Lord Tang had been waiting at the entrance of the Tang Mansion, and when he saw him, he’d assumed he was his son-in-law.

He had come right up, calling him "virtuous son-in-law" over and over, his attitude so earnest.

But from the man’s own words, it was clear that the two of them—father-in-law and son-in-law—had never met.

A case of mistaken identity was, therefore, reasonable.

But now... ’Why is Tang Huayi calling me brother-in-law, too?’

’It’s one thing for a single person to make a mistake, but for two people to misidentify a complete stranger... That’s hard to explain.’

Jiang Ran turned his head stiffly and glanced at Tang Huayi.

"What... did you call me?"

"Brother-in-law."

Tang Huayi said with a smile:

"Will you teach me martial arts? I heard everything just now. All those people from the Qinghe Gang, and they couldn’t even stop you!

"How on earth did you train your martial arts...?"

Listening to her made Jiang Ran’s head buzz.

"I... wait, do you even know who I am? And you’re calling me brother-in-law?"

"Of course I do."

Tang Huayi nodded repeatedly.

"You’re Jiang Ran, twenty years old this year.

"You’re exceptionally talented, incredibly well-read, handsome, and stand out from the crowd.

"Twenty years ago, your master found you in the snow and took you home. From then on, you two, master and disciple, relied on each other to survive.

"You learned medicine from him, saber techniques, the ways of wining, dining, whoring, and gambling, and the arts of swindling and cheating.

"Oh, right... I heard you never got the hang of the ’whoring’ part. Is that true?"

"..."

Jiang Ran listened silently as Tang Huayi rattled off his life story as if listing her family heirlooms, nearly grinding his molars to dust.

Before this, he had been wondering what on earth that Old Drunkard had done to the Tang family.

What could make the Tang family, a family with such an outstanding reputation, actually detain him?

And to the point where his life was supposedly in danger...

’Now it seems this so-called life-and-death situation was pure fiction!’

’Did that Old Drunkard just use this as an excuse to trick me into coming here to get married?’

’Otherwise, how could Tang Huayi know so much about me?’

’How could she know so many details about my life?’

’If the Old Drunkard didn’t tell her all this, who else could have?’

As Jiang Ran listened to Tang Huayi chattering on like a lark, he couldn’t stop the anger from flaring up inside him.

"Oh, and I heard that when you were fourteen... your master took you to a brothel... Hey, hey, hey... Brother-in-law, slow down, slow down..."

Tang Huayi wanted to say more, but Jiang Ran was already out of patience.

He grabbed her and hurried out of the Qinghe Gang’s headquarters.

Although some of the Qinghe Gang disciples had fled, most of them were still there.

They just hoped that once Jiang Ran left with Tang Huayi, the whole affair would be over.

As the saying goes, there’s safety in numbers. They had shown cowardice in battle, but what else could they do against someone like Jiang Ran?

Now they could only pray that this menace, having rescued the girl, would be in a better mood and leave quickly.

But then they heard footsteps, and when they turned to look, they saw Jiang Ran approaching, radiating a murderous aura.

He seemed even more furious than he was before the rescue.

The group of Qinghe Gang disciples stared at each other in dismay, certain that this time they were truly finished, that their doom was inescapable.

But Jiang Ran didn’t even spare them a glance, leading Tang Huayi straight to Lord Tang.

Lord Tang asked Tang Huayi a few questions and, learning that she was fine, let out a sigh of relief. He turned to Jiang Ran, his face wreathed in smiles.

"Virtuous son-in-law, what skill."

Jiang Ran’s mouth twitched, and he asked through gritted teeth:

"Where is that old scoundrel now?"

"Eh?"

Lord Tang quickly shook his head.

"Virtuous son-in-law, that’s not right. No matter what, the old man is your master. How can you call him an ’old scoundrel’?

"Come, come, let’s go home first, then we can talk things over slowly."

Hearing this, Jiang Ran’s expression turned even uglier.

’Some master. What kind of master acts like that?’

’I have the Nine Deaths Meridian and I’m about to die, yet he sends a letter to deceive me.’

’What kind of master does things like this?’

But he couldn’t vent this bellyful of grievances on Lord Tang.

After all, this was clearly the Old Drunkard’s handiwork. Lord Tang might even be a victim himself.

At this thought, he paused for a moment before speaking.

"Lord Tang, please be honest with me."

"That old scoundrel... my master... what exactly did he tell you?

"And where did all this talk of marriage come from?"

"I know you have doubts in your heart, virtuous son-in-law."

Lord Tang said with a smile:

"But we are still at the entrance of the Qinghe Gang. This is hardly the place to talk."

Jiang Ran glanced back toward the Qinghe Gang’s headquarters.

He saw the disciples craning their necks to watch him. The moment he turned his head, they shot back like startled rabbits, pulling their heads in and pretending nothing was happening.

Jiang Ran could only sigh.

"Fine. In that case, let’s... go to the Tang Mansion first and get this straightened out."

"Excellent."

Lord Tang laughed heartily.

"Let’s go home."

Without waiting for Jiang Ran’s reaction, he led Tang Huayi and strode forward.

Tang Huayi didn’t forget to turn back and call out to Jiang Ran:

"Brother-in-law, hurry up!"

Jiang Ran watched her, feeling utterly speechless. She was really skipping along, without a trace of the demeanor of a proper young lady.

Just then, Sun Fu bowed deeply.

"Young Master, shall we go?"

In that moment, Jiang Ran truly felt the urge to turn and run...

’It would be easy enough to leave, but then I’d never find out what kind of scheme this Old Drunkard is pulling.’

’Besides, I have to find out where that old scoundrel is now.’

’That old bastard screwed me over this badly. If I don’t drag him out for a sound thrashing, I’ll never be able to quell this burning rage.’

Suppressing his anger, the group finally returned to the Tang family home.

Servants were already waiting at the gate. After all, their trip to the Qinghe Gang to rescue Tang Huayi was no small matter.

Seeing them return, a house servant immediately ran inside to announce their arrival.

After Jiang Ran’s group entered the courtyard, several older women came forward to greet them.

When Tang Huayi saw the dignified lady at the head of the group, she immediately trotted over and threw herself into her arms.

"Mother, I’m back!"

"Are you all right?"

The lady gently stroked Tang Huayi’s hair, her face full of doting affection, her words filled with concern.

"I’m fine."

Tang Huayi said with a laugh:

"You have no idea, Brother-in-law is amazing.

"With just one saber, he charged straight into the Qinghe Gang and cut them down like he was chopping vegetables, scaring the wits out of them.

"Fan Jiwu even knelt right down before him, but Brother-in-law didn’t even glance his way... He was so cool, way more impressive than the heroes in the storybooks!"

"Oh?"

Madam Tang seemed a bit surprised to hear this. She first glanced at Lord Tang, who gave a slight nod.

Only then did she turn to Jiang Ran and say with a smile:

"The old senior was right. A true young hero. You are indeed a worthy match for our Shiqing."

"..."

Jiang Ran hastily waved his hands.

"I don’t dare accept your misplaced praise, Madam. There must be a misunderstanding here.

"To be honest, I’m still completely confused. That old scoundrel... my master... what on earth did he tell you?

"You absolutely must not be deceived by him, and you certainly can’t let this ruin Miss Tang’s life.

"To be perfectly frank, I am afflicted with a terminal illness and don’t have long to live. I am by no means a suitable match for Miss Tang. I implore you, Lord Tang and Madam, to reconsider."