Chapter Forty-Four: Rewards

A gentle breeze blew, the sky was clear and cloudless. After the affairs in the State of Izumo were finally settled, Zhu Yu spent more than ten days in the palace holding the Empress Dowager’s funeral.

During this time, Zhu Yu also completed the transformation of his internal energy and made time to visit the Black Prison of the Eastern Depot, paying a visit to An Yunshan, whom he had not seen for a long time.

Under An Yunshan’s terrified gaze, Zhu Yu absorbed all of his true energy, allowing himself to reach the peak of the First-class Realm.

In fact, he had not completely drained An Yunshan’s energy, but Zhu Yu had already reached his own limit. Yet, seeing the pitifully small amount of Fortune Points left on the system panel, he had no idea when he might advance to Grandmaster. So, he simply ordered An Yunshan’s execution.

Now, Zhu Yu was a man of leisure, utterly free of worries, living each day in comfort. Sometimes, he wondered, what was the point of all this fighting and killing? Wouldn’t it be better to eat, drink, and enjoy life every day? There were still so many concubines in the palace to keep him company.

Of course, these were just idle thoughts. He was very clear on one thing: when had he ever sought out bloodshed? Wasn’t it always others who came crying and screaming, desperate to kill him, forcing him to defend himself?

After many peaceful days, Zhu Yu finally remembered he had forgotten something important.

That was the matter of dispensing rewards for meritorious service.

But these rewards were not for those inside the palace, but rather for someone outside.

Ye Zhanqing!

Without her, he truly would not have discovered the Empress Dowager’s hiding place so quickly.

Zhu Yu had no intention of doling out rewards haphazardly. He wanted to reward her appropriately, so he asked Fatty Chen to bring him all of Ye Zhanqing’s records.

He was shocked by what he read. On the surface, Ye Zhanqing appeared beautiful, gentle, and obedient, but in less than a year since joining Blackstone, she had accepted fifteen missions and personally killed twenty-three people, men, women, and children included.

Bear in mind, before joining Blackstone, she had been just an ordinary girl. To adapt so quickly to the Blackstone way of life showed she was no ordinary person.

In Fatty Chen’s dossier, it was clearly stated that Ye Zhanqing was extremely self-serving. Because of this, she had a falling out with Xi Yu during one mission. Fatty Chen also noted that Ye Zhanqing’s temperament was highly suited to being an assassin, the only regret being that she had missed the best time to train in martial arts, squandering her natural talent.

Moreover, Fatty Chen mentioned an interesting point: although Ye Zhanqing was highly self-interested, everything she did fell within the rules. For some reason, she attached great importance to rules.

In truth, apart from that last point, Zhu Yu found little to like in the dossier.

Had this concerned anyone else, Zhu Yu would simply have tossed them a token reward to show his appreciation, nothing more.

But Ye Zhanqing was different. Though it wasn’t that Zhu Yu was particularly attracted to her, it was indeed because of her beautiful face.

It was just so familiar.

Although Zhu Yu had crossed over to this world for quite some time and gone through all sorts of trials, even trembling with fear at the villains around him, he still felt a certain sense of unreality.

Ye Zhanqing’s familiar face gave him a rare feeling of authenticity. A face he had only ever seen on a screen suddenly appearing before him—it felt surreal, yet, in this foreign world, truly gave Zhu Yu a sense of kinship.

It was this feeling that made Zhu Yu want to look after her, an urge entirely free of ulterior motives.

According to Fatty Chen’s information, Zhu Yu twisted and turned through the alleys of the capital until he finally arrived at Ye Zhanqing’s residence.

The lock on the door was, of course, no obstacle for Zhu Yu.

Once inside, Zhu Yu was rather surprised. From the outside, the house looked like an ordinary peasant’s home, but inside, the furnishings were such that even most wealthy households could not afford them.

Glancing around at the various objects in the room, Zhu Yu couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, “Well, she certainly knows how to enjoy life.”

No sooner had he spoken than a sharp, feminine voice came from the inner room: “Who’s there?”

Along with her words came the sound of a sword being drawn.

After a moment, Ye Zhanqing, hastily wrapping herself in a robe and sword in hand, rushed out.

The instant he saw her, Zhu Yu quickly turned his back, for the robe she’d thrown on was so thin it was almost as if she were wearing nothing at all.

No—it was even more enticing than if she’d worn nothing.

“Chief? How did you find my home? What brings you here?” Ye Zhanqing, having seen Zhu Yu, asked with some confusion.

“Ahem, well, why don’t you go put on something proper first? It’s already noon—are you still in bed, or is there someone else here?” Having witnessed such an unexpected sight, Zhu Yu couldn’t help making a rare flirtatious remark.

He also couldn’t help thinking to himself—weren’t ancient people supposed to be diligent? Back in his previous world, he never got up before noon, but after coming to this era, he’d suddenly become an early riser. The thought left him feeling rather disgruntled.

“Oh. Please, Chief, have a seat—just give me a moment,” Ye Zhanqing said, glancing down at herself and replying to Zhu Yu.

She then turned and went back to her room to change, but as she did, a small smile curled at the corner of her lips.

For the first time, the bachelor Zhu Yu understood just how long a woman’s “just a moment” could be.

He even began to wonder if Ye Zhanqing was also from another world and had brought cosmetics with her—otherwise, what in this era could keep her primping for so long?

After a good while, Ye Zhanqing finally emerged.

The moment he saw her, Zhu Yu apologized, “Sorry, I really had no idea—if I’d known today was an important day for you, I wouldn’t have come. Are you engaged today, or is it your wedding? How did I not hear anything about it?”

At the sight of Ye Zhanqing’s splendid clothes and dignified jewelry, Zhu Yu’s first thought was that he had interrupted some important event.

In this era, how many times in a young woman’s life would she dress so formally? Engagement and marriage were the two things that came to mind.

As he finished speaking, the gentle breeze that played across Ye Zhanqing’s cheeks seemed to freeze her expression.

“Chief, you’ve misunderstood. I dressed up for you. Do you think I look pretty?” Ye Zhanqing took a deep breath, a smile once again blooming on her face.

With those words, whatever guilt Zhu Yu had felt instantly vanished, replaced instead by the impatience bred from his long wait.

“Seriously, what are you thinking? Don’t you know what your job is? Wouldn’t your time be better spent training?”

Seeing Ye Zhanqing bow her head, Zhu Yu pulled out a handwritten notebook from his robe and said, “Don’t waste time on such things. Show me your worth—that’s what you should strive for. I don’t need you to remind me you’re a woman.

Let me be honest: the day you’re nothing but a woman in my eyes may well be the day your troubles truly begin.

Enough talk. I’m here to reward you—your last mission was well done. Take this, train hard, I’m leaving.”

With that, Zhu Yu tossed the notebook to Ye Zhanqing and turned to go.

Ye Zhanqing glanced twice at the coverless notebook, then opened the first page. Large characters leaped out at her: “The Nine Yin Manual—Tendon-Altering and Bone-Forging Chapter!”