Chapter 033

Chapter 33: Save Her? Why Should I?

The Huang family only learned the truth after they reached Yanwu Slope. You Bing Yue’s information was wrong.

There really were criminals at Yanwu Slope, but they were not simple kidnappers. They were a bandit chief and his brothers in disguise.

They used Yanwu Slope as their base and planned to do something big: kidnap family members of high officials in the Capital City, especially direct children, to demand ransom.

They were all desperate men, fierce and skilled. Because You Bing Yue and the Huang men looked down on them, they suffered.

You Bing Yue did better than most. She really could fight. Even while surrounded, she could handle three at once and hold even for a time.

But the Huang men were in trouble. They were just two civil officials with a bunch of household retainers. How could they beat river bandits?

In the first clash, the Huang side took heavy losses.

After round after round, You Bing Yue ran out of strength. A bandit thrust through her right shoulder.

If Du Zi Heng had not had sharp news, learned who the Yanwu Slope gang were, and then, by chance, found out that You Bing Yue was working as a bounty hunter and that her current bounty led to Yanwu Slope, and if he had not notified the City Defense Guards in time to rush over, the Huang men and You Bing Yue might have died there.

From You Bing Yue, Du Zi Heng heard Yu Zhi Yi’s name. He then asked the Huang family what had happened and learned that Yu Zhi Yi had been part of the matter. That was why he came here.

He had not lost his mind, though. He knew Yu Zhi Yi could not have tried to kill You Bing Yue or the Huang men on purpose. He could only ask why she had not stopped them.

If she had stopped them, Bing Yue and the Huang men would not be hurt.

Already upset, Du Zi Heng heard the bite in Yu Zhi Yi’s tone and suddenly spun a dark guess. He said: “I admit Bing Yue can be stubborn, but she does not deserve to die.”

Then a thought struck him and he said: “Did you do it on purpose?”

He glared and pushed on: “You knew Bing Yue would not die, so you did not try your best to stop her. But you also knew she would get hurt. And you also knew cousin-in-law’s nephew was not at Yanwu Slope but in the Capital. You wanted to show off your skills, to make my mother and me see how capable you are, and how useless Bing Yue is.”

The more he spoke, the more he believed it: “I misjudged you.”

Yu Zhi Yi leaned back a little and narrowed her eyes. [He is so good at spinning conspiracies; he must not see the sun much, right?]

Before Yu Zhi Yi could speak, Madam Yao snapped: “Be quiet. How did I raise such a foolish son?”

“Mother,” Du Zi Heng said, and the wound on You Bing Yue’s shoulder flashed in his mind, stabbing his heart. “She does have skill, but her mind is really… Do you know Bing Yue is hurt? If the City Defense Guards hadn’t arrived in time, she might have…”

Madam Yao heard that You Bing Yue was not dead and did not want to argue about that point. She said sharply: “I cannot see any evil in Yi’er. What I do see is that you are both foolish and cruel. You speak so badly of a kind girl. Did all your manners get eaten by a dog?”

She took several deep breaths, or she feared she would order someone to beat this unfilial son.

“Yi’er came back in the afternoon. Since she returned, she has not said that woman’s name once,” she said.

“If you had not rushed in and made a scene, I would not even know that woman got involved, acted stupid, and caused herself and the Huang men to get hurt and bleed.”

Du Zi Heng’s face went pale as he said: “What?”

Yu Zhi Yi patted Madam Yao’s back and said: “Mother, calm down.”

Then she looked at Du Zi Heng and said: “I can figure out many things, and many times I can foresee luck and disaster. But I cannot interfere with other people’s cause and effect without permission. I helped cousin-in-law because he passed his cause and effect to me.”

“If cousin-in-law had not cared about the Huang family, I would not have warned Miss You. I knew any words would only waste my breath.”

She let out a small, cold laugh and said: “Besides, even without Heaven’s rules, why should I help a woman who keeps picking fights with me? Do I want to make my life harder?”

“You…” Du Zi Heng started, then faltered.

“How can I be so heartless?” Yu Zhi Yi said with a calm face. “To be honest, from the moment I knew Miss You existed, I did not plan to get involved in your matters. I even thought it was good for the young master to have more close friends.”

“What was the result? I did not trouble her, but she still provoked me again and again.”

“Not dealing with her myself is my last kindness. Save her? That will never happen, not even in a dream.”

Du Zi Heng was shaken.

Few people dare to admit their dark side so plainly.

But her harsh words were not without reason.

Yu Zhi Yi’s gaze was clear and cold, as if she could see through a person’s heart.

Under that gaze, Du Zi Heng suddenly felt like trash.

Mother was right. He had been making trouble for nothing.

It was You Bing Yue’s false lead. Yu Zhi Yi had warned her. Because of jealousy, You Bing Yue ignored the kind warning and even took it as a joke.

What had Yu Zhi Yi done wrong?

She had done nothing wrong.

The fault was You Bing Yue’s stubbornness, and his own blind worry.

He had no face to stay. He did not dare to look at Yu Zhi Yi again. He bowed to Madam Yao and hurried out of the Leaning Plum Courtyard.

“How did Heng become like this?” Madam Yao asked, full of pain.

Her son who once shone like moonlight, the gifted child, how had he turned into a fool who could not see the whole picture and believed only one side?

Yu Zhi Yi did not answer.

A mother scolding her son is love made sharp. No matter how she scolds, a mother and son are tied together.

If Yu Zhi Yi added her own scolding, that would be stupid.

Later, when mother and son made peace, she would be the bad one.

What she should do now was speak well of Du Zi Heng.

But she thought and fell silent. [Why should I? As if.]

Madam Yao complained a bit more. Seeing Yu Zhi Yi look listless, she thought the girl was sad. She stopped pressing her and told her to return to the Windward Pavilion to rest.

That night, Yu Zhi Yi sat cross-legged to meditate.

Suddenly, four streaks of golden merit light flowed into the space between her brows.

She was not surprised.

In her last life, a serial killer appeared in the Capital. He killed four people, all weak: the old, the young, and women.

After killing the last one, a pregnant woman, he stopped and never struck again. So, before Yu Zhi Yi herself died, he was never caught.

At that time she had gone out of the city with Zhang Tian Shun to take a post, so she was not part of the case. When she came back years later, she still did not know who the killer was.

Not until today, when she saw Song Xi Yuan.

That old man hated every yamen runner who had helped catch his criminal son. He did not dare attack those men themselves, so he aimed at their families.

He had some small cleverness. He knew that killing all his “enemies’” relatives at once would make people think of his son’s case and trace it back to him. So he spread his revenge over six years.

Now that he had been arrested, those four lives were saved.

She thanked the Way of Heaven in her heart and used the merit to temper her body. [Thank you for the gift, Heaven.]

A night passed.

The next morning, Yu Zhi Yi pushed open the door and saw Zi Yuan’s surprised eyes.

She asked: “What is it?”