“What kind of flower is this?”

A shop assistant took it and turned it around in his hand, teasing with a smile.

“Young master, you travel with your sweetheart’s silk flower?”

In the small border town, there was no cotton flower, so the shop assistant didn’t recognize it. The merchant carefully took the flower back.

“This is called a cotton flower. It’s not my sweetheart’s silk flower,” he sighed. “This is the silk flower that saved my life.”

The shop assistant knew about the life-saving incident. When this merchant’s group had arrived, there were injured and dead among them, all in a miserable state. But the inn wasn’t scared—they had seen such situations many times before. They had encountered bandits, that’s all.

What was more surprising was that so many people had survived after encountering bandits, and the goods remained completely intact.

But what did it mean that a silk flower saved his life? The shop assistant didn’t quite understand. A nearby shop assistant who overheard exclaimed, “Ah!”

“Mu Mian Hong!” he said.

This one exclamation startled many people around. The seated accountant, the dining customers, the waiters carrying trays of food—all were frightened.

“Mu Mian Hong!” “Mu Mian Hong is here!” “Where?”

Fortunately, before someone could shout “Mu Mian Hong is here, run!” the shop assistant quickly clarified, “Mu Mian Hong hasn’t come; this person encountered Mu Mian Hong.”

It was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a boiling pot; everyone calmed down.

“That scared me,” the customers complained. “Why frighten people for no reason?”

However, many people gathered around, curious: “Someone saw Mu Mian Hong?” “Isn’t Mu Mian Hong not in our area?”

Hearing the chatter, the young merchant also complained, “I was the one who was almost scared to death. Who exactly is Mu Mian Hong?”

“A bandit,” the surrounding people said in unison.

So it was a bandit?

But they seemed different from typical bandits.

The young merchant described the scene to everyone, saying, “There were old and young people. They didn’t look much like bandits, and the bandits who heard about them all ran away in fear.”

The people around weren’t surprised after hearing this: “That’s Mu Mian Hong. Even bandits are afraid of her.”

The young merchant became even more curious: “Who is this Mu Mian Hong?”

“Speaking of Mu Mian Hong, we must first talk about Qingya Stronghold. More than twenty years ago, there was a Qingya Stronghold in the Great Qing Mountain with thousands of bandits at its peak. They truly ran rampant without fear,” the older accountant sat behind the counter and spoke slowly. “However, later, when the government troops suppressed the bandits, they were driven out of Great Qing Mountain and scattered in all directions—”

Hearing this, the young merchant made a sound of surprise: “More than twenty years ago? But the person I saw was a girl in her teens.”

More than twenty years ago, this girl wouldn’t even have been born yet.

Could it be that it wasn’t Mu Mian Hong?

“Then I don’t know,” the accountant said. “No one has seen Mu Mian Hong. Some say she’s as beautiful as a flower, others say she’s as ugly as a ghost, and still others say she’s immortal.”

Others also chimed in: “I’ve heard that she’s a celestial maiden who descended to the mortal world.” “Nonsense, I heard she’s a night rakshasa.” “She can turn beans into soldiers.” “She can summon the ghost army!”

In short, no one had seen her true face, the young merchant understood.

“Regardless of what she looks like,” the old accountant continued his topic, “the Qingya Stronghold that was driven out of Great Qing Mountain didn’t disappear. It was this Mu Mian Hong who gathered the bandits together, seized territories everywhere, and engaged in arson, murder, and looting—and the most they burned, killed, and looted were other bandits. They specialized in preying on their kind.”

The young merchant had a moment of realization. No wonder those bandits ran away when they heard the name.

“Wherever Mu Mian Hong plunders, she leaves behind a cotton flower,” the old accountant narrowed his eyes to look at the silk flower in the young merchant’s hand. “But Mu Mian Hong has never appeared in our area before. I never thought that in my old age, I would have the fortune to see one.”

Even though they killed bandits, bandits were still bandits, just like a rakshasa that eats small ghosts is still a monster.

The common people were still very afraid: “I heard even the soldiers fear Mu Mian Hong.” “Mu Mian Hong has magical powers and is invulnerable to weapons.” “To think she’s come to our area, how terrifying.” There was a flurry of discussion.

The young merchant looked at the silk flower in his hand, his feelings in turmoil. The fact that he could sit here right now was thanks to that Mu Mian Hong, but thinking of the scene at that time, especially how a child around ten years old could kill skillfully, it was evident how ferocious and terrifying they all were.

“Once this journey is over, I’ll quickly go back home,” he murmured. “The border commandery is too frightening.”

……

……

The further away from the border commandery, the larger the cities ahead appeared, the more travelers on the road, and the slower the vehicles moved.

A procession with carriages and horses, when encountering carriages coming from the opposite direction, had to stop and give way. After stopping once more, a curtain was lifted, and a boy of about ten years old let out a loud cry.

Everyone on the road was startled, and a girl riding a horse ahead immediately turned back.

“Little Tu, what are you doing?” she reprimanded in a low voice.

The boy called Little Tu pouted: “Sister Xiao Man, I don’t want to ride in the carriage. I want to ride a horse. This is too slow.”

Xiao Man glared at him: “What horse would a child ride? Do you see any children riding horses on the road?”

Not only were there no children, but even older people were sitting in carriages.

“Don’t let people think we’re abnormal! If we expose our identities and ruin Auntie’s important matter, I won’t let you off.”

Little Tu didn’t dare ruin the important matter and reluctantly sat back down, listlessly swinging his belt. After just one swing, Xiao Man snatched it away, and a gleaming flying dart also fell into Xiao Man’s sleeve.

“What child plays with knives?” Xiao Man cursed in a low voice.

Little Tu rolled his eyes.

Xiao Man peered into the carriage again and frowned, reprimanding in a low voice: “Grandmother Cai! Don’t sharpen knives with your feet!”

The white-haired old woman sitting in the carriage grinned: “Alright, alright, my foot was just itchy.”

She then put away the knife beside her foot and tucked it under her elegant skirt.

Xiao Man was somewhat helpless and reminded them again: “We’re getting closer to the Central Plains. Be more cautious. If anyone ruins the matter, don’t blame me for the stronghold’s disciplinary action.”

People inside and outside the carriage responded in unison, “Yes.”

Such a unified response startled the common people passing by on the main road. This group had old and young people, maids and servants, and was carrying gifts, looking like a family visiting relatives. But why did they all respond in unison to a simple statement?

Were family rules like this nowadays?

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Xiao Man’s face, and she quickly smiled and said loudly: “We’re almost there. Once we meet Big Aunt, we can rest well.”

Little Tu said loudly: “Ah, I miss Big Aunt.”

Xiao Man cracked her whip: “If you miss her, then let’s hurry!”

The carriages and horses moved with clattering and creaking, merging into the crowd on the main road, proceeding slowly.

……

……

The capital was prosperous and bustling, with carriages and horses moving like dragons, and new excitement every day.

“Quick, go see, the literary gathering at Chu Garden is ending.”

With this announcement, many people looked over curiously.

The literary gathering at Chu Garden had become a well-known grand event, and even scholars from other places, upon entering the capital, would go straight to Chu Garden as if they knew the way well.

After all, the Third Prince’s Wangchun Garden literary gathering had one key requirement: one must defeat the Chu lady.

Of course, apart from initially being curious about the wins and losses of the Chu lady, people had now become less concerned about that, as there were too many other people winning and losing, too many interesting competitions.

Moreover, now the competitions weren’t important anymore. Chu Garden’s scenery was beautiful, and there was almost an exclusive supply from Drunk Immortal Tower. It was fun and interesting, and many people specifically brought their children to observe and learn.

Because there were too many people, Chu Garden limited the number of daily visitors, and now tickets are hard to get.

Could it be ending?

Who said it was ending?

Also, would the Chu lady be punished?

With curiosity, countless people flocked toward Chu Garden.