Chapter 25 Unexpected Events: Isn't this my long-lost fiancé?

A gourmet food festival? It sounded like a modern food festival. Yu Man was indeed tempted; this was a perfect opportunity to learn about the local cuisine and find inspiration. After a moment's thought, she nodded in agreement: "Thank you for informing me, Manager Li. I'll trouble you for a couple of days to broaden my horizons."

Seeing that things were going smoothly and that Yu Man was willing to stay, Steward Zhang cupped his hands and said, "In that case, Madam Yu, please stay here with peace of mind. I will return to the county to report to Master He. Once you have set your return date, you can send a letter to Zuixianlou, and we will arrange for carriages and horses to pick you up then."

After seeing Steward Zhang off, Yu Man felt much more relaxed. She stayed alone at the inn, and before the Appreciation of Treasures Gathering began, she remembered that Aunt Xiang had heard that she was going to the prefectural capital and that the Hidden Zen Temple there was very popular and efficacious, so she asked her to get some peace charms. Yu Man had never believed in these things before, but this experience of transmigrating into the book had completely made her believe in them.

It was better to be early than late, so she chose an early morning, hired a clean blue cloth cart, and drove out of the city gate toward the Buddhist temple in the mountains.

The Yinchan Temple was indeed quiet early in the morning, with only a few scattered worshippers and monks sweeping the grounds. Yu Man stepped onto the slightly damp stone steps, the air in the mountain forest fresh, carrying the scent of sandalwood and vegetation. She reached the temple in one breath, only slightly out of breath. Indeed, she had been doing a lot of work these days, and her health had improved. In the past, she would have collapsed about halfway up the mountain.

I remember when I was thirteen, people said that if you grow thinner, you will lose weight. But Yu Man held her slightly round face and let out her twenty-third sigh of the day.

"well--"

The book turned a page. Pei Ji, who was sitting by the window reading, finally dared to look up, his gaze passing over the edge of the page.

"What's wrong?" His voice was gentle, like jade that had been soaked in spring water.

Yu Man turned around, looking unusually worried: "Aunt Xiang said I've lost weight lately and that I'm probably weak. But look at my face, I'm still quite plump."

She stretched out her wrist, revealing a section of her snow-white wrist. Pei Ji put down his book and walked over, naturally and gently placing his hand on her wrist.

He was well-read and had also learned some pharmacology from the village doctor, so he could diagnose headaches and fevers to some extent.

"Your pulse is steady, it's just spring drowsiness and autumn fatigue, nothing unusual." He withdrew his hand. "But there is indeed a way to make you stronger and your face thinner."

"What method?" Yu Man's eyes lit up.

But to her utter surprise, the method he suggested was boxing.

Before dawn, she leaned against the window, still sleepy, and looked out for a while before giving up. Sleeping a little longer was better than anything else.

Pei Ji didn't say anything, but the next day, after she got up early to go to the teahouse to listen to the storyteller all day and caught a cold, he stuffed her with a lot of so-called nourishing medicinal food, all sorts of random things, but they all had one thing in common: they were so bitter that they made people's faces contort.

Yu Man tried to escape by throwing herself into someone's arms, but the man held her tightly in his arms and said without changing his expression, "Otherwise, you should practice the Five Animal Frolics."

Petty.

Thinking of the past, Yu Man couldn't help but offer a sharp critique. He looked up at the Buddhist temple; the gate wasn't grand, and the vermilion paint was somewhat faded, yet it possessed a solemn and dignified air, as if stripped of all artifice. The lingering echo of the morning bell seemed to still resonate in the upturned eaves, and the air was filled with the scent of incense.

Several devout old monks were slowly sweeping in front of the hall. She first went to the main hall and offered three sticks of incense before the solemn Buddha statue. The wisps of smoke blurred her serene features. She knelt on the prayer mat, clasped her hands together, and silently prayed for everything to go smoothly.

One should not be too greedy. After praying for peace, she did not ask for wealth. But then she suddenly thought of something and stopped in her tracks as she was about to get up.

After a brief internal struggle, she finally cursed herself for being spineless, closed her eyes again, and obediently knelt back down.

After she finished praying, she got up and found the monk in charge of the matter in the hall. He was a kind-looking middle-aged monk.

“Master, I would like to request four peace talismans,” Yu Man said.

"Amitabha, please come with me, female benefactor." The guest monk led her to the side and took out several bright yellow talismans folded into triangles, with intricate scriptures drawn on them in cinnabar.

Yu Man took the three talismans belonging to her father, Aunt Xiang, and Xiu Xiu and carefully put them away close to her body. When it came to the fourth talisman, she hesitated for a moment, her fingertips tracing over it before casually placing it into the other lining of her sleeve pocket.

Then, she took out a purse containing loose silver coins that she had prepared beforehand and respectfully placed it into the donation box inside the hall as an offering. The coins fell to the bottom of the box with a dull thud. She had donated a considerable amount, and since her food stall was profitable, she had been quite generous.

Having done all this, she nodded slightly to the guest monk and then turned and walked out of the main hall. The sky outside had darkened considerably, and a mountain breeze was picking up, carrying a damp chill; rain was clearly imminent. A young novice monk, seeing this, kindly stepped forward: "Madam, it looks like it's going to rain. The temple has spare oil-paper umbrellas; perhaps you could wait a moment while I fetch one?"

Yu Man looked up at the sky and politely declined, saying, "Thank you, young master, but there's no need to trouble yourself. I have an umbrella with me." She patted the cloth bag she carried with her, inside which was the ink umbrella.

Seeing that she was prepared, the young novice monk did not insist further, but simply put his hands together and said, "In that case, please be careful on your journey, benefactor, the mountain road is slippery in the rain."

Yu Man thanked her and then descended the mountain along the same path she had come from. When she reached the halfway point, she saw a pavilion for people to rest in. Just as she was about to go in and sit for a while to eat some dry food, she paused, noticing a faint, metallic smell.

Having killed too many chickens recently, she suddenly realized what was happening.

It smells like blood!

How could there be a smell of blood in a Buddhist sanctuary?

Yu Man's heart skipped a beat. Pretending to remember something, she planned to casually pick up the open umbrella and turn away from this place of trouble.

However, the instant she moved slightly, a chilling touch unexpectedly pressed against her slender neck! It was the sharp edge of a short blade!

"Don't move!" A rough, deep male voice came from behind. The man's chest was pressed against her back, rising and falling, and the strong smell of blood was coming from him; he was clearly badly injured.

At the same time, from the dense forest beside them, more than a dozen black figures darted out like ghosts, moving swiftly and silently. They stopped a dozen paces outside the pavilion, forming a semi-encirclement, their gazes fixed on Yu Man and the people behind her. Each of them had a calm demeanor and sharp eyes, clearly well-trained, and their faces were obscured by black masks.

Yu Man froze on the spot, the icy touch on her neck making her scalp tingle and her heart pound like a drum. She dared not make a sound, fearing that if she was not careful, the person behind her would make a move and she would lose her life here.

The thug who had kidnapped her shouted again, his voice hoarse from his injuries: "Back off! Take another step forward, and I'll kill her right now!"

The dozens of dark figures neither retreated nor approached further, remaining like shadows sinking into the ground. After a moment, the leader's emotionless eyes swept over Yu Man, finally landing on the person behind her, his voice cold and hard: "Speak, who sent you?"

The thug sneered, perhaps driven to desperation, his words growing more verbose, his tone laced with mockery and resentment: "Ha... I never expected that a mere good-for-nothing prince would have such skilled men under his command..."

He squinted, as if trying to identify the ghostly figures, when suddenly a thought struck him: "No, you are..."

The leader didn't let him waste any more words, and directly raised his hand, making an extremely subtle gesture.

"call out--!"

A very faint whooshing sound came from some unknown corner!

Yu Man only heard a muffled groan from the assassin who had kidnapped her behind her. The grip on her neck suddenly loosened, and the heavy, blood-stained body slumped backward with a thud, falling to the ground without moving again. She didn't know whether he was dead or alive.

Two ghostly figures immediately stepped forward, one on each side, and lifted the assassin up with clean and swift movements.

Then everyone's gaze fell on Yu Man, devoid of any human warmth. One of them, without hesitation, drew his sword with a clang. The gleaming blade flashed coldly in the gloomy sky, his intentions clear—to act discreetly, he needed to eliminate the witness.

Yu Man's heart tightened. The words caught in her throat, her voice trembling slightly with nervousness, yet she struggled to remain clear: "Heroes, spare me! I was just passing by to offer incense; I saw nothing, I heard nothing!" She lowered her head, her body trembling slightly, displaying a fear born of unfamiliarity, while her peripheral vision darted along the path outside, hoping someone might pass by...

The man in black who had drawn his sword remained unmoved, slightly raising the blade.

At this critical moment—

"Clang..."

The deep, resonant sound of the bell from Yinchan Temple pierced through the increasingly dense rain, coming from the mountaintop and echoing through the forest.

The leader of the men in black raised his hand to stop his subordinates. He glanced in the direction from which the bell tolled, then at Yu Man, and made his decision: "Take him to the dungeon first. The rest of you, come with me to report to our lord."

Two men in black immediately stepped forward and unceremoniously grabbed Yu Man. She dared not struggle and let them carry her, turning around and heading towards a more secluded path that was opposite to the way down the mountain.

Before being taken away, she subconsciously glanced in the direction the group of ghostly figures had gone. Not far away, she saw an exquisite villa built against the mountain. At the entrance, several figures bowed respectfully, the ghostly figures blending into the crowd, bowing to the person in the center. The man was tall and slender, wearing a dark blue cloak, and exuded an air of refined nobility.

Even through the rain, even though it was just a silhouette.

Yu Man's pupils suddenly contracted, and then she fell silent, her original intention to take the opportunity to escape disappearing.

The man in black didn't know why she suddenly became obedient, assuming she had resigned herself to her fate. Although the leader had arranged for her to go to the dungeon, as the saying goes, no one who has been to the dungeon has ever come out alive. It was a pity, such a good young woman, it's just that her fate was a bit unfortunate.

Little did they know that Yu Man clicked her tongue in a rather sarcastic tone as she looked at the electronic pet in her mind:

[Heh. Little Commander, look at that lord over there... doesn't his back look familiar?]

The system was about to remind Pei Ji of his appearance and, while it was at it, add fuel to the fire and persuade the host.

[Isn't this my ex-fiancé, who supposedly 'went back to the academy,' but then disappeared without a trace, and now has a mistress showing up at my door?]

...

System: [...Who called me Little Commander?! And calm down, don't touch the boning knife in the bag! Remember you're a prisoner now!! Eh—]

It doesn't want to die yet.

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Author's Note: Updates will resume at 9 AM tomorrow! A huge thank you to everyone for your support and encouragement! I'll try my best to update more often! I've read all the comments, and I'll revise any inconsistencies. Thank you again! [hugs]