Chapter 26 None of Them Are Simple

“Alright, alright…” Zhang Yuer nodded. After a brief pause, she turned back, bit her lip, and said, “But no matter what, you are my savior. Let me see your true face, so I can remember what you look like and repay you generously in the future, alright?”

“No.”

Li Chen refused bluntly and spurred the horse forward.

“Hmph! You unromantic fool!”

Zhang Yuer was so angry she nearly jumped off the horse, but fearing Li Chen might abandon her again, she forced herself to stay put.

The fine horse galloped swiftly. Zhang Yuer rode in front, Li Chen behind her. Ahead was the cool night wind; behind her was a strong body as warm as a furnace.

The two were pressed very close together on horseback. Since she had come of age, Zhang Yuer had never been this near to any man, and she felt a trace of shyness.

At the same time, the strong scent of a man filled her senses. For no clear reason, heat surged through her body. Even though the horse raced like lightning and the wind rushed fiercely around them, it could not extinguish the blazing fire rising in her heart.

That fire left her parched and flushed, her ears burning, even her eyes glistening with moisture. Her desire to see Li Chen’s true face only grew stronger. She wanted to know what he looked like.

Biting her lip, a sly glint flashed in her eyes. Suddenly she raised a hand to her forehead and leaned back into Li Chen’s arms, “Oh… I feel so dizzy…”

“Hm?” Thinking something had happened to her, Li Chen slowed the horse and lowered his head to look at her.

At that very moment, Zhang Yuer suddenly reached out to grab the cloth covering his face.

Just as her fingers were about to touch it, Li Chen turned his head aside and avoided her grasp.

“What are you doing?” Li Chen shouted angrily.

“Hiding your head and tail like that is no act of a hero! Let me see what you look like. What’s the harm? Are you afraid I’ll eat you?”

Failing to succeed, Zhang Yuer glared at him angrily and sat upright again.

“If you try that again, I’ll throw you off,” Li Chen said coldly.

“What’s the point of living so cautiously? Hmph. You’re not afraid of being remembered. You’re clearly just ugly and ashamed of yourself, that’s why you don’t dare show your real face. Are you some hideous freak?”

Zhang Yuer deliberately provoked him.

Li Chen’s hand tightened around her collar, ready to throw her down.

Frightened, Zhang Yuer immediately flattened herself against the horse’s back and pleaded pitifully, “Don’t throw me off. I won’t try to look at you anymore, and I won’t talk either, alright?”

Just then, from afar came the faint rumble of hooves, along with the glow of horse lanterns and torches.

Before long, they saw a group of more than twenty people ahead. At the front were four or five large horses, and behind them followed a number of servants or guards on foot.

“So late, and so many people. They must be here to rescue you.”

Li Chen pulled the reins and focused his gaze forward.

Zhang Yuer also looked ahead. When she recognized who was coming, her eyes gradually turned cold and sharp.

With the thunder of hooves, several horses noticed them and charged over, surrounding Li Chen at once.

“You scoundrel! How dare you kidnap my niece? Let her go, or I’ll hack you to pieces!” The leading man shouted coldly, raising a blade in his hand.

Yet Li Chen clearly sensed that beneath the man’s glare were traces of fear, suspicion, and faint hostility.

He frowned instinctively. By intuition alone, something about this man felt wrong.

Before he could speak, Zhang Yuer shouted sharply, “Second Uncle, stop! He is my savior!”

“What?”

The entire group was stunned.

A flash of shock and resentment crossed Second Uncle’s eyes. He lowered the machete and forced a smile. “Good, good, my dear niece. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”

“Let’s part ways here.”

Without sparing the others a glance, Li Chen lifted Zhang Yuer down from the horse. He cupped his fist to her in farewell, then turned and rode off.

The sound of hooves thundered as he disappeared around the foot of the hill.

Zhang Yuer stood there, watching his retreating figure with a dazed expression. That man, who came and went like the wind, was like a wild steed charging recklessly across the plains, accidentally trampling open the gates of her heart.

Yet she still did not know who he was, or what he looked like.

She stood there, lost in thought.

Behind her, Second Uncle’s voice suddenly sounded, “My dear niece, you frightened me to death.”

Zhang Yuer frowned and turned to look at him. Her gaze was once again sharp, even tinged with mockery deep within.

“Truly worried about me, my dear Second Uncle?”

Second Uncle’s face was filled with lingering fear as he wept dramatically. “Of course it’s true, my dear niece. Your father’s fate is unknown. You are the only niece I have left. I can’t read or keep accounts. If something had happened to you, what would become of this vast family estate? My dear niece, are you hurt?”

Zhang Yuer’s eyes remained cold and piercing. She only snorted lightly. “Then I truly thank Second Uncle for your concern.”

She deliberately emphasized the word “concern.”

A flicker of panic flashed through Second Uncle’s eyes. He lowered his head and said submissively, “No need to thank me, no need. It’s only right.”

Zhang Yuer ignored him entirely and waved her hand. “We’re going back.”

A servant quickly led over a horse. She mounted it smoothly and deftly, nothing like her earlier clumsy demeanor.

With thunderous hooves, the group rode away.

At that moment, in the distant grass, Li Chen slowly stood up, his expression calm.

He had appeared to ride off just now, but after turning past the hill, he had swiftly circled back.

With his skills, returning under cover of night would go unnoticed unless faced with a top expert from the army.

It was their first meeting. He could not say whether he trusted Zhang Yuer or not. He had always been used to keeping his fate in his own hands. Especially with someone like Zhang Yuer, lively and cunning, full of schemes, he had to remain cautious.

Yet what he had just witnessed only deepened his wariness.

Especially the fact that Zhang Yuer could ride a horse.

“Whether it’s that Second Uncle or this Zhang Yuer, neither of them is simple.”

Li Chen narrowed his eyes as he watched the departing riders in the distance.

Fortunately, he had kept his face covered the entire time and revealed nothing of his identity.

A moment later, he took a portrait from his robes.

It was one he had once obtained from Zhang Guang.

Looking closely, the face in the portrait bore a striking resemblance to Zhang Yuer.

“So it really was someone from Black Wind Stronghold trying to abduct her. No wonder it felt strangely familiar.”

Li Chen pondered silently. Then he tore the portrait to pieces and let the wind scatter them before turning back.

No matter who Zhang Yuer truly was, from this moment on, she had nothing to do with him.

If her family still intended to investigate him or trouble him, then he would have no choice but to make them retreat in the face of difficulty.

After returning home, under the moonlight he disposed of all the corpses, keeping the weapons. He carefully cleaned every trace of blood from the ground before finally heading back inside.

From the bodies, he even found 50 taels of silver, 40 of which had been on a man who looked like the bandit leader. It was an unexpected gain.

Naturally, he accepted it without hesitation.

When he reached the cellar, he knocked several times according to their prior agreement and lifted the wooden panel.

There, he saw Yu Qingwan waiting obediently for him.

She held Xiao Hu in one arm and clutched a small pouch of copper coins in the other, which made Li Chen smile faintly.