Chapter 12: Offering oneself in return?
Before Li Minghua could offer another word of dissuasion, the situation inside the alley suddenly changed.
The head servant had clearly lost his patience. His face contorted with rage, he cursed, and reached out menacingly to snatch the purse the woman was clutching tightly to her chest: "You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!"
Just as the servant's rough fingers were about to touch the woman's arm and purse, Li Minghua moved.
She didn't even touch the sword at her waist; her figure was like a silent lightning bolt, and in an instant, she had already cut into the narrow alley, precisely cutting between the woman and the servant.
Her movements were so fast that they left only a blurry indigo afterimage.
With a seemingly casual flick of the wrist, slender fingers precisely gripped a certain acupoint on the servant's thick wrist.
"Ouch—!" The servant felt a sharp, tingling sensation shoot from his wrist straight up his entire arm, and half of his body lost its strength.
The excruciating pain caused him to let out a bloodcurdling scream, and his outstretched hand recoiled as if burned. He clutched his wrist with his other hand, his face deathly pale, and cold sweat pouring down his face.
The other two servants were stunned by their companion's screams, but quickly recovered and cursed, "You're asking for death!" and "Where did this filthy woman come from!"
They lunged at Li Minghua, their faces contorted with rage, and brandished their fists.
Li Minghua didn't even bother to glance at them out of the corner of his eye.
Her footwork was agile and unpredictable, like a willow swaying through flowers, and she moved freely in the narrow space.
Two extremely faint, crisp sounds, like patting dust, were heard almost simultaneously.
No one saw exactly how she made her move. They only saw the two servants who rushed at them stagger backward as if they were drunk. One of them clutched his arm joint and staggered back, while the other was pushed away by a clever force, and the two collided hard.
They tumbled together with a cry of "Ouch!" and were completely disoriented, unable to get up.
The whole process took only a few breaths.
The three menacing men couldn't even touch a single hem of Li Minghua's clothes before they were staggering and completely incapacitated.
Only the servants' wails and heavy breathing remained in the alley.
Tang Xiaoning stared wide-eyed at the alley entrance, her mouth slightly agape.
Last time, at least I could see the thief's movements when he caught him, but this time it was simply divine intervention.
The next second, she was so excited she almost jumped up, clapping her little hands vigorously. The crisp applause was particularly loud in the alley, and her face showed undisguised admiration and pride.
"Great! That's awesome! Minghua is amazing! So cool! This is my heroine!"
This clean, crisp, and fluid skill is a million times more elegant and exhilarating than those fancy moves in storybooks!
The woman in plain clothes who was being protected behind Li Minghua was also stunned. She even forgot to cry and stared blankly at the woman in blue who had suddenly descended like a god and shielded her from all the storms.
Li Minghua stood tall and calm against the dim light filtering in from the alley entrance, as if the thunderous strike had merely brushed away a speck of dust.
Through the woman's blurry, tearful eyes, Li Minghua's figure appeared incredibly tall and reliable, like a god.
After resolving the trouble, Li Minghua didn't even bother to glance at the three groaning, disheveled servants on the ground, treating them as nothing more than a few eyesores that could still make noise.
She turned nimbly to face the still-shaken woman in plain clothes, her tone as calm as ever, revealing no emotion: "They can't move for now, you should leave quickly."
Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a reassuring power.
Only then did Liu Yiyi seem to be startled awake by those words, and she suddenly came to her senses.
Overwhelmed by gratitude and lingering fear, her legs gave way and she collapsed heavily to her knees on the hard stone slab with a thud.
She kowtowed repeatedly to Li Minghua, the sound of her forehead hitting the ground clearly audible: "Thank you, heroine! Thank you, heroine, for saving my life! I, Liu Yiyi, have no way to repay you... I have no way to repay you!"
Her voice choked with emotion, trembling with the shock of surviving a disaster.
"Oh dear, get up quickly! The ground is so cold!" Tang Xiaoning quickly ran over, bent down, and reached out to help Liu Yiyi up.
"There's really no need for such a grand gesture! It's only right to help those in need!" Her face radiated a sense of pride, as if she herself had just stepped forward, her tone light and tinged with a touch of self-satisfaction.
However, Liu Yiyi stubbornly refused to get up. She raised her head, her eyes filled with tears, and teardrops still clung to her long eyelashes.
Her gaze was fixed on Li Minghua, her eyes filled with gratitude that was almost overflowing, but deeper still, there was a burning light of almost fanatical worship, as if she had seen a god in her faith.
"This heroine possesses unparalleled martial arts skills and such a kind heart. Today, she saved Yiyi's life and also protected the money for my mother's life-saving medicine..."
Her voice choked with emotion, yet she spoke with unparalleled clarity and sincerity: "This kindness and virtue is like being given a second life! Yiyi... Yiyi is willing to serve you like a slave, to repay your immense kindness and virtue!"
Every word was resounding, conveying an undeniable determination.
Li Minghua felt uneasy at the sudden and overly formal thanks, and at the gaze that was so intense it seemed to pierce through her.
She subconsciously took a half step back, her brows furrowing slightly, her tone distant: "No need. It's nothing."
She is used to solving problems, but not to dealing with such overwhelming emotional feedback.
"It's just a small favor for the heroine, but for Yiyi, it's a life-saving grace!" Liu Yiyi said resolutely, her gaze even more determined, even with a hint of pleading.
"Please, heroine, take Yiyi in! I can do all the rough and tiring work, from washing clothes and cooking to serving tea and water and making beds!"
"I only wish to stay by the heroine's side, serve her daily, and repay her kindness!"
As she spoke, she leaned forward slightly, as if trying to grab the hem of Li Minghua's clothes.
At first, Tang Xiaoning thought the girl was grateful and knew how to repay kindness, which was a good thing.
But the more I listened, the more something seemed off.
To be treated like a beast of burden? To serve you day and night?
Isn't this way of repaying a debt of gratitude a bit too personal and specific?
A subtle, inexplicable unease crept into my heart like a tiny insect.
She subconsciously turned to look at Li Minghua, her eyes filled with a question and a hint of nervousness that she herself was unaware of.
Li Minghua had clearly never encountered such a passionate way of repaying a debt of gratitude before, and his brows furrowed even more.
She could easily defeat a bully with a single sword strike, but when faced with this tearful and sincere "entanglement," she found it more troublesome than dealing with ten masters.
“I don’t need anyone to wait on me.” She refused again, her tone more forceful than before. “You can go and settle in yourself.”
“Heroine…” Liu Yiyi’s tears welled up again instantly, rolling down like beads from a broken string. “Does the heroine find Yiyi clumsy and unfit for service?”
Or...or do you still think that Yiyi's humble origins make her unworthy to serve as a female knight-errant?
Her voice trembled, filled with despair and helplessness at being rejected: "If the heroine refuses to take me in, Yiyi... Yiyi, with my ailing mother, truly doesn't know where to go to make a living..."
As she spoke, she covered her face and began to sob softly, her shoulders trembling, looking utterly pitiful.
Li Minghua: "..."
She was completely speechless, and only felt a dull ache in her temple.
This situation is a real headache.
She looked at Tang Xiaoning for help.
Looking at Liu Yiyi's pitiful, tearful appearance, and then at Li Minghua's troubled expression that seemed to say "this is a hundred times more troublesome than fighting," Tang Xiaoning's subtle displeasure swelled into a clear sense of irritation.
This girl, while grateful, why is she also resorting to moral blackmail and relentless pestering?
She cleared her throat, took half a step forward, and subtly blocked Liu Yiyi's eager gaze towards Li Minghua.
She tried to keep her tone gentle: "Miss Liu, Lady Li... she is aloof and prefers to be alone. She really doesn't like having anyone around to serve her."
She paused, then took out her delicate purse from her sleeve, took out a small silver ingot, and handed it over, her tone as forthright as a landlord's:
"How about this? Take this money and go get your mother her medicine. The most important thing is to use the rest of the money to find a safe place to settle down and take good care of your mother. What do you say?"
She tried to solve the problem in the most practical way, while also drawing a clear line.
Liu Yiyi didn't even glance at the silver ingot, stubbornly shaking her head. Her gaze bypassed Tang Xiaoning, remaining fixed on Li Minghua's cold face, like a drowning person clinging to a piece of driftwood.
"A debt of gratitude is as high as a mountain, how can it be measured by such mundane things as money? Yiyi only wants to repay the heroine herself, she has no other requests."
Her eyes held an almost obsessive persistence.
Li Minghua felt a chill run down her spine from that gaze and just wanted to get out of this suffocating vortex of gratitude as soon as possible.
She rubbed her aching temples and reluctantly conceded, "...Get up."
After Liu Yiyi obediently and expectantly stood up, she quickly continued, wanting to end the conversation as soon as possible: "In the future... if you ever encounter difficulties and have nowhere to go, you can come to... the Tang residence in the west of the city to find me."
She thought to herself that giving her an address to appease her was better than letting her follow her all the way back to the Tang residence.
Liu Yiyi's dim eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had heard heavenly music.
Her voice trembled with excitement as she repeatedly bowed to Li Minghua, saying, "Thank you so much, heroine! Thank you for your kindness, heroine!"
We will never forget the heroine's great kindness!
After Yiyi has settled her mother, she will definitely go to your residence to express her gratitude to the heroine!
She carefully repeated the four characters "Tang Mansion in the West of the City" to herself several times, afraid of forgetting them, before leaving with endless gratitude and longing, turning back every few steps.
Watching Liu Yiyi's figure disappear at the alley entrance, and then catching a glimpse of the three servants supporting each other, grimacing and staggering away, Tang Xiaoning finally breathed a long sigh of relief and patted her chest.
"My God," she muttered exaggeratedly in a low voice, nudging Li Minghua, who looked exhausted as if he had just gone through a great battle, with her elbow.
“Hey, Minghua, what if she really settles down and comes knocking on your door, crying and begging to repay you like a slave? What are you going to do?”
You can't really expect her to bring you water to wash your feet, can you?
There was a hint of probing in her tone, perhaps even she herself didn't realize it.
Li Minghua put down his hand that was rubbing his temples, his eyes still showing a trace of lingering trouble and confusion, and his breath carried a hint of helplessness: "We'll talk about it later."
She paused, looked at Tang Xiaoning, her clear eyes filled with genuine confusion, like that of a naive child:
"I just don't understand... why would someone be willing to sell themselves into slavery for the rest of their life for such a small favor?"
In her view, protecting the weak is a moral obligation in the world, but to be willing to be a slave or servant and be bound for life because of this is a logic that she finds hard to understand.
Looking at Li Minghua's pure and unadulterated expression of confusion, Tang Xiaoning's earlier annoyance and subtle displeasure caused by Liu Yiyi's persistence suddenly dissipated.
Instead, she burst out laughing.
"Pfft—my great heroine Li!" She smiled, her eyes crinkling, and unceremoniously took Li Minghua's arm, leading her out of the alley as they walked, laughing as they went.
"This is called 'a life-saving grace that cannot be repaid, so one can only repay it with one's body.'"
Nine and a half out of ten storybooks are written like this.
Looks like you really don't understand these worldly customs! Hahaha!
The laughter was crisp and clear, tinged with teasing and intimacy.
"Offer yourself in return?" Li Minghua turned his head slightly, repeated the word, and his handsome eyebrows furrowed tightly into a "川" shape.
Her confusion deepened, even turning into disapproval: "It's utterly absurd. Marriage is a lifelong matter; how can it be decided hastily based on a momentary favor? Absurd."
Her assessment was resolute, carrying the straightforwardness of a martial artist and a complete rejection of this logic.
"Yes, yes, absurd! Our heroine Minghua is the most clear-headed and understands this!" Tang Xiaoning laughed even more heartily.
Her body unconsciously moved closer to Li Minghua, and she took her arm and swayed it gently, as if comforting a clueless child:
"Anyway, remember this: next time you encounter a heroic act of saving a damsel in distress, after you've saved her, grab me and run without saying a word!"
Do not leave your name, and definitely do not leave your address! Got it?
Otherwise, you could easily fall for a girl who's "fiery and passionate"! Got it?
She shared her "experience" in a half-truthful manner.
Li Minghua nodded in deep agreement, his brows revealing a serious expression of "I've learned something": "Yes, I've got it."
Silently, she added another striking rule to the ever-evolving "code of conduct for the underworld" in her heart: [Rescue and leave immediately, leaving no future trouble].
The two walked out of the dimly lit alley side by side, once again bathed in the warm and gentle afterglow of the setting sun.
Tang Xiaoning was still chattering away, analyzing Liu Yiyi's overly intense gaze and motives, her tone relaxed.
Li Minghua listened silently, his steps matching the rhythm around him, feeling the warmth and weight on his arms.
However, no matter how warm and peaceful the sunset was at that moment, none of them expected that some seemingly escaped "aftereffects" could not be avoided at all.
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