“Young Master Fu, are you all right?!” Xu Ancheng hurriedly undid the ropes around Fu Xianyan’s wrists.
Fu Xianyan lowered his eyes and coughed a few times. His face immediately went pale. “Young Master Xu, Miss Qin, has Miss Ji perhaps misunderstood something about me?”
Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu naturally knew what he meant. They exchanged a glance and pretended not to hear him.
After working at the knots for a while, Xu Ancheng still couldn’t undo them. Qin Qiwu couldn’t either, and Fu Xianyan’s wrists were growing redder by the second.
“Miss Ji, do you know how to untie them?” Qin Qiwu asked, turning to Ji Zhaoxi.
Ji Zhaoxi gestured guiltily. “It should be… like this?”
The other three stared blankly at her. In truth, Ji Zhaoxi didn’t understand it herself.
The three of them fell silent as they looked at the ropes around Fu Xianyan’s hands. When an ordinary person tied someone’s hands, they either bound them palms together or with both hands behind the back.
Qin Qiwu glanced at the tangled mess of rope, then at the silent Ji Zhaoxi beside her, and said dryly, “Miss Ji’s method of tying knots is quite… unique.”
Ji Zhaoxi coughed awkwardly. “It’s not that special. I just made a few improvements to the original method.”
Since they couldn’t untie the ropes, they might as well cut them.
Ji Zhaoxi had just drawn her sword and stepped forward when Fu Xianyan silently turned his back to her, leaving her with only his retreating silhouette.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him hopefully. “Young Master Fu, I’ll help you untie the ropes.”
Fu Xianyan said nothing and lowered his head.
At some point, the surrounding hawkers had stopped calling out to customers. They simply sat at their stalls, fanning themselves while watching the spectacle.
Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu could only sigh helplessly at the two people who clearly didn’t get along. In the end, it was Xu Ancheng who cut the ropes off Fu Xianyan’s wrists.
Qin Qiwu glanced at the dejected Ji Zhaoxi beside her and whispered, “It’s all right, Miss Ji. Once you and Young Master Fu become more familiar with each other, he won’t get angry when you tie him up.”
Xu Ancheng nodded in agreement.
The person who had been tied up remained silent.
To ease the tension in the group, the four of them found a restaurant and went in for a meal. Once they were full, they could forget about the unpleasantness from earlier.
The restaurant was bustling, filled with the fragrant aroma of food. A smiling waiter with a white towel draped over his shoulder led them inside.
“Esteemed guests, please take a seat!”
As he poured them hot tea, the waiter studied the group in front of him. Noticing the bits of dirt clinging to their shoes, he smiled and said, “You gentlemen and ladies look unfamiliar. Are you distinguished guests from out of town?”
Qin Qiwu sipped her tea, her eyes curving into a smile. “Good eye, Brother. Are outsiders a rare sight in Pingyuan County?”
The smile in the waiter’s eyes deepened. “That’s not exactly—”
Xu Ancheng glanced at the noisy patrons upstairs before shifting his gaze back to the waiter’s face.
Ignoring the scorching stare from beside him, Fu Xianyan picked up his empty teacup. He had just opened his mouth to say, “Young Ma—”
When, in the next instant, the cup was filled to the brim.
Fu Xianyan stared silently at the tea that had nearly spilled over, growing more and more suspicious.
She couldn’t have seen through his identity and deliberately started targeting him, could she…?
He took a sip of tea and met Ji Zhaoxi’s gaze.
Ji Zhaoxi was staring at him with a solemn expression, her sword strapped to her back.
The two of them silently stared at each other for quite some time.
Fu Xianyan’s eyes came to rest on a single strand of hair sticking up from Ji Zhaoxi’s head. He struggled to suppress the corners of his mouth, which kept trying to turn upward, then lowered his head in restraint and continued drinking his tea.
Seeing that Fu Xianyan had been cowed by her warning glare, Ji Zhaoxi withdrew her gaze with satisfaction.
“Esteemed guests, these are our freshly baked hu bing. They’re famous throughout the surrounding villages. When the proprietor heard that you were distinguished guests from out of town, he asked us to give them to you.” The waiter wore a broad smile.
Dish after dish was brought to the table. Xu Ancheng smiled. “Then please convey our thanks to the proprietor.”
He glanced at the thick callus on the web of the waiter’s hand and said nothing more.
Ji Zhaoxi ate her meal without paying any attention to Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu, who were deep in thought beside her.
She was already used to this arrangement.
Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu solved cases, while she stood nearby with her sword and protected them. Whenever they had no use for her, she simply sat to the side and ate.
She was in the middle of her meal when an irritating voice suddenly came from beside her.
“Miss Qin, could you help me put some—”
Before he could finish speaking, food had already landed in his bowl.
Fu Xianyan turned hesitantly toward Ji Zhaoxi. “Thank you, Miss Ji.”
Ji Zhaoxi ignored him. She had barely taken a few more bites when Fu Xianyan spoke again.
“Young Master Xu…”
Ji Zhaoxi: “…”
Unable to endure it any longer, Ji Zhaoxi stood up and served him food from across the table. His bowl was filled to the brim.
Xu Ancheng and Qin Qiwu cast a glance at Ji Zhaoxi, neither daring to say a word.
Miss Ji looked furious.
“Young Master Fu, if there’s something you want to eat, you can tell me.” Ji Zhaoxi was practically fuming.
She had no idea what was wrong with Fu Xianyan!
The other two were enjoying a perfectly pleasant meal together, yet he kept ruining the atmosphere. What was he trying to do?
Ji Zhaoxi was now even more convinced that Fu Xianyan was a major threat.
In the past, anyone who had tried to come between Qin Qiwu and Xu Ancheng had been chased away by her. But Fu Xianyan’s shamelessness was on an entirely different level!
Just then, the commotion upstairs grew louder and clearer. Several servants were helping a heavily pregnant man down the stairs, their expressions utterly resigned as they struggled to support him.
He was so heavy…
“A mere county magistrate actually dares to challenge me? Hasn’t he asked around to find out who I am?” the man slurred, swaying as he came down the stairs. His face and neck were flushed bright red.
“Even official silver has to pass through my hands first. Understand?!”
The servants huffed and puffed as they helped him down, constantly soothing him.
“We understand, we understand. You’re the most impressive man around, sir.”
The restaurant fell silent. Everyone else seemed accustomed to this and lowered their heads, not daring to speak.
The man reached the bottom of the stairs, reeking of alcohol. He narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze across the room. Every other patron had their head bowed, not daring to make a sound.
Satisfied, he nodded.
That was how things ought to be.
Just as he was about to leave the restaurant, he suddenly noticed several conspicuous figures seated in the corner.
A few people were gathered around one table. Two of them were still eating, a sickly young man was drinking tea, and another person was sitting there distractedly with a sword strapped to her back.
The man narrowed his eyes, and his temper flared.
How dare they!
The waiter had naturally noticed the situation as well. He hurriedly put on a sycophantic smile. “Sir, those people are from out of town.”
The man snorted. In his rough voice, he said, “From out of town?! So what if they’re from out of town? Does that mean they can ignore the rules of Pingyuan County?”
As soon as he said this, the restaurant grew even quieter.
Someone at the table beside Ji Zhaoxi tugged at her and kindly advised, “Lower your head quickly, or you’ll be beaten in a moment.”
The sickly young man silently sipped his tea, glancing at Ji Zhaoxi beside him, whose fighting spirit had already been roused.
Seeing that Ji Zhaoxi was clearly prepared for battle, the kindhearted stranger looked at her with admiration.
It had been a long time since he had seen someone so eager to court death.
