"Tell me! Where is Xiaoba?"
Chu Qiao's voice sounded coldly, and she pushed the dagger forward. The blade cut through the skin, and bright red blood immediately seeped out.
"What...what Xiao Ba?" The gloomy and strange man suddenly lost his arrogant look and said tremblingly with fear of death, "I don't know Xiao Ba, I'm just doing things for someone else."
"Xiao Ba is the owner of this bundle. He is the child you are pretending to be."
"I... I don't know," the dwarf said, "It was the Fourth Young Master's people who came to find me. I am a retainer of the Zhuge family and I have no grudge against you."
"You don't know?" Chu Qiao frowned and looked the man up and down. Seeing the dwarf nodding repeatedly, anger suddenly rose in her heart. She pressed down her wrist, pierced, rotated, and pulled horizontally. The man's eyes suddenly opened wide, his pupils dilated, his hands and feet stiffened, and he stopped breathing. Only a long line of blood was left on his neck.
"You are not fit to be a killer for others. You will die sooner or later anyway, so you might as well do something good before you die." Chu Qiao looked at the dwarf's body coldly, then squatted down, swung a knife, and lifted up the huge hooded coat on his body.
Tonight in Zhenhuang City is destined not to be a night for sleep. Although it is late at night, the east city gate is still lit. The fourth young master of Zhuge Mansion personally took charge and asked the Zhenhuang garrison to mobilize half of its troops to go out of the city to capture the escaped slaves of Zhuge Mansion for him.
Several groups of people have left one after another, but still no news has been sent back.
Zhuge Yue sat on his horse, the East City Gate behind him looked like a giant lion, sleeping in the endless night. The servants of Zhuge Mansion followed behind him, holding their breath and not daring to make a sound, for fear of alarming the angry tiger.
“Fourth Young Master!” Zhu Cheng, who was dressed in a grey robe, crouched and quickly ran forward, leaning close to Zhuge Yue’s ear and whispering, “Fourth Young Master, the eldest young master has sent someone to ask you to return home immediately.”
Zhuge Yue pretended not to hear anything and continued to stare forward with an expressionless face.
Zhu Cheng said anxiously: "The people who came said that Yan Xun escaped and forced his way out of the city with the people from the hostage house. The Wei family suffered a big setback. Wei Jing had two fingers chopped off and was taken hostage."
Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, and thought for a while before frowning and saying, “Yan Xun?”
"Yes," Zhu Cheng said, "It's on the main Jiuwai Street between Bailan Temple and Ziwei Square."
The young Zhuge Yue said in a deep voice: “Which direction did Yan Xun and the others come from?”
"It seems...it seems to be from the direction of Redwater Lake."
“How dare you!” Zhuge Yue snorted coldly, his sword-like eyebrows raised. He immediately figured out why Wei Shuye had led people to surround Zhuge Villa in Baxing Hutong and even fought with the servants inside.
"Which direction did Yan Xun run to?"
"Fourth Young Master, the eldest young master specifically told you not to interfere in this matter, absolutely not!"
Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows and was about to speak when he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the front. A thin man wearing a huge hood rode back on his horse. Before he reached the front, he threw a thin corpse on the snow with a bang. The corpse was wearing green leather armor, which was obviously the attire of a servant in Yan Xun's hostage mansion.
The servant beside him shouted, "Fourth Young Master, Hu Sheng is back."
Zhuge Yue looked at the body on the ground. He saw the man lying on the snow, his body stiff, his hair disheveled, his clothes mixed with blood and mud. It was obvious that he had been dead for a long time. An uncontrollable anger suddenly surged in his heart. He slowly raised his head and looked sharply at the dwarf who was only three feet tall. He spoke word by word, "Did you kill her?"
The man called Hu Sheng swiftly dismounted from his horse, lowered his head and knelt on the ground. He said in a deep voice that was particularly difficult to distinguish in the north wind, "Fortunately, I have fulfilled my mission!"
“When did I tell you to kill her?” Zhuge Yue flew into a rage, whipping the man hard on the back with his whip, shouting angrily, “You deserve to die!”
"Master!"
"Ah! There's an assassin!"
A series of exclamations suddenly rang out. At the moment when Zhuge Yue's whip landed on the man's back, the man who was squatting on the ground suddenly raised his head. His face was childish and as white as a lotus. How could he be the thick-skinned dwarf killer? The child sneered as he was whipped, and his body shot up like a swift leopard, swinging his dagger across Zhuge Yue's throat. A small grabbing move stopped his struggle.
"You're not dead yet?"
“Thank you for your good words. I am still alive and well.” Chu Qiao looked at Zhuge Yue coldly with a vicious and cold look in her eyes and said slowly, “But I am not sure how long you can live.”
"Let my sister go!" Chu Qiao said sternly, "Otherwise you and your second old master will meet in the underworld!"
The prairie was like snow, the mountains were like iron, and the north wind blew the goose-feather-like snow, which fluttered down in front of everyone's eyes. Chu Qiao was wearing an iron-grey cloak, with the huge hood covering her clear and clean eyes and eyebrows. Her white little hand was holding a cold dagger. She stood among thousands of soldiers with her head held high, without any fear or weakness.
Zhuge Yue smiled coldly, turned his head, and said slowly in a low voice: "Will you really kill me?"
The wind and snow blew between the two people. Suddenly, a night owl howled ferociously in the sky, as if it were the souls of those who died unjustly, howling unwillingly in the long and thick night.
Chu Qiao's eyes suddenly became cold and stern. The dilapidated woodshed, the child's innocent smile, and a piece of fragrant braised pork exploded in her heart like a bomb. She slowly lowered her head, looked coldly into the boy's eyes, and said in a deep voice: "You can give it a try."
“Really?” Zhuge Yue raised the corner of his mouth, half-closed his eyes, and chuckled, “Okay.” After saying that, the young man’s body suddenly seemed to lose control, and he suddenly lowered his head and rushed towards the sharp blade like he was committing suicide.
"Master!"
"master!"
All the panicked voices sounded at the same time, and time seemed to be frozen at this second. The huge and noisy sounds gathered together to form a chaotic river, roaring violently. Chu Qiao was shocked. She never expected that this young man had such a resolute and strong character that he would rather commit suicide than be threatened by her. In a flash, countless thoughts flashed through his mind, and he didn't have time to think about the meaning of them. Almost at the same time, Chu Qiao swiftly drew her knife back, but the sharp blade still left a long bloody mark on the boy's neck, all the way to the side of his ear.
Just as Chu Qiao was about to put away his sword, Zhuge Yue's body suddenly became like a nimble loach. Taking advantage of her distraction, he straightened up, stepped forward, and drew his sword to stop the attack!
All the actions happened in a flash. Before the tail sounds of those screams faded away, the boy who was originally held hostage had already escaped, although the method was so decisive. But at this moment, he still stood in front of the child with his head held high, drew the long knife from his waist, pointed it at the girl with frowned eyebrows, and said coldly: "You can't kill me."
Blood flowed down from his neck. Although the cut was not deep, a large amount of blood gushed out, spreading down along his slightly pale skin and seeping into his thick fur coat.
When Zhu Cheng saw him, he immediately ran forward and shouted in fear: "Fourth Young Master, you are injured, hurry! Go back home, go back home!"
Zhuge Yue looked at Chu Qiao with cold eyes, as if he had not heard Zhu Cheng's words. He reached into his bosom and took out a pure white brocade handkerchief. The blood on his neck gushed out and dripped onto the white handkerchief, one or two drops of bright red, like winter plum blossoms blooming in the snow.
"Quick! Medicine for your wound, Fourth Young Master, please sit down first and let me bandage you up!"
The pale-faced young man stood on a vast expanse of snow, with an unpredictable edge slowly passing between his eyes. He raised his right hand, veins on his wrist showing, and clenched it tightly. However, after a long time, he suddenly and decisively let go of his hand. The wrinkled handkerchief fluttered down with the whistling north wind, turned over twice in the night, and was covered by the flying snow, gradually disappearing without a trace.
Does anyone remember whose tears were wiped away by that white handkerchief? In the unfathomable heart of the young man, there was someone he wanted to protect. However, the wind was howling, and everything was eventually scattered. At the end of the play, whoever was most immersed in the play would be defeated miserably.
“Capture him!” Zhuge Yue turned away indifferently, his voice cold and clear, without a trace of emotion.
The guards of Zhuge family all came forward. Chu Qiao stood in the middle of the crowd and drew out her long sword. The shiny blade reflected the child's cold, iron-like eyes. There was calmness, hatred, caution in assessing the situation, and determination to burn one's boats, but there was not the slightest bit of weakness or regret.
She always knew how to survive, always knew what kind of blood hatred she carried, and always knew what kind of favor she owed. So, Zhuge Yue, when you chopped off Xiao Jiu's arm, when you beat Lin Xi to death with a stick, we were destined to become enemies. If I can't kill you, I can only be killed by you. There is no other way.
"Go!" A low shout suddenly rang out in the crowd. No servant of Zhuge family dared to despise this thin and frail-looking child anymore. A group of agile men attacked forward together. The blade chopped down, the cold light flashed, and the sound of crackling was endless. The child was nimble, like a civet cat. He took a bow step with his left leg, kicked sideways with his right leg, and spun around. The long knife was stained with blood. His right hand grabbed the throat of a big man fiercely, and he used his strength in his fingers to break his tendons and bones. With a crisp sound, the man's eyeballs bulged out and he fell down softly.
Everyone was horrified, but no one retreated. A thick-backed broadsword suddenly chopped down. Chu Qiao raised her arm to block it, but she was small and weak. Even though the angle was tricky, she was still chopped back two steps. The clothes on her shoulder were soaked with blood, and it was obvious that she was injured in the first confrontation.
The guards of Zhuge family were overjoyed when they saw this. Even though this child was full of wisdom, quick-witted, and ruthless, he was still a child under eight years old after all. How could he have the strength to compete with such big men as them?
Realizing this, everyone rushed forward. Zhuge Yue stood outside the battle, his eyes were cold and his lips were pale. Zhu Cheng worriedly covered his wound with gauze. The sky was filled with heavy snow, and the scene was bleak.
"Gee!" At this moment, a clear and sharp shout suddenly rang out, and the sound of chaotic horse hooves suddenly came from the north.
Everyone turned their heads and saw that from the far north, hundreds of sturdy horses were rushing over in an instant. Leading the way was a young man in a white coat and black hair, holding a crossbow, shooting arrows like a meteor and knocking down the guards of Zhuge family in a few shots.
"Little girl!" The warhorse raised its hooves and galloped, rushing into the crowd in an instant. The young man on the horse picked up Chu Qiao by the waist and put her on the horse's back. His eyes were bright and he laughed: "I saved you again. How are you going to repay me?"
With a swish, Chu Qiao knocked down a spear with her sword and turned back to glare at Yan Xun, "Are you crazy? You rush back at this time, don't you want to live?"