Chapter 94: Chapter 89: Proxy Mission Completed
So he simply fell silent.
The two of them lapsed into a chilly silence.
Jiang Ran gazed out the inn door, his eyes fixed on something unknown.
Shi Miao, however, stared at Jiang Ran without blinking.
Jiang Ran was thick-skinned enough not to care, but when a faint Sword Intent began to emanate from Shi Miao, he turned back in surprise.
"Stared so long you’ve developed the urge to kill?"
"...You still haven’t answered my question."
Shi Miao enunciated every word, his patience clearly worn to its limit.
"The Red Maple Ye family is in trouble. I saved her while she was being hunted."
Jiang Ran lifted the teapot and poured a cup of tea.
"Are you here because of Dao Wuming?"
"After you left, he had no one to turn to but me."
As Shi Miao said this, the air around him grew even colder.
"What happened to the Ye family?"
"So you really don’t know..."
Jiang Ran fell silent for a moment before shaking his head.
"You should ask Ye Jingshuang about this yourself."
"...Fine."
With that, the two fell silent once more, plunging into an even longer silence.
In the end, it was Ye Jingshuang, coming down from upstairs, who broke the silence.
Mingyue and Tong Wanli followed behind her.
Zhou Wang and Tong Yan were not with them. Tong Yan’s injuries were quite serious, so he probably couldn’t get out of bed today. Zhou Wang, meanwhile, must have been watching over Liu Wenshan.
Mingyue wore a cautious and wary expression.
After all, she had woken up to a cousin she’d never met and a senior she didn’t recognize.
She didn’t dare to believe Ye Jingshuang so easily, even after the latter had introduced herself.
Only when she came downstairs and saw Jiang Ran did she visibly relax.
She took a few steps and came to stand before Jiang Ran.
"Benefactor..."
she said softly, her gaze shifting toward Ye Jingshuang and the others.
Her eyes were filled with unspoken questions.
So Jiang Ran made the introductions for her.
It was one thing to hear it from Ye Jingshuang, but another entirely to hear it from him. After listening, understanding finally dawned on Mingyue.
"So you really are my cousin... Yue’er was ignorant and doubted you just now. Please don’t be offended, Cousin."
"I don’t blame you."
Ye Jingshuang looked at Mingyue. While she couldn’t claim to empathize completely with her cousin’s ordeal, she could understand it.
She took her younger cousin’s hand and said softly,
"Don’t worry. No one will ever bully you again."
But Mingyue shook her head.
"I don’t mind if they bully me, but Father..."
"Your father has been rescued."
Jiang Ran interjected.
"He’s injured, though, and is resting in his room. You can go see him after you finish your meal."
"Ah!?"
Mingyue turned back to look at Jiang Ran, completely stunned. She had only asked for his help yesterday—could it be that after just one night, her father was already back?
For a moment, she was overwhelmed with shock and joy.
"Thank you, Benefactor! Thank you!"
With that, she moved to kowtow to Jiang Ran again.
Jiang Ran had no choice but to stop her yet again, and he shot a look at Ye Jingshuang.
Ye Jingshuang sighed and helped her up.
"Forget it. It’s like they say: too many lice and you stop itching, too much debt and you stop worrying. We sisters owe him so much already."
"Let’s listen to the young master. Eat first. After you’ve finished, you can go upstairs to see my uncle."
"Mm..."
Hearing Ye Jingshuang say that made Mingyue a little curious about the relationship between her and Jiang Ran.
But now was clearly not the time to ask questions.
So she sat down quietly to wait for the meal.
Meanwhile, Jiang Ran was staring blankly at his system interface.
This Assassin’s Order mission had been completed the moment he told Mingyue.
[Assassin’s Order Mission: Rescue Liu Wenshan!]
[Mission Status: Complete!]
[Mission Reward: ’Jiaowei Zither Clue.’ Please wait patiently...]
Jiang Ran stared at the mission reward, baffled.
A clue to the Jiaowei Zither...
This reward seemed to be connected to the current situation.
’But what the hell is "Please wait patiently" supposed to mean?’
’Is the system breaking the fourth wall? Does this mean the reward has to be delivered by someone else?’
’Suddenly, this whole Assassin’s Order thing feels like a scam.’
Not only that, but he also checked his lifespan.
He scrutinized it for a long time, even counting on his fingers for a moment, before finally reaching a conclusion!
His lifespan... had increased by one day!
One day!?
Jiang Ran could hardly believe his eyes.
Based on how things were going, it seemed his first reward from the system must have come with some kind of bonus.
That was how he had received a full year of life and sixty years’ worth of Inner Strength.
’But even if the rewards got worse over time, they couldn’t possibly be as pathetic as a single day!’
’Where the hell did they even calculate that one day from?’
"Young Hero Jiang? Young Hero Jiang?"
Tong Wanli’s voice snapped Jiang Ran out of his frustrated stupor.
He looked up at him.
"Senior Tong, what can I do for you?"
"It’s nothing much."
Tong Wanli smiled faintly.
"I’m going out to buy medicine in a little while. Is there anything else you need, Young Hero Jiang? I can bring it back for you."
"That would be great."
Jiang Ran nodded.
"I do need a few small things, as a matter of fact. I’ll write a list for you in a moment. Thank you for the trouble, Senior Tong."
"Of course. It’s a small matter."
Tong Wanli laughed and readily agreed. Then, he looked back at Jiang Ran and lowered his voice.
"Young Hero, if you have a moment, I was hoping you could take a look at that good-for-nothing son of mine."
"I know he offended you yesterday. Please, don’t hold it against him."
Jiang Ran understood and shook his head.
"Your esteemed son seems to have some misunderstandings about me, but it’s a trivial matter. Please don’t worry, Senior Tong."
"That’s good, that’s good."
Tong Wanli nodded repeatedly, seeming much more at ease.
After that, they said little, merely eating and making idle conversation.
Only two people at the table remained silent.
One was Mingyue, who was focused entirely on her food, and the other was the ice-cold Shi Miao, who might as well have had the words "Keep Out" carved on his forehead.
After the meal, Jiang Ran found a brush and paper, wrote a few things down, and handed the list to Tong Wanli.
Promising to take care of it, Tong Wanli left the inn.
Jiang Ran’s group went back upstairs, telling Zhou Wang to go down and eat.
Seeing her father lying there unconscious, Mingyue couldn’t stop her eyes from welling up.
But she was thankful for one thing: at least he was still alive.
Jiang Ran didn’t disturb her, quietly slipping out of the room. He returned to his own room first, and when he came out again, he was carrying a bundle.
It was Xu Hongyi’s head.
He walked through the streets of Benma County carrying the head, and after a short, leisurely stroll, he arrived at his destination.
Looking up, he saw the Benma County yamen.
Two government constables stood flanking the yamen entrance under the scorching sun. Seeing Jiang Ran approach, they immediately blocked his path.
"Who are you? The yamen is an important government office. No trespassing!"
Jiang Ran reached into his robes and pulled out a token.
"Do you recognize this?"
The two government constables looked at each other, both bewildered.
Jiang Ran sighed.
"Do me a favor and take this token to the County Magistrate. Tell him not to delay."
Hearing this, the government constable glanced at the token, hesitated for a moment, then told Jiang Ran to wait as he turned and entered the yamen.
Unconcerned, Jiang Ran stood by the side of the street with the bundle in hand.
Pedestrians came and went on the street. None of them could have imagined that the young saber wielder standing by the road was carrying a human head in the bundle he held.
Before long, the government constable hurried out of the yamen.
Upon seeing Jiang Ran, he broke into a jog, respectfully handing back the Assassin’s Order with both hands, his face wreathed in smiles.
"The County Magistrate invites you inside. I’ll lead the way. Please, follow me!"
"Thank you."
Jiang Ran nodded, breathing an inward sigh of relief.
He had come here precisely because he had the Assassin’s Order.
Steward Liu had told him before that the Assassin’s Order granted a special privilege: payment of the bounty first, with verification of the target’s identity to follow.
Otherwise, for a fugitive from a cold case like Xu Hongyi, this yamen might not even have a wanted poster on file.
Now that the County Magistrate recognized the Assassin’s Order, things would be much simpler.
He followed the government constable into the yamen, and after a few twists and turns, they arrived at a reception hall.
A middle-aged man had already been waiting for some time. He turned around at the sound of footsteps.
When he saw Jiang Ran, he smiled and clasped his hands in a formal greeting.
"This official is Chang Nian. Greetings, Young Hero."
...
...
Comments