Chapter 33: Save Her? Why Should I?
This novel is translated and hosted only on Bcatranslation
It turned out that when the Huang family headed to Yanwu Slope, they discovered that You Bing Yue had given them incorrect information.
There were indeed villains hiding there, but they weren’t just petty kidnappers. Instead, they were bandit leaders and their gang in disguise.
These bandits had made Yanwu Slope their base, planning something big—kidnapping the family members of high-ranking officials from Shengjing, especially the legitimate children, to demand ransom money.
The gang was ruthless, their members fierce and highly skilled. You Bing Yue and the Huang family had underestimated them and paid the price.
You Bing Yue managed slightly better; she was skilled and could hold her own against three of them for a while without falling behind. But the Huang family wasn’t as fortunate. They had brought along only two scholars and some weak household guards—no match for hardened criminals. Within moments, the Huang family suffered heavy losses.
You Bing Yue, exhausted after several rounds of attacks, eventually had her right shoulder pierced by one of the bandits.
If it hadn’t been for Du Zi Heng, who had learned about the bandits and by chance discovered that You Bing Yue was acting as a bounty hunter investigating Yanwu Slope, and then notified the city guards just in time—the Huang family and You Bing Yue would likely have died there.
After hearing You Bing Yue mention Yu Zhi Yi’s name, Du Zi Heng questioned the Huang family and found out the whole story. He learned that Yu Zhi Yi was involved, which prompted him to come looking for her.
He wasn’t entirely irrational. He knew Yu Zhi Yi wouldn’t have intentionally tried to get You Bing Yue and the Huang family killed, but he questioned her all the same: why didn’t she stop them?
If she had stopped them, Bing Yue and the Huang family wouldn’t have gotten hurt.
Du Zi Heng was already annoyed, and hearing Yu Zhi Yi’s sarcastic tone made things worse. Suddenly, he started imagining the worst: “I’ll admit, Bing Yue can be stubborn sometimes, but she doesn’t deserve to die…”
A thought crossed his mind. “You didn’t do this on purpose, did you?”
“You knew Bing Yue wouldn’t die, so you didn’t try to stop her. But you also knew she would get hurt. You even figured out that Cousin’s nephew wasn’t on Yanwu Slope but was actually in the capital. Did you do all of this just to show off? To make my mother and me see how capable you are while Bing Yue looks incompetent?”
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became. “I was wrong about you!”
Yu Zhi Yi leaned back slightly, her eyes half-closed, filled with utter exasperation.
He must hardly see the sun to come up with such conspiracy theories.
Before Yu Zhi Yi could say anything, Madam Yao snapped, “Enough! How could I raise such a foolish son?!”
“Mother!” Du Zi Heng’s heart ached at the thought of You Bing Yue’s injury. “She may have abilities, but her heart is twisted… Do you even know how badly Bing Yue is hurt? If the city guards hadn’t arrived in time, she might have…”
Madam Yao sighed, clearly not wanting to dwell on the matter any longer now that she knew You Bing Yue was alive. “I can’t say if Zhi Yi has bad intentions, but I can say you’re both foolish and malicious! To slander such a kind-hearted girl like this—where did all the upbringing I gave you go?”
She took several deep breaths, fearing she might actually beat her rebellious son to death.
“Zhi Yi returned home this afternoon. Since she got back, she hasn’t even mentioned that woman’s name!
“If you hadn’t come storming in here making a scene, I wouldn’t even know that woman was involved. Let alone that she was foolish enough to get herself and the Huang family hurt!”
Du Zi Heng paled. “What?”
Yu Zhi Yi gently patted Madam Yao’s back. “Mother, calm down.”
She looked icily at Du Zi Heng. “I can predict many things, sometimes even foresee good or bad outcomes. But… I can’t interfere with others’ destinies without reason. I helped my cousin because she transferred her karma to me.
“If it weren’t for Cousin’s concern for the Huang family, I wouldn’t have bothered warning Miss You. I knew it would be a waste of breath anyway.”
She then sneered disdainfully. “Besides, even without the constraints of fate, why would I help someone who keeps targeting me? What, do you think my life has been too smooth and I need more trouble?”
“You…” Du Zi Heng opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
“How could you be so heartless?” Yu Zhi Yi’s expression was blank. “To be honest, from the moment I learned about Miss You, I had no intention of getting involved in your affairs. I even thought it would be nice for you to have someone close to you.”
“But what happened? I didn’t go looking for trouble with her, yet she kept provoking me again and again.”
“Not dealing with her myself was already my final act of kindness. Saving her? That would never happen, not even in my dreams.”
Du Zi Heng’s heart shook.
Few people could admit their dark side so openly.
But her darkness wasn’t without reason.
Yu Zhi Yi’s gaze was cold and indifferent, as if she could see straight into someone’s soul. Under that clear and piercing stare, Du Zi Heng suddenly felt like garbage.
Mother was right; he really was making a fuss over nothing.
It was Bing Yue who had followed a wrong lead, and Yu Zhi Yi hadn’t exactly remained silent. It was Bing Yue’s hostility that made her ignore the well-intended warning and treat it like a joke.
What did Yu Zhi Yi do wrong?
She did nothing wrong.
The fault lay in You Bing Yue’s stubbornness, the fault lay in his own blinded concern.
He couldn’t bear to stay any longer. He didn’t even dare look at Yu Zhi Yi again. After bowing to Madam Yao, he hurriedly fled Plum Courtyard.
“How could Heng’er become like this?” Madam Yao asked, her heart full of sorrow.
Her once honorable, clever son—how did he become so blind and foolish?
Yu Zhi Yi said nothing.
A mother scolding her son stemmed from deep love, no matter how harsh it seemed. It was still a bond of the heart.
If she chimed in, she would be foolish.
Once the mother and son reconciled, she would be the villain instead.
What she should do now was help speak up for Du Zi Heng.
But—
Why should she?
He wasn’t worth it.
Madam Yao complained a bit more. Seeing that Yu Zhi Yi seemed disinterested, she thought it was because Zhi Yi was upset, so she stopped dwelling on it and sent her off to rest at Wind Facing Pavilion.
…
That night, Yu Zhi Yi sat cross-legged, meditating.
Suddenly, four golden beams of merit entered her forehead.
She wasn’t surprised.
In her previous life, there was a serial killer in the capital who killed four people, all of them elderly or weak.
After killing a pregnant woman, the killer stopped and never struck again. Thus, until Yu Zhi Yi’s death, the culprit had never been caught.
Back then, she had left the capital for an assignment under Zhang Tian Shun, so she hadn’t gotten involved in the case. By the time she returned, it had been several years, and she never found out who the murderer was.
That was, until today, when she met Song Xi Yuan.
This old man, in order to avenge his criminal son, held a grudge against all the officers who had participated in his son’s arrest. Lacking the courage to confront those officers directly, he instead targeted their families.
He was cunning, knowing that killing all of the “enemies'” relatives at once would draw suspicion back to his son and, by extension, himself. So he took six years to exact his revenge slowly.
Now that he had been caught, those four people had all been saved.
Yu Zhi Yi silently thanked the heavens for the gift of merit and used it to further refine her body.
…
A night passed.
The next morning, when Yu Zhi Yi opened her door, she was greeted by Zi Yuan’s surprised expression.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.