The peace of Little Lin Manor was shattered on a rainy night.
That night, thunder and rain raged outside. Lin Shuying was fast asleep when a dull thud suddenly jolted her awake.
She sat up groggily and heard muffled groans coming from outside the window:
“Oww… my back…”
Then came A-Gua’s startled cry: “A thief! There’s a thief!”
Lin Shuying was instantly alert. She grabbed an outer robe, threw it on, snatched the broom from the corner, and charged out—yes, a broom.
The estate’s guard was Wei Fuyu, and all the swords, spears, and staves were kept with her. The only “weapon” in Lin Shuying’s room was this broom.
In the courtyard, lanterns had already been lit.
A-Gua held an oil lamp aloft while Wei Fuyu gripped a staff; the two were surrounding a dark figure lying face-down on the ground.
The figure was dressed in black, soaked and splattered with mud, struggling to get up.
When he looked up and saw Lin Shuying, he revealed a mud-smeared face.
“You… Young Master?” A-Gua nearly dropped the oil lamp in shock.
Lin Shuying was also stunned: “Second Brother?”
Lying on the ground was none other than her second brother, Lin Jingshen—the wandering knight-errant who was rarely seen throughout the year.
At this moment, the wandering knight had none of his usual dashing flair. His hair was disheveled, his clothes torn in several places, and his face bore scrapes and bruises—he looked as pitiful as a stray dog.
“Little sister…” Lin Jingshen reached out to her, his voice weak, “save me… there’s—there’s a tigress chasing me…”
Before he could finish, a crisp female voice rang out from outside the estate: “Lin Jingshen! Get your sorry self out here!”
The voice cut through the rain, full of vigor.
Lin Jingshen jolted, scrambled on all fours, and hid behind Lin Shuying: “Little sister! Block—block for me! Tell them I’m not here!”
Lin Shuying: “…”
Wei Fuyu hefted her staff, eager to act: “Shuying, that ‘tigress’ outside—want me to chase her off?”
“No!” Lin Jingshen peeked out from behind his sister. “That tigress is fierce! You can’t beat her!”
“Who says I can’t?” Wei Fuyu retorted defiantly. “I’m a general’s daughter!”
As they bickered, the estate gate was kicked open with a loud bang.
A figure in red stood at the entrance.
In the rain-dark night, her face was hard to make out, but her tall, upright stance, the longsword in her hand, and her formidable aura made it clear she was no pushover.
“Lin Jingshen!” the woman shouted. “You can’t hide forever! Get out here!”
Lin Shuying steadied herself and stepped forward: “Miss, you’ve come late at night—may I ask what this is about?”
The woman narrowed her eyes and sized her up: “Who are you?”
“I’m Lin Jingshen’s younger sister, Lin Shuying.”
“Little sister?” The woman was taken aback, then sneered, “Don’t fool me! Since when does Lin Jingshen have a sister? He’s clearly an only son!”
Lin Shuying: “…”
It seemed this woman’s understanding of her second brother was still based on the fabricated persona he’d been peddling.
The woman’s gaze locked onto the figure behind Lin Shuying—Lin Jingshen was craning his neck, trying to hide behind a pillar.
“Lin Jingshen!” She spotted him at once. “Still hiding?!”
Seeing there was no escape, Lin Jingshen shuffled out sheepishly: “Di—Di’er… it’s pouring out here—why didn’t you bring an umbrella?”
“Don’t you dare ask about my umbrella!” Zhao Di’er pointed her longsword at him. “Talk! Why are you avoiding me?!”
“I’m not avoiding you—”
“If you’re not avoiding me, why did you run?! I chased you from Jiangnan to Jiangbei, from Jiangbei all the way to the capital—three thousand li! Do you think we’re playing hide and seek?!”
Lin Shuying listened in stunned amazement.
She’d chased him three thousand li? What kind of grudge was this?
“Um…” she interjected weakly, “why don’t you two come inside to talk? It’s pouring out there.”
Only then did Zhao Di’er realize she was completely drenched, her hair plastered to her face—indeed quite a sorry sight. She glared at Lin Jingshen, sheathed her sword, and said, “Fine. Inside.”
The group filed into the front hall.
Nurse Lin brought dry cloths, and A Li served hot tea.
Zhao Di’er didn’t stand on ceremony. She took the cloth, roughly wiped her face, and revealed her true features.
She was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen, with a spirited, heroic bearing and delicate, picturesque features.
But at this moment, her brows were slanted in fury and her eyes wide with anger—she looked like a cat with its fur standing on end.
Lin Shuying looked at her, then at her second brother cowering in the corner, and an understanding began to dawn.
This wasn’t an enemy—this was clearly… a romantic entanglement.
“Spill it,” Zhao Di’er plopped into a chair, crossed her legs, and demanded, “why did you avoid me?”
Lin Jingshen wore a pained expression: “Di’er, I’m not avoiding you—I—I have things to do.”
“What things?”
“Jianghu matters. You wouldn’t understand.”
“I may not understand,” Zhao Di’er sneered, “but I do understand that you change your name everywhere you go, that you always take remote paths, and that you run the moment you see me! Lin Jingshen, do I disgust you that much?!”
Lin Jingshen panicked: “No! I don’t dislike you! It’s just… it’s just…”
“Just what?”
“I’m afraid you’ll force me into an uxorilocal marriage!” Lin Jingshen gritted his teeth and laid it all out. “The Zhao Family Escort Agency is big and influential, but I’m the second son of the Lin family! How could I marry into your family? If my father found out, he’d break my legs!”
Zhao Di’er froze.
Lin Shuying froze too. Uxorilocal marriage? Escort agency?
That was a lot of information.
“H-how did you know…” Zhao Di’er’s face turned red.
“How could I not know?” Lin Jingshen said miserably. “The first time your father met me, he said, ‘Boy, not bad martial arts—why not marry into our Zhao family? The escort agency will be yours someday.’ I nearly died of fright on the spot!”
Lin Shuying: “…”
Wei Fuyu: “Pfft—”
“Then—then if you didn’t want to, you could have just said so!” Zhao Di’er was both embarrassed and angry. “Why did you run?!”
“I did say so!” Lin Jingshen said indignantly. “I said, ‘Chief Zhao, that really won’t do.’ And what did your father say? He said, ‘Young man, don’t refuse so quickly—spend more time together and you’ll change your mind.’ Then he shoved you onto me and told me to take you along on escort runs… and that went on for three months!”
He grew more agitated as he spoke: “Three months! You followed me everywhere—at meals, at sleep—I mean, at inns. You followed me wherever I went. You even stood guard outside when I used the latrine! How could I not run?!”
Zhao Di’er’s face grew even redder, but she remained defiant: “Th-that was because I was afraid you’d run away!”
“So I did run!”
The two stared at each other, the atmosphere both awkward and comical.
Lin Shuying had pieced it together.
In short: the chief escort of the Zhao Family Escort Agency had taken a liking to her second brother and wanted him to marry into the family and inherit the business. Her brother refused and ran. Zhao Di’er chased him. And the chase had stretched across three thousand li.
“Um…” she cleared her throat, “Miss Zhao, I think there’s been some misunderstanding.”
“What misunderstanding?” Zhao Di’er looked at her warily. “Are you really his sister?”
“Absolutely,” Lin Shuying said. “If you don’t believe me, you can ask around in the city.”
Zhao Di’er stared at her for a long moment, then suddenly asked: “How old are you?”
“Fourteen.”
“Fourteen…” Zhao Di’er murmured. Her expression softened a little, but she still didn’t fully believe it. She turned back to Lin Jingshen: “Really?”
A flicker of not-so-cunning calculation crossed Lin Jingshen’s face, making Lin Shuying’s scalp tingle.
She felt a vague unease—and then she heard her second brother say: “This is the childhood betrothal my family arranged for me. I can’t be an unfaithful man. I’m truly sorry, Miss Zhao.”
Zhao Di’er was now thoroughly convinced. Embarrassment and fury flashed across her face! She shot to her feet, blazing with anger: “Fine! Fine! Just as I thought! He bought this estate to keep a mistress!”
Lin Jingshen: “Yes, yes, exactly.”
Lin Shuying: “…”
Zhao Di’er’s face flushed crimson, wishing she could find a hole to crawl into. Clenching her teeth, she stormed out!
Once she was gone, Lin Jingshen let out a long sigh of relief and slumped into a chair: “At least I’m safe for now…”
Lin Shuying sat down, a wry smile on her face. “Just wait till Father finds out—he’ll break your legs for sure. Making up such nonsense! Tsk, tsk, haven’t seen you for so long, and now you’ve got someone chasing you to the altar~”
“Stop teasing me,” Lin Jingshen grimaced, begging for mercy. He’d come up with that last-minute desperate ploy. “You have no idea how terrifying Chief Zhao is. Six-foot-five, arms thicker than my thighs—standing there like a mountain. When he said he wanted me to marry into the family, how could I say no? I had no choice but to run.”
“And Miss Zhao?” Wei Fuyu asked, curious. “Does she like you?”
Lin Jingshen choked, his gaze shifting evasively. “She’s like a little shadow—wherever I go, she goes. She said her father told her to learn skills from me, but I think… she just wanted to keep an eye on me, afraid I’d run.”
Lin Shuying fell into thought.
From the way Zhao Di’er had acted just now, she clearly had feelings for her second brother. It was just that the girl was straightforward and expressed her feelings directly—which had scared him off.
“So what are you going to do?” she asked.
“What else can I do?” Lin Jingshen scratched his head. “Hide. Wait for her anger to cool down, then try to convince her to go home.”
“And if she won’t go?”
“…Then I keep hiding.”
Lin Shuying was speechless.
This second brother of hers—skilled in martial arts, but such a coward when it came to matters of the heart.
— —
The next day, the rain stopped.
Wei Fuyu rose early. After circling the estate, she decided to check the fields. She had barely walked a few hundred paces when she ran into Zhao Di’er.
The two met face-to-face and both froze.
“You didn’t leave?” Wei Fuyu narrowed her eyes.
Zhao Di’er clasped her hands in a martial salute. “It was too late last night—I couldn’t make it far… There’s a night watchman’s hut by the fields. I stayed there for the night.”
Wei Fuyu returned the salute and gave her an appraising look. “So you know martial arts?”
“Family tradition—just a little.”
“Care to spar?”
“Right now?”
“Right now!”
The two martial arts enthusiasts hit it off instantly and took their stances in the open space by the field.
By the time Lin Shuying rushed over, they had already exchanged over a dozen moves.
Wei Fuyu wielded a staff; Zhao Di’er used a sword. They clashed back and forth in a dazzling display of skill.
A-Gua watched, utterly awestruck: “S-so impressive…”
Lin Jingshen hid behind a pillar in the corridor, muttering under his breath: “See? Fierce, I tell you…”
Lin Shuying ignored him and focused on the sparring match.
Wei Fuyu’s style was bold and expansive, fierce and overpowering.
Zhao Di’er, on the other hand, was agile and unpredictable, her swordplay light and swift.
Their styles were completely different, but both had solid foundations.
After about an incense stick’s worth of time, they both stopped at the same time.
“What a thrill!” Wei Fuyu wiped her sweat. “Miss Zhao, excellent skills!”
“You’re not bad yourself.” Zhao Di’er smiled. “That staff technique—it’s from the military, isn’t it?”
“My father taught me.” Wei Fuyu didn’t hide it. “He’s a garrison commander.”
They exchanged a smile, a mutual respect passing between them.
— —
Lin Shuying seized the chance to step forward: “You two finished? How about some tea and a rest?”
Zhao Di’er was silent for a moment, then looked at Lin Jingshen. “I’ll make you come with me willingly.” With a hint of jealousy in her glance at Lin Shuying, she turned and walked away without looking back.
Lin Shuying’s smile froze on her face. Oh—she really did think she was a “love rival.”
The three returned to the front hall.
Lin Jingshen tried to slip away, but his sister shot him a look that pinned him in place. He had no choice but to sit down obediently.
Lin Shuying put her hands on her hips and pointed at him: “What are you planning next? Aren’t you going home?”
Lin Jingshen braced himself: “I’ll hide out for a couple more days before going back… What if she follows me home? Besides, I still have real business to attend to.”
“What real business?”
“Jianghu matters—you wouldn’t understand.”
“There you go with that line again.” Lin Shuying held her forehead.
— —
Life seemed to return to normal.
Until that afternoon.
Lin Shuying was alone in the melon field, pollinating the watermelon blossoms.
The temperatures had been high the past few days, and the watermelons were blooming fast—she had to keep up with the pollination.
She was focused on working with one flower when she heard footsteps behind her.
“A-Gua?” she said without turning around. “Hand me that brush over there.”
The footsteps stopped right behind her.
Lin Shuying turned—and froze.
It wasn’t A-Gua. It was a stranger—a man in his thirties, wearing coarse cloth clothes, with a simple, honest smile on his face.
“Miss, I’d like to ask something,” the man said. “Is this Little Lin Manor?”
“Yes.” Lin Shuying stepped back warily. “Who are you looking for?”
“Second Miss Lin.” The man rubbed his hands together. “I heard you buy vegetables and melons here. I wanted to ask about the prices.”
Lin Shuying relaxed slightly.
It was indeed common for nearby farmers to come sell their produce, and Auntie Liu would buy at market rates.
“Talk to Auntie Liu about purchases—she’s over by the canteen.” She pointed the way.
“Ah, right, right.” The man thanked her but didn’t leave. Instead, he stepped closer. “Miss, your melons look really good. Could you teach me?”
Lin Shuying frowned: “There’s nothing special about growing melons—just hard work.”
“Is that so?” The man stared at the brush in her hand. “What are you… doing?”
“Pollination.” Lin Shuying didn’t want to elaborate. “Did you need anything else?”
The man suddenly smiled—a smile with an indescribable strangeness to it.
“Nothing else.” The moment the words left his mouth, he lunged—a cloth pressed over Lin Shuying’s mouth and nose.
The cloth carried a cloying, sweet scent.
Lin Shuying’s heart jolted. She tried to struggle, but her body went limp, and her vision went black—then she knew nothing more.
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