“What did you say!?”

Ji Huai was absolutely furious. He grabbed Old Man by the collar, lifting him up to eye level, and interrogated him word by word: “You’re A Hua’s father?”

Old Man was also stunned by this sudden action. He instinctively covered his head before stammering in admission: “Y-yes, that’s right.”

Ji Huai’s grip on Old Man tightened continuously, his teeth grinding in anger: “You sold A Hua? Did she agree to this?!”

There was no way A Hua would willingly marry. Just a few days ago, she had been telling him how she could keep up with her studies and was ready to learn the Analects.

How could she possibly get married in just a few short days?

A Hua was most afraid of marriage.

What A Hua wanted most to escape was precisely this fate of being sold off and married away!

Raging fury burned from the depths of Ji Huai’s heart, swirling darkness gathering in his eyes. When extreme anger tore away his gentle teacher facade, what revealed itself was uncontrollable wrath.

“You beast! You don’t deserve to be a father!”

With that, Ji Huai threw down the money-grubbing old man and immediately ran after the bridal sedan.

Lin Heyu was equally unwilling to stand by. The same anger spread through his heart. Although he had only been classmates with A Hua for just over a month, he had witnessed firsthand her resilience, endurance, and diligent studiousness. Similarly, Ji Huai liked A Hua very, very much. With his open-hearted nature, Lin Heyu naturally loved what Ji Huai loved, and had long regarded A Hua as his own younger sister to care for.

Being the youngest in his own family with several older brothers and sisters who all doted on him, now that there was a girl he could look after, how could he allow her to be bullied like this?

Ji Huai ran extremely fast, even grabbing a kitchen knife from a stall set up in front of the blacksmith’s shop.

Lin Heyu remained much calmer than Ji Huai. He paid for the knife from behind and quietly picked up a thick wooden stick, hiding it behind his back.

Fortunately, the wedding sedan wasn’t moving quickly, having just turned onto another street. Ji Huai and Lin Heyu ran and chased, finally managing to get ahead of the wedding sedan.

The groom was riding high on success, his tall horse holding its head high proudly, when Ji Huai suddenly dashed out from the shadows, nearly startling the horse. Luckily, Lin Heyu had been prepared and kicked the horse’s head to the side, preventing it from trampling Ji Huai.

Ji Huai himself felt a surge of fear. He had acted recklessly, forgetting this was ancient times. Having never been around horses before, he naturally didn’t know how easily they could be spooked.

Having calmed himself, Ji Huai raised the kitchen knife and pointed it directly at the groom. With Lin Heyu by his side, he felt more confident in his actions.

“Is A Hua in that sedan?”

On the festively decorated street filled with firework debris, the noisy, crowded crowd was instantly silenced. Everyone looked bewildered at Ji Huai, this unexpected intruder, murmuring among themselves.

“Daring to block Wang Teng’s path? Do you have a death wish?”The groom, who was Wang Teng, had fallen awkwardly from his horse.” After getting up, he immediately tried to kick Ji Huai without another word.

Ji Huai nimbly dodged, and the clumsy Wang Teng, who hadn’t been steady on his feet to begin with, ended up tripping over his own momentum and falling to the ground like an overturned turtle, looking utterly ridiculous.

The surrounding spectators burst into roaring laughter, with children pointing at Wang Teng and innocently laughing at him for being a turtle.

Wang Teng was enraged. Struggling to get up, his face twisted fiercely, feeling completely humiliated. But when he saw Lin Heyu standing there, mighty and robust, he abandoned any thought of continuing to pick a fight.

“Who… who are you?!” he blustered with false bravado. The surrounding sedan bearers, matchmaker, and wedding helpers all stared dumbfounded at the scene, frozen in place and unable to react.

Ji Huai’s expression was grim, his face cold and stern as he declared with resounding authority: “I am A Hua’s Teacher, her instructor!”

At that moment, the bridal sedan shook violently. Before the matchmaker could react, a figure stumbled out from the sedan. When everyone got a clear look, they saw a girl tightly bound with ropes.

Her exquisite headpiece sat askew, her hair already disheveled. Tears streamed down her small, palm-sized face, and her mouth was completely gagged. A Hua’s desperate, helpless gaze pierced through the crowd to meet Ji Huai’s eyes. Her damp, frightened-deer expression made Ji Huai’s heart clench painfully.

“A Hua!”

Ji Huai rushed into the crowd, wanting to pull A Hua to safety. But Wang Teng’s servants were no pushovers – what man could tolerate someone snatching his bride right in the street?

The servants quickly gathered around Wang Teng. With this reinforcement, Wang Teng regained his confidence and no longer feared Ji Huai and Lin Heyu. Maliciously grabbing A Hua’s hair, he dragged her close and sneered at Ji Huai: “So you’re her Teacher? So what? This woman’s already been sold to me.”

To emphasize his point, he disgustingly kissed A Hua’s cheek, provoking lewd laughter from the circle of onlookers.

A Hua’s sobs grew more fearful as she struggled desperately but uselessly against her confinement in the scoundrel’s arms.

Fury erupted in Ji Huai, ignited by the rogue Wang Teng’s actions. Without another word, he raised his cleaver and swung at the nearest servant.

Lin Heyu was equally formidable, employing battlefield moves designed to kill. He held nothing back, each strike heavy and vicious.

Wang Teng and his thugs were intimidated by the two men fighting like their lives depended on it, momentarily scattered by their assault.

“Get them! Attack!” Wang Teng shouted while dodging and weaving, forgetting about A Hua in his arms as he pushed her aside to save himself.

Ji Huai’s heart hammered wildly in his chest. As a scholar, he’d never handled weapons like this before. His adrenaline surged terrifyingly, and A Hua’s helpless weeping eyes became his greatest motivation to fight bravely.

Ji Huai pushed through the crowd. The deep black night was torn apart by the red lantern lights lining the street. Dodging clubs and staffs, cloaked in starlight, he ran with determined focus toward A Hua.

Lin Heyu blocked wave after wave of attacks for him, watching from the corner of his eye as Ji Huai approached the pitiful girl.

“Don’t be afraid, A Hua.”

Finally, Ji Huai sheltered A Hua’s thin, small frame in his embrace. His gentle, reassuring voice cut clearly through the chaotic crowd. He removed the cloth gagging her mouth and tried to lead her out of the fighting zone.

With her hands bound, A Hua walked unsteadily. Ji Huai carefully supported her, but failed to notice a sneak attack – a heavy blow struck his arm.

His normally calm fox-like eyes contracted with pain. Staggering, he nearly fell to the ground.

Witnessing this, Lin Heyu felt his anxious heart might leap from his throat.

“Ji Huai!”

Held back by opponents, he couldn’t immediately reach Ji Huai’s side, his mind filled with frantic worry.

Although Ji Huai was a teacher in modern times, he was accustomed to waking up early every day to accompany students for morning classes and exercises, far from being weak. Gritting his teeth, he suppressed the numbness and pain in his arm and kicked away a servant trying to seize A Hua. However, his injured arm inevitably affected his movements, and in a moment of distraction, Wang Teng rushed forward, grabbing A Hua and yanking her backward.

Ji Huai grew frantic. With one arm rendered useless, he watched helplessly as A Hua was being dragged away. At this critical moment, A Hua lunged forward instead.

Tears had long streaked the childish face caked with makeup into a messy blur. Her eyes were red-rimmed, blazing with ferocity as she bared her small, millet-like teeth in a snarl and sank them fiercely into Wang Teng’s hand, which was clutching her.

“Ow !”

Wang Teng howled in pain, but A Hua clamped down stubbornly, refusing to let go despite his hitting and pulling.

In desperation, Ji Huai delivered a brutal kick to Wang Teng’s crotch, successfully incapacitating him.

“Ah ah !”

Wang Teng curled up on the ground, screaming in agony. Meanwhile, Lin Heyu had nearly subdued the surrounding thugs. Ji Huai raised a knife to intimidate the onlookers, glanced down at Wang Teng writhing on the ground, then turned to A Hua, whose mouth was stained with traces of blood. Amid the chaos, he asked her deliberately, word by word, “A Hua, did you agree to this marriage willingly?”

A Hua wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, her gaze resolute and fearless. Looking at Ji Huai, his indigo-blue figure filling her with boundless courage, she straightened her slender back and stood tall amid the disheveled men sprawled on the ground. In a loud, unyielding voice, she shouted, “I do not consent!”

“I do not consent!”

“I do not consent!”

Three consecutive declarations of “I do not consent” reverberated powerfully, ringing clear and firm.

A Hua’s face flushed crimson with emotion, yet her expression grew even more determined. She scanned the surroundings, took Ji Huai’s hand, looked up at him, and declared, “I want to follow Teacher Ji to read, to write, to begin my Initiation of learning, to seek Enlightenment. I will not marry. I refuse to be sold.”

A faint smile touched Ji Huai’s lips as he clasped her hand gently and reassured her, “Don’t be afraid. I will protect you.”

The two figures one tall, one small stood closely together. Lin Heyu, holding a stick, stood silently in the shadows like a steadfast guardian, watching over them with quiet determination.

Ji Huai cast a disdainful glance at the groaning ruffian clutching his legs and spat, “You heard it yourself. A Hua does not consent. I am taking A Hua away. If you want the money her father received for selling his daughter, go demand it from him. If you ever try to abduct an innocent girl again, I will report you to the authorities.”

“Uneducated, good-for-nothing, vile and shameless you embody it all.”

Wang Teng, contorted in pain, seethed with humiliation. Not only had his bride been snatched away on his wedding day, but he had also suffered this disgrace, with half the street witnessing his embarrassing state. Glaring venomously at Ji Huai, he snarled, “Just you wait ”

“Let’s go.” Ignoring the petty threat, Ji Huai took A Hua’s hand and signaled to Lin Heyu with a look. The three of them tacitly stepped over the figures lying on the ground and departed from the festive clamor and red confetti littering the street.

His arm felt somewhat numb, but Ji Huai forced himself to appear unaffected as he comforted A Hua, helping her gradually calm down.

Lin Heyu, however, watched Ji Huai’s injured arm unblinkingly, his eyes flickering with concern.

Quietly, he moved closer to Ji Huai, gently lifting the injured arm to prevent further harm.

Lin Heyu couldn’t help but wonder how badly Ji Huai was injured and whether the medicinal herbs at home would be effective.

The more he thought about it, the more distressed he felt. Gently holding Ji Huai’s wrist, he lowered his head and sighed, “I’m sorry you got hurt.”

Ji Huai found this somewhat puzzling, but upon reflection, he figured Lin Heyu might also be frightened. He clenched his fist, feeling the numbing pain in his arm gradually fading, so he didn’t take it seriously. Instead, he comforted Lin Heyu in return.

“Don’t be afraid either. You and A Hua, neither of you should be afraid.” Ji Huai patted Lin Heyu’s shoulder and then rubbed A Hua’s head, feeling like a worried patriarch.

But fortunately, he was willing to be their patriarch.