Chapter 54: Courting Death

Seeing Jiang Luan pressing step by step upon Bai Xihe, the noble lady who had spoken with him earlier grew displeased. Stepping out from the crowd, she sneered, "The Immortal Master possesses powers that connect with ghosts and deities, and wisdom that reaches heaven and earth. How could he stoop to bother with such mundane matters?"

Since someone stepped forward to speak on his behalf, Bai Xihe simply smiled without a word, maintaining an inscrutable and profound expression. Yet his pretentious posturing could at best deceive ordinary commoners, instead making Jiang Luan all the more certain that the so-called "Immortal Master" was actually nothing more than a grand swindler.

However, the citizens of Shangjing were evidently no different from those anywhere else—utterly ignorant and deeply superstitious. Figuring out how to persuade them to spare the young girl was a difficult task.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Luan asked politely, "Did Immortal Master Bai just say that Miss Jin possesses the destiny of a harbinger of disaster?"

Seeing Jiang Luan become pleasant-tempered once again, Bai Xihe was slightly startled, wondering what kind of wicked scheme this fellow was plotting. Yet with the words already on his lips, Bai Xihe had no choice but to reply, "Precisely."

"If her destiny is not averted, will it bring disaster upon the city of Shangjing?" Jiang Luan asked further.

Bai Xihe nodded.

The noble lady chimed in, "First plagues, then heavenly fire—does Shangjing even want to survive? In my view, if this girl wishes so desperately to preserve her chastity, she might as well proactively slit her own throat."

Jiang Luan glanced at the two of them and said, "What if I have another method?"

Bai Xihe frowned. "I am all ears."

"I shall take Miss Jin away," Jiang Luan said, "which will spare Shangjing from this calamity."

The surrounding onlookers were all taken aback upon hearing this.

Someone asked Jiang Luan in disbelief, "Aren't you afraid she'll bring you bad luck and curse you to death?"

Curse my ass! I am a man protected by Marxist philosophy!

Jiang Luan narrowed his eyes, walked up to the entrance of the Jin residence, and struck the door. "Stop eavesdropping, come out quickly!"

The door had been half-open all along, leaving a narrow crack.

Madam Jin had been hiding behind the door eavesdropping for quite some time. Now she emerged beaming with joy, grasped Jiang Luan's hand, and said, "Thank you, benefactor, many thanks! From now on, my humble daughter will be left in your care."

With her petty mindset, she assumed her daughter possessed a certain level of physical charm and figured this young man intended to take her as a concubine for her own husband. Whomever she married, it would still be better than following that ruffian Li Lao-wu. Bringing a son-in-law into the family home as a resident husband would only stir up countless troubles, so she might as well go with the flow and gift her daughter away. Furthermore, from a distance, Qi Shaolin did not look half bad; her daughter wouldn't be wronged.

"What use is verbal gratitude alone?" Jiang Luan did not spare Madam Jin an ounce of face, letting out a cold snort. "I am taking care of your daughter on your behalf, so shouldn't these expenses be accounted for? Please fetch the money, Madam."

Never expecting Jiang Luan to demand money so brazenly, Madam Jin almost failed to react in time before hurriedly instructing her servants, "Quickly, quickly fetch money for this young master!"

Only then did the crowd understand.

The Jin family's young daughter truly had a bitter fate; it seemed she had merely escaped the tiger's den only to enter the wolf's lair. Weren't the actions of this handsome youth essentially those of a human trafficker?

Li Lao-wu had originally assumed that by marrying a young wife, he could live without a worry about food or clothing for the rest of his life. Never did he expect a troublemaker to disrupt his plans halfway. Instantly dissatisfied, he stepped forward to demand, "The Jin family's daughter is clearly my bride. Where do you think you're taking her?!"

Yet before Li Lao-wu could reach Jiang Luan, Qi Shaolin intercepted him halfway.

"Whose bride are you talking about?" Qi Shaolin lowered his gaze to stare at him. "I won't allow you to touch my wife!"

Qi Shaolin was remarkably handsome and tall with a slender build. Standing like a human wall to block Li Lao-wu, he only made the latter appear even shorter and more wretched.

Upon seeing Qi Shaolin's tall and sturdy frame, Li Lao-wu dared not act presumptuously any longer and could only mutter softly under his breath, "At least give me a little bit of money..."

Jiang Luan smiled. "If you don't want that mouth of yours anymore, I can help sew it shut for you later. Why don't you scram right now?"

Hearing this, Li Lao-wu shuddered. "Scrambing, scrambing, I'll scram right away."

With both hands tucked into his sleeves, he hurriedly bustled around the crowd and scurried far off.

Thus, the Jin family's young miss could only be taken away by Jiang Luan.

Seeing this, the meddlesome noble lady sneered, "There really are people who think they've lived too long," before boarding her sedan chair and departing.

Bai Xihe looked at Jiang Luan with a complicated gaze. "Young Master Jiang, are you truly unafraid?"

Jiang Luan smiled faintly. "It's fine. Not only is my fate tough, but my head is made of iron."

Bai Xihe had nothing more to say.

He raised his brows slightly, cupped his fists toward Jiang Luan in a baffling gesture, and turned away without a single word.

Realizing there was no more excitement to watch, the citizens of Shangjing muttered amongst themselves and gradually dispersed.

Being rather young, Miss Jin had not expected her mother to actually give her away to others.

With reddened eyes, she lunged into Madam Jin's embrace, crying, "Mother, don't send Qiaoqiao away, Mother..."

Hearing her daughter's pathetic pleading, Madam Jin's eyes turned red as well, and she stroked her daughter's head.

Miss Jin continued, "Qiaoqiao will be good and take care of younger brother, please Mother don't chase your daughter away..."

It would have been fine had the young girl not mentioned her younger brother, but bringing him up reminded Madam Jin instantly. In Madam Jin's heart, compared to a daughter, a son was naturally far more crucial, as he was the one who would carry on the family lineage.

She instantly withdrew her tears, forcibly pulled her daughter out of her embrace, and instructed, "Qiaoqiao, you must listen well to the two young masters and obediently go with them... Right, Young Master, may I ask your honorable names?"

Looking on coldly, Jiang Luan had long since seen right through this son-preferring Madam Jin.

"With Miss Jin leaving like this, across vast distances and mountains, I fear you two will likely never meet again in this lifetime," Jiang Luan said deliberately. "Since you cannot meet again, it is no different from being strangers. Why must Madam Jin bother inquiring about our identities?"

Madam Jin was startled upon hearing this.

Upon hearing that she could never return home, Miss Jin wept even more bitterly.

A servant brought out the money—an entire tray full of gold ingots, demonstrating considerable wealth.

Yet Jiang Luan merely glanced at it, remaining entirely indifferent.

He told Madam Jin, "Let Miss Jin and this tray of money temporarily remain at the estate. We shall take them along when we set off for our return journey after the Longevity Festival concludes."

Knowing that her daughter would still remain at home for a few days, Madam Jin showed no sign of relief; instead, her expression flickered with hesitation.

Jiang Luan observed Madam Jin's expression.

Finally, Madam Jin nodded hesitantly. "Then we shall await the Young Master's good news."

...

"Wife, are you truly going to take that little girl home?" Qi Shaolin asked on the return journey.

Having encountered such an event, neither of them was in the mood to continue strolling through the market, so they simply headed back home.

"Whether I take her with us is not up to me to decide," Jiang Luan replied, "but rather up to her mother."

Leaving the young girl behind was, to some extent, giving the mother and daughter a few days' opportunity. If Madam Jin could come to her senses and resolve to protect her daughter, he naturally would not tear this family apart. But if the Jin family was too eager to sell their daughter, it would be far better for him to take the young girl away himself, which still beat such hypocritical blood ties.

Merely because of a swindler's single remark, the young girl was about to be defiled in public. Even an outsider like Jiang Luan found it chilling to witness, yet her own mother chose to shut her doors and remain absent—it struck him as utterly astonishing.

Ever since arriving in this place, Jiang Luan had witnessed the wisdom of the ancients, yet he had also experienced the depths of human ignorance. Knowing that he would most likely have to bring a young girl back with him and having no idea how to settle her, he sighed and said, "Brother Lin, we..."

At that moment, Jiang Luan abruptly sensed something amiss.

From some point onward, the surroundings had grown excessively, chillingly quiet.

Jiang Luan snapped to his senses; the hawking cries on the streets and the passing pedestrians had all vanished bizarrely.

He stood as though entirely alone within a weathered, antiquated long street. The soup pot by the roadside still drifted with wisps of steam, while a juggling monkey, having lost its master, had overturned its gongs and fled without a trace.

A massive full moon rose, stretching Jiang Luan's shadow exceedingly long.

What the hell kind of supernatural event is this? he thought.

Right, Brother Lin!

He whirled around abruptly and felt a surge of relief upon seeing Qi Shaolin still standing behind him.

Yet immediately afterward, Jiang Luan's heart leaped back into his throat.

Strangely enough, Qi Shaolin was standing with his back turned to him for some unknown reason, leaving only a desolate silhouette.

"Qi Shaolin?" Jiang Luan couldn't help calling out.

Everything around them was far too quiet.

Quiet to the point that wind rustled the leaves, yet produced no sound.

Quiet to the point that wall plaster peeled away, sinking silently into the dark night.

Quiet to the point of... having no sound of breathing.

Stricken with an ominous premonition, Jiang Luan walked briskly toward Qi Shaolin and tapped him on the shoulder. "Brother Lin?"

His tap did not merely touch him; it felt as though he had struck a piece of cold stone.

Qi Shaolin lost his balance entirely, toppling straight down like a heavy, decaying log.

Jiang Luan instinctively wanted to steady him, only to be knocked down by the other's heavy body.

"Brother Lin, what's wrong with you?" Jiang Luan cried out anxiously.

Qi Shaolin, whose body was warm as a furnace throughout all four seasons, was now icy cold and stiff.

Struggling fiercely to crawl out from beneath him, Jiang Luan tested Qi Shaolin's breath... and instantly froze.

The world spun before Jiang Luan's eyes as darkness swallowed his vision.

There was no breath.

Qi Shaolin was actually dead...

...

...

As Jiang Luan was speaking, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

Qi Shaolin was waiting to hear the follow-up regarding how the young girl would be dealt with, and seeing him freeze, asked strangely, "Wife?"

"Who are you?"

Jiang Luan stared blankly at Qi Shaolin with a completely expressionless face.

Qi Shaolin: "..."

His brows locked in a deep frown, Qi Shaolin turned Jiang Luan around and waved a hand before his eyes.

Looking slightly dazed, Jiang Luan suddenly grabbed Qi Shaolin's moving hand and burst into a coy, coquettish laugh. "So it's you. I've waited so bitterly for you."

Qi Shaolin: "..."

As if suddenly transformed into an entirely different person, Jiang Luan wrapped himself intimately around Qi Shaolin like a soft vine.

Qi Shaolin instinctively tried to evade, only to be held tightly in an embrace by Jiang Luan.

Jiang Luan leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, "That fool is already fast asleep. Let's go outside the house to do it; I guarantee no one will notice."

"..."

Qi Shaolin yanked Jiang Luan away from his embrace and coldly scrutinized his face.

Jiang Luan emitted a "coquettish laugh." "What are you looking at? Hurry up, I slipped sleeping powder into that fool's dinner, so I reckon he won't wake up anytime soon..."

As Jiang Luan spoke, he lunged into Qi Shaolin's arms once more, only to be violently shoved away.

Without even glancing at Jiang Luan, who was crying out in pain on the ground, Qi Shaolin commanded coldly, "Come out!"

On the street, pedestrians bustled past with numb expressions, walking like walking corpses.

At that moment, a golden butterfly fluttered through the crowd. Qi Shaolin snatched it into his hand, where it dissolved into a scattering of golden powder.

Gazing at the falling powder in his palm, Qi Shaolin murmured, "It's an illusion."

"Indeed."

A round of applause echoed from the eaves.

A youth dressed in a crane-patterned white robe leaped down from the rooftop and strolled leisurely toward Qi Shaolin.

"As expected of the legendary Xiao," the man said with a smile.

The newcomer turned out to be none of us other than Bai Xihe.