Why did you provoke me?

He thought life would continue peacefully like this. But then Jing Liu sent word that Jing Ancheng's squad was being hunted down, Jing Ancheng was seriously injured, and before he died, he wanted to see Yu Meng.

So Yu Meng emerged from seclusion after only one day.

She was very angry; why was it that someone always seemed to be making things difficult for her?

Yu Meng gave Jing Liu and Mi Ying a direct order to investigate all the forces that were hunting down Jing Ancheng, as she was going to pay them a visit.

When Niannian found out about this, her eyes lit up. "Fourth Sister, let Third Brother go. He likes to associate with rich people. Liu Wei's men also like to pick up bargains. Let them go together."

Yu Meng glanced at her. "You didn't want to go?"

Niannian straightened her back. "I've made Fourth Sister so angry, how can I stay at home? I have to go!"

Yu Meng: "Then let's do it together."

Niannian hesitated, then asked softly, "Fourth Sister, what will happen to the treasures in the yard after we leave?"

Yu Meng tapped her forehead with her finger. "They're just two stones, they're not that precious. Besides, do you think Jingyi and Jingwu are just decorations?"

"Fourth Sister, aren't you afraid they'll steal from us?"

Yu Meng tightened her grip, "Why do you blurt out everything? Jingyi was among the first members of the sect; their loyalty is beyond question."

"I'm just afraid that something might happen and delay Fourth Sister's plans."

"It's alright, the little black cat will stay."

……

Yu Meng met Jing Ancheng in a dilapidated mud house.

He lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), his face completely pale. One of his teammates was taking care of him inside; when he saw Yu Meng enter, his eyes instantly welled up with tears. "Teacher Yu, you've come."

Yu Meng waved her hand, and Qian Chuan, who had followed, immediately got to work.

"Didn't someone give you a safety warning? How come you're still in such a bad situation?"

The team member covered his eyes. "Someone was bribed and leaked our location. They even mentioned you. The captain panicked and that's why we accidentally revealed our location."

"Why are you dragging me into this?"

The team member lowered his head. "He told those people that we were followers of Teacher Yu. And Teacher Yu is very talented."

Niannian stomped her feet in anger, "How could none of you have noticed such a scumbag?"

The team member lowered his head and said, "We've been together for five years, and I've never doubted him. Many times, he risked his life to save his teammates."

"Didn't you ask him why he betrayed you?"

"I asked him, but he didn't say anything. He just said sorry, and then he committed suicide."

"He's dead!" Nian Nian cried out in shock.

"Fourth sister, this is troublesome."

Yu Meng glanced at Niannian. "Are we here to investigate a case? Or to find out why he betrayed us?"

Niannian choked for a moment. "Of course not."

"That's settled then. If anyone dares to lay a hand on me, I'll chop it off. I don't care what the reason is."

"Teacher Yu," Qian Chuan called out from the other end. "He's just lost too much blood and is too exhausted."

"That means he's out of danger," Niannian asked, turning her head.

"He's not in mortal danger, but he lost a lot of blood. I don't know if his brain will be affected when he wakes up," Qian Chuan slowly finished speaking.

"You mean he'll become stupid?" Niannian asked again.

"I didn't say he'd be stupid, I said he'd be affected a bit."

"You're so picky about these words, no wonder you're a doctor," she muttered to herself.

"This is a necessary professional quality. We can only give a general idea. We won't go into specifics because no one knows what unexpected things might happen," Qian Chuan explained calmly.

"Alright, as long as he's not dead, let him take revenge himself later," Yu Meng said with a smile.

Upon hearing that Jing Ancheng wouldn't die, the team member immediately bowed to Yu Meng, saying, "Thank you, Teacher Yu."

Yu Meng looked at him again. "How many of you are left?"

"Including the captain, there are eight people."

"Did all of this happen this time?" Yu Meng asked again.

"Yes, they shielded the captain with their bodies to save him," the team member whispered.

"Then we must properly compensate them."

"We are all orphans adopted by the Jing family. We have no family or brothers."

"Is Jing Ancheng one too?"

The team member shook his head. "Neither the captain nor the vice-captain, but they are just collateral branches of the Jing family."

"Well, this time it's the Jing family that has dragged you down."

"No. We are all children raised by the Jing family, so it is only right that we serve the Jing family."

"Where is everyone else?" Niannian looked around but didn't see anyone else.

"We went out to find medicine and also to find a contact to send the message out." The team members didn't hide anything.

"The rest of the Kagami family?"

The team member nodded.

Niannian was very excited, "There are many more people in the Jing family?"

"There aren't many left. Too many people are arresting us, and it happened so suddenly that many people were arrested before they even had time to react."

Yu Meng frowned. "What will happen to the people who are arrested? Will they be tortured or forced to confess?"

Jing Ancheng, who was lying down, spoke up, "Teacher Yu, you've arrived. They will be imprisoned and forced into hard labor until they die."

"Mining?" Yu Meng muttered.

"What did you send me here to say?" Yu Meng asked directly when she saw that the person in question was awake.

"Teacher Yu, I have the Jing family's token here. As long as you are willing to save them, the Jing family will follow your lead from now on."

Yu Meng laughed, "You're smart enough not to do anything that doesn't make you money. But I don't need any people right now."

"I know Teacher Yu doesn't need more people. But what I can offer is not just the Jing family, but also three mines." At this point, Jing Ancheng's breathing became rapid.

Without hesitation, Qian Chuan poured a vial of medicine directly into Jing Ancheng's mouth. Then he slowly said, "You're still in a dangerous period, so don't let your emotions fluctuate too much."

Niannian's eyes widened. Jing Ancheng said that if they saved people, he would give them three more mines. Were they going to become rich?

Thinking about it, she interjected, "So, how many people do we need to save?"

"As long as they're from the Jing family, I'll save them," Jing Ancheng said, panting.

Hearing this, Niannian became a little unhappy. "Who knows how many people are left in your Jing family? Are we supposed to save those people raised by the Jing family too?"

Jing Ancheng remained silent for a long time. Niannian and Yu Meng thought he wouldn't say anything more and were about to refuse.

"It depends on your mood. But the people trained by the Jing family are all elites, so you won't lose out by saving them." Although she said it was up to them to do whatever they wanted, she still mentioned the value of the people trained by the Jing family in the last sentence.

"We can't save people for nothing, can we? How much are you going to pay us to hire them?" Niannian stared at Jing Ancheng with shining eyes.

When Jing Ancheng was in Jingchuan, he knew that Teacher Niannian was greedy, but he didn't expect her to be this greedy. The Jing family had already given her to Teacher Yu, yet she still made them pay for her own wages.

Seeing that Jing Ancheng ignored her, Niannian turned to Yu Meng. "Fourth Sister, we contributed our time and effort, so it's reasonable for us to ask for some compensation, right?"

Everyone looked at Yu Meng, and surprisingly, Yu Meng nodded. "That makes sense; there's no reason for all the work to be wasted."

Qian Chuan lowered his head, his thoughts turning to Yu Meng, which he saw as boundless tolerance and agreement. These people were still waiting for Yu Meng to speak; it was unclear what they were thinking.