Ji Mingshao, consumed by jealousy, interjected. He pulled Ruan Ning’s hand away from Luo Jie’s arm and stared at her. “You said you’d be responsible for me. You’re not allowed to touch other men.”
Ruan Ning was surprised but laughed. After days apart, why had he changed? Previously timid, he now seemed transformed.
She smiled and said, “I did say that, but weren’t you the one who ran away? You’ve been missing for days. I thought you didn’t care at all.”
“I, Ji Mingshao,” he replied seriously, “didn’t run away or take it lightly. I had urgent matters to attend to.”
As soon as I finished, I rushed back to find you.”
“Fine, let’s assume what you said is true. But you ran away without telling me where you were going,” Ruan Ning pulled on Luo Jie’s sleeve and slapped away Ji Mingshao’s hand. “Now you suddenly appear and want to manage me, isn’t that going too far?”
Luo Jie was stunned. He wanted her to take responsibility, but she claimed he hadn’t made any promises. This scheming guy, who had previously wronged her, now seemed to be a rival! Luo Jie drew his knife and shouted, “Who are you? Why are you entangling Miss Ning?”
Ji Mingshao, with exquisite footwork, easily dodged Luo Jie’s knife. He took out a silver needle and flicked it, hitting Luo Jie’s hand and causing intense itching. Luo Jie dropped his knife, scratching and jumping around.
Ruan Ning rolled her eyes. Were these two going to keep this up? The small, dilapidated house was already broken, and Luo Jie had knocked over many pieces of furniture. If this continued, the house would be uninhabitable.
She swiftly drew her soft sword, its silver tip like a snake’s tongue, pointing directly at Ji Mingshao’s heart. “Are you two done? Stop right now!”
Ji Mingshao watched the sword tip approach his chest, not dodging, almost entranced. He was captivated by the girl, beautiful and strong, worshipping her, wanting to prostrate at her feet.
Thanks to the system’s help, Ruan Ning was skilled with her soft sword. She controlled it precisely, piercing Ji Mingshao’s clothing without hurting him. “If you dare to cause trouble again, I’ll stick all your little needles into you!” she said angrily.
Ji Mingshao looked at her, entranced. “It’s okay, I can detoxify.”
“Then I’ll smash all these bottles and jars and throw them away. Let’s see how you detoxify!” Ruan Ning, amused by his foolishness, tried to scare him.
“No need for antidotes to detoxify,” he replied softly.
Is this guy an idiot? Ruan Ning glared at him: “Then I’ll tie you up so you can’t move. Let’s see how you detoxify!”
Ji Mingshao closed his eyes and walked towards her sword tip, unable to restrain himself. He murmured, “If you want to tie me up, then do it.”
Ruan Ning quickly retracted her soft sword.
She didn’t want to accidentally harm this sick, clingy person and jeopardize her mission. She raised her chin at Ji Mingshao, maintaining a fierce expression: “Stand still and don’t cause trouble!”
Ji Mingshao remained still, his gaze revealing deep, complex thoughts. Why rush to uncover the truth of his capture? If she had stayed with him, he might have already moved on!
Chapter 109: The Female Bandit Leader’s Husband
Seeing Ji Mingshao no longer moving, Ruan Ning picked up the antidote from the table and went to support Luo Jie, taking out a pill to help him detoxify.
With half a pill in his mouth, Luo Jie blushed and said, “Sister Ning, I’m truly embarrassed. You always have to save me.”
He couldn’t grasp the dynamic between them, but the tall, thin man was clearly attentive to Ruan Ning, not getting angry at her orders. His look towards her was familiar—similar to how Luo Jie himself regarded her.
Sensing a crisis, Luo Jie decided to defend his position.
Ruan Ning applied the other half of the antidote to Luo Jie and gently pressed his hand to aid absorption.
During this moment, Luo Jie glared at Ji Mingshao and quietly moved closer to Ruan Ning, raising his chin provocatively.
Ji Mingshao felt a lump in his throat, wanting to strike again, but Ruan Ning had cautioned against causing trouble, so he suppressed his anger. As she carefully applied medicine to Luo Jie, he felt both frustrated and relieved that he had shot the needle at the hand, preventing the fool from using it as an excuse to undress.
Freed from the itching, Luo Jie picked up his knife and challenged Ji Mingshao, “Who are you, and why do you keep plotting against me? Dare you fight me properly?”
“The Sick Scholar has traveled the jianghu for decades and never feared anyone,” Ji Mingshao replied. “Let’s fight.”
Luo Jie was shocked to learn that Ji Mingshao was the notorious poison master. He immediately stood protectively in front of Ruan Ning, saying, “Sister, he’s a famous poison master with ill intentions. I’ll hold him off—quickly find Uncle Ruan!”
Ruan Ning assessed Ji Mingshao, concluding that the name suited his sickly appearance. She stepped out from behind Luo Jie and said, “It’s fine. He won’t harm me. Don’t worry.”
This statement left both men feeling complicated emotions, particularly Luo Jie, as it seemed to confirm an unusual relationship.
He couldn’t understand how the Sick Scholar could be connected to the Ruan family’s daughter. For Ji Mingshao, the final “Don’t worry” suggested Ruan Ning’s closeness to Luo Jie, intensifying his jealousy.
Ruan Ning asked Ji Mingshao, “You said you had urgent matters that couldn’t wait; is everything done?”
“Done,” Ji Mingshao replied.
Since he couldn’t kill Zhao Sihai, he decided to sever all ties with him. The leaders of the Shadow Pavilion had been replaced by Zhao Sihai’s trusted subordinates, meaning he had no further involvement. Retiring from the jianghu and helping Ruan Ning manage Erlongshan seemed a good choice.
Noticing her silence, he quickly added, “I came to find you. You promised to be responsible for me and said you would marry me.”
Marriage? Luo Jie interjected, “You’re going to marry him? How could that be? He’s a notorious evil sect member!”
Ji Mingshao glanced at him, and although he remained silent, the threat in his eyes was clear.
Ruan Ning didn’t care about the evil sect, but while she didn’t dislike Ji Mingshao, she didn’t have deep feelings for him either.
Besides, she had been enjoying her role as a mountain bandit leader, and shifting her focus to conquering a sickly lover seemed too boring.
She pondered and said: “Of course I’ll be responsible…”
Ji Mingshao gained confidence and smugly glanced at Luo Jie.
“But marriage… we’ll talk about it later. The most important thing now is to build up the mountain stronghold to avoid trouble from the government troops,” Ruan Ning continued.
Luo Jie snorted triumphantly at Ji Mingshao.
Ji Mingshao asked, “How long is ‘later’?”
“I’ll give you an answer within half a year.”
Half a year was the longest stay in this world, and before that, she would find a way to complete her mission.
Ji Mingshao felt both disappointment and excitement. At least he had a definite answer and wouldn’t be able to pester her anymore.
He nodded, “Okay, I’ll wait for your reply.”
“No!” Luo Jie interrupted, turning to Ruan Ning, “Ning-mei, this man is from the underworld and sneaked up the mountain. Who knows what he’s planning? We can’t be careless!”
Damn this fool! Ji Mingshao’s hand reached for his waist, his fingertips touching a silver needle, when he suddenly heard Ruan Ning say: “He’s not from the government.”
He was the one who warned me in the county yamen and helped us deal with the archer.”
Ji Mingshao felt joy when he heard her recognize him. He stepped forward, took her hand, and said: “I’m glad you’re okay. Be careful in the future. Some men may look strong, but they’re useless and can’t protect you.”
Luo Jie retorted, “Who are you calling useless?”
