130. Little beauty, come with me from now on.
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Chapter 130
Le Qianxue was dazed for a brief moment.
She turned her head and looked at the man. His eyes were filled with laughter, and his coquettish appearance was extraordinarily charming.
When he saw her looking at him, the corners of his lips curved upward. “Why are you staring at me? How did your zither playing become so terrible? Did you never study properly before?”
Le Qianxue could only reply, “I have never cared for music, chess, calligraphy, or painting.”
The man’s hand paused. “Then what do you like?”
She smiled. “I have always enjoyed studying medicine.”
“Oh.” The man looked her over again, then moved a little closer.
Le Qianxue felt that something was wrong and immediately shrank back. Although the man was exceptionally beautiful, she truly had no improper thoughts about him at all.
The other female musicians were practically green with envy. Such good fortune had actually fallen into Le Qianxue’s lap.
The man seized her hand, leaving her unable to move.
“Do I look like some wild beast? Why are you so afraid of me?” he asked.
Le Qianxue said, “Men and women should keep their distance. It would be better if you didn’t sit so close.”
The man gave a mocking laugh. “Men and women should keep their distance? How strange. I heard that you spent an entire night with Zhan Lianjing at the Thousand Gold Pavilion. Why be so reserved with me now?”
Le Qianxue froze. Her gaze suddenly turned strange. This man knew who she was.
She immediately asked, “You know who I am?”
“Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have wasted my inner strength to save you.” The man’s smile grew even brighter. “Little beauty, you’re not bad at all. No wonder Zhan Lianjing took a liking to you.”
Le Qianxue’s heart gave a sudden jolt. So this man had a grudge against Zhan Lianjing? His words were practically dripping with jealousy.
She narrowed her eyes. “Then thank you for saving me. I’m leaving now.”
She tried to stand, but the man tugged on her hand and prevented her from going anywhere.
He appeared utterly relaxed, yet he had already seized the vital point in her wrist.
The corners of his lips lifted in a smile that remained as captivating as ever. “Little beauty, why are you in such a hurry to leave? You haven’t finished giving me your thanks.”
Le Qianxue did not dare move. She had already witnessed how ruthless he could be when he struck.
With another tug, he pulled her back down.
He said calmly, “Going back is impossible now. Stay here and behave. Why follow Zhan Lianjing? From now on, follow me instead. I can teach you martial arts and the zither. That cripple Zhan Lianjing can’t take care of you properly. Don’t I know exactly what he’s like?”
Le Qianxue grew increasingly puzzled. Who exactly was this man?
She was being held here under soft confinement. Her martial arts were not strong enough to force her way out, so she would have to wait for the right opportunity.
Le Qianxue asked, “Who are you?”
The man smiled again and took her hand. “Why are you getting angry? You’re not pretty when you’re angry. You mustn’t do that.”
Le Qianxue was irritated by the way he kept answering questions with unrelated remarks.
She said, “I still have to attend the Yan family auction. If you take me away now, how am I supposed to go?”
The man thought for a moment. “The Yan family auction? There really will be plenty of interesting things there. Since you want to go, I’ll take you.”
“You have an invitation?” Le Qianxue asked, hoping to find out his name.
“An invitation? How difficult could that be?” The man pursed his lips. “All right. We’ll go tomorrow. We won’t be late.”
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Le Qianxue breathed a sigh of relief. This man seemed willing to indulge her. She hoped Zhan Lianjing would also attend the auction tomorrow; then she would have a chance to escape.
She had noticed earlier that all these female musicians possessed some foundation in martial arts. Now that she had boarded this pirate ship, leaving did not seem easy.
In the end, the man still did not reveal his name. However, he arranged a first-class room for Le Qianxue to rest in.
Because he had shown her such favor, everyone aboard the pleasure boat treated her with the utmost respect.
Even so, two guards stood outside the door, and two maids remained inside to watch her.
Le Qianxue intended to wait until late at night and find a chance to escape. She pretended to fall asleep, but the two maids did not seem capable of dozing off.
She was wondering whether she should force her way out when the door suddenly opened from outside.
She opened one eye and took a look. It was that man again.
He was wearing a white inner robe with a slightly low collar, exposing his fair skin and firm chest. His hair had fallen loose around him, and his seductive appearance was simply unrivaled.
Le Qianxue was wondering why he had come when he tiptoed into the room.
“Little beauty, are you asleep?”
Le Qianxue did not feel like dealing with him, so she simply closed her eyes.
The more she thought about it, the stranger this man seemed. He treated her fairly well, but there also appeared to be a knife hidden behind his smile. Otherwise, why would he be so displeased with Zhan Lianjing?
As she was thinking this, the man came straight over and sat down beside the bed.
Le Qianxue instantly became alert. She sat up and scolded him, “What are you doing? Leave at once!”
The man looked at her. “Why are you so fierce? I couldn’t sleep, so I came to find you. Why are you being so harsh with me?”
Le Qianxue was stunned. Was she being harsh?
She snorted and turned her head away. “Then let me leave. What are you doing by confining me here? Do you have some grudge against Zhan Lianjing and want to use me to threaten him?”
The man chuckled cheerfully. “You’re quite clever. Ah, it’s true that Zhan Lianjing and I have a grudge—a very serious one, at that. But I won’t use you to threaten him, because you’ll belong to me from now on.”
Le Qianxue glared at him. She really did not feel like talking to someone like this.
She asked, “Are you working with Yu Yao?”
“Yu Yao?” The man thought about it. “Who is that?”
Judging from his expression, Le Qianxue did not think he was lying, which only left her more confused.
“Who are you?” Her voice turned cold. “Are you really not going to let me know whose pirate ship I’ve boarded?”
“Pirate ship? How is my pleasure boat a pirate ship?” the man protested. “At the very least, this is a little paradise. Look, you have someone as talented and accomplished as me keeping you company. Why go back to that cripple Zhan Lianjing? How boring would that be? Isn’t it better to follow me? I’ll give you the finest food and the best clothes.”
Le Qianxue turned her head away again. Since he refused to tell her who he was, there was no point in saying anything more.
He actually harbored such intentions. It seemed she would have to be even more careful. This man’s martial arts were so formidable that she needed to think of a way out. Unfortunately, she had not brought many powders or pills with her this time.
The man leaned toward her. “How about this? Tell me a story to lull me to sleep, and I’ll tell you my name.”
The corner of Le Qianxue’s mouth twitched. She answered directly, “No.”
The man’s lips drooped. “You actually refuse to seize such a good opportunity?”
Le Qianxue frowned. “Then sit properly.”
The man immediately became interested. “All right, all right. Go on.”
“Once upon a time, there was a mountain. On the mountain stood a temple. In the temple lived a monk,” Le Qianxue began, repeating the same line again and again.
The smile faded from the man’s face. He rolled his eyes at her. “Are you making fun of me?”
This time, Le Qianxue began to laugh. “Yes. Who told you not to give me your name?”
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The man snorted. “I simply won’t tell you. Let you think about me and forget that Zhan Lianjing. That would be for the best.”
Le Qianxue cast him a sidelong glance. “You didn’t happen to see me getting along with him and become jealous, thinking I stole your man, did you? If you have the courage, compete fairly. What are you doing by confining me here?”
The man was stunned. What kind of nonsense was this?
It took him a long moment to recover. Then he said, “What utter rubbish. I like women.”
Le Qianxue said, “We’re meeting for the first time, yet you keep bringing up Zhan Lianjing. If you’re not jealous of him, then what is it? Who are you trying to fool?”
“Meeting for the first time?” the man said. “We’ve seen each other plenty. I simply don’t want that cripple Zhan Lianjing to ruin you. Hmph. He may be a little more well-endowed, but he’s still a cripple. How could he compare with me? If you stay with him, you’ll regret it.”
“My affairs are my own concern. But I have never seen you before. How could we have seen each other plenty?”
The man yawned, apparently unwilling to continue.
He casually lay down on the bed, ignoring Le Qianxue’s protests, and said, “I’m going to sleep. Come sleep with me.”
Le Qianxue hurriedly shouted, “Get down! Don’t you have somewhere else to sleep?”
The man simply closed his eyes and ignored her.
Seeing that he remained motionless, Le Qianxue grew furious. How could anyone be so shameless?
She snorted and kicked him. “Get down!”
The man paid her no attention.
Seeing this, Le Qianxue came up with another idea.
A silver needle shot from her hand. Yet in the blink of an eye, the man caught it between both hands.
Without even opening his eyes, he said calmly, “Little beauty, ambushing people is not a good habit. If you do that again, I’ll tie you up.”
Le Qianxue frowned helplessly. Her petty tricks were completely useless against this man.
She wanted to get out of bed. She did not want to share the same bed with him.
But the man shot the silver needle back, blocking her path.
“Don’t let your feet touch the floor. You’ll catch a chill.” Although his words sounded concerned, they carried an unmistakable threat.
Le Qianxue was furious, but his tone was unusually serious. If she refused to obey, he might not remain so courteous.
After thinking it over, she could only curl up in a corner.
Hearing her movements, the man finally smiled in satisfaction.
Meanwhile, chaos had already erupted on Zhan Lianjing’s side.
Zhuixing and Haoyue had been unable to find her, while Zhan Yunge continued sobbing beside him.
Zhan Lianjing’s face was frighteningly dark. “Enough. What are you crying for?”
Zhan Yunge could only say, “Brother, I really—I truly didn’t mean to. I only wanted Sister Yu Yao to…”
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Tianjin
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