Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 43: His Background Could Scare You To Death.

　　Jinshe Town came into existence because of Jinshe Villa. It was originally just a small village, but became famous thanks to the Villa. Over the centuries since the Villa's establishment, the town had grown increasingly prosperous.

　　Most of the town's residents were people of the martial world—some unaffiliated wanderers, others fugitives hiding from enemies—who had settled here seeking the protection of Jinshe Villa.

　　An Jiu and Ming Yi walked down the street, surrounded by people dressed in the typical garb of martial artists. The air was thick with the atmosphere of the jianghu. Passersby laughed and chatted loudly without the usual restraint of common folk, making the street scene feel lively and free.

　　Though it was only the afternoon, many lanterns were already being hung along the streets. Shopkeepers and their assistants bustled about, stringing up cords under eaves and on tree branches, decorating them with all kinds of lanterns.

　　An Jiu casually glanced around and spotted a shop assistant holding a lantern. With a tap of his foot on the ground, he lightly kicked off the wall twice and leapt up to the eaves, hung the decorative lantern, then floated back down effortlessly, landing steadily on the ground.

　　“What amazing footwork!” someone else on the street saw the scene and couldn’t help clapping and cheering.

　　The scrawny assistant blushed and scratched his head shyly before darting back into the shop.

　　That was just how Jinshe Town was—full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Even an unremarkable assistant in a street shop might possess remarkable martial skills.

　　This town was smaller than Pinglan City, and its atmosphere was far more unrestrained.

　　While Pinglan City also had many martial artists, it was, after all, still a city—one where common civilians made up the majority.

　　Unlike Jinshe Town, which was a town entirely shaped by the martial world.

　　An Jiu looked around curiously—one moment she was captivated by a street performance or martial arts duel, the next, her attention was snatched by a teahouse owner's daughter hosting a martial arts contest to choose a husband. Her eyes darted about non-stop, taking in everything, overwhelmed by the novelty.

　　She thought she was admiring the scenery, unaware that she had become part of the scenery in others’ eyes.

　　The girl’s appearance was outstanding—her small face delicately shaped, her features beautiful, especially the bright and spirited gleam in her eyes, rarely seen in women.

　　She loved wearing red, making her stand out even more in the crowd. She was like a crane among chickens—wherever she went, people’s eyes naturally followed.

　　Ming Yi quickly noticed this and hurriedly pulled the entranced An Jiu into a teahouse.

　　An Jiu looked confused. “Eh? I didn’t finish watching that martial arts contest for a husband!”

　　Ming Yi said, “The view’s better from upstairs—you’ll get to watch all you want!”

　　Besides, if she kept watching, he suspected the young lady hosting the contest might jump down to chase her off.

　　With An Jiu—a living, breathing beauty—standing nearby, the girl in red on the stage was instantly made to look plain by comparison.

　　Even the crowd that had gathered to watch the martial contest gradually turned their heads toward An Jiu, and yet she remained blissfully unaware that she had become the center of attention.

　　Ming Yi brought An Jiu to the teahouse, but the waiter looked troubled and said that all the private rooms on the second floor were fully booked. Without a word, Ming Yi took out his money—flashing his financial power. The waiter’s attitude instantly changed, and he immediately led them to the so-called supreme private room reserved for the owner’s special guests.

　　True to its name, the supreme private room offered an impressive view. From the upstairs window, they could take in almost the entire street at a glance.

　　An Jiu leaned against the window, continuing to watch the martial arts contest for a husband with great interest. It was different from what she had imagined.

　　Normally, in such contests, men would compete, and the woman would choose the winner as her husband.

　　But here, it was the woman who fought. Suitors had to challenge her, and if they could defeat her, she would marry them on the spot.

　　The woman on the stage had a tall, strong build, with slightly dark skin—clearly a martial artist. She wore a bright red wedding dress that only made her plain looks more noticeable. She boldly declared that anyone who could defeat her could marry her immediately.

　　An Jiu watched as the woman stood on the stage, wielding a large broadsword. With just a few casual moves, she knocked a skinny challenger off the stage. An Jiu couldn’t help but remark, “That guy’s way too weak. Doesn’t he have any self-awareness? How can someone that feeble dare to challenge her?”

　　Ming Yi calmly explained, “He probably thought she’d go easy on him, that’s why he went up.”

　　An Jiu gave it a second thought and understood the challenger’s mindset.

　　The woman holding the martial arts contest for a husband had an ordinary appearance—far from the average man’s idea of beauty. That man must’ve thought she was desperate to marry, and seeing so few challengers, he figured he had a shot with his mediocre skills.

　　With that thought, An Jiu suddenly lost interest in watching.

　　She withdrew her gaze, eyes shifting slightly—then caught sight of a group approaching from the end of the street. Leading them was a man in a dark red robe, with loose black hair flowing down his back. His face was hidden behind a black mask as he strolled casually through the crowd.

　　An Jiu had barely glanced at him when the man suddenly looked up and met her eyes—despite the long stretch of road between them, his gaze landed squarely on her.

　　The distance was too far for An Jiu to see his expression clearly, but she could vaguely sense the chill in his stare—utterly cold, devoid of any warmth.

　　This man gave her a strong sense of danger.

　　An Jiu frowned slightly and tried to recall the plot from the novel.

　　The Jinshe Villa arc was long, but it was mostly written from the perspectives of the male and female leads. Since she wasn’t following their path, those plotlines were essentially useless to her.

　　For instance, these past few days, Lin Qingyan and He Ziqing had been out meeting various martial sects. He Ziqing would soon encounter the female supporting character—Yu Hongyi, renowned as the number one beauty in the martial world—and the three would become entangled in a romantic drama.

　　Interwoven in that arc were the usual face-slapping, reversal scenes: Yu Hongyi’s suitors looking down on He Ziqing and challenging him one after another; He Ziqing’s sword being sabotaged; Lin Qingyan exhausting her efforts to forge a treasured sword for him; He Ziqing defeating the malicious cannon-fodder suitor, only to provoke the man’s master—and in that moment of overwhelming odds, he and Lin Qingyan joined swords to defeat their foe.

　　As for Pei Ji, he spent the entire arc pretending to be ill and staying hidden. He only made a brief appearance near the end when the martial arts manual resurfaced, then vanished again just as quickly.

　　Later, when the demonic sect attacked Jinshe Villa and stole the manual, the book didn’t go into much detail. All An Jiu remembered was that a group of black-clad men suddenly appeared, assaulted everyone in the villa, snatched the box containing the manual, and fled.

　　Even though she hadn’t gained any particularly useful intel, An Jiu still remembered what came next.

　　During the ‘Demonic Sect Siege’ arc, the appearance of the sect leader—Hua Xuan—was described just like this: clad in dark red robes, a black mask covering his face.

　　Could it be… that man she just saw was the Demonic Sect’s leader, Hua Xuan?

　　An Jiu furrowed her brows. Was Hua Xuan supposed to arrive this early? Was the storyline changing again?

　　Just as anxiety crept into her mind, the door of the private room was suddenly knocked.

　　Ming Yi got up to open it. Outside stood the waiter, smiling apologetically and rubbing his hands together. “Terribly sorry, dear guests. Our boss’s VIP has arrived and now needs this room. Would you be willing to share the table?”

　　“If not, we’ll fully refund your payment. You’re also free to visit another teahouse.”

　　Ming Yi was about to speak when a girl’s voice asked calmly, “Who is this VIP your boss is expecting?”

　　The waiter stepped aside slightly and motioned toward someone standing below.

　　It was the very man An Jiu had seen on the street just moments ago!

　　An Jiu blinked. What a coincidence.

　　After a moment’s thought, she nodded. “Let him join us. We can share the table.”

　　Though Ming Yi found it a bit unexpected, he didn’t object.

　　The waiter thanked them profusely and left, returning shortly after with the guest in tow—along with an extra tray of snacks: sunflower seeds, peanuts, fried rice cakes, and the like.

　　The masked man stepped through the doorway and immediately introduced himself in a bold voice. “Greetings, you two. I am Cong Xuan, a nameless man in the martial world. Fate has brought us together today—what a pleasure!”

　　There were plenty of masked people in the jianghu. Many who wished to hide their identities wore masks or veils, so Ming Yi wasn’t at all surprised. He cupped his hands politely in return. “Brother Cong, likewise! My surname is Ming, single given name Yi.”

　　An Jiu remained silent at the side, so Ming Yi took the initiative to introduce her. “This is my companion, Miss An Jiu.”

　　Cong Xuan cupped his hands in greeting. “Miss An.”

　　An Jiu gave a slight nod in return, still not speaking, looking every bit the quiet and reserved lady.

　　Ming Yi felt a touch of surprise but simply assumed An Jiu was shy around strangers, hence her reserved demeanor.

　　Cong Xuan, on the other hand, was extremely easy to get along with—laughing heartily without restraint, speaking with vigor and clarity, and carrying himself with warmth and boldness. Though he and Ming Yi had just met, a few rounds of drinks later, the two were calling each other ‘brother’ like old friends.

　　Ming Yi, the simple and sweet-hearted type with no real scheming ability, had already been subtly guided into spilling all his personal details like beans from a bamboo tube.

　　He didn’t realize it at all—on the contrary, he thought Brother Cong was a righteous and trustworthy man, someone worth befriending.

　　An Jiu had been observing quietly from the side the whole time. If it weren’t for her calm mind and rational thinking, not to mention her experience with modern-day social tricks and polished rhetoric, she might’ve been fooled too by this so-called ‘Cong Xuan,’ the bold and chivalrous wanderer.

　　By the time night fell and lanterns lit up along the street, it was only thanks to An Jiu’s reminder that Ming Yi reluctantly ended their conversation with Cong Xuan, and they went their separate ways.

　　Before parting, Ming Yi, in all his foolishness, even invited him enthusiastically, “Why don’t you join us at the lantern festival, Brother Cong? It’s more fun with more people!”

　　An Jiu gritted her teeth and secretly gave Ming Yi a harsh pinch.

　　“Ow! An Jiu, why’d you pinch me?” Ming Yi yelped.

　　An Jiu glared daggers at him: Pinching some sense into you, you silly fool. Otherwise, you’ll be sold off and still help count the money!

　　Come to think of it, Ming Yi didn’t exist in the original novel—she had no idea what his fate would be.

　　The thought flashed across her mind and quickly faded. When she came back to her senses, she saw Cong Xuan’s dark eyes quietly fixed on her.

　　Strangely, perhaps because he also wore a mask, she couldn’t help but feel that Cong Xuan’s brows and eyes resembled Pei Ji’s a little. His eyes were deep-set with long tails—those rare, beautiful, and seductive phoenix eyes.

　　Her mind began to drift, but the next second, she saw the man already looking away. With a light smile in his voice, he said, “No need. I wouldn’t want to intrude on you two.”

　　From his tone, it seemed he had misunderstood the nature of their relationship.

　　An Jiu gave him a glance but didn’t bother to explain.

　　Ming Yi scratched his head, finally realizing that he had originally come out with An Jiu—he was supposed to be accompanying a beauty, yet somehow, he’d ended up ignoring her the whole time!

　　It must’ve been because Brother Cong was just too interesting that he forgot his real purpose.

　　With that thought, Ming Yi didn’t press the issue. He simply grinned and said, “Then let’s part ways here. Until we meet again!”

　　Cong Xuan cupped his fists. “Until we meet again.”

　　Under the layered glow of the lanterns, Cong Xuan’s tall and slender figure gradually faded into the night and disappeared from view.

　　Ming Yi turned to An Jiu with a sigh. “Brother Cong really is a fascinating man. After just one conversation with him, I feel like my horizons have been broadened. I wonder where he’s from—he even knew so much about the Demonic Sect’s Saintess, Hua Qing.”

　　An Jiu gave a couple of dry chuckles and didn’t reply.

　　If you knew where he’s really from, it’d scare you half to death.

　　Besides, since Hua Xuan was the leader of the Demonic Sect, of course he’d know all about their saintess.

　　“Come on, let’s go enjoy the lantern festival.”

　　Who cares who he is—it has nothing to do with me anyway.

An Jiu brushed the thoughts aside and turned to Ming Yi.

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Author's Note:

Ming Yi: Fell in love with the vicious female supporting role at first sight, became sworn brothers with the demonic sect leader—people like this usually don’t survive more than a few episodes in the original story. (insert dog-head emoji)

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