Chapter 84 – So What if Your Father is the Minister of the Ministry of War?

When Wen Jin said she might have started liking herself a bit, Xia Tian smiled too. It seemed like they had finally made peace, right?

Hu Mengyao, watching the two of them chat while standing side by side, secretly rolled her eyes behind them.

Even Wen Jie, who didn’t fight back, just gave up without a struggle. It felt like all the effort she’d put in was wasted.

She said she would learn to let go and advised her to hold back a bit, to stop troubling that wild girl.

Hmph, maybe she could stop causing trouble, but she just couldn’t stand it. Every time she saw Xia Tian, she wanted to mock her a little.

The plum grove here was quite large, and there were more people than just them enjoying the plum blossoms.

As they chatted while walking, they unknowingly ventured deeper into the plum grove.

Xia Tian turned her head, looking around. Apart from them, there didn’t seem to be anyone else in sight, and she couldn’t hear any other voices.

She felt they had gone too far, so she quickly reached out to tug at Wen Jin’s sleeve. “We can’t go any further. There’s no one here anymore. Let’s head back?”

Wen Jin stopped and looked around. Sure enough, there was no one else. She nodded. “Mm, let’s go back.”

Hu Mengyao, hearing Xia Tian’s suggestion, instinctively wanted to refute. “Coward, this is Lingwu Temple, who would dare cause trouble here?”

Lin Sayu quickly grabbed Hu Mengyao’s arm. “I also think we should head back now. Although this is Lingwu Temple’s territory, we’ve gone too deep, and we might get lost.”

“Xiaoyu’s right, we should be more cautious. Mengyao, let’s go back. We didn’t pay attention while talking earlier, and we don’t know how far we’ve walked. We didn’t bring any guards, so it’s better for a few fragile women like us to be cautious!” Wen Jin said quickly, noticing Hu Mengyao’s displeasure.

Seeing Wen Jin speak, Hu Mengyao gave up on being stubborn. She glared at Xia Tian and turned back.

Xia Tian rolled her eyes as she watched Hu Mengyao walk ahead. She thought to herself, if Miss Hu didn’t have a capable father, she would have been slapped for her foul mouth by now.

However, people truly fear what they don’t want, and as soon as they turned to go back, a man blocked their way.

“Where are you ladies heading?” The leading man, wearing a green outfit, said with a grin.

“None of your business. Get out of the way,” Hu Mengyao, who was walking in front, said impatiently as she saw the person blocking their path. “Liu San, you’ve learned a lot. You even dare block a young lady’s way?”

Wen Jin leaned closer to Xia Tian and whispered, “This Liu San is the third son of the Minister of the Ministry of War.”

Xia Tian nodded, acknowledging that it was good to know who he was, but hoped he wouldn’t cause trouble.

“Oh, it’s Miss Hu, no wonder your words are so fierce!” Liu San didn’t move aside. Instead, he stepped closer with a teasing grin.

Seeing Liu San moving closer to them, Lin Sayu took two quick steps forward, her face cold as she said in a low voice, “Liu San, I advise you to step aside quickly and not make a fool of yourself.”

Liu San, grinning, glanced over Lin Sayu’s shoulder. “Don’t be like that, Miss Lin. I just want to have a chat with Miss Wen.”

“What does Miss Wen have to say to you? Get lost,” Hu Mengyao stepped out from behind Lin Sayu and shouted disdainfully.

“I don’t even know you. Move aside,” Wen Jin tugged at Hu Mengyao’s sleeve and frowned.

“Come on, Miss Wen, how can you not know Young Master Liu? It’s really heartbreaking,” Liu San pretended to wipe a tear from his eye, then chuckled, “Since you don’t know me, then now’s a good time to get to know each other.” He laughed loudly.

The few men following Liu San behind also smirked and laughed along.

“Yeah, if you don’t know our Brother Liu, now’s the perfect time to get acquainted!”

“Exactly, exactly. You two can have a deeper exchange. There’s no one here, this is the perfect opportunity! Hahaha!”

“Don’t be shy, ladies. Let’s all get to know each other!”

The few men, who looked like troublemakers, spoke in lewd tones, making Wen Jin and the others’ faces flush with anger. Xia Tian, observing the lecherous expressions in their eyes, thought to herself that it was bad luck to have crossed paths with them today. It would likely be hard to get out of this situation.

She leaned closer to Wen Jin. “Do you know the others besides Liu San?”

Wen Jin shook her head. “No.”

“Do you have a grudge with Liu San?” she whispered further.

“No, his reputation in the capital has always been bad.”

Xia Tian understood now. Liu San was probably someone who admired Wen Jin, but he was also a good-for-nothing, which is why he dared to block their way today.

Judging by their behavior, it seemed they were prepared. Xia Tian noticed a few of them had daggers at their waists.

Liu San, wearing a cloak, didn’t seem to have any weapons visible for now.

Xia Tian grew more vigilant, her eyes locked on the men, calculating how she could escape.

Shen Ning, walking behind Xia Tian, was sweating nervously, her hands cold.

Hu Mengyao, noticing Liu San’s arrival, quickly realized that it wasn’t just a casual confrontation.

She then said with a feigned tough tone, “Liu San, my father is the Minister of the Ministry of War, your superior. You better know your place and get out of our way. Otherwise, you won’t be able to handle the consequences.”

Liu San, hearing her mention her father, darkened his face and sneered, “So your father is the Minister of the Ministry of War? So what? Can he come to save you now? By then, he probably won’t even know where you’ve gone.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Jin and the others realized what he meant, and their faces turned pale.

This was serious. They were just a few fragile women; how could they escape from these five or six big men?

Hu Mengyao shivered, terrified by Liu San’s words. She instinctively leaned closer to Lin Sayu.

Lin Sayu pulled out a soft sword from her waist with a sharp “whoosh” and pointed it at Liu San. “If you want to die, come forward.”

Xia Tian’s eyes lit up. It seemed Lin Sayu knew martial arts. That at least gave them a fighting chance, even if it was only a small one.

She wasn’t sure how well Lin Sayu could fight or how long she could hold them off.

Ning Xiang and Ning Xue, seeing Lin Sayu unsheathe her sword, both quickly grabbed Xia Tian’s arms and pulled her behind them, protecting her.

Xia Tian paused, surprised that in this critical moment, those two girls instinctively protected her.

But there was no time to feel touched. She couldn’t leave her life in someone else’s hands. It was up to her.

She slightly lowered her head, scanning the area for anything useful.