Chapter 112 Fierce Battle
Liu Zhi packed two sets of baby clothes and followed Li Xiaoxiao out the door. Rui Rui rode on Li Xiaoxiao's head and looked very proud, clapping her little hands non-stop and babbling in baby talk.
Li Xiaoxiao only carried him for a short distance, and when they reached the foot of Zimu Peak, she put him down and let him climb on his own.
Rui Rui used both her hands and feet to climb up, but after climbing only two steps, her body was already filthy.
When Liu Zhi first saw the young master climbing like that, she screamed in surprise and tried to pick him up, but Li Xiaoxiao wouldn't let her, and Rui Rui wouldn't allow it either. She could only watch helplessly as Rui Rui climbed up the mountainside on all fours and then ran into the temple to play with A Yun.
Li Xiaoxiao's reasoning is that children should be allowed to get close to nature, to breathe in more of the earth's energy, so that they will be less prone to illness, have a better appetite, and enjoy sleeping.
Since Rui Rui always ate and slept well when she went back home, and never got sick, her health was much better than Meng Guanqi's, who was spoiled since childhood and got sick all the time. So her family turned a blind eye to it.
That's why Liuzhi would pack two sets of clothes for Ruirui when she went out. When he got tired of playing in the temple and was about to go down the mountain, she would carefully wash his hands and feet, change him into clean clothes, and give him a fragrant bath when they got back. You couldn't tell at all that the child had rolled around in the mud.
Li Xiaoxiao followed behind Rui Rui with a smile, watching him nimbly climb up the hill, not minding the small pebbles on the ground that hurt his hands. She thought that this child was also good at enduring pain and had a good physique. Perhaps he would be a martial arts talent when he grew up. It wouldn't be bad for him to be a scholar and a warrior, just like Meng Guanqi...
Rui Rui crawled along, feeling a bit hot. Just then, he saw a small puddle of water in the middle of the muddy path. No child dislikes playing in water, so he excitedly raised his little hand and slapped it.
Li Xiaoxiao's smile vanished instantly upon touching the small puddle of water. She quickly reached out and lifted Rui Rui up before he could slap the puddle, then shoved him onto Liu Zhi's back.
Liu Zhi was caught off guard when a mud monkey was stuffed into her body, soiling her newly made dress. Just as she was about to ask what happened, she was stunned when she saw the puddle of liquid out of the corner of her eye.
It was a pool of blood, and quite a lot of it.
Li Xiaoxiao gestured for Liu Zhi to step back, then quickly stepped forward and discovered that the bloodstains were heading towards the Guanyin Temple. Upon closer inspection of the roadside bushes, she found that they were also stained with blood, suggesting a minor struggle.
Such a amount of bleeding is not from one person.
Thinking that there was only an old monk and two children in the Guanyin Temple, Li Xiaoxiao was about to rush up to see what had happened, but then she immediately thought of Liuzhi and the children behind her.
No, it doesn't matter if she's alone, but Rui Rui is the apple of everyone's eye, she can't get hurt here!
Having made up her mind, she immediately turned around, took Rui Rui into her arms, and said in a deep voice, "Let's go back to the county government!"
Liu Zhi also saw the bloodstains. She didn't know what had happened, but she was so frightened that her hands and feet trembled. She staggered and followed Li Xiaoxiao back.
Fortunately, they were still a short distance from the Guanyin Temple. If they had stumbled upon a murder scene, she and Rui Rui wouldn't have known what to do.
Fortunately, Sister Xiaoxiao came out with them; if it were anyone else, Liuzhi would probably be too scared to walk.
The two hurried back, and Rui Rui was also affected by their nervous expressions, so she obediently nestled in Li Xiaoxiao's arms without moving.
Fortunately, the foot of Zimu Peak was not far from the city gate. After the two reached the foot of the mountain, they were finally able to run. Li Xiaoxiao carried Rui Rui in one arm and held Liu Zhi's hand in the other, running quickly towards the city gate. Liu Zhi was practically being carried by her, panting heavily.
They finally arrived at the city gate, and the bustling sounds of the city made the two of them breathe a sigh of relief. Li Xiaoxiao handed Rui Rui to Liu Zhi and said, "Take Rui Rui to the county government office. If the magistrate is not there, find Constable Shi and tell him that something happened at the Guanyin Temple and ask him to bring people over as soon as possible."
Liu Zhi's face turned even paler: "Sister Xiaoxiao, aren't you coming back with me?"
Li smiled and said, "I'm worried about the safety of the old monk, Afu, and Ayun. Don't worry, ordinary people can't do anything to me. You go to the yamen to call for help. I'm leaving now."
Liu Zhi was so anxious she wanted to jump up and down, but Rui Rui was so angry when she saw Li Xiaoxiao running away without taking her with her that she burst into tears and insisted on chasing after her.
He was already two years old, and quite strong. When he got angry, Liu Zhi could barely hold him. She could only try to coax him while carrying him towards the county government office. All the way there, he cried loudly.
Unfortunately, she was unlucky. The city gate was almost an incense stick's time away from the county government office, and she didn't run into a single acquaintance. What finally got the head constable Shi to call her out was Rui Rui's deafening cries.
Hearing the crying, Officer Shi thought something had happened to a child, so he came out to check. He was surprised to find it was the second son of the county magistrate: "Hey, what happened? Did you fall?"
It's no wonder he asked that question; both of them were covered in mud and sand, so dirty they were unsightly.
Liu Zhi said urgently, "Officer Shi, we just came down from Zimu Peak. When we got halfway up the mountain, we found a lot of blood on the road and signs of a fight. Sister Xiaoxiao immediately took me and the Second Young Master down the mountain, but she turned back after seeing us off at the city gate, saying she was worried about the safety of the old monk, Afu, and Ayun. You should take some people to check it out quickly. We don't know if those people fighting were bandits or mountain thieves..."
Officer Shi's expression changed drastically. Fortunately, Magistrate Meng was not here today, and it would take too much time to find him. He sent Liu Zhi home first, then immediately went back, gathered six men, and headed towards Zimu Peak with their knives.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Chief Constable Shi left two men to guard the area: "Stop the villagers from going up the mountain. We'll go up first and see what's going on."
One of the constables asked, "Boss, aren't five of you too few to go up?"
Officer Shi said, "Xiaoxiao is already here. With her here, the five of us are enough."
When the constables heard that Li Xiaoxiao had gone up first, they immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
With her around, what is there to worry about? As long as the bandits don't bring an army, they won't be a match for Li Xiaoxiao.
Meanwhile, Li Xiaoxiao sent Liuzhi and Ruirui to the city gate and immediately rushed towards Zimu Peak. Fortunately, it was the busy farming season and not the first or fifteenth of the month, so there weren't many people going to the Guanyin Temple to pray. She didn't encounter anyone else along the way. When she reached the place with bloodstains, she stopped and carefully followed the bloodstains. The further she went, the heavier her heart became. Sure enough, it was heading towards the Guanyin Temple, and judging from the degree of blood congealing, it was estimated to be within an hour.
Who on earth would be fighting here? Bandits? But there's only one old monk living in the Guanyin Temple with two young children. They can't even afford incense. What could bandits possibly steal? If they wanted to rob anyone, they should have gone after the merchants in the county town.
Fortunately, the Guanyin Temple was built halfway up the mountain. She carefully concealed her presence and approached quietly. In a flash, she slowly moved towards the backyard.
There was no one in the backyard, but the wooden ladle and bucket that Afu used to water the vegetables were lying messily on the ground, and a cabbage was trampled.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she realized something was wrong; she feared that Afu and Ayun had also been arrested.
She was familiar with the layout of the Guanyin Temple, and carefully approached the main hall by using the doors and windows as cover. Finally, she lay down on the ground and peered inside through the crack in the door.
As soon as I got close, I could hear the constant sounds of swords clashing inside, along with occasional painful groans.
Li Xiaoxiao raised her head slightly, watching the movements inside.
Sure enough, the main hall was crowded with people.
On the far left was an old monk trembling, holding Afu in his left arm and Ayun in his right. His left arm seemed to have been slashed, bleeding profusely and staining his tattered robe red. Behind him stood a strange child of about seven or eight years old, pale-faced and trembling all over. Although he was dressed in coarse cloth, his meticulously combed hair and upright posture revealed that he was no ordinary person, and his elegant aura was undeniable.
He looked a year or two younger than Afu, but when Afu and Ayun saw so much blood, they were terrified and their faces were covered in snot and tears. Although the child also looked frightened, he did not cry or make a fuss.
Who are these people? Li Xiaoxiao pondered before turning her gaze to the group engaged in fierce combat.
Among them was a woman in her thirties, wielding a pair of curved swords and confronting three men dressed in black. Her attacks were undeniably fierce, but fighting against multiple opponents, she was already covered in blood. Moreover, judging from the speed and strength of her attacks, Li Xiaoxiao estimated that she wouldn't last much longer.
Fighting alongside her was a young man in his twenties. His injuries were more severe than the woman's, and he was being tightly surrounded by four men in black. The four men were trying to break through his defenses, and their target seemed to be the child. But the young man gritted his teeth and, despite being stabbed again and again, stubbornly blocked the men in black's path.
The amount of bleeding—Li Xiaoxiao shook her head. He was going to die soon. The more force he used, the more blood he would bleed, and the faster he would die.
Seeing that they couldn't break through, the three men in black suddenly exchanged glances, formed a circle, and launched an attack on the young man almost simultaneously.
Li Xiaoxiao was taken aback. This sword formation?! It looks so familiar!
Li Xiaoxiao's gaze sharpened, and she leaped up from the ground, kicked open the door to the back hall, and pounced on it like an eagle.
With three loud bangs, she slammed the three men in black against the wall, where they fell to the ground groaning.
Li Xiaoxiao kicked a knife off the ground and slashed at the man in black who was still harassing the young man.
The man in black was shocked and raised his sword to block, but he felt an immense force, like Mount Tai pressing down on him, coming from the other man. His knees were forced to the ground with a loud crack as his kneecap shattered from the impact.
The excruciating pain in his knee instantly rendered the man in black unable to attack. Li Xiaoxiao kicked him, sending him flying high into the air before he crashed heavily to the ground, completely unable to move.
In a flash, she dealt with the four men, and immediately raised her knife to slash at the three men in black who were entangled with the woman with the double knives, cutting them down one by one.
In the face of absolute power, any means of attack are futile.
The seven men in black had already gained an absolute advantage; they were certain they could kill their target and complete their mission in less than ten breaths. However, the young woman who appeared out of nowhere turned the tide the moment she appeared. The seven assassins were instantly killed and knocked to the ground, completely powerless to fight back.
Is she a human or a ghost? How could she possibly possess such terrifying martial arts skills?
Li Xiaoxiao walked up to the men in black lying on the ground, took all their weapons and threw them far away. She then searched them again, taking off all the daggers, money bags and other items they had hidden on their bodies and throwing them out of their reach. One of the men in black tried to throw a punch, but Li Xiaoxiao punched him in the chin, making his chin crooked: "Behave yourself!"
The leader of the men in black, though severely injured and filled with fear, still gritted his teeth and asked, "Who are you?"
Li Xiaoxiao spat and said, "That's what I should be asking you! Who are you people? How dare you kill someone in my Biyang County? You're tired of living!"
The young man and woman who had been rescued by her collapsed to the ground, leaning against the pillars of the main hall, panting heavily. Their eyes were fixed on Li Xiaoxiao, with a glimmer of hope in them.
The young man, supporting himself with his knife, asked in a trembling voice, "Is this Biyang County? Excuse me, young lady, do you know a girl named Li Xiaoxiao?"
Li Xiaoxiao was taken aback: "I am, and you are?"
Both the young man and the woman wore expressions of wild joy. The woman, trembling, stretched out her blood-soaked hands: "Miss Li~"
Li Xiaoxiao knew something was wrong with her, so she stepped forward and took her hand: "Big sister, what do you want to say?"
A trace of sorrow appeared on the woman's face. It seemed that Li Xiaoxiao already knew she couldn't hold on any longer. She pulled Li Xiaoxiao in front of her with all her might and whispered in her ear with difficulty, "This eight-year-old child behind me—" She murmured a few words in her ear with difficulty, and suddenly her eyes burst with intense resentment: "Miss Li, I'm entrusting him to you. Please, please!" Her eyes widened, and her last breath caught in her chest. She breathed her last.
A hint of sadness flashed in Li Xiaoxiao's eyes as she whispered in her ear, "Don't worry~"
A tear slowly welled up in the woman's eye, and her eyes slowly closed.
The young man was in no better shape. He coughed, spitting out a mouthful of black blood, and struggled to say, "Miss Li, General Pang told me to come to you when I encountered difficulties. I'm late, but thankfully, thankfully, I found you..."
Li Xiaoxiao's expression changed: "You're Pang Shi's subordinate?"
The young man nodded with a bitter smile and said with difficulty, "My name is Hang Wei. In the future, when you see General Pang, tell him that I have not let him down and have finally found you..." His struggling movements suddenly stopped, his eyes widened, and he fell silent.
Li Xiaoxiao walked up to him and said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, it's not that you're late, it's that I'm late... I'm so sorry I couldn't save your lives."
If she hadn't sent Rui Rui and Liu Zhi back to the city when she first discovered the bloodstains, it would have been entirely possible to save the young man and the woman. However, the round trip would have wasted at least an hour, and the men in black caught up. The young man and the woman were covered in old and new wounds, and fighting against multiple men, they were no match for these men in black.
She reached out and closed the young man's eyes, slowly stood up, glanced at the eight-year-old child, then slowly turned around, her body suddenly filled with murderous intent.
Regardless of the reason, treating innocent lives as worthless and wantonly slaughtering people is unforgivable in Li Xiaoxiao's eyes.
The men in black, unable to move on the ground, were drenched in cold sweat and began to tremble uncontrollably. It was the first time they had ever seen such intense killing intent emanating from a single person.
Li Xiaoxiao said coldly, "What is your relationship with South One to South Fifteen?"
She recognized them from the sword formation of the men in black. On the day Wan Quan and Pang Shi fought in Jing Lei Temple, the sword formation set up by those men in black was exactly the same as that of these men today.
If they had no relation, she could cut off her head and give it to them to sit on.
The leader of the men in black was even more frightened when he saw that she recognized his house. How did she know about Nan Yi to Nan Shiwu? How much did she know about them?
Knowing that all was lost and that he absolutely could not fall into the hands of others as a suicide soldier, the leader of the men in black let out a whistling sound, bit open the poison sac hidden between his teeth, and died instantly from the poison.
Upon hearing the whistle, the other six men simultaneously bit open the poison sacs in their mouths. Five of them quickly foamed at the mouth and died with their eyes wide open. The assassin whose jaw had been accidentally knocked off by Li Xiaoxiao tried several times, but his jaw wouldn't close, and he couldn't bite open the poison sac. Just as he was about to reach into his mouth to crush the poison sac, Li Xiaoxiao had already taken a step forward, dislocated his arms, and pried the poison sac out of his teeth: "It's not your time to die yet. You'd better live."
The man in black had his legs crippled, his hands dislocated, and his jaw dislocated. He couldn't even commit suicide, and he immediately fainted from anger.
Seeing that he was unable to commit suicide, Li Xiaoxiao went to the old monk to check his injuries. After examining him, she found that he was quite lucky. It was just a flesh wound and no bone was broken, but he had lost a lot of blood.
She patted him on the shoulder: "It's alright, it's just a cut, you won't die. Hurry back to your room and find some white medicine to apply, you'll recover in a month or two."
The old monk then felt that he had been given a second chance at life. When Afu and Ayun saw that their master was alright, they burst into tears and hugged him.
The old monk was in pain from his wounds, yet he had to comfort the two children, their crying making him dizzy and disoriented.
Ignoring the pile of corpses on the ground, Li Xiaoxiao walked up to the child and scrutinized him carefully for a while with mixed feelings, still not fully processing the woman's last words to her.
What's going on, my God? How could it be such a coincidence? This Biyang County isn't some kind of outlying camp near the capital; it's over a thousand miles from the Eastern Palace. How could we possibly run into the Crown Prince's son here?
The woman in green and Hang Wei seemed to be the child's last protectors; even they were dead, leaving him all alone.
Li Xiaoxiao sighed and reached out to take his hand: "Then there's no other way. From today onwards, you'll be with me, understand?"
She thought for a moment, then added, "Stay at my house for now and see how the adults arrange things."
If Magistrate Meng is about to inform the Crown Prince's child to come and pick them up, then they should be taken back. If there are other considerations, perhaps after Meng Guanqi returns from Luzhou, he will probably be preparing to go to the capital to send off the bride. At that time, the child can go to the capital with them, so that it will not attract attention.
In any case, this child is a hot potato, and cannot be taken lightly; he must be handed back to the Crown Prince personally.
She touched his head and found that he neither flinched nor flinched, showing no reaction whatsoever.
They must have been terrified.
With so many people around him, they were all killed one by one. In the end, even his closest aunt and guards died protecting him. He was only eight years old. How could he force himself to accept this fact?
Li Xiaoxiao decided to take him away from this terrifying place first.
So she picked him up and, as they passed the old monk, she also took the crying A-Yun away and led them to sit down in front of the vegetable garden in the backyard.
Even with his nose red from crying, Ah Yun pushed her away, saying, "You stepped on my vegetables."
Li Xiaoxiao looked down and realized that she had accidentally stepped on another cabbage. She smiled apologetically and said, "Sorry, I didn't see it."
She found a rock by the vegetable garden and put the little boy on it: "Sit down first, A-Yun. Can you get your brother a glass of water? Don't cry. Your master is fine. Just go to Huichuntang and buy some Baiyao to apply to his wound."
Ah Yun sobbed, "Really?"
Li Xiaoxiao gently pinched his little nose: "Of course it's true, when have I ever lied to you?"
A-Yun sniffled again, then suddenly threw herself into Li Xiaoxiao's arms and cried, "Wow, it's so scary! Someone killed someone! There's so much blood!"
As A-Yun burst into tears, Li Xiaoxiao noticed that the little boy's body trembled, his face turned deathly pale, his whole body began to shake, and tears welled up in his eyes but wouldn't fall.
Li Xiaoxiao sighed and reached out to hug him as well: "Alright, you're both scared, so let's cry together. Once you've cried this much, don't cry anymore. Leave the rest to us adults, okay?"
The boy was initially shocked, but seeing the little monk crying so sadly next to him, he was also overcome with grief. His mouth drooped more and more, and finally he couldn't help but cry softly as well.
As expected of a prince of the royal family, even his crying was soft and gentle, very refined.
Li Xiaoxiao patted his little body comfortingly. It's good that he can cry. Although he's not as naturally gifted as A-Yun who can cry out loud, it's better to shed tears than not to shed them at all.
Otherwise, she would worry that he would get sick from holding it in.
Ah Yun cried his heart out. After crying, he found that the most powerful Sister Xiao Xiao was still there, his master was no longer bleeding, and his senior brother was no longer crying. He immediately believed that everything was really alright.
He then remembered that Sister Xiaoxiao had asked him to get water, and smiled shyly through his tears: "Sister Xiaoxiao, I'll get you some water right now."
After A-Yun left, Li Xiaoxiao asked the little boy, who had stopped crying and was wiping away his tears, "What's your name?"
The boy said, "My name is Li Ke."
Li Xiaoxiao thought for a moment: "Your name is a bit eye-catching. Do you have a nickname?"
The boy lowered his head and said, "I don't have a nickname, but my mother secretly gave me one, which is Zezhi."
Li smiled and said, "That's good. How about I call you Aze from now on?"
Aze obediently replied, "Okay."
Li Xiaoxiao took him to the well, drew water for him to wash his hands and face, and while wiping his neck, a gold necklace suddenly fell out of it. It was intricately carved and glowed with a faint blue light.
Li Xiaoxiao's gaze sharpened. She picked up the gold lock, glanced at it, and then opened it.
Upon closer inspection, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately grabbed the golden lock in his hand: "Who gave you this?"
Aze was startled. Even when this woman was killing someone, he had never seen her with such a serious expression. He stammered, "Yes, it was given to me by my grandmother."
Li Xiaoxiao felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
His grandmother gave it to him?! What the hell?! Are you crazy?!
Li Xiaoxiao looked him up and down, touching him all over until he blushed. Then she said seriously, "This thing could easily expose your identity. Would you be willing to hand it over to me and let me put it away for you?"
It turned out she was afraid of exposing his identity. Aze realized that he had no one by his side now, and only this powerful older sister could protect him. He had no choice but to trust her.
He nodded.
With a slight effort, Li Xiaoxiao ripped the entire necklace off. She took out a handkerchief and wrapped it up tightly.
When Ah Sheng, with his short legs, brought over a bowl of plain water, he saw that Li Xiaoxiao's face was as dark as if a storm was about to break. He thought he was late and said cautiously, "Sister Xiaoxiao, I didn't mean to be late. I poured a bowl for Master first..."
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