After finishing her meal and leaving the restaurant, Hong Xiaoduo didn't rush back to the inn. Instead, she stood by a roadside stall, holding a beaded flower, and held it up to her head in a bronze mirror, keeping an eye on the two men who had just come out.

No matter how annoying Jie Xinyu is, now that we have clues about her, we can't ignore them.

But the two men didn't leave immediately after they came out; they stood by the restaurant and looked back over and over again.

Are they targeting her and the children? What kind of scheme are they plotting?

To confirm her suspicions, Hong Xiaoduo deliberately led the children to dawdle, looking at this stall and wandering around that stall.

Sure enough, the shorter and thinner of the two followed at a distance.

"Great, that makes things easier," Hong Xiaoduo said with a smile, shaking her head. She had been worried about how to follow them without being discovered and find their hideout.

But how could she resolve this matter as quickly as possible? Hong Xiaoduo was a little anxious, not because this matter delayed her journey, but because she was afraid that if it dragged on, Jie Xinyu would be harmed by bad people.

No matter how detestable Jie Xinyu was, from the perspective of a fellow woman, Hong Xiaoduo didn't want that to happen to her.

I thought she just didn't want to be sent home, so she ran away secretly, but I never expected that she was captured by bad guys.

Hong Xiaoduo thought of the story of how she didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of her. Then she thought of how Jie Xinyu's accident was somewhat related to her. She couldn't help but sigh. She didn't like the innocent flower and didn't want to be that flower, but after knowing that Jie Xinyu had fallen into the hands of bad people, she just couldn't stand idly by.

"Is this young lady from out of town?" came a voice from behind. Without turning around, I knew who it was; I had just heard it in the restaurant.

Well, this person not only offered themselves up, but also struck up a conversation!

Hong Xiaoduo slowly turned around, looked at the man behind her, and asked uncertainly, "Is this young master speaking to me?"

Seeing that she was neither ashamed nor angry, nor suspicious or wary, the man was secretly pleased. His master had just told him to be careful when he left, saying that a young woman of her age who was out in the world must have some real skills.

"I noticed those stall owners were overcharging, but you didn't seem to notice, so I guessed you must be from out of town. That's why I couldn't help but ask," the man said, gesturing to her as he spoke, implying that the stall owners here were all unscrupulous merchants and that she shouldn't buy their goods.

Hong Xiaoduo immediately feigned surprise and lowered her voice to say to him, "So that's why it seemed more expensive than other places. Thank you for reminding me, young master."

"Not at all, not at all. I just thought it must be hard for you, young lady, to travel with several children." The man said, glancing at Tian Shu and the others.

This young woman was a stranger passing through this place. With her age and appearance, she and her seven children were truly rare finds, something I hadn't seen in years.

Goods like this will never have trouble finding good buyers, and if you put in a little more effort, you can sell them for an even higher price.

The short man was already calculating in his mind how much he would get after selling the large and seven small goods, according to the profit-sharing arrangement.

Furthermore, the organization's rules for distributing profits also dictate that whoever secures the goods will receive a higher percentage of the profits.

His master only ordered him to keep an eye on the young lady and her entourage, find out their background, confirm that they were indeed capable of taking action, and then wait for an opportunity to strike.

After all, if you mess with the wrong people and get into big trouble, it's not worth it.

The people in the organization are also cautious, which is why they have been able to make a living in this industry for many years without any problems.

However, the young lady in front of him seemed to be a simple and innocent person, and he could handle these eight excellent women all by himself.

"Young master, you are truly a righteous person. Ah, before I left home, my father said, 'At home, you rely on your parents; when you're away from home, you rely on your friends.' Today I finally understand; he was absolutely right." Hong Xiaoduo said these insincere words to the guy with triangular eyes in front of her, and she admired herself, giving herself 108 thumbs up.

“What the young lady’s father said is absolutely right. That’s exactly it. By the way, young lady, are you thirsty? How about I offer you some tea?” After a few words, the man was eager to try his hand at the tea and couldn’t wait to make his move.

He was afraid that if the time dragged on, his master would send a capable subordinate to handle it, and then he would lose the credit.

The tough problems are one thing, but these eight good stuff in front of us are actually quite easy to handle.

"Have some tea?" Hong Xiaoduo was also surprised that this person was so impatient and eager to make a move.

“Yes, if you were a man, I would definitely offer you a drink, but you are a woman, so it wouldn’t be appropriate to offer you a drink,” the man said frankly.

Hong Xiaoduo nodded and said, "That's right. Young Master, you've thought things through. Unlike me, Young Master, you don't know. My father said I'm not suitable to come out. He said that a naive young lady like me would be deceived if I came out."

But I wasn't having it, so I sneaked out. Once I got out, I realized my dad had tricked me. There weren't that many dangerous things outside. I knew he was just making things up to scare me and make me afraid to come out.

Oh my, look at that! He hadn't even started trying to get information out of her before she spoke up on her own. The man was incredibly excited.

"Young lady, you shouldn't say that about your father. He said it because he loves you. Besides, he wasn't lying to scare you. These days, the world is in chaos, and there are hardly any peaceful places."

It's really not safe for a young woman like you to be out and about.

"By the way, young lady, your home isn't far from here, is it? You should head home soon so your elders can rest assured." The man felt it was time to put his talents to use.

The two chatted as they walked. Hong Xiaoduo could clearly feel the scoundrel's impatience and thought she was quite impressive for responding so calmly: "You might not believe it, but I'm at least seven or eight thousand miles away from home."

He said this with undisguised pride.

We're already this far from her home? Great! The man was secretly delighted and continued, "Young lady, you speak with an air of refinement; you're not from an ordinary family, are you?"

“Young master, you’ve guessed wrong.” Hong Xiaoduo said embarrassedly, then looked around and lowered her voice to say to him, “To be honest, young master, my father is a teacher at the private school in our town. He hopes that I, his daughter, will learn needlework, play the zither, and practice calligraphy so that I can marry into a good family in the future, but I don’t want to.”

I envy those chivalrous heroines in picture books, roaming the martial world and upholding justice. They're so dashing and live such carefree lives.

Upon hearing this, the man's eyes began to light up...