A strange encounter at home

Tap, tap...

In just two steps, he had reached the edge of the bed.

Ye Jingtang studied her cautiously-the woman lay perfectly still, without even a discernible breath, like an exquisitely carved jade ornament. Yet he could sense a faint warmth and subtle fragrance.

With such a strange woman suddenly appearing in his bare-walled home, it was easy to think of tales about fox spirits and snail maidens.

Ye Jingtang hesitated, then held a hand beneath her nose to check her breathing. It was almost imperceptible, but steady and rhythmic. She was not dead...

Seeing this, Niao Niao also plucked up the courage to hop onto the woman's shoulder, cocked its head to examine her, and even touched her cheek with its beak. That touch woke her.

The woman opened her eyes, revealing beautiful, peach-blossom-shaped eyes as cold as a deep pool. With a trace of chill in her gaze, she looked at the man and bird before her.

"Chirp!"

Niao Niao shuddered in fright and hurried behind Ye Jingtang.

Ye Jingtang felt the oppressive force in that gaze. He quickly withdrew his hand and took two steps back.

"Ma'am, you..."

The woman said nothing and closed her eyes again.

??

Ye Jingtang was rather bewildered and silently wondered whether she was practicing some technique, or whether her pressure points had been sealed...

Dragon rider...

Ye Jingtang had no idea why that term had popped into his head. He examined the woman closely.

Judging by her appearance, she did not want to be disturbed. Questioning her further seemed inappropriate.

But this was his home. She had taken the magpie's nest like a cuckoo-what was he, the rightful owner, supposed to do standing beside her and watching?

While Ye Jingtang hesitated, a flurry of footsteps came from the street outside the alley.

Tap, tap, tap...

"Check over there..."

From the sounds, they were officers, and two were heading into the alley.

Ye Jingtang frowned and was about to go outside to investigate, but the moment he turned, a voice sounded beside him.

"Close the door."

Her voice was light and clear, the unmistakable voice of a mature beauty. Her tone was slightly cold, yet naturally carried a measure of softness.

It also sounded familiar. She seemed to be the older of the two martial-world women he had encountered that morning.

Realization dawned on Ye Jingtang, and he instinctively stopped. Once he had gathered his thoughts, however, he frowned.

"Are you a fugitive?"

The woman's peach-blossom eyes narrowed slightly, their depths perfectly calm.

"I'm expelling poison. It isn't that I can't move; I simply don't wish to hurt myself by moving rashly. Go divert the officers. I'll reward you generously afterward."

Ye Jingtang asked, "What did you do to have the court hunting you?"

Tap, tap...

The footsteps in the alley drew closer and closer.

After a brief hesitation, the woman said, "I belong to the righteous path. I came to the capital only to rescue someone. Help me divert them, and I'll teach you martial arts afterward."

Ye Jingtang weighed this briefly. If she had provoked an official search, she had clearly committed some offense. Harboring an outlaw was no minor crime...

But the moment he moved his feet, the woman extended her fair right hand from beneath her cloak. With a flick of her fingers, two copper coins flew out.

Whoosh, whoosh-

One struck the door, while the other ricocheted off the wall and struck it too, actually shutting it.

!

Ye Jingtang's heart sank. Such precision in technique and force spoke of unfathomable martial prowess. If she could flick coins to close a door, she could certainly flick concealed weapons to kill.

If he pushed this woman too far, the two approaching officers would most likely die violent deaths. Whether he could escape unscathed was uncertain as well...

As he hesitated, the footsteps in the alley vanished. The constables were evidently experienced: they had stopped making noise and were creeping toward the courtyard.

The woman looked at Ye Jingtang, her tone still calm.

"I don't want to slaughter innocents, but if they come in, they will die. My companion is still outside. If the commotion draws troops to surround us and gets me captured, she will certainly come back to take revenge on you. Think carefully."

Only upon hearing this did Ye Jingtang remember that the woman had an accomplice. That made things troublesome.

Tap, tap-

In the blink of an eye, soft sounds came from the roof of the neighboring courtyard. Apparently, the officers had no intention of knocking.

That left him no chance even to cover for her and divert them.

Seeing that she was about to be exposed, the woman knitted her delicate brows, seemingly about to rise and confront the enemy.

The two constables would most likely meet violent deaths if they came in, and Ye Jingtang would be caught like a fish in a drained moat. After weighing his options, he said:

"Don't do anything rash. I'll divert the officers, and you teach me martial arts for free. Deal?"

The woman's gaze shifted slightly. After no more than an instant's consideration, she nodded.

"I'll teach you one move... You!"

The words had barely left her mouth when she discovered, to her astonishment, that the incomparably handsome young man before her had come right up to her!

Realizing how Ye Jingtang intended to conceal her, the woman said urgently:

"Young hero, wait... You little scoundrel!"

When she found Ye Jingtang pressing her down, her expression instantly turned to embarrassed fury.

Ye Jingtang had no intention of taking advantage of her. He did his best to hold himself up without touching her, so she would not feel embarrassed. He pulled the quilt over them both, then began shaking the bed while signaling her with his eyes.

What Ye Jingtang had not expected was that, despite knowing his intention and facing imminent disaster, the woman inches away refused to cooperate at all. Instead, she wore the expression of a dishonored heroine, glared viciously at him, and even tried to push him away.

?

Are you out of your mind?

I'm not even taking advantage of you!

The arrow had left the bow; Ye Jingtang could no longer turn back. He was risking himself to help her out of righteousness, yet she showed so little sense of the situation. Naturally anxious and frustrated, he could only give her a pinch.

Caught completely off guard, the woman shuddered violently. Her eyes filled with astonishment, and she let out a startled, flustered cry.

"Ah!"

The approaching footsteps outside the door abruptly stopped at the same moment.

Ye Jingtang breathed a sigh of relief and shot the woman a glare, urging her to keep making sounds. Then he said:

"Is your husband good or what? Hmm?"

To Ye Jingtang's despair, however, the woman's eyes grew wet. She stared fixedly at him and weakly pried at his fingers, still refusing to make a sound.

Seeing this, Ye Jingtang genuinely wanted to throw her straight outside. But he had already begun the performance; there was no turning back halfway and explaining things to the officers. However annoyed he was, he had to continue, performing a one-man show.

"Still not vigorous enough for you?..."

As he spoke, he kept signaling the woman with his eyes, urging her to cooperate.

But the woman was extraordinarily stubborn. She clenched her teeth and refused to open her mouth. Two trails of clear tears even rolled from the corners of her eyes.

Although she offered no cooperation whatsoever, Ye Jingtang's acting truly was outstanding. After all his efforts, he still managed to fool the officers outside. Whispered voices sounded:

"Doing this in broad daylight, honestly... That bed's shaking like it's about to fall apart. He's pretty fierce."

"That woman's really holding it in. Not even a couple of cries after all that."

"How would she dare cry out in broad daylight?... What now?"

"Hmm... This must be the fugitive's diversion! Come on, let's go inside and look..."

"Go, go, go..."

As they spoke, they ran even faster!

?!

Both people in the room were stunned!

Ye Jingtang had just breathed a sigh of relief, but their final words nearly made him cough up a mouthful of blood. He did not know whether to call these constables too clever or too damned shameless. They actually wanted to come in and take a closer look?!

Fortunately, Ye Jingtang had committed fully to the act. He had already pulled down his outer robe, and quickly wrapped his arms around the woman beneath him.

Seeing that the constables were coming in, the woman resisted a little less, but she still failed to cooperate properly. In a fluster, she tried to curl her hands in front of herself and brace them against Ye Jingtang.

Until moments ago, Ye Jingtang had thought this woman simply did not know what was good for her. Now, however, he felt that she genuinely did not know how to cooperate. With no opportunity to investigate further, he hid her face with his own and continued the act.

Bang-

The door was kicked open.

Two constables carrying official sabers charged into the room with righteous expressions, their eyes wide as they stared at the bed.

"Ah!"

This time, the woman was not entirely foolish. With her mouth beside Ye Jingtang's ear, she gave a convincing scream-and nearly deafened him.

Now you decide to scream that loudly?!

The sound made Ye Jingtang's eardrum ache, igniting an inexplicable fury. Fortunately, that expression suited the situation perfectly. He held the woman tightly, shielding her completely, and turned an angry glare toward the doorway.

"Who's there?!... Huh? Officers, what is this?"

The two officers swept their eyes over the bed. Finding the pair covered so thoroughly that nothing but hair was visible, they were plainly deeply disappointed.

Their expressions, however, remained utterly righteous.

"A criminal trespassed into the Black Bureau this afternoon. This is a routine search. Why are you two hiding here? Did you see anyone suspicious earlier?"

Trespassed into the Black Bureau?

Ye Jingtang was inwardly startled. He had not expected this woman to be so capable.

But he had no time to think about it now. Carefully pulling his outer robe over, he felt inside the sleeve, took out the lease his landlord had written, and tossed it to the constables, wearing the look of a man who dared feel anger but not voice it.

"Officer, I only moved in yesterday. Do I look like I've been in any position to see a criminal?"

The constables thought he did not. One took the lease and examined it. After confirming that he was an ordinary resident, the man searched for something to say and demanded:

"It isn't even dark, and you're doing this sort of thing at home..."

The other constable raised a hand. "Forget it. It's pouring outside, and they've got nothing but four bare walls. What else can they do? Let's go."

He tossed the document onto the bed, turned, and went outside, even closing the door behind him.

Ye Jingtang was about to get up when he realized the two had stopped after taking only a few steps outside and were standing perfectly still.

Apparently, these two constables were no fools. Lechers they might be, but they had not abandoned caution.

The woman noticed this too. She looked up at Ye Jingtang, a hint of complicated emotion appearing on her ice-cold face. Though she said nothing, the meaning in her eyes was clear-continue.

Feeling rather odd, Ye Jingtang put on a convincing act.

"What a damned mood killer. Wife, they didn't frighten you, did they?"

"No, husband... You..."

The woman opened her mouth, bewilderment flickering in her eyes. She seemed not to know what to say.