Chapter 59: Going to the Capital

  The wind comes and the bamboo tips move, by night the ground is wet.

  It was already dark, and Xia Qi wasn't too familiar with the terrain. He had to avoid walking on official roads to prevent being discovered, so he could only take paths where people rarely tread. As he walked, he observed his surroundings, and after a while, he finally managed to circle back from Ling Shui to Qing Gang.

  It's fortunate that she had spent some time in the Red Thorn Special Warfare Squad in her previous life, and her courage was not small either, otherwise she would have gotten lost in the desolate mountains and wild ridges.

  Even so, when she arrived at Lianyuan Village, she was still one step late.

  Far from entering the village, she already heard the sound of gongs all around, people shouting, dogs barking and chickens clucking, as if something big had happened.

  To know, in order to save lamp oil money, people at that time mostly went to bed before it was dark, and had nothing to do but play with children on the kang, where would there be a modern nightlife? Especially during this period, yet having such a commotion, in her opinion, was naturally unusual.

  At the beginning of summer, after thinking for a moment, in order to be safe, he first tied the horse to an oak tree in a mountain recess near the village, patted its head, and carefully made his way back into the village, circling around to the back of the woodpile at the bridgehead where many firewoods were stacked all year round, hiding himself before cautiously looking out.

  Just one look and I was stunned.

  Across a small river from the bridgehead's thatched cottage was the house of the fool's family.

  At this time, a black lacquer carriage was parked in front of the house, and several men wearing large armor uniforms were riding high-headed horses. The fool she came to find today was being supported by San Aunt under the house, walking out with his head down, and was "invited" onto the car by several soldiers.

  That's right, it's "please".

  The leading school lieutenant didn't know what he said, only saw Third Aunt frequently nodding her head.

  What surprised Xia on the seventh day of summer was that, looking at the packed luggage, it seemed that San Shu had willingly followed someone onto the car, but she was still holding on and refusing to leave, a foolish person who kept turning back. She could see that the fool was waiting for her.

  Why was Aunt San willing to go with them?

  Summer begins on the seventh day of the seventh month, but I don't understand.

  At this time, her first reaction was that these people were Zhao's men. She roughly sensed that the person in the woodshed was not her, and wanted to use the fool's life to coerce her into going back, so as to be taken to the capital for trial. According to that man's cleverness, there must be a way to persuade San Shu Niang.

  She silently observed without making a sound.

  The dogs in the village barked more and more fiercely.

  The villagers of the village, in the sharp and piercing sound of the gong, ran out from the houses on all sides and gathered at a flat place near the bridge.

  One by one, the torches, like a long snake, wound their way forward.

  Seeing the fool being stuffed into the horse cart by Third Aunt, Xia Chuyi really wanted to rush out.

  But she endured and endured, knowing in her heart that attacking a rock with an egg would have what result, and didn't dare to act rashly again.

  "Is everyone here?"

  A loud shout was heard, and the leading school lieutenant pressed down on his waist knife.

  "Sir, let me count again."

  The speaker was the old patriarch of the village, with a face full of wrinkles and a stern look, but actually kind-hearted. Probably this was the captain's notice to gather all the villagers together. After finishing speaking, he turned his head back to count the number of people again, then bowed respectfully and replied.

  "Your Honor, everyone in the village has arrived, regardless of age. Even infants are here, carried by their parents."

  "Good!"

  The county lieutenant rode on horseback, looking very majestic. He led the horse by the reins for two steps, looked around at the crowd, and suddenly shouted loudly, "You all listen well! The King of Jin said that a thousand-year-old stone tablet has emerged from the ancient well in this village of Qianyuan. Your merits are naturally the greatest. Today, I am here to reward you on the orders of His Highness."

  The seventh day of summer sounds a bit strange.

  What reward? Zhao Zilu sent someone in the middle of the night to give what kind of reward? She hadn't figured out the reason yet, when she heard that old tribesman lead the way and kneel down, loudly shouting "Long live Prince Jin", that voice sounded particularly humble in the wind, but then saw the lieutenant laugh haha, suddenly waving his whip.

  "His Highness has spoken, let us see you off properly. Once you arrive at the underworld, remember to thank His Highness for his kindness... All soldiers listen up, I order you to slaughter everyone in Jingniang Village, not a single person should be left alive."

  "Ah!"

  This terrified voice started from the fool in the carriage.

  And those ordinary people kneeling on the ground were so frightened that they didn't react at all.

  It wasn't until the next moment that they realized what was meant by "reward" was their lives. Although there were many of them, none of them knew how to escape or resist, but instead cried out in silence and begged for mercy.

  "Spare my life, sir!"

  "Your Highness... spare my life!"

  Outside, the sound of chopping and hacking echoed, accompanied by the anguished cries of those on the verge of death.

  Hiding in the haystack, Xia Chuqi bit her lower lip, her throat choking again and again.

  She didn't live in the village of Lianyuan for a long time. To be honest, many people here had bullied her before, but they weren't all bad people, just ordinary folks following their human nature. Especially that old clan elder, he was actually not bad, and there was also Ma Dang's wife from the east end of the village, who often helped them out, according to what the fool said...

  Can she just watch as all these people die?

  Massacre village! Massacre village! Just thinking about these two words makes my whole body tremble.

  At that moment, the sound of people crying, dogs barking, and the heart-piercing screams of babies all blended together to create a cacophony that drove her mind into chaos, yet she quickly made up her mind.

  These people are Zhao's men, why did he want to massacre the village? He must have done something shameful and didn't want others to know. But since Zhao and Dongfang Qingxuan have always been enemies, what if the Brocade Guards arrive at this time?

  She couldn't bear to look at the bloody scene again and decided to make a last-ditch effort.

  She quickly ran out of the thatched cottage, dashed into a nearby house to hide, found a fire starter in the kitchen, lit several large torches on the thatched cottage, and then quickly returned to her own home to tie up the horse.

  Riding on the horse, she lit a torch, patting the horse's buttocks with a loud noise, letting the hooves trample heavily on the ground. In the midst of the "wang wang wang" barking of dogs and the high-pitched neighing of horses, she changed her voice to a rough and loud shout.

  "The brocade-clad imperial guards are here! The Grand Master of the Eastern Palace has arrived!"

  "Everyone in the village listen up, the Brocade Guard is here to take someone away, come out quickly..."

  She didn't know if this trick would work, because Zhao Zhuo had never been afraid of Dongfang Qingyun.

  But for now, she can only treat a dead horse as if it were alive. It's likely that these people don't want others to know what they're up to, and at least Zhao Zun is not around, so they will consider Dongfang Qingxuan somewhat.

  She had not held out much hope, but unexpectedly, those people heard her shouting and seemed to be guilty of something, and none of them thought to come and verify it. One of the captains shouted "Brothers, speed up!" and drove a horse carriage carrying the fool towards another road leading out of the village, quickly leaving.

  In the sound of barking dogs, the hoofbeats gradually faded away.

  Summer begins on the seventh day of July, and the fire torches are discarded...

  At night, the road was too easy to be discovered by horseshoes. Xia Qi didn't directly follow that group of people who had caught the fool, but instead took a shortcut and first sneaked back to the vicinity of Qinggang Post House, squatting down to wait in ambush.

  Before long, they saw a group of people driving that carriage into the western gate of the yamen.

  Is it really Zhao Yun?

  Something inhuman.

  She cursed in her heart, but didn't dare to take it up again.

  Be clever and think of another way.

  That night, Xia Qi didn't go to the county town to stay overnight. She curled up alone in a mountain hut not far from the post station and made do with it for one night. Less than three hours before dawn, she leaned against the horse's body to warm herself up. Originally, she wanted to sleep first and then take care of things slowly, but as soon as she closed her eyes, her mind was filled with the shrill cries of those people in Langyuan Village, making it impossible for her to fall asleep no matter how hard she tried.

  Especially thinking of the fool who was caught, his heart ached even more.

  As a transmigrator, she really wanted to be selfish for once and wander the world alone, no longer caring about that idiot who didn't have much of a relationship with her in the first place. But in her mind, the image of the idiot relying on her like a big child kept repeating, as well as his willingness to sacrifice himself for her... Just thinking about it made her heart feel like someone was grinding against it, and she spent the entire night struggling between morality and humanity, that restraint suffocating her heart until she couldn't breathe.

  The fool was implicated by her and left without a word, such an unscrupulous thing, she couldn't do it.

  She rubbed her hands together and thought for half a day before finally deciding that she still had to think of a way to rescue him.

  Just as the sky was getting light, she rummaged through her own bundle from the saddle, changed into a set of clothes, tidied up her face, pulled down her hat, and transformed into an ordinary skinny young man who looked so common that no one would want to take another glance.

  She didn't go to the relay station and went straight into Qinggang County instead.

  People in Hezhou love drinking tea and playing Longmen Array, and the teahouses in Qingyang County are generally very lively.

  She soon found out some information without spending too much time.

  Last night, the big fire at Qinggang Inn was extinguished after more than two hours. The fire killed the woman most favored by King Jin's mansion and took away his unborn child. The king did not sleep for a whole night.

  True true false false, false false true true.

  Unexpectedly, on the seventh day of summer, I didn't think that for the sake of angering a senior sister who casually told a lie, it was spread like spring breeze, and became an ironclad fact, and there's no way to refute it even if one dies.

  Why didn't Zhao Qian's man deny it?

  What is he hiding in his heart?

  At this time, she couldn't understand naturally.

  However, after many years, when she found the brief record "In the 24th year of Hongtai, the King of Jin returned to the capital and had a woman in Jincheng Prefecture, who was pregnant for the first time and died in a great fire" in the historian's records, she thought it was simply a joke. But when she asked that man about the problem he couldn't figure out today, his answer suddenly drowned her smile.

  But that fire will probably forever be a mystery in the history of Da Yan.

  This is a later story and will be put aside for now.

  She is now more concerned about other news.

  Listening to those people's gossip, the Jinwei army that had been stationed in Qinggang County for a long time was preparing to withdraw and return to Beijing. Even the Grand Commander of the Brocade Guard and the Ningwang who had just arrived recently would also leave together. This also signified that the rare prosperity of Qinggang County in a hundred years was about to end.

  Ordinary people all love excitement.

  Talking about these things is inevitable with a flourish, but Xia Chuyi's heart sank like a stone.

  These people are going back to Beijing, what about the fool?

  It was not until the seventh day of summer that he sat in the teahouse until noon, originally thinking that he would hear a few words about the news of Liang Nian Village, but there was no transmission at all. Is it that those villagers or Qinggang County officials are afraid of being retaliated against by King Jin's Mansion and quietly suppressing this matter?

  The next day was the thirteenth of the twelfth lunar month.

  Early in the morning, a loud whistling sound "Wooo-wooo" came from the direction of the station.

  The muffled sound of the horn opened the curtain for the Jinwei army's departure.

  As the saying goes, "The troops and horses have not moved, but the grain and hay have gone ahead", one by one, carts loaded with grain and hay drove onto the clear official road, and row after row of golden armored guards also marched out of their large camps in an orderly manner. Archers, infantrymen, and musketeers were all present, marching in formation, neat and tidy.

  Just like the last time he saw Zhao You on the post road, Xia Chuyi blended into the crowd, watching from a distance as a figure in a black cloak fluttered in the wind under the escort of the Xun Wei army, riding out of the station.

  Fan Congliang has "done justice", and now the acting county magistrate is Qinggang County Cheng. As soon as he saw Zhao Zun's figure appear, he immediately knelt down to pay his respects, leading the way in shouting respectfully.

  "Qinggang County Lieutenant Wang Jiye led his family, county officials and the people to bid farewell to the Duke of Jin."

  Zhao Zhuo sat high and mighty on his large black warhorse, wearing a black outfit that seemed to shine with an aura of nobility.

  He stood there for a long time without saying anything.

  The distance was too far, and Xia Qiuzi couldn't see his expression clearly either.

  However, she could guess that he was a person who usually didn't have much expression.

  She knelt in the crowd, occasionally sweeping him with her eyes. He was still high on his war horse, still the King of Jin looking down on all living things. It wasn't until he suddenly turned his head that she hastily lowered hers.

  Of course, she knew that even if he was far away, he had hidden himself extremely well and couldn't see her. But just as she turned around for a moment, she found that the back of her neck had already become icy cold, and even her palms were sweating.

  She didn't lift her head again.

  The entire post road was silent, a deathly stillness.

  It was almost a century later when she finally heard his low and powerful voice coming from afar.

  "Get up."

  "See off King Jin, Your Highness, may you live for a thousand years, a thousand years, and ten thousand years——"

  After receiving the high-profile farewell ceremony from Qinggang officials and ordinary people, Xia Chuyi took a deep breath, raised his head again, and that one person and horse had already disappeared into the many armored soldiers, leaving only the flying dust, covering the entire post road.

  She followed the crowd and observed carriage after carriage, but couldn't see where the fool was.

  On the seventh day of summer vacation, I stayed in Qinggang County for another day.

  With the departure of those few old men, the post station returned to its usual state.

  In order to find the fool, Xia Chuqi risked danger by disguising himself as a porter and sneaking into the post station.

  A desolate relay station with empty buildings, apart from the officials of the relay office, where else can one find any signs of human presence?

  There is no longer a place for Zhao Zhuo, and it's actually no longer dangerous.

  She dressed up in that getup, with a low profile, and picked out a load of goods. Those people didn't recognize her, gave the guard some silver, and she could walk around the station at will, calling out for sale, observing the Jade Emperor's Pavilion which was heavily guarded not long ago, observing the ancient-style inn, and the woodshed that had been reduced to a pile of charred wood being swept away.

  But in just two short days, has time really flown by and things have changed?

  "Hey, you peddler, the city gate is about to close, hurry up and get out."

  A soldier guarding the city came over, shouting loudly.

  Xia Zhi Qi crouched not far from the thatched cottage, hastily gathered his own load, rubbed his face with both hands, and then smiled and raised his head, "Let's go, let's go."

  She seemed a bit off, and the man stared at her with a puzzled expression. Xia Chuqi hastily forced a smile and handed him some more silver coins.

  "Excuse me, sir, I'd like to ask you something."

  That man took the silver and his attitude became much friendlier, "Speak, what's this about?"

  At the beginning of summer, she puckered her lips, hesitated for a moment, and then said with an air of importance: "Have you seen that fool go anywhere? The one who usually lives in the post station?"

  That person furrowed his brow and paused for a moment, asking strangely, "What's the point of you asking this?"

  Xia thought for a moment and then smiled wryly, "That fool still owes me money, he didn't pay up last time he bought goods."

  That person suddenly enlightened, said indifferently: "You asked the right person, yesterday when I came to change shifts, it was still dark, but on the official road outside the city, I saw the sedan chair of the lord, and that fool was in the car. It seems that the lord is going to take him back to the capital. Speaking of which, that fool is a lucky person, I saw the people following the carriage treating him with great care. Ah, kid, those few silver coins, you might as well forget about them, it's unlikely they'll be returned."

  Summer begins on the seventh day of the first month, with a frown on his brow.

  Because of the entanglement with Zhao Zun, and what happened in Lianyin Village last night, she almost didn't think about the problem that two "princes" lived in this station, let alone think that Ning Wang Zhao Xi and the fool could come up with something related, so she directly put this account on Zhao Zun's head.

  He took away the fool.

  The capital should respond to heaven, such a long distance.

  Is she going or not?

  ……

  ……

  Xia Zhong Qi felt like he had no way out.

  She was originally a lonely soul, wandering in and out of this world. In this world, except for fools, there were no relatives, no attachments, and no goals. Therefore, apart from searching for and rescuing the fool, she could hardly find more meaning to her life at this stage. Thus, she could only let the torrent of fate push her towards another even stranger path.

  She packed her bags and left Qinggang County, embarking on the road to Ying Tian Fu.

  The old emperor of the Great Yan, in order to strengthen centralization and develop the economy, took many powerful measures for transportation throughout the territory of the Great Yan. Now the roads and post stations in various places are also very well-established, so well-established that Xia Chuyi couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

  However, this is Shu.

  The road from Shu to Ying Tian Fu is indeed not disappointing, as the saying goes: "Shu Road is difficult, more difficult than ascending to heaven." The mountains and rivers are intertwined. It's hard to enter Shu, and it's also hard to leave Shu.

  That being said, as a prince, Zhao Jun's movements are still quite limited even if he tries to keep a low profile.

  All the way, no matter where he went, local officials would come to greet and kneel down, so Xia Chuqi, who left a day later than him, had no difficulty finding his route.

  In the few days of chasing, she would stay in an inn for a night when it was convenient, and if not, she could also make do with a night in the wilderness. She had put some dry rations on the horse, which was enough to feed her whole family. After several days of traveling through wind and rain, she finally caught up in Baozhou Prefecture.

  This time, Jin Weijun returned to Beijing, and the troops were divided into several routes. Depending on the type of troops, there are both water and land routes. The King of Jin, Zhao Zun, and his entourage have now arrived at Bazhou Prefecture, apparently intending to take the water route from Baxian along the Yangtze River upstream. He wants to respond to Tianfu, which is a relatively fast journey.

  In Ba County, he heard news of the garrison and did not approach Xia Chuyi.

  After several days of rest, her mind became clearer and clearer.

  The more you want to save a fool, the more anxious you become.

  She first found an inn in the county town of Ba County, took a comfortable bath, tidied herself up, and then put on her black veil to go out and gather information.

  For her, everything in this era was still very unfamiliar.

  Don't talk about roads being unfamiliar, many common sense in life still need to be explored slowly.

  Fortunately, she was a special forces soldier and had strong adaptability. Plus, with some silver coins on her body, it was much more convenient to handle things.

  Ba County is a major town in the southwest of Dayan, with an accent not much different from Jin City. She bought several local gazetteers and wandered around the city for half a day before getting another important piece of news.

  Zhao Zun and his entourage returned to Tianfu, where they would board the official ship at Chaotianmen Dock. However, this dock was originally a hub for the two rivers, but civilian ships were not allowed to approach. This made it difficult for her to follow Zhao Zun. Moreover, the journey of civilian ships was definitely slower than that of official ships, making it even more challenging to find the fool and rescue him along the way.

  But if it doesn't work out on the road, when he returns to the capital, she will be even more anxious.

  She also learned that the official boat that came to welcome Zhao Zhu would set sail after noon tomorrow.

  In other words, she still has a chance to save the fool in Ba County tomorrow?

  But she was alone, and even the cleanest relay station couldn't help her. What chance would there be at the relay station in Bazhou Prefecture?

  Damn it! Cheap person.

  She cursed in her heart, walking alone in the crowded streets of Ba County, wearing a simple coarse linen garment, thinking of ways to get out of this situation, feeling like she was completely stuck in the mud and couldn't grasp the main point.

  To resist Zhao Kuo with just one's own strength is no different from looking for death.

  Looking at the various ancient shops on the street, smelling the ancient city atmosphere that doesn't belong to modern cities, thinking about where the poor fool who was imprisoned by that cheap king is now, she gritted her teeth in hatred, unwilling to think about the word "failure".

  She has already followed him from Jincheng Prefecture, can she give up? Absolutely not.

  "Boss, how much for the mantou?"

  A familiar voice suddenly came from beside her ear, causing Xia Chuqi to turn her face abruptly.

  What's wrong with you?

  It's really true that people meet in unexpected places, wasn't she at Qinggang?

  "A Jiao——"

  For several days, she had been alone by herself, and seeing a familiar face made her exceptionally excited.

  "Chu Qi!"

  Gu Ajiao stared at her with a pair of deer-like eyes, sizing her up from head to toe, somewhat hesitant to acknowledge her.

  "Chu Qi, is it really you?"

  She looked around to the left and right, then Xia Qi walked over, grabbed her wrist, pulled her into a gap in the crowd on the street, only letting go of her hand after that. He adjusted his hat and chuckled.

  "Surprised to see me?"

  Gu A'jiao gazed at her intently, still with a look of astonishment on her face.

  "If you didn't speak up, I really wouldn't have dared to recognize you. Chu Qi, how did you end up here?"

  Supporting her chin, Xia Qiuzi slightly closed her eyes with a hint of a smile, "Little beauty, because I couldn't bear to part with you, so I followed you all the way here."

  Gu A'jiao probably didn't know what happened in Qinggang County, and upon hearing the sound, her small face turned red. She blushed and scolded, "This mouth of yours is always spouting nonsense. Ah, you haven't even said anything yet, how did you end up here?"

  Having said that, seeing her not responding, she suddenly realized and muttered to herself, "Oh, I know, today I heard that the King of Jin has arrived in Bazhou, so you must have come with His Highness?"

  Xia Chuqi raised an eyebrow, "Which prince? Do I know him?"

  Gu Ajiao lightly spat out a mouthful of saliva, "Love is blind."

  "Ah, you wouldn't believe me anyway, so I won't say it." Xia Chuqi winked at her and smiled mischievously, "A'jiao, are you alone? How did you also end up in Ba County? Are we somehow connected by fate?"

  "My father and I are just passing through Ba County, tomorrow we will take a boat to go to the capital."

  It turned out that this matter was also coincidental.

  Some time ago, Old Gu received a letter from his brother-in-law in the capital. His brother-in-law was also in their line of work and said that he had opened a pharmacy in the capital, business was booming, and he planned to open another branch. He urgently needed someone who understood the trade to help out. Moreover, Ah Jiao was not getting any younger, and in a remote place like Qinggang, it would be hard to find a good husband for her. His brother-in-law hoped that Old Gu and his daughter could go to the capital to lend a hand, so he, as Ah Jiao's only uncle, could take care of her and help arrange a good marriage for her.

  Lao Gu Tou had been away from the capital since his early years and originally didn't plan to return. However, in that letter, A Jiao's uncle mentioned many benefits of opening a pharmacy in the capital, especially regarding A Jiao's marriage. As a result, A Jiao felt like she was growing taller. Her vision was already high, how could she look at that simple and honest young man in the pharmacy?

  After rubbing shoulders with him for several days, this matter was also settled.

  Old Gu sent a message to her uncle first, and then sold the Huichuntang at a low price, bringing all his family property, and brought Gu Ajiao to Beijing to visit relatives. The father and daughter were originally prepared to take the land route to Ying Tianfu to save money, but on the way here, they suffered a lot, especially hearing that the road out of Sichuan was not peaceful, with bandits everywhere, so they changed their route to Bazhou and planned to take a boat to Beijing.

  Hearing these things, Xia Qiuzi couldn't help but feel a little melancholy.

  In fact, this Gu A Jiao is really pretty.

  She thought that if she were a man, seeing such a lovely girl would probably make her heart move too. Letting such a beauty be cooped up in the Hui Chun Tang and spend the rest of her life with an honest but dull man was really a waste of a beautiful woman's resources.

  "Off you go, this time back to the capital, I hope you can get what you wish for? Find a husband of your dreams."

  Xia Chuqi smiled and joked, Gu Ajiao blushed and glanced at her sideways, then they asked each other about their accommodations in Ba County and agreed to take a boat together to Beijing the next day.

  These two people were standing on the street corner talking excitedly.

  Suddenly a man rushed out from the oblique stab and violently collided with Gu Ajiao.

  It was crowded in the downtown area, and Gu A'jiao wasn't paying attention at first, but with a sideways glance, she saw the purse in that person's hand - wasn't it hers?

  She reached into her bosom and felt something, then widened her eyes and let out a shrill cry.

  "Stop thief! Chu Qi, that man stole my purse!"

  At the beginning of summer, Qī turned his head to take a look and saw that in the crowd, there was a slender woman wearing riding attire who quickly dashed into the crowd. With a few swift steps, she leaped over an apple vendor's stall, scaring pedestrians on the road who were dodging everywhere. However, she ran effortlessly through the crowd with ease, obviously being very agile and nimble.

  But before you know it, they will be gone around the street corner.

  Wow!

  This little thief's kung fu is quite impressive.

  Although it's not as exaggerated as in martial arts TV dramas, he's still an expert.

  "A Jiao, you go back to the inn and wait for me."

  If it were someone else, Xia Qi would not have bothered with such trivial matters. But Gu A'jiao was different; she had to take care of this matter, whether because she had taken refuge in the Hui Chun Tang for a few days or because of the bond between old friends in a foreign land.

  Before she knew it, he had already chased after her at incredible speed.

  That girl probably didn't think anyone would catch up with her, and after turning a corner, she slowed down. But Xia Chuqi was good at this kind of thing, his explosive power when running was very strong, his speed was also very fast, and he was born agile, so he quickly caught up with the person in just three or five jumps.

  She saw her figure slipping into an alley, and Xia Chuyi's eyes rolled around before turning back.

  She had wandered around this area for a long time before and was already familiar with the routes nearby. As she turned around to intercept him, she hid in the corner of the wall and saw that man holding silver coins in his hand, walking slowly towards her.

  On the seventh day of summer, she curved her lips and took advantage of that person's inattention, sweeping a broom leg under her feet.

  "Who?"

  If it were someone else, they would definitely be finished and crawling on the ground like a dog eating shit.

  But she didn't expect that the girl would narrowly avoid it, and then a gust of wind swept over.

  Indeed, you're a master!

  Xia Chuqi's heart skipped a beat as she dodged the attack, and a seizing hand shot straight towards her shoulder.

  "What are you doing?" The man asked coldly and countered with a elbow strike.

  "Stealing people's money will bring no good end!"

  At the beginning of summer, on the seventh day, she suddenly shouted and swung her hand to grab him, but he dodged it easily with his quick movements. Just as she had barely avoided his grasp, he seemed to have just realized that she was only a half-grown kid and couldn't help but burst out laughing coldly.

  "You think you can sneak up on me?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, with the hand holding the silver bag, a gust of wind swept towards Xia Chuyi's face.

  "Flowery fist and embroidered leg!"

  Xia's gentle smile, a twist of her waist and a backflip, suddenly turned around and struck the acupuncture point on her waist, in her painful "ah" sound, the peach wood mirror knife was already placed on her neck.

  "Don't move!"

  "What kind of move is this?" The girl was shocked beyond belief.

  "Tsk tsk tsk, big sister, killing people isn't just about looking good!"

  Xia Ling's eyes narrowed slightly as she sneered, swiftly pulling back the money pouch from her hand and stuffing it into her bosom with an impolite gesture, a self-satisfied smile spreading across her face. Her martial arts skills were undoubtedly inferior to this person's, but what she had learned most in the Red Thorn Special Forces was the direct way of killing people, which she had also mastered with great proficiency. In the past, even Zhao Zhuang had suffered at her hands; let alone this person?

  Of course, she was also very clear that if it wasn't for her being careless and underestimating the situation, looking down on her opponent's momentum, and not having any weapons to defend herself, she would have been in a bad situation too.

  The woman hummed softly and her expression was still quite calm.

  "Alright, I admit defeat, you can take the silver."

  "Is it that easy?" Summer Seventh crooked the corner of her mouth, didn't say anything else, and kicked her calf lightly, then said, "A gentleman loves wealth, but takes it in a proper way. What kind of hero are you, stealing from ordinary people? You've got to give an explanation, right?"

  "Hmph!" The woman snorted heavily and looked over with disdain. "What else? Waiting for an empty stomach?"

  "There's no honor among thieves; have you heard of it?"

  It wasn't until the seventh day of summer that he carefully looked at her face.

  A close-fitting, dark green riding-style garment tightly wrapped around her slender figure, a pointed chin, and a typical melon-seed-shaped face, yet with a few hints of evil spirit. It seems that she is not only a beauty but also a cold beauty with kung fu skills.

  "What are you staring at me for? What do you want to say? Huh? Don't tell me you dare to kill someone in broad daylight?" The woman was probably annoyed by her stare and glared back.

  She curled up the corner of her lips. When Xia saw her for the first time, she seemed to have a lot of courage and wisdom. The plan that had been brewing in her heart to save the fool gradually took shape.

  She gave a faint smile, and the sharp blade grazed the girl's neck, slowly approaching her face.

  "Old man is taking you to do something big, are you interested?"

  The girl puckered her mouth and looked at her with a slight surprise.

  "What does it mean?"

  Xia Zhong Qi smiled slyly and beckoned to her with a crook of his finger.

  "Come! Let's talk quietly about this sneaky business."

  Digression

  Something's up today, everyone just chew on it for now, I'll update more tomorrow. Hehe, come at me with your tickets? Bring it on!

  (Also, I'll come back and correct any mistakes later.)

  【Gratitude】: Dear 【Nineteenth Master Ao Jiao】, who ranked third in the imperial examination and was awarded the title of "Tongsheng", a kiss for you.

  Dear Miss Mò jiǎo, San Ding Jia Tan Hua Lang, love one.

  Dear [13732529599] and [myicecat], I've figured it out, thank you so much, dear ones. Mwah mwah