Don't you think that's too arrogant?

These words shocked everyone present, and Lu Juezhen almost dropped his jaw in astonishment. Tang Qi, one of the main characters, however, remained calm, while the beautiful woman beside him visibly choked up before hastily saying, "Open the door."

"...Huh?" Zuo Ou, who had been elbowed, slowly walked over, her eyes showing a hint of insecurity as she turned back, but her hands didn't stop moving. Tang Qi was released just like that.

Jiao Niang remained calm as she looked at him. Tang Qi, under the gaze of the person opposite him, slowly twisted his wrist and then pushed it forward, laughing as he said, "Aren't you going to tie me up?"

His smiling face, with its arched eyebrows, resembled that of a fox. Jiao Niang's voice, though lowered, carried a hint of amusement as she said, "You are a distinguished guest chosen by Lord Wei, how could we dare to tie you up?"

Tang Qi shrugged and walked towards Lord Wei with a grin, but behind him, Jiao Niang said coldly, "Zuo Ou, aren't you going to take someone to see him off?"

"Huh?" Zuo Ou was stunned again, while Tang Qi stopped and laughed: "Ha—"

He lowered his hand, tilted his head at the person opposite him, and smiled with a hint of nonchalance: "What should we do, Cheng Wang? The stage has just been set up and the show hasn't even started yet, and someone is already trying to cause trouble. This isn't fun!"

Master...Master?! Lu Juezhen suddenly looked at "Lord Wei" opposite him, only to see "Lord Wei" chuckle and lift his hat to reveal a handsome face: "It's smashed, so be it. I'll start a new one for you to enjoy."

Well, who else could this be but his master! Lu Juezhen's eyes lit up; he was simply too handsome.

Tang Qi snatched the knife from the person next to him, spun around and subdued the beautiful woman, and continued to smile: "To catch the thief, you must first catch the king. I'm sorry, young lady."

Zuo Ou and the others immediately reacted and surrounded Tang Qi and Cheng Junshi. Jiao Niang stood in the middle and slowly glanced at Cheng Junshi's face and said, "To be able to impersonate Lord Wei, you must have a powerful background."

"It's nothing special." Tang Qi raised his hand slightly, a smile playing on his lips, but his eyes turned cold: "Now that you've been executed, your punishment can be mitigated."

As soon as he finished speaking, the people surrounding them burst into laughter as if they had heard the biggest joke in the world. Zuo Ou stared at Tang Qi's eyes and said disdainfully, "Execute us? What makes you think you can subdue us? Your mouth or you two pretty boys?"

Tang Qi waited until he finished laughing before continuing the conversation, tilting his head to Cheng Junshi and saying, "Hey, it seems like we've been taken for fools."

Cheng Junshi pulled a bamboo whistle from his pocket, blew it, and suddenly a group of people rushed in from outside. As expected, Zuo Ou and his group panicked and retreated one after another. The crowd that had been surrounding Tang Qi and his companion was suddenly broken through the gap. Jiao Niang's eyes turned fierce again, and Tang Qi continued to smile: "Now you know what to rely on to ambush us, right?"

"Boss!"

The first to rush in was Hu Xingche. Tang Qi was about to speak when he suddenly stopped when he saw the people following behind Hu Xingche.

Tang Qi's incredulous gaze shifted to Cheng Junshi, who simply stared blankly and remained silent.

"Long time no see." The person behind Hu Xingche greeted Tang Qi.

Tang Qi watched him grind his teeth for a long time before replying slowly and deliberately, "Long time no see, General Wu."

The person who came was Wu Shunyi.

“General Wu is the county magistrate who came to Tianjin to take up his post. I followed the wedding sedan chair and met him at the post station,” Cheng Junshi explained to him simply.

The rest is self-explanatory; Tang Qi understood. He simply never imagined that, under these circumstances, he and Wu Shunyi would one day stand on the same side.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. It's a pleasure to cooperate," Wu Shunyi said, looking at Tang Qi. Tang Qi didn't mince words, continuing to grip Jiao Niang's neck and saying, "It's your territory, you're in charge. If we win, it's on us; if we lose, it's on you. It's a pure loss-making deal. How about it?"

Wu Shunyi smiled, held his longsword horizontally, and said, "I'm hosting, please make yourselves at home."

The beautiful woman opposite slowly shifted her gaze to Wu Shunyi, her voice seductive: "A fight to the death is not good for either of us. How about we make peace and achieve mutual benefit?"

"Mutual benefit and win-win? What kind of win-win? Your interests are what we need to eliminate." Tang Qi's voice slowly reached her ears. Unexpectedly, these words made Jiao Niang laugh. She glanced at the cell and said, "I know why you came here. You can have the people. Is that sincerity enough to exchange for our lives?"

He then raised his hand and ordered his men to open all the cell doors, as if he were cutting off his own tail to save his life. Tang Qi and Cheng Junshi exchanged a glance, and both of them became silently vigilant.

As soon as the prison door opened, Juezhen was the first to run to the door, lifting her skirt, and greeted Cheng Junshi with a smile: "Master!"

Just as things were getting tense, a sudden, silly "Master!" made Cheng Junshi frown. And this guy was really good at acting; he even used a high-pitched voice when he called him, giving everyone goosebumps. In the midst of his busy schedule, Cheng Junshi glanced over. Lu Juezhen was leaning against the door, and the girl behind him didn't move.

"Come here!" Lu Juezhen turned around and waved to them. The girls just watched quietly. He took a step forward, and they shrank back a little. The wide-open cell door did not arouse their desire to survive. Everyone was just wary and hostile.

“Don’t be afraid! You’ll be free once you step out of this door! No one will lock you up anymore, and no one can hurt you anymore! Don’t be afraid, follow me, I’ll lead you out!” Lu Juezhen cautiously approached, and finally, after his persuasion, someone moved. He watched with bright eyes as one of the tall girls stood up. Lu Juezhen stopped and waited for her to slowly walk over, and then—more and more people moved.

"Escort them out!" Wu Shunyi dispatched some men, with Lu Juezhen and Hu Xingche standing on either side, watching the girls walk out of the prison gate one by one.

"Boss! You guys—" Hu Xingche trailed at the back of the group, turning back to speak to Tang Qi from afar.

"Go with them, we'll clean up the mess." Tang Qi told him. Hu Xingche nodded, and without hesitation, turned and followed them out. Jiao Niang pushed the longsword that was held in front of her neck away: "We've shown our sincerity, shouldn't you all consider showing some mercy?"

Tang Qi moved the sword back and smiled at her, saying, "Don't be in such a hurry. Let's talk about showing mercy after things have settled down."

Holding his long sword and the beautiful woman as a hostage, he slowly moved from the passageway where the two groups were wary of each other to Cheng Junshi's side.

"We shouldn't linger here. You go first, I'll cover you." He turned his head and whispered to Cheng Junshi, who gripped his longsword without moving: "Let's go together."

Wu Shunyi: "...What are you two being so polite about?" He snatched Cheng Junshi's longsword and shoved him aside, then, taking Tang Qi's place, held the longsword against Jiao Niang's neck and said, "What are you two little brats trying to prove with in front of me?"

"Get as far away as you can," he yelled at Tang Qi and the other man.

Tang Qi was startled by the push, and when he met Cheng Junshi's gaze, they both burst out laughing. Then, with a pout, they walked out.

“Alright, you elders will take care of things, we younger ones will step back a bit.” Tang Qi was still happy as she and Cheng Junshi slowly walked out one after the other.

The two had only just stepped out of the cave when a sudden explosion came from behind them, sending sand and rocks flying everywhere. Fortunately, Tang Qi reacted quickly and tackled Cheng Junshi to the ground. He protected Cheng Junshi as they rolled several times before finally getting to their feet.

Cheng Junshi was still experiencing tinnitus and his vision was not yet clear. In his blurry vision, he saw Tang Qi's figure flash by. He was still in a daze, but his feet subconsciously ran towards Tang Qi. As soon as he got close, he saw that the collapsed cave entrance was suddenly smashed open, and a longbow was placed in the middle of the cave entrance, aimed at Tang Qi who was running towards him.

There was no time to stop, and no way to avoid it.

Without hesitation, almost instinctively, he lunged forward—

"careful!"

"—Cheng Junshi!"

Tang Qi was stunned as he caught Cheng Junshi, who was lunging at him. He braced Cheng Junshi's back, but his hand unexpectedly touched the cold, seeping blood on Cheng Junshi's back.

Cheng Junshi forcefully pushed him down, half-kneeling on the ground and pushing Tang Qi away, saying, "Run!"

The archer was suddenly slit in the throat again. Wu Shunyi, who was inside the cave, led the remaining men out to fight his way out. One of his eyes was blasted open and bleeding, and he almost fell out of the cave. Wu Shunyi's men were desperately blocking the people who were trying to kill him.

"General! Run!"

"Escape? Ha—are you dreaming?" A ghostly female voice echoed from the cave. After a few cries of pain, the beautiful woman slowly emerged from the cave.

"Brother Zhengye! Uh—"

Tang Qi helped Cheng Junshi and looked back sharply. He saw Lu Juezhen being kicked to his knees with a knife to his neck. The person holding the knife behind him was the tall girl who had been the first to stand up. Moreover, all the girls that Lu Juezhen and Hu Xingche had just escorted out had returned!

"Lu Juezhen!" Tang Qi exclaimed in surprise.

"Find us freedom?" The girl's knife-wielding hand moved closer to Lu Juezhen's neck. "We've always been free."

"Why should we have you as our saviors?" Her eyes were blank, but her tone was amused. "Don't you think that's too presumptuous?"

Tang Qi stared blankly at the person opposite him. Behind him, the beautiful woman's steps drew closer, her voice slow and tinged with laughter: "Do you feel wronged? Do you feel that your kindness has been taken advantage of?"

Tang Qi turned around and stared at her through gritted teeth. Wu Shunyi was forced to their side, and half of her shoulder was bleeding. Cheng Junshi was pale and tried his best to protect Tang Qi. Tang Qi leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Keep your voice down a few hundred times."

Cheng Junshi tilted his head in confusion. Although he didn't know what he was going to do, he still slowly started counting: "One, two, three..."

The beautiful woman drew closer and closer: "But what has put you in this predicament is never kindness, but ignorance."

"Subconsciously placing women in a vulnerable position and arousing an inexplicable protective instinct is not kindness; it is merely your arrogance that has nowhere to hide. The belief that women are born to be saved is the starting point of your ignorance."

Jiao Niang and her entourage slowly surrounded them, continuing to look down at Tang Qi with a smile: "Beast locked in a cage and hunter standing outside—guess who's in danger once the cage is opened?"

“My business is always two-way. They are the ‘goods,’ but do you think those people aren’t? Being a slave or a concubine is a choice, but to think that they only have this one choice is too arrogant. Their value is far more than that.”