The rickety wooden door was kicked open, and two strong, dark-skinned figures rushed into the courtyard, raising their hands to grab An Jun.
Their goal was clear: to avoid harming Xu Mo and Qi Huai, and to only target the "ghostwriter."
It's obvious they want to silence him.
Xu Mo's grip on the Xuan paper tightened suddenly, and he quickly took two steps back.
Speaking of which, ever since the third brother Fang Heng trained a few servants, the siblings have rarely encountered such dangers. Although they are looked down upon everywhere they enter Fengjing, few dare to resort to such underhanded tactics.
But this time it involved cheating in the imperial examinations, so he dared not let the news leak out and therefore could not bring Jiang San and Jiang Si to protect him.
Fortunately, Xu Mo was never one to do things without a plan. Facing the menacing men in black, he glanced at Qi Huai.
As the eldest son of the Minister of Rites and a distinguished junior member of the Qi family, Qi Huai was never a weak young master who couldn't even kill a chicken.
Or rather, most of the young masters of Fengjing know a little bit of martial arts.
He kicked the man in black, then lifted his tattered clothes and draped them over the head of another man in black, finally managing to pull An Jun back.
Qi Yue was no pushover either; with a scream, he launched two kicks, landing only one.
The two men in black shed their tattered clothes, knowing they couldn't finish the fight quickly, and slowly assumed a fighting stance.
"You're trying to snatch someone in broad daylight! Who sent you? Do you have no respect for the law?" Qi Huai shouted, shielding his three companions behind him.
"Brother, I've also learned some things, I can help you." Qi Yue clenched his fist.
It would be more convincing if the foot he kicked the man in black wasn't still trembling.
"Alright, I'm here." Qi Huai said helplessly. "You protect Brother Xu and Brother An."
The sixteen-year-old boy leaped forward and engaged in a fierce battle with the two men in black, each punch landing squarely.
But he was just a man after all. In the mortal world where kung fu required rigorous training and there was no lightness skill or the ability to fly or escape, it was difficult for him to fight two people at once.
Despite his best efforts, Qi Huai was still entangled by a man in black.
Another one, with cold, sharp eyes, moved closer to An Jun.
Although Xu Mo was nervous, he instinctively stood in front of An Jun, determined not to let anything happen to him.
Remembering his brother's instructions, Qi Yue gritted his teeth and stood in front of the two men, saying, "If you have a problem, come at me. Don't hurt them."
Then the man in black extended his fist.
The thin and frail Qi family's younger brother was thrown to the corner, screaming in pain.
As he shouted, he cursed, "You hit me so hard, my brother won't let you get away with this, my brother will beat you to death, my brother will avenge me."
He had barely finished speaking when Qi Huai was punched in the stomach, crying out in pain, "...Stop talking."
Who is avenging whom?
Qi Yue covered her mouth with one hand, her fair face flushed red with anger, and her eyes gradually welled up with tears.
At this moment, the man in black had already closed in on Xu Mo.
One was a tall, burly adult thug in black, and the other was a slender, thin but always upright, refined scholar. Their eyes met, neither of them fearing the other, neither willing to back down.
“Brother Xu, please step aside. They want me, they won’t hurt you,” An Jun said indifferently.
Xu Mo shook his head.
Now that he had found An Jun and persuaded him to help with the cheating in the imperial examinations, it was impossible for him to hand An Jun over.
This action will not only chill An Jun's heart, but will also make him restless and unable to sleep at night.
“Brother An, since we’ve agreed to advance and retreat together, I, Xu, will not hand you over to save my own life,” Xu Mo said in a deep voice. “Don’t be afraid. Even if we die, we will die together today.”
After saying that, he grabbed the Xuan paper in his hand and threw it at the face of the man in black.
Qi Huai simply couldn't bear to look.
Qi Yue couldn't bear it any longer and turned his head away.
Having spent time together over the past few days, the Qi brothers both knew that Xu Mo was a genuine scholar. He was exceptionally talented in literature and aloof and proud. Although he was not exactly sickly, he was far from being physically strong.
Even someone like Qi Yue, who has some basic skills, would suffer when facing the men in black. Xu Mo, who knows nothing, would definitely be injured, and might even be crippled.
Imagine Xu Jieyuan limping and hobbling as he went to take the imperial examination.
The Qi brothers felt increasingly reluctant to do it.
Even An Jun behind him covered his eyes with one hand.
In that instant, with a whoosh, something flew onto the wall and then crashed to the ground, startling the people around them.
Qi Yue covered his face with both hands, trembling as he cautiously peeked through a crack in his fingers. He thought Xu Mo was lying on the ground bleeding profusely, but to his surprise, Xu Mo was still standing there, upright with a handsome face.
She was as tall and elegant as ever, yet there was something different about her.
Think of the Xu Mo that the Qi brothers met: gentle, refined, and kind, but always taut, calm, and aloof.
At this moment, Xu Mo was smiling faintly, a smile that was warm, relaxed, and tinged with a hint of helplessness.
He looked towards the gate and asked softly, "Why are you here?"
Qi Yue followed and looked over.
The wooden door that had been kicked by the man in black was lying on the ground. In the original space, two children around ten years old were standing, looking at Xu Mo angrily.
"Big brother!" Jiang Sheng said, hands on her hips, "If we hadn't shown up here, if it weren't for the quick reactions of Third Brother Jiang and Fourth Brother Jiang, would you have given up on the imperial examination in February? Would you have skipped the New Year? Would you have abandoned your younger siblings?"
Jiang San and Jiang Si stood aside, smugly pleased with themselves.
Xu Mo's expression grew increasingly helpless.
The tall, handsome young man walked up to his younger sister in a few steps, bent down, and met Jiang Sheng's round eyes and round face. "Okay, okay, it was my fault. I won't do it again next time. Can you not be angry, little sister?"
They admitted their mistakes pretty quickly!
Jiang Sheng suddenly felt a tightness in her chest, unsure whether to continue venting or swallow it down.
Changyan coughed and said, "If our eldest brother hadn't caught us, he probably wouldn't have admitted his mistake."
Someone is stirring up trouble!
Xu Mo turned his head and glared at Little Fifth Brother, "Little Fifth, have you forgotten? You were the one who came up with this idea for me."
So this is what they call, brothers dying together!
Jiang Sheng stared wide-eyed, looking left and right, and suddenly realized she looked like a little dummy.
She never tells her eldest brother what he does, nor does she tell her fifth brother what he suggests. She worries about this and that every day, but in the end, everyone else knows everything.
That's outrageous!
The little girl's lower teeth protruded beyond her upper teeth, and her lips turned down in a wronged manner. "Big brother is a bad guy, and fifth brother is a bad guy too. I'm going to find auntie and I'm not talking to you anymore!"
She turned around angrily, ran outside into the yard, and stood against the wall.
Being in an unfamiliar place, and with her older brother having just encountered danger, Jiang Sheng dared not run away rashly. However, standing in the courtyard was not a good idea either, so she simply stood outside as punishment.
Jiang San was initially worried, but after peeking out, he began to suppress his laughter.
Xu Mo's lips curled up; his younger sister was just too adorable, making him unable to contain his joy.
Until Qi Huai, who was standing next to him, coughed.
Xu Mo snapped out of his daze and quickly introduced, "This is Brother Qi from the family of the Minister of Rites, this is Brother Qi's younger brother, this is Brother An, and this is my fifth brother."
"As for that chubby little girl outside, she's my sister."
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