Chapter 89 World Three [3]
The new butler's reaction speed was very fast, but Master Luo San, who was entertaining guests and building connections, could not extricate himself immediately.
So when he brought a large group of people to the mourning hall, Jing Ke had already completed the worship process and told his identity to several friends who had worked closely with Mr. Luo.
"Brother Luo is a kind-hearted person. Every time I encounter difficulties and ask him for help, he always comes to help me without saying a word." Mr. Luo's old friend sighed with some relief in his eyes.
Businessmen like them, who traveled extensively throughout the country, naturally saw that Third Master Luo had ill intentions, but they also couldn't deny that Third Master Luo and Mr. Luo were related by blood. Even if Third Master Luo wasn't favored by Mr. Luo, it didn't affect their inclusion in the same family tree.
No matter how good their relationship with Mr. Luo is, they can only be considered outsiders at this time. It is not convenient for them to interfere too much, otherwise they will be criticized.
Jing Ke nodded, agreeing with what this old friend Mr. Luo said.
"Lady, may I ask who you are..." After seeing an outsider chatting happily with the people he was wary of, Master Luo San could no longer hold back and immediately stepped forward to interrupt their conversation.
Jing Ke glanced at Master Luo San indifferently, her eyes lingering for a moment on his overly shrewd ones, and then she looked away, treating him as if he were air.
This made Master Luo San feel a little embarrassed. He had heard from his servants that the man was a man of the underworld with a bad temper, but he seemed to have not shown anything yet? Did the other party just ignore him?
Luo Yuezhu couldn't help laughing in her heart, and there was a hint of smartness in her eyes.
"Miss Jing, he's my distant cousin. Even though my father severed ties with him six years ago, my third cousin rushed back with a bunch of people after hearing about my father's death, bringing some life back to our home, which originally only had Xiaomu and me."
Luo Yuezhu spoke calmly. It seemed like a normal introduction, but if you savored it carefully, you would find that every sentence was filled with deep meaning.
Jing Ke nodded after hearing this, "I see."
However, Jing Ke only responded to Luo Yuezhu and still ignored Master Luo San who was standing aside.
"Yuezhu, who is this Miss Jing? I don't think I have seen her in the past few days." Master Luo San did not dare to provoke Jing Ke, who had a long sword hanging on her waist, and could only choose to communicate with his nominal niece.
"Third cousin, this is a good friend that dad met two years ago. She came here as fast as she could after hearing the news, but the journey is long, so she only arrived today." Luo Yuezhu said.
"Oh, is it the friend that big brother met two years ago? Why didn't Yuezhu tell me earlier? I should have treated Miss Jing well." Master Luo San quickly adjusted his state and wanted to seize the initiative.
"Why should I tell you? Who are you?" Jing Ke asked back, taking over the conversation.
"Who am I? Didn't Yuezhu introduce me just now? I am her cousin. I came here specially to help her. Otherwise, what if she is a little girl and gets bullied?" said Master Luo San.
"I know you're very sad, Yuezhu, but you can't stay here all night. Big brother and sister-in-law wouldn't want to see you like this. If I hadn't sent you back to rest, you wouldn't know when you passed out."
Master Luo San acted like an elder, saying that Luo Yuezhu was young and ignorant, and that something would have happened long ago if it weren't for him.
Luo Yuezhu had heard these words many times, but the other party was holding on to her status as an elder, so she couldn't refute too fiercely, otherwise she would really become an ignorant child.
"Really? But why did I hear that the person who bullied Miss Luo was you?" Jing Ke understood the twists and turns in the story, but she didn't want to waste time arguing with Mr. Luo San, so she tore off his hypocritical mask in public.
"To be honest, during the time I was taken in by Mr. Luo, I heard people in the caravan gossiping about a distant cousin of Mr. Luo's. They said he was heartless and calculating, and that he was also a bully at home, submissive to others but aggressive at home."
"If I'm not mistaken, those people who are heartless and calculating should be you, right?" Jing Ke took a step forward. With her upright posture, she was even a finger joint taller than Master Luo San.
"So, you, the one who was kicked out six years ago, are now bringing a bunch of people to occupy Mr. Luo's house. What do you want to do? Are you trying to take over Miss Luo's house by bullying her because she's young and trying to steal her property?"
Jing Ke's voice was low, but every word was clear and powerful enough for everyone present to hear.
Mr. Luo San thought he was a thick-skinned man, but in this situation where he was almost being pointed at and scolded, his face couldn't help but turn red. He kept saying "you, you, yours" and couldn't say a word of rebuttal for a long time.
"I'm a rough man who practices martial arts. Since I promised Mr. Luo that I would take care of his family for three years, I will stay by Miss Luo's side for the next three years."
Jing Ke paused and said, "I will not allow anyone to bully or hurt Miss Luo. If I find out, my solution is very simple. That is to eliminate all those who pose a threat."
"You should understand what I mean by clearing it out, right?" Jing Ke looked at Mr. Luo San with an indifferent expression. "You should be thankful that Mr. Luo has not yet been buried. I have no intention of seeing blood in his mourning hall, otherwise..."
Jing Ke left the last half of the sentence unsaid, but her tone and gesture were enough to explain everything.
If Mr. Luo and others had not been buried yet, she would have picked up her sword and chopped off Mr. Luo's head.
This threat is too direct, but also too effective, which is consistent with the general public's habitual thinking about people in the underworld.
They would attack at the first sign of disagreement, and kill without hesitation or regret.
Master Luo San was obviously intimidated, but being a calculating man, he did have a backup plan. Thinking of the fact that he had already sent people to deliver a large sum of money to the masters of Sihai Pavilion in advance, he quickly cheered up again.
"The innocent will be innocent. I don't know where you heard these rumors from. Please don't forget that the masters of the Wulin Alliance and the Sihai Pavilion are also present. It is too inappropriate for you to say this in front of them, right?" Master Luo San said, and quickly looked for someone he thought was his backer among the crowd.
Yu Buduo from the Wulin Alliance was indeed still at the scene, but he had already witnessed how powerful Jing Ke was. Even when he met Master Luo San's gaze, he remained silent and simply ignored his presence.
The experts from Sihai Pavilion originally planned to just make a formality and would leave the day after tomorrow at the latest. They had no intention of interfering in such family affairs.
But when he thought about the banknotes given by Mr. Luo San in his arms, he could not continue to pretend to be dead after being named, so he could only walk out of the crowd.
"Young man, if you have something to say, please say it nicely. There's no need to be so direct right away." There were also two people coming from Sihai Pavilion. They looked a little older than Yu Buduo, and their attitude when speaking was more smooth.
This is normal. Those who are sent to local areas for investigation are generally the lowest-level masters of the Sihai Pavilion. In terms of official rank, they are only at the eighth rank, which is slightly higher than the local ninth-rank constable.
"Master Luo San may just want to help Miss Luo. Young man, you can't take what you hear from others seriously. You should investigate it." The master of Sihai Pavilion said, observing the sword on Jing Ke's waist closely.
What a great sword! Just from the hilt and scabbard you can tell it's of exceptional quality!
In their Sihai Pavilion, only a hall master of at least the sixth rank can use such a good sword.
The same goes for the robe. It looks like a simple black robe, but they can still recognize the hidden gold patterns inside. It is something that only the powerful can afford.
"There is some truth in what you said. Hearing is not as good as seeing." Jing Ke responded to save face.
Before Master Luo San could breathe a sigh of relief, Jing Ke added the remaining half of the sentence slowly, "I was also skeptical at first, but after seeing this Master Luo San, my intuition told me that he is not a good person."
"If I kill him, it won't be considered killing innocent people." Jing Ke said calmly, "But I am willing to give face to the Sihai Pavilion behind you. If Mr. Luo San knows how to leave after seeing Mr. Luo and his family off for the last time, I won't kill him."
Jing Ke: "I've already said this. If he chooses to stay, then I will assume that he doesn't want to live anymore."
The master of Sihai Pavilion was choked, but after thinking it over, he still felt that the small amount of silver was not enough for him to continue speaking at the risk of his life.
Therefore, the masters of Sihai Pavilion who were well versed in the rules of survival politely clasped their fists towards Jing Ke and said, "We are relieved by your words, young man. I believe that Mr. Luo is definitely not the kind of person who covets the orphan girl's property. After Mr. Luo and his group are buried, he will definitely leave on his own."
After expressing his unwillingness to go against Jing Ke, the master of Sihai Pavilion returned to the crowd.
After all, the Sihai Pavilion's duty is only to protect the imperial palace and those court officials. Under normal circumstances, the Sihai Pavilion will not make enemies with people in the martial arts world for people who have no importance.
Because what those people in the martial arts world like to do most is revenge. If they accidentally kill a disciple who is loved by the leader or elders of a sect, it will cause a series of chain reactions.
It was obvious that Mr. Luo San was not a powerful person, and he had no relatives or friends with any powerful people. The fact that they were willing to stand up and say that was already worthy of the money he gave them.
Just like that, after the Sihai Pavilion, which had the backing of the imperial court, expressed its stance, no one else in the room dared to speak out, leaving only the so-called Third Master Luo, whose face had turned ashen.
Third Master Luo was in a dilemma, neither advancing nor retreating. In the end, he could only try to keep his expression steady. "Young man, you have indeed misunderstood. My original intention was just to support Yue Zhu. Once the Luo family stabilizes, I will naturally leave."
Master Luo San, who didn't want to lose his life for the time being, had no choice but to bow his head. However, having already tasted the sweetness, he only chose to bow his head on the surface. No one knew what he was planning in secret.
Seeing that Jing Ke's flamboyant words did not cause displeasure in Sihai Pavilion, but instead made Master Luo San take the initiative to back down, Luo Yuezhu seemed to vaguely understand something.
Sometimes being right is not enough. You must have enough strength to become the one who is truly right.
For example, what Jing Ke said just now, if the person who said it was an ordinary citizen who didn't know martial arts, Sihai Pavilion would definitely step in to deal with it. At the very least, they would be criticized, and at the worst, they might even be imprisoned.
Is this the confidence that comes from having strength? If only I could be like Jing Ke one day.
Luo Yuezhu looked at the person standing tall in front of her, and the seed of wanting to become stronger began to take root in her heart, waiting to break out of the ground at the right time.
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Jing Ke's toughness made everyone dare not look down on Luo Yuezhu who was protected by her. Luo Yuezhu was also very manipulable. After she expressed her willingness to guard the last night, Master Luo San did not dare to say a word. He just ordered the kitchen to prepare some nourishing food to prevent Luo Yuezhu from fainting and getting into trouble.
Of course, Master Luo San was not kind to Luo Yuezhu from the bottom of his heart. He was simply worried that if something happened to the other party, he would be used as a target for venting anger by that unreasonable female swordsman, and she would stab him with a sword if they disagreed with her.
After having a simple meal to fill herself up, Jing Ke also chose to spend the night in the mourning hall. However, she did not go in. Instead, she stood guard outside with a sword in her arms to prevent some ignorant people from coming to disturb the last time Luo Yuezhu and her family spent together.
The funeral was scheduled for the early morning of the next day, and the process began almost at daybreak.
Jing Ke did not help Mr. Luo wear mourning clothes, but she also tied a white cloth on her arm and followed Luo Yuezhu's movements in silence.
Luo Yuezhu didn't sleep all night and cried several times, so her face looked particularly haggard.
But Luo Yuezhu also knew very well that she had to behave maturely and steadily enough so that those who coveted the Luo family's assets would give up their plans.
Luo Yuezhu did not forget Jing Ke's initial words. She would only be by her side for three years at most. After three years, she would only be thirteen years old. If she did not change herself from now on, there would still be countless people who wanted to bite off a piece of flesh from her, an orphan, in three years.
After seeing the coffins belonging to her relatives buried in the ground, Luo Yuezhu couldn't help crying, but she didn't cry out loud. She just let the tears slide down her face and finally fall into the dark soil.
After completing a series of procedures, Luo Yuezhu knelt on the ground and kowtowed nine times. The tears in her eyes dried up. After standing up again, Luo Yuezhu became more determined in an idea in her heart.
The funeral procession does not mean that all funeral arrangements are completed. After returning home, Luo Yuezhu quickly changed his clothes, and then took Xiaomu to thank those who had helped his family on their last journey.
By sunset, most of the people who had gathered around Luo's house had left.
"Miss Jing, thank you." Luo Yuezhu said. Because she had not slept all night and had said a lot today, her voice became a little hoarse and less childish.
"You're welcome. I'm just fulfilling my promise." Jing Ke said.
"Is it time to sort out the account books and take over the family business next?" Jing Ke asked.
Luo Yuezhu nodded slowly and looked up at Jing Ke, "Miss Jing, will you protect me for three years?"
"Yes, I will protect you for three years, not a single day less." Jing Ke made the promise.
"Then, can I learn martial arts from you, Miss Jing, during these three years?" Luo Yuezhu asked.
She wasn't entirely sure if Jing Ke had other intentions towards her, but Luo Yuezhu was now left with little choice. Besides herself, it seemed the only person she could rely on was Jing Ke, whom she had only known for less than two days.
"You want to learn martial arts?" Jing Ke raised her eyebrows slightly. "If I remember correctly, you should be ten years old, right?"
"Yes, I know it's best to start learning martial arts from a young age, but I think the second best thing is to start now," said Luo Yuezhu.
She had witnessed with her own eyes the benefits of high military power. Not only did the government have to temporarily avoid the limelight, but the people from the Wulin Alliance also did not dare to do anything to Jing Ke.
If she could become a martial arts master like Jing Ke, she might be able to change her current predicament and embark on a completely new path.
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