Chapter Twenty-Five: My people, only I can bully them.

Chen Qing's greatest strength is his self-control; he is not overly greedy.

Not long after she and her men left, Zhao Pan led a group of soldiers into Liu Wei's residence.

Liu Wei's body lay in the courtyard; he was long dead.

Zhao Pan stepped over Liu Wei, pushed open the study door, and saw that Chen Qing had emptied the room, leaving only some worthless bookshelves and other solid wood furniture.

"Where are the things? Where are the things inside?"

Zhao Pan went into a frenzy, never expecting that Liu Wei's belongings would be moved out in such a short time.

"Wait! Chen Qing! It must be her! Quickly go to the West City to find her! Stop her! Don't let her leave Qibao Town!"

Zhao Pan was almost frantic. As Liu Wei's deputy general, he knew Liu Wei's resources better than anyone else. The city's granaries had been taken over by Sun Sanxing, and the soldiers in the camps who had rebelled were distributing porridge and providing disaster relief in the east of the city to buy peace of mind!

Zhao Pan originally wanted to escape, but he knew that once Liu Wei lost power and Sun Sanxing took control of Qibao Town, he would definitely settle scores with him.

Before leaving, he remembered the real treasure that Liu Wei had hidden in the study.

Who knew that all those treasures had vanished without a trace?

Meanwhile, another group of people rushed to Chen Qing's residence, only to find that it was already deserted.

"Lord Sun, we couldn't find Miss Chen. When we rushed there, they seemed to have already left the city."

"Really?" Sun Sanxing was a little disappointed. Although he had worked with Chen Qing, he had never seen her face and didn't know what such a talented and beautiful woman looked like.

Chen Qing'an sat in the carriage, gradually leaving Qibao Town behind. The giant beast that had been entrenched in the area was no longer filled with starving refugees, and things should get better soon.

Li Yi suddenly lifted the carriage curtain. "Young Miss, I've discovered the tracks of Patriarch Chen and his group. They're heading north. Should we follow them?"

Snowflakes began to fall again outside, and the roads were rugged and difficult to travel. They needed to find a place to stay before dark.

"No need to follow closely. We're going back to Qingzhou anyway. Just find a safe path to take."

Chen Qing's group consisted of only five people: Xiao Wu, Pei Xuan, Li Yi, and Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong and Pei Xuan took turns driving the carriage, Li Yi scouted the way, and Chen Qing and Xiao Wu sat inside.

The carriage Li Yi found was spacious, and fearing the cold of winter, he specially prepared a charcoal brazier. The golden charcoal he had scavenged from Liu Wei's mansion came in handy.

The carriage was warm and cozy. Chen Qing took out a book to read, while Xiao Wu slept beside her. It was a peaceful and idyllic scene.

Wang Zhong felt he shouldn't have ridden in the same carriage as Chen Qing. Even though he was supposed to rest, he refused to get into the carriage, citing the need for separation between men and women.

Hearing Pei Xuan and Wang Zhong arguing outside the carriage, Chen Qing put down his book and called out, "Uncle Zhong, a gentleman is always at ease, while a petty person is always anxious. These days are difficult, so why worry about such things? Come in and rest quickly, let Pei Xuan drive the carriage. You need to rest well to be healthy."

The weather is cold, and if she catches a cold, it will only cause trouble for the young lady.

Wang Zhong had no choice but to come in and rest by the car door, not daring to look around carelessly.

She always rewarded those who were loyal to Chen Qing with good conditions and treatment.

Chen Qing poured a cup of hot tea and asked Xiao Wu to give it to Wang Zhong.

Wang Zhong accepted the hot tea, so grateful he didn't know what to say.

Xiao Wu looked up at Chen Qing: "Miss, what book are you reading?"

Chen Qing flipped open the book cover, glanced at it, and said, "The county annals of Qibao Town."

What is a county gazetteer?

"Talk about the local customs and culture related to Qibao Town."

Is it pretty?

"It's alright, do you want to see it?"

Xiao Wu nestled beside Chen Qing, curiously peering closer. The dense text in the book resembled tadpoles, inspiring awe and fear.

“I can’t read,” Xiao Wu said.

"Since you have nothing to do, shall I teach you?"

Chen Qing originally wanted to teach Xiao Wu some skills, just like Pei Xuan took the initiative to learn martial arts. As someone by her side, Xiao Wu should have some skills to rely on.

Xiao Wu nodded happily: "Okay!"

Chen Qing indeed took out paper and pen and began to teach Xiao Wu to write.

This made Pei Xuan, who was rushing to catch a carriage, anxious; he also wanted to learn to write!

"Sister Qing, can I learn too?"

Pei Xuan suddenly poked his head in and asked.

Wang Zhong was startled by him. "Hey, you'd better hurry up and drive the carriage!"

Pei Xuan quickly retreated again, still unwilling to give up, and said, "Sister Qing, you can teach her again after we find a place to rest. I want to learn too!"

Wang Zhong couldn't stand Pei Xuan's willfulness. The young lady was of noble status, and it was already a great favor that she would condescend to teach a little girl to read. How could he tolerate Pei Xuan, an outsider, making demands?

Before he could raise any objections, Chen Qing had already agreed.

"Okay, I'll teach you once we find a place to rest."

After traveling by carriage for more than two hours, Li Yi finally found a place to stay.

This is an abandoned village. Most of the houses are unattended and have collapsed under the weight of the snow. Only a few houses are still habitable.

The homeowner took all his belongings and fled the place hastily, leaving behind only dust in the house.

"Let's rest here for the night, Miss. Please rest in the carriage while we tidy up the room."

Chen Qing was given all the instructions. She didn't like doing housework like cleaning, so Li Yi and the others went in to clean while she sat in the car reading.

Chen Qing has been in this world for almost half a month, but she still knows very little about this era, relying entirely on the memories of the original book that she has left in her mind.

The books she plundered from Liu Wei's mansion became her channels for understanding the world.

Chen Qing was engrossed in her book when the heavy carriage curtain was lifted. She thought it was Xiao Wu coming in to rest, but after a minute or two, Xiao Wu didn't say a word, and Chen Qing realized something was wrong.

She slightly raised her eyes and saw a pair of hands with distinct knuckles and long, jade-like fingers. Looking further up, she saw Yinhe's incomparably handsome face.

He removed his mask, revealing a cold and aloof expression. His eyes were exceptionally beautiful, with a rare, almost transparent, pale amber color.

Chen Qing recognized him at a glance. Although he did not sense any killing intent from Yinhe, Chen Qing was still terrified and secretly prepared to draw his gun for self-defense.

"Oh, it's you. What do you need me for?"

Chen Qing remained calm, as if he was not surprised at all by Yinhe's arrival.

Yinhe's indifferent eyes sized her up and down.

He resembled a silver snow leopard, even sharing that inhuman calmness.

Chen Qing closed the book and looked Yinhe up and down at each other.

She didn't like being watched, so she chose to look back.

Looking at Yinhe, Chen Qing inexplicably recalled the crude remarks Liu Wei had made. Some wealthy people, even without a need for security, would pay Yinhe a lot of money to protect them, probably because of her beautiful face.

Chen Qing had seen too many beautiful people; beauty knows no gender. Yinhe's appearance was at least in the top three.

Could someone with such a perfect face and such a clean appearance really commit murder?

Chen Qing's gaze then fell on Yinhe's hands. His hands were more suited to playing chess or playing the piano than to wielding a sword to kill. However, the slight calluses on his fingertips and the base of his thumb proved that he was indeed a killing machine.

"Sister Qing!" Pei Xuan's voice came from outside the car. Chen Qing was afraid that he would barge in and anger the uninvited guest in front of her, so she quickly said, "Don't come in yet, what do you want?"

Pei Xuan stopped abruptly, realizing what was happening. He looked a little embarrassed and said, "Sister Qing, the house is all ready. You go ahead and get busy. I'll come pick you up later."

"Okay, you can go in first."

Chen Qing's voice didn't reveal anything wrong, so Pei Xuan quickly ran away again.

After Pei Xuan left, Yinhe also left.

Chen Qing lifted the carriage curtain and looked around. In just a few seconds, Yinhe was no longer visible.

"What a strange person," Chen Qing frowned so deeply that it could trap a mosquito. She disliked the feeling of things being out of her control. This Yinhe was too skilled in martial arts and moved like the wind. What if he noticed something was wrong with her?

Chen Qing didn't want to end up with a disability.

Thinking of this, Chen Qing got off the carriage and hurriedly went to find Li Yi, wanting to know about Yinhe's situation.

Where is Li Yi?

Chen Qing searched the area around the house but couldn't find Li Yi. He quickly grabbed Pei Xuan and asked him about it.

"Didn't he just go to the backyard to fetch water?"

Chen Qing ran to the backyard but didn't see Li Yi. There were signs of a struggle by the well, and the water that had been drawn up was spilled all over the ground and had already frozen.

"Sister Qing, there's still blood here!" Pei Xuan said hurriedly.

Chen Qing ran over and, sure enough, found bloodstains next to the blue bricks along the edge of the well.

"What's going on? Is anyone else here?" Pei Xuan looked around warily, afraid that some villains might suddenly rush out.

Chen Qing's face turned extremely pale. She thought the problem must lie with Yinhe.

"He must have taken Li Yi away!"

Chen Qing gritted his teeth and said.

"Who took Li Yi away?" Wang Zhong realized something was wrong and rushed over.

"Uncle Zhong, do you know about Hanxing Pavilion?"

"Hanxing Pavilion? I seem to have heard of it. Isn't that a well-known assassin organization in the martial arts world?"

“Li Yi is from Hanxing Pavilion. My father paid him to be a bodyguard. At Liu Wei’s house, I saw another Hanxing Pavilion subordinate. I just saw him again. I think it must be him who took Li Yi away.”

Chen Qing quickly sorted out her thoughts, but she didn't understand why Li Yi had been taken away.

"What should we do? Is he here for revenge? Should we leave?"

“No,” Chen Qing said with terrifying calmness, “Since Li Yi has chosen to follow me, only I can decide whether he stays or leaves. Let’s stay here and wait for two days.”

Pei Xuan and the others nodded solemnly, as if this was the only way.

In the middle of the night, the snow fell heavier and heavier. There was no village or shop in sight, and all that could be seen outside was a vast expanse of white.

The outside temperature was at least around minus ten degrees Celsius. In such cold weather, even the most skilled assassin wouldn't be able to go far. Inside, a charcoal brazier was burning, so it was relatively warm.

Xiao Wu was already asleep, but Chen Qing was wide awake.

She was waiting for someone.

Sure enough, in the middle of the night, that cold, white-clad man came again. It was unclear how long he had been outside, but his eyelashes were already frozen.

It looks like an ice sculpture.

"Since the guests have arrived, why don't you sit down and have some hot tea?"

Chen Qing gestured for him to sit down.

Yinhe did not refuse and sat down opposite her.

His cold, jade-like face quickly warmed up in the warm room, making him look more human.

"Did you take Li Yi away? My father is Chen Zhenyan. As far as I know, he paid a lot of money to hire Li Yi and did not propose to terminate the protection. Did your Hanxing Pavilion violate the agreement by taking Li Yi away without authorization?"

In less than a day, Chen Qing asked the same question as Liu Wei.

"There was no breach of contract."

The Milky Way finally spoke.

Contrary to his cold appearance, his voice is surprisingly pleasant.

Chen Qing frowned slightly: "How come there's no breach of contract?"

Yinhe frowned slightly, seemingly a little aggrieved, as she was pressed for answers.

"Protecting Chen Zhenyan is not your responsibility."

"What?" Chen Qing found it utterly absurd. She sneered, "You mean, because he wasn't with my father, we broke the contract first?"

“Yes,” Yinhe answered decisively this time, “Send him back to receive his punishment.”

"You still want to punish him?"

"Hanxing Pavilion is in breach of contract by not providing free protection."

Yinhe spoke like an unintelligent robot, halting and slurring, but Chen Qing understood him perfectly.

As far as she knew, Hanxing Pavilion was a security organization that placed great importance on contracts. It wouldn't be reasonable to describe Hanxing Pavilion solely as an assassin organization.

Because as long as you give Hanxing Pavilion money, you can get its people to do anything, more protection than assassination.

Because they performed their missions exceptionally well, many powerful and influential people in the world would spend a lot of money to hire people from Hanxing Pavilion to protect them. Of course, there were also some people on the assassination list.

When the person being protected and the assassin both belonged to the Cold Star Pavilion, Chen Qing curiously asked Li Yi what would happen. Li Yi replied that the mission was the priority.

Whoever is more capable can complete the mission; as for those who fail to complete the mission, being killed is a common occurrence.

"Why didn't you protect Liu Wei today? Didn't you take money from him?"

Chen Qing suddenly remembered this.

Yinhe looked at her and said, word by word, "Let me leave, terminate the protection."

Chen Qing raised an eyebrow. So that's how it is?

She understood and nodded, saying, "Alright, I want to continue employing Li Yi. How do I pay him? How do I get the message to Hanxing Pavilion? I won't allow you to punish him."

Chen Qing already considered Li Yi as one of her own. Only she could bully someone who was one of her own. What was Hanxing Pavilion anyway?

Yinhe's beautiful eyes looked at Chen Qing, and the candlelight danced in his eyes like a dazzling galaxy.

"They must be punished."

"Is there such a rule?" Chen Qing frowned. "I don't care. I'm a customer. Since I've proposed hiring him, you should respect your customers. That's how you grow your business, understand? The customer is king!"

"The customer is God?" Yinhe repeated her words blankly.

"Yes, hurry up and give Li Yi back to me, or I'll spread the word that your Cold Star Pavilion has been negligent in its hospitality!"

Chen Qing could tell that Yinhe seemed to be having some mental issues, so he issued a rather weak threat in a fierce manner.

Yinhe blinked. "Am I capable?"

"You? What are you?"

"To protect you."

If the elders of Hanxing Pavilion found out that Yinhe actually wanted to take on a mission, they would be absolutely astonished.

The next second, Chen Qing refused without hesitation.

"I don't want you, I want Li Yi!"

The most popular character in the game, Galaxy, was rejected when he volunteered for a mission! Even the elders were stunned!

"Why?" Yinhe asked blankly.

For the first time, he doubted his own popularity.