The sounds of fighting and Mei Tingyuan’s cries couldn’t distract her in the slightest. She could feel the qi in her dantian growing. If it had felt like a sesame seed before, now it was at least the size of a soybean.
An Jiu concentrated on gathering qi, lowering her sensory awareness. By the time she guided this warm flow to slowly circulate through her meridians, she noticed breathing very close by!
She steadied herself, discerning that the breathing was about ten times per minute, even and calm, remaining in one place. Determining it wasn’t an immediate threat, she slowly guided the warm flow throughout her meridians. Feeling light and comfortable all over, she opened her eyes to look towards the source of the breathing.
The person was crouching beside her, wearing a sapphire blue robe with a long tear across the chest. His handsome face glowed like an ancient moon, full of excitement, bright eyes fixed on her. “Noble lady…”
An Jiu swiftly covered his mouth with her hand, glaring coldly at him in warning not to speak.
His warm breath tickled her palm, sending a tingling sensation up her arm and throughout her body.
The young man understood her meaning and nodded immediately.
An Jiu released her hand, staring oddly at his mouth for a moment.
The young man touched his lips, thinking, There’s nothing there!
An Jiu glanced towards the others, seeing they were still busy. She grabbed the young man’s collar and dragged him away.
After walking a hundred zhang, An Jiu threw him to the ground. “Get lost.”
The young man moved his lips to say something, but An Jiu cut him off, “I’ll count to three. If you’re not gone, I’ll kill you.”
Before she finished speaking, a dagger was at his throat.
The young man hadn’t even seen when she drew the dagger. He concluded he must have encountered a martial arts expert practicing here. “Noble lady, I’m lost.”
“One.”
“My family is a great house in Bianjing. If you guide me out, we’ll reward you with ten thousand gold taels.”
Even the imperial court’s disaster relief rarely exceeded ten thousand silver taels. He offered ten thousand gold taels right away, which would make any ordinary person realize his family was no common wealthy household. Unfortunately, he was now dealing with someone who had no concept of money.
An Jiu once had vast wealth, yet ate only the simplest food provided by her organization. She never had anything she needed to buy. “Two.”
The young man’s eyes widened as he declared grandly, “My surname is Hua!”
An Jiu’s hand suddenly increased pressure, frightening the young man into hastily retreating. However, blood still welled up on his neck.
An Jiu turned to leave.
“Noble lady, save me! If you abandon me, I’ll die!” The young man clutched his neck, face pale, carefully following her.
She stopped, turning to look at him coldly. “If you want to die now, keep following.”
The young man stood rooted, watching her leave resolutely. When she was out of sight, his face fell, and he said angrily, “Enchantress.”
Whack!
A stone the size of an infant’s fist accurately struck his head, instantly raising a large bump on his smooth, jade-like forehead.
The young man covered his forehead with one hand and his neck with the other, not daring to speak further. His dark eyes stared in the direction An Jiu had gone.
He recalled the plum blossom embroidered on the girl’s shoes, his eyes brightening slightly.
He had seen many women claimed to be peerless beauties, but none compared to this girl. Her beauty was neither too bold nor too plain, with a long neck and a figure just beginning to show grace. Her appearance was otherworldly, incomparable. Even her killing intent had a unique charm. Most striking were her eyes, incredibly clear, showing nothing but that killing intent.
The young man pondered for a moment, then ran eastward, clutching his neck—if he didn’t bandage it soon, he really would die!