บท 10: 010. He must really like you

"[He must really like you]" Su Liang suddenly recalled that Bai Xiaohu had told her there was once a young master from the Yuanwai family who wanted to take the Original Master as a concubine, but Su Daqiang did not consent. Could it be… In an instant, Su Liang dismissed the thought. If the Yuanwai family was so domineering, they wouldn't have waited until today to trouble Ning Jing. Therefore, she should have nothing to do with this matter involving two men fighting over one woman. Looking around, Su Liang noticed a fat young man holding onto a young woman, standing not far away. It was likely that the young woman was the one being fought over. No matter why Ning Jing had invited this trouble, Su Liang had no plans to intervene. Just then, Ning Jing locked eyes with Su Liang, extending her hand towards her and pleading softly, "Help me." Speechless, Su Liang looked towards the heavens… All eyes turned towards them instantaneously. "Grab that pretty girl too!" Now Su Liang couldn't escape even if she wanted to, so she broke through the crowd and rushed towards Ning Jing. Moments later, there were four more groaning ruffians on the ground. The audience's eyes were about to pop out of their heads. Nobody could have imagined that a frail-looking young girl would know martial arts! Throughout, Ning Jing remained graceful and beautiful, now standing behind Su Liang, looking more effeminate… "She was sold into slavery." Hearing Ning Jing's whisper, Su Liang took another look at the captured girl. Fifteen to sixteen years old, with fair skin, pretty features, and a mole on the tail of the right eyebrow. Her eyes were red-rimmed, teary but without tears, pleading silently to Su Liang. "Do you know her?" Su Liang asked, shocked. "She recognizes me," Ning Jing answered, "And she has a dark sign on her face." Su Liang narrowed her eyes, understanding the situation. At the young master Huang's command, another group of people charged over. Ning Jing silently retreated two steps… Su Liang's moves were quick, ruthless, and precise, but she was physically weak and had not had breakfast, so she felt somewhat exhausted. After knocking down the last man, a new group emerged from behind Young Master Huang. "Madam Ning!" Upon hearing the voice, Su Liang focused and felt relieved. The person who had arrived was Ba Zihu, whom she had met the day before at Su Daqiang's house, the one who lent money at high interest rates. Ba Zihu bowed with his hands folded in front, "Those two are friends of mine, could Young Master Huang…" "What are you worth?" Young Master Huang sneered. Ba Zihu stood straight and laughed, "Young Master Huang, I heard the County Magistrate is being promoted, congratulations!" The color drained from Young Master Huang's face! His arrogance in Feiyan Town was due to his distant relative who was a County Magistrate. Ba Zihu saying "promotion" was in fact a sideways demotion. The point was, he would no longer have jurisdiction over this area. In contrast, the Hu Family, was the true force to be reckoned with, and they had powerful support in the background. "I will give you face! Let's go!" Young Master Huang scrubbed at his face, pulling the young girl with him. "Leave the girl." These words were spoken by Su Liang. After all that fighting, if she didn't even save the girl, wouldn't that be a waste of energy? "Madam Ning, may I ask why you want this girl?" Ba Zihu was very courteous to Su Liang. "Old acquaintances," Su Liang said. "This woman was bought by me!" Young Master Huang's face had turned even darker. "How much did Young Master Huang pay? Why not let Madam Ning have her, to give me face," Ba Zihu said. "And if I don't agree?" Young Master Huang ground out through gritted teeth. "In that case, I will have to pay a visit to Master Yuanwai," said Ba Zihu whose men now blocked Huang's path, "Master Yuanwai is always generous, perhaps I wouldn't even need to pay." Recognizing Ba Zihu's hidden threat, Young Master Huang's face darkened: "Forty taels!" Su Liang took a bag of silver that Ning Jing passed to her, walked it over, and handed it to Ba Zihu. Ba Zihu opened it to have a look, "Exactly forty taels, does Young Master Huang want to count it again?" Young Master Huang aggressively walked away with the bag of money, leaving the young woman behind and taking his injured subordinates with him. Su Liang helped the girl up from the ground, as she whispered in gratitude, "Thank you, sister-in-law." Su Liang raised an eyebrow, sister-in-law? It appears she truly does know Ning Jing. "I was just about to pay lady Ning a visit, and didn't expect to meet you here." Ba Zihu bowed in a salute. Su Liang nodded, "Thank you very much. Come by Su village to get the prescribed medicine tomorrow." Ba Zihu was taken aback; he didn't expect Su Liang to be so candid. Although he had just outmaneuvered Master Huang, he didn't want to make a big fuss about it. His suggesting Master Huang to give up the girl to Su Liang, and Su Liang willingly paying for her, saved face for Ba Zihu. "I should be the one thanking Lady Ning. Rest assured, I guarantee that Huang won't trouble you again!" Ba Zihu added a few more words. Master Huang is a lecher, but he's rather impotent in that area, having a somewhat perverted mind. If Su Liang hadn't saved the lady today, her fate would have been grim. As for the Su Daqiang family of six, they had already been sent to the mines last night, leaving them no way out. The crowd dispersed. Su Liang, leading the lady, turned into a deserted alley, with Ning Jing following behind. "Who are you?" Su Liang let go of her. "Mr. Ning knows." The girl stood still, turning towards Ning Jing. Su Liang also turned back, staring at Ning Jing's face, deep in thought. The events of their wedding night made her suspect that Ning Jing was a member of the Gu Family, currently using a fake identity. But it now seemed that "Ning Jing" is real. Could it be that he was using someone else's identity? He dared to go out without fear of being discovered, could he possibly know the legendary Disguise Technique? Su Liang momentarily pushed aside her doubts, telling the lady, "He doesn't like to talk. Answer my question!" "My name is Yang Yu, I was betrayed by my enemies and sold here. I tricked Master Huang, telling him that if he bought me a book, I would obediently serve him. This is how I got the opportunity to leave. I didn't expect to meet the seventh son of the Ning Family here. We had met once before." "If it weren't for Mr. Ning and Lady Ning's righteous rescue, maybe I wouldn't be alive tomorrow." "Please help me to return home or notify my brother to come and pick me up. I will be eternally grateful!" Su Liang was initially puzzled as to why Ning Jing had openly stood up for Yang Yu. If he really wanted to rescue someone, he could have done it secretly. It turned out that Yang Yu was in danger and had managed to grasp a lifeline. She was uncertain whether Ning Jing would be willing to save her, understandably not wanting to let go of him. You could say that was only human nature. Su Liang observed that Yang Yu had a dignified manner and spoke well, never crying or whining. She made an effort to save herself, making Su Liang think this girl was worthwhile. The forty silver taels were gone, but saving a person was a noble deed. Initially, she didn't want to intervene as she thought Ning Jing could handle it himself. She didn't expect the pretty boy to actually want her to fight... She must make Ning Jing give her a piece of jewelry as compensation for her effort this time. As Su Liang was mulling over this, she was suddenly pulled behind Ning Jing. A black-garbed, masked man rushed over brandishing a long knife, aiming it at Yang Yu. Ning Jing kicked Yang Yu towards Su Liang and in a swift movement, grabbed the wrist of the assassin, giving it a vicious twist! Su Liang caught Yang Yu, who narrowly avoided being knocked down by Ning Jing's kick, speechless. "Thank you." Yang Yu rubbed her aching arm, took a deep breath, and whispered to Su Liang, "Mr. Ning must really like you." Su Liang paused for a second, then it dawned on her. Compared to how he treated her, Ning Jing's behavior towards Yang Yu could be considered rude, this... The assassin's wrist had been broken by Ning Jing, who was pinning him to the ground. Yang Yu walked over, pulled off the assassin's mask, and said coldly, "It's you!" The assassin, realizing his plan had been exposed, pleaded for his life, confessing that a Miss Yao had forced him to do this. It seemed that Miss Yao was Yang Yu's cousin, who lived temporarily at the Yang Family. She was jealous of Yang Yu, and wanted to steal her fiancé. She framed Yang Yu, which resulted in Yang Yu being sold. "Miss Yao gave the traffickers a lot of money, trying to make sure they found a 'good family' for Miss Yang. They specifically chose Master Huang, who only asked for forty taels, in order to humiliate and torment Miss Yang!" "Miss Yao had me secretly follow Yang Yu to prevent her from escaping and wait for the right moment to kill her! Miss Yao also said she would make Young Master Yang believe that Yang Yu had eloped with someone else!" Yang Yu was livid, "And I treated her like a real sister! I was really blind!" Su Liang looked at Ning Jing, who had moved beside her, and quietly asked, "Why did you have to kick her? You don't seem to know how to treat women delicately." "Women are troublesome, I don't want to get involved." Ning Jing appeared indifferent. Su Liang: … did he do it on purpose to avoid getting attention? "Shall I leave then?" Su Liang huffed. Ning Jing shook his head, "No need, I don't consider you a woman."