Chapter 8 Is this a threat?

The knife struck the hard stone with a grating sound. Upon hearing that name, Fan Xiaoxiao froze, as if struck by lightning—Gu Zhongtai? Could it be the Gu Zhongtai she was thinking of?! Green eyes, it couldn't be such a coincidence, could it?

Gu Chongtai looked at the little girl in front of him, covered in mud and so dirty that her face was unrecognizable. He narrowed his eyes and a malicious smile appeared on his lips. He leaned closer and asked, "My lady, you haven't spoken for a while. Do you know me?"

Cold sweat seeped from Fan Xiaoxiao's back. She subconsciously licked her chapped lips, her big eyes blinked, and she chuckled awkwardly, "My lord is too kind. How could a country girl like me know such noble people dressed in fine clothes as you?"

"Oh, is that so?"

Gu Zhongtai's voice rose slightly at the end as he looked at those blinking cat eyes, then his gaze seemed to casually sweep over the weak little baby in Fan Shi's arms.

Fan Xiaoxiao noticed the other person's gaze, pursed her lips, and subtly stepped in front of Fan Shi, stopping Uncle Wang who was about to step forward, saying, "Yes, we came up the mountain today unintentionally to find some wild ginger to ward off the cold, and we did not mean to disturb you, esteemed guests. Is that alright..."

"Brother Gu!"

A clear, cold voice drifted from afar, interrupting Fan Xiaoxiao's words. Gu Zhongtai straightened up slightly and looked back. From where he had just come, a man in white was approaching. The man had a cool and aloof appearance, like an immortal, and wore a white robe embroidered with silver patterns, with an ancient longsword strapped to his back.

"I wondered who it was, but it turns out it's Brother Xiahou! That arrow you shot just now was quite good!"

"You flatter me. Who are these people?"

"them?"

When Fan Xiaoxiao heard the name Xiahou, she didn't have time to react with shock. She quickly interrupted Gu Zhongtai before he could speak, saying, "We are villagers from the surrounding villages. Our families have suffered a disaster, so we came to the mountain to take refuge."

Xiahou frowned as he looked at the dirty clothes on the group and the weak Yu Xiaobao in Fan's arms: "I heard the bandits say that there were three adults and one child with them. Is that you?"

Fan Xiaoxiao's eyes darted around, and she suddenly knelt down, wailing as she tugged at Xiahou's sleeve: "Great hero, you don't know! Those damned bandits! They robbed us of our money, killed our piglets! Even our big yellow dog wasn't spared!"

Xiahou glanced at the filthy hands and subtly took a step back, but Fan Xiaoxiao was faster, grabbing the hem of his pristine white robe. Gu Zhongtai raised an eyebrow with amusement. Xiahou was naturally clean and never allowed dirt to come near him. Even when he stormed into the Demonic Sect in his previous life, he maintained an otherworldly demeanor.

Sure enough, the moment Fan Xiaoxiao tugged at Xiahou's sleeve, a vein throbbed on his forehead. Gu Zhongtai was secretly pleased; he felt good whenever he saw this guy in trouble.

Fan Xiaoxiao quickly glanced at the two men's expressions, then sidled up to Xiahou and wailed, "Great hero! We really didn't mean to offend you! My nephew is sick! We're so worried! That's why we came up here to find some wild ginger to warm him up! Please let us go!"

Seeing Fan Xiaoxiao's posture, which seemed to be about to grab his legs, Xiahou was so frightened that he quickly took a few steps back. He coldly said, "Wife, have some self-respect! Since you didn't intentionally trespass here, then leave immediately! This is not a place for you!"

Fan Xiaoxiao paused, hastily wiped away non-existent tears from her face, and said, "Yes, yes, we'll leave immediately."

After saying that, she pulled the still somewhat bewildered Fan Shi and the others, preparing to leave the hilltop. Unexpectedly, Gu Zhongtai's lazy voice rang out, "Wait."

Fan Xiaoxiao froze, wondering what that ancestor was going to do next. Had he not seen enough of the show just now? Did he want to continue?

“Brother Xiahou, they look so pitiful, they probably don’t have much money on them. The child is also sick, why don’t you give them some money for medicine?”

Upon hearing Gu Zhongtai's words, Fan Xiaoxiao felt a chill run down her spine. She glanced up at Xiahou's already sullen face, then quickly lowered her head again, thinking, "He's still going to pay? This guy probably wants to chop off my hand!"

Just as Fan Xiaoxiao was caught in a dilemma, a money pouch was thrown in front of her. She looked up in surprise, only to see the back of a white figure disappearing down the mountain.

Gu Zhongtai walked up to her, picked up the money pouch, stuffed it into Fan Xiaoxiao's hand, and gave her a meaningful look.

"Little girl, you must make good use of the things that Master Xia gave you."

(End of this chapter)