Ji Mingshao replied, “Whoever fits the description knows who I mean.”
Ruan Ning, exasperated, said, “Can you be any more childish? If you want to fight, go outside!”
Ji Mingshao looked at Luo Jie, “Did you hear? Go outside.”
“Ning-mei means you should go out,” Luo Jie countered.
“Both of you, get out!” Ruan Ning pushed them out and slammed the door.
Finally, peace and quiet.
“Jiejie, where did you find such a sickly lover? How immature!” Ruan Ning mumbled. “They weren’t like this when we first met.”
“Some men’s IQ drops to zero when they’re in love,” a voice said leisurely. “Congratulations, host. This is a good sign. It means the sickly lover is falling for you.”
“So what’s wrong with him? Is his IQ just low when in love?” Ruan Ning asked.
The standard female voice paused before saying, “It seems the host’s IQ isn’t much higher than that of the love-struck, sickly lover.”
Ruan Ning: …
System, it’s a miracle you’ve survived without being beaten to death!
The next day, as Ruan Ning opened the door, Ji Mingshao rushed out from the stairs, blocking her. He asked, “Did you sleep well last night?”
Ruan Ning, startled, replied, “I was sleeping fine until you showed up! What are you doing crouching here?”
“I was afraid that fool would harass you again at night, so I was guarding the door,” Ji Mingshao explained awkwardly.
Seeing his damp clothes from the cold mountain dew softened Ruan Ning’s heart. Before she could respond, Ruan Shixin called out, “Where’s the sickly scholar?”
Luo Jie added, “There he is! He’s been pestering Ning-mei and won’t leave!”
Luo Jie had rushed to find Ruan Shixin, claiming the sickly scholar had come to cause trouble and harass Ruan Ning, prompting Ruan Shixin to hurry over.
Ruan Shixin was surprised to see Ji Mingshao. “It’s you? You’re the sickly scholar?”
“Junior pays respects to Master Ruan,” Ji Mingshao bowed honestly.
Ruan Shixin was bewildered. His daughter had somehow gotten engaged to such a famous jianghu figure?
He couldn’t help but suspect Ji Mingshao’s motives and asked, “Why are you here?”
Ji Mingshao lowered his head, respectful: “Last time we met, thanks to Miss Ruan’s acceptance, we became engaged. Now that my affairs are settled, I’ve come specifically to get married.”
Ruan Shixin was confused. A well-known figure in the jianghu coming just to marry his daughter? It was hard to believe. But he had promised marriage. This man had a bad reputation and was sickly — his daughter would suffer if she went with him!
Ruan Shixin glanced at Luo Jie, regretting that this robust young man would be perfect if his daughter liked him.
“I’ve said I can’t worry about marriage now; I need to settle the mountain stronghold first,” Ruan Ning said, glancing at Ji Mingshao. “Didn’t I tell you to wait for news?”
Ji Mingshao was not annoyed and replied, “Okay, let’s settle the mountain stronghold first.”
“Let’s go to the construction site!” Ruan Ning walked ahead.
Ruan Shixin seized the opportunity to grab Luo Jie’s hand and whispered, “Nephew, put in some effort and don’t let that sickly guy get ahead!”
Luo Jie was almost in tears. Although he had suffered a loss at the hands of the sickly guy, he felt confident with the support of his future father-in-law.
At the construction site, workers were building houses. Ji Mingshao drew while discussing with Ruan Ning: “When I came up yesterday, I observed the mountain terrain and your defenses. Er Long Mountain is easy to defend but hard to attack. However, the current defense has flaws that need improvement, which I’ve marked on the map. Additionally, there’s no food supply on the mountain. If you want to hold it long-term, you need to stockpile grain and cultivate the land. The back mountain has fertile flat land suitable for planting wheat and vegetables.”
Ruan Ning was surprised by Ji Mingshao’s insights, impressed by his ideas after just one visit.
Meanwhile, Luo Jie, sawing wood nearby, became jealous and shouted, “Sickly scholar, dare you fight me?”
Chapter 110: The Mountain Queen’s Husband
The sun shone on Luo Jie’s muscular physique, glistening with sweat. Ji Mingshao, unhappy with him, casually responded, “Can you beat me?”
His contemptuous attitude infuriated Luo Jie, who shouted, “Come and try if you have the guts!”
Ji Mingshao quickly pulled out a needle from his waist and threw it without looking. Luo Jie managed to say “Despicable person using hidden weapons” before he started to scratch uncontrollably, hit near his navel, which made him writhe in unbearable itching.
The workers around gathered to watch. Ruan Ning, furious, hit Ji Mingshao’s head with a pen, scolding, “You always do this. Isn’t it boring?”
“Okay,” Ji Mingshao replied, pulling something from his waist and throwing it. Luo Jie fell down, not from itching but from a numbing drug that paralyzed half his body.
Ruan Ning wondered how many poisons Ji Mingshao was carrying. He looked at her and said, “I also have ones that can drive people crazy, temporarily blind or deaf, or cause memory confusion. Would you like to try something else?”
The rest of the passage continues with their interactions, romantic tension, and further confrontations between Ji Mingshao and Luo Jie. He looked at the furious Luo Jie, reached out to pull off his waistband, and surprisingly revealed a soft whip.
Holding the whip, he said calmly, “Let’s see who’s the real man by fighting it out!”
The sickly scholar was unparalleled with poison, yet few had seen him fight. Luo Jie figured he probably had poor martial arts skills and thought defeating him would be easy as long as he could prevent the use of poison. He drew his waist knife, striking fiercely at Ji Mingshao’s head and face. Ruan Ning, startled, quickly called out, “Brother Luo, don’t hurt anyone!”
Luo Jie grew angrier, attacking even harder. Ji Mingshao, undeterred, calmly dodged while swinging his soft whip. Soon, whip shadows filled the area, enveloping Luo Jie’s knife light.
With her newfound insights into martial arts, Ruan Ning discerned that Ji Mingshao’s skills exceeded Luo Jie’s. With a simple wave of the whip, Ji Mingshao easily neutralized all Luo Jie’s attacks, and soon Luo Jie was overwhelmed. In a panic, he stumbled, and Ji Mingshao’s whip quickly disarmed him, tossing aside his waist knife.
“Bravo!” Cheers erupted from the onlookers, as men skilled in martial arts naturally admired those with superior abilities.
They had previously only known Luo Jie as good at fighting, but this exchange made them realize that he was the true master, changing their impression of him.
“What else do you have to say now?” Ji Mingshao tied the soft whip back to his waist and snorted coldly, “With such mediocre skills, you dare to covet her?”
Luo Jie’s face turned red, unable to respond, staring at the ground with slumped shoulders.
Ruan Ning, familiar with Luo Jie, knew he valued saving face. She pulled Ji Mingshao and said, “You’re older, what’s there to be proud of? Stop talking and behave!”
If another man were scolded like this, he might lose his temper. But for Ji Mingshao, her scolding made him feel closer to her, and he replied, “Okay, I’ll listen.”
Luo Jie’s heart went cold. Although Ruan Ning was defending him, her tone towards Ji Mingshao showed she treated him with respect. Remembering their recent intimacy, his heart ached as he lowered his head.
Ji Mingshao did not wait for an answer, as Ruan Ning quickly changed the subject and avoided discussing the topic, despite Ruan Shixin and Chen’s wife asking several times.
Ji Mingshao was sulking in his room, turning things over in his mind until he made a decision.
When Ruan Ning entered at night, he emerged from the darkness and embraced her. Although she couldn’t see his face, Ruan Ning quickly recognized him.
