250 Reaching An Agreement

They talked about the small booklet after that. Qing Xi insisted on not questioning anything in it. Mo Ruyue explained it to her one by one and did not seem to be impatient.

When Mo Ruyue was about to leave, Qing Xi called her back again. After hesitating a few times, she only said two words, “Thank you”.

“As long as you can get healthy again, that’s the best way to thank me. Alright, you should rest well. We’ll meet again.”

After Mo Ruyue finished speaking, she walked away. Qing Xi watched as her back was blocked by the door and did not look away.

!!

“Lady Qin, our master is waiting for you in the study of the main courtyard.”

Mo Ruyue had just walked to the entrance of the courtyard when she saw a young man standing at the moon gate waiting. As soon as he saw her, he immediately saluted and talked to her respectfully.

This person was Duanmu Xize’s secret guard, but he was dressed as an attendant. It was not the first time Mo Ruyue had seen him.

She had already guessed that Duanmu Xize had something to say to her, so she only nodded slightly and followed behind him.

It was also Mo Ruyue’s second time coming to the main courtyard’s study room. The last time was for Qing Xi’s surgery. She had come to talk to the magistrate personally.

She just didn’t know what kind of conversation they would have this time.

“Lady Qin, what do you think about my proposal just now?”

Duanmu Xize leaned forward and crossed his fingers as he asked Mo Ruyue.

It could be seen from his subtle movements that he was extremely eager to answer this question. It was equivalent to telling Mo Ruyue that the initiative was in her hands now.

“Master Duanmu, did I not make myself clear just now?”

Mo Ruyue raised an eyebrow. She thought that she had explained it very clearly, but it was obvious that Duanmu Xize was not willing to accept this answer.

“Lady Qin, I still hope that you can consider it carefully and then give me an answer. I think you will be staying in Ping City for a while.”

His words immediately made Mo Ruyue understand one thing, and then he asked back meaningfully, “It seems that Master Duanmu has already made arrangements. I have to stay even if I don’t want to, right?”

“Haha, Lady Qin is indeed a smart person. It’s only interesting to deal with smart people. So, does Lady Qin want to seriously consider this official’s proposal?”

Duanmu Xize’s ultimate goal was still to use Mo Ruyue, so he could still be said to be friendly until now. But if she continued to be so unappreciative, he might not be so easy to talk to.

In her previous life, Mo Ruyue was forced to have blood on her hands for the first time when she was six years old. She completed her first mission on her own when she was nine years old. From then on, she had never been controlled by anyone. Even the purgatory-like life at that time could not make her bow her head, let alone now.

She smiled faintly and said, “Master Duanmu, although I’m just a commoner in your eyes, I’m not someone you can do whatever you want to me. What you know of my abilities now is only the tip of the iceberg. Master Duanmu, you’re a smart man, so I don’t think I need to say too much, right?”

Duanmu Xize’s face instantly darkened. He stared at Mo Ruyue and coldly said, “You’re threatening me?”

“If Master Duanmu did not threaten me, why would he think that my words are a threat?”

Mo Ruyue returned his gaze without hesitation. There was no evasion in her eyes, nor was there any timidity. It was as if she did not care about Duanmu Xize’s identity at all.

“Lady Qin, I advise you not to think so highly of yourself. Even if you have the ability to fly in the sky and burrow underground, aren’t you afraid of implicating the people around you?”

Duanmu Xize still refused to back down.

With his status as a magistrate, he was actually threatened by a commoner widow. If this were to spread, wouldn’t he become a laughingstock?

Mo Ruyue shook her head. She had originally thought that Duanmu Xize was a smart person. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to climb to his current position. But now, it seemed that although he was a little smart, he had already been blinded by his supreme power and was a little too superstitious about his power.

However, she believed that in order to protect his authority, Duanmu Xize might do something irrational in front of her. So, she needed to make him more clear-headed.

“Master Duanmu, you’re using the people around me as a weakness to threaten me. Don’t you have any weaknesses? If I were to become a carefree and fearless person, I’m afraid that the person I’d be afraid of would be you, Master Duanmu.”

“Master and I didn’t need to go that far. We had more cooperation to begin with. Are you really going to take that unnecessary path just for a temporary dispute?”

Mo Ruyue’s words were not the most unpleasant, but they still made Duanmu Xize’s expression turn even uglier.

It wasn’t just because he had received such a warning, but also because he had to listen to it.

It was only then that Duanmu Xize remembered that the woman in front of him was skilled in martial arts and was not weak at all.

A cold light flashed in his eyes, and his eyes changed several times. There was a faint killing intent in them, but it was hidden behind a smile in the end.

For a person like Mo Ruyue, who had unfathomable abilities, if he wanted to kill her, he had to hit her in one blow. Otherwise, once she escaped, there would be endless trouble.

From Duanmu Xize’s perspective, it was best to kill talents that he could not control or use as soon as possible to prevent them from becoming his enemies if they were used by others.

Mo Ruyue’s words just now had indeed aroused his killing intent, but he was even less confident that he could kill her in one blow. So, just as Mo Ruyue had said, was it really necessary to take that step?

After some consideration, Duanmu Xize made his choice. What he did not know was that this choice had saved his life.

Mo Ruyue took in all the subtle changes in his expression. If Duanmu Xize really chose to act willfully for the sake of his face, she would not hesitate to strike first.

Of course, she wouldn’t choose to act immediately. However, for a top-class assassin with ghostly skills, Mo Ruyue had a hundred ways to make Duanmu Xize die quietly without being suspected.

“Lady Qin, why are we suddenly talking about this? Haha, it’s a misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding.”

Duanmu Xize laughed heartily and took the initiative to adjust the atmosphere.

“You’re Qingqing’s savior, and I can’t even thank you enough. How could I do something ungrateful?”

“Of course I trust Master Duanmu’s character, but his sense of humor is really poor.”

Mo Ruyue said half of her sentence and used a smile to cover up the second half.

The two sides seemed to have reached an agreement and no longer talked about this topic.

“In this case, I will send the agreed consultation fee to Huichun Hall without a single cent missing. Also, the ores that Lady Qin needs, after all, are some eye-catching things. So, I will see if Lady Qin can find a suitable place to receive them, and then I will send people to deliver them.”