Feng Jiu’er truly could not set her mind at ease about Jian Yi—now that Chen Hong had regained her freedom, she had the power to control him.

That was the one outcome Feng Jiu’er wanted, above all else, never to see.

“Qiao Mu.” She turned to look at Qiao Mu, who was striding away.

Hearing her voice, Qiao Mu turned to look at her.

“If there’s no other way, kill Chen Hong!” Feng Jiu’er’s voice was low and heavy.

“Not a single brother is to lose their life over Jian Yi!”

Qiao Mu’s brow furrowed as she glanced at the handsome man sitting quietly in the pool.

“Don’t worry! I have a way to keep Jian Yi alive. I’ll do everything in my power to heal him,” Feng Jiu’er said, taking a deep breath before turning to head toward Jian Yi.

Qiao Mu watched her small, slight figure for a moment, then nodded. “Alright!”

She left it at that single word, turned, and strode off.

Qiao Mu understood how Feng Jiu’er felt—because of this whole affair, no small number of brothers had been injured, some nearly losing their lives.

They couldn’t kill Chen Hong, and yet Chen Hong would do everything she could to kill others; because of this, brothers getting hurt was unavoidable.

Moreover, once such a thing happened once, it would happen again—there had to be an end to it eventually.

Jiu’er didn’t want to owe too many people; owing only Jian Yi alone was already more than enough.

Qiao Mu only hoped that Feng Jiu’er truly could save Jian Yi from his crisis—otherwise, this girl would never know peace for the rest of her life.

On the main street, Chen Hong had taken a child hostage.

“Chen Hong, let him go!” Xing Zizhou stared fixedly at Chen Hong.

This woman deserved to be hacked to pieces a thousand times over.

A young woman and an elderly woman clung to each other, already in tears.

“Let go of my grandson, please let go of my grandson, waaah…” the old woman kept begging.

Had the young woman not been holding onto her the whole time, she might already have thrown herself forward.

“I beg you, please don’t hurt my grandson.” The old woman begged again, sinking to her knees, utterly spent.

The young woman holding her knelt down as well.

“I beg you, let go of my son, you can have this life of mine, just please let go of my son.”

A tall man came stumbling over.

“Xiaoqin, what’s wrong?”

“Papa.” The little boy in Chen Hong’s arms cried out loudly at the sight of the man approaching.

Seeing his son, and the dagger pressed against the boy’s throat, the man’s eyes filled with pain.

He dropped to his knees with a thud. “Let—let go of my son.”

“Please, let go of my son! Let him go, let him go.”

Chen Hong looked at the man, and pressed the dagger a little closer against the boy’s neck.

“No!” The man froze in place at once, stretching out his large hand. “Don’t hurt him!”

“I won’t come any closer! What do you want? I’ll give you anything, anything at all, just please don’t hurt my child.”

“I want a fast horse!” Chen Hong’s gaze shifted, fixing on Xing Zizhou.

They had only just returned to the city in triumph, and the entire army was stationed nearby—the moment something happened, soldiers arrived swiftly.

By now, soldiers lined both sides of the street, along with a crowd of onlookers.

Xing Zizhou stood before the estate, with no small number of brothers standing behind him.

“Chen Hong, you won’t get away,” Xing Zizhou said calmly.

This woman had fooled even him today!

Xing Zizhou was truly furious with himself, but this was no time for self-recrimination.

Chen Hong’s lips curved slightly as she turned the dagger, about to slice it across the boy’s arm.

“Don’t!” The boy’s father, Xing Zizhou, and several brothers all shouted at once.

“I’ll give it to you!” Xing Zizhou immediately added.

The boy’s grandmother screamed and fainted.

The boy’s mother, holding up her mother-in-law, collapsed weakly to the ground as well.

“Chen Hong, if you really want to leave, you’d best not harm the child!” At this point, Xing Zizhou had no choice but to concede.

“Fine.” Chen Hong met Xing Zizhou’s gaze. “I want a fast horse, a bag of dry rations, water, and gold.”

“Get them ready right now! If they’re not ready within the time it takes one stick of incense to burn, you can collect this child’s corpse!”

“I, Chen Hong, have killed countless people already—I won’t mind adding one more life to the count. Hahaha…”

“I’ll get it ready, I’ll go prepare it right now.” The boy’s father’s voice trembled badly.

“Heroine, please don’t hurt my son, I’ll get it ready for you right away, I’ll—I’ll rob it if I have to, and bring it back to you.”

“Good!” Xing Zizhou stared fixedly at Chen Hong. “You’ll have it within the time of one incense stick!”

He glanced at the brother beside him, who nodded and turned to leave.

Qiao Mu and Xiao Yingtao came rushing over, and the brothers beside Xing Zizhou made way for them.

“Xing Zizhou, how is it?” Xiao Yingtao asked, looking at Chen Hong, her brow tightening as well.

This woman had actually used a child to make threats!

“She wants a horse—brothers are already preparing one,” Xing Zizhou said, his gaze still fixed on Chen Hong.

His eyes were calm, and there was little warmth in his words either.

Everyone knew they couldn’t let Chen Hong get away, but with a hostage in her hands, there was little room to act.

“Xing Zizhou.” Qiao Mu came up beside him and called out softly.

Only then did Xing Zizhou withdraw his gaze and look over at Qiao Mu.

Qiao Mu leaned in close to him and relayed Feng Jiu’er’s wishes.

Xing Zizhou let out a slight breath of relief, and turned his gaze back to Chen Hong.

Jian Yi’s life was no longer tied to this woman’s survival, which made things much easier to handle.

Now, all that mattered was ensuring the child’s safety.

Chen Hong looked at Xing Zizhou and Qiao Mu, narrowing her eyes slightly.

“Well now, has the city lord decided to disregard her own citizens’ lives for the sake of her own selfish desires?”

“Heh heh…” Chen Hong laughed coldly, tilting her head to the sky.

She had been confined for quite some time and had grown considerably thinner; even the light in her eyes no longer held its former luster.

She now looked both old and haggard.

That withered, pallid face of hers, paired with a voice as if straight from hell, made her look every bit like a devil.

“Chen Hong, don’t try to sow discord!” Qiao Mu said coldly.

“You’re a condemned criminal trying to escape—do you really think Heaven will spare you a second time, after already sparing you once?”

Qiao Mu truly couldn’t understand how Chen Hong had managed to survive at all.

And yet here she was, standing right in front of her, very much alive.

Her acupoints had been unsealed, the shackles on her hands and feet removed.

This woman truly was no ordinary threat! If she were really allowed to remain in this world, she would likely bring harm to even more people.

“Hahaha…” Chen Hong’s hoarse laughter rang out across nearly half the street.

“The victor is king, the defeated is bandit—what a pity! My life is bound to the life of the man your city lord holds dear.”

“Even if you all watch me hurt your brothers, or your common people, none of you would dare kill me!”

“Heh, isn’t a city lord like that selfish enough already?”

“Long Jiu’er, do you really think you’re so noble, that you truly do this all for the sake of the people?”

“You really do have quite a talent for fooling the common folk—now, even if you sold them off, they’d probably still hand over the money to you with a smile!”

“Heh heh, Long Jiu’er, you truly are something! Chen Hong admires you, admires you to no end!”