Even more shocked than the girl named Ye Chenxue was Han Lin who’d just confirmed by Ye Chenxue’s reaction that the name Lu Feng called wasn’t just a mumble. He had indeed called the name of their new addition
She tried to mask her shock in her words as she spoke but found it very difficult the longer her statement stretched. "Ho... how? Young Master, how do you know her name? You didn’t ask the old man for her name and I doubt he even knew it. How did you come to know her name?"
Lu Feng, who couldn’t reveal to them that he’d seen it in a panel in front of him, simply shrugged and smiled. His two colored eyes reflected the shocked expression of the two ladies sitting opposite him.
The same eyes that he’d used to identify his first crippled heroine through the white haze she had been emanating was now staring at the faces of two beautiful ladies.
Finally, after keeping them in suspense for over a minute, Lu Feng finally answered their questions. "I have my own way."
He didn’t explain further that his system and its blue—but in this case, golden—panel had revealed her name to him.
Han Lin might believe him seeing that he got it right but what if she didn’t? And worse, what would his new Heroine think of him if Han Lin went ahead to attribute it to his supposed "madness"?
"Besides, if I told you, Han Lin, you would just think I’ve truly and finally gone mad."
It was better to leave them in complete darkness for now. Until they were fit enough to behold the light of the truth. Or at least, a portion of it.
Hearing the other part of Lu Feng’s response made Han Lin want to press further, her concern for his mental health almost drowning her in thoughts. However, when she saw the resolute gaze his eyes held, she sighed and simply nodded, choosing to respect his decision not telling them.
She was easily contained but the other lady wasn’t. Han Lin might’ve easily understood Lu Feng but Ye Chenxue didn’t even know either of them, nor had she met them until less than an hour ago.
She was still riddled with questions and unbelief about their intentions toward her. The fear she felt toward the man who had just spoken her name without her revealing it to him slowly morphed into suspicion and then she opened her mouth and frowned.
"Who are you? What do you want from me? Who sent you?" Her questions flew out one by one even before Lu Feng could answer one. The only person she felt could’ve done this was someone she’d come to start hating.
"Was it my master? Did my master send you to mock me? Has she not had enough watching me suffer torment at the hands of others? If she has sent you here to end things then I suggest you do it now!"
With each sentence she spoke, her voice rose, threatening to become loud enough for the people outside to hear.
Currently, there were two guards stationed at the front of their carriage as it was the same in the carriages in front of them which linked to each other. It was a chain of carriages and if the noise inside happened to reach the two guards outside, they would move in to check what was going on and if things feel out of control, the entire chain of carriages might be stopped to deal with the issue before the journey resumed.
However, Lu Feng wasn’t too worried about that because he’d indeed purchased her as a slave. Just telling the guards that she was a slave would solve things but he didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want to only see her as a slave.
He wanted to be of help to her as much as she would be of help to him.
Ye Chenxue wasn’t done. "If the Frost Heart Pavillion sent you, then do what you were sent to do. They never send someone without a spine."
Lu Feng’s blank expression slowly turned to a small frown. Not because he was mad at her flurry of questions and accusations but because she did not give him the chance to answer any of her questions.
"You keep asking questions without giving me the chance to answer any of them. I know you have tons of questions but take it easy on me too. I’ll be sure to answer the ones I can." Lu Feng finally replied, interrupting her before she had the chance to ask another question.
She opened her mouth to speak again but his words seemed to have gotten to her because a second after opening her mouth, she closed it without muttering a single word.
There was silence in the carriage for a moment, all three of them staring at each other.
After a minute of silence, Lu Feng decided it was time to acknowledge her questions.
"You asked who I am. I am Lu Feng, an exiled child of a Merchant family. In a way, we’re both the same but I’ll leave out the explanation."
He paused to let that answer sink into her mind before he continued. "As for what I want from you, it’s simple. I want your help in the future so for now, allow me to help you." He watched her pridefully raised shoulders relax a little which caused him to smile a little as he continued. "As for who sent me and the rest of the related questions, all I can say is that no one sent me."
As he explained that he’d not been sent by anyone, he shook his head. "I don’t know your master and I couldn’t care less about your origin and past. I simply saw you, knew you needed my help, and helped you. To everyone you might know, you’re viewed as a defect and a failure. To those that may know you, they see you as a slave."
Ye Chenxue frowned but remained silent. His last two statements were the truth after all. She couldn’t deny that. But didn’t that also mean that since he knew her, he would see her as a slave?
"Doesn’t that mean you also see me as a slave? That was why you purchased me after all, wasn’t it? You bought me as a slave and paid in full."
Lu Feng almost choked from holding back laughter. "You were being sold as a slave. How else was I supposed to save you except buy you as a slave?"
" I bought your freedom, Ye Chenxue. I didn’t save you because I wanted a slave that would attend to my every wish and request." Lu Feng paused and turned to Han Lin. "Even though she’s not my slave, Han Lin already provides more than enough help, I assure you."
Han Lin smiled, her face full of pride and a little confusion. Her gaze asked him the question. ’Why buy her then?’
"I saved you because I felt a connection to you who had been cast down by the very ones you completely trusted. At least, according to the old man’s story."
Seeing that his words were under starting to convince her, he went ahead to reveal his goal. "I hope we can stick together. I want us to grow—not as master and slave, but as allies. I am heading to Crimson Vale to build something. I want you to be a part of it. You have the potential I need and I am all the support you’ll need to reach that potential."
The silence that followed almost seemed disturbing. Ye Chenxue looked at her hands, her fingers scarred from the shackles she had worn for months. The idea of freedom was so foreign, so impossible, that it felt like a trap.
"You don’t understand," she whispered, shaking her head. "You say you want an ally? I am a cripple. My meridians are not just blocked; they are severed. My spiritual sea is a desert. My Dantian is as good as gone. I am less than a mortal now because my body remembers the power it once had and mourns it every second. I am a target. My very existence is an insult to the Frost Heart Pavilion."
She looked up at him, her gaze piercing. "Are you aware of my history? Do you know what I did? Do you know the monster you have just invited into your carriage?"
Lu Feng saw the white haze around her still flowing out nonstop. He didn’t blink. He didn’t pull away. He had twenty thousand gold coins in his head and a system that rewarded him for her very existence. Whatever monster she thought she was, she was his greatest asset.
He slowly shook his head, his expression unreadable.
"I know your name," Lu Feng said, his voice dropping to a low, inviting tone. "And I know your value. But the rest? The why and the how? I don’t know."
He gestured to the open road ahead of them, the sun beginning to set in the distance.
"Enlighten me with your history. We have all the time we need."