"Fire! Someone, come quickly! The Duan Mansion is on fire!"
By the time the governmental officers of the Taiping Bandits on patrol discovered the inferno engulfing the Duan Mansion, Fang Rui was already far away.
The summer weather was bizarre. The drizzle that had been mixed in with the wind had vanished at some point, leaving only the howling night wind to wail and cry.
Fang Rui moved swiftly through the dark streets, occasionally accelerating abruptly and reappearing from a different direction to check behind him, like an elusive shadow.
’No loose ends. A clean getaway.’ Fang Rui let out a soft breath.
His shoulder-satchel was bulging, a clear sign that his haul from the home of Duan Lang, the Wild Wolf Gang’s leader, had been substantial.
The inventory included: forty stalks of hundred-year Great Medicine, over a hundred stalks of Old Medicine aged fifty years or more, about three hundred taels of golden leaves, and an assortment of silver.
’Heh, that guy was asking for it.’
Today, Duan Lang had been slightly drunk and was captured by Fang Rui in just a few moves. Fang Rui severed the tendons in his wrists and ankles—just as he had done with Lord Hu—and forced him to reveal the locations of several hidden stashes.
Then, instead of retrieving the treasures himself, Fang Rui forced Duan Lang’s sons to do it for him.
His caution proved justified. The hiding spots were filled with traps, which ended up costing Duan Lang his three sons.
In the end, that cunning old fox Duan Lang had outsmarted himself, his elaborate schemes only serving to trap his own sons. Not only did he hand over his life’s savings for nothing, but he also provoked Fang Rui into wiping out his entire line.
...
The journey back to Willow Alley was uneventful.
The howling night wind blew away the scent of blood as Fang Rui returned, travel-worn, like a wayfarer coming home on a snowy night.
He moved the large stone covering the cellar entrance and brought out Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family, the Third Lady, Fang Ling, and Nannan.
They washed up and went to sleep.
Everyone returned to their own rooms.
As for the gold, silver, and Great Medicine he had brought back in his satchel, Fang Rui said nothing for the time being.
If he told them now, then tomorrow, when the news broke that the families of Chong Jihu, leader of the Tiger Gang, and Duan Lang, leader of the Wild Wolf Gang, had been annihilated, Mrs. Xue of the Fang Family and the Third Lady would likely connect the dots. Their fear would outweigh their joy, ruining the surprise, and they might even give something away...
Of course, Fang Rui had no intention of hiding it from them forever. ’I’ll wait a few days and find the right moment.’
...
The two little girls, Fang Ling and Nannan, were used to sleeping with Fang Rui, and tonight was no exception.
"Brother, I want a story!"
"Nannan does too!"
The two little girls lay on the bed, one on each side of him, turned toward him. In the dim light, their two pairs of large eyes sparkled brightly.
"Alright, alright!"
Fang Rui told a story and lulled the two little girls to sleep. Only then did he begin to refine and restore his Power.
A short while later, his Power was restored, and as expected, he was hungry again.
He pulled the blanket over the little girls’ tummies, then quietly got up and left the room.
Just as he stepped outside,
CREAK!
The opposite door opened, and he found himself looking right into the Third Lady’s eyes.
"Third Sister, why are you up?" Fang Rui asked in a low voice.
"I thought you might be hungry after going out tonight, Brother Rui... But it looks like I came out too late," the Third Lady said, blaming herself.
"Not at all, Third Sister. Let’s go together. With your help, things will be much easier for me..."
Fang Rui took the Third Lady’s hand and led her to the kitchen.
Fang Rui started the fire while the Third Lady chopped vegetables and cooked congee to prepare a meal—the evening’s leftovers weren’t enough, so she had to make more.
"Oh, right, Third Sister, chop these up and add them in too!" Fang Rui said, producing two stalks of Old Medicine, each over fifty years old.
Yes, just the fifty-year-plus Old Medicine, not the hundred-year Great Medicine. The Great Medicine was far too potent; if he had added that, the Third Lady wouldn’t have been able to handle more than a few bites.
"Alright!" The Third Lady turned, tucked a stray strand of dark hair behind her ear with the back of her hand, and gave Fang Rui a faint smile. Without asking where the herbs came from, she took them and continued her work.
’This is a woman who would prepare soup for me with her own fair hands.’
As Fang Rui tended the fire in front of the stove, he watched the Third Lady’s skilled movements. His heart softened without him realizing it, his gaze grew gentle, and he couldn’t help but say, "Third Sister, thank you."
"Brother Rui, what are you saying? You’re out there supporting this family. I can’t do much, just these small, insignificant things..."
The Third Lady paused, a hint of guilt appearing in her eyes.
It was true she had some talent for business, but the current environment in Changshan City offered no such opportunities.
Lately, the Third Lady felt as if she were just part of the background, unable to help with anything beyond cooking, cleaning, and sewing.
She felt guilty.
It was like in a relationship where one person gives far more, making the other feel inadequate.
Of course, this was the Third Lady. A younger girl in the prime of her youth might not have had such thoughts; she might have accepted it without a second thought, or even felt entitled to it.
But the Third Lady had managed a household before. She knew how hard it was to support a family in this world, which made her considerate and empathetic. She might even, with a slap on the rear... ahem!
This was another important reason why Fang Rui had chosen the Third Lady.
A girl like Lin Daiyu, who was prone to throwing petty tantrums, wasn’t necessarily bad, but in his current situation, he truly lacked the resources and mental energy to coax and coddle her.
Fang Ling and Nannan?
He might say he was spoiling them, but how far did that really go? It was just the normal treatment a child would receive in a family from his previous life.
Besides, the two little girls were very well-behaved.
"I was going to come out earlier, but Auntie wasn’t asleep... Thinking about it now, she probably had the same idea as me... Later, she must have realized it and pretended to be asleep to give me the chance... That’s why I came out..."
The Third Lady murmured these fragmented thoughts as she chopped the Old Medicine. As she spoke, a faint blush appeared on her pretty face, like the first rays of dawn.