Chapter 58

“Are you shy?” Ye Jiuge did not expect Ye Yu to be so naive. Suddenly, she had the urge to tease him.

She was going to imitate the idle sons of wealthy families and grasp Ye Yu’s chin to flirt with him when Zi Shang’s frosty voice warned, “I would like to see you try and touch him.”

Flirting with other men in front of him! Did she take him for a dead demon?

Tch! Life was so dull with a demon on her back. Zi Shang’s constant presence was affecting Ye Jiuge’s desire to indulge in life’s pleasures!

“If you wish to indulge in life’s pleasures, I will accompany you to the end.” Zi Shang decided that, next time, he would satisfy her completely.

Ye Jiuge sensed that things were amiss, so she did not respond to Zi Shang on that subject. She silently took out the small book, where she had recorded the technique, and asked Ye Yu, “Can you read this yourself?”

“I can!” Ye Yu lifted his hand slowly and accepted the book from her.

A line of large words written with powerful brushstrokes appeared before his eyes: “Triple Cleansing With One Breath.” The handwriting was firm yet gentle. It exuded an air that commanded reverence.

Ye Yu lifted his head in astonishment and asked Ye Jiuge, “Did you write this?” Ladies usually wrote in an elegant style and small font. He had never seen a young lady whose handwriting was bolder than a man’s.

“Of course!” Ye Jiuge nodded.

She had trained herself to write this way on purpose so that she could be worthy of her name, “Brother Jiu.”

Ye Yu could not help but smile. Ye Jiuge was becoming more interesting. When he first met her, he’d thought that she was an unattractive girl blinded by lust. But when he encountered her again, he’d found out that she was an extremely talented Alchemist. Now, he was discovering that she was also a peculiar lady who was unconcerned with trivial matters. Ye Jiuge was full of mysteries, waiting for him to unravel slowly.

“Do not fall head over heels in love with me. I am merely a legend. Concentrate on practicing your technique!” Ye Jiuge joked.

Ye Yu smiled again. Then, he focused his attention on reading her book of techniques. He was immediately captivated by the remarkable methods detailed in the book. When Ye Jiuge saw that Ye Yu was completely immersed, she left the room.

Ye Ruyi, meanwhile, was still unconscious. After Ye Jiuge informed Qing Mama about where she was going, she discreetly carried Ye Ruyi to Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling’s residence.

As soon as Bai Songling saw Ye Jiuge, he smiled at her slyly like a fox, “I predicted that you would come to find us today.”

“Older Brother Bai, you are indeed very sharp,” Ye Jiuge replied, grinning. “By the way, what happened to Qiu Mama?”

After Qiu Mama died, Ye Yuxuan sent her body back to her original home in a shabby coffin. Even if Ye Jiuge wanted to perform an autopsy, it wasn’t possible.

“By the time we found Qiu Desheng, the Su Clan had already killed him. Qiu Mama was out, so she escaped unscathed. But when she found out that her son was dead, she became hell-bent on avenging him. For that reason, she asked me for one poisonous pill. She wanted to incriminate Su Yufeng by dragging her into the muck.” Bai Songling let out a small sigh.

Qiu Mama had pledged her loyalty to Su Yufeng for her son’s sake and stabbed Ye Yuxuan and Fifth Concubine in the back. Hence, she could no longer remain at the Ye Residence. She might as well die to avoid any future repercussions.

“The Su Clan is really cold-blooded. They’d commit murder at the drop of a hat to prevent someone from divulging their secrets. They’ve shown a blatant disregard for human life.” Ye Jiuge recalled the time when she’d visited Zuiyun Pavilion, and Lady Yun had almost killed her.

“Their ruthlessness is precisely why we keep failing to acquire information that can be used against them,” Wan Ziyang said gravely.

“Justice will prevail. The guilty will not be able to escape the long arm of the law. Eventually, they will have to suffer the consequences for their misdeeds,” Bai Songling said confidently. “The Su Clan has committed so many crimes, their lives can’t be smooth sailing forever.”

“Brother Bai is right,” Ye Jiuge concurred. “Actually, I came here because I wanted to ask you both for a favor.”

“If you need anything from us, feel free to let us know. You don’t have to be so formal,” Bai Songling said with a smile.

“As you are aware, I am in an awkward position. It was really inappropriate for me to bring Fourth Sister home. Therefore, I want to ask you to step in and state that you rescued her from the Su Clan.”

Ye Yuxuan was an inherently paranoid person. If Ye Jiuge were the one to bring Ye Ruyi home, he would suspect that she was the one who had plotted the whole kidnapping incident. Things would turn out altogether differently if Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling returned Ye Ruyi to the Ye Residence. The two men from the Justice Department had outstanding reputations. They were famous for their strict impartiality and incorruptibility. Not only that, they had been investigating and tracking down the missing young girls. It would not be surprising for them to come across Ye Ruyi while working on the case.

Of course, in this matter, they would not be representing the Justice Department. Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling had to visit Ye Yuxuan privately. On the one hand, Ye Yuxuan would owe them a favor. On the other, they could also protect Ye Ruyi’s reputation. After Su Yufeng’s scene earlier, Ye Ruyi’s excellent reputation was almost nonexistent. But if they could salvage it even a little bit, that would be better than nothing!

“Alright,” Wan Ziyang agreed without hesitation.

“Eldest Miss, I feel that it would be for the best if you woke up Fourth Miss first and told her the whole story,” Bai Songling said.

He was the more thoughtful of the two. He was worried that, as a young girl, Ye Ruyi would wrongly assume that two adult men had saved her. In the future, this would be a sore spot in her heart.

“Alright,” Ye Jiuge agreed.

She could forgo the credit for saving Ye Ruyi. However, if Ye Ruyi did not know who had saved her, how could she repay her debt of gratitude in the future?

“In that case, we will leave first and make ourselves scarce.” Bai Songling stood up and walked out of the room with Wan Ziyang.

Ye Jiuge propped up Ye Ruyi on a chair and fed her a pill to help her regain consciousness. Ye Ruyi swallowed it, and her eyelashes moved slightly. Then, she slowly opened her eyes.

“Fourth Sister!” Ye Jiuge called out softly.

At first, as Ye Ruyi’s eyes cracked open, she felt slightly bewildered. Then, something occurred to her. She wrapped her arms around herself and let out a shrill, panicked scream, “Go away, go away!”

“Fourth Sister, it’s me!” Ye Jiuge hugged her at once. She was instantly baffled.

Before, when Qing Mama had helped Ye Ruyi clean her body with a cloth, she had examined her and was sure that the girl had not been abused. Not only that, she was still a virgin. So why was she still reacting in this way?

“Eldest Sister, why are you here?” Ye Ruyi felt as if she were in a dream.

“Foolish girl, this is my friends’ place. I came to your rescue.” Ye Jiuge caressed Ye Ruyi’s forehead. It was as cold as ice.

Ye Ruyi looked around and saw that she was no longer in that extremely dark basement. Her Eldest Sister’s sweet scent lingered on her nose. The putrid, foul odor of blood was gone. She had finally left that terrifying place.

“Fourth Sister, listen to me…” Ye Jiuge told Ye Ruyi how Fifth Concubine had been incriminated and imprisoned for engaging in a clandestine love affair and how she’d devised a stratagem to prove her innocence. Then, Ye Jiuge told the girl how she’d dragged down Su Yufeng, who had, consequently, been shipped off to the ancestral shrine. In the end, Ye Jiuge said, “To avoid raising Father’s suspicions, I’ve asked my two friends who work for the Justice Department to take you home. This will make it easier for us to expose the Su Clan’s wicked schemes.”

“Alright.” Ye Ruyi nodded vigorously. Tears kept streaming down her face. “Eldest Sister, if only I had listened to your advice before.”

“Foolish girl, do not mention the past anymore. Just be more cautious in the future.” Ye Jiuge patted her small head.

“Yes!” Ye Ruyi nodded with all her might. In this lifetime, she would not trust anyone other than Eldest Sister ever again.