The twelve beggars were trussed up tightly, with harsh interrogation awaiting them. Now they began to feel afraid. Only after learning that Qiqi was a princess of the Great Dynasty did they realize what a monstrous hornet's nest they had stirred up today. Had they known she had such an imposing background, none of them would have dared provoke this trouble.
Wearing her dogskin coat, Qiqi walked up to the beggars, who were being held on their knees. She glared at them. "Talk! Where did you take Hu Xiaotian?"
It was not that they refused to talk; they genuinely did not know. As for stubborn bones and a stubborn mouth, Zhu Dali outdid them all. He shouted, "So what if we won't talk? Every disciple of the Beggar Gang has bones of iron. We'd rather die than submit!"
"Then I'll let you die rather than submit!" Qiqi snapped. She raised her riding whip and lashed Zhu Dali. Crack! Crack! Even after two strokes, Zhu Dali still held his neck straight and roared, "Kill me if you've got the guts! Losing my head leaves nothing but a scar the size of a bowl's mouth. Eighteen years from now, I'll be a fine fellow again!" He put on quite a show of defiance.
Fury blazed in Qiqi's heart. With a clang, she drew a saber from a nearby guard's waist and raised it to slash at Zhu Dali's neck. "Let's see what kind of fine fellow you are..." Just as the blade was about to fall, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from afar. "Stay your blade!"
Qiqi's heart jolted. That was unmistakably Hu Xiaotian's voice. She turned and saw him squeezing through the crowd, panting for breath. "Stay your blade... stay your blade..."
Only when she saw Hu Xiaotian safe and