Though I May Be as Handsome as a Jade Tree in the Wind, I'm No Good Man

Just as he was puzzling over it, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a woman in a plain dress stepped down, followed by a maid with her hair in a bun.

"Miss Zhao?"

Lin Heng asked subconsciously.

The newcomer was Zhao Wanqing. The last time they had met in Zigu, she had been wearing a veil over her head, and with the sky already dark, he had not looked at her closely.

Now that he saw her in person in broad daylight, Lin Heng's eyeballs nearly popped out.

Beautiful!

Very beautiful!

For a moment, he could not even find the words to describe her.

Gentle and graceful, fresh and pure?

Still not quite right.

The other party merely lifted her eyes and smiled, and Lin Heng felt his whole body go numb.

As expected of someone who studied medicine, her skin looked even more dewy than Yun Yao's, and her looks were absolutely capable of putting up a fight.

"Young master, we meet again!"

"Hey! What are you staring at!" The maid's scolding brought him back to his senses.

Lin Heng coughed lightly twice and returned to a proper expression. "Miss, is something the matter?"

Looking at her posture, it seemed she had deliberately come looking for him.

"Rou'er, don't be rude."

After reprimanding her, Zhao Wanqing looked at Lin Heng and said softly, "Please do not take offense, young master. Daughter has come this time to ask something of you."

"Oh!" Lin Heng nodded, then pulled out the long bench on his right. "Sit down and talk!"

"Boss, bring these two a bowl of mutton soup as well."

"Coming right up!"

"Ah, young master, there's no need to spend so much!"

Zhao Wanqing hurriedly waved her hand.

Good heavens, she was being quite polite about it.

At the side, when the maid heard they were drinking mutton soup, her brows furrowed. Spend so much? Spend a chicken feather on a lousy bowl of soup?

Since when had her young lady ever eaten this sort of thing by the roadside?

Lin Heng waved his hand, then said, "Tell me what's going on. Why did you suddenly come looking for me?"

"Young master, I..."

Zhao Wanqing hesitated for a moment, embarrassment written all over her face, as if she could not bring herself to speak.

In the end, it was the maid who spoke. "Our young lady's jade pendant is with you, isn't it? Please return it to us. The jade pendant is very important to the young lady."

"Rou'er!"

Saying it so bluntly made both Zhao Wanqing and Lin Heng freeze.

"This thing?" Lin Heng raised a brow, took out the White Tiger Essence Jade, and shook it. "You came to me just for this?"

Lin Heng was somewhat speechless.

Before, she had kept saying it was a token of gratitude.

This fellow, wasn't it like bringing gifts to visit someone during a holiday? Who went visiting and then took the gifts back afterward?

Lin Heng did not think too much about it and directly tossed the jade pendant in front of them. "Fine, fine. Lucky I didn't take it and sell it."

He could tell that this jade pendant was very important to the Zhao Family.

That night, it had most likely been because he had killed too cleanly and neatly, and Zhao Wanqing had given him the jade pendant out of fear.

"Young master, I'm sorry. I don't want to break my promise either, it's just that my family..."

"Ah, I understand, I understand it all. It's nothing more than something happened that you couldn't control. Since the jade pendant is important to you, you shouldn't casually give it to someone, understand?"

"Also, if I'm not mistaken, this jade pendant should come as a pair. You found me by using the other jade pendant to guide you."

"You, how did you know?"

Zhao Wanqing was greatly shocked!

There were indeed two White Tiger Essence Jades. The other one was enshrined in the family ancestral hall. Logically speaking, Lin Heng should not have known.

"I guessed."

"Guessed?"

Seeing Lin Heng lower his head and slurp his mutton soup, Zhao Wanqing seemed to think of something and said to the maid beside her, "Rou'er, give me the item."

"Young master, this Storage Pouch contains five thousand Spirit Stones. It is not much as a token of respect, but please accept it."

"Oh!?" Lin Heng raised his head, took the Storage Pouch, and weighed it in his hand. "Miss Zhao is quite generous. Five thousand Spirit Stones is no small sum."

"Young master, you are a good person. It's only a small token of my feelings."

"No, no, no. Don't misunderstand. Though I may be as handsome as a jade tree in the wind, I'm no good man."

"I'll accept the Spirit Stones, but... if you truly wish to repay the favor, you might as well use another method."

Lin Heng raised his brows, implying something.

However, in the maid's eyes, this completely normal action changed flavor. "Lecher, my young lady gave you five thousand Spirit Stones and that still isn't enough? What other compensation do you want!"

Bang!

Lin Heng's brows furrowed. He knocked the bowl against the table, then stretched out his left hand and grabbed forward.

The next second, the maid's eyes widened as if someone had seized her throat from afar, and both her feet slowly left the ground.

Cough, cough, hak... (!)

"Noisy! I'm talking to your master, and you, a servant, are so fond of butting in?"

"Lady Zhao, do you need me to prove on the spot whether I'm a good man or a bad one?" Lin Heng said flatly, as if killing someone was nothing more than a lift of his hand to him.

He really hated this kind of person.

This kind of person who relied on a dog's master to bully others, or could not tell what was primary and what was secondary.

"Young master, please wait!" Zhao Wanqing immediately spoke to stop him. "I'm sorry, young master. I failed to discipline her strictly. I apologize to you on her behalf... I hope you can forgive her rudeness."

"Fine. If I didn't still have something to ask of Miss Zhao, today, one way or another, I would have strangled her to death."

Lin Heng withdrew his hand. The maid called Rou'er dropped onto the ground on her backside, coughed dryly twice, and gulped in rough breaths.

If it had been a few seconds later, she probably really would have gone to meet the King of Hell.

Only now did she realize that the young man before her, who had saved her young lady, was someone she could not provoke.

"Many thanks, young master!" Zhao Wanqing let out a breath of relief, then turned back to look at the maid and said, "Go back to the carriage and wait for me first."

"Yes... yes, young lady."

"Miss Zhao, don't take offense. I wasn't deliberately targeting you. Keeping such a servant by your side, someone who doesn't understand etiquette and rules, will sooner or later bring harm upon herself."

"Young master is right. After we return, I will discipline her strictly. I wonder what you need me to do. Daughter will certainly do everything in my power."

"Your Zhao Family should be attending tomorrow's Treasure Pavilion auction, right?"

"We will."

"I want to attach my name to yours and attend the Auction together with you.

"You can take it as me borrowing the Zhao Family's might. Of course, if an auction item I need appears, I'll pay for it myself."

Zhao Wanqing blinked, then quickly reacted.

"I understand. If young master participates in the auction under your own name, even if you successfully bid for a treasure, you might not be able to leave Swallow Cloud City safely with it."

"Smart. Lady Zhao truly understands with just one hint."

"Very well, I agree. I can still make the decision on this small matter. Tomorrow, I will send someone personally to the inn to pick young master up!"

"Good. Many thanks."

The corners of Lin Heng's mouth curved into a smile.

Zhao Wanqing's appearance surprised him greatly, yet it was also within his expectations.

He just had not expected her to come at such a perfectly timed moment.

With the Zhao Family as this layer of cover, he naturally had some security in competing with Ye Tian for opportunities.

Even a mighty dragon did not crush the local snake. No matter how awesome Ye Tian was, could he really go all out and fight the Zhao Family for it?

"Senior brother, oh senior brother, for your sake I've made every preparation. Don't disappoint me!"