Chapter 58 058 I am her man, and this brat is my wife's sister.
The word "brother-in-law" boomed out, and a gust of cold wind swept through the courtyard.
Third Sister blinked, staring at the two who were petrified to varying degrees, completely bewildered.
In the darkness, Yue Hong's lips twitched subtly and suspiciously, but he quickly suppressed it and continued to act calm and composed.
Lu Yuanyuan snapped out of her daze, waving her hand with a wry smile, but then stopped, remembering something. Instead of correcting his way of addressing her, she changed the subject: "Have you eaten anything?"
Hearing Lu Yuanyuan's seemingly tacit agreement, Yue Hong's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced at her.
Third Sister twisted her fingers and shook her head honestly.
Lu Yuanyuan understood, took some food and a candlestick, and handed them to her over the wall, telling her to go inside. Third Sister thanked her, took the things, and went into the room next door.
After the small figure disappeared through the door, Lu Yuanyuan turned around, pulled Yue Hong, who had only said one sentence after his entrance and then inexplicably became mute, and said, "Let's go back inside and talk."
Once inside and the door closed, when it was just the two of them, Lu Yuanyuan explained the origins of Third Sister: "...That's how it is, I brought her here. However, she's essentially a stranger to both of us. Ever since you disappeared, there's been a massive search for you. They're mainly looking for a lone, injured young man. I think it's good to go along with it and let people misunderstand that you have a family, which will help conceal your identity and prevent you from attracting attention so easily. You don't mind, do you?"
Yue Hong poured himself a glass of cold water, drank it all in one gulp, and raised an eyebrow: "What you said makes a lot of sense. Why should I mind?"
Lu Yuanyuan breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "That's good."
Yue Hong gently stroked the porcelain cup with his fingertips: "We're leaving tomorrow. What are you going to do with that brat?"
Lu Yuanyuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "I want to take her to Xiangcheng."
Once they're gone, nothing will change. Chaos breeds wave after wave of villains, and isolated, vulnerable women will be exploited. Since we're already involved, we might as well see it through to the end.
She was well aware that this wasn't the only cruel thing in the world, and that there were many people like Third Sister. She couldn't control everyone; she could only do what she could.
Yue Hong paused for a moment: "Are you going to take her to your paradise later?"
To his surprise, Lu Yuanyuan shook her head: "No, just Xiangcheng. If she wants to go, I'll give her a ride. That child is an orphan, and she doesn't really have any relatives to rely on in Xiangcheng. But in that place, it's at least easier to find work and survive. But it's impossible for her to cross several mountains with wild animals and bandits to get to Xiangcheng by herself. Even if she travels with her family, many people die tragically. I want to build a bridge for her."
Yue Hong raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms: "If you insist on bringing it, I have no objection."
The next day, Lu Yuanyuan got up early and told San Niang her thoughts, asking if she was willing to go to Xiangcheng.
Third Sister was initially disappointed when she learned they were leaving. Upon hearing this, she became so excited that she could barely speak: "I want to go! I want to go!"
Lu Yuanyuan hummed in agreement: "I'll go back with you later to pack some luggage, we need to hurry."
Her original plan was to use her sword to take Yue Hong back to Xiangcheng. Yue Hong was in much better condition now, and she could take him along the steep shortcut, ending the journey in one day. But with an extra person on the side, she had to abandon her original plan.
Fortunately, not long after they set off, someone walked right into their line of fire.
Not long after they set off, as they passed through a desolate mountain valley, a group of armed men suddenly rushed out from all sides. A rough count revealed more than twenty of them, each with a fierce and menacing look, their blades covered in black blood clots, and they surrounded the three fat sheep.
The bandits, accustomed to killing, were unlike the local bullies who relied on their power to bully others. Their faces were smiling, but their eyes were cold, exuding a chilling, bloodthirsty aura. Third Sister trembled all over, and Yue Hong tensed, instinctively trying to shield the women behind him.
Lu Yuanyuan, however, turned the tables, pressing down on his arm and pushing him back: "Don't go, I'll do it."
The bandits were sharpening their knives, already planning to rob, rape, and kill. Suddenly, they saw the fairest and most beautiful woman among their three prey walk forward, seemingly unaware of her own mortality, as if she intended to fight them. After a moment of surprise, they all burst into wild laughter.
The two henchmen behind the leader laughed the loudest. But less than two seconds later, their laughter stopped abruptly—their boss, who had just been standing in front of them, was sliced in two by a sword flash, blood spurting several meters high.
Everyone's expression changed.
The woman didn't utter a single harsh word, nor did she show any fierce expression. Those who were close by didn't even see her movements clearly from beginning to end; they only felt a gentle breeze brush their faces, and their once lively and energetic leader was now a pile of dead flesh on the ground.
This filled them with disbelief and extreme fear. Someone reacted and roared, "All of you, attack together! Skin her alive to avenge our boss!"
Third Sister's eyes widened, and she was anxious to rush out. But Yue Hong grabbed her collar and said, "No need."
He had practiced martial arts since childhood and had grown up in the Imperial Guard and the army. With just one move, he could tell that these people were no match for Lu Yuanyuan.
Even he... was no longer her match.
Leaves fell in the forest, and before long, the vicious bandits were reduced to corpses scattered all over the ground.
Compared to the villagers who only bullied the weak, these mountain bandits made a living by robbing, were muscular, strong, and agile, and knew some martial arts. But Lu Yuanyuan still felt that it was effortless.
She had keen hearing and sharp eyes; the bandits' movements seemed sluggish to her. In battle, she even gradually realized that she could easily take them down, even unarmed.
Her main profession is alchemy cultivation, and she's already in this state. She can't imagine how monstrous and overwhelming a sword cultivator would be if they unleashed their power and went on a killing spree in this world.
Lu Yuanyuan sheathed her sword, closed her eyes, and calmed herself down; Lin Feng still smelled slightly of blood. She turned around and saw Yue Hong standing behind her, his expression a mixture of complex emotions and surprise, but without the fear one might expect from someone seeing a monster.
Third Sister stood there dumbfounded, her lips slightly parted, her eyes sparkling with surprise and admiration.
Yue Hong released his grip on San Niang's collar, kicked aside a head at his feet, and walked towards her without any change in expression: "Are you alright?"
Lu Yuanyuan paused, then her eyes crinkled into a smile: "It's nothing."
Since these bandits had delivered themselves to their doorstep, they naturally wouldn't let the opportunity to search for anything useful slip by. After looking around the ground, Third Sister pointed to a sword and said, "This sword has so many jewels, it's so beautiful."
Yue Hong glanced at it and scoffed, "It's inlaid with too many things; it's flashy but impractical."
From behind a grove of trees in the distance, Lu Yuanyuan's joyful voice suddenly rang out: "Come and see!"
The two hurried over and were both stunned—there was a carriage tied behind the tree! It must be the bandits' vehicle. The carriage was open-air and not luxurious, but with it, they could not only go faster, but also save energy.
Sure enough, the journey was much faster with a car.
Over the next two days, they encountered another bandit attack. Fortunately, Lu Yuanyuan cleared away the obstacles. Meanwhile, the road widened, and they encountered more and more people, all heading towards Xiangcheng. Most were on foot, and they only occasionally encountered people traveling by car.
With a day's journey remaining to Xiangcheng, a checkpoint appeared ahead, where soldiers inspected the civilians heading towards Xiangcheng. Lu Yuanyuan nudged Yue Hong with her elbow, gesturing for him to look at the squad leader, and whispered, "Do you know him?"
"Never seen it before."
After observing for a while at the back of the line, they found that the checkpoint was not very strict. Families were simply questioned a few times, their names recorded, and then let in. Only those entering the city alone or carrying weapons were questioned more thoroughly.
The seven-day danger period has now passed, and theoretically, even if their identities are discovered, nothing should happen. However, Yue Hong is clearly still very cautious. This place is very close to Xiangcheng, and he doesn't want anything to go wrong on the last leg of the journey, which Lu Yuanyuan understands. So, when they arrived at the checkpoint, and people asked about their relationship, Lu Yuanyuan put one arm around Third Sister and the other around Yue Hong's arm, and quickly introduced them, saying, "We're family."
The soldier didn't suspect anything and let them in. At the back was the registration office.
Yue Hong leaned close to her ear and whispered, "It's an order from the government. To avoid the disaster of the refugees, they need to record where the refugees came from."
Lu Yuanyuan nodded: "I see."
As they were talking, it was their turn in line. The person registering them wrote down Lu Yuanyuan's name and then asked, "Are those your man and your sister? What are their names?"
Yue Hong: "..."
The words "your man" are like an electric current running through the skin, sending a shiver down one's spine.
Lu Yuanyuan gave her name without blinking.
The more royal the surname, the less likely one is to reveal their real name. Fortunately, there are no ID cards here, so even if someone uses a false name, the locals cannot verify its authenticity.
The closer they got to Xiangcheng, the more checkpoints they encountered. They came across several, each with a similar procedure. At the second checkpoint, Lu Yuanyuan noticed that men were the ones registering at each household. She nudged Yue Hong and said, "Let's not be too conspicuous. This time, you go and speak. Don't be so formal. Just mimic their way of speaking and say, 'You're my man, and Third Sister is your wife's sister,' understand?"
Yue Hong: "..."
At first, it didn't flow smoothly, but after saying it several times, it became second nature. Finally, as dusk fell, they passed the last checkpoint, and the city gate lay in the distance.
People and carriages lined up in a long queue, moving slowly forward. Yue Hong casually propped his chin on his hand, his gaze unfocused, his eyes darting absently to the side.
Alongside their vehicle was another car, which looked much better than their shabby bandit's chariot. Inside sat a family of five, strangers, dressed neatly and cleanly; they appeared to be well-off people who had moved to Xiangcheng.
As Yue Hong sized them up, the other party also looked over.
The head of the family opposite was a middle-aged man. Seeing that Yue Hong, though dressed in simple clothes, possessed striking good looks—thick eyebrows, narrow eyes, and an extraordinary air—he didn't seem like an ordinary person. Lu Yuanyuan also showed no signs of hardship or displacement; they both appeared to be descendants of a once-prosperous family in distress. Furthermore, considering the city gate was far away and the wait would be long, he extended a gesture of goodwill, nodding and saying, "You three..."
Yue Hong: "Oh, I'm her man, and this brat is my wife's sister."
Lu Yuanyuan: "..."
The family of five in the car opposite: "..."
Lu Yuanyuan pinched his arm and said irritably, "Nobody asked you!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
