Her guards

Chapter 15 A Morning with a Rich Scent

The resounding beat of the night watchman's drum echoed through the streets.

The darkness before dawn dimmed all the lights in the city.

The night watchman, who had stayed up all night, perked up; dawn was breaking soon.

That night is finally over.

He had been following his elders as night watchmen since he was just able to run. Even during the most chaotic years at the end of the previous dynasty, Zhao County had never been so eerily quiet.

It's good that it's dawn.

But then he thought of the row of corpses lined up at the city gate, and the night watchman couldn't help but hunch his shoulders again.

Even during the day, Zhaoxian County is terrifying.

Originally, a family massacre had occurred in the county, and the county was in a hurry to investigate and avenge the victims. However, the Embroidered Robe arrived and ordered the corpses to be dragged to the city gate for public display, claiming that the Jiang family were traitors. When the county magistrate asked for evidence, the Embroidered Robe actually smiled and said that his words were the evidence.

“You…” He then pointed to the officials and local gentry present, “must be involved in the treason.”

Then, people who had dealt with the Chiang family were asked to recount their interactions with them.

Jiang Wangchun was a schoolteacher in the county. All the children in the county had studied with him to some extent. In other words, everyone in Zhao County was involved in the treason!

This is clearly an insult to people!
He looks as handsome as Erlang Shen, but he's a scoundrel!

Taking advantage of the darkness, the night watchman spat out a mouthful of saliva and struck the clapper again. Suddenly, he saw the lights on in the storefronts facing the street ahead.

The night watchman, familiar with the county town, immediately recognized it as the Weiyuan Escort Agency.

Because Xiu Yi was not a respectable person, everyone in Zhao County avoided him. Without him, most shops were closed during the day, and the business of the escort agency was not as good as before. Moreover, the owner of the escort agency, Li Zhen, was invited to the county government office to stay, and his son Li Hao, who took over the family business, went out to escort goods and did not return.

Who's home so late at night?
The night watchman slowly approached and saw that not only were the lights on, but the four main gates of the security company were also open.

This……

They opened way too early.

The night watchman thought for a moment, then walked closer and saw a figure swaying inside.

Wow, there are quite a few people.

Could it be that you've landed a big deal?
The night watchman walked to the door, stopped, and was about to greet them when his face contorted as he stared at the figure hanging inside the open door—

Bang bang bang bang bang.

The urgent, timeless sound of the night watchman's drum shattered the deathly silence before dawn.

"Murder—"

……

....
Yang Luo suddenly woke up and saw a dim blue light in the room.

She pressed her hand to her chest; her heart was pounding.

She must have had a nightmare. In fact, ever since her rebirth, she has had nightmares every night before falling asleep—no, to be precise, she relives her past reality.

Previously, when she was among the beggars or sleeping outdoors, she didn't dare to sleep too soundly, for fear of saying something she shouldn't have.

Last night was the first time I slept alone, so I slept soundly without worry.

Thinking about this, I can't help but thank Ah Sheng again for his choice.

Before setting off, she suggested that she continue to disguise herself as a man. Although her mother used other corpses to make it appear as if she had faked her death, just in case, or they could simply remain beggars so they wouldn't attract attention on the road.

But the young hunter shook his head in opposition.

"If I dress up as a man, we'll have to eat and live together. Although you trust me, it's still inconvenient because of the difference between men and women. Neither of us will get enough rest, and if we get sick on the way, it will be a real problem."

"Moreover, if you pretend to be a beggar, it will only cause trouble. After all, beggars are vulnerable and can be bullied by anyone. But if you are rich, people will be more cautious and think twice. That's why people say 'a poor family travels with a rich person.'"

Yang Luo wasn't a stubborn person, especially since her only goal right now was to have A Sheng by her side and go to the capital together, so she listened to whatever he said.

So, as Ah Sheng suggested, they bought fine horses and carriages, and she also bought some nice clothes. They moved into a room at the inn and were generous to the innkeepers, and were indeed treated with great courtesy.

Yang Luo rubbed her neck; it was probably from sleeping too well and staying in one position that her neck was a little sore.

She got up and stretched in the room, washed up quickly, and as dawn broke, she thought about checking if Ah Sheng was awake. She hadn't been sleeping well these days, and the hunter boy naturally hadn't been sleeping well either. She hoped he had slept well last night.

As soon as she opened the door, she saw a shop assistant downstairs holding a food box and looking up. "Miss is awake," he greeted her with a smile, pointing to the food box in his hand, "Your guards have prepared a calming soup for you and brought it here."

"Ah Sheng?" Yang Luo asked hurriedly, "Is he already up?"

The shop assistant brought up a food box: "I woke up before dawn, fed the horses, cleaned the carriage, and even picked out some herbs to make you a medicinal soup, saying that our calming soup wasn't effective enough. Now I'm preparing breakfast."

Although Ah Sheng comes from a hunter's background, he is incredibly considerate in taking care of people.

“I took care of my grandfather who raised me for several years. Being a bodyguard is the same as taking care of the elderly, so I’m used to it.”

Ah Sheng had told her about it.

Yang Luo accepted the calming soup from the shop assistant, noticing that the medicinal smell was stronger than the one given by the inn yesterday.

The shop assistant said that the herbs were personally selected by Ah Sheng.

Yang Luo wanted to give the shop assistant a tip, but the shop assistant refused.

"That young man did all the work, we can't accept any more money from him."

Ah Sheng really knows how to charm people, Yang Luo couldn't help but laugh. Suddenly, he saw someone running out of the inn courtyard, and there was a commotion ahead.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Yang Luo asked, slightly nervous.

The shop assistant didn't know either, and was about to ask when the young hunter returned, dressed in black cloth.

His face was somewhat somber.

"Miss, someone has died outside."

Someone died? Yang Luo and the shop assistant looked surprised.

The entire street was surrounded by guards dressed in black with gold embroidery.

A guard in black knelt on the ground, his bright red robes fluttering. Wei Jiao stepped down from his back and took a deep breath.

"The smell of blood is really strong," he said.

The smell of blood was indeed very strong, so strong that people standing at the street corner felt like gagging.

But Wei Jiao's expression showed no disgust; on the contrary, it was one of rapture.

He looked into the open doorway and pointed to the person hanging inside.

These people had either been pierced in the chest or in the throat; blood dripped from their bodies, soaking their robes and congealing on the ground beneath their feet, creating a crimson stain.

"One, two"

Wei Jiao counted on his fingers.

"fourteen."

There were a total of fourteen corpses.

"The city gate guards said that Li Hao returned last night," a guard in black said in a low voice, pointing to the city gate guards who had already been brought over and restrained.

Wei Jiao glanced at the city gate guards and saw that they were kneeling on the ground, their faces pale. They were clearly terrified, their eyes blank, as if they couldn't believe that the people they had just seen that night, who were alive and well, greeting and laughing with them, were now dead.

"The person was killed in the back warehouse," the black-clad guard explained again, pointing to the long trail of blood on the floor of the hall, "and then dragged here and hung up."

Wei Jiao looked at the chaotic bloodstains in the room. Although this was not the scene of a battle, it was still very bloody. He could imagine what a hellish scene must have been in the warehouse.

His gaze stopped in the center of the hall, where four large, blood-red characters were displayed.

"A life for a life," Wei Jiao said, then laughed, his eyes dark and cold. He turned to look at the officials and wealthy families of Zhao County who had followed him, or rather, were being escorted here. "You people of Zhao County are really good at killing each other!"

The officials of Zhao County, a dozen or so from prominent families, were all deathly pale. One of them, an elderly man in his sixties in a wheelchair, was trembling all over.

Suddenly, the old man let out a strange, hoarse laugh, gritted his teeth, and blood flowed from the corners of his mouth, nose, and throat. Then his head lolled to the side and he died.

"Captain!" A guard in black stepped forward to check and shouted, "Li Zhen has committed suicide by poisoning himself."

Wei Jiao was not angry, but pointed with his finger: "Fifteen."

Then laughed.

"Oh, exactly fifteen. Just like the Jiang family, they look very nice displayed on the city gate."

(End of this chapter)