128 Chapter 128 - Seek Refuge

The whole family in the hall, carrying the depressed Liu Yusheng and looked at Yan Hong with scrutiny.

The woman was tall, almost a head taller than Chen Xiulan, and had a cold and solemn air around her.

Her face was cold, and her eyes were even colder, sending shivers to those who looked at them.

Wearing a pair of tight fitting black tunic with holes in the shoulders, she stood upright in the middle of the hall, like a pillar.

On such a cold day, she didn't feel cold with thin clothes.

"What's going on here?"

"Who are you? Why are you in our house?"

"Yan Hong, twenty-two years old, homeless," the woman's face visibly stilled, a little twitchy, and her next words were squeezed out, "Please … to take me in."

"…"

The grandma deliberated on her response. "You… are so old. You should be capable of living on your own. You see, we're just an insignificant peasant household. We can't help you much. I'll give you some buns later. You can go somewhere else and find a better way out."

"I know martial arts. I can fight and go down to the fields." The woman scanned the room and selected the most solid stool. She picked it up, weighed it, then chopped it down with one hand. The stool immediately splintered into pieces. "I'm fine with watching the house and being a bodyguard."

"…"

"The stool is too brittle. I can also break a rock this big with one foot." The woman gestured.

The Liu family: "…"

They had this gut feeling that if they refused, they'd end up like that stool.

"Take me in. I can help fight, beat up people, and do odd jobs. You don't have to pay me as long as food and lodging are free." Then she paused, which lifted the Lius' heart for a moment. "If you pay wages, I'd serve you more considerately."

"…"

Liu Yusheng was going crazy.

Persuasive marketing? Coercive trading?

"What if we don't want to?"

"I'm not leaving until I've repaid the favor."

She was already driven mad.

The Liu family was a bundle of nerves this day.

When cooking, someone rushed to light the fire and made smokes billow from the stove.

After the meal, someone rushed to wash the dishes, breaking half of the dishes.

The only thing that kept the Liu family from showing any strange reaction was probably the fact that the same person ate three big bowls of rice and emptied the rice pots, clamoring for more.

"So, you can't do anything except split the stool and eat more." Liu Yusheng gave her a squint sideways.

Woman: "…"

That night, the woman was housed in a guest room for a temporary stay.

The Liu family hasn't made their position clear on whether to keep her or not, but Yan Hong was unfazed by the situation.

Whether they'd let her stay or not, she was determined to stay.

All was quiet in the dead of the night.

Several cat meows abruptly broke the silence.

A shadow silently sprang out of the Lius' compound and accurately found a person shivering from the frozen snowflakes on top of his head in a dark corner.

"Is there any food, give me some first!" The man sniffled.

The woman tossed him a paper bag with two frozen, hardened steamed buns inside.

"You went in there, eating and drinking hot food, yet you brought me this?"

"The amount of meals in the Liu family are estimated. There were no leftovers."

"…" Hungry as hell, even hardened steamed buns could be eaten. The man grabbed a bun and took a hard bite. "Did you get in?"

"Sort of."

"Such a childish ploy worked?" It was no exaggeration to say it was full of holes. Were the Lius stupid?

"There's no harm in being childish. I'll stay at least. It's better than someone racking his brains and ending up lying unattended on the main road." She didn't mention that the Lius were most likely too intimidated to refuse.

"… Da Hong, you're hurting my pride with that!"

The woman snorted. "The Lius are simple and honest. It's easy to fool them, and since I'm a woman, they're not so cautious. But there's something about that child. I've never seen a six or seven-year-old child who is so calm and collected under the circumstances. If she can't be fooled by ordinary means, then don't fool her at all. Just go simply and crudely go ahead with it without mincing your words. How can the soft-hearted Lius still not feed me?"

Wei Lan went from angry to convinced. He swallowed the last bite of cold steamed bun and almost choked on it. He rolled his eyes. "Now that it's done, then quickly find a way to get me in too!"

"No," Wei Hong immediately refused. "I alone am enough to agitate them. Adding you will be even more suspicious. Master's purpose is for us to protect the little child. From now on, I'll stay in the open and you stay in the dark."

"…" Wei Lan exploded. "On what basis! You'll eat and sleep warmly in a big bed, while I'll have to sleep and eat in an inn? What kind of weather is this? I've been huddled here for a while and I'm freezing to death and you want me to be in the dark! So am I just supposed to sit in a corner and drink the cold air? I won't do it!"

Why must he end up so miserable on a mission together?!

"Xinghua Village is now very peaceful, and two people showing up here would likely make our target conspicuous." Wei Hong glanced at Wei Lan coldly. "Besides, you should bear the consequences when you're willing to gamble. I managed to get in so you'll have to listen to me and find another place to stay first."

At the mention of the bet, Wei Lan wilted.

He was the one who brought up the matter of betting.

Previously in the shadow guard battalion, they had to obey the boss whenever there was a task. They just have to do what they were told. Now that their master suddenly sent them out alone, neither of them was willing to give in to the other's orders deep inside. Both wanted to be the boss.

After his failed attempt to garner pity last time, he lay on the road for a long time, but she just watched nonchalantly next to him and didn't give him a hand. Afterwards he threatened to split up in a fit of rage. Whoever entered the Lius compound first would come up capable and has the right to speak.

"Where can I stay? I can't squat in a broken temple, can I? I don't know when this mission is going to end, but if Master never calls us back, am I going to live in broken temples for the rest of my life?"

"Aren't you proficient in making sesame pancakes? Go to town and set up a stall to sell them. As for where to live, your choice."

"…"

The female figure disappeared in a flash, leaving Wei Lan in turmoil in the snow.

His choice? Did that mean he could sleep in the temple or on the street if he wanted? Let him choose?

This brotherhood is bogus! Go to hell!

Having set her teammate up, Wei Hong slept well at night and woke up with a bit of warmth on her cold face.

This warmth, however, didn't last long. After breakfast, the little girl called her over to the third courtyard.

"Is something the matter?" Looking at the little child who called her over, Wei Hong asked.

"Are you sure you won't leave without repaying my kindness?"

"Yes."

Liu Yusheng nodded and pulled out two pieces of paper from her bosom. "Since you've decided, I'll respect your wishes. Just sign this."

Wei Hong's eyebrows furrowed. She took the paper over in confusion, and after seeing what was written on it, her face turned green, "Deed of Sale?!"

"Is there a problem? Didn't you say something about pleading your life to me for my saving grace? Then sign it and stamp it with your fingerprints."

"…" Names could be faked, but fingerprints couldn't.

This somersault had utterly convinced her!

How could a person who got into her master's eye be so simple!

Wei Hong gritted her teeth and signed her name on the two deeds of sale, adding her fingerprints.

From this day onwards, she was a dignified Secret Guard and a domestic servant who sold herself!