Chapter 9: 9.第9章 奇怪老头

After waking up in the morning, he effortlessly carried the woman onto the shore. An Mei only had enough time to hurriedly dress her and leave behind the jade pendant that represented his identity. After instructing her to pass his words along to that glass-hearted bird of hers, he rushed toward Seven Star City without pause. Just as he had expected, his subordinates had already received news of his passing and were waiting to confirm it further.

Subsequently, the Seven Star City branch of the Thousand Machine Sect became An Ying's.

Having resolved the matters in Seven Star City, An Mei immediately thought of that bold woman who had undressed without hesitation to save him. Last night had been too dark for him to see her face clearly, but after a hurried glance this morning, he had committed it to memory.

She was his woman—a stranger who had reached out to help him without a moment's hesitation.

…………

A strange old man had arrived in Seven Star Village. He was bald, dressed in flowing white robes, and yet he possessed such a lewd smile. The kind-hearted villagers were currently holding a meeting, discussing how they might persuade this headache of a character to leave the village.

The meeting was held at Yun Ling's house; in Seven Star Village, only the Yun family's residence was truly spacious and wealthy. Ba Xiaomei flapped its wings and landed upon the rafters of the Yun house. If it heard anyone speaking insolently and making its Yun Xiaoling unhappy, it would seize the opportunity to gift the offender a steaming pile of dung with a *splat*.

"Yun Ling!" A tall, sturdy farmer stamped his feet in rage. "Control your bird!"

Yun Ling, currently disguised as a youth, countered with a breezy remark: "Uncle, you should focus on controlling your mouth instead!"

"Preposterous!" The Clan Leader slammed the table. "Yun boy, what kind of trouble have you caused this time?! Just what is that person's background?!"

Yun Ling picked at his ear and said unhurriedly, "I already told you, he's just a madman—a madman wandering around looking for disciples."

"I don't care!" The Clan Leader was truly furious this time. "I've cleaned up enough of your messes over the years! This time, you must handle it yourself! If you can't, don't bother staying here anymore!"

Yun Ling remained indifferent. "Clan Leader, you've been saying that since I was nine years old. Aren't you tired of it yet? Oh, it's not like I want to stay here anyway; there aren't any beautiful older sisters for me to look at or touch!"

"You, you, you! You!" The Clan Leader brushed his sleeves and turned to leave. "You rogue! Fine! I said I won't look after you, and I won't!"

Listening from outside, Mother Lin was filled with worry. She knew her young lady's temperament all too well. The Clan Leader wasn't a hard-hearted man; otherwise, he wouldn't have stepped in to settle every single mess Yun Ling had caused over the years. However, the young lady was already fifteen. If she were an ordinary girl, it wouldn't matter much, as the village didn't have many strict rules and such a personality wouldn't be an issue.

But the young lady was, after all, the daughter of a prominent family. If someone from Chang'an arrived one day, she would be ridiculed if she returned like this!

After seeing off the Clan Leader and the others, Mother Lin advised earnestly, "Miss, please just hurry up and send that person away. People from Chang'an will be arriving in a few days. You must be good and not cause any more trouble!"

Yun Ling comforted her wet nurse, "Alright, Nanny, I know what I'm doing. If people from Chang'an come, I'll obediently go back with them and live as a high and mighty lady of a noble family. You just sit back and wait to enjoy the good life!" At this, the wet nurse smiled like a blooming flower.

Old Man Miao's talent for causing trouble seemed to be even greater than Yun Ling's. Just as the Clan Leader left, the old man was pushed into the Yun house by people holding his hands back, all while being scolded.

"Yun Ling! Come out!" It was Uncle Zhang, who lived at the eastern end of the village. His shout was so full of vigor it felt as if he were about to blow the roof off the Yun house.