Chapter Nineteen: Robbery on the Road

  On this clear morning, a horse and carriage set off from Shazhou City at dawn. This time, Qī Lǐng not only chose to travel by carriage but also packed many things behind the carriage. There was even a large trunk full of clothes. It seemed that Young Miss had made thorough preparations for her trip around Shu. After all, her past experiences didn't seem very reliable in this situation. Compared to last time when she and Ah Guan left the city with a sense of desolation, this time it felt more like Young Miss was going out on a pleasure trip with her bodyguard.

  Along with Ah Guan on the road, he was completely defeated by his three-day-old cowhide sugar attack. This guy had been following his young master everywhere for a long time, and since his young master wanted to go out, this extreme little follower naturally followed him. Qiū Niángzi, although she had many clever ideas, didn't seem like someone who would take care of people either. So there was the scene in front of them where Gan Jing took the lead on horseback, Ah Guan drove the carriage, and Qiū Niángzi slept soundly with her head on a pillow inside the carriage. To be honest, despite living in this era for so long, he still couldn't get used to the ancient people's habit of getting up at four or five o'clock.

  The wheels seemed to have rolled over a stone, and after a daze, she rubbed her eyes, the sky had already lit up for half of it. It was unknown whether the little stone had seen the note she left behind. This guy was getting more and more mysterious, perhaps he met another extraordinary person while fighting with bears on the mountain? She turned around, originally planning to take a nap, but the carriage suddenly braked sharply, and with a creak, her sleepiness was gone. So Qī Miè also poked her head out of the curtain to look outside.

  Actually, the matter was simple. At the three-way intersection of a small road, two horse-drawn carriages wanted to pass through, and thus there was a dispute over who should give way. Originally, it seemed like the other party was in a hurry, so giving way wouldn't have been a big deal. But that wicked servant had an unpleasant tone and an arrogant attitude, making people feel uncomfortable: "How could you see my master's carriage coming and not know to make way early?"

  Who is the master of this house, why do outsiders have to recognize him, and even if they do, why do they still keep a distance? What a arrogant and vicious slave who relies on his master's power. The master sitting in the carriage doesn't seem much better either. Before Gan Jing could respond, Qi Xian jumped down from the carriage first. She wasn't stupid, as soon as she got off the carriage, she saw the black carriage and immediately understood why this servant was so arrogant. She just didn't know if it was Lei Yi or Zhu Ye sitting in the carriage.

  "How dare you!" A middle-aged man with a long sword at his waist stepped out of the black carriage, first giving the young servant a fierce glare. This kid was said to have entered the mansion through the back door and become a servant, and as long as he didn't make too much trouble, Lord Lei would generally turn a blind eye to such trivial matters. But now this kid had really disgraced the Zhu family, and if they weren't in a hurry, he should be fired on the spot.

  Although dissatisfied with the subordinate, with outsiders present, he only scolded loudly and then got off the carriage to bow and apologize to Liu Laoban: "I didn't expect to meet you here, it's my fault for not disciplining my servant well, please go ahead since you're also in a hurry." As the saying goes, "don't hit someone with a smiling face", Qiuniu had to swallow back the many words he had just prepared.

  "Your master is in the carriage, Qiuxu has a few questions to ask and won't delay you for too long." Originally, Lei Yi looked a bit embarrassed, but at this time, a young man wearing a crimson purple long gown had already lifted the curtain and walked out, his right hand holding a folding fan with the four characters "Qian Sui Feng Liu" (Thousand Years of Wind and Flow) prominently printed on it. Qiuxu felt a flash of inexplicable disappointment in her heart, while Gan Jing was also startled when he saw this smiling young man - wasn't this the same young man they had met at the Liang Cha shop on the day of the grand opening of Dayang Department Store?

  Outside the sandy city was a vast expanse of desolate tall grass, and after the two had moved away from the crowd for a short distance, Qi Xian finally spoke up and asked: "Why did you deceive me?"

  "You never asked me, Bai is my mother's surname, I changed it to Zhu two years ago, but this surname is still very strange to me." Damn it, why bother explaining so much to this woman, Zhu Jinyan also cursed in his heart, while maintaining a warm smile on his face. He had long been accustomed to keeping such an expression whether he was happy or sad, and only such pretence made him feel at ease.

  "I don't care what your surname is, I just want to know if you were the one who instructed Meng ** about the Black Water Fort incident." No matter how big a world she could break into in the future, for Qi Mei, only the small earthen castle of Black Water Fort was a place that could be called home. The disaster on that moonlit night was also an unforgettable wound in her heart. Although she didn't have any deep feelings with those people, and they might even be strangers, but Black Water Fort was her home, and everyone inside were her brothers. She didn't know if she would impulsively kill him right there after hearing Xiao Bai's answer.

  "That matter indeed has something to do with me, there are secrets I want to know, and there are people Meng Kuang wants to deal with. My relationship with him is just a mutually beneficial one - I provide help, he plans everything himself. Since your father killed Meng Kuang's father back then, Meng Kuang's revenge is understandable. I just don't want you to bear too much unnecessary burden in this matter. I could have not explained these things to you, even if you think those people at Heishui Village were all killed by me - do you think I would be afraid of your revenge? Do the lives of those people who have nothing to do with you deserve such attention?"

  Not to mention whether Zhu Ye's words can be trusted, even if what he said is true, he is still an accomplice. Now that his life has been taken, it's too cheap for him. Qiuxi also made up her mind in the moment she turned around, determined to surpass Zhu Ye's achievements, making him lose everything and become penniless. She wants to become the richest person in the country, she wants to control the wind and rain, and she wants the people she wants to protect to be safe for generations.

  When Qi Xi returned, her face wasn't good. This wasn't the new socialist society, she was in Eastern Jin, perhaps a feudal society in a parallel space. Here, people's lives were as light as straw, she only felt that her mind was very confused and didn't know what she was worried about. She felt that the longer she stayed here, the more she would lose herself. She had already forgotten how to walk back to the carriage, even Gan Jing's scrunched up face became blurry.

  At the three-forked road, two horse-drawn carriages crossed paths. The young man lightly shook his folding fan and turned around to gaze in the direction of the other carriage as it departed. That woman was really different from others, or so she pretended. Did she truly care about the lives and deaths of strangers, or was it just resentment towards them for destroying her home and the stronghold her father had built? When those bright eyes dimmed again, why did his own heart tighten along with them? Liu Qiuxi was indeed an interesting person; she must have been to Yunzhong City, and there must be something on her that he wanted. Zhu Jinyan narrowed his eyes and casually picked up a green grape from the tray beside him.