Chapter 86: Cunning Fox and Escaping Rabbit

  The Xie sisters, who had just finished bathing, were coming out of the opposite mixed hall. The younger sister was young and unrestrained, with a head of shiny black hair scattered down to her waist, tied only with a red ribbon. Her skin after the bath was flushed with a reddish glow, like a delicious red apple. The elder sister had her hair high on her head, revealing an elegant long neck, her face without makeup, clear and light, yet naturally forming a beautiful picture, as if she were a pure and lovely girl next door.

  Gu Zhou and He Qishuo had been waiting impatiently for a long time. As soon as they saw the two come out, they sneered and immediately went up to them. The four eyes met, and Xie's sisters seemed to have just seen them, and were suddenly shocked. The older sister immediately pushed her younger sister and shouted: "Younger sister, hurry up and leave!"

  She spoke hastily and stepped aside, as if to lead them away. The sister was usually sharp-tongued, but seeing Gu Zhou's furious face, she was also frightened. She hesitated for a moment, panicked and ran back to the mixed hall. Gu Zhou had no time to bother with her, his eyes fixed on Xie Jia's eldest sister, running towards the small alley formed by the wall of the mixed hall and another wall.

  Xiaojing and Ximen Qing didn't dare to slack off, they quickly settled the bill and chased after her from behind. The alley was curved, like a semicircle surrounding the mixed hall, Gu Niang hated this seemingly pure but actually extremely cunning little fox, he gritted his teeth and quickened his pace in pursuit, chasing halfway when he saw Shao Bing's daughter standing there, thinking she couldn't run anymore, he immediately sneered and pounced on her.

  "Little cheap thing, today I'll see what other tricks you have to deceive people. My old self has never suffered such a great loss, and yet was deceived by you... Can you escape? Today, I will destroy you. One knife down, destroying your beautiful face, I'll see what else this little fox spirit uses to cheat people."

  The pancake girl was about to speak when she suddenly saw Xia Jiu and Ximen Qing emerging from behind the ancient boat. She immediately closed her mouth again. Gu Zhou looked at her gaze, turned his head abruptly, and saw that it was those two accountants who had come with them in the same car. His face sank instantly: "What are you following us for?"

  Ximen Qing smiled and said: "We followed you, wanting to see what Brother Gu is going to do."

  The old boat said with a stern face: "Don't call me brother, you think you can be heroes and save the beauty? First weigh your own weight."

  Xia Fu smiled and said: "Brother Gu is right, I was just thinking of measuring the weight of your excellency's prestige."

  No good can come from fighting, Xia Zhen had already made up his mind to lend the girl a helping hand. Without saying another word, he raised his hand and launched a powerful punch, Gu Zhou swung his fist to meet him. In this exchange of blows, Xia Zhen discovered that Gu indeed possessed some martial arts skills, but as for how exceptional they were, that was uncertain. He was just a ruthless desperado with great strength and speed who dared to use vicious moves when fighting.

  Xia Zhen tried to test his depth, and suddenly felt a great sense of calm in his heart. He calmed down and began to exchange blows with him. After several moves, he used an ancient kick that combined the old and new styles, kicking Gu Zhou's head into a big mess. He Qianzhao was fighting Ximen Qing at the time, but when he saw this scene, his mind was distracted for a moment, and Ximen Qing took advantage of the opening to punch him in the nose. Suddenly, hot tears and nasal blood flowed out, and both eyes were unable to see anything.

  Just then, a commotion broke out at the entrance of the alley, and many women rushed in, holding various household items in their hands and shouting: "Shameless rascals, teach them a good lesson!" They looked like they had just come out of the bathhouse.

  The girl's mouth flashed a sly smile, and she turned to run. Xia Zhen was stunned at first, then looked up to see a small window about 1.5 meters above his head, with hot air rising from it. Suddenly enlightened, he hastily pulled Xi Menqing and said "Quickly go"

  Ximen Qing was still unclear, but as soon as he saw those motherly tigresses, each one more fierce than his own wife, he instinctively turned around and ran away, which unfortunately left Guan Yu and He Zhongmou, the two guests, immediately surrounded by a group of frantic women...

  Seeing that girl running so fast with her skirt in hand, Xia Xun couldn't help but call out: "Bao Bing Niang, don't run anymore, we're just here to help you"

  At this time, she had already run to the entrance of the alley, and there were people coming and going. The girl's courage also grew, so she stopped in her tracks. When she turned around, she returned to that gentle and timid appearance, with only a pair of big eyes showing a few points of fear, her shoulders slightly tense and guarded, like a startled little rabbit: "Xia...big brother Xia, are you...are you calling me?"

  Ximen Qing caught up and said, "Miss, you've always been reluctant to give your name, so we don't know what to call you. Every time we see you, you're eating a roasted bun, so we just call you Roasted Bun Girl."

  The girl's mouth twitched slightly, and immediately returned to its original state. If you didn't look closely, you would have thought it was just your eyes playing tricks on you. She blushed a little and bowed her head, saying: "Thank you two brothers for helping me out of kindness. I'm timid and got scared, only thinking of escaping, and forgot about the two benefactors who helped me. It's really not right."

  Ximen Qing couldn't help but smile and hurriedly said, "Where, where? At home one relies on parents, outside one relies on brothers. As the saying goes, 'A hundred years of cultivation can lead to a shared destiny.' This is also a kind of fate for us..."

  Xia Liu and the pancake girl looked at him together, Ximen Qing immediately realized that this set of words was similar to what Guan Yu and the pancake girl had said when they were close before. He wanted to slap himself in the face, Xia Liu glared at him with a bad temper, turned his head and smiled at the pancake girl: "Girl, you're so clever!"

  The pancake girl blinked her eyes and said with a innocent face: "What is Big Brother Xia saying? I don't understand what he's talking about?"

  Xia Jiang was about to speak again, when Shao Bing's sister ran over like a flower sparrow, laughing all the way: "Ha! Those two big silly bears from outside the pass, sister, I've already..."

  She caught sight of Ximen Qing and Xiaojie, immediately shut her mouth, and stared at them vigilantly. The four pairs of eyes faced each other for a moment before the crowd at the crossroads dispersed. A patrol officer led the way with his sword drawn, followed by two constables carrying water fire pincers, and behind them were four or five helpers holding chains, shouting: "Where are you? Where are you? Peeping at us women bathing, you're really shameless! Wait till you get into the big prison and see how we'll deal with you!"

  The pancake girl hastily made a curtsy to the two men and said in a soft voice, "This is not a place for conversation, let's go back to the inn quickly, shall we?"

  The four of them went onto the street and then split into two pairs, walking in opposite directions. Burnt Crumbs Sister said softly, "Sister, why are those two also here?"

  Sister glanced at Xia Xian and Xi Menqing walking in front, a hint of disdain flashing in her eyes: "They said it themselves, they came to help each other out of righteousness, do you believe that?"

  "Are you so kind?"

  Sister naturally didn't believe it, and coldly said: "If they coincidentally came here, what scenery could they see in a brothel? If they intentionally followed us, how would they know that the foolish bear on the other side of the ancient boat is unfavorable to us? Humph, they're just a bunch of scoundrels who think they can take advantage of us. But I'm not afraid of them, those two are obviously the kind of people with treacherous hearts but no guts, unlike someone surnamed Gu who has a straightforward and honest nature, they wouldn't dare do anything."

  Sister reminded: "That guy named Gao Sheng is indeed as you said, a man with a dirty mind but no guts. I think he's just a waste of time who only knows how to talk big. But that Xia guy is not necessarily the same, his eyes are so bright and piercing, every time he stares at someone, it makes me feel uneasy, like he can see right through me. He rarely speaks, never tries to take advantage of others like Gao Sheng does. People like him are either harmless or will do something big when they make a move. If he's really targeting us, we need to be careful, extremely careful."

  Sister seemed to have always listened to her, and upon hearing this, she tensed up and said: "What can we do?"

  Sister smiled confidently: "It's simple, a delaying tactic will suffice."

  She lowered her voice and said, "Along the way, you and I will be careful. If we don't go to a place where people are scarce, even if he has the heart, it's hard to take action. Also, when you turn back, intentionally reveal some information, just say that we are going to Huai to visit relatives, and we need to rent horses and carriages in Beiping again. If they really have evil intentions, they won't rush to take action."

  Sister thought for a moment, and smiled: "Well, as it turns out, we spent our money on tickets to Beijing, but got off at Tongzhou. If they're good people, that's fine, but if they're bad people, then their evil plans will just have to stay in their bellies."

  The two sisters burst out laughing.

  Xia Liu and Ximen Qing walked side by side, Xia Liu said in a low voice: "These two sisters are not so simple, we have great things to do, it's better not to make unnecessary trouble, don't provoke them."

  Ximen Qing smiled slightly and said: "I understand, these two flowers have thorns, can't be touched."

  "Oh?" Xia Yu looked at him with some surprise.

  Ximen Qing swept away his usual frivolity and calmly replied, "After seeing her cleverly get rid of Guan Yu that day, I felt that this girl was not simple. That day she went to pawn things, there shouldn't be any ulterior motives, and being short of money is probably true. It can be seen that the lustful Guan Yu followed her and blocked her in the alley, a weak woman who cried out but got no response, and in a hurry, she was able to think of such a way to protect herself, which is not easy."

  But thinking of it doesn't mean you can do it, this pancake girl did it, she could pretend to be so real, making Gu Zhou completely let his guard down, and at the last moment, she kicked him in the vital parts with a ruthless kick... Thinking of it and being able to do it, is this something an ordinary woman can accomplish? Now it seems that our hero saving the beauty was also unnecessary, her going to the mixed bathhouse was probably also a premeditated trap.

  Xia Liu looked at him with some surprise, and smiled: "Not bad, she has already offended Gu Zhou, and knows that Gu Zhou will not let her off easily. She began to design a way to thoroughly get rid of the threat of Gu Zhou. Now thinking back, her sister had been chatting with Che Ba Shi since leaving Pingyuan County, often asking about the situation in the counties and towns along the way, at that time she was already looking for ways to get rid of Gu Zhou."

  "When she heard that there was a female brothel in Texas and the car would stop for half a day, she planned this thorough plan. She let her sister go to the brothel to call someone, while she led Gu Zhou and He Qishuo to the back of the bathhouse, creating the illusion that they were peeping at women bathing, and finally got them imprisoned for indecency. Haha, it looks simple but is a very effective method. Now thinking about it, when she escaped into the alley, she must have had some other ways to protect herself, only because of our interference, she didn't have the chance to use them."

  Ximen Qing nodded, curiously saying: "They are shy and poor, this should be true; they shouldn't know martial arts either, otherwise there would be no need to design such a troublesome plan, it would be enough to get rid of Gu Zhou's entanglement. So, what kind of person is a woman from a poor family, weak in body, but cunning and intelligent, good at disguising herself? What did they come to Beiping for, traveling thousands of miles?"

  Xia Jiao glared at him and snorted, "I knew it. You're not stupid, but once you see a beautiful woman, you can't control yourself. I told you not to mess with them. We each have our own paths, we just need to go to Beiping and do a good job on this big deal. This is such a large shipment of fur goods, something you've never done before, so we can't afford to make any mistakes."

  "Can't you be curious? Can't you be interested? Anyway, it's boring all the way, so why not dig into their secrets?"

  "I'm not allowed to be curious, but I have no interest in them. Now, my only goal is to safely transport those goods without any delay and report back to the Marquis Qi. After that, I'll return home to Heaven's Palace to get married."

  *sigh*

  Ximen Qing sighed helplessly, reluctantly turning his head to take a look at the lovely young ladies, and said in a low voice: "Brother, I'm an experienced man, let me tell you, when you really get married, you'll find out that it's actually the women who haven't entered your door yet, they're the most lovable."

  Xia Fu didn't bother him, but on the following journey, he indeed felt bored. There were two lively and beautiful young women in the car, but Xia Fu found that just having beauties was not enough, lacking the rascal who teased the beauties, this day was equally boring.

  In boredom, they arrived at Tongzhou and unexpectedly found that the pancake sister who was originally going to Huairou to visit relatives had also gotten off the bus in Tongzhou. When Xia Yu received a glance from the pancake girl's provocative and triumphant gaze when getting off the bus, he couldn't help but burst out laughing: "This little fox, it turns out she has been on guard against us all along."

  Soon, Xia Jiu forgot about the two misses who had been in the same car for many days, because he had already arrived in Beiping.

  At that time, Beiping was basically the same as it was during the Yuan Dynasty. The majestic palaces, magnificent temples, beautiful gardens and spacious streets...

  These magnificent buildings were left over from the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and the Prince of Yan did not undertake any large-scale construction here. The city of Beiping was planned and designed by Liu Bingzhong, a meritorious minister of the founding of the Yuan Dynasty. Even the name "Dà Yuán" (Great Origin) was chosen by Liu Bingzhong from the phrase "Dà zāi Qián yuán" in the Book of Changes, and presented to Kublai Khan, who adopted it as the national title.

  In the invisible underground, the water supply and drainage facilities were designed by Guo Shoujing, the director of the Yuan Dynasty Waterworks. The main waterways in the city had two lines: one was the canal system composed of Gaoliang River, Hai Zi, and Tonghui River; the other was the palace water system composed of Jinshui River and Taiye Pool. Residents mainly used well water. There were also complete drainage facilities in the city, making the entire city clean and elegant.

  The couplet on the city gate was written by Zhao Mengfu, a famous calligrapher and direct student of Yuan Dynasty. Zhao Mengfu is also the 11th generation grandson of Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin. This city wall left by the Yuan people gathered the cultural essence of all ethnic groups' skilled craftsmen and wise men at that time.

  The sun sets in the west, cold wind whispers, a large cart creaks and groans as it rolls over the bluestone ground, bringing with it a clear and gentle sound, slowly entering this ancient city. The setting sun casts a very long shadow of the cart, which slowly disappears into the deep and mysterious gate tower, leaving only golden sunlight shining on the couplet on either side of the gate: "The light of the sun and moon illuminates the virtue of heaven, majestic mountains and rivers are the residence of the emperor".

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