“What kind of flower is this?”

A shop assistant took it and turned it over in his hands, laughing and teasing.

“Young master even carries his beloved’s silk flower when traveling.”

Cotton trees didn’t grow in the small border commandery city, so the shop assistant didn’t recognize it. The merchant carefully took the flower back.

“This is called a cotton flower, not my beloved’s silk flower.” He sighed. “This is a silk flower that saved my life.”

The shop assistant knew about the life-saving part. When this merchant’s group arrived, they had wounded and dead, looking thoroughly bedraggled. However, the inn wasn’t frightened—they’d seen this kind of situation often. They’d encountered bandits.

On the contrary, encountering bandits and still having so many people survive with goods completely undamaged was even more remarkable.

But what did a silk flower saving lives mean? The shop assistant didn’t quite understand. A nearby shop assistant passing by heard and let out a cry.

“Mu Mianhong!” he said.

This cry startled many people around. The accountant sitting down, the customers eating, the shop assistant holding up a tray delivering food—all were shocked.

“Mu Mianhong!” “Mu Mianhong is here!” “Where?”

Fortunately, before anyone could shout “Mu Mianhong is here, run quickly,” the shop assistant shouted first, “It’s not that Mu Mianhong is here—this person encountered Mu Mianhong.”

Like pouring cold water into a boiling pot, everyone calmed down.

“That really scared us to death.” The customers complained. “Why frighten people for no reason?”

However, many people gathered around, curious. “Someone actually saw Mu Mianhong?” “Isn’t Mu Mianhong not in our area?”

Hearing the chatter from all sides, the merchant young master also complained, “The one nearly scared to death was me. What exactly is Mu Mianhong?”

“A bandit.” The people around spoke in unison.

Really a bandit?

But it seemed rather different from bandits.

The merchant young master described the scene at the time to everyone, saying, “There were old and young people. They didn’t really look like bandits. Moreover, when the bandits heard them, they all fled in fear.”

The people around weren’t surprised after hearing this. “Mu Mianhong—even bandits are afraid of her.”

The merchant young master grew more curious. “Who is this Mu Mianhong?”

“Speaking of Mu Mianhong, we must first talk about Qingya Stronghold. Over twenty years ago, there was a Qingya Stronghold in the Great Green Mountains. At its peak, it had thousands of bandits—truly running rampant without restraint.” The elderly accountant sat behind the counter, speaking leisurely. “But later, government troops suppressed the bandits. They were driven out of the Great Green Mountains and scattered in all directions—”

Hearing this, the merchant young master made a sound of confusion. “Over twenty years ago? But I saw a girl of about ten-some years.”

Over twenty years ago, this girl probably wasn’t even born yet.

Could it not be Mu Mianhong?

“That’s unknown.” The accountant said. “No one has seen Mu Mianhong. Some say she’s beautiful as a flower, some say she’s ugly as a ghost, and others say she’s immortal and ageless.”

Other people also spoke up. “I’ve also heard she’s a celestial maiden descended from heaven.” “Nonsense, I heard she’s a night demon.” “She can scatter beans to create soldiers.” “She can summon ghost armies!”

In short, no one had seen her true appearance. The merchant young master understood.

“No matter what she looks like.” The old accountant continued his topic. “In any case, Qingya Stronghold, driven from the Great Green Mountains, didn’t disappear. This Mu Mianhong gathered the bandits together, seizing territory everywhere, burning, killing, and plundering—and most of the burning, killing, and plundering targeted other bandits. They specialize in bandits preying on bandits.”

The merchant young master understood. No wonder those bandits fled upon hearing her name.

“Wherever Mu Mianhong plunders, she leaves behind a cotton flower.” The old accountant squinted at the silk flower in the merchant young master’s hand. “However, Mu Mianhong has never appeared in our area. Who would have thought that this old one would be fortunate enough to see it once.”

Even if she killed bandits, a bandit was still a bandit, just like a demon that ate smaller demons was still a demon.

The common people were still very afraid. “I heard even soldiers fear Mu Mianhong.” “Mu Mianhong has dark magic and is invulnerable to blades and spears.” “She actually came to our area—how terrifying.” For a moment, discussions were everywhere.

The merchant young master looked at the silk flower in his hand, his feelings also in turmoil. At this moment, being able to sit here, he should thank that Mu Mianhong. But thinking of the scene at the time, especially that child around ten years old who could kill proficiently, showed how numerous, fierce, and terrifying they were.

“After finishing this trip, I’ll quickly return home.” He murmured. “The border commandery is too frightening.”

……

……

The farther from the border commandery, the taller the cities ahead appeared. The more pedestrians on the road, the slower the carriages and horses traveled.

A procession had both carriages and horses. When meeting oncoming carriages, they inevitably had to stop and give way. After stopping once again, the carriage curtain was lifted and a boy around ten years old let out a loud cry.

The people on the road were all startled, and the girl on horseback ahead also immediately turned back.

“Little Rabbit, what are you doing?” She scolded in a low voice.

The boy called Little Rabbit 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 kind of child rides a horse? Do you see any children riding horses on the road?”

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

“Don’t let people think we’re abnormal! If our identities are exposed and Aunt’s important matter is ruined, I won’t spare you.”

Little Rabbit clearly didn’t dare ruin the important matter. He sat back reluctantly, swaying his belt in boredom—but after just one swing, Xiao Man snatched it away with a quick hand, and a gleaming flying dart also slipped into Xiao Man’s sleeve.

“What kind of child plays with knives?” Xiao Man scolded in a low voice.

Little Rabbit rolled his eyes.

Xiao Man leaned into the carriage to look inside, frowning and scolding in a low voice. “Granny Cai! Don’t sharpen your blade with your foot!”

The gray-haired old woman sitting inside the carriage grinned. “Alright, alright. My foot was just itchy.”

She then put away the blade by her foot and tucked it under her gorgeous skirt.

Xiao Man was somewhat helpless and admonished again. “We’re getting closer and closer to the central plains. Everyone be careful. Whoever ruins things, don’t blame me for enforcing stronghold discipline.”

The people inside and outside the carriages responded in unison, “Yes.”

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

Were family rules like this nowadays?

A trace of embarrassment flashed across Xiao Man’s face. She quickly put on a smile and said loudly, “We’re almost there. Once we see Great Aunt, we can rest properly.”

Little Rabbit said loudly, “Ah, I miss Great Aunt so much.”

Xiao Man flicked her riding whip. “If you miss her, then hurry along!”

The carriages and horses clip-clopped and creaked, merging into the crowd on the main road, slowly proceeding forward.

……

……

The capital was prosperous and lively, with carriages and horses like dragons. Every day brought new excitement.

“Go quickly and see—the Chu Garden literary gathering has ended.”

With this cry, many people looked over curiously.

The Chu Garden literary gathering had already become a grand event known to all. Even scholars coming from other regions, upon entering the capital, would make their way straight to Chu Garden as if they knew the route by heart.

After all, the first hurdle of the Third Prince’s Wangchun Garden literary gathering required defeating the daughter of the Chu clan.

Of course, besides the initial curiosity about whether the Chu clan daughter would win or lose, now people had become less concerned about that, because there were too many other people’s victories and defeats, too many interesting competitions.

Moreover, now the competitions weren’t important either. Chu Garden had beautiful scenery and nearly exclusive service from Zuixian Restaurant—entertaining and interesting. Many people deliberately brought their families’ children to observe and learn.

Because there were too many people, Chu Garden limited daily admissions. Now tickets were hard to come by.

It was actually ending?

Who said it was ending?

Also, would the Chu clan daughter be punished?

With curiosity, countless people surged toward Chu Garden.