Shen Li looked at the five light banknotes in her hand and suddenly felt a pang of bitterness.
Her monthly allowance in the Shen Mansion was only ten taels. She had only heard of such an amount but had never actually received the silver. The money she had now was all subsidized by her elder brother, Shen Yi.
Now that she wanted to go against the Shen clan, this money was far from enough.
In the capital, where every inch of land was extremely valuable, a well - located shop could cost over a thousand taels. Moreover, opening and running a shop later would also require a large amount of money.
If she wanted to squeeze money out of the Shen clan, she had to think of other ways.
On this side, Han Yue returned to the Night Shade Division as if she were walking on familiar ground. According to the rules, she had to report to Shen Yi first. Only after getting his permission could she conduct investigations in the Night Shade Division.
Standing in front of Shen Yi's door, Han Yue paused for a moment before raising her hand and knocking on the door.
"Come in!"
Inside the room, Shen Yi was dealing with matters from various parts of the Night Shade Division. He looked up at the person who came in and put down his pen.
"Han Yue, it's been over a month since you left the Night Shade Division. I haven't seen you come back to have a look! Once you left here, you don't seem to want to come back?" Shen Yi said with a smile, looking at Han Yue who was standing in front of the table.
Han Yue, whose face had always been cold, showed a slight expression and slightly raised the corner of her mouth. "My lord is joking! I've already come here twice this month!"
"Haha! It's true that you've come twice, Han Yue! But if it weren't for Li'er, I'm afraid you wouldn't have come!"
Facing Shen Yi's joke, Han Yue just smiled and didn't say a word.
"What's the matter? What did Li'er ask you to come for this time?"
"Miss asked me to borrow ten thousand taels of silver from my lord!"
"Ten thousand taels?" Shen Yi laughed when he heard this. "This girl must be up to some mischief again!"
After saying that, Shen Yi pressed a certain place on the table, and a small box popped out from the table.
He took out the box, placed it on the table and said, "There are twenty thousand taels of silver here. Take it back to Li'er for me!"
Han Yue picked up the box and was about to turn around and leave when Shen Yi said again, "Han Yue, you don't have to call me 'my lord' anymore. Li'er is my younger sister. I gave you to her. From now on, she will be your only master!"
Han Yue didn't even lift her head. She just stood there silently.
Shen Yi looked at her straight - standing posture and sighed. "Li'er is my family and the one I want to protect. She has an impatient temper and sometimes acts without considering the consequences. She often puts herself in danger. I hope you can stay by her side from now on and protect her well!"
"Don't let me worry!"
Only then did Han Yue look up at him. Her eyes were shining brightly. "I will definitely do my best to protect the miss. My lord can rest assured!"
Shen Yi looked at her helplessly. "Didn't I tell you not to call me 'my lord'?"
"For Han Yue, there is only one lord!"
Shen Yi fell into silence looking at her. "Han Yue, you are just too stubborn. You are unwilling to change and won't bow your head. You will surely suffer in the future!"
Han Yue's eyes, which had been fixed on Shen Yi's chin, suddenly moved up to look into his eyes. She said seriously, "I'm not afraid! Because in Han Yue's heart, all these are worth it!"
Shen Yi turned his head away, avoiding Han Yue's eyes. His tone was a bit harsh. "But some people are not worth your doing this!"
Han Yue just stared at a tile on the ground and didn't say a word.
In Shen Yi's eyes, it was a silent resistance.
Shen Yi took out a bronze medal from the drawer of the table and placed it on the table. "This is the emblem of the Love Web Gate. Take it and give it to Li'er. From now on, she doesn't have to ask me if she wants to investigate something."
"Yes!"
"Also, there is a result for what Li'er asked you to investigate last time. Take this letter back to her!"
After Han Yue took the things, she left.
Standing at the door of the Night Shade Division, Han Yue turned around and looked back. Through the long corridor, she seemed to see the days in the Night Shade Division in the early years.
The little girl who first came to the Night Shade Division was locked in a dark dungeon. Every day, she was forced to practice various martial arts, compete with her companions, and always worried that she would be abandoned.
There were no weak people in the Night Shade Division, and it couldn't tolerate the weak. Only the winners were worthy of staying here.
And losing meant being abandoned, meant death.
She still remembered that in the first year she came to the Night Shade Division, she defeated all the people who practiced martial arts with her, won the right to stay in the Night Shade Division, and walked out of the dungeon and could stand on the ground.
But the hell - like training and various scenes of killing in the past year had already made her afraid to close her eyes and fall asleep.
That night, because she couldn't fall asleep, she was hiding in a tree in a daze as usual when she was discovered by a passing young man under the tree.
At that time, she was surprised. Although she was young, her hiding skills had already been praised by her master. But that young man discovered her in just a moment when passing under the tree.
Then, he took her to the roof to watch the stars and told her that those who had died were not really gone. They just turned into a star in the sky after death, looking down at the earth and watching over the living people.
She believed it and prayed that those people could live well in the sky.
At that time, she didn't know that the elegant young man was the person in power of the Night Shade Division.
After that, she vowed that she also wanted to protect someone like a star.
Han Yue looked up at the plaque of the Night Shade Division and thought bitterly: Even this little wish, he didn't want to fulfill for her. He was really the smartest person. Although she didn't say anything, he had already thought of how to reject her.
In the Shen Mansion, Shen Li noticed that Han Yue's aura was colder than usual. She wanted to ask but swallowed the words when she saw Han Yue's face.
She opened the letter brought back by Han Yue and read it twice. Her expression became more and more solemn.
Jiao Yue and Ming Yue were both looking at Shen Li curiously but didn't say a word. They just let Shen Li think on her own.
"Ming Yue, you and Han Yue have been in the Night Shade Division for many years. Have you ever heard of a place called 'Shadow Hall' in the martial arts world?"
Ming Yue frowned and thought for a while. Finally, she still couldn't remember. She shook her head and said, "Although I'm often in the Night Shade Division, I've never heard of this place. Han Yue often goes out on missions. Maybe she knows some news."
Shen Li immediately turned her eyes to Han Yue and saw that she was frowning tightly. "I've only heard some news about this Shadow Hall, but I've never had any contact with it!"
Shen Li nodded. There was also some information about the Shadow Hall in the letter brought by Shen Yi.
The Shadow Hall was an organization that had only emerged in the past two years. It claimed to be the largest killer organization in the martial arts world. As long as you could offer enough money, you could buy anyone's life in the world.