“Bang...”
The sounds of bodies hitting the ground rang out one after another. In the silent restaurant, they were especially clear.
Of the guards charging at the front, Xi Qingyue hacked two to death, while Xi Weilan shot two more with her pistol. In the blink of an eye, four guards had been killed.
Everyone in the restaurant instinctively retreated, afraid they might be accidentally injured by the two girls.
The crowd was once again stunned by the children’s audacity. These were people brought by the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty! How did the girls dare to attack them?
Wei Shao stared at the fallen guards in disbelief. The dozen or so remaining guards were also growing uneasy. It seemed that they were no match for these two children.
Just as they began to consider retreating, Wei Shao’s furious shout rang out. “What are you standing around for? Whoever captures them will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver! Anyone here may do it. I swear on my honor as Grand Tutor that I will keep my word!”
At those words, some people present were tempted. A thousand taels was no small sum.
Even a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Even if the Grand Tutor’s residence had been emptied, it could still easily come up with a thousand taels of silver.
The ordinary citizens who had come to watch the commotion were especially tempted. They were not wealthy, and if they could get their hands on a thousand taels, they would become rich overnight.
But temptation was all it amounted to. No one actually took action. Only the guards continued advancing to seize the girls.
Xi Qingyue’s patience finally ran out. Her eyes turned cold as she charged forward with her sword. One sword, one life. The dozen guards were all killed in the blink of an eye.
Just as Wei Shao was about to shout again, Xi Weilan—who had been aiming her gun at him all this time—moved her finger and pulled the trigger.
The dignified Grand Tutor of the Great Jing Kingdom was shot dead by a three-year-old child just like that.
Everyone in the restaurant sucked in a breath. Was this really a three-year-old child? Could she be some ancient monster who simply had never grown up?
The proprietor rolled his eyes back and fainted. His restaurant was ruined! With so many people dead, how could he possibly keep the business open?
Xi Weilan calmly put away her pistol. She did not feel that she had done anything wrong. This man had wanted to kill her and her sister, so she had merely dealt with the problem.
The restaurant fell into complete silence. No one dared to speak or move without permission. They did not even dare take a step toward the exit, staring at the sisters in terror and nervousness.
Xi Qingyue calmly said, “Those men were trying to seize women in broad daylight. We were acting in self-defense. You all saw that clearly, didn’t you?”
“We saw it clearly,” everyone answered loudly and quickly, without the slightest hesitation.
Xi Qingyue nodded in satisfaction. “Good.”
With that, she took Xi Weilan by the hand and led her down the stairs and out of the restaurant.
They reached their little vehicle. As before, Xi Weilan sat in front while Xi Qingyue sat behind her. Xi Qingyue still held the long sword in her right hand, its tip dripping blood.
The two girls had just killed a group of people, yet they rode away on their electric vehicle as openly and arrogantly as if nothing had happened. The restaurant instantly erupted into an uproar.
Mu Jin stood at the entrance, watching their departing figures with mixed feelings.
They were not merely arrogant—they were completely lawless! Even her princess would not dare behave like this. Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan were practically her idols.
She turned and instructed one of the guards beside her, “Give the proprietor five hundred taels of silver to cover the restaurant’s losses today.”
Then she immediately followed after Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan.
On the street, the sight of a vehicle that could move on its own without oxen or horses drew curious glances from the townspeople. They were especially intrigued because two children were riding in it.
This time, Xi Qingyue did not get far before someone stopped them. But the person blocking their path was not the Imperial Guards—it was Duke Anguo.
“Old man, what do you want?” Xi Qingyue looked up and asked coldly.
Duke Anguo stood in front of them, blocking their way. He carefully examined the two girls, paying particular attention to Xi Qingyue’s face. She looked remarkably similar to the child in the portrait he had seen.
“What are your names? Where did you come from?”
Xi Qingyue shook her head. “Why should I tell you? Weilan, drive. If he blocks us again, run him over.”
“All right, Sister,” Xi Weilan replied, placing her foot on the pedal.
Although the little vehicle was not very fast, it could still knock someone down. If this man blocked them again, they would not show him any mercy.
Duke Anguo did not block them a second time. Instead, he stepped aside, watching their backs as he murmured, “They look so much alike. Far too much alike...”
He climbed into his own carriage and ordered the driver to hurry back to the estate. He needed to confirm things once more. In any case, the two children could not escape the capital. Once he had confirmed their identities, he would go to the princess’s residence to find them.
Before he even reached his estate, he received some shocking news: the Grand Tutor had died—and had been killed by a three-year-old child.
Duke Anguo’s head began to buzz. For a moment, he thought he had heard incorrectly.
“Stop!” he immediately ordered.
After the carriage halted, he sent someone to investigate exactly what had happened.
If the two children truly were his granddaughters, he could not acknowledge them at a time like this. He had nearly forgotten that Wei Da was dead. If he recognized them now, he would only bring trouble upon the Duke of Anguo’s household.
Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan also did not make it smoothly back to Lu Qianning’s residence. They were stopped by Imperial Guards patrolling the streets.
More than a dozen Imperial Guards surrounded the sisters, but none dared approach too closely. Each held a weapon trained on the two girls as if facing a formidable enemy.
“Gentlemen, where are you taking us?” Xi Weilan asked from the front, smiling with an utterly innocent expression.
The Imperial Guards got goosebumps at the sight of her smile. They no longer dared underestimate this three-year-old child. Even the Grand Tutor had died at her hands.
They had received word that the Grand Tutor had been killed in the restaurant. They had no choice but to come and apprehend the culprits—but if they tried to make the arrest, they did not seem capable of defeating them.
The junior commander of the Imperial Guards asked with a smile, “Misses, are you the criminals who killed the Grand Tutor?”
Xi Qingyue nodded obligingly. “Yes, that was us. But you can’t catch us anyway. Don’t worry, we won’t run. We’ll be staying in the capital. Come find us after you’ve discussed how to arrest us.”
With that, she patted Xi Weilan on the shoulder. The little vehicle started moving again.
The junior commander waved his hand, and the other Imperial Guards hurriedly cleared the road.
“Commander, is it really all right to let them go?” one of the guards asked anxiously.
The commander shook his head slightly. “I don’t know. I only know that if we try to arrest them by force, we’ll definitely die. If we let them go, at worst we’ll be punished. Think about which consequence is lighter.”
The others looked dejected when they heard this. It seemed they simply did not have the ability to arrest the girls.
At the Jingzhao Prefecture, Vice Prefect Wang He was so shocked when he heard what had happened in the restaurant that his eyes nearly popped out.
“The Grand Tutor died just like that? You said he was killed by a three-year-old child, not the eight-year-old? Are you certain?” he asked again.
The constable nodded repeatedly. “My lord, it’s true. Many people witnessed it. The three-year-old killed him with the concealed weapon in her hand, while the eight-year-old killed the other guards. After killing them, the girls swaggered out of the restaurant. They said they were acting in self-defense and that the Grand Tutor had been trying to seize women by force.”
Wang He furrowed his brows slightly. What on earth were those two girls up to?
“My lord, shall we arrest them?”
At the mention of arresting them, Wang He’s eyebrows shot up. “Arrest them? Have you forgotten their lightness skills? Just because they didn’t use them today doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten how. They’re being utterly brazen—parading through the streets like this. Either they’re incredibly foolish, or they’re supremely confident.”
