Chapter 12: Asking for the Moon

"You know Senior Brother Zhao?" Qin Xuan asked Dongfang Qingwan as they walked together.

Dongfang Qingwan first shook her head, then nodded in assent. "I’d only heard of him before—now I’ve met him."

"I see. So the Dongfang family and the Zhao family must have a good relationship," Qin Xuan remarked.

He assumed Dongfang Qingwan had heard of Zhao Long due to the closeness between the two families. Little did he know that wasn’t the case—Dongfang Qingwan knew of Zhao Long solely because of his influence and reputation among the elite of Jinling.

Of course, in Dongfang Qingwan’s current eyes, Qin Xuan was merely a Taoist from the mountains, notable only for his martial prowess. There was no need to explain things so thoroughly to him.

They gradually approached the women’s lingerie boutique.

"I’ll go in alone," Dongfang Qingwan said, a little embarrassed.

"No, I must keep an eye on you," Qin Xuan replied firmly.

Dongfang Qingwan turned and stared at him for a long while, but in the end, had to yield before the swordsman’s unwavering determination. With a sigh, she relented, "Fine. But you’re not allowed to stare, not allowed to talk too much, not allowed to ask questions."

"Hmm? No problem," Qin Xuan agreed. As long as he could ensure her safety, he didn’t care about anything else.

A man entering a women’s lingerie shop was, indeed, rather conspicuous—especially when the man was dressed eccentrically, following behind a beauty as gentle as water.

"Sis, is that the legendary weirdo uncle?" a girl whispered.

"Sis, let’s stay away from him," her sister replied.

The pair of sisters glanced at Qin Xuan strangely, then discreetly hurried away.

Though their voices were low, Qin Xuan heard every word and couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated. A weirdo uncle? He wasn’t even twenty years old yet, a handsome youth at that, and was being mistaken for some kind of creep. What kind of justice was this?

Surrounded by rows of bras and similar items, Qin Xuan suddenly felt out of place.

"Fine, as long as Qingwan stays within sight..." he muttered, stepping back to stand at the store entrance, peering inside from time to time.

Unexpectedly, this only drew even stranger looks from passersby. It left him helpless—who knew being a bodyguard could be so troublesome? It was enough to give one a headache.

After enduring more than ten agonizing minutes, Dongfang Qingwan finally emerged from the store, carrying several bags. Seeing Qin Xuan waiting at the door, she blushed slightly but found it a little funny as well.

"Here, take these," she said, shoving the bags into Qin Xuan’s arms.

A waft of fragrance drifted over as Qin Xuan hurriedly caught the bags. So now bodyguard work included carrying shopping too? Master, oh master, you’ve thrown me into quite the pit...

Tears welled in Qin Xuan’s eyes.

Before he could get a proper grip on the bags, Dongfang Qingwan’s slightly panicked voice called from up ahead, snapping him to attention.

"Oh, I’m so sorry, so sorry!"

Looking forward, he saw an old man sprawled on the ground at the corner, pointing a trembling finger at Dongfang Qingwan, who stood nearby, at a loss for what to do, unable to utter a word.

Had Dongfang Qingwan knocked the old man down?

"What happened?" Qin Xuan hurried over.

"I didn’t bump into him. He fell on his own..." Dongfang Qingwan’s brow was deeply furrowed. Could she have run into one of those infamous scam artists?

Soon, a rather plump middle-aged woman came running from afar, shouting, "Don’t you move! Dad, Dad, are you alright?"

The old man on the ground kept twitching his lips, merely pointing at Dongfang Qingwan without speaking.

The middle-aged woman instantly erupted, jabbing her finger in Dongfang Qingwan’s face. "Hey, what’s wrong with you? You look so proper, but you’re so nasty! Hit someone and don’t even apologize?"

"Show some respect. If you have something to say, speak properly. What’s the point in yelling?" Qin Xuan slapped the woman’s hand away, frowning.

"Oh my, not only did you hit someone, now you’re attacking people? Unbelievable! Everyone, come see—young people these days are outrageous. They hit someone and don’t even apologize, then start beating people up!"

Her shrill cries quickly drew a crowd. Spectating a commotion was practically a national pastime. Seeing the gathering crowd, Dongfang Qingwan quickly stopped Qin Xuan from saying more and spoke gently, "I’m sorry, sir. Are you alright?"

"Sorry? You think a simple sorry is enough?" the middle-aged woman sneered, glancing at the old man. "Look at him—he can’t even speak now. He’s got health problems! If something happens, you’re responsible!"

The onlookers began to chime in as well. To them, it was obvious Qin Xuan’s side was at fault—they’d knocked over an old man, after all.

"Young people these days have no manners, hitting people and then starting a fight."

"Poor old man. If this causes him real harm, what then?"

...

Qin Xuan glanced at Dongfang Qingwan and saw her brows furrowed even tighter, clearly out of her depth.

Faced with such a situation, Qin Xuan naturally had to step forward.

He took a step toward the middle-aged woman. "Fine, then. How do you propose we take responsibility?"

He had noticed the old man’s shifty eyes, and the woman’s lack of real concern for him—clearly, things weren’t as they seemed. Coupled with Dongfang Qingwan’s insistence she hadn’t touched the man, it was obvious they’d run into a pair of professional scammers.

"Never mind anything else—you’ll have to pay for medical expenses," the woman said, barely concealing her glee, because Qin Xuan’s response meant he’d already half taken the bait.

"Medical expenses? How much do you want?" Qin Xuan asked, unconcerned.

She thought for a moment. "My father’s got chronic ailments. Two hundred thousand will cover it. Hospitalization’s expensive these days!"

The sum shocked everyone around them. Two hundred thousand—she was certainly asking a lot. But if the old man really was hurt, it wasn’t an unreasonable amount.

Qin Xuan sneered inwardly.

"Are you sure you want two hundred thousand?"

"Two hundred thousand—not a penny less. Or we’ll see you in court," the woman threatened.

Qin Xuan smiled and pulled out the bank card Zhao Long had just given him.

"Two hundred thousand—this card has it. Whether you get it depends on the truth."

"You say you have two hundred thousand—who knows if you’re just stalling? I warn you, if anything happens to my father, it won’t be solved with just money," the woman snapped.

"Believe it or not, let’s wait for the mall’s security footage," Qin Xuan said coldly.

The woman seemed unconcerned. "Go ahead, get the footage. Never seen someone hit a person and be so stubborn about admitting it."

Qin Xuan turned, about to ask Dongfang Qingwan to call Zhao Long—after all, Zhao Long knew the owner of Tenglong International, so getting security footage wouldn’t be hard.

But as he turned, his heart instantly sank.

In the short time he’d been sparring with the woman, Dongfang Qingwan had disappeared!