Xu Suwen felt something soft underfoot, as if she had stepped on something. Then, suddenly, ropes creaked on both sides.
Immediately afterward, two basins of black dog's blood, prepared long ago, splashed all over her.
Her originally fair clothes were dyed a thoroughly bloody red.
Xu Suwen stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.
Jiang Yun trotted up to her and couldn't help saying, "Miss Xu, I told you not to come in. Just look at you."
"Such a waste of two basins of black dog's blood."
"Miss Xu, you'll have to pay for two black dogs now."
This guy had already taken advantage of the darkness to feel her up from head to toe.
She had put the past behind her and come to help him, only to get drenched in blood.
Instead of asking if she was all right, this guy's first reaction was to make her pay for two black dogs?
How could someone like this exist?
Xu Suwen grabbed at her hair, caked with filth, and nearly lost it. "Jiang Yun! I'll kill you!"
With a whoosh, she drew her saber.
Seeing trouble, Jiang Yun turned and ran. Xu Suwen chased after him.
He ran, she pursued, and she was doomed to be caught.
As Jiang Yun ran ahead, he shouted, "Miss Xu, don't say I didn't warn you..."
With a thud, it was already too late.
Xu Suwen had fallen into a pit that had been dug in advance.
Lying at the bottom, she stared at the sky, thinking that Jiang Yun had to be a pervert. Why on earth had he dug a huge pit in the middle of a perfectly good courtyard?
Jiang Yun tossed down a rope. "Miss Xu, I told you not to run around!"
Soon, the disheveled Xu Suwen was slowly pulled up.
She warily swept her gaze over Jiang Yun's courtyard. "How many more traps are in here?"
"I've lost count."
"I remember you only got back an hour ago. You set up all this in that time?" Xu Suwen said through gritted teeth, her face dark.
"Qiaoqiao helped too. She dug this pit."
Then Jiang Yun gave an awkward smile. "Miss Xu didn't want to help, so I had no choice but to resort to this."
Xu Suwen pulled out a white handkerchief and wiped the dog's blood from her face. "When did I ever say I wouldn't help?"
"I went to ask around about those evil people!"
At that, Xu Suwen couldn't help cursing inwardly. If she hadn't gone to gather information about those evil people for him, wasting an hour, she wouldn't have had to suffer this.
"You know something about them?" Jiang Yun's eyes lit up.
"That fall made me forget." Xu Suwen snorted.
"My fault, my fault." Jiang Yun was quick to admit his mistake.
Xu Suwen thought it over and said, "I'll tell you what I know about those evil people, and I can help protect Jiang Qiaoqiao. But I have a condition. I came to Nanzhou Prefecture on an important mission, and I need your help with it."
Jiang Yun nodded. "Don't worry, Miss Xu. I'll brave mountains of blades and seas of fire for you."
"That's more like it."
Seeing how eager Jiang Yun was to help, Xu Suwen felt much better. "First, I need a bath..."
"Girl, go boil a pot of water in the kitchen!" Jiang Yun called loudly toward the back courtyard.
Jiang Qiaoqiao came running over, beaming. "Are you going to stew those two dogs in the back courtyard?"
"I told you, it's such a waste to just bleed those two dogs. We should stew up a proper pot of meat."
"It's for your Sister Xu to bathe."
Watching Xu Suwen go inside to wash, Jiang Yun glanced at the traps and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Even a master of the Imperial Guards had fallen for them. At least all his effort hadn't gone to waste.
After her bath and a change into clean clothes, Xu Suwen finally felt comfortable.
As for her dirty clothes, obedient Jiang Qiaoqiao was already scrubbing them in the back courtyard.
Inside, Xu Suwen sipped ginger soup and finally felt warm again.
Jiang Yun sat beside her with a smile. "Miss Xu, can you tell me about those evil people now?"
Xu Suwen rolled her eyes. "Based on what that Ghost Granny said in the dungeon, I'd guess there are four of them in total."
"They used to roam the north years ago. Then the imperial court hunted them down, and they fled to this area around Nanzhou Prefecture. After that, we lost track of them."
"They're deeply attached to one another. Once they learn Ghost Granny died at our hands, they definitely won't let you off easily."
Jiang Yun frowned and corrected her. "Strictly speaking, she died at your hands, Miss Xu."
"Does it make a difference?"
"Their leader is an evil man named Yang Qian."
"They're most skilled in the Insect Gu Technique."
As Xu Suwen described the group, Jiang Yun rubbed his chin and asked, "Is there any way to find them and wipe them out?"
Jiang Yun didn't want to spend every day on tenterhooks. As long as those people were alive, he wouldn't be able to sleep.
Xu Suwen shook her head. "They're not especially powerful, but they're good at hiding. Finding them won't be easy."
"But their whereabouts have been exposed. They'll have to leave Nanzhou Prefecture soon."
"If they want revenge for Ghost Granny, they'll come after you in the next few days."
Hearing that, Jiang Yun sighed. "Why don't they come after you for revenge?"
Xu Suwen replied as if it were obvious, "They're too busy hiding from the Imperial Guards to dare come looking for trouble with me."
"Besides, being wanted by the imperial court is one thing; killing an Imperial Guard is another." Xu Suwen smiled. "There have been evil people who dared to kill Imperial Guards."
"But every last one of them is dead."
Outside Nanzhou Prefecture City, in a remote, dilapidated shack with wind whistling through every crack, three evil men dressed in black sat discussing what to do.
The oldest of them, a man in his eighties, sighed softly. "So Fourth Sister died just like that."
"Big Brother, let's go. Xia Lingxian is dead. Without his protection, we can't hide here."
Yang Qian had a hooked nose and deep-set eyes. He licked his lips and said slowly, "Fourth Sister died at the hands of a young scholar?"
"That's what the news from the government office says." Someone beside him nodded, then asked hesitantly, "Big Brother, are you thinking...?"
Yang Qian drew a deep breath and said slowly, "We swore to be siblings. We have to avenge Fourth Sister."
He slowly got to his feet. "It seems that scholar has a younger sister, too."
"Today, we'll let him taste what it's like to lose his sister."
Late at night, in the silent little courtyard of the Jiang Household, Jiang Yun sat on his bed, not asleep, listening intently for any movement outside.
Jiang Qiaoqiao and Xu Suwen were staying in the room next door.
Suddenly, there was a slight noise on the eaves outside.
They're here!
Jiang Yun's heart stirred. He quickly tapped on the wall and said, "Miss Xu, keep an eye on Qiaoqiao. I'll go take a look."
He took a deep breath and opened the door, stepping into the courtyard.
At that moment, a strange figure stood on the eaves of the neighboring house.
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