Chapter 199: Chapter 177: The Little Devil Fox
Yuan Wei and Su Qi stood quietly on one side.
One listened to the scolding, the other listened to being scolded.
Initially, hearing was dominant, but as they continued listening, their vision was impacted and took the lead.
Yuan Wei was startled and took a step back.
Su Qi also widened his eyes.
Then they both watched as Gu Yanjing kissed Qiao Yuxian.
Qiao Yuxian didn’t expect him to pull this move and struggled fiercely.
But Gu Yanjing held her waist tightly, preventing her from breaking free. Moreover, because she struggled, he kissed harder.
Qiao Yuxian punched him hard on the shoulder twice.
Gu Yanjing tightened his grip further, and she just clung to his clothes and stopped moving.
Gu Yanjing held a crossbow in one hand and embraced her in the other, and only after he kissed her until she submitted did he let go.
The released Qiao Yuxian punched him on the shoulder with her small fist, flushed, and said, "Too much!"
Su Qi looked at her hand, which had just pinned a person on the ground, and now it hit Mr. Gu’s shoulder with no force at all.
Gu Yanjing looked at her red face, then lifted his gaze to look at Su Qi and Yuan Wei.
The two met his murderous gaze.
Yuan Wei immediately looked at the ground, pretending to search for something.
Su Qi looked up at the sky, pretending to count stars.
Seeing they were no longer watching, Gu Yanjing looked at Qiao Yuxian again and said, "Trust me."
"Why should I? You don’t trust me." Qiao Yuxian retorted, "The last time at the abandoned factory, you didn’t trust me, and you even spanked me."
Gu Yanjing looked at her and squinted.
Qiao Yuxian crossed her arms and raised her little chin, her expression fierce: "What’s wrong with bringing up the past? What’s wrong with being worried and bringing up old scores? If you don’t want me to bring them up, don’t give me any to bring up."
Gu Yanjing: "......"
"Hmph." Qiao Yuxian snorted harshly, stared fiercely at him for a while, then her expression softened, "Then let’s be fair; you trust me, and I’ll trust you."
Gu Yanjing looked at her and said nothing.
Seeing his silence, Qiao Yuxian’s little face turned fierce again: "See, you don’t trust me. Then I won’t trust you either."
"Trust." Gu Yanjing finally uttered two words.
Qiao Yuxian was skeptical, "Really?"
"Mm."
Qiao Yuxian stared at him for a while, wanting to confirm if he really trusted her.
But after watching for some time, she couldn’t tell.
However, she still put on a facade of being able to see right through his thoughts and put away her fierce expression, "Alright, I trust you too."
Gu Yanjing saw her quick-change temper and, after a moment, handed her the crossbow in his hand.
Qiao Yuxian looked at him, "For me to play with?"
"Mm."
Qiao Yuxian smiled with lips pressed together, took it from his hand, and studied it, "How did you know I like it?"
Gu Yanjing remained silent.
He had seen the Tang Cross Blade in her room.
When he stumbled upon the crossbow, he thought she might like it, so he brought one down.
Qiao Yuxian looked, it was a military-grade crossbow equipped with aiming devices and a magnifier.
With such high-end equipment, these people were not ordinary.
Qiao Yuxian observed for a while, then took aim at the acacia tree outside the wall.
A crossbow arrow was placed on the bow, in a released state.
The acacia tree outside had been growing for over twenty years and was very tall.
Qiao Yuxian aimed at a slender little branch on the side and pulled the trigger.
The modified crossbow was very powerful.
The small branch, swaying in the wind, was accurately shot off, and due to the power, the surrounding branches trembled violently.
Gu Yanjing stood beside her, fully feeling the force of the crossbow arrow’s release.
But Qiao Yuxian’s hand was steady, unaffected at all.
Su Qi, standing at the back, faintly heard the sound of wind and saw the very thin little branch fall.
He stood in a skewed position, unsure if she aimed at the small branch or missed and accidentally knocked it down.
If it was aimed, the precision is simply astonishing.
So small, he looked with the naked eye, it seemed as small as a little finger.
Qiao Yuxian put down the crossbow, slightly raised the corners of her mouth, and said, "Pretty handy."
Gu Yanjing tilted his head to look at her.
Qiao Yuxian proudly raised her little eyebrows at him.
Gu Yanjing scratched her little chin.
Qiao Yuxian smiled at him. Then she walked over to the leader who had been captured.
The people in the courtyard had mostly been cleared out.
Only the leader remained. Yuan Wei had dragged him to his feet, not letting them take him away.
Qiao Yuxian squatted down and looked at the man lying on the ground.
She used the crossbow to tap his face and said, "Care to explain?"
The man lay on the ground, disdainfully turning his head to the side, ignoring her.
Qiao Yuxian chuckled lightly, looked at him, and said, "During the New Year, I don’t want to see blood."
Gu Yanjing looked down at her.
Su Qi also looked at her, watching the usual gentle and obedient boss lady suddenly exuding a bandit-like aura.
"You, I will let go eventually," Qiao Yuxian said slowly, "I’m not someone who likes torturing others. After a few days, I’ll release you. When you walk out from here, what do you think your master will think?"
The man on the ground turned his head, his profile stiffening for a moment.
Qiao Yuxian slightly raised a corner of her mouth, "Whether you talk or not, when you leave here, your best outcome is that no one will hire you, and the worst..."
Qiao Yuxian did not finish speaking.
Listening to her indifferent words, Su Qi couldn’t help but gasp.
He felt that the present Qiao Yuxian seemed like a demon.
She was stabbing pins into a person’s heart, one by one, with no blood seen outside, yet profusely bleeding inside.
However, Yuan Wei stood aside, without much reaction, as if he was already used to it.
"Why not satisfy me a bit? I can give you a sum of money to ensure your later years have no worries," Qiao Yuxian said calmly.
Gu Yanjing watched the little fox using money to buy people’s hearts.
The man lay still with his eyes closed.
Qiao Yuxian said, "I know, you don’t believe me. You don’t believe I’ll give you money, don’t believe I’ll let you live after you confess. However... this is your only option. You can only take a gamble."
She stood up, looked down at him, and said, "Think about it. I have the New Year to celebrate and no time to deal with you."
Having said that, she looked at Yuan Wei and said, "Tighten the defense at Qiao Mansion, lock him up. Then, everyone can go to sleep."
"Okay." Yuan Wei took the man away directly.
Qiao Yuxian watched the man being led away and went to check the lattice window of the Buddha Hall.
The lattice window was punctured with several holes by the crossbow arrow and had been charred black.
"Get someone to replace it after the New Year," Gu Yanjing said from behind her.
Qiao Yuxian touched it, feeling pained, and said, "Let’s have someone repair it."
It was built by her grandparents, and after so many years, she didn’t want to replace it.
"Okay," Gu Yanjing responded.
Qiao Yuxian touched the charred spot again, then turned around, reaching out her hand, intending to smear the black on Gu Yanjing’s face.
Gu Yanjing quickly grabbed her wrist and took a step back.
Qiao Yuxian squinted her eyes and smiled sweetly. She exerted force with her hand, still trying to reach out to his face.
Gu Yanjing wouldn’t let her smear it.
With one hand being inconvenient, Qiao Yuxian called out to Su Qi and tossed the crossbow to him. Then, with both hands, she tried to smear him, "Let me smear it."
Gu Yanjing grabbed her other hand as well, his face leaning back.
"Just a little, just a little," Qiao Yuxian said while bouncing around him, almost hanging onto him, "Let me smear it a little."
Seeing that she wouldn’t give up, Gu Yanjing held her hands and lifted her up single-handedly, walking to the bathroom.
Qiao Yuxian lay on his shoulder, swinging her legs, still muttering, "Let me smear it. Just a little!"
Gu Yanjing didn’t utter a word, quickly took her to the bathroom, placed her in front of the sink, turned on the tap, and once the water was warm, put her hands under the water.
Qiao Yuxian watched her blackened hands being washed clean, and she leaned against Gu Yanjing, sighing exaggeratedly, "Ah—it’s gone! It’s gone!"
Gu Yanjing dried her hands, then pinched her face, making her lips pucker, and kissed her on the lips.
Qiao Yuxian held his hand, bit his finger softly, leaving a small row of teeth marks, and looked at him through the mirror, "Carry me back. You brought me here, you carry me back."
Gu Yanjing kissed her cheek once more, picked her up, and headed out of the bathroom toward the main house.