Chapter 462: Chapter 451: Top Scorer from a Farming Family
Ye Qiu was still unaware that his younger sister had become a candidate for concubine, and was burying himself in his studies. If he knew, he would definitely keep Xiuying away from Xia Yu; once one enters the depths of the palace gates, life there is not so easy.
Meanwhile, as he devoted himself solely to reading the saintly books, his sister Xiuying in the suburbs of the capital had saved someone she should not have—the person was none other than Xiao He, also the previous master of the peach garden.
Having once again destroyed a liaison point of the Cult, Xiao He was retaliated against by the Cult, and lost contact with his subordinates. In a panicked state, he stumbled upon this place.
"I entreat you, Miss, to take my token and run a message to the Zhongyong Marquis Mansion." Xiao He clutched his bleeding shoulder, his face pale and weak as he spoke to Xiutong.
However, Xiutong did not accept the request immediately but instead questioned, "Will I be in danger if I do this?"
Xiao He had not expected Xiutong to ask such a question. Wouldn’t a normal young lady be startled upon seeing his condition and then, with a sympathetic heart, rush to inform his family?
But clearly, the Xiutong he encountered was not an ordinary girl; according to Ye Qiu’s instructions, no matter what happened, her first priority was to ensure her own safety.
So, after a moment of silence, Xiao He finally said, "There may be some danger, but please trust me, I am not a bad person. The Zhongyong Marquis Mansion is my home; I am seriously injured and must be treated immediately."
Xiutong frowned and looked annoyed at Xiao He, this big trouble, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch him die here. Better to go find her older brother!
"Xiaoqing, I remember there’s a servant in the manor who has picked herbs before, go find him to bandage this person, and then inform my brother to come here," she spoke.
Hearing Xiutong say this, Xiao He’s expression became anxious: "Miss, I won’t die from my wounds for the time being, but if my family is not notified in time, we won’t be able to withstand those Cult people if they come."
"Shut up." Xiutong glared at him, "How do I know if you’re a good person or a bad one? We’ll wait for my brother to decide."
Xiao He was desperately anxious, and under the stress of his excitement, his serious injuries caused him to faint. Xiutong lifted her skirt and left; her brother had said not to stay in a room with a stranger, especially a strange man.
Upon receiving the message from the manor, Ye Qiu rushed there without delay, his throat tight with worry, fearing that members of the Cult mentioned by the man might break into the peach garden and harm Xiutong.
Fortunately, when he arrived, everything at the manor was safe, and soon the doctor he called for arrived and confirmed that the man had sustained serious knife wounds and had lost a lot of blood before fainting.
"All is well, then. Xiutong, you go rest. Your brother will watch over here," Ye Qiu instructed.
After Xiutong left, he squinted at the unconscious man on the bed. The man claimed to be from the Zhongyong Marquis Mansion. Ye Qiu did not hold much suspicion, for the Zhongyong Marquis Mansion had a long history of loyalty and integrity, and its influence was significant; it seemed unlikely that anyone would dare to impersonate them. He had heard that the current Marquis was only twenty years old, which matched the age of the man before him. However, for a Marquis to fall to such a state was almost unbelievable!
Indeed, it was Xiao He who had been careless this time. Relying on his rebirth, he judged the situation based on rumors from his previous life. Unbeknownst to him, by the time those rumors reached his ears, they had already passed through several mouths, warping the information, resulting in his subordinates being scattered and himself being seriously injured.
In a daze, Xiao He sensed an intense gaze upon him and woke up in alarm.
"Who are you?" He asked cautiously upon seeing Ye Qiu’s extraordinary demeanor.
"Ye Qiu, the owner of this manor," Ye Qiu answered simply before asking in return, "My sister mentioned you asked her to send a message to the Zhongyong Marquis Mansion. May I know your relation to the Zhongyong Marquis Mansion?"
"I am..." Xiao He was about to speak when he suddenly saw Ye Qiu’s expression become very serious.
"Some uninvited guests have arrived outside, and they are probably here for you." Ye Qiu gave Xiao He a deep look, feeling that today’s manor had truly attracted a big trouble, thankfully his second sister had notified him in time.
"Hurry, I’m injured. We are no match for them," Xiao He said anxiously.
"It’s you, not us," Ye Qiu corrected him, then was very glad that he had chosen the Level 8 Body Refining Technique when he had rushed to this world, and he had also never stopped practicing it over the years.
Hm?
Xiao He didn’t understand what Ye Qiu meant and was momentarily confused, then he followed while dragging his seriously injured body, thinking no matter what, it was he who had led these Cult members here, and he couldn’t let innocent people get hurt. If he could stall for even a moment, it was worth it!
"The person you are looking for is me, don’t hurt innocent people." Xiao He stepped forward with his serious injuries, but upon clearly seeing the situation in front of him, he quickly closed his mouth because of his own ignorance.
He finally understood what Ye Qiu had meant earlier; just because he couldn’t beat them didn’t mean others couldn’t. At least, not when those Cult followers who had previously inflicted serious injuries on him ganged up on Ye Qiu and Ye Mei to their own advantage.
He let out a light breath and, seeing that Ye Qiu indeed had strength to spare, weakly leaned against a pillar, yet his heart was filled with confusion.
Since when did the Tianlin Dynasty have such a formidable expert? Why had he never heard of this person in his previous life?
But that’s also right, after all, he had been reborn, so it was not impossible for someone who had not appeared before to suddenly emerge. Moreover, he had checked the other person’s identity, the background was clean, just that there was no way to find out where he had learned such martial arts skills from.
After fighting for an hour, Ye Qiu had subdued the group of Cult followers. If it weren’t for not wanting to harm lives and cause more trouble, he could have been even faster.
Watching Ye Qiu maintain his elegance after the fight, Xiao He couldn’t help but question if he had been living in vain all these years.
"Thank you, Young Master Ye," Xiao He expressed his gratitude by clasping his fists in salute.
Although the other party was a Marquis, was it right for him to know that since he knew? As Ye Qiu accepted it calmly, troubles were originally caused by him, could there still be a need for him to show such formality?
Therefore, Ye Qiu was also unreserved: "I hope this matter won’t bring trouble to me and my sister."
"Definitely," Xiao He promised Ye Qiu.
Because the city gates were already closed, it was only the next day that Ye Qiu and others managed to contact people from the Zhongyong Marquis Mansion. Xiao He thanked them again, and even left several guards to ensure the peach garden’s safety. Even so, Ye Qiu did not return to the city, and he would not feel at ease leaving Xiutong alone in the suburbs until this matter was completely resolved.
After Xiao He returned, he first took these Cult followers to the Jingzhao Yin, then dispatched two people to continue investigating Ye Qiu’s background thoroughly, as he did not believe that someone with such superb martial arts skills had previously shown no signs at all.
However, it was clear that he was doomed to failure. The fact that Ye Qiu exercised his martial arts was not a secret in Ye Village, but no one knew where he had learned these skills from, and Xiao He’s people would come up with nothing even after looking into it.