Chapter Three: Mission of Peril

The touch upon her body could no longer be ignored. Li Haoran suddenly seized the mischievous hand and looked directly into Chu Bing’s clear eyes.

“My lady,” Li Haoran said, his tone tinged with displeasure, “I am here only to purchase a book, nothing more. Men and women should keep a proper distance—please have some self-respect.”

Chu Bing’s cheeks flushed crimson at his words. She struggled to free herself from his grasp. “Hmph! Who do you think wants to touch you? We had an agreement, didn’t we? If you liked it, you’d pay a partial sum first. I called out to you so many times, but you didn’t hear me.”

She clutched her stomach pitifully. “I’m starving, and you’re still reading.”

Li Haoran, surprised by the situation, paused for a moment before hurriedly handing over all the silver he had on him. “That was my mistake just now—please don’t hold it against me, miss.”

Chu Bing received the money pouch with both hands, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She waved off his apology, unconcerned. “That’s fine, that’s fine.”

She turned to leave, but a long arm blocked her way.

“Where is your home, miss?” Li Haoran asked.

“What?” she replied, confused.

“This book,” Li Haoran pointed to the ancient text in his hand, “how shall I return the remaining silver to you?”

Oh, right—she had nearly forgotten. After checking the money pouch, she found more than forty taels inside, enough to get by for some time. Generous, she said, “Never mind. Since you like this book so much, just keep the money. You don’t need to pay me any more.”

Li Haoran was taken aback, then delighted. He promised, “If one day I truly achieve success and merit with this book, bringing peace to the nation, I shall surely repay you handsomely.”

Chu Bing gave him a perfunctory smile. “I believe you. Good luck!” With that, she left, happily clutching the silver.

Li Haoran stood frozen in place, stunned. Even his own father had never said, “I believe in you,” yet she had…

Clutching the military manual tightly, Li Haoran’s gaze grew even more resolute and confident.

Chu Bing, meanwhile, hurried to satisfy her hungry stomach, then wandered the city streets to digest her meal. Suddenly, a flash of light caught her eye from a nearby alley. She approached and saw, to her astonishment, a giant red envelope, almost identical to the one she’d encountered with Li Haoran earlier.

She dashed forward eagerly. A huge red envelope like this was bound to contain something good.

“Stop it… you’re so naughty…” a voice drifted from the alley.

That voice sounded awfully familiar. Chu Bing peered over and saw the infamous Ninth Concubine—now the county magistrate’s wife, Yun Xin—secretly meeting her lover, their faces pressed intimately together while her maid kept watch at the entrance.

What caught Chu Bing’s attention even more was that Yun Xin’s body shimmered with the same glow as the red envelope she had just seen.

So Yun Xin was the red envelope?

“How can I possibly resist you like this?” the man said, leering.

“Let’s go inside, not here,” Yun Xin blushed, embarrassed.

He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her into the house.

“Tsk, tsk…” Chu Bing couldn’t help but pity the county magistrate. What a fate—every wife he had was either untimely dead or a traitor. The newly appointed official wife was already being unfaithful.

Carefully avoiding the maid, Chu Bing slipped into the courtyard. She was just wondering how to claim the red envelope from Yun Xin when, unexpectedly, the massive red packet floated out of the house on its own and hovered right in front of her.

Was this possible? Truly intelligent!

Chu Bing reached out and tapped the envelope. At that moment, a group of men in black, armed with blades, dropped from the sky and charged at her.

Inside, Yun Xin heard the commotion and rushed out. Seeing it was Chu Bing, she froze before shouting to her lover, “Quick, grab her! If she exposes us, we’re finished!”

The sly man was about to move, but two of the black-clad men, brandishing their weapons, frightened him into retreating. Yun Xin, in a panic, shut the door and hid with her lover behind it.

Realizing the danger, Chu Bing tried to run but was quickly intercepted. In the blink of an eye, a mechanical voice echoed in her mind: “Congratulations, you have acquired the perfected Emei Martial Technique.”

Was this from the envelope she had just opened?

Delighted, Chu Bing immediately accessed the skill. Instantly, a warm current surged through her, and all the stances and moves became second nature. Her body overflowed with strength.

Seeing they were outmatched, the men in black ceased their attack. “Miss, your skills are impressive; we admit defeat. But we hope you will no longer associate with the young marquis. Here is the military manual—returning it to you. If we ever discover you and the young marquis in contact again, we will not hesitate to use the entire marquisate’s power against you!”

Chu Bing, suppressing her ragged breath from the exertion, rolled her eyes inwardly but feigned terror. “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare!”

As if. In her mind, she pictured herself holding a sword to their throats. Who could have guessed that getting involved with Li Haoran would land her in such trouble, and now, with so many unresolved problems, another mess was upon her?

Inside, Yun Xin paced anxiously, at her wit’s end.

Who would have thought Chu Bing could fight, and so well? Had she followed her all this way with murderous intent?

But no matter Yun Xin’s fretful suspicions, Chu Bing vaulted over the courtyard wall and left. Meeting Yun Xin had only been a coincidence—there was no rush to deal with her. Having tasted the benefits, Chu Bing had more pressing matters to attend to.

Just then, the system’s prompt sounded in her mind: “A red envelope detected five hundred meters ahead. Please proceed quickly—”

Before the system finished, Chu Bing was already sprinting toward the location.

Half a minute to master a martial arts secret manual—these red envelopes were truly treasures! When she arrived, she found this envelope smaller than the previous two, but even a small gain was gain enough.

Rubbing her hands together in excitement, she opened the red envelope. The familiar, friendly system voice announced: “Within three days, you must teach the Marquis’s third son, Li Haoran, the Grand Duke’s Art of War and the Thirty-Six Stratagems. Failure will result in loss of the system and execution.”

Stumbling, Chu Bing nearly fell to the ground.

“Just my luck!” she groaned.

She had just been hunted because of Li Haoran—now she might die because of him again?

What was it with this Li Haoran—was he her heavenly tribulation?

Despite her complaints, when she saw that the mission reward was maxed-out cooking skills, she felt slightly comforted. If she succeeded, she might open a small restaurant to earn some money. After all, if she remembered correctly, her younger brother would be joining her in three months.

Meanwhile, lively discussion broke out at the street corner.

“Did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

“The Marquis of Loyalty’s third son just posted a notice at the manor gate, seeking a book called ‘The Grand Duke’s Art of War.’ He promises a generous reward to whoever finds it.”

Oh no. Chu Bing’s heart leapt in alarm. In her rush to escape, she hadn’t noticed where the black-clad men had returned the ‘Grand Duke’s Art of War’—who knew where it was now?