Want me?

…

“What a thunderous answer…” Baozi urged his horse cart forward a bit, looking up and squinting at the slender figure flying down from the cliff face as if sprouting wings. “Could I have encountered a top? Not robbing gold, silver, or lolis, but only robbing my peerless little chrysanthemum?”

That person descended from the cliff in a flowing, graceful arc, trailing ten thousand zhang of sunlight, golden springwater cascading unstoppably downward, whistling straight toward Baozi’s head. Youtiao’er instinctively covered his head to dodge, but Baozi didn’t avoid it, steadily squinting as he watched that figure.

Sure enough, that shadow braked urgently just before stepping on his head, lifting their foot in a feint kick in mid-air, executing an extremely beautiful hawk turning over, and landing steadily on a protruding rock at the cliff base.

A breeze rushed from beyond the cliff, causing the light veil over their face to flutter, revealing a pair of eyes bright as autumn water. Their figure was light and graceful, as if they could be blown away by the wind.

Youtiao’er gasped in admiration. “So beautiful, like they have wings…”

Baozi smiled sweetly, looking at the masked person on the cliff stone, sweeping his sleeve as he said lazily, “Those who ride white horses aren’t necessarily princes – they could be Tang monks. Those with wings aren’t necessarily angels – they could also be bird-people.”

“Death approaches, yet you remain arrogant!” That person stared at Baozi, speaking coldly in a deliberately low voice that made it impossible to distinguish male from female, though they were probably young.

“Robbery is robbery – at most taking wealth or beauty. You’re not actually going to kill people, are you?” Baozi looked at the youth with a grin. “Hey, that’s not how bandits operate. You seem to have violated the code of the road.”

“Rules of the road are made by people and can be broken by people.” That person spoke with hands tucked in sleeves, their tone low and calm, their words sharp as steel, clearly showing a strong character. Baozi stared at their eyes, pondering their tone, feeling they seemed familiar yet unable to recall when he’d encountered such a person.

His gaze swept over those black-clothed, masked men and women who had remained silent since appearing. These people had extraordinary footwork and composed bearing. Whether in martial arts or temperament, they truly didn’t seem like ordinary rabble who had taken to banditry, but rather had the measured, disciplined air of those from great families. But how could children of great families have fallen to such circumstances?

However, if they truly were fallen scions of great families, that would explain why they wanted to kill after robbing – for the sake of face.

Fallen phoenixes can’t face their shame, and to maintain that bit of external reputation and prevent word from spreading, silencing witnesses is inevitable.

But which ruined household could it be?

The current martial world situation was no longer what it once was. Ever since Master yielded to stinky mother at Sacred Biluo Mountain, returning his supreme martial arts to Qianjue Sect and then disappearing without a trace, the Blazing Flame Gang had been taken over by the Great Guardian and no longer possessed the magnificent power it once had under Sect Leader Su. Thus, with no one to suppress them, disputes over power and territory erupted daily in the jianghu, with dramatic rises and falls happening constantly. He truly couldn’t think who it might be.

Thinking of Su Xuan, Baozi’s little heart ached… My most carefree master, yet you’re the unlucky person most tormented by fate. Where are you now?

But his face remained cheerful as he propped his chin, looking at that youth and beckoning. “Well then, come kill me.”

His leisurely appearance made others feel uneasy, wanting to weigh things carefully before acting. But that youth had a fearless, unyielding temperament and smiled coldly, saying, “Good!”

Before the words finished, they had already swept forward, their swallow-like figure trailing a line of golden sunlight. Within the dazzling brilliance, brighter white light flashed – sword light that brought piercing cold to Baozi’s throat before even arriving.

As those sleeves fluttered, they revealed a stretch of wrist white as snow.

Baozi’s fingers had already emerged from his sleeves. He had a thousand ways to dodge this sword and counter-attack, but catching sight of that snow-white flash, his heart suddenly stirred.

He immediately stretched out his leg, pretending to accidentally trip the pouncing Youtiao’er. Baozi shrieked and tumbled backward in panic, rolling off the carriage in a clumsy donkey roll. The sword light refused to give up, immediately pursuing like lightning.

Baozi screamed in confusion, then miraculously dodged and weaved, somehow breaking through that sword net, then regardless of the sword’s sharpness, pounced toward the person’s chest.

“Ah!”

The twins screamed in unison, and Youtiao’er was also shocked into a daze. What was wrong with their master? Charging at someone’s sword? If the person just swept their sword horizontally, their master’s precious head would go rolling in the dust.

But “that person” was suddenly even more surprised and stunned than Youtiao’er.

The sky-filling sword light suddenly withdrew, freezing motionless in mid-air. That pool of autumn water trembled unusually at the fingertips. The youth stared down in bewilderment, completely unsure how to handle the awkward situation before them.

That child… that child…

Had actually thrown himself against their chest, his big head buried firmly between their breasts!

Their gaze slowly moved down to meet the big eyes of that child who had an innocent expression as he looked up. Those dark, rolling eyes swept once, then suddenly the child grinned at them.

The youth’s heart trembled, immediately raising their sword to strike.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Baozi, who had already confirmed his suspicions with that pounce, suddenly reached out and viciously embraced the youth, forcefully squeezing their chest!

…

“Well, 36D. Sister, you’re really well developed.” Baozi buried his head in the bloody peaks, cheerfully examining the excellent results he’d squeezed out, smugly rubbing and nuzzling as he accurately measured their size with his little face. “How old are you? Even my stinky mother doesn’t compare to you. Natural bombshell, hehe.”

The black-clothed people all turned to stone. Youtiao’er showed an expression of being struck by five thunderbolts. The twins looked with infinite sympathy at that unfortunate youth being “milked” by their master… This poor sister, a blooming young girl encountering their master who would do absolutely anything – what terrible luck spanning eight lifetimes.

Under everyone’s gaze, the youth froze in place. Though young, she had disguised herself as a man and led this group of brothers and sisters to rule the mountain, struggling to survive. Though the youngest, she had earned great respect among them through her brave, strong, and outstanding character. Never had she expected this job to encounter a little hooligan who played such a dirty trick. Caught completely off guard, she didn’t know how to respond.

Being in puberty and still developing, this squeeze was quite painful, making her arms numb. The girl’s sword-holding arm trembled continuously, and her bright eyes visible above the face cloth gradually gathered sparkling tears, though she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

In the awkward silence, the girl’s subordinates also didn’t know how to handle the situation.

In the quiet, the girl suddenly tossed her head, bit her lower lip, and raised her sword again.

You humiliate me, I’ll kill you!

Baozi immediately released his grip and jumped away, somehow managing to pull out a long strip of white cloth as he jumped, waving it flamboyantly in his claws.

As he grinned, “Wow, super elastic!”

The girl swung her sword in pursuit, then suddenly realized something was wrong. Looking again, she saw her face mask had already been pulled off, her chest clothing had been cut open at some point, and that long white strip was her breast binding.

Her mind exploded with a boom. No longer caring about chasing the killer, she quickly covered her chest and retreated. She was indeed well-developed – with the breast binding pulled away by this unscrupulous little hooligan, a pair of full doves immediately bounced out, so abundantly they couldn’t be contained.

With a soft snort, she stepped back three paces, reached out to grab a black-clothed person’s cloak behind her, shook it once, and the cloak flew up and settled over her entire body.

Baozi giggled and made faces at her, continuing to hold the white cloth and dance the rumba.

But the girl didn’t continue pursuing. She just pulled her clothing tight and stood in place, taking a deep breath, then carefully looked at Baozi again. Her gaze slowly calmed, and within that calm arose a fierce determination.

Baozi, who had been cheerfully dancing the rumba with the white cloth, stopped and looked at that girl who had managed to calm herself in an instant despite being repeatedly humiliated by him. His big eyes sparkled brightly.

Really amazing – even after being humiliated again and again, she could instantly suppress her shame and fury, recovering her composure so quickly.

And she was so beautiful…

Beautiful and intelligent – what good material…

But why did he suddenly feel that expression and face seemed familiar?

The wind swept silently. After a long moment, the girl’s voice rang out clear and cold, like jade striking jade, echoing in the verdant green of Min Prefecture with crystalline clarity.

“Who are you?”

Baozi squinted and tilted his head to look at her, grinning. “Sister, who are you? With such a great figure, don’t you think it’s a waste being a bandit chief?”

Smiling without mirth, the girl’s beautifully shaped eyebrows lifted slightly with an uncompromising, soaring spirit as she proudly asked in return, “How do you know being a bandit chief isn’t good?”

“Of course I know.” Baozi methodically wound the white cloth strip around his claws. “Sister, you weren’t originally in the bandit business. Why compromise yourselves? Look at your tragic expressions – the robbers look more miserable than the robbed. You don’t recite ‘This mountain is ours,’ won’t rob beauty and release people, and habitually form battle arrays – tsk tsk. Only established martial sects can have self-created formations. Aren’t you giving yourselves away?”

The girl’s face darkened as she sneered. “If we kill you all, you can’t make random guesses anymore, can you?”

“If you wanted to kill, you’d have done it already.” Baozi grinned mischievously. “You’ve already realized you probably can’t kill this bunch of goods. Sister, are you planning to negotiate next – I pay some protection money and silence fees, and you let me pass?”

After struggling to understand Baozi’s terminology, the girl apparently grasped his meaning. After a long silence, she honestly admitted, “Yes. I discovered your horse cart has many mechanisms, your martial arts seem quite good, and you’ve even occupied the only life gate in this formation, preventing it from activating. You don’t seem like a simple child either. I’m not confident I can kill you.”

“Ah… Sister.” Baozi suddenly threw himself forward with tears, “I’m actually penniless and can’t pay protection fees. My martial arts also can’t match so many of you. You said you wanted me earlier, right? Then take me, take me, take me.”

…

Youtiao’er tragically covered the twins’ wide staring eyes. With such a master, life was truly miserable…

“Take me.” Baozi raised his charming apple face, frantically blinking his big eyes like he was having seizures, looking at the girl with tear-filled, pitiful expression full of grief. “Take me as your servant, take me as your mountain stronghold husband – mm, I have a very good figure.”

Youtiao’er disdainfully looked up and down at the cylindrical figure of that shameless person who claimed to have a “very good figure,” sighing to the twins, “Life really is just a pile of countless lies…”

The twins looked at Eunuch Youtiao with admiration as the fifth-rank eunuch continued profoundly, “This is a famous saying His Majesty often quotes.”

…

Over there, Prince Xiao with his “very good figure” was still desperately nuzzling against the girl, constantly flipping through her collar and sleeves while rubbing. The girl kept pushing him away but discovered that when this child wanted to pounce over, she could only watch helplessly as she couldn’t dodge. When he wanted to touch her somewhere, she could only be helplessly touched.

Her gaze turned cold. The girl stopped struggling and leaned close to Baozi’s ear, saying, “What do you want to see? Stop acting.”

“This.” Baozi had achieved his goal, reaching out to take her left hand that had been hidden deep in her left sleeve. “I knew it was you.”

His gaze fell on the girl’s hand – her left pinky finger was missing.

The little person suddenly sighed very deeply with regret. “I never expected it to be you. How did you fall to this state?”

The girl looked at him in bewilderment, saying after a long pause, “You… you know me?”

“Qiu Zicen, Sister Qiu.” Baozi looked her up and down. “I said you looked familiar. When I saw your left hand just now, I remembered who you are.”

“You know my name?” Still young at heart and naturally disliking pretense, Qiu Zicen almost immediately acknowledged her identity, staring wide-eyed at this unfamiliar, beautiful child with complete confusion.

Baozi touched his face, remembering that four years ago during the ten major sects’ siege of Blazing Flame, he had worn a mask, no wonder this little beauty didn’t recognize him. But he had vivid memories of her. At that chaotic crusade meeting, a bunch of shameless, despicable “heroes” like Mu Huaiyu took the stage disgustingly, but only that little girl had looked up to heaven with a long whistle, boldly chopping off her finger with one stroke. Her heroic, strong spirit exceeded even those many “martial world luminaries” – she was truly the most eye-catching scenery.

“I saw you four years ago at Blazing Flame Gang. I once made an appointment with you at Zhengyang Gate Number One.” Baozi looked at Qiu Zicen, thinking that though her finger had been severed by herself, it was somewhat related to him. He had made that appointment – if she wanted revenge, she could come find him. But she hadn’t come, and later he had forgotten about it. How had she fallen to such a state now?

What an unlucky child.

Qiu Zicen seemed to recall that painful scene, her eyes dimming slightly as she looked at Baozi suspiciously. “It was you? You didn’t look like this. Oh, you wore a mask then?”

Baozi cackled with narcissistic laughter. “Of course! What you see now is the real charming, elegant, jade-tree-facing-wind, beloved-by-all, blooming-at-sight, pear-blossoms-outshining-crabapples Young Master Chu Rong himself…”

Before he finished speaking, Qiu Zicen turned and walked away.

“Hey, hey!” Baozi panicked, spreading his short legs and pattering after her. “Don’t leave! Why are you leaving? Weren’t you going to rob me? Why are you running after saying half your words? Your behavior is seriously illogical…”

“I’m no match for you.” Qiu Zicen stepped onto the mountain cliff in one bound, looking down at Baozi from above with a calm expression and clear voice. “I later inquired about you. Someone told me what kind of place you had appointed to meet. You’re not an ordinary person. Why would I oppose you and seek my own death?”

“Sister Qiu.” Baozi looked up foolishly at that bright-eyed, beautiful girl, his face full of disbelief. “I remember you weren’t like this before.”

“Before? The former Qiu Zicen already died – she died the moment Zixiao Sword Sect’s leader was secretly murdered four years ago.” The girl’s brow suddenly showed faint sorrow. “Anyone who must shoulder a sect’s burden at age eight; who must constantly scheme carefully to protect the entire sect’s survival amid power struggles between factions; who must deal with various attacks and schemes resulting from losing a strong leader; who must struggle desperately to survive and lead the sect’s brothers and sisters to survive – loses the right to be a child again, to live freely and follow her heart. Do you understand?”

Looking at Baozi’s wide eyes, the girl showed a faint smile tinged with helpless pity. “You wouldn’t understand. You pampered young masters born with golden spoons, with crowds protecting you wherever you go, never experiencing any of life’s sorrows or partings – you could never understand the suffering of us small people whose greatest wish is simply to stay alive… And why am I telling you all this?”

The helplessness in her smile faded, replaced by her former strength and brightness, her voice ringing clearly, “I can’t rob you, and I hope you’ll show mercy and stop toying with me and my subordinates. Let’s each go our own way. Please!”

She no longer looked at Baozi, waving her hand as those black-clothed people silently retreated, preparing to disappear into the mountain cliffs.

“Hey!”

Baozi was furious.

He could tolerate shit and piss, but not reproach and contempt.

This girl actually said he didn’t understand?

“I don’t understand? I don’t understand?” Baozi jumped onto his cart with a swish, hands on his waist like a teapot, pointing at the sky and cursing, “Damn it! At one year old I had no mother and almost died, was carried home by uncle to drink milk from a hundred families. By four I had recognized over a hundred mothers on the street before my real mother came back. At five I finally knew who my father was. Just when I had parents, godfather, master, and a bunch of relatives – before I could even recognize them all or enjoy good days for long – those two heartless people threw me away once, twice, countless times, making me manage their messes. Fine, I managed them, but then people ran away without returning, without even saying goodbye, without letting me see them one last time. This would be bearable, but it wasn’t just one or two people I couldn’t see one last time – it was three, four! You lost one sect leader while I lost my uncle, godfather left, master nearly died, and my father… You have the nerve to say I don’t understand sorrow or parting?”

…

Youtiao’er prostrated himself before the meatball figure cursing at the sky from atop the cart. “Master, your lung capacity is truly earth-shaking and ghost-weeping awesome…”

But Qiu Zicen had stopped her hurried departure halfway up the cliff.

With her back to Baozi, she didn’t turn around, seeming to ponder something. After a long moment, she looked back and raised her eyebrows at Baozi.

“After saying all that, what exactly do you want to do?” Her gaze sparkled as she looked at Baozi. “You’ve proven you understand our pain. So what?”

Baozi caught his breath, snatched a water pouch from the worshipful Youtiao’er’s claws and gulped a big mouthful before saying resentfully, “Nothing much. I suddenly feel very guilty. You’ve fallen to this state fundamentally because your leader died and you have no support, and your leader’s death is somewhat related to me… Well, Sister Qiu, let me support you.”

“Pfft—”

Youtiao’er, who was drinking water, sprayed it all over Baozi’s back. Baozi turned to glare at him angrily. Youtiao’er timidly poked his master, whispering, “Master, His Majesty ordered that you’re not allowed to keep mistresses.”

Smack!

Poor loyal servant Youtiao’er was kicked flying by his evil master.

“Sister Qiu, eat this dried meat.”

“Sister Qiu, want some water?”

“Sister Qiu, is this cloak pretty? Want it as a gift?”

…

“Master, I am now your guard. Please call me Qiu Zicen. Also, I’m not hungry, not thirsty, and I don’t lack clothes.” Qiu Zicen frowned slightly at that outrageously attentive, beautiful meatball.

“Did I say you were my guard?” Baozi rolled his eyes. “I only said your bandit life was too hard and told you to come with me. I’d help you rebuild your sect at the right time. I never said you should sell yourself into slavery.”

“I won’t accept unearned rewards.” Qiu Zicen’s gaze fell on distant cloudy mountains as she said flatly, “I’m incapable of reviving Zixiao’s prestige. The only thing I can do is try my best to find a good place for my sword sect, so they won’t be bullied into hiding and forced to become bandits for survival. For this, I don’t hesitate to trade my freedom and dignity.”

She turned to stare calmly at Baozi. “I know you don’t value having a guard, but if you don’t let me earn these things through my own efforts and contributions, I’ll feel even more useless.”

Baozi helplessly rolled his eyes again, muttering, “This stubborn child – I could see this attitude years ago…”

He wandered off resentfully, letting Qiu Zicen seriously perform her guard duties. But with a child’s nature, any setbacks were quickly forgotten. Before long, he came over again, excitedly putting his arm around Qiu Zicen’s shoulder. “Hey, you inquired about Zhengyang Gate Number One? Then you know who I am?”

Qiu Zicen glanced at the hand on her shoulder, meaning to hint that he should consciously remove his wolf paw. But someone was shameless and insensitive, completely unable to receive her eye signals. Qiu Zicen had no choice but to shrug her shoulder and dodge his little claw, saying, “That person only told me it was the imperial palace. I guessed you were probably an imperial family member. Precisely because I knew your identity, I didn’t want to oppose you and agreed to come with you.”

“Oh, so you still don’t know who I am…” Baozi grinned slyly, releasing his grip. His fingernail somehow caught a thread from Qiu Zicen’s clothing. Baozi casually pulled, and with a ripping sound, tore off a piece of cloth.

Baozi stared blankly at his raised hand, holding a small black cloth piece fluttering in the wind. He looked at the thing strangely and asked in bewilderment, “What is this?”

“A patch.” Qiu Zicen glanced casually and pulled her clothing together, pinning the torn place with a needle.

“I know it’s a patch.” Baozi remained confused. “The question is, why are you wearing clothes with patches?”

“No money.” For such a stupid question, Qiu Zicen’s answer was concise.

“Why no money…” Baozi suddenly stopped speaking because Qiu Zicen was already looking over coldly with complete disdain.

Baozi tragically threw away the patch, suddenly feeling absolutely terrible. He knew that someone as proud as Qiu Zicen would only turn to banditry under extremely dire circumstances, but he truly hadn’t imagined circumstances this dire. It seemed Qiu Zicen was right – though he had experienced some hardships, those were mostly emotional unavoidable partings. He had indeed never truly felt the suffering of survival itself. This precious person couldn’t even see a patch without feeling thunderstruck.

They had fallen to this state because of what he had done…

Qiu Zicen’s gaze shifted to see Baozi in his dazed state. She wasn’t quite used to this mischievous little fellow suddenly becoming so tragically serious. After thinking, she reluctantly said, “Hey, why that expression? I still have new clothes.”

“Really?” Baozi looked at her suspiciously.

“Mm, though I don’t know if they still fit. A set of clothes the sect leader made for me with her own hands before she died. I couldn’t bear to wear them.”

Baozi’s shoulders immediately drooped again.

Qiu Zicen couldn’t be bothered with him. Let this little scoundrel be miserable – his conscience was limited anyway, so occasionally being reminded was good for him.

Suddenly, Youtiao’er’s cheers came from ahead.

“Board the ship! Set sail! International travel!”

Before Qiu Zicen could react, she saw that dejected soft-bodied creature suddenly shriek and spring up, drawing the small saber from his waist and swishing it through four crooked sword flowers.

“Damn! Liguo! Wash yourselves clean and wait – Grandpa is coming!”