Chapter Thirty: Pan Yuer’s Maiden Heart Stirs

Returning to the inn and stepping into Yin Chan’s room, Ming Tian found An Luo supporting an unconscious young woman by the bed, while Yin Chan, yawning, tended to her wounds.

With the candlelight flickering in the room, Ming Tian finally saw the woman’s face clearly.

In these times, true beauties were a rare breed. Women from poor families aged quickly from hard labor, and the quality of ancient cosmetics was even worse than the shoddy products from dubious modern workshops, so even women of wealth, with their skin abused by makeup, would end up looking coarse over the years.

Still, beauties did exist—just exceedingly few and far between. To Ming Tian’s eyes, a woman who fit his standard of beauty was as rare as a giant panda.

And now, before him, was the third woman he’d met who matched those standards—so beautiful she could rival the Princess of Jiangmen herself.

Without a touch of makeup, her skin was as delicate as tofu, her features so exquisite he doubted whether this was a real face or an artwork sculpted by the world’s most gifted artisan. Not to mention her figure, whose proportions were almost impossibly perfect.

Unconscious, she was like a sleeping beauty from fairy tales, stirring a deep sense of pity.

No wonder that so-called Wonton Ripper wanted to kidnap you. If I were the boss, I’d want to take you back to my harem too! What on earth did you eat to grow up so beautiful?

“Where did you two pick up such a stunning girl?” Yin Chan asked, half-laughing, clearly annoyed at having been woken. “I’m a woman myself, and even I’m a little moved.”

At this, An Luo’s face twisted with jealousy, the emotion plain on his face. He seemed to want to say something, but lacked the courage.

Ming Tian just shrugged, offering no answer.

A soft groan broke the silence as the woman slowly regained consciousness. As she opened her eyes—eyes bright as the moon—a flash of terror from her recent ordeal flickered in her gaze.

“Where am I? Who are you? Where is this place?!” Her beautiful face was suddenly awash with fear. She tried to leap up and flee, but perhaps still dazed, she lost her balance, twisted her ankle after barely two steps, and fell.

Her trajectory was aiming straight for the chamber pot in Yin Chan’s room.

If she landed there, her image as a beauty would be utterly ruined!

But An Luo was no ordinary man. Though he seemed clueless most of the time, it was because he’d invested all his points in strength. Along with his brute force, his reflexes were astonishing.

In that critical instant, he sprang into action, taking a godlike step forward.

Just as she was about to fall onto the chamber pot, An Luo’s broad, powerful arm caught her around the waist, halting her descent. With a twist of his wrist, he spun her twice at a forty-five-degree angle before catching her securely in his arms.

It was a pose worthy of the final flourish in a rumba, or like the classic scene in a Korean drama—hero catching the heroine as she falls.

What the… Is this some kind of damsel-in-distress romance scene? Ming Tian stared, dumbfounded.

Yet what happened next made him wonder if fate itself was testing his ability to keep a straight face.

An Luo, holding the beauty, wore a calm and confident expression. His ox-like eyes narrowed, giving him a strange, enigmatic charm. “Miss, do not be afraid. You were abducted by thieves, but my brothers and I have rescued you. You are safe now.”

“Safe?” The young woman seemed lost, as if her mind was replaying the events in the alley. She finally recognized An Luo.

“It was… you who saved me?” she stammered, her cheeks flushing red.

An Luo’s lips curled into a slight smile. “That’s right.”

“Ah!” She gasped, her delicate body shivering at his emphatic words. Her flawless, jade-like face was suddenly suffused with a rosy blush, her eyes misty as they lingered on An Luo.

Her slender fingers traced the hard muscle of his arm, her face awash with admiration.

What on earth is going on here?

Ming Tian glanced from the woman to An Luo and back again. Anyone could see it: she’d fallen for An Luo.

Miss! Miss, are your eyes working? Are you actually attracted to this brute? I mean, he’s my friend and all, but he’s a total savage! Since when did beauties go for the beast in real life?

Come to think of it, in our team, Yin Chan is the healer, I’m the sage and the leader, and An Luo is just the berserker who spams DPS. If this were a novel, wouldn’t I be the protagonist? Isn’t the trope that the beauty should be smitten with me?

Why is she falling for An Luo? What kind of twisted plot is this?

“Miss,” Ming Tian said, unable to swallow his indignation and trying to strike up a conversation.

The woman glanced at him, her face showing a flicker of fear. “You… you are?”

“Me!” Ming Tian, flustered, pointed to himself. “I was there too! Didn’t you see me? I helped save you as well!”

But perhaps his tone was too agitated, for the woman shrank further into An Luo’s embrace. “Who is this man? Why is he so fierce?”

“I…” Ming Tian was struck dumb.

“Don’t be afraid,” An Luo soothed, patting her gently on the back before saying to Ming Tian, “Brother Ming Tian, you’re scaring her.”

Crack!

Ming Tian felt as if lightning had struck his mind, shattering him into pieces.

An Luo! Whose side are you on, you bastard?!

Perhaps Ming Tian’s expression was just too terrifying, for the woman clung even more tightly to An Luo. “Sir, I’m frightened…”

On the empty steppe, Ming Tian felt like he could only look up to the heavens and scream: “Sparta!!!”

His entire worldview had been turned upside down.

What a ridiculous novel!

In our team, it’s obvious I’m the leader! In any story, I’d be the protagonist! Why isn’t the beauty swooning over me? If she’s not into me, that’s fine, but at least go for Yin Chan and have a yuri subplot! I’d be fine with that!

But why, of all people, do you have to fall for An Luo, that lunkhead?!

Sorry, An Luo, I know you’re straight, but you really do look like a meathead. I’ve misjudged you—you’ve got real potential as a pretty boy!

With a thud, Ming Tian collapsed onto a chair, feeling as if his entire worldview and moral compass had been ground to dust. He sat there, utterly numb.

“Alright, alright,” Yin Chan came over and patted Ming Tian on the shoulder, trying to comfort him. “You’re not the leading man in a movie. Sure, you’re handsome, but not every girl is all about looks. Some beauties care more about personality.”

“Personality? You call An Luo’s personality deep?!” Ming Tian brushed off her hand with a slap, nearly in tears. “And thanks for the consolation, but could you at least not smother your laughter while you’re at it?”

Yin Chan’s cheeks were puffed out, her face red from holding back laughter.

“Miss, why did those thieves want to kidnap you?” An Luo asked, helping her back to the bed. For a moment, he seemed completely out of character, a glimmer of intelligence in his bovine eyes—though he was only a shade smarter than an idiot.

Hearing the question, the young woman broke down in tears, still shaken by her ordeal.

But her answer made Ming Tian and Yin Chan tense with alarm.

“I am a humble songstress in the household of Lord Wang Jingze, the Grand Marshal. Tonight, Lord Wang and his guests were drinking, and he sent for me to provide entertainment. I never expected to be abducted by thieves on the way. If not for your rescue, I… I dread to think what might have happened…”

She sobbed, seeking comfort in An Luo’s embrace.

Ming Tian and Yin Chan exchanged glances, realizing just who this woman was.

A songstress of Wang Jingze, summoned to entertain the great lords—could it be…

“Miss,” Ming Tian asked, his earlier dejection gone, his voice solemn. “May I know your name?”

The woman eyed him warily, still a bit afraid, but answered honestly, “My family name is Yu. My given name is Nizi.”

Yu Nizi?!

Ming Tian was thunderstruck.

This woman was none other than the future Pan Yu’er, Consort Pan—the very woman who, together with the Marquis of Donghun, would bring ruin to the entire state of Qi!

Wait—why does she seem like such a timid young girl? In history, wasn’t she supposed to be vain, ruthless, and cunning?

…