Ouchi Taming the Cat, starting with the Ten Tiger Forms!

Chapter 665 Iron Bull
In the next few days, they visited five counties in succession.

Princess Ankang conveyed all the imperial edicts in her hand and also brought back the heads of six county magistrates.

It turns out that not all officials are bad.

Along the way, there were some counties they did not visit, they just passed by in a hurry.

They didn't know whether the officials in these places were really clean, but at least they were not mentioned in the imperial edict, and Emperor Yongyuan did not ask for the heads of these officials.

Therefore, Princess Ankang would rather believe that there are still officials in Daxing who are willing to treat the people under their rule well.

Their mission was urgent and they needed to meet up with Emperor Yongyuan's southern tour team in Jiaozhou City ahead at the agreed time.

After several days of riding, everyone in the group was exhausted.

The originally childish faces of the princes and princesses now looked more mature.

The process of riding will stir up dust. After a few days, everyone has learned to keep their heads down and move forward, otherwise they will have a mouthful of sand if they open their mouths to speak.

But even so, there are still people who can't stand the loneliness and would rather eat some sand to relieve their boredom.

"Ankang, how long will it take us to reach Jiaozhou City?" the Eighth Prince confirmed with Princess Ankang.

"The earliest possible time would be tomorrow."

Princess Ankang answered casually.

They had agreed with Emperor Yongyuan to meet in Jiaozhou City the day after tomorrow. If there was any delay on the way, Emperor Yongyuan would not wait for them but would continue on his way.

Because Princess Ankang and his companions were riding fast horses, they would catch up in a few days.

But since the mission went smoothly, they didn't encounter any resistance and they didn't have any delays on the way, so they actually arrived some time earlier.

The weather has been nice these days, and it has been sunny and windy when we were traveling. But today it is cloudy and it looks like it is going to rain heavily.

Princess Ankang looked at the dark clouds in the sky with some concern, and then asked Shang, the chief steward beside her:

"Butler Shang, should we find a place to rest early today?"

In order to hurry on their journey, they had missed the county town where they could have rested today and had to spend the night in the wild, but the weather was so bad.

The rain in early spring is the coldest and more unbearable than the heavy snow in winter.

The rain doesn't look like it will be light, and it would be very risky for them to travel in the rain.

"Your Highness, it looks like there will be a heavy rain tonight. We need to find a place to rest in advance."

"Should I send someone to look for him now?"

"Okay, then..."

Princess Ankang nodded and was about to agree, but she caught a glimpse of something on the official road ahead.

"Hey, what is that?"

"It's a child hanging himself for fun."

Li Xuan's voice sounded in Princess Ankang's ears.

"Oh ah?"

Li Xuan's tone was so calm that Princess Ankang thought it was no big deal. But when she realized what was going on, she was shocked.

"Save people!"

Princess Ankang said anxiously.

Li Xuan sat in front of her and just grinned without moving.

How could someone hang himself here in such a remote place?
And seeing that the figure hanging on the tree was struggling violently, it would be better to wait and see.

Seeing that Li Xuan did not take action, Princess Ankang hit him hard on the head and cursed:

"Stinky Xuan!"

Princess Ankang smashed Li Xuan's head with her small fist, making a dull thud, which stunned the princes and princesses nearby who didn't know what was going on.

The eighth prince was fine, he was used to playing deaf and dumb in front of Li Xuan.

The other princes also knew that Li Xuan was extraordinary. Although they were surprised, they did not think it was too outrageous.

Princess Yan Zhao, on the other hand, stared at Li Xuan with her beautiful eyes, and her brows were visibly furrowed.

"Is it reasonable for a cat's head to make such a noise?"

Although Princess Yan Zhao did not think she had a lot of common sense, she was sure that something was wrong with Li Xuan's brain.

If she hadn't been concerned about the presence of others, she would have wanted to try knocking her own head to compare the difference in the sound.

And at this moment, Princess Ankang had already taken action.

I saw her shooting a stone from a long distance, which directly broke a branch as thick as an adult's thigh.

As the branch broke, the hanged person fell down.

Princess Ankang's skill with hidden weapons shocked everyone, even Chief Steward Shang.

"The power of this slingshot is not right..."

Butler Shang's eyes twitched slightly.

Stone slinging is not a martial art, but a technique.

Although its power would increase with the user's cultivation, even a fourth-grade warrior would find it difficult to use such a lethal stone-slinging method.

After all, the amount of true energy that a hidden weapon can withstand is limited.

If you want the hidden weapon to withstand more infusion of true energy, then it must require better quality.

But even the Daxing royal family would feel reluctant to use hidden weapons made of that material, not to mention ordinary warriors.

However, Princess Ankang used her brute force to change the limitations of the stone-slinging method.

She used her physical strength to impart terrifying speed to the stone. Even if the stone shattered after hitting the target, it still had terrifying impact force.

Princess Ankang's physical condition allowed her to use the stone-slinging technique to its fullest extent, which even amazed the knowledgeable Chief Steward Shang.

As for the others, there is no need to mention them.

"Is this a hidden weapon?"

The rude third prince had subconsciously asked a question from his soul.

The eldest prince and the fourth prince looked at each other and smiled bitterly.

Only then did they realize how much Princess Ankang had been accommodating to them over the past year.

Fortunately, Princess Ankang had a gentle personality. Otherwise, if she had been more violent, she would not have been able to join them in the southern tour this year and would have probably spent the whole time in bed.

Princess Yan Zhao couldn't help but look at Princess Ankang a few more times, thinking to herself:

"Ankang's physique is suitable for the Floating Cloud Temple's training method."

"It's a pity that she seems unable to practice."

Princess Yan Zhao shook her head silently.

While taking this time, the team had already arrived at the place where the hanged person fell.

They reined in their horses and stopped, only to find that the person who committed suicide was a young man who looked about the same age as the princes and princesses.

The young man was dressed in rags and was dirty all over. He was shoeless and had black feet with a hint of dark red. A closer look revealed that his feet were worn out in many places and had blood scabs.

The rope he used to hang himself was his belt, a thin strip of coarse cloth.

It must be that the boy was thin enough, otherwise a piece of coarse cloth alone would not be able to support his body.

The young man coughed violently, gasping for breath instinctively, leaving a purple bruise on his neck.

After coughing violently, the young man raised his bloodshot eyes blankly and looked at them.

He looked dazed and seemed to have not yet reacted.

After taking a closer look, Li Xuan lowered his guard a little.

This young man is very weak, almost as weak as the former Princess Ankang.

Li Xuan was a little surprised that he still had the strength to hang himself.

These days, Li Xuan has been secretly guarding against attacks from King Zheng, and everything has been calm.

After all, in his opinion, their team acting separately was a great target to attack.

But I don’t know if King Zheng is busy with other things, as he has not taken any action.

Back to the young man in front of them, after he was rescued, he just sat on the ground and looked at them blankly, without saying a word or moving, as if he was frightened.

"who are you?"

"Why are you seeking death here?"

"Have you suffered any injustice?" Princess Ankang rode forward and asked.

She had seen a lot of injustice these days, so she asked out of habit.

Although the mission has been completed, Princess Ankang doesn't mind meddling in other people's business.

Anyway, they have one more day, which is enough for them to do their best.

But the young man was a little silly, and he couldn't answer Princess Ankang's questions for a long time.

Seeing this, Princess Ankang shook her head and did not ask any more questions. She just said:
"Go home quickly, it's going to rain."

After saying this, Princess Ankang was about to lead the team away.

But at this time, the boy who had been like a mute finally spoke.

"I don't have a home."

“Life is too tiring.”

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"I wanted to die."

The boy's voice was a little hoarse, which was somewhat inconsistent with his childish appearance. It might also be because his neck was strangled just now.

After hearing these words, Princess Ankang frowned and looked at the young man.

"Take him with you."

Princess Ankang gave an order, and immediately a eunuch in flowery clothes lifted the young man from the ground and put him on an idle horse.

Then they continued on their way.

Soon, the eunuch in flowery clothes found a suitable place to set up camp.

Although it was still early, it was cloudy today and it got dark early.

The team did not continue to force their way forward, but instead prepared to set up camp in the wild to rest.

The eunuchs in flowery clothes who accompanied the guards were all experts, and they set up camp extremely quickly, setting up the camp in an instant.

The camp was built against a mountain wall with a small depression that formed a shallow cave.

The princes and princesses rested here, while the eunuchs in flowery clothes rested in the tents outside.

They built a fire, cooked a pot of fish soup with the dried fish, and ate it with the hot flatbread and dried meat.

They have been eating these dry rations these days.

You know what, it has a unique flavor.

In addition, these days, they have been either traveling on horseback or punishing evil, which really seems like they are wandering around the world. Anyway, the princes and princesses are enjoying it.

At Princess Ankang's suggestion, Yu'er also gave the young man a portion of food.

The young man was brought before the princes and princesses and was interrogated.

After drinking a bowl of hot fish soup, the boy seemed to have recovered and spoke much more fluently than before.

After he ate two more large pieces of pancakes and a few pieces of dried meat, he began to talk about his own affairs.

"My name is Tie Niu, thank you ladies and gentlemen for rescuing me."

Hearing the boy's name, Li Xuan couldn't help but smile.

His thin and weak appearance really doesn't match the name.

But in Daxing, this is a common farmer's name.

"Tie Niu, why don't you want to live anymore?" asked Princess Ankang.

“Life is too tiring.”

Tie Niu is still the answer as before.

"Where is your family?" Princess Ankang asked tentatively.

These days, there are many people who have lost both their parents and are left homeless.

"I can't go back. If I go back, the master will ask me to sleep with him."

Tie Niu's shocking words stunned everyone present.

Originally, the Third Prince thought Princess Ankang was meddling in his affairs, but now he has become interested.

The third prince took the initiative to confirm:

"Your master wants you to sleep with him?"

Tie Niu nodded and said, "It's almost my turn."

"Those who served the master didn't live long. They died miserably and could only lie on the bed and wait to die."

"I thought it would be better to run, but when I couldn't run any more, I found a tree and hanged myself."

Hearing this, everyone turned their eyes to Tie Niu's pair of dark and red feet.

Tie Niu noticed that everyone was looking at his feet, and he shrank back in embarrassment.

The people before him looked even more noble than the young masters and young ladies from the wealthy families he had seen. They were like the gods in the stories, which made Tie Niu feel ashamed of himself.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his life was meaningless.

"Tie Niu, so you escaped from that home?"

"Your parents sold you to your master?"

Princess Ankang continued to ask.

Tie Niu shook his head and then answered Princess Ankang's question:

"My house was on fire. My father and mother sent me out of the window, but they couldn't escape."

"Mr. Miao said that my family still owed him money, so he went to the government office to sue me. The government then awarded me and my family's land to Mr. Miao to pay off the debt."

After Tie Niu finished speaking, Princess Ankang narrowed her eyes and a hint of coldness flashed across her eyes.

Everyone present fell silent.

They have seen too many things like this over the past few days.

"Tie Niu, where is your home and when did the incident happen?"

"My home is outside Jiaozhou City, and the fire at home happened three years ago."

Princess Ankang paused, sighed, and asked Tie Niu:
"Tie Niu, we are going to Jiaozhou City. Do you want to go back with us?"

"I can redeem you, and then you will be free."

"Freedom?" Tie Niu showed a confused expression on his face.

"You can go wherever you want and do whatever you want," Princess Ankang explained.

“There’s nowhere I want to go and nothing I want to do.”

Tie Niu shook his head and felt even more useless.

Moreover, he didn't want the beautiful lady who saved him to spend money on him again.

Master Miao has always had a black heart, and this is a well-known fact in Jiaozhou City.

"In that case, after I redeem you, please do me a favor."

"I have an important letter that I need someone to deliver, but no one around me can spare the time. Can you help me?"

Tie Niu blinked his eyes, revealing a glimmer of spirit.

"Miss, I can help you deliver the letter right now. You don't need to redeem me. I've already escaped."

Princess Ankang couldn't help but laugh and said, "No, if you are caught on the way, what will happen to my letter?"

"I will feel relieved only after I redeem your freedom."

"Don't worry, I have a lot of face. Your master might even give you your freedom without me having to pay."

"Really?" Tie Niu seemed to believe what Princess Ankang said.

"Okay, you don't need to ask any more questions. Just have dinner and go to bed early."

Princess Ankang waved her hand and continued to eat with the other princes and princesses.

After eating and drinking his fill, Tie Niu was taken to the tent outside to rest with the eunuchs in flowery clothes.

Li Xuan looked at Tie Niu's back as he was taken away, and thought of something.

“There should be quite a few children like this.”

(End of this chapter)