Another Rainstorm!

After a day of selling porridge, He Hua was getting ready to close up.

Just then, a stout woman draped in gold and silver jewelry walked in from outside.

Her surname was He, and she was the only matchmaker around.

A black mole sat beneath her nose, making her look cunning as a fox.

"Miss He, business is booming, I see..."

Matchmaker He spoke with a smile.

After a pause, she continued, "Miss He, you really are lucky. You owed so much in gambling debts, but before you paid them back, the Treasure Abundance Hall collapsed. All your debts were wiped clean, and now you've even opened a shop!"

Clearly, He Hua had little liking for Matchmaker He and did not respond.

Matchmaker He did not mind. Still smiling, she went on, "But you two sisters only have each other to depend on. You can't go on like this forever..."

He Hua stopped working and raised her head to look at Matchmaker He.

"Miss He, you're still young, and you have a little sister to feed. How many coppers can a porridge shop earn in a day? Can you really support your sister?"

Matchmaker He's words plunged He Hua into silence.

Indeed, running a porridge shop brought in very little money.

It was barely enough to keep the two sisters fed.

"A woman ought to marry into a good family..."

As she spoke, Matchmaker He's smile deepened, and the black mole beneath her nose kept pressing against the bridge of her nose, making her look like a giant rat.

"In the past, because that gambling addict of a father of yours loved gambling so much, all the neighbors kept their distance. Such a waste of that pretty little face..."

Matchmaker He reached out to touch He Hua's cheek, but He Hua recoiled in disgust.

Matchmaker He did not mind. With another smile, she continued, "Now your gambling debts are cleared, and your family has a clean slate. Wouldn't you know it, someone has taken a fancy to you."

He Hua lowered her head and resumed working. "Matchmaker He, thank you for your kindness, but I still have a little sister to support. I'm not planning to marry."

Her mother had died, and her father had run away. She effectively had no family of her own to fall back on.

A woman who married without a family behind her had no standing in her husband's household. She would be beaten or scolded, no different from a servant.

He Hua did not want to enter another cage when she had only just escaped the last one.

Life running the porridge shop might be poor, but at least she was free.

Matchmaker He rolled her eyes at her. "You silly girl, let me finish!"

"The family interested in you this time is a merchant family here in town. But their son enlisted in the army! He's now a member of the Local Garrison!"

"Do you know what it means to be in the Local Garrison? That's a golden rice bowl for life!"

Matchmaker He emphasized, "And the latest news is that the Local Garrison is being sent down to our Lotus Town to work with the county magistrate and capture those two wanted criminals!"

"They're the two ruthless men who killed Qian Zhao, the owner of the Treasure Abundance Hall. They aren't ordinary wanted criminals, either. There's a band of rebels behind them! I hear they even slaughtered everyone in the Black Kui Stronghold on Black Kui Ridge!"

At the mention of that force, a trace of apprehension appeared on Matchmaker He's face.

He Hua's expression, however, shifted with emotion.

Thinking she had persuaded He Hua, Matchmaker He struck while the iron was hot. "But against the county authorities and the Local Garrison, those rebels don't stand a chance! Wiping them out will be a great achievement!"

"Every garrison soldier who takes part will have military merits recorded. The rewards are secondary; what matters is the chance of promotion in the future-where else could you find such a good husband these days?"

"And the family has said they don't mind you bringing your little sister. They're willing to raise her too..."

Matchmaker He continued praising the prospective husband's family, but He Hua could no longer listen.

She had spotted two familiar figures passing the doorway.

Whoosh...

She sprang to her feet and rushed outside as though possessed.

But the familiar figures were nowhere to be seen...

Standing on the street, heavy with a murderous chill, He Hua's gaze went blank for a moment.

She had opened the porridge shop because she wanted to see those two again. Yet her instincts told her-she might never see them again...

"What is it, Little Juzi?"

The two men walking along the street, both wearing bamboo hats with black veils, stopped and looked back.

Ning Que took a bite of his flatbread, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "Nothing. I just saw someone I know..."

Yin Jiuyou remembered too. With a rare smile, he said, "After that last farewell, who knows when we'll meet again..."

Neither man had any intention of going inside again.

They had also noticed that He Hua harbored special feelings for Ning Que.

Unfortunately, people like them were destined never to live ordinary lives.

Much less dared they rashly promise someone a lifetime together.

Otherwise, they would end up like Yin Jiuyou, burdened with lifelong regret, their minds blinded by hatred.

"But, Juzi, after tonight, they should finally be able to live in peace..."

"Yes. Once tonight is over..."

Ning Que's eyes flickered as he murmured to himself.

Another rainstorm.

Just like when they had first arrived.

The only difference was that this rain was not heavy. It was fine and light.

When they reached out to touch it, it melted into their palms.

The county yamen looked somewhat hazy in the rain.

The bloodstains at the entrance had already been cleaned away, and Qian Kuidou's head had been recovered.

With the county yamen at the center, guards and constables stood at every step.

Everyone sensed the suffocating pressure of an approaching storm.

"Commander Huang is here!"

At the shout, Huang Tong arrived at the county yamen's entrance with a hundred elite soldiers.

County Magistrate Qian Taizhong personally came out to greet him, nodding and bowing.

Commander Huang gave him an indifferent glance and paid him no further attention.

Though this operation to wipe out the rebels was a joint effort with the local county authorities, Huang Tong understood one thing.

Once the fighting began, there would be no relying on these constables, who had never seen a battlefield and had not even killed anyone.

He would have to rely on himself!

His expression was utterly solemn as he looked at the hundred Local Garrison soldiers he had brought.

"Men! This mission is no different from the others! They're nothing but a band of rebels who've seized a mountain and declared themselves kings! They threaten Great Li and must be eliminated!"

Huang Tong's rousing roar rang across the grounds.

"All of you, keep track of how many you kill! Cut off their heads and count them! When this is over, you'll be rewarded according to your merits!"

Boom...

A thunderous cheer erupted inside the county yamen.

Even Qian Taizhong's eyes lit up at the sight.

As expected of the Local Garrison-their bearing was on an entirely different level!

With these elite soldiers here, no matter how well trained those rebels were, they would be no match!

During the rest period, two garrison soldiers began chatting.

"Kid, the rewards for this operation depend on how many heads you take. Have you decided how many you're going to kill?"

"As many as I can, of course!"

One of the soldiers, a slightly younger man, said fiercely, "Kill one and I break even. Kill two and I turn a profit! Kill three and even Yaojiu's share is covered!"

"Once I get my army pay, I'll make that ungrateful woman see exactly what she turned down!"

He was the merchant's son whom He Hua had rejected.

He was a soldier in the Local Garrison, and his family were merchants. They were comfortably off.

Yet she was merely a penniless woman with a little sister in tow.

He had not looked down on her, but she had rejected him instead.

That infuriated him beyond measure!

Yet, in the darkness of the night...

Whoosh!

A sharp arrow tore through the air and pierced his throat dead center.