Chapter 59: Conflicted Thoughts, a Decision Made

The small vendor lowered his head to discreetly inspect the silver piece from all angles. Once he confirmed it was real, his face lit up with a grin.

He quickly stashed the money into his chest pocket—especially making sure that Zhang Xiaoli’s crew didn’t see it.

Business had been getting worse lately, so this was truly an unexpected windfall.

If he’d known, he would’ve shared more dirt about Zhang Xiaoli. That guy might be a scumbag, but hey—who doesn’t like money, right?

Still, that young woman was a strange one.

But he didn’t dwell on it. In business, you meet plenty of strange people and stranger situations.

So he resumed shouting, “Copper mirrors! Peachwood combs! Hairpins! All at bargain prices…”

All was peaceful and calm again.

Meanwhile, Song Yeqing wandered leisurely through the town’s streets and alleys, asking around for information.

She wasn’t in a hurry—the sun hadn’t even set yet.

One thing she could now confirm: news of Prince Qi’s rebellion had already spread throughout the town.

Whenever she passed a crowd, she’d catch snippets of the gossip.

Eventually, she reunited with Granny Ge and the others. Each of them carried something—small but useful.

They’d mostly bought essentials like salt, vegetables that stored well, and inexpensive eggs.

Only Mother Qi had bought a live chicken—likely to help Qi Niangzi recover her strength.

As for Song Yeqing, she carried an old hen taken from her storage space. The other groceries were tucked in a cloth sack, giving nothing away.

“Lady Qing, where’d you buy that duck? And it’s already been cleaned too?” asked Mother Qi in surprise.

She’d bought plenty of live animals over the years, but never once had anyone offered to process them.

Was this some local service? But the chicken seller earlier hadn’t had any tools around.

“Huh? Oh… yeah. I had someone do it for me on purpose,” Song Yeqing answered vaguely, clearly distracted.

“Where at? I’d like to get mine cleaned too. It’s a hassle doing it at home.”

Mother Qi lifted the struggling chicken.

Hearing that, Song Yeqing suddenly snapped back to attention and scrambled for an excuse.

“I bought the last one, and the person selling them packed up right after. I heard they live far away.”

“Oh, that’s unfortunate,” Mother Qi said with a sigh, not suspecting anything.

Back at their lodging, the young housewife was waiting for her husband to come home for dinner, so she let Song Yeqing use the kitchen first.

Song Yeqing kept her head down, busying herself with the cooking. It wasn’t until the duck soup was done that she turned around—and saw He Yanxin standing behind her.

She jumped in fright, quickly patting her chest to calm her racing heart.

“What’s wrong with you? I’ve been standing here a while—you didn’t notice at all.”

He Yanxin instinctively felt something was off. She was way too unaware of her surroundings.

Song Yeqing hesitated. Should she tell him she’d found the man who killed Song Niangzi and her family in her past life?

But would he understand what she planned to do? He’d probably want to take the man to the authorities.

Still, they were partners—this was his business too.

She fell into a loop of internal conflict.

In her head, it was like two little voices were having a boxing match:

Voice One: Tell him. He’ll understand. This is blood vengeance. Killing someone to avenge such a wrong isn’t unjust.

Voice Two: Don’t say a word. He won’t accept it. This revenge is yours to carry—it has nothing to do with him.

Forget it. Better not say anything.

She’d never killed anyone with her own hands. At most, she’d inflicted heavy backlash during magical duels that led to the enemy’s death.

As a celestial master, she operated in a moral gray area. She had certain privileges. The line between life and death was always blurry.

So she didn’t feel much psychological burden over what she was about to do.

Avenge someone? Nothing wrong with that.

He Yanxin was just a normal person raised with traditional values. How could he possibly understand?

“Nothing’s wrong. I was just too focused on cooking,” Song Yeqing said casually.

He Yanxin (internally): Yeah right. Everything about you screams “something’s wrong.”

What had happened to her since she went out?

He racked his brain, but couldn’t figure it out.

Women really were impossible to understand—especially Song Yeqing. She was practically a nightmare difficulty level.

While the soup simmered, the two of them worked together to make a couple of dishes. Of course, He Yanxin handled washing and chopping.

Just before dinner, Wu Sanyou dropped off some chicken soup—full of meaty pieces, including two big drumsticks.

He also slipped He Yanxin two taels of silver, saying it was “for the child,” but it was clearly a disguised way of offering money for travel expenses.

The Wu family also sent over a bowl of steamed egg custard.

All of it was “for the child,” making it hard to refuse.

He Yanxin, claiming they couldn’t finish everything, packed up some duck meat to give back to them—and still accepted the money. Business is business.

After dinner, Song Yeqing went straight back to her room.

“The formula… I need the formula…”

She focused her mind and searched through her storage space. She remembered one of the books had a recipe for knockout powder.

Found it!

On a dark, moonless night… a shadowy figure crept out of a room.

The two boys were sleeping with their father tonight. Song Yeqing tiptoed toward the wall, not making a sound.

“Where are you going?” A low male voice came from behind her.

Damn! Why did this guy keep scaring her today?

She spun around sharply. He Yanxin was leaning against the doorframe, scrutinizing her.

She really had been acting suspicious all day.

After coaxing the kids to sleep, He Yanxin had stayed outside her door, thinking about all sorts of things.

Then, when she quietly snuck out in the middle of the night, one thought flashed uncontrollably through his mind:

“Did she fall for someone else and sneak out to meet him?”

But he immediately dismissed it. Song Yeqing wasn’t that type of woman.

If she ever fell in love with someone else, she’d look him in the eye and say, “I met someone. Let’s get divorced.”

Just thinking about it made his chest ache.

This woman really was strange. She could even make him act strange. And they’d only known each other for such a short time.

“Out flying your drone?” he joked. Of course not—she would never act on her own without discussing it first.

Song Yeqing shook her head, but didn’t say anything. She just looked at him.

He Yanxin reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward a secluded spot where they could talk.

It was far from the house—far enough that even if someone stepped outside, they wouldn’t see them.

“Talk,” he said.

Sigh… Song Yeqing had no choice. She came out with it directly: “I’m going to kill someone.”

His grip on her wrist tightened suddenly.

Just as I thought. He can’t accept this. I shouldn’t have told him. Song Yeqing regretted it immediately.

“Who are you going to kill? What did he do to you? Are you going to be in danger?”

He Yanxin fired off three questions in a row, barely able to control his voice.

He was scared at first, but now, all he could feel was worry for her.

After asking, He Yanxin covered his forehead with his free hand.

I’m done for.
Was he seriously okay with this?
Would he be the one handing her the knife someday?

“Don’t get so worked up…” Song Yeqing shifted her uncomfortable wrist but didn’t pull away.

“Explain. Honestly.”

He Yanxin was taller than her, and they were standing very close. The pressure he gave off was immense.

Song Yeqing had no choice but to tell him everything—especially describing the constable’s appearance in detail:

Narrow eyes, a hooked nose, thick lips, a mole on his chin, and a tall, sturdy build.

(End of Chapter)