Chapter 2 – Noble Girl in Distress
“Seriously, what’s wrong with being beautiful and a bit pampered? Go on!”
As he spoke, the coachman from another carriage cracked his whip against the horse’s rear.
“A brute who doesn’t know how to cherish. If a pretty young lady cries a little, it’s still a lovely sight. If it were him crying, wouldn’t he get slapped twice over!”
Plainly put, this was a world that valued looks. When a stunning beauty cries, it’s like viewing a gorgeous landscape.
But if you were some burly seven-foot man, fake-crying like a delicate flower, who wouldn’t want to slap him?
“Let’s knock it off, you silly frauds!”
“Boss, you have a point there. Didn’t someone once say that if you could have both sides, even dying could be flamboyant…”
The rugged man with a large knife at his waist laughed heartily, his voice booming enough to reach Jiang Pengji’s ears.
He said, “Why do we brothers need to die to be ghosts? As long as we’re alive, we can still have our fun day and night!”
As soon as he said this, the mountain path filled with loud laughter from the group, mingled with pleasure and lecherous glee.
This gang of seven big men were bandits from the deep mountains near Hejian County, living off robbery and all kinds of villainy.
When they heard that a group of fairies, accompanied by maidservants, were out for a spring outing with hardly any capable guards around, wasn’t that a heavenly gift sent to warm their lonely nights?
Of course, even more surprising was the fact that these fairies were all noble girls from aristocratic families.
Upon seeing the family crest on the carriage, the bandits felt a shiver. Though beauty was enticing, it’s important to have a life to enjoy it.
But imagining the high-born ladies swooning beneath them, which of them wouldn’t feel a surge of wicked desire?
With beauty within reach and profits to be gained, the fierce bandits immediately raised their large knives, ready for a grand haul.
“Boss, can we just kill that sickly one inside and toss her out? If she dies on the way, it’s just bad luck…”
The one speaking was a limping bandit, pointing at the carriage, “Looks like a boy, much uglier than those pretty young ladies.”
Inside the carriage sat three beautiful girls in fine silks, each still young, real stunning prospects.
Curled up within was a faintly glowing young boy in a blue robe, his jade crown nowhere to be found, and his long, black hair sprawled all around.
He lay collapsed in the carriage, feverish and unconscious.
Upon closer inspection, he had an impressive brow, and the loosely fastened collar revealed a hint of his golden yellow belly band, with some not-so-obvious swellings at his chest.
Clearly, this was a girl disguising herself as a boy.
The bandit leader, sporting a scruffy beard, let out a hearty laugh, “At least she’s a woman, so we’ll keep her. With so few women in our camp, it’s never enough! It’s not like we’ve seen a female mosquito before… except for Old Fourth, who has a woman with a warm bed!”
Jiang Pengji listened to the conversation outside the carriage, her heart jolting violently.
“Sister Jingxian… Boohoo, Brother Lanting still won’t wake up… What should we do…”
A girl’s crying voice reached her ears. Though she felt strange reacting to it, her mind automatically conjured up information about the girl.
“You’re such a mud bodhisattva crossing a river, and you’re still worried about others?” Wei Jingxian tightly pressed her pale lips, her hands gripping the napkin so hard that her knuckles turned white, retorting angrily, “Take care of yourself!”
Under such reprimand, the girl with eyes like a cat, red and puffy, dared not look up, bowing her head instead.
In Hejian County, everyone knew that Wei Jingxian, the legitimate daughter of the Wei family, and Liu Lanting, the legitimate second son of the Liu family, had been betrothed since childhood.
But now that their young friendship had turned to romantic interest—still being the same gender—how could the proud Wei Jingxian remain calm?
If it weren’t for this turmoil, would she have to wait until her wedding day to find out she was marrying a husband with a female body?
For Wei Jingxian, the humiliation brought by her fake fiancé probably surpassed the reckless mockery of those bandits outside.
Yet another unfamiliar feminine voice echoed, but her mind still conjured up the name.
Jiang Pengji hazily thought… Wei Jingxian… turns out she’s my fiancée…
Wait!
An electric shock of realization hit her, almost making her jump up—fiancée? What the heck?!
Jiang Pengji was on the verge of freaking out from the information flooding into her mind. When did she suddenly gain a fiancée?
Pondering this, she began to sort through the new memories that were invading her mind, only to discover they belonged to someone named Liu Lanting—a girl disguised as a boy.
What the heck? Why is there a stranger’s memory in my head?
At this moment, before she could piece it together, the shaking carriage finally came to a stop.
“Whoa—stop! All you stinky ladies get out, don’t make me invite you!”
The tracks were too obvious; having kidnapped so many noble girls, frankly speaking, Hejian County was likely already in an uproar.
The officers and house servants could easily follow the carriage tracks to track them down. If they wanted to live a little longer, they couldn’t leave a trace.
So they needed to change vehicles.
“Boss, how about… we enjoy a couple first?”
Watching the splendid noble girls tumble out of the carriage like quails, a few bandits were wide-eyed. One of them licked his lips and moistened his dry mouth, looking like a hungry wolf lusting after prey.
Imagining a wild time with one of those beauties was almost unbearable.
The girl targeted by him wore a face full of indignation, wishing to hide away completely, hoping no one would ever find her.
The bandit leader halted abruptly and smacked a subordinate, chuckling, “What are you thinking? We can take our time with one after another when we get back. What’s the rush? Before you button up your trousers, you might find the people who’re after you are already here.”
Having spoken, he gazed at the noble girls with a fierce edge in his eyes, licking the blood from his own lips.
Though the robbery went smoothly, they weren’t without their casualties. Originally over twenty brothers had set out, and now only seven were left.
Now that the boss had spoken, the bandits could only endure, but they still took advantage of every shove and push.
At that moment, the limping bandit pulled the unconscious Jiang Pengji from the carriage while muttering to himself.
No one knew that the “Liu Lanting,” who looked like she was about to burn up, was quietly opening her eyes just a tiny crack, and then slowly closing them again.
System!
Jiang Pengji silently mouthed the word. In her mind, a clean and simple transparent panel appeared.
【Name: Jiang Pengji (Liu Xi, courtesy name Lanting, also known as Liu Lanting; Base Martial Power 5 points, Fusion Martial Power +30)】
【Gender: Female (disguised as male, replacing deceased legitimate brother Liu Lanting)】
【Age: 41 (12), Born during the Huachao Festival in the third year of Tianwu】
【Origin: Liu family’s legitimate second son (legitimate first daughter), Fiancée to Wei family’s legitimate second daughter Wei Jingxian】
【Special Skills: Six Arts of a Gentleman (entry level), Fighting (expert), Reasoning and Analysis (tentative), Other Abilities (tentative)】
【Attributes: Charm Value (hidden 21 points), Beauty Score (75 points)】
【Channel: Live Stream (points sufficient, not yet activated), Streamer Level 1】
As a woman from an era of information overload, even though Jiang Pengji paid no attention to entertainment, she soon realized she seemed to have gained something immensely powerful in her mind.
Thus, she tentatively asked in her heart, “I wonder how to address you, esteemed one?”
