have thought he was a pampered young master from the capital.

When everyone had boarded the carriage, the man lifted his eyelids and gave her a faint glance, then turned his face away and continued to feign sleep, as if he didn’t want to face her.

Shen Yao Xing felt a bit awkward, noticing that since last night, this person seemed to have come to some realization, reverting back to the cold and noble Jiang Ming Yue of before, no longer clinging to her like yesterday.

It’s good that he’s come to his senses. Focusing his attention on her was just a waste of time, not worth it at all.

Shen Yao Xing gave him a look that said “you have potential.”

Compared to yesterday, today the carriage was unusually quiet. Without the man’s constant words of affection, and Meng Xin Yi over there also silent, it was so quiet that she felt a bit unaccustomed.

Unable to sleep, she pouted helplessly and could only sit by the carriage door, chatting on and off with Bai Sha who was acting as the coachman.

The road began to get increasingly rugged and difficult to travel. Being a mountain road near the mountains, it was full of potholes and the horse was walking with some difficulty.

Just as they were about halfway through, a group of burly women suddenly jumped out from somewhere, blocking their path.

As the saying goes, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Bai Sha’s crow’s mouth seemed to have been blessed, actually encountering bandits just after mentioning them!

Bai Sha hurriedly pulled the horse to a stop, shifting her body to the side to block the young woman who was poking her head out. She frowned and called out, “Ladies, this little sister is passing through on urgent business to the nearest town. I wonder if you could kindly let us pass?”

Her practiced manner surprised Shen Yao Xing a bit. Since when did she know such jianghu courtesies?

Obviously, things weren’t so simple. Among the group of women, the most burly one was bare-chested, holding a wolf-tooth club as thick as a head in her hand, with a fierce and murderous look on her face. If not for knowing that men and women were reversed in this world, Shen Yao Xing wouldn’t have recognized her as a woman.

She raised her wolf-tooth club and pointed it at them, speaking in a vicious tone, “Your grandma doesn’t care what urgent business you have. If you dare to take this road, you must leave all your money and valuables!”

Bai Sha breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully they only wanted money.

But Shen Yao Xing behind her didn’t think so. Having been poor for so long outside, asking for money was like asking for half her life. She immediately turned her head and gave eye signals to the man inside who had already opened his eyes.

Jiang Ming Yue’s brows were cold and his expression indifferent as he glanced at her, pretending not to see.

The people outside weren’t planning to give them so much time. They wanted everyone to get off the carriage, and weren’t even willing to spare that horse.

Just as Bai Sha was getting anxious, she inadvertently glimpsed someone in the crowd who looked somewhat familiar. She quickly called the young woman behind her and pointed, “Young Miss, look at that person, isn’t that Qian Er who was playing tricks in town last time?”

Hmm?

Shen Yao Xing looked in the direction she was pointing. The skinny person in the crowd looked somewhat out of place among the burly women, and it really was the person who had pretended to be a zombie last time.

Over there, Qian Er seemed to have recognized them too, and walked over to whisper a few words in the ear of the woman in charge.

Zhu Hong looked over the two people on the carriage, her rough voice holding a hint of doubt, “You really know them?”

“I do, I do!” Qian Er nodded repeatedly, trying to please her, “How dare this lowly one lie to you, Boss? I just met those few people a while ago, and they even showed me some kindness.”

Unable to rob them, there was a hint of frustration on Zhu Hong’s face. She waved her hand impatiently, “Alright, alright, for your sake we won’t take their carriage, but they can’t avoid the toll!”

“I understand! Please wait here, I’ll go talk to them.” Only after getting the woman’s permission did Qian Er dare to go over.

“Benefactors, how did you end up on this road? You’ve run into trouble!”

Shen Yao Xing and Bai Sha looked at each other, somewhat confused.

“Who’s your benefactor?” Bai Sha said.

“You two! Last time I was so fortunate to have you two benefactors, otherwise I, Qian Er, might have been beaten to death by those townspeople!” Qian Er seemed somewhat excited, “After that incident, I decided to turn over a new leaf and never do such despicable things again!”

Shen Yao Xing raised an eyebrow, glancing at the fierce-looking group behind her, “Is this what you call turning over a new leaf?” Since when did being a bandit count as a good profession?

The words she had just said were immediately contradicted. Qian Er scratched her head and gave a silly laugh, “Well, I was starving with no money. I’ve known that Boss for a long time, so she let me stay in the stronghold for a few days, so hehe…”

So the words just now were just talk, Shen Yao Xing thought to herself.

Bai Sha couldn’t care less whether she wanted to become a new person, she was more concerned about the current problem, “So can we pass now?”

Qian Er found it a bit strange. Both of them had shown impressive skills that night, how come they were so docile now?

“The Boss said she won’t take your carriage, but you still need to pay a small toll.” After saying this, she winked at them and lowered her voice, “The Boss is letting you off easy because of me, I’ve really done my best.”

It would be best if they could resolve this with silver. Bai Sha nodded and thanked her, taking out a money pouch from her pocket and giving it to her.

As soon as Qian Er got the silver, she scurried back.

The place where they were staying was already at a high elevation, with only a few sparse trees around. The strong wind blew up dust from the ground, lifting a corner of the carriage curtain.

The glimpse of the extraordinarily beautiful jade face inside the carriage made Zhu Hong’s eyes widen. “Wait!” She stopped the carriage that was about to leave, pointing inside, “Who else is in there? Everyone get out!”

Shen Yao Xing bit her lip in annoyance, really wanting to beat her until even her mother wouldn’t recognize her.

Just as she thought this, the carriage curtain behind her was lifted. The man was like a glowing entity, all eyes fixed on him.

Jiang Ming Yue was composed and unhurried, his face expressionless. His upturned eyes glanced carelessly at the burly woman opposite.

This casual glance alone made Zhu Hong’s breathing quicken and her body go weak. She stared intently at this person who seemed like a banished immortal.

The scene suddenly became eerily quiet. Shen Yao Xing glanced at the man beside her and pursed her lips. His face was even covered, what was there to look at? Was it necessary to drool just from looking?

“Um… may I ask if we can leave now, lady?” Bai Sha broke the silence.

Zhu Hong steadied her breathing, but her gaze never left that face. “No hurry. Since you know Qian Er, you’re also my friends. Friends should be properly entertained. Why don’t you all come sit in my stronghold for a while?”

Heh, don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking.

Shen Yao Xing glanced again at the person beside her, but saw that his brows were calm, seemingly not intending to take action.

Tsk, it wasn’t her being coveted anyway. Since he wasn’t nervous, she couldn’t be bothered to care either.

And so, they were forcibly “invited” into the mountain stronghold. The Boss completely changed her previous attitude, becoming extremely enthusiastic.

“Little sister, you truly are delicate and beautiful. You’re so frail I almost thought you were a young master!” Zhu Hong laughed heartily, while patting the young woman’s back with her hand that was bigger than her face.

The force was so great that Shen Yao Xing almost coughed up blood, forcing a smile.

After saying this, Zhu Hong looked towards the man drinking tea not far away, suddenly lowering her voice, “Is that young master your lover, little sister?”

“…No.”

Zhu Hong’s eyes lit up, “Then quickly introduce me to him! I want to make him my chief consort!”

“…” This person really wasn’t polite.

Shen Yao Xing turned her head to look at the man, shrugging, “I can’t handle this. You’d better go talk to him yourself.”

The woman didn’t hesitate, really picking up some wine and walking over.

Shen Yao Xing put a piece of beef in her mouth, chewing for a good while, her gaze constantly drifting towards the direction where the two were talking.

The noisy sounds of drinking and eating in the hall made it impossible for her to hear their conversation. She could only see that the man’s usually cold eyes were smiling, clear and alluring, obviously chatting pleasantly.

“What? Jealous?” Meng Xin Yi, who had appeared by her side at some point, teased.

Shen Yao Xing glanced at her sideways, not intending to respond.

What was there to be jealous of? If he really married into such a place, he’d probably have to relieve himself in the open air.

She should be worried for him instead.