Don't ask where people go

Chapter 2022 Yaoyao
"Do bandits even care about face?" Fang Zilan asked curiously. The second-in-command took a deep breath and suppressed his anger, saying, "Miss Zixiu, just because you have a bad reputation, does that mean everyone in the world is like you and doesn't care about face?"

"What did you say?" Fang Zilan raised her plum blossom sword, and Fang Lihui quickly interjected, "Miss Zixiu, you are a magnanimous person, please don't take it to heart by arguing with the Second Master..."

Fang Zilan snorted coldly, turned her head away while holding Mei Jian, and saw this. Li Shengxuan clenched his fist in his sleeve and said to the second leader, "No matter how badly my Zixiu is infamous, she is still better than you mountain bandits. Everyone in Jiangnan knows that as long as you mountain bandits are mentioned, even a three-year-old child will cry and scream."

His words seemed to be defending Fang Zilan and standing up for her. Hearing this, the second leader had a look of disbelief on his face. He coughed twice and, before he could say anything, continued, "Since your reputation as bandits is already so bad, why are you still afraid of losing face?"

"I..." The second-in-command began to speak, but Li Shengxuan interrupted him again, "Oh, I see. It seems that Feiling Mountain is in dire straits itself, and in order to save face, it had no choice but to beg my Zixiu for help. Second-in-command, am I right?"

He spoke in a drawn-out, affected tone, repeatedly referring to his daughter Zixiu, which gave Fang Zilan goosebumps. How come she hadn't noticed before that he was such a glib-tongued person?

"You..." The second-in-command was caught off guard, unsure whether to admit it or deny it. His expression darkened considerably, and he could only roar, "Stop talking nonsense! What do you mean, 'we're in trouble ourselves'? We at Feiling Mountain are doing just fine..."

"Is that so?" Fang Lihui smiled and gently shook his folding fan. "If things are so good, why haven't we seen a single penny of the money you promised me when we made the deal?"

The second-in-command froze, seemingly not expecting Fang Lihui to step in and undermine him at this moment. He glared at him and lowered his voice, saying, "Young Master Fang, don't forget, we still have a lot of leverage over you..."

"What incriminating evidence?" Fang Lihui made no attempt to hide anything, shrugged casually, and said, "Is it the Jiangnan pleasure boat arson case, or the Wan Hua Lou in the capital? Miss Zixiu knows all of these. She's set far more fires than I have, so she probably wouldn't care about such trivial matters."

Upon hearing this, Fang Zilan glared at Fang Lihui. It was one thing for her to have committed numerous evils, but it was quite another for him to say it in such a competitive manner.

What does it mean to not care? She's prepared to risk her life sooner or later, but does Fang Lihui have that same awareness?

Noticing Fang Zilan's gaze, Fang Lihui chuckled awkwardly and said innocently, "Miss Zixiu, am I wrong? Or do you not know?"

He casually changed the subject, and Fang Zilan, too lazy to argue with him, simply threw the conversation back to Li Shengxuan, "It seems you guessed right, the second-in-command is furious."

"I didn't..." The second-in-command's eyes flashed with a fierce light, but Fang Zilan ignored it and sneered, "If you are sincere in wanting to rescue Hong Tai, you might as well tell me everything. Maybe you can win my sympathy and I will do you a favor and help you out."

"You, you all!" the second-in-command exclaimed angrily. "You already know enough, don't try to trick me into saying anything more!"

Fang Zilan shrugged. "Does the Second Master think we were trying to trick Miss Honghe into revealing information?"

"Isn't that right?" The second-in-command glared angrily, while Fang Zilan curled her lip. "Miss Honghe merely recited a prepared statement. The rest was all our speculation. She didn't say anything, so how can it be considered extracting information?"

The second-in-command gritted his teeth and said, "No matter what Miss Zixiu says, I'll put my words here: the leader, Hong Tai, is the face of Feiling Mountain. If you help us today, you'll be giving us face. If we meet again in the martial world, we'll naturally give you face in return."

"What do face or reputation matter in the face of life and death?" Fang Zilan composed herself and said in a deep voice, "If Feiling Mountain can't even protect itself, how can we talk about the future?" After she finished speaking, she raised her chin at Li Shengxuan and Fang Lihui, indicating that they didn't need to waste any more time and could leave.

“Miss Zixiu…” The second-in-command called out to Fang Zilan hesitantly. After a long pause, he said as if he had made up his mind, “After you rescue the chief, I will tell you everything I know.”

"Uncle Sun!" Honghe's urgent words were cut off by Fang Zilan's firm voice, "It's a deal."

Everyone present was stunned, as if they had never expected Fang Zilan to agree so easily. Li Shengxuan wanted to say something, but she stopped him with a look and he swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Fang Zilan placed the golden plum blossom on the table and took out some gemstone necklaces from her dressing case. "I just had someone make these for fun when I was bored."

"Just doing it for fun?" A-Wan curled her lip. "Ghost Gate is so poor, where would you get the spare money to make Golden Plum Blossoms?"

Fang Zilan paused suddenly, holding the gemstone—indeed, where would she get the money?

Seeing that she didn't react, Awan waved her hand in front of her eyes, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I forgot." Fang Zilan said confidently, leaving Awan speechless. She could only watch as Fang Zilan turned the golden plum blossoms and the jeweled necklaces into bracelets.

"How come I never knew you had this skill before?" A-Wan moved closer to her. "Who taught you?"

"I forgot," Fang Zilan replied casually. Awan gritted her teeth in anger. "Then why did you make this bracelet? You didn't forget about it too, did you?"

"I haven't forgotten." Fang Zilan said innocently while making a bracelet, "This bracelet is a thank-you gift for Qinghan."

"Sister Qinghan?" Awan asked, puzzled. "Why did you suddenly decide to send her a thank-you gift?"

Fang Zilan was busy with her hands. "News came from the southeast that Princess Rong'an helped to make medicine and cured the plague. Have you heard about it?"

"I've heard about it," Awan said indignantly. "The Prince of Rong'an and his daughter are utterly shameless!"

“Princess Rong’an stole the credit that should have been Qinghan’s. I’m afraid Prince Rong’an will kill her to silence her.” Fang Zilan placed the newly formed bracelet on the table and said calmly, “In order to prevent Prince Rong’an from harming Qinghan, I have to give her something to protect her life.”

"You mean this golden plum blossom?" Awan looked at the most conspicuous golden plum blossom in the bracelet in disbelief and questioned, "I've been traveling the martial world for so many years, and I've never heard of any golden plum blossom that can save your life. Fang Zilan, are you hiding something from me?"

"With your limited knowledge, how dare you claim to have roamed the martial world for many years?" Fang Zilan looked at Awan with amusement, and tugged at her sleeve persistently. "That means you're hiding something from me."