Xi Qingyue did not rush to kill them. Instead, she looked at Xi Weilan with a smile. “Lan’er, try out your lightness skills in actual combat. You don’t need a sword or saber—just use all your strength to beat them up.”
Xi Weilan’s face lit up with excitement. She sprang into action at once.
Her small figure shot into the air. She kicked the leading man in the chin, and as her body tilted, her fist struck a gray-clad man in the chest at the same time. A series of cracking sounds rang out, followed by screams of agony.
Xi Weilan did not even touch the ground. She had used some force when kicking the man, and followed the momentum to fly in front of another man dressed in blue. With one punch, she struck him in the face, crushing his entire face inward.
In the blink of an eye, three men were already sprawled on the ground. The leader, whom she had kicked first, had died on the spot, while the other two wailed in agony, wishing they were dead.
The remaining three were frozen in shock by the sudden turn of events. Their legs trembled violently, and for a moment, they even forgot to run.
By the time they came to their senses, Xi Weilan’s fists had already arrived. Whenever she flew high, she kicked them in the head; whenever she flew low, she punched them in the face. After only a few blows, all three were lying on the ground.
Whenever she saw one who was still alive, she flew over and pummeled him with fists and feet. In a matter of moments, all six men had become corpses.
Standing in front of them with her hands behind her back, Xi Weilan frowned. “Big Sis, I didn’t even use my full strength. They seemed rather weak.”
Xi Qingyue smiled as she explained, “It’s not that they were weak. Your strength has increased again, and now that you’re practicing internal energy as well, ordinary people can’t withstand even one of your punches. In the future, take it easy when you’re fighting with children. Don’t accidentally kill someone with a single punch.”
Xi Weilan obediently nodded. “Mm-hmm, Big Sis, I understand. If they aren’t bad people, I’ll hit them more gently.”
Xi Qingyue did not tell her never to fight, and Xi Weilan did not say she would stop, either. The sisters were of one mind: bad people could be beaten to death, while those who were not too bad should be given a beating and left with enough breath to live.
Around the corner of a house not far away, the Bearded Man and his companions were hiding there, trembling from head to toe.
When the Bearded Man had seen someone go looking for trouble with the sisters earlier, he had recognized the leader. He had originally planned to help the two little girls from the shadows, but then he had watched a tiny girl kill those men in just a few moves.
It was terrifying. Fortunately, they had voluntarily left earlier.
“Boss, we should get out of here quickly. We almost robbed them just now. What if they come after us and kill us?” one of his men said anxiously.
The others nodded repeatedly in agreement. If they did not leave now, they might never get the chance.
The Bearded Man suddenly came to his senses. That was right—they had also intended to rob the sisters, even if they had stopped halfway through.
He stuck his head out and glanced quickly in Xi Qingyue’s direction, then hurriedly led his men away through the alley.
Xi Qingyue glanced in the direction they had gone before withdrawing her gaze. Carrying Xi Weilan, she left as well. She paid no attention to the bodies in the street. Once the authorities discovered them, they would naturally take care of everything.
Carrying Xi Weilan, Xi Qingyue flew into the sky above Yongfu City. Looking down over the entire city, she saw waterways running in every direction, houses lining both sides of the canals, and arched bridges spanning the water. It was a layout unlike anything found in the northern cities.
Clinging to her neck, Xi Weilan looked delighted. “Big Sis, let’s stay here and play for a few more days. There are so many delicious things here! Tomorrow, I want to have crab soup again.”
Xi Qingyue smiled and nodded. “All right. We can stay and play for as long as you want. We came out to have fun, after all.”
After saying that, the two of them entered their space to rest.
They had been gone for only half an hour when someone discovered the bodies of the dead men.
Several young masters, drunk and staggering along the street, saw the men lying on the ground and even walked over to kick one of them. One of them accidentally fell onto a corpse. It was only when he touched the sticky blood that he suddenly sobered up.
The bodies on the ground instantly dispelled their drunkenness. The men did not dare delay and hurriedly reported it to the authorities.
The arrival of the officials attracted many onlookers. Those who had not yet returned home all came running over.
When they saw the six corpses on the ground, their faces turned pale with fright.
It was already late at night, and seeing so many corpses killed any desire they had to watch the excitement. They wished they could slap themselves and rush home immediately.
“None of you are allowed to leave. You’ll all come over later to identify the bodies. Anyone who can provide a clue will be rewarded by the yamen.”
The people who were about to leave were stopped by the officials. None of them wanted to spend the night standing around corpses, but from the officials’ perspective, the more people there were, the better.
Someone nearby might have seen these men earlier that evening. If they stayed to provide clues, the case might be solved sooner.
The yamen officials had made careful arrangements, but none of the many onlookers provided any useful information. They merely identified the men.
“That’s Duan Pu. He did nothing but loaf around all day and loved bullying people. He often acted shamelessly, bringing several lackeys around to eat and drink without paying. When he had nothing better to do, he even beat beggars. Plenty of people hated him. He was probably killed by someone seeking revenge.”
A shop assistant recognized the men and described their usual misdeeds as well.
The constables frowned deeply when they heard this. If that was the case, the investigation would indeed be difficult.
A thug like this had offended far too many people. It was perfectly normal for someone to ambush and kill him. A man like that was dead, and that was that.
With no leads, the officials had no choice but to have the bodies carried away first and wait until daylight to continue the investigation.
The next day, when Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan appeared at the teahouse, everyone inside was discussing the corpses they had seen the previous night. One person after another was guessing who had killed those men.
The teahouse workers were all in high spirits. Duan Pu often brought his men there to eat and drink without paying, and he had caused them no end of trouble. Their business was small, and even if they reported him to the authorities, it would not do much good. The officials could not simply beat him to death, and afterward he might return to cause trouble at their shop. If he resorted to underhanded tactics, they would have even more trouble protecting themselves.
Most of the shopkeepers felt the same way and had simply put up with the men. There was one more important reason: Duan Pu had once claimed that he had a younger sister who was a concubine of the governor of Xinzhou. None of them dared gamble on whether that claim was true.
Xi Qingyue sat in a corner by the window, listening to everyone’s discussion. Xi Weilan sat beside her, happily eating pastries, completely unmoved by the gossip.
A quarter of an hour later, the people in the teahouse learned the latest development.
“The Liu Family Eatery has been sealed off. The authorities say Duan Pu ate there last night, so they suspect the people there secretly killed him. What an undeserved calamity.”
Someone could not help sighing in sympathy for the Liu Family Eatery.
Others cursed the authorities’ incompetence inwardly. They had no evidence at all, yet they were arresting people at random. A portion of the crowd remained cold and indifferent. After all, it was not them who had been arrested—they were merely there to watch the spectacle.
When Xi Qingyue heard that the Liu Family Eatery had been sealed, her brows drew together slightly. They were still planning to have crab soup there.
She immediately patted Xi Weilan on the head. “Lan’er, stop eating. Our cook has been arrested. We won’t be able to have crab soup tonight.”
