What narrow paths for enemies—how did he encounter her again?

Xie Yanlai glanced at the location. It was actually Yaqu Pavilion again.

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

Last time, according to the shop attendant, that girl had publicly struck her elder brother, and everyone in the restaurant looked down on her. The girls all cursed her too—she was clearly unpopular.

Now she was surrounded by girls in the center. The girls beside her either leaned against her shoulder or held her arm. The girls farther away talked while looking in her direction, obviously hoping to hear her views.

Impressive—this counted as achieving fame in one battle, with congratulations coming from all directions.

He looked at that girl’s face full of shock and felt somewhat like laughing.

Scared, aren’t you?

Didn’t expect that courier soldier A’Jiu was this kind of person, did you?

A Xie family wastrel son, killing and arson, unconscionable acts, worse than beasts.

That’s right, encountering her on this occasion was most fitting. It saved a lot of trouble—no need to worry about this girl rushing up to cause him trouble.

He raised his head, his phoenix eyes flicking upward, smiling slightly.

“He still dares to be provocative.”

The gazes from above the street awakened, stirring again with anger, disdain, and mockery.

More people threw their teacups down at him.

“Xie family scum,” they cursed.

……

……

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

The surrounding girls all nodded, giving him only a cursory glance before looking away—his features were indeed not ugly, but bare-chested with flesh and blood mangled, it was too frightening. Who would want to look more? They were full of disgust.

Qi Leyun was even angrier, saying: “His face is a blasphemy against Young Master Xie San.”

Chu Zhao didn’t speak, her mind still in shock.

Perhaps because of A’Jiu’s appearance, A’Jiu at this moment was completely different from the courier soldier A’Jiu she was familiar with—actually not that familiar—on the road. Back then, A’Jiu had used a hat and scarf to cover his face, not letting people see clearly.

But she recognized him at a glance.

Perhaps because of A’Jiu’s identity—she had speculated about various possibilities: someone from the Zhao family, Yang family, the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, even the Emperor’s people. She never expected it would be the Xie family, and not just any descendant, but Young Master Xie San’s younger brother.

So the Xie family had dealings with Father in the past—was that why they hated Father so much later?

She looked at the young man on the street. Could she still ask him to deliver a letter to Father?

On the journey, she had already known this young man was unruly and untamed, but she never expected he would cause so many deaths.

He—

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

Qi Leyun was startled and even more displeased: “Chu Zhao, are you dazzled because he’s good-looking? Didn’t we say it already?”

“I didn’t hear,” Chu Zhao said righteously, urging, “Quickly tell me again.”

“It’s that this Xie Yanlai insulted Miss Liang.” “Refused the marriage, refused the marriage.” “Then was punished by his family to leave the capital.” “I think his family originally meant well, letting him go out to hide.” “But what happened? He was escorting his family’s goods through Han Commandery, wasn’t careful, drank and made merry at night, got drunk and fell asleep. The campfire ignited the goods, the entire village burned up, the casualties were terrible.”

Qi Leyun narrated, other girls interjected, all talking at once. When they finished, they looked at Chu Zhao, whose expression was dazed.

“What?” Qi Leyun glared. “Didn’t understand or dazzled again?”

Chu Zhao’s hand gripping the railing tightened. A’Jiu escorting goods—how could something like getting drunk, igniting a fire, and burning the goods and village possibly happen?

This A’Jiu was such an alert and careful person—she knew this better than anyone. She had nearly died at his hands.

A snap rang out from the street.

Chu Zhao looked over and saw the long leather whip fall on the young man’s bare back, blood spattering in the sunlight. For some reason, she thought of the scars on that young man’s palms.

They should also be from whip lashes.

“Xie family son, Xie Yanlai, improper conduct, deficient character, harming human lives!”

“Well beaten!”

“Well beaten!”

The shouts boiled on the street.

A thought inexplicably arose in Chu Zhao’s mind—if his mother saw her child like this, what would she feel?

Did he still have a mother?

She vaguely recalled the girls mentioning that Xie Yanlai was a concubine-born son, or something like that?

She also suddenly remembered that sentence A’Jiu had said: “You haven’t seen what it’s really like when a mother is dying and the son has no one to turn to.”

Chu Zhao slapped the railing and turned to rush downstairs.

The girls who were talking were all startled.

“Chu Zhao?” “Ah Zhao?” “What are you doing?”

Why did she suddenly run off?

Was she frightened by the beating on the street?

“She’s not that timid—she beats people herself,” Qi Leyun said. “She probably wants to see more clearly from below.”

Really? The girls hastily crowded at the window to look down.

Chu Tang was among them, her hand gripping the railing tightly. Her intuition told her that when Chu Zhao made a move, there would definitely be trouble.

……

……

That young man bore the thorny branches and was being whipped, but he didn’t stumble in haste, nor did he shuffle unable to move. His hands were bound behind him, as if clasped behind his back, head raised, chest out, striding boldly.

Only when the whip fell on his body did the impact make his steps pause momentarily. Otherwise, his pace was always steady.

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

The new recruit watched with his heart pounding—amazed at the National Uncles’ audacity in disregarding human lives, amazed at the aristocratic family’s harsh punishment, and even more amazed at this young privileged descendant’s ferocity.

This was indeed a scene he could never see in a lifetime in the countryside.

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

Zhang Gu was already following that Xie family young master who had walked past.

“Chief Zhang,” he hurriedly caught up, this time it was his turn to grab Zhang Gu. “What are you doing?”

They’d seen enough of the excitement—it was time to go.

“Chief Zhang, even though you’ve been in the capital so long, you’ve never seen such a vicious person,” the new recruit asked, reluctant to stop watching.

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

A vicious person.

Having done such unconscionable things, naturally he was a vicious person.

But A’Jiu—

The A’Jiu he knew—if he were truly a vicious person, when they bullied him so much back then, they would have been burned to death long ago, wouldn’t they?

He always felt there must be some kind of misunderstanding.

He wanted to go forward and ask, but—

Looking at the angry crowd around, the constantly swinging whip, he was like dust—what could he do?

A’Jiu, what exactly is going on?

He clenched his fist, breaking free from the new recruit’s pull, only wanting to follow this young man.

“A’Jiu—”

Zhang Gu was startled and instinctively covered his mouth. Did he shout that out?

But the next moment he realized this was a pleasant-sounding female voice.

A female voice?

This voice was particularly loud amidst the cursing, making the crowd pause their jeering and cursing for a moment. Then a girl squeezed out from the crowd, rushing toward the young man bearing thorny branches.

The young man also seemed startled.

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

That girl flashed forward like lightning, blocking the young man’s back.

“Wait!” she shouted.

This was too sudden. Just as the whip was about to strike the girl’s delicate body, the young man in front spun around and shielded the girl.

The middle-aged man also at the last moment shifted his body, the whip flying to the side, making a snap in the air.

……

……

“—Are you fucking insane?”

The young man looked at the girl before him, his phoenix eyes full of fury, cursing in a low voice through clenched teeth.

He didn’t call out her name.

In broad daylight, in public, he couldn’t go crazy with her, couldn’t let people know he knew her.