Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess

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"Little—Jiang!"

Having left Antai Street, the trio was halfway to their destination when a deliberately drawn-out voice suddenly echoed from the end of the street.

Jiang Shouzhong looked up.

Two familiar figures were standing not far away.

One was a handsome young man in white garments, appearing debonair yet with a touch of evil charm in his eyebrows, smiling as he gazed at him.

His companion was a big man clad in black, tall in stature.

Before Jiang Shouzhong could respond, the man in white quickly approached, threw his arms around him in a warm embrace like a close friend, and jovially pounded on Jiang Shouzhong's chest,

"Haven't seen you for days, heard you got nabbed by a demon. How are you, need me to get you a coffin?"

The man in white was called Nalan Xie.

Hall Master of the Iron Cloth Hall of the Liushan Division.

The man in black was his subordinate, named Shi Yi.

With a quite high cultivation, he was at the Grandmaster Realm.

Jiang Shouzhong frowned, discreetly pushing the other away, "I'm fine, not going to die."

He held no fondness for the man before him.

Even though the man greeted everyone with a smile every day, Jiang Shouzhong always felt an uncomfortable evil aura about him.

Last time, Li Nanshuang interfered when he tried to poach Jiang Shouzhong for the Iron Cloth Hall.

"That's really too bad."

Nalan Xie's face showed regret, then he burst into hearty laughter, "Just kidding, it's good you're fine. If you need any help, just come to me."

Jiang Shouzhong nodded.

Nalan Xie also greeted Lu Renjia, and when he turned to Zhang Yunwu, he couldn't hide his envy,

"Mr. Zhang, you're truly blessed—to have charmed away one of Dongping Street's renowned beauties, Ms. Wei, and even gained an adorable daughter for free. Never realized you had it in you, impressive!"

The young man named Nalan Xie extended his thumb in approval.

He heartily clapped Zhang Yunwu on his sturdy shoulders, kindly reminding,

"But you should be careful recently, heard that there were a few girls gone missing in the Capital. According to the Dark Guard Department, it seems someone is conducting experiments using a particular type of Demon Energy in secret.

"You must keep an eye on your adorable daughter; we who serve have even more responsibility to protect our families—there have been too many grisly lessons."

Zhang Yunwu kept a stern face, silent.

He didn't like this man at all, feeling like he was a snake draped in a smiling face.

"Alright, I've got things to do, won't chat more with you guys."

Indifferent to their coldness, Nalan Xie persisted, "Another day I'll treat you guys to a drink, bring your supervisors too. We are all colleagues; we should help each other out in our daily lives."

After saying this, he left with his subordinate.

Once the trio was at a distance, Nalan Xie turned back to glance at Jiang Shouzhong and remarked admiringly,

"Truly a young, genteel, and graceful gentleman—how does that saying go? 'His looks rival the splendor of spring and the bounty of autumn, his posture equals the clouds of summer and the snow of winter—without peer in this world.'"

"Too bad my mother died early; otherwise, I would definitely have slain my father and had my mother marry him—what a pity..."

Nalan Xie shook his head, his face filled with regret.

Nalan Xie cast a sidelong glance at his subordinate, "Decided on which leg to break yet?"

Shi Yi replied coldly, "The koi the Young Master took so much care to raise was killed by him; breaking just one leg is too lenient—tonight I will take both of his legs."

"Look at you, why be so violent?"

Nalan Xie said with mild displeasure, "Since we've decided to break only one leg, don't make it a buy one get one free deal. Got it? Keep your word. Pick which leg and decide tonight."

"Understood."

Shi Yi grinned sinisterly, his gaze fierce.

Stretching languidly, Nalan Xie suddenly snapped his fingers, "Suddenly feeling much better. Come on, let's go shopping, we're dining out today."

...

The two first visited the medicine shop to purchase several prescriptions of medicinal herbs, then went to the market to buy some fruits and vegetables, followed by a few boxes of rouge from a store, and finally arrived at a small, somewhat secluded noodle shop.

The noodle shop owner was a middle-aged man with a limp, his face kind and honest.

Seeing Nalan Xie appear at the entrance, the noodle shop owner—who was greeting customers—was overjoyed. He vigorously wiped his hands on his apron and hurried to greet him, "Young Master Nalan, it's been quite a few days since your last visit, just a moment ago Que'er was still mentioning you."

Gently patting the flour off the man's shoulders, Nalan Xie asked warmly with a beaming, innocent smile, "Mr. Zhang, how's business recently?"

"Not bad nor good, just earning a little money."

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The noodle shop owner said with a naive smile,

The owner of the noodle shop was named Zhang Ashun, originally from Xiangzhou. Due to disaster striking his hometown, he fled the famine and finally came to the Capital to make a living.

His luck wasn't too bad, having saved some capital, he managed to open a small noodle shop.

He married a wife and had two daughters.

Unfortunately, his eldest daughter suddenly disappeared two years ago when she went out. Later, they found out she had been trafficked to the beggar gang's Soul Dispersion Den.

The so-called "Soul Dispersion Den" was an underground dungeon city.

The tunnels were extensive and interconnected like a spider web, and those unfamiliar with its layout would inevitably get lost if they rashly entered. Once someone was taken there, even the officials were helpless.

In the end, it was this young master Nalan who, out of righteousness, risked his life to bring his eldest daughter out.

Although his daughter was ruined and dead, at least there was a body to be buried in peace, not having to resort to placing only two sets of clothes in the coffin during the funeral.

For the honest and simple Zhang Ashun, compared to those indifferent officials, this young master before him was the Zhang family's great benefactor.

Especially since he would occasionally come to look after his business and bring gifts.

He was truly grateful to him from the bottom of his heart.

Nalan Xie patted his shoulder, consoling in a soft voice, "Wealth and rank are not my wish, only peace is truly precious. Sometimes, great wealth and high rank are not necessarily good things."

"Exactly, exactly."

The noodle shop owner nodded vigorously.

Nalan Xie put the fruits and vegetables he bought on the table and asked, "Where's that girl Que'er?"

"That girl can't stay still. She doesn't help out in her own shop but insists on going to Ms. Lin's bun shop on Dongping Street to learn the trade," said Zhang Ashun helplessly. "Young master, should I get the clerk to call her over?"

"No need, no need, I just came to eat something casually and then I'll go," replied Nalan Xie.

Nalan Xie waved his hand, placing the medicinal herbs he had bought into Zhang Ashun's arms,

"Mr. Zhang, these medicines are for your wife. In some days, I heard that a Divine Doctor from the Western Regions will come to the Capital. I will try my luck then, see if I can ask him to come and take a look at your wife's illness."

Zhang Ashun was tearfully grateful, grasping Nalan Xie's arm and sobbing, "Young Master Nalan, you really are a good person."

The handsome young man said with a face full of remorse, "This is what I ought to do. I failed to save your daughter back then, it was my dereliction of duty. If only I had been a little earlier..."

"No, no, it has nothing to do with the young master. We are already very grateful that you could lend a hand. It was all Yuer's fate..."

Zhang Ashun wiped away tears.

Remembering his ill-fated eldest daughter, the man felt a deep sorrow in his heart.

...

The two entered a private room with good sound insulation. Zhang Ashun poured the shop's best tea leaves, then went to the kitchen to cook noodles.

After the man hobbled away, Nalan Xie let out a sigh and said in a low voice filled with self-reproach to his subordinate Shi Yi, "Tell me, if I hadn't gotten tired of that girl after playing with her and hadn't sold her to those beggars, allowing their family to be reunited, would I feel a bit better about this?"

Shi Yi just smiled, offering no response.

The noodle shop owner's eldest daughter had fallen for the young master after he rescued her from street thugs harassing her, even naively thinking of eloping with him in the end.

But after the young master grew tired of her, he directly threw her to those beggars.

Of course, he also took his share of the spoils.

To this day, he often reminisces about the girl's cries and struggles, still remembering how she had clutched the purse she had spent half a month embroidering for the young master.

Thinking of this, Shi Yi chuckled softly and said, "Mr. Zhang's second daughter is getting more and more attractive."

Hearing this, Nalan Xie's expression darkened, and he snapped in a lowered voice,

"Do you think I'm an animal!? That girl is only thirteen years old! The gods are watching from three feet above! Doing too many bad deeds will get you struck by lightning, understand!? People should do more good deeds!"

Shi Yi looked embarrassed.

Nalan Xie suddenly laughed, caressing his slightly stubbled chin and murmuring, "Indeed, she is much prettier than her sister, especially that little waist, tsk tsk, truly embodies the phrase 'waist twisting like catkins in the breeze', must be delightful to hold."

He slapped his hands on the table as if making a great decision, his tone serious, "How about this then, if Mr. Zhang puts green onions in our noodles later, after I'm done with some things in a few days, I'll take that girl and then give her to you."

Shi Yi's eyes lit up, his heart heating up.

That delicate little body probably couldn't withstand his rough handling for long.

Being the benefactors, the service was indeed fast. In just the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Zhang Ashun brought over two steaming bowls of hot noodles.

In the noodles, there were no green onions.

Nalan Xie's gaze darkened, his chin rested in his hand as he pondered.

Zhang Ashun said with a simple smile, "Knowing that you don't like green onions, young master, I didn't add any."

Looking at the ample slices of beef in the bowl, Nalan Xie smiled lightly, "I don't eat beef."