Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 50 Drunken Beauty

Regardless of whether Madam Aqing really hated Kou Qianzhi, she was undoubtedly a kind-hearted person.

She had no interest in the head of a junior like Zhu Wen.

After gaining her trust, Zhu Wen and Lan Suting got the charcoal and hot water they wanted.

After entering the house, Zhu Wen found that the house was quite warm even without a charcoal fire.

There must be another charcoal fire underground, which turned the house into a huge kang, and the smoke was discharged far away through the tunnel.

In this way, the smoke from heating in autumn and winter and the smoke from cooking will not rise directly above the house. This is not only clean, but also makes it more difficult for people to notice this house hidden in the wormwood.

Even finding one's way through the wilderness was difficult. It was sheer coincidence that Zhu Wen and Lan Suting had stumbled into this hidden mansion to avoid the rain.

The heavy rain made Lan Suting's cold worse quickly. Zhu Wen had no choice but to accept Madam Aqing's kindness and rest here for a few days, and also chat with Madam Aqing.

Among the servants in the house there was one who knew medicine. She immediately prepared a decoction for Lan Suting, and Zhu Wen fed her the medicine himself. After two or three days, her condition quickly improved.

After she was able to get out of bed, she forced herself to cook for Madam Aqing and others as a token of her gratitude.

The iron pots in the mansions were only available to the wealthy, while the clay pots in the homes of ordinary people could not withstand stir-frying.

But to everyone's surprise, Lan Suting's cooking skills were excellent, even better than the chef in the mansion.

A dish of fried chicken with sesame oil and diced pork and lotus root, simple dishes, with some cooking wine, become bright in color, fill the room with fragrance, and make people's appetites whet.

Both Ah Qing and her son, as well as the maids in the mansion, praised the dish highly after tasting it.

"The caravan leader has an iron pot at home, and I learned how to make it from his wife." Lan Suting explained, twirling the corner of her clothes and lowering her eyes.

Then she said softly to Zhu Wen, "After we go back, let that maid take care of others? Su Ting really doesn't need anyone to serve her..."

"You can occasionally cook for the brothers in the camp." Zhu Wen stroked her smooth, soft hands and commented, "You have such nice hands. If you spend too much time cooking, you won't have much time to practice calligraphy. As a scholar, you should focus on your duties."

As the two were whispering, Madam Aqing's beautiful gaze suddenly came from two meters away, her eyes moving with a deep meaning.

On the eve of departure, Mrs. Aqing suddenly asked to help Zhu Wen.

"It's been so many years since I last fought a decent opponent. It's really boring." Ah Qing sighed.

Zhu Wen did not use his Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Sword, but only used an ordinary long sword to fight Ah Qing.

Ah Qing was holding a light and beautiful sword, looking extremely relaxed, even a little gentle.

Her children looked at their mother expectantly, obviously having known that their mother had good skills and were quite proud of it.

Although Zhu Wen was a younger generation, since Mrs. Aqing was a woman, he still respectfully asked Aqing to go first.

The sword's blade shook rapidly, leaving behind a series of snake-like afterimages, and it pounced towards Zhu Wen with a speed that seemed even faster than the silk thread mechanism that day.

This sword was forged from wrought iron, not as hard as ordinary blades, but flexible and resilient. When exerting force, the blade's edge trembled like the fluttering wings of a bee or butterfly. Combined with his swift and sharp sword technique, the sword appeared to transform into thousands of blades when it was struck.

Zhu Wen did not dare to be negligent and drew his sword to block the attack. His defense was as solid as a rock and no water could get in.

When swords clash, the changes in attack and defense are like autumn water bursting through a dam, its flow speed and direction are unpredictable.

"Life or death." Zhu Wen suddenly saw Madam Aqing's red lips slightly open, and the three words came into his ears very clearly.

The sword suddenly created shadows all over the sky, and in an instant it burst out with murderous intent like a giant python, trapping Zhu Wen from head to toe.

He also seemed to see many poisonous snakes spitting out fishy smells and rushing towards him fiercely.

The poisonous snakes were of course illusions, but the fishy smell that spewed from his mouth and nose was so real that it made it almost impossible for him to breathe.

In this fatal sword intent, Ah Qing's figure appeared unusually charming, and her snow-white skin, illuminated by the morning light, seemed to be in a colorful dream.

But Zhu Wen only felt that death was near.

He bit the tip of his tongue with all his strength, and the severe pain made him sober. The illusions in his eyes disappeared, he clenched his teeth, followed the knife, and with his unparalleled momentum, he broke through the mud-like blockade of the sword intent in an instant.

Unable to suppress it, a murderous intent surged in his heart, causing his eyes to turn a faint blood red.

What he used today was clearly not the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Sword.

But his next move, together with his previous actions, formed a continuous whole, which could not be changed and could not be withdrawn.

Zhu Wen's footsteps were as fast as lightning. He rushed to Madam Aqing's back and stabbed her with a knife. With a flip of the blade, he knocked the sword that had been hastily retracted out of his hand and sent it flying into the sky.

The blade swept through the clothes and pierced into the gap between the spine.

Ah Qing let out a low groan of pain.

This sound reminded Zhu Wen of the scene when he killed Kou Qian. Finally, at the critical moment, he regained his sanity and tried his best to retract his attack. The blade pierced through the lungs and avoided the heart.

The long sword was drawn, and blood gushed out like a fountain. "I lost!"

Ah Qing panted, turned to look at Zhu Wen, smiled happily, and then sat down on the ground in pain.

The servants armed with swords watched this scene quite calmly, as if they had expected it.

"Thank you." Zhu Wen bowed to Madam Aqing and said, "Madam, are you all right?"

Immediately, a maid helped Ah Qing to retreat temporarily and went into the house to stop the bleeding and apply medicine.

After a while, Ah Qing, supported by her maidservant, returned to the arena, smiling with great satisfaction: "Young man, thank you so much. It has been many years since I had such a satisfying fight."

Zhu Wen smiled slightly and said, "I am very happy to be able to make my lady happy."

He continued, "But if I lose, and Madam accidentally loses control of her strength and cuts off my head, will it be sent to the court?"

"How could a man who could kill Kou Qianzhi die at the hands of a weak woman like me?" Ah Qing said with a smile covering her mouth.

"That's hard to say. Swords have no eyes. Madam's moves are sharp, her swordsmanship is quite proficient, and she also has illusions that can disturb people's minds..."

Ah Qing chuckled softly, "But her skills are still not as good as Madam Ah Xue's when she was your age. If you fought her back then, you would probably die at her hands."

Zhu Wen was silent. He did not doubt that some women were quite powerful at a young age, because he knew one himself.

"So I just want to teach you, a young man." Ah Qing picked up her jade finger and drew it in the air. The fingertips emitted a glass-colored light under the sunlight.

"First, you are a strategist, but not an invincible general. Furthermore, there are always people better than you. In everything, rely on wisdom, and don't always rely on force and act recklessly."

Junior sister Duan Hongyan also expressed similar concern to Zhu Wen.

"Second, don't trust anyone easily. Even someone who seems to treat you well could kill you at any time."

This exhilarating fight with Zhu Wen made her feel like she was back in her youth, filled with swords and spears, and even her speech had a youthful air.

"Liangyu thanks Madam for your teachings."

Zhu Wen thanked him sincerely.

Even if Madam Aqing really wanted to kill herself at that moment.

But her love for outstanding juniors is undoubtedly quite sincere.

When Zhu Wen's blade approached her heart, she did not show any fear, and even felt a sense of relief.

The life of a resentful young woman is undoubtedly quite boring.

However, the tragedy of Mrs. Axue in the past made it impossible for Qi Kerang to allow Aqing to go to the battlefield.

That's why she needs this ultimate experience of passing between life and death.

"Finally, find a place to stay before it gets too late, and watch the sky as soon as the rooster crows. You're already grown up, why don't you find a place to stay before nightfall? It's okay to travel alone, but how can you be so rude and inconsiderate to bring a girl with you?"

Ah Qing looked at Lan Suting, then looked at Zhu Wen with a reproachful look.

Zhu Wen could not help but feel embarrassed: "Madam, you are right."

When saying goodbye, Ah Qing gave him two precious fox fur cloaks. When it rains, he can cover his whole body in them and neither wind nor rain can get in.

Like an overly concerned mother, she wanted to stuff large and small bags of things into Zhu Wen's luggage, but Lan Suting refused on the grounds that there were too many things to fit.

The villa where Madam Aqing lived was located in Zhenzhou, the capital of Chengdejie Town. From here, turning southeast and walking for several hundred miles, one could cross the Yellow River again and enter Pinglu.

Worried that it would rain again, Zhu Wen held Lan Suting in his arms all the way. Since she had returned to female clothing, she was a little shy and restrained at first, but after getting used to it, she became calm and composed.

Zhu Wen also had to admit that holding a sweet and soft girl in his arms for a long time was a very comfortable thing in itself, even if he didn't think about anything else.

Normally, he would deliberately keep a safe distance from girls like his junior sister Duan Hongyan. But since Lan Suting was so well-behaved and sensible, he didn't have to worry too much.

As the horse galloped down the road, Lan Suting suddenly called out, "Captain, there's someone lying on the side of the road ahead. It looks like a young woman."

Zhu Wen was a little hesitant and thought: If he fainted from hunger on the roadside, it would be no big deal to give him a few bites of bread; if he was seriously ill, even if I could not help him, there are too many miserable people in troubled times, how could I save them all?
But when the horse galloped closer to where the woman was lying, Zhu Wen finally saw the woman's face clearly.

Her face was flushed and she looked drunk. It turned out that she was a drunk woman who had passed out on the side of the road.

When the woman who had fallen drunk on the roadside heard Zhu Wen stop his horse beside her, she woke up in a daze, rubbed her eyes, and stood up staggeringly.

Zhu Wen couldn't help but feel familiar with this handsome and handsome face.

The woman suddenly yelled, "So it's you, little thief! I caught you!"

After he finished speaking, he suddenly pulled out a short spear and stabbed it towards Zhu Wen!

(End of this chapter)