Gu Qingyan’s mind went blank, buzzing loudly.

He struggled to speak: “What do you mean?”

Seeing his reaction, Lu Yanhé laughed even more arrogantly: “That maid, what’s her name again… Hongdou, I think that’s it, hahaha. She’s just a slave who signed a servitude contract, and she actually dares to show me attitude.”

“You want to see her, right? Go look for her—she’s here in Tianxiang Tower.”

“Hahahahaha, if you go now, maybe you’ll find her under some client.”

Gu Qingyan could hardly believe it. The legitimate second son of the Lu family, heirs of Hongshan Academy in Qingzhou Prefecture, could really do such a thing?

This guy was crazy!

Gu Qingyan felt a chill all over, staring hard at Lu Yanhé, then turned and headed for the door.

Whether Lu Yanhé’s words were true or not, he had to find Hongdou first. If Hongdou had indeed fallen into a brothel, Gu Qingyan would hate himself to death.

His whole body trembled, but his steps were fast.

One door after another was kicked open, shrieks followed, but Gu Qingyan still couldn’t find her.

Suddenly, he ran downstairs.

“Where is Hongdou?”

The madam who was grabbed smiled sweetly: “Oh sir, all our girls here are fine, if Hongdou’s not here, maybe Lüdou would do.”

“I’m asking where she is.”

Gu Qingyan’s tone was cold as he pressed: “In the past few days, the Lu family sent a girl, seventeen or eighteen years old, named Hongdou.”

The madam shivered, frightened by his expression: “The Lu family? You mean the Lu family of Hongshan Academy?”

“Exactly. Where is that girl?” Gu Qingyan pressed on.

The madam frowned: “Sir, we dare not accept girls sent by the Lu family. If anything happened… I can’t afford to offend them, so we definitely don’t accept them.”

Gu Qingyan’s face changed slightly, realizing he had been played.

He hurried back to the room in a few strides.

Sure enough, Lu Yanhé was slapping the table laughing loudly: “Look at him, he actually believed it. How’s Tianxiang Tower? Beautiful everywhere, right? Kid, making such a fuss will offend quite a few people.”

Gu Qingyan clenched his breath: “Where is she?”

“Hmm, let me think carefully.”

Lu Yanhé pretended to be thoughtful: “That maid was disobedient. I only asked her to accompany a few friends, and she tried to kill herself, such a nuisance. Since she’s looking for death herself, I dealt with her as I pleased.”

“I actually wanted to toss her into the brothel to teach her a lesson, but my old man has too many spies. Tianxiang Tower doesn’t dare to take her.”

“Beast!” Gu Qingyan bit his teeth in hatred.

“What will it take for you to tell me where she is?”

Lu Yanhé stood up and spread his legs: “Want to know? Crawl under my legs and I’ll tell you.”

Zhang Nian couldn’t hold back: “How dare you deliberately humiliate Brother Gu!”

“I want to humiliate you. What are you going to do about it?”

Lu Yanhé licked his lips with a sly gaze, appraising Gu Qingyan up and down: “Looking closely, you’re not bad-looking, even better than that maid. If you don’t want to crawl, how about spending a night with me, and then I’ll tell you?”

“You—” Zhang Nian was furious, ready to attack.

Gu Qingyan’s eyes turned icy cold: “You think I don’t dare hit you?”

“If you want to fight, fine, come on!”

Lu Yanhé’s voice was sharp and grating: “I’m the young master of the Lu family. If you fight me over a maid who owes a servitude contract, and you take it to the court, you’ll definitely be charged with fighting.”

“Gu Qingyan, have you thought this through? Are you willing to throw away your whole future for a maid?”

His eyes full of mockery: “You bookworms always spout morality, but when it comes down to it, face and future mean everything. You dare fight?”

Before he finished, a fist smashed right into Lu Yanhé’s jaw.

Lu Yanhé staggered back, his face and hands covered in blood.

“How dare you hit me! What are you waiting for? Get him!”

Lu family servants rushed forward.

Lu Yanhé wiped the blood on his clothes: “Strip him and hang him up in Tianxiang Tower, let all the people of Qingzhou see the ‘beauty’ of the top scorer of the prefectural exam.”

Soon, arrogance froze on Lu Yanhé’s face.

His four burly servants couldn’t beat Gu Qingyan, the skinny little scholar’s assistant.

Zhang Nian swung a stool like a fierce tiger, fighting off all four, making them howl in pain.

Taking advantage, Gu Qingyan grabbed Lu Yanhé and slammed him down with a rear wrist lock onto the floor: “Tell me, where is Hongdou?”

“Dead. That shameless bitch had no respect, I already sent her to the afterlife a long time ago.”

Lu Yanhe shouted hoarsely, “If you want to see her, go to hell.”

Gu Qingyan sneered and forcefully grabbed Lu Yanhe’s head, smashing it hard against the ground again.

“If that’s the case, then today I’ll kill you and send you to the underworld to pay for it.”

With those words, Lu Yanhe’s head kept banging on the floor, making loud thuds.

After a few strikes, Lu Yanhe finally grew afraid.

As a member of the Lu family, even though he was useless and reckless, he still acted arrogantly in Qingzhou Prefecture. Everyone gave him some respect for the sake of the Hongshan Academy.

Just a maidservant—no matter how much he humiliated her on purpose, would Gu Qingyan really dare to kill someone?

His face hurt with each blow.

Gu Qingyan was really going to kill him.

Lu Yanhe began to regret bringing only a few men to provoke him: “Let go. Even if you kill me, you’ll have to pay for it.”

“I’m from the Lu family. If you touch me, your whole family will be doomed.”

“Let me go! She’s not dead, she’s still alive!”

Gu Qingyan stopped and looked at him: “She’s still alive?”

“Alive. Really alive.”

Lu Yanhe’s bloodied face was mixed with tears and snot: “I only wanted to insult you, so I deliberately lied.”

Gu Qingyan stared coldly: “I have no grudge against you.”

“Who told you to get close to the eldest and third brother? I hate pretentious people the most in this life,” Lu Yanhe cursed angrily.

Gu Qingyan grabbed his head again and slammed it down hard.

Lu Yanhe cried and begged: “Stop hitting me! I’ll tell you where she is.”

Gu Qingyan narrowed his eyes: “Speak.”

“That woman was given to me by Li Jingtin. I played with her for a few days and got tired of her, so I let her accompany some people. But who knew she refused and even threatened to kill herself.”

“Watch your words.”

Gu Qingyan tightened his grip; Lu Yanhe gasped in pain.

“Respect, I respect,” Lu Yanhe said, pressed down by the hand, his eyes full of cruelty.

Once free, he planned to gather people and beat Gu Qingyan severely, making sure he couldn’t live or die in peace.

Suppressing his boiling hatred, he continued: “It got serious later. I had someone beat her up and threw her out.”

Gu Qingyan didn’t believe it: “Lies!”

Would Lu Yanhe really let her go so easily?

Lu Yanhe insisted: “It’s true. Everything I said is true. If you don’t believe me, ask them.”

Zhang Nian brought over a servant.

The servant’s face was swollen and bruised—clearly badly beaten—he quickly nodded: “It’s true. She was beaten and thrown out immediately.”

“Where was she thrown out?” Gu Qingyan took a deep breath, trying to keep his anger in check, not wanting to kill her on impulse.

The servant hesitated to answer. Zhang Nian hit him once.

The servant fell to his knees with a thud, crying and shouting: “Thrown outside the city, at the mass graveyard. It was a day ago. I don’t know if she’s still alive now.”

A day ago.

Gu Qingyan’s fingers clenched tightly. Lu Yanhe never intended to make peace—he just wanted to insult him.

How could there be such a despicable and vicious person in this world?

“Don’t kill me! Even if you kill me, you’ll have to pay for it,” Lu Yanhe was truly frightened now.

Gu Qingyan snorted coldly and released him.

“You, lead the way,” Gu Qingyan said to the servant.

The servant was terrified. He had thought this would be just like before—second young master bullying powerless scholars—but he had kicked against iron this time.

He followed trembling, afraid the two fiends would beat him again.

As Gu Qingyan left, Lu Yanhe started coughing violently.

“Second young master, are you alright?”

Lu Yanhe slapped the ground: “Useless! Four men couldn’t even beat one skinny little scholar boy.”

The servants didn’t dare argue, thinking: “At your age, you were beaten down just the same.”

Lu Yanhe refused to accept such a loss and roared: “Go report to the authorities. I want to throw him in jail.”

The servants exchanged looks, afraid to move.

“Second young master, if you report to the authorities, the fact that you beat the maid to death won’t stay hidden.”

Lu Yanhe’s expression darkened. “That bitch’s contract to sell herself is all with the Lu family. What’s there to fear?”

Killing a servant girl who is bound by a contract would only result in a hundred lashes as punishment.

Lu Yanhe had plenty of ways to make other servants take the blame. At most, he’d just pay some fines and the matter would be completely wiped clean.

“But what if the master finds out?” the servants worried.

They weren’t afraid of the authorities but feared the family master.

Lu Yanhe’s cheek twitched. Thinking of his biased father, his hatred for Gu Qingyan deepened.

“Second young master, that scholar has already fled. Reporting this to the officials would only get him a few days in jail. It’s better to think of another plan.”

“Yeah, yeah. As long as he’s still in Qingzhou Prefecture, it won’t be hard for you to take revenge.”

“Reporting this to the officials would be too easy on him. Better to…”

Lu Yanhe touched his bruised cheek. That made sense.

If they reported it, the father definitely wouldn’t keep it hidden. Then with the eldest and third brothers meddling, Gu Qingyan might walk away unscathed, while he would take all the blame.

Better to find another way to make Gu Qingyan pay.

A scholar, huh—

The ox cart sped toward the outskirts of the city.

After beating the people, Zhang Nian also felt a bit scared, quietly saying, “Brother Gu, what if they report this to the magistrate? Would the magistrate hold you responsible?”

Gu Qingyan said coldly, “They won’t dare report it.”

From what Lu Yanchi said, Director Lu was really troubled by this son. He strictly controlled him and wouldn’t allow him to drag matters like this to the magistrate.

“But what if they do?” Zhang Nian worried.

Gu Qingyan just said, “Then we’ll meet force with force, and find a way.”

He did not regret hitting them, only regretted not being able to kill. People like Lu Yanhe were a waste of food in this world.

“How much longer?” Gu Qingyan barked.

The servant trembled. “The chaotic burial ground is just outside the city, about the time of one incense stick away.”

Zhang Nian slapped him hard across the face. “You bastards, helping evil like this, where is your conscience?”

The servant covered his face and didn’t dare argue.

“It’s just up ahead,” the servant shouted.

Gu Qingyan jumped down from the cart, a chill running through him at first glance.

The chaotic burial ground was overgrown with weeds, trees withered, a scene of ruin everywhere.

It was already sunset, making the place look even more eerie and sinister, filled with a fierce aura of resentment.

“Where did you throw her?” Gu Qingyan pushed hard.

The servant trembled violently. “At the foot of the hill. We came during the day — at night it’s too scary.”

Gu Qingyan ignored him and quickly entered the burial ground. “Hongdou, Hongdou, Sister Hongdou!”

Among the chaotic graves, tombstones leaned crookedly, no one came to pay respects, and the names were illegible.

Gu Qingyan’s foot cracked on something. Looking down, he had stepped on scattered bones; here and there rotten clothes were visible.

His heart turned cold. Could Hongdou really survive being thrown in such a place?

Zhang Nian followed searching too. When he saw the burial ground, his face turned deathly pale.

The servant was too scared to enter, crying nonstop. “We just left her at the foot of the hill. Now she’s gone — probably taken away by wild dogs.”

“Shut up!” Gu Qingyan snapped.

He looked up. The hill was gloomy, desolate, and ruined.

Since Hongdou was not there, she must still be alive — Gu Qingyan told himself this.

Suddenly, he thought of something and quickly opened the system map.

He zoomed in repeatedly until he found their location.

Three sign-in points appeared near the chaotic burial ground.

[Discovered Qingzhou Prefecture Chaotic Burial Ground Sign-in Point. Use 1 point to sign in?]

This was the foot of the mountain they had just passed.

[Discovered Chaotic Burial Ground Ancient Tombstone. Use 1 point to sign in?]

This was just ahead and to their left — a tombstone nearly swallowed by weeds, with the name unreadable.

[Discovered Chaotic Burial Ground Thatched Hut. Use 1 point to sign in?]

Gu Qingyan’s heart leapt. A thatched hut lay on the other side of the hill — maybe someone lived there and had rescued Hongdou.

“This way.”

Gu Qingyan called out, quickly brushing aside the half-man-high weeds and heading toward the hut.

The weeds were sharp like blades, scratching their clothes and making every step difficult.

The servant’s eyes rolled, then suddenly he tumbled down the hill and ran like mad.

“Bastard!” Zhang Nian tried to chase.

“Don’t chase him, finding Hongdou is the priority,” Gu Qingyan shouted.

The two of them turned around and continued searching, but the terrain on the hill was complicated, overgrown with weeds, and it was easy to lose direction.

Fortunately, Gu Qingyan had a map and could correct their course whenever they strayed.

“Big Brother Gu, there’s a thatched hut over there,” Zhang Nian called out excitedly.

Behind the weeds was a small thatched hut, only about half a person tall and one person wide. It was a simple triangular roof, with the entrance roughly covered by weeds.

Gu Qingyan ran over in a few strides and pulled aside the weeds.

Inside the dark hut, Hongdou lay barely alive on the ground, her fate uncertain.

“Hongdou sister,” Gu Qingyan was certain in his heart — they had found her.

He shakily reached out and checked for breath.

As long as there was still a breath, she could be saved.

In the next moment, Gu Qingyan’s expression softened. He quickly took out a pill and without hesitation, stuffed the Resurrection Pill into Hongdou’s mouth.

But Hongdou was gravely ill, her body covered in wounds, with a high fever on her forehead, and swallowing was extremely difficult.

“Hongdou, swallow it, if you swallow it you will get better,” Gu Qingyan urged.

As if sensing his heart, the unconscious person struggled hard and swallowed the life-saving pill.

Only then did Gu Qingyan relax and picked her up.

Hongdou was two years older than him. When she was with the Li family, she was a plump woman who loved to talk and laugh, and often helped the young maids when Madam Xu was angry.

But now, she was nothing but skin and bones, even lighter than a child. Gu Qingyan could easily carry her.

“Let’s head back to the city first, find a doctor.”

The three of them struggled to walk down from the chaotic burial ground.

Suddenly, Zhang Nian shouted in alarm, “Oh no, our ox cart!”

The Lu family servant had run off; he might have stolen their cart.

Gu Qingyan wasn’t worried — the black ox was produced by the system and not so easy to provoke.

Sure enough, when they arrived at the foot of the hill, the ox cart was still parked safely where they left it.

Zhang Nian was surprised, “That guy didn’t even try to steal our cart.”

“Hurry up,” Gu Qingyan urged.

Without another thought, Zhang Nian quickly drove the cart away, wishing he could make the wheels leave afterimages.

Unseen by them, in the grass beside the road lay the moaning Lu family servant.

After rolling down the hill, he saw the ox cart and tried to grab it and run, but before he could get close, the seemingly docile black ox suddenly got angry and hit him twice.

The ox’s strength was tremendous and it kicked him flying. He lay in the grass for a while before waking up.

When he saw Gu Qingyan and the others, the servant dared not make a sound and only crawled out after they had left.

“Damn it, what the hell… they really found them, that maid has got lucky,” he cursed.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew, making him shiver violently. He hurriedly fled.

He didn’t notice that behind him, on the mountaintop of the chaotic burial ground, a figure appeared faintly. Those world-weary and painful eyes fixed tightly on him.

Gu Qingyan had slipped through the city gate just in time; he almost got stopped outside.

After finding a clinic, he carried Hongdou inside. The doctor was shocked at first glance.

Hongdou’s clothes were soaked in fresh blood and she was unconscious. The doctor almost told the family to prepare for the worst.

But after feeling her pulse, the doctor was very surprised and pondered deeply.

“Doctor, how is my sister?” Gu Qingyan asked.

He could take a pulse himself, but since earlier, his hands had been shaking with anger, afraid he wouldn’t be steady enough.

Seeing Hongdou in such a miserable state, Gu Qingyan hated that he couldn’t just go back and kill that damn Lu Yanhé on the spot.

The doctor looked up at them: “This woman has external injuries and has lost a lot of blood. By rights, she shouldn’t survive the night. Did you give her any emergency medicine?”

Gu Qingyan nodded. “She took a family heirloom life-saving medicine. So, does that mean she’s going to be okay now?”

If it had been any later, Hongdou would really have died. Gu Qingyan felt both fear and relief in his heart.

“This life has been spared. The external injuries need rest to heal, but I can see she’s deeply troubled in her heart. When she wakes, she’ll need proper counseling, or it will affect her recovery.”

The doctor was used to seeing major injuries and didn’t ask about how she got hurt.

Gu Qingyan finally relaxed a bit.

It’s good she’s alright.

The doctor prescribed some medicine and gave them instructions, telling them to take good care of her at home.

As the three of them returned home, they heard a familiar voice.

“Brother Gu.”

It was Lu Yanchi.

Because of Lu Yanhé, Gu Qingyan had no good impression of the Lu family, and now he only felt impatient: “What do you want?”

Lu Yanchi sensed the coldness in his tone and felt a bit wronged, stammering, “I was afraid my second brother would trouble you, so I waited here specifically.”

“He did trouble me, but I didn’t hold back—I hit him back right away.”

Gu Qingyan sneered coldly, “You can have him report it to the authorities; we’ll clear things up in court.”

Lu Yanchi almost cried: “Brother Gu, are you angry with me? I really didn’t mean it. My second brother has always done as he pleases since childhood, and none of us can control him.”

“Move aside, don’t block the way.”

Gu Qingyan carried Hongdou straight inside, no time to explain.

Lu Yanchi followed in tears, stammering, “Brother Gu, don’t worry. He’s afraid our uncle will find out, so he definitely won’t report it. Even if he does, I’ll go beg uncle and tell him the truth. Uncle will surely scold him.”

“That’s the maid? What happened to her? It was all my second brother’s doing. He’s really no good.”

“Brother Gu, don’t worry. I’ll pay for the medical bills and make sure this sister is healed.”

Gu Qingyan felt annoyed and coldly replied, “Now’s not a good time. Please leave first.”

Lu Yanchi was heartbroken and covered his mouth, crying uncontrollably.

Gu Qingyan’s head ached from the crying: “This isn’t the first time Lu Erlang has done something like this, right? He relies only on the Lu family’s power. Your family can’t control him, or maybe just won’t.”

His cold, sharp voice stunned Lu Yanchi.

He couldn’t meet Gu Qingyan’s gaze and involuntarily lowered his head.

“I—I’ll leave now. Brother Gu, take good care of this sister. I’ll send some medicinal herbs later.”

After saying that, Lu Yanchi didn’t dare stay and turned to run.

Zhang Nian worried: “Brother Gu, is it really okay to just send him away like that? What if Lu Yanhé plays dirty? With young master Lu here, you could handle it.”

Gu Qingyan sneered, “Didn’t you hear? Even Lu Yanjun can’t control his younger brother. The Lu family head lets it go. If they could control him, how would Hongdou be like this?”

“But…” Zhang Nian knew the Lu family’s influence and worried for Gu Qingyan.

Gu Qingyan said coldly, “Trivial matters like this, the Lu family won’t bother with. When it really matters, they’d never side with me.”

He understood the cold and ruthless nature of powerful families better than anyone.

Back then, he saved Lu Yanchi’s life, but the Lu family came with some gifts and a letter of recommendation and sent him off.

Afterward, no letters for over half a year—such was their attitude.

Though polite, the Lu family kept their distance—that’s how high nobility handled things.

Because of this, Gu Qingyan treated Lu Yanchi politely but kept his distance.

He never thought to cling to the Lu family before, and now even less so.

He looked at the unconscious person on the bed: “I will never let this matter rest. I will get justice for Hongdou.”

Zhang Nian sighed but didn’t argue further.

He quietly boiled water; Gu Qingyan took a cotton cloth and carefully wiped Hongdou’s wounds.

But halfway through the dressing, Gu Qingyan stopped.

Hongdou was a woman with many wounds; he felt it was improper to continue.

After hesitating, Gu Qingyan said, “Go get a woman to come and dress the wounds.”

Zhang Nian hurried off.

Gu Qingyan sat by the bedside, overwhelmed with regret and guilt.

Were Hongdou’s injuries caused because of him?

“Young master…” At that moment, Hongdou slowly woke up.

When she saw the one caring for her, her eyes reddened. Hoarsely, she said, “I’m not dreaming, right? I saw the young master.”

“Sister Hongdou, it’s me,” Gu Qingyan sat by the bed. “I’m sorry I was late and let you suffer so much.”

“Don’t worry, I will find justice for you.”

But Hongdou grabbed his hand tightly and said, “No, don’t.”