Chapter 88

  "Old fellow, you can't say that." A young man stood in the center of the crowd, wearing brocade and jade belt, with a fragrance all over his body, wearing deerskin boots, and a snow fox fur hat on his head. He put his hands in a silver fox fur muffler, and looked lazily at the old man kneeling in front of him, wailing loudly, with a smile like a fox.

  "The sage says, to know one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue. However, I think that knowing one's mistakes and correcting them also requires timeliness; otherwise, it's useless. Old man, your daughter sold herself to bury her father, but as soon as we left, you stood up again. Do you know where you went wrong?"

  The old man hastily wiped away his tears and said, "I shouldn't have deceived this young master. I was blinded by greed for the pork lard. Please forgive me this one time."

  "No, no," the young master in brocade smiled and shook his head, slowly extending his hand to pull out a gold-embroidered folding fan from his sleeve. His fingers were slender and white, with his index finger tapping on the handle of the fan as he gently swayed it back and forth, waving it in front of the old man's face with a smile, saying: "I bought your daughter because she looks delicate and clever. I, the young master, cherish her like a treasure and don't want her to suffer with you, an old scoundrel. But you shouldn't have, absolutely shouldn't have...you stood up right after I left, isn't this clearly slapping me in the face? Are you trying to tell these people passing by that I'm a fool, being deceived by your kind of three-legged cat Jianghu swindler until I'm dead and my eyes are staring at the sky? Old man, you're not giving me any face!"

  "Not...this young master...not..." The old man suddenly grabbed the man's calf tightly, and a warm boot with excellent incense came out.

  Jin Yi Gong smiled and said with a pleased expression: "You few, help this old man fulfill his wish. He's willing to pretend to be dead, so let him have his way."

  A shout like a pig's cry suddenly filled the entire street, and the young master in brocade clothes slightly moved his foot and broke free from the old man's grasp. The large group of guards following behind him rushed forward like wolves and tigers, immediately subduing the emaciated old man.

  Qing Xia's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she hugged her shoulders and walked towards her horse, coldly watching the commotion. Suddenly, she felt a sharp gaze piercing through like an arrow, Qing Xia turned around to see that the young master in brocade had somehow discovered her and was subtly waving at her from afar.

  Qing Xia curled up the corners of his mouth in a smile, and he didn't know what this man's background was. Under his carefree and sloppy appearance, his senses were actually very sharp. A mischievous thought suddenly arose, not because he pitied that shameless swindler, but simply because he didn't want to see those smug, fox-like eyes.

  He reached into his robe and pulled out two buttons, clutched them in his hand, then smiled blandly at the man opposite him, slightly inclining his head in a seemingly well-bred gesture of courtesy.

  Just then, a whizzing sound pierced the air and shot towards the direction of the main gate.

  The young master's face changed in an instant, and he rushed towards the direction of the carriage. However, before he could take a step, another black pellet came swiftly and hit his calf with a loud thud. The young master stumbled and fell to the ground. In the next second, one of the war horses pulling the carriage let out a mournful whinny, and the street was instantly thrown into chaos. People looked on in alarm as the horse, like it had gone mad, reared up and whinnied wildly, breaking free from its reins and taking off with the luxurious carriage at a frantic pace, dragging several other horses along with it.

  People and horses were overturned, chickens flew and dogs jumped, the crowd shouted and pushed, the whole street was like a pot of boiling thick porridge, chaotic.

  "Whoa!" A clear and crisp cry rose suddenly in the midst of the chaotic scene, and everyone looked up to see a woman wearing a white fox fur coat riding a tall horse, with a fiery red fox skin hat on her head, her eyebrows bright, her teeth white, her skin as pale as snow, her eyes like stars, and a hint of a smile playing on her lips. With a flick of her whip, she glanced at the disheveled young nobleman kneeling on the ground, then spurred her horse into a wild gallop down the street, disappearing into the distance.

  "Master!" several subordinates shouted loudly, desperately pushing and shoving the surrounding crowd, finally gathering around the young man. Anxiously they asked: "Is the master all right?"

  "It's nothing," said the young master in fine clothes, who had just been tricked. Not only did he not show any anger, but he smiled and looked at the end of the street, saying: "Your family's young master is doing great now, hurry up and follow him to take a look."

  "Your Highness, that old man has disappeared."

  "What? Gone?" The young master in brocade clothes was taken aback and turned his head around to ask doubtfully.

  "Yes," said a subordinate in gray fur, "he must have escaped during the commotion just now. I'll go catch him right away."

  "Yes," said the young master with a nod. "I promised that little girl I'd teach this old scoundrel a lesson, and a promise to a beauty can't be ignored."

  "And you, young master? You'd better hurry back, if you're found out..."

  "Alright, alright, I've got it counted in my heart." The young master in brocade clothes waved his hand impatiently and said to the others, "Hurry up and bring me my Fast Snow horse, or we'll be late."

  "Master, your quick snow had his nose broken by someone just now. Lao Liu and Lao Qi have already gone to chase after them."

  "Alright, I know. You few quickly go and catch that old man, don't let him escape. The others follow me, to chase after that woman." As he spoke, he himself took the lead in running wildly on the main street without any dignity, more than ten personal bodyguards closely guarding around him, a group of people dressed in luxurious clothes, ran wildly on the main street with no elegance at all, causing the surrounding citizens to stare in surprise.

  They rushed all the way, and everyone was panting, when suddenly the young master in brocade clothes raised his hand, and everyone hastily stopped. Just then, with a loud crash, the door of a gambling house called Yi Ru Du Zhuang was kicked open by someone with one foot.

  The young master in brocade clothes stood on one side, pointing at a jet-black horse and said loudly: "It's this horse! It's this horse!"

  For their own master's unpredictable outbursts, the guards had long since grown accustomed to it. They gazed blankly at the dusty old gate, where several burly men stumbled out, their faces and heads covered in injuries. One of them had a wrist twisted at an unnatural angle, as if it had been broken by someone. The men struggled to their feet, all of them warily eyeing the gambling den's building. After a moment, a woman in a white fox fur coat emerged slowly, her footsteps quiet on the dusty ground, exuding an unspoken intimidation.

  The woman's appearance was delicate, though not stunningly beautiful, but the strong confidence emanating from her eyebrows and eyes was enough to make up for any facial shortcomings. She held a small child in one hand and a long knife in the other, with the blade resting on the thick neck of a man in his 40s, her gaze coldly sweeping the surrounding crowd, her mouth icy, with a hint of subtle arrogance.

  "Mugou, did you remember what I just said?"

  The woman's crisp voice suddenly rang out, and the man whose hands were being held by him trembled with both legs, almost urinating in his pants, stuttering: "R...remembered..."

  "That's good." The woman smiled faintly, suddenly swung up her long knife and chopped it down heavily on Mugou's neck with the back of the blade. With a loud thud, Mugou let out a miserable cry and fell to the ground, his eyes rolling back in his head. It seemed as though he had really lost his life.

  "Big brother!" The people in the gambling den rushed out of the house, shouting and pouncing on Mugou. The woman used her long knife to sweep across the ground, and with one motion, she lifted up the door panel again and slammed it towards the crowd.

  A loud rumbling sound, wails and mournful cries echoed through the air.

  "Amu Ye, let's go!" Embracing the child, Qing Xia ran towards the direction where Jin Yi Gong Zi and others were standing. Suddenly, she saw him smiling among a group of guards, her face turned cold, and she slightly shifted her body as if to protect the child, giving this group of uninvited guests a chilly stare.

  The young nobleman saw her eyes full of hostility

  He ran up, untied the reins of the horse tied to the tree by Qing Xia, led the black horse over, handed it over to Qing Xia with a smile and said: "Here, it's yours."

  Qing Xia slightly raised an eyebrow, looking at this young man who was inexplicably mysterious, and only felt that his eyes were narrow and slender, like a fox's, and couldn't tell what he was thinking with just one glance.

  The wailing sound behind gradually faded away, and the gambling house also started a commotion of moving tables and chairs. Before he could think of anything, Qing Xia pulled over the reins, turned around and jumped up. Facing the young noble, he said: "Thank you." After that, he whipped his horse and left.

  The young master in brocade clothes watched Qing Xia disappear into the distance, a huge smile spreading across his face. Seeing that Qing Xia was gone, he quickly ran to the side of those big men who had been beaten by Qing Xia and helped the one named Mugou Ye stand up, shouting loudly: "Hey, are you okay?"

  Mugou's eyes rolled back, and he had already turned into a corpse with his hair standing on end.

  "Hey! Wake up!"

  Mugou was extremely stubborn, convinced that he had already died and was deaf to the outside world. The young master in brocade clothes furrowed his brow, suddenly raised his hand, and slapped Mugou's face with two loud slaps.

  Two loud slaps, Mugou finally regained consciousness and shouted loudly: "Ah, who the hell hit me?"

  "It's that girl from just now," the young gentleman hastily shouted loudly, pointing in the direction of Qing Xia's escape, "She ran that way."

  "Damn it!"

  A group of people rushed out of the casino in disarray, and it was unclear what method the girl had used to rescue someone from the hands of so many big men. Mugou looked at his numerous subordinates and suddenly gained courage, shouting loudly: "Brothers, get your gear, follow me to teach that woman a lesson!"

  The crowd shouted in unison and mounted their horses, following Mugwort's lead as they galloped towards the village outside the city.

  "Master, Master! The quick snow is found!"

  Two guards suddenly ran up from one side of the street, and the young prince's face lit up with joy, laughing as he said: "Great! Let's hurry up and follow them."

  In a moment, the place was quiet and deserted, with everyone rushing out of the north gate to chase after the woman who was running wildly on the snowy path.