Mistakenly Connected to the Jade Flower Branch

Chapter 39 Return

Along the way, we encountered many fishing boats and cargo ships. Some people spied on us, while others followed us, but no one stopped us. With favorable winds and currents, we arrived at Yingzhou Jiangxinzhou Island in the afternoon of the second day.

Zhou Yan from Jiangxinzhou had already received the report and, without saying a word, directly welcomed them from the dock to the west courtyard.

Qin Jiu quickly asked Zhou Yan to arrange a place for them to rest: "We'll rest here today and go back tomorrow morning. Brother Zhou, could you please find a place for the brothers to rest? They're all exhausted."

Zhou Yan quickly instructed, "Pumpkin, take the gang leader to her original room."

Nianyao's face was pale and exhausted, her posture seemingly upright but actually stiff, as she followed Nangua.

Zhou Yan continued, "Xigua, bring out the upper rooms for the boat captain and council members to stay in. Sigua, take the brothers to the third and fourth villages..."

The West Wing of Jiangxinzhou always had a suite for the old gang leader and Nianyao. Nianyao knew the way well, stepped in, closed the door behind her, and then slid down against the door, looking exhausted and weary.

After traveling thousands of miles by water day and night, the dust has finally settled.

Zhou Yan pulled Qin Jiu aside and asked in a low voice, "What are the arrangements for Doctor Luo? What about him and the gang leader..."

Qin Jiu interrupted him: "Brother Zhou, they are a legally married couple who have gone through a proper wedding ceremony."

Zhou Yan understood immediately and personally led Luo An to the suite: "Dr. Luo, you must be tired from traveling all night. Please get some rest. I won't disturb you any longer."

Zhou Yan left as soon as he finished speaking, his steps quick. Luo An waited until he was far away before reaching out to push the door open. The door was heavy, as if something was blocking it. Nian Yao shouldn't have been wary of him at all; she shouldn't have blocked the door.

Luo An had an idea. He gently slid the door open about a foot wide. He stepped inside and looked down to see Nian Yao sitting on the floor by the door.

Luo An gently closed the door. Nian Yao, having lost her support, leaned back slightly. Sensing danger in her dream, she leaned forward again, grabbing his leg and hugging it tightly. She then rested her face against his leg, rubbing against him like a cat, and groggily called out, "Father..."

He was just asleep, not unconscious? Luo An sighed. What did he do to deserve being a father to an eighteen-year-old girl at the age of twenty?

Luo An slowly squatted down, looking at Nian Yao's exhausted face. She was truly too tired. She had been suffering from insomnia since she left, for no apparent reason. She had sat in her room all night last night, and now she finally couldn't hold on any longer.

Luo An picked her up and put her on the bed, then pulled the blanket over her.

Nanfei gently pushed open the door and peeked in, only to see Luo An sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at Nianyao. Nanfei watched for a moment, then withdrew his head and quietly closed the door.

Nanfei was walking towards the garden when he heard Luo An call out to him from behind: "Nanfei."

Nan Fei stood there, somewhat hesitant. Luo An walked up behind him: "What's wrong?"

Nan Fei turned around, his eyes darting around: "Young Master, you...you..."

When Nanfei didn't come out, Luo An raised an eyebrow slightly.

Nanfei pulled him aside and lowered his voice: "Young Master, don't you think something's fishy? Ji Kongming is still young and inexperienced. Even if he dared to attack the Xue Gang, he wouldn't dare to attack us. Besides, if he really wanted to make a move, it would be more convenient for him to do so in Yuezhou. Why would he wait until we left to resort to underhanded tactics?"

Luo An nodded.

Nanfei said, "I guess he invited Chief Xue for two reasons: first, to humiliate her and avenge the old chief from the shame of marrying her off to another man; second, to announce to everyone that Chief Xue took the initiative to visit him, which shows that she is an incompetent and irresponsible leader, thus undermining the confidence of the Dahe Gang in stabilizing the Jinhe Gang brothers."

Luo An continued to nod.

Nanfei added, "Uncle Liu is the pillar of the Great River Gang. If Ji Kongming really dares to kill Chief Xue, Uncle Liu will kill him before he even gets started. Ji Kongming is a smart man and won't do something so foolish."

Luo An said, "I'm done."

Nanfei leaned close to his ear: "Erhu told me that the hole in the bottom of the cabin looks like it was opened from the inside out. The marks are very new, but not exactly like when it was first opened."

Luo An was quite surprised and thought for a moment: "What did Qin Jiu say?"

Nanfei said, "I didn't tell him."

Luo An asked, "You suspect him?"

Qin Jiu happened to walk over: "Young Master, Nan Fei, why don't you rest for a while?"

Nanfei said aggrievedly, "Ninth Brother, Dongyang Xiyue City is just north of Jiangxinzhou Island, could you...?"

Qin Jiu yawned loudly: "I'm so sleepy, I'm going to take a nap. You guys can chat."

After Qin Jiu had walked a distance, Nan Fei said, "Young Master, the truth is still unclear, and everyone is a suspect. The Great River Gang is in a much muddier place than you think..."

Luo An said, "I understand."

"That's it?" Nan Fei asked anxiously, "Young Master, don't you prefer peace and quiet and dislike meddling in other people's business? You're not planning to leave the Great River Gang like this?"

Luo An remained silent.

Nanfei circled him once, then stood before him again: "Young Master, you can get married without discussing it with me, after all, we can leave at any time. I know your marriage is fake, and others either don't know or pretend not to know. Your status as the son-in-law is a crime against your own possession. Now... now..."

Luo An said calmly, "What's the rush?"

Nan Fei said, "Why do you think I'm in such a hurry? We're outnumbered and outmatched. If anything happens to you or you get taken hostage, not only will my life be in danger, but the entire Nan family won't be able to compensate for it."

Luo An remained calm and unhurried, seemingly completely unconcerned.

Nan Fei huffed, "I'm sleepy, time for a nap."

Nanfei took two steps and turned back, seeing a faint smile on Luo An's lips. Nanfei swallowed his words, turned around, and went into the next room.

For no apparent reason, why would the young master have feelings for Nianyao? When did this happen?

Luo An, who usually takes a nap during his regular day, was surprisingly not sleepy, so he simply sat by the window and read a book.

Nianyao slept soundly and peacefully without any nightmares.

Nianyao slowly opened her eyes, a faint light filtering through the curtains. She had slept for too long and was still groggy when she woke up, lying there with her eyes open...

Footsteps sounded outside the curtains, someone opened the door, said something to the outside, and then closed the door. Was someone in her room? Nianyao wasn't startled. She slowly turned her head and vaguely saw someone return from the doorway to the window.

Nianyao hadn't had such a sound sleep in a long time. Her whole body felt weak and she didn't want to move at all. She just stared blankly out of the tent with her head turned to the side.

Soon there was a knock at the door, and the person by the window got up to open it. A breeze blew in from the doorway, and the aroma of food instantly filled the entire room.

Nianyao's stomach immediately started growling loudly; she was so hungry...

Nianyao sat up abruptly and lifted the tent flap: "I want to eat so much, so much, so much..."

Tiger was setting the food on the table when he heard this and laughed, "Boss, there's so much, so much, so much..."

Nianyao jumped off the bed, pounced on the table, and stuffed a piece of each dish into her mouth. Her mouth bulged like a frog's, and as she chewed with difficulty, carrot shreds fell from the corners of her mouth.

Tiger couldn't stand it. If even someone like him couldn't stand it, then...

Tiger glanced at Luo An, who was sitting by the window, engrossed in reading.

Tiger frowned: "Boss, eat slowly... Doctor Luo is here... Don't frighten him..."

Tiger spoke very softly, afraid of disturbing Luo An. Nianyao couldn't open her mouth, so she waved him away.

Tiger shook his head and left. How could Qin Jiu have the nerve to talk to Nan Fei about a perfect match in terms of talent, appearance, and social standing? They weren't even compatible just by looking at their meals.