TNIBFT -Chapter 270 Saving Lives!

Ye Tian reached out and lifted the eldest child and his daughter, glancing at Xiao Jiang with disdain. “Let’s not talk about this for now!”

“This kid is different from you guys. If he finds out the truth—if he realizes that Lord Meng is both wealthy and powerful—I bet he’ll betray immediately.”

“Mm!”

Ye Shuangxue nodded in strong agreement.

Ye Yunting frowned. After all, Ye Tian was going to marry Lord Meng eventually; sooner or later, he’d have to call her “Mom.”

In fact, Lord Meng cared for them deeply, and Ye Yunting could feel it.

It was just that after knowing him for only a few days, the thought of suddenly calling a stranger “Mom” felt awkward—but Xiao Jiang could do it without hesitation. Just thinking about it made Ye Yunting cringe a little.

“Master Tao!”

Ye Tian turned and saw Tao Lichun in the crowd, smiling. “Xiao Jiang is back. How about we all get together tonight?”

“To drink and celebrate?”

Tao Lichun shook his head with a smile. “I’m too old for drinking now. You young folks go ahead!”

“And these physicians from Medicine King Valley, I’ll take them to get settled first.”

The disciples of Medicine King Valley exchanged glances, curious.

Seeing Sifang City so vibrant, orderly, and prosperous, with its people living in peace and contentment, everyone looked at Xiao Jiang with doubt.

“Junior Uncle, is this really the Sifang City you said was full of robberies and killings?”

“You were just trying to scare me so I wouldn’t come, weren’t you?”

“Yes, Junior Uncle! I even bought several daggers for self-defense. I was ready to fight injustice!”

“Junior Uncle, didn’t you say that he had no relatives, that the father and his four sons relied on each other, and when they were hungry, they even ate mice?”

Everyone spoke at once.

Xiao Jiang’s cheeks flushed red, unable to explain. “I’m telling the truth!”

Tao Lichun stroked his beard, smiling. “Come on, I’ll take everyone to get settled. When there’s time, you can properly get to know Sifang City.”

Over these two days, everything in the city went smoothly.

There was no clue about Sun Wuji. Ye Shuangxue spent her days wandering the city, searching for her master and learning about female artisanship. Feng Jiaojiao had already realized that Ye Tian essentially wanted a place for her to stay, so he used the excuse of having her train as Xiao Jiang’s female craft teacher.

As for Miss Ye—the second young lady—her skill with weapons was fierce, but if she tried embroidery, she would snap several needles in a single morning.

Ye Tian didn’t force it.

She didn’t insist either; in this world, a woman skilled in martial arts was a hundred times more practical than one skilled in embroidery.

The disciples of Medicine King Valley began constructing the Zhenyao Hall—the hospital Ye Tian mentioned. Xiao Jiang, as the Junior Uncle, had the valley master absent and was busy every day—busy being a mascot, busy explaining to the disciples that everything he had said was true.

Early this morning, Ye Shuangxue put on her little tiger hat, slung her small backpack, and was about to leave.

Ye Tian lay in his rocking chair, glancing at her, pretending not to notice and continuing his nap.

Ye Shuangxue stole a glance at him, seeing that he was dozing and not paying attention, and quietly slipped out.

“Old Yang!”

Ye Tian called out.

Old Yang, eating noodles, immediately looked up. Ye Tian said, “Follow Shuangxue. Just don’t leave the city. Also, try to ask about any news of Old Man Sun.”

“Understood!”

Old Yang casually wiped his mouth and followed her in a few quick steps.

The streets were bustling with people. Ye Shuangxue frowned, carefully observing every passerby.

“Where could Master have gone?”

“Did he really go somewhere far away?”

Ye Shuangxue murmured to herself.

Old Yang called from behind, “I’ll search with you. Today, let’s check West Street; it’s more secluded, there might be a clue there.”

That’s right!

One big, one small, both wearing fur-lined hats, they walked down West Street, one ahead of the other.

Ye Tian’s hotpot shop was on Zhuque Street, a bustling area, while West Street was mostly home to small vendors and lower-class workers, a noisy area with lots of foot traffic. There was a river along West Street, and to get there, they had to follow its edge. Because of the snow, the ground was slippery. Worried that Ye Shuangxue’s shoes would get wet, Old Yang let her sit on his shoulders.

“Uncle Old Yang, it looks like someone’s in the river!”

Ye Shuangxue’s small face fell, her eyes staring blankly at the water.

There was ice in the middle of the river. Though the weather had warmed over the past couple of days, the ice hadn’t fully melted, and it looked like someone was soaking in the river.

“That’s probably someone swimming!”

“You know winter swimming, right? Some people are naturally not afraid of the cold and like to dive into rivers at this time of year.”

Old Yang didn’t even glance over; he started rambling nonsense.

Even if there really was someone in the river, he wouldn’t go save them!

A life of a Jianghu assassin had taught him: if it’s not your problem, don’t get involved—you’ll only bring unnecessary trouble.

Besides, in such freezing weather, who would go into the river to save someone unless it was a matter of life and death?

Old Yang shrank his neck.

Swimming, huh?

Ye Shuangxue frowned. The person in the river didn’t seem to move, long hair covering their face, dressed in black, and skinny. Could they be… dead?

She craned her neck: “Uncle Old Yang, it looks like a sister. She’s not trying to do something desperate, is she?”

A sister?

Where?

Instinctively, Old Yang looked toward the river. On the floating ice lay a long-haired figure, face-up in the water, skin pale from soaking.

His pupils constricted. “Damn… it’s a woman!”

“Move, move, move! Quick!”

“Call the authorities right now!”

Ye Shuangxue was speechless. “If you call the authorities, she’ll definitely be dead by then. There’s not a soul around here. Uncle Yang, when I was little, I often fell into the water. If it were me, would you just stand there?”

“We’ll rescue her, set her down, and leave. Won’t take much time. Okay?”

The little one pleaded, and Old Yang looked utterly helpless.

In his eyes, doing good deeds anonymously was something only fools did.

“Fine…”

“Who told me I was kind-hearted? I’ve done so many good deeds today… just let me grow a bit taller in my next life,” Old Yang muttered, starting to make wishes. Ye Shuangxue listened, her ears practically going numb.

He placed Ye Shuangxue somewhere dry and went into the water to save the woman.

On the bank, Ye Shuangxue watched Old Yang rescue her, feeling her scalp tingle. He was using a tree trunk to hook at the woman’s clothes—clearly not wanting to get wet himself.

Finally, he hooked the woman in the water, even pulling off her coat. Ye Shuangxue ran down, and Old Yang anxiously said, “Miss, stand still! Don’t move!”

“If you fall in, your dad will beat me for sure!”

“Listen to me, stand there!”

Old Yang pleaded. Ye Shuangxue looked at the rescued woman for a long moment; she seemed familiar. Frowning, she stepped forward and brushed the woman’s hair off her face. The features were delicate, with a hint of valor.

“Do you know her?”

“Who is she?”

Old Yang looked down suspiciously. After a moment, he realized, his expression like he’d seen a ghost, and both of them exclaimed in unison:

“Xiao Xun’er! Miss Xiao!”

“What’s she doing here?”

“Xiao sister? Xiao sister!” Ye Shuangxue shook Xiao Xun’er repeatedly. Her face was ashen, and the scar on her chin, swollen from soaking, looked grotesque and sickening.

“Let’s go, we need to get back to my dad!”