Not following the expected path? Reborn and unexpectedly married to a demon.

“It’s my elder brother. He calculated the location of Qinglou Alley and figured out two places you were most likely to pass through when you were being chased. So I had someone buy both places and build hidden doors there.”

Wang Youshi explained that his eyes revealed his undisguised trust and admiration for Mu Jintang.

Chu Luo was astonished. "There are countless houses and crisscrossing streets and alleys around Qinglou. I have many ways to escape. Even though I am familiar with these places, I don't know where I will definitely pass through. How did he calculate that?"

He even pinpointed which wall was in both locations. Mr. Mu doesn't seem to be from Jiangzhou. How could he be so amazing?

Wang Youshi explained, "This is also one of my older brother's skills—he rarely makes mistakes."

Chu Luo finally understood why Mu Jintang was the older brother of the two of them. He was low-key, calm, and had a scholarly air about him. Besides his calm demeanor, what was even more impressive was his meticulous calculations.

Xiao Yuanyi spoke up, "Young Master Hui, please consider our request. I hope for a positive outcome next time we meet."

Chu Luo truly had no intention of reappearing under the name of Hidden Mountain. "How did you know I would reappear?"

"Don't worry, with my older brother here, we will definitely meet again," Wang Youshi said with certainty.

Xiao Yuanyi handed her a jade pendant. "This is something you can use to contact us. Just go to any jewelry store and show this pendant, and you'll be able to find us, or at least my older brother. Even if you don't see us, you can still withdraw money at will."

Chu Luo initially refused, but hesitated when Xiao Yuanyi suggested that the jade pendant could also be used to find Mu Jintang.

Wang Youshi advised, "Young master, we will meet again eventually. With this jade token, you can have the upper hand."

Chu Luo thought for a moment, then reached out and took it.

By the time she left their courtyard, it was completely dark. Chu Luo deliberately chose the right time to leave, making it easier for her to escape.

She quickly changed back into Chu Luo's women's clothing at an alley entrance, while the streets remained bustling with activity.

The Regent's men were examining each of the portraits of Yinshan one by one. She knew that if she delayed any longer, the Jin family would probably find out that she had sneaked out and hadn't returned home by nightfall.

She was about to take a detour when she heard several men deep in the alley swearing and occasionally making sounds of punching and kicking.

Chu Luo was very familiar with the dull thud of the blow; it was the same sound Chu Yinmei made when he had people beat her.

Chu Luo hesitated, wondering whether she should go in and take a look. From what those people were saying, she knew that the person who had been beaten was probably a woman, and that something even more disgusting would happen after the beating.

Chu Luo knew she couldn't afford to cause any more trouble. She wasn't sure she could fight those people alone, and besides, her wounds had been reopened from running away.

She shook her head and walked out of the alley, but she hadn't taken three steps.

She couldn't bear it, nor could she convince herself otherwise; she still couldn't stand idly by. So she picked up a stick from the side and slowly crept inside.

Squatting down beside a pile of junk, she saw five burly men punching and kicking a thin woman. The woman endured the beating without uttering a sound, perhaps because she had lost her voice.

"This woman is incredibly resilient; it'll be more fun to beat her into submission first."

"It's a bit hard to eat because the face is all smudged."

"We'll cover our faces while we work; it'll do in the dark."

"Yes, going to a brothel costs money. Wouldn't it be a bargain for us to be thrown into a beggar's den?"

Chu Luo took out the sleeping incense from her bosom and lit it, but there was no wind in the alley, and it didn't have any effect on the burly men even after a long time.

Chu Luo saw that those men had already torn off the woman's clothes. If they didn't fall for it soon, the woman would definitely suffer.

"Cough cough," Chu Luo made a sound to lure them over.

The two hurried over and were overjoyed to see Chu Luo. "My goodness, what's going on tonight? There's actually a celestial being descended to earth here!"

The other three people rushed over upon hearing this, and were overjoyed to see the alluring woman squatting on the ground with a beaming smile.

"Are you a fairy?"

Chu Luo nodded. "I am a newly transformed fox spirit who has come to the mortal realm to seek my destiny."

The five of them drooled all over the place, extremely excited.

"Oh fairy, you've taken a liking to us! Is there anything we can do for you?"

"If I take your lives, would you be willing to serve me?" After saying that, Chu Luo waved her hand in front of the five men's eyes, and they all went weak and collapsed.

Chu Luo rushed to the woman's side and saw that the woman's face was slashed and bloody, her clothes were torn to shreds, and she had many new and old wounds on her body.

These scars were shocking to her. She hadn't found them so frightening when they were on her own body, but seeing others suffer the same fate made her feel extremely sorry for them.

Chu Luo squatted down and put on her tattered clothes one by one, but the clothes were torn too badly to cover her body, so Chu Luo had to take off her own outer garment and put it on her.

She went to the group of unconscious men and made a cut on each of their hands with a snake-mouth dagger.

After everything was done, she dragged the woman to the alley entrance, found a carriage, and took the woman to her rented courtyard.

Chu Luo quickly fetched water and skillfully cleaned and applied medicine to her wound. After applying the medicine, she helped her change into her own clothes.

Women always value their appearance, and Chu Luo looked at the woman's face with pity, fearing that she wouldn't be able to bear it when she woke up. After applying the medicine, she tied a veil around her neck.

"You absolutely mustn't do anything rash," Chu Luo sighed.

Before leaving, still feeling uneasy, she fed the woman a few sleeping pills that Shen Chen had given her. The amount of medicine was enough for the woman to sleep until the afternoon of the next day, so she could be more at ease watching her wake up.

When Chu Luo quietly and stealthily returned to the Jin family home, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the guards hadn't noticed her.

Turning his head, he saw Jin Wuchen in the pavilion in the courtyard.

He rarely stays overnight at the Jin residence, so I don't know why he's still there now.

"Come here," he said, and Chu Luo had no choice but to walk over.

Jin Wuchen looked up and asked, "Where did you go? Why are you only coming back now? And what's wrong with your clothes?"

Jin Wuchen's question didn't stop his work; the rabbit he was roasting was already golden brown and crispy, with an irresistible aroma.

Standing to the side, trembling with fear, Xingzhu also wanted to know why she hadn't known the young mistress had gone out, even though she had been watching over her.

Not only did the young mistress return so late, but her outer garment was also quite dirty and wrinkled.

"My elder sister from my maternal family called me out, but forbade me to bring any maids, so I went secretly."

"Was it because she made things difficult for you that you came back so late? Did she hurt you anywhere?" Xingzhu hurriedly came over and looked Chu Luo up and down to see if she was injured.

Chu Luo said, "It's nothing, she was just in a bad mood and venting to me."

As Jin Wuchen took the rabbit off the pole, he said, "If you're just scolding me, how come the wound on your waist has reopened?"

Upon hearing that Chu Luo's wound had reopened, Xingzhu was extremely worried. "Really? The young mistress's wound has really reopened?"

"Don't believe me? Ask her."

Chu Luo, unsure whether Jin Wuchen could see inside her clothes, quickly tugged at her own clothes.

Seeing her actions, Jin Wuchen knew he was right.