Eighth Young Lady

"Miss, we've arrived."

A sedan chair came to a stop. Assisted by her maid, a gorgeously dressed young lady stepped out of it.

"Let's go in."

"Yes, Miss."

The maid then turned to the sedan bearers and the two Martial Artists escorting them here.

"You two wait here."

"At your command."

The sedan bearers answered 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 glare fiercely at them before helping her mistress into the residence before them.

"She really doesn't know whether she's dead or alive. She's just a maid, yet she dared glare at us. If I ran into her out in the wild, I'd give her two cuts straight away."

Luo Tao complained irritably.

Chen Xun only smiled and said nothing.

Chen Xun had seen plenty of maids like her in the Li Family.

After serving their masters for too long, they began to think their own status had risen as well. They treated those beneath them with extreme arrogance.

"Sigh, when will days like this ever end?"

"This job may be easy, but it's a waste of time. We can't even wander around freely. There's no freedom at all."

Luo Tao continued grumbling.

Seven days had passed since Li Tiangang stepped in and reassigned the Hunting Team members to escort the ladies and young misses of the estate whenever they went out.

During those seven days, the Hunting Team's fourteen members had remained at the estate in pairs.

Whenever a madam or young lady went out, they would be called upon as guards.

Those without assignments continued staying at the estate.

"Sigh, why hasn't that damn Flower Thief been caught yet?"

"The yamen's efficiency is far too 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 occurred in Cloudflow County.

Every time, someone broke into a woman's bedchamber at night, knocked her unconscious with drugs, then committed that vile act.

Some victims were daughters of wealthy households, while others were daughters of common folk.

The Flower Thief did not discriminate between unmarried young girls and women who had borne children. His victims included both.

If there was one thing they had in common, it was that all of the victims were fairly pretty.

Though that hardly counted as something in common. Unless someone had a problem in the head, who would go to all that trouble to sleep with an ugly woman?

The youngest victim had not even come of age.

That made Chen Xun wary. After all, he had a younger sister.

Chen Qingqing was delicate and adorable, exceptionally likable in appearance. There was a chance the Flower Thief might set his sights on her.

Thus, Chen Xun had been working at the Li Estate during the day and returning 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.

During the day, when he came to work at the Li Estate, he usually had no missions outside, so he used the 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'm going to sleep against the wall. Keep an eye out for me."

"Alright. Go to sleep."

Seeing him like this, Luo Tao seemed to want to say something, but in the end said nothing. He merely nodded at Chen Xun.

Once Luo Tao agreed, 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, yet the Eighth Young Lady he was escorting still had not come out.

"It's almost dark. Should we go urge her?"

Chen Xun looked up at the sky and frowned.

"That... wouldn't be very good, would it? If the Eighth Young Lady is enjoying herself, disturbing her rashly might make her unhappy."

Luo Tao hesitated.

"Then we'll wait a little longer. If the Eighth Young Lady still hasn't come out, we'll have to urge her. The estate has repeatedly told us that we must return before dark."

Chen Xun said seriously.

"Then... alright."

Luo Tao nodded hesitantly.

After waiting nearly another half hour, the Eighth Young Lady still had not come out. Chen Xun found the gatekeeper of the residence and said, "Sorry for the trouble. Please go inside and inform the Eighth Young Lady of our Li Estate that it's getting late. The estate has rules—we must return before dark."

"Understood. I'll report it at once."

The gatekeeper did not dare delay. He hurriedly opened the small gate and jogged inside to deliver the message.

Chen Xun and the others waited another full half hour. The sun was nearly setting before the Eighth Young Lady and her maid finally strolled out.

The moment they emerged, the maid launched into an attack first, demanding fiercely, "Our Miss was having a wonderful time with Miss Huang. Who allowed you to send someone in to rush us?"

The maid's eyes were fierce and menacing.

The Eighth Young Lady beside her also chimed in with a displeased expression. "That's right. I only get to come out once a month. Can't I play a little longer?"

Seeing this, the two sedan bearers lowered their heads and did not dare speak.

Luo Tao looked helpless and wanted to say something, but Chen Xun stopped him.

"I was the one who had someone notify the Eighth Young Lady."

"So it was you. What are you supposed to be? Is the Eighth Young Lady someone you can rush?"

Upon seeing the culprit, the maid immediately pointed at Chen Xun's nose and cursed him.

Chen Xun did not curse back. He merely watched the tantrum-throwing maid quietly.

At the Major Accomplishment level, [Mountain Lord Acupoint-Finding Secret Art] had granted him immense spiritual power, lending his gaze a powerful oppressive force.

Under Chen Xun's stare, the maid felt as though an exceedingly 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, much less continue cursing.

"Please board the sedan chair, Eighth Young Lady."

Chen Xun turned to the Eighth Young Lady and spoke.

"O-okay."

The Eighth Young Lady seemed to have just snapped back to herself. Her gaze toward Chen Xun darted away, and she obediently entered the sedan chair.

He looked so handsome just now.

Inside the sedan chair, the Eighth Young Lady recalled Chen Xun's appearance. Her heart stirred with the first flush of spring, and her pretty face reddened slightly.

Chen Xun had just used his powerful spiritual cultivation, causing his bearing to suddenly become mysterious and majestic.

Combined with his naturally handsome face—

The Eighth Young Lady, who had noticed him from the side, was left utterly spellbound.

Having spent all year waiting unmarried in her chambers, how many men from outside could the Eighth Young Lady possibly have seen? Her favorable impression of Chen Xun surged.

Along the way, the maid walked beside the sedan chair, quietly speaking ill of Chen Xun to the Eighth Young Lady while cautiously glancing at Chen Xun following behind them, afraid he might overhear.

Clearly, Chen Xun had frightened her somewhat.

What puzzled her even more was that the Eighth Young Lady actually interrupted her. Looking at her seriously, she said, "You are not allowed to speak ill of him."

Heavens, was this really the Eighth Young Lady?

Why was she speaking up for an outsider?

The maid's defenses completely shattered. She fell silent for the rest of the journey.

By the time they escorted the Eighth Young Lady back to the Li Estate, it was fully dark.

As Chen Xun prepared to leave for home, one corner of the sedan curtain was suddenly lifted, and the Eighth Young Lady asked him, "Um... what is your name?"

Chen Xun froze for a moment, then answered without much thought, "Chen Xun."

"Chen Xun..." The Eighth Young Lady paused, then smiled at him. "I'll remember it."

After that, the Eighth Young Lady lowered the sedan curtain.

"Miss, why did you ask for the name of a servant like him?"

The maid asked incredulously.

"I only asked casually."

The Eighth Young Lady explained, then added, "Don't read too much into it."

This was like hiding three hundred taels of silver beneath the ground and putting up a sign saying there was no silver here. Instead, it gave the maid an unpleasant suspicion.

Could Miss have taken a fancy to that servant? Impossible. Absolutely impossible.

The maid hurriedly shook her head.

"How baffling!"

Chen Xun watched the sedan chair depart, muttered a complaint, then left the Li Estate without looking back and ran toward home.