Qu Xin pointed to the man on the left and introduced, "This is Chen Xi, the eldest legitimate son of the Chen family from Qiuning."
Although the Chen family could not compare with those aristocratic families that had been passed down for hundreds or thousands of years, they were still a prominent family with a century-old history in Qiuning Commandery.
Qu Xin then grabbed the head of the man on the right, forcing him to look up at Jiang Jin, and introduced, "And this is Xie Nanxiao, the second son of the General Who Pacifies the North, the young commander Xie."
Xie Nanxiao's face had also been slashed twice, but the wounds had scabbed over, leaving only two ugly scars.
His eyes did not look at Jiang Jin; instead, he glared fiercely at Qu Xin. "Bah, you filthy male whore, we disdain to associate with the likes of you."
However, he was too weak from the torture, so his curses came out intermittently, accompanied by heavy panting.
Qu Xin twitched the corners of his mouth and slapped Xie Nanxiao across the face. "Do you think you are still that young commander from before?"
The already weak Xie Nanxiao was knocked to the side by the blow. The Jiaoren soldiers behind him quickly stepped forward and pressed down on his shoulders, preventing him from falling over.
Blood trickled from the corner of Xie Nanxiao's mouth. As if he couldn't feel the pain, he let out a couple of laughs. "This is all you're capable of. Kill me if you have the guts."
Jiang Jin could tell that Qu Xin and Xie Nanxiao probably had a personal grudge.
Qu Xin was about to strike again when Jiang Jin spoke up at the right moment. "I don't want a dead one."
Qu Xin's movements paused. He twitched his lips and said, "If you want all three of them, it will cost you a hundred bolts of silk in total."
Jiang Jin pretended to think for a moment before gritting her teeth in agreement. "Fine, but we didn't bring that much wealth with us. Bring your men and follow me to my house to get it."
She then looked at Yao Ji and the other two with a picky expression. "These three look like they can't even walk anymore. You have to help me deliver them to my house."
Qu Xin agreed without a second thought; under normal circumstances, no one would go out carrying a hundred bolts of cloth.
As for the issues of defaulting on the payment or safety, they were not within his consideration. He didn't believe anyone would dare to attack them in Liang City. The current Liang City was the territory of the Jiaoren, and he had six Jiaoren soldiers following him.
With the deal struck, the crowd dispersed, seeing that there was no more drama to watch.
Zhou Sui led the way for Qu Xin. The six Jiaoren soldiers paired up, grabbed Yao Ji and the other two by the arms, and quickly followed.
Jiang Jin followed at the very back.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, Qu Xin looked at the increasingly remote path and frowned slightly. "Which area do you live in? How much longer until we get there?"
Zhou Sui's expression changed slightly. This was not the best place to make a move. He was just about to find an excuse to brush him off when Qu Xin's voice sounded again. "The journey is long. I need extra money."
Zhou Sui: "..."
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled somewhat flatteringly. "Alright, I'll give you some extra fee for your hard work later."
Jiang Jin couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth. This Qu Xin was so stupid it was almost cute.
After walking for another thirty minutes or so, the Jiaoren soldier supporting Yao Ji suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Which alley and which house do you actually live in?"
It had been over two months since their Jiaoren race occupied Liang City, so they were quite familiar with the area.
This place was almost at the edge of Liang City, and he felt that something was wrong.
Zhou Sui stopped, turned back to look at him, and revealed a smile. "We're here."
The Jiaoren soldier's heart skipped a beat. This smile looked somewhat unnatural. He was just about to warn his companions when he felt a cold chill on his neck.
Pfft.
His eyes were blank as a spray of blood bloomed before his eyes. He tightly clutched his neck with both hands, lines of blood seeping through his fingers.
The screams of his companions echoed in his ears. He used the last ounce of his strength to turn his head, only to see the dagger in the hands of the woman with triangular eyes being pulled out from his companion's neck.
Yao Ji was sprayed with warm, foul-smelling blood all over his face and body. His somewhat numb nerves finally awakened, and he abruptly looked up at Jiang Jin. "You, you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Jin had already rushed toward the two Jiaoren soldiers supporting Xie Nanxiao.
The Jiaoren soldiers reacted quickly, pushing Xie Nanxiao toward Jiang Jin.
Jiang Jin stepped aside to avoid Xie Nanxiao. Her target remained unchanged as she thrust her dagger toward the heart of a Jiaoren soldier.
Her speed was so fast that before the Jiaoren soldier could even draw the blade at his waist, he was pierced straight through.
Because Xie Nanxiao was wearing hand and foot shackles and his body was weak, he stumbled forward under such a forceful push and fell heavily to the ground with a thud.
The other soldier was caught off guard by the sudden turn of events. He swung his left fist at Jiang Jin's head while his right hand reached for the saber at his waist to draw it.
Jiang Jin didn't have time to turn her head. The moment she felt the wind from the punch, she slightly tilted her head to dodge it. At the same time, she pulled out her dagger and stabbed backward.
A cold glint flashed as the soldier quickly retreated to avoid the dagger.
Jiang Jin spun around and delivered a flying kick at the soldier, forcing him to take another two steps back.
Jiang Jin followed closely behind, slashing her dagger forward, and blood splattered.
The soldier halted in his tracks, his eyes filled with disbelief. One of his hands was still resting on the hilt of his sword at his waist. The speed had been too fast; he had only managed to draw his saber halfway.
His other hand slowly reached for his neck as a gurgling sound escaped his mouth. Only after a few breaths did his corpse fall to the ground.
On the other side, Zhou Sui had also finished off Qu Xin and the other two soldiers.
Even in death, Qu Xin didn't understand what had happened. He only heard the man with triangular eyes say, "We're here," and then saw a flash of white light.
Yao Ji was still a bit dazed. "Who... who are you?"
Zhou Sui retrieved the keys from Qu Xin's body and stepped forward to help them unlock their hand and foot shackles, as well as the iron chains around their necks, explaining as he did so.
"I am Zhou Sui, and she is the Sixth Princess, titled Jinyang. We need to leave here as soon as possible. You are familiar with Liang City; is there any place where we can take shelter?"
Yao Ji knew Zhou Sui. But how could this man with triangular eyes in front of him be Zhou Sui?
And the Sixth Princess—they weren't very clear on what her title was before, but they had heard that Emperor Yan's sixth daughter was extremely beautiful. How could she be this ugly woman in front of them?
It had to be said that Jiang Jin's disguise technique was too successful, not to mention that the people of this era had never witnessed the face-changing makeup techniques of the 25th century.
However, now was indeed not the time to discuss this. Since these two had saved them, regardless of their motives, they probably wouldn't take their lives for the time being.
Yao Ji hesitated for a moment before saying, "Let's go to my father's private courtyard. It's not far from here."
This private courtyard was actually the place where Yao Chong kept his family courtesans.
During this period, the practice of keeping courtesans was prevalent. These family courtesans were not only for personal enjoyment but also used to entertain relatives, friends, and allies.
More than fifteen minutes later, the group stopped at the entrance of a courtyard that had been sealed off with paper strips.
Zhou Sui looked at Yao Ji, whom he was supporting. "Is this the place?"
Yao Ji's injuries were the most severe, and Zhou Sui had been supporting him the whole way. He gave a soft affirmative hum.
Although Chen Xi and Xie Nanxiao were also at the end of their ropes, they relied on their strong willpower to support each other and walk over.
Jiang Jin approached the door and listened for a moment. After making sure there were no problems, she nodded at the others.
She took a few steps back, used her momentum to jump onto the two-meter-high wall, and asked, "How are you guys going to get up?"
All the doors were sealed with strips, so naturally, it wouldn't be good to tear the seals and enter through the doors; otherwise, it would be blatantly telling others that they were inside.
Without a word, Zhou Sui grabbed Yao Ji by the waistband and lifted him up.
