Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Mingyue
Even to this day, Jiang Ran couldn’t understand it. ’How could someone like the old drunkard even exist?’
There were no perfect people in this world. But even those with flawed characters would still hope for their disciples to be as perfect as possible.
But the old drunkard wasn’t like that at all...
He indulged in womanizing, drinking, and gambling, and Jiang Ran was forced to learn every single one.
He ran every con and dirty trick in the book, and Jiang Ran had to master them all.
He used all sorts of methods to make Jiang Ran grasp the ’spirit’ of it. When Jiang Ran didn’t want to deceive people, the old drunkard would use every trick he knew to deceive him.
It’s like how a long illness makes a man a doctor; get cheated enough times, and you’ll naturally learn all the tricks of the trade.
The old drunkard often said that in this life, it’s always good to know a few extra things.
But Jiang Ran used to always think, ’What’s the point of learning so much if I’m just someone who won’t live past twenty?’
As this thought crossed his mind, Jiang Ran suddenly felt that something wasn’t right.
"What’s wrong?"
Li Tianxin’s voice came from beside him.
Jiang Ran shook his head and glanced at the young girl next to him, whose eyes were fixed on him.
"What... is your name?"
"Mingyue."
The little girl spoke softly.
"My name is Mingyue. Greetings, Young Master."
She gave a slight bow, her form quite proper. With tear tracks still visible at the corners of her eyes, she looked heartbreakingly pitiful.
Jiang Ran nodded.
"You’re selling yourself with a straw marker, yet you don’t want silver. What is it you’re asking for?"
"Young Master... are you going to buy Yue’Er?"
Mingyue looked up at Jiang Ran, her eyes filled with pleading.
But Jiang Ran shook his head.
"Not necessarily."
A look of disappointment instantly crossed Mingyue’s face. She bit her lower lip and said in a choked voice:
"Young Master, I’m begging you, please buy Yue’Er.
"I don’t want anything. I only ask that you show some kindness and save my father. Your martial arts are powerful, you can definitely do it!
"As long as you rescue my father, for the rest of my life, I’ll be yours. You can do whatever you want with me!"
Jiang Ran was taken aback. He took a closer look at the young girl and realized she hadn’t misspoken out of naivety. She was completely serious.
He couldn’t help but chuckle, and flicked her gently on the forehead.
"What does a little girl like you know about anything?"
"Yue’Er understands everything. I’ve already reached the age of maturity. My family had already arranged my marriage, so I was taught by an elder from his family. I just... didn’t get to marry him in time."
As Mingyue said this, she lowered her head, a blush of shame coloring her face.
Li Tianxin’s eyes lit up with understanding. She shot Jiang Ran a look and huffed twice.
"So that was your plan all along."
"Get lost."
Jiang Ran’s face darkened.
But looking at Mingyue again, he felt a little helpless.
The age of maturity was fifteen. In this era, it was a perfectly acceptable age for a girl to marry.
This young girl clearly didn’t come from an ordinary background; her speech and manners were not those of a commoner.
And in this era, for her to be betrothed at this age and taught certain related matters was an entirely reasonable thing.
But for Jiang Ran, no matter how many times he saw or heard it, it was still hard to accept.
’Fifteen... Back in my own time, she wouldn’t have even finished middle school, right?’
’Sneaking around to date someone would have been considered puppy love, plain and simple.’
But here... marrying at fifteen and having a child at sixteen was as common as could be.
He shook his head.
"Listen here, little girl. I’m not helping you for *that*.
"I’m just curious about your situation.
"You said you want to save your father. Then tell me, what happened to him? And how is he to be saved?"
"Sir, you’re willing to help me?"
Mingyue’s head snapped up to look at Jiang Ran, her eyes already brimming with tears. She knelt on the ground with a THUD.
"Mingyue thanks you for your immense kindness, sir! Mingyue thanks you for your immense kindness!!"
As she spoke, she began to kowtow to Jiang Ran.
Jiang Ran flicked his sleeve, and without touching her at all, a force lifted her back to her feet.
"It’s too early to be kowtowing. I have to see if I even have the ability to help you...
"Get up first and explain things clearly."
"Yes."
Mingyue suppressed her excitement and began her urgent tale.
According to her, her family lived in a village not far from Benma County.
Her ancestors had once been distinguished, leaving behind a sizable inheritance. As a result, her family was well-off, though not what one would call wealthy.
Even now, they were a proper scholarly family.
Her father was the village’s private tutor and was well-respected.
Growing up in such an environment, Mingyue was naturally influenced by her surroundings.
Her father never neglected her just because she was a daughter and treated her extremely well.
But her mother died young, so her father took a concubine, who then gave birth to a younger brother.
The concubine wasn’t very good to her, but with her father’s love and protection, she never dared to go too far.
But once she reached the age of maturity, the concubine was eager to find her a husband and marry her off.
If everything had gone smoothly, she would already be a married woman by now.
Unexpectedly, just two days before her wedding, a group of brutes suddenly broke into their home one night.
The men came under the cover of darkness, and in the blink of an eye, they killed all the servants and maids in the house.
In the end, they captured her entire family alive.
Mingyue had thought the men were after money, but it turned out they were looking for something.
They interrogated Mingyue’s father and even threatened him with the concubine’s son, but they still didn’t get what they wanted.
They finally learned that the object was most likely in the possession of Mingyue’s maternal uncle.
So, they abducted Mingyue’s father, declaring that if the item they wanted wasn’t delivered within three months, they could just wait to collect his corpse.
After her father was taken, Mingyue was naturally frantic.
Worse, her family hadn’t had any contact with her uncle for over a decade. Although she knew where he lived, they were not close at all.
Who knew if her uncle would even help her?
But despite her worries, she wanted to send a message to her uncle immediately.
To her surprise, the concubine stopped her, eventually putting her under house arrest to prevent her from leaving.
She was locked up for a full three days.
Only after three days was she released by people from her village.
By then, she was on the verge of death. She learned that ever since she’d been locked up, the concubine had sold off everything of value in the house, including the old family home itself.
The concubine took her younger brother and vanished without a trace, clearly with no intention of rescuing her father.
But Mingyue couldn’t abandon her own father.
She decided to set out to find her uncle and ask for help...
But how could it be so easy?
She was a young woman traveling alone, which was difficult enough.
She was also without any Silver Coins. The villagers who had once received kindness from her family helped her with what little they could, but it wasn’t enough to cover her travel expenses.
As for the family she was supposed to marry into, they broke off the engagement immediately upon hearing what had happened to her family.
Not only that, but they also wanted the betrothal gifts back.
Unfortunately, the concubine had already taken all of those things with her...
Under such circumstances, if she tried to find her uncle, she would probably die on the road long before she arrived.
With no other choice, she came up with the idea of selling herself with a straw marker—offering her life as payment—to beg a martial arts master to rescue her father.
...
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