Xi Weilan stood atop the city wall and shouted toward Xi Qingyue, “Big Sis!”
The moment Xi Qingyue turned around, Xi Weilan flew toward her like a little cannonball. Laughing, Xi Qingyue immediately caught her in her arms.
“Big Sis, the view is much better from up here. I wish I could be as amazing as you.”
With her arms around Xi Qingyue’s neck, Xi Weilan gazed happily at the scene below. Although she was a little clumsy, she had an incredible older sister, so she could still hover in midair and play.
Xi Qingyue smiled and rubbed her head. “Lan’er, you’re already very impressive. Even Mu Jin can’t match your strength. You can fly now, and you can shoot guns. Not even the imperial generals are as capable as you.”
“Really?” Xi Weilan asked, her eyes narrowing happily as she smiled.
Xi Qingyue nodded with a smile. “Of course it’s true. If you don’t believe me, ask Mu Jin. When she was your age, she definitely wasn’t as capable as you.”
While the sisters were talking, Prince Kang’s army below had already been killed or wounded, and the martial arts experts had been wiped out completely.
The citizens of Xin’an City stood at the city gate, staring wide-eyed at the scene outside. One by one, they stood frozen like stone statues.
An army of more than twenty thousand had been almost completely wiped out by fewer than a hundred people. They had never heard of such a battle record before.
Xi Qingyue simply stood in the air with Xi Weilan in her arms and watched. More and more citizens began emerging from the city.
When they looked at Xi Qingyue, their eyes held not only excitement but also a hint of awe. Such a feat was beyond the power of ordinary men, and those new weapons were not things ordinary people could obtain.
The crisis in Xin’an City had been resolved in less than half an hour—so quickly that the citizens had barely had time to react.
Once the enemy army had been completely eliminated, Xi Qingyue carried Xi Weilan back to the top of the city wall.
She looked at Scholar Han and said with a smile, “Uncle Han, I’ll leave everything that comes afterward to you. Lan’er and I will head back first.”
Scholar Han nodded with a smile. “All right. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”
More than twenty thousand corpses were no small matter. Xi Qingyue could use her special ability to bury them where they lay, but burying them near the city gate would hardly be ideal. Besides, she could not be bothered to handle it herself. It would be better to have the citizens transport them all to a mass grave for disposal.
Some citizens might be afraid of war, but after winning such a battle, they would certainly be eager to help move the corpses to the burial grounds.
After coming down from the city wall, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan rode Treading Wind slowly back toward their residence. The citizens watched Xi Qingyue with excitement and admiration in their eyes.
After what had happened today, even if they did not regard her as a deity, they would at least see her as someone they absolutely could not afford to provoke. Xin’an City would surely remain peaceful from now on.
As for the various troubles that had once occurred in the city—spoiled young masters beating citizens, abducting women, seizing farmland, and all sorts of other misconduct—none of them would happen again.
“Wonderful! Luckily, we didn’t leave. I can guarantee that our Xin’an City will be the safest city in all of Great Jing from now on.”
A woman who sold sesame cakes watched Xi Qingyue and the others’ retreating figures with a delighted expression. Her daughter would no longer have to hide herself. She could openly sell sesame cakes alongside her mother without worrying about being harassed or abducted and thus having to remain hidden at home.
If twenty thousand rebels could be wiped out so easily, then the local ruffians and spoiled young masters in the city were nothing worth mentioning.
Many citizens thought the same way. At least for now, it appeared that none of the people Xi Qingyue had killed had been innocent. As long as they behaved themselves and lived honest lives, they could live peacefully, and no one would be able to bully them.
Amid the crowd, Ouyang Jin watched Xi Qingyue’s back and stroked his beard with a smile. He had truly made the right bet by staying.
As long as he warned the younger members of his family to behave themselves, the Ouyang Family would have nothing to fear here. Xi Qingyue would not target them, and they might even be able to grow stronger.
If they had left like the Qi Family, their fate would have been difficult to predict. Even if they went to the capital, they might not be able to establish themselves there.
Thinking about Xi Qingyue’s actions, he chuckled inwardly. She had nearly eliminated all the unruly people in the city, leaving behind only honest merchants and ordinary citizens. For Xin’an City as a whole, this was a blessing.
In his good mood, he immediately entered a restaurant, ordered a table full of fine dishes and two jugs of wine, and began drinking alone.
Xi Qingyue paid no attention to what the citizens were thinking. She had no intention of oppressing honest, law-abiding people, nor would she allow the spoiled young masters to run wild. What she wanted was for the entire city of Xin’an to be clean and orderly.
As soon as they returned home, Auntie Wang hurried over with concern.
“Yue’er, Lan’er, are you hungry? I had some pastries prepared. They’ve been waiting for you to come back.”
Xi Weilan immediately sat down at the table, propping her little chin up with her hands. “Auntie Wang, that’s wonderful! I was just thinking about eating something.”
Auntie Wang smiled affectionately. “All right. I’ll have someone bring them out right away.”
Xi Qingyue merely smiled faintly. She felt that asking Auntie Wang to stay had truly been an excellent choice. Without needing to be told, she took care of all their meals and refreshments. She really was reliable.
She did not stay to eat the pastries. Instead, she returned to her room alone to cultivate her special ability.
Quite a few people had witnessed the battle outside the city. At the time, many citizens who had originally intended to help defend the city had been standing atop the walls. Although they had not been able to contribute anything, they had seen Xi Qingyue’s methods with their own eyes. They had also seen how Prince Kang’s army had been slaughtered in a one-sided massacre.
Xi Qingyue had deliberately allowed them to go up there. Her purpose had been to intimidate everyone. Once people saw her strength, they would no longer seek trouble with her, sparing her a great deal of unnecessary hassle.
Under Scholar Han’s direction, the corpses outside the city gate were cleared away completely, and the gate was not closed again.
Life in the city returned to normal. However, over the next few days, people from nearby cities kept coming to inquire about what had happened.
They entered the city discreetly and went to various teahouses and wine shops to listen to the discussions among the citizens.
When the families who had previously left learned what had happened in Xin’an City, they were all so regretful that their guts nearly turned green.
But Xi Qingyue had said that once they left the city gates, they would never have the chance to return—at least, they would not be allowed to settle in the city again.
The Head of the Qi Family was so furious that he smashed several teacups in succession.
“That little girl is so devious! If she had this kind of strength, why didn’t she say so earlier? If she had told us sooner, why would we have left? She did it on purpose!”
He clutched his chest and could not help cursing Ouyang Jin as well.
“That old bastard definitely knew something. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he have left? What a completely selfish man!”
The other members of the Qi Family also sighed miserably. An elderly man could not bear to see the head of the family so angry and spoke up to console him.
“Family Head, staying in Xin’an City may appear safe, but it is actually more dangerous. You must understand that an eight-year-old child’s temperament is impossible to predict. Her methods are completely outside the ordinary. Not all of our Qi Family’s younger members are obedient and honest. If any of them fall into her hands, it could mean complete ruin for the entire Qi Family.”
Head of the Qi Family, Qi Qian, clutched his chest with a pained expression.
“Even if some of them were unruly, we could have simply abandoned them. That still would have been better than this. Now we have to start all over again in a new place.”
He was filled with anger and regret. He was so aggrieved that he could barely eat.
Meanwhile, Lu Jinshuang returned to the capital with the ashes of the Ninth Prince.
Lu Qianning personally rode out of the city to escort her back, accompanied by a troop of Imperial Guards.
“Ninth Sister, I’m back!” Lu Jinshuang climbed down from the carriage and waved at her with a bright smile, her face alight with the joy of seeing family again.
Lu Qianning dismounted with a gentle smile and walked toward her. “It’s good that you’re back. Your mother has been worried about you lately. She’s mentioned you several times.”
