Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 105: So This Is What She's Like When She Loves Someone

　　Just as Ming Yi received notice from the authorities to retrieve his missing, amnesiac Xuan Yi Wei guard, Lin Qingyan and He Ziqing, who were staying at the inn, also received a letter left behind in an empty room.

　　Their friend Pei Ji, after attending An Jiu and Ming Wang’s wedding, had slipped away quietly that very night without saying a word, returning to Medicine King Valley.

　　Looking at the farewell written in the letter, Lin Qingyan couldn’t help sighing. “Why did Pei Ji leave like that? He didn’t even see An Jiu. Doesn’t he want to ask her why she did this?”

　　To her, Pei Ji’s behavior seemed a little too cowardly.

　　But then again, it was just like him.

　　In her memory, Pei Ji had always been that kind of person. Gentle, considerate, always thinking of others. The reason he chose to leave so quietly was probably because he didn’t want to put An Jiu in a difficult spot or cause gossip to spread about her.

　　After all, a newlywed woman sneaking out to meet another man wouldn’t sound good if word got out.

　　Thinking of this, Lin Qingyan let out a deep sigh.

　　She shook her head and said to He Ziqing, who still looked completely clueless about what was going on, “Forget it, Brother He. Let’s just go say goodbye to An Jiu. Since we’re already here, we should at least see her once. Then we’ll head back to Zhùjiàn Villa.”

　　He Ziqing had no objections. “Alright, whatever you say.”

　　While Pei Ji quietly returned to Medicine King Valley at the break of dawn, Lin Qingyan had no such reservations. Early that morning, she marched straight to the royal residence and knocked on the gate.

　　She was An Jiu’s friend, but having also grown up with Pei Ji, she felt she had a right to demand some answers too.

　　But to her surprise, as soon as the gate opened, she came face to face with Ming Yi, who was just about to head out to the government office.

　　When Ming Yi heard they had come looking for An Jiu, he didn’t bother hiding the truth anymore and blurted out, “An Jiu’s gone missing!”

　　He had originally planned to cover it up, maybe stage a fake robbery where the bride was taken to buy her some time. But now, he didn’t need to make anything up—because it really happened.

　　“What? An Jiu’s missing? Since when?” Lin Qingyan’s face changed instantly.

　　“Last night!” Ming Yi said urgently. “I don’t know much more than that. I’m heading to the magistrate’s office now to pick up my Xuan Yi Wei Guard. You two might as well come with me.”

　　Lin Qingyan and He Ziqing exchanged a look, then followed Ming Yi to the government office.

　　Because a Xuan Yi Wei Guard wasn’t just any bodyguard and took years of training, even someone of Ming Yi’s rank only had one. The magistrate's office wouldn’t just hand him over to anyone. They had to verify his identity first and required Ming Yi to come in person.

　　There, Ming Yi saw his guard who he had just sent out not long ago.

　　His name was Feng Lan. He used to be the quiet, by-the-book type. Never showed up in public without reason and always worked from the shadows.

　　But now, Feng Lan looked like a completely different person. He sat there with a blank stare, dazed and unfocused. His average-looking face was filled with confusion.

　　The head of the judicial bureau came over to receive Ming Yi and pointed at Feng Lan. “We got a report at dawn today that someone had found this man by the roadside. Judging from his clothes, he didn’t seem like an ordinary person, so we brought him in. Our medical official checked him and said it looks like he suffered some trauma. He can’t remember anything at all now. If he’s yours, Shizi, you can take him back.”

　　Ming Yi took one look and said, “No need to confirm. That’s my Xuan Yi Wei Guard.”

　　The three of them walked over to Feng Lan. Ming Yi called his name twice, but Feng Lan didn’t even react. He just stared at them with blank, unfamiliar eyes, like a newborn child.

　　Ming Yi’s face turned darker by the second. Seeing the confusion in Lin Qingyan and He Ziqing’s expressions, he pulled them aside and said in a low voice, “I’ll be honest with you both. An Jiu didn’t want to marry my father. She was forced to agree. Last night, I sent my Xuan Yi Wei Guard to escort her to Medicine King Valley. Now, the guard’s like this and An Jiu has vanished.”

　　His tone grew heavier. “I don’t even know where she is now.”

　　But Lin Qingyan’s focus went somewhere else entirely. “You were sending her to Medicine King Valley?”

　　Ming Yi gave her a look and let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah. An Jiu asked me to. She wanted to see Divine Doctor Pei. But…”

　　Lin Qingyan’s face changed. “I knew it! An Jiu really does like Pei Ji!”

　　Seeing both men staring at her speechlessly, she cleared her throat and put on a serious face. “We can’t just let this go. We have to find her!”

　　Ming Yi said, “But how are we supposed to know who took An Jiu?”

　　Lin Qingyan thought for a moment, then analyzed, “Whoever kidnapped her must’ve had a reason. But An Jiu’s been with us the whole time and doesn’t really have any enemies. The only person we know of is the master of Qiansha Pavilion, Xian Wuming. I remember An Jiu once told us that he saved her, but after she found out who he really was, he started chasing her down.”

　　Back at the foot of Wuyi Mountain, An Jiu had told her and He Ziqing about this when she asked for their protection. Lin Qingyan had never forgotten it.

　　“There’s actually something like that?” Ming Yi asked. “Then I guess our next step is to track down Qiansha Pavilion?” Now that they had a lead, his expression calmed. “I’m the heir of Ming Wang. I can mobilize the palace guards to help us look for her.”

　　Hearing that, Lin Qingyan gave a slight nod. “That’s probably it. I can’t think of anyone else who would target a noblewoman like her. Qiansha Pavilion is incredibly secretive, so this might take a while.”

　　Sure enough, just as Lin Qingyan predicted, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t dig up any useful information about Qiansha Pavilion.

　　This mysterious assassin organization was infamous in the martial world. Rumors of martial heroes being assassinated would occasionally surface, but information about the group itself was scarce. Hardly anyone had seen one of their assassins’ real faces, let alone the elusive pavilion master, Xian Wuming.

　　As for the location of the pavilion, there wasn’t even a hint to go on.

　　A few days passed before Ming Wang finally returned. But when he heard that his newlywed bride had been taken by someone from the martial world, his response was to keep everything quiet and under wraps.

　　The Shangshu Mansion adopted the same approach.

　　The very next day, Minister An quietly sent another one of his daughters to the Prince's Mansion as a sign of good faith between their families. As for the missing eldest daughter, An Jiu, both sides tacitly agreed to keep silent.

　　Even though no word was made public, the search continued behind the scenes.

　　After all, if word got out that the bride ran off right after her wedding, it would be scandalous.

　　With the combined efforts of Minister An and Ming Wang, they eventually managed to uncover a faint lead on Qiansha Pavilion, despite how well it had been concealed.

　　But just then, Master Fei Chen, the abbot of Wuyin Temple, unexpectedly appeared and handed several letters to the group.

　　It was that very day when An Jiu wrote each word of her official announcement letter.

　　Inside a certain inn room in the capital, four people sat around a table.

　　There was a girl in a green robe, a righteous and handsome young swordsman, a dashing nobleman in brocade, and a thin-faced monk in robes.

　　On the table in front of them lay four letters.

　　An Jiu had been thorough. She wrote a letter to every friend she knew. The contents of the letters were all more or less the same.

　　Lin Qingyan’s pretty face was tense. Suddenly, she said, “Something’s off. This isn’t right at all. There’s no way An Jiu likes Xian Wuming. The one she likes is Pei Ji! This letter has to be fake!”

　　Ming Yi nodded in agreement. “Exactly. Even if the handwriting is hers, the content definitely isn’t. She told me herself she liked Divine Doctor Pei.”

　　He Ziqing scratched his head, chiming in with something else. “Miss An used to stick close to me because she was afraid of getting kidnapped. From what we know about her, she’d never fall for someone like Xian Wuming.”

　　Fei Chen softly chanted “Amitabha” and said, “That is exactly what this humble monk wanted to tell all of you. Have you ever heard of the Love Gu? It’s possible that An Tanyue was afflicted with one by Xian Wuming, which would explain such a drastic change in her. I can’t bear to see her fall into a trap like this. I plan to head to Qiansha Pavilion and look into it myself.”

　　Ming Yi said, “I’ve heard of the Love Gu. They say once someone is afflicted with it, they’ll fall hopelessly in love with the person who used it on them.”

　　“In that case, should we leave now?” asked He Ziqing.

　　Lin Qingyan replied, “We’ve already pinpointed the general location, so let’s go. Pei Ji will meet up with us there.”

　　The moment she found out An Jiu had gone missing, Lin Qingyan sent a message to Pei Ji by carrier pigeon. But maybe because he had left in such a rush, she didn’t get a reply until the next day. In it, he said he was already on his way to rejoin them.

　　Because the situation was urgent, they didn’t wait for him to arrive. Instead, they just sent him the location so they could all meet up and head into the deadly formation that Master Fei Chen had warned them about.

　　Lin Qingyan couldn’t help but wonder what Pei Ji must be feeling right now.

　　He wasn’t in good health, so he shouldn’t be pushing himself too hard. What if his condition got worse?

　　If that happened, even if they managed to rescue An Jiu, she might not even want him anymore.

　　What she didn’t know, though, was that the Pei Ji she imagined rushing back without stopping was not actually on the road at all.

　　A cool breeze rustled through a quiet forest.

　　The man, dressed in dark robes, sat in a quiet pavilion, slowly placing a white jade piece onto the board between his slender fingers.

　　Across from him sat a stunning young girl, dressed in a soft pink gauze outfit the color of peach blossoms. Compared to usual, she looked a bit sweeter and more playful.

　　She rested her elbow on the table, her brows slightly furrowed as her pale fingers held onto a black piece, unsure of where to place it.

　　After a long pause, she pouted and huffed, “No, this won’t do. You’re bullying me! The moment you placed that piece, I had nowhere to go!”

　　The man gave a small smile at the corner of his lips and asked calmly, “So what are you going to do about it?”

　　The girl reached over, picked up the white piece he had just placed, and casually dropped it in another spot on the board. Instantly, the previously blocked path was clear again.

　　“Like this.”

　　The man slowly shook his head and said in a low voice, “That’s cheating.”

　　The girl blinked her bright eyes, a sly glint in them as she said, “I know. I need to bribe you, right?”

　　The man looked at her with deep black eyes and said nothing, but his silence seemed to give quiet permission.

　　Her cheeks flushed as she leaned forward slightly, bracing herself on the table and inching closer and closer to him. Her soft red lips lightly brushed his, barely a touch before pulling back again.

　　“Is that enough?” she asked after the ‘bribe,’ settling back in her seat, her face glowing with a shy smile. Her lashes fluttered down, her cheeks puffed out in a playful pout. “Let’s keep going. I’m ready. Your turn!”

　　Even though she kept losing, there wasn’t the slightest trace of frustration on the girl’s face—only shy delight and joy.

　　Pei Ji’s dark eyes were deep and unreadable.

　　So this is what she looks like when she loves someone.

　　His Adam’s apple moved slightly. Suddenly, he reached out, grabbed her arm, and pulled her straight into his arms.

　　She let out a startled yelp as she landed on his lap, but the next second, her cry was swallowed by his cool lips.

　　Unlike her soft and reserved kiss, his was heavy and intense, like a raging storm that came crashing down, as if he wanted to drown her completely in his world.

　　His breath was rough, and his long lashes cast a shadow that hid the deep obsession in his eyes.

　　And a flash of pain that passed too quickly to catch.

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