Free Web NovelChapter 49: Chapter 49: Budding Affection
Chen Shouheng breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at the unconscious woman.
She was lying limply on the ground, her black hair in disarray. One side of her cheek was red and swollen, the blood at the corner of her mouth had not yet dried, and her breathing was faint but even, like a sleeping jade beauty.
"Miss? Miss?"
Chen Shouheng squatted down and called out softly a few times, but she didn’t react. He then checked her breathing; it was faint but stable.
Only then did Wang Da and the others dare to circle around. They stared at the stunningly beautiful, unconscious woman on the ground, trading glances with one another.
"Young Master, this... what should we do?" Wang Da asked. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Chen Shouheng hesitated for a moment. ’An unconscious woman, a stranger, out in the middle of nowhere... I can’t just leave her here alone.’ He thought for a moment before saying, "We can’t just leave her for dead. Let’s take her home first and decide what to do after she wakes up. Uncle Wang, please put some hay on the ox cart. Make it soft for her to lie on."
"Right away," Wang Da quickly agreed.
Chen Shouheng carefully placed the unconscious woman onto the ox cart.
By the time the group returned home, it was already 7:00 PM.
Chen Shouheng directed the men to hurry the twenty-odd cattle into the spacious cowshed and give them water and feed. It wasn’t until 9 p.m. that they finally finished everything.
There were plenty of spare rooms in the front courtyard, so Chen Shouheng placed the woman in a guest room.
Afterward, he went to the study, found Chen Li, and told his father what had happened.
Chen Li hadn’t gone to bed yet; he was in the study practicing his techniques.
He had heard the group return, but considered it a small matter best left for Shouheng to handle.
Upon hearing his eldest son’s story, he immediately got up and went with him.
By then, the woman had already woken up and was sitting up, tidying the bed.
When she saw Chen Li and his son enter, she turned and bowed. "Wantang greets her saviors."
The swelling on her cheek had mostly subsided, leaving only a faint bruise, which made her snow-white skin look all the more delicate and pitiful.
When the woman awoke, she had already told Chen Shouheng her story. frёewebnoѵēl.com
She claimed her name was Su Wantang, from Hongze County. Her parents had been killed by the Daze Water Bandits, so she had traveled alone to Mirror Mountain to seek refuge with relatives.
But when she arrived at Mirror Mountain, she heard from others that her relatives no longer lived there. With nowhere else to go, she could only wander around asking for information, hoping to find them.
Chen Shouheng quickly helped her up and asked gently, "Miss Su, there’s no need for such formalities. You should get some rest. Are you feeling any better?"
"Thank you for your concern, benefactor. Wantang is much better... It’s just... I’m still a little dizzy..." Su Wantang’s voice was faint and weak. Her eyelids were lowered, her long lashes trembling like a butterfly’s wings, adding to her pitiable fragility. "And this is...?"
"This is my father," Chen Shouheng quickly introduced.
"Greetings, Uncle."
Su Wantang lowered her head to bow, then secretly raised her eyes to peek at Chen Li, her expression one of utter, heart-wrenching pitiableness.
Chen Li felt a slight stir in his heart, as if something had gently teased him. An uncontrollable urge to draw closer to and cherish this fragile woman welled up inside him.
Suddenly, deep within his Dantian Qi Sea, the phantom image from his visualization trembled faintly. A cool, pure stream of Intention washed through him in an instant, and his Heart Spirit became clear once more.
’Hm?’
Chen Li’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, and alarm bells rang in his mind.
’What was that just now?’
’This woman is more than she seems!’
"No need for formalities. You should get some rest." Chen Li gave her a deep look, said no more, and left the room.
’My eldest son, Shouheng, really has a talent for attracting trouble. I send him to buy cattle, and he brings back a woman like this.’
For the next few days, Su Wantang settled into the Chen Family home. Claiming she was still recovering from her injuries and was too weak, she remained in her room to recuperate, rarely venturing out.
The kind-hearted Song Ying often visited her with her maid, Gin go, bringing soups and snacks.
Liu Yun also went a few times. She felt great pity for the woman’s tragic background and was very considerate in her words.
Su Wantang’s words and actions were gentle and graceful. She spoke softly and was moved to tears with gratitude for the Chen Family’s hospitality. Whenever she saw Chen Shouheng, she would give a deep, graceful bow.
As her gaze shifted, it seemed to reflect Shouheng’s image, filled with complete trust and reliance.
This made Shouheng’s cheeks grow warm and his heart beat inexplicably faster. He found it hard to look her directly in the eye.
Whenever their eyes met, he would feel a tremor in his heart, as if something were lightly tickling him, leaving a tingly, numb sensation.
A vague, unfamiliar feeling of affection began to quietly blossom.
...
The end of the year was approaching.
One afternoon.
Liu Yuejin arrived as scheduled. He was travel-worn and his face showed a trace of exhaustion, but his eyes were sharper than ever.
Chen Li led him into the study.
After taking a sip of tea, Liu Yuejin said, "I’ve been hanging around the Drunken Creek Pavilion for a while now, and I’ve gone inside with a friend a couple of times. That Miss Jing Hong is reclusive and never receives guests. Even a rich merchant who offered five thousand taels couldn’t get a meeting with her. She only occasionally performs a song in the main hall. On the other hand, the Chief Steward, Chen Zhengping, seems to have the Iron Alliance under his control. The thugs from the Iron Alliance are often in the pavilion, and from the looks of it, they all defer to Chen Zhengping."
"The Iron Alliance?" Chen Li frowned.
Liu Yuejin smiled and explained, "It’s the San Dao Bang. After Tu Sandao died, they changed their name to the Iron Alliance."
Chen Li nodded. That was an important piece of news.
"There’s one more thing. I’m not sure if it counts as news," Liu Yuejin added. "I noticed that the women in the Drunken Creek Pavilion, both the Qing and the Red Courtesans, mostly have accents from the Han River area."
Chen Li was slightly taken aback. That was indeed strange.
The women in a brothel usually came from a few sources: sold by poor families, abducted by human traffickers, or seized by local tyrants. But in any case, they would never all be concentrated from a single region.
Chen Li nodded. "You’ve worked hard, Brother Liu. Let me first cleanse the sinister energy from your body."
"Alright." Liu Yuejin did as he was told and sat cross-legged on a cattail cushion.
To Chen Li’s surprise, there was no sinister energy in Liu Yuejin’s body at all. He couldn’t help but ask about it.
Liu Yuejin said, looking embarrassed, "To be honest with you, Younger Brother, ever since I recovered, I’ve been terrified of brothels. This time, I didn’t dare get involved with any of the women inside. At most, I went in with a friend to listen to some music and watch some dancing."
Chen Li nodded. ’That’s another piece of information,’ he thought. ’It seems planting this sinister energy requires physical contact at a minimum.’
After sitting for a while longer, Liu Yuejin got up to leave.
Chen Li personally escorted him out of the study, through the courtyard, and toward the main gate.
As they reached the covered walkway in the front courtyard, Liu Yuejin’s gaze unintentionally swept toward the western wing.
There, on a porch rail under the walkway, a slender figure in a simple white dress was leaning, a scroll in her hand, reading quietly.
Her hair was like a black waterfall, her skin like jade. She had a fine, elegant nose and pale pink lips, exuding an aura of quiet grace and otherworldly purity.
Liu Yuejin stopped dead in his tracks, frozen in place as if struck by an Immobilization Technique.
The color instantly drained from his face and his pupils contracted violently, as if he had just seen something utterly terrifying.
