Chapter Forty-Eight: Fierce Fighting Inside the Dilapidated Temple

"Zhang Laoqi?"

Qin Zhining frowned even more. She had never heard of this name before, and even the original owner of this body had never seen this person. Therefore, these men in black had either mistaken her for someone else or were deliberately using this as an excuse to cause her trouble.

"Gentlemen, have you been walking in the dark too much? Are your eyesight failing you? I don't even know where the mass grave in the west of the city is, so how could I have committed murder? You've mistaken me for someone else."

"Mistaken identity?" The man in black sneered, pulling a blood-stained handkerchief from his pocket and throwing it at Qin Zhining's feet. "This handkerchief was taken from Zhang Laoqi's corpse. It has the character 'Ning' embroidered on it. You dare say this isn't yours?"

Qin Zhining looked down and her heart sank.

The cloth was made of ordinary coarse cloth, and the embroidered character "Ning" was crooked and twisted. It was indeed hers, oh no, to be precise, it belonged to the original owner, Qin Zhining.

This handkerchief was made from scraps of cloth left over from making cotton-padded jackets for one of the sisters in the clan, in order to please her half-sister Qin Zhiyu, two winters ago.

At that time, the original owner heard from others that Qin Zhiyu disliked the handkerchief because it was too old-fashioned and felt it was unlucky, so she casually threw it away.

Given the original owner's timid and incompetent nature, her half-sister didn't appreciate her kindness. In her frustration, she didn't care about removing the handkerchief, only feeling sad that she wasn't accepted by her family.

So, how could the handkerchief end up in the hands of a dead person after so much time has passed?

"This handkerchief is mine, but I didn't kill anyone." Qin Zhining steadied herself, did not deny ownership of the handkerchief, and took a step forward.

"You say Zhang Laoqi is your leader, then which branch are you from? Have you found out who he met and what he did before he died?"

"Stop wasting your breath on her!" A tall, thin man in black beside him grew impatient and raised his knife to slash at Qin Zhining. "The leader said that as long as we bring Qin Zhining's head back, it doesn't matter whether she admits it or not!"

Qin Xiaoxiao reacted quickly, shoving Qin Zhining aside and grabbing a broken table leg from the side, smashing it at the tall, thin man with a series of "Aba aba" sounds.

Li Mo, Wang Song, and Zhao Shu also rushed up immediately and fought with the men in black.

The dilapidated temple was instantly filled with the glint of swords and the flying wood chips from the chopped tables and chairs.

Qin Chengxuan protected Chen Xiaomei while Chen Erlang hid in a corner, his face pale but his fists clenched tightly. He wanted to help but couldn't get a hand in.

The constables Qin Youming brought were already in a panic.

Some wanted to run, some wanted to go forward, but they were too intimidated by the men in black to move.

Qin Youming hid behind a pillar, watching the chaotic scene with a mixture of shock and doubt.

What secrets is his unlucky daughter, that spendthrift brat, hiding? How did she end up getting involved with such a ruthless gangster?

Qin Zhining had no time to care about Qin Youming's thoughts. She stared at the leader of the men in black and suddenly noticed a crescent-shaped scar on his neck—a scar she felt she had seen somewhere before.

Her memories were stirred up again, and she vaguely remembered that when the original owner went to the back mountain to chop firewood in her ancestral home, the burly man who brushed past her seemed to be this person.

"Jade seal?" Qin Zhining suddenly had a flash of inspiration, thinking of the jade seal on her body, and immediately understood.

This group of people came for her jade seal, but they disguised it as a revenge killing to cover up their true purpose of seizing the seal.

Just then, the leader of the men in black suddenly feinted, dodging Li Mo's knife, and turned to pounce on Qin Zhining, his knife aimed straight at her chest. "Qin Zhining, prepare to die!"

Qin Zhining dodged to the side, raising her short blade to block the man in black's knife.

As the two blades clashed, sparks flew, but she suddenly smelled a familiar fragrance on the man in black—the jasmine powder that Aunt An Qinghe wore!

Her heart skipped a beat. Just as she was about to speak, she heard an even louder clatter of hooves coming from outside the dilapidated temple. Someone shouted, "Your Excellency, something terrible has happened! The eldest son of the He family has arrived with his servants, saying they want to... they want to seek justice for the third son of the He family."

Holy crap—another wave? Are we having a meeting with radishes today? Qin Zhining's back instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

With a knife from a man in black in front, members of the He family blocking the door behind, and a handkerchief inexplicably appearing in the dead man's hand—this was clearly a trap set up long ago, just waiting for her to jump in.

But who would go to such lengths to harm her? Was it the father of the Third Young Master He? Or…? She turned to look at Qin Youming, who was hiding behind a pillar.

Qin Youming's eyes flickered, and he quietly took a step back towards the door, as if he wanted to take the opportunity to slip away.

Seeing her distracted, the leader of the men in black smirked and quickened his blade, saying, "Let's see how you dodge this time."

Qin Zhining gritted her teeth, raised her short blade to meet the attack, but she had only one thought in her mind: in this dilapidated temple today, it's either you die or I live.

Damn it, I've only just started out in the Great Qi Dynasty and haven't even made any achievements yet, and I've already run into a bunch of enemies who won't stop until they're killed. I'm so confused, whose interests did the original owner have to offend?

The moment the blade pierced the wind, Qin Zhining felt a chill run down the back of her neck.

She had just dodged the long knife thrust by the leader of the men in black when she was struck hard on the side by the man's elbow. She staggered and bumped into the corner of the offering table, letting out a muffled groan of pain.

The short blade slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a crisp clanging sound, which sounded particularly jarring in the dilapidated temple filled with the sounds of fighting and shouting.

A ruthless glint flashed in the eyes of the leader of the men in black. He raised his foot and kicked Qin Zhining in the chest, sneering, "Without your knife, let's see how you dodge!"

Seeing this, Qin Xiaoxiao, with red eyes, picked up the broken table leg and smashed it against the back of the man in black.

In the heat of the moment, lacking practical experience and having not learned any moves, with a "crack," the table leg was cleaved in two by the man in black with a backhand slash.

Qin Xiaoxiao was also thrown to the ground by the wind from the blade, her arm was scraped and bleeding.

"Aba! Aba!" she cried out in a panic, trying to get up and rush forward again, but Li Mo grabbed her arm. "Don't be reckless and throw your life away."

Li Mo himself was also stabbed in the arm, his sleeves soaked with blood. He could only barely hold up his knife to block the tall, thin man in black's attack, and had no way to protect Qin Xiaoxiao.

The sound of horses' hooves outside the dilapidated temple grew closer, mixed with the shouts and curses of the He family's servants: "Where is that little bitch Qin Zhining? How dare she hurt our young master! Today we will definitely tear this dilapidated temple down!"

Qin Youming hid behind a pillar, his face ashen.

He secretly reached for the jade pendant at his waist, a token given to him by the He family. If he could just take out the jade pendant, the He family might give him some face and let him go.

But as soon as he touched the jade pendant, he met Qin Zhining's gaze. There was no panic in her eyes, only icy coldness, which made his hand tremble, and he didn't dare to take the jade pendant out.

He felt panicked and confused.

The He family wants to settle scores with Qin Zhining, and these men in black also want to kill her. If Qin Zhining really dies here, the He family might be able to explain themselves, but these men in black are of unknown origin. What if they take their anger out on him?

Furthermore, if Qin Zhining dies, the whereabouts of that jade seal... will become an unsolvable mystery.