CHAPTER 87: CHAPTER 86: ZHENGWEI JING, YOU’RE SUCH A PERVERT!

"Second-in-command, you’ve been awfully quiet," Le Yuxin said, twirling his own hair with his fingers. Jing Zhengwei’s hair—it was so black, long, and silky, it just fell straight down, tickling his earlobes and neck. Suddenly, Le Yuxin kind of wanted to gel it up like a Saiyan.

Yin Minghong clasped his fists and bowed his head, saying calmly, "Young master is brilliant, valiant, and wise, able to see through anything, so this subordinate only has to follow orders, why would I disturb your thoughts?"

"Why do I feel there’s something sarcastic in your tone?" Le Yuxin glanced at the ledger, and was immediately bored by those rows and rows of numbers. He handed the book to Qing Lan, and said absentmindedly, "Anyway, this mess happened to me at Red Moon Fortress, so don’t you owe me an explanation?"

"Please punish me, young master," Yin Minghong said, "I was deceived by Old Huo and only heard his side of the story. I truly don’t know where that assassin came from."

"But didn’t you spend the whole night with him?" Le Yuxin entertained a flash of wicked glee. "Didn’t you notice anything?"

Yin Minghong kept his composure and said, "Old Huo said he wanted to offer him up to the young master. I simply had him get washed up, put on some makeup, then left him to sleep alone, hoping he’d be in better spirits to serve you. I didn’t interact with him much."

"So you’re saying, the reason you took care of the assassin last night was just so he’d be a better servant for me?"

"Yes."

For some reason, Le Yuxin suddenly felt pissed off. He waved his hand, saying coldly, "I may not believe Old Huo’s testimony, but he’s not wrong—you really were the last one to have private contact with the assassin. Aside from Old Huo, you’re the biggest suspect here. Anything you want to say for yourself? If your explanation doesn’t satisfy me, then you can go hang yourself on the southeast branch with Old Huo and the rest."

Mi Die and Li Sang instantly pinned Yin Minghong’s shoulders down, forcing him to kneel and shutting down his movement. Yin Minghong stayed cool and said, "When I was alone in a room with the assassin, no one else was present. There’s no way I can clear myself."

"However, I have no reason to harm the young master, either. As the second-in-command of Red Moon Fortress, if anything happens to you, there’s no way I’ll make it out unscathed. I hope you can trust me."

"Oh, is that so?" Le Yuxin shook his head noncommittally. "If I die, you could always side with Zhengwu, Zhengfeng, the Main Hall. You’d still live alright, wouldn’t you? You’re pretty capable, after all. Why would they say no to you?"

Yin Minghong said resolutely, "Within five days, I’ll make a trip to Xuanzhu County and present you with the heads of some rival lieutenants as an offering."

"Alright, since you put it that way, if I keep pushing, I’ll look like a petty tyrant," Le Yuxin clapped his hands lightly and said, "But just because you don’t get the death sentence doesn’t mean you’re getting let off easy. You did manage things badly enough to get me almost assassinated, after all... Tonight, you’re going down into the mines to dig until I leave. As second-in-command, going down to the trenches to get a feel for the workers’ hardships once in a while isn’t too much to ask, is it?"

"Not at all. I’m on it."

"Wait a sec."

Yin Minghong paused just a bit. The last guy the young master asked to "wait a sec," his ass ended up looking like a queen’s flower.

"This assassin, not as good looking as me, but kinda pretty, I guess. Give the corpse a decent burial," Le Yuxin said offhandedly. "Oh and, with Old Huo dead, those new teas are all masterless now, aren’t they? You deal with them yourself, Second-in-command."

"Yes."

After the bedroom was cleared out, Mi Die and Li Sang left with the others. It was quiet outside, and a faint incense in the room masked the subtle, iron scent of blood. The bedding had been replaced, and though there were still bullet holes and signs of battle, at first glance, it was as if nothing had happened at all.

Le Yuxin gave Qing Lan a look and saw she’d put her glasses back on to read the ledger again. Then he remembered—a big reason why Jing Zhengwei bought Qing Lan was because her accounting and divination skills were excellent, and she could spare Jing Zhengwei some trouble.

Secretaries handle the work, when there’s nothing to do... "Le Yuxin suddenly felt tired." The servants had already filled the bathtub, and there was even a new screen set up, so he went over for a soak.

The temperature was perfect. Steeped in warm water, Le Yuxin "felt all his pores open up in bliss." He stared at the ceiling patterns, turning over his next move in his head.

Jing Zhengwei, Yin Yinyin, Qian Yuliu, Xuanzhu County, White Night, the Jing family...

He drifted further and further off in thought. "Yet he still couldn’t shake the feeling he was forgetting something, no matter how hard he tried."

Changed into pajamas and walked out, only to see Qing Lan close the ledger and turn to say, "Young master, the numbers in the account book are correct."

"Hmm." Le Yuxin really didn’t care much about Red Moon Fortress’s profits—and honestly, neither did Jing Zhengwei. The real point of visiting every month was to show the folks at Red Moon Fortress who the real master was. What mattered was the military power the Fortress represented.

"Are you going to sleep, young master? Would you like a pre-bed massage?" Qing Lan knelt on the bed, taking off her glasses, looking perfectly ready.

Le Yuxin paused for a second, but didn’t say no.

Le Yuxin laid down on the bed, and Qing Lan’s hands slowly pressed on his temples and kneaded his shoulder blades. "Qing Lan looked all delicate, but her hands were really skilled, strong where it counted." The acupoints Le Yuxin had just relaxed in the bath now felt a whole new kind of release, almost making him doze off.

Her hands kept moving, down his chest, over his waist, along his spine. It was as if she used the Scenic Battle Technique—every bit of fatigue in Le Yuxin’s body melted away.

Right when Le Yuxin was drifting off into a waking dream,

he suddenly felt—

Qing Lan grabbed the waistband of his pants.

"Hold up!" Le Yuxin shot upright, grabbing Qing Lan’s hand. "What are you doing?"

Qing Lan flinched, startled, and said in confusion, "The final step, ’Qinri.’ The young master specifically instructed it—it’s supposed to be done every night... What’s wrong?"

Memories crashed through him. Le Yuxin’s face went pale. After a moment of silence, he waved her away. "Forget it for tonight."

"No." He paused, then said firmly, "Actually, don’t ever do it again. Cut that step out of the bedtime massage from now on."

Qing Lan asked cautiously, "Should I go take a bath then?"

"Yeah, go ahead."

Once Qing Lan had gone behind the screen to bathe, Le Yuxin finally couldn’t hold his poker face together. He hugged his head, his face twisting in agony, "howling silently inside:"

"Jing Zhengwei, you sick bastard!"

Only now did Le Yuxin realize what was so off about Jing Zhengwei’s status page—he actually had two basic combat techniques: Basic Lingxu Battle Technique and Basic Heqi Qinri Battle Technique!