Beside a heap of corpses, a guard stared at the brutal scene before him in utter disbelief. His eyes reddened especially when he saw the body split in two, and his fists clenched involuntarily.
Just then, the impatient, irate voice of a middle-aged man rang in his ears, “Have you found those traitors yet?”
Hearing this, the guard forcefully suppressed his fury and steadied his emotions.
Pretending to be calm, he replied, “Master, there are too many people. I haven’t spotted them yet. Maybe they were robbed by these bandits too.”
He planned to glance around briefly and claim he hadn’t found anyone, figuring no one else would come to check with so many bodies around.
Suddenly, a crisp, soft child’s voice sounded not far away, nearly breaking the guard’s composure entirely.
Xi Weilan walked over to Lu Qianning, tugging at her sleeve, her bright eyes fixed on her. “Big Sister Lu, Big Sister said that uncle is pretty pitiful. She said since you have many people here, you could help find someone.”
Lu Qianning was momentarily speechless. She glanced at Xi Qingyue, realizing she wanted to watch the drama but also wanted to use her people as labor to move bodies. Still, she didn’t refuse—she also wanted to confirm the connection between the guard and the bandits.
Smiling, she picked up Xi Weilan and gestured to the guards around her. All except Luo Ling headed toward the pile of corpses.
Unlike the middle-aged man’s guards, hers handled the bodies like cargo, methodically separating them to the left and right without scattering them too far, making sure every face was visible for quick identification.
They felt no pity for the bandits’ bodies. They had seen too many evil people in their time, and bandits who shouted about keeping women and children were obviously despicable.
Carrying Xi Weilan, Lu Qianning walked over to Xi Qingyue and chuckled. “Guess—can we find their missing guards?”
“What do I get if I’m right?” Xi Qingyue asked seriously.
Curious, Lu Qianning looked at her. “Oh? What kind of reward do you want?”
“A martial arts manual, or an inner energy technique, or better yet, a lightness skill manual.”
Hearing this, Lu Qianning was stunned. Luo Ling couldn’t help but blurt out, “Wait, aren’t you already able to use lightness skills? We’ve seen it.”
Xi Qingyue couldn’t explain, so she simply said, “I’m not skilled enough and haven’t mastered it, so I can’t teach anyone. I want to buy a simple manual for Lan’er to practice.”
Her ability to fly came from her wind-element power, not lightness skills. For now, she could only fly low and for short periods—enough to kill someone, but not to fly for long. It was her most useful ability, mainly because it let her kill quickly.
As for her other powers, using them would be too obvious. For instance, if everyone else was short of water and she suddenly conjured a water ball to throw at someone, it would scare them to death.
When Lu Qianning heard her say she wasn’t skilled, she was surprised, then sighed. “Sigh, learning martial arts without a teacher is risky, especially for beginners practicing inner energy. If you were still back in the mountains back then, I’d have had time to teach her, but now, there’s no time.”
She glanced toward Liangcheng. “Once we show up in Liangcheng, our movements will easily be detected by spies. I can’t get too close to you two—it would drag you into trouble.”
Xi Qingyue shook her head dismissively. “It’s fine, I was just asking. Actually, whether she learns or not doesn’t matter. I can ensure no one can harm her. I just want her to be stronger on her own.”
From Lu Qianning’s words, she confirmed that lightness skills weren’t common, which reassured her.
Suddenly, the middle-aged man’s furious roar came from a distance. “Bastards! It really is you, you damn traitors. So you did side with the bandits! Good, you died well…”
Hearing this, Xi Qingyue turned to look. The middle-aged man was kicking and cursing several corpses, filled with hatred.
She wasn’t surprised. In a situation like this, stealing someone’s food and carts was as good as killing them. If it weren’t for finding the hidden silver, those people might have suffered worse fates.
She reached into the carriage, pulled out a spray bottle, sprayed herself, then sprayed Lu Qianning, Xi Weilan, and the others. She handed it to Luo Ling and instructed, “Spray everyone. Do it now.”
Even though the dead wouldn’t cause an epidemic so soon, prevention was always better than cure, especially since she had asked others to help dig through the bodies.
Halfway there, Luo Ling suddenly realized something was off. Her mistress hadn’t even given an order, yet she was following a child’s instructions.
Xi Qingyue also walked over. The lead guard had clenched his fists so hard they bled—his connection to the bandits was clear. Resolving matters here would be best.
She approached the middle-aged man and asked, sounding puzzled, “Uncle, you said everyone was drugged last night, but shouldn’t guards eat and drink the same things? How come your guards were drugged while the thieves weren’t? Are you sure they weren’t in cahoots—crying thief to cover themselves?”
At her words, the guards’ faces changed, especially the lead guard.
He immediately stepped forward, looking aggrieved. “Master, you wrong us! We are absolutely loyal, and heaven and earth are our witnesses!”
Xi Qingyue had been watching their expressions. Since they were in league with the bandits and all heading to Liangcheng, they would inevitably clash, given the serious grudge.
But she hadn’t expected this: the moment she finished speaking, the middle-aged man glared at her angrily. “Nonsense! Xiao Lin has been loyal to me. Just now he was carrying me on the road. Stop spouting your lies here, or I’ll be rude to you!”
Xi Qingyue felt utterly speechless. Didn’t normal people start by investigating when something was suspicious? This man was arrogantly stubborn to the point of absurdity.
Fine. Whether he was tied to the bandits or not, she could kill them when they came for revenge. As for whether this man lived or died, she’d respect his choice.
She turned and walked away, refusing to waste another word.
Seeing this, Lu Qianning couldn’t help but chuckle softly. “Little Lan’er, your Big Sister got mad at someone. She tried to do a good deed and got scolded. Do you want to cheer her up?”
Xi Weilan giggled. “It’s fine. Big Sister won’t actually get angry about this. She’ll feel better after eating something.”
Xi Qingyue came over and said, “I wasn’t helping others. That guy is connected to the bandit leader. They’re bound to come after me for revenge. I wanted to expose and deal with him here, but since someone doesn’t want that, I don’t care.”
She picked up Xi Weilan. “Alright, time to go. We’ve rested enough.”
Lu Qianning nodded, relieved to see the fire already burning.
With so many refugees passing through, few thought of eating the dead. Only in desperate situations did most consider it, but there were always such people—like these bandits.
Burning the bodies was the best way to prevent plague. Soon enough, they might not even have the chance to burn them.
Lu Qianning patted Xi Qingyue on the head and said with a smile, "Yueqing, I'm about to leave, and who knows when we'll meet again. Could you let me take a look at your hidden weapon?"
Upon hearing the word "hidden weapon," Luo Ling also leaned in with an expectant look—she was curious too.
Xi Qingyue had known she would ask this. She wasn't afraid to show them, so she patted Xi Weilan's hand and said, "Lan'er, take it out and let them see. Remember to activate the safety catch."
"Got it, Big Sister." The Xi Weilan she was holding looked down and reached for the holster at her waist.
Seeing this, Lu Qianning was dumbfounded again.
She had been holding Xi Weilan for quite a while just now—turns out the hidden weapon she wanted to see was right there by her hand.
Taking it from Xi Weilan, she examined it carefully, and the more she looked, the more she realized how formidable this hidden weapon was.
She turned to Xi Qingyue and asked, "Do you have any extras of this? Are you selling any?"
"No." The rejection was as blunt as it was merciless.
