“You, what do you want me to help you with?”

Qiao Yujing sniffled and wiped his tears.

Anyway, the Yongchang Bo Mansion had wronged him and his father. If the other party wanted to do something to harm the mansion, he would be more than happy to help. In any case, he absolutely could not die here today.

“What exactly to do, I will find you when the time comes.”

Xie Wenyuan didn’t immediately reveal his intentions; he still had many things to set up.

First, he would drive a wedge into the Yongchang Bo Mansion, and when the time was right, he would pocket the mansion’s wealth. Qiao Yujing, a pawn who would perish in two years, was just perfect for his plans.

As for changing someone else’s fate?

There were so many unfortunate souls in the world; could he really save them all?

Besides, he wasn’t a good person himself.

Thinking this, Xie Wenyuan reached out toward the young man in the trap. “Didn’t you want me to give you a personal item as a token? Hand it over.”

His tone was devoid of any sympathy.

Qiao Yujing’s eyes turned red from the threat, tears streaming down his face, but he had to lower his head under the eaves.

In the end, he could only wipe his tears and take off a pendant engraved with his name, tossing it up.

“Young Master, is this acceptable?”

The young man’s voice was filled with resentment.

Xie Wenyuan remained unmoved, carefully examining the pendant. After confirming it was fine, he prepared to rescue him.

But then came a sharp scream.

“Ah! You scoundrel, what are you doing?!”

Qiao Yujing’s face turned bright red as he covered his eyes.

It turned out that Xie Wenyuan had just unbuckled his belt.

Xie Wenyuan calmly glanced at the person at the bottom of the pit, continuing to unbuckle his belt, completely unaware of how it might look.

“This trap is specifically designed by hunters to catch wild boars; it’s quite deep. I don’t have a rope, so if I don’t use my belt to fish you out, should I jump down and wait for death with you?”

“Don’t worry, I’m wearing clothes underneath, so you won’t see anything. Even if you did, with my handsome face, you wouldn’t be at a loss.”

Qiao Yujing: …

Is that how it works?

He was an unmarried young man!

Seeing that the person at the bottom of the pit wasn’t moving, Xie Wenyuan threw the unbuckled belt down impatiently.

“Count to three; if you don’t come up, I’m leaving.”

“One… two…”

He was truly a ruthless person with no compassion for the delicate.

What could Qiao Yujing do?

He could only blush, suppress his shame, grab the belt still warm from the man’s body, and struggle to climb out of the trap.

Xie Wenyuan, seeing him in such a sorry state, found it amusing and teased him.

“You really look like a little pig.”

Qiao Yujing: …

A dog can’t spit out ivory!

The young man was so angry he could cry, feeling wronged and furious as he asked, “What is your name, Young Master?”

“You don’t need to know. Just wait for me to come collect my debt.”

Xie Wenyuan secured his belt and turned to leave.

It was impossible to escort someone home; he had important matters to attend to. It was good if this young man could make it back alive.

If he were attacked by a wild beast on the way and died, that would be his fate.

He didn’t lack this pawn.

Such beautiful eyes and such a lovely voice; what a pity.

Xie Wenyuan rubbed his fingertips, recalling the sensation of touching the young man’s skin when he saved him, and shook his head lightly.

Behind him,

Qiao Yujing glared at his indifferent back, feeling humiliated and angry, cursing, “Scoundrel!”

Then he hurried down the mountain.

…

After parting with the young man,

Not knowing if it was the luck he brought, Xie Wenyuan, who had been searching the mountain for a long time without finding the little wolf cub, turned a corner and stumbled upon it.

As he expected, the little wolf cub was already dead.

From the stiffness of the body, it seemed to have died about half a day ago, with clear bite marks from a black bear.

It was definitely the young wolf that had been taken from the den by the black bear.

Confirming this,

Xie Wenyuan picked up the little wolf’s corpse and hurried to Liu Family Village, finding the Liu family’s house.

What helped him was that the Liu family was notorious for their bad reputation in the village, and their house was built alone at the foot of the mountain, with no neighbors around, ensuring that the wolf pack wouldn’t get confused.

“The world is too cruel; Liu family, let me send you to paradise early.”

Xie Wenyuan said expressionlessly, then swiftly decapitated the already dead little wolf, skinned it, and made it look like fresh game that a hunter had just processed, hanging it on a tree branch at the entrance.

He then placed a basket filled with wild fruits and a water pouch nearby, arranging the scene to look like a passing hunter had urgently set down his things to relieve himself.

Given the Liu family’s greedy nature, how could they resist taking advantage of good things?

Sure enough,

As expected,

Xie Wenyuan hid in the shadows and waited for a few moments before the Liu family’s worker returned. Upon seeing the good things at their doorstep, his eyes lit up.

“Mother, come quick, look at this! Meat!” the Liu family’s younger brother exclaimed excitedly.

“Wow, it really is. What kind of meat is this? Whose is it, and why is it hanging at our door?”

Old Lady Liu was also filled with joy; having lived long, she still had a hint of caution.

However,

This little bit of caution couldn’t stop the family’s golden egg son from making a foolish move.

The Liu family’s younger brother, unconcerned, said, “Who cares what kind of meat it is? There’s a basket and a water pouch on the ground; it must be from a hunter. Who knows where the person went?”

“Mother, I haven’t eaten meat in days; let’s hurry and take it home. If we wait for the person to come back, we won’t get a chance!”

Who cares where the things came from? If there’s a bargain, one must take it!

Old Lady Liu wasn’t particularly resolute either; hearing her son’s persuasion, she wavered.

The mother and son happily and stealthily hurried to take the things home.

Not only the wolf meat, but they also didn’t spare the basket of wild fruits and the tattered water pouch, not even considering how the ‘hunter’ would feel about losing his things.

Soon,

Voices from inside came from the aunt who had been divorced.

“Ah, Mother, are we having meat today? And so many wild fruits?”

“Of course, our Liu family is not like that stingy family of yours. Just wait; I’ll make you a big meat dish. Eat more tonight, and if you look better, I can find you a better match than the Xie family.”

“Mother, I know; I’ll listen to you and help the family earn another bride price.”

“Mm, my daughter is so filial…”

—

Hearing the ‘motherly love and filial piety’ voices from the Liu family courtyard,

Xie Wenyuan stepped out from the shadows, sneering, and then went to the riverbank to carefully wash off the scent of the little wolf cub with the prepared fragrant soap.

Then, he hurried to the city, bought the cheapest Xuan paper in the study, and headed back to Tongshu Village.

Putting on a full show.

Today, Xie Wenyuan didn’t go up the mountain or visit Liu Family Village; he just went to the city!

On the way back,

Xie Wenyuan was stopped by a fortune teller at a stall.

“This young scholar, I see your complexion isn’t good; do you need this old man to read your fortune?”

The fortune teller looked wise and mysterious.

But upon closer inspection, his eyes kept sizing up the money pouch at Xie Wenyuan’s waist, clearly a fake Taoist, specifically targeting young men who looked naive and tender-hearted.

However, Xie Wenyuan still walked over.

And cooperatively asked with concern, “Is the old man’s fortune accurate?”

“Accurate or not, why not try it and see? Would you like to measure words or draw lots? Choose one?”

The fortune teller raised his chin, looking quite impressive.

Xie Wenyuan said nothing, casually shook the lot container, and a bamboo stick fell out.

The tip of the stick clearly read: bad luck.

Seeing this, the fortune teller revealed a worried expression and sighed.

“Ah, young scholar, this fortune isn’t good! A bad luck sign, no wonder I see your brow darkening; something big must have happened at home recently?”

“But don’t worry, I see you have a blessed appearance; it’s just that you have a calamity in your fate. As long as you can resolve it, your later life will surely be smooth sailing and prosperous.”

“Is that so? Then how can I resolve it?”

Xie Wenyuan looked very worried.

The fortune teller was pleased with his reaction, stroking his beard and continuing to act wise, shaking his head and saying, “It’s hard to say, hard to say…”

At this moment, a sensible person should know to take out some silver.

But Xie Wenyuan just smiled, “Hard to say? Then don’t say it. Since the old man is so accurate, did you predict that you would have bad luck today?”

“What?”

The fortune teller was confused.

Xie Wenyuan tapped the table, smiling meaningfully, “A few days ago, the fat old man in fancy clothes…”

As for what day it was a few days ago, he didn’t know, and he didn’t know which old man in fancy clothes he was talking about either; he was just making things up.

But among the wealthy old men in the capital who had been fooled by these fortune tellers, there were at least eight out of ten who would surely relate.

Sure enough,

The fortune teller immediately thought of the customers he had deceived on another street recently, how he had tricked them, and how much ill-gotten silver he had made.

His face turned pale, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, and he spoke in a small voice, trying to appease, “Little brother, let’s talk it out; we can talk it out; we’re all just trying to make a living!”

“…”

Xie Wenyuan didn’t respond, his gaze fixed on the fortune teller’s money pouch.

The fortune teller, being an old hand, immediately understood the implication, reluctantly took out one tael of silver and handed it over, hoping to avert disaster.

Today, he truly misjudged the situation and encountered a little slippery character!

Xie Wenyuan tucked the silver into his pouch and then smiled lightly.

“Old man, I don’t believe in fate.”

After saying that,

Xie Wenyuan took out a blank stick from the fortune teller’s stall, dipped his pen in ink, and wrote the fortune himself.

【Good luck, a hidden dragon in the abyss, soaring to great heights.】

Fortune teller: ……