Chapter Fifty-Four: Breaking the Code of Honor

Seeing this, the man in white grinned and announced, "My young master is none other than Song Zeye, the legitimate son of the Magistrate of Jiangnan!"

As he spoke, both men couldn’t help but wear an air of pride, eagerly awaiting the sight of Li Yunjie trembling in terror at the mention of their master’s name.

The young woman also shuddered at the name, her eyes filled with fear and a trace of worry as she glanced at Li Yunjie.

"Song Zeye?" Li Yunjie remained utterly unfazed. He looked at Eleven and asked, "Is that the one who attended the funeral the other day?"

Eleven, having just untied the young woman, nodded calmly.

The two thugs, Black and White, were completely baffled. Not only was this man not frightened out of his wits, he even chatted and joked with that boy. This was far beyond anything they could comprehend.

"Insolence!" White glared fiercely. "How dare you curse our young master?!"

"And if I did?" Li Yunjie’s face darkened, the cold aura from his broken sword intensifying. "According to the laws of Great Qian, those who forcibly seize women face exile at best, execution at worst."

"Who said we seized her?!" the man in black retorted, pulling out a deed of sale with a flourish. "We bought her!"

"See for yourself!"

"It’s all clearly written in black and white—!"

Li Yunjie was quicker still; he snatched the deed from the man’s hand and tore it to shreds.

"Now it’s abduction."

The two men exchanged bewildered glances.

Can he do that?!

You have no sense of honor!

"As for you two, breaking into a private residence is punishable by tattooing," Li Yunjie declared sternly.

With that, he brandished his broken sword, slashing a character for "thief" into the left cheek of the man in black.

Sensing danger, the man in white tried to flee, only to be blocked by Eleven!

Li Yunjie closed the distance in a flash, kicking the white-clad man’s right leg until it snapped. "Resisting arrest? That’s an added offense!"

No sooner had the words left his lips than the character for "thief" was carved into the white-clad man’s right cheek.

Both men clutched their faces, howling in pain.

Just as they were about to make a pathetic escape, Li Yunjie called out to stop them.

"Hold it!"

Li Yunjie turned to examine the red handprint on the young woman’s face.

"Official business is settled, but there’s still private business to address."

"And what of the slap on this lady’s face?"

At his words, the two men turned back reluctantly. Blood from the wounds on their faces seeped through their fingers, dripping onto the floor. Their eyes were bloodshot, as if they’d just been crying.

Unable to fight back, unable to escape, despair settled in their hearts.

"Miss," Li Yunjie said coolly, "slap them."

The young woman froze, disbelief written across her face.

Li Yunjie chuckled softly, trying to reassure her. "Don’t be afraid." With that, he pinched the cheek of the man in black. "See? So springy, it must feel quite satisfying."

The man in black dared not move, enduring the humiliation in silence.

The young woman took a tentative step forward, glaring fiercely at the two, but then shrank back half a step in fright.

"Smile," Li Yunjie ordered coldly, drawing his sword.

Both men forced broad, foolish smiles onto their faces at once.

"Don’t worry, miss," Li Yunjie said gently. "They wouldn’t dare fight back." He shot a menacing look at the two thugs, who nodded furiously in agreement.

Only then did the young woman gather her courage, inhaling deeply. She brought her fingers together, raised her hand high above her head, leaned forward, and swung her palm in a wide arc.

A crisp smack rang out, shattering what little dignity the man in black had left.

"And him, too," Li Yunjie said, glancing at the man in white.

The man in white was bewildered.

What does this have to do with me?!

"I didn’t—"

He had no time to protest before another slap landed squarely on his cheek.

Again, a sharp crack echoed.

Both men’s eyes reddened, their lips trembling, but neither dared utter a sound.

A faint smile appeared on the young woman’s face.

"Feels good, doesn’t it?" Li Yunjie asked with a soft chuckle.

The young woman nodded, her fear entirely gone, replaced by the satisfaction of avenging her humiliation.

"Get out!"

Only after seeing the woman’s contentment did Li Yunjie allow the two men to leave. He picked up the money pouch containing twenty taels from the table and tossed it to them.

"If you dare try this again, you will die."

The two men, eyes brimming with tears, limped away without a word.

Once they were gone, Li Yunjie breathed a sigh of relief and asked the young woman, "Are you all right?"

Perhaps the pent-up emotions finally overwhelmed her, for she collapsed to her knees and burst into tears.

"Thank you, sir, for saving me!" she sobbed. "Had you not intervened, I would surely have—"

Li Yunjie, at a loss in the face of her tearful gratitude, said gently, "There’s no need for thanks, miss. When one sees injustice, one cannot stand idly by."

The young woman wept for some time before gradually composing herself. She rose slowly and bowed to Li Yunjie.

"My name is Zhang Shu," she said. "For your great kindness, I have nothing with which to repay you."

As she spoke, Zhang Shu took some copper coins from her belt.

Feeling it was not enough, she turned and entered her room, returning with a delicate wooden box. She placed the coins in the box and offered it to Li Yunjie.

"My father’s addiction to gambling has long since ruined us," she murmured. "This is all I’ve managed to save working at the umbrella shop. It’s not much, but please, sir, I beg you to accept it as a token of my gratitude."

Li Yunjie stood rooted to the spot.

Zhang Shu had rummaged through her belongings for quite some time, managing to scrape together only two strings of cash. Her patched and threadbare clothing showed years of wear. A ripple of emotion stirred in Li Yunjie’s heart.

That wretched gambler Zhang Shen deserved his fate!

"There’s no need," Li Yunjie said, pushing the wooden box back to her with a gentle smile. "I am not one who covets money."

"Quite the contrary—I came today to bring you some."

He exchanged a glance with Eleven, who understood at once. Eleven produced a seventy-tael banknote, extorted from Song Yongnian, and placed it in the wooden box.

Zhang Shu’s eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of so much money; she’d never seen such a sum in her life.

"What is this, sir?" she asked, utterly bewildered.

"A token of thanks," Li Yunjie improvised. "Miss, you may not know—yesterday, upon my arrival in Jiangnan, a reckless young noble nearly trampled me with his horse!"

"I would have been killed if not for Elder Zhang, who pulled me out of the way at the last moment!"

Zhang Shu eyed Li Yunjie skeptically, recalling his deft movements earlier.

"This seems… unlikely," she said.

"I have a witness!" Li Yunjie declared firmly. "Eleven, tell Miss Zhang."

Eleven played along seamlessly. "Miss Zhang, you don’t know how dangerous it was! If not for Elder Zhang, my young master would have lost his life!"

Zhang Shu, of course, understood it was a ruse, but seeing them act in tandem, she chose not to expose them.

"Is my life not worth seventy taels?" Li Yunjie insisted when he saw her hesitation. He closed the box and set it aside.

Turning toward Zhang Shu’s old father, who lay cold and still upon the wooden board, Li Yunjie bowed deeply, changing the subject. "I have heard all about Elder Zhang’s misfortune."

"Alas, my family’s shame," Zhang Shu replied, her voice heavy with sorrow.

Li Yunjie spoke gravely. "The evidence against Zhang Shen for patricide is irrefutable. He cannot escape death."

"Miss, what are your plans for the future?"