Chapter Forty-Six: Taking Matters Into His Own Hands

Ye Xin had drunk too much; he was thoroughly intoxicated, turning Wang Meng’s carriage into a complete mess. By the time Wang Meng brought Ye Xin home, Ye Xin could no longer walk on his own.

Wang Meng and Ye Ling carried Ye Xin to his bed. Wang Meng had just taken his leave when Ye Ling, tidying Ye Xin’s clothes, suddenly noticed that Ye Xin had opened his eyes.

“Brother… you were pretending to be drunk?!” Ye Ling immediately realized.

“Xiao Ling, how much did you spend?” Ye Xin smiled.

At the mention of this, Ye Ling felt a stab of pain in her heart, her lips twitching involuntarily. “A whole three thousand… Honestly…”

“The vital energy in Tianxiang Pavilion is so abundant—it’s worth the price.” Ye Xin chuckled.

“Worth what?!” Ye Ling shrieked. “How much does a single energy stone cost? We just had some food and wine—how could it possibly be worth so much?!”

“Three thousand? Did you tip them?” Ye Xin asked.

“I know you wanted to save face for Third Brother, so tipping was unavoidable,” Ye Ling said through clenched teeth. “Those enchantresses looked like they were just waiting for tips! And you men, so eager to maintain appearances, suffering for it! Why go to Tianxiang Pavilion? Couldn’t you eat anywhere else?”

“Making money is meant to be spent,” Ye Xin replied.

“Nonsense!” Ye Ling’s face was full of anger. “Do you know how much it costs to run this household? In three days, it’s your wedding—who knows if what you’ve given me will even be enough!”

“My wedding…” At the mention of it, Ye Xin frowned. “Xiao Ling, you should go rest.”

“Brother, you don’t seem to be in good spirits…” Ye Ling’s eyes darted. “Let me talk with you for a while.”

“No need, you go ahead. I need a moment to myself,” Ye Xin said.

“Well… alright.” Ye Ling stood up. “It’s already dark, Brother, you should get some rest too.”

With that, Ye Ling left the room. Ye Xin stripped off his soiled clothes and sat slowly at his desk. After a moment, the door was knocked.

“Come in,” Ye Xin said quietly.

Hao Fei and Mo Yan entered one after another. Ye Xin raised his hand and looked at them. “When I returned, I saw the Wei family repairing their broken gate. Did you go inside? Did you notice anything?”

“There was nothing amiss when we went in,” Mo Yan said quietly. “But… after about a hundred breaths, two people hurriedly left the Wei house. They…”

Ye Xin suddenly raised his hand, signaling Mo Yan to stop. He stood up, silently walked to the window, and gently opened it. Ye Ling was crouched at the base of the wall, listening intently to the sounds inside.

Ye Xin reached out, grabbed Ye Ling’s ear, and lifted her up. Ye Ling was caught off guard, clutching Ye Xin’s wrist and crying, “Ouch… Brother, let go… You’re hurting me…”

“What are you doing here?” Ye Xin asked coldly.

“Xiao Bao ran in here, I’m looking for it!” Ye Ling feigned calm, glanced around, then called out, “Xiao Bao, where are you? Come out! Hurry!”

At Ye Ling’s call, the little violet mink leapt onto the wall, bounding toward her. Ye Ling bent down, scooped the mink into her arms, and shot Ye Xin a defiant glare.

Ye Ling believed the violet mink had saved her life; if Xie En hadn’t cleared the rubble, perhaps they would have suffocated. In the disaster at Double Ridge Mountain, of the eleven fallen students, only two died instantly—the other nine perished from delayed rescue, suffocated alive.

In truth, all the survivors had been doing their best to save others, disregarding their differing factions, but the sand and stone were too deep—some buried five or six meters down. The gravely wounded couldn’t call for help, and rescue had to be sequential, not simultaneous. In the end, nine died in vain.

“Are you going to leave, or do you want to come in and listen?” Ye Xin said, his expression unchanged.

“I’ll go, fine! So fierce!” Ye Ling huffed. As she walked a few steps, she realized something was off, spun around, and looked at Ye Xin with delight. “Brother, you mean…”

Ye Xin closed the window, returned to his seat. After a moment, Ye Ling carefully pushed open the door and entered, walking to the desk, deliberately nudging the chair. Seeing no sign of rejection, she sat opposite Ye Xin, struggling to contain her excitement, sneaking a glance at Mo Yan.

A fierce storm was approaching. Experienced sailors would feel fear, but those with a certain temperament would be curious, even thrilled at the upheaval—Ye Ling was such a person.

“Go on,” Ye Xin said.

“After they left, I followed them with monster eyes,” Mo Yan said quietly. “They ended up at the Two Fragrances Tofu Shop in Eight-Eyed Well Lane, West City. I’ve had people investigate. The owner is Ma Chunzhu, his wife is Zhang Jiazi, and her sister Zhang Keqing lives with them. There’s also an old servant, apparently named Xiong Bingguang. The two who left the Wei house should be Ma Chunzhu and Zhang Jiazi.”

“Did you find anything else?” Ye Xin asked, glancing at Ye Ling. Since she already knew his secret, there was no need to hide it. Most importantly, he dreaded Aunt Deng Qiaoying—now Ye Ling knew, she’d oppose any of Deng Qiaoying’s bizarre decisions.

Outside, he could protect himself. But in the Ye household, he needed Ye Ling...

“They arrived in Jiuding City about a year and a half ago. What they did before, where they lived, my people are still looking into it,” Mo Yan said. “The tofu shop does decent business. The couple keeps a low profile, never socializing. The neighbors haven’t noticed anyone visiting them.”

“Anything happening across the street now?” Ye Xin asked.

“Since they left, the pressure from monster eyes has vanished. The Wei house is left with ordinary servants—nothing noteworthy,” Mo Yan replied, then looked at Ye Xin. “Young master, should I go to the tofu shop and bring them in? I’ll need Bai Qi and Hao Fei with me, maybe even Zi Che Hui and…”

“No need,” Ye Xin shook his head. “If you went, there would be casualties. I’ll handle it myself.”

“Young master, those four aren’t worth your trouble…”

“You don’t know their origins,” Ye Xin said.

“Could it be… you know who they are?” Hao Fei was shocked. In the Sin Camp, this was nothing new—Ye Xin often made seemingly bizarre decisions that always proved correct later.

“If I didn’t know, would I let them live another few days?” Ye Xin sneered. “Such calamities must not be left alive!”

Ye Xin picked up brush and ink, hastily wrote a few lines, and handed the letter to Mo Yan. “Send someone to deliver this to Qiu Jiecha. I need someone to carry this blame for me.”

“Understood.” Mo Yan took the letter and hurried out.

Ye Xin turned to Ye Ling, who leapt up in delight. “Brother, I want to go too!”

“Go where? Stay home and behave,” Ye Xin said. “If I don’t make it back in time, someone may come looking for me—I’ll need you to cover for me.”

Not waiting for Ye Ling’s response, Ye Xin stared at the flickering candle flame, muttering, “So you’re in Jiuding City too… Very well… Let me test your abilities…”

****

Midnight—the streets were deserted, not a soul in sight. Occasionally, distant laughter echoed; night patrolmen on duty. But Jiuding City was vast, with over a million inhabitants. A hundred patrolmen at night could only make a show of it—not possibly cover every corner.

A shadow slowly emerged from the end of the alley, heading toward the Two Fragrances Tofu Shop. The infamous Black Robe of Tianyuan City now appeared in Jiuding City.

Ye Xin reached the tofu shop’s gate, which had long since closed. The shabby door was tightly shut. He paused, reached for the door ring, and knocked gently.

He didn’t use much force, yet the ring striking the door echoed far in the night.

For a long time, there was no response. Ye Xin seemed a bit disappointed, hesitated slightly, then knocked again.

After a while, a hoarse voice sounded from within, “Who is it?”

“Is Manager Ma in?” Ye Xin asked softly.

“The manager has retired. Come back tomorrow, sir,” the hoarse voice replied.

“I have urgent matters—life and death matters,” Ye Xin said.

There was a brief pause inside. The door slowly opened, revealing a gaunt old man who eyed Ye Xin listlessly.

Ye Xin smiled and stepped in. The old man, moving with surprising speed for his age, withdrew to the side, keeping his distance.

Ye Xin acted as if he hadn’t noticed, continuing inside. The old man closed the door, his gaze flickering as he followed Ye Xin.

Ahead was the tofu shop’s business area—empty. Passing through the front hall, Ye Xin entered a sizeable courtyard: a pavilion, a rockery, a granite-bordered pond with fish. In the dark, their species was indistinguishable. Jiuding City’s land was not cheap; for the tofu shop owner to live here seemed rather extravagant.

A robust, middle-aged man emerged from the side room, his brow furrowed, speaking curtly. “Sir, it’s late—what business do you have?”

“Just the two of you?” Ye Xin asked.

“Yes, just us,” the man replied lazily.

The old man behind Ye Xin drew his hands into his sleeves, taking a step back.