Joy of Life: Starting from Teacher Fan Xian

Chapter 99 Si Lili's Despair
A dozen days later, outside Cangzhou City, about 500 miles north of Kyoto, Si Lili, dressed as a peasant woman, looked haggard, with her long hair disheveled. Her dark little face, when viewed up close, still revealed her creamy white skin hidden beneath.

She looked at the top of Cangzhou City not far away and originally planned to leave the border through Cangzhou City and rush to Northern Qi, but after analysis, she immediately gave up the idea.

A notice has been posted in Cangzhou City that going north is like walking into a tiger's mouth.

The only plan now is to go north through the vast grassland, enter the territory of the small vassal state, and then rush to Northern Qi.

If she relied on her own strength, Si Lili thought that she would become a wandering ghost on the grassland, and no body would be found the next day.

In the past few years, a group of extremely combative horse thieves has emerged on the grasslands within a hundred miles outside Cangzhou City. They burn, kill, loot, and commit all kinds of evil.

Si Lili thought carefully, hoping to find the bandits roaring across the border as soon as possible.

After walking for half a day, Si Lili finally entered the depths of the grassland and escaped the surveillance of the patrol troops of Cangzhou City.

She sat on a small rock, took a sip of water, sent out the signal, and continued to move forward.

As the sun gradually set, Si Lili, who was almost exhausted, finally heard the sound of galloping horses amid the whistling wind. Soon she was no longer able to take another step and sat down.

A group of more than a dozen horse thieves came upon hearing the noise. They were dressed differently, all wearing fur hats and waving big swords in their hands. They all looked ferocious, with full beards and scars all over their faces.

When Si Lili saw it for the first time, she was also shocked and almost pale.

The leader of the bandits looked at the peasant woman in front of him and asked in a deep voice, "Are you Si Lili?"

Hearing her name being mentioned, Si Lili put aside her fear and began to remove the makeup on her face, revealing the gorgeous face of an oiran. Although it was a little messy due to the dust and wind, it was still incredibly beautiful.

The horse thieves' eyes lit up and they swallowed their saliva. This was the first time they saw the Kyoto's courtesan Si Lili.

The leader of the bandits nodded and said, "It seems to be correct. We are waiting here on orders from the capital to escort Miss Si Lili northward into the vassal states."

Si Lili bowed slightly and said, "Then I'll trouble you generals."

These people were not ordinary horse thieves, but spies planted by Northern Qi on the border of Qing State one after another. They used their identity as horse thieves as a cover to gather intelligence.

"Boss, there's someone ahead." A sharp-eyed horse thief suddenly exclaimed.

The bandits all looked over and saw a young man in black suddenly appear in the vast expanse of white. He walked slowly towards them.

"Who are you?" the leading bandit shouted, raising his knife.

The young man did not answer the question, but smiled and said from afar: "Miss Si Lili, you have done a good job. When you return to Kyoto, you will have wealth and glory, everything you want."

The leader of the bandits had a gloomy face: "Did you lead them here?"

Si Lili drooped her eyelashes and said innocently, "It's not me. I don't know why he appeared here."

"kill him."

The three horse thieves squeezed their horses' bellies, galloped out, and charged towards the young man not far away. Their knives were as cold as frost, and they swung at him immediately.

Suddenly, several crossbow arrows came flying through the air. In a flash, before the three horse thieves could chop down with their swords, they felt a pain in their throats, became unable to breathe, and fell heavily off their horses.

"The Supervisory Council!" The leading horse thief exclaimed. Behind the young man, more than a dozen officials in black uniforms of the Supervisory Council stood solemnly.

The horse thieves were suddenly startled and scattered in all directions.

Si Lili was filled with despair. She stared blankly at the horse thieves as they went away from her. Finally, she burst into tears out of grievance and collapsed on the grass.

"How did you follow me?" Si Lili lowered her head and clutched her sleeves tightly with her fingers.

"We have been following you since you fled Kyoto." Lin Ruo stood behind her and said calmly.

"Not only that, sir. Everyone in the courtyard knew exactly when Miss Si Lili burned the boat and fled, and when she left the city." Wang Qinian said, not knowing whether he wanted to deliberately scare the girl who was on the verge of collapse, or to publicize the capabilities of the Supervisory Council.

"The Supervisory Council is indeed worthy of its reputation." Si Lili felt a chill in her heart. It turned out that her every word and action in the capital was under the control of outsiders from beginning to end. Ever since she left the city, her countless fantasies of escaping had all been nothing but passing clouds and daydreams.

"Your Excellency has a very good plan in mind, wanting to use me to eliminate the bandits on the border."

Si Lili's voice already had a hint of self-destruction. She looked up and gritted her teeth as she said, "But don't think it's too easy. These bandits are not a mob."

Lin Ruo looked at her and smiled softly: "Of course I know, they are not simply fleeing in all directions, but gathering all the reinforcements nearby."

Si Lili's face suddenly turned pale, her eyes full of mockery towards herself, she sneered: "After being a spy for four years, it turns out that you are just a canary kept in a cage."

Lin Ruo shook his head: "Not really. Thanks to your help, we eliminated all the Northern Qi spies along the border. It was undoubtedly a great achievement."

Si Lili was bitter: "It has come to this point, and the adults are still willing to laugh at me."

"Why? Do you think I should save some face for you?" Lin Ruo asked jokingly.

Si Lili got up with no hope in life and laughed crazily, which made people feel strange. She walked two steps aimlessly, and suddenly turned around, took out a delicate knife from her bosom, and slashed at the young man who was humiliating her. Lin Ruo slightly turned aside, grabbed those hands, and pinched them so hard that she had to shake off the knife.

Si Lili screamed, "You'd better kill me quickly, otherwise the lord in your court will definitely save me."

"It's already this time, and you're still bluffing, Miss Si Lili. You are now a traitor of Northern Qi and a wanted criminal of Southern Qing. Who will save you?" Lin Ruo asked coldly.

Si Lili's psychological defenses completely collapsed, and tears welled up on her haggard little face.

"I am the only one who can save you now." Lin Ruo squatted down and handed over a silk handkerchief. "Miss Si Lili, help me to testify against that person in the court. I will keep you safe and send you back to Northern Qi soon."

Si Lili turned her head away, her charming eyes filled with hatred: "How come the omnipotent adults of the Supervisory Council have also learned the sweet talk of ordinary men?"

"Sir, here we come."

Wang Qinian reminded that hundreds of horse thieves emerged from the grass not far away, and silent murderous aura rose to the sky.

"These should be all the Northern Qi spies on the border." Lin Ruo looked over without changing his expression.

At this time, on the other side of the sky, teams of black-armored cavalry emerged, led by a sinister old man with gray hair. Their equipment was much better than that of the horse thieves, and each of them was equipped with the most advanced chain crossbows in Qing State. But they saw a large number of crossbow arrows hissing in the air and falling around the group of horse thieves.

Without waiting for a reaction, the black-armored cavalry attacked in groups, charging towards the horse thieves at an astonishing speed.

The bandits, who were originally in high spirits, suddenly became confused.

"The Black Knights, they are the Black Knights of the Overwatch Council!" The name is well-known.

The leader of the bandits stood still and made a quick decision: "No matter if there is a change or not, the people cannot be saved. Kill Si Lili and retreat immediately."

As soon as the bandits heard the order, they rushed towards their target regardless of everything.

"Ms. Si Lili, it seems their target is you." Lin Ruo drew his knife and said coldly.

Si Lili smiled bitterly: "Thanks to your good tricks."

Lin Ruo also smiled and said, "In fact, you know very well in your heart that even if I hadn't instigated them, when they realized that they couldn't take anyone away, they would still choose to kill them to silence them."

Si Lili's face paused and she fell silent.

The black cavalry charged forward in overwhelming force, quickly separating the horse thieves and reaping their lives with a quick cut.

The only people who actually rushed in front of their group were a dozen or so lone bandits.

The officials fired crossbows and shot down half of the horse bandits, then rushed out quickly, using their knives to cut the remaining soldiers off their horses easily like slicing noodles. Only one horse bandit survived and fled to the north.

Lin Ruo watched the horse thief walk away and advised, "Miss Si Lili, if you let him go back, you will be the great sinner who colluded with Qing State and harmed Northern Qi."

"Are you threatening Lili?"

Lin Ruo shook his head and said seriously: "It's not a threat, I just want to tell Miss Lili a very simple truth. When the time comes, Qing Kingdom will not be able to accommodate you, and Northern Qi will not be able to accommodate you either."

"Of course, as long as Miss Lili agrees to my conditions, no outsiders will know what happened today, and Miss Lili will return to Northern Qi safely in the near future."

"The people of Qing are treacherous and vicious. Who knows if the adults will abandon them and use Lili as a sacrificial tool in the political struggle." Si Lili said hesitantly.

"Miss Lili may have never heard of my master's name." Wang Qinian said from the side.

"Who is your master?" Si Lili found herself so flustered that she forgot to ask this question.

"My master is a good man praised by all of Kyoto." Wang Qinian described it roughly.

Si Lili suddenly woke up, reacted, and said in a trembling voice: "It turned out to be Lord Lin who pleads for the people and punishes evildoers."

Lin Ruo pointed to the distance and said, "Miss Lili, we can hardly see anyone anymore."

Si Lili bit her lower lip, feeling helpless, but she heaved a sigh of relief when she heard the name of Lord Lin. Finally, she said silently, "Lord Lin is very skilled, and Lili is afraid of death, so she trusted you this time. I hope you won't let me down."

Lin Ruo waved his hand and said, "Wang Qinian, go after him."

Wang Qinian was very dissatisfied and complained, "Sir, it's Wang again."

"You're the fastest runner here."

Wang Qinian had no reason to defend himself. He sighed and ran forward to pull a horse. "My Lord, do you think I am stupid? A horse with four legs, who would be stupid enough to chase it with two legs?"

Wang Qinian rode away on his horse, and a voice came from the front: "Sir, remember to increase your salary."

(End of this chapter)