Xi Qingyue glanced sideways at Xi Weilan beside her, who was nibbling on a small rabbit-shaped sugar figurine while watching the approaching group of people.
"Lan'er, why do you think these people are coming to rob us? Is it because we were too flashy in Yao City, or are they just too wicked?"
Hearing this, Xi Weilan answered without hesitation, "Sister, it's because they're too wicked. We didn't ask them to rob us."
Xi Qingyue smiled and patted her head. "Yes, Lan'er is right. We have plenty of silver; we can't stop spending it just because we're afraid of being robbed. We'll run into people like this sooner or later. So, this is their fault. We can't take the blame for others' mistakes."
She then pointed to the carriage and said, "Lan'er, go inside for a while. The sugar will melt and taste bad if you don't eat it soon."
Xi Weilan glanced at the people drawing nearer, then nodded to Xi Qingyue. "Okay, Sister."
With that, she took the sugar figurine into the carriage and started crunching on it loudly.
Xi Qingyue watched as the group surrounded her mule cart. She did not strike immediately.
She looked at the wealthy merchant at the front, who was glaring at her as if she were his mortal enemy. This left her utterly baffled.
"Damn girl, did you know all along that Chen Lin was in league with those bandits? If you knew, why didn't you speak up? If you'd said something sooner, my family wouldn't have been captured, I wouldn't have had to flee with my son, and my son wouldn't have been eaten by wolves in the mountains. This is all your fault."
After spitting out this tirade, Hao Zhiyuan still glared at her with gritted teeth, his eyes blazing with a murderous hatred as if he wanted to devour Xi Qingyue alive.
Xi Qingyue was stunned into silence. Truly, all kinds of twisted people existed in this world. His way of looking at things was so warped and bizarre that it caught her off guard.
For a merchant, just look at how Manager Fang ran his caravan—there was simply no comparison.
This man had only brought women, children, and guards on the journey. He had abandoned all his household servants, and even his guards turned out to be untrustworthy. His judgment was atrocious.
She didn't get angry; instead, she asked curiously, "What happened to your women and children?"
She had rescued everyone from the county jail in Liangcheng, but judging by his reaction, something didn't add up. At this moment, she was rather eager to hear the gossip.
Mentioning the other women and children only made Hao Zhiyuan angrier. "Don't bring up those unlucky wretches. They were captured by bandits. I didn't abandon them first, but they blamed me for running. Especially that dead woman, Lou Mo—she even wanted to kill me. It wasn't my idea for my son to be eaten by wolves. Next time I run into them, I'll make them pay."
Xi Qingyue understood immediately. This man had most likely come across wolves while fleeing through the mountains and pushed his son out to be devoured while he escaped. She was certain of it.
As for those women, they had lost all hope in Hao Zhiyuan when he slipped away without a word. Even if he had spent some silver to send a quick message, they might not have been captured. When they met again and found that the child he had taken had died and left no remains behind, it would have been a miracle if they didn't fall out with him.
She scoffed. "Their capture is your own fault. The situation you're in today is also your own choice. Coming here to blame me—you must have been kicked in the head by a donkey."
Hao Zhiyuan was about to curse back when another man interrupted him. "Hao Zhiyuan, are you done or not? We're here for the silver, not for you to catch up on old times."
The speaker was a middle-aged man, who seemed to be the leader of their group. He had a fierce expression and treated Hao Zhiyuan with contempt.
He turned his cold gaze to Xi Qingyue and said, "Did you make Xiao Liuzi and the others disappear? Be smart and hand over your money, and we might leave you both with whole corpses. Otherwise, I guarantee you'll die in a very ugly way."
As he spoke, he swept his eyes across the other two groups, his expression inscrutable.
Xi Qingyue thought back to the people she had killed recently. The only ones that came to mind were a bunch of thugs from the city—the group that had followed her into an alley, intending to rob her and sell her off.
She squinted slightly. It seemed she had been too quick with her killing back then. Those thugs were just lowlifes, but they had been sent by someone else.
She scanned the crowd and suddenly spoke. "Are you all one group, or separate? If you're not together, who am I supposed to give the silver to? How about you discuss it among yourselves first? Also, since I'm about to die, could you at least tell me who sent you?"
The middle-aged man frowned. "What nonsense. If not us, who else would get the silver?"
"Why should you get it all? We've been following the whole way too. We deserve at least thirty percent!" This time, it was a sleazy-looking man holding a large saber.
He had about twenty or so men with him, all strong and well-built, each clutching a blade. They looked like seasoned fighters.
The other group, about a dozen refugees, just stared at Xi Qingyue, with some eyeing the curtain behind her as if searching for something.
The fat, greasy-faced man leading them chuckled. "You can split the silver however you like. We only want these two kids. No objections, right?"
Hao Zhiyuan immediately objected. "No, these two belong to me."
The fat man's face darkened, and he raised his heavy hammer menacingly. "Don't be too greedy. We're giving up the silver and only taking the people. You can't have everything, can you?"
The middle-aged man shot Hao Zhiyuan a cold, sharp glare. "The master kindly took you in and promised to avenge you. You should be grateful. These sisters are going to die either way—what difference does it make if you kill them for revenge or they end up as food? This is settled."
Then he turned to the sleazy man and said with a warning tone, "At most, twenty percent. Otherwise, we'll each rely on our own strength. You only have twenty or so men. How many of you do you think would survive a real fight?"
The sleazy man grimaced but thought it over and nodded. "Fine, that's the deal."
Watching from the mule cart, Xi Qingyue was speechless. She muttered to herself, "Good heavens, I'm still sitting right here, and they're dividing up my silver right in front of me, even planning to eat us alive."
Sizing up the three factions, Xi Qingyue grabbed the submachine gun at her side and opened fire on the dozen or so refugees led by the fat man.
In an instant, over ten people collapsed to the ground.
"Hidden weapon! She has a hidden weapon! Get out of the way!" someone shouted in panic.
Before they could scatter, Xi Qingyue fired again. The once-arrogant group now fled in terror, screaming for mercy as they ran.
The sleazy man saw this and a flicker of greed lit up his eyes. He pulled a lackey in front of him as a shield and slowly crept toward Xi Qingyue.
He thought, if he could snatch such a fine hidden weapon, he would be set for life. His heart swelled with excitement at the prospect.
Xi Qingyue ignored the sleazy man and kept shooting at the fleeing crowd.
The middle-aged man, already stunned speechless, copied the sleazy man's move, pulling someone in front of him as a shield.
They both assumed that Xi Qingyue was just a child. As long as the hidden weapon missed and they got close, they would surely be able to subdue her.
Xi Qingyue glanced at the two men, a cold sneer forming in her heart. As they drew closer, she even took the time to swap out her magazine and continue firing.
By the time the middle-aged man and the lecherous man approached, she had killed everyone except Hao Zhiyuan.
Hao Zhiyuan now collapsed on the ground, wailing. Beneath him was a puddle of urine, and his hands were pressed tightly against his knees, sticky with blood.
The middle-aged man and the lecherous man exchanged a knowing glance and instantly reached a silent understanding. They kept dragging the corpses in front of them, advancing from the left and right sides, and lunged fiercely at Xi Qingyue’s arms.
But the next moment, both of them froze in place, then collapsed backwards.
They only felt a gust of wind brush past their necks, and instantly lost all sensation—a thin line of blood appeared across each of their throats.
Gazing coldly at the last surviving man, Xi Qingyue said, "Speak. Who was that ‘master’ you mentioned just now? Are they from Yao City?"
