Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen
“When did she get back?” Zhu Xiangxiang asked with a frown on her face.
“Miss Ming Jing was just heading up the stairs when you guys came back. I thought you guys all came back together.” Nanny Zhou served Lin Qing some herbal tea. She thought that the three of them were acting very strange. Though they went out together… they didn’t come back as a group.
“When she came back… did she look strange?”
Nanny Zhou exclaimed with a laugh, “What could be strange about her? Miss Ming Jing appears the exact same as when she went out.”
“It doesn’t matter. I thought I’d ask.” Zhu Xiangxiang tried to evade Nanny Zhou’s searching gaze. She decided she would go up the stairs and ask Ming Jing about it herself.
Something strange was going on today. All of a sudden, Ming Jing left without a trace and then she came back all alone. No matter which way she thought about this, the matter was very strange indeed.
Zhu Xiangxiang knocked on Ming Jing’s door. She didn’t have to wait long before the door was opened from the inside. Ming Jing stood in front of the door with a calm expression on her face.
A string of Buddhist beads was wrapped around her jade-white fingers. The beads were both smooth and round. A sense of ascetic beauty emanated from between her slender fingers.
“Where did you go when things got hectic at the Orchid Garden? Mom and I looked but couldn’t find you anywhere. Even if you came back alone, you should have told us ahead of time. You made us very worried,” Zhu Xiangxiang said this in a cold voice. Her eyes searched every inch of Ming Jing’s body as if she was looking for some clues as to where she might have disappeared to at that time.
Ming Jing turned around and made her way to the French windows as she said in a calm voice, “At that time, I was in a hurry. I saw that you and Mrs. Jiang were having a good time talking to each other, so I didn’t want to be a nuisance and left to look for the restrooms myself. When I was done and came back, the scene had turned chaotic. There was nothing for me to do but to leave with the crowd and head home first to wait for you guys here.”
The more calmly she spoke, the more uneasy Zhu Xiangxiang started to feel. Could such a thing happen in this world?
“It’s good that you’re alright. Rest easy.”
Zhu Xiangxiang turned around and just was about to leave. After two steps, she stopped as if something occurred to her. “Oh right, if I am not mistaken you still have a few junior sisters. Your relationship must be close and you must see them like your biological sisters. Your master has just passed away, and you’re no longer in the Lonemoon Nunnery. How are your junior sisters going to survive? Why don’t we bring them to Jiang City? I’ll have my mother arrange for them to live with a good family. This way, they get to live comfortably for the rest of their lives.”
Ming Jing’s hand that was clutching the Buddha prayer beads paused for a second. In the next moment, it slid fluidly between her fingertips.
“You don’t need to worry about them. They can survive on their own.”
“But it’s been a long time. We should head back and visit them to see how they are doing. Why don’t I get the butler to send over some food and drinks? They’re only a group of children. Their fate sounds so pitiful.”
Ming Jing said simply, “Then I’ll have to thank you on behalf of my junior sisters for your kindness.”
“There’s no need for such courtesy. Just see it like this: Since they are your sisters, they are also my sisters.”
After Zhu Xiangxiang left the room, Ming Jing stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the garden spread before her outside.
The flowers were in full bloom and the warm sun was shining down. However, an infinite coldness could be found in her eyes.
…
“Madam, we’ve found out the identity of the assassin. He’s a homeless man with no background. The other party is good at what he does. He left no traces that will lead back to him.
“In regards to the Azure Dragon Society, we need more time to do a deeper investigation.”
Jiang Chunlan knew before she got this report that this would be the outcome. “There’s no rush. Please take your time. Have you uncovered anything about the person I asked you to investigate?”
Zhou Xue immediately started to frown. “According to Madam’s description, I have collected all the surveillance footage of girls that look like the young woman who saved your life at the Orchid Garden that day. There are three girls that match what Madam has outlined. But the odd thing about it is that all the surveillance footage has been destroyed shortly after the incident. We have no way of identifying the person.”
“What a bunch of trash,” Jiang Chunlan said in an angry voice.
Pausing for a moment to think things over, she finally said, “Go ahead and investigate all three girls. If they know something about the Azure Dragon Society, then this means they’re no ordinary people.”
“Is Madam worried…”
“It is my hope that I am worrying a little too much.”
At this time, Jiang Jinchen walked into the room from the outside. With a wave of her hand, Zhou Xue quietly made his retreat.
“Mom, I heard about the incident at the Orchid Garden today. Did you get hurt?” Jiang Jinchen was overall a very moody person. At this time, there was a deep frown on his face, and his eyes were overflowing with worry and concern for his mother.
Jiang Chunlan, feeling relieved, smiled. “I’m alright. Fortunately, there was this girl there that saved me. Otherwise, you can say I would be spending my afternoon drinking tea with the members of the Azure Dragon Society if it weren’t for her.”
“Azure Dragon Society?”
“It is not my wish to get you involved in these matters. I just want you to focus all your energies on your studies. But one thing you should be fully aware of – they might come after you next. You’re old enough now to know about these sorts of things.”
Jiang Jinchen’s expression turned serious. He subconsciously straightened up in his position in the chair.
Taking a sip of tea. Jiang Chunlan said, “I only stayed in Jiang City because I wanted to investigate something. A lot of higher-ups were involved in this matter and if I wasn’t careful, I could easily get myself killed at any time. Now, it seems like the other party had decided to take action and do away with the liability, which is me.”
…
“Your subordinate didn’t get the job done. You can go ahead and punish me, Hall Master.”
A man and a woman knelt before a great hall of people. Flanked on both sides of them were cold-faced people dressed in black clothing. A handsome young man sat in front of the room, holding a glass of wine and once in a while sniffing it gently.
“You can’t even kept such a small matter under control. What’s the point of all my hard work raising you? Lin Feng.”
All of a sudden, a man walked in with a fiercely barking dog. The vicious dog was about half the height of a man and packed with muscle on its solid body. As it stood in the hall, it bared its fangs wildly and barked ferociously as if it was about to charge at the two of them. If the man wasn’t holding its leash perhaps it would have already attacked them. However, the man tightened his grip on the leash and pulled the dog back.
The woman’s body quivered from her kneeling position on the floor. “Hall Master, everything was going smoothly. But all of a sudden that girl popped up out of nowhere and ruined our plans. That girl has some strange skills. Even though Senior Brother and I combined our forces together, we were no match for her. What’s even weirder is that she knows about our organization. To prevent our cover from being totally blown, Senior Brother and I could only leave the premises fast.”
Hearing her words, the man narrowed his eyes at her. “What did you say just now?”
“That girl I mentioned isn’t very old. She looks like she could be in her teens. But she proves to be very knowledgeable. She immediately identified our organization. Hall Master, blame me for being not as skilled as her. But we still have to keep our guard up. Otherwise, why would there be a leak on this operation?”
The man sneered outright. “That’s interesting.”
He turned to look at the man who was kneeling quietly to the side. “Ye Jian, tell me, what is on your mind?”
“Hall Master, Junior Sister speaks the truth. If you find out we are lying, then Junior Sister and I, deserve to suffer a terrible death.”
The man studied Lin Feng thoughtfully. “Go ahead and investigate.”
Lin Feng nodded his head, tightened his grip on the leash, and left with the hound.
Before the siblings could be completely at ease, a playful and cold voice sounded over them. “We can avoid the death penalty today, but punishment needs to be exacted. No one is above the rules of the Azure Dragon Society and those who violate our laws do so at a cost..”