What a narrow path for enemies to meet—how had he encountered her again?

Xie Yanlai glanced at his surroundings and realized it was still Yaqu Pavilion.

That girl stood by the window on the third floor, surrounded by many other girls. Her position and status were different from last time.

Last time, according to the waiter, that girl had struck her brother in public. Everyone in the restaurant had despised her, and the other girls had cursed her—clearly, she was unwelcome.

Now she was encircled by girls, some leaning against her shoulders, others grabbing her arms. Girls standing farther away looked toward her while talking, evidently hoping to hear her opinion.

Impressive—she had become famous with a single battle, and now received respect from all sides.

He looked at the shock on that girl’s face and felt somewhat amused.

Scared, aren’t you?

Never expected that postal soldier A-Jiu to be someone like this, did you?

The prodigal son of the Xie family—killing people, setting fires, offending heaven and reason, worse than beasts.

Indeed, this encounter came at the most fitting place, saving a lot of trouble. No need to worry about this girl rushing over to cause him problems.

He raised his head, his phoenix eyes lifting as he smiled slightly.

“He still dares to provoke!”

The onlookers above the street awoke from their shock and became agitated again—angry, disdainful, mocking.

More people threw their teacups down.

“Disgrace of the Xie family,” they cursed.

…

…

A girl was also grabbing Chu Zhao’s arm, hoping for her agreement: “Although this person is Third Young Master Xie’s brother and looks somewhat like him, he’s nothing compared to Third Young Master Xie.”

The surrounding girls all nodded, merely glancing briefly before averting their gaze—his features weren’t ugly, but his bare upper body covered in blood and flesh was too frightening. Who would want to look more? It was revolting.

Qi Leyun was even angrier and said: “His face is a blasphemy against Third Young Master Xie.”

Chu Zhao remained silent, her mind still in shock.

Perhaps it was because of A-Jiu’s appearance. The current A-Jiu looked completely different from the postal soldier A-Jiu she had known on the road, though not well. Back then, A-Jiu had used a hat and scarf to cover his face, not letting people see it.

But she recognized him at a glance.

Perhaps it was because of A-Jiu’s identity. She had guessed various possibilities—someone from the Zhao family, the Yang family, the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, even the Emperor’s man. Never had she imagined he would be from the Xie family, and not just any member, but Third Young Master Xie’s brother.

Had the Xie family dealt with her father before? Was that why they hated her father so much later?

She looked at the young man on the street. Could she still ask him to deliver a message to her father?

She had already known on the journey that this young man was unruly and indomitable, but never imagined he would cause so many deaths.

He—

“Qi Leyun, what did you say?” she turned to ask. “What evil did he do?”

Qi Leyun was startled, becoming more displeased: “Chu Zhao, are you dazzled because he’s good-looking? Didn’t we already explain this?”

“I wasn’t listening,” Chu Zhao said justifiably, urging, “Tell me again quickly.”

“This Xie Yanlai humiliated Miss Liang.” “Refused marriage, refused marriage.” “Then he was punished by his family and sent away from the capital.” “I think his family originally meant well, wanting him to lie low for a while.” “But what happened? He was escorting his family’s goods through Han Prefecture, wasn’t careful, drank and made merry at night until he passed out drunk, and the bonfire ignited the goods. The entire village caught fire, causing terrible casualties.”

Qi Leyun narrated while other girls interjected, talking over each other. When they finished, they saw Chu Zhao still staring blankly.

“What’s wrong?” Qi Leyun glared. “Didn’t understand or confused again?”

Chu Zhao’s hands tightened on the railing. How could A-Jiu, while escorting goods, possibly get drunk and cause a fire that burned both the goods and the village?

This A-Jiu was an extremely alert and careful fellow—she knew that better than anyone. She had almost lost her life at his hands.

A cracking sound came from the street.

Chu Zhao looked and saw a long whip falling on the young man’s bare back. Blood splattered in the sunlight, and she inexplicably thought of the scars on the young man’s palm.

Those should also have been from whipping.

“Xie’s son, Xie Yanlai, improper conduct, moral deficiency, causing loss of life!”

“Well struck!”

“Well struck!”

The shouts boiled through the street.

A strange thought occurred to Chu Zhao: if his mother saw her child like this, what would she feel?

Did he still have a mother?

She vaguely remembered the girls mentioning that Xie Yanlai was a son of a concubine, or something similar.

She also suddenly recalled what A-Jiu had said: “You’ve never seen what it’s truly like when a mother is dying and her child has nowhere to turn.”

Chu Zhao slapped the railing and turned to rush downstairs.

The girls who had been talking were startled.

“Chu Zhao?” “A-Zhao?” “Where are you going?”

Why had she suddenly run off?

Was she frightened by the beating on the street?

“Her courage isn’t that small. She has beaten people,” Qi Leyun said. “She probably wants to get a clearer view from below.”

Was that it? The girls quickly squeezed by the window to look down.

Chu Tang was among them, gripping the railing tightly. Her instincts told her that when Chu Zhao made a move, nothing good would come of it.

…

…

That young man bore thorny bindings and endured whipping, but neither hurried anxiously nor stumbled slowly. With his hands bound behind him, it was as if he were walking with hands clasped behind his back, head high and chest out, striding boldly.

Only when the whip fell on his body did the impact cause his steps to pause briefly; otherwise, his pace remained steady.

Step by step, he soon walked past, leaving a trail of blood.

The newcomer watched with trepidation, shocked by the Imperial Uncle’s reckless disregard for human life, by the noble family’s severe punishment, and by the young aristocrat’s ferocity.

This was truly a scene one would never witness in the countryside in a lifetime.

“Chief Zhang,” he said, looking beside him, but couldn’t see Zhang Gu, who had been clutching him tightly earlier.

Zhang Gu had already followed the passing Xie family’s young master as he moved forward.

“Chief Zhang,” he hurriedly caught up, this time grabbing Zhang Gu instead. “What are you doing?”

The spectacle was over; it was time to leave.

“Chief Zhang, even though you’ve been in the capital for so long, you’ve never seen someone this vicious, have you?” the newcomer asked, following with curiosity.

Zhang Gu didn’t look at him, his gaze constantly following the young man bearing thorny bindings and being whipped.

A vicious person.

Having committed such heaven-offending deeds, he was naturally vicious.

But A-Jiu—

The A-Jiu he knew, if he were truly vicious, given how they had bullied him back then, wouldn’t they all have been burned to death long ago?

He felt that there might be some misunderstanding.

He wanted to step forward and ask, but—

Looking at the angry crowd around, the constantly swinging whip, he was like a speck of dust. What could he do?

A-Jiu, what was going on?

He clenched his fist, breaking free from the newcomer’s grasp, just wanting to follow this young man.

“A-Jiu—”

Zhang Gu was startled, instinctively covering his mouth. Had he called out?

But the next moment, he realized it was a pleasant female voice.

A female voice?

This voice, amid all the cursing, was especially clear, causing the crowd to jeer and curse for a moment. Then a girl pushed her way through the crowd, rushing toward the young man bearing the thorny bindings.

The young man also seemed startled.

At this moment, the man behind him was raising his whip, about to deliver another lash.

The girl darted over like lightning, placing herself between the young man and the whip.

“Wait!” she shouted.

It happened so suddenly. Just as the whip was about to strike the girl’s delicate body, the young front man turned around and shielded her.

The middle-aged man also, at the last moment, swerved his body, sending the whip flying to the side, making a cracking sound in the air.

…

…

“—Are you out of your mind?”

The young man looked at the girl before him, his phoenix eyes full of anger as he clenched his teeth and cursed under his breath.

He didn’t call out her name.

In this public place, he couldn’t join her madness. He couldn’t let people know he knew her.