The moment Lord Hu saw Luo Yang, he grabbed the large blade beside him and swung it toward him.

Ji Yunshu blocked his path: “Please spare him, Lord Hu. Hear me out.”

The blade that was about to cleave down halted abruptly in midair.

Fortunately, he managed to stop the force.

Otherwise, Ji Yunshu would have been split in two.

“Miss, step aside! This brat stole my belongings. I must chop off both his hands.”

“The item wasn’t stolen by him.”

“…Ah? It wasn’t him?” Lord Hu was stunned.

He was famous for his sharp eyes. Even though the black-clothed person last night had covered their face, those eyes couldn’t be wrong.

It was clearly that stinking brat.

He couldn’t have been mistaken.

Seeing Lord Hu continue to hold the blade in midair, Ji Yunshu said: “Actually, the person who stole your dagger is someone else.”

“…” Lord Hu was skeptical. He asked: “How can you be certain it was someone else? Miss, I know you’re a good person—otherwise you wouldn’t have saved my life. But I, Lord Hu, have walked the rivers and lakes for so many years and have never been wrong about these things. Yesterday’s little thief was that brat behind you.”

“When your men chased after him last night, they should have seen that black-clothed person carrying a girl wearing a cloak, correct?” Ji Yunshu suddenly brought up this matter.

At the same time, her gaze swept around the room, scanning the burly men present.

“Carrying a girl? Was there?” Lord Hu looked at his men.

One of the men who had given chase last night said: “Yes, at that time the black-clothed person was indeed carrying someone as he fled. We chased after him for quite a distance but still lost him.”

Ji Yunshu said: “That person was me.”

Lord Hu put down his blade and asked excitedly: “You’re in league with that little thief?”

“No, Lord Hu, you’ve misunderstood. Why don’t you hear me finish speaking.”

“Go on.”

“I entered Zhuxin City late last night. Unexpectedly, I was knocked into by that little thief on the street. After he stole the silver from my person, he wanted to sell me as goods to others, so he abducted me. But seeing I was physically weak and wouldn’t fetch a good price, and worried about being pursued, he released me. However, when I struggled, I tore off the black cloth from his face. That person looked extremely fierce and terrifying, with knife scars covering his entire face, and judging by his appearance, he must be in his mid-forties.” Ji Yunshu finished this pack of lies without batting an eye or missing a heartbeat.

Luo Yang was completely stunned!

He thought his own lying had already become as natural as drinking plain water, but he hadn’t expected to encounter someone even more formidable than himself.

When it came to lying, she was incredibly smooth!

He bowed in admiration!

No wonder this young woman kept assuring him everything would be fine. But… would Lord Hu believe it?

Lord Hu’s fierce face stiffened for a few seconds. He looked over that shabby-looking Luo Yang, and no matter how much he scrutinized him, he couldn’t spot any knife scars on that brat’s face!

Yet he still felt that stinking brat’s eyes greatly resembled the eyes of the black-clothed thief he’d seen last night.

“What the miss says—is it truly so?”

“Absolutely true.”

Lord Hu sighed: “Miss saved my life, so naturally I trust your words. Moreover… we indeed didn’t find the dagger on that brat! Since that’s the case, then forget it.” Lord Hu stared at Luo Yang again and said viciously: “Stinking brat, consider yourself lucky!”

Luo Yang shrugged his shoulders, crossed his arms over his chest, and lifted his chin, beginning to gloat: “This young master is magnanimous. You mistook the person and even struck the wrong person—I’ll just let it all slide.”

“You…”

“What? What? Still want to make a move?”

Lord Hu was so choked with anger his beard bristled and his eyes glared.

Ji Yunshu quickly said: “Actually, I came to find you, Lord Hu, for another matter as well.”

Lord Hu restrained his fury: “What other matter?”

She said: “Earlier I heard that you, Lord Hu, are transporting glass beads to Qujiang. Is that true?”

“That’s correct. These glass beads are being transported to Yanjing, the capital city of Qujiang.”

Ji Yunshu stated her purpose: “Then I wonder if it would be possible to take us along? We’re also going to Qujiang, but we’re unfamiliar with the Nansai Desert. However, I’ve heard you travel through the desert year-round and are very familiar with the desert terrain, so I was hoping to travel together with you. Would that be convenient?”

Lord Hu thought it was some major matter! He said: “So it’s just for this? No problem at all, but I’m afraid you won’t be able to endure it. From Zhuxin City to Qujiang, you have to travel through the desert for a month. You’re a young woman—it would be better to take a different route.”

“But leaving from here and transferring to another place to reach Qujiang might take two or three months. I have urgent business and must go through the Nansai Desert.” Her resolve was firm.

Lord Hu pondered for a moment, then readily agreed: “Fine, since you, miss, aren’t afraid, then I’ll take you along for part of the journey. But this brat?”

He stared at Luo Yang!

Ji Yunshu said: “He and I are acquainted, so we’ll go together.”

“Alright, then for your sake.”

Magnanimous!

After Lord Hu agreed, he said they would depart tomorrow morning. He still planned to search Zhuxin City for that thief who stole his belongings.

After Ji Yunshu and Luo Yang left the tavern, Luo Yang curiously asked: “When did you save that person’s life?”

“It has nothing to do with you.”

“And that bead—you called it a crown pearl? What’s a crown pearl? And what’s your relationship with the person you’re looking for?”

“None of these things concern you.”

Ji Yunshu coldly rejected all his questions.

Luo Yang found it boring and huffed.

The two returned together to that dilapidated little house.

Xiao Ba stood at the doorway, looking out eagerly for a long time, and finally saw them coming.

“Brother, you’re finally back! If you hadn’t returned, I really would have dug a pit and buried myself.”

Luo Yang consoled him: “Alright, alright, no need to bury yourself.”

Ji Yunshu, listening from the side, asked: “Bury? Why would you bury yourself?”

Xiao Ba said: “Because…”

Luo Yang interrupted: “Less talking, more doing. Hurry up and pack your things!”

“Pack things? Are we really going to Qujiang? Does that mean I don’t have to die?” Xiao Ba was very excited.

Luo Yang, however, looked Ji Yunshu up and down and said: “That depends on whether Heaven will let us find the person she’s looking for within two months.”

Xiao Ba’s face was full of determination: “We’ll definitely find them, we’ll definitely find them. I’ll go pack right now.”

He hurried into the house to pack.

But what was there to pack?

Just a few worn-out sets of clothes and shoes. The most valuable items were that oil lamp and the teapot and teacups on it…

So poor even the roof had holes in it.

Ji Yunshu said to Luo Yang: “I’ll still be staying here tonight. We’ll depart together tomorrow morning! Don’t even think about trying to escape in the dead of night. The poison I administered cannot be cured by anyone in this world. If you don’t believe me, feel free to try escaping, but in the end, don’t come begging me.”

This time, Luo Yang had truly encountered terrible misfortune.

To think he’d be led around by the nose by a woman.

Right now, he could only swallow his anger and endure. Once he obtained the medicine that could save Xiao Ba and that dagger, he would definitely cut out this woman’s tongue.

Make her truly mute. Let’s see if she’d still be so arrogant then!