Three days later.

Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai bid farewell to the villagers of Carp Village and, together with Bai Hua and Wang Fan, embarked on their journey back to Beijing.

The group hurried to a place called Narcissus Town. Seeing that it was already late and all the inns were full, Su Xiaoning knocked on the door of a house by the roadside.

“Auntie, we are merchants passing through. It’s already dark, and all the inns in town are full. Could we stay the night? The price is negotiable.”

Su Xiaoning gave the woman who opened the door a friendly smile. The woman was taken aback at first and was about to refuse, but then she suddenly saw something through Su Xiaoning's thin sleeve and immediately changed her words, "Guests are welcome, why mention prices! Please come in and stay here tonight."

The woman was very hospitable; after leading the group into the house, she thoughtfully brought them several new quilts.

If she had acted normally, it wouldn't have been a problem, but this excessive enthusiasm gave Su Xiaoning a strange feeling.

During their evening rest, Su Xiaoning quietly pulled Su Qingcai aside and whispered in his ear, "This family is strange; be extra careful in everything you do."

Su Qingcai was exhausted from his journey and didn't notice the woman's unusual behavior. He found Su Xiaoning's words quite strange, but he still nodded habitually.

Su Xiaoning gave Bai Hua and the others another instruction before climbing into bed with a worried heart.

Although she lay down, Su Xiaoning didn't fall asleep. She cautiously observed her surroundings and, sure enough, discovered something amiss in the middle of the night.

A dark shadow suddenly appeared on the white paper-covered door, and a faint piercing sound rang out. A bamboo tube extended in from the outside, emitting a white, disgusting odor.

Su Xiaoning was shocked, realizing that the smoke was most likely a sleeping potion.

She dared not alert the enemy, so she could only hold her breath, lie on the bed with her eyes tightly closed, just like the person sleeping soundly next to her.

After blowing out the sleeping powder, the dark figure outside seemed to pause for a while, carefully observing the room before opening the door.

He tiptoed to Su Xiaoning's side and was about to reach out to pick her up when Bai Hua, who was sleeping not far away, suddenly sprang up and sent several silver needles flying at him!

"ah!"

Caught off guard, the attacker had no time to dodge, and several silver needles pierced his flesh. He let out a scream, then his body went limp and he collapsed to the ground uncontrollably.

Su Xiaoning jumped out of bed and shone the oil lamp on the face of the person who had come. She was stunned when she saw that it was a resident she had seen in the town.

"You...aren't you a resident of Narcissus Town? How could you do such a thing!"

The man collapsed to the ground, terrified, but stubbornly turned his head away, refusing to utter a single word.

"What, still a tough nut to crack?" Bai Hua sneered, walking over and squatting down in front of the man. "You're the first person to dare use sleeping powder on me in front of me. You're certainly courageous, but it's a foolish act! If you don't talk, my silver needles will certainly give you a good talking-to..."

Bai Hua's expression turned grim as she picked up a silver needle, ready to stab it into the man's body.

The man's face turned pale, and his lips trembled so much that he could not speak. At this critical moment, a shout suddenly came from outside.

"Please have mercy!"

Bai Hua paused, then actually withdrew the silver needles from his hand. He coldly looked up at the door, where the woman who had previously greeted them so warmly walked in with a flustered expression.

"I'm sorry, we were wrong, but we had no choice..." The old woman's eyes were slightly red. She pulled the man up from the ground and shook her head at him helplessly.

"Gentlemen, you may not know this, but recently bandits have been rampant in our town of Narcissus, causing us all great suffering. But strangely enough, the bandits haven't harmed us. They told us to keep an eye out for a woman with a koi fish mark on her body and to bring her to their side. Today, I saw the mark on this girl's arm, and that's when I had these wicked thoughts, leading me to this desperate measure... Please, spare us!"

The old woman burst into tears and knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to Su Xiaoning and Bai Hua.

Unexpectedly, the real reason was like this. After hearing this, Su Xiaoning felt a little sorry for her.

She thought for a moment, then reached out and helped the old woman up from the ground. As if she had made an important decision in her heart, she said resolutely, "This is not your fault. Blame those bandits for being so bullying! I do have the koi fish mark on me. Why don't you take me to those bandits? I will find a way to help you wipe them out!"

This old woman looks really pitiful. Besides, if she doesn't lend a hand this time, another unlucky guy might get arrested next time. She might as well do a good deed and help them out.

Unexpectedly, Su Xiaoning made the decision to suppress the bandits so easily. Bai Hua glanced at her in surprise but did not stop her. He simply stood silently behind her.

The old woman was also very surprised and said hesitantly, "You...you mean it? That bandit's den is extremely dangerous. You are a young woman who can't even kill a chicken. If you go there, you probably won't come back alive!"

"I'm not afraid." Su Xiaoning smiled slightly and patted the old woman's hand to soothe her emotions. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, I have companions with me. I'll be fine. Just do as I say."

Since things had been said to this extent, there was no reason to refuse. The old lady thanked her profusely and left with the man, only saying that she would come to pick up Su Xiaoning the next morning.

After thinking for a moment, Su Xiaoning woke up the drugged Su Qingcai and explained her plan to him.

Upon hearing this, Su Qingcai's face was filled with anger.

"Foolish! What kind of place is that bandit's den? You're a young woman going there alone, what if you don't get out?!"

"I still have you all here with me, don't I?" Su Xiaoning said nonchalantly. "Besides, even if you object, it's no use. I've already promised Auntie, and I can't go back on my word. Who told you to be drugged and not see this? I clearly warned you to be careful, didn't I?"

When this topic was brought up, Su Qingcai suddenly fell silent.

Bai Hua looked at Su Qingcai with a mocking expression, a look that filled Su Qingcai with both regret and anger.

He only regretted that he was so tired that he fell asleep without any warning, which made Bai Hua a hero in front of Su Xiaoning!

Su Qingcai was angry, so she turned over and went to sleep, not wanting to feel Bai Hua's gaze again.

Su Xiaoning didn't think much of it, greeted Bai Hua, and went to bed. Unlike Su Qingcai, who tossed and turned, she slept soundly.

The next day, the old woman indeed came again with several men. She ordered the men to tie up Su Xiaoning and send her all the way to Black Wind Village.

The journey had been smooth sailing until the Black Wind Chieftain met Su Xiaoning, after which things took an unexpected turn.

The Black Wind Chieftain was furious and pointed at Su Xiaoning, shouting:

"She's not the one I want!"