"We're here!" Seeing Lan Yan speak, Jun Yelan swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth and turned to look at the shop in front of them.
Lan Yan had come to the blacksmith shop specifically to pick out a suitable weapon for Jun Yelan. She knew Jun Yelan had a strong sense of pride and could not bear to be a cripple, nor did she want to forever be the one protecting him.
"Boss, bring out all your best items. Let this young master choose."
The boss, seeing their attire, knew these two were of noble status. He called out enthusiastically, "Right away!" He had his employees bring out top-grade ironware and lay them on the table.
Jun Yelan glanced at them. Given his current condition with severed tendons, these were useless to him. He asked, "Boss, do you have any weapons as thin as silk threads, and some lightweight concealed weapons?"
The boss looked at Jun Yelan, confirming he was indeed no ordinary person.
He walked inside and personally brought out a string of fine threads, saying, "This is something I've cherished for many years. Young master, I can see you're knowledgeable; I can sell it to you. However, the price is..."
"Boss, just name your price," Lan Yan said, taking out her money pouch.
The boss's eyes lit up, and he smiled, "Alright, five hundred taels."
How expensive! Lan Yan, seeing that it was what Jun Yelan wanted, paid the money readily and handed the silk threads to him.
Jun Yelan looked at the silk threads in his palm and clenched them slightly. He took out a bracelet from his embrace, engraved with snake clan patterns, and called out, "I don't want to owe you forever. Take this first; it's to mortgage some of the silver."
"No need," Lan Yan refused without a second thought. However, noticing Jun Yelan's darkening expression, she accepted, "Alright, keep it with you for now."
She took the bracelet and looked at it in the sunlight. Its color was crystal clear, and it was an old artifact. Furthermore, Jun Yelan had never mortgaged or lost this bracelet, showing how important it was to him.
She decided to keep it well and return it to Jun Yelan whenever he wanted it.
Seeing Lan Yan place the bracelet in her embrace, Jun Yelan's lips curved into a slight smile. He had hidden that bracelet long ago; it was the only heirloom his mother had left him.
He didn't know why he had given it to Lan Yan to keep, perhaps because of what Lan Yan had been doing for him lately.
As the two walked out of the blacksmith shop, they saw a crowd gathering.
Lin Sheng stood with his hands on his hips, enraged, "It really is you two! You made me search all day. You're asking for death! Guards, attack!"
He retreated, letting the guards beside him advance.
Lan Yan saw that this Lin Sheng was relentless and directly drew her whip, "Fine, it's just a fight! I'll accompany you."
She looked back and whispered, "When we start fighting, you run quickly. I'm the young lady of the General's mansion; he wouldn't dare do anything to me!"
Hearing these words, Jun Yelan felt a surge of unprecedented emotions. Seeing someone attack Lan Yan, he directly pulled her behind him, took a blow from the attacker, and let out a cold snort.
"Jun Yelan!" Lan Yan's anger flared. She had just managed to help Jun Yelan recover, only for him to be hit by someone brought by this Lin Sheng!
She whipped the attacker away and, seeing the crowd attacking, changed her strategy. She put away her whip and shouted to the surrounding onlookers, "Everyone, come and see! Does this young Master Lin still uphold the law?"
"My husband and I were walking peacefully on the road when this villain took a liking to us. He's surrounded and attacked the two of us, claiming this is his territory and he can snatch whoever he wants."
The onlookers, who all had female family members, scoffed at Lin Sheng upon hearing this. "This person is too shameful."
"I recognize him; he's the young master of the merchant Lin family. He dares to be so brazen. If we let him get away with this, our female family members won't dare to go out on the streets anymore."
"That's right, we should report him to the authorities. I don't believe he can cover the sky with one hand."
Someone from the crowd left, while the others remained, continuing to watch.
Lan Yan heard these words and knew Lin Sheng was in trouble. She said to Lin Sheng, "Lin Sheng, don't forget my identity. I'm a vengeful person. If I go back and find people, do you think you can still stay here!"
"Don't be fooled by my outward gentleness!"
Lin Sheng shivered and mumbled, "When were you ever gentle? Oh, wait, you were, to the snake clan man next to you."
Fear flashed in his eyes. It was his fault for letting his anger cloud his judgment, and seeing that Lan Yan was only with a snake clan man, he wanted to teach them a lesson and get revenge for the last incident.
Instead, he had now implicated himself.
Lan Yan saw that Lin Sheng had stopped talking, realizing he was intimidated by her. She swaggered out of the encirclement and, as she passed Lin Sheng, whipped him heavily.
"If I see you again, you're finished!" After waiting for the officials to take Lin Sheng away, she returned to the mansion with Jun Yelan.
On the other side of the street, a man wearing a bamboo hat looked at the portrait in his hand and muttered, "That peerless handsome man just now resembles the War God from before. It seems I need to inform the Crown Prince."
Upon returning to the mansion, Lan Yan felt as if her legs were no longer her own. She had been running around all day and was exhausted. After washing up, she went to bed.
In the quiet room, Jun Yelan opened his eyes. He looked at Lan Yan, who was sleeping soundly on the couch, then tiptoed out of the room.
He returned to the slave market they had visited earlier that day and found the manager's room. He pushed open the door, looked at the sleeping manager, and coldly took a silk thread from his embrace, coiling it around the manager's neck.
This man deserved to die!
The manager, unable to breathe in his sleep, woke up startled. He looked at the face in front of him and exclaimed, "You're the guest from earlier!"
"And also a slave you once sold," Jun Yelan said coldly. "I told you back then that I would repay you for what you did to me, one by one."
He watched the manager's eyes widen in shock. He coiled the other end of the silk thread around the headboard of the bed but did not tighten it. He then removed the manager's belt and stuffed it into his mouth.
The manager was rendered speechless, and a foul smell emanated from beneath him. He felt intense fear and was unable to struggle.
Jun Yelan frowned at the smell, went into the adjacent room, heated an iron rod until it glowed red, and pressed it heavily onto the manager's chest, then his limbs.
The manager could not even cry out; the cloth in his mouth became stained with blood. His clothes were soaked with blood and sweat, leaving no intact flesh.
Seeing that it was enough, Jun Yelan gently tightened the silk thread and watched the manager take his last breath.
He then loosened the silk thread, wiped the bloodstains from it with a handkerchief, threw the handkerchief into the brazier to burn, and left the room.
This room, and the person within it, disgusted him to the extreme.
He returned to the General's mansion, entered the room, and looked at the still sleeping Lan Yan, then took out the silk thread from his embrace. He did not move further, only staring at Lan Yan, his heart inexplicably finding a sense of peace.