The two of them probably have no idea why Sect Leader is staring at a handkerchief, dazed by the firelight.
After a long while, Fei Chen stood beside Su Qing and whispered,
"Sect Leader, it's time to go."
Su Qing snapped out of his trance and replied offhandedly,
"Mm."
Then, he raised his hand and tossed the handkerchief into the bonfire.
But just as the flames were about to scorch the handkerchief, he reached in and snatched it back.
The fire singed the back of his hand, but he didn't seem to feel any pain—in fact, the smile at his lips just grew wider.
In the midst of this blazing inferno, he swallowed and spoke slowly,
"Fei Chen."
"I'm here."
"Find out whose handkerchief this is."
Fei Chen paused for a moment, then accepted the order,
"Yes, Sect Leader."
No one really knows what their master has gone through—he just seems a little bit different from before.
·······
Now, let's talk about Su Ye, who ran straight home.
She gathered every guard and servant in the house as soon as she got back.
Su Ye stood up high, sizing up the strapping guards, nodding with her hands behind her back,
"Everyone, tonight, you've all got work to do."
As soon as she finished, the guards and servants got fired up.
The Young City Lord says we're busy—what could it be?
Must be a brawl.
When it comes to fighting, honestly, no one in Xuan Yue City can take them on.
Everyone shouted in unison,
"We support all of the Young City Lord's decisions!!"
Su Ye listened, feeling a bit gratified,
"Alright, now, haul every single valuable item you can find from the mansion outside and trade it for silver!
I don't care what you sell, but in three days, I want to see one hundred thousand taels of gold leaf."
As soon as she said that, everyone below fell silent.
What? One hundred thousand taels of gold leaf? Even if we ran all over town robbing people, it'd take ages!
Su Ye noticed the guards' blank looks and let out a long sigh,
"If you can't scrape it together, I'll just have to sell you lot too."
That crazy suggestion kicked everyone into action instantly,
All scrambling to declare,
"We'll give it everything we've got for the Young City Lord!"
"Young City Lord is mighty!"
"Young City Lord is brave!"
Compliments like these came pouring out of the guards' mouths non-stop.
Su Ye's mood improved a lot from all this flattery.
For the next two days, Su Ye was so busy collecting cash she barely touched the ground.
Before leaving, she agreed with Madam to send the money over in three days.
She also instructed Madam, no matter who asks about her identity, to play dumb. Whatever happens, Madam must not let her Young City Lord status slip, or else she'll end up with no money and no deal.
Su Ye felt pretty confident about keeping her identity secret.
After all, Madam deals with people all year round and knows how to handle this sort of thing better than anyone.
Just make something up, and the story's sold.
By the time Su Qing's people managed to investigate her, it'd probably be the year of the monkey.
Su Ye watched her servants hauling stuff out of the courtyard, back and forth.
Xing worried herself sick nearby, hurrying over with a fan to keep her cool,
"Miss, how about you go rest somewhere in the shade? Let me watch things here for you."
Su Ye rolled up her sleeves, wiped her sweat, and barked orders at the staff.
She glanced at Xing,
"I want to watch all my stuff get sold off, serves as a warning for myself."
Xing was puzzled,
"Huh?"
Su Ye ground her back teeth,
"Remind myself not to get blinded by lust again, so I don't end up with no money and no man."
This is one hundred thousand gold leaf, after all.
Sure, that beauty's good-looking—but we didn't even spend a two-hour time together, and all I did was wait on her.