Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 54: “Then Let’s Just Die Together.”

　　An Jiu stumbled her way down the mountain, each step unsteady. Standing at the base, she looked up. From here, she could still see the elegant pavilions of Jinshe Villa nestled amidst the dense ginkgo trees, quiet and peaceful.

　　Who would’ve thought that the famed Jinshe Villa would fall into such disaster?

　　Her brows furrowed slightly—she was a little worried about Jin Yanwan’s safety.

　　Hopefully, she’s alright.

　　In the novel, it was written that although the Demonic Sect was rampant and lawless, they wouldn’t linger long. After all, this wasn’t their stronghold.

　　As the saying goes, a powerful outsider is no match for a local tyrant. Not to mention, nearly the entire martial world was gathered here.

　　At the base of the villa was Jinshe Town. Only a few people were allowed into the villa itself; most were staying in the town. No matter how powerful the Demonic Sect might be, sheer numbers alone could overwhelm them.

　　So once word reached the town, and reinforcements from the martial world rushed in, the Demonic Sect would retreat.

　　It should be soon… right?

　　An Jiu guessed by the position of the sun, her thoughts wandering absentmindedly.

　　“Miss An, be careful. There’s a shallow dip ahead,” a gentle voice reminded her.

　　Snapping back to the present, her drifting thoughts were reined in.

　　She looked forward—sure enough, a low dip had formed on the dirt path, filled with a shallow puddle of muddy water.

　　She glanced down at the back of the man’s head and ground her teeth quietly.

　　He sure was enjoying himself while she was the one working herself to death.

　　Though grumbling inwardly, An Jiu dared not voice her anger—after all, he had just ‘saved’ her. She couldn’t be ungrateful.

　　Even if she really wanted to push him straight into that muddy puddle.

　　Still, An Jiu was well aware—Pei Ji didn’t save her out of pity. Her life was tied to his. By saving her, he was saving himself. Nothing more, nothing less.

　　Just as that thought passed through her mind, she suddenly heard a sharp whooshing sound behind her. At the same time, a chill swept up her spine, every hair standing on end. A powerful sense of danger surged over her.

　　Something was coming!

　　Before she could even turn her head, a strong hand seized her wrist, and in the next moment, a blur of white crashed toward her—knocking her violently to the ground.

　　The strong scent of bitter medicine filled her nose. An Jiu's face hit a hard chest with a sharp jolt, and a wave of sourness surged up her nose, making her eyes well up with tears.

　　She struggled to lift her head, but the body half-pressing down on her suddenly shuddered, followed by a muffled, low groan that rang in her ears.

　　She froze, then looked up in alarm.

　　The man was bracing himself on one hand against the ground. His face was pale, lips drained of color, and those pitch-black eyes seemed even darker than usual. His brows were tightly knit, and his long lashes quivered ever so slightly, as if he were enduring something unbearable.

　　An Jiu spoke cautiously, “Pei Ji, y-you… what’s wrong? And just now, behind me…”

　　Before she could finish, her words abruptly cut off.

　　Her fingertips had touched something warm and sticky. Her hand was at his lower back, where the heat carried body temperature, thick and unmistakable.

　　Blood.

　　It was his blood.

　　An Jiu’s eyes widened in shock, her voice trembling. “You’re hurt!”

　　Meanwhile, atop the roof of Jinshe Villa, the man with the demon mask stood watching the scene below. He had found the person who used poison—and unexpectedly spotted that licentious woman too.

　　That woman’s methods were exceptional. In just a few short days, she had clung to another poison expert. Truly infuriating.

　　Thinking of how his new buddy, Young Master Ming, had been cuckolded again and again, Demon Mask couldn’t help feeling a bit of righteous indignation on his behalf.

　　Unfortunately, by the time he spotted the pair, they were already near the foot of the mountain. He could still chase after them, but the Great Protector beside him wouldn’t stop whining, babbling about how the people down the mountain would soon arrive—it was giving him a headache.

　　“Sect Leader, we need to go,” the Great Protector urged again.

　　Demon Mask lowered his bow, drawling lazily, “Did you find out who those two were?”

　　He was in a good mood—his arrow just now had been dead-on, hitting the target precisely.

　　Though the man blocked it, it still counted as revenge for Brother Ming.

　　The arrow had been laced with poison—there was no way that man would survive.

　　The Great Protector said, “No, everyone we captured died from the poison before we could question them. But we did find a few clues on their bodies. It’s pretty much confirmed—they’re assassins from Qiansha Pavilion.”

　　Demon Mask paused in thought. “Qiansha Pavilion? Don’t they usually deal in assassination contracts?”

　　“Exactly. I suspect they’re just using the chaos to carry out some missions. The people they’ve killed are from all sorts of sects—no specific target, and it doesn’t seem like they’re coming for our sect.”

　　Demon Mask thought it over, then chuckled. “But how would they know we were attacking Jinshe Villa today?”

　　The Great Protector also couldn’t figure it out. He shook his head. “We kept the operation tightly under wraps. Even the major sects didn’t hear anything. Qiansha Pavilion shouldn’t have either. Not even I knew until the last minute.”

　　Demon Mask curved his lips into a smile and said lightly, “No need to overthink it. We’ll just pay Qiansha Pavilion a visit sometime and see for ourselves.”

　　The Great Protector gave a cautious reminder: “We’ve stirred up quite a mess today. It’s not the right time to make another move.” He paused, then lowered his voice, “Don’t you still need to take the secret manual back to the sect and hand it to the Saintess?”

　　Demon Mask sighed with reluctant amusement. “Fine, fine, I’ll go back now.”

　　Then he added casually, “Send someone to fetch that woman’s head. I want to give Brother Ming a little surprise.”

　　The Great Protector nodded. “As you command.”

　　—

　　At the foot of the mountain, An Jiu finally managed to crawl out from under Pei Ji. Only then did she notice the arrow embedded in his back, right at his shoulder.

　　The arrow was thin and short, its fletching barely the size of a palm, but it had pierced deep into his flesh. Something must’ve been done to the arrowhead—no matter what, the bleeding wouldn’t stop. Blood kept seeping out of the wound, soaking through his once-spotless white robes.

　　An Jiu reached out, wanting to touch it, but then realized her hands were trembling.

　　She looked up at the man sitting on the ground. His white clothes were now dirtied and disheveled, stained with soil after rolling on the ground. He sat there with no grace or composure, yet even in such a messy state, his refined features showed no trace of pain—only a slight paleness.

　　“Pei Ji… doesn’t it hurt?” Her throat felt dry and tight. An Jiu swallowed hard and asked, voice trembling.

　　She remembered—he’d taken that arrow for her.

　　If he hadn’t reacted so fast, it would’ve pierced her back instead. Right now, she’d be the one lying wounded.

　　Pei Ji slightly raised his eyes, looking at the girl crouched in front of him.

　　She probably didn’t even realize it herself—her beautiful peach blossom eyes had gone red, a sheen of tears glimmering within them. Crystalline drops hung from her lashes like silver.

　　He was the one injured, so why did she look like she was the one hurting?

　　Pei Ji couldn’t understand this woman’s thoughts, nor did he have time to. His voice dropped low. “Go. Someone’s coming down from the mountain.”

　　If he wasn’t mistaken, that person would arrive here soon. They had to leave immediately.

　　An Jiu froze, her delicate face growing even paler.

　　Pei Ji continued, “We’re not far from Jinsha Town. You’ll be safe once you get there. I can’t move much right now—you should go on ahead.”

　　Truthfully, it didn’t matter if she left or not. Staying would just force him to expose more of his hidden cards.

　　It would be better to send An Jiu away. Then he could act freely without worrying about how she’d react.

　　He thought of how scared she’d looked after he poisoned Scarface to death earlier. That look of panic annoyed him for some reason.

　　Besides, from what he knew of An Jiu, she’d definitely choose to leave on her own.

　　She’d always treated him with indifference—how could she possibly risk her own safety to stay?

　　Just now, while helping him down the mountain, he’d heard her grinding her teeth in frustration more than once. It wasn’t hard to imagine: if given the chance to leave this burden behind, she would’ve agreed without hesitation.

　　He was just waiting for her to leave when suddenly, a hoarse female voice echoed beside his ear.

　　“No.”

　　The girl squatting in front of him kept her head lowered, wiping her eyes with one hand. Then, all at once, she looked up. Her eyes were red like a bunny’s.

　　She said loudly as if she was declaring something: “I won’t! I’m not going! What kind of person do you take me for? You’ve saved me twice and even got hurt for me. I, An Jiu, am not someone who repays kindness with betrayal!”

　　The white-clad young man’s calm gaze flickered slightly, like a still lake disturbed by a pebble, sending out soft ripples one by one.

　　He parted his lips. “You—”

　　“Don’t say anything.”

　　The girl abruptly cut him off, sniffled, and stubbornly said, “I’m not leaving you behind. If we die, we die together!”

　　As if to prove her words, she stood up right after and pushed the nearby wheelchair toward them.

　　Then, she walked over to Pei Ji and looked him over carefully.

　　“Pei Ji, if I hurt you while doing this, make sure to speak up, okay?”

　　With that, she bent down and reached both arms under his armpits, gritting her teeth as she hoisted him off the ground.

　　She didn’t lift him from behind because of the arrow still stuck in his back.

　　From the outside, it looked as if they were tightly embracing each other—her cheek pressed against his chest, his chin resting on her shoulder, the arm on his wounded side limp, while the other lightly supported her back.

　　Because his legs were completely useless, his full weight was pressing down on her. The pressure was so intense that her small face flushed red, silver-white teeth clenched tight, and a faint blush crept up her neck.

　　She’d always been delicate and frail, and now with Wu Sheng’s gu poison in her body, how could she possibly bear such weight?

　　Pei Ji’s long lashes quietly lowered, his gaze landing right on the slender curve of her neck.

　　As ‘Pei Ji,’ he had never been this close to her before.

　　The faint fragrance of her skin lingered at the tip of his nose. He could see her lips, bitten red from the effort, and feel her arms tightly wrapped around his waist. He could hear her short, panting breaths brushing past his ear.

　　There were still tears clinging to the corners of her eyes. Against the rosy flush of her cheeks, those glistening drops made her look like a rain-soaked peach blossom petal.

　　For some reason, Pei Ji suddenly recalled a rainy day more than a decade ago.

　　The sky was dark and drizzling. He had collapsed in the mud that day too—and met a little girl in pink.

　　That pretty little girl had also squatted down in front of him, looking at him, talking to him.

　　Back then, he thought, If only she would pull me up.

　　He didn’t want anyone to see him fallen like that. He wanted to get up on his own. If she just reached out a hand, he could crawl back to his wheelchair by himself.

　　But the little girl didn’t reach out. His whole body was covered in mud, and she was wearing a brand new dress that day—she didn’t want to get it dirty.

　　So instead, she called for the adults and let them carry him away.

　　All these years, Pei Ji had always thought: That was enough. That was already more than enough. That was the purest kindness I’ve ever received.

　　So precious.

　　But today, there was a girl even more delicate than that little girl from back then—more vain, more hot-tempered.

　　She wasn’t kind at all. She was selfish, foolish, ignorant, and stubborn. Just a shallow, utterly useless woman.

　　And yet, she didn’t recoil from the mud covering him, nor did she care about the pursuers behind them. She grit her teeth, struggled to lift him out of the muck, eyes red as she told him, “I won’t leave you. If we die, we’ll die together.”

　　In a daze, Pei Ji felt a loud rumble in his chest, like something inside him… quietly collapsed in that moment.

　　【Pei Ji’s favorability toward you +20. Current level: 55.】

　　

　

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