Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 53: “Are You Afraid of Me?”

　　An Jiu had always thought of herself as just an ordinary person. Even though she came from a good family, received a fine education, and was often praised as a prodigy, none of that changed the fact that she was still a pampered young lady who’d never even killed a fish.

　　When faced with a life-or-death crisis, there was nothing she could do but wait helplessly for fate to strike.

　　Only now did An Jiu finally understand where the uneasy feeling she’d had all day had come from.

　　She had no idea how she’d ended up offending the Demonic Sect’s leader to the point where he’d send someone specifically to kill her.

　　Should she feel honored?

　　Just as the blade was about to fall on her head, An Jiu was so frightened she nearly shut her eyes.

　　Wait a second—Pei Ji would definitely save her, right?! She was his antidote!

　　The moment that thought surfaced, a surge of strength flooded through her body. Like a drowning person grabbing onto driftwood, she was suddenly filled with energy!

　　The great blade came slicing down like a bolt of lightning tearing through a clear sky.

　　Yet in that instant, the previously frozen girl suddenly leapt up—like a rabbit chased by a hunter—and dove straight into the arms of the white-robed young man beside her.

　　“Pei Ji, save me!”

　　Pei Ji froze for a beat, then reflexively wrapped his arms around her.

　　At the same time, Ming Yi, who had reacted a beat slower, lunged toward her. But because An Jiu had moved from her original position, the person directly under the blade was now Ming Yi.

　　Ming Yi’s eyes widened in shock, but before he could make a sound, a shadow suddenly and silently appeared behind him.

　　Clad in black, the figure’s uniform was different from the rough black garb of the Demonic Sect. It had a unique, standardized design—resembling the attire of imperial constables.

　　The sudden arrival swiftly snatched Ming Yi away so fast that even the scar-faced man couldn’t react in time.

　　Having missed his strike, Scar’s once-lazy expression turned serious.

　　He gripped his blade and took a closer look at the newcomer, then suddenly blurted out, “Xuan Yi Wei Guard? You brat—you're royalty?!”

　　An Jiu, still nestled in Pei Ji’s arms, immediately looked up at the sound.

　　She saw the black-clad man standing not far away, holding Ming Yi in one hand while facing off against Scar.

　　The man had an extremely average face—so plain it was hard to remember. Whether it was natural or disguised was unclear, but he gave off an invisible, low-key presence.

　　He was the kind of person you’d never notice in a crowd—someone who could vanish into the masses.

　　“This place is not safe, ¹Shizi. I will escort you away at once,” the black-clad man said calmly, unfazed by Scar’s words.

　　Ming Yi quickly said, “Help An Jiu first—don’t worry about me!”

　　But the black-clad man responded in an official tone, “My duty is solely to ensure your safety. The others are not my concern.”

　　Ming Yi protested, “She’s my friend! How can you ignore my orders?!”

　　The man replied firmly, “The Empress Dowager gave explicit instructions—your safety is my top priority. I follow her orders alone. Please cooperate, Shizi.”

　　Without another word, the black-clad man ignored Ming Yi’s struggles and swiftly retreated with him.

　　Despite carrying a full-grown man like Ming Yi, the black-clad man moved with remarkable agility. In the blink of an eye, he had already covered four or five zhang. His qinggong was clearly top-notch—far beyond what Scar could catch up with, not that Scar had any intention of chasing him.

　　Although the Demonic Sect feared neither heaven nor earth and often committed heinous acts while treating the imperial court as beneath them, even they had no wish to go up against the government directly.

　　There was an unspoken rule between the martial world and the court: they didn’t interfere with each other. Even the Demonic Sect observed that boundary.

　　Besides, the moment Scar saw the Xuan Yi Wei Guard, he could tell that man’s martial arts were extraordinary. If they truly fought, he might end up on the losing end.

　　Turning his head back to An Jiu, Scar sneered like he was watching a joke. “Little beauty, did you see that? Your man ditched you and ran off.”

　　An Jiu was still reeling from the shocking realization that Ming Yi was actually royalty—and that he had a Xuan Yi Wei Guard protecting him. Her mind immediately started working through the implications, so when Scar spoke, it took her a moment to register what he said.

　　She had wanted to say, “He’s not my man,” but when she opened her mouth, what came out was a question instead: “Why does your sect leader want to kill me?”

　　Now that the pretty boy had been taken away, the mission’s value had taken a hit. Scar wasn’t sure if the sect leader would still count it a success if he only killed the girl.

　　If not, maybe it’d be better to just take her away and enjoy her himself?

　　That thought flickered through his mind, and he stopped attacking. Instead, he grinned and said, “How would I know? Our sect leader’s mind isn’t something ordinary folks like us can guess. But listen, little beauty—I’ll let you live, if you spend one night with me. How about it?”

　　As he spoke, he began walking toward her.

　　An Jiu instinctively shrank back to the side—right next to the white-robed young man in the wheelchair. Only then did Scar finally notice him. Seeing the wheelchair, Scar raised his brows high.

　　“Little beauty, why are you hiding behind a cripple? You think he can protect you? Look at him—can he even stand up?”

　　His mocking voice rang out, completely unrestrained.

　　The white-robed young man sat calmly in the wheelchair. His fair and handsome face betrayed no emotion, but his deep black eyes locked onto Scar with a quiet, steady intensity.

　　In his hands was a white jade folding fan. One by one, he opened all thirty-six flawless ribs of the fan. His long, slender fingers paused on a single rib—then flicked it with a sharp motion, sending it flying straight toward Scar.

　　The fan bone let out a barely audible vibration, like a subconscious flick of the hand.

　　A second later, Scar's laughter abruptly cut off—as if an invisible hand had suddenly clutched his throat. His face turned bright red.

　　His feet kept moving forward out of inertia. He took two steps, nearly reaching An Jiu, before he finally froze.

　　By then, Scar’s eyes were bulging from their sockets, bloodshot and furious. The long blade in his hand clattered to the ground with a metallic thud. Both hands flew to his throat, mouth gaping wide as he let out strangled, rasping sounds. Blood gushed from his mouth, soaking his beard bright red.

　　“You… you…” he managed to choke out two words, then staggered a step, collapsing to the ground with a crash. He died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.

　　An Jiu: “Aaaahhhhh!!”

　　Someone just died—right in front of her! And those bloodshot eyes were still staring at her!!!

　　Before she could even throw up, someone suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth. “Mmph mmph mmph—”

　　“Trying to alert the others?” the white-robed young man asked coldly. His gaze was as icy as moonlight.

　　All the warmth from earlier had vanished from his face. Even when looking at An Jiu, his expression remained frosty.

　　“Don’t scream. Push me out from the back. And be careful not to draw attention.”

　　“Mm-mm-mm!” With her mouth still covered, An Jiu could only widen her panicked eyes and nod frantically.

　　Only then did Pei Ji release her, his voice still cold as he ordered, “That way.”

　　He tilted his sharp jaw slightly, his expression grim.

　　An Jiu quickly pushed his wheelchair in the direction he indicated. There, hidden behind a curtain of vines, was a concealed side door. Once opened, it led into a long corridor. After weaving through a few obscure paths and hidden doors, they finally emerged outside the mountain villa.

　　Pei Ji said, “There’s a path down the mountain from here. We’ll take it.”

　　The entire way, An Jiu’s nerves were stretched taut. She was constantly on edge, terrified they’d run into someone from the Demonic Sect.

　　But surprisingly, they didn’t encounter anyone at all.

　　Although the sounds of battle and shouting echoed from all directions, they made it out without a scratch. An Jiu guessed that Pei Ji had probably arranged this escape route in advance.

　　An Jiu's guess was right—this was indeed a secret passage Pei Ji had prepared for Qiansha Pavilion’s assassins to retreat smoothly after a mission.

　　What he didn’t expect was that the first people to use this escape route… would end up being himself and An Jiu.

　　Too many things had spiraled out of control. The martial arts manual that was supposed to be stolen remained untouched, and somehow, An Jiu had inexplicably caught the attention of the Demonic Sect’s leader. Everything seemed to be veering off its original path and plunging into an unknown abyss.

　　It was not a pleasant feeling.

　　The young man in white had frost in his eyes, lips pressed into a thin line, the line of his jaw tense with restraint.

　　“Pei… Pei Ji, aren’t we going to wait for Brother He and Lin Qingyan? And Ah Qi…”

　　The girl’s trembling voice drifted into his ears. Pei Ji turned his gaze to her and saw her pale face, her eyes flashing with a trace of fear when they met his.

　　Pei Ji narrowed his eyes slightly and asked coolly, “Are you afraid of me?”

　　【Pei Ji’s favorability toward you -5. Current favorability: 30.】

　　【Pei Ji’s favorability toward you -5. Current favorability: 25.】

　　The girl's lips had lost all color—even with rouge, the pallor underneath was obvious.

　　She pressed her lips together, shook her head hard, and stammered, “N-No, I-I’m just really scared… I know you were trying to save me. I don’t blame you. You're a good person, that man was the bad one…”

　　She was clearly terrified—her words were jumbled, but her sincerity came through.

　　Some of the coldness in the man’s eyes faded slightly.

　　【Pei Ji’s favorability toward you +10. Current favorability: 35.】

　　“They know how to protect themselves. We wouldn’t be of help—leaving early is wiser.”

　　Hearing that, An Jiu nodded quickly. “Okay, let’s go.”

　　The path down the mountain wasn’t long—after all, they were already near the base. But it was a narrow trail with no stone paving, just uneven, bumpy yellow dirt. And since An Jiu had to push Pei Ji’s wheelchair, they couldn’t move very fast.

　　Now that she’d calmed down a little, An Jiu started muttering in her heart.

　　He could clearly walk, yet he insisted on pretending to be crippled so she’d have to push his wheelchair. Talk about method acting—this guy was really committed!

　　As the two slowly made their way down the slope, the chaos within Jinshe Villa finally began to settle.

　　Demon Mask’s combat strength was overwhelming—even Bishui Sword Master gained no advantage against him. Especially since Demon Mask seemed to have sectivated some kind of evil technique, his inner energy was chilling to the bone. Bishui Sword Master was accidentally struck by a single palm from him and immediately lost all ability to move.

　　This time, the Demonic Sect had clearly come fully prepared. Their forces were many, and the orthodox sects were being crushed with each passing moment. In no time at all, the defenders were thoroughly defeated.

　　Seeing that even Bishui Sword Master had fallen at the hands of Demon Mask, the others naturally didn’t dare throw themselves forward foolishly.

　　The man in dark red robes raised his curved blade and blew gently across its edge, sending a few lingering drops of blood drifting off.

　　He let out a bored sigh, then leisurely sat atop the center table in the grand hall, holding a rosewood box in his hands. Shaking his head with a regretful sigh, he said, “How pathetic. Is this really the best the Central Plains’ martial world can offer?”

　　At that moment, a middle-aged man stepped over to him and said, “Sect Master, did you notice? It seems like we brought more people than we should have.”

　　Demon Mask gave a questioning “Hmm?”

　　The middle-aged man looked equally confused. “I’ve noticed that among those who attacked, it’s not just our Sacred Sect. There’s another group in black, dressed similarly to us. I suspect… someone is using the chaos to fish in troubled waters.”

　　At those words, Demon Mask’s eyes suddenly gleamed with interest.

　　“Oh? Are you saying someone is scheming against us?” he asked with a smile.

　　Cold sweat broke out on the man’s forehead. He replied in a low voice, “That may be the case… But I’m not sure which faction they belong to.”

　　Demon Mask smiled gently and said, “Can’t we just catch someone and ask?”

　　The middle-aged man looked troubled. “Everyone we captured… took poison and killed themselves.”

　　Demon Mask glanced at him with a soft, almost tender tone. “If you can’t get answers… then there’s no need for you to report back again.”

　　The man nodded quickly, fear written all over his face. “Y-Yes! I’ll continue the interrogation at once!”

　　Demon Mask propped one foot on the table and lazily scanned the hall, eyes gleaming with amusement as he examined the various black-clad figures crowding the space.

　　He couldn’t tell who exactly was from the Demonic Sect—after all, he didn’t know every single disciple.

　　Demon Mask was very curious: who had the nerve to kill using his blade?

　　“Interesting. Really interesting. Finally, something fun to play with.”

　　Just as boredom was creeping in, his eyes suddenly fixed on a seemingly inconspicuous corner.

　　There lay a subordinate he remembered, dead. Normally, nothing strange, but the way this person died caught his attention.

　　Demon Mask leapt up swiftly, crouched down in front of the corpse to examine it.

　　“Poison?”

　　After a moment of analysis, he lifted his eyes and scanned the surroundings, sniffing lightly.

　　Quickly, amidst the chaos of mixed scents, he found the clue he wanted and sharply looked in one direction.

________________

Glossary: 

¹Shizi (世子): The official heir or eldest legitimate son of a prince or noble family. Used to address or refer to a nobleman's successor with respect.

.....

Author’s note:

Demon Mask: Central Plains martial world is trash, Demonic Sect is awesome.

Subordinate: Boss, the ones fighting for us don’t seem to be our own people?

Demon Mask: ???

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