4. Chapter 4: The Bad Guys

After Pei Xiuhan finished speaking, he pushed the wheelchair out.

Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, then quickly chased after him, and sure enough, she saw him go to the next door.

The floor inside was dirt, not paved with bricks. After being soaked by the rain, it looked very muddy. Pei Xiuhan frowned and said to Xiaoxiao, who had chased after him, "Go to sleep."

Xiaoxiao didn't listen. She held onto his wheelchair and pushed him back to the next room. When she met the man's cold gaze, she felt a little scared.

Xiaoxiao explained quietly, "Brother, you're injured. What if it rains tonight and you get a fever again? I slept on the floor the night I rescued you. It doesn't matter if I sleep on the floor again. I'm in good health and won't get sick."

The little girl kept chattering, and it was the first time she talked so much. Even though she went against his wishes, Pei Xiu Han didn't feel disgusted.

However, wasn't her focus a bit off? He reached out and flicked her head, sneering, "Kid, do you know there's a difference between men and women?"

Xiaoxiao was stunned by his question and blurted out: "You are so old, you can be my father."

Pei Xiuhan is only twenty-five this year. Because he looks unfathomable, he appears to be two or three years older than his actual age. This is the first time that someone has called him old.

He looked a little strange as he glanced up and down at the little girl.

Xiaoxiao was short, thin and small due to malnutrition, and looked no more than ten years old. Many men in the capital had concubines at the age of fourteen, and many had children at the age of fourteen or fifteen. So, by that calculation, he could really be her father.

Meeting the man's scrutinizing gaze, Xiaoxiao's heart skipped a beat. She timidly explained, "I, I mean, you're much older than me, and I'm still young. It doesn't matter. I don't think you're old."

Pei Xiuhan sneered and tapped her head with his finger.

The reason why he left was to avoid suspicion. Although she was young, she was still a little girl after all.

He didn't care about worldly opinions and rarely considered others. Seeing that the little girl didn't mind at all, he didn't say anything more.

Seeing that she wanted to help him to the bed, he lightly said, "Sleep in your bed."

After he finished speaking, he pushed the wheelchair to the mattress, supported his body, and tried to sit on it. His legs were completely unable to move, and it was really frightening when he got down from the wheelchair. Xiaoxiao's heart tightened, and she hurried to help him, advising him, "Brother, sleep on the bed."

Her voice was soft, and she looked very well-behaved, but she was also very stubborn. Pei Xiu Han had never met such a silly girl before.

When he met her worried eyes, he couldn't utter a sarcastic remark. After a long pause, he said, "Child, be obedient."

Xiaoxiao couldn't persuade him, so she had to go to bed obediently.

After this night, Xiaoxiao was no longer afraid of him. Before, she always thought his cold face was a bit scary, but now she felt that he was a person with a cold face but a warm heart.

If everyone knew her evaluation of Pei Xiuhan, they would definitely be shocked.

It was still raining the next morning. Although the rain was not as heavy as yesterday, it was not light either, so Xiaoxiao did not go out.

She was bored, so she found a stick and scribbled something on the ground, while Pei Xiu Han was meditating.

He was seriously injured, and adjusting his internal energy would be beneficial to his health. When Xiaoxiao was not around, he would sit in meditation on weekdays.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the little girl still quietly scratching something on the ground.

He raised the little emperor by himself, and he was very troublesome. In order to be lazy, he cheated all day long. Before meeting Xiaoxiao, Pei Xiuhan thought that all children in the world were so troublesome.

Pei Xiu Han was a little surprised to see that the little girl could play with a small wooden stick for an hour or two. He couldn't help but take a closer look and realized that she was not drawing, but writing, stroke by stroke, very carefully.

"Can you read?"

Xiaoxiao nodded obediently, a little shyly, "I don't know much, it was all taught to me by my brother."

Zhang Li is three years older than Xiaoxiao. His grandmother didn't want him to be blind, so she sent him to school. Xiaoxiao actually learned a lot from him. She was very well-behaved, and Zhang Li was willing to teach her. Except for some uncommon characters, she basically knew everything.

Pei Xiuhan said, "Didn't you buy paper, ink, brush, and inkstone? Go to the table and write."

Xiaoxiao quickly waved her hands, "No need, I'll just write something casually, there's no need to waste paper and ink."

Pei Xiu Han was silent for a while. Many children in the capital were unwilling to study even with teachers teaching them. This little girl was patient enough to practice calligraphy, but she was afraid of wasting paper.

Even though Pei Xiuhan has always had a cold heart, at this moment, he actually felt that this little girl was so sensible that it was heartbreaking.

His patience was limited, and he tapped the bed with his fingers, "Go if I tell you to."

As soon as he looked at her coldly, the little girl became intimidated and obediently took out paper, ink, brush and inkstone.

Xiaoxiao couldn't let go of the rice paper. Her family didn't have money to buy too much paper, and her brother always wrote on the ground when he practiced calligraphy. This was the first time Xiaoxiao had used such good paper.

Her eye sockets were sore, and she couldn't help but turn her head to look at Pei Xiuhan, and whispered: "Brother, why are you so nice?"

Pei Xiuhan sneered and ignored her. He just felt that this little girl needed to be taught a lesson. So, was it okay to let her use a piece of paper?

Silly.

How could he know that in Xiaoxiao's heart, these papers were extremely precious.

Xiaoxiao wrote a few words, then turned around and asked him, "Brother, what's your name?"

"Pei Xiuhan." His voice was as cold as ever, and he told her his real name directly.

Xiaoxiao could write these three words. As she wrote, her eyes curved with a smile, and she felt that these three words were very consistent with his temperament.

When Pei Xiuhan went out, he passed by the desk and noticed that the little girl's handwriting was crooked and awkward. Pei Xiuhan frowned and said, "Give me the pen."

Xiaoxiao blinked and handed the pen to him obediently, not knowing that her handwriting was disliked.

Pei Xiuhan picked up his pen and rewrote the dozens of words she had written. His handwriting was vigorous and powerful, and it felt vigorous and majestic, and looked beautiful no matter how you looked at it.

Xiaoxiao's eyes sparkled, and she looked at him with admiration.

"Copy it first." Pei Xiuhan said this, turned his wheelchair and left the room.

Xiaoxiao lay on the desk and began to write seriously. She looked at it, wrote a stroke, and practiced word by word.

The rain stopped in the afternoon, and Xiaoxiao went out again with a bucket, wanting to see if she could catch any fish.

Not long after she left, a man in black appeared in her thatched hut. Shi Yu was the leader of Pei Xiuhan's secret guards, and he found this place by following the jade ring.

Pei Xiuhan's intelligence network covers the entire Great Zhou. Shi Yu found out about him two days ago. He also realized that there was a traitor in the organization. After receiving the news, he did not let the news leak out and came to Shanxi in person.

Seeing Pei Xiuhan sitting in a wheelchair, Shi Yu's eyes turned red. He lifted his robe and knelt down, "It is my fault for not protecting you well. Please punish me, Master."

Pei Xiuhan came to Qiyuan Town this time for something to do. He only brought two secret guards with him, and no more than ten people knew his whereabouts. Unexpectedly, he encountered an assassin.

The two of them talked in secret for half an hour, but Pei Xiu Han did not leave with him.

Besides the secret guards, there were six personal soldiers who knew his whereabouts. Of these six, four were suspects. They were usually loyal, and Pei Xiuhan couldn't be sure who had betrayed him. He planned to lure the enemy out of their hole, and now that he was unable to move, it was the perfect opportunity for them to strike again.

Although the assassins sent by the other party were completely wiped out, the incident happened in Shanxi. Seeing that he had not returned to the capital for a long time, the other party would definitely continue to search for him in Shanxi.

As long as you keep calm, the fish will take the bait sooner or later.

*

Xiaoxiao was still by the stream at this time. She was very lucky today and she really caught a fish. The fish was very long and weighed two or three pounds. When she put the fish into the bucket, Xiaoxiao smiled.

Thinking of the delicious fish soup she would have in the evening, she couldn't help swallowing. She didn't go home. Seeing that it was still early, she continued to be busy by the river. She was not so lucky in the next hour.

She didn't catch any more fish, but Xiaoxiao was satisfied. She didn't go home until the sun was about to set.

She deliberately avoided the children in the village and had not met them in recent days. When she was walking back with the bucket, Xiaoxiao met a few adults.

When Xiaoxiao saw them coming in this direction, she paused. The people who bullied her in the village were all children, and the adults had never snatched her things, so Xiaoxiao did not avoid them.

When she got closer, she realized that among the four people, only one was a familiar face, and that was Grandma Li's son, Li Bing. He had always been idle and sloppy all day long, and had no serious manners. Grandma Li was very worried about him.

But Xiaoxiao was not afraid of him. When she was little, Li Bing gave her a candy. Xiaoxiao still remembered the sweet feeling when the candy spread in her mouth.

In the past two years, they have not seen each other often. He always goes to town and often does not come home. Every time Grandma Li goes to town to sell vegetables, she will go to the gambling house to look for him, for fear that he will become a gambler too.

The three young men around him were about the same age as him. All three of them looked lazy and one of them was even smoking a pipe.

When Xiaoxiao noticed that one of them was staring at her, her heart tightened and she quickly lowered her head. She didn't dare to look up and didn't say hello to Li Bing.

However, the young man had already seen her appearance.

Xiaoxiao has very fair skin. Even though she has been running outside all year round, she has not gotten much tanned. She has a pair of bright eyes and a very pretty face. Even though she is still young, she can be seen to be very charming.

He glanced at Xiaoxiao with lustful eyes for a few times, and when he approached, he asked, "Little girl, what's your name?"

Xiaoxiao's heart skipped a beat, but she ignored him.

He tilted his head and asked Li Bing, "Is this little girl from your village? Of course, your village is really full of hidden talents. She's so beautiful even at such a young age. What will she be like when she grows up? Whose child is this little girl?"

His gaze was so disgusting that Xiaoxiao felt like she was being stared at by a poisonous snake. She was so nervous that she didn't even hear what he said. She ran home as soon as she could.

Li Bing glanced at the man impatiently.

This man was someone he had just met, named Zhao Wu. He not only loved gambling, but was also a lecher, often visiting brothels. Seeing that he didn't even let go of a young girl, Li Bing felt a little contemptuous, "Whose child do you care about? It's not yours anyway."

Seeing his ugly expression, Zhao Wu did not ask any more questions, but kept staring at Xiaoxiao's figure.

Xiaoxiao felt inexplicably frightened and ran back in a panic. Halfway through her run, a fish jumped out. Xiaoxiao then stopped and hurried to catch the fish.

She was so scared that her face turned pale, and her little appearance was particularly adorable.

Zhao Wu couldn't help but blew a loud whistle and shouted with a smile: "Why are you running? Do you think I can eat you?"

"Let's go!" Li Bing pulled him unhappily, but Zhao Wu didn't move, his triangular eyes still staring at Xiaoxiao's back.

Xiaoxiao felt nervous when he stared at her, so she picked up the fish and continued running back.

Zhao Wu felt a little regretful. If she were a little bigger, her little waist and butt would definitely look very beautiful when she ran.

It was not until she ran to the door of her home that Xiaoxiao's pounding heart finally calmed down a little.

She had met such a person when she went to town with her brother. When her brother was selling herbs, the man walked towards her drunkenly, not only touched her face, but also wanted to hug her in his arms.

Xiaoxiao was scared, and in the end it was her brother who beat the man away.

From that time on, she rarely went to the town. After her grandmother passed away, every time she wanted to sell herbs, she sold them to the villagers at a low price. Until last time, she went to the town again to buy things for Pei Xiu Han.

Fortunately, I didn’t encounter any bad guys last time, but who would have thought that I would meet such a person in the village today.

His gaze was exactly the same as the bad guy's last time.

Her brother had specifically told her to run as far away as possible if she met such a person. Only after returning home and seeing Pei Xiuhan did Xiaoxiao feel a little relieved.

Pei Xiuhan glanced at her, his eyebrows slightly raised, his expression showing a hint of laziness, "Why are your trouser legs wet?"

When Xiaoxiao ran back, all the water in the bucket spilled out. Not only was her right trouser leg wet, but her shoes were also wet.

Xiaoxiao didn't notice it just now, but now that he pointed it out, she felt that her feet were wet and very uncomfortable.

She touched the tip of her nose and didn't mention the bad guys. She just said embarrassedly: "I ran too fast."

Xiaoxiao held up the fish in the bucket like a treasure and showed it to him. Her tone became cheerful again, "Brother, I caught a fish. I'll make fish soup for you tonight."

Pei Xiuhan glanced at her wet trouser legs and said lightly, "Go change your clothes first."

Xiaoxiao stuck out her tongue, put down the bucket, and obediently went to change her clothes. Not long after she entered, there was a sudden "bang" sound in the room, followed by a scream.

Pei Xiuhan tightened his grip on the wheelchair slightly, and the next moment he pushed the wheelchair into the room.