Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 93: “Of Course I Like Her.”

　　An Jiu was jolted awake.

　　The first thing she saw was an endless stretch of yellow sand and desert. The galloping horse kicked up a storm of dust, slapping her face and stuffing her mouth full of dirt.

　　“Puh—puh—ptooey!”

　　Only then did she realize she was slung over a horse’s back. Her body bounced up and down with each stride, blood rushing to her head and making her dizzy.

　　Someone was riding the horse and keeping her from falling with one large hand pressed on her back.

　　Feeling woozy from the ride, An Jiu couldn’t hold back her yell. “Can you treat your hostage a little better? I swear, I’ll report you later!”

　　Right now, she still assumed the person who kidnapped her was someone Pei Ji had sent.

　　She had seen Pei Ji talking to Ah Qi with her own eyes, instructing someone to pose as a bandit and take her to Qiansha Pavilion at the right moment.

　　So it wasn’t hard to guess where this guy came from.

　　An Jiu figured, given Pei Ji’s current favorability toward her, she probably still had a bit of influence. It wasn’t like she’d get killed the second she arrived.

　　So this guy should at least listen to her a little.

　　Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, the horse began to slow down. The hand pressing on her back also let go. Moments later, her arms tightened and her vision spun before she was repositioned to sit sideways on the horse instead of lying facedown.

　　Maybe to help her balance, the man behind her gently supported her arm.

　　“Apologies for the offense, Miss An,” a low voice spoke beside her ear.

　　An Jiu turned her head and saw it was the same man who’d stopped her on the street before she lost consciousness.

　　Still the same plain, forgettable face. The kind that would vanish in a crowd. If it weren’t for his tall, sturdy build that most families couldn’t raise, there’d be nothing special about him at all.

　　An Jiu glared. “You know it was offensive, and yet you still did that to me earlier?”

　　She meant getting slung over the horse like a sack of rice. An Jiu had never been treated like that before!

　　Even when traveling with Pei Ji, he always prepared her a spacious, comfortable carriage. And this guy had the nerve to drag her off like that?

　　An Jiu’s anger flared. She wasn’t someone who held back even with Pei Ji—no way was she going to be polite now.

　　After all, this guy dragged her off just to hand her over to be killed.

　　“Does your master even know how you treat people? I swear, if I say one word to him, you’ll be dead on the spot!” she threatened, fuming.

　　The horse was still running, just a lot slower now and not nearly as bumpy.

　　The man held the reins, his face stiff like a stone. Even after hearing her threat, not a single change showed in his expression.　　

　　His tone was just as calm as ever. “My apologies, Miss An. The master instructed me to bring you back as quickly as possible. I was only doing my job.”

　　An Jiu blinked. “???”

　　“You’re seriously not scared?” Weren’t Pei Ji’s subordinates at Qiansha Pavilion usually scared stiff of him?

　　But this guy didn’t even flinch? That bold?

　　The man answered seriously, “The master separates personal feelings from duty. He doesn’t punish subordinates without reason. You’re overthinking it, Miss An.”

　　An Jiu just stared at him for a moment, then looked out at the endless desert ahead. She swallowed and asked, “Where are we now?”

　　“We’re approaching Yanmen Pass.”

　　She tried again. “What’s your name?”

　　“I go by Qing Que.”

　　It was nearly dusk now. The two of them shared one horse, with the blood-red sunset casting their shadows across the desert like a streak of motion.

　　An Jiu stayed quiet for a while, then poked at the system in her head. “System, show me what Pei Ji’s doing.”

　　【Alright.】

　　A projection appeared in front of her—or more accurately, directly on her retina. Only she could see it.

　　And just her luck, the moment it came on, she saw that always-composed man coughing up blood.

　　“Oh snap.”

　　The system echoed,【Oh snap.】

　　An Jiu raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you can talk outside of task mode?”

　　This system usually stayed quiet as a mouse, like a decorative mascot. Even when it did talk, it always sounded like it had low processing power.

　　She’d never seen it act this… human.

　　The system responded,【... I am not a lifeless object.】

　　An Jiu didn’t bother digging deeper. This system was like trying to squeeze water from a rock. She’d tried prying for info before, but when it came to anything classified, its mouth was tighter than a clam.

　　【Host, Pei Ji actually cares about you quite a bit.】

　　An Jiu’s eyes stayed fixed on the projection. She watched as Pei Ji, pale and barely able to stand, was helped back to his room by Ah Qi. Her expression turned a little complicated.

　　“Of course he cares. I’m his life, after all.”

　　Literally.

　　But… she really didn’t expect him to cough up blood.

　　An Jiu lowered her gaze and looked at the back of her hand. The red mark on her ring finger was still as vivid as ever.

　　Had he forgotten that this thing he left on her was still there?

　　At this point, if she still couldn’t guess who sent the guy who kidnapped her, she’d be an idiot.

　　After asking the system to shut off the projection, An Jiu turned to the man behind her. “Qing Que, are you part of the Xuan Yi Wei Guard?”

　　Qing Que glanced at her and answered, “Yes.”

　　“My father sent you to bring me back?”

　　“I take orders from His Majesty. Lord An requested help from the emperor, and His Majesty gave me the order to find you.”

　　An Jiu stared at his totally forgettable face and finally understood why he looked familiar at first glance.

　　The last time she saw a member of Xuan Yi Wei Guard working under Ming Yi, they also had that completely unnoticeable background-extra face.

　　Honestly, she was starting to think this kind of ultra-bland face was a special talent in itself.

　　The anger she’d been holding onto had mostly faded by now.

　　Since he was from the Xuan Yi Wei Guard, she figured she could cut him some slack.

　　Of course he didn’t care about her threats earlier—guys from the Xuan Yi Wei Guard didn’t take anyone’s personal feelings into account.

　　Just after sunset, they arrived at Yanmen Pass.

　　Once inside the gates, there was a city. Qing Que moved quickly and efficiently, taking her straight to an inn and booking a room.

　　An Jiu asked suspiciously, “Only one room?”

　　Qing Que replied, “I’ll stay at the door. That will do.”

　　An Jiu: “…”

　　Was he that scared she’d run?

　　Trying to be nice, she said, “I won’t run, alright? You can book another room. I swear I’m not going anywhere.”

　　She was being completely honest, but Qing Que acted like he didn’t hear a word and went straight upstairs with the key.

　　They had a simple dinner at the inn, and An Jiu went to rest. As promised, Qing Que sat himself down right outside her door, clearly planning to spend the night there.

　　An Jiu tried asking him to come inside and sleep on the floor, but he didn’t budge, like a statue.

　　What a rigid and rule-bound man.

　　Seeing him completely unresponsive, An Jiu gave up trying.

　　Honestly, she had no intention of escaping. Qing Que’s arrival actually made her feel a little relieved. Between being dragged back home to marry an old man and getting taken away to be used as a human sacrifice to cure poison, the better choice was obvious.

　　Even if this was just buying time, it still counted. She couldn’t avoid Pei Ji forever. She had to go home eventually, so staying alive a little longer was still something.

　　Besides, getting dragged back home wasn’t completely useless either.

　　Lying in bed, An Jiu poked at the system.

　　【System, show me the projection.】

　　The projection reappeared in front of her.

　　Inside an inn in Mingguang Town, the white-robed, jade-faced young man leaned against the bedframe. His face had lost all color.

　　Ah Qi came over with a bowl of medicine and said, “Don’t worry, Young Master. I’ve already sent people after them. We’ll definitely bring Miss An back as soon as possible. Please drink this medicine first. Your body can’t handle any more strain.”

　　Pei Ji had his head slightly lowered, his deep black eyes fixed silently on his arm.

　　An Jiu squinted and saw a bright red dot on his pale skin.

　　That must be the mother gu from the paired parasite.

　　She wasn’t surprised. If even she figured it out, there was no way Pei Ji wouldn’t have.

　　“Two hundred li southeast… she should be near Yanmen Pass.” He suddenly spoke, his voice soft and a bit weak.

　　As he said this, his tone was light, but An Jiu could clearly sense his exhaustion.

　　She noticed how his whole expression was covered in a faint weariness, and even his eyes seemed duller than usual, like he hadn’t just coughed up blood, but had lost part of his spirit too.

　　Ah Qi replied, “I’ve already sent someone. They should arrive in Yanmen Pass by midnight. The one who took Miss An will definitely stop to rest in the city. We’ll get her back.”

　　After saying that, the loyal servant hesitated for a bit before finally speaking again, worry creeping into his voice. “Young Master, you’ve been rushing around nonstop, forcefully absorbing the bodhi seed and even pushing yourself to fight. Your meridians are already a mess. If you don’t rest properly, I’m afraid you’ll suffer a serious internal injury…”

　　Pei Ji finally lifted his eyes, and his pitch-black pupils were cold as ice.

　　“I’m a doctor. I know my own body.”

　　Of course he knew his condition.

　　That one mouthful of blood, spit out in anger, had completely thrown his already unstable inner force into chaos, leaving his meridians tangled and disordered. On top of that, it stirred the deadly poison in his body that had only just started to settle.

　　The meridian issue was still manageable. Like he said, he was a doctor. He’d never let himself reach the point of a true qi deviation.

　　What really made things tricky was the poison. Every time it acted up, the next outbreak would be worse than the last. One flare-up after another would keep building until it eventually drove him completely insane.

　　Thinking about that, his eyes turned even colder.

　　“Young Master, do you… like Miss An?”

　　Ah Qi had never seen him this weak before. Not even when the poison acted up in the past.

　　In his eyes, Pei Ji was always the kind of person who stayed calm and in control no matter what. He was powerful, smart, capable, and calculating. Even when he sat in a wheelchair, the world saw him as pitiful, but he still managed to create a vast network of power with ease.

　　But ever since he met An Jiu, he seemed like a completely different person.

　　As someone watching from the sidelines, Ah Qi had already figured out that Pei Ji treated her differently.

　　Sure, she could help with his poison, but at this point, it was obvious his attention toward her had gone far beyond just needing her for that.

　　“Like…” Pei Ji suddenly pulled at the corner of his lips, and a faint light flickered in his eyes.

　　“Of course I like her.” He didn’t even deny it.

　　Ah Qi froze for a second before quickly responding, “Then I’ll send someone to find another woman tomorrow. The world is big. There must be someone else who can cure your poison! Once you recover, you can be with Miss An for the long run.”

　　Pei Ji suddenly cut in, voice low and hoarse. “No. It has to be her.”

　　Dressed in white, with dark hair falling loosely, he sat with a smile on his lips. But the warmth was gone. It was pure frost now.

　　Ah Qi felt a chill run down his spine.

　　“It’s exactly because I like her… that I can’t keep her.” Pei Ji spoke each word slowly, as if talking to himself.

　　Night had swallowed the land. A thin moonbeam slipped through the window lattice and cast a frosty light on the wooden floor.　　

　　Out in the hallway, the black-clothed man sat half-upright with his eyes closed, resting against the door behind him. But suddenly, the door creaked open.

　　He opened his eyes quietly, just in time to see a girl in a red dress bursting out of the room with a bundle on her back, her face full of panic. She looked like she was escaping for her life as she urgently said, “Qing Que, I really miss home. How about we start heading back overnight?”

　　Qing Que: “…”

　　Wasn’t he told very clearly by Minister An before leaving that he must keep a close eye on Miss An and never let her run off?

　　Does she look like she's going to run away?

 

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