Qin Yi’s body flickered like a startled swan, intercepting the newcors.
After a brief exchange, the assassins from Yuye Hall withdrew.
Hua Xiyue tilted her head, taking in the entire scene.
All assassins?
What kind of people are they?
She pondered silently, giving Chen Ye another curious glance.
Just who was this handso man, really?
Her curiosity toward him only grew.
Chen Ye, holding Xiaofu, soothed her gently: “Alright, alright.”
“No more crying—your face looks like a little tabby cat now.”
Xiaofu stayed curled up in Chen Ye’s arms, eyes red, her small face streaked with tears.
He comforted her as he headed toward Yuhang County.
Hua Xiyue saw this and called out: “Hey!”
“You’re not taking the Poison Scripture?”
“You want it?”
“Then it’s yours…”
Chen Ye’s tone was indifferent.
Poison techniques were, in the end, a petty trick—unworthy of serious attention.
He had no interest in them.
As for being poisoned?
The system’s store had plenty of antidote pills.
One could always trust the system.
Hua Xiyue watched the white-robed Chen Ye leave with Xiaofu in his arms along the forest path.
She muttered under her breath: “The life’s work of a master of the Poison Dao, and he doesn’t care?”
She glanced at Xue Ming.
Walking up to him, she took from his chest a thick book, three fingers in width.
The cover read Poison Scripture.
“If you don’t want it, it belongs to now!”
Hua Xiyue gave a light snort, then looked at Xue Ming seriously: “I’m just borrowing it to read. I’ll give it back to you.”
Xue Ming, face ashen, looked at her and sighed.
His eyes were lifeless, filled with deathly stillness.
He had no will to live anymore.
Qin Yi, sword in her left hand, returned. Her eyes, clear as autumn water, swept over Hua Xiyue.
Hua Xiyue t her gaze.
The two won exchanged a brief look.
Without a word to Hua Xiyue, Qin Yi stepped to Xue Ming’s side and, with one hand, lifted him up.
Chen Ye had ordered that he be delivered to the magistrate.
Hua Xiyue, holding the Poison Scripture, studied Qin Yi.
Then she noticed—embroidered on Qin Yi’s black dress—was a jade leaf emblem.
Her eyes widened instantly.
“A mber of Yuye Hall!” she blurted.
Qin Yi gave her a single glance, then leapt away into the forest, vanishing in a few bounds.
Hua Xiyue stood there, thoughtful.
She patted the Poison Scripture against her palm, murmuring: “To be treated so respectfully by a Yuye Hall assassin…”
“That ans…”
A strange expression crossed her beautiful face.
She looked toward the official road leading to Yuhang County.
On the road, Chen Ye, in white robes, held Xiaofu as he walked slowly toward the city gates.
“He’s Donghua.”
“The sixth martial grandmaster in the world,” she whispered.
Having guessed his identity, Hua Xiyue’s eyes curved slightly and a smile tugged at her lips.
“Quite handso, too…”
Watching his figure grow distant, she suddenly rembered—two years ago…
Her grandfather had left the valley intending to bring Donghua back as a son-in-law for the Hua family.
A faint blush colored her cheeks.
“Right!”
A gleam lit her eyes.
“That child said her ho is the Orphanage!”
“Interesting… very interesting…”
With a smile in her eyes, she used her family’s light-footwork technique and sped toward Yuhang County.
…
Chen Ye returned to the Orphanage with Xiaofu.
At the gate, the two Qilin Pavilion assassins had already been taken away by Yuye Hall, awaiting interrogation.
Inside the courtyard, Song Butou of Yuhang County had been waiting for so ti.
Seeing Chen Ye, he stepped forward quickly.
“Dean Chen, your maid Sidu…”
The dark-faced constable spoke quietly into Chen Ye’s ear.
Chen Ye already knew what had happened. He nodded. “I’ll prepare so silver to send to her family.”
“There was no helping it.”
Song Butou let out a sigh of relief.
According to witnesses nearby, it had been a passing martial artist who suddenly attacked—killing the maid Sidu.
Such incidents were, sadly, common.
Back when Song Butou worked for the Six Gates, he had handled many such cases.
When that matter was done, his expression grew more serious.
He cupped his hands respectfully.
“Dean Chen, the floods have been severe lately, as you know…”
“Magistrate Wang hopes you can open the Orphanage’s doors wider. Many orphans outside the city are starving.”
“He cannot bear it. The yan is willing to provide 200 taels if you’ll help.”
His words were earnest.
Chen Ye’s charitable work over the past two years was known throughout Yuhang County.
Even Song Butou spoke to him with so respect.
The new magistrate, Wang, was a good man—he allocated silver to the Orphanage every year to keep it running.
Chen Ye nodded slightly. “The floods are serious, there will be many orphans.”
“My Orphanage doesn’t have many rooms. I’ll provide silver so that Yuhang can open two more Orphanages.”
This was sothing he had already planned.
With the disaster so great, so orphans were far too young to survive alone.
But… there were simply too many victims.
If he fully opened his doors, the Orphanage would overflow—and even so families might try to send their children in.
After all, Yuye Hall had been taking a cut of his earnings for two years. Funding two more Orphanages was not difficult.
Charity work was ant to be done.
Hearing this, Song Butou’s dark face brightened with solemn respect.
He bowed slightly. “Dean Chen, you act with great righteousness!”
Although Chen Ye was younger than Song Cangjie, his deeds commanded respect.
“A small effort.”
Chen Ye set Xiaofu down, then glanced toward the gate.
There stood Hua Xiyue, still dressed as a man, peeking inside.
Song Butou noticed her as well and looked to Chen Ye questioningly.
“Do you have business here?” Chen Ye asked.
Hua Xiyue’s lips curved into a charming smile.
“Do you need a maid here?”
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