Xu Jinhuan was surprised that this person was so unable to withstand the blow, so he couldn't help but take a second look out of curiosity. After a closer look, he could tell that something was wrong.
"Height-increasing insoles?"
Xia Junchen was originally wearing long clothes that covered his feet. But when he sat down on the ground, he didn't pay attention to his posture and his shoes were exposed.
Xu Jinhuan immediately noticed the oddity of the situation. Not only were the outside of the shoes raised using a special process, but there were also height-increasing pads inside the shoes.
This series of procedures can increase height by more than ten centimeters.
Upon hearing Xu Jinhuan's voice, Xia Junchen realized he had revealed something and hurriedly covered his shoes.
"W-what height-increasing insoles? I don't know what you're talking about."
The more nervous he became, the more suspicious Xu Jinhuan became.
So Xu Jinhuan took two steps closer and observed for a while before saying, "Your makeup has flaws. No wonder I thought you looked like a girl when I first saw you. It turns out you really are."
These words stunned not only Xia Junchen, but also Xie Datou, who was not far away. He exclaimed in bewilderment.
"What? He's not a man, he's a girl?"
Xia Junchen snapped out of his daze and sighed helplessly, "You still found out."
Xu Jinhuan comforted her, saying, "Don't panic, I won't tell the people in the mountain stronghold about this."
Xia Junchen smiled upon hearing this, "Let me tell you a story."
She gazed into the air, as if recalling something, and spoke softly.
"There was a young lady from the Wang family who married a young master from a prestigious family, whom she had grown up with. The two were in perfect harmony for a while, but unfortunately, their happiness was short-lived. The young lady gave birth to two daughters for the young master."
The mother-in-law forced the young master to take several concubines. Before long, the concubines became pregnant one after another and gave birth to two girls and a boy ten months later. The young master and his mother-in-law were very happy.
From then on, although Miss Xia was the legal wife, her household was deserted, and the young master rarely visited except on the first and fifteenth of the month, until one day, Miss Xia became pregnant again.
Xia Junchen paused at this point, then continued, "The child she longed for was still a daughter. At that time, Miss Xia was already somewhat obsessed. She pretended that the child was a boy and told others that she had given birth to a boy."
With the arrival of a legitimate son, the young master once again treated Miss Xia with a smile, and her mother-in-law stopped being sharp-tongued and mean. Miss Xia also became more convinced that her choice was right.
The third daughter was raised as a boy for eight years. Eventually, the truth came out, and the obsessed Miss Xia ended her life with a white silk ribbon.
Completely oblivious to the terrified daughter, the little girl, forced to dress as a boy, first witnessed her father and grandmother's drastic changes in expression, then saw her mother die in front of her, and developed a high fever in the middle of the night.
They followed the old woman who accompanied Miss Xia to seek medical help, but everyone in the mansion had already been ordered not to care about the little girl's life or death.
Finally, as the little girl lay dying from the fever, the once-favored concubine led a group of people to throw her out of the mansion.
Xia Junchen clenched his fists as he said this, as if he was enduring something.
Xie Datou was so angry that he cursed loudly, "This family is heartless! That little girl is still their own flesh and blood, how could they just throw her away like that?"
Xia Junchen nodded and continued, "That loyal servant was worried about the young girl's health and wanted to go out with her, so the concubine found an excuse to beat her with twenty strokes of the cane."
She was already in poor health, and after being beaten twenty times, she rushed to the Xia residence seeking help with the little girl, only to find the girl being taken inside. She then died.
Xu Jinhuan gently patted Xia Junchen's shoulder and asked softly, "Is this your story?"
Xia Junchen nodded. "Yes, if it weren't for my maternal family, I would have been dead long ago. How could I have had the opportunity to learn various skills? So I must avenge them!"
After pondering for a moment, Xu Jinhuan asked, "So what are you planning to do next?"
Xia Junchen forced a somewhat tragic smile, "Even if I am betrayed and deceived, even if my body is shattered to pieces, as long as I can kill this dog emperor, my life will be worth it."
Xu Jinhuan sighed helplessly. Well, another Xie Guangbai.
She patted Xia Junchen on the shoulder and coaxed him, "If someone could help you poison the dog emperor and kill him, what would you offer them?"
Upon hearing this, Xia Junchen's eyes lit up.
"Can anyone really do that? I can provide all my technology. I can not only make gunpowder, but also fireworks and ice cubes."
"Give me enough time and materials, and I can provide whatever he wants!"
Xu Jinhuan thought to himself, "My goodness, this is an all-around technical talent. I must poach him!"
Thinking of this, she smiled and whispered in Xia Junchen's ear, "If that's the case, then you can come with me."
"Huh?" Xia Junchen didn't react for a moment, staring blankly at Xu Jinhuan.
"You mean..." Xia Junchen swallowed hard, but didn't say it.
Xu Jinhuan smiled confidently, "Just as you think, that dog emperor won't live much longer."
Upon hearing this, Xia Junchen felt as if Xu Jinhuan was radiating golden light. She suddenly stood up, knelt down, and solemnly kowtowed.
"Xia Zhiying of the Xia family kowtows to express her deepest gratitude to her benefactor. From now on, Zhiying will regard you as her master and serve you at your beck and call."
At the same time, the voice of System Xiao Wang also came into Xu Jinhuan's mind.
[Host, this person is worth recruiting; her loyalty is already at 100.]
Xu Jinhuan thanked Xiao Wang in his heart, then reached out and helped Xia Zhiying up.
He smiled and said, "So your real name is Zhiying. It suits you well. You guessed right before. I will not only kill that incompetent emperor, but also end this great empire."
Xia Zhiying looked at Xu Jinhuan with great admiration and replied earnestly, "Zhiying will certainly lend a hand to Master and drive those bastards from the Lei family out of the capital."
Xu Jinhuan smiled and nodded, then asked, "Zhiying, now that you're with us, what about those bandits in the mountain stronghold?"
Xia Zhiying smiled and said, "If you need them, I can bring them with me to join you. Although they are not very bright, they are still strong and loyal."
If the master doesn't need them, I'll appoint a new head leader and let them develop freely.
Xu Jinhuan recalled the scene when she arrived at the gate of the stronghold, where she hadn't even fought with the outsiders but had already started fighting among herself. She thought it was better to have fewer subordinates like that.
In this rush, quality is more important than quantity.
Therefore, Xu Jinhuan smiled and shook his head, "They've gotten used to the life of bandits, let them stay on the mountain."
Xia Zhiying smiled and nodded, "I will listen to my master."
So when the bandits gathered together again, they received this devastating news.
"Waaaaah, Second Master, what are we going to do now that you're gone!"
"Second-in-command, without you we'd be brainless, and we wouldn't even know if someone bullied us!"
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