Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Qiao Ying was not especially magnanimous. Because she was still holding a grudge over Shen Qingyu leaving her up in a tree, she had wanted to sneak out and enjoy a meal all to herself. She just hadn’t expected Shen Qingyu to have a nose like a dog’s, following the scent straight to her.
She had ordered a whole table of good dishes, but had barely eaten any of it herself. Instead, she had spent the entire time serving him.
Qiao Ying had just about finished picking the bones out of an entire plate of fish and had switched to peeling shrimp for him when she suddenly heard him laugh. She asked, “What are you laughing at?”
Shen Qingyu said, “I only just realized that earning money is a very important thing.”
If he were not her “patron,” she probably would not be so cooperative, picking out fish bones for him and peeling shrimp besides.
Qiao Ying put the shrimp into his bowl and muttered, “Of course money is useful. Without money, you can’t go anywhere.”
Shen Qingyu said again, “Qiao Ying, mouth.”
Qiao Ying grumbled inwardly, but still picked up the handkerchief and leaned toward the corner of his lips, gently wiping away the oil there.
Every time this happened, Shen Qingyu would bend down and lower his head, his face tilted slightly to the side, the corners of his lips still lifted. He looked just like some fluffy little animal offering up its head to be petted.
At some point, another group of people entered the restaurant. The other diners were each tossed an ingot of silver, and very soon, they were all cleared out.
Then, a noblewoman walked straight toward the young man and woman seated in the corner.
Qiao Ying noticed the change around them. Seeing the elegant, richly dressed elderly woman drawing closer and closer, she was utterly confused and said softly, “Shen Qingyu, the Zhao family’s Old Madam is here.”
Shen Qingyu gave a casual sound of acknowledgment. “Oh.”
Old Madam Zhao’s objective was clear. Once she arrived before them, her assessing gaze fell on Qiao Ying and Shen Qingyu. Strictly speaking, she was assessing Shen Qingyu. As for Qiao Ying, she was merely incidental.
“I heard from Zhiyi that the person who stopped Fangcun City from collapsing a few days ago, saved the people in the city, and possessed extraordinary strength was you?”
Shen Qingyu smiled. “Perhaps it was. Perhaps it wasn’t.”
His answer was ambiguous and extremely careless. He did not take this noble Old Madam seriously at all. Of course, he truly could not see her either.
Shen Qingyu held out his hand toward Qiao Ying.
Qiao Ying did not move.
Shen Qingyu tilted his head slightly, white hair sliding from his shoulder.
Qiao Ying could not withstand that pressure. In the end, she could only pick up the handkerchief and wipe his hand clean, not missing even the spaces between his fingers.
Old Madam Zhao felt herself being ignored.
She had been born the pampered daughter of a Demon-Hunting Clan. Although she had no talent for hunting demons, her family had doted on her. After she married, her husband had cherished her as well. It could be said that she had never suffered a day in her life and had always lived in comfort and privilege. No matter who saw her, they had to respectfully address her as “Old Madam.”
But the Youth in Blue before her wore a smile and seemed easy to get along with, yet he was distant and cold to the extreme. He simply did not regard her as anything important.
The restaurant owner quickly brought over a chair. Old Madam Zhao sat down gracefully and suppressed the displeasure in her heart. She said, “Since your strength is far from ordinary, why don’t we make a deal?”
A gentle smile rippled at the corners of Shen Qingyu’s lips, but there was not the slightest warmth in it. It was cold, as if steeped in snow.
He switched to his other hand and held it out toward Qiao Ying.
Qiao Ying took that hand and continued wiping it.
The man standing behind the Old Madam could not bear to watch any longer. He stepped forward with his sword, looking vicious and menacing. “Hey! Our Old Madam speaking to you is a blessing you must have earned in your past life. Are you blind and deaf, or are you mute too?”
Shen Qingyu smiled and said, “Close your eyes.”
Qiao Ying took a moment to react, then belatedly shut her eyes.
The next instant, she heard the sound of wind rushing past her ear.
The man was flipped to the ground by a force. His knees smashed heavily into the floorboards, shattering them. Just as he opened his mouth to scream, the Blind Staff had already pressed with perfect precision against his throat, then suddenly flicked up and twisted.
Blood gushed out in an instant, mixed with the severed flesh of his tongue, splattering across the bluestone floor in a glaring crimson.
The Youth in Blue with white hair was still smiling, completely unaware of just how terrifying a thing he had done.
He withdrew the Blind Staff, still looking gentle and approachable. He even raised a hand and lightly brushed the wrinkles from the hem of his blue robe, his voice as soft as a feather. “It appears the one who has become mute isn’t me.”
Qiao Ying quietly opened her eyes a crack, and in the next instant, the sight of the blood and flesh on the floor struck her vision. She hurriedly turned her face away, trying hard to pretend she had not seen that cruel scene.
Shen Qingyu seemed to catch Qiao Ying’s tiny movement. Resting his chin in one hand as he faced her, the warmth of his smile abruptly gained a hint of sly, wicked amusement. “Didn’t I tell you to close your eyes? But you just had to look. Now you’ll be all pitiful again tonight, having nightmares.”
Qiao Ying was furious, but she did not dare say a word. She could only glare at him several times in secret.
The man on the ground clutched his throat. The moment he opened his mouth, he spat out bloody foam. Apart from muffled whimpers, he could no longer make any other sound. His eyes were filled with terror and agony.
Everyone around them was badly startled.
Even the Old Madam felt a chill in her heart, but she remained composed enough. She lifted a hand, and the others carried away the man who had lost his tongue. After taking a moment to steady herself, she said, “Your strength is indeed extraordinary. For this transaction, aside from you, I cannot think of anyone in Fangcun City more suitable.”
Shen Qingyu fell silent again.
The Old Madam’s expression turned much uglier. This time, she had no choice but to properly look at the girl she had previously dismissed. “I need you to help me eliminate a demon. No… it may also be a vengeful ghost. As long as you can do it, all this money is yours.”
A maid placed a box on the table. When it was opened, it was filled to the brim with banknotes.
Qiao Ying’s eyes lit up.
At the word “money,” Shen Qingyu also reacted, but before he could move, Qiao Ying pressed down on his hand first, not allowing him to agree so quickly.
Qiao Ying said, “Forgive my bluntness, Old Madam, but your husband is the famous Zhao Fanhua, a man more than capable of defending an entire city on his own. The Old Master also has such an outstanding disciple as Xue Heting. Dealing with demons and ghosts should be well within their abilities. Even if worse comes to worst, the Zhao family knows plenty of people in the Demon Hunter trade. Why would you ignore those close at hand and seek out outsiders for a deal?”
The Old Madam said, “My husband is advanced in years, and his health is not what it used to be. Naturally, I do not wish for him to take action. Heting said he was going to investigate clues about the demon and is not in the city at the moment. As for the others in the Demon Hunter trade, their abilities are nothing remarkable. Apart from this young master, I cannot think of a better candidate.”
“In that case, the demon or ghost you want us to deal with must be rather special.”
The Old Madam frowned. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
“We won’t take this deal.” Qiao Ying pushed the money box back.
The Old Madam was displeased. “Why not?”
Shen Qingyu bent down toward Qiao Ying. “Yes, why not?”
Qiao Ying glanced at the Old Madam, then leaned closer to Shen Qingyu and tilted her face up to whisper by his ear, “She isn’t asking her own people to slay the demon and exorcise the evil, and she’s offering so much money to hire outsiders. That shows the demon or ghost she’s talking about is very dangerous, very troublesome, and very hard to deal with.”
Shen Qingyu lowered his voice and laughed. “You think I’m weak? Should I kill a few more people to show you?”
Qiao Ying hurriedly said, “That’s not what I mean. Of course you’re strong. But there is always someone stronger, and the heavens are always higher. What if you get hurt?”
Shen Qingyu said, “You’re afraid I’ll get hurt.”
Qiao Ying nodded. “Of course I’m afraid.”
If he got hurt, wouldn’t it be even easier for her to run away?
The young man’s fingertips rubbed against the Blind Staff. His smile was half a beat slow before it spread across his face again, and his voice sank a little lower. “Qiao Ying, you really are so strange.”
His final note drifted lightly, like a whisper against her ear. With a cool, gentle breath brushing past her, it was as enticing as a lover’s murmur.
Qiao Ying rubbed her itchy ear, feeling uncomfortable all over.
Right now, even perfectly hale and hearty, he was already like a useless invalid, waiting for her to feed him every day. If he got injured, wouldn’t he end up lying in bed every day, expecting clothes to be brought to his hand and food to be brought to his mouth?
So when it came to anything dangerous, she was absolutely determined not to let him get involved.
Seeing the young man and woman before her whispering to each other and exchanging looks, the Old Madam grew even angrier. She said, “If you think the money is too little, I can double it.”
“Are your ears only there for decoration too?” Shen Qingyu spoke with a smile. The gentler and more refined his bearing appeared, the more cutting his words became. “Qiao Ying doesn’t want me to get hurt, so she doesn’t want me to make a deal with you.”
He said, “If having a brain is the basic requirement for survival, I truly can’t tell whether you lost yours or never grew one in the first place.”
Then he added, “Your breathing has already made the air around us filthy.”
Never in her life had the Old Madam heard anyone talk back to her like this. Her face turned green, then white.
Qiao Ying tugged at Shen Qingyu’s hand and said in a low voice, “That’s enough. Don’t make her collapse from anger!”
“Why would she be angry?” Shen Qingyu bent down and drew closer to her, his expression innocent and guileless, pure and unblemished as a sheet of white paper. “I even praised her for knowing how to breathe. At least I didn’t treat her like a piece of rotten wood without even a breath left in it.”
The Old Madam finally lost her composure from fury and slammed the table as she shot to her feet. “Insolent whelp!”