CHAPTER 97: CHAPTER 96: I DON’T WANT TO WATCH HER DIE RIGHT AFTER FINDING HER

Just now, Yu Xiaolian was solely focused on pulling Zhao Erya to escape, completely unaware of the wooden splinter that had pierced her hand.

Leng Yuesheng first held the wooden splinter under his nose and sniffed it, then suddenly looked at Yu Xiaolian, his gaze changing. He quickly licked the blood of Yu Xiaolian off the wooden splinter with his tongue.

"You... you..."

Leng Yuesheng stuttered.

Just as Yu Xiaolian was perplexed, Leng Yuesheng suddenly said to the madam, "Let her go."

The madam looked troubled.

She whispered close to Leng Yuesheng’s ear, "Chief Envoy Leng, this girl is someone General Yu’s concubine wants dealt with."

Leng Yuesheng’s face turned cold, "Yu Wanying?"

The madam nodded awkwardly.

The concubine of Yu Wanying has always had ties with Chief Envoy Leng, it seems this girl won’t escape her fate today.

To the madam’s surprise, Leng Yuesheng only paused for a moment before coldly saying, "Release this girl and don’t interfere with the Yu Family’s matters anymore."

Even though the madam was surprised, she did not dare oppose Leng Yuesheng’s decision.

Yu Wanying, Yu Xiaolian made a mental note.

"You may leave!" The madam ordered, and the burly guards around her all stepped aside to allow Yu Xiaolian to pass.

Yu Xiaolian’s eyes sparkled with delight, "Uh... can I take Zhao Erya with me?"

Leng Yuesheng raised his eyebrow.

The madam said with difficulty, "This girl was bought by me for twenty taels of silver from her parents..."

Yu Xiaolian hastily said, "I won’t take her for nothing, I’ll pay."

Afraid the madam wouldn’t agree, she added, "Double the amount."

The madam looked troubled.

Leng Yuesheng said, "No need for money, consider it a gift to you as a maid."

Yu Xiaolian was dumbfounded.

What was going on?

"Can you give me her indenture then?"

Without hesitation, Leng Yuesheng turned to the madam and said, "Give it to her."

The madam did not dare question Leng Yuesheng’s decision and hurriedly went to fetch Zhao Erya’s indenture.

Leng Yuesheng gazed at Yu Xiaolian, his demeanor having lost the icy killing intent from before, replaced by a gentle smile.

"What’s your name?"

"Yu Xiaolian!"

"How old are you this year?"

"Ten!"

Leng Yuesheng smiled lightly and nodded, "You’re very clever!"

Yu Xiaolian was bewildered.

What’s all this about?

How could he tell she was clever?

She never considered herself smart—in fact, just getting into medical school took all her effort, just barely scraping past the passing mark.

Where others might grasp something in one go, she had to put in more time and effort. But she knew that the early bird catches the worm, and being the slow one, she had to start flying first.

She was always aware of her limitations.

And if you’re going to compliment someone, do it thoroughly, so they know what you’re praising them for!

"Any other request?" Leng Yuesheng was as gentle as a kind elder at this moment.

"Uh..."

Yu Xiaolian thought to herself, why don’t you help me teach Yu Wanying a lesson?

After consideration, she dared not say it and instead changed to, "Just don’t capture me again, okay?"

Leng Yuesheng chuckled, "We won’t, not only will we not capture you, but we will protect you.

Whenever you need help, you can come to Baihua House to find me.

If I’m not there, you can speak with Sister Feng, who is the madam from earlier."

Yu Xiaolian felt completely lost, "Why are you helping me?"

She was someone who had read scripts, yet now she was thoroughly confused.

She only blamed herself for reading books focused solely on the protagonist’s romantic plot, while completely glossing over the story of the scapegoat female companion, Yu Xiaolian.

Yes, she was the type to always call out to the author, begging not to be cruel, wanting happy endings.

But now it seems, she’s gotten the candy but doesn’t understand her own drama.

"Right now, you don’t need to know too much. Just remember that you can trust me," Leng Yuesheng said, glancing at Sister Feng who had returned, and returned to his cold demeanor, leaving with a piece of advice, "Don’t let others smell the scent of your blood; protect yourself well!"

Having said that, Leng Yuesheng left without turning back.

At the moment Leng Yuesheng turned away, Yu Xiaolian suddenly noticed the purple earring on his ear wriggle a bit.

It’s the ear snake!!!

To think she had praised this purple earring in her heart before.

Yu Xiaolian felt her scalp crawl, somewhat nauseated.

Absently, she accepted the indenture for Zhao Erya handed by Sister Feng, stuffed it into her bosom, and decided to leave this wretched place promptly.

Shouldering the still unconscious Zhao Erya, Yu Xiaolian left Baihua House confused.

Zhao Erya was taller than Yu Xiaolian, but fortunately, she was as thin as a skeleton, so Yu Xiaolian could carry her, albeit with some effort.

Exiting through the back door of Baihua House with Zhao Erya on her back, Yu Xiaolian got a bit lost.

She was unfamiliar with the red-light district of Yangcheng.

*

"Are you saying... the Longevity Gu is on that little girl?" Sister Feng exclaimed, "How is that possible?"

Leng Yuesheng said, "I didn’t expect it either. Miao Qinya stole the Longevity Gu and disappeared for so many years, yet she didn’t use the Longevity Gu on herself, but made this child its host.

Her heart is truly malicious, no wonder Yunfan has been against finding his sister these years, he must be, aside from Leng Qinya, the only one who knows the truth."

"You mean Qi Yunfan deliberately..."

Sister Feng’s voice raised in disbelief, her mind stirring into waves of turmoil.

Leng Yuesheng interrupted Sister Feng before she could continue, "The most pressing task at present is to protect this child well and ensure the elders do not find her."

Fortunately, the Longevity Gu was merely dormant within Yu Xiaolian’s body and hadn’t been awakened yet; Leng Yuesheng was relieved he had found her first.

It’s not too late!

"But... we have struggled to find the Longevity Gu; shouldn’t that be considered a major achievement? Why doesn’t the Chief Envoy bring the little Saintess back to the clan?" Sister Feng was puzzled.

After all these years of searching for the Longevity Gu, why should they remain silent now that they found it?

"She’s a ten-year-old girl, how could she manage the role of Saintess securely? She might fail as a Saintess and instead lose her life.

Until now, what they sought was merely the Longevity Gu, not Qi Yunwei, nobody cared about her life or death."

Leng Yuesheng sighed, "I’ve lived over thirty years, and you’ve been with me for nearly thirty years as well. You know I have several nephews, but this is my only niece, I don’t want to just find her and then see her die."

Sister Feng hesitated a moment but still asked, "Is the Chief Envoy truly certain that Yu Xiaolian is indeed Miss Yunwei?"

Leng Yuesheng sneered, "I know Miao Qinya too well, the reason she placed the Longevity Gu on the newborn Yunwei was because she knew Yunfan couldn’t bear to kill his own sister."

Once the Longevity Gu has a host, it will not recognize another as its host unless the original host dies.

Years ago, when Qi Yunfan pursued Miao Qinya, he most likely saw Leng Qinya feed the Longevity Gu to his sister, who was still in swaddling attire.

No wonder they couldn’t find Miao Qinya’s whereabouts all these years; evidently, back then Qi Yunfan had dealt with Miao Qinya. But to protect his youngest sister, he had not taken her back to the Witch Clan.