Chapter 3

“Young Master, why must we leave in the middle of the night? It’s so tiring.” Zhao Cai let out a huge yawn.

Xiao Bao jabbed him with a foot, “And to think that you have been practicing martial arts since you were young, feeling tired after only such a short while.” The little servant’s butt is quite sturdy, and it was fun playing with it, so he couldn’t resist giving it another two jabs.

Zhao Cai hurriedly moved to the side, “Young Master, I’m being wronged. You were sitting comfortably inside the carriage where it’s warm and cosy while the both of us have been out here freezing for a few shichen[1]. Look here, my hands have been frozen stiff from driving the carriage.”

Xiao Bao glanced over and felt a little guilty, “That’s why, isn’t this Young Master now letting the both of you in to rest for a while? It’s only you that is full of complaints, look at Jin Bao, has he said a word?”

His voice had yet to fade when the sounds of Jin Bao snoring drifted over.

Xiao Bao’s face darkened, and he glared viciously at Zhao Cai.

“Why am I raising you two useless playthings who don’t learn the good things and only learned how to eat and be lazy? Fine fine fine, let’s just go to sleep. We’ll continue on our journey when we wake.”

Zhao Cai let out a light laugh and tried to please him, “Young Master is compassionate toward his servants, and has a really big heart……”

“Shut up, just go and sleep.” Saying that, he straightened his blanket and prepared to sleep.

The carriage is big, and he only brought these two attendants and three large chests of gifts when he left, so there was more than enough space for the three of them to fit into the compartment of the carriage.

They slept deep into the night when suddenly, they were awoken by the violent rocking of the carriage. Out of habit, he opened his mouth to begin yelling at people when someone clamped a hand over it.

Xiao Bao struggled as he opened his eyes, then noticed that Zhao Cai and Jin Bao’s bodies were both tense, their expressions grave. Zhao Cai lowered his voice and said softly beside his ear, “Young Master, don’t make a sound.”

Xiao Bao nodded his head and Zhao Cai released him. Moving over to the window, he carefully lifted the screen, then immediately put it back down again.

Xiao Bao felt afraid and fought off a chill, he could already hear the sounds of killing outside, accompanied by the screams of people. It was the middle of the night, he had to be careful not to panic. “What’s happening?” he asked with a shaky voice.

Could it be that they had encountered a robbery?

This main road has always been very peaceful, so they had felt at ease stopping the carriage at the side of the road to sleep. They really didn’t expect to come across such a thing.

“It might be an enemy; either way, it’s definitely not a robbery.”

“Let’s not move first. It’s best if they settle their grudges and leave, and not get us involved in it.” Jin Bao said in a low voice, as he shared a look with Zhao Cai.

Xiao Bao was now completely awake and wasn’t as anxious as before. Firstly, those two groups of people weren’t targeting them, and also, don’t look at how his two attendants usually seemed so useless, in fact they were first-class experts in the Jianghu community, nurtured since young by his father to protect him. Growing up, whenever he got into fights or jealous spats with the young masters from other families, he was never at a loss, because he had these two to rely on.

Thinking about this, he calmed down and slid his butt over to the window, then carefully used his hand to lift up one side of the curtain, bit by bit, and sneakily peeked outside.

The road was not very spacious, and he could see the entire gruesome scene outside with just a glimpse. Looking at the ten or so corpses strewn haphazardly across the ground, Xiao Bao began to tremble, and he almost let out a cry.

My god, having lived for so long, he had truly never seen such a bloody sight before, how scary!

He was so frightened that he had unknowingly shut his eyes. Out of curiosity, he opened them once more.

Having opened his eyes this time, he could no longer shut them.

He stared unblinkingly at the white-clad figure under the moonlight, seeming a little dazed.

The moonlight cast a shimmering glow onto the ground, and beneath its silvery rays, a slender figure clothed in white was battling against a group of people. That person is agile and nimble, moving swiftly through the air as if it were on land. Standing under the moonlight with hair like silk and holding on to a long sword; it was a mesmerizing sight. That person was calm and unruffled despite facing down a group of black-clothed men who were shouting battle cries; looking as if those terrifying blood stains across her body did not belong to her.

Although her body was stained with blood, not a single hair was out of place and it did not detract from that person’s beauty in the slightest. High brows and a starlit gaze, a straight nose and fine lips; the whole person exuded a fierce and captivating aura. Those incomparably beautiful features belonged to a painting; it truly is the kind of beauty that is heard but not seen.[2]

Jin Xiao Bao has seen countless beauties, but in front of this person, all those belles and gifted ladies and young mistresses[3] have all become like dust. Not only is the difference between their temperaments like the clouds and the mud, just merely judging by their external beauty, there was still a difference.

Throughout his entire life, this was the only time he has seen such a vision of beauty.

For a moment, Jin Xiao Bao was so agitated that he couldn’t control himself, and his lips were trembling so much that he almost couldn’t speak.

Zhao Cai got a shock and he whispered in a low voice, “Young Master, what happened to you? If you are scared, then don’t look.”

Jin Bao quickly pulled his young master back in, and upon seeing the strange smile on his face also got a shock. He gave him a little shake, “Young Master?”

“A fairy……” Xiao Bao said in a daze, then he laughed aloud and sighed, “It’s a fairy maiden!”

Zhao Cai and Jin Bao exchanged glances, and thought in their hearts, did the young master get shocked silly after witnessing the killing outside?

Xiao Bao suddenly seemed to remember something, and he grabbed Zhao Cai and Jin Bao’s arm, “Quick, you both quickly go and save your young mistress.”[4]

“Young… young mistress? What young mistress?”

“Sigh, of course I’m referring to that fairy sister outside. I, Jin Xiao Bao, swear to marry her and no other in this lifetime. Quickly go! She’s going to be your young mistress in the future. Quickly save her!”

The two pitiful people were both paralyzed. Even after having accompanied their young master for more than ten years, they still couldn’t adapt to his rogue-like ways until now.

Xiao Bao was unhappy, he drew apart the curtains and looked outside. The situation appeared grim, his beauty seemed to be seriously injured. God damn it, a group of people ganging up together to bully such a delicate looking celestial-like beauty, how atrocious! “What are you spacing out for!! Quickly go!!”

Zhao Cai who had a relatively higher IQ reacted first, “Young Master, ah, this… this isn’t the time. This woman’s background is unknown, and it’s too dangerous outside. Those people are all fierce and sinister; what if something happens to you, young master, how are we supposed to explain it to the old Madam?”[5]

“You impudent scoundrel! Then Laozi’s future wife is hurt, how are you two going to explain it to me, your young master? Still not going?!”

Zhao Cai and Jin Bao shared a bitter look; how they hate their parents for selling them to this family of bandits back then! And it was even to serve such an unpredictable young master!

Jin Xiao Bao’s brows slanted in anger, not bothering to wait for the two of them to react, he flung the doors open and rushed out.

Standing on top of the carriage and facing the figures who were still battling in mid-air, he gathered all his energy and yelled out, “My Lady,[6] don’t be afraid, your husband is here to save you!!!”

Although Jin Xiao Bao’s martial arts skills are half-baked and he is a fatty, however, the capacity of his lungs is amazing. Throwing open the doors and shouting out with so much vigour, countless birds were startled out of their nests in the forest, and it gave those people who were busy fighting for their lives a big shock.

The white-clothed figure was stunned, it was only for a moment, but she was left with another cut on her arm.

The white-clothed person glared viciously at Jin Xiao Bao. In Jin Xiao Bao’s eyes, the beauty is clearly pretending to be angry and is using her gaze to flirt with him~~~ Seeing this, his heart was filled with fireworks and he jumped off the carriage with no regard for his own safety. Turning back to look at the two people who had followed him out, he bellowed, “Still not moving?! Do you need this young master to do it personally?!”

Zhao Cai and Jin Bao helplessly lifted their swords and flew over to join the battle.

Jin Xiao Bao was very passionate, almost as if he was in the participating in the battle as well. He kept cheering them on and comforting his beauty. It’s just that apart from him, no one else on the scene knew what kind of crazy stunt he was pulling.

Now that the seemingly hopeless scene took an unexpected turn halfway through, the black-clothed men became even more anxious to kill the white-clothed beauty, but that beauty’s martial arts cultivation was too high, with just a single person, he was able to incapacitate twenty or so of them. Now he was aided by two other people, both young and fit, dressed as servants and with such good martial arts. They were already at a disadvantage, but now they were faced with a great dilemma, to fight or to flee.

Zhao Cai and Jin Bao had no intention of killing anyone, but the black-clothed men all had good martial arts, so it was inevitable that they had to break a few arms and legs in order to eradicate the threat.

That white-clothed beauty was not as kind as Zhao Cai and Jin Bao, she didn’t let a single one of them off, and cleanly killed them all.

Seeing this, Zhao Cai and Jin Bao were shocked, such a beautiful woman could actually be so vicious. When killing someone, her brows did not wrinkle even once, it was a really chilling sight.

The white-clothed figure stood unmoving with her sword, her cold gaze trained on Zhao Cai, Jin Bao and Jin Xiao Bao, scaring the three of them so much that they all broke into a cold sweat.

Zhao Cai and Jin Bao had no doubt that if the white-clothed person still possessed any strength, she would definitely silence them.

Jin Xiao Bao was scared silly by the beauty’s gaze. However, he shook it off and quickly rushed forward, extending a hand to try to help stabilize her somewhat unstable body. His eyes had turned into hearts, and he shouted, “Fairy sister, are you alright?”

Jin Bao yelled, “Young Master, be careful!” His figure moved in a flash, and grabbing on to Jin Xiao Bao’s waist, he flew backward, leaving a few metres gap between them. Despite that, the front of Jin Xiao Bao’s clothes had already been cut into ribbons by the sword wind.

Xiao Bao was so terrified that he almost passed out. Damn it, just an inch closer then wouldn’t he be disembowelled, and she would have murdered her own husband!!

Zhao Cai lifted his sword and pointed it at the white-clothed person and scolded, “You really have a heart as cold as a snake’s. Our young master saved you out of goodwill, yet you wanted to harm our young master.”

Xiao Bao calmed his mind. He knew that this beauty was distrustful and did not have a good temper, however, he felt that most beauties were difficult to please, especially those Jianghu ladies, they were bound to have a stronger temper. And yet, he still liked her, as if he had been bewitched.

Even though ordinarily, he had experienced too many love at first sight for those whom he thought were absolute beauties, but he always felt that he couldn’t maintain that feeling for long.

But this fairy sister was different. Firstly, she was the most outstanding beauty amongst beauties, in this lifetime, he would probably only have this one chance to meet such an unparalleled beauty. Next, to be frank, when he saw her ruthless demeanour just now, he was honestly terrified. However, given his sort of courage,[7] the fact that he liked her enough to overcome it just proves that the feeling he holds toward her is extraordinary.

But no matter how much he likes her, his life is still more important. After that scare just now, Xiao Bao did not dare to casually get too close to her, and could only ask carefully from afar, “Fairy sister, are you alright? You’re bleeding a lot. We’re not bad people, let me bring you to a physician.”

The white-clothed beauty held onto her abdomen and continued to stand upright forcefully as a trail of sweat ran over a powdered cheek. One glance and you could see that she was trying to hold back the pain.

“Fairy sister.” Xiao Bao said tentatively.

Suddenly, the white-clothed figure trembled and fainted onto the ground.

Xiao Bao could no longer care about the danger, he immediately rushed forward and lifted the person into his embrace; her clothes was dyed almost completely with blood.

Look at how much she’s bleeding ah, Xiao Bao thought in distress.

Would it leave scars behind on her body? The beauty is so beautiful, she was beautiful from afar and even more so up close, it would be a pity if this were to leave any scars. But even if she had scars, he wouldn’t think any less of her, Xiao Bao quietly vowed with determination in his heart.

Xiao Bao lifted the beauty and gently placed her into the carriage, then ordered Zhao Cai and Jin Bao to head to the nearest city immediately and find a physician.

Xiao Bao carefully arranged the beauty and began to examine that captivating face with fascination.

This, no matter how you looked at it, it’s still so beautiful.

The beauty was slightly smaller than himself. The thick layer of powder couldn’t cover the smooth, snowy white skin, and the closed eyelids trembled slightly in sleep, her eyelashes fluttering softly like feathers. When they were open, the beauty is naturally astonishingly beautiful, but only when they were shut would you be able to admire the loveliness and leave out the savage aspects.

He had just met the beauty, but he was already fortunate enough to watch the beauty sleep, it really is… really is… a stroke of luck!!!

As Jin Xiao Bao stared, his blood heated up and his heart began to race. He immediately thought about using this opportunity to take a little advantage. He was aware that this beauty is extremely fierce, if he were to let this chance go, there might not be another and he would regret it for the rest of his life.

So he stretched out a pair of pig hands[8] and first began to touch the beauty’s face~~

Ahhhhhhhhh~~~~~ this smooth, creamy skin felt so good against his palm that he didn’t want to let go.

Slowly, he caressed the beauty’s delicate eyebrows, the straight nose, and then the soft lips~~

Xiao Bao looked at the lips that have turned white due to the blood loss, and swallowed a mouthful of drool, thinking that it felt so soft and if he tasted it, it would also be~~~ also be~~~

Just… Just a little kiss, it shouldn’t be any problem… Anyway, she would become his woman in the future…

Thinking about it this way, Jin Xiao Bao boldly[9] pouted his lips, and slowly inched forward toward the beauty’s face.

His lips were just about to touch when suddenly, the person under him opened her eyes.

Xiao Bao got a big fright and was just about to move back when the look in the beauty’s eyes suddenly became unpredictable, and a fair, jade-like hand grasped Xiao Bao’s throat with the speed of lightning.

Five fingers tightened slowly, and a low voice, icy enough to seep into one’s bones drifted out, “Go and die.”

As expected, the sound of the beauty’s voice is heavenly, tugging onto his heartstrings~~~ Ah, no, now isn’t the time to admire this.

“Zhao Cai, Jin Bao, save me~~~~”

Translator’s Notes:

[1] 时辰 (Shi Chen): a measurement of time (one shichen is 2 hours)

[2] The actual phrase is只应天上有，人间几回闻。(Zhi Ying Tian Shang You, Ren Jian Ji Hui Wen) which loosely translates to the kind of beauty found in the heavens, only heard of in the mortal world.

[3] 千金 (Qian Jin) = young mistress; usually the term ‘young master’ or ‘young mistress’ is used to refer to the children of rich and influential families

[4] “Young mistress” in this context refers to “wife” (because Xiao Bao is their young master so his wife would be their young mistress)

[5] Old Madam refers to his (Xiao Bao’s) mother.

[6] 娘子(Niang Zi): My Lady has the same connotation as ‘Wife’.

[7] *ahem* or rather, the lack of it 🙂

[8] 猪手(Zhu Shou): Pig hands. I think there are two meanings to his: firstly, it can be interpreted literally (Xiao Bao is chubby after all), and secondly, it is used to refer to someone who is a swine.

[9] 色胆包天 (Se Dan Bao Tian): being extremely bold and risking great danger for sex