Ji Youming and Hu Fengye clenched their jaws, their eyes fierce, and rushed forward to fight without hesitation.
Song Qiming reached back, snatched a long stick from one of the men, and smashed it over a thug's head.
The head split open, and drops of blood splattered outward.
Seeing his underling's head busted open, the masked leader lunged toward a dagger dropped by the wall.
Song Qiming fiercely pounced over, striking the man's shoulder with the stick, the impact leaving his own palms numb.
"Don't hit my face!" Hu Fengye shielded his handsome features with his hands. A fist smashed into the back of his hand, bringing a bone-shattering pain.
Ji Youming was besieged by three men. In just a dozen blinks of an eye, he had already taken several heavy blows from their cudgels all over his body.
Song Qiming pushed off the wall with his right foot and launched himself into the air. Like a sharp sword, he flew in front of Hu Fengye, his sturdy and powerful leg kicking a thug three meters away.
He pulled Hu Fengye up with one hand, his face filled with urgency. "You can't beat them. Run and find my older sister."
Half of Hu Fengye's earlier bravery had already vanished. He asked in a panicked rush, "Where is your sister?"
While carving out a path with his stick and rushing to Ji Youming's back, Song Qiming shouted his reply, "The Song Residence in Qingyun Alley!"
Hu Fengye swiftly bolted backward. "Hold them off, wait for me to return!"
Song Qiming and Ji Youming stood back-to-back facing the enemy, one holding a broom and the other gripping a wooden stick. The solid feeling against their backs made their eyes grow increasingly calm.
Hu Fengye stumbled and crawled along the way, not daring to stop for even a second.
The cold wind howled past his ears, freezing his face bright red.
At this moment, his mind was solely focused on the words "Song Residence in Qingyun Alley", terrified that a second's delay would cost his good brother and Song Qiming their lives.
When he finally saw the plaque of the Song Residence, it was as if he had grasped a lifeline. He pounded on the door like a madman, shouting, "Is anyone there? Open the door, quickly!"
Hearing the noise, Lanxi ran out from the kitchen to open the door.
The moment the door opened a crack, Hu Fengye threw himself in, squeezed through, and grabbed his hands. With an anxious expression, he said, "Where is Song Jinzhao? Eight people are ganging up on Song Qiming, he's almost beaten to death! He said to get his sister to save him."
Lanxi's expression turned stern. "Wait here a moment, I'll go call the Young Lady."
Song Jinzhao, who was instructing Chunxing on the opening preparations for the vegetable shop, heard Lanxi's shouts. She set down her brush and got off the heated brick bed.
Lanxi rushed in, stopping in the center of the main hall. Pointing outside, he said, "Young Lady, a scholar came outside saying that the Young Master is being beaten and asked you to go save him."
Song Jinzhao lifted her eyelids, a sharp glint flashing through her eyes.
She turned back to her room, grabbed her sword, and ran outside.
Pacing back and forth at the door, Hu Fengye had never felt time pass so slowly; a mere few dozen seconds felt like decades.
Seeing a young woman rush out, he wondered: Is this Song Qiming's sister, that miracle doctor?
Recalling the street rumors that Song Jinzhao had beaten mountain bandits and northern thieves to death, he calmed his nerves a bit, his lips flapping as the words tumbled out.
"It's in an alley not far from the academy. It takes half an hour to run there. I'll lead the way for you."
Lanxi ran over, pulling a horse out of the stable.
Song Jinzhao leaped onto the horse. Holding the reins with her left hand, she leaned slightly, grabbed Hu Fengye by the collar with her right hand, and hoisted him up onto the horse.
"Show me the way."
Hu Fengye's eyes widened like a bull's. Reaching back to tightly grip Song Jinzhao's clothes, his heart leaped into his throat, pounding wildly.
She just lifted him up like that?
How could Song Qiming's sister be even more imposing than a man?
With a trembling finger, he forced himself to point ahead. "Turn right at the second alley up ahead."
The biting cold wind poured down his collar, freezing Hu Fengye into a trembling mess, his nose running uncontrollably.
By the time the two arrived, the scene was completely deserted.
All that remained were hundreds of messy, disorganized footprints in the snow and strikingly eye-catching red blood on the ground.
Hu Fengye climbed down from the horse's back, wandered around the area, and looked up with a terrified expression. "They must have been taken away by those masked men!"
Song Jinzhao pushed off with both feet, flying up to the roof to survey the surrounding alleys, but she didn't see a single soul.
She jumped down from the eaves, observing the trail of footprints, and looked straight ahead. "It's this direction."
Song Jinzhao was too fast; even using all his strength, Hu Fengye couldn't keep up with her.
He plopped down in the snow to rest for a long while before going back to fetch the horse.
Staring at the tall, majestic horse shaking its head and snorting hot air, he panted heavily and complained, "If only I knew how to ride a horse."
"No, when I get back, I have to ask my dad to find someone to teach me how to ride."
He never wanted to experience the feeling of being dangled in front of a woman on horseback like today ever again.
It was far too damaging to his masculinity; who knows how humiliating it would be if someone saw him.
Inside a cabinet in a narrow backyard, the heavy scent of rouge and powder enveloped the two of them. Song Qiming had to hold his breath to stop himself from sneezing.
With a loud bang, the courtyard door was forcefully crashed open.
Hearing the commotion, a heavily made-up madam with flowers pinned in her hair stepped out of the room with a scowl.
Seeing six burly men barge in, the anger on her face instantly transformed into a passionate, fawning smile.
She waved her handkerchief with graceful charm and spoke in an affected, high-pitched voice, "Why didn't you fine gentlemen come through the front door? The girls of my Beauty Pavilion are all waiting at the front."
A man interrogated the madam, "Did you see two scholars run in here?"
Hiding in the old cabinet, Song Qiming furrowed his brows in confusion.
Beauty Pavilion? What kind of place is that?
These thugs wouldn't lay their hands on a woman, would they?
Ji Youming pressed down on his hand and gently shook his head.
He leaned close to Song Qiming's ear, speaking with nothing more than the sound of his breath. "Don't worry, the Beauty Pavilion has quite a few bouncers. Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought you in here."
Song Qiming asked silently, mouthing the words, "What kind of place is the Beauty Pavilion?"
Ji Youming blinked, remembering that the boy was only twelve years old, and lightly spat out two words: "A brothel."
