Jiaohua

Chapter 1668 Xia Zhaoyi gave Xie Qiniang a whip.

The underground palace was shrouded in deep darkness, just as ink splashed outside; tonight, both the stars and the moon had fallen silent.

Having suffered a crushing defeat, Xie Zhong and his men were walking into the city.

Xie Zhong is a person who does not collapse after a defeat; he can immediately and calmly dissect the causes of mistakes and analyze the remaining situation.

He kept thinking about how things had turned out this way, and where he had gone wrong.

More importantly, what path should we take in the future?

There is still no news about Fang Yinai. When the deputy general returned with a bunch of soldiers' corpses, he said that Fang Yinai had been driven mad by an old man and wanted to go in and massacre the village.

Then, things took an unexpected turn.

The old man actually stormed into his military camp to rescue the villagers, and then, Shen Lie, that evil demon, suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Xie Zhong had always felt that there was nothing in this world that could frighten him, but the moment he saw Shen Lie, a chill rose from the bottom of his heart, making him feel as if he had fallen into an abyss.

Even after losing Qian Fengrong and Zhong Xinjun, whom he had personally supported, he was never afraid.

At present, Fang Yinai's situation is unknown. Without Fang Yinai, if he returns to the city like this, he will have to put all his energy into fighting Fang Yiping.

As I walked, I felt a vibration under my feet, coming from the large bend in the northwest.

The group slowly came to a stop. Xie Qiniang said, "Godfather, soldiers are coming. Could they be Fang Yiping's men?"

Xie Zhongdao said, "We must not let our guard down. Let's hide first."

After saying that, he thought for a moment and looked at Xie Qiniang: "You stay here, observe the situation, and be flexible."

Xie Qiniang understood his meaning: "Yes!"

The sound of horses' hooves grew louder as they approached, and after a quarter of an hour, Xie Qiniang finally caught a glimpse of them.

There were only five people coming around the corner, hardly a soldier, and as they approached, Xie Qiniang was surprised to find that they were all women.

The five riders were excellent riders and would arrive quickly. Xie Qiniang dared not slack off and immediately got into the zone.

The person who arrived was Xia Zhaoyi.

She had traveled day and night and arrived at the fastest possible time, but she was still delayed by an hour after nightfall because a large number of soldiers were discovered stationed in the suburbs of Xinchun County. After a covert investigation, they were found to be the Fang family army.

Xia Zhaoyi never expected that the Fang family army, which should have been scattered and led by the nose in Guzhou, would now appear in Zhuzhou.

Fearing they might harm Yunwan Village, she didn't linger and immediately continued on her way.

However, after rounding the bend where Xie Zhong and Xie Qiniang were, Xia Zhaoyi suddenly reined in her horse, and Ziyang reared up.

Having followed them for many days, Li Xinya had already been trained and quickly stopped walking with the other three in perfect unison.

Xia Zhaoyi's gaze lingered on a slender figure twenty steps ahead.

The slender figure was retreating, her steps extremely careful. Her face was obscured, but the dark blue sky in the distance illuminated her silhouette. The angle at which she raised her head met her gaze.

Feng Ping said, "General, I'll go take a look."

Xia Zhaoyi said, "No need, let's go together. The mountain path here is narrow, so be on high alert in case anything happens, especially beware of someone shooting arrows from the shadows."

"Yes!"

Xia Zhaoyi lightly kicked the horse's flank, and Ziyang trotted forward.

Xie Qiniang watched them approach in the darkness, especially the young girl at the head of the group, who was upright and had an excellent figure and demeanor.

Xie Qiniang quickly considered whether she should use poison if the other party was close enough.

She was eyeing those horses.

I walked too much last night, and my feet are about to get blisters.

As the sound of horses' hooves drew near, Xie Qiniang retreated to a rocky outcrop and looked at them timidly.

Xia Zhaoyi didn't get too close; she stopped in the middle of the road and glanced at her sideways.

Xie Qiniang became increasingly frightened, using a strategy of retreat as a means of advancement.

To her surprise, Xia Zhaoyi didn't say anything. She silently counted to fifteen in her mind, then pulled on the reins, and the horse galloped away.

Xie Qiniang was taken aback, then chased after them and called out, "You, you are girls?"

Xia Zhaoyi stopped and turned to look at her.

Xie Qiniang said, "Miss, are you going to Yunwan Village? Don't go there, it's dangerous!"

Xia Zhaoyi asked, "Are you a villager from Yunwan Village?"

"Yes! Something has happened to our Yunwan Village, young lady, you must not go there!"

What happened in Yunmaru Village?

Xie Zhong, hiding in the corner, recognized the voice and knew it was indeed Ah Li!

Back then, when he took Qian Fengrong on a boat to Youzhou, he shared a ride with her. Her voice was clear and melodious, and Xie Zhong never forgot it.

If Shen Lie could suddenly appear, then Ali could too; Xie Zhong wouldn't be surprised anymore.

But he was curious, what were the two of them doing here?
Did they, like him, get wind of the situation and thus set their sights on Han Ruiqian's tomb?
But they weren't so poor that they had to make a living by digging graves like him—

What could be so important that they would abandon their most pressing military duties to come here? Xie Qiniang's acting is very convincing; even her accent is from Zhuzhou.

She broke down in tears, saying that the village had been attacked by a large number of soldiers of unknown faction who started killing people as soon as they arrived. Her husband and son were killed, and she managed to escape, but she was all alone and didn't know where to go next.

Xia Zhaoyi listened to the whole process from horseback without dismounting.

She didn't move, and neither did Feng Ping and the other female soldiers.

Xie Qiniang couldn't help herself anymore and cursed inwardly at the girl for being so heartless, not even coming down to help her.

Xie Zhongze suddenly realized something and exclaimed in alarm.

His focus was always on the Fang brothers, so when training Xie Qiniang, he only emphasized introducing her to the Fang family army.

He rarely mentioned Ali to Xie Qiniang, and he was always wary of her, setting many rules for her. Xie Qiniang rarely dared to look at his letters, and when he was plotting something, she would sensibly avoid suspicion.

He controlled Xie Qiniang very well, keeping her out of the public eye. He would only tell her what he wanted her to know.

Therefore, Xie Qiniang's concept of Ali was very distant. Even today's unexpected situation was not told to Xie Qiniang that Shen Lie and Yan Jun had come.

Xie Zhong panicked now, his scalp tingling. He hid in the darkness, staring intently at what lay below.

Ah Li is incredibly cunning. He just hopes that Xie Qiniang will be more quick-witted and resourceful. If all else fails, he'll let her expose herself and die so as not to implicate him!
But what she feared most came true. Perhaps seeing that the other party was too unmoved, Xie Qiniang took the initiative to step forward and said, "Heroine, listen to my advice, don't go to Yunwan Village anymore. You should turn back immediately. I'm doing this for your own good!"

Xia Zhaoyi suddenly asked, "How many bridges are there between Yunwan Village and Hanjia Village?"

Xie Zhong was immediately shocked.

Xie Qiniang stopped and looked up at Xia Zhaoyi in the darkness.

Seeing this, Feng Ping shouted, "Answer me, how many bridges are there?!"

Her battlefield experience made her shout powerful, serious, and authoritative.

Xie Qiniang stammered, "Girls...why do you suddenly doubt me? I am just a weak woman."

Feng Ping frowned: "Come on! Talk to me honestly!"

Xie Qiniang stepped back: "Who exactly are you people? You have horses, you... are you soldiers too? I actually tried to give you good advice, you wicked people! Go your own way! Don't worry about me!"

After saying that, Xie Qiniang tried to run away.

A whip cracked suddenly, and Xia Zhaoyi lashed it across her leg.

Her thousand-silk whip was newly made and extremely long, but she swung it effortlessly, the tip of which was very resilient.

Xie Qiniang cried out and fell to the ground, her calves covered in blood.

She rolled over and crawled backward, shouting, "I have no grudge against you, why are you hurting me! I have no money, I have no family, we are all women, why make things difficult for me!"

Xia Zhaoyi gave her a cold look and said to Feng Ping, "Let's go."

Li Xinya was somewhat surprised and blurted out, "The more she looks, the less she seems like a good person. Are we just going to let her go like this?"

Xia Zhaoyi said, "Time is running out, let's not linger and go."

She pulled the reins, and the horse galloped off.

Feng Ping and the others caught up.

Li Xinya glanced at Xie Qiniang on the ground, thinking that she had been hit hard enough by the whip, so she ignored her.

Xie Qiniang trembled all over in pain as she watched them ride away on horseback. She wanted to go berserk and curse, but thankfully, she survived.

Once she was sure the person was far away, Xie Qiniang looked up and called out to the corner where Xie Zhong was hiding, "Godfather..."

No answer.

Xie Qiniang frowned and raised her voice: "Godfather!"

Still no sound.

A sense of unease rose in Xie Qiniang's heart. She got up, blood dripping from her legs, and every step was excruciatingly painful.

When she staggered to the corner where Xie Zhong and the others were hiding, she found that there was no one there.

Xie Qiniang was struck dumb, and suddenly realized that Xie Zhong's hiding place was both offensive and defensive, and that he had deliberately chosen this place to hide, and had already run along a small path—

She was abandoned!
Xie Qiniang cried out "Ah!" and broke down in tears, kneeling on the ground.

After crossing the valley and running into the vast wilderness, no longer needing to be on guard, Feng Ping asked loudly, "General, that woman is really strange!"

At first, Feng Ping thought she was just a pitiful woman fleeing for her life, but after Xia Zhaoyi asked her that question, she couldn't answer it. Looking back at her previous reactions, she suddenly became suspicious.

A timid woman, who had been hiding in a corner and whom they had no intention of harming, spoke up to call for help.

He called out to them, without asking who they were, and immediately spilled his heart out, tears streaming down his face, eagerly awaiting their response.

Feng Ping frowned: "If it's a bad person, won't there be consequences?"

Li Xinya suddenly said, "Even bad people have a sentence. Some people are bad, but their crimes don't warrant death. Our difficulty is that we simply don't have time to investigate whether she's good or bad, or how bad she is. Besides, we're not county magistrates; how can we have the right to judge others arbitrarily? I think the general's lashing of her in this situation was just right! Sister Feng Ping, let's go find the general's master as soon as possible, and then let's turn the page on this woman!"

Xia Zhaoyi smiled slightly upon hearing these words.

As Feng Ping rode her horse, she glanced at Li Xinya and smiled, "Wow, Xinya, you learn so fast! That woman named Chen Yunqi is really ungrateful; she couldn't even keep a good friend like you! Li Xinya, you're amazing!"

Li Xinya smiled and said, "But I have to thank her. If it weren't for her, how could I have met the General and Sister Feng Ping? I'm very happy following you all!"