Who is so shameless.
Before the words had even faded away, there was the sound of a smack.
The old man sitting on the bedding bundle turned red with anger, banging his walking stick on the ground.
"Who are you cursing?" he glared at the bearded man and shouted.
A few men looked at the old man with complex expressions.
Is he really defending the Qingshan Army and the Duke of Chengguo's heiress like this?
"The Heiress not only provided aid to refugees along the way but also went to Bazhou and vowed to retrieve all the Great Zhou people. She, a mere woman, risked her life in dangerous places. You, you men, who are you cursing?" the old man yelled.
This old man was someone who could be pushed around with just a finger and was among the refugees the most likely to be bullied, silently suffering abuse without daring to talk back, just hoping to survive.
Yet he dared to be so bold, getting angry over a remark that had nothing to do with him, ready to fight someone to the death.
The men wore strange expressions, and the bearded man who had spoken before looked at the raised walking stick, which he could have easily knocked aside, but he instead retreated to avoid it.
"I'm not cursing anyone," he said irritatedly, "I'm cursing those men who let a woman show up and lead troops into battle."
As he spoke, he spat.
"Truly shameless."
Is that so, the old man held back his anger, nodding happily.
"Yes, yes," he agreed, then shook his head, "but young man, you shouldn't speak like that. There are still courageous men. The Shun'an Army from Hejian have all gone to Bazhou, and I heard they have already rescued tens of thousands of people."
The bearded man chuckled dryly.
Most of their courage must have been incited by the Heiress's reputation, right?
But it's pointless to argue with these foolish commoners.
"Aren't there Jin soldiers in Bazhou?" a man couldn't help but ask.
"Indeed, but the Heiress is not afraid," said the old man excitedly, "The Heiress is so young, yet she possesses the talent and wisdom of one who can measure the heavens and the earth, valiant and mighty...."
This time, he was interrupted before he could finish by the bearded man.
"Alright, alright," he said as if he couldn't bear to listen and waved his hand to beckon the other men, "Let's go, let's go."
After speaking, he quickly strode forward, with the other men hurrying to follow.
"I haven't finished speaking yet," the old man said with some regret, raising his voice toward the departing men, "You young and strong men should go to Hejian, to help kill the enemy and be true heroes, don't be inferior to a woman."
The men didn't look back, only quickened their pace.
......................
"Why do people talk so much these days."
Entering the county town, they finally found an eatery that was still open and sat down. The bearded man stroked his beard irritably.
Perhaps due to the long journey, his beard was somewhat loose and half fell off, revealing Zhu Zan's clean, handsome face.
The three men across from him coughed lightly and stood up to shield him from behind, watching the surroundings cautiously.
After all, it was the western route of Hebei, and although the situation was tense, the Jin soldiers hadn't crossed into this area. Hence the houses in the city were neat, but no longer as prosperous and bustling as before, with most shops closed tightly and the pedestrians on the street hurrying with uneasy expressions.
"No need to look anymore, the grandsons of the Jinyiwei didn't follow us." Zhu Zan said, picking up the hot tea on the table for a sip, abruptly tearing off his beard and throwing it aside.
The three men then took their seats.
"I don't know who it is," one of them couldn't help but say, looking at Zhu Zan's face.
"The morals of the times are indeed degenerating," Zhu Zan said irritably, "I am an innocent person, yet I've been slandered like this."
Another man coughed lightly.
"But obviously, someone is trying to use your Highness for their own benefit," he said.
"The trouble with being too outstanding," Zhu Zan frowned and said.
In fact, it wasn't necessarily a person's deed, but the identity.
The three men touched their noses.
"Perhaps it's an arrangement by the Duke of Chengguo," they whispered.
As they were talking, two men hurried back, their expressions somewhat excited.
"Big brother, we've found out," they said eagerly, "It's the Duchess."
The word "Duchess" now made Zhu Zan somewhat nervous.
"Which Duchess?" he frowned and interrupted.
"Not your Duchess," a man hurried to clarify, "It's the Duchess Cheng."
Zhu Zan's face suddenly lit up with joy.
"My mother?" he said, then immediately slapped the table, "Is my mother in Hejian?"
"What exactly is going on?" the other men hurriedly pressed for details.
The man quickly relayed the information he had gathered, leaving his companions with expressions of surprise and admiration.
"It seems that the Heir's Wife received the news and immediately abandoned Daming Prefecture, heading straight for Hejian," one man said, with a touch of respect.
A hint of pride appeared on Zhu Zan's face.
"Of course, that's my mother. I knew all along that she would be fine," he said with a relaxed and confident demeanor.
But the others could see that it wasn't until this moment that the anxiety hidden in the depths of Zhu Zan's eyes completely disappeared.
"But I wonder where the Heir's Wife found this Qingshan Army," another man said. "They say that just a few dozen of them can send the Jin thieves fleeing in defeat."
"Really?!" Zhu Zan, stroking his smooth chin and raising an eyebrow, said, "That almost sounds as impressive as me, huh?"
.....................…
In a dilapidated castle, banners were flying notably, with a red flag bearing the words "Qingshan Army" fluttering in the wind.
Beneath the flagpole stood a man, peering into the wilderness through a bamboo tube-like object.
Li Guorui and the others stood by his side, looking on with envy.
"Brother Xia, how is it? What do you see?" they asked eagerly.
Xia Yong put down the bamboo tube.
"Indeed, there is a troop of Jin thieves heading north," he said, passing the bamboo tube on with a flick of his wrist.
The men immediately scrambled for it, but Li Guorui was the quickest and got his hands on it first.
The others could only look on enviously as Li Guorui carefully and excitedly brought the bamboo tube up to his eyes.
"Indeed, there are quite a few of them," he nodded and said, "It looks like they've captured more than a thousand civilians."
Xia Yong grunted in acknowledgment.
"What do you think? Should we go after them?" he asked.
Clutching the bamboo tube tightly, Li Guorui responded without hesitation.
"Of course, we should. Over a thousand civilians, we can't let the Jin thieves get away with this," he said decisively.
The other men also nodded in agreement.
"Let's do it."
"Move out, move out."
Xia Yong nodded and pulled out a map from his sleeve, spreading it out before them.
Seeing the map, Li Guorui and the others crowded around it, their eyes gleaming with excitement and envy.
This was a map of Bazhou, different from the one they had; this map clearly marked even the smallest paths in each village.
"These Jin thieves are heading this way," Xia Yong pointed and said. "If we make a detour from here, we can block them off and wait for them to fall into our trap by dawn tomorrow."
Li Guorui and the others nodded in quick succession and hurried down from the castle to rally the soldiers.
"Send word to Miss Jun," Xia Yong spoke to someone beside him. "We need reinforcements and Color Smoke Bombs."
.....................…
Watching the fireworks bloom like a flower in the sky, Lei Zhonglian withdrew his gaze.
"We've encountered the Jin thieves," he said. "Go and tell Miss Jun that we need to speed up."
As he turned to speak, he saw that the person behind him remained motionless.
The man was clad in armor, his expression wooden, with a hint of a cold smirk.
"Heading out to die again, huh?" Eighteenth Jin said coldly.
******************************
Today's monthly ticket count has surpassed my expectations.
In all my years of writing, I've never had this many.
I don't know what to say or how to express my gratitude.
Thank you, everyone. Without you, there would be no presence of Xi Xing today.
Bowing, thank you.
Thanks to 0 Dakely 0, Just Being Cool And Wild In Some Place, Page 11 Celebrity, ? The Last Shot ?, MAX Stone, Jing Three Young, Hui Hong, Mu Mou 2004, escjchen, Ice of the South, Ice of the South, San San Bai Yue, Ye San Mo Ricardo for the rewards and He's Bi.
Thank you Tencent book friend for the Spirit Beast Egg reward, and thank you Yi Yuliang for the reward of He's Bi.