Chapter 211: From Now On, You Belong to Me!
Hearing Yu Luo’s words, both Zhang Hu and Tao Ming immediately turned to look at her—their expressions filled with shock.
Without further delay, the group quickly returned to the inn.
The moment they stepped inside, they nearly collided with the sleepy innkeeper, who was dozing off at the front desk.
“Bring two buckets of hot water to Heaven’s No.1 Room, and send up some food.”
The innkeeper lazily flicked the towel off his shoulder, stretching as he got up from the large table he had been slouched over.
Drawing out his words in a slow, drawling tone, he said—
“Alright… but that’ll be a two-tael errand fee. Kindly pay in advance, dear guest.”
Yu Luo’s eye twitched at the sight of the innkeeper extending his hand to demand money.
This damn Feng City!
If I ever stay in this rip-off inn again, I swear I’ll fry an egg in my palm and feed it to these bloodsuckers!
“Here, take it! Hurry up!”
She gritted her teeth, pulled out two taels of silver, and shoved it into the innkeeper’s hand before storming off toward her room with the others.
“Young Master… you two know each other?”
Tao Ming’s curious gaze darted between Yu Luo and Ming Ye.
Yu Luo’s earlier words were still echoing in his mind.
Ming Ye, however, remained as silent and withdrawn as ever—just like before.
Wearing thin, tattered clothes, he let Yu Luo pull him to a stool in the room.
Placing his small hands on the Eight Immortals Table, his gaze never left Yu Luo, his eyes following her wherever she moved.
“Yeah. We met on our exile journey. My mother even wanted to take him in… But after just one night—the little brat disappeared!”
The more she spoke, the more irritated Yu Luo felt.
She turned to glare at Ming Ye, her expression full of exasperation.
Hearing this, even Tao Ming felt indignant on Yu Luo’s behalf.
He turned toward Ming Ye, his eyes burning with anger.
“You really have some nerve! And now—look what happened! My Young Master—no, my Lord—had to spend a fortune to buy you back!”
Fueled by frustration, Tao Ming grabbed Ming Ye by his collar and lifted his small frame right off the stool.
But despite being suspended in midair, Ming Ye’s expression did not change at all.
His exquisite features remained unfazed, and his violet eyes never wavered—still locked firmly on Yu Luo.
As if Tao Ming’s actions were of no concern to him whatsoever.
“Put him down.”
Yu Luo frowned and gave Tao Ming a sharp look.
At her command, Tao Ming hesitated, then reluctantly set Ming Ye back down.
“Zhang Hu, why haven’t you taken off his chains yet? What’s the point of keeping him tied up? He doesn’t even know martial arts—do you think he’s going to escape?”
Upon hearing his name, Zhang Hu’s expression remained impassive.
He glanced at Ming Ye’s frail figure before turning back to Yu Luo.
“Reporting to Young Master—Feng City’s people claimed that, even without inner strength, this boy nearly managed to escape multiple times. To be cautious, they suggested keeping him restrained. They handed me the key, saying we could unlock him once we returned. After all—he’s worth twenty thousand taels of gold, not twenty taels of silver. If he ran away, we’d be taking a huge loss. But I really didn’t expect him to be someone you already knew, Young Master.”
Yu Luo let out a dry chuckle.
“Hah… If he weren’t someone I knew, do you think I’d be willing to cough up twenty thousand taels of gold?!”
“Forget it— I’ve already spent the money. From now on, you belong to me—understand?”
Just thinking about the gold she spent made her heart ache.
Especially when she looked at Ming Ye’s blank, emotionless face—
Damn it!
Even a stray cat or dog would wag its tail or purr after being rescued!
But this kid?
Not only was he expensive—he didn’t even acknowledge her kindness!
Unbearable!
Little did she know…
Years later, when Ming Ye started clinging to her and acting spoiled, she would regret ever wishing for his affection.
“…Sister.”
Yu Luo was mid-rant, fully prepared to give up on getting a reaction from Ming Ye—
When suddenly—
A soft, almost inaudible voice broke through the silence.
His lips, pale and trembling from the cold, moved ever so slightly.
That single word—“Sister”—was so faint, so delicate—like a kitten’s mewl.
Yu Luo’s anger vanished in an instant.
She stood there stunned, momentarily at a loss for words.
“Zhang Hu! Where’s that key?! Can’t you see how cold he is?! Hurry up!”
Snapping back to her senses, Yu Luo turned to Zhang Hu—who was frantically searching his pockets.
Seeing how clumsy he was, she lost patience.
“What’s taking so long?!”
Zhang Hu froze for a second before speaking, his voice filled with guilt—
“Young Master… I think I lost the key.”
Yu Luo: …
“Are you kidding me? You lost the key?!”
Exasperated, she didn’t waste another second.
She reached inside her robes, pulled out her Black Iron Dagger, and—
Slash!
With a single stroke, the heavy iron chains around Ming Ye snapped apart.
The clinking sound of metal hitting the ground echoed through the room.
Yu Luo didn’t stop there.
Turning to Zhang Hu, she pointed at his thick winter coat.
“Take it off.”
“You have inner strength—you won’t freeze. Give it to him!”
Zhang Hu: …
Seeing the delicate boy wrapped snugly in his heavy coat, Ming Ye remained silent.
His large violet eyes stayed fixed on Yu Luo, full of quiet emotions.
“Wait. I just remembered—I bought another person! Zhang Hu, why did you only bring Ming Ye back?”
“Reporting, Young Master— That man is still unconscious. The Feng City staff said we could collect him when we leave the city. Since he’s unconscious, bringing him back to the inn would be pointless.”
“Alright. Tao Ming—go ask the innkeeper if Feng City’s black market is open during the day. If it is, we’ll visit tomorrow morning. If not, we’ll just head home first.”
But Tao Ming did not respond.
Instead, his eyes were locked on the Black Iron Dagger lying on the table.
Mouth slightly agape, his entire body frozen in shock.
Yu Luo frowned.
“What’s with you?”
Just as Tao Ming was about to blurt something out—
Zhang Hu silently stepped forward and clamped a hand over his mouth.
“Watch your words. This is not the place to speak recklessly.”
Realizing his mistake, Tao Ming nodded quickly.
Zhang Hu then turned to Yu Luo.
“Apologies, Young Master. We’ve seen too little of the world. But we will learn. We will do better.”
Yu Luo nodded in approval.
“Don’t worry. Even I am new to Feng City. We’ll get used to it—together.”
