The man ran wildly, startling the women and children around him who screamed. Several children, fascinated by the spectacle, excitedly shouted and ran after him. Their mothers, extremely embarrassed and anxious, also ran to pull their children away. The once orderly line instantly became noisy and chaotic.
The guard hesitated for a moment before pushing through the chaotic scene to pursue the unruly, disheveled man, naturally failing to catch him. Just as the man was about to escape with the bread in his hand, the guard grew increasingly anxious. Unexpectedly, the man was tripped by a woman dressed entirely in black in the middle of the road, who then stepped on his back, rendering him immobile.
The guard's mood shifted from deep sorrow to great joy. He quickly ran to Akdina's side, repeatedly thanking her, and took out a rope to tie the man up securely.
"What do you plan to do with this person?" Akdina asked curiously.
"This guy's going to be thrown in jail, damn it, a repeat offender. He'll probably be sent to Donic to work in the mines this time." The soldier cursed as he dragged the man up, punching and kicking him.
"Damn it, you dead woman, you ruined my good time, don't let me catch you, if I catch you, I'll..." Before the slovenly man could finish cursing, Akdina impatiently slapped him across the face. The force of the slap almost sent his head flying, his ears ringing, and his body went limp.
"Girl!" The soldier was quite annoyed to see the man knocked unconscious with a single slap. It would take a lot of effort to drag him away now. But the girl's strength seemed to have nothing to do with her appearance, having knocked him out with just one slap.
Seeing the soldier's complicated expression, Akdina's hand twitched slightly, as if she wanted to help him up, but she held back.
To be honest, that slap was partly driven by personal feelings, and not entirely because the slovenly man in front of me was swearing.
In the end, Akdina stayed with the soldier, dragging him slowly forward. After a few steps, the disheveled man came to his senses, saw Akdina to the side, and stood up straight as if electrocuted. He stammered, trying to say something but couldn't, clearly refusing to let Akdina touch him any further.
Akdina was happy to accept this.
The soldier snorted and dragged the disheveled man away, but the matter was far from over.
Akdina's performance drew the eager gazes of many onlookers. They whispered amongst themselves, unabashedly speculating about the girl's background and judging her clothing, figure, and possible appearance. The children were more direct, joining in with questions.
Akdina was starting to regret her earlier act of kindness. She was caught off guard by the enthusiastic crowd.
The soldier returned, looked Akdina up and down, and then tentatively asked, "Are you a refugee?"
Akdina shook her head and pointed north. "I want to go to Fort Donic. Is this the road I'm following?"
The soldier nodded, thinking to himself, "That's right, if you follow this road, you'll see a bridge. Once you cross the bridge, you'll reach Fort Donic."
"Thanks," the soldier said, just as Yun Zhe had said. Akdina glanced north, mustered her courage, and strode away.
The soldier stopped her, saying, "The road is dangerous. If you're not in a hurry, you can come with us. We have a vehicle that will be faster."
Akdina shook her head, refusing the soldier's offer, and left. The soldier scratched his head, thinking that knocking out an adult woman with a slap shouldn't be too dangerous. So he gave up on trying to persuade her further and instead wrote down everything that had happened that day, intending to treat it as an amusing anecdote to tell her about next time they were drinking.
Meanwhile, Yun Zhe received another letter from Serena. This time, Serena laid out the latest situation and her plans in the letter, finally no longer hiding anything. But Yun Zhe knew that this wasn't because Serena was being frank, but rather a signal that Serena was asking for help.
The message was essentially, "That's all I know. If you have any good ideas, please teach me quickly!" Clearly, Serena was no longer as honest as before.
Yun Zhe had no idea what Serena had gone through during this time, but from the few letters she wrote, it was clear that the girl had experienced something that was difficult to talk about openly.
A marquis and an earl from the south have joined forces to seize territory. Instead of vying for the legally recognized capital, they've taken advantage of the capital's siege and the resulting vulnerability to raid their own base. This corroborates the intelligence Yun Zhe has gathered over the past two days, essentially confirming the report.
Then came Serena's plan. She said she wanted to lead her troops back to Donicburg, but she didn't have a good reason to convince the Duke of Field to agree to her idea. However, she clearly felt that continuing the fight might not offer any hope of victory.
"Naturally, there is no hope of victory. The capital is already an empty shell, stripped of all its jewels. It's like an iron crown that has been stripped of all its jewels. If you manage to seize it, it will only have weight but no value," Yun Zhe thought to himself with a mocking smile.
“Abandon the capital, let Duke Field attack other places, acquire some real land and money to make up for the losses of the war, and then we can end the war. Only when the war is over can we withdraw our troops and go home.” Yun Zhe told Serena his thoughts. Just as he was about to end the letter, Yun Zhe was still not finished and added a sentence.
"Go home before the Winter Solstice." After writing this, Yun Zhe thought for a moment and then crossed it out.
Then Yun Zhe saw Gao looking exhausted. He sat down dejectedly and gulped down a large glass of water.
"What's wrong? Did the talks not go well?" Yun Zhe asked curiously.
"Don't even mention it, sir. The other party is a real pain in the neck. He made a list, and apart from our agreement to establish the Hunter's Guild, everything else was still under discussion. If it were a normal person, they would have given up by now. But he's so persistent, insisting on confirming each item one by one. If he can't confirm something, he even made me come and ask you. And then we'll continue talking tomorrow..." Gao finished speaking and gulped down another large glass of water.
Yun Zhe smiled slightly, "Then talk to him. You can find someone you trust to help you with the project. If they want to talk for a few days, you can accompany them for those days."
"My lord?" Gao hadn't expected Yun Zhe to be so carefree, actually entrusting the whole matter to him.
“You’ve talked to him and we’ve reached an agreement. I won’t leave until we get a result. As for other things, I’ve already made arrangements.” After saying that, Yun Zhe stood up and patted Gao on the shoulder. “Be patient. I believe everything will be over before the holiday.”
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