Xi Qingyue withdrew her gaze and was about to follow Xi Weilan into the carriage to grab something to eat when, to her annoyance, they were interrupted.
Just as the group of men were about to step into the relay station, one of them suddenly pointed in Xi Qingyue's direction and whispered something to the leader.
No one else could hear what was said, but Xi Qingyue caught every word.
"Chief, those two kids and that mule cart match the description given by the refugees. They're the ones who had contact with the princess. They even fought bandits alongside her and talked with her."
Hearing this, the leader immediately stopped in his tracks. He shot a sinister glare toward Xi Qingyue and spoke with contempt.
"Seize them. Find out if they know the princess's exact whereabouts."
"Chief, they know martial arts, and both of them carry hidden weapons—they've killed quite a few bandits. Should we just charge in? What if they escape?"
The leader's eyes turned cold as he swept a glance at the man who spoke. "Bandits? What are they compared to us? Why hesitate over two kids?"
With a displeased look, he strode toward the mule cart.
Seeing the hostility bearing down on them, Xi Weilan tugged at Xi Qingyue's sleeve. "Big Sister, they're coming to cause trouble."
Xi Qingyue nodded. "Mm. They want to capture us and make us reveal Big Sister Lu's whereabouts."
As she spoke, she reached behind her into the carriage with both hands. In the blink of an eye, she pulled out two submachine guns.
She handed one to Xi Weilan and instructed, "These people definitely know martial arts and qinggong. When you shoot, focus on one person and keep firing at them no matter where they leap. Use them for target practice."
Xi Weilan nodded seriously. "Mm, Big Sister, got it."
She would obediently focus on one person at a time—finish one, then move to the next.
The group of men stopped about a dozen paces away, raising their swords in unison.
The leading man looked at the guns in their hands with arrogant disdain.
"How utterly ridiculous. You think those little toys of yours can stand against us?"
Xi Qingyue waved the gun at them. "Why don't you find out if it's ridiculous or not?"
The moment the words left her mouth, she pulled the trigger without hesitation, faster than most of the men could even react.
Only a handful managed to dodge using qinggong, the leader being the first to leap aside.
After his initial shock, he flashed a mocking smile, as if to say this hidden weapon wasn't all that impressive.
But at that very moment, Xi Weilan opened fire in his direction.
The man launched himself into the air to evade the incoming bullets, but before he could even land, Xi Weilan's shots were already coming at him in rapid succession. Even with his qinggong, a bullet caught him in the calf.
He lost his balance and tumbled from the air, hurriedly executing a backflip to steady his landing.
In that instant, Xi Weilan fired again and again. Unable to dodge in time, he took multiple hits and collapsed to the ground, barely breathing.
Xi Weilan let out a cold snort. "Hmph. Don't think you can bully me and my big sister."
The man stared at her, eyes wide with venomous hatred—beyond shock, there was fury and deep regret.
The few others who had dodged the first burst of fire were quickly dealt with by Xi Qingyue.
No matter how skilled their martial arts, none could outrun her bullets. As for speed, these men were nothing compared to her.
She crouched down to search the bodies for valuables, an act that made the watching refugees both envious and terrified.
Seeing this, Xi Weilan quickly ran over and joined in. Together, they stripped every ounce of worth from the fallen men, even pulling off their jade belts to sell for silver later.
After finishing the search, Xi Qingyue walked over to the dozen or so horses tethered nearby. She pointed at them, but her eyes swept over the crowd. "These horses are mine now. Got it?"
The refugees nearest to her had already scrambled far away, and the rest hurriedly nodded to show they understood.
These weren't fools. They had witnessed several brutal scenes in a row, and the most astonishing part was that the deadliest ones turned out to be two children.
The crowd eyed the horses with greedy longing, but none of them had a death wish.
Xi Qingyue led all the horses back to her mule cart and tied them to a nearby tree.
She scanned her surroundings and sighed at the nuisance. If not for all these people watching, she would have just stored them in her spatial ring.
After settling the horses and intimidating the surrounding refugees, Xi Qingyue and Xi Weilan climbed into the carriage to eat.
It was at that moment that Lu Qianning and Luo Ling rode up to the relay station on horseback.
From a distance, they spotted Xi Qingyue's mule cart. Naturally, they assumed Xi Qingyue's cart being ahead of them was perfectly normal.
However, when they saw the pile of corpses on the ground—especially the dozen or so assassins—a flicker of surprise passed through Lu Qianning's eyes.
She thought to herself: Aren't these the assassins the Fourth Prince sent? Who killed them? Well, isn't that just wonderful.
She immediately dismounted and walked over to the assassins' bodies, crouching down to search them.
Some refugees, assuming she was looking for silver, scoffed. "Ha! If there was any silver, those two kids would've already picked it clean."
"Exactly. They felt through every pocket. There's nothing left."
Hearing this, Lu Qianning's mouth twitched. She continued searching for the letters she was after, pausing only after a long moment.
"They really plucked every feather, even the belts," she muttered.
Luo Ling couldn't help but marvel. "The assassins chasing us got killed before they even found us. The princess is incredibly lucky."
"What are you two looking for?" Xi Qingyue stepped out of the carriage and stood by the mule cart, watching their actions with confusion.
She didn't think Lu Qianning was short on silver—she wouldn't be digging through corpses for that.
Lu Qianning walked over to her and said openly, "Looking for letters or something like that. If I find them, they're evidence."
Xi Qingyue shook her head at her. "There was quite a bit of silver, but no letters."
Hearing this, Lu Qianning didn't seem disappointed. She was just taking a gamble; even without evidence, her vengeance wouldn't be thwarted.
She gave Xi Qingyue a solemn bow. "Thank you."
Xi Qingyue waved her hand dismissively. "No need. They brought it on themselves."
She had said before—anyone who came looking for trouble would get no mercy from her.
Lu Qianning hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Yue, these men were after me. You were caught in the crossfire because of me. I'm sorry."
Hearing this, Xi Qingyue suddenly leaned in close to Lu Qianning and said with a grin, "I know. It's that Fourth Prince, right? Don't worry. If he dares to come after me, I'll kill as many as he sends. And if he's bold enough, I'll go straight to the capital, kill him myself, and hang his body in front of the palace gates. You can let me know where he is in advance."
Lu Qianning was stunned speechless. So her identity had been exposed all along.
After a moment, she smiled at Xi Qingyue. "Alright. I can tell you where he is, but you have to leave him alive. Let me kill him myself, and then you can hang him up in front of the palace gates. Consider it a favor I owe you."
Xi Qingyue nodded immediately. "Deal."
