As Xi Qingyue and her companion decided to go to the county yamen that evening, in a room in the backyard of the yamen, a young man in blue robes was throwing a tantrum.
“You’re all a bunch of incompetents! After all this time, not a single trace of news? Could so many people have just vanished into thin air?”
“Young Master, Mirror City borders Bozhou City. Our people there have sent word—they haven’t seen that group. It’s been over ten days; perhaps they took a detour and left by another route.”
Hearing this, the blue-robed young man grew even angrier. He slammed his hand onto the desk, almost wishing he could tear the person in the portrait on the table to shreds.
The portrait was not of a woman, but of a young Confucian scholar in green robes—the very man who had knocked him unconscious, crippled him, and left him unable to father children for life.
If Xi Qingyue had been there, she would have recognized the man as Scholar Han from the village.
The blue-robed young man tossed the portrait to a guard. “Take this painting and search every corner of the city. Arrest anyone who looks like him.”
“Yes, Young Master.” The guard took the portrait and hurried off without delay.
Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan hadn’t found an inn to stay at yet; they were just strolling through the streets.
When the yamen’s men, armed with the portrait, stormed through the streets aggressively grabbing people by their collars to check their faces, the sisters happened to witness it.
“Big Sister, those men are so fierce.”
Xi Qingyue nodded. “Mm, they really are. I wonder what’s gotten into them.”
Curious, she used her ability to probe the portrait’s contents. Recognizing the person, she froze—it was Scholar Han.
Recalling rumors she’d heard before, she pieced together some guesses. Scholar Han must have stunned the young master with a stun baton or something similar.
But just unconsciousness—why such a grudge? That didn’t make sense.
If it wasn’t just about being knocked out, then what happened? Scholar Han must have had good reason. The magistrate’s son probably did something to anger him. Thinking of Scholar Han’s daughter, who was about fourteen or fifteen, was she the one who had been harassed?
Xi Qingyue scooped up Xi Weilan and headed toward a less crowded alley.
As a group of soldiers passed the alley entrance, a gust of eerie wind swept the last soldier into the alley, knocking him to the ground. His eyes were blindfolded, and something sharp seemed to press against his throat, with blood seeping out.
Feeling the pain at his neck, the soldier trembled in terror, not daring to breathe, convinced he had encountered a ghost.
“Speak. Who is the person in the portrait? Why are you arresting people everywhere?”
At the sound of the question, the soldier replied without hesitation. “I’ll talk! Just don’t kill me. I’ll tell you everything.”
“It’s the Young Master who ordered us to find him. Our Young Master is the County Magistrate’s son. Anyone who resembles the person in the portrait is to be taken back. The man knocked the Young Master out and crippled his... his manhood. The Young Master has been seething with anger, and every few days, he grabs people to take it out on them.”
Xi Qingyue was taken aback. She had thought Scholar Han’s refusal to kill was mercy, but now it seemed he had made life worse than death.
She asked again, “Why did that man cripple your Young Master? Tell me everything from the beginning.”
The soldier stammered, “It... it was because our Young Master took a liking to the man’s daughter. When she was out shopping, he forcibly dragged her into the back courtyard of a shop and tried to assault her. The man arrived in time and crippled the Young Master on the spot. But the County Magistrate kept it quiet to save face.”
After speaking, he quickly begged for mercy. “It wasn’t my fault! I wasn’t with the Young Master that day. The ones who were there were all crippled too. I only heard about it later.”
“Have you arrested people before?” Xi Qingyue asked.
The soldier’s voice wavered again. “I... I have.”
Upon hearing that, Xi Qingyue used a wind blade to kill him.
She and Xi Weilan descended from the rooftop of a house into the alley, standing over the corpse. Her expression was cold.
Xi Qingyue thought Scholar Han might as well have killed the magistrate’s son outright. Leaving him alive had only caused more suffering—harming both the guilty and the innocent. Today’s chaos in the streets was proof of that.
She sighed. “Lan’er, since this is Uncle Han’s enemy, we might as well take care of it. It’ll save more innocent people in this city from harm.”
Xi Weilan nodded in agreement. “Big Sister’s right. They bullied Uncle Han’s family and arrest people indiscriminately. They might as well be bandits.”
Glancing at the sky, Xi Qingyue decided not to act yet. Tucking Xi Weilan in her arms, she took them back into her hidden space.
Meanwhile, the soldiers noticed one man missing but dismissed it, assuming he had sneaked off to slack off. They cursed a few times and continued their arrests.
An hour later, the soldiers dragged five or six young men back to the yamen.
The youths knelt in terror, loudly begging for mercy. But the magistrate’s son was unmoved. He ordered a dozen torture devices brought out.
“Men! Give them a proper welcome. I want to hear a good show.”
“Yes, sir.” His henchmen promptly dragged the youths to the instruments.
In the next instant, screams echoed throughout the yamen.
In his study, the County Magistrate frowned at the noise.
Then he ordered his personal guard, “Go tell Rui’er to keep it down. It’s giving me a headache.”
“Yes, Your Honor.”
Just as the guard left, Xi Qingyue appeared in the study with Xi Weilan at her side. She witnessed the exchange just as the guard departed.
“I thought you were just biased and a little misguided,” Xi Qingyue said. “But to think you’re this kind of magistrate. Your son arrests people all over town, and you turn a blind eye? What use is a magistrate like you? It’s tragic for the common people to have such a father and official.”
“You... who are you? How dare you?” The County Magistrate, seeing only two children before him, refrained from raising an alarm, assuming his subordinates had been sloppy.
Xi Qingyue raised her right hand, and a longsword materialized out of thin air.
“Intru—” The Magistrate managed only a single syllable before the sword sliced through his neck, severing his head from his body.
After killing him, she took Xi Weilan’s hand, sword still in hand, and left the study. The valuables inside had already been swept into her space.
The moment they stepped out, they encountered another guard. Without a word, Xi Qingyue swung her sword, dropping him dead on the spot.
Thus, they strode toward the magistrate’s son’s courtyard, where the screams still rang out.
As they entered the small yard, Xi Qingyue used her wind ability to knock the captive youths unconscious.
Then the two sisters walked boldly into the courtyard.
“Well, well, where did these little bastards come from? Seize them and give them a thrashing!” the magistrate’s son shouted.
Guards swarmed toward Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan.
Xi Qingyue charged, killing the first one to reach her in a single blow.
As more guards rushed from both sides, she swept her sword in a graceful arc from right to left. A flash of cold light, and two more fell dead.
Seeing that she was not easy to deal with, the other soldiers set their sights on Xi Weilan, who was behind her.
The magistrate's son pointed angrily at Xi Weilan and shouted, "Capture the little one first! When I get the chance, I'll fry her alive in boiling oil right in front of her sister!"
Xi Weilan, the one being pointed at, calmly reached her small hand toward her waist. Just as the soldiers charged at her, she swiftly pulled out the pistol holstered at her side.
In the next instant, she fired a single shot, blowing off the head of the magistrate's son as he stood directing the attack.
Xi Qingyue no longer wasted time with them. She sheathed her long sword and stood still, while a thorny vine materialized out of thin air. The vine moved through the air like a snake with eyes, winding and striking with deadly precision, piercing through the bodies of the soldiers one after another.
Soon, only the two sisters and the unconscious youths remained in the courtyard. The vine then vanished into thin air.
