Chapter 330

Chapter 330: Eldest Young Master Song Encounters River Bandits

Jiang Yu Wei had always thought that, as the Martial Alliance Leader, he was well-informed. Other than matters of the Imperial Court, he believed there was nothing under heaven he didn’t understand. Yet in less than an hour, his whole worldview kept getting overturned.

Yu Zhi Yi didn’t bother with her elder uncle’s mood, saying plainly: “Since the other side has stolen the Martial Alliance’s luck, they must also be people of the Martial World. Next, just watch the major forces of the Martial World. If a sect or someone who was at their peak suddenly starts to decline from tonight-falling fast, even gravely injured and near death-you can basically lock in the target.”

In truth, she already had a guess. But she hadn’t personally seen the luck from the fate-shifting formation flow toward Juxian Manor. Even though, right now, a large stream of luck was flowing back from that direction, it was only a general heading. If she wanted to sentence Juxian Manor beyond doubt, she needed to see with her own eyes that the luck had returned from Juxian Manor.

Only she could see such things. And with her elder uncle’s suspicious and authoritarian temper, he would believe nothing unless he saw evidence himself. No matter how persuasive she sounded, he would still keep a question mark in his heart.

Even so, she still wanted to go see it herself.

Just as she was about to leave, a servant hurried in to report: “Master, Second Master, Second Miss, the commandery governor has arrived and wishes to see Second Miss.”

Jiang Yu Wei’s heart jumped: [Is it because of what Jin’er said at noon?]

After a quick calculation, Yu Zhi Yi smiled: “Yes.”

At first, Jiang Yu Wei worried his little niece might have misread things, and he feared Commandery Governor Song and his wife had come to settle accounts. But when he saw the smile on his niece’s face, his worry faded a good deal.

When Jiang Si Ying heard the commandery governor and his wife had come, she guessed Yu Zhi Yi’s “jinx” at noon might not have worked. Excited, she rushed to the reception hall to watch a joke.

She had barely reached the doorway when she heard Commandery Governor Song’s grateful voice: “Many thanks to Second Miss for saving my son’s life!”

Right after came the voice of Eldest Young Master Song: “Thank you, Second Miss Jiang, for saving me. Without you, I fear I would be a corpse at the bottom of the river by now.”

Unlike his polite, distant tone at noon, Eldest Young Master Song now sounded genuinely grateful.

Jiang Si Ying’s eyes went wide in disbelief: [She really got it right?]

Jiang Yu Wei was shocked too. He’d had more than enough shocks today, but he wasn’t immune; his eyes were full of awe, and he asked curiously: “What on earth happened?”

Still shaken, Eldest Young Master Song answered: “This afternoon, some friends and I went to our usual spot to fish. We go there often. Normally, each of us brings only one or two servants and a few things to cook the fish with, not many people at all.”

“I’ve been fishing for four or five years and never had an accident. So when Second Miss Jiang warned me at noon, I didn’t take it to heart.” He looked very ashamed as he said this.

Yu Zhi Yi didn’t mind. Over the years, plenty of people hadn’t believed her. One more or one less didn’t matter. She warned them only because the commandery governor and his wife had spoken up for her today, and she wanted to return the favor. If he chose not to believe and something happened, that would be his fate; it had nothing to do with her.

Eldest Young Master Song went on: “At first, everything was fine. My friends and I were catching a lot. In less than an hour, we had already hooked a dozen fish. While we were happily discussing how to cook them, two boats appeared on the river and started moving toward us.”

Even now, he shuddered at the memory. He had found it odd to see two boats closing in, but it wasn’t his river and he had no right to bar their way. So he looked once, then ignored them.

“Unexpectedly, the two boats stopped on either side of ours and boxed us in. Then more than a dozen men with knives rushed up from each boat.”

“They were bandits. They’d been watching us for a long time and knew our habits-how we went out to fish on the same day every month and never brought many people. One boat would have at most around a dozen men. So sending over twenty bandits to rob a bunch of rich young masters like us was more than enough.”

“Luckily, today I brought more than twenty extra people. Otherwise, we would have been wiped out.”

“But just when I finally felt like I could breathe, something went wrong. As our guards were finishing them off, one bandit who wasn’t quite dead grew vicious. While no one was watching him, he pulled out a dagger and lunged at me.”

“My attention was on the fighting a short distance away, and I never thought someone on the ground would still try to kill me. He aimed straight for my heart. If not for the Heart-Guard Mirror, my heart would have been pierced.”

“Afterward, I took the Heart-Guard Mirror out. It had a deep dent. You can imagine how hard he stabbed.”

When he finished, he thanked Yu Zhi Yi again: “Thank you, Second Miss Jiang. Without you, I really would have died on that boat today.”

Commandery Governor Song nodded, voice thick: “Yes. Without Second Miss Jiang’s reminder, this humble official would have faced the sorrow of an old parent burying a child.”

Jiang Liu Ting, who had hurried over after hearing the news, paused mid-step. [“This humble official”?] He had heard that when someone calls himself “this humble official,” it means the person he is addressing outranks him-and by a lot. So he wondered: after the second sister went missing all those years, did she end up in the home of some powerful noble and become their adopted daughter? He had to admit, this guess was very close to the truth.

Suppressing his questions, Jiang Liu Ting entered and carefully watched the commandery governor and his son. Commandery Governor Song truly respected Yu Zhi Yi. In contrast, Eldest Young Master Song’s face showed even more gratitude than respect.

Naturally, the commandery governor hadn’t come empty-handed. He piled up gifts-antique paintings, precious herbs-without caring about the cost. Among them was a five-hundred-year-old ginseng. Eldest Young Master Song also sent a thank-you gift: several pieces of rare jade. He had heard somewhere that people of the Mystic Sect favored the spiritual energy found in good jade.