Chapter 20

"Me." Xizhilan said with a bad temper, "What, not happy about it?"

"..."

Qin Yu was speechless. He really didn't want to see her again. That night, that nightmare-like experience, just thinking about it made his arms and legs ache, and he felt very uncomfortable.

"Don't be like that, okay? I'm not a plague god." Xizhilan pouted, feeling wronged.

Qin Yu thought to himself, "You're not a plague god, but you are a death god..."

"How did you end up here?"

"I was hired by someone to protect you for a month." Xizhilan suddenly remembered something, and a smile curved her lips. "It cost a lot! You should appreciate it."

"Someone hired you... to protect me?" Qin Yu looked at her suspiciously. "Do you take bodyguard jobs?"

"Yes, we wanderers either kill or save people. We mainly make a living from these two skills."

"Two skills? They're the same, right?" Qin Yu thought to himself, but he was slightly relieved.

"Who hired you?"

"Knowing me, you won't be at ease unless I tell you clearly." Xizhilan tilted her head. "Of course, it was Master Zhang."

"Master?" Qin Yu exclaimed.

As they were talking, the sound of hooves could be heard faintly, and soon they seemed to be galloping nearby.

Qin Yu was startled. In this icy and snowy weather, who was so daring to gallop so fast? Not only did they need to be skilled riders, but the horses had to be very strong.

"I'll go first. If there's anything, I'll come back to help you." Xizhilan's eyebrows twitched, and her figure suddenly vanished.

Qin Yu had just seen her back disappear when his right eye was suddenly stimulated by a red flash.

On the distant official road, two red horses were galloping, and the riders seemed to be dressed in red, very eye-catching.

Before Qin Yu could think, the two red horses had already stopped in front of him without even snorting.

"Good horses!" Qin Yu couldn't help but praise. These two horses were a rare match in color.

A red figure leaped off the horse, and someone laughed lightly, "Just the horses?"

Qin Yu looked closely and saw a tall red-clad girl, about seventeen or eighteen years old, carrying two swords on her back, smiling sweetly as she sized him up.

This beauty had a clear and refined face, but her chest was a high and dangerous peak, quite eye-catching. Qin Yu's eyes sparkled, and his heart fluttered slightly, saying, "Fine horses, fine swords, and a beautiful lady!"

"Great praise!" The girl smiled again, her white teeth flashing, looking very pleased. She turned to look at the girl on the horse behind her, "Miss, a handsome young man is praising Dier for being beautiful!"

The girl in green, wearing a purple cloak, glanced at Qin Yu with a pair of pure eyes and said coolly, "This young man has a good temper, but don't let Dier get too proud!"

The red-clad girl, Dier, pouted, "Miss, you're scolding Dier again!"

Qin Yu glanced at the girl, thinking to himself, "These two girls, one more beautiful than the other, are quite bold to wander alone in the wilderness."

The green-clad girl was about the same age as Xizhilan, with a delicate face and a clear and pure demeanor, truly a little beauty. The red-clad girl, though slightly less beautiful, had a robust figure and a very cheerful and straightforward personality, which Qin Yu found very pleasing.

"What is your noble name, sir?"

"My name is Qin Yu. What about you, Dier?"

"Dier, of course, follows Miss's surname. Our Miss's surname is Zeng."

"Zeng Dier! What a beautiful name!"

"Hehe, Sir Qin, you really know how to speak. Is the inn ahead the Shenmu Inn?" Dier asked, "Are you also here for the Shennong Auction?"

Qin Yu nodded, surprised that this small inn was so well-known that even these two girls had heard of it.

But what is the Shennong Auction?

"Great! Thank you, handsome young man! See you at the auction in a few days." Dier waved her hand and led the two horses into town.

Qin Yu scratched his head and saw the green-clad girl on the horse suddenly turn her head, her cool face wearing a strange smile.

"Sir, don't be upset, Dier is just like that."

Qin Yu's vision blurred, and he was momentarily stunned. Dier was already nagging incessantly.

The two girls had walked quite far, but Qin Yu was still in a daze.

Zeng Yinyin, Zeng Dier...

"Hey, Senior Brother, are you in love?" Zhang Ren, who had taken the hunting bow, had already slipped to Qin Yu's side and looked at the two red-clad girls riding into town.

"Rubbish!" Qin Yu wiped his mouth and said seriously, "I was thinking, how did these two women end up here in this remote place?"

"Here, people come and go. Maybe they were just passing by. It's getting dark, and the town has just received several unusual guests!" Zhang Ren, still young, had just passed the two beauties and, though impressed, didn't think much of it.

"Huh? Passing by?" Qin Yu frowned and chuckled, "This is called: Fate brings people together from afar, and those without fate remain strangers even when they meet face to face!"

Zhang Ren blinked, not understanding where his senior brother's poetic enthusiasm came from. Behind him, someone clapped loudly.

"Brilliant words, brilliant words!"

The two brothers turned to see a man in his thirties, wearing a headband and a black robe, seemingly made of silk, with a fashionable style. He had a wide-bladed long sword at his waist, which caught Qin Yu's attention.

Behind him was a yellow horse.

Qin Yu saw the scholar's sallow face and the horse, which was panting and sweating, its head turning to look for grass, and asked casually, "What's so brilliant about it?"

"This line is still quite catchy!" The scholar snorted slightly. Seeing Qin Yu's slightly mocking gaze, he added, "Consider yourself lucky, it fits my mood!"

Qin Yu's eyes twitched, feeling displeased. This guy not only had a face like an egg yolk but also spoke in a very annoying way.

"I mean, if you're chasing after girls, you should at least have a good horse. How can you catch up in this state? Even if you do, how can you charm them?"

The so-called yellow horse, with its yellow fur mixed with white spots, had become one of the famous horses in the world due to the tragic story of "Qin Qiong selling his horse" in later literature. In reality, out of a hundred yellow horses, ninety-nine and a half were quite ordinary.

This scholar's yellow horse was one of those ninety-nine and a half, far inferior to Dier and her mistress's red horses.

To put it in perspective, it was like two brand new BMWs being followed by a ten-year-old Jetta.

"That's because you judge by appearance, which is shallow. My horse is actually quite fine, I'm just low-key." The scholar smiled faintly.

Qin Yu said unhappily, "So you're a low-key young master!"

The scholar's face darkened. No one would be happy to hear the term "young master" combined with "uncle." Especially this self-proclaimed suave and low-key old master.

"Boy, have you never heard of the great reputation of Jin Gongzi of Yiyang?"

Qin Yu was suddenly startled.

The middle-aged scholar's eyes narrowed, surprised that this young man had actually heard of his name, finding it quite interesting.

"Are you the famous and awe-inspiring Jin... what was it... Gongzi?"

The scholar smiled, feeling quite pleased. He hadn't expected his reputation to spread so far.

Zhang Ren, a bit confused, asked Qin Yu in a low voice, "Second Senior Brother, does he... have frequent nocturnal emissions too?"

Qin Yu chuckled, "Probably like you, he has good dreams."

Zhang Ren blushed, feeling ashamed. He was at an age where he was often infatuated and had frequent nocturnal emissions, which he didn't dare tell his master, so he had secretly consulted his second senior brother to learn about men's private matters.

The middle-aged scholar's face changed drastically. With his sharp ears, he was instantly furious, his hand on the hilt of his sword, glaring at Zhang Ren.

"You're asking for it!"

"Ah, Jin Gongzi, are you going to rob and kill in front of Zeng girl?" Qin Yu smiled and said to Zhang Ren, "Little Junior Brother, come here, I have something to tell you."

Zhang Ren sensed the scholar's anger and the powerful aura, and indeed hid behind his senior brother, feeling uneasy. This scholar was clearly not an ordinary weak scholar, but someone with a strong presence.

Qin Yu's left hand dropped, and a black crossbow slid out from under his sleeve, the arrow already on the string.

"Second Senior Brother..."

Qin Yu's eyes fixed on the middle-aged scholar, and he coldly bowed, "Just a child's words, no ill intent. Jin Gongzi, please don't take it to heart."

The scholar stared at him for a moment, then suddenly asked, "You actually know Zeng girl?"

"Jin Gongzi's deep love for Miss Zeng is so sincere, who doesn't know?" Qin Yu chuckled.

Jin Gongzi's yellow face turned dark, and he smiled bitterly, waving his hand.

"Consider yourself smart, step back!"

"Little Junior Brother, let's go, I'll take you to hunt wild mountain goats." Qin Yu grabbed Zhang Ren's right hand, using his large sleeve to cover the black crossbow.

The two slowly walked past the scholar, who glared but made no move.

"Second Senior Brother, how did you know he wouldn't attack?" Zhang Ren asked quietly, twenty meters away.

"This man is a well-known slippery character in the four counties of Jingnan. I've heard about him from my master. He's a true expert in the dark arts. But he only likes women, so he shouldn't be interested in you."

This was a bit too forward! Zhang Ren silently pondered his senior brother's words, finding them quite strange.

"Senior Brother, your words today are so strange!"

"Don't think too much, let's go."

...

PS: Don't think too much, give me your recommendations and collections! I was forced to the ground by history today... Look, I've added three chapters in a row, so let's roll on the ground and be a bit dramatic. The votes are too few, brothers and sisters, show some support!