"Big sister..." The young girl's tears finally spilled, her voice thick with sobs.
Yan Lingwei was filled with unbearable pity as well. She pulled the girl tightly into her arms, reluctant to let go for a long while.
Seeing the two women looking so reluctant to part, Chen Duan knitted his brows slightly, a trace of impatience flashing across his face.
"She's your relative?"
Yan Lingwei hurriedly released the girl and bowed nervously.
"Replying to Lord, she isn't a relative, only a younger sister with whom I share a close relationship. This servant lost her composure. I beg Lord to punish me."
"Since your feelings run so deep, then go together."
"Hm?"
Yan Lingwei and the girl froze on the spot at the same time.
A moment later.
Yan Lingwei and the girl followed Chen Duan out of the Floating Fragrance Tower step by step.
Chen Duan held two deeds of sale in his hands.
Le Buxiu was not only unbothered by Chen Duan taking the women for himself, he was delighted to see it happen. He had even clapped Chen Duan on the shoulder and teased him for "knowing how to enjoy himself."
In his eyes, using two insignificant women to draw closer to Chen Duan was an excellent bargain.
Chen Duan looked at the timid girl and casually asked, "What's your name?"
The girl nervously twisted the hem of her clothes. "Replying to Lord, this servant is called Miao Cuilan."
Miao Cuilan...
A strange look flashed through Chen Duan's eyes, as though several distant memories had been stirred up at once.
Nearby, Yan Lingwei looked at Miao Cuilan's young and petite appearance, and felt somewhat sorry for her.
Although Miao Cuilan would sooner or later meet the same fate as the other women if she stayed at the Floating Fragrance Tower, at least she could still enjoy several years of relative peace.
Now that she had been taken away alongside Yan Lingwei by this fierce and uncouth Martial Master, her future was even more uncertain...
She let out a faint sigh inwardly. Things had already come to this, so all she could do was secretly pray that this Lord Chen would be a gentle master who understood a little about human feelings...
But when she glanced at Chen Duan's back, towering like a mountain, Yan Lingwei grew frightened again.
Miao Cuilan's thoughts were also tangled into a mess. She was completely bewildered.
She had clearly only come to see Big Sister Lingwei off. How had she, in the blink of an eye, somehow ended up following this lord?
Le Buxiu had already arranged a carriage for them, but Chen Duan found it too slow. Spreading his arms, he hoisted Yan Lingwei and Miao Cuilan onto his shoulders, one on each side!
"Ah!"
Two short cries rang out at the same time.
The two girls felt the world spin beneath them. Before they could react, the wind was already howling in their ears, while the scenery before their eyes swept rapidly backward.
Chen Duan had actually used his movement technique directly. Carrying the two women, he bounded and leaped through Yingcheng's streets and alleys, vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.
Many of the Floating Fragrance Tower's guests and courtesans witnessed the scene and immediately began gossiping.
"Whoa! That lord is so huge. Those two are probably in for a rough time tonight!"
"Hmph, serves her right. Yan Lingwei usually acts like she's so special—who is she putting on airs for? And that Miao Cuilan actually dared to talk back to me for that slut last time! Serves her right!"
"Tsk, tsk, that man sure is impatient! But he really knows how to have fun!"
"Hmph! What a boorish brute. Poor Miss Lingwei. Why couldn't she wait a few more days for me? Damn it!"
At the top floor of the Floating Fragrance Tower.
Le Buxiu leaned against the railing and gazed into the distance. Watching Chen Duan carry the two women away in a trail of dust, he burst into loud laughter.
"Hahahaha, I thought he was truly a saint who had no interest in women. Turns out this is what he likes.
"He really put on quite the act before. Now he's finally shown his true colors!"
He had previously thought Chen Duan was somewhat different from the others, but now it seemed that, in the end, he could not escape wine, women, wealth, and qi. Fundamentally, he was no different from Le Buxiu.
That was even better. There was nothing wrong with being an ordinary man.
"Senior Le."
Xiao Si gazed at that departing figure, his brows faintly furrowed and his eyes thoughtful.
"I'm afraid something's wrong. Chen Duan doesn't seem like the sort of man who would be this lustful and reckless."
"Hm?" Le Buxiu's laughter faltered. He turned his head toward him.
Xiao Si pondered. "Perhaps there's something special about those two women that caught his interest."
"They're only two women. What could possibly be special about them?"
Le Buxiu waved his hand dismissively, a trace of displeasure entering his tone.
"Xiao Si, must you always assume the worst about everything?"
He felt somewhat irritated. Xiao Si had not said a word while they were sending the women off, but now that they had been carried away, he had to bring this up!
Even if the two women really were hiding some treasure, could Le Buxiu really lower himself to go to their door and demand it back?
That would be utterly humiliating. Wouldn't he become the laughingstock of all Yingcheng?
Yet after his laughter faded, Xiao Si's words felt like a tiny thorn lodged in his heart, making him faintly uneasy.
Thinking back carefully on Chen Duan's "impatient" appearance, he also sensed that something was off. Could there really be some treasure...
When they returned to the courtyard, Chen Duan dumped the two women down like unloading cargo.
Yan Lingwei and Miao Cuilan were still shaken. Their toes touched the ground, but their legs were weak and staggering, and they nearly fell.
The night wind whipped their hair into disarray. A few strands clung to their pale cheeks, adding to their disheveled and fragile appearance.
Chen Duan did not even look at them. He casually took Yan Lingwei's pipa, then walked straight to the stone bench in the courtyard and sat down. Lowering his head, he began fiddling with and studying it, leaving the two beautiful sisters completely stranded to one side.
Yan Lingwei and Miao Cuilan finally steadied themselves and caught their breath, only to see an incredibly incongruous scene.
A burly giant of eight chi was holding an exquisite pipa, his thick fingers clumsily plucking the strings and producing scattered, tuneless notes.
The bizarre sight made their hearts tremble with unease.
Chen Duan said nothing. He was wholly immersed in exploring the pipa, as if he were the only person in the courtyard.
Yan Lingwei and Miao Cuilan did not dare disturb him and could only stand stiffly where they were.
Time trickled by. Miao Cuilan was younger, after all, and could not endure the loneliness.
She secretly watched Chen Duan and found that he seemed completely absorbed in the pipa, so she plucked up her courage and looked around.
Suddenly, she caught sight of a blurry shadow reflected on the paper window of a side room to the west. The figure seemed to be holding a book and reading quietly beneath a lamp.
"Big sister, there seems to be someone else in that room."
She leaned close to Yan Lingwei's ear and whispered.
"Shh!"
Yan Lingwei's expression changed. She stopped her with a look and lowered her voice to a near whisper. "Don't meddle. The situation is unclear, so don't act rashly."
Her heart was uneasy. Every part of this courtyard gave off a strange air, and the master's behavior was even more unpredictable. At this moment, any unnecessary action could invite disaster.
Ting~ Zheng~
Chen Duan continued plucking at the strings, the chaotic notes ringing out alone across the courtyard.
The sisters stood there anxiously, their initial terror gradually turning into exhaustion.
Their legs began to go numb, and their eyelids grew heavy. Yet they did not dare say a word, and could only grit their teeth and endure.
No one knew how long had passed before Chen Duan seemed to temporarily lose interest. He shoved the pipa into Yan Lingwei's arms and ordered, "Play."
Then, with a casual flick of his toe, he kicked a nearby stool beneath Yan Lingwei.
Yan Lingwei froze for a moment. It was only when Chen Duan swept her with an impatient gaze that she hurriedly sat down and began playing the pipa in her arms.
Miao Cuilan watched her sister sit down, envy showing in her eyes. She wanted to sit, too.
But when she looked at Chen Duan's face, he seemed so terribly fierce that the request rising to her lips was swallowed back down. She could only continue gritting her teeth and holding on.
The pipa's music rang out in the courtyard, but the longer Chen Duan listened, the more tightly his brows knitted.
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