I lay in bed for what seemed like an eternity, barely managing to stay there.
Qin Sheng couldn't sleep and was about to get up to read a book when he suddenly heard a noise outside.
Lü Qingfeng and his guards take turns on night watch; nothing should happen in this small village.
The sounds outside weren't loud, just occasional noises; Qin Sheng wouldn't have heard them if she hadn't been so unable to sleep.
After thinking about it, she quietly got dressed and got up.
Caiyue was fast asleep, her head resting on the table.
Qin Sheng draped the cloak over her and walked quietly to the window to look outside.
The window wasn't closed completely; a small gap was left for ventilation because the room smelled a bit stuffy.
Qin Sheng secretly peeked out through the crack in the window.
There was a small courtyard outside, where herbs and dried vegetables were dried during the day, so there were quite a few winnowing baskets there.
There was someone sitting in the courtyard, facing away from Qin Sheng, fiddling with something in their hands.
However, because it was quite far away and it was so dark, she couldn't see clearly, but she recognized the person.
It was Lü Qingfeng.
What is this person doing so late at night instead of sleeping?
Qin Sheng couldn't resist and opened the door to go out. Hearing footsteps, Lü Qingfeng turned around and looked at her.
"You're doing..." Qin Sheng was taken aback, then pointed to the object in his hand: "A bow and arrow?"
Moreover, it appears to be a woman's bow and arrow, as it looks relatively small, and there are patterns engraved on the bow.
"Ah, yes."
Fortunately, it was late at night, so Qin Sheng didn't notice the slight unnaturalness on his face.
Lü Qingfeng said, "Didn't you say you wanted to learn archery? Since we have nothing else to do, I'll make you one; it'll be easier for you to use."
"You have this skill too." Qin Sheng smiled and took the bow from his hand, gently stroking the patterns that he hadn't finished carving yet.
"I'm glad you don't mind, young lady," said Lü Qingfeng.
"Of course I don't mind."
Qin Sheng said, "After we return to Ningzhou, I will try my best to set aside some time every day to practice martial arts with you. I don't ask you to be very good, but I just hope that you can protect yourself when you encounter danger."
If Lü Qingfeng hadn't been there that day, Qin Sheng would either have been killed or kidnapped by those people, just like what happened at the pastry shop.
Lu Qingfeng was somewhat surprised to hear her words.
All he knew was that Qin Sheng came to Ningzhou from the capital to do business after divorcing her husband's family. Although he didn't know her background, he figured she must be quite capable, given how many people she had.
Lü Qingfeng always felt that she must have been a pampered girl.
He said, "Practicing martial arts is very tough. Many men can't endure it. Can you, young lady, handle it?"
"Even if you can't handle it, you have to eat it."
Qin Sheng laughed and said, "Like last time, if I hadn't learned a little bit from my brother since I was a child, I wouldn't even know how I died."
Since she couldn't sleep anyway, Qin Sheng simply took a small stool, sat down, and started talking to him.
"Oh, I forgot to ask you, what did you do before?"
Lu Qingfeng lowered his head and continued to polish the rough surface of the bow, answering in a low voice, "A carpenter."
"..."
Qin Sheng was a little skeptical. Could a carpenter really have such amazing martial arts skills?
"Where did you learn your kung fu?"
It took Lü Qingfeng a while to answer: "I learned it from a swordsman when I was young. Later, he died and passed his sword to me."
Qin Sheng's gaze fell on the knife beside him.
The knife was sheathed. Qin Sheng had seen it at the pastry shop that day; the blade was incredibly sharp, and it must be a treasured sword.
The two chatted for a while longer about all sorts of things, and Qin Sheng finally felt a little sleepy.
She stood up and said, "You should get some rest too. It's so late, it shouldn't be—"
Before she could finish speaking, her mouth was suddenly covered by a large hand, and Lü Qingfeng swiftly dragged her behind a haystack in the corner of the yard.
"Hmm---"
Qin Sheng instinctively struggled, but then she heard the man whisper in her ear, "There are experts outside, don't make a sound."
"..."
Qin Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately froze, her eyes widening and her breathing becoming rapid.
Lu Qingfeng's ears felt a little hot, and he slowly released his hand from her mouth. The two of them squatted quietly behind the haystack.
Sure enough, a very faint sound came from outside the fence after a short while.
Qin Sheng counted and found that four burly men had climbed over the wall and were rushing into her room with a clear purpose.
"!!!"
Caiyue is still inside!
Qin Sheng's eyes widened instantly, and she instinctively wanted to shout out.
However, at this moment, the guards on night watch discovered the intruders, and the sound of clashing swords rang out instantly.
"Walk!"
Without hesitation, Lü Qingfeng grabbed Qin Sheng's wrist and led her over the nearest fence.
The night was pitch black. In addition to the four people who went in, there were six others waiting outside to meet them.
Lu Qingfeng took Qin Sheng out unexpectedly, swung his knife and slashed, taking advantage of the opponent's unpreparedness. After killing one person with a single blow, he stole a horse and rode away at full speed with Qin Sheng.
Those people reacted quickly; Qin Sheng even heard someone shout something, and the others immediately chased after them.
Her heart felt as if it had fallen into an ice cellar.
That shout just now didn't sound like the Da Xiang dialect at all.
Who are they? Why did they arrest her? Are they the same group that was at the pastry shop last time?
Before Qin Sheng could think, Lü Qingfeng slapped the horse's rump hard with the back of his knife. The horse, in pain, almost bolted.
The wind whistled past my ears, and the hoofbeats of horses came from behind.
Qin Sheng felt as if her heart was being gripped tightly. Her back and forehead were covered in sweat, and she turned her head shakily to look back.
Those people were very close to them, and in addition to the people who had been waiting outside, the four who had climbed in also came after them.
They were all burly men, each looking menacing.
Don't look.
Lu Qingfeng's voice rang in his ears, "Sit tight!" Then he slapped the horse's rump even harder with the back of his blade.
The horse neighed and galloped wildly, leaping over a stream before plunging into the dense woods.
The pursuers stopped outside the jungle.
The group chattered on for a while, then looked at the man in the lead. He gritted his teeth and made a gesture to back down.
The ten men, well-trained, quickly disappeared into the night.
...
The sky gradually brightened.
Qin Sheng opened his eyes, feeling dizzy and disoriented, and found himself lying on the ground covered with dry grass. Looking around, he realized it was a small cave.
“Lu…”
When she opened her mouth, she realized that her voice was terribly hoarse. Qin Sheng coughed a few times, feeling uncomfortable, and sat up from the ground.
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