"Miss, we've arrived."
A sedan chair came to a stop. Supported by her maid, a gorgeously dressed young woman stepped out of it.
"Let's go in."
"Yes, Miss."
The maid then turned to look at the sedan bearers and the two Martial Artists who had escorted them here.
"You wait here."
"Understood."
The sedan bearers replied respectfully.
The two Martial Artists merely nodded without speaking.
The maid was somewhat displeased, but she had no authority to do anything to the two Martial Artists. She could only shoot them a fierce glare before supporting her mistress into the residence before them.
"What a death wish. She's just a maid, yet she dared glare at us. If I ran into her out in the wilderness, I'd give her two cuts right away."
Luo Tao grumbled irritably.
Chen Xun merely smiled and said nothing.
Chen Xun had seen plenty of maids like this in the Li Family.
After serving their masters for a long time, they thought their own status had risen with them, treating those beneath them with extreme arrogance.
"Hey, when will days like this ever end?"
"This job's easy enough, but it's a waste of time. We can't run around either—there's no freedom at all."
Luo Tao continued complaining.
Seven days had passed since Li Tiangang stepped in and turned the Hunting Team members into guards responsible for escorting the ladies and young misses of the estate when they went out.
Over those seven days, the Hunting Team's fourteen members had remained in the estate at all times in pairs.
Whenever a madam or young miss went out, they would be summoned to serve as guards.
Those without assignments continued staying in the estate.
"Ugh, why hasn't that damned Flower Thief been caught yet?"
"The yamen's efficiency is ridiculously low."
Seeing that Chen Xun remained silent, Luo Tao continued muttering to himself.
At the mention of the Flower Thief, Chen Xun could not help frowning as well.
Over the past seven days, several cases of drugged rape had already occurred in Cloudflow County.
Every time, someone had broken into a woman's bedroom at night, knocked her unconscious with drugs, then committed that vile act.
Some of the victims were daughters of wealthy families, while others were daughters of ordinary commoners.
The Flower Thief had no qualms about meat or vegetables. His victims included unmarried young girls as well as women who had borne children.
If there was one common point, it was that all the victims were rather pretty.
Though that barely counted as a common point. Unless someone had something wrong with their head, who would go to all that trouble to sleep with an ugly woman?
And the youngest victim was not even of age.
That forced Chen Xun to stay alert, since he had a younger sister.
Chen Qingqing looked delicate and adorable, the sort everyone liked at first glance. The Flower Thief might set his sights on her.
Therefore, Chen Xun had recently worked at Li Estate during the day and returned home every night to watch over Chen Qingqing.
At night, he did not sleep. He took enhanced Blood-Strengthening Pills and cultivated through the entire night.
When he came to work at Li Estate during the day, he had no outside assignments most of the time, so he used that time to catch up on sleep.
With his current physical condition, four or five hours of sleep a day was enough to leave him full of energy.
"Ha~" Chen Xun yawned.
"Luo Tao, I'll sleep against the wall. Keep an eye out for me."
"All right. Sleep."
Seeing him like this, Luo Tao seemed to want to say something, but stopped himself in the end. He merely nodded at Chen Xun.
With Luo Tao's agreement, Chen Xun leaned against the nearby wall, hugged a saber in his arms, and closed his eyes for a brief nap.
In the blink of an eye, two hours passed.
Chen Xun had already woken up, but the Eighth Young Miss he was escorting still had not come out.
"It's getting dark. Should we go urge her?"
Chen Xun looked up at the sky and could not help frowning.
"That... wouldn't be too good, would it? If the Eighth Young Miss is having fun, disturbing her rashly might make her unhappy."
Luo Tao hesitated.
"Then we'll wait a little longer. If the Eighth Young Miss still hasn't come out, we'll have to urge her. The estate has repeatedly instructed us that we must return before dark."
Chen Xun said seriously.
"All right, then."
Luo Tao nodded hesitantly.
After waiting nearly another half hour, the Eighth Young Miss still had not emerged. Chen Xun found the gatekeeper of the residence and said, "Sorry for the trouble, please go in and inform the Eighth Young Miss of our Li Estate that it's getting late. The estate has rules requiring us to return before nightfall."
"Understood. I'll report it at once."
The gatekeeper did not dare delay. He hurriedly opened the small gate and ran inside to deliver the message.
Chen Xun and the others waited another full half hour. The sun was nearly setting before the Eighth Young Miss and her maid finally emerged at an unhurried pace.
The moment they came out, the maid struck first, demanding fiercely, "Our miss and Miss Huang were having a wonderful time. Who told you to send someone in to urge us?"
The maid's eyes were vicious and menacing.
The Eighth Young Miss at her side also chimed in with an unhappy expression. "Exactly. I only get to come out once a month. Can't you let me have a little more fun?"
Seeing this, the two sedan bearers shrank their heads and dared not speak.
Luo Tao looked helpless. Just as he wanted to say something, Chen Xun stopped him.
"I was the one who had someone inform the Eighth Young Miss."
"So it was you. What are you supposed to be? Is the Eighth Young Miss someone you can urge?"
Upon seeing the culprit, the maid immediately pointed at Chen Xun's nose and cursed.
Chen Xun did not curse back. He merely watched the shrieking maid quietly.
The Major Accomplishment Mountain Lord Acupoint-Finding Secret Art had granted him formidable spiritual power, and his gaze carried a powerful oppressive force as well.
Under Chen Xun's stare, the maid felt as though an exceptionally dangerous tiger had fixed its eyes on her. Gradually, she found it hard to breathe, her face turned pale, and in the end, she could not utter a single word—let alone curse anyone.
"Please board the sedan chair, Eighth Young Miss."
Chen Xun turned to the Eighth Young Miss and spoke.
"O-okay."
The Eighth Young Miss seemed to have only just come back to her senses. Her gaze darted away from Chen Xun, and she obediently climbed into the sedan chair.
"He looked so handsome just now."
Inside the sedan chair, the Eighth Young Miss recalled Chen Xun's appearance. Her heart stirred with springtime feelings, and her pretty face flushed faintly.
Chen Xun had used his powerful spiritual cultivation just then, causing his bearing to abruptly become mysterious and imposing.
Combined with his already handsome face.
The Eighth Young Miss, who had noticed him from the side, had been utterly captivated.
Having remained sequestered in her chambers for years, how many men outside her family had the Eighth Young Miss ever met? Her favorable impression of Chen Xun surged.
On the road, the maid followed beside the sedan chair. She softly badmouthed Chen Xun to the Eighth Young Miss while cautiously glancing at Chen Xun behind them, terrified that he might hear her.
Clearly, Chen Xun had frightened her somewhat.
What puzzled her even more was that the Eighth Young Miss actually interrupted her, then looked at her seriously. "You're not allowed to speak badly of him."
Heavens, was this still the Eighth Young Miss?
Why was she speaking up for an outsider?
The maid's defenses completely crumbled. She fell silent for the rest of the journey.
By the time they escorted the Eighth Young Miss back to Li Estate, night had fallen completely.
As Chen Xun prepared to leave for home, a corner of the sedan curtain suddenly lifted, and the Eighth Young Miss asked him, "Um... what's your name?"
Chen Xun froze for a moment, then answered without much thought, "Chen Xun."
"Chen Xun." The Eighth Young Miss paused, then smiled at him. "I'll remember it."
Then, the Eighth Young Miss lowered the sedan curtain.
"Miss, why did you ask for the name of a servant like him?"
The maid asked in disbelief.
"I just asked casually."
The Eighth Young Miss explained, then added, "Don't overthink it."
This was practically protesting too much, only giving the maid an alarming suspicion.
"Could Miss have taken a fancy to that servant? Impossible. Absolutely impossible."
The maid hurriedly shook her head.
"How baffling!"
Watching the sedan chair recede into the distance, Chen Xun could not help grumbling. Then he left Li Estate without looking back and ran toward his home.