Night time. At a residence near Heavenly Fragrance Garden.
The residence was resplendent. Despite being a residence for the ordinary folk, it fetched a steep price without question. The residence was where Huo Qing'er stayed. It was now late at night, yet she had a guest, not to mention her guest was a man.
Huo Qing'er passed him a cup of tea and said, "Brother Tang, th-thank you for always visiting to have heart-to-heart chats with me, in addition to protecting me every day. I do not know how to thank you."
Tang Ye vigilantly looked around with his arms folded. He never spared Huo Qing'er a look.
"It's no big deal," replied Tang Ye, voice cold. He had a nip of tea and considered that a drink. "Miss Juese is my big brother's woman. Since she asked me to secretly protect you, I will not let any mishap befall you."
"Miss Juese…"
The reality was that Huo Qing'er didn't know Miss Juese very well. She merely knew that she was close to the former patriarch of Gold and Silver Sect. The reason she brought Huo Qing'er along was supposed to be to deal a blow to Jin Wangsun, preventing him from marrying the Princess. However, for some mind-boggling reason, she suddenly decided to become a courtesan, and she was so persistent that there was no stopping her.
Tang Ye had only met Ming Suwen a few times. Needless to say, the time he saw her at Liu Shan Men's recruitment exams was the first time he saw her. That was also when he learnt she was Ming Feizhen's senior. She abruptly came to Tang Ye and asked him to protect Huo Qing'er for several days, only to go off and become a courtesan. Presumably, she still wanted him to continue with bodyguard duty. Tang Ye stayed at Huo Qing'er's place until late every day before leaving. Hence, it was perfectly acceptable for Ming Feizhen
Having said that, his so-called bodyguard duty entailed doing basically nothing. Heavenly Fragrance Guardian had their own muscle as bodyguards. With him coming and going every day, it only served to encourage rumours spreading. Today was no exception.
Time was up; nothing happened again. Tang Ye bid Huo Qing'er goodbye, and then headed to the new place he rented. She went to put out her lights to turn in after seeing him off. However, a gust of ominous wind blew out the candle before she could.
A slightly cold chill ran down Huo Qing'er's back. It was quite the creepy sensation. Though she hailed from a family in the martial world, she was a glasshouse girl at the end of the day, so the feeling was the feeling she feared most.
She wrestled with her fear while trying to convince herself that it was nothing. She went over to the window that was slightly open. Nothing. There was nothing outside. Apparently, she merely forgot to shut the window. After shutting the window, she turned around to discover someone standing behind her.
"Aaahh!!" shrieked Huo Qing'er, soul, spirit all escaping her body from the fright.
He wore a white mask with a tinge of blue, his expression aggressive as a devil, his body drenched in water. She had no clue what waters he came from, but his facial appearance was one she was familiar with. Correct, it was the man who Ming Feizhen sent plummeting into the water earlier during the day, Jin Wangsun.
With a resentful and vicious expression, Jin Wangsun snickered, "Bitch!"
"You! You! Wangsun!"
Before Huo Qing'er could regain her composure, Jin Wangsun slapped her across the face with his right hand!
*Slap*
Jin Wangsun sent Huo Qing'er to the ground with a single slap.
Huo Qing'er was considered an exalted lady of Gold and Silver Sect. Never had she been treated as so. Her face was numb; she instantly burst out crying.
"Damn bitch, you have the shame to cry?!" fumed Jin Wangsun. Seething with rage and overwhelmed with humiliation, Jin Wangsun glared at her with red eyes and a malicious smile. "Fine! Fine! Taking your lover here now, are you? Huo Qing'er, you haven't disappointed me. I didn't believe the claims that you sneaked into a brothel, but it appears it was true. You grew up with me; how was I unaware that you were this sort of slut?!'
"I-I…"
And another slap violated her face before she could finish.
"Bitch! You want a man so bad that you'd even go to a brothel! You've shamed my Jin Clan! You think you can do as you please, because you have Night Fortress' master backing you? Wait till I become fuma. I have my ways to squash him with my hands! You and the old man want to rely on Mount Daluo to stop me? You're still sleeping!"
Jin Wangsun accompanied every sentence with a slap to Huo Qing'er's face as if he would be paid each time. Her shapely face was beaten until it bled.
"Call your boy toy here to save you! Go on!"
As if wanted to let out all of the resentment intoxicating him, Jin Wangsun continued to amplify the impact, making the next slap more vicious than the last. The originally beautiful face was completely battered. He then grabbed Huo Qing'er's shirt and tore it off. Sounding akin to a wild beast, he demanded, "Where's the pill? Give it to me! Don't try anything funny!"
Huo Qing'er suddenly laughed in spite of being hit viciously by Jin Wangsun. She remarked, "I knew… you were this sort of man."
Still furious, Jin Wangsun thundered, "What sort of man am I? I loved and cherished you so dearly. You were the one who let me down."
"Loved and cherished me?" snickered Huo Qing'er. "I realised how selfish you were from the moment you began your sabre training. Gold Crow Moon Eater, One Hundred Qi Returns to One, Overlord Rule, without my Huo Clan's specially made Taiyin Miracle Feather Pill suppressing it, you would never be able to be intimate with woman all your life. Jin Wangsun, is it me you are worried about or the pill?"
Jin Wangsun's expression sunk. He asked, "What are you trying to say?'
With a laugh, Huo Qing'er replied, "Every time you finish your practice, your true qi elevates, and you can't suppress it. You need Taiyin Pill and women… I still remember how you deceived me and took my purity from me that day."
"So what? You're my fiancée. Our wedding had been set in stone ages ago. You're mine sooner or later. What's the difference if you give yourself to me sooner or later?"
Tears coursed down Huo Qing'er's face, mixing in with her blood. Words couldn't describe her misery.
"You never consider yourself wrong. You belittle me, yet claim that to be love? Your violent abuse is cherishing me? When you found a better candidate, you immediately went to pursue the Princess. That's your idea of being nice to me?" rhetorically asked Huo Qing'er. She stubbornly turned her face away. "I'll remember every slap you gave me today. You can forget about getting any Taiyin Pills from me."
"Listen, Bitch! I don't need your pill! I've already offered His Majesty the old man's block of land for retirement as a wedding gift. The imperial court will kick him out without me needing to lift a finger. Your father blindly sided with him, yet you expect good fortune? Your family's formula and fate are ruled by me! Listen: hand me the pill right now, or your father, mother and your younger brother won't live to see you."
Huo Qing'er shot Jin Wangsun a vengeful gaze, but gradually softened up. When Jin Wangsun felt a little reassured, she suddenly puffed her chest out and firmly exclaimed, "Someone will help me!"
"Someone…? Him! That adulterer?!"
Huo Qing'er mustered up her courage and shouted, "Yes! He's stronger than you! He's tougher than you! Gentler than you! Kinder than you! He's thousands of times better than your useless pin!"
"Bitch!!"
An enraged Jin Wangsun went to strike Huo Qing'er's throat with a palm strike with the intent of killing her. However, before his palm reached its target, he suddenly felt a hot sensation on his hand. Next, a hot aura shot toward him. A purple glow appeared. Tang Ye broke through the window and kicked Jin Wangsun's forearm. Before they could decide who possessed superior internal energy, Tang Ye's Yang Blood True Qi sent Jin Wangsun straight back with its heat.
"Enough."
"Brother Tang!"
When Tang Ye's gaze met with Huo Qing'er's face, he aggressively frowned.
Jin Wangsun also shuddered when he saw Tang Ye.
With a swing of his fist, Tang Ye initiated an attack, but Jin Wangsun used Huo Qing'er as a human shield, thereby making it impossible for Tang Ye to attack.
"You thought it was just me?"
Following the rhetoric question, an enchanting voice entered the room, "I am the Qilin Guards' Situo. I happen to be the biggest fan of minor reports. Young Master, you look very familiar. If I am correct, you should be locked in some abode. How do you have the luxury to visit brothels?"
The residence was quite some distance from Heavenly Fragrance Garden, actually. However, there were countless other brothels within the vicinity of Heavenly Fragrance Garden. Subsequently, it would be hard for him to argue he wasn't visiting a brothel by visiting Huo Qing'ers place.
Noting that the enemy outnumbered him and possessed skills on par with his own, Jin Wangsun knew that he would get the short end of the stick if he fought them. He, therefore, shoved Huo Qing'er to Tang Ye and escaped from a window.
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