At first, Xu Qi An paid little attention, half his mind immersed in his thoughts, the other half observing the surroundings.
Gradually, he noticed that the three men at the next table were behaving abnormally, unlike ordinary people.
Firstly, their strong physiques were distinctly different from normal people. While one’s aura could be hidden, a martial artist’s build couldn’t be concealed.
Secondly, these men’s gazes were very purposeful, only looking towards San Huang County, oblivious to everything else around them, as if waiting for something.
Lastly, these three men showed signs of disguise.
A jianghu vendetta?… Xu Qi An mused to himself. These three men had the same intention as him, lying in wait on the official road outside the city.
And their enemy would pass by this road.
This is why the jianghu is dangerous. If you’re not slashing others, others are stabbing you. No gangster ends up well… Xu Qi An, who was a policeman in his previous life, silently lamented but didn’t take it to heart.
This world had its own rules, such as jianghu matters being settled within the jianghu, and jianghu people living and dying by the jianghu code.
Officials usually didn’t interfere with the lives of the jianghu people, as long as they didn’t harm civilians or disturb public order.
“Give me one qian of silver…” the Princess Consort said softly.
“No, ten wen will do,” she corrected herself.
Xu Qi An glanced at her, then laid out copper coins one by one on the table, like Kong Yiji arranging coins.
The Princess Consort quickly reached out her small hand to collect the copper coins, furtively looking around, then glared at him and spat, “Don’t flaunt your wealth.”
Then she tucked the coins into the sash of her small waist.
Xu Qi An smiled. Under his influence, the Princess Consort had started to actively learn and absorb experiences of navigating the jianghu. She was a good learner, but she was like a golden canary raised in a cage, completely unaware of the lives of common people and social realities.
Inevitably, some of her attempts at learning ended up being clumsy imitations.
It was just ten when far from enough to tempt anyone’s greed.
After securing the copper coins, the Princess Consort asked the shopkeeper for two bowls and a pot of tea, then carefully hugged them to her chest along with her bundle as she left the pavilion.
She walked along the roadside, soon stopping in front of two beggars.
An old beggar with a young beggar.
Xu Qi An’s gaze followed the most beautiful woman in Da Feng as she squatted down in front of the two beggars, set out the two bowls, and poured them tea.
Then, the plain-looking Princess Consort shared her rations – the fine pastries Xu Qi An had generously bought – with the young and old beggars.
After the two had wolfed down some food, she warily looked around, took out the ten copper coins from her sash, and furtively handed them to the old beggar, as if afraid of being seen.
Xu Qi An watched this scene calmly, his pupils slightly unfocused.
After a while, Princess Consort returned, carrying the teapot and bowls, with a light step.
“So in that case, I owe you one qian of silver… and ten wen,” the Princess Consort said. She didn’t know how many wen equaled one qian of silver.
Is that necessary? I’ve been covering all your food, clothing, lodging, and travel expenses this entire journey… Xu Qi An nodded, unusually refraining from mocking her, and instead asked:
“What did you say to them?”
“They fled from the border. Their village was destroyed by barbarians, and their families were all killed. The old beggar brought his grandson, the young beggar, fleeing all the way here,” the Princess Consort said, her brows furrowed.
Xu Qi An gave an “Mm” in response, then after a moment of silence, he teased, “You look very beautiful today.”
The Princess Consort snorted disdainfully, raising her chin proudly.
What nonsense. Was there a woman in the world more beautiful than her?
Suddenly, she cupped her face worriedly, rubbing it hard, and said with a troubled expression, “Even though I look like this now, you’re still seduced by my beauty.”
“…”
Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats approached. A cavalry unit came galloping from the direction of San Huang County, led by someone wrapped in a black robe with a hood, their face covered by a mask that only revealed the chin and lips.
This spy of the Garrison North King was the same one Xu Qi An had encountered on the street that morning.
Heh, I thought I’d have to wait at least a few days by the road… Xu Qi An was inwardly delighted and quite excited. Learning from the morning’s encounter, to avoid drawing attention, he didn’t look at them directly, while also suppressing his malicious intent to prevent triggering the other’s martial artist’s intuition.
This place was very close to San Huang County, with many passersby, not suitable for making a move.
Clop clop clop… The cavalry unit passed by the pavilion and quickly rode away.
Just as Xu Qi An was about to lead the Princess Consort to follow them, the three men at the next table acted first. They tossed down a piece of broken silver, grabbed their weapons wrapped in cloth leaning against the table, and ran frantically in the direction the cavalry had gone.
These three were also after the Garrison North King’s spy.
Xu Qi An lowered his head to drink tea, showing no reaction.
After about half an incense stick’s time, he stood up and said, “Let’s go. I’ll take you to see a good show.”
The Princess Consort immediately stood up, supporting herself on the table, and swayed her hips as she followed behind him.
Although she was wearing a plain dress with a wooden hairpin, her voluptuous and alluring figure still caught the eyes of the men in the pavilion, who inwardly sighed: This woman’s bottom is really big.
Xu Qi An walked a few steps, then stopped and turned back to look at the Princess Consort, saying, “I’ll carry you on my back.”
At this pace, we’ll be too late.
The Princess Consort instinctively shook her head, firmly rejecting any intimate contact with males.
“No?”
“No!”
Xu Qi An had always been a gentleman who respected women, so he grabbed the back of the Princess Consort’s collar and began to sprint.
Boom boom boom… The sound of his footsteps was like thunder. With each step, he leaped dozens of zhang forward, leaving deep footprints on the official road.
“Let… me… go… It hurts…” The Princess Consort endured pressure beyond her level.
Xu Qi An turned his head to look. Her features were contorted by the strong wind hitting her face, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes. Seeing the most beautiful woman in Da Feng in such an unsightly state, Xu Qi An found it quite amusing.
Unfortunately, Da Feng’s clothing was too conservative, preventing the Princess Consort from experiencing a wardrobe malfunction like the goddess Liz Tandey due to high speed.
A quarter of an hour later, Xu Qi An suddenly stopped and released the Princess Consort’s collar.
Thud… The Princess Consort fell on her bottom, her face pale, pupils dilated, temporarily unable to recover from the speed and excitement.
“You bastard!”
With an expression on the verge of tears, she pounced on Xu Qi An, scratching and biting, wanting to fight him to the death.
Poor Princess Consort, beautiful as she was, had never experienced such treatment or such embarrassment in her life.
Xu Qi An swatted her back to the ground with a backhand, saying sternly, “Be quiet. Look ahead.”
The Princess Consort pressed her lips together, holding back her grievances, and looked forward with tears in her eyes.
In the far distance, a fierce battle was taking place. Three blue-faced, fanged barbarians were surrounding a man in a black robe and mask.
Around and far from both sides lay dozens of corpses, both human and horse.
The Princess Consort’s heart tightened, and she inched closer to Xu Qi An, seeking a sense of security by his side.
“That’s Prince Huai’s spy,” she said softly.
I know that’s Prince Huai’s spy, and the three barbarians attacking him seem to be from the Qing Yan tribe… Xu Qi An narrowed his eyes, focusing intently on the scene.
According to intelligence, the Qing Yan barbarian tribe had blue-green skin, hence their name.
These three barbarians not only had blue-green skin all over their bodies, but their cheeks also had a thick layer of keratin, like natural armor.
This was a common atavistic phenomenon among the barbarians.
“This is a planned ambush. Barbarian tribesmen are ambushing the Garrison North King’s spy,” Xu Qi An said in a low voice.
The Princess Consort nodded vigorously, then moved even closer behind him: “So, why aren’t we leaving quickly?”
Xu Qi An smiled and asked in return, “Why should we leave?”
At that moment, the two parties fighting in the distance noticed this pair of onlookers. The man in the black cloak called out, “It’s you! Quickly return to San Huang County for reinforcements. With your speed, you can be back in half an incense stick’s time.”
He deliberately used a tone of pleasant surprise, making the three barbarians believe that he and Xu Qi An were acquainted.
As expected, upon hearing his words, the three barbarians’ expressions changed slightly. One of them immediately retreated, no longer participating in the siege of the cloaked spy. Instead, he turned his attention to Xu Qi An and the princess consort, intending to silence them and prevent the arrival of reinforcements.
Seeing this, the cloaked spy revealed a smile of successful trickery. While avoiding the barbarian’s slashing saber, he flicked his flexible sword, entangling the opponent’s arm and yanking forcefully.
The barbarian’s sleeve shredded, revealing a green arm covered in a layer of scales. The flexible sword scraped off a layer of it.
He immediately retreated, shaking his painful arm, and shouted in the barbarian language, “Quickly deal with those two! We can’t kill him with just the two of us.”
The barbarian tasked with silencing the witnesses responded and accelerated. Suddenly, he let out a roar. With a thunderous sound beneath his feet, he leaped over ten zhang high, like an eagle pouncing on a rabbit. His long saber flashed downward.
Xu Qi An, the barbarian’s target, stood motionless, seemingly stunned.
The woman behind him crouched down, covering her head and letting out a high-pitched scream.
Hmph, stupid barbarians… Watching the barbarian leap farther away, the cloaked spy sneered inwardly.
How simple it was for them to fall for his ploy of drawing the tiger away from the mountain. If this wasn’t stupidity, what was?
With one opponent drawn away, his pressure was greatly reduced, and he was no longer in a difficult situation to escape. Another twenty li along the official road would bring him to the military camp, where he’d be safe.
As for that unfortunate fellow in the distance, dying for him could be considered a worthy death. At worst, he could lead troops to eliminate the three Qing Yan Tribe scouts later to avenge him.
At this moment, the cloaked spy and the two Qing Yan Tribe barbarians, while engaged in combat, heard a crisp shattering sound. Battle-hardened as they were, they immediately recognized it as the sound of a steel blade breaking.
What happened… Both parties tacitly held back, quickly glancing towards the distance. What they saw left them dumbfounded.
They saw the man in the distance had transformed into a dazzling golden figure. He remained motionless, while the barbarian who had leaped high and swung his steel saber had now landed, staring in disbelief at the weapon in his hand.
“A Buddhist warrior monk?” The Qing Yan Tribe barbarian holding the broken saber spoke with a trembling voice.
The princess consort raised her head. In her vision, she saw a green-skinned head—no, a golden-skinned head.
He doesn’t have hair… In that instant, many puzzles from their journey were solved. He never took off his sable hat, whether eating, sleeping, or bathing.
One thing he often did was to steady his hand (raising his hand to adjust the sable hat).
“Wrong answer. The punishment is death,” Xu Qi An said sternly, extending his right arm to grip the Qing Yan Tribe barbarian’s neck.
The barbarian’s eyes filled with terror, his face contorting as he struggled mightily, only to have his neck crushed.
All struggle ceased instantly, his limbs hanging limp.
“A Buddhist warrior monk!” The two barbarians besieging the cloaked spy witnessed their companion’s death, seeing him as weak as a blade of grass.
At this moment, they recalled the fear of being dominated by the Buddhist sect, remembering their tribesmen who were mowed down like rice stalks during the battle at Shanhai Pass years ago.
A Buddhist warrior monk? No, warrior monks don’t dress like this, and his speech carried a strong Central Plains accent… The cloaked spy’s mind raced, instinctively analyzing and extracting useful intelligence.
“Run!”
The two barbarians turned in unison, one fleeing north, the other south, in different directions.
“Stay here and don’t move. I’ll come back for you after I finish killing,” Xu Qi An instructed, turning back. Then he noticed the princess consort staring at his scalp.
I feel offended… he muttered inwardly, before transforming into a golden afterimage to pursue and kill the two barbarians. He then returned, carrying their corpses.
By this time, the cloaked spy hadn’t left, observing from a distance.
Seeing this, Xu Qi An, while pretending to deal with the corpses, secretly pulled out a sheet of paper from his bosom. Using his qi to ignite it, he activated his Aura Observation technique. He blinked, careful not to let the clear light scatter and alert the cloaked spy.
“Thank you for your help, sir. May I ask which Buddhist elder’s disciple you are?” The cloaked spy approached, probing cautiously.
Seeing Xu Qi An’s silence, he quickly added, “The situation was dire earlier, I had no choice. Please forgive me, venerable monk.”
Just an “I had no choice” to brush it off so easily? If I were an ordinary person, my skull would be split in two by now… Xu Qi An raised his hand slightly, getting straight to the point and revealing his identity:
“I am Official Xu Qi An, on an imperial mission to investigate the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre case in the northern border.”
The cloaked spy’s expression froze, his eyes beneath the mask becoming complex.
It is Xu Qi An?!
He had briefly suspected earlier, as intelligence reports indicated that Xu Qi An had obtained the Vajra Invincibility Skill during a confrontation with the Buddhist sect.
This man spoke with a Central Plains accent and wasn’t dressed like a Buddhist, making it highly likely that he was the case officer Xu Qi An they had been secretly searching for.
As these thoughts raced through his mind, his gaze fell on the plain-looking woman, and his professional instincts as a spy led him to speculate about her identity.
He indeed came north alone to investigate, but why bring a woman along?
Someone he rescued along the way? If so, he shouldn’t keep her by his side, as it would hinder the investigation and compromise her safety.
Is, is she the princess consort?!
A bold guess flashed through the cloaked spy’s mind.
According to the intelligence from his superiors, Duke Chu Long’s countermeasures before fleeing proved that the princess consort had disguised herself and carried talismans to conceal her aura.
After the attack, Xu Qi An had separated from the delegation, and what he did afterward was unknown to anyone.
In recent days, despite sealing the border, they had been unable to locate the four barbarian experts.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, he heard Xu Qi An say, “She is your princess consort.”
The princess consort widened her beautiful eyes, biting her lip, looking at Xu Qi An with disappointment and sadness.
He just betrayed me like this…
He admitted it just like that… It is the princess’s consort… The cloaked spy felt an incomparable excitement surge within him.
The princess consort had been found, and he was the one who found her. He would earn immense merit for this.
Although he didn’t know how Xu Qi An had rescued the princess consort, one thing was certain: he had saved her but chose to travel alone, intending to use her to blackmail Prince Huai… The cloaked spy took a deep breath, appropriately showing joy and gratitude, and said with a smile:
“Thank you, Lord Xu, for finding the princess consort. Prince Huai will surely reward you generously.”
“Then I won’t be polite,” Xu Qi An said with a smile. “I’ll ask you a few questions. Answer truthfully, and I’ll hand over the princess consort to you.”
The princess consort stepped back, distancing herself from the two men. She pursed her lips, her eyes flowing with sadness.
… The cloaked spy was silent for a few seconds before saying, “Please ask, Lord Xu.”
“What’s the story behind the Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre?”
“Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre?” The cloaked man revealed a puzzled expression and said confusedly:
“I don’t know anything about a Three Thousand Li Blood Massacre. How about this, Lord Xu, come with me to the military camp. We’ll settle the princess consort first, and then whatever help you need afterward, just ask. We will fully cooperate.”
Xu Qi An calmly looked at him, with a half-smile, “Once I’m in the military camp, I’ll be like a fish on a chopping board, right?”
The cloaked spy’s expression changed slightly, and he said in surprise, “Why would you say that, Lord Xu? You are the case officer appointed by His Majesty. We couldn’t be more eager to assist you.”
He emphasized Xu Qi An’s status, trying to mislead him and create the illusion that “no one would dare harm an imperial court official.”
Xu Qi An sighed, pointing at his own eyes, “But you haven’t spoken a single truth. My Aura Observation technique sees it all.”
The cloaked spy’s heart tightened. A warrior’s instinct for danger made him instinctively step back while swinging out his flexible sword.
The next moment, his neck was gripped by Xu Qi An.