Chapter Seventeen: The Mysterious Man

  Since Feng Po was summoned by Qin Daihe for a lecture, her living standard has improved significantly. Although it seems the same on the surface, in fact, many details have been refined. Not only is the soup made with whole chicken and duck, but even the porridge contains finely chopped fish meat. If you don't taste it personally, you really can't tell.

  It seems that the heavens have opened their eyes and are taking better care of Qin Dai Xin. On a beautiful morning, Qin Feng Ge and her son left Xiao Qian Zhuang for Taizhou. Perhaps it was because Qin Feng Ge did not allow her son to act rashly, or perhaps it was because the mother and daughter had discussed and feared stirring up trouble, Gong Sun Jin not only didn't cause any trouble but also only sent someone to inform Qin Dai Xin of their departure in the morning, even kindly telling her to "take good care" and saying something about "the frost is heavy this morning, don't bother seeing us off".

  Qin Dai Xin naturally agreed to let the cat stay in the house and not come out, and only allowed a few words of farewell, expressing her reluctance to part with it, and said a few words like "take care on the road", almost shedding a few crocodile tears.

  Everything seems to be going smoothly, Qin Dai's life is happy and carefree, except that the Qin manor has been quiet all along, everything looks so normal, time flies quickly, and before you know it, it's already Lichun.

  "Miss, it's getting cooler and cooler, you'd better be more careful." The weather is so cold, still holding a book to read, I'm afraid that even the fingertips are cool at this moment.

  Qin Dai Xin put down the book she had read halfway through and looked out at the gloomy sky outside, wondering if it was going to snow.

  Ruyi was adding charcoal to the brazier in the house, wearing last year's winter clothes, only a blue-bottomed flower jacket, looking a bit rustic. The former Miss Qin San, she probably didn't give her maids any new clothes, so she had to wear this getup.

  "As you wish, shouldn't we also invite a tailor to make some winter clothes and shoes for us?" She didn't understand these things, but life was more or less the same everywhere. Whether it was thousands of years ago or in parallel space, people still needed to wear winter clothes."

  Ru Yi straightened her waist and said, "Miss, our hands are tight, just the other day we brought back those things you wanted, spending a lot of money. Now adding clothes, I'm afraid it won't be enough for future use." The mansion had not sent any clothes for Miss, Ru Yi knew that Li Mama's promise was broken, but could Mother really be so heartless as to not even go beg Lady Tai...

  Qin Dai knew that there was no money in hand, only a small amount of monthly expenses, and although food, clothing, and daily necessities were allocated by the household for four seasons, it was inevitable to give some rewards to the lower people or add something. When she was punished and sent to the countryside, her monthly allowance naturally disappeared as well.

  "Are you still blaming me for finding craftsmen to make those 'trinkets'?" The watery eyes were full of teasing.

  Ru Yi couldn't help but blush when she heard her master's teasing. She had always thought that the young lady had only made some exquisite and beautiful small trinkets, and she had even told the person in charge of purchasing that. But unexpectedly, what was moved back was so many things, taking up a lot of space and having no use...

  "A lot of money was spent, but it wasn't wasted. You can rest assured that I have the money." Qin Dai's heart had always handed over the money to Ruyi for management, but there was one income that Ruyi didn't know about.

  "Miss's meaning......" Ruo Yi hesitated for a moment.

  "Go and ask for one, get a woman who can tailor to your size, make a few more." She couldn't bear to suffer herself, nor could she bear to chill the heart of the person who had been following her wholeheartedly.

  Ru Yi nodded and left, going to take care of some business.

  The people of Qin's mansion are probably going to have to spend the New Year in the countryside themselves, but this is not necessarily a bad thing. Isn't it what they've always wanted, to live a life free from worldly disputes?

  After taking a sip of hot tea, Qin Dai continued reading her book.

  The sun gradually set, and before long it was evening. Qin Dai Xin had dinner and went to bed early. In ancient times, unlike modern times with advanced technology, entertainment was a pastime for the wealthy and powerful. A young lady like Qin Dai Xin did not have much freedom to enjoy herself.

  The night fell early, and the coolness was like water. Chun Li helped Qin Dai Xin add charcoal to her room, put down the bed curtains, blew out the lamp, and then went to the outer room, hastily got into bed, and soon fell asleep.

  The night in the village is particularly quiet, without the hustle and bustle of the city, but with a unique flavor of the countryside. The villagers, tired from a day's work, went to bed early, except for an occasional bark of a dog, it seemed that nothing else could be heard...

  It wasn't clear how long had passed, but Qin Dai suddenly opened her eyes, and years of vigilance played a role at the critical moment. In her sleep, she suddenly felt that there was a line of sight on herself, which was inquiring, sizing up, and flashing by. At the same time as she opened her eyes, that line of sight suddenly disappeared, like a gentle breeze.

  Qin Dai Xin instinctively got up, put on a coat and chased out of the house, because she was afraid of startling Chun Li outside, so she jumped out of the window. The starry sky was shining brightly, and the night in the small mountain village was exceptionally quiet. Qin Dai Xin stood outside the house, looking around in all directions.

  Was I just being paranoid?

  Just as Qin Dai was about to enter the house, she suddenly felt a surge of breath behind her, and the air was filled with a familiar yet strange bloody smell.

  Qin Dai Xin took a wrong step, turned around and dodged the sneak attack. Borrowing momentum, she stretched out her hand to grab forward, wanting to take advantage of the situation to press down on the opponent's shoulder, while pushing the other hand towards the opponent's chin. The opponent was clearly caught off guard, slipped away like an eel from Qin Dai Xin's arms, and counterattacked with a low body and a fist-shaped hand, rushing towards Qin Dai Xin's face. The opponent was very tall, and if this punch hit its mark, it would definitely land on the face. Qin Dai Xin saw this and quickly slid her body downwards into a horse stance, then spun her leg to jump up from the ground, striking the attacker's eyes, chest, and abdomen in rapid succession.

  The other party seems to be very interested in this unfamiliar fighting style, dodging repeatedly and not counterattacking. Qin Dai's heart entangled with him for a few more moves, only to find that the opponent had no killing intent on his body, but seemed to be teasing himself.

  "Who are you?" Qin Dai suddenly stopped, asking softly. Are the people in this courtyard all sleeping so soundly? The two of them had exchanged dozens of blows, yet they hadn't disturbed anyone.

  This man was dressed in all black, with a slender build. Qin Dai estimated that he must be around 1 meter 85 centimeters tall. He was covered from head to toe in black, with a black cloth covering his face, making it impossible to see his features clearly, only his piercing eagle-like eyes shone brightly under the starlight.

  Very sharp eyes, but this person's sword-like eyebrows are slightly furrowed, as if enduring something.

  "Are you hurt?" Qin Dai's heart discovered that his chest seemed to have a bloodstain.

  "Aren't you afraid of me?" the man asked jokingly.

  Qin Dai's heart skipped a beat, she didn't expect his voice to be so good-sounding, so full of magnetism, somewhat like a male alto, he must sound great when singing.

  Qin Daiyun silently scolded herself for being a lovesick fool and looked at him directly: "There's no killing intent on you."

  "What have you done in the yard, they are just ordinary people." Qin Dai's heart worked hard to make her voice sound calm and waveless, but actually no one was clearer than her about the anxiety in her heart.

  "Are you implying I'm not an ordinary person?" The man suddenly clutched at his chest and stumbled backwards.

  Qin Dai's heart didn't move, although there was no killing intent on the other person's body, but at this time when friend and foe were indistinguishable, it was still better to keep a distance.

  "Don't worry, I just used a little trick to make them sleep more soundly, they're fine. It's just that as soon as I entered your room, you discovered me. You're quite vigilant, aren't you?" The man seemed not to care about his injuries at all, but instead was more interested in her. This wasn't a good sign.

  "Why hasn't my maid woken up yet?" Chunli usually stayed up late at night, and if she could hear any noise, she would wake up early. Now, with such a big commotion outside the house, she didn't react at all, which was clearly not a natural phenomenon.

  "I poked her acupuncture point with a pebble." The man seemed to smile, but unfortunately his face was covered and I couldn't see his expression.

  Qin Dai's brow furrowed, unreasonably, she felt that this man wouldn't harm her, acupoint? Is there really such a skill in the world? Taking a deep breath, Qin Dai suppressed her temper and asked: "Who are you?"

  "Who am I that it matters? But you're right, I don't want to hurt you. I just wanted to come and see if there's anything to eat or some medicine for my knife wound." The man's tone suddenly turned arrogant, as if others owed him something.

  Qin Dai'er narrowed her eyes to look at him, seeing that he was on the verge of collapse, and inexplicably thought of Yan Feng, who had been injured protecting her. He was a comrade who had ultimately died in front of her because they were trapped in a place where they couldn't get medicine.

  Qin Dai Xin walked closer to take a look and found that there was still an arrow with its head cut off stuck in his chest, presumably this was the one he had chopped off himself after being shot.

  "It seems that we have to pull out the broken arrow, otherwise someone will die." Since arriving here, Qin Dai's heart seemed to have improved as well. Tonight, under the dark moon and strong wind, she even had the mood to save people.

  "Are you going to save me?"

  Qin Daiyan's face turned cold as she said, "I just don't want you to die in my courtyard, you really shouldn't have come here."

  The man smiled somewhat slyly: "I don't want to either."

  Qin Dai Xin didn't say anything, she just raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

  This man is too strange, there's a kind of aura about him that's so similar to my own, could he be a fellow practitioner? Someone like this shouldn't have any connection with the Qin Manor, right? Or perhaps killing him and silencing him would be the safest option?

  The man suddenly laughed lowly: "You're not my opponent."

  "I may not be able to beat you, but I can definitely kill you. Even if I couldn't kill you, killing a wounded and poisoned person shouldn't be difficult." Qin Dai's tone at this moment had lost all restraint, instead gaining a few more points of confidence.

  "Do you know?" The voice was full of surprise. "A young lady from a secluded family, not only knows martial arts, but can also tell that I've been poisoned, I'm really surprised." A different glint appeared in the man's calm and unruffled eyes.

  "You've been like this for three days and haven't died yet, I really don't know if it's because your life is too good or your opponent's life is too bad." Who can't chat, and the blood shed isn't even my own.

  "Are you going to keep talking like this with me until dawn?" The man's physical strength seemed to have reached its limit, "Will you save me or not?"

  Is there really such a conceited man in the world? How can he be so sure that he will save him? Qin Dai's heart was silent, but in fact, she hated the feeling of being easily seen through by strangers.

  "You save me, I'll help you keep a secret. How about that?" Again, wasn't everything she was seen through her secrets?

  This rascal.

  "What secrets do I have?" As soon as the words came out, Qin Dai's heart regretted it. Facing this kind of person, a slight carelessness might bring unforeseen trouble, and the price paid would be absolutely huge.

  "You and I are of the same kind." The tone was affirmative, leaving no room for doubt.

  Qin Dai Xin let out a long sigh and pulled out a three-inch-long dagger from her waist, under the moonlight, its cold glow flashed!

  PS: Xiao Hui's baby is still young, so the update time is not very fixed, and I will try to stick to one update per day.