Chapter 73 You didn’t refute that there is no one more handsome and obedient than me...
These words were spoken so harshly that the gambling house fell silent, and even the skinny dealer shrank his neck in fear.
Qing Guiyu's heart tightened, and she quickly pulled Shen Jiansheng back. But the man seemed to have taken root beside her, his dark robe forming a cold barrier behind him.
The cold hand still covered her hand and slowly shook it.
"Hmm." He lowered his head, rubbing the back of her hand with his golden fingertips, almost as if to comfort her. "Don't be afraid, Miss Qing. Don't be afraid."
Qing Guiyu turned to him with wide eyes, but heard Huo Erniang wave her hand and speak first.
“Shen Tianji, please.”
Who dares to stop these evil spirits?
The private room behind the gambling house was far less refined than the one in Tangquan Villa. It only had an octagonal table and a few benches.
Once the door was closed, blocking out the noise outside, the atmosphere became even stranger.
Chen Juansheng pulled a stool over for her and asked her to sit down. Huo Erniang raised her eyebrows, looked at her with interest, then glanced at Chen Juansheng who was standing calmly beside her, and said with a smile,
"Rumor has it that my sister has put a love poison on Master Jin Sheng. Now it seems that it's not like my sister has controlled him, but rather that he has controlled my sister."
That’s right, that’s right.
She felt relieved after hearing what she said. She had never expected that there was such a knowledgeable person in the world. She immediately looked at the woman with much friendlier eyes.
But something was still very wrong.
She paused, took a deep breath, and decided to get straight to the point.
"Mrs. Huo," she pointed at the engraved voice and asked doubtfully,
"He colluded with the Northern Frontier, smuggled saltpeter, and killed your fellow Cao Gang members. Each of these crimes is enough to make him deserve ten deaths. Why didn't you kill him on the spot when you saw him?"
This woman's style of doing things was just as rumored, as sharp as a sword drawn from its sheath.
She didn't answer, but pulled out a bench and sat down, slapping the table with her iron-clad wristbands.
"Little sister, although we Cao Gang are just a bunch of water-dwelling men, we are not stupid." Huo Erniang said to her, but her eyes turned to stare at Chen Juansheng like a hawk.
"Back in the Yuzhou River drifting fish case, I led people to fish it out for three days and three nights. All those who died were from the Jiaotang under Lei Laogui. Not one more, not one less."
She snorted coldly, "I knew there was something fishy going on. Our Cao Gang transports goods, and we've always used a mix of people from various halls. How could it be such a coincidence that all the dead were from his Jiao Hall?"
"If we investigate further, we'll find out that Old Ghost Lei is secretly colluding with the people in the north, using our Cao Gang's boats to transport those deadly things that can blow a hole in the sky!"
"Although your Tianji Pavilion isn't a good place," Huo Erniang waved her hand at Chen Juansheng, "you cleared the door for the Cao Gang and uncovered the traitor. I, Huo Ping, will remember this. If you need me to do anything in the future, just let me know."
She said this so frankly that Qing Guiyu was a little confused.
"So," she frowned, avoiding Huo Erniang's gangster-like airs, "you do have other plans?"
"Hmm." Shen Juansheng responded, and put his hand to his chin, but his eyes fell on her fingers tightly grasping his sleeve, still in that gentle tone,
"Yes, Miss Qing."
"Why?" Qing Guiyu pulled him, forcing him to look at her. "When did you become so concerned about the world? Shen Tianji? You schemed against my brother, disrupted the martial arts world, and tricked me here. Is it just to do this?"
"Miss Qing," when she pulled him over, Shen Juansheng's face suddenly turned red, his eyes flickered, and he seemed to be in embarrassment.
His brows were furrowed, as if he was polishing his words.
But in the end, he just sighed, and even the needle marks at the corners of his eyes seemed to be stained with worry.
"I just... don't want Miss Qing to be harmed."
Qing Guiyu simply wanted to use the teapot on the table to smash his handsome head open.
Good guy. Really good guy.
Just because you were afraid that she would be implicated, you stirred up chaos in the world and then dragged her into the center of this storm?
What kind of logic is this?
But before she could glare at him fiercely.
"We don't understand your twists and turns," Huo Erniang sneered, interrupting the strange atmosphere. "Chen Tianji, we're not as smart as you. So, tell me, where are the remaining saltpeter now?"
This is what matters.
Qing Guiyu glanced at him and asked, "Exactly. Chen Juansheng, where is the thing?"
Shen Juansheng then raised his eyes, his gaze shifting from her face to Huo Erniang, still with that calm expression, "Master Huo, don't worry, the things will be safe."
He never said it explicitly, but his tone made it clear that he was the only one who knew the whereabouts of this batch of saltpeter that could stir up the world.
Advance to bring chaos to the world, retreat to protect oneself. This is probably the most important plan in the hands of Master Jin Sheng.
Seeing him like this, Huo Erniang's eyes flashed, but she didn't ask any more questions in the end.
She stood up and straightened her clothes. "Alright, I just want a result. I will sort out the Cao Gang's housework myself. As for you..."
Huo Erniang's face darkened. She looked at Chen Juansheng, then at Qing Guiyu, who had a strange expression on her face.
"Forget it," she pointed at her with her iron wristband, "Little sister, I like you. Shen Tianji is a man with a deep mind. You should be more careful when following him. If he bullies you one day, just come to me and I will vent my anger on you."
"But," she suddenly changed the subject, and her sharp eyes looked at the two of them again.
"Looks like it's you, sister. It's been rumored that you put a love poison on him. Can you tell me first, how exactly did you put the poison on him?"
She leaned over and lowered her voice, her tone mixed with a hint of teasing.
"If there really is such a good thing, I, your elder sister, would also like to ask you for one. I can find a handsome and obedient man like him, and have him as my wife, tie him up by my side, and accompany him every day. Wouldn't that be happy?"
Huo Erniang's words were blunt and fierce, as if she was discussing which shop in the market had the most fragrant pancakes, rather than some magical trick that could control people's hearts.
Qing Guiyu's face instantly burned red. She opened her mouth but couldn't utter a single word for a long time. She couldn't possibly say to the Cao Gang leader, "He was faking it all. He's mentally ill," right in front of him?
If this were to be spread out, it would probably be even more outrageous than the rumors about love poison.
He could only curse Chen Juansheng seventeen or eighteen times in his mind while looking at the dice cup on the table, trying to figure out which one would be the best to trap him.
This rumor about the love poison is even more troublesome than the gnats in her medicine sac.
"Huo Erniang, you're joking," she said dryly, trying to get the topic back on track. "There's no such thing as love poison in this world. It's just..."
Before he could finish his words, the person beside him took it over gently and naturally.
"It's just a matter of love, as long as one place."
Young Master Jin Sheng put his hands behind his back and leaned down. The shadow of the black robe covered her, and the golden threads shone with a cold light, pouring down from his body.
"Besides," he continued coldly,
"There is no man in the world more handsome and obedient than Chen Yansheng."
Huo Erniang was stunned. Then she burst into earth-shaking, undisguised laughter. "Hahahaha! Good! Good sister!" She slapped her thigh, shaking the tea bowls on the table.
"I thought Chen Tianji was some kind of banished immortal who was detached from the mundane world, but it turns out he's also someone who can say sweet nothings! Sister, your poison was worth it!"
She laughed out loud and patted Qing Guiyu's shoulder with such force that she staggered and fell into the cold dark embrace behind her.
Shen Juansheng took advantage of the situation to cover her, his arm around her waist, the gesture intimate and natural. Then he nodded slightly to Huo Erniang as a return gesture.
Seeing how easily he did it, Huo Erniang was stunned for a moment, and finally shook her head.
"Just pretend I didn't ask." She waved her hand and walked towards the door, laughing.
After walking to the door, she turned back and looked at Qing Guiyu with a complex look that was a mixture of sympathy and admiration, "Little sister, you... take care of yourself."
The door closed behind him, pushing away the awkward look.
She was left alone, half embraced and half embraced in the arms of Mr. Jinsheng in a completely protective manner.
The hustle and bustle around him seemed to have faded away, leaving only the clear bitter fragrance on his body, mixed with the polluted air in the gambling house, like an invisible net.
Qing Guiyu only felt her head hurt more. She struggled for a moment and whispered, "Let go."
"Hmm." Shen Juan responded, but did not let go immediately. Instead, he gently rested his chin on the top of her head. His voice was gentle, with a hint of a soft sigh.
"Miss Qing, let's go back. It's... too noisy here."
"Chen Juansheng," she gritted her teeth and lowered her voice, "you are really something."
"Miss Qing," Shen Juansheng's icy eyes rippled with a little wave. He lowered his head and looked at her blankly, "Are you still angry?"
"What do you think?" She pushed him away angrily.
"It's my fault," Young Master Jinsheng immediately lowered his eyelashes, letting them dangle gently, revealing his face to be even paler and brighter. "I've caused Miss Qing to be upset in front of others again..."
"But I'm very happy," he suddenly continued, his voice low and gentle. "Just now, you said... I was pretty and obedient."
Qing Guiyu was stunned. Huo Erniang had said this, and Shen Juansheng had said it himself, but how could it be attributed to her?
"When did I say that?" She turned her head and looked at him warily.
"You didn't refute it." Shen Juansheng pursed his lips, speaking with certainty, and even leaned down slightly, moving closer.
That face that confused everyone was magnified up close, and every inch of it seemed to be exquisitely crafted. Even the red needle marks at the corners of her eyes, which were caused by her, seemed like the most charming embellishment.
"Chen Juansheng," she finally couldn't help herself, "You've gone to so much trouble to turn the martial arts world upside down, and you've repeatedly come to deceive me. If this plan fails, what will be your next move?"
Shen Juansheng's body stiffened slightly.
"No," he said calmly.
"Miss Qing," he suddenly smiled softly, "you always... want to save everyone."
That smile only drew a faint and tragic arc on his lips. He lowered his head, his black hair falling, and met her gaze.
"You...even want to save me."
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